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+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442, 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: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442
+       Volume 17, New Series, June 19, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Robert Chambers and William Chambers
+
+Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20792]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                     CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL
+
+  CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+  INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.
+
+
+  No. 442. NEW SERIES.   SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1852.   PRICE 1-1/2_d._
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD HOUSE IN CRANE COURT.
+
+The roaring pell-mell of the principal thoroughfares of London is
+curiously contrasted with the calm seclusion which is often found at
+no great distance in certain lanes, courts, and passages, and the
+effect is not a little heightened when in these by-places we light
+upon some old building speaking of antique institutions or bygone
+habits of society. We lately had this idea brought strikingly before
+us on plunging abruptly out of Fleet Street into Crane Court, in
+search of the establishment known as the Scottish Hospital. We were
+all at once transferred into a quiet narrow street, as it might be
+called, full of printing and lithographic offices, tall, dark, and
+rusty, while closing up the further end stood a dingy building of
+narrow front, presenting an ornamental porch. A few minutes served to
+introduce us to a moderate-sized hall, having a long table in the
+centre, and an arm-chair at the upper end, while several old portraits
+graced the walls. It was not without a mental elevation of feeling, as
+well as some surprise, that we learned that this was a hall in which
+Newton had spent many an evening. It was, to be quite explicit, the
+meeting-place of the Royal Society from 1710 till 1782, and,
+consequently, during not much less than twenty years of the latter
+life of the illustrious author of the _Principia_, who, as an
+office-bearer in the institution, must have often taken an eminent
+place here. We were not, however, immediately in quest of the
+antiquities of the Royal Society. Our object was to form some
+acquaintance with the valuable institution which has succeeded to it
+in the possession of this house.
+
+We must advert to a peculiarity of our Scottish countrymen, which can
+be set down only on the credit side of their character--their sympathy
+with each other when they meet as wanderers in foreign countries.
+Scotland is just a small enough country to cause a certain unity of
+feeling amongst the people. Wherever they are, they feel that Scotsmen
+should stand, as their proverb has it, _shoulder to shoulder_. The
+more distant the clime in which they meet, they remember with the more
+intensity their common land of mountain and flood, their historical
+and poetical associations, the various national institutions which
+ages have endeared to them; and the more disposed are they to take an
+interest in each other's welfare. This is a feeling in which time and
+modern innovations work no change, and it is one of old-standing.
+
+When James VI. acceded to the throne of Elizabeth, he was followed
+southward by some of his favourite nobles, and there was of course an
+end put to that exclusive system of the late monarch which had kept
+down the number of Scotsmen in London, to what must now appear the
+astonishingly small one of fifty-eight. Perhaps some exaggerations
+have been indulged in with regard to the host of traders and craftsmen
+who went southward in the train of King James, but there can be no
+doubt, that it was considerable in point of numbers. But where wealth
+is sought for, there also, by an inevitable law of nature, is poverty.
+The better class of Scotchmen settled in London, soon found their
+feelings of compassion excited in behalf of a set of miserable
+fellow-countrymen who had failed to obtain employment or fix
+themselves in a mercantile position, and for whom the stated charities
+of the country were not available. Hence seems to have arisen, so
+early as 1613, the necessity for some system of mutual charity among
+the natives of Scotland in London. So far as can be ascertained, it
+was a handful of journeymen or hired artisans, who in that year
+associated to aid each other, and prevent themselves from becoming
+burdensome to strangers--an interesting fact, as evincing in a remote
+period the predominance of that spirit of independence for which the
+modern Scottish peasantry has been famed, and which even yet survives
+in some degree of vigour, notwithstanding the fatally counteractive
+influence of poor-laws. The funds contributed by these worthy men were
+put into a box, and kept there--for in those days there were no banks
+to take a fruitful charge of money--and at certain periods the
+contributors would meet, and see what they could spare for the relief
+of such poor fellow-countrymen as had in the interval applied to them.
+We have still a faint living image of this simple plan in the _boxes_
+belonging to certain trades in our Scottish towns, or rather the
+survivance of the phrase, for the money, we must presume, is now
+everywhere relegated to the keeping of the banks. The institution in
+those days was known as the SCOTTISH BOX, just as a money-dealing
+company came to be called a bank, from the table (_banco_) which it
+employed in transacting its business. From a very early period in its
+history, it seems to have taken the form of what is now called a
+Friendly Society, each person contributing an entrance-fee of 5s., and
+6d. per quarter thereafter, so as to be entitled to certain benefits
+in the event of poverty or sickness. Small sums were also lent to the
+poorer members, without interest, and burial expenses were paid. We
+find from the records that, in 1638, when the company was twenty in
+number, and met in Lamb's Conduit Street, it allowed 20s. for a
+certain class of those of its members who had died of the plague, and
+30s. for others. The whole affair, however, was then on a limited
+scale--the quarterly disbursements in 1661 amounting only to L.9, 4s.
+Nevertheless, upwards of 300 poor Scotsmen, swept off by the
+pestilence of 1665-6, were buried at the expense of the Box, while
+numbers more were nourished during their sickness, without subjecting
+the parishes in which they resided to the smallest expense. We have
+not the slightest doubt, that not one of these people felt the
+bitterness of a dependence on alms. If not actually entitled to relief
+in consideration of previous payments of their own, they would feel
+that they were beholden only to their kindly countrymen. It would be
+like the members of a family helping each other. Humiliation could
+have been felt only, if they had had to accept of alms from those
+amongst whom they sojourned as strangers. Such is the way, at least,
+in which we read the character of our countrymen.
+
+In the year 1665, the Box was exalted into the character of a
+corporation by a royal charter, the expenses attendant on which were
+disbursed by gentlemen named Kinnear, Allen, Ewing, Donaldson, &c.
+When they met at the Cross Keys in 'Coven Garden,' they found their
+receipts to be L.116, 8s. 5d. The character of the times is seen in
+one of their regulations, which imposed a fine of 2s. 6d. for every
+oath used in the course of their quarterly business. The institution
+was now becoming venerable, and, as usual, members began to exhibit
+their affection for it by presents. The Mr Kinnear just mentioned,
+conferred upon it an elegant silver cup. James Donaldson presented an
+ivory mallet or hammer, to be used by the chairman in calling order.
+Among the contributors, we find the name of Gilbert Burnet (afterwards
+Bishop) as giving L.1 half-yearly. They had an hospital erected in
+Blackfriars Street; but experience soon proved that confinement to a
+charity workhouse was altogether uncongenial to the feelings and
+habits of the Scottish poor, and they speedily returned to the plan of
+assisting them by small outdoor pensions, which has ever since been
+adhered to. In those days, no effort was made to secure permanency by
+a sunk fund. They distributed each quarter-day all that had been
+collected during the preceding interval. The consequence of this not
+very Scotsman-like proceeding was that, in one of those periods of
+decay which are apt to befall all charitable institutions, the
+Scottish Hospital was threatened with extinction; and this would
+undoubtedly have been its fate, but for the efforts of a few patriotic
+Scotsmen who came to its aid.
+
+Through the help of these gentlemen, a new charter was obtained
+(1775), putting the institution upon a new and more liberal footing,
+and at the same time providing for the establishment of a permanent
+fund. Since then, through the virtue of the national spirit,
+considerable sums have been obtained from the wealthier Scotch living
+in London, and by the bequests of charitable individuals of the
+nation; so that the hospital now distributes about L.2200 per annum,
+chiefly in L.10 pensions to old people.[1] At the same time, a special
+bequest of large amount (L.76,495) from William Kinloch, Esq., a
+native of Kincardineshire, who had realised a fortune in India, allows
+of a further distribution through the same channel of about L.1800,
+most of it in pensions of L.4 to disabled soldiers and sailors. Thus
+many hundreds of the Scotch poor of the metropolis may be said to be
+kept by their fellow-countrymen from falling upon the parochial funds,
+on which they would have a claim--a fact, we humbly think, on which
+the nation at large may justifiably feel some little pride. As part of
+the means of collecting this money, there is a festival twice a year,
+usually presided over by some Scottish nobleman, and attended by a
+great number of gentlemen connected with Scotland by birth or
+otherwise. A committee of governors meets on the second Wednesday of
+every month, to distribute the benefactions to the regular pensioners
+and casual applicants; and, in accordance with the national habits of
+feeling, this ceremony is always prefaced by divine service in the
+chapel, according to the simple practice of the Presbyterian Church.
+Since 1782, these transactions, as well as the general concerns of the
+institution, have taken place in the old building in Crane Court,
+where also the secretary has a permanent residence.
+
+Such, then, is the institution which has succeeded to the possession
+of the dusky hall in which the Royal Society at one time assembled. It
+was with a mingled interest that we looked round it, reflecting on the
+presence of such men as Newton and Bradley of old, and on the many
+worthy deeds which had since been done in it by men of a different
+stamp, but surely not unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence. A
+portrait of Queen Mary by Zucchero, and one of the Duke of Lauderdale
+by Lely--though felt as reminiscences of Scotland--were scarcely
+fitted of themselves to ornament the walls; but this, of course, is as
+the accidents of gifts and bequests might determine. We felt it to be
+more right and fitting, that the secretary should be our old friend
+Major Adair, the son of that Dr Adair who accompanied Robert Burns on
+his visit to Glendevon in 1787. He is one of those men of activity,
+method, and detail, joined to unfailing good-humour, who are
+invaluable to such an institution. He is also, as might be expected,
+entirely a Scotsman, and evidently regards the hospital with feelings
+akin to veneration. Nor could we refrain from sympathising in his
+views, when we thought of the honourable national principle from which
+the institution took its rise, and by which it continues to be
+supported, as well as the practical good which it must be continually
+achieving. To quote his own words: 'From a view of the numbers
+relieved, it is evident, that while this institution is a real
+blessing to the aged, the helpless, the diseased, and the unemployed
+poor of Scotland, resident in London, Westminster, and the
+neighbourhood, extending to a circle of ten miles radius from the hall
+of the corporation, it is of incalculable benefit to the community at
+large, who, by means of this charity, are spared the pain of beholding
+so great an addition, as otherwise there would be, of our destitute
+fellow-creatures seeking their wretched pittance in the streets,
+liable to be taken up as vagrants and sent to the house of correction,
+and probably subjected to greater evils and disgrace.' The major has a
+pet scheme for extending the usefulness of the institution. It implies
+that individuals should make foundations of from L.300 to L.400 each,
+in order to produce pensions of L.10 a year; these to be in the care
+and dispensation of the hospital, and each to bear for ever the name
+of its founder; thus permanently connecting his memory with the
+institution, and insuring that once a year, at least, some humble
+fellow-countryman shall have occasion to rejoice that such a person as
+he once existed. The idea involves the gratification of a fine natural
+feeling, and we sincerely hope that it will be realised. And why,
+since we have said so much, should we hesitate to add the more general
+wish, that the Scottish Hospital may continue to enjoy an undiminished
+measure of the patronage of our countrymen? May it flourish for ever!
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Note by an Englishman._--It is not one of the least curious
+particulars in the history of the Scottish Hospital, that it
+substantiates by documentary evidence the fact, that Scotsmen, who
+have gone to England, occasionally find their way back to their own
+country. It appears from the books of the corporation, that in the
+year ending 30th November 1850, the sum of L.30, 16s. 6d. was spent in
+'passages' from London to Leith; and there is actually a corresponding
+society in Edinburgh to receive the _revenants_, and pass them on to
+their respective districts.
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNCHBACK OF STRASBOURG.
+
+
+In the department of the Bas-Rhin, France, and not more than about two
+leagues north of Strasbourg, lived Antoine Delessert, who farmed, or
+intended farming, his own land--about a ten-acre slice of 'national'
+property, which had fallen to him, nobody very well knew how, during
+the hurly-burly of the great Revolution. He was about five-and-thirty,
+a widower, and had one child, likewise named Antoine, but familiarly
+known as Le Bossu (hunchback)--a designation derived, like his
+father's acres, from the Revolution, somebody having, during one of
+the earlier and livelier episodes of that exciting drama, thrown the
+poor little fellow out of a window in Strasbourg, and broken his back.
+When this happened, Antoine, _père_, was a journeyman _ferblantier_
+(tinman) of that city. Subsequently, he became an active, though
+subordinate member of the local Salut Public; in virtue of which
+patriotic function he obtained Les Près, the name of his magnificent
+estate. Working at his trade was now, of course, out of the question.
+Farming, as everybody knows, is a gentlemanly occupation, skill in
+which comes by nature; and Citizen Delessert forthwith betook himself,
+with his son, to Les Près, in the full belief that he had stepped at
+once into the dignified and delightful position of the ousted
+aristocrat, to whom Les Près had once belonged, and whose haughty head
+he had seen fall into the basket. But envious clouds will darken the
+brightest sky, and the new proprietor found, on taking possession of
+his quiet, unencumbered domain, that property has its plagues as well
+as pleasures. True, there was the land; but not a plant, or a seed
+thereon or therein, nor an agricultural implement of any kind to work
+it with. The walls of the old rambling house were standing, and the
+roof, except in about a dozen places, kept out the rain with some
+success; but the nimble, unrespecting fingers of preceding patriots
+had carried off not only every vestige of furniture, usually so
+called, but coppers, cistern, pump, locks, hinges--nay, some of the
+very doors and window-frames! Delessert was profoundly discontented.
+He remarked to Le Bossu, now a sharp lad of some twelve years of age,
+that he was at last convinced of the entire truth of his cousin
+Boisdet's frequent observation--that the Revolution, glorious as it
+might be, had been stained and dishonoured by many shameful excesses;
+an admission which the son, with keen remembrance of his compulsory
+flight from the window, savagely endorsed.
+
+'Peste!' exclaimed the new proprietor, after a lengthened and painful
+examination of the dilapidations, and general nakedness of his
+estate--'this is embarrassing. Citizen Destouches was right. I must
+raise money upon the property, to replace what those brigands have
+carried off. I shall require three thousand francs at the very least.'
+
+The calculation was dispiriting; and after a night's lodging on the
+bare floor, damply enveloped in a few old sacks, the financial horizon
+did not look one whit less gloomy in the eyes of Citizen Delessert.
+Destouches, he sadly reflected, was an iron-fisted notary-public, who
+lent money, at exorbitant interest, to distressed landowners, and was
+driving, people said, a thriving trade in that way just now. His pulse
+must, however, be felt, and money be obtained, however hard the terms.
+This was unmistakably evident; and with the conviction tugging at his
+heart, Citizen Delessert took his pensive way towards Strasbourg.
+
+'You guess my errand, Citizen Destouches?' said Delessert, addressing
+a flinty-faced man of about his own age, in a small room of Numéro 9,
+Rue Béchard.
+
+'Yes--money: how much?'
+
+'Three thousand francs is my calculation.'
+
+'Three thousand francs! You are not afraid of opening your mouth, I
+see. Three thousand francs!--humph! Security, ten acres of middling
+land, uncultivated, and a tumble-down house; title, _droit de
+guillotine_. It is a risk, but I think I may venture. Pierre Nadaud,'
+he continued, addressing a black-browed, sly, sinister-eyed clerk,
+'draw a bond, secured upon Les Près, and the appurtenances, for three
+thousand francs, with interest at ten per cent.'----
+
+'Morbleu! but that is famous interest!' interjected Delessert, though
+timidly.
+
+'Payable quarterly, if demanded,' the notary continued, without
+heeding his client's observation; 'with power, of course, to the
+lender to sell, if necessary, to reimburse his capital, as well as all
+accruing _dommages-intérêts_!'
+
+The borrower drew a long breath, but only muttered: 'Ah, well; no
+matter! We shall work hard, Antoine and I.'
+
+The legal document was soon formally drawn: Citizen Delessert signed
+and sealed, and he had only now to pouch the cash, which the notary
+placed upon the table.
+
+'Ah ça!' he cried, eyeing the roll of paper proffered to his
+acceptance with extreme disgust. 'It is not in those _chiffons_ of
+assignats, is it, that I am to receive three thousand francs, at ten
+per cent.?'
+
+'My friend,' rejoined the notary, in a tone of great severity, 'take
+care what you say. The offence of depreciating the credit or money of
+the Republic is a grave one.'
+
+'Who should know that better than I?' promptly replied Delessert. 'The
+paper-money of our glorious Republic is of inestimable value; but the
+fact is, Citizen Destouches, I have a weakness, I confess it, for
+coined money--_argent métallique_. In case of fire, for instance,
+it'----
+
+'It is very remarkable,' interrupted the notary with increasing
+sternness--'it is very remarkable, Pierre' (Pierre was an influential
+member of the Salut Public), 'that the instant a man becomes a landed
+proprietor, he betrays symptoms of _incivisme_: is discovered to be,
+in fact, an _aristocq_ at heart.'
+
+'I an _aristocq_!' exclaimed Delessert, turning very pale; 'you are
+jesting, surely. See, I take these admirable assignats--three thousand
+francs' worth at ten per cent.--with the greatest pleasure. Oh, never
+mind counting among friends.'
+
+'Pardon!' replied Destouches, with rigid scrupulosity. 'It is
+necessary to be extremely cautious in matters of business. Deducting
+thirty francs for the bond, you will, I think, find your money
+correct; but count yourself.'
+
+Delessert pretended to do so, but the rage in his heart so caused his
+eyes to dance and dazzle, and his hands to shake, that he could
+scarcely see the figures on the assignats, or separate one from the
+other. He bundled them up at last, crammed them into his pocket, and
+hurried off, with a sickly smile upon his face, and maledictions,
+which found fierce utterance as soon as he had reached a safe
+distance, trembling on his tongue.
+
+'Scélérat! coquin!' he savagely muttered. 'Ten per cent. for this
+moonshine money! I only wish---- But never mind, what's sauce for the
+goose is sauce for the gander. I must try and buy in the same way
+that I have been so charmingly sold.'
+
+Earnestly meditating this equitable process, Citizen Delessert sought
+his friend Jean Souday, who lived close by the Fossé des Tanneurs
+(Tanners' Ditch.) Jean had a somewhat ancient mare to dispose of,
+which our landed proprietor thought might answer his purpose. Cocotte
+was a slight waif, sheared off by the sharp axe of the Place de la
+Révolution, and Souday could therefore afford to sell her cheap. Fifty
+francs _argent métallique_ would, Delessert knew, purchase her; but
+with assignats, it was quite another affair. But, courage! He might
+surely play the notary's game with his friend Souday: that could not
+be so difficult.
