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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/11382-0.txt b/11382-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..82b292a --- /dev/null +++ b/11382-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1601 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11382 *** + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +No. 354.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1829. [PRICE 2_d_. + + + + + +[Illustration: THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK.] + + + +THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK. + +In a recent Number of the MIRROR we offered ourselves as the reader's +_cicerone_ throughout the interior of this stupendous building, the +exterior of which is represented in the annexed engraving; and the +architectural pretensions of which will, we trust, be found of equal +interest to the interior. + +The Colosseum is what is termed a polygon of sixteen sides, 130 feet in +diameter. Each angle is strengthened by a double square pilaster of the +Doric order, which supports an entablature, continued round the whole +edifice. Above the cornice is a blocking course, surmounted by an attic, +with an appropriate cornice and sub-blocking, to add to the height of the +building. The whole is crowned with a majestic cupola, supported by three +receding _scamilli_, or steps, and finished with an immense open circle. +The upper part of the cupola is glazed, and protected with fine wire-work, +and the lower part is covered with sheet copper; which distinctions are +shown in the engraving. + +When the spectator's surprise and admiration at the vastness of the +building have somewhat subsided, his attention will be drawn to the fine +and harmonious proportions of the portico, considered by architects as +one of the best specimens of Graeco-Doric in the metropolis. This portion +of the building is copied from the portico of the Pantheon at Rome, +"which, in the harmony of its proportions, and the exquisite beauty of its +columns, surpasses every temple on the earth." Altogether, the grandeur +and effect of this vast structure should be seen to be duly appreciated. + +The adjoining lodges are in exceedingly good taste; and the plantations +laid out by Mr. Hornor, are equally pleasing, whilst their verdure +relieves the massiveness of the building; and in the engraving, the +artist has caught a glimpse of the lattice-work which encloses the +gardens and conservatories attached to the splendid suite of rooms. The +front is enclosed by handsome iron rails, tastefully painted in imitation +of bronze. We ought also to mention, that the means by which the portico +is made to resemble immense blocks of stone, is peculiarly successful. + +The architect of this extraordinary building is Mr. Decimus Burton, aided +by his ingenious employer, Mr. Hornor, of whose taste and talents we have +already spoken in terms of high commendation. Its original name, or, we +should say, its popular name, was the _Coliseum_, evidently a misnomer, +from its distant resemblance to that gigantic work of antiquity. The +present and more appropriate name is the COLOSSEUM, in allusion to its +colossal dimensions; for it would not show much discernment to erect a +building like the Pantheon, and call it the Coliseum. The term _Diorama_ +has, likewise, been strangely corrupted since its successful adoption in +the Regent's Park--it being now almost indefinitely applied to any number +or description of paintings. + + + + * * * * * + +SNEEZING AMONG THE ANCIENTS. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +Among the Greeks, sneezing was reckoned a good omen. The practice of +saluting the person who sneezed, existed in Africa, among nations unknown +to the Greeks and Romans. Brown, in his "Vulgar Errors," says, "We read +in Godignus, that, upon a sneeze of the emperor of Monumotata, there +passed acclamations successively through the city." The author of the +"Conquest of Peru" assures us, that the cacique of Guachoia having sneezed +in the presence of the Spaniards, the Indians of his train fell prostrate +before him, stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the +accustomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to enlighten him, +to defend him, and to be his constant guard. The Romans saluted each +other on sneezing. Plutarch tells us, the genius of Socrates informed him +by sneezing, when it was necessary to perform any action. The young +Parthenis, hurried on by her passions, 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. In the +Odyssey, we are informed that Penelope, harassed by the vexatious +courtship of her suitors, begins to curse them all, and to pour forth +vows for the return of Ulysses. Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a +loud sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, and regards this sign as an +assurance of the approaching return of her husband. Xenophon was +haranguing his troops; when a soldier sneezed in the moment he was +exhorting them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. The whole +army, moved by this presage, determined to pursue the project of their +general; and Xenophon orders sacrifices to Jupiter, the preserver. This +religious reverence for sneezing, so ancient and so universal even in the +time of Homer, always excited the curiosity of the Greek philosophers and +the rabbins. These last spread a tradition, that, after the creation of +the world, God made a law to this purport, that every man should sneeze +but once in his life, and that at the same instant he should render up +his soul into the hands of his Creator, without any preceding +indisposition. Jacob obtained an exemption from the common law, and the +favour of being informed of his last hour. He sneezed, and did not die; +and this sign of death was changed into a sign of life. Notice of this +was sent to all the princes of the earth; and they ordained, that in +future sneezing should be accompanied with _forms of blessings_, and vows +for the persons who sneezed. Thus the custom of _blessing persons who +sneeze_ is of higher antiquity than some authors suppose, for several +writers affirm that it commenced in the year 750, under Pope Gregory the +Great, when a pestilence occurred in which those who sneezed died; whence +the pontiff appointed a form of prayer, and a wish to be said to persons +sneezing, for averting this fatality from them. Some say Prometheus was +the first that wished well to sneezers. For further information on this +_ticklish_ subject, I refer the reader to Brand's "Observations on +Popular Antiquities." P. T. W. + + + + * * * * * + +STANZAS. + +(_Written on a stone, part of the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, Surrey_.) + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + From gayer scenes, where pleasure's mad career + Infects the milder avenues of thought, + Where secret Envy swells the note of Fear, + And Hope is in its own illusion caught. + + Where, in Ambition's thorny path of power, + Contending votaries bow to toils of state, + I turn, regardless of the passing hour, + To trace the havoc of avenging fate. + + Ne'er may the wanton love of active life + Control the sage's precepts of repose, + Ne'er may the murmurs of tumultuous strife + Wreck the tranquillity of private woes. + + Here, on the crumbling relics of a stone, + O'er which the pride of masonry has smiled, + Here am I wont to ruminate alone. + And pause, in Fancy's airy robe beguil'd. + + Disparting time the towers of ages bends, + Forms and indignant sinks the proudest plan, + O'er the neglected path the weed extends, + Nor heeds the wandering steps of thoughtful man. + + Here expiation, murder has appeased, + Treason and homicide have been forgiven, + Pious credulity her votaries eased, + Nor blamed th' indulgent majesty of heaven. + + Some erring matron has her crimes disclosed, + Some father conscious of awak'ning fate, + Safe from revenge, hath innocence reposed, + Unseen and undisturbed at others' hate. + + Some sorrowing virgin her complainings poured + With pious hope has many a pang relieved; + Here the faint pilgrim to his rest restored, + The scanty boon of luxury has received. + + Sated with conquest from the noise of arms, + The aged warrior with his fame retired, + Careless of thirsty spoil,--of war's alarms-- + Nor with imperial emulation fired. + + Where once her orisons devotion paid + By fear, or hope, or reverence inspired, + The sad solicitude of youth allay'd, + And age in resignation calm attired. + + The houseless cottager from wind severe, + His humble habitation oft has made; + Once gloomy penitence sat silent there, + And midnight tapers gleam'd along the shade. + + The lonely shepherd here has oft retired, + To count his flock and tune his rustic lay, + Where loud Hosannas distant ears inspired, + And saintly vespers closed the solemn day. + +HUGH DELMORE. + + + + * * * * * + +BOOK-MACHINERY. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +The world being supplied with books by _machinery_ is almost, literally, +a fact. Type-founding and stereotyping are, of course, mechanical +processes; and lately, Dr. Church, of Boston, invented a plan for +_composing_ (setting the types) by machinery; the sheets are printed by +steam; the paper is made by machinery; and pressed and beaten for binding +by a machine of very recent date. Little more remains to be done than to +write by machinery; and, to judge by many recent productions, a +_spinning-jenny_ would be the best engine for this purpose. + +PHILO. + + + + * * * * * + +GRAVITATION. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +In a matter-of-fact age like the present, methinks it behoves every man +to apply the improvements of scientific research as much as possible to +the ordinary concerns of life. Science and society may thus be called _at +par_, and philosophical theory will hence enlighten the practical +tradesman. + +To demonstrate the truth of the above remarks, I mean, with the editor's +leave, to prove the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket, upon +the principles of gravitation, according to Sir Isaac Newton's +"Principia." + +The learned doctor has mathematically proved that all bodies gravitate or +incline to the centre. It is on this principle only that we can account +for our being fixed to the earth; that we are surrounded by the +atmosphere; and that we are constantly attended by, and seem constantly +to attend, the planets around us. + +Should any farther demonstration be necessary than the incomparable Sir +Isaac has himself furnished us with, let any sceptic who doubts that the +earth attracts all smaller bodies towards its centre, only take a hop +from the Monument or St. Paul's, and he will soon find the power of +gravitation, and die by the truth of the experiment. + +But what, methinks, exclaims the reader, has all this to do with the +proposition in hand, viz. the necessity of keeping a friend in one's +pocket? Why, I'll tell you--from a due consideration of this very +principle, you will soon see the use of a man's keeping his _money_ in +his pocket. It is this alone (the pocket) which nowadays constitutes the +centre of friendship; there alone, therefore, must this most valuable, +most faithful of all friends (_money_) be deposited. Now if this friend +be of magnitude, he will soon collect many more around you, who, true as +the needle to the pole, will point to you from every quarter--friends who +will smile in your prosperity, bask in the sunshine of your glory, dance +while you pay the piper, and to the very ground will be "votre très +humble serviteur, monsieur." But if by sickness, misfortune, generosity, +or the like, this friend be removed from your pocket, the centre is +destroyed, the equilibrium is lost, away fly your friends, and, like +pelicans, turn their beaks at your breast whenever you approach. "It is +your own fault, fellow; you might have done well if you would; but you +are an ass, and could not keep a friend when you had him; and so you may +die in a ditch, and go to the devil, my dear." + +The man of affluence, who lavishes away his substance, may aptly enough +be likened to a porpoise sporting in the ocean--the smaller fry play +around him, admire his dexterity, fan his follies, glory in his gambols; +but let him once be enmeshed in the net of misfortune, and they who +foremost fawned under his fins, will first fall foul of him. + +Now, to illustrate the subject further, let us consider the advantages +arising from this practical use of gravitation, and the losses attendant +upon the neglect thereof. First, then, he who _has_ secured this friend +in his pocket, may go _when_ he pleases, and _where_ he pleases, and +_how_ he pleases, either on foot or on horseback, by barouche or by boat, +and he shall be respected and esteemed, and called _sir_, and made +welcome in every season and in every place, and no one shall presume to +say unto him, Why doest thou these things? + +But a man that hath not this friend in his pocket, may not go when, where, +and how he pleases, but when, where, and how he is directed by others. +Moreover he shall travel on foot, and perchance without shoes, and not +have the benefit of a horse, barouche, or boat; and moreover he shall be +called _sirrah_, and not _sir_; neither shall he be esteemed nor +respected, nor made welcome; and they shall say unto him, "Don't be +troublesome, fellow; get out of the way, for thou hast no business here!" + +The rich man shall be clothed in scarlet, and get whatsoever his heart +desires; and the people shall give him the wall, and bow before him to +the ground. But the poor man shall be clad in rags, and walk in the dirt, +regarded by no man; nor shall he even purchase to himself a name, though +the composition thereof consist only of air! + +This is the state of modern times--such our modern friendship; and since, +gentle reader, it is so, who, possessing one grain of common sense, would +not duly attend to the theory of gravitation, by taking care of a friend +while he has him, especially if he be so portable as to be placed in +one's pocket. + +JACOBUS. + + + + * * * * * + +THE DREAM OF POESY.--A FRAGMENT. + +BY LEIGH CLIFFE, + +_Author of "Parga," "Knights of Ritzberg," &c._ + +(_For the Mirror._) + + + I had a vision fair and bright, + And when I waken'd I was griev'd + To own 'twas but a dream of night, + And sigh'd to find my hopes deceivd. + But then o'er my fancy crept, + Those who hail'd me while I slept. + There were those; of olden time, + Milton, wond'rous, wild, sublime-- + Chaucer, of the many tales; + Spenser, soft as summer gales, + With a mild and gracious mien + Leading on his "Faery Queene." + Shakspeare, child of fancy, stood + Smiling in a mirthful mood, + As tho' he that moment spied + The fairy folk by Bottom's side, + Or beheld by Herne's old oak, + Falstaff with his antler yoke. + Dryden, laurel-crown'd and hoary, + Proudly stood in all his glory; + Pope, as if his claims to speak + Rested on the ancient Greek; + And that prince of merry-men, + Laughing, quaffing, "rare old Ben," + Whose quaint conceits, so gay, so wild, + Have oft my heart from woe beguil'd, + Shone like a meteor 'midst the throng, + The envy of each son of song. + There too were those of later years, + Who've moved the mind to mirth or tears: + Byron, with his radiant ray-- + Scott, with many a magic lay-- + The gay and gorgeous minstrel, Moore, + Rich in the charms of Eastern lore-- + Campbell, like a brilliant star, + Shed the beams of "Hope" afar-- + Rogers, with a smiling eye + Told the joys of "Memory," + Southey, with his language quaint, + Describing daemon, sinner, saint-- + Wordsworth, of the simpler strain, + Clare, the young unletter'd swain-- + Wiffen, who in fairy bowers, + Culls blossoms in "Aonian hours," + Shone like a star in dusky skies, + When first the evening shades arise. + Barton, the gentle bard, was there, + And Hemans, tender as she's fair-- + And Croly, whose bright genius beams + Ever on virtue's fairest themes; + With Burns, the muse's darling child-- + And Luttrell, laughing, sportive, wild, + As when be penn'd for Julia's eye, + His sweet "Advice" for what? for why? + And Crabbe, who misery portrays, + With crowds of others, crown'd with bays, + Who shed around their bright'ning beams, + And cheer'd a humbler poet's dreams. + + + + * * * * * + +ANCIENT SITE OF THE EXETER 'CHANGE, &c. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +Here was formerly the parsonage-house for the parish of St. Clement Danes, +with a garden and close for the parson's horse, till Sir Thomas Palmer, +knight, in the reign of Edward VI., came into the possession of the +living, and began to build a house; but upon his attainder for high +treason, in the first year of Queen Mary, it reverted to the crown. This +house remained in the crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir +William Cecil, lord treasurer, who augmented and rebuilt it, when it was +called Cecil House, and Burleigh House. It was said to have been a noble +pile, and adorned with four square turrets. It was afterwards called +Exeter House, from the title of his son and successor. Lord Burleigh died +here in 1598. It fronted the Strand, and its gardens extended from the +west side of the garden-wall of Wimbledon House to the Green-lane, which +is now Southampton-street. Lord Burleigh was in this house honoured by a +visit from Queen Elizabeth, who, knowing him to be subject to the gout, +would always make him to sit in her presence, which, it is probable, +(says Nightingale,) the lord treasurer considered a gteal indulgence from +so haughty a lady, inasmuch as he one day apologized for the badness of +his legs. To which the queen replied, "My lord, we make use of you not +for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of your head." When +she came to Burleigh House, it is probable she had that kind of +pyramidial head-dress then in fashion, built of wire, lace, ribands, and +jewels, which shot up to a great height; for when the principal domestic +ushered her in, as she passed the threshold he desired her majesty to +stoop. To which she replied, "For your master's sake I will stoop, but +not for the king of Spain." After the fire of London, this house was +occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till 1672; and here the various +courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by the family, +the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the +upper part, like Babylon of old, is a nest of wild beasts, birds, and +reptiles. The present "march of intellect" will _march away_ these bipeds +and quadrupeds, and no doubt the noble Marquess of Exeter "would much +rather have their _room_ than their _company_." + +P. T. W. + + + + + * * * * * + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + + * * * * * + + +A DAY AT FONTAINBLEAU.--THE ROYAL HUNT. + + +Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the _Duc de Grammont_, +and the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau, +in order to enjoy the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to +meet them, to see with my own eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard +so much. Accordingly I ordered post horses, and arrived in the town about +six hours after his Most Christian Majesty. + +After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set +out at eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour--a late one in +France, when compared with England--the roads were by no means thronged, +and I could very plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians +were attached to the court, and that the pedestrians were either such as +had been in the enjoyment of some of the good things of this life under +the present family, or such as were in expectancy of them. There was a +third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by the +desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of +obtaining the entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness +the feats of the royal party. Among this latter class, old men, old women, +and very young boys predominated. + +The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The +various alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted, +create an imposing and majestic _coup d'oeil_, which is only bounded +almost by the horizon. At the bottom and in the middle of these alleys +were placed mounted _gendarmes_ to restrain the intrusion of the populace, +and to prevent them from coming--such is French curiosity--within shot of +the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my left, the great +body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed +space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party +took their station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly +behind. Across this stand, and within the enclosed space, were the +roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, while the King, the Dauphin, +the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, had their shots in +succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "_coup_." Ten men were +busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin. +Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as +the chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot +after shot passed in quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the +ears of those among the crowd--and they were the fewer number--who had +hearts within them, and to British feeling each reverberation brought a +mingled sensation. In England, and in most other nations, whether +civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some chance at least of +escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed space +around the stand was surrounded by a kind of _chevaux de frize_, six feet +in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the +work of destruction of course went rapidly on. + +Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose +drivers vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were +placed for the purpose of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they +accumulated in quick succession within the enclosure. In the short +interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts filled with the +produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed to +the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as +they had been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself +were ranged; and he numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one _marcassin_ +(young wild boar;) the spoil of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks, +being eight less than his royal father, while the rest of the company +destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total of 138 roes, and +one wild boar. + +While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of +disembowelling quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range +the game in the order I have mentioned--another ripped open the body with +a sharp knife, while a third party, to the amount of a dozen, were +engaged in the disembowelling. + +The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into +evening. The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the +forest and return to Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I +had not yet seen him, and my party being anxious to come in contact with +royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the crowd began to rush towards +the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept them at bay. The +multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two lines; +and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming. + +His majesty was on foot--he was surrounded by the officers of his +household, dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his +breast. On his head was a small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap +years, and of services. His breeches were of the homeliest thickset; and +he also wore a pair of large leather gaiters--such as are very common +among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. Though the conformation of +his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, and he +appeared in perfect health. + +It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a +deeper tint to the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and +his majesty had been engaged in the sport from six in the morning, +without intermission. Untired, however, in the work, the king determined +to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he returned to +the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain. +Three separate bevies of deer were let loose--again I heard the fearful +shots, and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the +crowd; and, after having given directions about the game, entered his +carriage with a hasty step, and at a rapid pace drove off for +Fontainbleau. + +_Monthly Magazine._ + + + + + * * * * * + +THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER. + + * * * * * + + +LAKE ERIE. + + +Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from +the large mass of waters it exhibits--in tranquillity, or in motion, +sometimes most vehement. It is only at its west end that it is adorned by +islands. The Morasses, earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, +are only remarkable for their large walnut and buttonwood trees, which, +in a dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the interior from the +traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances. Neither is the +vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at +least in the summer. The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, +is peculiarly oppressive, relaxing, and long continued. The steaming +swamps, which are almost universal, are full of putrifying substances, +occasioning the bilious remittents there so prevalent. The water in +common use is heated, and ill-tasted. Moskitoes, sand, and black flies +abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, aided by a +fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted. There are +circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a +disagreeable residence, but which are gradually disappearing. Its extreme +fertility, the moderate sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of +communication with other countries, will, in progress of time, render it +the seat of a dense population, and a principal granary of the western +continent. Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with equal success. +The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent +quality. The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity +about the river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a +small remission of duty, by the British government, is sent to England, +after having undergone an inland carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles. Salt +springs exist in almost every township, accompanied, in one or two cases, +by large beds of gypsum. Bog iron ore is common on the north-east side of +the lake, and is worked. The water communications of these countries are +astonishingly easy. Canoes can go from Quebec to Rocky Mountains, to the +Arctic Circle, or to the Mexican Gulf, without a portage longer than four +miles; and the traveller shall arrive at his journey's end as fresh and +as safely as from an English tour of pleasure. It is common for the Erie +steam-boat to take goods and passengers from Buffaloe, to Green Bay and +Chicago, in Lake Michigan, a distance of nearly 900 miles, touching, at +the same time, at many intermediate ports. In about three years, in +addition to the canal connecting Lake Erie with tide-water in the Hudson, +another will be excavated across the southern dividing ridge, to +communicate with the Ohio. Near its place of junction with this river, a +canal from the Atlantic, across the Alleghanies, will enter the Ohio. +Lake Erie will then also have a steady line of water transport to +Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, and New Orleans, on the Mississippi. The +surveys, preparatory to these projects, have been in execution for two +years; there is no doubt of their practicability. + +We cannot even hazard a conjecture as to the number of inhabitants around +Lake Erie. They are numerous, and daily augmenting; but with incomparably +greater rapidity on the south side of the lake, distributed between the +States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Ohio, which occupies the +largest portion, in 1800, had 45,000 inhabitants; in 1810, 250,760, and, +in 1820, 581,434. At present, it cannot have less than 750,000 +inhabitants, and there is ample room for more. There are few or no +Indians on the north borders of the lake. The Mohawks are placed high up +the river Ouse, and the Hurons, from four to ten miles up the river +Detroit. + +The winds are generally either up or down the lake, and in summer they +are in the former direction for two-thirds of the time. In the middle of +this season they are commonly mild, but occasionally in perfect tornadoes, +accompanied with tremendous lightning and heavy rain. The gales begin in +October, and are both violent and dangerous. Many lives are lost annually. +The winters are mild and short. The inhabitants do not reckon on the +ground being covered by snow more than three or four months. They turn +their cattle into the woods in March and April, but the lake remains full +of floating ice until May. On the 12th of May, 1821, the steam-boat could +not proceed on account of the ice. From an adjacent eminence, the lake +was seen to be covered with it in one compact mass, as far as the eye +could range. As might be expected, remittent and intermittent fevers are +very prevalent in the autumn. The febrile action rises high, and there is +usually a topical affection conjoined; to this the stimulating diet and +frequent use of spirituous liquors, and exposure to heat, mainly conduce. + +_Brande's Quarterly Journal._ + + + + + * * * * * + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_Hydrophobia in Foxes._ + + +Foxes become mad occasionally, and there have been examples of dogs, +which having been bitten by mad foxes, have not caught the disease. In +these cases it has been proved that the stomachs of the foxes were filled +with wood, earth, stones, leaves, hair, and other substances improper for +nourishment. On the contrary, when the madness has been communicated, the +stomach and intestines have been found completely empty. From this +difference, it is concluded that hunger is the cause of madness in foxes; +and this agrees with the results which occurred during and after the +rigorous winter of 1826-7, when these animals, with many others, suffered +from want of nourishment.--_From the French._ + + + + * * * * * + +_Ripening Fruit._ + + +Slates have recently been employed in France for hastening the ripening +of fruits. The effect was first observed on a slate roof; since which the +slates have been placed beneath the fruit on walls. + + + + * * * * * + +_Hatching Eggs by Hot Mineral Waters._ + + +This curious process has lately been practised with great success in the +south of France. It consists in putting the eggs into a small basket, +suspending the latter in a stove heated by the hot mineral water, and +turning the eggs every day. The first trial was attended with success, +and no failure was experienced in four repetitions of it. + + + + * * * * * + +_Lake Erie._ + + +The height of Lake Erie above the Atlantic Ocean, has been ascertained to +be 565 feet. The barrier which contains it is so low, that, were it only +to rise six feet, it would inundate, on its northern and western borders, +seven millions of acres, now partly occupied by towns, villages, and +farms; and it is estimated that a further rise of six or eight feet would +precipitate a vast flood of waters over the state of Illinois, from the +south end of Michigan; the great Canadian Lakes then discharging also +into the Mexican Gulf.--_Brande's Journal._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cuckoo_ + +Has done more for our music than musicians may be willing to allow; but +it is no more than justice to a despised bird to say, that from it we +have derived the minor scale, whose origin has puzzled so many; the +cuckoo's couplet being the minor third sung downwards.--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +_Immense Fir-tree._ + +In the Museum of Natural History at Strasburg, is shown the trunk of a +silver fir-tree, from the forest of Hochwald, at Barr, in Alsatia. The +tree was 150 feet high, with a trunk perfectly straight and free from +branches to the height of 50 feet, after which it was forked with the one +shoot 100 feet long, and the other somewhat shorter. The diameter of the +trunk at the surface of the ground was 8 feet; estimated age 350 +years.--_Ibid._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Weather by Frogs._ + +The editor of the _Magazine of Natural History_, in his Notes during a +recent tour on the continent, says, "at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, +we witnessed, for the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an +amusing application of zoological knowledge, for the purpose of +prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of the species **_R_à na arbòrea, +are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, +with a depth of three or four inches of water at the bottom, and a small +ladder reaching to the top of the jar. On the approach of dry weather, +the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend +into the water. These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild +state here, climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar +singing noise before rain. In the jar they get no other food than now and +then a fly; one of which, we were assured, would serve a frog for a week, +though it will eat from six to twelve in a day if it can get them. In +catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs display great +adroitness." + + * * * * * + +_Human Remains._ + +The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been +discovered with those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at +present fully confirmed; nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto +been found. Mr. Bakewell, however, observes, that the vast diluvial beds +of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in Asia, have not yet been +scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers agree in +regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the +human race.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Food of Bees._ + +The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are +visited by bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of +our bulbous roots. The stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by +these insects, and the extract absorbed from them must be used as a tonic. +Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of the red clover and of the +honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially profit by the +increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the +peach-tree in some parts of America. They not only drink the nectar and +abstract the pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself. +We have seen twenty or thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that +is, they carried the juices of it to their cells. The humming-bird alone +can reach the bottom of the nectary of the honeysuckle; but even here the +instinct of the bee is seen. The small birds, such as the wren, make an +incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract a +part of the juices. The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails +itself of what is left. The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower +which has a powerful odour can be discovered by them at a great distance. +Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, wild and garden thyme, herbs of all +kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, raspberry blossoms and white +clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving orchard and apiary +fitly go together. + +_North American Review_. + + * * * * * + + +_Singing Birds_. + +Those who have paid attention to the singing of birds, know well that +their voice, energy, and expression differ as widely as in man; and +agreeably to this remark, Mr. Wilson (the celebrated ornithologist) says +he was so familiar with the notes of an individual wood thrush, that he +could recognise him from all his fellows the moment he entered the woods. + +_Mag. Nat. Hist_. + + * * * * * + + +_Gigantic Fossils._ + +Some gigantic bones have been exhibited at New Orleans, but the place +where they were found is not mentioned in the communication. They consist +of one of the bones of the cranium, fifteen or twenty vertebras, two +entire ribs, and part of a third, one thigh bone, two bones of the leg, +&c. The cranial bone was upwards of twenty feet in its greatest length, +about four in extreme width, and it weighed 1,200 lbs. The ribs measured +nine feet along the curve, and about three inches in thickness. It had +been conjectured that the animal to which these bones belonged was +amphibious, and perhaps of the crocodile family. It was also supposed +that the animal when alive, must have measured twenty-five feet round the +body, and about 130 feet in length. + +_Trans. **Geoloy. Soc._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cochineal Insect._ + +Our readers are doubtless aware that cochineal, so extensively used in +this country for dying,[1] is a beautiful insect abundantly found in +various parts of Mexico and Peru. Some of these insects have lately been +sent over to Old Spain, and are doing remarkably well on the prickly pear +of that country; indeed, they are said to rival even those of Mexico in +the quality and brilliancy of their dye. + +Their naturalization may doubtless be extended along the shores of the +Mediterranean, Sicily, and the different states of Greece. The prickly +pear is indigenous in those places, and by little cultivation will afford +sufficient nourishment for the cochineal insects. We are also assured, +(says an intelligent correspondent of _The Times_,) that these precious +insects were introduced last year on the island of Malta, by Dr. Gorman, +on account of the government, and that they are likely to do well on that +island. + +Dr. Gorman discovered a few weeks since, in the botanic garden at +Cambridge, the _grona sylvestris_, or wild species of cochineal, living +among the leaves of the coffee-plants, the acacia, &c. This is the kermes, +or gronilla of Spain, about which so much has been said in endeavouring +to identify it with the grona fina. At all events, this is the same +species as the gronilla found on the hairs of the green oaks in Andalusia; +and in some years large and valuable crops of the gronilla are gathered +in that part of Spain by the peasantry, and sold to the Moors to dye +their scarlet. + +The gardener at Cambridge could not inform Dr. Gorman how long the +insects had been there, or from whence they came, but they went there by +the appellation of "amelca bug." The gardener found these insects very +destructive to plants upon which they fostered, and although he tried +every means short of injuring the plants to remove them, he found it +impossible, as they adhere to the leaves and parts of the stem with such +tenacity, and are so prolific, that the young ones are often found +spreading themselves over the neighbouring plants. On this account, it +would be worth while to attempt the cultivation of the prickly pear in +the open air in this country, and place the insects upon them, for in all +probability the insects would, by good management, do well. + +[1] It is computed that there have been imported into Europe no less a + quantity than 880,000 lbs. weight of cochineal in one year! + + * * * * * + + +_Fossil Turtle._ + +The remains of a sea turtle have lately been discovered, and are now in +the possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge. It is imbedded in a mass of +septaria, weighing upwards of 150 pounds, with two fine specimens of +fossil wood; and was obtained in digging for cement stone, about five +miles from Harwich, in three fathoms water, where, as a mass of stone, it +had been used for some time as a stepping block.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Geological Changes._ + +The following are the writers whose opinions have obtained the greatest +celebrity, as advocates for particular systems accounting for the +formation and subsequent alteration of the earth:-- + +Mr. Whitehurst taught that the _concentric arrangement_ of the crust of +the globe was destroyed by the expansive force of subterranean fire. + +Burnet's theory supposes this crust to have been broken for the +production of the deluge. + +Leibnitz and Buffon believed the earth to have been liquefied by fire; in +fact, that it is an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, whose surface +has been operated upon by a deluge. The latter assumes that the earth was +75,000 years in cooling to its present temperature, and that, in 98,000 +years more, productive nature must be finally extinguished. + +Woodward considered there was a temporary dissolution of the elements of +the globe, during which period the extraneous fossils became incorporated +with the general mass. + +De Luc, Dolomieu, and, finally Baron Cuvier, unite in the opinion, that +the phenomena exhibited by the earth, particularly the alternate deposits +of terrestrial and marine productions, can only be satisfactorily +accounted for by a series of revolutions similar to the deluge. + +Among the singular views entertained by men of genius, in the infancy of +the science, are those of Whiston, "who fancied that the earth was +created from the atmosphere of one comet, and deluged by the tail of +another;" and that, for their sins, the antediluvian population were +drowned; "except the fishes, whose passions were less violent." + +A French geologist conceived that the sea covered the earth for a vast +period; that all animals were originally inhabitants of the water; that +their habits gradually changed on the retiring of the waves, and "that +man himself began his career as a fish!"--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +THE CLIFFORDS OF CRAVEN. + +There is no district in England which abounds in more beautiful and +romantic scenery than the remote and rarely visited district of Craven, +in Yorkshire. Its long ridge of low and irregular hills, terminating at +last in the enormous masses of Pennygent and Ingleborough,--its deep and +secluded valleys, containing within their hoary ramparts of gray +limestone fertile fields and pleasant pasturages,--its wide-spreading +moors, covered with the different species of moss and ling, and fern and +bent-grass, which variegate the brown livery of the heath, and break its +sombre uniformity,--its crystal streams of unwearied rapidity, now +winding a silent course "in infant pride" through the willows and sedges +which fringe their banks, and now bounding with impetuous rage over the +broken ledges of rock, which seek in vain to impede their progress from +the mountains,--its indigenous woods of yew, and beech, and ash, and +alder, which have waved in the winds of centuries, and which still +flourish in green old age on the sides and summits of the smaller +declivities,--its projecting crags, which fling additional gloom over the +melancholy tarns that repose in dismal grandeur at their feet,--its +hamlets, and towns, and ivy-mantled churches, which remind the visiter of +their antiquity by the rudeness, and convince him of their durability by +the massiveness of their construction,--these are all features in the +landscape which require to be seen only once, to be impressed upon the +recollection for ever. But it is not merely for the lovers of the wild, +and beautiful, and picturesque, that the localities of Craven possess a +powerful charm. The antiquarian, the novelist, and the poet, may all find +rich store of employment in the traditions which are handed down from +father to son respecting the ancient lords and inhabitants of the +district. It is indeed the region of romance, and I have often felt +surprise, that the interesting materials with which it abounds have so +seldom been incorporated into the works of fiction which are now issuing +with such thoughtless haste from the press of the metropolis. In Dr. +Whitaker's History of Craven--which in spite of his extravagant +prejudices in favour of gentle blood, and in derogation of commercial +opulence, is still an excellent model for all future writers of local +history--there is a ground-work laid for at least a dozen ordinary novels. +To say nothing of the legendary tales, which the peasantry relate of the +minor families of the district, of the Bracewells, the Tempests, the +Lysters, the Romilies, and the Nortons,--whose White Doe, however, has +been immortalized by the poetry of Wordsworth,--can any thing be more +pregnant with romantic adventure than the fortunes of the successive +chieftains of the lordly line of Clifford? Their first introduction to +the North, owing to a love-match made by a poor knight of Herefordshire +with the wealthy heiress of the Viponts and the Vesys! Their rising +greatness, to the merited disgrace and death of Piers de Gavestone and +his profligate minions! and their final exaltation to the highest honours +of the British peerage, which they have now enjoyed for five hundred +years, to the strong hand and unblenching heart with which they have +always welcomed the assaults of their most powerful enemies! Of the first +ten lords of Skipton castle, four died in the field and one upon the +scaffold! The "black-faced Clifford," who sullied the glory which he +acquired by his gallantry at the battle of Sandal, by murdering his +youthful prisoner the Earl of Rutland, in cold blood, at the termination +of it, has gained a passport to an odious immortality from the soaring +genius of the bard of Avon. But his real fate is far more striking, both +in a moral and in a poetical point of view, than that assigned to him by +our great dramatist. On the evening before the battle of Towton Field, +and after the termination of the skirmish which preceded it, an unknown +archer shot him in the throat, as he was putting off his gorget, and so +avenged the wretched victims, whose blood he had shed like water upon +Wakefield Bridge. The vengeance of the Yorkists was not, however, +satiated by the death of the Butcher, as Leland informs us that they +called him:--for they attainted him, in the first year of the reign of +Edward the Fourth, and granted his estates, a few years afterwards, to +the Duke of Gloucester, who retained them in his iron grasp till he lost +them with his crown and life at the battle of Bosworth. The history of +his son is a romance ready made. His relations, fearing lest the +partisans of the house of York should avenge the death of the young Earl +of Rutland on the young Lord Clifford, then a mere infant, concealed him +for the next twenty-five years of his life in the Fells of Cumberland, +where he grew up as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as +ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it. One of the first acts +of Henry the Seventh, after his accession to the throne, was to reverse +the attainder which had been passed against his father; and immediately +afterwards the young lord emerged from the hiding place, where he had +been brought up in ignorance of his rank, and with the manners and +education of a mere shepherd. Finding himself more illiterate than was +usual even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in +the beautiful forest of Barden, and there, under the direction of the +monks of Bolton Abbey, gave himself up to the forbidden studies of +alchemy and astrology. His son, who was the first Earl of Cumberland, +embittered the conclusion of his life, by embarking in a series of +adventures, which, in spite of their profligacy, or rather in consequence +of it, possess a very strong romantic interest. Finding that his father +was either unwilling or unable to furnish him with funds to maintain his +inordinate riot and luxury, he became the leader of a band of outlaws, +and, by their agency, levied aids and benevolences upon the different +travellers on the king's highway. A letter of the old lord, his father, +which, by the by, is not the letter of an illiterate man, is still extant, +in which he complains in very moving terms of his son's degeneracy and +misconduct. The young scapegrace, wishing to make his father know from +experience the inconvenience of being scantily supplied with money, +enjoined his tenantry in Craven not to pay their rents, and beat one of +them, Henry Popely, who ventured to disobey him, so severely with his own +hand, that he lay for a long time in peril of death. He spoiled his +father's houses, &c. "feloniously took away his proper goods," as the old +lord quaintly observes, "apparelling himself and his horse, all the time, +in cloth of gold and goldsmith's work, more like a duke than a poor baron's +son." He likewise took a particular aversion to the religious orders, +"shamefully beating their tenants and servants, in such wise as some whole +towns were fain to keep the churches both night and day, and durst not +come at their own houses."--Whilst engaged in these ignoble practices, +less dissonant, however, to the manners of his age than to those of our's, +he wooed, and won, and married, a daughter of the Percy of Northumberland; +and it is conjectured, upon very plausible grounds, that his courtship +and marriage with a lady of the highest rank under such disadvantages on +his part, gave rise to the beautiful old ballad of the Nutbrown Maid. The +lady, becoming very unexpectedly the heiress of her family, added to the +inheritance of the Cliffords the extensive fee which the Percies held in +Yorkshire; and by that transfer of property, and by the grant of Bolton +Abbey, which he obtained from Henry the Eighth, on the dissolution of the +monasteries, her husband became possessor of nearly all the district +which stretches between the castles of Skipton on the south, and of +Brougham, or as the Cliffords, to whom it belonged, always wrote it, +Bromeham, on the north. The second Earl of Cumberland, who was as fond of +alchemy and astrology as his grandfather, was succeeded by his son George, +who distinguished himself abroad by the daring intrepidity with which he +conducted several buccaneering expeditions in the West Indies against the +Spaniards, and at home, by the very extensive scale on which he +propagated his own and his Maker's image in the dales of Craven. Among +the numerous children of whom he was the father, the most celebrated was +the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, whose long life of virtuous +exertion renders her well qualified to figure as the heroine of a tale of +chivalry. The anecdotes which are told of this high-spirited lady in the +three counties of York, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, are almost +innumerable, and relate to circumstances in her life, which, though some +are impossible, and others improbable, are still all full of heroic +interest and adventure. Her defence of Bromeham Castle against the +intrusion of her uncle of Cumberland,--her riding cross-legged to meet +the judges of assize, when she acted in person at Appleby as High Sheriff +by inheritance of the county of Westmoreland,--her hairbreadth escapes +and dangers during the great rebellion, are characteristics of the woman, +so striking in themselves, that they would require little adventitious +ornament from the writer, who should take them as incidents for poem or +romance. Her courage and liberality in public life were only to be +equalled by her order, economy, and devotion in private. "She was," says +Dr. Whitaker, "the oldest and most independent courtier in the kingdom," +at the time of her death.--"She had known and admired queen Elizabeth;-- +she had refused what she deemed an iniquitous award of king James," +though urged to submit to it by her first husband, the Earl of Dorset;-- +"She rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell, and repelled +with disdain the interposition of a profligate minister under Charles the +Second." A woman of such dauntless spirit and conduct would be a fitting +subject, even for the pencil of the mighty magician of Abbotsford. A +journal of her life in her own hand-writing is still in existence at +Appleby Castle. I have heard, that it descends to the minutest details +about her habits and feelings, and that it is that cause alone, which +prevents its publication. + +_Blackwood's Magazine._ + + + + * * * * * + +A VILLAGE FUNERAL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. + + +The sun was careering brightly in the heavens, and all nature was +rejoicing in its unclouded glory, as the funeral procession of Helen +Hartlington, and Antony Clifford, wound its toilsome and melancholy way to +Bolton Abbey. The sportive Deer were bounding lightly over the hills, and +the glad birds were warbling melodiously in the thickets, as if none but +the living were moving amongst them; and but for the wild dirge, which +mingled with the whispers of the wind, and but for the deep-toned knell +which ever and anon rose slowly and mournfully above it, the lone +traveller would never have conjectured that Death was conveying its +victims through those smiling scenes. As the procession approached the +portals of the Abbey, it was met, as was then customary, by the young men +and maidens of the surrounding villages, in their best array, who hung +upon the hearse chaplets of fragrant flowers, and strewed its path with +rosemary, pansies, and rue. At the same moment the solemn chant of the +Miserere thrilled upon the soul, and was succeeded, as it gradually melted +into silence, by the still more affecting strains of the parting requiem +for the dead--_Ibid._ + + + + * * * * * + + +NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW--(JUST PUBLISHED.) + + +An old acquaintance of ours, as remarkable for the grotesque queerness of +his physiognomy, as for the kindness and gentleness of his disposition, +was asked by a friend, where he had been? He replied, he had been seeing +the lion, which was at that time an object of curiosity--(we are not sure +whether it was _Nero_ or _Cato_.) "And what," rejoined the querist, "did +the lion think of you?" The jest passed as a good one; and yet under it +lies something that is serious and true. + + + + * * * * * + +The possibility of a great change being introduced by very slight +beginnings may be illustrated by the tale which Lockman tells of a vizier +who, having offended his master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a +lofty tower. At night his wife came to weep below his window. "Cease your +grief," said the sage; "go home for the present, and return hither when +you have procured a live black-beetle, together with a little _ghee_, (or +buffalo's butter.) three clews, one of the finest silk, another of stout +packthread, and another of whip-cord; finally, a stout coil of rope."-- +When she again came to the foot of the tower, provided according to her +husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a +little of the _ghee_, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to +place the reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the smell of the +butter, which he conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle +continued to ascend till he reached the top, and thus put the vizier in +possession of the end of the silk thread, who drew up the packthread by +means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and, by +means of the cord, a stout rope capable of sustaining his own weight,--and +so at last escaped from the place of his duresse. + + + + * * * * * + +ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. + + +A munificent lady in Yorkshire has recently offered to subscribe 50,000_l_. +towards the endowment of an university _in that county_, and a noble earl +has professed his willingness to give a similar benefaction. These +princely examples will no doubt be followed ere long, and the scheme +completed--though we have some doubts whether the site of the new +university for the north would be best selected in Yorkshire. + + + + * * * * * + +Greater changes have taken place in no single age than are at this time in +progress; and the revolutions in which empires, kingdoms, or republics are +made and unmade, and political constitutions rise and burst like bubbles +upon a standing pool, when its stagnant waters are disturbed by a +thunder-shower, are not the most momentous of those changes, neither are +they those which most nearly concern us. The effects of the discovery of +printing could never be felt in their full extent by any nation, till +education, and the diffusion also of a certain kind of knowledge, had +become so general, that newspapers should be accessible to every body, and +the very lowest of the people should have opportunity to read them, or to +hear them read. The maxim that it is politic to keep the people in +ignorance, will not be maintained in any country where the rulers are +conscious of upright intentions, and confident likewise in the intrinsic +worth of the institutions which it is their duty to uphold, knowing those +institutions to be founded on the rock of righteous principles. They know, +also, that the best means of preserving them from danger is so to promote +the increase of general information, as to make the people perceive how +intimately their own well-being depends upon the stability of the state, +thus making them wise to obedience. + + + + * * * * * + +The heart and mind can as little lie barren as the earth whereon we move +and have our being, and which, if it produce not herbs and fruit meet for +the use of man, will be overrun with weeds and thorns. Muley Ismael, a +personage of tyrannical celebrity in his day, always employed his troops +in some active and useful work, when they were not engaged in war, "to +keep them," he said, "from being devoured by the worm of indolence." In +the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome +advice:-- + + "Eschew the idle vein + Flee, flee from doing nought! + For never was there idle brain + But bred an idle thought." + + + + * * * * * + +FLOGGING. + + +Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning +the rod fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among +birch-trees than was made among the cedars for the building of his temple, +and his house of the forest of Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with +this text in his mouth, has taken the rod in hand, when he himself, for +ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it far more than the +poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by terror, has +stood untrussed and trembling before him. + + + + + * * * * * + +THE SKETCH BOOK. + + * * * * * + + +THE VISION OF VALDEMARO. + +_Translated from the Spanish._ + + +It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our +faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an +instant my soul was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in +the centre of a spacious plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses. +The whole enclosure was full of superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape +of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost touched the clouds; and others the +forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the most imposing spectacle. +On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of the heroes +who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying +on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare +earth, meanly enveloped in miserable garbs. + +I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light +of the moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively +regarded these proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the +pompous epitaphs inscribed on them. "How remarkable a difference!" I +observed to myself; "when ordinary men, incapable of eclipsing their +fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, those great men who +have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, even after +the lapse of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they +who have had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though +inexorable fate refuse to spare them, their ashes afterwards revive, and +under the very stroke of death, they rise triumphantly to a glorious +immortality!" + +I was indulging in these reflections, when, on a sudden, a hoarse and +fearful blast of wind affrighted me. The earth rocked under my feet, the +mausoleum waved to and fro with violence, the cypresses were torn up with +tremendous fury, and, from time to time, I heard a sound as of fleshless +bones clashing together. In a moment, the heavens were covered with black +clouds, and the moon withdrew her splendour. The horror inspired by the +darkness of the night, and the dead silence which reigned amidst the tombs, +caused my hair to stand on end, and stiffened my limbs until I had +scarcely power to move them. + +In this dreadful situation, I saw an old man approaching me. His head was +bald--his beard white--in his right hand he carried a crooked scythe, and +in his left an hour-glass--whilst two immense flapping wings nearly +concealed his body. "Thou," said he to me in a terrible voice, "who art +still dazzled by the dignities and honours which mankind pursue with such +reckless eagerness, see whether you perceive any difference between the +dust of the monarch and that of the most wretched slave!" He spoke, and +striking the ground a tremendous blow with his scythe, all these proud +monuments fell headlong to the earth, and in an instant were reduced to +dust. My terror was then redoubled, and my strength almost failed me. I +could only perceive that there was no distinction. All was dust, +corruption, and ashes. "Go," said he, "seek another road to the temple of +immortality! Behold the termination of those titles of grandeur which men +so ardently desire! They vainly imagine that, after death, they shall +survive in history, or in marbles, which shall leap emulously from their +quarries to form such monuments of pride as you have just beheld; but they +are miserably deceived; their existence ends at the instant they expire, +and their fame, however deeply engraven on brass and marble, cannot have a +longer duration than that of a brief moment when compared with eternity! I +myself, TIME, consume and utterly annihilate all those structures which +have vanity for their base; the works which are founded on virtue are not +subject to my jurisdiction. They pass to the boundless regions of another +world, and receive the reward of immortality!" With these words he +disappeared. + +I awoke with a deadly dullness, and found that my sleep had been +productive of instruction. Thenceforth I regarded, in a very different +point of view, the pompous titles which before had dazzled me, and, by the +aid of a little reflection, I soon became thoroughly sensible of their +vanity. + +K.N. + + + + + * * * * * + +RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS. + + * * * * * + + +ORIGIN OF ISABELLA COLOUR. + + +The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II. +king of Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year +1602, he laid siege to Ostend, then in possession of the heretics; and his +pious princess, who attended him on the expedition, made a vow, that, till +the city was taken, she would not change her clothes. Contrary to +expectation, it was three years before the place was reduced; in which +time her highness' linen had acquired a hue, which, from the superstition +of the princess and the times, was much admired, and adopted by the court +fashionables under the name of "Isabella colour." It is a yellow or soiled +buff, better imagined than described. + +HALBERT H. + + + + * * * * * + +FAMINE IN ENGLAND. + + +A severe dearth began in May, 1315, and proceeded to the utmost extremity, +until after the harvest of 1316. In July, 1316, the quarter of wheat rose +to 30_s_., (equal to 22_l_. 10_s_.;) and in August reached to the enormous +price of 40_s_. or 30_l_. the quarter. A loaf of coarse bread, which was +scarcely able to support a man for a single day, sold for 4_d_., equal in +value to 5_s_. now. Wheat rose in Scotland at one time to the enormous sum +of 100_s_. the quarter, equal to 75_l_. of the present currency. This +dearth continued, but with mitigated severity, until after the harvest of +1317; but great abundance returned in 1318. This famine occasioned a +prodigious mortality among the people, owing to the want of proper food, +and employment of unwholesome substitutes. The rains set in so early in +1315, and continued so violently, that most of the seed of that year +perished in the ground; the meadows were so inundated, that the hay crop +of that year was utterly destroyed. + +H.B.A. + + + + * * * * * + +OLD ADVERTISEMENTS. + + +Puffing is by no means a modern art, although so extravagantly practised +in the present day. Of its success two hundred years since, _E.S.N._ of +Rochester, has sent us the following specimens:-- + +At the end of an old medical book which I have in my possession, are the +following, among other advertisements:--"_The new Plannet no Plannet_, or +the Earth no _Wandring_ Star. Here, out of the principles of divinity, +philosophy, &c. the earth's immobility is asserted, and _Copernicus_, his +opinion, as erroneous, &c. fully refuted, by _Alexander Ross_, in quarto." + +"_A Recantation of an Ill-led Life_, or a discovery of the highway law, as +also many _cautelous_ admonitions, and ful instructions how to know, shun, +and apprehende a _thiefe_, most necessary for all honest travellers to +peruse, observe, and practice; written by _John Clavel_, gent." + + + + + * * * * * + +ENGLISH FASHIONS. + + +Our constant changes of habit were the subject of ridicule at home and +abroad, even at an early period. Witness the ancient limner's jest in 1570, +who, being employed to decorate the gallery of the Lord Admiral Lincoln +with representations of the costumes of the different nations of Europe, +when he came to the English, drew a naked man, with cloth of various +colours lying by him, and a pair of shears held in his hand, as in rueful +suspense and hesitation; or the earlier conceit, to the same effect, of +"Andrew Borde of Physicke Doctor," alias "Andreas Perforatus," who, to the +first chapter of his "Boke of the Instruction of Knowledge," (1542,) +prefixed a naked figure, with these lines:-- + + "I am an Englishman, and naked I stande here, + Musing in minde what rayment I shal weare: + For nowe I wil weare this, and now I will weare that-- + And now I will weare I cannot telle whatt." + + + + + * * * * * + +THE GATHERER. + + + "A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles." + + SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +CONNING (_quasi Cunning_.) + +A convict, during the voyage to New South Wales, slipped overboard, and +was drowned--What was his crime?--_Felo de se_ (fell o'er the sea.) + + * * * * * + +THE CHANGES OF TIME. + + + I dreamt, in Fancy's joyous day, + That every passing month was May; + But Reason told me to remember, + And now, alas! they're all December! + + * * * * * + +The only memorial of the death of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, remaining +at Kirkby Moorside (where he died in obscurity and distress,) is an +entry in an old register of burials, which runs thus: "1687, April 17th, +Gorges Villus, Lord dook of bookingham."--_Ellis Correspondence._ + + * * * * * + + + Had we not lov'd so dearly, + Had we not lov'd sincerely, + Had vows been never plighted, + Our hopes had ne'er been blighted, + Dearest. + + Had we met in younger days, + Had we fled each other's gaze, + Oh had we never spoken, + Our hearts had ne'er been broken, + Dearest. + + Had you not look'd so kindly, + Had I not lov'd so blindly, + No pain 'twould be to sever, + As now we may for ever, + Dearest. + + If yet you love sincerely, + The one who loves you dearly, + Then let the sigh betoken, + Love for a heart you've broken, + Dearest. + +Z. + + + + * * * * * + +THE TRAGEDY OF DOUGLAS. + + +It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal of this tragedy +took place in the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Ward, +one of Digges' company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of, +the most distinguished literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. +The following was the cast of the piece on that occasion:-- + + _Dramatis Personae_. + _Lord Randolph_, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh. + _Glenalvon_, David Hume, Historian. + _Old Norval_, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh. + _Douglas_, John Home, the Author. + _Lady Randolph_, Dr. Fergusson, Professor. + _Anna_ (the maid), Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church. + + +The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges and Mrs. Sarah Ward, were the +Right Hon. Pat. Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, (the +two last were then only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele, and William Home, +ministers. The company (all but Mrs. Ward) dined afterwards at the Griskin +Club, in the Abbey. The above is a signal proof of the strong passion for +the drama which then obtained among the _literati_ of this capital, since +then, unfortunately, much abated. The rehearsal must have been conducted +with very great secrecy; for what would the Kirk, which took such deep +offence at the composition of the piece by one of its ministers, have said +to the fact, of no less than four of these being engaged in rehearsing it, +and two others attending the exhibition? The circumstance of the gentle +Anna having been personated by "Dr. Blair, minister of the High Church," +is a very droll one.--_Edinburgh Evening Post_. + + + + * * * * * + +THE CUMBERLAND LANDLORD. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +During a recent excursion in Cumberland, I copied the following epitaph +from the _album_ kept at the inn at Pooley Bridge, the landlord of which +is well known, as being quite an original:--W.W. + + Will Russell was a landlord bold, + A noble wight was he, + Right fond of quips and merry cracks, + And ev'ry kind of glee. + + Full five-and-twenty years agone + He came to Pooley Height, + And there he kept the Rising Sun, + And drunk was ev'ry night. + + No lord, nor squire, nor serving man, + In all the country round, + But lov'd to call in at the Sun, + Wherever he was bound, + + To hold a crack with noble Will, + And take a cheerful cup + Of brandy, or of Penrith ale, + Or pop, right bouncing up. + + But now poor Will lies sleeping here, + Without his hat or stick, + Nor longer rules the Rising Sun, + As he did well when wick.[1] + + Will's honest heart could ne'er refuse + To drink with ev'ry brother; + Then let us not his name abuse-- + We'll ne'er see sic another. + + But let us hope the gods above, + Right mindful of his merits, + Have given him a gentle shove + Into the land of spirits. + + 'Tis then his talents will expand, + And make a noble figure. + In tossing off a brimming glass, + To make his belly bigger. + + Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost + Be ever ready at its heavenly post; + And may thy proud posterity e'er be + Landlords at Pooley to eternity. + + +[1] Wick in Cumberland is used for alive. + + * * * * * + + +A WATCH. + +Before a watch is ready for the pocket, the component parts thereof must +have passed through the hands of not less than _an hundred and fifty +different workmen_. The fifteen principal branches are: 1. the movement +maker; who divides it into various branches, viz. pillar maker, stop stud +maker, frame mounter, screw maker, cock and potence maker, verge maker, +pinion maker, balance wheel maker, wheel cutter, fusee maker, and other +small branches; 2. dial maker, who employs a capper maker, an enameller, +painter, &c. 3. case maker, who makes the case to the frame, employs box +maker, and outside case maker, joint finisher. 4. pendant maker; (both +case and pendant go to the Goldsmith's Hall to be marked.) 5. secret +springer, and spring liner; the spring and liner are divided into other +branches; viz. the spring maker, button maker, &c. 6. cap maker; who +employs springer, &c. 7. jeweller, which comprises the diamond cutting, +setting, making ruby holes, &c. 8. motion maker, and other branches, viz. +slide maker, edge maker, and bolt maker. 9. spring maker, (_i.e._ main +spring.) consisting of wire drawer, &c. hammerer, polisher, and temperer. +10. chain maker; this comprises several branches, wire drawer, link maker +and rivetter, hook maker, &c. 11. engraver, who also employs a piercer and +name cutter. 12. finisher, who employs a wheel and fusee cutter, and other +workers in smaller branches. 13. gilder is divided into two, viz. gilder +and brusher. 14. glass and hands, the glass employs two, viz. blower and +maker; hand maker employs die sinker, finisher, &c. 15. fitter in, who +overlooks the whole, fits hands on, &c. The above 15 branches are +subdivided again and again. + + * * * * * + + +This day is published, price 5_s_. with a Frontispiece, and thirty other +Engravings, the + +ARCANA OF SCIENCE, AND ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS, FOR 1829. + +The MECHANICAL department contains ONE HUNDRED New Inventions and +Discoveries, with 14 _Engravings_. + +CHEMICAL, SEVENTY articles, with 2 _Engravings_. + +NATURAL HISTORY, 135 New Facts and Discoveries, with 7 _Engravings_. + +ASTRONOMICAL and METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA--35 articles--6 _Engravings_. + +AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, and RURAL ECONOMY, 100 Articles. + +DOMESTIC ECONOMY 50 Articles. + +USEFUL ARTS, 50 Articles. + +FINE ARTS. + +PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. + +MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER, &c. + +"We hope the editor will publish a similar volume annually."--_Gardener's +Magazine._ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11382 *** diff --git a/11382-h/11382-h.htm b/11382-h/11382-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9676ce1 --- /dev/null +++ b/11382-h/11382-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1679 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta name="generator" + content="HTML Tidy for Linux/x86 (vers 1st November 2002), see www.w3.org" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + + <title>The Mirror of Literature, Volume 13. No. 354.</title> + + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + + .note, .footnote + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + .poem + {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + .poem p.i14 {margin-left: 9em;} + + .figure + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em; margin: auto;} + .figure img + {border: none;} + .figure p + + .side { float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic;} + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> + </head> + + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11382 ***</div> + + <hr class="full" /> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page65" name="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> + + <h1>THE MIRROR<br /> + OF<br /> + LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.</h1> + <hr class="full" /> + + <table width="100%" summary="Volume, Number, and Date"> + <tr> + <td align="left"><b>Vol. 13. No. 354.</b></td> + + <td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1829.</b></td> + + <td align="right"><b>[PRICE 2d.</b></td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK.</h2> + + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/354-001.png"><img width="100%" src="images/354-001.png" + alt="THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK." /></a> + </div> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page66" name="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> + + <p>In a recent Number of the MIRROR we offered ourselves as the reader's + <i>cicerone</i> throughout the interior of this stupendous building, the exterior of + which is represented in the annexed engraving; and the architectural pretensions of + which will, we trust, be found of equal interest to the interior.</p> + + <p>The Colosseum is what is termed a polygon of sixteen sides, 130 feet in diameter. + Each angle is strengthened by a double square pilaster of the Doric order, which + supports an entablature, continued round the whole edifice. Above the cornice is a + blocking course, surmounted by an attic, with an appropriate cornice and + sub-blocking, to add to the height of the building. The whole is crowned with a + majestic cupola, supported by three receding <i>scamilli</i>, or steps, and finished + with an immense open circle. The upper part of the cupola is glazed, and protected + with fine wire-work, and the lower part is covered with sheet copper; which + distinctions are shown in the engraving.</p> + + <p>When the spectator's surprise and admiration at the vastness of the building have + somewhat subsided, his attention will be drawn to the fine and harmonious proportions + of the portico, considered by architects as one of the best specimens of Graeco-Doric + in the metropolis. This portion of the building is copied from the portico of the + Pantheon at Rome, "which, in the harmony of its proportions, and the exquisite beauty + of its columns, surpasses every temple on the earth." Altogether, the grandeur and + effect of this vast structure should be seen to be duly appreciated.</p> + + <p>The adjoining lodges are in exceedingly good taste; and the plantations laid out + by Mr. Hornor, are equally pleasing, whilst their verdure relieves the massiveness of + the building; and in the engraving, the artist has caught a glimpse of the + lattice-work which encloses the gardens and conservatories attached to the splendid + suite of rooms. The front is enclosed by handsome iron rails, tastefully painted in + imitation of bronze. We ought also to mention, that the means by which the portico is + made to resemble immense blocks of stone, is peculiarly successful.</p> + + <p>The architect of this extraordinary building is Mr. Decimus Burton, aided by his + ingenious employer, Mr. Hornor, of whose taste and talents we have already spoken in + terms of high commendation. Its original name, or, we should say, its popular name, + was the <i>Coliseum</i>, evidently a misnomer, from its distant resemblance to that + gigantic work of antiquity. The present and more appropriate name is the COLOSSEUM, + in allusion to its colossal dimensions; for it would not show much discernment to + erect a building like the Pantheon, and call it the Coliseum. The term <i>Diorama</i> + has, likewise, been strangely corrupted since its successful adoption in the Regent's + Park—it being now almost indefinitely applied to any number or description of + paintings.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>SNEEZING AMONG THE ANCIENTS.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>Among the Greeks, sneezing was reckoned a good omen. The practice of saluting the + person who sneezed, existed in Africa, among nations unknown to the Greeks and + Romans. Brown, in his "Vulgar Errors," says, "We read in Godignus, that, upon a + sneeze of the emperor of Monumotata, there passed acclamations successively through + the city." The author of the "Conquest of Peru" assures us, that the cacique of + Guachoia having sneezed in the presence of the Spaniards, the Indians of his train + fell prostrate before him, stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the + accustomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to enlighten him, to defend + him, and to be his constant guard. The Romans saluted each other on sneezing. + Plutarch tells us, the genius of Socrates informed him by sneezing, when it was + necessary to perform any action. The young Parthenis, hurried on by her passions, + 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. In the + Odyssey, we are informed that Penelope, harassed by the vexatious courtship of her + suitors, begins to curse them all, and to pour forth vows for the return of Ulysses. + Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a loud sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, + and regards this sign as an assurance of the approaching return of her husband. + Xenophon was haranguing his troops; when a soldier sneezed in the moment he was + exhorting them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. The whole army, moved + by this presage, determined to pursue the project of their general; and Xenophon + orders sacrifices to Jupiter, the preserver. This religious reverence for sneezing, + so ancient and so universal even in the time of Homer, always excited the curiosity + of the Greek philosophers and the rabbins. These last spread a tradition, that, after + the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page67" name="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> creation of + the world, God made a law to this purport, that every man should sneeze but once in + his life, and that at the same instant he should render up his soul into the hands of + his Creator, without any preceding indisposition. Jacob obtained an exemption from + the common law, and the favour of being informed of his last hour. He sneezed, and + did not die; and this sign of death was changed into a sign of life. Notice of this + was sent to all the princes of the earth; and they ordained, that in future sneezing + should be accompanied with <i>forms of blessings</i>, and vows for the persons who + sneezed. Thus the custom of <i>blessing persons who sneeze</i> is of higher antiquity + than some authors suppose, for several writers affirm that it commenced in the year + 750, under Pope Gregory the Great, when a pestilence occurred in which those who + sneezed died; whence the pontiff appointed a form of prayer, and a wish to be said to + persons sneezing, for averting this fatality from them. Some say Prometheus was the + first that wished well to sneezers. For further information on this <i>ticklish</i> + subject, I refer the reader to Brand's "Observations on Popular Antiquities."</p> + + <p>P. T. W.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>STANZAS.</h3> + + <h4><i>(Written on a stone, part of the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, Surrey).</i></h4> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>From gayer scenes, where pleasure's mad career</p> + + <p class="i2">Infects the milder avenues of thought,</p> + + <p>Where secret Envy swells the note of Fear,</p> + + <p class="i2">And Hope is in its own illusion caught.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Where, in Ambition's thorny path of power,</p> + + <p class="i2">Contending votaries bow to toils of state,</p> + + <p>I turn, regardless of the passing hour,</p> + + <p class="i2">To trace the havoc of avenging fate.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ne'er may the wanton love of active life</p> + + <p class="i2">Control the sage's precepts of repose,</p> + + <p>Ne'er may the murmurs of tumultuous strife</p> + + <p class="i2">Wreck the tranquillity of private woes.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Here, on the crumbling relics of a stone,</p> + + <p class="i2">O'er which the pride of masonry has smiled,</p> + + <p>Here am I wont to ruminate alone.</p> + + <p class="i2">And pause, in Fancy's airy robe beguil'd.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Disparting time the towers of ages bends,</p> + + <p class="i2">Forms and indignant sinks the proudest plan,</p> + + <p>O'er the neglected path the weed extends,</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor heeds the wandering steps of thoughtful man.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Here expiation, murder has appeased,</p> + + <p class="i2">Treason and homicide have been forgiven,</p> + + <p>Pious credulity her votaries eased,</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor blamed th' indulgent majesty of heaven.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Some erring matron has her crimes disclosed,</p> + + <p class="i2">Some father conscious of awak'ning fate,</p> + + <p>Safe from revenge, hath innocence reposed,</p> + + <p class="i2">Unseen and undisturbed at others' hate.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Some sorrowing virgin her complainings poured</p> + + <p class="i2">With pious hope has many a pang relieved;</p> + + <p>Here the faint pilgrim to his rest restored,</p> + + <p class="i2">The scanty boon of luxury has received.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sated with conquest from the noise of arms,</p> + + <p class="i2">The aged warrior with his fame retired,</p> + + <p>Careless of thirsty spoil,—of war's alarms—</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor with imperial emulation fired.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Where once her orisons devotion paid</p> + + <p class="i2">By fear, or hope, or reverence inspired,</p> + + <p>The sad solicitude of youth allay'd,</p> + + <p class="i2">And age in resignation calm attired.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The houseless cottager from wind severe,</p> + + <p class="i2">His humble habitation oft has made;</p> + + <p>Once gloomy penitence sat silent there,</p> + + <p class="i2">And midnight tapers gleam'd along the shade.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The lonely shepherd here has oft retired,</p> + + <p class="i2">To count his flock and tune his rustic lay,</p> + + <p>Where loud Hosannas distant ears inspired,</p> + + <p class="i2">And saintly vespers closed the solemn day.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>HUGH DELMORE.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>BOOK-MACHINERY.</h3> + + <h4><i>(To the Editor of the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>The world being supplied with books by <i>machinery</i> is almost, literally, a + fact. Type-founding and stereotyping are, of course, mechanical processes; and + lately, Dr. Church, of Boston, invented a plan for <i>composing</i> (setting the + types) by machinery; the sheets are printed by steam; the paper is made by machinery; + and pressed and beaten for binding by a machine of very recent date. Little more + remains to be done than to write by machinery; and, to judge by many recent + productions, a <i>spinning-jenny</i> would be the best engine for this purpose.</p> + + <p>PHILO.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>GRAVITATION.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>In a matter-of-fact age like the present, methinks it behoves every man to apply + the improvements of scientific research as much as possible to the ordinary concerns + of life. Science and society may thus be called <i>at par</i>, and philosophical + theory will hence enlighten the practical tradesman.</p> + + <p>To demonstrate the truth of the above remarks, I mean, with the editor's leave, to + prove the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket, upon the principles of + gravitation, according to Sir Isaac Newton's "Principia."</p> + + <p>The learned doctor has mathematically proved that all bodies gravitate or incline + to the centre. It is on this principle only that we can account for our being fixed + to the earth; that we are surrounded by the atmosphere; and that we are constantly + attended by, and seem constantly to attend, the planets around us.</p> + + <p>Should any farther demonstration be necessary than the incomparable Sir Isaac has + himself furnished us with, let any <span class="pagenum"><a id="page68" + name="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> sceptic who doubts that the earth attracts all + smaller bodies towards its centre, only take a hop from the Monument or St. Paul's, + and he will soon find the power of gravitation, and die by the truth of the + experiment.</p> + + <p>But what, methinks, exclaims the reader, has all this to do with the proposition + in hand, viz. the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket? Why, I'll tell + you—from a due consideration of this very principle, you will soon see the use + of a man's keeping his <i>money</i> in his pocket. It is this alone (the pocket) + which nowadays constitutes the centre of friendship; there alone, therefore, must + this most valuable, most faithful of all friends (<i>money</i>) be deposited. Now if + this friend be of magnitude, he will soon collect many more around you, who, true as + the needle to the pole, will point to you from every quarter—friends who will + smile in your prosperity, bask in the sunshine of your glory, dance while you pay the + piper, and to the very ground will be "votre très humble serviteur, monsieur." + But if by sickness, misfortune, generosity, or the like, this friend be removed from + your pocket, the centre is destroyed, the equilibrium is lost, away fly your friends, + and, like pelicans, turn their beaks at your breast whenever you approach. "It is + your own fault, fellow; you might have done well if you would; but you are an ass, + and could not keep a friend when you had him; and so you may die in a ditch, and go + to the devil, my dear."</p> + + <p>The man of affluence, who lavishes away his substance, may aptly enough be likened + to a porpoise sporting in the ocean—the smaller fry play around him, admire his + dexterity, fan his follies, glory in his gambols; but let him once be enmeshed in the + net of misfortune, and they who foremost fawned under his fins, will first fall foul + of him.</p> + + <p>Now, to illustrate the subject further, let us consider the advantages arising + from this practical use of gravitation, and the losses attendant upon the neglect + thereof. First, then, he who <i>has</i> secured this friend in his pocket, may go + <i>when</i> he pleases, and <i>where</i> he pleases, and <i>how</i> he pleases, + either on foot or on horseback, by barouche or by boat, and he shall be respected and + esteemed, and called <i>sir</i>, and made welcome in every season and in every place, + and no one shall presume to say unto him, Why doest thou these things?</p> + + <p>But a man that hath not this friend in his pocket, may not go when, where, and how + he pleases, but when, where, and how he is directed by others. Moreover he shall + travel on foot, and perchance without shoes, and not have the benefit of a horse, + barouche, or boat; and moreover he shall be called <i>sirrah</i>, and not <i>sir</i>; + neither shall he be esteemed nor respected, nor made welcome; and they shall say unto + him, "Don't be troublesome, fellow; get out of the way, for thou hast no business + here!"</p> + + <p>The rich man shall be clothed in scarlet, and get whatsoever his heart desires; + and the people shall give him the wall, and bow before him to the ground. But the + poor man shall be clad in rags, and walk in the dirt, regarded by no man; nor shall + he even purchase to himself a name, though the composition thereof consist only of + air!</p> + + <p>This is the state of modern times—such our modern friendship; and since, + gentle reader, it is so, who, possessing one grain of common sense, would not duly + attend to the theory of gravitation, by taking care of a friend while he has him, + especially if he be so portable as to be placed in one's pocket.</p> + + <p>JACOBUS.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE DREAM OF POESY.—A FRAGMENT.</h3> + + <h4>BY LEIGH CLIFFE,</h4> + + <h4><i>Author of "Parga," "Knights of Ritzberg," &c.</i></h4> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I had a vision fair and bright,</p> + + <p class="i2">And when I waken'd I was griev'd</p> + + <p>To own 'twas but a dream of night,</p> + + <p class="i2">And sigh'd to find my hopes deceivd.</p> + + <p>But then o'er my fancy crept,</p> + + <p>Those who hail'd me while I slept.</p> + + <p>There were those; of olden time,</p> + + <p>Milton, wond'rous, wild, sublime—</p> + + <p>Chaucer, of the many tales;</p> + + <p>Spenser, soft as summer gales,</p> + + <p>With a mild and gracious mien</p> + + <p>Leading on his "Faery Queene."</p> + + <p>Shakspeare, child of fancy, stood</p> + + <p>Smiling in a mirthful mood,</p> + + <p>As tho' he that moment spied</p> + + <p>The fairy folk by Bottom's side,</p> + + <p>Or beheld by Herne's old oak,</p> + + <p>Falstaff with his antler yoke.</p> + + <p>Dryden, laurel-crown'd and hoary,</p> + + <p>Proudly stood in all his glory;</p> + + <p>Pope, as if his claims to speak</p> + + <p>Rested on the ancient Greek;</p> + + <p>And that prince of merry-men,</p> + + <p>Laughing, quaffing, "rare old Ben,"</p> + + <p>Whose quaint conceits, so gay, so wild,</p> + + <p>Have oft my heart from woe beguil'd,</p> + + <p>Shone like a meteor 'midst the throng,</p> + + <p>The envy of each son of song.</p> + + <p>There too were those of later years,</p> + + <p>Who've moved the mind to mirth or tears:</p> + + <p>Byron, with his radiant ray—</p> + + <p>Scott, with many a magic lay—</p> + + <p>The gay and gorgeous minstrel, Moore,</p> + + <p>Rich in the charms of Eastern lore—</p> + + <p>Campbell, like a brilliant star,</p> + + <p>Shed the beams of "Hope" afar—</p> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page69" name="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> + + <p>Rogers, with a smiling eye</p> + + <p>Told the joys of "Memory,"</p> + + <p>Southey, with his language quaint,</p> + + <p>Describing daemon, sinner, saint—</p> + + <p>Wordsworth, of the simpler strain,</p> + + <p>Clare, the young unletter'd swain—</p> + + <p>Wiffen, who in fairy bowers,</p> + + <p>Culls blossoms in "Aonian hours,"</p> + + <p>Shone like a star in dusky skies,</p> + + <p>When first the evening shades arise.</p> + + <p>Barton, the gentle bard, was there,</p> + + <p>And Hemans, tender as she's fair—</p> + + <p>And Croly, whose bright genius beams</p> + + <p>Ever on virtue's fairest themes;</p> + + <p>With Burns, the muse's darling child—</p> + + <p>And Luttrell, laughing, sportive, wild,</p> + + <p>As when be penn'd for Julia's eye,</p> + + <p>His sweet "Advice" for what? for why?</p> + + <p>And Crabbe, who misery portrays,</p> + + <p>With crowds of others, crown'd with bays,</p> + + <p>Who shed around their bright'ning beams,</p> + + <p>And cheer'd a humbler poet's dreams.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>ANCIENT SITE OF THE EXETER 'CHANGE, &c.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>Here was formerly the parsonage-house for the parish of St. Clement Danes, with a + garden and close for the parson's horse, till Sir Thomas Palmer, knight, in the reign + of Edward VI., came into the possession of the living, and began to build a house; + but upon his attainder for high treason, in the first year of Queen Mary, it reverted + to the crown. This house remained in the crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir + William Cecil, lord treasurer, who augmented and rebuilt it, when it was called Cecil + House, and Burleigh House. It was said to have been a noble pile, and adorned with + four square turrets. It was afterwards called Exeter House, from the title of his son + and successor. Lord Burleigh died here in 1598. It fronted the Strand, and its + gardens extended from the west side of the garden-wall of Wimbledon House to the + Green-lane, which is now Southampton-street. Lord Burleigh was in this house honoured + by a visit from Queen Elizabeth, who, knowing him to be subject to the gout, would + always make him to sit in her presence, which, it is probable, (says Nightingale,) + the lord treasurer considered a gteal indulgence from so haughty a lady, inasmuch as + he one day apologized for the badness of his legs. To which the queen replied, "My + lord, we make use of you not for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of + your head." When she came to Burleigh House, it is probable she had that kind of + pyramidial head-dress then in fashion, built of wire, lace, ribands, and jewels, + which shot up to a great height; for when the principal domestic ushered her in, as + she passed the threshold he desired her majesty to stoop. To which she replied, "For + your master's sake I will stoop, but not for the king of Spain." After the fire of + London, this house was occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till 1672; and + here the various courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by + the family, the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the + upper part, like Babylon of old, is a nest of wild beasts, birds, and reptiles. The + present "march of intellect" will <i>march away</i> these bipeds and quadrupeds, and + no doubt the noble Marquess of Exeter "would much rather have their <i>room</i> than + their <i>company</i>."</p> + + <p>P. T. W.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>A DAY AT FONTAINBLEAU.—THE ROYAL HUNT.</h3> + + <p>Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the <i>Duc de Grammont</i> ,and + the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau, in order to enjoy + the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to meet them, to see with my own + eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard so much. Accordingly I ordered post + horses, and arrived in the town about six hours after his Most Christian Majesty.