+
+'You have no use for Cocotte,' suggested Delessert modestly, after
+exchanging fraternal salutations with his friend.
+
+'Such an animal is always useful,' promptly answered Madame Souday, a
+sharp, notable little woman, with a vinegar aspect.
+
+'To be sure--to be sure! And what price do you put upon this useful
+animal?'
+
+'Cela dépend'---- replied Jean, with an interrogative glance at his
+helpmate.
+
+'Yes, as Jean says, that depends--entirely depends'---- responded the
+wife.
+
+'Upon what, citoyenne?'
+
+'Upon what is offered, parbleu! We are in no hurry to part with
+Cocotte; but money is tempting.'
+
+'Well, then, suppose we say, between friends, fifty francs?'
+
+'Fifty francs! That is very little; besides, I do not know that I
+shall part with Cocotte at all.'
+
+'Come, come; be reasonable. Sixty francs! Is it a bargain?'
+
+Jean still shook his head. 'Tempt him with the actual sight of the
+money,' confidentially suggested Madame Souday; 'that is the only way
+to strike a bargain with my husband.'
+
+Delessert preferred increasing his offer to this advice, and gradually
+advanced to 100 francs, without in the least softening Jean Souday's
+obduracy. The possessor of the assignats was fain, at last, to adopt
+Madame Souday's iterated counsel, and placed 120 paper francs before
+the owner of Cocotte. The husband and wife instantly, as silently,
+exchanged with each other, by the only electric telegraph then in use,
+the words: 'I thought so.'
+
+'This is charming money, friend Delessert,' said Jean Souday; 'far
+more precious to an enlightened mind than the barbarous coin stamped
+with effigies of kings and queens of the _ancien régime_. It is very
+tempting; still, I do not think I can part with Cocotte at any price.'
+
+Poor Delessert ground his teeth with rage, but the expression of his
+anger would avail nothing; and, yielding to hard necessity, he at
+length, after much wrangling, became the purchaser of the old mare for
+250 francs--in assignats. We give this as a specimen of the bargains
+effected by the owner of Les Près with his borrowed capital, and as
+affording a key to the bitter hatred he from that day cherished
+towards the notary, by whom he had, as he conceived, been so
+egregiously duped. Towards evening, he entered a wine-shop in the
+suburb of Robertsau, drank freely, and talked still more so, fatigue
+and vexation having rendered him both thirsty and bold. Destouches, he
+assured everybody that would listen to him, was a robber--a villain--a
+vampire blood-sucker, and he, Delessert, would be amply revenged on
+him some fine day. Had the loquacious orator been eulogising some
+one's extraordinary virtues, it is very probable that all he said
+would have been forgotten by the morrow, but the memories of men are
+more tenacious of slander and evil-speaking; and thus it happened that
+Delessert's vituperative and menacing eloquence on this occasion was
+thereafter reproduced against him with fatal power.
+
+Albeit, the now nominal proprietor of Les Près, assisted by his son
+and Cocotte, set to work manfully at his new vocation; and by dint of
+working twice as hard, and faring much worse than he did as a
+journeyman _ferblantier_, contrived to keep the wolf, if not far from
+the door, at least from entering in. His son, Le Bossu, was a
+cheerful, willing lad, with large, dark, inquisitive eyes, lit up with
+much clearer intelligence than frequently falls to the share of
+persons of his age and opportunities. The father and son were greatly
+attached to each other; and it was chiefly the hope of bequeathing Les
+Près, free from the usurious gripe of Destouches, to his boy, that
+encouraged the elder Delessert to persevere in his well-nigh hopeless
+husbandry. Two years thus passed, and matters were beginning to assume
+a less dreary aspect, thanks chiefly to the notary's not having made
+any demand in the interim for the interest of his mortgage.
+
+'I have often wondered,' said Le Bossu one day, as he and his father
+were eating their dinner of _soupe aux choux_ and black bread, 'that
+Destouches has not called before. He may now as soon as he pleases,
+thanks to our having sold that lot of damaged wheat at such a capital
+price: corn must be getting up tremendously in the market. However,
+you are ready for Destouches' demand of six hundred francs, which it
+is now.'
+
+'Parbleu! quite ready; all ready counted in those charming assignats;
+and that is the joke of it. I wish the old villain may call or send
+soon'----
+
+A gentle tap at the door interrupted the speaker. The son opened it,
+and the notary, accompanied by his familiar, Pierre Nadaud, quietly
+glided in.
+
+'Talk of the devil,' growled Delessert audibly, 'and you are sure to
+get a whisk of his tail. Well, messieurs,' he added more loudly, 'your
+business?'
+
+'Money--interest now due on the mortgage for three thousand francs,'
+replied M. Destouches with much suavity.
+
+'Interest for two years,' continued the sourly-sardonic accents of
+Pierre Nadaud; 'six hundred francs precisely.'
+
+'Very good, you shall have the money directly.' Delessert left the
+room; the notary took out and unclasped a note-book; and Pierre Nadaud
+placed a slip of _papier timbré_ on the dinner-table, preparatory to
+writing a receipt.
+
+'Here,' said Delessert, re-entering with a roll of soiled paper in his
+hand, 'here are your six hundred francs, well counted.'
+
+The notary reclasped his note-book, and returned it to his pocket;
+Pierre Nadaud resumed possession of the receipt paper.
+
+'You are not aware, then, friend Delessert,' said the notary, 'that
+creditors are no longer compelled to receive assignats in payment?'
+
+'How? What do you say?'
+
+'Pierre,' continued M. Destouches, 'read the extract from _Le bulletin
+des Lois_, published last week.' Pierre did so with a ringing
+emphasis, which would have rendered it intelligible to a child; and
+the unhappy debtor fully comprehended that his paper-money was
+comparatively worthless! It is needless to dwell upon the fury
+manifested by Delessert, the cool obduracy of the notary, or the
+cynical comments of the clerk. Enough to say, that M. Destouches
+departed without his money, after civilly intimating that legal
+proceedings would be taken forthwith. The son strove to soothe his
+father's passionate despair, but his words fell upon unheeding ears;
+and after several hours passed in alternate paroxysms of stormy rage
+and gloomy reverie, the elder Delessert hastily left the house, taking
+the direction of Strasbourg. Le Bossu watched his father's retreating
+figure from the door until it was lost in the clouds of blinding snow
+that was rapidly falling, and then sadly resumed some indoor
+employment. It was late when he retired to bed, and his father had not
+then returned. He would probably remain, the son thought, at
+Strasbourg for the night.
+
+The chill, lead-coloured dawn was faintly struggling on the horizon
+with the black, gloomy night, when Le Bossu rose. Ten minutes
+afterwards, his father strode hastily into the house, and threw
+himself, without a word, upon a seat. His eyes, the son observed, were
+blood-shot, either with rage or drink--perhaps both; and his entire
+aspect wild, haggard, and fierce. Le Bossu silently presented him with
+a measure of _vin ordinaire_. It was eagerly swallowed, though
+Delessert's hand shook so that he could scarcely hold the pewter
+flagon to his lips.
+
+'Something has happened,' said Le Bossu presently.
+
+'Morbleu!--yes. That is,' added the father, checking himself,
+'something _might_ have happened, if---- Who's there?'
+
+'Only the wind shaking the door. What _might_ have happened?'
+persisted the son.
+
+'I will tell you, Antoine. I set off for Strasbourg yesterday, to see
+Destouches once again, and entreat him to accept the assignats in
+part-payment at least. He was not at home. Marguérite, the old
+servant, said he was gone to the cathedral, not long since reopened.
+Well, I found the usurer just coming out of the great western
+entrance, heathen as he is, looking as pious as a pilgrim. I accosted
+him, told my errand, begged, prayed, stormed! It was all to no
+purpose, except to attract the notice and comments of the passers-by.
+Destouches went his way, and I, with fury in my heart, betook myself
+to a wine-shop--Le Brun's. He would not even change an assignat to
+take for what I drank, which was not a little; and I therefore owe him
+for it. When the gendarmes cleared the house at last, I was nearly
+crazed with rage and drink. I must have been so, or I should never
+have gone to the Rue Béchard, forced myself once more into the
+notary's presence, and--and'----
+
+'And what?' quivered the young man, as his father abruptly stopped,
+startled as before into silence by a sudden rattling of the crazy
+door. 'And what?'
+
+'And abused him for a flinty-hearted scoundrel, as he is. He ordered
+me away, and threatened to call the guard. I was flinging out of the
+house, when Marguérite twitched me by the sleeve, and I stepped aside
+into the kitchen. "You must not think," she said, "of going home on
+such a night as this." It was snowing furiously, and blowing a
+hurricane at the time. "There is a straw pallet," Marguérite added,
+"where you can sleep, and nobody the wiser." I yielded. The good woman
+warmed some soup, and the storm not abating, I lay down to rest--to
+rest, do I say?' shouted Delessert, jumping madly to his feet, and
+pacing furiously to and fro--'the rest of devils! My blood was in a
+flame; and rage, hate, despair, blew the consuming fire by turns. I
+thought how I had been plundered by the mercenary ruffian sleeping
+securely, as he thought, within a dozen yards of the man he had
+ruined--sleeping securely just beyond the room containing the
+_secrétaire_ in which the mortgage-deed of which I had been swindled
+was deposited'----
+
+'Oh, father!' gasped the son.
+
+'Be silent, boy, and you shall know all! It may be that I dreamed all
+this, for I think the creaking of a door, and a stealthy step on the
+stair, awoke me; but perhaps that, too, was part of the dream.
+However, I was at last wide awake, and I got up and looked out on the
+cold night. The storm had passed, and the moon had temporarily broken
+through the heavy clouds by which she was encompassed. Marguérite had
+said I might let myself out, and I resolved to depart at once. I was
+doing so, when, looking round, I perceived that the notary's
+office-door was ajar. Instantly a demon whispered, that although the
+law was restored, it was still blind and deaf as ever--could not see
+or hear in that dark silence--and that I might easily baffle the
+cheating usurer after all. Swiftly and softly, I darted towards the
+half-opened door--entered. The notary's _secrétaire_, Antoine, was
+wide open! I hunted with shaking hands for the deed, but could not
+find it. There was money in the drawers, and I--I think I should have
+taken some--did perhaps, I hardly know how--when I heard, or thought I
+did, a rustling sound not far off. I gazed wildly round, and plainly
+saw in the notary's bedroom--the door of which, I had not before
+observed, was partly open--the shadow of a man's figure clearly traced
+by the faint moonlight on the floor. I ran out of the room, and out of
+the house, with the speed of a madman, and here--here I am!' This
+said, he threw himself into a seat, and covered his face with his
+hands.
+
+'That is a chink of money,' said Le Bossu, who had listened in dumb
+dismay to his father's concluding narrative. 'You had none, you said,
+when at the wine-shop.'
+
+'Money! Ah, it may be as I said---- Thunder of heaven!' cried the
+wretched man, again fiercely springing to his feet, 'I am lost!'
+
+'I fear so,' replied a commissaire de police, who had suddenly
+entered, accompanied by several gendarmes--'if it be true, as we
+suspect, that you are the assassin of the notary Destouches.'
+
+The assassin of the notary Destouches! Le Bossu heard but these words,
+and when he recovered consciousness, he found himself alone, save for
+the presence of a neighbour, who had been summoned to his assistance.
+
+The _procès verbal_ stated, in addition to much of what has been
+already related, that the notary had been found dead in his bed, at a
+very early hour of the morning, by his clerk Pierre Nadaud, who slept
+in the house. The unfortunate man had been stifled, by a pillow it was
+thought. His _secrétaire_ had been plundered of a very large sum,
+amongst which were Dutch gold ducats--purchased by Destouches only the
+day before--of the value of more than 6000 francs. Delessert's
+mortgage-deed had also disappeared, although other papers of a similar
+character had been left. Six crowns had been found on Delessert's
+person, one of which was clipped in a peculiar manner, and was sworn
+to by an _épicier_ as that offered him by the notary the day previous
+to the murder, and refused by him. No other portion of the stolen
+property could be found, although the police exerted themselves to the
+utmost for that purpose.
+
+There was, however, quite sufficient evidence to convict Delessert of
+the crime, notwithstanding his persistent asseverations of innocence.
+His known hatred of Destouches, the threats he had uttered concerning
+him, his conduct in front of the cathedral, Marguérite's evidence, and
+the finding the crown in his pocket, left no doubt of his guilt, and
+he was condemned to suffer death by the guillotine. He appealed of
+course, but that, everybody felt, could only prolong his life for a
+short time, not save it.
+
+There was one person, the convict's son, who did not for a moment
+believe that his father was the assassin of Destouches. He was
+satisfied in his own mind, that the real criminal was he whose step
+Delessert had dreamed he heard upon the stair, who had opened the
+office-door, and whose shadow fell across the bedroom floor; and his
+eager, unresting thoughts were bent upon bringing this conviction home
+to others. After awhile, light, though as yet dim and uncertain, broke
+in upon his filial task.
+
+About ten days after the conviction of Delessert, Pierre Nadaud called
+upon M. Huguet, the procureur-général of Strasbourg. He had a serious
+complaint to make of Delessert, _fils_. The young man, chiefly, he
+supposed, because he had given evidence against his father, appeared
+to be nourishing a monomaniacal hatred against him, Pierre Nadaud.
+'Wherever I go,' said the irritated complainant, 'at whatever hour,
+early in the morning and late at night, he dogs my steps. I can in no
+manner escape him, and I verily believe those fierce, malevolent eyes
+of his are never closed. I really fear he is meditating some violent
+act. He should, I respectfully submit, be restrained--placed in a
+_maison de santé_, for his intellects are certainly unsettled; or
+otherwise prevented from accomplishing the mischief I am sure he
+contemplates.'
+
+M. Huguet listened attentively to this statement, reflected for a few
+moments, said inquiry should be made in the matter, and civilly
+dismissed the complainant.
+
+In the evening of the same day, Le Bossu was brought before M. Huguet.
+He replied to that gentleman's questioning by the avowal, that he
+believed Nadaud had murdered M. Destouches. 'I believe also,' added
+the young man, 'that I have at last hit upon a clue that will lead to
+his conviction.'
+
+'Indeed! Perhaps you will impart it to me?'
+
+'Willingly. The property in gold and precious gems carried off has not
+yet been traced. I have discovered its hiding-place.'
+
+'Say you so? That is extremely fortunate.'
+
+'You know, sir, that beyond the Rue des Vignes there are three houses
+standing alone, which were gutted by fire some time since, and are now
+only temporarily boarded up. That street is entirely out of Nadaud's
+way, and yet he passes and repasses there five or six times a day.
+When he did not know that I was watching him, he used to gaze
+curiously at those houses, as if to notice if they were being
+disturbed for any purpose. Lately, if he suspects I am at hand, he
+keeps his face determinedly _away_ from them, but still seems to have
+an unconquerable hankering after the spot. This very morning, there
+was a cry raised close to the ruins, that a child had been run over by
+a cart. Nadaud was passing: he knew I was close by, and violently
+checking himself, as I could see, kept his eyes fixedly _averted_ from
+the place, which I have no longer any doubt contains the stolen
+treasure.'
+
+'You are a shrewd lad,' said M. Huguet, after a thoughtful pause. 'An
+examination shall at all events take place at nightfall. You, in the
+meantime, remain here under surveillance.'
+
+Between eleven and twelve o'clock, Le Bossu was again brought into M.
+Huguet's presence. The commissary who arrested his father was also
+there. 'You have made a surprising guess, if it _be_ a guess,' said
+the procureur. 'The missing property has been found under a
+hearth-stone of the centre house.' Le Bossu raised his hands, and
+uttered a cry of delight. 'One moment,' continued M. Huguet. 'How do
+we know this is not a trick concocted by you and your father to
+mislead justice?'
+
+'I have thought of that,' replied Le Bossu calmly. 'Let it be given
+out that I am under restraint, in compliance with Nadaud's request;
+then have some scaffolding placed to-morrow against the houses, as if
+preparatory to their being pulled down, and you will see the result,
+if a quiet watch is kept during the night.' The procureur and
+commissary exchanged glances, and Le Bossu was removed from the room.
+
+It was verging upon three o'clock in the morning, when the watchers
+heard some one very quietly remove a portion of the back-boarding of
+the centre house. Presently, a closely-muffled figure, with a
+dark-lantern and a bag in his hand, crept through the opening, and
+made direct for the hearth-stone; lifted it, turned on his light
+slowly, gathered up the treasure, crammed it into his bag, and
+murmured with an exulting chuckle as he reclosed the lantern and stood
+upright: 'Safe--safe, at last!' At the instant, the light of half a
+dozen lanterns flashed upon the miserable wretch, revealing the stern
+faces of as many gendarmes. 'Quite safe, M. Pierre Nadaud!' echoed
+their leader. 'Of that you may be assured.' He was unheard: the
+detected culprit had fainted.
+
+There is little to add. Nadaud perished by the guillotine, and
+Delessert was, after a time, liberated. Whether or not he thought his
+ill-gotten property had brought a curse with it, I cannot say; but, at
+all events, he abandoned it to the notary's heirs, and set off with Le
+Bossu for Paris, where, I believe, the sign of 'Delessert et Fils,
+Ferblantiers,' still flourishes over the front of a respectably
+furnished shop.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHY OF THE SHEARS.
+
+
+The vestiarian profession has always been ill-treated by the world.
+Men have owed much, and in more senses than one, to their tailors, and
+have been accustomed to pay their debt in sneers and railleries--often
+in nothing else. The stage character of the tailor is stereotyped from
+generation to generation; his goose is a perennial pun; and his
+habitual melancholy is derived to this day from the flatulent diet on
+which he _will_ persist in living--cabbage. He is effeminate,
+cowardly, dishonest--a mere fraction of a man both in soul and body.
+He is represented by the thinnest fellow in the company; his starved
+person and frightened look are the unfailing signals for a laugh; and
+he is never spoken to but in a gibe at his trade:
+
+                'Thou liest, thou thread,
+    Thou thimble,
+    Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail;
+    Away thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant;
+    Or I shall so bemete thee with thy yard,
+    As thou shalt think on prating while thou liv'st!'