</p> + + <p>After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set out at + eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour—a late one in France, when + compared with England—the roads were by no means thronged, and I could very + plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians were attached to the court, + and that the pedestrians were either such as had been in the enjoyment of some of the + good things of this life under the present family, or such as were in expectancy of + them. There was a third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by + the desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of obtaining the + entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness the feats of the royal + party. Among this latter class, old men, old women, and very young boys + predominated.</p> + + <p>The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The various + alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted, create an imposing + and majestic <i>coup d'oeil</i>, which is only bounded almost by the horizon. At the + bottom and in the middle of these alleys were placed mounted <i>gendarmes</i> to + restrain the intrusion of the populace, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page70" + name="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> to prevent them from coming—such is French + curiosity—within shot of the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my + left, the great body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed + space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party took their + station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly behind. Across this stand, + and within the enclosed space, were the roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, + while the King, the Dauphin, the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, + had their shots in succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "<i>coup</i>." + Ten men were busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin. + Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as the + chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot after shot passed in + quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the ears of those among the + crowd—and they were the fewer number—who had hearts within them, and to + British feeling each reverberation brought a mingled sensation. In England, and in + most other nations, whether civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some + chance at least of escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed + space around the stand was surrounded by a kind of <i>chevaux de frize</i>, six feet + in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the work of + destruction of course went rapidly on.</p> + + <p>Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose drivers + vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were placed for the purpose + of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they accumulated in quick succession within + the enclosure. In the short interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts + filled with the produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed + to the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as they had + been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself were ranged; and he + numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one <i>marcassin</i> (young wild boar;) the spoil + of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks, being eight less than his royal father, + while the rest of the company destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total + of 138 roes, and one wild boar.</p> + + <p>While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of disembowelling + quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range the game in the order I + have mentioned—another ripped open the body with a sharp knife, while a third + party, to the amount of a dozen, were engaged in the disembowelling.</p> + + <p>The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into evening. + The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the forest and return to + Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I had not yet seen him, and my party + being anxious to come in contact with royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the + crowd began to rush towards the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept + them at bay. The multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two + lines; and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming.</p> + + <p>His majesty was on foot—he was surrounded by the officers of his household, + dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his breast. On his head was a + small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap years, and of services. His breeches + were of the homeliest thickset; and he also wore a pair of large leather + gaiters—such as are very common among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. + Though the conformation of his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, + and he appeared in perfect health.</p> + + <p>It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a deeper tint to + the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and his majesty had been engaged + in the sport from six in the morning, without intermission. Untired, however, in the + work, the king determined to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he + returned to the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain. + Three separate bevies of deer were let loose—again I heard the fearful shots, + and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the crowd; and, after + having given directions about the game, entered his carriage with a hasty step, and + at a rapid pace drove off for Fontainbleau.</p> + <i>Monthly Magazine.</i> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>LAKE ERIE.</h3> + + <p>Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from the large + mass of waters it exhibits—in tranquillity, or in motion, sometimes most + vehement. It is only at its west end that it is adorned by islands. The Morasses, + earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, are only remarkable for their large + walnut and buttonwood trees, which, in a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page71" + name="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the + interior from the traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances. Neither is + the vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at least in + the summer. The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, is peculiarly + oppressive, relaxing, and long continued. The steaming swamps, which are almost + universal, are full of putrifying substances, occasioning the bilious remittents + there so prevalent. The water in common use is heated, and ill-tasted. Moskitoes, + sand, and black flies abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, + aided by a fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted. There are + circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a disagreeable + residence, but which are gradually disappearing. Its extreme fertility, the moderate + sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of communication with other countries, + will, in progress of time, render it the seat of a dense population, and a principal + granary of the western continent. Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with + equal success. The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent + quality. The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity about the + river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a small remission of duty, + by the British government, is sent to England, after having undergone an inland + carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles. Salt springs exist in almost every township, + accompanied, in one or two cases, by large beds of gypsum. Bog iron ore is common on + the north-east side of the lake, and is worked. The water communications of these + countries are astonishingly easy. Canoes can go from Quebec to Rocky Mountains, to + the Arctic Circle, or to the Mexican Gulf, without a portage longer than four miles; + and the traveller shall arrive at his journey's end as fresh and as safely as from an + English tour of pleasure. It is common for the Erie steam-boat to take goods and + passengers from Buffaloe, to Green Bay and Chicago, in Lake Michigan, a distance of + nearly 900 miles, touching, at the same time, at many intermediate ports. In about + three years, in addition to the canal connecting Lake Erie with tide-water in the + Hudson, another will be excavated across the southern dividing ridge, to communicate + with the Ohio. Near its place of junction with this river, a canal from the Atlantic, + across the Alleghanies, will enter the Ohio. Lake Erie will then also have a steady + line of water transport to Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, and New Orleans, on the + Mississippi. The surveys, preparatory to these projects, have been in execution for + two years; there is no doubt of their practicability.</p> + + <p>We cannot even hazard a conjecture as to the number of inhabitants around Lake + Erie. They are numerous, and daily augmenting; but with incomparably greater rapidity + on the south side of the lake, distributed between the States of New York, + Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Ohio, which occupies the largest portion, in 1800, had 45,000 + inhabitants; in 1810, 250,760, and, in 1820, 581,434. At present, it cannot have less + than 750,000 inhabitants, and there is ample room for more. There are few or no + Indians on the north borders of the lake. The Mohawks are placed high up the river + Ouse, and the Hurons, from four to ten miles up the river Detroit.</p> + + <p>The winds are generally either up or down the lake, and in summer they are in the + former direction for two-thirds of the time. In the middle of this season they are + commonly mild, but occasionally in perfect tornadoes, accompanied with tremendous + lightning and heavy rain. The gales begin in October, and are both violent and + dangerous. Many lives are lost annually. The winters are mild and short. The + inhabitants do not reckon on the ground being covered by snow more than three or four + months. They turn their cattle into the woods in March and April, but the lake + remains full of floating ice until May. On the 12th of May, 1821, the steam-boat + could not proceed on account of the ice. From an adjacent eminence, the lake was seen + to be covered with it in one compact mass, as far as the eye could range. As might be + expected, remittent and intermittent fevers are very prevalent in the autumn. The + febrile action rises high, and there is usually a topical affection conjoined; to + this the stimulating diet and frequent use of spirituous liquors, and exposure to + heat, mainly conduce.</p> + + <p><i>Brande's Quarterly Journal.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Hydrophobia in Foxes.</i></h3> + + <p>Foxes become mad occasionally, and there have been examples of dogs, which having + been bitten by mad foxes, have not caught the disease. In these cases it has been + proved that the stomachs of the foxes were filled with wood, earth, stones, leaves, + hair, and other substances improper for nourishment. On the contrary, when the + madness has been <span class="pagenum"><a id="page72" name="page72"></a>[pg + 72]</span> communicated, the stomach and intestines have been found completely empty. + From this difference, it is concluded that hunger is the cause of madness in foxes; + and this agrees with the results which occurred during and after the rigorous winter + of 1826-7, when these animals, with many others, suffered from want of + nourishment.—<i>From the French.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Ripening Fruit.</i></h3> + + <p>Slates have recently been employed in France for hastening the ripening of fruits. + The effect was first observed on a slate roof; since which the slates have been + placed beneath the fruit on walls.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Hatching Eggs by Hot Mineral Waters.</i></h3> + + <p>This curious process has lately been practised with great success in the south of + France. It consists in putting the eggs into a small basket, suspending the latter in + a stove heated by the hot mineral water, and turning the eggs every day. The first + trial was attended with success, and no failure was experienced in four repetitions + of it.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Lake Erie.</i></h3> + + <p>The height of Lake Erie above the Atlantic Ocean, has been ascertained to be 565 + feet. The barrier which contains it is so low, that, were it only to rise six feet, + it would inundate, on its northern and western borders, seven millions of acres, now + partly occupied by towns, villages, and farms; and it is estimated that a further + rise of six or eight feet would precipitate a vast flood of waters over the state of + Illinois, from the south end of Michigan; the great Canadian Lakes then discharging + also into the Mexican Gulf.—<i>Brande's Journal.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Cuckoo</i></h3> + + <p>Has done more for our music than musicians may be willing to allow; but it is no + more than justice to a despised bird to say, that from it we have derived the minor + scale, whose origin has puzzled so many; the cuckoo's couplet being the minor third + sung downwards.—<i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Immense Fir-tree.</i></h3> + + <p>In the Museum of Natural History at Strasburg, is shown the trunk of a silver + fir-tree, from the forest of Hochwald, at Barr, in Alsatia. The tree was 150 feet + high, with a trunk perfectly straight and free from branches to the height of 50 + feet, after which it was forked with the one shoot 100 feet long, and the other + somewhat shorter. The diameter of the trunk at the surface of the ground was 8 feet; + estimated age 350 years.—<i>Ibid.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Weather by Frogs.</i></h3> + + <p>The editor of the <i>Magazine of Natural History</i>, in his Notes during a recent + tour on the continent, says, "at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, we witnessed, for + the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an amusing application of + zoological knowledge, for the purpose of prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of + the species <i>R</i>àna arbòrea, are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 + inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, with a depth of three or four inches of water + at the bottom, and a small ladder reaching to the top of the jar. On the approach of + dry weather, the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend + into the water. These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild state here, + climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar singing noise before rain. + In the jar they get no other food than now and then a fly; one of which, we were + assured, would serve a frog for a week, though it will eat from six to twelve in a + day if it can get them. In catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs + display great adroitness."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Human Remains.</i></h3> + + <p>The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been discovered with + those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at present fully confirmed; + nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto been found. Mr. Bakewell, however, + observes, that the vast diluvial beds of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in + Asia, have not yet been scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers + agree in regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the human + race.—<i>Bakewell's Geology.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Food of Bees.</i></h3> + + <p>The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are visited + by bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of our bulbous roots. The + stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by these insects, and the extract + absorbed from them must be used as a tonic. Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of + the red clover and of the honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially + profit by the increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the + peach-tree in some parts of America. They not only drink the nectar and abstract the + pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself. We have seen twenty or + thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that is, they carried the juices of it to + their cells. The humming-bird alone can reach the <span class="pagenum"><a + id="page73" name="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> bottom of the nectary of the + honeysuckle; but even here the instinct of the bee is seen. The small birds, such as + the wren, make an incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract + a part of the juices. The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails itself of + what is left. The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower which has a powerful + odour can be discovered by them at a great distance. Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, + wild and garden thyme, herbs of all kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, + raspberry blossoms and white clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving + orchard and apiary fitly go together.</p> + <i>North American Review.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Singing Birds.</i></h3> + + <p>Those who have paid attention to the singing of birds, know well that their voice, + energy, and expression differ as widely as in man; and agreeably to this remark, Mr. + Wilson (the celebrated ornithologist) says he was so familiar with the notes of an + individual wood thrush, that he could recognise him from all his fellows the moment + he entered the woods.</p> + <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Gigantic Fossils.</i></h3> + + <p>Some gigantic bones have been exhibited at New Orleans, but the place where they + were found is not mentioned in the communication. They consist of one of the bones of + the cranium, fifteen or twenty vertebras, two entire ribs, and part of a third, one + thigh bone, two bones of the leg, &c. The cranial bone was upwards of twenty feet + in its greatest length, about four in extreme width, and it weighed 1,200 lbs. The + ribs measured nine feet along the curve, and about three inches in thickness. It had + been conjectured that the animal to which these bones belonged was amphibious, and + perhaps of the crocodile family. It was also supposed that the animal when alive, + must have measured twenty-five feet round the body, and about 130 feet in length.</p> + <i>Trans. Geoloy. Soc.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Cochineal Insect.</i></h3> + + <p>Our readers are doubtless aware that cochineal, so extensively used in this + country for dying,<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a + href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a> is a beautiful insect abundantly found in various + parts of Mexico and Peru. Some of these insects have lately been sent over to Old + Spain, and are doing remarkably well on the prickly pear of that country; indeed, + they are said to rival even those of Mexico in the quality and brilliancy of their + dye.</p> + + <p>Their naturalization may doubtless be extended along the shores of the + Mediterranean, Sicily, and the different states of Greece. The prickly pear is + indigenous in those places, and by little cultivation will afford sufficient + nourishment for the cochineal insects. We are also assured, (says an intelligent + correspondent of <i>The Times</i>,) that these precious insects were introduced last + year on the island of Malta, by Dr. Gorman, on account of the government, and that + they are likely to do well on that island.</p> + + <p>Dr. Gorman discovered a few weeks since, in the botanic garden at Cambridge, the + <i>grona sylvestris</i>, or wild species of cochineal, living among the leaves of the + coffee-plants, the acacia, &c. This is the kermes, or gronilla of Spain, about + which so much has been said in endeavouring to identify it with the grona fina. At + all events, this is the same species as the gronilla found on the hairs of the green + oaks in Andalusia; and in some years large and valuable crops of the gronilla are + gathered in that part of Spain by the peasantry, and sold to the Moors to dye their + scarlet.</p> + + <p>The gardener at Cambridge could not inform Dr. Gorman how long the insects had + been there, or from whence they came, but they went there by the appellation of + "amelca bug." The gardener found these insects very destructive to plants upon which + they fostered, and although he tried every means short of injuring the plants to + remove them, he found it impossible, as they adhere to the leaves and parts of the + stem with such tenacity, and are so prolific, that the young ones are often found + spreading themselves over the neighbouring plants. On this account, it would be worth + while to attempt the cultivation of the prickly pear in the open air in this country, + and place the insects upon them, for in all probability the insects would, by good + management, do well.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Fossil Turtle.</i></h3> + + <p>The remains of a sea turtle have lately been discovered, and are now in the + possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge. It is imbedded in a mass of septaria, weighing + upwards of 150 pounds, with two fine specimens of fossil wood; and was obtained in + digging for cement stone, about five miles from Harwich, in three fathoms water, + where, as a mass of stone, it had been used for some time as a stepping + block.—<i>Bakewell's Geology.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Geological Changes.</i></h3> + + <p>The following are the writers whose opinions have obtained the greatest celebrity, + as advocates for particular systems <span class="pagenum"><a id="page74" + name="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> accounting for the formation and subsequent + alteration of the earth:—</p> + + <p>Mr. Whitehurst taught that the <i>concentric arrangement</i> of the crust of the + globe was destroyed by the expansive force of subterranean fire.</p> + + <p>Burnet's theory supposes this crust to have been broken for the production of the + deluge.</p> + + <p>Leibnitz and Buffon believed the earth to have been liquefied by fire; in fact, + that it is an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, whose surface has been operated + upon by a deluge. The latter assumes that the earth was 75,000 years in cooling to + its present temperature, and that, in 98,000 years more, productive nature must be + finally extinguished.</p> + + <p>Woodward considered there was a temporary dissolution of the elements of the + globe, during which period the extraneous fossils became incorporated with the + general mass.</p> + + <p>De Luc, Dolomieu, and, finally Baron Cuvier, unite in the opinion, that the + phenomena exhibited by the earth, particularly the alternate deposits of terrestrial + and marine productions, can only be satisfactorily accounted for by a series of + revolutions similar to the deluge.</p> + + <p>Among the singular views entertained by men of genius, in the infancy of the + science, are those of Whiston, "who fancied that the earth was created from the + atmosphere of one comet, and deluged by the tail of another;" and that, for their + sins, the antediluvian population were drowned; "except the fishes, whose passions + were less violent."</p> + + <p>A French geologist conceived that the sea covered the earth for a vast period; + that all animals were originally inhabitants of the water; that their habits + gradually changed on the retiring of the waves, and "that man himself began his + career as a fish!"—<i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CLIFFORDS OF CRAVEN.</h3> + + <p>There is no district in England which abounds in more beautiful and romantic + scenery than the remote and rarely visited district of Craven, in Yorkshire. Its long + ridge of low and irregular hills, terminating at last in the enormous masses of + Pennygent and Ingleborough,—its deep and secluded valleys, containing within + their hoary ramparts of gray limestone fertile fields and pleasant + pasturages,—its wide-spreading moors, covered with the different species of + moss and ling, and fern and bent-grass, which variegate the brown livery of the + heath, and break its sombre uniformity,—its crystal streams of unwearied + rapidity, now winding a silent course "in infant pride" through the willows and + sedges which fringe their banks, and now bounding with impetuous rage over the broken + ledges of rock, which seek in vain to impede their progress from the + mountains,—its indigenous woods of yew, and beech, and ash, and alder, which + have waved in the winds of centuries, and which still flourish in green old age on + the sides and summits of the smaller declivities,—its projecting crags, which + fling additional gloom over the melancholy tarns that repose in dismal grandeur at + their feet,—its hamlets, and towns, and ivy-mantled churches, which remind the + visiter of their antiquity by the rudeness, and convince him of their durability by + the massiveness of their construction,—these are all features in the landscape + which require to be seen only once, to be impressed upon the recollection for ever. + But it is not merely for the lovers of the wild, and beautiful, and picturesque, that + the localities of Craven possess a powerful charm. The antiquarian, the novelist, and + the poet, may all find rich store of employment in the traditions which are handed + down from father to son respecting the ancient lords and inhabitants of the district. + It is indeed the region of romance, and I have often felt surprise, that the + interesting materials with which it abounds have so seldom been incorporated into the + works of fiction which are now issuing with such thoughtless haste from the press of + the metropolis. In Dr. Whitaker's History of Craven—which in spite of his + extravagant prejudices in favour of gentle blood, and in derogation of commercial + opulence, is still an excellent model for all future writers of local + history—there is a ground-work laid for at least a dozen ordinary novels. To + say nothing of the legendary tales, which the peasantry relate of the minor families + of the district, of the Bracewells, the Tempests, the Lysters, the Romilies, and the + Nortons,—whose White Doe, however, has been immortalized by the poetry of + Wordsworth,—can any thing be more pregnant with romantic adventure than the + fortunes of the successive chieftains of the lordly line of Clifford? Their first + introduction to the North, owing to a love-match made by a poor knight of + Herefordshire with the wealthy heiress of the Viponts and the Vesys! Their rising + greatness, to the merited disgrace and death of Piers de Gavestone and his profligate + minions! and their final exaltation <span class="pagenum"><a id="page75" + name="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> to the highest honours of the British peerage, which + they have now enjoyed for five hundred years, to the strong hand and unblenching + heart with which they have always welcomed the assaults of their most powerful + enemies! Of the first ten lords of Skipton castle, four died in the field and one + upon the scaffold! The "black-faced Clifford," who sullied the glory which he + acquired by his gallantry at the battle of Sandal, by murdering his youthful prisoner + the Earl of Rutland, in cold blood, at the termination of it, has gained a passport + to an odious immortality from the soaring genius of the bard of Avon. But his real + fate is far more striking, both in a moral and in a poetical point of view, than that + assigned to him by our great dramatist. On the evening before the battle of Towton + Field, and after the termination of the skirmish which preceded it, an unknown archer + shot him in the throat, as he was putting off his gorget, and so avenged the wretched + victims, whose blood he had shed like water upon Wakefield Bridge. The vengeance of + the Yorkists was not, however, satiated by the death of the Butcher, as Leland + informs us that they called him:—for they attainted him, in the first year of + the reign of Edward the Fourth, and granted his estates, a few years afterwards, to + the Duke of Gloucester, who retained them in his iron grasp till he lost them with + his crown and life at the battle of Bosworth. The history of his son is a romance + ready made. His relations, fearing lest the partisans of the house of York should + avenge the death of the young Earl of Rutland on the young Lord Clifford, then a mere + infant, concealed him for the next twenty-five years of his life in the Fells of + Cumberland, where he grew up as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as + ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it. One of the first acts of Henry the + Seventh, after his accession to the throne, was to reverse the attainder which had + been passed against his father; and immediately afterwards the young lord emerged + from the hiding place, where he had been brought up in ignorance of his rank, and + with the manners and education of a mere shepherd. Finding himself more illiterate + than was usual even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in + the beautiful forest of Barden, and there, under the direction of the monks of Bolton + Abbey, gave himself up to the forbidden studies of alchemy and astrology. His son, + who was the first Earl of Cumberland, embittered the conclusion of his life, by + embarking in a series of adventures, which, in spite of their profligacy, or rather + in consequence of it, possess a very strong romantic interest. Finding that his + father was either unwilling or unable to furnish him with funds to maintain his + inordinate riot and luxury, he became the leader of a band of outlaws, and, by their + agency, levied aids and benevolences upon the different travellers on the king's + highway. A letter of the old lord, his father, which, by the by, is not the letter of + an illiterate man, is still extant, in which he complains in very moving terms of his + son's degeneracy and misconduct. The young scapegrace, wishing to make his father + know from experience the inconvenience of being scantily supplied with money, + enjoined his tenantry in Craven not to pay their rents, and beat one of them, Henry + Popely, who ventured to disobey him, so severely with his own hand, that he lay for a + long time in peril of death. He spoiled his father's houses, &c. "feloniously + took away his proper goods," as the old lord quaintly observes, "apparelling himself + and his horse, all the time, in cloth of gold and goldsmith's work, more like a duke + than a poor baron's son." He likewise took a particular aversion to the religious + orders, "shamefully beating their tenants and servants, in such wise as some whole + towns were fain to keep the churches both night and day, and durst not come at their + own houses."—Whilst engaged in these ignoble practices, less dissonant, + however, to the manners of his age than to those of our's, he wooed, and won, and + married, a daughter of the Percy of Northumberland; and it is conjectured, upon very + plausible grounds, that his courtship and marriage with a lady of the highest rank + under such disadvantages on his part, gave rise to the beautiful old ballad of the + Nutbrown Maid. The lady, becoming very unexpectedly the heiress of her family, added + to the inheritance of the Cliffords the extensive fee which the Percies held in + Yorkshire; and by that transfer of property, and by the grant of Bolton Abbey, which + he obtained from Henry the Eighth, on the dissolution of the monasteries, her husband + became possessor of nearly all the district which stretches between the castles of + Skipton on the south, and of Brougham, or as the Cliffords, to whom it belonged, + always wrote it, Bromeham, on the north. The second Earl of Cumberland, who was as + fond of alchemy and astrology as his grandfather, was succeeded by his son George, + who distinguished himself abroad by the daring intrepidity with which he conducted + several buccaneering expeditions in the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page76" + name="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> West Indies against the Spaniards, and at home, by + the very extensive scale on which he propagated his own and his Maker's image in the + dales of Craven. Among the numerous children of whom he was the father, the most + celebrated was the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, whose long life of virtuous + exertion renders her well qualified to figure as the heroine of a tale of chivalry. + The anecdotes which are told of this high-spirited lady in the three counties of + York, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, are almost innumerable, and relate to + circumstances in her life, which, though some are impossible, and others improbable, + are still all full of heroic interest and adventure. Her defence of Bromeham Castle + against the intrusion of her uncle of Cumberland,—her riding cross-legged to + meet the judges of assize, when she acted in person at Appleby as High Sheriff by + inheritance of the county of Westmoreland,—her hairbreadth escapes and dangers + during the great rebellion, are characteristics of the woman, so striking in + themselves, that they would require little adventitious ornament from the writer, who + should take them as incidents for poem or romance. Her courage and liberality in + public life were only to be equalled by her order, economy, and devotion in private. + "She was," says Dr. Whitaker, "the oldest and most independent courtier in the + kingdom," at the time of her death.—"She had known and admired queen + Elizabeth;— she had refused what she deemed an iniquitous award of king James," + though urged to submit to it by her first husband, the Earl of Dorset;— "She + rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell, and repelled with disdain the + interposition of a profligate minister under Charles the Second." A woman of such + dauntless spirit and conduct would be a fitting subject, even for the pencil of the + mighty magician of Abbotsford. A journal of her life in her own hand-writing is still + in existence at Appleby Castle. I have heard, that it descends to the minutest + details about her habits and feelings, and that it is that cause alone, which + prevents its publication.</p> + + <p><i>Blackwood's Magazine.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3>A VILLAGE FUNERAL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.</h3> + + <p>The sun was careering brightly in the heavens, and all nature was rejoicing in its + unclouded glory, as the funeral procession of Helen Hartlington, and Antony Clifford, + wound its toilsome and melancholy way to Bolton Abbey. The sportive Deer were + bounding lightly over the hills, and the glad birds were warbling melodiously in the + thickets, as if none but the living were moving amongst them; and but for the wild + dirge, which mingled with the whispers of the wind, and but for the deep-toned knell + which ever and anon rose slowly and mournfully above it, the lone traveller would + never have conjectured that Death was conveying its victims through those smiling + scenes. As the procession approached the portals of the Abbey, it was met, as was + then customary, by the young men and maidens of the surrounding villages, in their + best array, who hung upon the hearse chaplets of fragrant flowers, and strewed its + path with rosemary, pansies, and rue. At the same moment the solemn chant of the + Miserere thrilled upon the soul, and was succeeded, as it gradually melted into + silence, by the still more affecting strains of the parting requiem for the + dead—<i>Ibid</i>.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW—(JUST PUBLISHED.)</h2> + <hr /> + + <p>An old acquaintance of ours, as remarkable for the grotesque queerness of his + physiognomy, as for the kindness and gentleness of his disposition, was asked by a + friend, where he had been? He replied, he had been seeing the lion, which was at that + time an object of curiosity—(we are not sure whether it was <i>Nero</i> or + <i>Cato</i>.) "And what," rejoined the querist, "did the lion think of you?" The jest + passed as a good one; and yet under it lies something that is serious and true.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The possibility of a great change being introduced by very slight beginnings may + be illustrated by the tale which Lockman tells of a vizier who, having offended his + master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a lofty tower. At night his wife came + to weep below his window. "Cease your grief," said the sage; "go home for the + present, and return hither when you have procured a live black-beetle, together with + a little <i>ghee</i>, (or buffalo's butter.) three clews, one of the finest silk, + another of stout packthread, and another of whip-cord; finally, a stout coil of + rope."— When she again came to the foot of the tower, provided according to her + husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a little of + the <i>ghee</i>, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to place the + reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the smell of the butter, which he + conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle continued to ascend till he + reached the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page77" name="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> + top, and thus put the vizier in possession of the end of the silk thread, who drew up + the packthread by means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and, + by means of the cord, a stout rope capable of sustaining his own weight,—and so + at last escaped from the place of his duresse.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>ANOTHER UNIVERSITY.</h3> + + <p>A munificent lady in Yorkshire has recently offered to subscribe 50,000 <i>l</i>. + towards the endowment of an university <i>in that county</i>, and a noble earl has + professed his willingness to give a similar benefaction. These princely examples will + no doubt be followed ere long, and the scheme completed—though we have some + doubts whether the site of the new university for the north would be best selected in + Yorkshire.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Greater changes have taken place in no single age than are at this time in + progress; and the revolutions in which empires, kingdoms, or republics are made and + unmade, and political constitutions rise and burst like bubbles upon a standing pool, + when its stagnant waters are disturbed by a thunder- shower, are not the most + momentous of those changes, neither are they those which most nearly concern us. The + effects of the discovery of printing could never be felt in their full extent by any + nation, till education, and the diffusion also of a certain kind of knowledge, had + become so general, that newspapers should be accessible to every body, and the very + lowest of the people should have opportunity to read them, or to hear them read. The + maxim that it is politic to keep the people in ignorance, will not be maintained in + any country where the rulers are conscious of upright intentions, and confident + likewise in the intrinsic worth of the institutions which it is their duty to uphold, + knowing those institutions to be founded on the rock of righteous principles. They + know, also, that the best means of preserving them from danger is so to promote the + increase of general information, as to make the people perceive how intimately their + own well-being depends upon the stability of the state, thus making them wise to + obedience.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The heart and mind can as little lie barren as the earth whereon we move and have + our being, and which, if it produce not herbs and fruit meet for the use of man, will + be overrun with weeds and thorns. Muley Ismael, a personage of tyrannical celebrity + in his day, always employed his troops in some active and useful work, when they were + not engaged in war, "to keep them," he said, "from being devoured by the worm of + indolence." In the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome + advice:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"Eschew the idle vein</p> + + <p class="i2">Flee, flee from doing nought!</p> + + <p>For never was there idle brain</p> + + <p class="i2">But bred an idle thought."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>FLOGGING.</h3> + + <p>Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning the rod + fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among birch- trees than was + made among the cedars for the building of his temple, and his house of the forest of + Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with this text in his mouth, has taken the rod + in hand, when he himself, for ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it + far more than the poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by + terror, has stood untrussed and trembling before him.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE SKETCH BOOK.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE VISION OF VALDEMARO.</h3> + + <h4><i>Translated from the Spanish.</i></h4> + + <p>It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our + faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an instant my soul + was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in the centre of a spacious + plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses. The whole enclosure was full of + superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost + touched the clouds; and others the forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the + most imposing spectacle. On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of + the heroes who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying + on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare earth, meanly + enveloped in miserable garbs.</p> + + <p>I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light of the + moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively regarded these + proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the pompous epitaphs inscribed on + them. "How remarkable a difference!" I observed to myself; "when ordinary men, + incapable of eclipsing their fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, + those great men who have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, + even after the lapse <span class="pagenum"><a id="page78" name="page78"></a>[pg + 78]</span> of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they who have + had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though inexorable fate + refuse to spare them, their ashes afterwards revive, and under the very stroke of + death, they rise triumphantly to a glorious immortality!"</p> + + <p>I was indulging in these reflections, when, on a sudden, a hoarse and fearful + blast of wind affrighted me. The earth rocked under my feet, the mausoleum waved to + and fro with violence, the cypresses were torn up with tremendous fury, and, from + time to time, I heard a sound as of fleshless bones clashing together. In a moment, + the heavens were covered with black clouds, and the moon withdrew her splendour. The + horror inspired by the darkness of the night, and the dead silence which reigned + amidst the tombs, caused my hair to stand on end, and stiffened my limbs until I had + scarcely power to move them.</p> + + <p>In this dreadful situation, I saw an old man approaching me. His head was + bald—his beard white—in his right hand he carried a crooked scythe, and + in his left an hour-glass—whilst two immense flapping wings nearly concealed + his body. "Thou," said he to me in a terrible voice, "who art still dazzled by the + dignities and honours which mankind pursue with such reckless eagerness, see whether + you perceive any difference between the dust of the monarch and that of the most + wretched slave!" He spoke, and striking the ground a tremendous blow with his scythe, + all these proud monuments fell headlong to the earth, and in an instant were reduced + to dust. My terror was then redoubled, and my strength almost failed me. I could only + perceive that there was no distinction. All was dust, corruption, and ashes. "Go," + said he, "seek another road to the temple of immortality! Behold the termination of + those titles of grandeur which men so ardently desire! They vainly imagine that, + after death, they shall survive in history, or in marbles, which shall leap emulously + from their quarries to form such monuments of pride as you have just beheld; but they + are miserably deceived; their existence ends at the instant they expire, and their + fame, however deeply engraven on brass and marble, cannot have a longer duration than + that of a brief moment when compared with eternity! I myself, TIME, consume and + utterly annihilate all those structures which have vanity for their base; the works + which are founded on virtue are not subject to my jurisdiction. They pass to the + boundless regions of another world, and receive the reward of immortality!" With + these words he disappeared.</p> + + <p>I awoke with a deadly dullness, and found that my sleep had been productive of + instruction. Thenceforth I regarded, in a very different point of view, the pompous + titles which before had dazzled me, and, by the aid of a little reflection, I soon + became thoroughly sensible of their vanity.</p> + + <p>K.N.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>ORIGIN OF ISABELLA COLOUR.</h3> + + <p>The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II. king of + Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year 1602, he laid siege + to Ostend, then in possession of the heretics; and his pious princess, who attended + him on the expedition, made a vow, that, till the city was taken, she would not + change her clothes. Contrary to expectation, it was three years before the place was + reduced; in which time her highness' linen had acquired a hue, which, from the + superstition of the princess and the times, was much admired, and adopted by the + court fashionables under the name of "Isabella colour." It is a yellow or soiled + buff, better imagined than described.</p> + + <p>HALBERT H.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>FAMINE IN ENGLAND.</h3> + + <p>A severe dearth began in May, 1315, and proceeded to the utmost extremity, until + after the harvest of 1316. In July, 1316, the quarter of wheat rose to 30<i>s</i>., + (equal to 22<i>l</i>. 10<i>s</i>.;) and in August reached to the enormous price of + 40<i>s</i>. or 30<i>l</i>. the quarter. A loaf of coarse bread, which was scarcely + able to support a man for a single day, sold for 4<i>d</i>., equal in value to + 5<i>s</i>. now. Wheat rose in Scotland at one time to the enormous sum of + 100<i>s</i>. the quarter, equal to 75<i>l</i>. of the present currency. This dearth + continued, but with mitigated severity, until after the harvest of 1317; but great + abundance returned in 1318. This famine occasioned a prodigious mortality among the + people, owing to the want of proper food, and employment of unwholesome substitutes. + The rains set in so early in 1315, and continued so violently, that most of the seed + of that year perished in the ground; the meadows were so inundated, that the hay crop + of that year was utterly destroyed.</p> + + <p>H.B.A.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>OLD ADVERTISEMENTS.</h3> + + <p>Puffing is by no means a modern art, although so extravagantly practised in the + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page79" name="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> present day. Of + its success two hundred years since, <i>E. S. N.</i> of Rochester, has sent us the + following specimens:—</p> + + <p>At the end of an old medical book which I have in my possession, are the + following, among other advertisements:—"<i>The new Plannet no Plannet</i> , or + the Earth no <i>Wandring</i> Star. Here, out of the principles of divinity, + philosophy, &c. the earth's immobility is asserted, and <i>Copernicus</i>, his + opinion, as erroneous, &c. fully refuted, by <i>Alexander Ross</i>, in + quarto."