+
+All this is not a very favourable specimen of the way in which the
+stage holds the mirror up to nature. We may suppose that a certain
+character of effeminacy attached to a tailor in that olden time when
+he was the fashioner for women as well as men; but now that he has no
+professional dealings with the fair sex but when they assume masculine
+'habits,' it is unreasonable to continue the stigma. In like manner,
+when the cloth belonged to the customer, it was allowable enough to
+suspect him of a little amiable weakness for cabbage; but now that he
+is himself the clothier, the joke is pointless and absurd. Tailors,
+however, can afford to laugh, as well as other people, at their
+conventional double--or rather _ninth_, for at least in our own day
+they have wrought very hard to elevate their calling into a science.
+The period of lace and frippery of all kinds has passed away, and this
+is the era of simple form, in which sartorial genius has only cloth to
+work upon as severely plain as the statuary's marble. It is true, we
+ourselves do not understand the 'anatomical principles' on which the
+more philosophical of the craft proceed, nor does our scholarship
+carry us quite the length of their Greek (?) terminology; but we
+acknowledge the result in their workmanship, although we cannot trace
+the steps by which it is brought about.
+
+Very different is the plan now from what it was in the days of Shemus
+nan Snachad, James of the Needle, hereditary tailor to Vich Ian Vohr,
+when men were measured as classes rather than as individuals, and when
+a cutter had only to glance at the customer to ascertain to which
+category he belonged.
+
+'You know the measure of a well-made man? Two double nails to the
+small of the leg'----
+
+'Eleven from haunch to heel, seven round the waist. I give your honour
+leave to hang Shemus, if there's a pair of shears in the Highlands
+that has a baulder sneck than her ain at the _camadh an truais_ (shape
+of the trews).' And so the thing was done, without tape or figures,
+without a word of Greek or anatomy! However, the anatomical tailors we
+shall not meddle with for the present, because we do not understand
+their science; nor with the Greek tailors, because we fear to take
+the liberty; nor with the Hebrew tailors, because we are only a
+Gentile ourselves. Our object is to draw attention to the doings of an
+individual who interferes with no science but his own, and who
+patronises exclusively his mother-tongue, which is not Hebrew, but
+broad Scotch.
+
+This individual is Mr Macdonald, a near neighbour of ours, who, about
+eighteen years ago, listened with curiosity, but not with dread, to
+the clamorous pretensions of the craft to which he belonged. At that
+time, every man had a 'new principle' of his own for the sneck of the
+shears, some theoretical mode of cutting, which was to make the coat
+fit like the skin. Our neighbour, who had a practical and mechanical,
+rather than a speculative head, resolved not to be behind in the race
+of competition, but to proceed in a different way. 'It is all very
+well,' thought he, 'to talk of principles and theories; but with the
+requisite apparatus, the human figure may be measured as accurately as
+a block of stone;' and accordingly he set to work, not to invent a
+theory, but to construct a machine. This machine, though exhibited
+some time ago in the School of Arts, and received with great favour,
+we happened not to hear of till a few days ago; but a visit to our
+neighbour puts it now in our power to report that his apparatus does
+much more, as we shall presently explain, than measure a customer.
+
+The machine consists of three perpendicular pieces of wood, the centre
+one between six and seven feet high, with a plinth for the measuree to
+stand upon. The wood is marked from top to bottom with inches and
+parts of an inch, and is furnished with slides, fitting closely, but
+movable at the pleasure of the operator. When the customer places
+himself upon this machine, standing at his full height, he has much
+the appearance of a man suffering the punishment of crucifixion, only
+his arms, instead of being extended, hang motionless by his sides,
+with the fingers pointed. A slide is now run up between the victim's
+legs, to give the measurement of what is technically called the fork;
+while others mark in like manner upon the inch scale, the position of
+the knees, hips, tips of the fingers, shoulder, neck, head, &c. When
+the operator is satisfied that he has thus obtained the accurate
+admeasurement of the figure, in its natural position when standing
+erect, the gentleman steps from the machine, and turning round, sees
+an exact diagram, in wood, of his own proportions.
+
+This instrument, it will be seen, is very well adapted for the object
+for which it was intended; but it would, nevertheless, have escaped
+our inspection but for the other purposes of observation to which it
+has been applied by the ingenious inventor. He has measured in all
+about 5000 adults, registering in a book the measurement of each, with
+the names written by themselves. Among the autographs, we find that of
+Sir David Wilkie in the neighbourhood of the names of half a dozen
+American Indians. Here would be a new branch of inquiry for those who
+are addicted to the study of character through the handwriting. With
+such abundant materials before them, they would doubtless be able to
+determine the height and general proportions of their unseen
+correspondents. In the article of height, many men correspond to the
+minutest portion of an inch; but in the other proportions of the
+figure, it would seem that no two human beings are alike. So great is
+the disparity in persons of the same height, that the trunk of an
+individual of five feet and a half, is occasionally found to be as
+long as that of a man of six feet. In fact, Mr Macdonald, in an early
+period of his measurements, was so confounded by the difference in the
+proportions, that he at once came to the conclusion, that our
+population is made up of mixed tribes of mankind.
+
+In the midst of all this diversity, the question was, What were the
+proper proportions? or, in other words, What proportions constituted a
+handsome figure? and here our vestiarian philosopher was for a long
+time at a loss. At length, however, he took 300 measurements, without
+selection, including the length of the trunk, of the head and neck,
+and of the fork, and adding them all together, struck the average:
+from which it resulted, that the average head and neck gives 10-1/2
+inches; trunk, 25 inches; and fork, 32 inches; making the whole
+figure, from the crown of the head to the sole of the _shoe_, 5 feet
+7-1/2 inches. The word we have italicised is the drawback: a tailor
+measures with the shoes on; and Mr Macdonald can only approximate to
+the truth when he deducts half an inch for the sole, and declares the
+average height of our population to be five feet seven inches. On this
+basis, however, he constructed a scale of beauty applying to all
+heights: If a man of 5 feet 7 inches give 10-1/2 inches for head and
+neck, 25 for trunk, and 31-1/2 for fork, what should another give, of
+6 feet, or any other height? The approximation of a man's actual
+measurement to this rule of three determines his pretensions in the
+way of symmetry; and the inventor of the _shibboleth_ has found it so
+far to answer, that a figure coming near the rule invariably pleases
+the eye, and gives the assurance of a handsome man. Independently of
+this advantage, a man of such proportions has great strength, and is
+able to withstand the fatigue of violent exercise for a longer period
+than one less symmetrically formed.
+
+The term 'adult,' however, used by Mr Macdonald to designate those he
+measured, is not satisfactory--it does not inform us that the persons
+measured had reached their full development; for men continue to grow,
+as has been shewn by M. Quetelet, even after twenty-five. The height
+given, notwithstanding--five feet seven inches--in all probability
+approximates pretty closely to the true average; and the very
+different result shewn in Professor Forbes's measurements in the
+University must be set pretty nearly out of the question. The number
+of Scotsmen measured by the professor was 523 in all; but these were
+of eleven different ages, from fifteen to twenty-five, all averaged
+separately; and supposing the number of each age to have been alike,
+this would give less than fifty of the age of twenty-five--the average
+height of whom was 69.3 inches. But independently of the smallness of
+the number, the professor's customers were volunteers, and it is not
+to be supposed that under-sized persons would put themselves forward
+on such an occasion. It may be added, that even the height of the
+boot-heels of young collegians of twenty-five would tend to falsify
+the average.
+
+Men do not only differ in their proportions from other men, but from
+themselves. The arms and legs may be paired, but they are not matched,
+and in every respect one side of the body is different from the other:
+the eyes are not set straight across the face, neither is the mouth;
+the nose is inclined to one side; the ears are of different sizes, and
+one is nearer the crown of the head than the other; there are not two
+fingers, nor two nails on the fingers, alike, and the same
+disagreement runs through the whole figure. This, however, is so
+common an observation, that we should not have thought it necessary to
+mention it, but for the bearing the facts given by our statist have
+upon the common theory by which the irregularity is sought to be
+accounted for. This declares, that use is the cause of the greater
+growth of one limb, &c.: that the right hand, for instance, is larger
+than the left, because it is in more active service. It appears,
+however, that although the left limbs are in general smaller, this is
+not, as it is usually supposed, invariably the case; while the ears
+and eyes, that are used indiscriminately, present the same relative
+difference of size. We do not, therefore, make our own proportions in
+this respect: we come into the world with them, and our occupations
+merely exaggerate a natural defect. An idle man will have one arm half
+an inch longer than the other; while a woman, who has been accustomed
+in early years to carry a child, exhibits a difference amounting
+sometimes to an inch and a half.
+
+When these facts were first mentioned to us, we looked with some
+curiosity at the machine from which we had just stepped out; and there
+we found an illustration of them not highly flattering to our
+self-esteem. Knees, hips, shoulders, ears, all were so ill-assorted,
+that it seemed as if Nature had been actually trying her 'prentice
+hand upon our peculiar self. It was in vain to bethink ourselves of
+the physical eccentricities of the distinguished men of other times:
+
+    'Ammon's great son one shoulder had too high;
+    Such Ovid's nose, and, sir, you have an eye!'--
+
+we might have gone through tho whole inventory of the figure, and
+concluded the quotation:
+
+    'Go on, obliging creatures, make me see
+    All that disgraced my betters met in me.
+    Say, for my comfort, languishing in bed,
+    Just so immortal Maro held his head;
+    And when I die, be sure you let me know--
+    Great Homer died three thousand years ago!'
+
+What we had seen, however, was only the length of the figure; but we
+were informed by our philosophic tailor, that the limbs, &c., are
+likewise irregularly placed as regards breadth. The trunk of the body
+is of various shapes, which he distinguishes as the oval, the
+circular, and the flat. The first has the arms placed in the middle;
+in the second, they are more towards the back, and relatively long;
+and in the third, more towards the front, and relatively short. The
+length of the forearm should be the length of the lower part of the
+leg, and if either longer or shorter, the difference appears in the
+walk. If shorter, the walk is a kind of waddle, the elbows inclining
+outwards; if longer, it is distinguished by a swinging motion, as if
+the person carried weights in his hands. If the circumference of the
+body, measured with an inch-tape just below the shoulders, be smaller
+than the circumference of the hips, the person will rock in walking,
+and plant his feet heavily upon the ground. If greater, so that the
+chief weight is above the limbs, the step will be light, as is
+familiarly seen in corpulent men, whose delicate mode of walking we
+witness with ever-recurring surprise. If the shoulders slope
+downwards, with the spine bending inwards, the individual 'cannot
+throw a stone, or handle firearms with dexterity.' When inclined
+forwards, and well relieved from the body, he may be a proficient in
+these exercises. A peculiarity in walking is given by the size of the
+head and neck being out of proportion; and an instance is mentioned of
+a man being discharged from the army, on account of his conformation
+rendering it impossible for him to keep his head steady.
+
+All these are curious and suggestive particulars. It is customary to
+refer awkwardness of manner to bad habit, and such diseases as
+consumption either to imprudence or hereditary taint; but it may be
+doubted whether taints are not mainly the result of original
+conformation. Habit and imprudence may doubtless aggravate the evil,
+just as exercise may enlarge a member of the body; but it is nature
+which sows the seeds of decay in her own productions. Physically, the
+child is a copy of the parents, even to their peculiarities of gait;
+and these peculiarities would seem to depend on the correct or
+incorrect balance of the members of the body. When the conformation is
+of a kind which interferes with the play of the lungs, the same
+transmission of course takes place, and consumption may be the fatal
+inheritance. If the arrangement of the parts were perfect, it may be
+doubted--for symmetry is the basis of health as well as
+beauty--whether we should ever hear of such a thing as 'taint in the
+blood.' If this theory were to gain ground, it would simplify much the
+practice of medicine; for the disease would stand in visible and
+tangible presence before the eyes, and the employment of inventions,
+to counteract and finally conquer the eccentricities of nature, would
+be governed by science, and thus relieved from the suspicion of
+quackery, which at present more or less attaches to it. To pursue
+these speculations, however, would lead us too far; and before
+concluding, we must find room for a few more of our practical
+philosopher's observations.
+
+All good mechanics, it seems, have large hands and thick and short
+fingers; which is pretty nearly the conclusion arrived at by
+D'Arpentigny in _La Chirognomonie_, although the captain adds, that
+the hands must be _en spatule_--that is to say, with the end of the
+fingers enlarged in the form of a spatula. The hand is generally the
+same breadth as the foot: a fact recognised by the country people,
+who, when buying their shoes at fairs--which were the usual
+mart--might have been seen thrusting in their hand to try the breadth,
+when they had ascertained that the length was suitable. A short foot
+gives a mincing walk, while a long one requires the person to bring
+his body aplomb with the foot before taking the step, which thus
+resembles a stride. Good dancers have the limbs short as compared with
+the body, which has thus the necessary power over them; but if too
+short, there is a deficiency of dexterity in the management of the
+feet.
+
+In conclusion, it will be seen, we think, that there is much to be
+learned even in the business of the shears. There is no trade whatever
+which will not afford materials for thought to an intelligent man, and
+thus enlarge the mind and elevate the character.
+
+
+
+
+THE NIGHTINGALE:
+
+A MUSICAL QUESTION.
+
+
+Is the song of the nightingale mirthful or melancholy? is a question
+that has been discussed so often, that anything new on the subject
+might be considered superfluous, were it not that the very fact of the
+discussion is in itself a curiosity worthy of attention. The note in
+dispute was heard with equal distinctness by Homer and Wordsworth; and
+indeed there are few poets of any age or country who have not, at one
+time or other in their lives, had the testimony of their own ears as
+to its character. Whence, then, this difference of opinion? Listen to
+Thomson's unqualified assertion, given with the seriousness of an
+affidavit:
+
+    ----'all abandoned to despair, she sings
+    Her sorrows through the night, and on the bough
+    Sole sitting still at every dying fall
+    Takes up again her lamentable strain
+    Of winding wo; till wide around the woods
+    Sigh to her song and with her wail resound.'
+
+Then Homer in the _Odyssey_, through Pope's paraphrase:
+
+    'Sad Philomel, in bowery shades unseen,
+    To vernal airs attunes her varied strains.'
+
+Virgil, as rendered by Dryden:
+
+    ----'she supplies the night with mournful strains
+    And melancholy music fills the plains.'
+
+Milton, too:
+
+    ----'Philomel will deign a song
+    In her sweetest, saddest plight,
+    Smoothing the rugged brow of night,
+    While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke
+    Gently o'er the accustom'd oak:
+    Sweet bird, that shun'st the noise of folly--
+    Most musical, most melancholy.'
+
+And again in _Comus_:
+
+    ----'the love-lorn nightingale
+    Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well.'
+
+And Shakspeare makes his poor banished Valentine congratulate himself,
+that in the forest he can
+
+    ----'to the nightingale's complaining note
+    Tune his distresses and record his wo.
+
+We might go on much longer in this strain. We might give, likewise,
+the mythological cause assigned for the imputed melancholy, and add
+that some, not content with this, represent the bird as leaning its
+breast against a thorn--
+
+    'To aggravate the inward grief,
+    Which makes its music so forlorn.'
+
+But we would rather pause to admit candidly, that two of the above
+witnesses might be challenged--Virgil and Thomson; who indeed should
+be counted but as one, for the author of the _Seasons_, in the lines
+quoted, has translated, though not so closely as Dryden, from the
+_Georgics_ of the Latin poet. If you will read the passage--it matters
+not whether in Virgil, Dryden, or Thomson--you will perceive that it
+is a special occurrence that is spoken of: no statement whatever is
+made as to the character of the nightingale's ordinary song. Thomson,
+in the course of his humane and touching protest against the barbarous
+art: 'through which birds are
+
+                    ---- by tyrant man
+    Inhuman caught, and in the narrow cage
+    From liberty confined, and boundless air,'
+
+represents the nightingale's misery when thus bereaved. This portion
+of the lines shall stand entire; none, we are sure, would wish us
+further to mangle the passage:
+
+    'But chief, let not the nightingale lament
+    Her ruined care, too delicately framed
+    To brook the harsh confinement of the cage.
+    Oft, when returning with her loaded bill,
+    The astonished mother finds a vacant nest,
+    By the rude hands of unrelenting clowns
+    Robbed: to the ground the vain provision falls.
+    Her pinions ruffle, and low drooping, scarce
+    Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade;
+    Where all abandoned to despair, she sings
+    Her sorrows through the night.'
+
+It will at once be seen that this description relates to an
+exceptional condition, and we have yet to seek what character Virgil
+and Thomson would give to the ordinary song of this paradoxical
+musician. For the Roman, we do not know that any passage exists in his
+works which can help us to a conclusion; but Thomson's testimony must
+undoubtedly be ranged on the contra side, as appears from the
+following lines in his _Agamemnon_:
+
+    'Ah, far unlike the nightingale! she sings
+    Unceasing through the balmy nights of May--
+    She sings from love and joy.'
+
+In the passage from his Spring, which we have given, we cannot but
+fancy that the poet endeavoured--if we may so say--to effect a
+compromise between the opinion which, through the influence of
+classical poetry, generally prevailed as to the character of the
+bird's music, and the opposing convictions which his own senses had
+forced upon him. It was desirable to describe its strains according to
+the popular fancy, and therefore he borrowed from Virgil such a
+description of the bird's sorrow as under the assumed circumstances
+did no violence to his own judgment.
+
+Thomson is not the only poet in whom we fancy we detect some such
+attempt at compromise. It appears to us that Villega, the Anacreon of
+Spain, in the following little poem, which we give in Mr Wiffen's
+translation, adopted, with a similar object, this idea of the
+nightingale robbed of her young. The truthful and somewhat minute
+description in the song, however, represents the bird's ordinary
+performance, and but ill suits the circumstances under which it is
+supposed to be uttered. The failure on the part of the poet may be
+ascribed to his secret conviction, that the nightingale's was a
+cheerful melody; and his labouring against that conviction to the
+necessity he felt himself under of following his classical masters.
+
+    'I have seen a nightingale
+    On a sprig of thyme bewail,
+    Seeing the dear nest that was
+    Hers alone, borne off, alas!
+    By a labourer: I heard,
+    For this outrage, the poor bird
+    Say a thousand mournful things
+    To the wind, which on its wings
+    From her to the guardian sky
+    Bore her melancholy cry--
+    Bore her tender tears. She spake
+    As if her fond heart would break.
+    One while in a sad, sweet note,
+    Gurgled from her straining throat,
+    She enforced her piteous tale,
+    Mournful prayer and plaintive wail;
+    One while with the shrill dispute,
+    Quite o'er-wearied, she was mute;
+    Then afresh, for her dear brood,
+    Her harmonious shrieks renewed;
+    Now she winged it round and round,
+    Now she skimmed along the ground;
+    Now from bough to bough in haste
+    The delighted robber chased;
+    And alighting in his path,
+    Seemed to say, 'twixt grief and wrath:
+    "Give me back, fierce rustic rude!
+    Give me back my pretty brood!"
+    And I saw the rustic still
+    Answer: "That I never will!"'
+
+Independently of the untruthfulness of which a naturalist would
+complain in this description--for no birds under such circumstances of
+distress sing, but merely repeat each its own peculiar piercing cry,
+never at any other time heard, and which cannot be mistaken--there is
+a palpable effort of ingenuity discoverable in the representation,
+which seems to tell us that the writer was making up a story, rather
+than uttering his own belief. It may even be doubted whether Virgil
+himself, who seems first to have invented this fancy, and behind whose
+broad mantle later poets have sheltered themselves, may not have felt
+an inclination to depart from the Greek opinion of Philomel's ditty.
+Why otherwise did he not simply and at once--as his masters Homer and
+Theocritus had done before him--describe her notes as mournful,
+instead of casting about for some cause that might excuse him for
+giving them that character? But however this may be, we cannot conceal
+from ourselves, that some stubborn passages still remain in the poets,
+proclaiming that there are men, and those among the greatest and most
+tasteful, to whose fancy the voice of the nightingale has sounded full
+of wo.
+
+Homer must be counted of this number--unless we think with Fox, in the
+preface to his _History of Lord Holland_, that it is only as to her
+wakefulness Penelope is compared to the night singing-bird; and so
+must Milton (for although Coleridge has satisfactorily dealt with the
+passage in _Il Penseroso_, the line of the Lady's song in _Comus_
+remains still); and Shakspeare himself, who could scarcely be
+influenced, as Milton might very possibly be, by the opinions of the
+Grecian poets.
+
+It is a strange contest we are here considering. Which of us would for
+a moment doubt our ability to decide in a dispute as to the liveliness
+or sadness of any given melody?--yet here we see the greatest poets,
+the favoured children of nature, utterly at variance on a point
+concerning which we should have expected to find even the most
+ordinary minds able to decide.
+
+The question becomes more involved from the fact, that some writers
+take _both_ sides; for instance, Chiobrera in _Aleippo_: the
+nightingale
+
+    'Unwearied still reiterates her lays,
+    Jocund _or_ sad, delightful to the ear;'
+
+and Hartley Coleridge, in the following beautiful song, which we
+transcribe the more readily because it has not long been published,
+and may be new to many of our readers:
+
+    ''Tis sweet to hear the merry lark,
+      That bids a blithe good-morrow;
+    But sweeter to hark in the twinkling dark
+      To the soothing song of sorrow.
+    Oh, nightingale! what doth she ail?
+      And is she _sad_ or _jolly_?
+    For ne'er on earth was sound of mirth
+      So like to melancholy.
+
+    The merry lark he soars on high,
+      No worldly thought o'ertakes him;
+    He sings aloud to the clear blue sky,
+      And the daylight that awakes him.
+    As sweet a lay, as loud, as gay,
+      The nightingale is trilling;
+    With feeling bliss, no less than his
+      Her little heart is thrilling.
+
+    Yet ever and anon a sigh
+      Peers through her lavish mirth;
+    For the lark's bold song is of the sky,
+      And hers is of the earth.
+    By night and day she tunes her lay,
+      To drive away all sorrow;
+    For bliss, alas! to-night may pass,
+      And wo may come to-morrow.'
+
+We must now cite one or two of the many passages which represent the
+nightingale's as an _absolutely_ cheerful song. We fear we cannot
+insist so much as Fox is disposed to do, on the evidence of Chaucer,
+who continually styles the nightingale's a merry note, because it is
+evident that in _his_ day the word had a somewhat different meaning
+from that which it at present conveys. For example, the poet calls the
+organ 'merry.' Nor dare we lay stress upon the instance which Cary
+cites--in a note to his _Purgatory_--of a 'neglected poet,' Vallans,
+who in his _Tale of Two Swannes_ ranks the 'merrie nightingale among
+the cheerful birds,' because we do not know whether, even at the time
+when Vallans wrote--the book was published, it seems, in
+1590--'merrie' had come to bear its present signification.
+
+We shall, however, find a witness among the writers of his period in
+Gawain Douglas, who died Bishop of Dunkeld in 1522. He, in a prologue
+to one of his _Æneids_, applies not only the word 'merry' to our bird,
+but one of less questionable signification--'mirthful.' If we come
+down to more modern times, we shall find Wordsworth, who seems above
+all others, except Burns, to have had a catholic ear for the whole
+multitude of natural sounds, not only refusing the character of
+melancholy to the nightingale's song, but placing it below the
+stock-dove's, because it is deficient in the pensiveness and
+seriousness which mark the note of the latter.
+
+However, of all testimonies which can be brought on this side of the
+question, the strongest is that of Coleridge. No other has so
+accurately described the song itself; moreover, he alone has entered
+the lists avowedly as an antagonist, and confessing in so many words
+to the existence of an opinion opposite to his own.
+
+    'And hark! the nightingale begins its song,
+    "Most musical, most melancholy" bird.
+    A melancholy bird? oh, idle thought![2]
+    In nature there is nothing melancholy.
+    But some night-wandering man, whose heart was pierced
+    With the resemblance of a grievous wrong,
+    Or slow distemper, or neglected love,
+    First named these notes a melancholy strain:
+    And youths and maidens most poetical,
+    Who lose the deepening twilight of the spring
+    In ball-rooms and hot theatres, they still,
+    Full of meek sympathy, must heave their sighs
+    O'er Philomela's pity-pleading strains.
+    My friend, and thou, our sister! we have learnt
+    A different love: we may not thus profane
+    Nature's sweet voices, always full of love
+    And joyance! 'Tis the _merry_ nightingale
+    That crowds and hurries and precipitates
+    With fast-thick warble his delicious notes,
+    As he were fearful that an April night
+    Would be too short for him to utter forth
+    His love-chant and disburden his full soul
+    Of all its music!'
+
+Little now remains to be said. We have laid before the reader
+specimens of the two contending opinions, as well as of that which is
+set up as a golden mean between them; and he has but to put down our
+pages, and to walk forth--provided he does not live too far north, or
+in some smoke-poisoned town--to judge for himself as to the true
+character of the strains. Small risk, we think, would there be in
+pronouncing on which side his verdict would be given! Well do we
+remember the night when we first heard this sweet bird: how we
+listened and refused to believe--for we were young, and our idea had
+of course been that his song was a melancholy one--that those madly
+hilarious sounds could come from the mournful nightingale. Wordsworth
+attempts thus to account for the delusion under which the older poets
+laboured on this subject:
+
+    'Fancy, who leads the pastimes of the glad,
+    Full oft is pleased a wayward dart to throw,
+    Sending sad shadows after things not sad,
+    Peopling the harmless fields with sighs of wo.
+    Beneath her sway, a simple forest cry
+    Becomes an echo of man's misery.
+    What wonder? at her bidding ancient lays
+    Steeped in dire grief the voice of Philomel,
+    And that blithe messenger of summer days,
+    The swallow, twittered, subject to like spell.'
+
+It is curious that the people who first fixed the stigma of melancholy
+upon our bird--the Greeks, or at least the Athenians, and it is of
+them we speak--were perhaps the very gayest people that ever danced
+upon the earth--absolute Frenchmen. The very sprightliness of their
+temper, however, by the universally prevailing law of contrast, may
+have induced in them a fondness for sad and doleful legends; and we
+confess, for our own part, that while we from our hearts admire the
+poetical beauty and elegance of their various fables, we do not a
+little disrelish the constant vein of melancholy which pervades them
+all. Not the least sad of their fictions is that which relates to the
+nightingale; a story that has found its way--and even more universally
+the opinion of the bird's music which it implied--amongst all the
+nations whom Greece has instructed and civilised.
+
+But we have yet another reply to the question, 'Why do most people
+call the nightingale's a melancholy song?' It is heard by night,
+'whilst our spirits are attentive,' and the solemn gloom of the hour
+influences the judgment of the ear; for another false impression,
+which like the monster Error of Spenser, has bred a thousand young
+ones as ill-favoured as herself, ascribes melancholy to night. There
+is no good reason why we should think thus of the night, still less
+that the impression should influence our judgment in other matters;
+and we owe no small thanks to those who have endeavoured to reclaim to
+their proper uses these misdirected associations, and to teach, that
+
+    'In nature there is nothing melancholy;'
+
+but on the contrary,
+
+    'Healing her wandering and distempered child,
+    She pours around her softest influences,
+    Her sunny hues, fair forms, and breathing sweets,
+    Her melodies of woods, and winds, and waters,
+    Till he relent, and can no more endure
+    To be a jarring and a dissonant thing
+    Amid the general dance and harmony;
+    But, bursting into tears, wins back his way,
+    His angry spirit healed and harmonised
+    By the benignant touch of love and beauty.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] _Note by Coleridge._--'The passage in Milton possesses an
+excellence far superior to that of mere description. It is spoken in
+the character of the Melancholy Man, and has, therefore, a dramatic
+propriety. The author makes this remark, to rescue himself from the
+charge of having alluded with levity to a line of Milton's.'
+
+
+
+
+THE TEA-COUNTRIES OF CHINA.
+
+
+About four years ago, Mr Fortune, author of _Three Years' Wanderings
+in the Northern Provinces of China_, was deputed by the East India
+Company to proceed to China for the purpose of obtaining the finest
+varieties of the tea-plant, as well as native manufacturers and
+implements, for the government tea-plantations in the Himalaya. Being
+acquainted with the Chinese language, and adopting the Chinese
+costume, he penetrated into districts unvisited before by
+Europeans--excepting, perhaps, the Catholic missionaries--exciting no
+further curiosity as to his person or pedigree, than what was due to a
+stranger from one of the provinces beyond the great wall. His
+principal journeys were to Sung-lo, the great green-tea district, and
+to the Bohea Mountains, the great black-tea district; besides a flying
+visit to Kingtang, or Silver Island, in the Chusan archipelago. The
+narrative, which he has since published,[3] manifests a good faculty
+for observation; but travelling as privately as possible, he saw
+little but the exterior aspects of the country, the appearance of
+which he describes very graphically. As a botanist, he had a keen eye
+for everything which promised to enlarge our knowledge of the Chinese
+flora, and discovered many useful and ornamental trees and shrubs,
+some of which, such as the funereal cypress, will one day produce a
+striking and beautiful effect in our English landscape, and in our
+cemeteries. Of social and political information relative to the
+Celestial Empire, the book is quite barren; and we do not know that
+there is anything in it which will be so acceptable to the reader, as
+fresh and reliable information about his favourite beverage. To this,
+therefore, our attention will be confined.
+
+The plant in cultivation about Canton, from which the Canton teas are
+made, is known to botanists as the _Thea bohea_; while the more
+northern variety, found in the green-tea country, has been called
+_Thea viridis_. The first appears to have been named upon the
+supposition, that all the black teas of the Bohea Mountains were
+obtained from this species; and the second was called _viridis_,
+because it furnished the green teas of commerce. These names seem to
+have misled the public; and hence many persons, until a few years ago,
+firmly believed that black tea could be made only from _Thea bohea_,
+and green tea only from _Thea viridis_. In his _Wanderings in China_,
+published in 1846, Mr Fortune had stated that both teas could be made
+from either plant, and that the difference in their appearance
+depended upon manipulation, and upon that only. But the objection was
+made, that although he had been in many of the tea-districts near the
+coast, he had not seen those greater ones inland which furnish the
+teas of commerce. Since that time, however, he has visited them,
+without seeing reason to alter his statements. The two kinds of tea,
+indeed, are rarely made in the same district; but this is a matter of
+convenience. Districts which formerly were famous for black teas, now
+produce nothing but green. At Canton, green and black teas are made
+from the _Thea bohea_ at the pleasure of the manufacturer, and
+according to demand. When the plants arrive from the farms fresh and
+cool, they dry of a bright-green colour; but if they are delayed in
+their transit, or remain in a confined state for too long a period,
+they become heated, from a species of spontaneous fermentation; and
+when loosened and spread open, emit vapours, and are sensibly warm to
+the hand. When such plants are dried, the whole of the green colour is
+found to have been destroyed, and a red-brown, and sometimes a
+blackish-brown result is obtained. 'I had also noticed,' says Mr
+Warrington, in a paper read by him before the Chemical Society, 'that
+a clear infusion of such leaves, evaporated carefully to dryness, was
+not all undissolved by water, but left a quantity of brown oxidised
+extractive matter, to which the denomination _apothem_ has been
+applied by some chemists; a similar result is obtained by the
+evaporation of an infusion of black tea. The same action takes place
+by the exposure of the infusions of many vegetable substances to the
+oxidising influence of the atmosphere; they become darkened on the
+surface, and this gradually spreads through the solution, and on
+evaporation, the same oxidised extractive matter will remain insoluble
+in water. Again, I had found that the green teas, when wetted and
+redried, with exposure to the air, were nearly as dark in colour as
+the ordinary black teas. From these observations, therefore, I was
+induced to believe, that the peculiar characters and chemical
+differences which distinguish black tea from green, were to be
+attributed to a species of heating or fermentation, accompanied with
+oxidation by exposure to the air, and not to its being submitted to a
+higher temperature in the process of drying, as had been generally
+concluded. My opinion was partly confirmed by ascertaining from
+parties conversant with the Chinese manufacture, that the leaves for
+the black teas were always allowed to remain exposed to the air in
+mass for some time before they were roasted.'
+
+This explanation by Mr Warrington from scientific data, is confirmed
+by Mr Fortune from personal observation, and fully accounts, not only
+for the difference in colour between the two teas, but also for the
+effect produced on some constitutions by green tea, such as nervous
+irritability, sleeplessness, &c.; and Mr Fortune truly remarks, that
+what Mr Warrington observed in the laboratory of Apothecaries' Hall,
+may be seen by every one who has a tree or bush in his garden. Mark
+the leaves which are blown from trees in early autumn; they are brown,
+or perhaps of a dullish green when they fall, but when they have been
+exposed for some time in their detached state to air and moisture,
+they become as black as our blackest teas. Without detailing the whole
+process in the manufacture of either kind of tea, it may be stated in
+reference to green tea, _1st_, That the leaves are roasted almost
+immediately, after they are gathered; and _2d_, That they are dried
+off quickly after the rolling process. In reference to black tea, on
+the other hand, it may be observed, _1st_, That after being gathered,
+the leaves are exposed for a considerable time; _2d_, That they are
+tossed about until they become soft and flaccid, and are then left in
+heaps; _3d_, That after being roasted for a few minutes and rolled,
+they are exposed for some hours to the air in a soft and moist state;
+and _4th_, That they are at last dried slowly over charcoal fires.
+After all, then, genuine green tea is, as might reasonably be
+conjectured, an article less artificial than black. There is, at the
+same time, too much foundation for the suspicion, that the green teas
+so much patronised in Europe and America, are not so innocently
+manufactured. Mr Fortune witnessed the process of colouring them in
+the Hung-chow green-tea country, and describes the process. The
+substance used is a powder consisting of four parts of gypsum and
+three parts of Prussian blue, which was applied to the teas during the
+last process of roasting.
+
+'During this part of the operation,' he says, 'the hands of the
+workmen were quite blue. I could not help thinking, that if any
+green-tea drinkers had been present during the operation, their taste
+would have been corrected, and, I may be allowed to add, improved.
+One day, an English gentleman in Shang-hae, being in conversation with
+some Chinese from the green-tea country, asked them what reasons they
+had for dyeing the tea, and whether it would not be better without
+undergoing this process. They acknowledged that tea was much better
+when prepared without having any such ingredients mixed with it, and
+that they never drank dyed teas themselves; but justly remarked, that
+as foreigners seemed to prefer having a mixture of Prussian blue and
+gypsum with their tea, to make it look uniform and pretty, and as
+these ingredients were cheap enough, the Chinese had no objections to
+supply them, especially as such teas always fetched a higher price!'
+The quantity of colouring matter used is rather more than an ounce to
+14-1/2 lbs. of tea; so that in every 100 lbs. of coloured green tea
+consumed in England or America, the consumer actually drinks nearly
+half a pound of Prussian blue and gypsum! Samples of these
+ingredients, procured from the Chinamen in the factory, were sent last
+year to the Great Exhibition.
+
+In the black-tea districts, as in the green, large quantities of young
+plants are yearly raised from seeds. These seeds are gathered in the
+month of October, and kept mixed up with sand and earth during the
+winter months. In this manner they are kept fresh until spring, when
+they are sown thickly in some corner of the farm, from which they are
+afterwards transplanted. When about a year old, they are from nine
+inches to a foot in height, and ready for transplanting. This is
+always done at the change of the monsoon in spring, when fine warm
+showers are of frequent occurrence. The most favourable situations are
+on the slopes of the hills, as affording good drainage, which is of
+the utmost importance; and which, on the plains, is attained by having
+the lands above the watercourses. Other things being equal, a
+moderately rich soil is preferred. They are planted in rows about four
+feet apart (in poor soils, much closer), and have a very hedge-like
+appearance when full grown. A plantation of tea, when seen at a
+distance, looks like a little shrubbery of evergreens. As the
+traveller threads his way amongst the rocky scenery of Woo-e-shan, he
+is continually coming upon these plantations, which are dotted upon
+the sides of all the hills. The leaves are of a rich dark-green, and
+afford a pleasing contrast to the strange, and often barren scenery
+which is everywhere around. The young plantations are generally
+allowed to grow unmolested for two or three years, till they are
+strong and healthy; and even then, great care is exercised not to
+exhaust the plants by plucking them too bare. But, with every care,
+they ultimately become stunted and unhealthy, and are never profitable
+when they are old; hence, in the best-managed tea-districts, the
+natives yearly remove old plantations, and supply their places with
+fresh ones. About ten or twelve years is the average duration allowed
+to the plants. The tea-farms are in general small, and their produce
+is brought to market in the following manner: A tea-merchant from
+Tsong-gan or Tsin-tsun, goes himself, or sends his agents, to all the
+small towns, villages, and temples in the district, to purchase teas
+from the priests and small farmers. When the teas so purchased are
+taken to his house, they are mixed together, of course keeping the
+different qualities as much apart as possible. By this means, a chop
+(or parcel) of 600 chests is made; and all the tea of this chop is of
+the same description or class. The large merchant in whose hands it is
+now, has to refine it, and pack it for the foreign market. When the
+chests are packed, the name of the chop is written upon each, or ought
+to be; but it is not unusual to leave them unmarked till they reach
+the port of exportation, when the name most in repute is, if possible,
+put upon them. When the chop is purchased in the tea-district, a
+number of coolies are engaged to carry the chests on their shoulders,
+either to their ultimate destination, or to the nearest river. The
+time occupied in the entire transport by land and river, from the
+Bohea country to Canton, is about six weeks or two months. The
+expenses of transit, of course, vary with localities, and other
+circumstances; but, in general, those expenses are so very moderate,
+that the middlemen realise large profits, while the small farmers and
+manipulators are subjected to a grinding process, which keeps them in
+comparative poverty.