</p> + + <p>"<i>A Recantation of an Ill-led Life</i>, or a discovery of the highway law, as + also many <i>cautelous</i> admonitions, and ful instructions how to know, shun, and + apprehende a <i>thiefe</i>, most necessary for all honest travellers to peruse, + observe, and practice; written by <i>John Clavel</i>, gent."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>ENGLISH FASHIONS.</h3> + + <p>Our constant changes of habit were the subject of ridicule at home and abroad, + even at an early period. Witness the ancient limner's jest in 1570, who, being + employed to decorate the gallery of the Lord Admiral Lincoln with representations of + the costumes of the different nations of Europe, when he came to the English, drew a + naked man, with cloth of various colours lying by him, and a pair of shears held in + his hand, as in rueful suspense and hesitation; or the earlier conceit, to the same + effect, of "Andrew Borde of Physicke Doctor," alias "Andreas Perforatus," who, to the + first chapter of his "Boke of the Instruction of Knowledge," (1542,) prefixed a naked + figure, with these lines:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"I am an Englishman, and naked I stande here,</p> + + <p>Musing in minde what rayment I shal weare:</p> + + <p>For nowe I wil weare this, and now I will weare that—</p> + + <p>And now I will weare I cannot telle whatt."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE GATHERER.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">"A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles."</p> + + <p class="i14">SHAKSPEARE.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>CONNING (<i>quasi Cunning</i>.)</h3> + + <p>A convict, during the voyage to New South Wales, slipped overboard, and was + drowned—What was his crime?—<i>Felo de se</i> (fell o'er the sea.)</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CHANGES OF TIME.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I dreamt, in Fancy's joyous day,</p> + + <p>That every passing month was May;</p> + + <p>But Reason told me to remember,</p> + + <p>And now, alas! they're all December!</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <p>The only memorial of the death of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, remaining at + Kirkby Moorside (where he died in obscurity and distress,) is an entry in an old + register of burials, which runs thus: "1687, April 17th, Gorges Villus, Lord dook of + bookingham."—<i>Ellis Correspondence</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had we not lov'd so dearly,</p> + + <p>Had we not lov'd sincerely,</p> + + <p>Had vows been never plighted,</p> + + <p>Our hopes had ne'er been blighted,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had we met in younger days,</p> + + <p>Had we fled each other's gaze,</p> + + <p>Oh had we never spoken,</p> + + <p>Our hearts had ne'er been broken,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had you not look'd so kindly,</p> + + <p>Had I not lov'd so blindly,</p> + + <p>No pain 'twould be to sever,</p> + + <p>As now we may for ever,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>If yet you love sincerely,</p> + + <p>The one who loves you dearly,</p> + + <p>Then let the sigh betoken,</p> + + <p>Love for a heart you've broken,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Z.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE TRAGEDY OF DOUGLAS.</h3> + + <p>It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal of this tragedy took place + in the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Ward, one of Digges' + company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of, the most distinguished + literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. The following was the cast of the + piece on that occasion:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i4"><i>Dramatis Personae.</i></p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Lord Randolph</i>, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Glenalvon</i>, David Hume, Historian.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Old Norval</i>, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Douglas</i>, John Home, the Author.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Lady Randolph</i>, Dr. Fergusson, Professor.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Anna</i> (the maid), Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges and Mrs. Sarah Ward, were the Right Hon. + Pat. Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, (the two last were then + only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele, and William Home, ministers. The company (all + but Mrs. Ward) dined afterwards at the Griskin Club, in the Abbey. The above is a + signal proof of the strong passion for the drama which then obtained among the + <i>literati</i> of this capital, since then, unfortunately, much abated. The + rehearsal must have been conducted with very great secrecy; for what would the Kirk, + which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page80" name="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> took such + deep offence at the composition of the piece by one of its ministers, have said to + the fact, of no less than four of these being engaged in rehearsing it, and two + others attending the exhibition? The circumstance of the gentle Anna having been + personated by "Dr. Blair, minister of the High Church," is a very droll + one.—<i>Edinburgh Evening Post</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CUMBERLAND LANDLORD.</h3> + + <h4><i>(To the Editor of the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>During a recent excursion in Cumberland, I copied the following epitaph from the + <i>album</i> kept at the inn at Pooley Bridge, the landlord of which is well known, + as being quite an original:—W.W.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Will Russell was a landlord bold,</p> + + <p class="i2">A noble wight was he,</p> + + <p>Right fond of quips and merry cracks,</p> + + <p class="i2">And ev'ry kind of glee.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Full five-and-twenty years agone</p> + + <p class="i2">He came to Pooley Height,</p> + + <p>And there he kept the Rising Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">And drunk was ev'ry night.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>No lord, nor squire, nor serving man,</p> + + <p class="i2">In all the country round,</p> + + <p>But lov'd to call in at the Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">Wherever he was bound,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>To hold a crack with noble Will,</p> + + <p class="i2">And take a cheerful cup</p> + + <p>Of brandy, or of Penrith ale,</p> + + <p class="i2">Or pop, right bouncing up.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But now poor Will lies sleeping here,</p> + + <p class="i2">Without his hat or stick,</p> + + <p>Nor longer rules the Rising Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">As he did well when wick. <a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Will's honest heart could ne'er refuse</p> + + <p class="i2">To drink with ev'ry brother;</p> + + <p>Then let us not his name abuse—</p> + + <p class="i2">We'll ne'er see sic another.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But let us hope the gods above,</p> + + <p class="i2">Right mindful of his merits,</p> + + <p>Have given him a gentle shove</p> + + <p class="i2">Into the land of spirits.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Tis then his talents will expand,</p> + + <p class="i2">And make a noble figure.</p> + + <p>In tossing off a brimming glass,</p> + + <p class="i2">To make his belly bigger.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost</p> + + <p class="i2">Be ever ready at its heavenly post;</p> + + <p>And may thy proud posterity e'er be</p> + + <p class="i2">Landlords at Pooley to eternity.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>A WATCH.</h3> + + <p>Before a watch is ready for the pocket, the component parts thereof must have + passed through the hands of not less than <i>an hundred and fifty different + workmen</i>. The fifteen principal branches are: 1. the movement maker; who divides + it into various branches, viz. pillar maker, stop stud maker, frame mounter, screw + maker, cock and potence maker, verge maker, pinion maker, balance wheel maker, wheel + cutter, fusee maker, and other small branches; 2. dial maker, who employs a capper + maker, an enameller, painter, &c. 3. case maker, who makes the case to the frame, + employs box maker, and outside case maker, joint finisher. 4. pendant maker; (both + case and pendant go to the Goldsmith's Hall to be marked.) 5. secret springer, and + spring liner; the spring and liner are divided into other branches; viz. the spring + maker, button maker, &c. 6. cap maker; who employs springer, &c. 7. jeweller, + which comprises the diamond cutting, setting, making ruby holes, &c. 8. motion + maker, and other branches, viz. slide maker, edge maker, and bolt maker. 9. spring + maker, (<i>i.e.</i> main spring.) consisting of wire drawer, &c. hammerer, + polisher, and temperer. 10. chain maker; this comprises several branches, wire + drawer, link maker and rivetter, hook maker, &c. 11. engraver, who also employs a + piercer and name cutter. 12. finisher, who employs a wheel and fusee cutter, and + other workers in smaller branches. 13. gilder is divided into two, viz. gilder and + brusher. 14. glass and hands, the glass employs two, viz. blower and maker; hand + maker employs die sinker, finisher, &c. 15. fitter in, who overlooks the whole, + fits hands on, &c. The above 15 branches are subdivided again and again.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <p>This day is published, price 5s. with a Frontispiece, and thirty other Engravings, + the</p> + + <p>ARCANA OF SCIENCE, AND ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS, FOR 1829.</p> + + <p>The MECHANICAL department contains ONE HUNDRED New Inventions and Discoveries, + with 14 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>CHEMICAL, SEVENTY articles, with 2 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>NATURAL HISTORY, 135 New Facts and Discoveries, with 7 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>ASTRONOMICAL and METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA—35 articles—6 + <i>Engravings</i> .</p> + + <p>AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, and RURAL ECONOMY, 100 Articles.</p> + + <p>DOMESTIC ECONOMY 50 Articles.</p> + + <p>USEFUL ARTS, 50 Articles.</p> + + <p>FINE ARTS.</p> + + <p>PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.</p> + + <p>MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER, &c.</p> + + <p>"We hope the editor will publish a similar volume annually."—<i>Gardener's + Magazine.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1</b>: <a + href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> It is computed that there have been imported into + Europe no less a quantity than 880,000 lbs. weight of cochineal in one year!. + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2</b>: <a + href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> Wick in Cumberland is used for alive. + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + + <p><i>Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) + London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; and by all Newsmen and + Booksellers.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11382 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + + diff --git a/11382-h/images/354-001.png b/11382-h/images/354-001.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6937548 --- /dev/null +++ b/11382-h/images/354-001.png diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..408d3a3 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #11382 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11382) diff --git a/old/11382-8.txt b/old/11382-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9ab9821 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/11382-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2025 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and +Instruction, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction + Volume 13, No. 354, Saturday, January 31, 1829. + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 29, 2004 [EBook #11382] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +No. 354.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1829. [PRICE 2_d_. + + + + + +[Illustration: THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK.] + + + +THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK. + +In a recent Number of the MIRROR we offered ourselves as the reader's +_cicerone_ throughout the interior of this stupendous building, the +exterior of which is represented in the annexed engraving; and the +architectural pretensions of which will, we trust, be found of equal +interest to the interior. + +The Colosseum is what is termed a polygon of sixteen sides, 130 feet in +diameter. Each angle is strengthened by a double square pilaster of the +Doric order, which supports an entablature, continued round the whole +edifice. Above the cornice is a blocking course, surmounted by an attic, +with an appropriate cornice and sub-blocking, to add to the height of the +building. The whole is crowned with a majestic cupola, supported by three +receding _scamilli_, or steps, and finished with an immense open circle. +The upper part of the cupola is glazed, and protected with fine wire-work, +and the lower part is covered with sheet copper; which distinctions are +shown in the engraving. + +When the spectator's surprise and admiration at the vastness of the +building have somewhat subsided, his attention will be drawn to the fine +and harmonious proportions of the portico, considered by architects as +one of the best specimens of Graeco-Doric in the metropolis. This portion +of the building is copied from the portico of the Pantheon at Rome, +"which, in the harmony of its proportions, and the exquisite beauty of its +columns, surpasses every temple on the earth." Altogether, the grandeur +and effect of this vast structure should be seen to be duly appreciated. + +The adjoining lodges are in exceedingly good taste; and the plantations +laid out by Mr. Hornor, are equally pleasing, whilst their verdure +relieves the massiveness of the building; and in the engraving, the +artist has caught a glimpse of the lattice-work which encloses the +gardens and conservatories attached to the splendid suite of rooms. The +front is enclosed by handsome iron rails, tastefully painted in imitation +of bronze. We ought also to mention, that the means by which the portico +is made to resemble immense blocks of stone, is peculiarly successful. + +The architect of this extraordinary building is Mr. Decimus Burton, aided +by his ingenious employer, Mr. Hornor, of whose taste and talents we have +already spoken in terms of high commendation. Its original name, or, we +should say, its popular name, was the _Coliseum_, evidently a misnomer, +from its distant resemblance to that gigantic work of antiquity. The +present and more appropriate name is the COLOSSEUM, in allusion to its +colossal dimensions; for it would not show much discernment to erect a +building like the Pantheon, and call it the Coliseum. The term _Diorama_ +has, likewise, been strangely corrupted since its successful adoption in +the Regent's Park--it being now almost indefinitely applied to any number +or description of paintings. + + + + * * * * * + +SNEEZING AMONG THE ANCIENTS. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +Among the Greeks, sneezing was reckoned a good omen. The practice of +saluting the person who sneezed, existed in Africa, among nations unknown +to the Greeks and Romans. Brown, in his "Vulgar Errors," says, "We read +in Godignus, that, upon a sneeze of the emperor of Monumotata, there +passed acclamations successively through the city." The author of the +"Conquest of Peru" assures us, that the cacique of Guachoia having sneezed +in the presence of the Spaniards, the Indians of his train fell prostrate +before him, stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the +accustomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to enlighten him, +to defend him, and to be his constant guard. The Romans saluted each +other on sneezing. Plutarch tells us, the genius of Socrates informed him +by sneezing, when it was necessary to perform any action. The young +Parthenis, hurried on by her passions, 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. In the +Odyssey, we are informed that Penelope, harassed by the vexatious +courtship of her suitors, begins to curse them all, and to pour forth +vows for the return of Ulysses. Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a +loud sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, and regards this sign as an +assurance of the approaching return of her husband. Xenophon was +haranguing his troops; when a soldier sneezed in the moment he was +exhorting them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. The whole +army, moved by this presage, determined to pursue the project of their +general; and Xenophon orders sacrifices to Jupiter, the preserver. This +religious reverence for sneezing, so ancient and so universal even in the +time of Homer, always excited the curiosity of the Greek philosophers and +the rabbins. These last spread a tradition, that, after the creation of +the world, God made a law to this purport, that every man should sneeze +but once in his life, and that at the same instant he should render up +his soul into the hands of his Creator, without any preceding +indisposition. Jacob obtained an exemption from the common law, and the +favour of being informed of his last hour. He sneezed, and did not die; +and this sign of death was changed into a sign of life. Notice of this +was sent to all the princes of the earth; and they ordained, that in +future sneezing should be accompanied with _forms of blessings_, and vows +for the persons who sneezed. Thus the custom of _blessing persons who +sneeze_ is of higher antiquity than some authors suppose, for several +writers affirm that it commenced in the year 750, under Pope Gregory the +Great, when a pestilence occurred in which those who sneezed died; whence +the pontiff appointed a form of prayer, and a wish to be said to persons +sneezing, for averting this fatality from them. Some say Prometheus was +the first that wished well to sneezers. For further information on this +_ticklish_ subject, I refer the reader to Brand's "Observations on +Popular Antiquities." P. T. W. + + + + * * * * * + +STANZAS. + +(_Written on a stone, part of the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, Surrey_.) + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + From gayer scenes, where pleasure's mad career + Infects the milder avenues of thought, + Where secret Envy swells the note of Fear, + And Hope is in its own illusion caught. + + Where, in Ambition's thorny path of power, + Contending votaries bow to toils of state, + I turn, regardless of the passing hour, + To trace the havoc of avenging fate. + + Ne'er may the wanton love of active life + Control the sage's precepts of repose, + Ne'er may the murmurs of tumultuous strife + Wreck the tranquillity of private woes. + + Here, on the crumbling relics of a stone, + O'er which the pride of masonry has smiled, + Here am I wont to ruminate alone. + And pause, in Fancy's airy robe beguil'd. + + Disparting time the towers of ages bends, + Forms and indignant sinks the proudest plan, + O'er the neglected path the weed extends, + Nor heeds the wandering steps of thoughtful man. + + Here expiation, murder has appeased, + Treason and homicide have been forgiven, + Pious credulity her votaries eased, + Nor blamed th' indulgent majesty of heaven. + + Some erring matron has her crimes disclosed, + Some father conscious of awak'ning fate, + Safe from revenge, hath innocence reposed, + Unseen and undisturbed at others' hate. + + Some sorrowing virgin her complainings poured + With pious hope has many a pang relieved; + Here the faint pilgrim to his rest restored, + The scanty boon of luxury has received. + + Sated with conquest from the noise of arms, + The aged warrior with his fame retired, + Careless of thirsty spoil,--of war's alarms-- + Nor with imperial emulation fired. + + Where once her orisons devotion paid + By fear, or hope, or reverence inspired, + The sad solicitude of youth allay'd, + And age in resignation calm attired. + + The houseless cottager from wind severe, + His humble habitation oft has made; + Once gloomy penitence sat silent there, + And midnight tapers gleam'd along the shade. + + The lonely shepherd here has oft retired, + To count his flock and tune his rustic lay, + Where loud Hosannas distant ears inspired, + And saintly vespers closed the solemn day. + +HUGH DELMORE. + + + + * * * * * + +BOOK-MACHINERY. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +The world being supplied with books by _machinery_ is almost, literally, +a fact. Type-founding and stereotyping are, of course, mechanical +processes; and lately, Dr. Church, of Boston, invented a plan for +_composing_ (setting the types) by machinery; the sheets are printed by +steam; the paper is made by machinery; and pressed and beaten for binding +by a machine of very recent date. Little more remains to be done than to +write by machinery; and, to judge by many recent productions, a +_spinning-jenny_ would be the best engine for this purpose. + +PHILO. + + + + * * * * * + +GRAVITATION. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +In a matter-of-fact age like the present, methinks it behoves every man +to apply the improvements of scientific research as much as possible to +the ordinary concerns of life. Science and society may thus be called _at +par_, and philosophical theory will hence enlighten the practical +tradesman. + +To demonstrate the truth of the above remarks, I mean, with the editor's +leave, to prove the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket, upon +the principles of gravitation, according to Sir Isaac Newton's +"Principia." + +The learned doctor has mathematically proved that all bodies gravitate or +incline to the centre. It is on this principle only that we can account +for our being fixed to the earth; that we are surrounded by the +atmosphere; and that we are constantly attended by, and seem constantly +to attend, the planets around us. + +Should any farther demonstration be necessary than the incomparable Sir +Isaac has himself furnished us with, let any sceptic who doubts that the +earth attracts all smaller bodies towards its centre, only take a hop +from the Monument or St. Paul's, and he will soon find the power of +gravitation, and die by the truth of the experiment. + +But what, methinks, exclaims the reader, has all this to do with the +proposition in hand, viz. the necessity of keeping a friend in one's +pocket? Why, I'll tell you--from a due consideration of this very +principle, you will soon see the use of a man's keeping his _money_ in +his pocket. It is this alone (the pocket) which nowadays constitutes the +centre of friendship; there alone, therefore, must this most valuable, +most faithful of all friends (_money_) be deposited. Now if this friend +be of magnitude, he will soon collect many more around you, who, true as +the needle to the pole, will point to you from every quarter--friends who +will smile in your prosperity, bask in the sunshine of your glory, dance +while you pay the piper, and to the very ground will be "votre très +humble serviteur, monsieur." But if by sickness, misfortune, generosity, +or the like, this friend be removed from your pocket, the centre is +destroyed, the equilibrium is lost, away fly your friends, and, like +pelicans, turn their beaks at your breast whenever you approach. "It is +your own fault, fellow; you might have done well if you would; but you +are an ass, and could not keep a friend when you had him; and so you may +die in a ditch, and go to the devil, my dear." + +The man of affluence, who lavishes away his substance, may aptly enough +be likened to a porpoise sporting in the ocean--the smaller fry play +around him, admire his dexterity, fan his follies, glory in his gambols; +but let him once be enmeshed in the net of misfortune, and they who +foremost fawned under his fins, will first fall foul of him. + +Now, to illustrate the subject further, let us consider the advantages +arising from this practical use of gravitation, and the losses attendant +upon the neglect thereof. First, then, he who _has_ secured this friend +in his pocket, may go _when_ he pleases, and _where_ he pleases, and +_how_ he pleases, either on foot or on horseback, by barouche or by boat, +and he shall be respected and esteemed, and called _sir_, and made +welcome in every season and in every place, and no one shall presume to +say unto him, Why doest thou these things? + +But a man that hath not this friend in his pocket, may not go when, where, +and how he pleases, but when, where, and how he is directed by others. +Moreover he shall travel on foot, and perchance without shoes, and not +have the benefit of a horse, barouche, or boat; and moreover he shall be +called _sirrah_, and not _sir_; neither shall he be esteemed nor +respected, nor made welcome; and they shall say unto him, "Don't be +troublesome, fellow; get out of the way, for thou hast no business here!" + +The rich man shall be clothed in scarlet, and get whatsoever his heart +desires; and the people shall give him the wall, and bow before him to +the ground. But the poor man shall be clad in rags, and walk in the dirt, +regarded by no man; nor shall he even purchase to himself a name, though +the composition thereof consist only of air! + +This is the state of modern times--such our modern friendship; and since, +gentle reader, it is so, who, possessing one grain of common sense, would +not duly attend to the theory of gravitation, by taking care of a friend +while he has him, especially if he be so portable as to be placed in +one's pocket. + +JACOBUS. + + + + * * * * * + +THE DREAM OF POESY.--A FRAGMENT. + +BY LEIGH CLIFFE, + +_Author of "Parga," "Knights of Ritzberg," &c._ + +(_For the Mirror._) + + + I had a vision fair and bright, + And when I waken'd I was griev'd + To own 'twas but a dream of night, + And sigh'd to find my hopes deceivd. + But then o'er my fancy crept, + Those who hail'd me while I slept. + There were those; of olden time, + Milton, wond'rous, wild, sublime-- + Chaucer, of the many tales; + Spenser, soft as summer gales, + With a mild and gracious mien + Leading on his "Faery Queene." + Shakspeare, child of fancy, stood + Smiling in a mirthful mood, + As tho' he that moment spied + The fairy folk by Bottom's side, + Or beheld by Herne's old oak, + Falstaff with his antler yoke. + Dryden, laurel-crown'd and hoary, + Proudly stood in all his glory; + Pope, as if his claims to speak + Rested on the ancient Greek; + And that prince of merry-men, + Laughing, quaffing, "rare old Ben," + Whose quaint conceits, so gay, so wild, + Have oft my heart from woe beguil'd, + Shone like a meteor 'midst the throng, + The envy of each son of song. + There too were those of later years, + Who've moved the mind to mirth or tears: + Byron, with his radiant ray-- + Scott, with many a magic lay-- + The gay and gorgeous minstrel, Moore, + Rich in the charms of Eastern lore-- + Campbell, like a brilliant star, + Shed the beams of "Hope" afar-- + Rogers, with a smiling eye + Told the joys of "Memory," + Southey, with his language quaint, + Describing daemon, sinner, saint-- + Wordsworth, of the simpler strain, + Clare, the young unletter'd swain-- + Wiffen, who in fairy bowers, + Culls blossoms in "Aonian hours," + Shone like a star in dusky skies, + When first the evening shades arise. + Barton, the gentle bard, was there, + And Hemans, tender as she's fair-- + And Croly, whose bright genius beams + Ever on virtue's fairest themes; + With Burns, the muse's darling child-- + And Luttrell, laughing, sportive, wild, + As when be penn'd for Julia's eye, + His sweet "Advice" for what? for why? + And Crabbe, who misery portrays, + With crowds of others, crown'd with bays, + Who shed around their bright'ning beams, + And cheer'd a humbler poet's dreams. + + + + * * * * * + +ANCIENT SITE OF THE EXETER 'CHANGE, &c. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +Here was formerly the parsonage-house for the parish of St. Clement Danes, +with a garden and close for the parson's horse, till Sir Thomas Palmer, +knight, in the reign of Edward VI., came into the possession of the +living, and began to build a house; but upon his attainder for high +treason, in the first year of Queen Mary, it reverted to the crown. This +house remained in the crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir +William Cecil, lord treasurer, who augmented and rebuilt it, when it was +called Cecil House, and Burleigh House. It was said to have been a noble +pile, and adorned with four square turrets. It was afterwards called +Exeter House, from the title of his son and successor. Lord Burleigh died +here in 1598. It fronted the Strand, and its gardens extended from the +west side of the garden-wall of Wimbledon House to the Green-lane, which +is now Southampton-street. Lord Burleigh was in this house honoured by a +visit from Queen Elizabeth, who, knowing him to be subject to the gout, +would always make him to sit in her presence, which, it is probable, +(says Nightingale,) the lord treasurer considered a gteal indulgence from +so haughty a lady, inasmuch as he one day apologized for the badness of +his legs. To which the queen replied, "My lord, we make use of you not +for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of your head." When +she came to Burleigh House, it is probable she had that kind of +pyramidial head-dress then in fashion, built of wire, lace, ribands, and +jewels, which shot up to a great height; for when the principal domestic +ushered her in, as she passed the threshold he desired her majesty to +stoop. To which she replied, "For your master's sake I will stoop, but +not for the king of Spain." After the fire of London, this house was +occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till 1672; and here the various +courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by the family, +the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the +upper part, like Babylon of old, is a nest of wild beasts, birds, and +reptiles. The present "march of intellect" will _march away_ these bipeds +and quadrupeds, and no doubt the noble Marquess of Exeter "would much +rather have their _room_ than their _company_." + +P. T. W. + + + + + * * * * * + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + + * * * * * + + +A DAY AT FONTAINBLEAU.--THE ROYAL HUNT. + + +Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the _Duc de Grammont_, +and the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau, +in order to enjoy the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to +meet them, to see with my own eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard +so much. Accordingly I ordered post horses, and arrived in the town about +six hours after his Most Christian Majesty. + +After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set +out at eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour--a late one in +France, when compared with England--the roads were by no means thronged, +and I could very plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians +were attached to the court, and that the pedestrians were either such as +had been in the enjoyment of some of the good things of this life under +the present family, or such as were in expectancy of them. There was a +third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by the +desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of +obtaining the entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness +the feats of the royal party. Among this latter class, old men, old women, +and very young boys predominated. + +The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The +various alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted, +create an imposing and majestic _coup d'oeil_, which is only bounded +almost by the horizon. At the bottom and in the middle of these alleys +were placed mounted _gendarmes_ to restrain the intrusion of the populace, +and to prevent them from coming--such is French curiosity--within shot of +the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my left, the great +body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed +space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party +took their station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly +behind. Across this stand, and within the enclosed space, were the +roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, while the King, the Dauphin, +the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, had their shots in +succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "_coup_." Ten men were +busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin. +Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as +the chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot +after shot passed in quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the +ears of those among the crowd--and they were the fewer number--who had +hearts within them, and to British feeling each reverberation brought a +mingled sensation. In England, and in most other nations, whether +civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some chance at least of +escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed space +around the stand was surrounded by a kind of _chevaux de frize_, six feet +in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the +work of destruction of course went rapidly on. + +Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose +drivers vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were +placed for the purpose of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they +accumulated in quick succession within the enclosure. In the short +interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts filled with the +produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed to +the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as +they had been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself +were ranged; and he numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one _marcassin_ +(young wild boar;) the spoil of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks, +being eight less than his royal father, while the rest of the company +destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total of 138 roes, and +one wild boar. + +While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of +disembowelling quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range +the game in the order I have mentioned--another ripped open the body with +a sharp knife, while a third party, to the amount of a dozen, were +engaged in the disembowelling. + +The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into +evening. The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the +forest and return to Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I +had not yet seen him, and my party being anxious to come in contact with +royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the crowd began to rush towards +the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept them at bay. The +multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two lines; +and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming. + +His majesty was on foot--he was surrounded by the officers of his +household, dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his +breast. On his head was a small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap +years, and of services. His breeches were of the homeliest thickset; and +he also wore a pair of large leather gaiters--such as are very common +among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. Though the conformation of +his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, and he +appeared in perfect health. + +It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a +deeper tint to the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and +his majesty had been engaged in the sport from six in the morning, +without intermission. Untired, however, in the work, the king determined +to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he returned to +the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain. +Three separate bevies of deer were let loose--again I heard the fearful +shots, and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the +crowd; and, after having given directions about the game, entered his +carriage with a hasty step, and at a rapid pace drove off for +Fontainbleau. + +_Monthly Magazine._ + + + + + * * * * * + +THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER. + + * * * * * + + +LAKE ERIE. + + +Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from +the large mass of waters it exhibits--in tranquillity, or in motion, +sometimes most vehement. It is only at its west end that it is adorned by +islands. The Morasses, earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, +are only remarkable for their large walnut and buttonwood trees, which, +in a dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the interior from the +traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances. Neither is the +vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at +least in the summer. The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, +is peculiarly oppressive, relaxing, and long continued. The steaming +swamps, which are almost universal, are full of putrifying substances, +occasioning the bilious remittents there so prevalent. The water in +common use is heated, and ill-tasted. Moskitoes, sand, and black flies +abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, aided by a +fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted. There are +circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a +disagreeable residence, but which are gradually disappearing. Its extreme +fertility, the moderate sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of +communication with other countries, will, in progress of time, render it +the seat of a dense population, and a principal granary of the western +continent. Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with equal success. +The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent +quality. The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity +about the river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a +small remission of duty, by the British government, is sent to England, +after having undergone an inland carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles. Salt +springs exist in almost every township, accompanied, in one or two cases, +by large beds of gypsum. Bog iron ore is common on the north-east side of +the lake, and is worked. The water communications of these countries are +astonishingly easy. Canoes can go from Quebec to Rocky Mountains, to the +Arctic Circle, or to the Mexican Gulf, without a portage longer than four +miles; and the traveller shall arrive at his journey's end as fresh and +as safely as from an English tour of pleasure. It is common for the Erie +steam-boat to take goods and passengers from Buffaloe, to Green Bay and +Chicago, in Lake Michigan, a distance of nearly 900 miles, touching, at +the same time, at many intermediate ports. In about three years, in +addition to the canal connecting Lake Erie with tide-water in the Hudson, +another will be excavated across the southern dividing ridge, to +communicate with the Ohio. Near its place of junction with this river, a +canal from the Atlantic, across the Alleghanies, will enter the Ohio. +Lake Erie will then also have a steady line of water transport to +Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, and New Orleans, on the Mississippi. The +surveys, preparatory to these projects, have been in execution for two +years; there is no doubt of their practicability. + +We cannot even hazard a conjecture as to the number of inhabitants around +Lake Erie. They are numerous, and daily augmenting; but with incomparably +greater rapidity on the south side of the lake, distributed between the +States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Ohio, which occupies the +largest portion, in 1800, had 45,000 inhabitants; in 1810, 250,760, and, +in 1820, 581,434. At present, it cannot have less than 750,000 +inhabitants, and there is ample room for more. There are few or no +Indians on the north borders of the lake. The Mohawks are placed high up +the river Ouse, and the Hurons, from four to ten miles up the river +Detroit. + +The winds are generally either up or down the lake, and in summer they +are in the former direction for two-thirds of the time. In the middle of +this season they are commonly mild, but occasionally in perfect tornadoes, +accompanied with tremendous lightning and heavy rain. The gales begin in +October, and are both violent and dangerous. Many lives are lost annually. +The winters are mild and short. The inhabitants do not reckon on the +ground being covered by snow more than three or four months. They turn +their cattle into the woods in March and April, but the lake remains full +of floating ice until May. On the 12th of May, 1821, the steam-boat could +not proceed on account of the ice. From an adjacent eminence, the lake +was seen to be covered with it in one compact mass, as far as the eye +could range. As might be expected, remittent and intermittent fevers are +very prevalent in the autumn. The febrile action rises high, and there is +usually a topical affection conjoined; to this the stimulating diet and +frequent use of spirituous liquors, and exposure to heat, mainly conduce. + +_Brande's Quarterly Journal._ + + + + + * * * * * + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_Hydrophobia in Foxes._ + + +Foxes become mad occasionally, and there have been examples of dogs, +which having been bitten by mad foxes, have not caught the disease. In +these cases it has been proved that the stomachs of the foxes were filled +with wood, earth, stones, leaves, hair, and other substances improper for +nourishment. On the contrary, when the madness has been communicated, the +stomach and intestines have been found completely empty. From this +difference, it is concluded that hunger is the cause of madness in foxes; +and this agrees with the results which occurred during and after the +rigorous winter of 1826-7, when these animals, with many others, suffered +from want of nourishment.--_From the French._ + + + + * * * * * + +_Ripening Fruit._ + + +Slates have recently been employed in France for hastening the ripening +of fruits. The effect was first observed on a slate roof; since which the +slates have been placed beneath the fruit on walls. + + + + * * * * * + +_Hatching Eggs by Hot Mineral Waters._ + + +This curious process has lately been practised with great success in the +south of France. It consists in putting the eggs into a small basket, +suspending the latter in a stove heated by the hot mineral water, and +turning the eggs every day. The first trial was attended with success, +and no failure was experienced in four repetitions of it. + + + + * * * * * + +_Lake Erie._ + + +The height of Lake Erie above the Atlantic Ocean, has been ascertained to +be 565 feet. The barrier which contains it is so low, that, were it only +to rise six feet, it would inundate, on its northern and western borders, +seven millions of acres, now partly occupied by towns, villages, and +farms; and it is estimated that a further rise of six or eight feet would +precipitate a vast flood of waters over the state of Illinois, from the +south end of Michigan; the great Canadian Lakes then discharging also +into the Mexican Gulf.--_Brande's Journal._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cuckoo_ + +Has done more for our music than musicians may be willing to allow; but +it is no more than justice to a despised bird to say, that from it we +have derived the minor scale, whose origin has puzzled so many; the +cuckoo's couplet being the minor third sung downwards.--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +_Immense Fir-tree._ + +In the Museum of Natural History at Strasburg, is shown the trunk of a +silver fir-tree, from the forest of Hochwald, at Barr, in Alsatia. The +tree was 150 feet high, with a trunk perfectly straight and free from +branches to the height of 50 feet, after which it was forked with the one +shoot 100 feet long, and the other somewhat shorter. The diameter of the +trunk at the surface of the ground was 8 feet; estimated age 350 +years.--_Ibid._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Weather by Frogs._ + +The editor of the _Magazine of Natural History_, in his Notes during a +recent tour on the continent, says, "at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, +we witnessed, for the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an +amusing application of zoological knowledge, for the purpose of +prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of the species **_R_àna arbòrea, +are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, +with a depth of three or four inches of water at the bottom, and a small +ladder reaching to the top of the jar. On the approach of dry weather, +the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend +into the water. These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild +state here, climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar +singing noise before rain. In the jar they get no other food than now and +then a fly; one of which, we were assured, would serve a frog for a week, +though it will eat from six to twelve in a day if it can get them. In +catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs display great +adroitness." + + * * * * * + +_Human Remains._ + +The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been +discovered with those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at +present fully confirmed; nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto +been found. Mr. Bakewell, however, observes, that the vast diluvial beds +of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in Asia, have not yet been +scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers agree in +regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the +human race.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Food of Bees._ + +The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are +visited by bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of +our bulbous roots. The stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by +these insects, and the extract absorbed from them must be used as a tonic. +Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of the red clover and of the +honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially profit by the +increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the +peach-tree in some parts of America. They not only drink the nectar and +abstract the pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself. +We have seen twenty or thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that +is, they carried the juices of it to their cells. The humming-bird alone +can reach the bottom of the nectary of the honeysuckle; but even here the +instinct of the bee is seen. The small birds, such as the wren, make an +incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract a +part of the juices. The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails +itself of what is left. The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower +which has a powerful odour can be discovered by them at a great distance. +Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, wild and garden thyme, herbs of all +kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, raspberry blossoms and white +clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving orchard and apiary +fitly go together. + +_North American Review_. + + * * * * * + + +_Singing Birds_. + +Those who have paid attention to the singing of birds, know well that +their voice, energy, and expression differ as widely as in man; and +agreeably to this remark, Mr. Wilson (the celebrated ornithologist) says +he was so familiar with the notes of an individual wood thrush, that he +could recognise him from all his fellows the moment he entered the woods. + +_Mag. Nat. Hist_. + + * * * * * + + +_Gigantic Fossils._ + +Some gigantic bones have been exhibited at New Orleans, but the place +where they were found is not mentioned in the communication. They consist +of one of the bones of the cranium, fifteen or twenty vertebras, two +entire ribs, and part of a third, one thigh bone, two bones of the leg, +&c. The cranial bone was upwards of twenty feet in its greatest length, +about four in extreme width, and it weighed 1,200 lbs. The ribs measured +nine feet along the curve, and about three inches in thickness. It had +been conjectured that the animal to which these bones belonged was +amphibious, and perhaps of the crocodile family. It was also supposed +that the animal when alive, must have measured twenty-five feet round the +body, and about 130 feet in length. + +_Trans. **Geoloy. Soc._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cochineal Insect._ + +Our readers are doubtless aware that cochineal, so extensively used in +this country for dying,[1] is a beautiful insect abundantly found in +various parts of Mexico and Peru. Some of these insects have lately been +sent over to Old Spain, and are doing remarkably well on the prickly pear +of that country; indeed, they are said to rival even those of Mexico in +the quality and brilliancy of their dye. + +Their naturalization may doubtless be extended along the shores of the +Mediterranean, Sicily, and the different states of Greece. The prickly +pear is indigenous in those places, and by little cultivation will afford +sufficient nourishment for the cochineal insects. We are also assured, +(says an intelligent correspondent of _The Times_,) that these precious +insects were introduced last year on the island of Malta, by Dr. Gorman, +on account of the government, and that they are likely to do well on that +island. + +Dr. Gorman discovered a few weeks since, in the botanic garden at +Cambridge, the _grona sylvestris_, or wild species of cochineal, living +among the leaves of the coffee-plants, the acacia, &c. This is the kermes, +or gronilla of Spain, about which so much has been said in endeavouring +to identify it with the grona fina. At all events, this is the same +species as the gronilla found on the hairs of the green oaks in Andalusia; +and in some years large and valuable crops of the gronilla are gathered +in that part of Spain by the peasantry, and sold to the Moors to dye +their scarlet. + +The gardener at Cambridge could not inform Dr. Gorman how long the +insects had been there, or from whence they came, but they went there by +the appellation of "amelca bug." The gardener found these insects very +destructive to plants upon which they fostered, and although he tried +every means short of injuring the plants to remove them, he found it +impossible, as they adhere to the leaves and parts of the stem with such +tenacity, and are so prolific, that the young ones are often found +spreading themselves over the neighbouring plants. On this account, it +would be worth while to attempt the cultivation of the prickly pear in +the open air in this country, and place the insects upon them, for in all +probability the insects would, by good management, do well. + +[1] It is computed that there have been imported into Europe no less a + quantity than 880,000 lbs. weight of cochineal in one year! + + * * * * * + + +_Fossil Turtle._ + +The remains of a sea turtle have lately been discovered, and are now in +the possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge. It is imbedded in a mass of +septaria, weighing upwards of 150 pounds, with two fine specimens of +fossil wood; and was obtained in digging for cement stone, about five +miles from Harwich, in three fathoms water, where, as a mass of stone, it +had been used for some time as a stepping block.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Geological Changes._ + +The following are the writers whose opinions have obtained the greatest +celebrity, as advocates for particular systems accounting for the +formation and subsequent alteration of the earth:-- + +Mr. Whitehurst taught that the _concentric arrangement_ of the crust of +the globe was destroyed by the expansive force of subterranean fire. + +Burnet's theory supposes this crust to have been broken for the +production of the deluge. + +Leibnitz and Buffon believed the earth to have been liquefied by fire; in +fact, that it is an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, whose surface +has been operated upon by a deluge. The latter assumes that the earth was +75,000 years in cooling to its present temperature, and that, in 98,000 +years more, productive nature must be finally extinguished. + +Woodward considered there was a temporary dissolution of the elements of +the globe, during which period the extraneous fossils became incorporated +with the general mass. + +De Luc, Dolomieu, and, finally Baron Cuvier, unite in the opinion, that +the phenomena exhibited by the earth, particularly the alternate deposits +of terrestrial and marine productions, can only be satisfactorily +accounted for by a series of revolutions similar to the deluge. + +Among the singular views entertained by men of genius, in the infancy of +the science, are those of Whiston, "who fancied that the earth was +created from the atmosphere of one comet, and deluged by the tail of +another;" and that, for their sins, the antediluvian population were +drowned; "except the fishes, whose passions were less violent." + +A French geologist conceived that the sea covered the earth for a vast +period; that all animals were originally inhabitants of the water; that +their habits gradually changed on the retiring of the waves, and "that +man himself began his career as a fish!"--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +THE CLIFFORDS OF CRAVEN. + +There is no district in England which abounds in more beautiful and +romantic scenery than the remote and rarely visited district of Craven, +in Yorkshire. Its long ridge of low and irregular hills, terminating at +last in the enormous masses of Pennygent and Ingleborough,--its deep and +secluded valleys, containing within their hoary ramparts of gray +limestone fertile fields and pleasant pasturages,--its wide-spreading +moors, covered with the different species of moss and ling, and fern and +bent-grass, which variegate the brown livery of the heath, and break its +sombre uniformity,--its crystal streams of unwearied rapidity, now +winding a silent course "in infant pride" through the willows and sedges +which fringe their banks, and now bounding with impetuous rage over the +broken ledges of rock, which seek in vain to impede their progress from +the mountains,--its indigenous woods of yew, and beech, and ash, and +alder, which have waved in the winds of centuries, and which still +flourish in green old age on the sides and summits of the smaller +declivities,--its projecting crags, which fling additional gloom over the +melancholy tarns that repose in dismal grandeur at their feet,--its +hamlets, and towns, and ivy-mantled churches, which remind the visiter of +their antiquity by the rudeness, and convince him of their durability by +the massiveness of their construction,--these are all features in the +landscape which require to be seen only once, to be impressed upon the +recollection for ever. But it is not merely for the lovers of the wild, +and beautiful, and picturesque, that the localities of Craven possess a +powerful charm. The antiquarian, the novelist, and the poet, may all find +rich store of employment in the traditions which are handed down from +father to son respecting the ancient lords and inhabitants of the +district. It is indeed the region of romance, and I have often felt +surprise, that the interesting materials with which it abounds have so +seldom been incorporated into the works of fiction which are now issuing +with such thoughtless haste from the press of the metropolis. In Dr. +Whitaker's History of Craven--which in spite of his extravagant +prejudices in favour of gentle blood, and in derogation of commercial +opulence, is still an excellent model for all future writers of local +history--there is a ground-work laid for at least a dozen ordinary novels. +To say nothing of the legendary tales, which the peasantry relate of the +minor families of the district, of the Bracewells, the Tempests, the +Lysters, the Romilies, and the Nortons,--whose White Doe, however, has +been immortalized by the poetry of Wordsworth,--can any thing be more +pregnant with romantic adventure than the fortunes of the successive +chieftains of the lordly line of Clifford? Their first introduction to +the North, owing to a love-match made by a poor knight of Herefordshire +with the wealthy heiress of the Viponts and the Vesys! Their rising +greatness, to the merited disgrace and death of Piers de Gavestone and +his profligate minions! and their final exaltation to the highest honours +of the British peerage, which they have now enjoyed for five hundred +years, to the strong hand and unblenching heart with which they have +always welcomed the assaults of their most powerful enemies! Of the first +ten lords of Skipton castle, four died in the field and one upon the +scaffold! The "black-faced Clifford," who sullied the glory which he +acquired by his gallantry at the battle of Sandal, by murdering his +youthful prisoner the Earl of Rutland, in cold blood, at the termination +of it, has gained a passport to an odious immortality from the soaring +genius of the bard of Avon. But his real fate is far more striking, both +in a moral and in a poetical point of view, than that assigned to him by +our great dramatist. On the evening before the battle of Towton Field, +and after the termination of the skirmish which preceded it, an unknown +archer shot him in the throat, as he was putting off his gorget, and so +avenged the wretched victims, whose blood he had shed like water upon +Wakefield Bridge. The vengeance of the Yorkists was not, however, +satiated by the death of the Butcher, as Leland informs us that they +called him:--for they attainted him, in the first year of the reign of +Edward the Fourth, and granted his estates, a few years afterwards, to +the Duke of Gloucester, who retained them in his iron grasp till he lost +them with his crown and life at the battle of Bosworth. The history of +his son is a romance ready made. His relations, fearing lest the +partisans of the house of York should avenge the death of the young Earl +of Rutland on the young Lord Clifford, then a mere infant, concealed him +for the next twenty-five years of his life in the Fells of Cumberland, +where he grew up as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as +ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it. One of the first acts +of Henry the Seventh, after his accession to the throne, was to reverse +the attainder which had been passed against his father; and immediately +afterwards the young lord emerged from the hiding place, where he had +been brought up in ignorance of his rank, and with the manners and +education of a mere shepherd. Finding himself more illiterate than was +usual even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in +the beautiful forest of Barden, and there, under the direction of the +monks of Bolton Abbey, gave himself up to the forbidden studies of +alchemy and astrology. His son, who was the first Earl of Cumberland, +embittered the conclusion of his life, by embarking in a series of +adventures, which, in spite of their profligacy, or rather in consequence +of it, possess a very strong romantic interest. Finding that his father +was either unwilling or unable to furnish him with funds to maintain his +inordinate riot and luxury, he became the leader of a band of outlaws, +and, by their agency, levied aids and benevolences upon the different +travellers on the king's highway. A letter of the old lord, his father, +which, by the by, is not the letter of an illiterate man, is still extant, +in which he complains in very moving terms of his son's degeneracy and +misconduct. The young scapegrace, wishing to make his father know from +experience the inconvenience of being scantily supplied with money, +enjoined his tenantry in Craven not to pay their rents, and beat one of +them, Henry Popely, who ventured to disobey him, so severely with his own +hand, that he lay for a long time in peril of death. He spoiled his +father's houses, &c. "feloniously took away his proper goods," as the old +lord quaintly observes, "apparelling himself and his horse, all the time, +in cloth of gold and goldsmith's work, more like a duke than a poor baron's +son." He likewise took a particular aversion to the religious orders, +"shamefully beating their tenants and servants, in such wise as some whole +towns were fain to keep the churches both night and day, and durst not +come at their own houses."--Whilst engaged in these ignoble practices, +less dissonant, however, to the manners of his age than to those of our's, +he wooed, and won, and married, a daughter of the Percy of Northumberland; +and it is conjectured, upon very plausible grounds, that his courtship +and marriage with a lady of the highest rank under such disadvantages on +his part, gave rise to the beautiful old ballad of the Nutbrown Maid. The +lady, becoming very unexpectedly the heiress of her family, added to the +inheritance of the Cliffords the extensive fee which the Percies held in +Yorkshire; and by that transfer of property, and by the grant of Bolton +Abbey, which he obtained from Henry the Eighth, on the dissolution of the +monasteries, her husband became possessor of nearly all the district +which stretches between the castles of Skipton on the south, and of +Brougham, or as the Cliffords, to whom it belonged, always wrote it, +Bromeham, on the north. The second Earl of Cumberland, who was as fond of +alchemy and astrology as his grandfather, was succeeded by his son George, +who distinguished himself abroad by the daring intrepidity with which he +conducted several buccaneering expeditions in the West Indies against the +Spaniards, and at home, by the very extensive scale on which he +propagated his own and his Maker's image in the dales of Craven. Among +the numerous children of whom he was the father, the most celebrated was +the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, whose long life of virtuous +exertion renders her well qualified to figure as the heroine of a tale of +chivalry. The anecdotes which are told of this high-spirited lady in the +three counties of York, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, are almost +innumerable, and relate to circumstances in her life, which, though some +are impossible, and others improbable, are still all full of heroic +interest and adventure. Her defence of Bromeham Castle against the +intrusion of her uncle of Cumberland,--her riding cross-legged to meet +the judges of assize, when she acted in person at Appleby as High Sheriff +by inheritance of the county of Westmoreland,--her hairbreadth escapes +and dangers during the great rebellion, are characteristics of the woman, +so striking in themselves, that they would require little adventitious +ornament from the writer, who should take them as incidents for poem or +romance. Her courage and liberality in public life were only to be +equalled by her order, economy, and devotion in private. "She was," says +Dr. Whitaker, "the oldest and most independent courtier in the kingdom," +at the time of her death.--"She had known and admired queen Elizabeth;-- +she had refused what she deemed an iniquitous award of king James," +though urged to submit to it by her first husband, the Earl of Dorset;-- +"She rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell, and repelled +with disdain the interposition of a profligate minister under Charles the +Second." A woman of such dauntless spirit and conduct would be a fitting +subject, even for the pencil of the mighty magician of Abbotsford. A +journal of her life in her own hand-writing is still in existence at +Appleby Castle. I have heard, that it descends to the minutest details +about her habits and feelings, and that it is that cause alone, which +prevents its publication. + +_Blackwood's Magazine._ + + + + * * * * * + +A VILLAGE FUNERAL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. + + +The sun was careering brightly in the heavens, and all nature was +rejoicing in its unclouded glory, as the funeral procession of Helen +Hartlington, and Antony Clifford, wound its toilsome and melancholy way to +Bolton Abbey. The sportive Deer were bounding lightly over the hills, and +the glad birds were warbling melodiously in the thickets, as if none but +the living were moving amongst them; and but for the wild dirge, which +mingled with the whispers of the wind, and but for the deep-toned knell +which ever and anon rose slowly and mournfully above it, the lone +traveller would never have conjectured that Death was conveying its +victims through those smiling scenes. As the procession approached the +portals of the Abbey, it was met, as was then customary, by the young men +and maidens of the surrounding villages, in their best array, who hung +upon the hearse chaplets of fragrant flowers, and strewed its path with +rosemary, pansies, and rue. At the same moment the solemn chant of the +Miserere thrilled upon the soul, and was succeeded, as it gradually melted +into silence, by the still more affecting strains of the parting requiem +for the dead--_Ibid._ + + + + * * * * * + + +NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW--(JUST PUBLISHED.) + + +An old acquaintance of ours, as remarkable for the grotesque queerness of +his physiognomy, as for the kindness and gentleness of his disposition, +was asked by a friend, where he had been? He replied, he had been seeing +the lion, which was at that time an object of curiosity--(we are not sure +whether it was _Nero_ or _Cato_.) "And what," rejoined the querist, "did +the lion think of you?" The jest passed as a good one; and yet under it +lies something that is serious and true. + + + + * * * * * + +The possibility of a great change being introduced by very slight +beginnings may be illustrated by the tale which Lockman tells of a vizier +who, having offended his master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a +lofty tower. At night his wife came to weep below his window. "Cease your +grief," said the sage; "go home for the present, and return hither when +you have procured a live black-beetle, together with a little _ghee_, (or +buffalo's butter.) three clews, one of the finest silk, another of stout +packthread, and another of whip-cord; finally, a stout coil of rope."-- +When she again came to the foot of the tower, provided according to her +husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a +little of the _ghee_, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to +place the reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the smell of the +butter, which he conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle +continued to ascend till he reached the top, and thus put the vizier in +possession of the end of the silk thread, who drew up the packthread by +means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and, by +means of the cord, a stout rope capable of sustaining his own weight,--and +so at last escaped from the place of his duresse. + + + + * * * * * + +ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. + + +A munificent lady in Yorkshire has recently offered to subscribe 50,000_l_. +towards the endowment of an university _in that county_, and a noble earl +has professed his willingness to give a similar benefaction. These +princely examples will no doubt be followed ere long, and the scheme +completed--though we have some doubts whether the site of the new +university for the north would be best selected in Yorkshire. + + + + * * * * * + +Greater changes have taken place in no single age than are at this time in +progress; and the revolutions in which empires, kingdoms, or republics are +made and unmade, and political constitutions rise and burst like bubbles +upon a standing pool, when its stagnant waters are disturbed by a +thunder-shower, are not the most momentous of those changes, neither are +they those which most nearly concern us. The effects of the discovery of +printing could never be felt in their full extent by any nation, till +education, and the diffusion also of a certain kind of knowledge, had +become so general, that newspapers should be accessible to every body, and +the very lowest of the people should have opportunity to read them, or to +hear them read. The maxim that it is politic to keep the people in +ignorance, will not be maintained in any country where the rulers are +conscious of upright intentions, and confident likewise in the intrinsic +worth of the institutions which it is their duty to uphold, knowing those +institutions to be founded on the rock of righteous principles. They know, +also, that the best means of preserving them from danger is so to promote +the increase of general information, as to make the people perceive how +intimately their own well-being depends upon the stability of the state, +thus making them wise to obedience. + + + + * * * * * + +The heart and mind can as little lie barren as the earth whereon we move +and have our being, and which, if it produce not herbs and fruit meet for +the use of man, will be overrun with weeds and thorns. Muley Ismael, a +personage of tyrannical celebrity in his day, always employed his troops +in some active and useful work, when they were not engaged in war, "to +keep them," he said, "from being devoured by the worm of indolence." In +the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome +advice:-- + + "Eschew the idle vein + Flee, flee from doing nought! + For never was there idle brain + But bred an idle thought." + + + + * * * * * + +FLOGGING. + + +Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning +the rod fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among +birch-trees than was made among the cedars for the building of his temple, +and his house of the forest of Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with +this text in his mouth, has taken the rod in hand, when he himself, for +ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it far more than the +poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by terror, has +stood untrussed and trembling before him. + + + + + * * * * * + +THE SKETCH BOOK. + + * * * * * + + +THE VISION OF VALDEMARO. + +_Translated from the Spanish._ + + +It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our +faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an +instant my soul was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in +the centre of a spacious plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses. +The whole enclosure was full of superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape +of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost touched the clouds; and others the +forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the most imposing spectacle. +On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of the heroes +who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying +on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare +earth, meanly enveloped in miserable garbs. + +I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light +of the moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively +regarded these proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the +pompous epitaphs inscribed on them. "How remarkable a difference!" I +observed to myself; "when ordinary men, incapable of eclipsing their +fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, those great men who +have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, even after +the lapse of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they +who have had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though +inexorable fate refuse to spare them, their ashes afterwards revive, and +under the very stroke of death, they rise triumphantly to a glorious +immortality!" + +I was indulging in these reflections, when, on a sudden, a hoarse and +fearful blast of wind affrighted me. The earth rocked under my feet, the +mausoleum waved to and fro with violence, the cypresses were torn up with +tremendous fury, and, from time to time, I heard a sound as of fleshless +bones clashing together. In a moment, the heavens were covered with black +clouds, and the moon withdrew her splendour. The horror inspired by the +darkness of the night, and the dead silence which reigned amidst the tombs, +caused my hair to stand on end, and stiffened my limbs until I had +scarcely power to move them. + +In this dreadful situation, I saw an old man approaching me. His head was +bald--his beard white--in his right hand he carried a crooked scythe, and +in his left an hour-glass--whilst two immense flapping wings nearly +concealed his body. "Thou," said he to me in a terrible voice, "who art +still dazzled by the dignities and honours which mankind pursue with such +reckless eagerness, see whether you perceive any difference between the +dust of the monarch and that of the most wretched slave!" He spoke, and +striking the ground a tremendous blow with his scythe, all these proud +monuments fell headlong to the earth, and in an instant were reduced to +dust. My terror was then redoubled, and my strength almost failed me. I +could only perceive that there was no distinction. All was dust, +corruption, and ashes. "Go," said he, "seek another road to the temple of +immortality! Behold the termination of those titles of grandeur which men +so ardently desire! They vainly imagine that, after death, they shall +survive in history, or in marbles, which shall leap emulously from their +quarries to form such monuments of pride as you have just beheld; but they +are miserably deceived; their existence ends at the instant they expire, +and their fame, however deeply engraven on brass and marble, cannot have a +longer duration than that of a brief moment when compared with eternity! I +myself, TIME, consume and utterly annihilate all those structures which +have vanity for their base; the works which are founded on virtue are not +subject to my jurisdiction. They pass to the boundless regions of another +world, and receive the reward of immortality!" With these words he +disappeared. + +I awoke with a deadly dullness, and found that my sleep had been +productive of instruction. Thenceforth I regarded, in a very different +point of view, the pompous titles which before had dazzled me, and, by the +aid of a little reflection, I soon became thoroughly sensible of their +vanity. + +K.N. + + + + + * * * * * + +RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS. + + * * * * * + + +ORIGIN OF ISABELLA COLOUR. + + +The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II. +king of Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year +1602, he laid siege to Ostend, then in possession of the heretics; and his +pious princess, who attended him on the expedition, made a vow, that, till +the city was taken, she would not change her clothes. Contrary to +expectation, it was three years before the place was reduced; in which +time her highness' linen had acquired a hue, which, from the superstition +of the princess and the times, was much admired, and adopted by the court +fashionables under the name of "Isabella colour." It is a yellow or soiled +buff, better imagined than described. + +HALBERT H. + + + + * * * * * + +FAMINE IN ENGLAND. + + +A severe dearth began in May, 1315, and proceeded to the utmost extremity, +until after the harvest of 1316. In July, 1316, the quarter of wheat rose +to 30_s_., (equal to 22_l_. 10_s_.;) and in August reached to the enormous +price of 40_s_. or 30_l_. the quarter. A loaf of coarse bread, which was +scarcely able to support a man for a single day, sold for 4_d_., equal in +value to 5_s_. now. Wheat rose in Scotland at one time to the enormous sum +of 100_s_. the quarter, equal to 75_l_. of the present currency. This +dearth continued, but with mitigated severity, until after the harvest of +1317; but great abundance returned in 1318. This famine occasioned a +prodigious mortality among the people, owing to the want of proper food, +and employment of unwholesome substitutes. The rains set in so early in +1315, and continued so violently, that most of the seed of that year +perished in the ground; the meadows were so inundated, that the hay crop +of that year was utterly destroyed. + +H.B.A. + + + + * * * * * + +OLD ADVERTISEMENTS. + + +Puffing is by no means a modern art, although so extravagantly practised +in the present day. Of its success two hundred years since, _E.S.N._ of +Rochester, has sent us the following specimens:-- + +At the end of an old medical book which I have in my possession, are the +following, among other advertisements:--"_The new Plannet no Plannet_, or +the Earth no _Wandring_ Star. Here, out of the principles of divinity, +philosophy, &c. the earth's immobility is asserted, and _Copernicus_, his +opinion, as erroneous, &c. fully refuted, by _Alexander Ross_, in quarto." + +"_A Recantation of an Ill-led Life_, or a discovery of the highway law, as +also many _cautelous_ admonitions, and ful instructions how to know, shun, +and apprehende a _thiefe_, most necessary for all honest travellers to +peruse, observe, and practice; written by _John Clavel_, gent." + + + + + * * * * * + +ENGLISH FASHIONS. + + +Our constant changes of habit were the subject of ridicule at home and +abroad, even at an early period. Witness the ancient limner's jest in 1570, +who, being employed to decorate the gallery of the Lord Admiral Lincoln +with representations of the costumes of the different nations of Europe, +when he came to the English, drew a naked man, with cloth of various +colours lying by him, and a pair of shears held in his hand, as in rueful +suspense and hesitation; or the earlier conceit, to the same effect, of +"Andrew Borde of Physicke Doctor," alias "Andreas Perforatus," who, to the +first chapter of his "Boke of the Instruction of Knowledge," (1542,) +prefixed a naked figure, with these lines:-- + + "I am an Englishman, and naked I stande here, + Musing in minde what rayment I shal weare: + For nowe I wil weare this, and now I will weare that-- + And now I will weare I cannot telle whatt." + + + + + * * * * * + +THE GATHERER. + + + "A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles." + + SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +CONNING (_quasi Cunning_.) + +A convict, during the voyage to New South Wales, slipped overboard, and +was drowned--What was his crime?--_Felo de se_ (fell o'er the sea.) + + * * * * * + +THE CHANGES OF TIME. + + + I dreamt, in Fancy's joyous day, + That every passing month was May; + But Reason told me to remember, + And now, alas! they're all December! + + * * * * * + +The only memorial of the death of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, remaining +at Kirkby Moorside (where he died in obscurity and distress,) is an +entry in an old register of burials, which runs thus: "1687, April 17th, +Gorges Villus, Lord dook of bookingham."--_Ellis Correspondence._ + + * * * * * + + + Had we not lov'd so dearly, + Had we not lov'd sincerely, + Had vows been never plighted, + Our hopes had ne'er been blighted, + Dearest. + + Had we met in younger days, + Had we fled each other's gaze, + Oh had we never spoken, + Our hearts had ne'er been broken, + Dearest. + + Had you not look'd so kindly, + Had I not lov'd so blindly, + No pain 'twould be to sever, + As now we may for ever, + Dearest. + + If yet you love sincerely, + The one who loves you dearly, + Then let the sigh betoken, + Love for a heart you've broken, + Dearest. + +Z. + + + + * * * * * + +THE TRAGEDY OF DOUGLAS. + + +It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal of this tragedy +took place in the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Ward, +one of Digges' company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of, +the most distinguished literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. +The following was the cast of the piece on that occasion:-- + + _Dramatis Personae_. + _Lord Randolph_, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh. + _Glenalvon_, David Hume, Historian. + _Old Norval_, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh. + _Douglas_, John Home, the Author. + _Lady Randolph_, Dr. Fergusson, Professor. + _Anna_ (the maid), Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church. + + +The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges and Mrs. Sarah Ward, were the +Right Hon. Pat. Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, (the +two last were then only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele, and William Home, +ministers. The company (all but Mrs. Ward) dined afterwards at the Griskin +Club, in the Abbey. The above is a signal proof of the strong passion for +the drama which then obtained among the _literati_ of this capital, since +then, unfortunately, much abated. The rehearsal must have been conducted +with very great secrecy; for what would the Kirk, which took such deep +offence at the composition of the piece by one of its ministers, have said +to the fact, of no less than four of these being engaged in rehearsing it, +and two others attending the exhibition? The circumstance of the gentle +Anna having been personated by "Dr. Blair, minister of the High Church," +is a very droll one.--_Edinburgh Evening Post_. + + + + * * * * * + +THE CUMBERLAND LANDLORD. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +During a recent excursion in Cumberland, I copied the following epitaph +from the _album_ kept at the inn at Pooley Bridge, the landlord of which +is well known, as being quite an original:--W.W. + + Will Russell was a landlord bold, + A noble wight was he, + Right fond of quips and merry cracks, + And ev'ry kind of glee. + + Full five-and-twenty years agone + He came to Pooley Height, + And there he kept the Rising Sun, + And drunk was ev'ry night. + + No lord, nor squire, nor serving man, + In all the country round, + But lov'd to call in at the Sun, + Wherever he was bound, + + To hold a crack with noble Will, + And take a cheerful cup + Of brandy, or of Penrith ale, + Or pop, right bouncing up. + + But now poor Will lies sleeping here, + Without his hat or stick, + Nor longer rules the Rising Sun, + As he did well when wick.[1] + + Will's honest heart could ne'er refuse + To drink with ev'ry brother; + Then let us not his name abuse-- + We'll ne'er see sic another. + + But let us hope the gods above, + Right mindful of his merits, + Have given him a gentle shove + Into the land of spirits. + + 'Tis then his talents will expand, + And make a noble figure. + In tossing off a brimming glass, + To make his belly bigger. + + Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost + Be ever ready at its heavenly post; + And may thy proud posterity e'er be + Landlords at Pooley to eternity. + + +[1] Wick in Cumberland is used for alive. + + * * * * * + + +A WATCH. + +Before a watch is ready for the pocket, the component parts thereof must +have passed through the hands of not less than _an hundred and fifty +different workmen_. The fifteen principal branches are: 1. the movement +maker; who divides it into various branches, viz. pillar maker, stop stud +maker, frame mounter, screw maker, cock and potence maker, verge maker, +pinion maker, balance wheel maker, wheel cutter, fusee maker, and other +small branches; 2. dial maker, who employs a capper maker, an enameller, +painter, &c. 3. case maker, who makes the case to the frame, employs box +maker, and outside case maker, joint finisher. 4. pendant maker; (both +case and pendant go to the Goldsmith's Hall to be marked.) 5. secret +springer, and spring liner; the spring and liner are divided into other +branches; viz. the spring maker, button maker, &c. 6. cap maker; who +employs springer, &c. 7. jeweller, which comprises the diamond cutting, +setting, making ruby holes, &c. 8. motion maker, and other branches, viz. +slide maker, edge maker, and bolt maker. 9. spring maker, (_i.e._ main +spring.) consisting of wire drawer, &c. hammerer, polisher, and temperer. +10. chain maker; this comprises several branches, wire drawer, link maker +and rivetter, hook maker, &c. 11. engraver, who also employs a piercer and +name cutter. 12. finisher, who employs a wheel and fusee cutter, and other +workers in smaller branches. 13. gilder is divided into two, viz. gilder +and brusher. 14. glass and hands, the glass employs two, viz. blower and +maker; hand maker employs die sinker, finisher, &c. 15. fitter in, who +overlooks the whole, fits hands on, &c. The above 15 branches are +subdivided again and again. + + * * * * * + + +This day is published, price 5_s_. with a Frontispiece, and thirty other +Engravings, the + +ARCANA OF SCIENCE, AND ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS, FOR 1829. + +The MECHANICAL department contains ONE HUNDRED New Inventions and +Discoveries, with 14 _Engravings_. + +CHEMICAL, SEVENTY articles, with 2 _Engravings_. + +NATURAL HISTORY, 135 New Facts and Discoveries, with 7 _Engravings_. + +ASTRONOMICAL and METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA--35 articles--6 _Engravings_. + +AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, and RURAL ECONOMY, 100 Articles. + +DOMESTIC ECONOMY 50 Articles. + +USEFUL ARTS, 50 Articles. + +FINE ARTS. + +PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. + +MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER, &c. + +"We hope the editor will publish a similar volume annually."--_Gardener's +Magazine._ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + +***** This file should be named 11382-8.txt or 11382-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/3/8/11382/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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No. 354.</title> + + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + + .note, .footnote + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + .poem + {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + .poem p.i14 {margin-left: 9em;} + + .figure + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em; margin: auto;} + .figure img + {border: none;} + .figure p + + .side { float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic;} + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> + </head> + + <body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and +Instruction, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction + Volume 13, No. 354, Saturday, January 31, 1829. + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 29, 2004 [EBook #11382] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <hr class="full" /> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page65" name="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> + + <h1>THE MIRROR<br /> + OF<br /> + LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.</h1> + <hr class="full" /> + + <table width="100%" summary="Volume, Number, and Date"> + <tr> + <td align="left"><b>Vol. 13. No. 354.</b></td> + + <td align="center"><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1829.</b></td> + + <td align="right"><b>[PRICE 2d.</b></td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK.</h2> + + <div class="figure" style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/354-001.png"><img width="100%" src="images/354-001.png" + alt="THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK." /></a> + </div> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page66" name="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> + + <p>In a recent Number of the MIRROR we offered ourselves as the reader's + <i>cicerone</i> throughout the interior of this stupendous building, the exterior of + which is represented in the annexed engraving; and the architectural pretensions of + which will, we trust, be found of equal interest to the interior.</p> + + <p>The Colosseum is what is termed a polygon of sixteen sides, 130 feet in diameter. + Each angle is strengthened by a double square pilaster of the Doric order, which + supports an entablature, continued round the whole edifice. Above the cornice is a + blocking course, surmounted by an attic, with an appropriate cornice and + sub-blocking, to add to the height of the building. The whole is crowned with a + majestic cupola, supported by three receding <i>scamilli</i>, or steps, and finished + with an immense open circle. The upper part of the cupola is glazed, and protected + with fine wire-work, and the lower part is covered with sheet copper; which + distinctions are shown in the engraving.</p> + + <p>When the spectator's surprise and admiration at the vastness of the building have + somewhat subsided, his attention will be drawn to the fine and harmonious proportions + of the portico, considered by architects as one of the best specimens of Graeco-Doric + in the metropolis. This portion of the building is copied from the portico of the + Pantheon at Rome, "which, in the harmony of its proportions, and the exquisite beauty + of its columns, surpasses every temple on the earth." Altogether, the grandeur and + effect of this vast structure should be seen to be duly appreciated.</p> + + <p>The adjoining lodges are in exceedingly good taste; and the plantations laid out + by Mr. Hornor, are equally pleasing, whilst their verdure relieves the massiveness of + the building; and in the engraving, the artist has caught a glimpse of the + lattice-work which encloses the gardens and conservatories attached to the splendid + suite of rooms. The front is enclosed by handsome iron rails, tastefully painted in + imitation of bronze. We ought also to mention, that the means by which the portico is + made to resemble immense blocks of stone, is peculiarly successful.</p> + + <p>The architect of this extraordinary building is Mr. Decimus Burton, aided by his + ingenious employer, Mr. Hornor, of whose taste and talents we have already spoken in + terms of high commendation. Its original name, or, we should say, its popular name, + was the <i>Coliseum</i>, evidently a misnomer, from its distant resemblance to that + gigantic work of antiquity. The present and more appropriate name is the COLOSSEUM, + in allusion to its colossal dimensions; for it would not show much discernment to + erect a building like the Pantheon, and call it the Coliseum. The term <i>Diorama</i> + has, likewise, been strangely corrupted since its successful adoption in the Regent's + Park—it being now almost indefinitely applied to any number or description of + paintings.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>SNEEZING AMONG THE ANCIENTS.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>Among the Greeks, sneezing was reckoned a good omen. The practice of saluting the + person who sneezed, existed in Africa, among nations unknown to the Greeks and + Romans. Brown, in his "Vulgar Errors," says, "We read in Godignus, that, upon a + sneeze of the emperor of Monumotata, there passed acclamations successively through + the city." The author of the "Conquest of Peru" assures us, that the cacique of + Guachoia having sneezed in the presence of the Spaniards, the Indians of his train + fell prostrate before him, stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the + accustomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to enlighten him, to defend + him, and to be his constant guard. The Romans saluted each other on sneezing. + Plutarch tells us, the genius of Socrates informed him by sneezing, when it was + necessary to perform any action. The young Parthenis, hurried on by her passions, + 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. In the + Odyssey, we are informed that Penelope, harassed by the vexatious courtship of her + suitors, begins to curse them all, and to pour forth vows for the return of Ulysses. + Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a loud sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, + and regards this sign as an assurance of the approaching return of her husband. + Xenophon was haranguing his troops; when a soldier sneezed in the moment he was + exhorting them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. The whole army, moved + by this presage, determined to pursue the project of their general; and Xenophon + orders sacrifices to Jupiter, the preserver. This religious reverence for sneezing, + so ancient and so universal even in the time of Homer, always excited the curiosity + of the Greek philosophers and the rabbins. These last spread a tradition, that, after + the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page67" name="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> creation of + the world, God made a law to this purport, that every man should sneeze but once in + his life, and that at the same instant he should render up his soul into the hands of + his Creator, without any preceding indisposition. Jacob obtained an exemption from + the common law, and the favour of being informed of his last hour. He sneezed, and + did not die; and this sign of death was changed into a sign of life. Notice of this + was sent to all the princes of the earth; and they ordained, that in future sneezing + should be accompanied with <i>forms of blessings</i>, and vows for the persons who + sneezed. Thus the custom of <i>blessing persons who sneeze</i> is of higher antiquity + than some authors suppose, for several writers affirm that it commenced in the year + 750, under Pope Gregory the Great, when a pestilence occurred in which those who + sneezed died; whence the pontiff appointed a form of prayer, and a wish to be said to + persons sneezing, for averting this fatality from them. Some say Prometheus was the + first that wished well to sneezers. For further information on this <i>ticklish</i> + subject, I refer the reader to Brand's "Observations on Popular Antiquities."</p> + + <p>P. T. W.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>STANZAS.</h3> + + <h4><i>(Written on a stone, part of the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, Surrey).</i></h4> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>From gayer scenes, where pleasure's mad career</p> + + <p class="i2">Infects the milder avenues of thought,</p> + + <p>Where secret Envy swells the note of Fear,</p> + + <p class="i2">And Hope is in its own illusion caught.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Where, in Ambition's thorny path of power,</p> + + <p class="i2">Contending votaries bow to toils of state,</p> + + <p>I turn, regardless of the passing hour,</p> + + <p class="i2">To trace the havoc of avenging fate.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ne'er may the wanton love of active life</p> + + <p class="i2">Control the sage's precepts of repose,</p> + + <p>Ne'er may the murmurs of tumultuous strife</p> + + <p class="i2">Wreck the tranquillity of private woes.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Here, on the crumbling relics of a stone,</p> + + <p class="i2">O'er which the pride of masonry has smiled,</p> + + <p>Here am I wont to ruminate alone.</p> + + <p class="i2">And pause, in Fancy's airy robe beguil'd.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Disparting time the towers of ages bends,</p> + + <p class="i2">Forms and indignant sinks the proudest plan,</p> + + <p>O'er the neglected path the weed extends,</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor heeds the wandering steps of thoughtful man.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Here expiation, murder has appeased,</p> + + <p class="i2">Treason and homicide have been forgiven,</p> + + <p>Pious credulity her votaries eased,</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor blamed th' indulgent majesty of heaven.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Some erring matron has her crimes disclosed,</p> + + <p class="i2">Some father conscious of awak'ning fate,</p> + + <p>Safe from revenge, hath innocence reposed,</p> + + <p class="i2">Unseen and undisturbed at others' hate.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Some sorrowing virgin her complainings poured</p> + + <p class="i2">With pious hope has many a pang relieved;</p> + + <p>Here the faint pilgrim to his rest restored,</p> + + <p class="i2">The scanty boon of luxury has received.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sated with conquest from the noise of arms,</p> + + <p class="i2">The aged warrior with his fame retired,</p> + + <p>Careless of thirsty spoil,—of war's alarms—</p> + + <p class="i2">Nor with imperial emulation fired.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Where once her orisons devotion paid</p> + + <p class="i2">By fear, or hope, or reverence inspired,</p> + + <p>The sad solicitude of youth allay'd,</p> + + <p class="i2">And age in resignation calm attired.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The houseless cottager from wind severe,</p> + + <p class="i2">His humble habitation oft has made;</p> + + <p>Once gloomy penitence sat silent there,</p> + + <p class="i2">And midnight tapers gleam'd along the shade.