+
+Of late years, some attempts have been made to cultivate the tea-shrub
+in America and Australia; but the result will not equal the
+expectation entertained by the projectors of the scheme. The tea-plant
+will grow wherever the climate and soil are suitable; but labour is so
+much cheaper in China than in either of those countries, that
+successful competition is impossible. The Chinese labourers do not
+receive more than twopence or threepence a day. The difference,
+therefore, in the cost of labour will afford ample protection to the
+Chinese against all rivals whose circumstances in this respect are not
+similar to their own.
+
+India, however, is as favourably situated in all respects for
+tea-cultivation as China itself, and its introduction, therefore, into
+that country is a matter of equal interest and importance. In
+procuring the additional seeds, implements, and workmen, Mr Fortune
+succeeded beyond his expectations. Tea-seeds retain their vitality for
+a very short period, if they are out of the ground; and after trying
+various plans for transporting them to their destination, he adopted
+the method of sowing them in Ward's cases soon after they were
+gathered, which had the effect of preserving them in full life. The
+same plan will answer as effectually in preserving other kinds of
+seeds intended for transportation, and in which so much disappointment
+is generally experienced. In due time, all the cases arrived at their
+destination in perfect safety, and were handed over to Dr Jameson, the
+superintendent of the botanical gardens in the north-west provinces,
+and of the government tea-plantations. When opened, the tea-plants
+were found to be in a very healthy state. No fewer than 12,838 plants
+were counted, and many more were germinating. Notwithstanding their
+long voyage from the north of China, and the frequent transhipment and
+changes by the way, they seemed as green and vigorous as if they had
+been growing all the while on the Chinese hills.
+
+In these days, when tea is no longer a luxury, but a necessary of life
+in England and her colonies, its production on Indian soil is worthy
+of persevering effort. To the natives of India themselves, it would be
+of the greatest value. The poor _paharie_, or hill-peasant, has
+scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly none of its
+luxuries. The common sorts of grain which his lands produce will
+scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market-town, far less yield
+such a profit as to enable him to procure any articles of commerce. A
+common blanket has to serve him for his covering by day and for his
+bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, capable of
+affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather. If
+part of these lands produced tea, he would then have a healthy
+beverage to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value
+in the market. Being of small bulk, and extremely light in proportion
+to its value, the expense of carriage would be trifling, and he would
+have the means of making himself and his family more comfortable and
+more happy. In China, tea is one of the necessaries of life, in the
+strictest sense of the word. A Chinese never drinks cold water, which
+he abhors, and considers unhealthy. Tea is his favourite beverage from
+morning to night--not what we call tea, mixed with milk and sugar--but
+the essence of the herb itself drawn out in pure water. Those
+acquainted with the habits of the people, can scarcely conceive of
+their existence, were they deprived of the tea-plant; and there can be
+no doubt that its extensive use adds much to their health and comfort.
+The people of India are not unlike the Chinese in many of their
+habits. The poor of both countries eat sparingly of animal food; rice,
+and other grains and vegetables, form the staple articles on which
+they live. This being the case, it is not at all unlikely that the
+Indian will soon acquire a habit which is so universal in China. But
+in order to enable him to drink tea, it must be produced at a cheap
+rate, not at 4s. or 6s. a pound, but at 4d. or 6d.; and this can be
+done, but only on his own hills. The accomplishment of this would be
+an immense boon for the government to confer upon the people, and
+might ultimately work a constitutional change in their character and
+temperament--ridding them of their proverbial indolence, and endowing
+them with that activity of body and mind which renders the Chinese so
+un-Asiatic in their habits and employments.
+
+That our readers may, if they choose, have 'tea as in China,' we quote
+a recipe from a Chinese author, which may be of service to them.
+'Whenever the tea is to be infused for use,' says Tüng-po, 'take water
+from a running stream, and boil it over a lively fire. It is an old
+custom to use running water boiled over a lively fire; that from
+springs in the hills is said to be the best, and river-water the next,
+while well-water is the worst. A lively fire is a clear and bright
+charcoal fire. When making an infusion, do not boil the water too
+hastily, as first it begins to sparkle like crabs' eyes, then somewhat
+like fish's eyes, and lastly, it boils up like pearls innumerable,
+springing and waving about. This is the way to boil the water.' The
+same author gives the names of six different kinds of tea, all of
+which are in high repute. As their names are rather flowery, they may
+be quoted for the reader's amusement. They are these: the 'first
+spring tea,' the 'white dew,' the 'coral dew,' the 'dewy shoots,' the
+'money shoots,' and the 'rivulet garden tea.' 'Tea,' says he, 'is of a
+cooling nature, and, if drunk too freely, will produce exhaustion and
+lassitude. Country people, before drinking it, add ginger and salt, to
+counteract this cooling property. It is an exceedingly useful plant;
+cultivate it, and the benefit will be widely spread; drink it, and the
+animal spirits will be lively and clear. The chief rulers, dukes, and
+nobility, esteem it; the lower people, the poor and beggarly, will not
+be destitute of it; all use it daily, and like it.' Another author
+upon tea says, that 'drinking it tends to clear away all impurities,
+drives off drowsiness, removes or prevents headache, and it is
+universally in high esteem.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] _A Journey to the Tea-Countries of China._ By Robert Fortune.
+1852.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT OYER OF POISONING.
+
+
+In a previous article, an account was given of the proceedings against
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset for the murder of Sir Thomas
+Overbury. Though they were spared, several other persons were executed
+for this offence; and the circumstances under which those who were
+represented as the chief criminals escaped, while the others, whose
+guilt was represented as merely secondary, were executed, is among the
+most mysterious parts of the history. There was so much said about
+poisoning throughout the whole inquiry, that Sir Edward Coke gave the
+trials the name of 'The Great Oyer of Poisoning.' Oyer has long been a
+technical term in English law; and it is almost unnecessary to
+explain, that it is old French for _to hear_--_oyer and terminer_
+meaning, to hear and determine. The same inscrutable reasons which
+make the evidence so imperfect against the chief offenders, affect the
+whole of it. But while the exact causes of the death of Sir Thomas
+Overbury may be left in doubt, as well as the motives which led to it,
+enough is revealed in the trials of the minor offenders to throw a
+remarkable light on the strange habits of the time, and especially on
+the profligacy and credulity of the court of King James.
+
+The first person put to trial was Richard Weston, who had been
+appointed for the purpose of taking charge of Sir Thomas Overbury. If
+he had been murdered by poison, there could be no doubt that Weston
+was one of the perpetrators. He had been brought up as an apothecary;
+and it was said that he was selected on account of his being thus
+enabled to dabble in poisons. The charge against him is very
+indistinct. He was charged that he, 'in the Tower of London, in the
+parish of Allhallows Barking, did obtain and get into his hand certain
+poison of green and yellow colour, called rosalgar--knowing the same
+to be deadly poison--and the same did maliciously and feloniously
+mingle and compound in a kind of broth poured out into a certain
+dish.' Weston long refused to plead to the indictment. Of old, a
+person could not be put on trial unless he pleaded not guilty, and
+demanded a trial. The law, however, provided for those who were
+obstinate a more dreadful death than would be inflicted on the
+scaffold. To frighten him into compliance, the court gave him a
+description of it, telling him that he was 'to be extended, and then
+to have weights laid upon him no more than he was able to bear, which
+were by little and little to be increased; secondly, that he was to be
+exposed in an open place near to the prison, in the open air, being
+naked; and lastly, that he was to be preserved with the coarsest bread
+that could be got, and water out of the next sink or puddle.' He was
+told that 'oftentimes men lived in that extremity eight or nine days.'
+People have sometimes endured the _peine forte et dure_, as it was
+called, because, unless they pleaded and were convicted, their estates
+were not forfeited; and they endured the death of protracted torture
+for the sake of their families. Weston's object was supposed to be to
+prevent a trial, the evidence in which would expose his great patrons
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset. The motive was not, however, strong
+enough to make him stand to his purpose. He pleaded to the indictment,
+was found guilty, and executed at Tyburn.
+
+The next person brought up was of a more interesting character--Anne
+Turner, the widow of a physician. It is stated in the Report, that
+when she appeared at the bar, the chief-justice Coke said to her:
+'that women must be covered in the church, but not when they are
+arraigned, and so caused her to put off her hat; which done, she
+covered her hair with her handkerchief, being before dressed in her
+hair with her handkerchief over it.' Although Mother Turner's pursuits
+were of the questionable kind generally attributed to old hags--she
+dealt in philters, soothsaying, and poisoning--she must have been a
+young and beautiful woman. In some of the letters which were produced
+at the trials, she was called 'Sweet Turner.' In a poem, called
+_Overbury's Vision_, published in 1616, and reprinted in the seventh
+volume of the Harleian Miscellany, she is thus enthusiastically
+described--
+
+    'It seemed that she had been some gentle dame;
+    For on each part of her fair body's frame
+    Nature such delicacy did bestow,
+    That fairer object oft it doth not shew.
+    Her crystal eye, beneath an ivory brow,
+    Did shew what she at first had been; but now
+    The roses on her lovely cheeks were dead;
+    The earth's pale colour had all overspread
+    Her sometime lovely look; and cruel Death,
+    Coming untimely with his wintry breath,
+    Blasted the fruit which, cherry-like in show,
+    Upon her dainty lips did whilome grow.
+    Oh, how the cruel cord did misbecome
+    Her comely neck! And yet by law's just doom
+    Had been her death.'
+
+It might be said to be Mrs Turner's profession, to minister to all
+the bad passions of intriguers. The wicked Countess of Essex employed
+her to secure to her, by magic arts and otherwise, the affection of
+Somerset, and at the same time to create alienation and distaste on
+the part of her husband. Among the documents produced at her trial was
+one said to be a list of 'what ladies loved what lords;' and it is
+alleged that Coke prohibited its being read, because, whenever he cast
+his eye on it, he saw there the name of his own wife. Some mysterious
+articles were produced at the trial, which were believed to be
+instruments of enchantment and diabolical agency. 'There were also
+enchantments shewed in court, written in parchment, wherein were
+contained all the names of the blessed Trinity mentioned in the
+Scriptures; and in another parchment + B + C + D + E; and in a third,
+likewise in parchment, were written all the names of the holy Trinity,
+as also a figure, on which was written this word, _corpus_; and on the
+parchment was fastened a little piece of the skin of a man. In some of
+these parchments were the devil's particular names, who were conjured
+to torment the Lord Somerset, and Sir Arthur Manwaring, if their loves
+should not continue, the one to the Countess, the other to Mrs
+Turner.' Along with these were some pictures, as they were termed, or,
+more properly speaking, models of the human figure. 'At the shewing,'
+says the report, 'of these, and inchanted papers, and other pictures
+in court, there was heard a crack from the scaffolds, which caused
+great fear, tumult, and confusion among the spectators, and throughout
+the hall, every one fearing hurt, as if the devil had been present,
+and grown angry to have his workmanship shewed by such as were not his
+own scholars.'[4]
+
+The small figures, which appeared to have created the chief
+consternation, were, we are inclined to believe, very innocent things.
+There was, it is true, a belief that an individual could be injured or
+slain by operations on his likeness. There was, however, another
+purpose connected with Mrs Turner's pursuits to which small jointed
+images, like artists' lay figures, were used. This was to exhibit the
+effect of any new fashion, or peculiar style of dress. In this manner
+small figures, about the size of dolls, were long used in Paris. We
+have seen people expressing their surprise at pictures of full-grown
+Frenchwomen examining dolls, but in reality they were not more
+triflingly occupied than those who now contemplate the latest fashions
+in their favourite feminine periodical. Mrs Turner was very likely to
+have occasion for such figures, for she was, with her other pursuits,
+a sort of dressmaker, or _modiste_; in fact, she seems to have been a
+ready minister to every kind of human vanity and folly, as well as to
+a good deal of human wickedness. In the department of dress, she had a
+name in her own sex and age as illustrious as that of Brummel among
+dandies in the beginning of this century. As he was the inventor of
+the starched cravat, she was his precursor in the invention of the
+starched ruff, or, as it is generally said, of the yellow starch.
+
+The best account we have of the starched ruff is by a man who wrote to
+abuse it. An individual named Stubbes published an _Anatomy of
+Abuses_. Having become extremely rare, a small impression of it was
+lately reprinted, as a curious picture of the times. Stubbes dealt
+trenchantly with everything that savoured of pride and ostentation in
+dress; and he was peculiarly severe on Mrs Turner's invention, which
+made the ruff stand against bad weather. He describes the ruffs as
+having been made 'of cambric Holland lawn; or else of some other the
+finest cloth that can be got for money, whereof some be a quarter of a
+yard deep; yea, some more--very few less.' He describes with much glee
+the elementary calamities to which, before the invention of the
+starch, they were liable. 'If Æolus with his blasts, or Neptune with
+his storms, chance to hit upon the crazy barque of their bruised
+ruffs, then they goeth flip-flap in the wind, like rags that flew
+abroad, lying upon their shoulders like the dish-clout of a slut.'
+Having thus, with great exultation, described these reproofs to human
+pride, he mentions how 'the devil, as he, in the fulness of his
+malice, first invented these great ruffs, so hath he now found out
+also two great pillars to bear up and maintain this his kingdom of
+great ruffs--for the devil is king and prince over all the kingdom of
+pride.' One pillar appears to have been a wire framework--something,
+perhaps, of the nature of the hoop. The other was 'a certain kind of
+liquid matter, which they call starch, wherein the devil hath willed
+them to wash and dye their ruffs well; and this starch they make of
+divers colours and hues--white, red, blue, purple, and the like,
+which, being dry, will then stand stiff and inflexible about their
+necks.'
+
+Mrs Turner, at her execution, was arrayed in a ruff stiffened with the
+material for the invention of which she was so famous. She had for her
+scientific adviser a certain Dr Forman--a man who was believed to be
+deep in all kinds of dangerous chemical lore, and at the same time to
+possess a connection with the Evil One, which gave him powers greater
+than those capable of being obtained through mere scientific agency.
+Had he been alive, he would have undoubtedly been tried with the other
+poisoners. His widow gave some account of his habits, and of his
+wonderful apparatus, such as 'a ring which would open like a watch;'
+but the glimpse obtained of him is brief and mysteriously tantalising.
+We remember that, about twenty-five years ago, this man was made the
+hero of a novel called _Forman_, which contains much effective
+writing, but did not somehow fit the popular taste.
+
+Notwithstanding the scientific ingenuity both of the males and females
+concerned in this affair, the poisoning seems to have been conducted
+in a very bungling manner when compared with the slow and secret
+poisonings of the French and Italians. It is believed that a female of
+Naples, called Tophana, who used a tasteless liquid, named after her
+_Aqua Tophana_, killed with it 600 people before she was discovered to
+be a murderess. The complete secrecy in which these foreigners
+shrouded their operations--people seeming to drop off around them as
+if by the silent operation of natural causes--was what made their
+machinations so frightful. Poisoning, however, is a cowardly as well
+as a cruel crime, which has never taken strong root in English habits;
+and, as we have observed, the poisoners on this occasion,
+notwithstanding the skill and knowledge enlisted by them in the
+service, were arrant bunglers. Thus, the confession of James Franklin,
+an accomplice, would seem to shew that Sir Thomas Overbury was
+subjected to poisons enough to have deprived three cats of their
+twenty-seven lives.
+
+'Mrs Turner came to me from the countess, and wished me, from her, to
+get the strongest poison I could for Sir T. Overbury. Accordingly, I
+bought seven--viz., aquafortis, white arsenic, mercury, powder of
+diamonds, _lapis costitus_, great spiders, and cantharides. All these
+were given to Sir T. Overbury at several times. And further
+confesseth, that the lieutenant knew of these poisons; for that
+appeared, said he, by many letters which he writ to the Countess of
+Essex, which I saw, and thereby knew that he knew of this matter. One
+of these letters I read for the countess, because she could not read
+it herself; in which the lieutenant used this speech: "Madam, the scab
+is like the fox--the more he is cursed, the better he fareth." And
+many other speeches. Sir T. never eat white salt, but there was white
+arsenic put into it. Once he desired pig, and Mrs Turner put into it
+_lapis costitus_. The white powder that was sent to Sir T. in a
+letter, he knew to be white arsenic. At another time, he had two
+partridges sent him by the court, and water and onions being the
+sauce, Mrs Turner put in cantharides instead of pepper; so that there
+was scarce anything that he did eat but there was some poison
+mixed.'[5]
+
+It is impossible to believe that the human frame could stand out for
+weeks against so hot a siege. It would appear as if Franklin must
+really have confessed too much. It has already been said, that the
+confused state of the whole evidence renders it difficult to find how
+far a case was made out against the Earl and Countess of Somerset.
+Such a confession as Franklin's only makes matters still more
+confused. That Sir Thomas Overbury really was poisoned, one can
+scarcely doubt, if even a portion of what Franklin and the others say
+is true; but the reckless manner in which the crime was gone about,
+and the confusion of the whole evidence, is extremely perplexing. Not
+the least remarkable feature in this tragedy is the number of people
+concerned in it. We find, brought to trial, the Earl and Countess of
+Somerset and Sir Thomas Monson, who, though said to be the guiltiest
+of all, were spared: Weston, Franklin, and Mrs Turner, were executed:
+Forman, and another man of science who was said to have given aid, had
+gone to their account before the trials came on. Then, in Franklin's
+confession, it was stated that 'the toothless maid, trusty Margaret,
+was acquainted with the poisoning; so was Mrs Turner's man, Stephen;
+so also was Mrs Home, the countess's own handmaid;' and several other
+subordinate persons are alluded to in a similar manner.
+
+The quietness and secrecy of the French and Italian poisonings have
+been already alluded to. The poisoners, in general, instead of acting
+in a bustling crowd, generally prepared themselves for their dreadful
+task by secretly acquiring the competent knowledge, so that they might
+not find it necessary to take the aid of confederates. They generally
+did their work alone, or at most two would act together. It certainly
+argues a sadly demoralised state of society in the reign of King
+James, that so many persons should be found who would coolly connect
+themselves with the work of death; but still there was not so much
+real danger as in the quiet, systematic poisonings of such criminals
+as Tophana and the Countess of Brinvilliers. The great Oyer of
+poisoning was, however, calculated to make a very deep impression on
+the public mind. It filled London with fear and suspicion. When
+rumours about poisonings become prevalent, no one knows exactly how
+far the crime has proceeded, and this and that event is remembered and
+connected with it. All the sudden deaths within recollection are
+recalled, and thus accounted for. People supposed to be adepts in
+chemistry were in great danger from the populace, and one man, named
+Lamb, was literally torn to pieces by a mob at Charing-Cross. The
+people began to dwell upon the death of Prince Henry, the king's
+eldest son, who had fallen suddenly. It was remembered that he was a
+youth of a frank, manly disposition--the friend and companion of
+Raleigh and of other heroic spirits. He liked popularity, and went
+into many of the popular prejudices of the times--forming altogether
+in his character a great contrast to his grave, dry, fastidious, and
+suspicious brother Charles, who was to succeed to his vacant place. He
+had died very suddenly--of fever, it was said; but popular rumour now
+attributed his death to poison. Nay, it was said that his own father,
+jealous of his popularity, was the perpetrator; and it was whispered
+that _this_ was the secret which King James was so afraid his
+favourite Somerset might tell if prosecuted to death. In a work called
+_Truth brought to Light_, a copy was given of an alleged medical
+report on a dissection of the body, calculated to confirm these
+suspicions: it may be found in the _State Trials_, ii. 1002. Arthur
+Wilson, who published his life and reign of King James during the
+Commonwealth, said: 'Strange rumours are raised upon this sudden
+expiration of our prince, the disease being so violent that the combat
+of nature in the strength of youth (being almost nineteen years of
+age) lasted not above five days. Some say he was poisoned with a bunch
+of grapes; others attribute it to the venomous scent of a pair of
+gloves presented to him (the distemper lying for the most part in the
+head.) They that knew neither of these are stricken with fear and
+amazement, as if they had tasted or felt the effects of those
+violences. Private whisperings and suspicions of some new designs
+afoot broaching prophetical terrors that a black Christmas would
+produce a bloody Lent, &c.' Kennet, in his notes on Wilson's work,
+says that he possesses a rare copy of a sermon preached while the
+public mind was thus excited, 'wherein the preacher, who had been his
+domestic chaplain, made such broad hints about the manner of his
+(Prince Henry's) death, that melted the auditory into a flood of
+tears, and occasioned his being dismissed the court.'
+
+But suspicion did not stop here. When King James himself died in much
+pain, his body shewing the unsightly symptoms consequent on his gross
+habits, poison was again suspected; and as it had been said on the
+former occasion, that the father had connived at the death of his son,
+it was now whispered that the remaining son, anxious to commence his
+ill-starred reign, was accessory to hurrying his father from the
+world. The moral character of Charles I. is sufficient to acquit him
+of such a charge. But historians even of late date have not entirely
+acquitted his favourite, Buckingham, who, it was said, finding that
+the king was tired of him, resolved to make him give place to the
+prince, in whose good graces he felt secure. The authors of the
+scandalous histories published during the Commonwealth, said that the
+duke's mother administered the poison externally in the form of a
+plaster.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] _State Trials_, ii. 932.
+
+[5] _State Trials_, 941.
+
+
+
+
+NEURALGIA.[6]
+
+
+Obstructives and sceptics are in one sense benefactors: although they
+do not generally originate improved modes of thought and action, they
+at least prevent the adoption of crude theories and ill-digested
+measures. To meet the criticism of these opponents, inventive genius
+must more carefully bring its ideas and plans to the test of practical
+experiment and thorough investigation; and as truth must ultimately
+prevail, it cannot be considered unjust or injurious to insist upon
+its presenting its credentials. This is, we submit, one of the
+benefits resulting from schools, colleges, and guilds: it is difficult
+to impress them with novel truths; but in a great degree they act as
+breakwaters to the waves of error. In no department of social life is
+this doctrine better illustrated than in the medical profession, which
+is among the keenest and most sceptical of bodies in scrutinising
+novelty; but it has rarely allowed any real improvement to remain
+permanently untested and unadopted. We believe this to be the fair
+view to take of a class of scientific men who have certainly had a
+large share of sarcasm to endure.
+
+General readers, for whom we profess to cater, take no great interest
+in medical subjects and discussions; but as historians of what is
+doing in the world of art, science, and literature, we think it our
+duty to record, in a brief way, any information we can collect that
+may be beneficial to the suffering portion of humanity; and in this
+'miserable world' it is most probable that one-fourth part of our
+readers are invalids. Why should they not have their little troubles,
+whims, and maladies studied and cared for? The disease which gives a
+title to this short notice is perhaps one of the most mysterious and
+vexatious to which our nature is liable; both its cause and cure are
+equally occult, and its _modus operandi_ is scarcely intelligible. A
+contemporary thus playfully alludes to the subject in terms more funny
+than precise:--'What is neuralgia? A nervous spasm, the cause of which
+has, however, not been satisfactorily and conclusively demonstrated;
+but we may, perhaps, obtain a clearer view of its nature, if we look
+upon it as connected with "morbid nutrition." Every one knows that the
+system is, or ought to be, constantly subject to a law of waste and
+repair; and if the operation of this law is impeded by "cold," "mental
+excitement," or any other baneful condition, diseases more or less
+unpleasant must ensue. The _vis naturæ_ uses certain particles of
+matter in forming nerves; others in forming membrane, bones, juices,
+&c.; while used-up particles are expelled altogether from the system.
+We can readily conceive that each order of atoms is used by a distinct
+function, and has a different mission; and any morbid perversion or
+mingling of their separate destinies must end in disorder and
+suffering--nature's violent endeavour to restore the regularity of her
+operations. A cough is simply an effort of the lungs or bronchiæ to
+remove some offending intruder that ought to be doing duty elsewhere;
+and may we not call neuralgia _a cough of a nerve_ to get rid of a
+disagreeable oppression--nature's legitimate _coup d'état_ to put down
+and transport those "_red socialist_" particles that would interfere
+with the regularity of its constitution? Let us fancy, for a moment, a
+delicate little army of atoms marching obediently along, to form new
+nerve in place of the substance that is wasting away: another little
+army of carbonaceous particles have just received orders to pack up
+their luggage and be off, to make way for the advancing
+nerve-battalion; but in their exodus they are met by a fierce
+destroyer, in the shape of an east wind--a Caffre that suddenly throws
+the ranks of General Carbon into disorder, and drives them back upon
+the brilliant and pugnacious array of General Nerve: a battle-royal is
+the result. General Nerve immediately places lance in rest, and
+advances to the charge with the unsparing war-cry of: "Mr Ferguson,
+you don't lodge here!" and if Caffre East-wind is not despised and
+trifled with, he is generally beaten for a time; but great are the
+sufferings of humanity--the scene of this encounter--while the fight
+is raging.'
+
+Now comes the question: How to get rid of this cruel invader? Dr
+Downing has undertaken to give an answer, which we believe to be
+satisfactory. In addition to the proper medical and hygienic
+treatment, which is carefully and ably stated in the work before us,
+Dr Downing has invented an apparatus which appears to be very
+efficacious; and we will therefore allow him to describe it in his own
+words:--'From considering tic douloureux as often a local disease,
+depending on a state of excessive irritability, sensibility, or spasm
+of a particular nerve, and from reflecting upon its causes, and
+observing the effect of topical sedatives, I was led to the
+conclusion, that the most direct way of quieting this state was by the
+application of warmth and sedative vapour to the part, so as to soothe
+the nerves, and calm them into regular action. For this purpose, I
+devised an apparatus which answers the purpose sufficiently well. It
+is a kind of fumigating instrument, in which dried herbs are burned,
+and the heated vapour directed to any part of the body. It is
+extremely simple in construction, and consists essentially of three
+parts with their media of connection--a cylinder for igniting the
+vegetable matter, bellows for maintaining a current of air through the
+burning material, and tubes and cones for directing and concentrating
+the stream of vapour. The chief medicinal effects I have noticed in
+the use of this instrument are those of a sedative character; but its
+remedial influence is not alone confined to the use of certain herbs.
+A considerable power is attributable to the warm current or intense
+heat generated. When the vegetable matter is ignited, and a current of
+air is made to pass through the burning mass, a small or great degree
+of heat can be produced at pleasure. Thus, when the hand is gently
+pressed upon the bellows, a mild, warm stream of vapour is poured
+forth which may act as a _douche_ to irritable parts; but by strongly
+and rapidly compressing the same receptacle, the fire within the
+cylinder is urged like that of a smith's forge, and the blast becomes
+intensely hot and burning.'
+
+Those who wish to know more of this mode of treatment, had better
+refer to the work itself. We must content ourselves with having simply
+drawn our readers' attention to it.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] _Neuralgia: its various Forms, Pathology, and Treatment._ Being
+the Jacksonian Prize Essay of the Royal College of Surgeons for 1850;
+with some Additions. By C. Toogood Downing, M.D., M.R.C.S. Churchill,
+London.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE LAKE COUNTRY.
+
+
+Mr Robert Chambers, in a recent tour of the lakes of Westmoreland
+(April 1852), has discovered that the valleys of that interesting
+district were at one time occupied by glaciers. Glacialised surfaces
+were previously observed in a few places not far from Kendal, but
+without any conclusion as to the entire district. By Mr Chambers
+conspicuous and unequivocal memorials of ice-action have been found in
+most of the great central valleys, such as those of Derwentwater,
+Ulleswater, Thirlwater, and Windermere. The principal phenomena are
+rounded hummocks of rock on the skirts of the hills, and in the middle
+of the valleys; and as these hummocks, whatever may be the direction
+of the valleys, invariably present a smoothed side up, and an abrupt
+side downwards (_stoss-seite_ and _lee-seite_ of the Scandinavian
+geologists), it becomes certain that the glaciers proceeding from the
+mountains at the upper extremities were local to the several valleys.
+The smoothed hummocks are very noticeable in Derwentwater or
+Borrowdale, the celebrated Bowderstone resting on one; a particularly
+fine low surface appears at Grange, near the head of the lake. At
+Patterdale, in Ulleswater Valley, the rocks are so much marked in this
+manner, that the whole place bears a striking resemblance to the
+sterile parts of Sweden; and some small rocky islets, near the head of
+the lake, are unmistakable _roches moutonnées_. The two valleys
+descending in opposite directions from Dunmail Raise, have had
+glaciers proceeding from some central point: in that of Thirlwater,
+the rounded hummocks are conspicuous at Armboth; in the other, near
+Grasmere, and near the Windermere Railway Station. In all these cases,
+the characteristic striation, or scratching produced on rock-surfaces
+by glaciers, is more or less distinct, according as the surface may
+have been protected in intermediate ages. Where any drift or alluvial
+formation has covered it, the polish and striation are as perfect as
+if they had been formed in recent times, and the lines are almost
+invariably in the general direction of the valley.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D. N. CHAMBERS, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
+Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
+MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
+applications respecting their insertion must be made.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442, 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: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442
+       Volume 17, New Series, June 19, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Robert Chambers
+          William Chambers
+
+Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20792]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL</h1>
+
+<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents">CONTENTS</a></h2>
+
+<div class="contents">
+
+<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. -->
+<p>
+<a href="#THE_OLD_HOUSE_IN_CRANE_COURT"><b>THE OLD HOUSE IN CRANE COURT.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_HUNCHBACK_OF_STRASBOURG"><b>THE HUNCHBACK OF STRASBOURG.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#PHILOSOPHY_OF_THE_SHEARS"><b>PHILOSOPHY OF THE SHEARS.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_NIGHTINGALE"><b>THE NIGHTINGALE:</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_TEA-COUNTRIES_OF_CHINA"><b>THE TEA-COUNTRIES OF CHINA.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#THE_GREAT_OYER_OF_POISONING"><b>THE GREAT OYER OF POISONING.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#NEURALGIA"><b>NEURALGIA.</b></a><br />
+<a href="#ANCIENT_GLACIERS_IN_THE_LAKE_COUNTRY"><b>ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE LAKE COUNTRY.</b></a><br />
+</p>
+<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. -->
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[pg 385]</a></span></p>
+
+<img src="images/banner.png"
+          width="100%"
+          alt="Banner: Chambers' Edinburgh Journal" />
+
+<h4>CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &amp;c.</h4>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<table width="100%"
+        summary="Volume, Date and Price">
+<tr>
+<td align="left"><b><span class="sc">No.</span> 442.&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="sc">New Series.</span></b></td>
+<td align="left"><b>SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1852.</b></td>
+<td align="right"><b><span class="sc">Price</span> 1&frac12;<i>d</i>.</b></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<h2><a name="THE_OLD_HOUSE_IN_CRANE_COURT" id="THE_OLD_HOUSE_IN_CRANE_COURT"></a>THE OLD HOUSE IN CRANE COURT.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> roaring pell-mell of the principal thoroughfares of London is
+curiously contrasted with the calm seclusion which is often found at
+no great distance in certain lanes, courts, and passages, and the
+effect is not a little heightened when in these by-places we light
+upon some old building speaking of antique institutions or bygone
+habits of society. We lately had this idea brought strikingly before
+us on plunging abruptly out of Fleet Street into Crane Court, in
+search of the establishment known as the Scottish Hospital. We were
+all at once transferred into a quiet narrow street, as it might be
+called, full of printing and lithographic offices, tall, dark, and
+rusty, while closing up the further end stood a dingy building of
+narrow front, presenting an ornamental porch. A few minutes served to
+introduce us to a moderate-sized hall, having a long table in the
+centre, and an arm-chair at the upper end, while several old portraits
+graced the walls. It was not without a mental elevation of feeling, as
+well as some surprise, that we learned that this was a hall in which
+Newton had spent many an evening. It was, to be quite explicit, the
+meeting-place of the Royal Society from 1710 till 1782, and,
+consequently, during not much less than twenty years of the latter
+life of the illustrious author of the <i>Principia</i>, who, as an
+office-bearer in the institution, must have often taken an eminent
+place here. We were not, however, immediately in quest of the
+antiquities of the Royal Society. Our object was to form some
+acquaintance with the valuable institution which has succeeded to it
+in the possession of this house.</p>
+
+<p>We must advert to a peculiarity of our Scottish countrymen, which can
+be set down only on the credit side of their character&mdash;their sympathy
+with each other when they meet as wanderers in foreign countries.
+Scotland is just a small enough country to cause a certain unity of
+feeling amongst the people. Wherever they are, they feel that Scotsmen
+should stand, as their proverb has it, <i>shoulder to shoulder</i>. The
+more distant the clime in which they meet, they remember with the more
+intensity their common land of mountain and flood, their historical
+and poetical associations, the various national institutions which
+ages have endeared to them; and the more disposed are they to take an
+interest in each other's welfare. This is a feeling in which time and
+modern innovations work no change, and it is one of old-standing.</p>
+
+<p>When James VI. acceded to the throne of Elizabeth, he was followed
+southward by some of his favourite nobles, and there was of course an
+end put to that exclusive system of the late monarch which had kept
+down the number of Scotsmen in London, to what must now appear the
+astonishingly small one of fifty-eight. Perhaps some exaggerations
+have been indulged in with regard to the host of traders and craftsmen
+who went southward in the train of King James, but there can be no
+doubt, that it was considerable in point of numbers. But where wealth
+is sought for, there also, by an inevitable law of nature, is poverty.
+The better class of Scotchmen settled in London, soon found their
+feelings of compassion excited in behalf of a set of miserable
+fellow-countrymen who had failed to obtain employment or fix
+themselves in a mercantile position, and for whom the stated charities
+of the country were not available. Hence seems to have arisen, so
+early as 1613, the necessity for some system of mutual charity among
+the natives of Scotland in London. So far as can be ascertained, it
+was a handful of journeymen or hired artisans, who in that year
+associated to aid each other, and prevent themselves from becoming
+burdensome to strangers&mdash;an interesting fact, as evincing in a remote
+period the predominance of that spirit of independence for which the
+modern Scottish peasantry has been famed, and which even yet survives
+in some degree of vigour, notwithstanding the fatally counteractive
+influence of poor-laws. The funds contributed by these worthy men were
+put into a box, and kept there&mdash;for in those days there were no banks
+to take a fruitful charge of money&mdash;and at certain periods the
+contributors would meet, and see what they could spare for the relief
+of such poor fellow-countrymen as had in the interval applied to them.
+We have still a faint living image of this simple plan in the <i>boxes</i>
+belonging to certain trades in our Scottish towns, or rather the
+survivance of the phrase, for the money, we must presume, is now
+everywhere relegated to the keeping of the banks. The institution in
+those days was known as the <span class="smcap">Scottish Box</span>, just as a money-dealing
+company came to be called a bank, from the table (<i>banco</i>) which it
+employed in transacting its business. From a very early period in its
+history, it seems to have taken the form of what is now called a
+Friendly Society, each person contributing an entrance-fee of 5s., and
+6d. per quarter thereafter, so as to be entitled to certain benefits
+in the event of poverty or sickness. Small sums were also lent to the
+poorer members, without interest, and burial expenses were paid. We
+find from the records that, in 1638, when the company was twenty in
+number, and met in Lamb's Conduit Street, it allowed 20s. for a
+certain class of those of its members who had died of the plague, and
+30s. for others. The whole affair, however, was then on a limited
+scale&mdash;the quarterly disbursements in 1661 amounting only to L.9, 4s.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[pg 386]</a></span>
+Nevertheless, upwards of 300 poor Scotsmen, swept off by the
+pestilence of 1665-6, were buried at the expense of the Box, while
+numbers more were nourished during their sickness, without subjecting
+the parishes in which they resided to the smallest expense. We have
+not the slightest doubt, that not one of these people felt the
+bitterness of a dependence on alms. If not actually entitled to relief
+in consideration of previous payments of their own, they would feel
+that they were beholden only to their kindly countrymen. It would be
+like the members of a family helping each other. Humiliation could
+have been felt only, if they had had to accept of alms from those
+amongst whom they sojourned as strangers. Such is the way, at least,
+in which we read the character of our countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1665, the Box was exalted into the character of a
+corporation by a royal charter, the expenses attendant on which were
+disbursed by gentlemen named Kinnear, Allen, Ewing, Donaldson, &amp;c.