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The lonely shepherd here has oft retired,</p> + + <p class="i2">To count his flock and tune his rustic lay,</p> + + <p>Where loud Hosannas distant ears inspired,</p> + + <p class="i2">And saintly vespers closed the solemn day.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>HUGH DELMORE.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>BOOK-MACHINERY.</h3> + + <h4><i>(To the Editor of the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>The world being supplied with books by <i>machinery</i> is almost, literally, a + fact. Type-founding and stereotyping are, of course, mechanical processes; and + lately, Dr. Church, of Boston, invented a plan for <i>composing</i> (setting the + types) by machinery; the sheets are printed by steam; the paper is made by machinery; + and pressed and beaten for binding by a machine of very recent date. Little more + remains to be done than to write by machinery; and, to judge by many recent + productions, a <i>spinning-jenny</i> would be the best engine for this purpose.</p> + + <p>PHILO.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>GRAVITATION.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>In a matter-of-fact age like the present, methinks it behoves every man to apply + the improvements of scientific research as much as possible to the ordinary concerns + of life. Science and society may thus be called <i>at par</i>, and philosophical + theory will hence enlighten the practical tradesman.</p> + + <p>To demonstrate the truth of the above remarks, I mean, with the editor's leave, to + prove the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket, upon the principles of + gravitation, according to Sir Isaac Newton's "Principia."</p> + + <p>The learned doctor has mathematically proved that all bodies gravitate or incline + to the centre. It is on this principle only that we can account for our being fixed + to the earth; that we are surrounded by the atmosphere; and that we are constantly + attended by, and seem constantly to attend, the planets around us.</p> + + <p>Should any farther demonstration be necessary than the incomparable Sir Isaac has + himself furnished us with, let any <span class="pagenum"><a id="page68" + name="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> sceptic who doubts that the earth attracts all + smaller bodies towards its centre, only take a hop from the Monument or St. Paul's, + and he will soon find the power of gravitation, and die by the truth of the + experiment.</p> + + <p>But what, methinks, exclaims the reader, has all this to do with the proposition + in hand, viz. the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket? Why, I'll tell + you—from a due consideration of this very principle, you will soon see the use + of a man's keeping his <i>money</i> in his pocket. It is this alone (the pocket) + which nowadays constitutes the centre of friendship; there alone, therefore, must + this most valuable, most faithful of all friends (<i>money</i>) be deposited. Now if + this friend be of magnitude, he will soon collect many more around you, who, true as + the needle to the pole, will point to you from every quarter—friends who will + smile in your prosperity, bask in the sunshine of your glory, dance while you pay the + piper, and to the very ground will be "votre très humble serviteur, monsieur." + But if by sickness, misfortune, generosity, or the like, this friend be removed from + your pocket, the centre is destroyed, the equilibrium is lost, away fly your friends, + and, like pelicans, turn their beaks at your breast whenever you approach. "It is + your own fault, fellow; you might have done well if you would; but you are an ass, + and could not keep a friend when you had him; and so you may die in a ditch, and go + to the devil, my dear."</p> + + <p>The man of affluence, who lavishes away his substance, may aptly enough be likened + to a porpoise sporting in the ocean—the smaller fry play around him, admire his + dexterity, fan his follies, glory in his gambols; but let him once be enmeshed in the + net of misfortune, and they who foremost fawned under his fins, will first fall foul + of him.</p> + + <p>Now, to illustrate the subject further, let us consider the advantages arising + from this practical use of gravitation, and the losses attendant upon the neglect + thereof. First, then, he who <i>has</i> secured this friend in his pocket, may go + <i>when</i> he pleases, and <i>where</i> he pleases, and <i>how</i> he pleases, + either on foot or on horseback, by barouche or by boat, and he shall be respected and + esteemed, and called <i>sir</i>, and made welcome in every season and in every place, + and no one shall presume to say unto him, Why doest thou these things?</p> + + <p>But a man that hath not this friend in his pocket, may not go when, where, and how + he pleases, but when, where, and how he is directed by others. Moreover he shall + travel on foot, and perchance without shoes, and not have the benefit of a horse, + barouche, or boat; and moreover he shall be called <i>sirrah</i>, and not <i>sir</i>; + neither shall he be esteemed nor respected, nor made welcome; and they shall say unto + him, "Don't be troublesome, fellow; get out of the way, for thou hast no business + here!"</p> + + <p>The rich man shall be clothed in scarlet, and get whatsoever his heart desires; + and the people shall give him the wall, and bow before him to the ground. But the + poor man shall be clad in rags, and walk in the dirt, regarded by no man; nor shall + he even purchase to himself a name, though the composition thereof consist only of + air!</p> + + <p>This is the state of modern times—such our modern friendship; and since, + gentle reader, it is so, who, possessing one grain of common sense, would not duly + attend to the theory of gravitation, by taking care of a friend while he has him, + especially if he be so portable as to be placed in one's pocket.</p> + + <p>JACOBUS.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE DREAM OF POESY.—A FRAGMENT.</h3> + + <h4>BY LEIGH CLIFFE,</h4> + + <h4><i>Author of "Parga," "Knights of Ritzberg," &c.</i></h4> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I had a vision fair and bright,</p> + + <p class="i2">And when I waken'd I was griev'd</p> + + <p>To own 'twas but a dream of night,</p> + + <p class="i2">And sigh'd to find my hopes deceivd.</p> + + <p>But then o'er my fancy crept,</p> + + <p>Those who hail'd me while I slept.</p> + + <p>There were those; of olden time,</p> + + <p>Milton, wond'rous, wild, sublime—</p> + + <p>Chaucer, of the many tales;</p> + + <p>Spenser, soft as summer gales,</p> + + <p>With a mild and gracious mien</p> + + <p>Leading on his "Faery Queene."</p> + + <p>Shakspeare, child of fancy, stood</p> + + <p>Smiling in a mirthful mood,</p> + + <p>As tho' he that moment spied</p> + + <p>The fairy folk by Bottom's side,</p> + + <p>Or beheld by Herne's old oak,</p> + + <p>Falstaff with his antler yoke.</p> + + <p>Dryden, laurel-crown'd and hoary,</p> + + <p>Proudly stood in all his glory;</p> + + <p>Pope, as if his claims to speak</p> + + <p>Rested on the ancient Greek;</p> + + <p>And that prince of merry-men,</p> + + <p>Laughing, quaffing, "rare old Ben,"</p> + + <p>Whose quaint conceits, so gay, so wild,</p> + + <p>Have oft my heart from woe beguil'd,</p> + + <p>Shone like a meteor 'midst the throng,</p> + + <p>The envy of each son of song.</p> + + <p>There too were those of later years,</p> + + <p>Who've moved the mind to mirth or tears:</p> + + <p>Byron, with his radiant ray—</p> + + <p>Scott, with many a magic lay—</p> + + <p>The gay and gorgeous minstrel, Moore,</p> + + <p>Rich in the charms of Eastern lore—</p> + + <p>Campbell, like a brilliant star,</p> + + <p>Shed the beams of "Hope" afar—</p> + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page69" name="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> + + <p>Rogers, with a smiling eye</p> + + <p>Told the joys of "Memory,"</p> + + <p>Southey, with his language quaint,</p> + + <p>Describing daemon, sinner, saint—</p> + + <p>Wordsworth, of the simpler strain,</p> + + <p>Clare, the young unletter'd swain—</p> + + <p>Wiffen, who in fairy bowers,</p> + + <p>Culls blossoms in "Aonian hours,"</p> + + <p>Shone like a star in dusky skies,</p> + + <p>When first the evening shades arise.</p> + + <p>Barton, the gentle bard, was there,</p> + + <p>And Hemans, tender as she's fair—</p> + + <p>And Croly, whose bright genius beams</p> + + <p>Ever on virtue's fairest themes;</p> + + <p>With Burns, the muse's darling child—</p> + + <p>And Luttrell, laughing, sportive, wild,</p> + + <p>As when be penn'd for Julia's eye,</p> + + <p>His sweet "Advice" for what? for why?</p> + + <p>And Crabbe, who misery portrays,</p> + + <p>With crowds of others, crown'd with bays,</p> + + <p>Who shed around their bright'ning beams,</p> + + <p>And cheer'd a humbler poet's dreams.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>ANCIENT SITE OF THE EXETER 'CHANGE, &c.</h3> + + <h4><i>(For the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>Here was formerly the parsonage-house for the parish of St. Clement Danes, with a + garden and close for the parson's horse, till Sir Thomas Palmer, knight, in the reign + of Edward VI., came into the possession of the living, and began to build a house; + but upon his attainder for high treason, in the first year of Queen Mary, it reverted + to the crown. This house remained in the crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir + William Cecil, lord treasurer, who augmented and rebuilt it, when it was called Cecil + House, and Burleigh House. It was said to have been a noble pile, and adorned with + four square turrets. It was afterwards called Exeter House, from the title of his son + and successor. Lord Burleigh died here in 1598. It fronted the Strand, and its + gardens extended from the west side of the garden-wall of Wimbledon House to the + Green-lane, which is now Southampton-street. Lord Burleigh was in this house honoured + by a visit from Queen Elizabeth, who, knowing him to be subject to the gout, would + always make him to sit in her presence, which, it is probable, (says Nightingale,) + the lord treasurer considered a gteal indulgence from so haughty a lady, inasmuch as + he one day apologized for the badness of his legs. To which the queen replied, "My + lord, we make use of you not for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of + your head." When she came to Burleigh House, it is probable she had that kind of + pyramidial head-dress then in fashion, built of wire, lace, ribands, and jewels, + which shot up to a great height; for when the principal domestic ushered her in, as + she passed the threshold he desired her majesty to stoop. To which she replied, "For + your master's sake I will stoop, but not for the king of Spain." After the fire of + London, this house was occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till 1672; and + here the various courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by + the family, the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the + upper part, like Babylon of old, is a nest of wild beasts, birds, and reptiles. The + present "march of intellect" will <i>march away</i> these bipeds and quadrupeds, and + no doubt the noble Marquess of Exeter "would much rather have their <i>room</i> than + their <i>company</i>."</p> + + <p>P. T. W.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>A DAY AT FONTAINBLEAU.—THE ROYAL HUNT.</h3> + + <p>Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the <i>Duc de Grammont</i> ,and + the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau, in order to enjoy + the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to meet them, to see with my own + eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard so much. Accordingly I ordered post + horses, and arrived in the town about six hours after his Most Christian Majesty.</p> + + <p>After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set out at + eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour—a late one in France, when + compared with England—the roads were by no means thronged, and I could very + plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians were attached to the court, + and that the pedestrians were either such as had been in the enjoyment of some of the + good things of this life under the present family, or such as were in expectancy of + them. There was a third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by + the desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of obtaining the + entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness the feats of the royal + party. Among this latter class, old men, old women, and very young boys + predominated.</p> + + <p>The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The various + alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted, create an imposing + and majestic <i>coup d'oeil</i>, which is only bounded almost by the horizon. At the + bottom and in the middle of these alleys were placed mounted <i>gendarmes</i> to + restrain the intrusion of the populace, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page70" + name="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> to prevent them from coming—such is French + curiosity—within shot of the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my + left, the great body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed + space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party took their + station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly behind. Across this stand, + and within the enclosed space, were the roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, + while the King, the Dauphin, the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, + had their shots in succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "<i>coup</i>." + Ten men were busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin. + Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as the + chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot after shot passed in + quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the ears of those among the + crowd—and they were the fewer number—who had hearts within them, and to + British feeling each reverberation brought a mingled sensation. In England, and in + most other nations, whether civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some + chance at least of escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed + space around the stand was surrounded by a kind of <i>chevaux de frize</i>, six feet + in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the work of + destruction of course went rapidly on.</p> + + <p>Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose drivers + vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were placed for the purpose + of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they accumulated in quick succession within + the enclosure. In the short interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts + filled with the produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed + to the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as they had + been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself were ranged; and he + numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one <i>marcassin</i> (young wild boar;) the spoil + of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks, being eight less than his royal father, + while the rest of the company destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total + of 138 roes, and one wild boar.</p> + + <p>While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of disembowelling + quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range the game in the order I + have mentioned—another ripped open the body with a sharp knife, while a third + party, to the amount of a dozen, were engaged in the disembowelling.</p> + + <p>The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into evening. + The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the forest and return to + Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I had not yet seen him, and my party + being anxious to come in contact with royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the + crowd began to rush towards the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept + them at bay. The multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two + lines; and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming.</p> + + <p>His majesty was on foot—he was surrounded by the officers of his household, + dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his breast. On his head was a + small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap years, and of services. His breeches + were of the homeliest thickset; and he also wore a pair of large leather + gaiters—such as are very common among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. + Though the conformation of his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, + and he appeared in perfect health.</p> + + <p>It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a deeper tint to + the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and his majesty had been engaged + in the sport from six in the morning, without intermission. Untired, however, in the + work, the king determined to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he + returned to the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain. + Three separate bevies of deer were let loose—again I heard the fearful shots, + and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the crowd; and, after + having given directions about the game, entered his carriage with a hasty step, and + at a rapid pace drove off for Fontainbleau.</p> + <i>Monthly Magazine.</i> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>LAKE ERIE.</h3> + + <p>Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from the large + mass of waters it exhibits—in tranquillity, or in motion, sometimes most + vehement. It is only at its west end that it is adorned by islands. The Morasses, + earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, are only remarkable for their large + walnut and buttonwood trees, which, in a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page71" + name="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the + interior from the traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances. Neither is + the vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at least in + the summer. The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, is peculiarly + oppressive, relaxing, and long continued. The steaming swamps, which are almost + universal, are full of putrifying substances, occasioning the bilious remittents + there so prevalent. The water in common use is heated, and ill-tasted. Moskitoes, + sand, and black flies abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, + aided by a fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted. There are + circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a disagreeable + residence, but which are gradually disappearing. Its extreme fertility, the moderate + sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of communication with other countries, + will, in progress of time, render it the seat of a dense population, and a principal + granary of the western continent. Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with + equal success. The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent + quality. The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity about the + river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a small remission of duty, + by the British government, is sent to England, after having undergone an inland + carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles. Salt springs exist in almost every township, + accompanied, in one or two cases, by large beds of gypsum. Bog iron ore is common on + the north-east side of the lake, and is worked. The water communications of these + countries are astonishingly easy. Canoes can go from Quebec to Rocky Mountains, to + the Arctic Circle, or to the Mexican Gulf, without a portage longer than four miles; + and the traveller shall arrive at his journey's end as fresh and as safely as from an + English tour of pleasure. It is common for the Erie steam-boat to take goods and + passengers from Buffaloe, to Green Bay and Chicago, in Lake Michigan, a distance of + nearly 900 miles, touching, at the same time, at many intermediate ports. In about + three years, in addition to the canal connecting Lake Erie with tide-water in the + Hudson, another will be excavated across the southern dividing ridge, to communicate + with the Ohio. Near its place of junction with this river, a canal from the Atlantic, + across the Alleghanies, will enter the Ohio. Lake Erie will then also have a steady + line of water transport to Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, and New Orleans, on the + Mississippi. The surveys, preparatory to these projects, have been in execution for + two years; there is no doubt of their practicability.</p> + + <p>We cannot even hazard a conjecture as to the number of inhabitants around Lake + Erie. They are numerous, and daily augmenting; but with incomparably greater rapidity + on the south side of the lake, distributed between the States of New York, + Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Ohio, which occupies the largest portion, in 1800, had 45,000 + inhabitants; in 1810, 250,760, and, in 1820, 581,434. At present, it cannot have less + than 750,000 inhabitants, and there is ample room for more. There are few or no + Indians on the north borders of the lake. The Mohawks are placed high up the river + Ouse, and the Hurons, from four to ten miles up the river Detroit.</p> + + <p>The winds are generally either up or down the lake, and in summer they are in the + former direction for two-thirds of the time. In the middle of this season they are + commonly mild, but occasionally in perfect tornadoes, accompanied with tremendous + lightning and heavy rain. The gales begin in October, and are both violent and + dangerous. Many lives are lost annually. The winters are mild and short. The + inhabitants do not reckon on the ground being covered by snow more than three or four + months. They turn their cattle into the woods in March and April, but the lake + remains full of floating ice until May. On the 12th of May, 1821, the steam-boat + could not proceed on account of the ice. From an adjacent eminence, the lake was seen + to be covered with it in one compact mass, as far as the eye could range. As might be + expected, remittent and intermittent fevers are very prevalent in the autumn. The + febrile action rises high, and there is usually a topical affection conjoined; to + this the stimulating diet and frequent use of spirituous liquors, and exposure to + heat, mainly conduce.</p> + + <p><i>Brande's Quarterly Journal.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Hydrophobia in Foxes.</i></h3> + + <p>Foxes become mad occasionally, and there have been examples of dogs, which having + been bitten by mad foxes, have not caught the disease. In these cases it has been + proved that the stomachs of the foxes were filled with wood, earth, stones, leaves, + hair, and other substances improper for nourishment. On the contrary, when the + madness has been <span class="pagenum"><a id="page72" name="page72"></a>[pg + 72]</span> communicated, the stomach and intestines have been found completely empty. + From this difference, it is concluded that hunger is the cause of madness in foxes; + and this agrees with the results which occurred during and after the rigorous winter + of 1826-7, when these animals, with many others, suffered from want of + nourishment.—<i>From the French.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Ripening Fruit.</i></h3> + + <p>Slates have recently been employed in France for hastening the ripening of fruits. + The effect was first observed on a slate roof; since which the slates have been + placed beneath the fruit on walls.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Hatching Eggs by Hot Mineral Waters.</i></h3> + + <p>This curious process has lately been practised with great success in the south of + France. It consists in putting the eggs into a small basket, suspending the latter in + a stove heated by the hot mineral water, and turning the eggs every day. The first + trial was attended with success, and no failure was experienced in four repetitions + of it.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Lake Erie.</i></h3> + + <p>The height of Lake Erie above the Atlantic Ocean, has been ascertained to be 565 + feet. The barrier which contains it is so low, that, were it only to rise six feet, + it would inundate, on its northern and western borders, seven millions of acres, now + partly occupied by towns, villages, and farms; and it is estimated that a further + rise of six or eight feet would precipitate a vast flood of waters over the state of + Illinois, from the south end of Michigan; the great Canadian Lakes then discharging + also into the Mexican Gulf.—<i>Brande's Journal.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Cuckoo</i></h3> + + <p>Has done more for our music than musicians may be willing to allow; but it is no + more than justice to a despised bird to say, that from it we have derived the minor + scale, whose origin has puzzled so many; the cuckoo's couplet being the minor third + sung downwards.—<i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Immense Fir-tree.</i></h3> + + <p>In the Museum of Natural History at Strasburg, is shown the trunk of a silver + fir-tree, from the forest of Hochwald, at Barr, in Alsatia. The tree was 150 feet + high, with a trunk perfectly straight and free from branches to the height of 50 + feet, after which it was forked with the one shoot 100 feet long, and the other + somewhat shorter. The diameter of the trunk at the surface of the ground was 8 feet; + estimated age 350 years.—<i>Ibid.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Weather by Frogs.</i></h3> + + <p>The editor of the <i>Magazine of Natural History</i>, in his Notes during a recent + tour on the continent, says, "at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, we witnessed, for + the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an amusing application of + zoological knowledge, for the purpose of prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of + the species <i>R</i>àna arbòrea, are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 + inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, with a depth of three or four inches of water + at the bottom, and a small ladder reaching to the top of the jar. On the approach of + dry weather, the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend + into the water. These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild state here, + climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar singing noise before rain. + In the jar they get no other food than now and then a fly; one of which, we were + assured, would serve a frog for a week, though it will eat from six to twelve in a + day if it can get them. In catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs + display great adroitness."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Human Remains.</i></h3> + + <p>The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been discovered with + those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at present fully confirmed; + nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto been found. Mr. Bakewell, however, + observes, that the vast diluvial beds of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in + Asia, have not yet been scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers + agree in regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the human + race.—<i>Bakewell's Geology.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Food of Bees.</i></h3> + + <p>The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are visited + by bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of our bulbous roots. The + stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by these insects, and the extract + absorbed from them must be used as a tonic. Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of + the red clover and of the honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially + profit by the increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the + peach-tree in some parts of America. They not only drink the nectar and abstract the + pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself. We have seen twenty or + thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that is, they carried the juices of it to + their cells. The humming-bird alone can reach the <span class="pagenum"><a + id="page73" name="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> bottom of the nectary of the + honeysuckle; but even here the instinct of the bee is seen. The small birds, such as + the wren, make an incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract + a part of the juices. The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails itself of + what is left. The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower which has a powerful + odour can be discovered by them at a great distance. Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, + wild and garden thyme, herbs of all kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, + raspberry blossoms and white clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving + orchard and apiary fitly go together.</p> + <i>North American Review.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Singing Birds.</i></h3> + + <p>Those who have paid attention to the singing of birds, know well that their voice, + energy, and expression differ as widely as in man; and agreeably to this remark, Mr. + Wilson (the celebrated ornithologist) says he was so familiar with the notes of an + individual wood thrush, that he could recognise him from all his fellows the moment + he entered the woods.</p> + <i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Gigantic Fossils.</i></h3> + + <p>Some gigantic bones have been exhibited at New Orleans, but the place where they + were found is not mentioned in the communication. They consist of one of the bones of + the cranium, fifteen or twenty vertebras, two entire ribs, and part of a third, one + thigh bone, two bones of the leg, &c. The cranial bone was upwards of twenty feet + in its greatest length, about four in extreme width, and it weighed 1,200 lbs. The + ribs measured nine feet along the curve, and about three inches in thickness. It had + been conjectured that the animal to which these bones belonged was amphibious, and + perhaps of the crocodile family. It was also supposed that the animal when alive, + must have measured twenty-five feet round the body, and about 130 feet in length.</p> + <i>Trans. Geoloy. Soc.</i> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>The Cochineal Insect.</i></h3> + + <p>Our readers are doubtless aware that cochineal, so extensively used in this + country for dying,<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a + href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a> is a beautiful insect abundantly found in various + parts of Mexico and Peru. Some of these insects have lately been sent over to Old + Spain, and are doing remarkably well on the prickly pear of that country; indeed, + they are said to rival even those of Mexico in the quality and brilliancy of their + dye.</p> + + <p>Their naturalization may doubtless be extended along the shores of the + Mediterranean, Sicily, and the different states of Greece. The prickly pear is + indigenous in those places, and by little cultivation will afford sufficient + nourishment for the cochineal insects. We are also assured, (says an intelligent + correspondent of <i>The Times</i>,) that these precious insects were introduced last + year on the island of Malta, by Dr. Gorman, on account of the government, and that + they are likely to do well on that island.</p> + + <p>Dr. Gorman discovered a few weeks since, in the botanic garden at Cambridge, the + <i>grona sylvestris</i>, or wild species of cochineal, living among the leaves of the + coffee-plants, the acacia, &c. This is the kermes, or gronilla of Spain, about + which so much has been said in endeavouring to identify it with the grona fina. At + all events, this is the same species as the gronilla found on the hairs of the green + oaks in Andalusia; and in some years large and valuable crops of the gronilla are + gathered in that part of Spain by the peasantry, and sold to the Moors to dye their + scarlet.</p> + + <p>The gardener at Cambridge could not inform Dr. Gorman how long the insects had + been there, or from whence they came, but they went there by the appellation of + "amelca bug." The gardener found these insects very destructive to plants upon which + they fostered, and although he tried every means short of injuring the plants to + remove them, he found it impossible, as they adhere to the leaves and parts of the + stem with such tenacity, and are so prolific, that the young ones are often found + spreading themselves over the neighbouring plants. On this account, it would be worth + while to attempt the cultivation of the prickly pear in the open air in this country, + and place the insects upon them, for in all probability the insects would, by good + management, do well.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Fossil Turtle.</i></h3> + + <p>The remains of a sea turtle have lately been discovered, and are now in the + possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge. It is imbedded in a mass of septaria, weighing + upwards of 150 pounds, with two fine specimens of fossil wood; and was obtained in + digging for cement stone, about five miles from Harwich, in three fathoms water, + where, as a mass of stone, it had been used for some time as a stepping + block.—<i>Bakewell's Geology.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3><i>Geological Changes.</i></h3> + + <p>The following are the writers whose opinions have obtained the greatest celebrity, + as advocates for particular systems <span class="pagenum"><a id="page74" + name="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> accounting for the formation and subsequent + alteration of the earth:—</p> + + <p>Mr. Whitehurst taught that the <i>concentric arrangement</i> of the crust of the + globe was destroyed by the expansive force of subterranean fire.</p> + + <p>Burnet's theory supposes this crust to have been broken for the production of the + deluge.</p> + + <p>Leibnitz and Buffon believed the earth to have been liquefied by fire; in fact, + that it is an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, whose surface has been operated + upon by a deluge. The latter assumes that the earth was 75,000 years in cooling to + its present temperature, and that, in 98,000 years more, productive nature must be + finally extinguished.</p> + + <p>Woodward considered there was a temporary dissolution of the elements of the + globe, during which period the extraneous fossils became incorporated with the + general mass.</p> + + <p>De Luc, Dolomieu, and, finally Baron Cuvier, unite in the opinion, that the + phenomena exhibited by the earth, particularly the alternate deposits of terrestrial + and marine productions, can only be satisfactorily accounted for by a series of + revolutions similar to the deluge.</p> + + <p>Among the singular views entertained by men of genius, in the infancy of the + science, are those of Whiston, "who fancied that the earth was created from the + atmosphere of one comet, and deluged by the tail of another;" and that, for their + sins, the antediluvian population were drowned; "except the fishes, whose passions + were less violent."</p> + + <p>A French geologist conceived that the sea covered the earth for a vast period; + that all animals were originally inhabitants of the water; that their habits + gradually changed on the retiring of the waves, and "that man himself began his + career as a fish!"—<i>Mag. Nat. Hist.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CLIFFORDS OF CRAVEN.</h3> + + <p>There is no district in England which abounds in more beautiful and romantic + scenery than the remote and rarely visited district of Craven, in Yorkshire. Its long + ridge of low and irregular hills, terminating at last in the enormous masses of + Pennygent and Ingleborough,—its deep and secluded valleys, containing within + their hoary ramparts of gray limestone fertile fields and pleasant + pasturages,—its wide-spreading moors, covered with the different species of + moss and ling, and fern and bent-grass, which variegate the brown livery of the + heath, and break its sombre uniformity,—its crystal streams of unwearied + rapidity, now winding a silent course "in infant pride" through the willows and + sedges which fringe their banks, and now bounding with impetuous rage over the broken + ledges of rock, which seek in vain to impede their progress from the + mountains,—its indigenous woods of yew, and beech, and ash, and alder, which + have waved in the winds of centuries, and which still flourish in green old age on + the sides and summits of the smaller declivities,—its projecting crags, which + fling additional gloom over the melancholy tarns that repose in dismal grandeur at + their feet,—its hamlets, and towns, and ivy-mantled churches, which remind the + visiter of their antiquity by the rudeness, and convince him of their durability by + the massiveness of their construction,—these are all features in the landscape + which require to be seen only once, to be impressed upon the recollection for ever. + But it is not merely for the lovers of the wild, and beautiful, and picturesque, that + the localities of Craven possess a powerful charm. The antiquarian, the novelist, and + the poet, may all find rich store of employment in the traditions which are handed + down from father to son respecting the ancient lords and inhabitants of the district. + It is indeed the region of romance, and I have often felt surprise, that the + interesting materials with which it abounds have so seldom been incorporated into the + works of fiction which are now issuing with such thoughtless haste from the press of + the metropolis. In Dr. Whitaker's History of Craven—which in spite of his + extravagant prejudices in favour of gentle blood, and in derogation of commercial + opulence, is still an excellent model for all future writers of local + history—there is a ground-work laid for at least a dozen ordinary novels. To + say nothing of the legendary tales, which the peasantry relate of the minor families + of the district, of the Bracewells, the Tempests, the Lysters, the Romilies, and the + Nortons,—whose White Doe, however, has been immortalized by the poetry of + Wordsworth,—can any thing be more pregnant with romantic adventure than the + fortunes of the successive chieftains of the lordly line of Clifford? Their first + introduction to the North, owing to a love-match made by a poor knight of + Herefordshire with the wealthy heiress of the Viponts and the Vesys! Their rising + greatness, to the merited disgrace and death of Piers de Gavestone and his profligate + minions! and their final exaltation <span class="pagenum"><a id="page75" + name="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> to the highest honours of the British peerage, which + they have now enjoyed for five hundred years, to the strong hand and unblenching + heart with which they have always welcomed the assaults of their most powerful + enemies! Of the first ten lords of Skipton castle, four died in the field and one + upon the scaffold! The "black-faced Clifford," who sullied the glory which he + acquired by his gallantry at the battle of Sandal, by murdering his youthful prisoner + the Earl of Rutland, in cold blood, at the termination of it, has gained a passport + to an odious immortality from the soaring genius of the bard of Avon. But his real + fate is far more striking, both in a moral and in a poetical point of view, than that + assigned to him by our great dramatist. On the evening before the battle of Towton + Field, and after the termination of the skirmish which preceded it, an unknown archer + shot him in the throat, as he was putting off his gorget, and so avenged the wretched + victims, whose blood he had shed like water upon Wakefield Bridge. The vengeance of + the Yorkists was not, however, satiated by the death of the Butcher, as Leland + informs us that they called him:—for they attainted him, in the first year of + the reign of Edward the Fourth, and granted his estates, a few years afterwards, to + the Duke of Gloucester, who retained them in his iron grasp till he lost them with + his crown and life at the battle of Bosworth. The history of his son is a romance + ready made. His relations, fearing lest the partisans of the house of York should + avenge the death of the young Earl of Rutland on the young Lord Clifford, then a mere + infant, concealed him for the next twenty-five years of his life in the Fells of + Cumberland, where he grew up as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as + ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it. One of the first acts of Henry the + Seventh, after his accession to the throne, was to reverse the attainder which had + been passed against his father; and immediately afterwards the young lord emerged + from the hiding place, where he had been brought up in ignorance of his rank, and + with the manners and education of a mere shepherd. Finding himself more illiterate + than was usual even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in + the beautiful forest of Barden, and there, under the direction of the monks of Bolton + Abbey, gave himself up to the forbidden studies of alchemy and astrology. His son, + who was the first Earl of Cumberland, embittered the conclusion of his life, by + embarking in a series of adventures, which, in spite of their profligacy, or rather + in consequence of it, possess a very strong romantic interest. Finding that his + father was either unwilling or unable to furnish him with funds to maintain his + inordinate riot and luxury, he became the leader of a band of outlaws, and, by their + agency, levied aids and benevolences upon the different travellers on the king's + highway. A letter of the old lord, his father, which, by the by, is not the letter of + an illiterate man, is still extant, in which he complains in very moving terms of his + son's degeneracy and misconduct. The young scapegrace, wishing to make his father + know from experience the inconvenience of being scantily supplied with money, + enjoined his tenantry in Craven not to pay their rents, and beat one of them, Henry + Popely, who ventured to disobey him, so severely with his own hand, that he lay for a + long time in peril of death. He spoiled his father's houses, &c. "feloniously + took away his proper goods," as the old lord quaintly observes, "apparelling himself + and his horse, all the time, in cloth of gold and goldsmith's work, more like a duke + than a poor baron's son." He likewise took a particular aversion to the religious + orders, "shamefully beating their tenants and servants, in such wise as some whole + towns were fain to keep the churches both night and day, and durst not come at their + own houses."—Whilst engaged in these ignoble practices, less dissonant, + however, to the manners of his age than to those of our's, he wooed, and won, and + married, a daughter of the Percy of Northumberland; and it is conjectured, upon very + plausible grounds, that his courtship and marriage with a lady of the highest rank + under such disadvantages on his part, gave rise to the beautiful old ballad of the + Nutbrown Maid. The lady, becoming very unexpectedly the heiress of her family, added + to the inheritance of the Cliffords the extensive fee which the Percies held in + Yorkshire; and by that transfer of property, and by the grant of Bolton Abbey, which + he obtained from Henry the Eighth, on the dissolution of the monasteries, her husband + became possessor of nearly all the district which stretches between the castles of + Skipton on the south, and of Brougham, or as the Cliffords, to whom it belonged, + always wrote it, Bromeham, on the north. The second Earl of Cumberland, who was as + fond of alchemy and astrology as his grandfather, was succeeded by his son George, + who distinguished himself abroad by the daring intrepidity with which he conducted + several buccaneering expeditions in the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page76" + name="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> West Indies against the Spaniards, and at home, by + the very extensive scale on which he propagated his own and his Maker's image in the + dales of Craven. Among the numerous children of whom he was the father, the most + celebrated was the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, whose long life of virtuous + exertion renders her well qualified to figure as the heroine of a tale of chivalry. + The anecdotes which are told of this high-spirited lady in the three counties of + York, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, are almost innumerable, and relate to + circumstances in her life, which, though some are impossible, and others improbable, + are still all full of heroic interest and adventure. Her defence of Bromeham Castle + against the intrusion of her uncle of Cumberland,—her riding cross-legged to + meet the judges of assize, when she acted in person at Appleby as High Sheriff by + inheritance of the county of Westmoreland,—her hairbreadth escapes and dangers + during the great rebellion, are characteristics of the woman, so striking in + themselves, that they would require little adventitious ornament from the writer, who + should take them as incidents for poem or romance. Her courage and liberality in + public life were only to be equalled by her order, economy, and devotion in private. + "She was," says Dr. Whitaker, "the oldest and most independent courtier in the + kingdom," at the time of her death.—"She had known and admired queen + Elizabeth;— she had refused what she deemed an iniquitous award of king James," + though urged to submit to it by her first husband, the Earl of Dorset;— "She + rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell, and repelled with disdain the + interposition of a profligate minister under Charles the Second." A woman of such + dauntless spirit and conduct would be a fitting subject, even for the pencil of the + mighty magician of Abbotsford. A journal of her life in her own hand-writing is still + in existence at Appleby Castle. I have heard, that it descends to the minutest + details about her habits and feelings, and that it is that cause alone, which + prevents its publication.</p> + + <p><i>Blackwood's Magazine.</i></p> + <hr /> + + <h3>A VILLAGE FUNERAL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.</h3> + + <p>The sun was careering brightly in the heavens, and all nature was rejoicing in its + unclouded glory, as the funeral procession of Helen Hartlington, and Antony Clifford, + wound its toilsome and melancholy way to Bolton Abbey. The sportive Deer were + bounding lightly over the hills, and the glad birds were warbling melodiously in the + thickets, as if none but the living were moving amongst them; and but for the wild + dirge, which mingled with the whispers of the wind, and but for the deep-toned knell + which ever and anon rose slowly and mournfully above it, the lone traveller would + never have conjectured that Death was conveying its victims through those smiling + scenes. As the procession approached the portals of the Abbey, it was met, as was + then customary, by the young men and maidens of the surrounding villages, in their + best array, who hung upon the hearse chaplets of fragrant flowers, and strewed its + path with rosemary, pansies, and rue. At the same moment the solemn chant of the + Miserere thrilled upon the soul, and was succeeded, as it gradually melted into + silence, by the still more affecting strains of the parting requiem for the + dead—<i>Ibid</i>.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW—(JUST PUBLISHED.)</h2> + <hr /> + + <p>An old acquaintance of ours, as remarkable for the grotesque queerness of his + physiognomy, as for the kindness and gentleness of his disposition, was asked by a + friend, where he had been? He replied, he had been seeing the lion, which was at that + time an object of curiosity—(we are not sure whether it was <i>Nero</i> or + <i>Cato</i>.) "And what," rejoined the querist, "did the lion think of you?" The jest + passed as a good one; and yet under it lies something that is serious and true.