+When they met at the Cross Keys in 'Coven Garden,' they found their
+receipts to be L.116, 8s. 5d. The character of the times is seen in
+one of their regulations, which imposed a fine of 2s. 6d. for every
+oath used in the course of their quarterly business. The institution
+was now becoming venerable, and, as usual, members began to exhibit
+their affection for it by presents. The Mr Kinnear just mentioned,
+conferred upon it an elegant silver cup. James Donaldson presented an
+ivory mallet or hammer, to be used by the chairman in calling order.
+Among the contributors, we find the name of Gilbert Burnet (afterwards
+Bishop) as giving L.1 half-yearly. They had an hospital erected in
+Blackfriars Street; but experience soon proved that confinement to a
+charity workhouse was altogether uncongenial to the feelings and
+habits of the Scottish poor, and they speedily returned to the plan of
+assisting them by small outdoor pensions, which has ever since been
+adhered to. In those days, no effort was made to secure permanency by
+a sunk fund. They distributed each quarter-day all that had been
+collected during the preceding interval. The consequence of this not
+very Scotsman-like proceeding was that, in one of those periods of
+decay which are apt to befall all charitable institutions, the
+Scottish Hospital was threatened with extinction; and this would
+undoubtedly have been its fate, but for the efforts of a few patriotic
+Scotsmen who came to its aid.</p>
+
+<p>Through the help of these gentlemen, a new charter was obtained
+(1775), putting the institution upon a new and more liberal footing,
+and at the same time providing for the establishment of a permanent
+fund. Since then, through the virtue of the national spirit,
+considerable sums have been obtained from the wealthier Scotch living
+in London, and by the bequests of charitable individuals of the
+nation; so that the hospital now distributes about L.2200 per annum,
+chiefly in L.10 pensions to old people.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> At the same time, a special
+bequest of large amount (L.76,495) from William Kinloch, Esq., a
+native of Kincardineshire, who had realised a fortune in India, allows
+of a further distribution through the same channel of about L.1800,
+most of it in pensions of L.4 to disabled soldiers and sailors. Thus
+many hundreds of the Scotch poor of the metropolis may be said to be
+kept by their fellow-countrymen from falling upon the parochial funds,
+on which they would have a claim&mdash;a fact, we humbly think, on which
+the nation at large may justifiably feel some little pride. As part of
+the means of collecting this money, there is a festival twice a year,
+usually presided over by some Scottish nobleman, and attended by a
+great number of gentlemen connected with Scotland by birth or
+otherwise. A committee of governors meets on the second Wednesday of
+every month, to distribute the benefactions to the regular pensioners
+and casual applicants; and, in accordance with the national habits of
+feeling, this ceremony is always prefaced by divine service in the
+chapel, according to the simple practice of the Presbyterian Church.
+Since 1782, these transactions, as well as the general concerns of the
+institution, have taken place in the old building in Crane Court,
+where also the secretary has a permanent residence.</p>
+
+<p>Such, then, is the institution which has succeeded to the possession
+of the dusky hall in which the Royal Society at one time assembled. It
+was with a mingled interest that we looked round it, reflecting on the
+presence of such men as Newton and Bradley of old, and on the many
+worthy deeds which had since been done in it by men of a different
+stamp, but surely not unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence. A
+portrait of Queen Mary by Zucchero, and one of the Duke of Lauderdale
+by Lely&mdash;though felt as reminiscences of Scotland&mdash;were scarcely
+fitted of themselves to ornament the walls; but this, of course, is as
+the accidents of gifts and bequests might determine. We felt it to be
+more right and fitting, that the secretary should be our old friend
+Major Adair, the son of that Dr Adair who accompanied Robert Burns on
+his visit to Glendevon in 1787. He is one of those men of activity,
+method, and detail, joined to unfailing good-humour, who are
+invaluable to such an institution. He is also, as might be expected,
+entirely a Scotsman, and evidently regards the hospital with feelings
+akin to veneration. Nor could we refrain from sympathising in his
+views, when we thought of the honourable national principle from which
+the institution took its rise, and by which it continues to be
+supported, as well as the practical good which it must be continually
+achieving. To quote his own words: 'From a view of the numbers
+relieved, it is evident, that while this institution is a real
+blessing to the aged, the helpless, the diseased, and the unemployed
+poor of Scotland, resident in London, Westminster, and the
+neighbourhood, extending to a circle of ten miles radius from the hall
+of the corporation, it is of incalculable benefit to the community at
+large, who, by means of this charity, are spared the pain of beholding
+so great an addition, as otherwise there would be, of our destitute
+fellow-creatures seeking their wretched pittance in the streets,
+liable to be taken up as vagrants and sent to the house of correction,
+and probably subjected to greater evils and disgrace.' The major has a
+pet scheme for extending the usefulness of the institution. It implies
+that individuals should make foundations of from L.300 to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[pg 387]</a></span> L.400 each,
+in order to produce pensions of L.10 a year; these to be in the care
+and dispensation of the hospital, and each to bear for ever the name
+of its founder; thus permanently connecting his memory with the
+institution, and insuring that once a year, at least, some humble
+fellow-countryman shall have occasion to rejoice that such a person as
+he once existed. The idea involves the gratification of a fine natural
+feeling, and we sincerely hope that it will be realised. And why,
+since we have said so much, should we hesitate to add the more general
+wish, that the Scottish Hospital may continue to enjoy an undiminished
+measure of the patronage of our countrymen? May it flourish for ever!</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Note by an Englishman.</i>&mdash;It is not one of the least
+curious particulars in the history of the Scottish Hospital, that it
+substantiates by documentary evidence the fact, that Scotsmen, who
+have gone to England, occasionally find their way back to their own
+country. It appears from the books of the corporation, that in the
+year ending 30th November 1850, the sum of L.30, 16s. 6d. was spent in
+'passages' from London to Leith; and there is actually a corresponding
+society in Edinburgh to receive the <i>revenants</i>, and pass them on to
+their respective districts.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_HUNCHBACK_OF_STRASBOURG" id="THE_HUNCHBACK_OF_STRASBOURG"></a>THE HUNCHBACK OF STRASBOURG.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the department of the Bas-Rhin, France, and not more than about two
+leagues north of Strasbourg, lived Antoine Delessert, who farmed, or
+intended farming, his own land&mdash;about a ten-acre slice of 'national'
+property, which had fallen to him, nobody very well knew how, during
+the hurly-burly of the great Revolution. He was about five-and-thirty,
+a widower, and had one child, likewise named Antoine, but familiarly
+known as Le Bossu (hunchback)&mdash;a designation derived, like his
+father's acres, from the Revolution, somebody having, during one of
+the earlier and livelier episodes of that exciting drama, thrown the
+poor little fellow out of a window in Strasbourg, and broken his back.
+When this happened, Antoine, <i>p&egrave;re</i>, was a journeyman <i>ferblantier</i>
+(tinman) of that city. Subsequently, he became an active, though
+subordinate member of the local Salut Public; in virtue of which
+patriotic function he obtained Les Pr&egrave;s, the name of his magnificent
+estate. Working at his trade was now, of course, out of the question.
+Farming, as everybody knows, is a gentlemanly occupation, skill in
+which comes by nature; and Citizen Delessert forthwith betook himself,
+with his son, to Les Pr&egrave;s, in the full belief that he had stepped at
+once into the dignified and delightful position of the ousted
+aristocrat, to whom Les Pr&egrave;s had once belonged, and whose haughty head
+he had seen fall into the basket. But envious clouds will darken the
+brightest sky, and the new proprietor found, on taking possession of
+his quiet, unencumbered domain, that property has its plagues as well
+as pleasures. True, there was the land; but not a plant, or a seed
+thereon or therein, nor an agricultural implement of any kind to work
+it with. The walls of the old rambling house were standing, and the
+roof, except in about a dozen places, kept out the rain with some
+success; but the nimble, unrespecting fingers of preceding patriots
+had carried off not only every vestige of furniture, usually so
+called, but coppers, cistern, pump, locks, hinges&mdash;nay, some of the
+very doors and window-frames! Delessert was profoundly discontented.
+He remarked to Le Bossu, now a sharp lad of some twelve years of age,
+that he was at last convinced of the entire truth of his cousin
+Boisdet's frequent observation&mdash;that the Revolution, glorious as it
+might be, had been stained and dishonoured by many shameful excesses;
+an admission which the son, with keen remembrance of his compulsory
+flight from the window, savagely endorsed.</p>
+
+<p>'Peste!' exclaimed the new proprietor, after a lengthened and painful
+examination of the dilapidations, and general nakedness of his
+estate&mdash;'this is embarrassing. Citizen Destouches was right. I must
+raise money upon the property, to replace what those brigands have
+carried off. I shall require three thousand francs at the very least.'</p>
+
+<p>The calculation was dispiriting; and after a night's lodging on the
+bare floor, damply enveloped in a few old sacks, the financial horizon
+did not look one whit less gloomy in the eyes of Citizen Delessert.
+Destouches, he sadly reflected, was an iron-fisted notary-public, who
+lent money, at exorbitant interest, to distressed landowners, and was
+driving, people said, a thriving trade in that way just now. His pulse
+must, however, be felt, and money be obtained, however hard the terms.
+This was unmistakably evident; and with the conviction tugging at his
+heart, Citizen Delessert took his pensive way towards Strasbourg.</p>
+
+<p>'You guess my errand, Citizen Destouches?' said Delessert, addressing
+a flinty-faced man of about his own age, in a small room of Num&eacute;ro 9,
+Rue B&eacute;chard.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes&mdash;money: how much?'</p>
+
+<p>'Three thousand francs is my calculation.'</p>
+
+<p>'Three thousand francs! You are not afraid of opening your mouth, I
+see. Three thousand francs!&mdash;humph! Security, ten acres of middling
+land, uncultivated, and a tumble-down house; title, <i>droit de
+guillotine</i>. It is a risk, but I think I may venture. Pierre Nadaud,'
+he continued, addressing a black-browed, sly, sinister-eyed clerk,
+'draw a bond, secured upon Les Pr&egrave;s, and the appurtenances, for three
+thousand francs, with interest at ten per cent.'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Morbleu! but that is famous interest!' interjected Delessert, though
+timidly.</p>
+
+<p>'Payable quarterly, if demanded,' the notary continued, without
+heeding his client's observation; 'with power, of course, to the
+lender to sell, if necessary, to reimburse his capital, as well as all
+accruing <i>dommages-int&eacute;r&ecirc;ts</i>!'</p>
+
+<p>The borrower drew a long breath, but only muttered: 'Ah, well; no
+matter! We shall work hard, Antoine and I.'</p>
+
+<p>The legal document was soon formally drawn: Citizen Delessert signed
+and sealed, and he had only now to pouch the cash, which the notary
+placed upon the table.</p>
+
+<p>'Ah &ccedil;a!' he cried, eyeing the roll of paper proffered to his
+acceptance with extreme disgust. 'It is not in those <i>chiffons</i> of
+assignats, is it, that I am to receive three thousand francs, at ten
+per cent.?'</p>
+
+<p>'My friend,' rejoined the notary, in a tone of great severity, 'take
+care what you say. The offence of depreciating the credit or money of
+the Republic is a grave one.'</p>
+
+<p>'Who should know that better than I?' promptly replied Delessert. 'The
+paper-money of our glorious Republic is of inestimable value; but the
+fact is, Citizen Destouches, I have a weakness, I confess it, for
+coined money&mdash;<i>argent m&eacute;tallique</i>. In case of fire, for instance,
+it'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'It is very remarkable,' interrupted the notary with increasing
+sternness&mdash;'it is very remarkable, Pierre' (Pierre was an influential
+member of the Salut Public), 'that the instant a man becomes a landed
+proprietor, he betrays symptoms of <i>incivisme</i>: is discovered to be,
+in fact, an <i>aristocq</i> at heart.'</p>
+
+<p>'I an <i>aristocq</i>!' exclaimed Delessert, turning very pale; 'you are
+jesting, surely. See, I take these admirable assignats&mdash;three thousand
+francs' worth at ten per cent.&mdash;with the greatest pleasure. Oh, never
+mind counting among friends.'</p>
+
+<p>'Pardon!' replied Destouches, with rigid scrupulosity. 'It is
+necessary to be extremely cautious in matters of business. Deducting
+thirty francs for the bond, you will, I think, find your money
+correct; but count yourself.'</p>
+
+<p>Delessert pretended to do so, but the rage in his heart so caused his
+eyes to dance and dazzle, and his hands to shake, that he could
+scarcely see the figures on the assignats, or separate one from the
+other. He bundled them up at last, crammed them into his pocket, and
+hurried off, with a sickly smile upon his face, and maledictions,
+which found fierce utterance as soon as he had reached a safe
+distance, trembling on his tongue.</p>
+
+<p>'Sc&eacute;l&eacute;rat! coquin!' he savagely muttered. 'Ten per cent. for this
+moonshine money! I only wish&mdash;&mdash; But never mind, what's sauce for the
+goose is sauce<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[pg 388]</a></span> for the gander. I must try and buy in the same way
+that I have been so charmingly sold.'</p>
+
+<p>Earnestly meditating this equitable process, Citizen Delessert sought
+his friend Jean Souday, who lived close by the Foss&eacute; des Tanneurs
+(Tanners' Ditch.) Jean had a somewhat ancient mare to dispose of,
+which our landed proprietor thought might answer his purpose. Cocotte
+was a slight waif, sheared off by the sharp axe of the Place de la
+R&eacute;volution, and Souday could therefore afford to sell her cheap. Fifty
+francs <i>argent m&eacute;tallique</i> would, Delessert knew, purchase her; but
+with assignats, it was quite another affair. But, courage! He might
+surely play the notary's game with his friend Souday: that could not
+be so difficult.</p>
+
+<p>'You have no use for Cocotte,' suggested Delessert modestly, after
+exchanging fraternal salutations with his friend.</p>
+
+<p>'Such an animal is always useful,' promptly answered Madame Souday, a
+sharp, notable little woman, with a vinegar aspect.</p>
+
+<p>'To be sure&mdash;to be sure! And what price do you put upon this useful
+animal?'</p>
+
+<p>'Cela d&eacute;pend'&mdash;&mdash; replied Jean, with an interrogative glance at his
+helpmate.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, as Jean says, that depends&mdash;entirely depends'&mdash;&mdash; responded the
+wife.</p>
+
+<p>'Upon what, citoyenne?'</p>
+
+<p>'Upon what is offered, parbleu! We are in no hurry to part with
+Cocotte; but money is tempting.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, then, suppose we say, between friends, fifty francs?'</p>
+
+<p>'Fifty francs! That is very little; besides, I do not know that I
+shall part with Cocotte at all.'</p>
+
+<p>'Come, come; be reasonable. Sixty francs! Is it a bargain?'</p>
+
+<p>Jean still shook his head. 'Tempt him with the actual sight of the
+money,' confidentially suggested Madame Souday; 'that is the only way
+to strike a bargain with my husband.'</p>
+
+<p>Delessert preferred increasing his offer to this advice, and gradually
+advanced to 100 francs, without in the least softening Jean Souday's
+obduracy. The possessor of the assignats was fain, at last, to adopt
+Madame Souday's iterated counsel, and placed 120 paper francs before
+the owner of Cocotte. The husband and wife instantly, as silently,
+exchanged with each other, by the only electric telegraph then in use,
+the words: 'I thought so.'</p>
+
+<p>'This is charming money, friend Delessert,' said Jean Souday; 'far
+more precious to an enlightened mind than the barbarous coin stamped
+with effigies of kings and queens of the <i>ancien r&eacute;gime</i>. It is very
+tempting; still, I do not think I can part with Cocotte at any price.'</p>
+
+<p>Poor Delessert ground his teeth with rage, but the expression of his
+anger would avail nothing; and, yielding to hard necessity, he at
+length, after much wrangling, became the purchaser of the old mare for
+250 francs&mdash;in assignats. We give this as a specimen of the bargains
+effected by the owner of Les Pr&egrave;s with his borrowed capital, and as
+affording a key to the bitter hatred he from that day cherished
+towards the notary, by whom he had, as he conceived, been so
+egregiously duped. Towards evening, he entered a wine-shop in the
+suburb of Robertsau, drank freely, and talked still more so, fatigue
+and vexation having rendered him both thirsty and bold. Destouches, he
+assured everybody that would listen to him, was a robber&mdash;a villain&mdash;a
+vampire blood-sucker, and he, Delessert, would be amply revenged on
+him some fine day. Had the loquacious orator been eulogising some
+one's extraordinary virtues, it is very probable that all he said
+would have been forgotten by the morrow, but the memories of men are
+more tenacious of slander and evil-speaking; and thus it happened that
+Delessert's vituperative and menacing eloquence on this occasion was
+thereafter reproduced against him with fatal power.</p>
+
+<p>Albeit, the now nominal proprietor of Les Pr&egrave;s, assisted by his son
+and Cocotte, set to work manfully at his new vocation; and by dint of
+working twice as hard, and faring much worse than he did as a
+journeyman <i>ferblantier</i>, contrived to keep the wolf, if not far from
+the door, at least from entering in. His son, Le Bossu, was a
+cheerful, willing lad, with large, dark, inquisitive eyes, lit up with
+much clearer intelligence than frequently falls to the share of
+persons of his age and opportunities. The father and son were greatly
+attached to each other; and it was chiefly the hope of bequeathing Les
+Pr&egrave;s, free from the usurious gripe of Destouches, to his boy, that
+encouraged the elder Delessert to persevere in his well-nigh hopeless
+husbandry. Two years thus passed, and matters were beginning to assume
+a less dreary aspect, thanks chiefly to the notary's not having made
+any demand in the interim for the interest of his mortgage.</p>
+
+<p>'I have often wondered,' said Le Bossu one day, as he and his father
+were eating their dinner of <i>soupe aux choux</i> and black bread, 'that
+Destouches has not called before. He may now as soon as he pleases,
+thanks to our having sold that lot of damaged wheat at such a capital
+price: corn must be getting up tremendously in the market. However,
+you are ready for Destouches' demand of six hundred francs, which it
+is now.'</p>
+
+<p>'Parbleu! quite ready; all ready counted in those charming assignats;
+and that is the joke of it. I wish the old villain may call or send
+soon'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A gentle tap at the door interrupted the speaker. The son opened it,
+and the notary, accompanied by his familiar, Pierre Nadaud, quietly
+glided in.</p>
+
+<p>'Talk of the devil,' growled Delessert audibly, 'and you are sure to
+get a whisk of his tail. Well, messieurs,' he added more loudly, 'your
+business?'</p>
+
+<p>'Money&mdash;interest now due on the mortgage for three thousand francs,'
+replied M. Destouches with much suavity.</p>
+
+<p>'Interest for two years,' continued the sourly-sardonic accents of
+Pierre Nadaud; 'six hundred francs precisely.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very good, you shall have the money directly.' Delessert left the
+room; the notary took out and unclasped a note-book; and Pierre Nadaud
+placed a slip of <i>papier timbr&eacute;</i> on the dinner-table, preparatory to
+writing a receipt.</p>
+
+<p>'Here,' said Delessert, re-entering with a roll of soiled paper in his
+hand, 'here are your six hundred francs, well counted.'</p>
+
+<p>The notary reclasped his note-book, and returned it to his pocket;
+Pierre Nadaud resumed possession of the receipt paper.</p>
+
+<p>'You are not aware, then, friend Delessert,' said the notary, 'that
+creditors are no longer compelled to receive assignats in payment?'</p>
+
+<p>'How? What do you say?'</p>
+
+<p>'Pierre,' continued M. Destouches, 'read the extract from <i>Le bulletin
+des Lois</i>, published last week.' Pierre did so with a ringing
+emphasis, which would have rendered it intelligible to a child; and
+the unhappy debtor fully comprehended that his paper-money was
+comparatively worthless! It is needless to dwell upon the fury
+manifested by Delessert, the cool obduracy of the notary, or the
+cynical comments of the clerk. Enough to say, that M. Destouches
+departed without his money, after civilly intimating that legal
+proceedings would be taken forthwith. The son strove to soothe his
+father's passionate despair, but his words fell upon unheeding ears;
+and after several hours passed in alternate paroxysms of stormy rage
+and gloomy reverie, the elder Delessert hastily left the house, taking
+the direction of Strasbourg. Le Bossu watched his father's retreating
+figure from the door until it was lost in the clouds of blinding snow
+that was rapidly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[pg 389]</a></span> falling, and then sadly resumed some indoor
+employment. It was late when he retired to bed, and his father had not
+then returned. He would probably remain, the son thought, at
+Strasbourg for the night.</p>
+
+<p>The chill, lead-coloured dawn was faintly struggling on the horizon
+with the black, gloomy night, when Le Bossu rose. Ten minutes
+afterwards, his father strode hastily into the house, and threw
+himself, without a word, upon a seat. His eyes, the son observed, were
+blood-shot, either with rage or drink&mdash;perhaps both; and his entire
+aspect wild, haggard, and fierce. Le Bossu silently presented him with
+a measure of <i>vin ordinaire</i>. It was eagerly swallowed, though
+Delessert's hand shook so that he could scarcely hold the pewter
+flagon to his lips.</p>
+
+<p>'Something has happened,' said Le Bossu presently.</p>
+
+<p>'Morbleu!&mdash;yes. That is,' added the father, checking himself,
+'something <i>might</i> have happened, if&mdash;&mdash; Who's there?'</p>
+
+<p>'Only the wind shaking the door. What <i>might</i> have happened?'