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The possibility of a great change being introduced by very slight beginnings may + be illustrated by the tale which Lockman tells of a vizier who, having offended his + master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a lofty tower. At night his wife came + to weep below his window. "Cease your grief," said the sage; "go home for the + present, and return hither when you have procured a live black-beetle, together with + a little <i>ghee</i>, (or buffalo's butter.) three clews, one of the finest silk, + another of stout packthread, and another of whip-cord; finally, a stout coil of + rope."— When she again came to the foot of the tower, provided according to her + husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a little of + the <i>ghee</i>, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to place the + reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the smell of the butter, which he + conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle continued to ascend till he + reached the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page77" name="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> + top, and thus put the vizier in possession of the end of the silk thread, who drew up + the packthread by means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and, + by means of the cord, a stout rope capable of sustaining his own weight,—and so + at last escaped from the place of his duresse.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>ANOTHER UNIVERSITY.</h3> + + <p>A munificent lady in Yorkshire has recently offered to subscribe 50,000 <i>l</i>. + towards the endowment of an university <i>in that county</i>, and a noble earl has + professed his willingness to give a similar benefaction. These princely examples will + no doubt be followed ere long, and the scheme completed—though we have some + doubts whether the site of the new university for the north would be best selected in + Yorkshire.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Greater changes have taken place in no single age than are at this time in + progress; and the revolutions in which empires, kingdoms, or republics are made and + unmade, and political constitutions rise and burst like bubbles upon a standing pool, + when its stagnant waters are disturbed by a thunder- shower, are not the most + momentous of those changes, neither are they those which most nearly concern us. The + effects of the discovery of printing could never be felt in their full extent by any + nation, till education, and the diffusion also of a certain kind of knowledge, had + become so general, that newspapers should be accessible to every body, and the very + lowest of the people should have opportunity to read them, or to hear them read. The + maxim that it is politic to keep the people in ignorance, will not be maintained in + any country where the rulers are conscious of upright intentions, and confident + likewise in the intrinsic worth of the institutions which it is their duty to uphold, + knowing those institutions to be founded on the rock of righteous principles. They + know, also, that the best means of preserving them from danger is so to promote the + increase of general information, as to make the people perceive how intimately their + own well-being depends upon the stability of the state, thus making them wise to + obedience.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The heart and mind can as little lie barren as the earth whereon we move and have + our being, and which, if it produce not herbs and fruit meet for the use of man, will + be overrun with weeds and thorns. Muley Ismael, a personage of tyrannical celebrity + in his day, always employed his troops in some active and useful work, when they were + not engaged in war, "to keep them," he said, "from being devoured by the worm of + indolence." In the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome + advice:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"Eschew the idle vein</p> + + <p class="i2">Flee, flee from doing nought!</p> + + <p>For never was there idle brain</p> + + <p class="i2">But bred an idle thought."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>FLOGGING.</h3> + + <p>Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning the rod + fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among birch- trees than was + made among the cedars for the building of his temple, and his house of the forest of + Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with this text in his mouth, has taken the rod + in hand, when he himself, for ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it + far more than the poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by + terror, has stood untrussed and trembling before him.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE SKETCH BOOK.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE VISION OF VALDEMARO.</h3> + + <h4><i>Translated from the Spanish.</i></h4> + + <p>It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our + faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an instant my soul + was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in the centre of a spacious + plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses. The whole enclosure was full of + superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost + touched the clouds; and others the forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the + most imposing spectacle. On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of + the heroes who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying + on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare earth, meanly + enveloped in miserable garbs.</p> + + <p>I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light of the + moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively regarded these + proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the pompous epitaphs inscribed on + them. "How remarkable a difference!" I observed to myself; "when ordinary men, + incapable of eclipsing their fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, + those great men who have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, + even after the lapse <span class="pagenum"><a id="page78" name="page78"></a>[pg + 78]</span> of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they who have + had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though inexorable fate + refuse to spare them, their ashes afterwards revive, and under the very stroke of + death, they rise triumphantly to a glorious immortality!"</p> + + <p>I was indulging in these reflections, when, on a sudden, a hoarse and fearful + blast of wind affrighted me. The earth rocked under my feet, the mausoleum waved to + and fro with violence, the cypresses were torn up with tremendous fury, and, from + time to time, I heard a sound as of fleshless bones clashing together. In a moment, + the heavens were covered with black clouds, and the moon withdrew her splendour. The + horror inspired by the darkness of the night, and the dead silence which reigned + amidst the tombs, caused my hair to stand on end, and stiffened my limbs until I had + scarcely power to move them.</p> + + <p>In this dreadful situation, I saw an old man approaching me. His head was + bald—his beard white—in his right hand he carried a crooked scythe, and + in his left an hour-glass—whilst two immense flapping wings nearly concealed + his body. "Thou," said he to me in a terrible voice, "who art still dazzled by the + dignities and honours which mankind pursue with such reckless eagerness, see whether + you perceive any difference between the dust of the monarch and that of the most + wretched slave!" He spoke, and striking the ground a tremendous blow with his scythe, + all these proud monuments fell headlong to the earth, and in an instant were reduced + to dust. My terror was then redoubled, and my strength almost failed me. I could only + perceive that there was no distinction. All was dust, corruption, and ashes. "Go," + said he, "seek another road to the temple of immortality! Behold the termination of + those titles of grandeur which men so ardently desire! They vainly imagine that, + after death, they shall survive in history, or in marbles, which shall leap emulously + from their quarries to form such monuments of pride as you have just beheld; but they + are miserably deceived; their existence ends at the instant they expire, and their + fame, however deeply engraven on brass and marble, cannot have a longer duration than + that of a brief moment when compared with eternity! I myself, TIME, consume and + utterly annihilate all those structures which have vanity for their base; the works + which are founded on virtue are not subject to my jurisdiction. They pass to the + boundless regions of another world, and receive the reward of immortality!" With + these words he disappeared.</p> + + <p>I awoke with a deadly dullness, and found that my sleep had been productive of + instruction. Thenceforth I regarded, in a very different point of view, the pompous + titles which before had dazzled me, and, by the aid of a little reflection, I soon + became thoroughly sensible of their vanity.</p> + + <p>K.N.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>ORIGIN OF ISABELLA COLOUR.</h3> + + <p>The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II. king of + Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year 1602, he laid siege + to Ostend, then in possession of the heretics; and his pious princess, who attended + him on the expedition, made a vow, that, till the city was taken, she would not + change her clothes. Contrary to expectation, it was three years before the place was + reduced; in which time her highness' linen had acquired a hue, which, from the + superstition of the princess and the times, was much admired, and adopted by the + court fashionables under the name of "Isabella colour." It is a yellow or soiled + buff, better imagined than described.</p> + + <p>HALBERT H.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>FAMINE IN ENGLAND.</h3> + + <p>A severe dearth began in May, 1315, and proceeded to the utmost extremity, until + after the harvest of 1316. In July, 1316, the quarter of wheat rose to 30<i>s</i>., + (equal to 22<i>l</i>. 10<i>s</i>.;) and in August reached to the enormous price of + 40<i>s</i>. or 30<i>l</i>. the quarter. A loaf of coarse bread, which was scarcely + able to support a man for a single day, sold for 4<i>d</i>., equal in value to + 5<i>s</i>. now. Wheat rose in Scotland at one time to the enormous sum of + 100<i>s</i>. the quarter, equal to 75<i>l</i>. of the present currency. This dearth + continued, but with mitigated severity, until after the harvest of 1317; but great + abundance returned in 1318. This famine occasioned a prodigious mortality among the + people, owing to the want of proper food, and employment of unwholesome substitutes. + The rains set in so early in 1315, and continued so violently, that most of the seed + of that year perished in the ground; the meadows were so inundated, that the hay crop + of that year was utterly destroyed.</p> + + <p>H.B.A.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>OLD ADVERTISEMENTS.</h3> + + <p>Puffing is by no means a modern art, although so extravagantly practised in the + <span class="pagenum"><a id="page79" name="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> present day. Of + its success two hundred years since, <i>E. S. N.</i> of Rochester, has sent us the + following specimens:—</p> + + <p>At the end of an old medical book which I have in my possession, are the + following, among other advertisements:—"<i>The new Plannet no Plannet</i> , or + the Earth no <i>Wandring</i> Star. Here, out of the principles of divinity, + philosophy, &c. the earth's immobility is asserted, and <i>Copernicus</i>, his + opinion, as erroneous, &c. fully refuted, by <i>Alexander Ross</i>, in + quarto."</p> + + <p>"<i>A Recantation of an Ill-led Life</i>, or a discovery of the highway law, as + also many <i>cautelous</i> admonitions, and ful instructions how to know, shun, and + apprehende a <i>thiefe</i>, most necessary for all honest travellers to peruse, + observe, and practice; written by <i>John Clavel</i>, gent."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>ENGLISH FASHIONS.</h3> + + <p>Our constant changes of habit were the subject of ridicule at home and abroad, + even at an early period. Witness the ancient limner's jest in 1570, who, being + employed to decorate the gallery of the Lord Admiral Lincoln with representations of + the costumes of the different nations of Europe, when he came to the English, drew a + naked man, with cloth of various colours lying by him, and a pair of shears held in + his hand, as in rueful suspense and hesitation; or the earlier conceit, to the same + effect, of "Andrew Borde of Physicke Doctor," alias "Andreas Perforatus," who, to the + first chapter of his "Boke of the Instruction of Knowledge," (1542,) prefixed a naked + figure, with these lines:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"I am an Englishman, and naked I stande here,</p> + + <p>Musing in minde what rayment I shal weare:</p> + + <p>For nowe I wil weare this, and now I will weare that—</p> + + <p>And now I will weare I cannot telle whatt."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h2>THE GATHERER.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">"A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles."</p> + + <p class="i14">SHAKSPEARE.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>CONNING (<i>quasi Cunning</i>.)</h3> + + <p>A convict, during the voyage to New South Wales, slipped overboard, and was + drowned—What was his crime?—<i>Felo de se</i> (fell o'er the sea.)</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CHANGES OF TIME.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I dreamt, in Fancy's joyous day,</p> + + <p>That every passing month was May;</p> + + <p>But Reason told me to remember,</p> + + <p>And now, alas! they're all December!</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <p>The only memorial of the death of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, remaining at + Kirkby Moorside (where he died in obscurity and distress,) is an entry in an old + register of burials, which runs thus: "1687, April 17th, Gorges Villus, Lord dook of + bookingham."—<i>Ellis Correspondence</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had we not lov'd so dearly,</p> + + <p>Had we not lov'd sincerely,</p> + + <p>Had vows been never plighted,</p> + + <p>Our hopes had ne'er been blighted,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had we met in younger days,</p> + + <p>Had we fled each other's gaze,</p> + + <p>Oh had we never spoken,</p> + + <p>Our hearts had ne'er been broken,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Had you not look'd so kindly,</p> + + <p>Had I not lov'd so blindly,</p> + + <p>No pain 'twould be to sever,</p> + + <p>As now we may for ever,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>If yet you love sincerely,</p> + + <p>The one who loves you dearly,</p> + + <p>Then let the sigh betoken,</p> + + <p>Love for a heart you've broken,</p> + + <p class="i14">Dearest.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Z.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE TRAGEDY OF DOUGLAS.</h3> + + <p>It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal of this tragedy took place + in the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Ward, one of Digges' + company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of, the most distinguished + literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. The following was the cast of the + piece on that occasion:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i4"><i>Dramatis Personae.</i></p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Lord Randolph</i>, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Glenalvon</i>, David Hume, Historian.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Old Norval</i>, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Douglas</i>, John Home, the Author.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Lady Randolph</i>, Dr. Fergusson, Professor.</p> + + <p class="i4"><i>Anna</i> (the maid), Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges and Mrs. Sarah Ward, were the Right Hon. + Pat. Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, (the two last were then + only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele, and William Home, ministers. The company (all + but Mrs. Ward) dined afterwards at the Griskin Club, in the Abbey. The above is a + signal proof of the strong passion for the drama which then obtained among the + <i>literati</i> of this capital, since then, unfortunately, much abated. The + rehearsal must have been conducted with very great secrecy; for what would the Kirk, + which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page80" name="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> took such + deep offence at the composition of the piece by one of its ministers, have said to + the fact, of no less than four of these being engaged in rehearsing it, and two + others attending the exhibition? The circumstance of the gentle Anna having been + personated by "Dr. Blair, minister of the High Church," is a very droll + one.—<i>Edinburgh Evening Post</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>THE CUMBERLAND LANDLORD.</h3> + + <h4><i>(To the Editor of the Mirror.)</i></h4> + + <p>During a recent excursion in Cumberland, I copied the following epitaph from the + <i>album</i> kept at the inn at Pooley Bridge, the landlord of which is well known, + as being quite an original:—W.W.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Will Russell was a landlord bold,</p> + + <p class="i2">A noble wight was he,</p> + + <p>Right fond of quips and merry cracks,</p> + + <p class="i2">And ev'ry kind of glee.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Full five-and-twenty years agone</p> + + <p class="i2">He came to Pooley Height,</p> + + <p>And there he kept the Rising Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">And drunk was ev'ry night.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>No lord, nor squire, nor serving man,</p> + + <p class="i2">In all the country round,</p> + + <p>But lov'd to call in at the Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">Wherever he was bound,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>To hold a crack with noble Will,</p> + + <p class="i2">And take a cheerful cup</p> + + <p>Of brandy, or of Penrith ale,</p> + + <p class="i2">Or pop, right bouncing up.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But now poor Will lies sleeping here,</p> + + <p class="i2">Without his hat or stick,</p> + + <p>Nor longer rules the Rising Sun,</p> + + <p class="i2">As he did well when wick. <a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Will's honest heart could ne'er refuse</p> + + <p class="i2">To drink with ev'ry brother;</p> + + <p>Then let us not his name abuse—</p> + + <p class="i2">We'll ne'er see sic another.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But let us hope the gods above,</p> + + <p class="i2">Right mindful of his merits,</p> + + <p>Have given him a gentle shove</p> + + <p class="i2">Into the land of spirits.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>'Tis then his talents will expand,</p> + + <p class="i2">And make a noble figure.</p> + + <p>In tossing off a brimming glass,</p> + + <p class="i2">To make his belly bigger.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost</p> + + <p class="i2">Be ever ready at its heavenly post;</p> + + <p>And may thy proud posterity e'er be</p> + + <p class="i2">Landlords at Pooley to eternity.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h3>A WATCH.</h3> + + <p>Before a watch is ready for the pocket, the component parts thereof must have + passed through the hands of not less than <i>an hundred and fifty different + workmen</i>. The fifteen principal branches are: 1. the movement maker; who divides + it into various branches, viz. pillar maker, stop stud maker, frame mounter, screw + maker, cock and potence maker, verge maker, pinion maker, balance wheel maker, wheel + cutter, fusee maker, and other small branches; 2. dial maker, who employs a capper + maker, an enameller, painter, &c. 3. case maker, who makes the case to the frame, + employs box maker, and outside case maker, joint finisher. 4. pendant maker; (both + case and pendant go to the Goldsmith's Hall to be marked.) 5. secret springer, and + spring liner; the spring and liner are divided into other branches; viz. the spring + maker, button maker, &c. 6. cap maker; who employs springer, &c. 7. jeweller, + which comprises the diamond cutting, setting, making ruby holes, &c. 8. motion + maker, and other branches, viz. slide maker, edge maker, and bolt maker. 9. spring + maker, (<i>i.e.</i> main spring.) consisting of wire drawer, &c. hammerer, + polisher, and temperer. 10. chain maker; this comprises several branches, wire + drawer, link maker and rivetter, hook maker, &c. 11. engraver, who also employs a + piercer and name cutter. 12. finisher, who employs a wheel and fusee cutter, and + other workers in smaller branches. 13. gilder is divided into two, viz. gilder and + brusher. 14. glass and hands, the glass employs two, viz. blower and maker; hand + maker employs die sinker, finisher, &c. 15. fitter in, who overlooks the whole, + fits hands on, &c. The above 15 branches are subdivided again and again.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <p>This day is published, price 5s. with a Frontispiece, and thirty other Engravings, + the</p> + + <p>ARCANA OF SCIENCE, AND ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS, FOR 1829.</p> + + <p>The MECHANICAL department contains ONE HUNDRED New Inventions and Discoveries, + with 14 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>CHEMICAL, SEVENTY articles, with 2 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>NATURAL HISTORY, 135 New Facts and Discoveries, with 7 <i>Engravings</i>.</p> + + <p>ASTRONOMICAL and METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA—35 articles—6 + <i>Engravings</i> .</p> + + <p>AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, and RURAL ECONOMY, 100 Articles.</p> + + <p>DOMESTIC ECONOMY 50 Articles.</p> + + <p>USEFUL ARTS, 50 Articles.</p> + + <p>FINE ARTS.</p> + + <p>PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.</p> + + <p>MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER, &c.</p> + + <p>"We hope the editor will publish a similar volume annually."—<i>Gardener's + Magazine.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1</b>: <a + href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> It is computed that there have been imported into + Europe no less a quantity than 880,000 lbs. weight of cochineal in one year!. + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2</b>: <a + href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> Wick in Cumberland is used for alive. + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + + <p><i>Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset House,) + London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; and by all Newsmen and + Booksellers.</i></p> + <hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + +***** This file should be named 11382-h.htm or 11382-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/3/8/11382/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction + Volume 13, No. 354, Saturday, January 31, 1829. + +Author: Various + +Release Date: February 29, 2004 [EBook #11382] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +No. 354.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1829. [PRICE 2_d_. + + + + + +[Illustration: THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK.] + + + +THE COLOSSEUM, IN THE REGENT'S PARK. + +In a recent Number of the MIRROR we offered ourselves as the reader's +_cicerone_ throughout the interior of this stupendous building, the +exterior of which is represented in the annexed engraving; and the +architectural pretensions of which will, we trust, be found of equal +interest to the interior. + +The Colosseum is what is termed a polygon of sixteen sides, 130 feet in +diameter. Each angle is strengthened by a double square pilaster of the +Doric order, which supports an entablature, continued round the whole +edifice. Above the cornice is a blocking course, surmounted by an attic, +with an appropriate cornice and sub-blocking, to add to the height of the +building. The whole is crowned with a majestic cupola, supported by three +receding _scamilli_, or steps, and finished with an immense open circle. +The upper part of the cupola is glazed, and protected with fine wire-work, +and the lower part is covered with sheet copper; which distinctions are +shown in the engraving. + +When the spectator's surprise and admiration at the vastness of the +building have somewhat subsided, his attention will be drawn to the fine +and harmonious proportions of the portico, considered by architects as +one of the best specimens of Graeco-Doric in the metropolis. This portion +of the building is copied from the portico of the Pantheon at Rome, +"which, in the harmony of its proportions, and the exquisite beauty of its +columns, surpasses every temple on the earth." Altogether, the grandeur +and effect of this vast structure should be seen to be duly appreciated. + +The adjoining lodges are in exceedingly good taste; and the plantations +laid out by Mr. Hornor, are equally pleasing, whilst their verdure +relieves the massiveness of the building; and in the engraving, the +artist has caught a glimpse of the lattice-work which encloses the +gardens and conservatories attached to the splendid suite of rooms. The +front is enclosed by handsome iron rails, tastefully painted in imitation +of bronze. We ought also to mention, that the means by which the portico +is made to resemble immense blocks of stone, is peculiarly successful. + +The architect of this extraordinary building is Mr. Decimus Burton, aided +by his ingenious employer, Mr. Hornor, of whose taste and talents we have +already spoken in terms of high commendation. Its original name, or, we +should say, its popular name, was the _Coliseum_, evidently a misnomer, +from its distant resemblance to that gigantic work of antiquity. The +present and more appropriate name is the COLOSSEUM, in allusion to its +colossal dimensions; for it would not show much discernment to erect a +building like the Pantheon, and call it the Coliseum. The term _Diorama_ +has, likewise, been strangely corrupted since its successful adoption in +the Regent's Park--it being now almost indefinitely applied to any number +or description of paintings. + + + + * * * * * + +SNEEZING AMONG THE ANCIENTS. + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + +Among the Greeks, sneezing was reckoned a good omen. The practice of +saluting the person who sneezed, existed in Africa, among nations unknown +to the Greeks and Romans. Brown, in his "Vulgar Errors," says, "We read +in Godignus, that, upon a sneeze of the emperor of Monumotata, there +passed acclamations successively through the city." The author of the +"Conquest of Peru" assures us, that the cacique of Guachoia having sneezed +in the presence of the Spaniards, the Indians of his train fell prostrate +before him, stretched forth their hands, and displayed to him the +accustomed marks of respect, while they invoked the sun to enlighten him, +to defend him, and to be his constant guard. The Romans saluted each +other on sneezing. Plutarch tells us, the genius of Socrates informed him +by sneezing, when it was necessary to perform any action. The young +Parthenis, hurried on by her passions, 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. In the +Odyssey, we are informed that Penelope, harassed by the vexatious +courtship of her suitors, begins to curse them all, and to pour forth +vows for the return of Ulysses. Her son Telemachus interrupts her by a +loud sneeze. She instantly exults with joy, and regards this sign as an +assurance of the approaching return of her husband. Xenophon was +haranguing his troops; when a soldier sneezed in the moment he was +exhorting them to embrace a dangerous but necessary resolution. The whole +army, moved by this presage, determined to pursue the project of their +general; and Xenophon orders sacrifices to Jupiter, the preserver. This +religious reverence for sneezing, so ancient and so universal even in the +time of Homer, always excited the curiosity of the Greek philosophers and +the rabbins. These last spread a tradition, that, after the creation of +the world, God made a law to this purport, that every man should sneeze +but once in his life, and that at the same instant he should render up +his soul into the hands of his Creator, without any preceding +indisposition. Jacob obtained an exemption from the common law, and the +favour of being informed of his last hour. He sneezed, and did not die; +and this sign of death was changed into a sign of life. Notice of this +was sent to all the princes of the earth; and they ordained, that in +future sneezing should be accompanied with _forms of blessings_, and vows +for the persons who sneezed. Thus the custom of _blessing persons who +sneeze_ is of higher antiquity than some authors suppose, for several +writers affirm that it commenced in the year 750, under Pope Gregory the +Great, when a pestilence occurred in which those who sneezed died; whence +the pontiff appointed a form of prayer, and a wish to be said to persons +sneezing, for averting this fatality from them. Some say Prometheus was +the first that wished well to sneezers. For further information on this +_ticklish_ subject, I refer the reader to Brand's "Observations on +Popular Antiquities." P. T. W. + + + + * * * * * + +STANZAS. + +(_Written on a stone, part of the ruins of Chertsey Abbey, Surrey_.) + +(_For the Mirror_.) + + + From gayer scenes, where pleasure's mad career + Infects the milder avenues of thought, + Where secret Envy swells the note of Fear, + And Hope is in its own illusion caught. + + Where, in Ambition's thorny path of power, + Contending votaries bow to toils of state, + I turn, regardless of the passing hour, + To trace the havoc of avenging fate. + + Ne'er may the wanton love of active life + Control the sage's precepts of repose, + Ne'er may the murmurs of tumultuous strife + Wreck the tranquillity of private woes. + + Here, on the crumbling relics of a stone, + O'er which the pride of masonry has smiled, + Here am I wont to ruminate alone. + And pause, in Fancy's airy robe beguil'd. + + Disparting time the towers of ages bends, + Forms and indignant sinks the proudest plan, + O'er the neglected path the weed extends, + Nor heeds the wandering steps of thoughtful man. + + Here expiation, murder has appeased, + Treason and homicide have been forgiven, + Pious credulity her votaries eased, + Nor blamed th' indulgent majesty of heaven. + + Some erring matron has her crimes disclosed, + Some father conscious of awak'ning fate, + Safe from revenge, hath innocence reposed, + Unseen and undisturbed at others' hate. + + Some sorrowing virgin her complainings poured + With pious hope has many a pang relieved; + Here the faint pilgrim to his rest restored, + The scanty boon of luxury has received. + + Sated with conquest from the noise of arms, + The aged warrior with his fame retired, + Careless of thirsty spoil,--of war's alarms-- + Nor with imperial emulation fired. + + Where once her orisons devotion paid + By fear, or hope, or reverence inspired, + The sad solicitude of youth allay'd, + And age in resignation calm attired. + + The houseless cottager from wind severe, + His humble habitation oft has made; + Once gloomy penitence sat silent there, + And midnight tapers gleam'd along the shade. + + The lonely shepherd here has oft retired, + To count his flock and tune his rustic lay, + Where loud Hosannas distant ears inspired, + And saintly vespers closed the solemn day. + +HUGH DELMORE. + + + + * * * * * + +BOOK-MACHINERY. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +The world being supplied with books by _machinery_ is almost, literally, +a fact. Type-founding and stereotyping are, of course, mechanical +processes; and lately, Dr. Church, of Boston, invented a plan for +_composing_ (setting the types) by machinery; the sheets are printed by +steam; the paper is made by machinery; and pressed and beaten for binding +by a machine of very recent date. Little more remains to be done than to +write by machinery; and, to judge by many recent productions, a +_spinning-jenny_ would be the best engine for this purpose. + +PHILO. + + + + * * * * * + +GRAVITATION. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +In a matter-of-fact age like the present, methinks it behoves every man +to apply the improvements of scientific research as much as possible to +the ordinary concerns of life. Science and society may thus be called _at +par_, and philosophical theory will hence enlighten the practical +tradesman. + +To demonstrate the truth of the above remarks, I mean, with the editor's +leave, to prove the necessity of keeping a friend in one's pocket, upon +the principles of gravitation, according to Sir Isaac Newton's +"Principia." + +The learned doctor has mathematically proved that all bodies gravitate or +incline to the centre. It is on this principle only that we can account +for our being fixed to the earth; that we are surrounded by the +atmosphere; and that we are constantly attended by, and seem constantly +to attend, the planets around us. + +Should any farther demonstration be necessary than the incomparable Sir +Isaac has himself furnished us with, let any sceptic who doubts that the +earth attracts all smaller bodies towards its centre, only take a hop +from the Monument or St. Paul's, and he will soon find the power of +gravitation, and die by the truth of the experiment. + +But what, methinks, exclaims the reader, has all this to do with the +proposition in hand, viz. the necessity of keeping a friend in one's +pocket? Why, I'll tell you--from a due consideration of this very +principle, you will soon see the use of a man's keeping his _money_ in +his pocket. It is this alone (the pocket) which nowadays constitutes the +centre of friendship; there alone, therefore, must this most valuable, +most faithful of all friends (_money_) be deposited. Now if this friend +be of magnitude, he will soon collect many more around you, who, true as +the needle to the pole, will point to you from every quarter--friends who +will smile in your prosperity, bask in the sunshine of your glory, dance +while you pay the piper, and to the very ground will be "votre tres +humble serviteur, monsieur." But if by sickness, misfortune, generosity, +or the like, this friend be removed from your pocket, the centre is +destroyed, the equilibrium is lost, away fly your friends, and, like +pelicans, turn their beaks at your breast whenever you approach. "It is +your own fault, fellow; you might have done well if you would; but you +are an ass, and could not keep a friend when you had him; and so you may +die in a ditch, and go to the devil, my dear." + +The man of affluence, who lavishes away his substance, may aptly enough +be likened to a porpoise sporting in the ocean--the smaller fry play +around him, admire his dexterity, fan his follies, glory in his gambols; +but let him once be enmeshed in the net of misfortune, and they who +foremost fawned under his fins, will first fall foul of him. + +Now, to illustrate the subject further, let us consider the advantages +arising from this practical use of gravitation, and the losses attendant +upon the neglect thereof. First, then, he who _has_ secured this friend +in his pocket, may go _when_ he pleases, and _where_ he pleases, and +_how_ he pleases, either on foot or on horseback, by barouche or by boat, +and he shall be respected and esteemed, and called _sir_, and made +welcome in every season and in every place, and no one shall presume to +say unto him, Why doest thou these things? + +But a man that hath not this friend in his pocket, may not go when, where, +and how he pleases, but when, where, and how he is directed by others. +Moreover he shall travel on foot, and perchance without shoes, and not +have the benefit of a horse, barouche, or boat; and moreover he shall be +called _sirrah_, and not _sir_; neither shall he be esteemed nor +respected, nor made welcome; and they shall say unto him, "Don't be +troublesome, fellow; get out of the way, for thou hast no business here!" + +The rich man shall be clothed in scarlet, and get whatsoever his heart +desires; and the people shall give him the wall, and bow before him to +the ground. But the poor man shall be clad in rags, and walk in the dirt, +regarded by no man; nor shall he even purchase to himself a name, though +the composition thereof consist only of air! + +This is the state of modern times--such our modern friendship; and since, +gentle reader, it is so, who, possessing one grain of common sense, would +not duly attend to the theory of gravitation, by taking care of a friend +while he has him, especially if he be so portable as to be placed in +one's pocket. + +JACOBUS. + + + + * * * * * + +THE DREAM OF POESY.--A FRAGMENT. + +BY LEIGH CLIFFE, + +_Author of "Parga," "Knights of Ritzberg," &c._ + +(_For the Mirror._) + + + I had a vision fair and bright, + And when I waken'd I was griev'd + To own 'twas but a dream of night, + And sigh'd to find my hopes deceivd. + But then o'er my fancy crept, + Those who hail'd me while I slept. + There were those; of olden time, + Milton, wond'rous, wild, sublime-- + Chaucer, of the many tales; + Spenser, soft as summer gales, + With a mild and gracious mien + Leading on his "Faery Queene." + Shakspeare, child of fancy, stood + Smiling in a mirthful mood, + As tho' he that moment spied + The fairy folk by Bottom's side, + Or beheld by Herne's old oak, + Falstaff with his antler yoke. + Dryden, laurel-crown'd and hoary, + Proudly stood in all his glory; + Pope, as if his claims to speak + Rested on the ancient Greek; + And that prince of merry-men, + Laughing, quaffing, "rare old Ben," + Whose quaint conceits, so gay, so wild, + Have oft my heart from woe beguil'd, + Shone like a meteor 'midst the throng, + The envy of each son of song. + There too were those of later years, + Who've moved the mind to mirth or tears: + Byron, with his radiant ray-- + Scott, with many a magic lay-- + The gay and gorgeous minstrel, Moore, + Rich in the charms of Eastern lore-- + Campbell, like a brilliant star, + Shed the beams of "Hope" afar-- + Rogers, with a smiling eye + Told the joys of "Memory," + Southey, with his language quaint, + Describing daemon, sinner, saint-- + Wordsworth, of the simpler strain, + Clare, the young unletter'd swain-- + Wiffen, who in fairy bowers, + Culls blossoms in "Aonian hours," + Shone like a star in dusky skies, + When first the evening shades arise. + Barton, the gentle bard, was there, + And Hemans, tender as she's fair-- + And Croly, whose bright genius beams + Ever on virtue's fairest themes; + With Burns, the muse's darling child-- + And Luttrell, laughing, sportive, wild, + As when be penn'd for Julia's eye, + His sweet "Advice" for what? for why? + And Crabbe, who misery portrays, + With crowds of others, crown'd with bays, + Who shed around their bright'ning beams, + And cheer'd a humbler poet's dreams. + + + + * * * * * + +ANCIENT SITE OF THE EXETER 'CHANGE, &c. + +(_For the Mirror._) + + +Here was formerly the parsonage-house for the parish of St. Clement Danes, +with a garden and close for the parson's horse, till Sir Thomas Palmer, +knight, in the reign of Edward VI., came into the possession of the +living, and began to build a house; but upon his attainder for high +treason, in the first year of Queen Mary, it reverted to the crown. This +house remained in the crown till Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir +William Cecil, lord treasurer, who augmented and rebuilt it, when it was +called Cecil House, and Burleigh House. It was said to have been a noble +pile, and adorned with four square turrets. It was afterwards called +Exeter House, from the title of his son and successor. Lord Burleigh died +here in 1598. It fronted the Strand, and its gardens extended from the +west side of the garden-wall of Wimbledon House to the Green-lane, which +is now Southampton-street. Lord Burleigh was in this house honoured by a +visit from Queen Elizabeth, who, knowing him to be subject to the gout, +would always make him to sit in her presence, which, it is probable, +(says Nightingale,) the lord treasurer considered a gteal indulgence from +so haughty a lady, inasmuch as he one day apologized for the badness of +his legs. To which the queen replied, "My lord, we make use of you not +for the badness of your legs, but for the goodness of your head." When +she came to Burleigh House, it is probable she had that kind of +pyramidial head-dress then in fashion, built of wire, lace, ribands, and +jewels, which shot up to a great height; for when the principal domestic +ushered her in, as she passed the threshold he desired her majesty to +stoop. To which she replied, "For your master's sake I will stoop, but +not for the king of Spain." After the fire of London, this house was +occupied by the doctors of civil law, &c. till 1672; and here the various +courts of arches, admiralty, &c. were kept. Being deserted by the family, +the lower part was converted into shops of various descriptions; the +upper part, like Babylon of old, is a nest of wild beasts, birds, and +reptiles. The present "march of intellect" will _march away_ these bipeds +and quadrupeds, and no doubt the noble Marquess of Exeter "would much +rather have their _room_ than their _company_." + +P. T. W. + + + + + * * * * * + +MANNERS & CUSTOMS OF ALL NATIONS. + + * * * * * + + +A DAY AT FONTAINBLEAU.--THE ROYAL HUNT. + + +Having learned that the King and the Dauphin, with the _Duc de Grammont_, +and the rest of the royal suite, were about to proceed to Fontainbleau, +in order to enjoy the diversion of hunting, I resolved to be there to +meet them, to see with my own eyes a royal personage of whom I had heard +so much. Accordingly I ordered post horses, and arrived in the town about +six hours after his Most Christian Majesty. + +After breakfasting on a cold partridge and some excellent coffee, I set +out at eight o'clock for the forest. Even at that hour--a late one in +France, when compared with England--the roads were by no means thronged, +and I could very plainly perceive that the major part of the equestrians +were attached to the court, and that the pedestrians were either such as +had been in the enjoyment of some of the good things of this life under +the present family, or such as were in expectancy of them. There was a +third class, altogether composed of the mob, who, partly incited by the +desire of plunder, the love of idleness, or an indistinct hope of +obtaining the entrails of the deer, flocked in great numbers to witness +the feats of the royal party. Among this latter class, old men, old women, +and very young boys predominated. + +The forest of Fontainbleau is in itself beautiful in the extreme. The +various alleys formed by the manner in which the oak trees are planted, +create an imposing and majestic _coup d'oeil_, which is only bounded +almost by the horizon. At the bottom and in the middle of these alleys +were placed mounted _gendarmes_ to restrain the intrusion of the populace, +and to prevent them from coming--such is French curiosity--within shot of +the hunters. At the end of one of these alleys, to my left, the great +body of the crowd was stationed, and at the top of it was an enclosed +space, somewhat like a stand on a race course, on which the royal party +took their station, while the carriages and servants remained quietly +behind. Across this stand, and within the enclosed space, were the +roe-buck, fawns, and young wild boar goaded, while the King, the Dauphin, +the Duc de Grammont, and the rest of the royal party, had their shots in +succession, or, as it is technically termed, their "_coup_." Ten men were +busy charging for the King, while as many were engaged for the Dauphin. +Ammunition and cartridges were borne by four attendants, who, as well as +the chargers, were all in the livery of the King's huntsmen. As shot +after shot passed in quick succession, the sounds fell chiefly on the +ears of those among the crowd--and they were the fewer number--who had +hearts within them, and to British feeling each reverberation brought a +mingled sensation. In England, and in most other nations, whether +civilized or savage, when an animal is hunted, some chance at least of +escape is given. The reader will bear in mind that the enclosed space +around the stand was surrounded by a kind of _chevaux de frize_, six feet +in height, so that the animal had not the least chance of escape, and the +work of destruction of course went rapidly on. + +Within 300 yards of the stand were placed a number of light carts, whose +drivers vociferated loudly at the sound of each shot. These carts were +placed for the purpose of carrying away the dead carcasses, as they +accumulated in quick succession within the enclosure. In the short +interval of four hours I saw twenty-three of these carts filled with the +produce of the slaughter, which, amidst deafening yells, was conveyed to +the end of one of the alleys, where the bodies were deposited in order as +they had been killed. In the first row those killed by the king himself +were ranged; and he numbered forty-six roe-bucks, and one _marcassin_ +(young wild boar;) the spoil of the dauphin was thirty-eight roe-bucks, +being eight less than his royal father, while the rest of the company +destroyed among them fifty-four, making a grand total of 138 roes, and +one wild boar. + +While the carcasses thus remained strewn on the ground, the work of +disembowelling quickly proceeded. It was the business of one man to range +the game in the order I have mentioned--another ripped open the body with +a sharp knife, while a third party, to the amount of a dozen, were +engaged in the disembowelling. + +The day, which hitherto was bright and glorious, now began to close into +evening. The air became keener, and I felt a disposition to leave the +forest and return to Fontainbleau. But, though I had heard the king, I +had not yet seen him, and my party being anxious to come in contact with +royalty, I consented to remain. Presently the crowd began to rush towards +the enclosed space, but the gendarmes, ever active, kept them at bay. The +multitude, however, despite opposition, ranged themselves into two lines; +and, in a few minutes, the signal ran that the king was coming. + +His majesty was on foot--he was surrounded by the officers of his +household, dressed in a plain, dark-green frock, with a star on his +breast. On his head was a small, round, gray hat, full of days, or mayhap +years, and of services. His breeches were of the homeliest thickset; and +he also wore a pair of large leather gaiters--such as are very common +among farmers and peasants in Kent and Sussex. Though the conformation of +his figure was not powerful, yet it was muscular and wiry, and he +appeared in perfect health. + +It was now past five o'clock, and the umbrage of the forest added a +deeper tint to the shadows of evening. The air was piercingly cold, and +his majesty had been engaged in the sport from six in the morning, +without intermission. Untired, however, in the work, the king determined +to continue the sport, and accordingly, with his suite, he returned to +the enclosed space. In the enclosure his majesty did not long remain. +Three separate bevies of deer were let loose--again I heard the fearful +shots, and the number was soon filled up. The king again came among the +crowd; and, after having given directions about the game, entered his +carriage with a hasty step, and at a rapid pace drove off for +Fontainbleau. + +_Monthly Magazine._ + + + + + * * * * * + +THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER. + + * * * * * + + +LAKE ERIE. + + +Lake Erie has few of the fascinations of scenery to boast of, apart from +the large mass of waters it exhibits--in tranquillity, or in motion, +sometimes most vehement. It is only at its west end that it is adorned by +islands. The Morasses, earthy scaurs, or gentle uplands of its coasts, +are only remarkable for their large walnut and buttonwood trees, which, +in a dense umbrageous belt, shut out all view of the interior from the +traveller on the lake, except at the partial clearances. Neither is the +vicinity of this lake agreeable as a residence, in the western half, at +least in the summer. The heat then, although not thermometrically extreme, +is peculiarly oppressive, relaxing, and long continued. The steaming +swamps, which are almost universal, are full of putrifying substances, +occasioning the bilious remittents there so prevalent. The water in +common use is heated, and ill-tasted. Moskitoes, sand, and black flies +abound, and, extending their attacks to the domestic animals, aided by a +fly nearly an inch long, almost drive them distracted. There are +circumstances also, in social life, which render this region a +disagreeable residence, but which are gradually disappearing. Its extreme +fertility, the moderate sum of its annual heat, and its facilities of +communication with other countries, will, in progress of time, render it +the seat of a dense population, and a principal granary of the western +continent. Wheat, maize, and tobacco, are cultivated with equal success. +The returns of the agriculturist are large, secure, and of excellent +quality. The last-named article has been grown in considerable quantity +about the river Detroit, near the head of the lake, and favoured, in a +small remission of duty, by the British government, is sent to England, +after having undergone an inland carriage, to Quebec, of 814 miles. Salt +springs exist in almost every township, accompanied, in one or two cases, +by large beds of gypsum. Bog iron ore is common on the north-east side of +the lake, and is worked. The water communications of these countries are +astonishingly easy. Canoes can go from Quebec to Rocky Mountains, to the +Arctic Circle, or to the Mexican Gulf, without a portage longer than four +miles; and the traveller shall arrive at his journey's end as fresh and +as safely as from an English tour of pleasure. It is common for the Erie +steam-boat to take goods and passengers from Buffaloe, to Green Bay and +Chicago, in Lake Michigan, a distance of nearly 900 miles, touching, at +the same time, at many intermediate ports. In about three years, in +addition to the canal connecting Lake Erie with tide-water in the Hudson, +another will be excavated across the southern dividing ridge, to +communicate with the Ohio. Near its place of junction with this river, a +canal from the Atlantic, across the Alleghanies, will enter the Ohio. +Lake Erie will then also have a steady line of water transport to +Baltimore, on the Chesapeake, and New Orleans, on the Mississippi. The +surveys, preparatory to these projects, have been in execution for two +years; there is no doubt of their practicability. + +We cannot even hazard a conjecture as to the number of inhabitants around +Lake Erie. They are numerous, and daily augmenting; but with incomparably +greater rapidity on the south side of the lake, distributed between the +States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Ohio, which occupies the +largest portion, in 1800, had 45,000 inhabitants; in 1810, 250,760, and, +in 1820, 581,434. At present, it cannot have less than 750,000 +inhabitants, and there is ample room for more. There are few or no +Indians on the north borders of the lake. The Mohawks are placed high up +the river Ouse, and the Hurons, from four to ten miles up the river +Detroit. + +The winds are generally either up or down the lake, and in summer they +are in the former direction for two-thirds of the time. In the middle of +this season they are commonly mild, but occasionally in perfect tornadoes, +accompanied with tremendous lightning and heavy rain. The gales begin in +October, and are both violent and dangerous. Many lives are lost annually. +The winters are mild and short. The inhabitants do not reckon on the +ground being covered by snow more than three or four months. They turn +their cattle into the woods in March and April, but the lake remains full +of floating ice until May. On the 12th of May, 1821, the steam-boat could +not proceed on account of the ice. From an adjacent eminence, the lake +was seen to be covered with it in one compact mass, as far as the eye +could range. As might be expected, remittent and intermittent fevers are +very prevalent in the autumn. The febrile action rises high, and there is +usually a topical affection conjoined; to this the stimulating diet and +frequent use of spirituous liquors, and exposure to heat, mainly conduce. + +_Brande's Quarterly Journal._ + + + + + * * * * * + +SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY. + + * * * * * + + +_Hydrophobia in Foxes._ + + +Foxes become mad occasionally, and there have been examples of dogs, +which having been bitten by mad foxes, have not caught the disease. In +these cases it has been proved that the stomachs of the foxes were filled +with wood, earth, stones, leaves, hair, and other substances improper for +nourishment. On the contrary, when the madness has been communicated, the +stomach and intestines have been found completely empty. From this +difference, it is concluded that hunger is the cause of madness in foxes; +and this agrees with the results which occurred during and after the +rigorous winter of 1826-7, when these animals, with many others, suffered +from want of nourishment.--_From the French._ + + + + * * * * * + +_Ripening Fruit._ + + +Slates have recently been employed in France for hastening the ripening +of fruits. The effect was first observed on a slate roof; since which the +slates have been placed beneath the fruit on walls. + + + + * * * * * + +_Hatching Eggs by Hot Mineral Waters._ + + +This curious process has lately been practised with great success in the +south of France. It consists in putting the eggs into a small basket, +suspending the latter in a stove heated by the hot mineral water, and +turning the eggs every day. The first trial was attended with success, +and no failure was experienced in four repetitions of it. + + + + * * * * * + +_Lake Erie._ + + +The height of Lake Erie above the Atlantic Ocean, has been ascertained to +be 565 feet. The barrier which contains it is so low, that, were it only +to rise six feet, it would inundate, on its northern and western borders, +seven millions of acres, now partly occupied by towns, villages, and +farms; and it is estimated that a further rise of six or eight feet would +precipitate a vast flood of waters over the state of Illinois, from the +south end of Michigan; the great Canadian Lakes then discharging also +into the Mexican Gulf.--_Brande's Journal._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cuckoo_ + +Has done more for our music than musicians may be willing to allow; but +it is no more than justice to a despised bird to say, that from it we +have derived the minor scale, whose origin has puzzled so many; the +cuckoo's couplet being the minor third sung downwards.--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +_Immense Fir-tree._ + +In the Museum of Natural History at Strasburg, is shown the trunk of a +silver fir-tree, from the forest of Hochwald, at Barr, in Alsatia. The +tree was 150 feet high, with a trunk perfectly straight and free from +branches to the height of 50 feet, after which it was forked with the one +shoot 100 feet long, and the other somewhat shorter. The diameter of the +trunk at the surface of the ground was 8 feet; estimated age 350 +years.--_Ibid._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Weather by Frogs._ + +The editor of the _Magazine of Natural History_, in his Notes during a +recent tour on the continent, says, "at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, +we witnessed, for the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an +amusing application of zoological knowledge, for the purpose of +prognosticating the weather. Two frogs, of the species **_R_ana arborea, +are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, +with a depth of three or four inches of water at the bottom, and a small +ladder reaching to the top of the jar. On the approach of dry weather, +the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend +into the water. These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild +state here, climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar +singing noise before rain. In the jar they get no other food than now and +then a fly; one of which, we were assured, would serve a frog for a week, +though it will eat from six to twelve in a day if it can get them. In +catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs display great +adroitness." + + * * * * * + +_Human Remains._ + +The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been +discovered with those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at +present fully confirmed; nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto +been found. Mr. Bakewell, however, observes, that the vast diluvial beds +of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in Asia, have not yet been +scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers agree in +regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the +human race.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Food of Bees._ + +The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are +visited by bees. They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of +our bulbous roots. The stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by +these insects, and the extract absorbed from them must be used as a tonic. +Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of the red clover and of the +honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially profit by the +increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the +peach-tree in some parts of America. They not only drink the nectar and +abstract the pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself. +We have seen twenty or thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that +is, they carried the juices of it to their cells. The humming-bird alone +can reach the bottom of the nectary of the honeysuckle; but even here the +instinct of the bee is seen. The small birds, such as the wren, make an +incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract a +part of the juices. The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails +itself of what is left. The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower +which has a powerful odour can be discovered by them at a great distance. +Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, wild and garden thyme, herbs of all +kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, raspberry blossoms and white +clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving orchard and apiary +fitly go together. + +_North American Review_. + + * * * * * + + +_Singing Birds_. + +Those who have paid attention to the singing of birds, know well that +their voice, energy, and expression differ as widely as in man; and +agreeably to this remark, Mr. Wilson (the celebrated ornithologist) says +he was so familiar with the notes of an individual wood thrush, that he +could recognise him from all his fellows the moment he entered the woods. + +_Mag. Nat. Hist_. + + * * * * * + + +_Gigantic Fossils._ + +Some gigantic bones have been exhibited at New Orleans, but the place +where they were found is not mentioned in the communication. They consist +of one of the bones of the cranium, fifteen or twenty vertebras, two +entire ribs, and part of a third, one thigh bone, two bones of the leg, +&c. The cranial bone was upwards of twenty feet in its greatest length, +about four in extreme width, and it weighed 1,200 lbs. The ribs measured +nine feet along the curve, and about three inches in thickness. It had +been conjectured that the animal to which these bones belonged was +amphibious, and perhaps of the crocodile family. It was also supposed +that the animal when alive, must have measured twenty-five feet round the +body, and about 130 feet in length. + +_Trans. **Geoloy. Soc._ + + * * * * * + + +_The Cochineal Insect._ + +Our readers are doubtless aware that cochineal, so extensively used in +this country for dying,[1] is a beautiful insect abundantly found in +various parts of Mexico and Peru. Some of these insects have lately been +sent over to Old Spain, and are doing remarkably well on the prickly pear +of that country; indeed, they are said to rival even those of Mexico in +the quality and brilliancy of their dye. + +Their naturalization may doubtless be extended along the shores of the +Mediterranean, Sicily, and the different states of Greece. The prickly +pear is indigenous in those places, and by little cultivation will afford +sufficient nourishment for the cochineal insects. We are also assured, +(says an intelligent correspondent of _The Times_,) that these precious +insects were introduced last year on the island of Malta, by Dr. Gorman, +on account of the government, and that they are likely to do well on that +island. + +Dr. Gorman discovered a few weeks since, in the botanic garden at +Cambridge, the _grona sylvestris_, or wild species of cochineal, living +among the leaves of the coffee-plants, the acacia, &c. This is the kermes, +or gronilla of Spain, about which so much has been said in endeavouring +to identify it with the grona fina. At all events, this is the same +species as the gronilla found on the hairs of the green oaks in Andalusia; +and in some years large and valuable crops of the gronilla are gathered +in that part of Spain by the peasantry, and sold to the Moors to dye +their scarlet. + +The gardener at Cambridge could not inform Dr. Gorman how long the +insects had been there, or from whence they came, but they went there by +the appellation of "amelca bug." The gardener found these insects very +destructive to plants upon which they fostered, and although he tried +every means short of injuring the plants to remove them, he found it +impossible, as they adhere to the leaves and parts of the stem with such +tenacity, and are so prolific, that the young ones are often found +spreading themselves over the neighbouring plants. On this account, it +would be worth while to attempt the cultivation of the prickly pear in +the open air in this country, and place the insects upon them, for in all +probability the insects would, by good management, do well. + +[1] It is computed that there have been imported into Europe no less a + quantity than 880,000 lbs. weight of cochineal in one year! + + * * * * * + + +_Fossil Turtle._ + +The remains of a sea turtle have lately been discovered, and are now in +the possession of Mr. Deck, of Cambridge. It is imbedded in a mass of +septaria, weighing upwards of 150 pounds, with two fine specimens of +fossil wood; and was obtained in digging for cement stone, about five +miles from Harwich, in three fathoms water, where, as a mass of stone, it +had been used for some time as a stepping block.--_Bakewell's Geology._ + + * * * * * + + +_Geological Changes._ + +The following are the writers whose opinions have obtained the greatest +celebrity, as advocates for particular systems accounting for the +formation and subsequent alteration of the earth:-- + +Mr. Whitehurst taught that the _concentric arrangement_ of the crust of +the globe was destroyed by the expansive force of subterranean fire. + +Burnet's theory supposes this crust to have been broken for the +production of the deluge. + +Leibnitz and Buffon believed the earth to have been liquefied by fire; in +fact, that it is an extinguished sun or vitrified globe, whose surface +has been operated upon by a deluge. The latter assumes that the earth was +75,000 years in cooling to its present temperature, and that, in 98,000 +years more, productive nature must be finally extinguished. + +Woodward considered there was a temporary dissolution of the elements of +the globe, during which period the extraneous fossils became incorporated +with the general mass. + +De Luc, Dolomieu, and, finally Baron Cuvier, unite in the opinion, that +the phenomena exhibited by the earth, particularly the alternate deposits +of terrestrial and marine productions, can only be satisfactorily +accounted for by a series of revolutions similar to the deluge. + +Among the singular views entertained by men of genius, in the infancy of +the science, are those of Whiston, "who fancied that the earth was +created from the atmosphere of one comet, and deluged by the tail of +another;" and that, for their sins, the antediluvian population were +drowned; "except the fishes, whose passions were less violent." + +A French geologist conceived that the sea covered the earth for a vast +period; that all animals were originally inhabitants of the water; that +their habits gradually changed on the retiring of the waves, and "that +man himself began his career as a fish!"--_Mag. Nat. Hist._ + + * * * * * + + +SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +THE CLIFFORDS OF CRAVEN. + +There is no district in England which abounds in more beautiful and +romantic scenery than the remote and rarely visited district of Craven, +in Yorkshire. Its long ridge of low and irregular hills, terminating at +last in the enormous masses of Pennygent and Ingleborough,--its deep and +secluded valleys, containing within their hoary ramparts of gray +limestone fertile fields and pleasant pasturages,--its wide-spreading +moors, covered with the different species of moss and ling, and fern and +bent-grass, which variegate the brown livery of the heath, and break its +sombre uniformity,--its crystal streams of unwearied rapidity, now +winding a silent course "in infant pride" through the willows and sedges +which fringe their banks, and now bounding with impetuous rage over the +broken ledges of rock, which seek in vain to impede their progress from +the mountains,--its indigenous woods of yew, and beech, and ash, and +alder, which have waved in the winds of centuries, and which still +flourish in green old age on the sides and summits of the smaller +declivities,--its projecting crags, which fling additional gloom over the +melancholy tarns that repose in dismal grandeur at their feet,--its +hamlets, and towns, and ivy-mantled churches, which remind the visiter of +their antiquity by the rudeness, and convince him of their durability by +the massiveness of their construction,--these are all features in the +landscape which require to be seen only once, to be impressed upon the +recollection for ever. But it is not merely for the lovers of the wild, +and beautiful, and picturesque, that the localities of Craven possess a +powerful charm. The antiquarian, the novelist, and the poet, may all find +rich store of employment in the traditions which are handed down from +father to son respecting the ancient lords and inhabitants of the +district. It is indeed the region of romance, and I have often felt +surprise, that the interesting materials with which it abounds have so +seldom been incorporated into the works of fiction which are now issuing +with such thoughtless haste from the press of the metropolis. In Dr. +Whitaker's History of Craven--which in spite of his extravagant +prejudices in favour of gentle blood, and in derogation of commercial +opulence, is still an excellent model for all future writers of local +history--there is a ground-work laid for at least a dozen ordinary novels. +To say nothing of the legendary tales, which the peasantry relate of the +minor families of the district, of the Bracewells, the Tempests, the +Lysters, the Romilies, and the Nortons,--whose White Doe, however, has +been immortalized by the poetry of Wordsworth,--can any thing be more +pregnant with romantic adventure than the fortunes of the successive +chieftains of the lordly line of Clifford? Their first introduction to +the North, owing to a love-match made by a poor knight of Herefordshire +with the wealthy heiress of the Viponts and the Vesys! Their rising +greatness, to the merited disgrace and death of Piers de Gavestone and +his profligate minions! and their final exaltation to the highest honours +of the British peerage, which they have now enjoyed for five hundred +years, to the strong hand and unblenching heart with which they have +always welcomed the assaults of their most powerful enemies! Of the first +ten lords of Skipton castle, four died in the field and one upon the +scaffold! The "black-faced Clifford," who sullied the glory which he +acquired by his gallantry at the battle of Sandal, by murdering his +youthful prisoner the Earl of Rutland, in cold blood, at the termination +of it, has gained a passport to an odious immortality from the soaring +genius of the bard of Avon. But his real fate is far more striking, both +in a moral and in a poetical point of view, than that assigned to him by +our great dramatist. On the evening before the battle of Towton Field, +and after the termination of the skirmish which preceded it, an unknown +archer shot him in the throat, as he was putting off his gorget, and so +avenged the wretched victims, whose blood he had shed like water upon +Wakefield Bridge. The vengeance of the Yorkists was not, however, +satiated by the death of the Butcher, as Leland informs us that they +called him:--for they attainted him, in the first year of the reign of +Edward the Fourth, and granted his estates, a few years afterwards, to +the Duke of Gloucester, who retained them in his iron grasp till he lost +them with his crown and life at the battle of Bosworth. The history of +his son is a romance ready made. His relations, fearing lest the +partisans of the house of York should avenge the death of the young Earl +of Rutland on the young Lord Clifford, then a mere infant, concealed him +for the next twenty-five years of his life in the Fells of Cumberland, +where he grew up as hardy as the heath on which he vegetated, and as +ignorant as the rude herds which bounded over it. One of the first acts +of Henry the Seventh, after his accession to the throne, was to reverse +the attainder which had been passed against his father; and immediately +afterwards the young lord emerged from the hiding place, where he had +been brought up in ignorance of his rank, and with the manners and +education of a mere shepherd. Finding himself more illiterate than was +usual even in an illiterate age, he retired to a tower, which he built in +the beautiful forest of Barden, and there, under the direction of the +monks of Bolton Abbey, gave himself up to the forbidden studies of +alchemy and astrology. His son, who was the first Earl of Cumberland, +embittered the conclusion of his life, by embarking in a series of +adventures, which, in spite of their profligacy, or rather in consequence +of it, possess a very strong romantic interest. Finding that his father +was either unwilling or unable to furnish him with funds to maintain his +inordinate riot and luxury, he became the leader of a band of outlaws, +and, by their agency, levied aids and benevolences upon the different +travellers on the king's highway. A letter of the old lord, his father, +which, by the by, is not the letter of an illiterate man, is still extant, +in which he complains in very moving terms of his son's degeneracy and +misconduct. The young scapegrace, wishing to make his father know from +experience the inconvenience of being scantily supplied with money, +enjoined his tenantry in Craven not to pay their rents, and beat one of +them, Henry Popely, who ventured to disobey him, so severely with his own +hand, that he lay for a long time in peril of death. He spoiled his +father's houses, &c. "feloniously took away his proper goods," as the old +lord quaintly observes, "apparelling himself and his horse, all the time, +in cloth of gold and goldsmith's work, more like a duke than a poor baron's +son." He likewise took a particular aversion to the religious orders, +"shamefully beating their tenants and servants, in such wise as some whole +towns were fain to keep the churches both night and day, and durst not +come at their own houses."--Whilst engaged in these ignoble practices, +less dissonant, however, to the manners of his age than to those of our's, +he wooed, and won, and married, a daughter of the Percy of Northumberland; +and it is conjectured, upon very plausible grounds, that his courtship +and marriage with a lady of the highest rank under such disadvantages on +his part, gave rise to the beautiful old ballad of the Nutbrown Maid. The +lady, becoming very unexpectedly the heiress of her family, added to the +inheritance of the Cliffords the extensive fee which the Percies held in +Yorkshire; and by that transfer of property, and by the grant of Bolton +Abbey, which he obtained from Henry the Eighth, on the dissolution of the +monasteries, her husband became possessor of nearly all the district +which stretches between the castles of Skipton on the south, and of +Brougham, or as the Cliffords, to whom it belonged, always wrote it, +Bromeham, on the north. The second Earl of Cumberland, who was as fond of +alchemy and astrology as his grandfather, was succeeded by his son George, +who distinguished himself abroad by the daring intrepidity with which he +conducted several buccaneering expeditions in the West Indies against the +Spaniards, and at home, by the very extensive scale on which he +propagated his own and his Maker's image in the dales of Craven. Among +the numerous children of whom he was the father, the most celebrated was +the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, whose long life of virtuous +exertion renders her well qualified to figure as the heroine of a tale of +chivalry. The anecdotes which are told of this high-spirited lady in the +three counties of York, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, are almost +innumerable, and relate to circumstances in her life, which, though some +are impossible, and others improbable, are still all full of heroic +interest and adventure. Her defence of Bromeham Castle against the +intrusion of her uncle of Cumberland,--her riding cross-legged to meet +the judges of assize, when she acted in person at Appleby as High Sheriff +by inheritance of the county of Westmoreland,--her hairbreadth escapes +and dangers during the great rebellion, are characteristics of the woman, +so striking in themselves, that they would require little adventitious +ornament from the writer, who should take them as incidents for poem or +romance. Her courage and liberality in public life were only to be +equalled by her order, economy, and devotion in private. "She was," says +Dr. Whitaker, "the oldest and most independent courtier in the kingdom," +at the time of her death.--"She had known and admired queen Elizabeth;-- +she had refused what she deemed an iniquitous award of king James," +though urged to submit to it by her first husband, the Earl of Dorset;-- +"She rebuilt her dismantled castles in defiance of Cromwell, and repelled +with disdain the interposition of a profligate minister under Charles the +Second." A woman of such dauntless spirit and conduct would be a fitting +subject, even for the pencil of the mighty magician of Abbotsford. A +journal of her life in her own hand-writing is still in existence at +Appleby Castle. I have heard, that it descends to the minutest details +about her habits and feelings, and that it is that cause alone, which +prevents its publication. + +_Blackwood's Magazine._ + + + + * * * * * + +A VILLAGE FUNERAL IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. + + +The sun was careering brightly in the heavens, and all nature was +rejoicing in its unclouded glory, as the funeral procession of Helen +Hartlington, and Antony Clifford, wound its toilsome and melancholy way to +Bolton Abbey. The sportive Deer were bounding lightly over the hills, and +the glad birds were warbling melodiously in the thickets, as if none but +the living were moving amongst them; and but for the wild dirge, which +mingled with the whispers of the wind, and but for the deep-toned knell +which ever and anon rose slowly and mournfully above it, the lone +traveller would never have conjectured that Death was conveying its +victims through those smiling scenes. As the procession approached the +portals of the Abbey, it was met, as was then customary, by the young men +and maidens of the surrounding villages, in their best array, who hung +upon the hearse chaplets of fragrant flowers, and strewed its path with +rosemary, pansies, and rue. At the same moment the solemn chant of the +Miserere thrilled upon the soul, and was succeeded, as it gradually melted +into silence, by the still more affecting strains of the parting requiem +for the dead--_Ibid._ + + + + * * * * * + + +NOTES FROM THE QUARTERLY REVIEW--(JUST PUBLISHED.) + + +An old acquaintance of ours, as remarkable for the grotesque queerness of +his physiognomy, as for the kindness and gentleness of his disposition, +was asked by a friend, where he had been? He replied, he had been seeing +the lion, which was at that time an object of curiosity--(we are not sure +whether it was _Nero_ or _Cato_.) "And what," rejoined the querist, "did +the lion think of you?" The jest passed as a good one; and yet under it +lies something that is serious and true. + + + + * * * * * + +The possibility of a great change being introduced by very slight +beginnings may be illustrated by the tale which Lockman tells of a vizier +who, having offended his master, was condemned to perpetual captivity in a +lofty tower. At night his wife came to weep below his window. "Cease your +grief," said the sage; "go home for the present, and return hither when +you have procured a live black-beetle, together with a little _ghee_, (or +buffalo's butter.) three clews, one of the finest silk, another of stout +packthread, and another of whip-cord; finally, a stout coil of rope."-- +When she again came to the foot of the tower, provided according to her +husband's commands, he directed her to touch the head of the insect with a +little of the _ghee_, to tie one end of the silk thread around him, and to +place the reptile on the wall of the tower. Seduced by the smell of the +butter, which he conceived to be in store somewhere above him, the beetle +continued to ascend till he reached the top, and thus put the vizier in +possession of the end of the silk thread, who drew up the packthread by +means of the silk, the small cord by means of the packthread, and, by +means of the cord, a stout rope capable of sustaining his own weight,--and +so at last escaped from the place of his duresse. + + + + * * * * * + +ANOTHER UNIVERSITY. + + +A munificent lady in Yorkshire has recently offered to subscribe 50,000_l_. +towards the endowment of an university _in that county_, and a noble earl +has professed his willingness to give a similar benefaction. These +princely examples will no doubt be followed ere long, and the scheme +completed--though we have some doubts whether the site of the new +university for the north would be best selected in Yorkshire. + + + + * * * * * + +Greater changes have taken place in no single age than are at this time in +progress; and the revolutions in which empires, kingdoms, or republics are +made and unmade, and political constitutions rise and burst like bubbles +upon a standing pool, when its stagnant waters are disturbed by a +thunder-shower, are not the most momentous of those changes, neither are +they those which most nearly concern us. The effects of the discovery of +printing could never be felt in their full extent by any nation, till +education, and the diffusion also of a certain kind of knowledge, had +become so general, that newspapers should be accessible to every body, and +the very lowest of the people should have opportunity to read them, or to +hear them read. The maxim that it is politic to keep the people in +ignorance, will not be maintained in any country where the rulers are +conscious of upright intentions, and confident likewise in the intrinsic +worth of the institutions which it is their duty to uphold, knowing those +institutions to be founded on the rock of righteous principles. They know, +also, that the best means of preserving them from danger is so to promote +the increase of general information, as to make the people perceive how +intimately their own well-being depends upon the stability of the state, +thus making them wise to obedience. + + + + * * * * * + +The heart and mind can as little lie barren as the earth whereon we move +and have our being, and which, if it produce not herbs and fruit meet for +the use of man, will be overrun with weeds and thorns. Muley Ismael, a +personage of tyrannical celebrity in his day, always employed his troops +in some active and useful work, when they were not engaged in war, "to +keep them," he said, "from being devoured by the worm of indolence." In +the same spirit one of our Elizabethan poets delivered his wholesome +advice:-- + + "Eschew the idle vein + Flee, flee from doing nought! + For never was there idle brain + But bred an idle thought." + + + + * * * * * + +FLOGGING. + + +Little did king Solomon apprehend, when his unfortunate saying concerning +the rod fell from his lips, that it would occasion more havoc among +birch-trees than was made among the cedars for the building of his temple, +and his house of the forest of Lebanon! Many is the phlebotomist who, with +this text in his mouth, has taken the rod in hand, when he himself, for +ill teaching, or ill temper, or both, has deserved it far more than the +poor boy who, whether slow of comprehension, or stupified by terror, has +stood untrussed and trembling before him. + + + + + * * * * * + +THE SKETCH BOOK. + + * * * * * + + +THE VISION OF VALDEMARO. + +_Translated from the Spanish._ + + +It was night; and by degrees, that sweet forgetfulness which suspends our +faculties insensibly began to steal over me, and I fell asleep. In an +instant my soul was transported to an unknown region. I found myself in +the centre of a spacious plain, surrounded by groves of mournful cypresses. +The whole enclosure was full of superb mausoleums, some assuming the shape +of pyramids, whose lofty summits almost touched the clouds; and others the +forms of altars, whose magnificence presented the most imposing spectacle. +On all were engraved the epitaphs and sculptured insignia of the heroes +who had been interred there. In various places I discovered coffins lying +on the ground covered with sable palls, and bodies extended on the bare +earth, meanly enveloped in miserable garbs. + +I wandered, filled with terror, through this dismal region. By the light +of the moon, which shone in the midst of an unclouded sky, I attentively +regarded these proud monuments, and curiosity impelled me to read the +pompous epitaphs inscribed on them. "How remarkable a difference!" I +observed to myself; "when ordinary men, incapable of eclipsing their +fellow mortals, lie forgotten in dust and corruption, those great men who +have excited astonishment and admiration throughout the world, even after +the lapse of many ages, still breathe in splendid marble! Happy are they +who have had the glory of performing brilliant achievements! Even though +inexorable fate refuse to spare them, their ashes afterwards revive, and +under the very stroke of death, they rise triumphantly to a glorious +immortality!" + +I was indulging in these reflections, when, on a sudden, a hoarse and +fearful blast of wind affrighted me. The earth rocked under my feet, the +mausoleum waved to and fro with violence, the cypresses were torn up with +tremendous fury, and, from time to time, I heard a sound as of fleshless +bones clashing together. In a moment, the heavens were covered with black +clouds, and the moon withdrew her splendour. The horror inspired by the +darkness of the night, and the dead silence which reigned amidst the tombs, +caused my hair to stand on end, and stiffened my limbs until I had +scarcely power to move them. + +In this dreadful situation, I saw an old man approaching me. His head was +bald--his beard white--in his right hand he carried a crooked scythe, and +in his left an hour-glass--whilst two immense flapping wings nearly +concealed his body. "Thou," said he to me in a terrible voice, "who art +still dazzled by the dignities and honours which mankind pursue with such +reckless eagerness, see whether you perceive any difference between the +dust of the monarch and that of the most wretched slave!" He spoke, and +striking the ground a tremendous blow with his scythe, all these proud +monuments fell headlong to the earth, and in an instant were reduced to +dust. My terror was then redoubled, and my strength almost failed me. I +could only perceive that there was no distinction. All was dust, +corruption, and ashes. "Go," said he, "seek another road to the temple of +immortality! Behold the termination of those titles of grandeur which men +so ardently desire! They vainly imagine that, after death, they shall +survive in history, or in marbles, which shall leap emulously from their +quarries to form such monuments of pride as you have just beheld; but they +are miserably deceived; their existence ends at the instant they expire, +and their fame, however deeply engraven on brass and marble, cannot have a +longer duration than that of a brief moment when compared with eternity! I +myself, TIME, consume and utterly annihilate all those structures which +have vanity for their base; the works which are founded on virtue are not +subject to my jurisdiction. They pass to the boundless regions of another +world, and receive the reward of immortality!" With these words he +disappeared. + +I awoke with a deadly dullness, and found that my sleep had been +productive of instruction. Thenceforth I regarded, in a very different +point of view, the pompous titles which before had dazzled me, and, by the +aid of a little reflection, I soon became thoroughly sensible of their +vanity. + +K.N. + + + + + * * * * * + +RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS. + + * * * * * + + +ORIGIN OF ISABELLA COLOUR. + + +The Archduke Albert married the infanta Isabella, daughter of Philip II. +king of Spain, with whom he had the Low Countries in dowry. In the year +1602, he laid siege to Ostend, then in possession of the heretics; and his +pious princess, who attended him on the expedition, made a vow, that, till +the city was taken, she would not change her clothes. Contrary to +expectation, it was three years before the place was reduced; in which +time her highness' linen had acquired a hue, which, from the superstition +of the princess and the times, was much admired, and adopted by the court +fashionables under the name of "Isabella colour." It is a yellow or soiled +buff, better imagined than described. + +HALBERT H. + + + + * * * * * + +FAMINE IN ENGLAND. + + +A severe dearth began in May, 1315, and proceeded to the utmost extremity, +until after the harvest of 1316. In July, 1316, the quarter of wheat rose +to 30_s_., (equal to 22_l_. 10_s_.;) and in August reached to the enormous +price of 40_s_. or 30_l_. the quarter. A loaf of coarse bread, which was +scarcely able to support a man for a single day, sold for 4_d_., equal in +value to 5_s_. now. Wheat rose in Scotland at one time to the enormous sum +of 100_s_. the quarter, equal to 75_l_. of the present currency. This +dearth continued, but with mitigated severity, until after the harvest of +1317; but great abundance returned in 1318. This famine occasioned a +prodigious mortality among the people, owing to the want of proper food, +and employment of unwholesome substitutes. The rains set in so early in +1315, and continued so violently, that most of the seed of that year +perished in the ground; the meadows were so inundated, that the hay crop +of that year was utterly destroyed. + +H.B.A. + + + + * * * * * + +OLD ADVERTISEMENTS. + + +Puffing is by no means a modern art, although so extravagantly practised +in the present day. Of its success two hundred years since, _E.S.N._ of +Rochester, has sent us the following specimens:-- + +At the end of an old medical book which I have in my possession, are the +following, among other advertisements:--"_The new Plannet no Plannet_, or +the Earth no _Wandring_ Star. Here, out of the principles of divinity, +philosophy, &c. the earth's immobility is asserted, and _Copernicus_, his +opinion, as erroneous, &c. fully refuted, by _Alexander Ross_, in quarto." + +"_A Recantation of an Ill-led Life_, or a discovery of the highway law, as +also many _cautelous_ admonitions, and ful instructions how to know, shun, +and apprehende a _thiefe_, most necessary for all honest travellers to +peruse, observe, and practice; written by _John Clavel_, gent." + + + + + * * * * * + +ENGLISH FASHIONS. + + +Our constant changes of habit were the subject of ridicule at home and +abroad, even at an early period. Witness the ancient limner's jest in 1570, +who, being employed to decorate the gallery of the Lord Admiral Lincoln +with representations of the costumes of the different nations of Europe, +when he came to the English, drew a naked man, with cloth of various +colours lying by him, and a pair of shears held in his hand, as in rueful +suspense and hesitation; or the earlier conceit, to the same effect, of +"Andrew Borde of Physicke Doctor," alias "Andreas Perforatus," who, to the +first chapter of his "Boke of the Instruction of Knowledge," (1542,) +prefixed a naked figure, with these lines:-- + + "I am an Englishman, and naked I stande here, + Musing in minde what rayment I shal weare: + For nowe I wil weare this, and now I will weare that-- + And now I will weare I cannot telle whatt." + + + + + * * * * * + +THE GATHERER. + + + "A snapper-up of unconsidered trifles." + + SHAKSPEARE. + + * * * * * + + +CONNING (_quasi Cunning_.) + +A convict, during the voyage to New South Wales, slipped overboard, and +was drowned--What was his crime?--_Felo de se_ (fell o'er the sea.) + + * * * * * + +THE CHANGES OF TIME. + + + I dreamt, in Fancy's joyous day, + That every passing month was May; + But Reason told me to remember, + And now, alas! they're all December! + + * * * * * + +The only memorial of the death of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, remaining +at Kirkby Moorside (where he died in obscurity and distress,) is an +entry in an old register of burials, which runs thus: "1687, April 17th, +Gorges Villus, Lord dook of bookingham."--_Ellis Correspondence._ + + * * * * * + + + Had we not lov'd so dearly, + Had we not lov'd sincerely, + Had vows been never plighted, + Our hopes had ne'er been blighted, + Dearest. + + Had we met in younger days, + Had we fled each other's gaze, + Oh had we never spoken, + Our hearts had ne'er been broken, + Dearest. + + Had you not look'd so kindly, + Had I not lov'd so blindly, + No pain 'twould be to sever, + As now we may for ever, + Dearest. + + If yet you love sincerely, + The one who loves you dearly, + Then let the sigh betoken, + Love for a heart you've broken, + Dearest. + +Z. + + + + * * * * * + +THE TRAGEDY OF DOUGLAS. + + +It may not be generally known, that the first rehearsal of this tragedy +took place in the lodgings in the Canongate, occupied by Mrs. Sarah Ward, +one of Digges' company; and that it was rehearsed by, and in presence of, +the most distinguished literary characters Scotland ever could boast of. +The following was the cast of the piece on that occasion:-- + + _Dramatis Personae_. + _Lord Randolph_, Dr. Robertson, Principal, Edinburgh. + _Glenalvon_, David Hume, Historian. + _Old Norval_, Dr. Carlyle, Minister of Musselburgh. + _Douglas_, John Home, the Author. + _Lady Randolph_, Dr. Fergusson, Professor. + _Anna_ (the maid), Dr. Blair, Minister, High Church. + + +The audience that day, besides Mr. Digges and Mrs. Sarah Ward, were the +Right Hon. Pat. Lord Elibank, Lord Milton, Lord Kames, Lord Monboddo, (the +two last were then only lawyers,) the Rev. John Steele, and William Home, +ministers. The company (all but Mrs. Ward) dined afterwards at the Griskin +Club, in the Abbey. The above is a signal proof of the strong passion for +the drama which then obtained among the _literati_ of this capital, since +then, unfortunately, much abated. The rehearsal must have been conducted +with very great secrecy; for what would the Kirk, which took such deep +offence at the composition of the piece by one of its ministers, have said +to the fact, of no less than four of these being engaged in rehearsing it, +and two others attending the exhibition? The circumstance of the gentle +Anna having been personated by "Dr. Blair, minister of the High Church," +is a very droll one.--_Edinburgh Evening Post_. + + + + * * * * * + +THE CUMBERLAND LANDLORD. + +(_To the Editor of the Mirror._) + + +During a recent excursion in Cumberland, I copied the following epitaph +from the _album_ kept at the inn at Pooley Bridge, the landlord of which +is well known, as being quite an original:--W.W. + + Will Russell was a landlord bold, + A noble wight was he, + Right fond of quips and merry cracks, + And ev'ry kind of glee. + + Full five-and-twenty years agone + He came to Pooley Height, + And there he kept the Rising Sun, + And drunk was ev'ry night. + + No lord, nor squire, nor serving man, + In all the country round, + But lov'd to call in at the Sun, + Wherever he was bound, + + To hold a crack with noble Will, + And take a cheerful cup + Of brandy, or of Penrith ale, + Or pop, right bouncing up. + + But now poor Will lies sleeping here, + Without his hat or stick, + Nor longer rules the Rising Sun, + As he did well when wick.[1] + + Will's honest heart could ne'er refuse + To drink with ev'ry brother; + Then let us not his name abuse-- + We'll ne'er see sic another. + + But let us hope the gods above, + Right mindful of his merits, + Have given him a gentle shove + Into the land of spirits. + + 'Tis then his talents will expand, + And make a noble figure. + In tossing off a brimming glass, + To make his belly bigger. + + Adieu, brave landlord, may thy portly ghost + Be ever ready at its heavenly post; + And may thy proud posterity e'er be + Landlords at Pooley to eternity. + + +[1] Wick in Cumberland is used for alive. + + * * * * * + + +A WATCH. + +Before a watch is ready for the pocket, the component parts thereof must +have passed through the hands of not less than _an hundred and fifty +different workmen_. The fifteen principal branches are: 1. the movement +maker; who divides it into various branches, viz. pillar maker, stop stud +maker, frame mounter, screw maker, cock and potence maker, verge maker, +pinion maker, balance wheel maker, wheel cutter, fusee maker, and other +small branches; 2. dial maker, who employs a capper maker, an enameller, +painter, &c. 3. case maker, who makes the case to the frame, employs box +maker, and outside case maker, joint finisher. 4. pendant maker; (both +case and pendant go to the Goldsmith's Hall to be marked.) 5. secret +springer, and spring liner; the spring and liner are divided into other +branches; viz. the spring maker, button maker, &c. 6. cap maker; who +employs springer, &c. 7. jeweller, which comprises the diamond cutting, +setting, making ruby holes, &c. 8. motion maker, and other branches, viz. +slide maker, edge maker, and bolt maker. 9. spring maker, (_i.e._ main +spring.) consisting of wire drawer, &c. hammerer, polisher, and temperer. +10. chain maker; this comprises several branches, wire drawer, link maker +and rivetter, hook maker, &c. 11. engraver, who also employs a piercer and +name cutter. 12. finisher, who employs a wheel and fusee cutter, and other +workers in smaller branches. 13. gilder is divided into two, viz. gilder +and brusher. 14. glass and hands, the glass employs two, viz. blower and +maker; hand maker employs die sinker, finisher, &c. 15. fitter in, who +overlooks the whole, fits hands on, &c. The above 15 branches are +subdivided again and again. + + * * * * * + + +This day is published, price 5_s_. with a Frontispiece, and thirty other +Engravings, the + +ARCANA OF SCIENCE, AND ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS, FOR 1829. + +The MECHANICAL department contains ONE HUNDRED New Inventions and +Discoveries, with 14 _Engravings_. + +CHEMICAL, SEVENTY articles, with 2 _Engravings_. + +NATURAL HISTORY, 135 New Facts and Discoveries, with 7 _Engravings_. + +ASTRONOMICAL and METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA--35 articles--6 _Engravings_. + +AGRICULTURE, GARDENING, and RURAL ECONOMY, 100 Articles. + +DOMESTIC ECONOMY 50 Articles. + +USEFUL ARTS, 50 Articles. + +FINE ARTS. + +PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. + +MISCELLANEOUS REGISTER, &c. + +"We hope the editor will publish a similar volume annually."--_Gardener's +Magazine._ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, +and Instruction, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 354 *** + +***** This file should be named 11382.txt or 11382.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/3/8/11382/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Allen Siddle and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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