+persisted the son.</p>
+
+<p>'I will tell you, Antoine. I set off for Strasbourg yesterday, to see
+Destouches once again, and entreat him to accept the assignats in
+part-payment at least. He was not at home. Margu&eacute;rite, the old
+servant, said he was gone to the cathedral, not long since reopened.
+Well, I found the usurer just coming out of the great western
+entrance, heathen as he is, looking as pious as a pilgrim. I accosted
+him, told my errand, begged, prayed, stormed! It was all to no
+purpose, except to attract the notice and comments of the passers-by.
+Destouches went his way, and I, with fury in my heart, betook myself
+to a wine-shop&mdash;Le Brun's. He would not even change an assignat to
+take for what I drank, which was not a little; and I therefore owe him
+for it. When the gendarmes cleared the house at last, I was nearly
+crazed with rage and drink. I must have been so, or I should never
+have gone to the Rue B&eacute;chard, forced myself once more into the
+notary's presence, and&mdash;and'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'And what?' quivered the young man, as his father abruptly stopped,
+startled as before into silence by a sudden rattling of the crazy
+door. 'And what?'</p>
+
+<p>'And abused him for a flinty-hearted scoundrel, as he is. He ordered
+me away, and threatened to call the guard. I was flinging out of the
+house, when Margu&eacute;rite twitched me by the sleeve, and I stepped aside
+into the kitchen. "You must not think," she said, "of going home on
+such a night as this." It was snowing furiously, and blowing a
+hurricane at the time. "There is a straw pallet," Margu&eacute;rite added,
+"where you can sleep, and nobody the wiser." I yielded. The good woman
+warmed some soup, and the storm not abating, I lay down to rest&mdash;to
+rest, do I say?' shouted Delessert, jumping madly to his feet, and
+pacing furiously to and fro&mdash;'the rest of devils! My blood was in a
+flame; and rage, hate, despair, blew the consuming fire by turns. I
+thought how I had been plundered by the mercenary ruffian sleeping
+securely, as he thought, within a dozen yards of the man he had
+ruined&mdash;sleeping securely just beyond the room containing the
+<i>secr&eacute;taire</i> in which the mortgage-deed of which I had been swindled
+was deposited'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, father!' gasped the son.</p>
+
+<p>'Be silent, boy, and you shall know all! It may be that I dreamed all
+this, for I think the creaking of a door, and a stealthy step on the
+stair, awoke me; but perhaps that, too, was part of the dream.
+However, I was at last wide awake, and I got up and looked out on the
+cold night. The storm had passed, and the moon had temporarily broken
+through the heavy clouds by which she was encompassed. Margu&eacute;rite had
+said I might let myself out, and I resolved to depart at once. I was
+doing so, when, looking round, I perceived that the notary's
+office-door was ajar. Instantly a demon whispered, that although the
+law was restored, it was still blind and deaf as ever&mdash;could not see
+or hear in that dark silence&mdash;and that I might easily baffle the
+cheating usurer after all. Swiftly and softly, I darted towards the
+half-opened door&mdash;entered. The notary's <i>secr&eacute;taire</i>, Antoine, was
+wide open! I hunted with shaking hands for the deed, but could not
+find it. There was money in the drawers, and I&mdash;I think I should have
+taken some&mdash;did perhaps, I hardly know how&mdash;when I heard, or thought I
+did, a rustling sound not far off. I gazed wildly round, and plainly
+saw in the notary's bedroom&mdash;the door of which, I had not before
+observed, was partly open&mdash;the shadow of a man's figure clearly traced
+by the faint moonlight on the floor. I ran out of the room, and out of
+the house, with the speed of a madman, and here&mdash;here I am!' This
+said, he threw himself into a seat, and covered his face with his
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>'That is a chink of money,' said Le Bossu, who had listened in dumb
+dismay to his father's concluding narrative. 'You had none, you said,
+when at the wine-shop.'</p>
+
+<p>'Money! Ah, it may be as I said&mdash;&mdash; Thunder of heaven!' cried the
+wretched man, again fiercely springing to his feet, 'I am lost!'</p>
+
+<p>'I fear so,' replied a commissaire de police, who had suddenly
+entered, accompanied by several gendarmes&mdash;'if it be true, as we
+suspect, that you are the assassin of the notary Destouches.'</p>
+
+<p>The assassin of the notary Destouches! Le Bossu heard but these words,
+and when he recovered consciousness, he found himself alone, save for
+the presence of a neighbour, who had been summoned to his assistance.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>proc&egrave;s verbal</i> stated, in addition to much of what has been
+already related, that the notary had been found dead in his bed, at a
+very early hour of the morning, by his clerk Pierre Nadaud, who slept
+in the house. The unfortunate man had been stifled, by a pillow it was
+thought. His <i>secr&eacute;taire</i> had been plundered of a very large sum,
+amongst which were Dutch gold ducats&mdash;purchased by Destouches only the
+day before&mdash;of the value of more than 6000 francs. Delessert's
+mortgage-deed had also disappeared, although other papers of a similar
+character had been left. Six crowns had been found on Delessert's
+person, one of which was clipped in a peculiar manner, and was sworn
+to by an <i>&eacute;picier</i> as that offered him by the notary the day previous
+to the murder, and refused by him. No other portion of the stolen
+property could be found, although the police exerted themselves to the
+utmost for that purpose.</p>
+
+<p>There was, however, quite sufficient evidence to convict Delessert of
+the crime, notwithstanding his persistent asseverations of innocence.
+His known hatred of Destouches, the threats he had uttered concerning
+him, his conduct in front of the cathedral, Margu&eacute;rite's evidence, and
+the finding the crown in his pocket, left no doubt of his guilt, and
+he was condemned to suffer death by the guillotine. He appealed of
+course, but that, everybody felt, could only prolong his life for a
+short time, not save it.</p>
+
+<p>There was one person, the convict's son, who did not for a moment
+believe that his father was the assassin of Destouches. He was
+satisfied in his own mind, that the real criminal was he whose step
+Delessert had dreamed he heard upon the stair, who had opened the
+office-door, and whose shadow fell across the bedroom floor; and his
+eager, unresting thoughts were bent upon bringing this conviction home
+to others. After awhile, light, though as yet dim and uncertain, broke
+in upon his filial task.</p>
+
+<p>About ten days after the conviction of Delessert, Pierre Nadaud called
+upon M. Huguet, the procureur-g&eacute;n&eacute;ral of Strasbourg. He had a serious
+complaint to make of Delessert, <i>fils</i>. The young man, chiefly, he
+supposed, because he had given evidence against his father, appeared
+to be nourishing a monomaniacal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[pg 390]</a></span> hatred against him, Pierre Nadaud.
+'Wherever I go,' said the irritated complainant, 'at whatever hour,
+early in the morning and late at night, he dogs my steps. I can in no
+manner escape him, and I verily believe those fierce, malevolent eyes
+of his are never closed. I really fear he is meditating some violent
+act. He should, I respectfully submit, be restrained&mdash;placed in a
+<i>maison de sant&eacute;</i>, for his intellects are certainly unsettled; or
+otherwise prevented from accomplishing the mischief I am sure he
+contemplates.'</p>
+
+<p>M. Huguet listened attentively to this statement, reflected for a few
+moments, said inquiry should be made in the matter, and civilly
+dismissed the complainant.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening of the same day, Le Bossu was brought before M. Huguet.
+He replied to that gentleman's questioning by the avowal, that he
+believed Nadaud had murdered M. Destouches. 'I believe also,' added
+the young man, 'that I have at last hit upon a clue that will lead to
+his conviction.'</p>
+
+<p>'Indeed! Perhaps you will impart it to me?'</p>
+
+<p>'Willingly. The property in gold and precious gems carried off has not
+yet been traced. I have discovered its hiding-place.'</p>
+
+<p>'Say you so? That is extremely fortunate.'</p>
+
+<p>'You know, sir, that beyond the Rue des Vignes there are three houses
+standing alone, which were gutted by fire some time since, and are now
+only temporarily boarded up. That street is entirely out of Nadaud's
+way, and yet he passes and repasses there five or six times a day.
+When he did not know that I was watching him, he used to gaze
+curiously at those houses, as if to notice if they were being
+disturbed for any purpose. Lately, if he suspects I am at hand, he
+keeps his face determinedly <i>away</i> from them, but still seems to have
+an unconquerable hankering after the spot. This very morning, there
+was a cry raised close to the ruins, that a child had been run over by
+a cart. Nadaud was passing: he knew I was close by, and violently
+checking himself, as I could see, kept his eyes fixedly <i>averted</i> from
+the place, which I have no longer any doubt contains the stolen
+treasure.'</p>
+
+<p>'You are a shrewd lad,' said M. Huguet, after a thoughtful pause. 'An
+examination shall at all events take place at nightfall. You, in the
+meantime, remain here under surveillance.'</p>
+
+<p>Between eleven and twelve o'clock, Le Bossu was again brought into M.
+Huguet's presence. The commissary who arrested his father was also
+there. 'You have made a surprising guess, if it <i>be</i> a guess,' said
+the procureur. 'The missing property has been found under a
+hearth-stone of the centre house.' Le Bossu raised his hands, and
+uttered a cry of delight. 'One moment,' continued M. Huguet. 'How do
+we know this is not a trick concocted by you and your father to
+mislead justice?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have thought of that,' replied Le Bossu calmly. 'Let it be given
+out that I am under restraint, in compliance with Nadaud's request;
+then have some scaffolding placed to-morrow against the houses, as if
+preparatory to their being pulled down, and you will see the result,
+if a quiet watch is kept during the night.' The procureur and
+commissary exchanged glances, and Le Bossu was removed from the room.</p>
+
+<p>It was verging upon three o'clock in the morning, when the watchers
+heard some one very quietly remove a portion of the back-boarding of
+the centre house. Presently, a closely-muffled figure, with a
+dark-lantern and a bag in his hand, crept through the opening, and
+made direct for the hearth-stone; lifted it, turned on his light
+slowly, gathered up the treasure, crammed it into his bag, and
+murmured with an exulting chuckle as he reclosed the lantern and stood
+upright: 'Safe&mdash;safe, at last!' At the instant, the light of half a
+dozen lanterns flashed upon the miserable wretch, revealing the stern
+faces of as many gendarmes. 'Quite safe, M. Pierre Nadaud!' echoed
+their leader. 'Of that you may be assured.' He was unheard: the
+detected culprit had fainted.</p>
+
+<p>There is little to add. Nadaud perished by the guillotine, and
+Delessert was, after a time, liberated. Whether or not he thought his
+ill-gotten property had brought a curse with it, I cannot say; but, at
+all events, he abandoned it to the notary's heirs, and set off with Le
+Bossu for Paris, where, I believe, the sign of 'Delessert et Fils,
+Ferblantiers,' still flourishes over the front of a respectably
+furnished shop.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="PHILOSOPHY_OF_THE_SHEARS" id="PHILOSOPHY_OF_THE_SHEARS"></a>PHILOSOPHY OF THE SHEARS.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> vestiarian profession has always been ill-treated by the world.
+Men have owed much, and in more senses than one, to their tailors, and
+have been accustomed to pay their debt in sneers and railleries&mdash;often
+in nothing else. The stage character of the tailor is stereotyped from
+generation to generation; his goose is a perennial pun; and his
+habitual melancholy is derived to this day from the flatulent diet on
+which he <i>will</i> persist in living&mdash;cabbage. He is effeminate,
+cowardly, dishonest&mdash;a mere fraction of a man both in soul and body.
+He is represented by the thinnest fellow in the company; his starved
+person and frightened look are the unfailing signals for a laugh; and
+he is never spoken to but in a gibe at his trade:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">'Thou liest, thou thread,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou thimble,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Away thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or I shall so bemete thee with thy yard,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As thou shalt think on prating while thou liv'st!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>All this is not a very favourable specimen of the way in which the
+stage holds the mirror up to nature. We may suppose that a certain
+character of effeminacy attached to a tailor in that olden time when
+he was the fashioner for women as well as men; but now that he has no
+professional dealings with the fair sex but when they assume masculine
+'habits,' it is unreasonable to continue the stigma. In like manner,
+when the cloth belonged to the customer, it was allowable enough to
+suspect him of a little amiable weakness for cabbage; but now that he
+is himself the clothier, the joke is pointless and absurd. Tailors,
+however, can afford to laugh, as well as other people, at their
+conventional double&mdash;or rather <i>ninth</i>, for at least in our own day
+they have wrought very hard to elevate their calling into a science.
+The period of lace and frippery of all kinds has passed away, and this
+is the era of simple form, in which sartorial genius has only cloth to
+work upon as severely plain as the statuary's marble. It is true, we
+ourselves do not understand the 'anatomical principles' on which the
+more philosophical of the craft proceed, nor does our scholarship
+carry us quite the length of their Greek (?) terminology; but we
+acknowledge the result in their workmanship, although we cannot trace
+the steps by which it is brought about.</p>
+
+<p>Very different is the plan now from what it was in the days of Shemus
+nan Snachad, James of the Needle, hereditary tailor to Vich Ian Vohr,
+when men were measured as classes rather than as individuals, and when
+a cutter had only to glance at the customer to ascertain to which
+category he belonged.</p>
+
+<p>'You know the measure of a well-made man? Two double nails to the
+small of the leg'&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Eleven from haunch to heel, seven round the waist. I give your honour
+leave to hang Shemus, if there's a pair of shears in the Highlands
+that has a baulder sneck than her ain at the <i>camadh an truais</i> (shape
+of the trews).' And so the thing was done, without tape or figures,
+without a word of Greek or anatomy! However, the anatomical tailors we
+shall not meddle with for the present, because we do not understand
+their science; nor with the Greek tailors, because we fear to take
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[pg 391]</a></span> liberty; nor with the Hebrew tailors, because we are only a
+Gentile ourselves. Our object is to draw attention to the doings of an
+individual who interferes with no science but his own, and who
+patronises exclusively his mother-tongue, which is not Hebrew, but
+broad Scotch.</p>
+
+<p>This individual is Mr Macdonald, a near neighbour of ours, who, about
+eighteen years ago, listened with curiosity, but not with dread, to
+the clamorous pretensions of the craft to which he belonged. At that
+time, every man had a 'new principle' of his own for the sneck of the
+shears, some theoretical mode of cutting, which was to make the coat
+fit like the skin. Our neighbour, who had a practical and mechanical,
+rather than a speculative head, resolved not to be behind in the race
+of competition, but to proceed in a different way. 'It is all very
+well,' thought he, 'to talk of principles and theories; but with the
+requisite apparatus, the human figure may be measured as accurately as
+a block of stone;' and accordingly he set to work, not to invent a
+theory, but to construct a machine. This machine, though exhibited
+some time ago in the School of Arts, and received with great favour,
+we happened not to hear of till a few days ago; but a visit to our
+neighbour puts it now in our power to report that his apparatus does
+much more, as we shall presently explain, than measure a customer.</p>
+
+<p>The machine consists of three perpendicular pieces of wood, the centre
+one between six and seven feet high, with a plinth for the measuree to
+stand upon. The wood is marked from top to bottom with inches and
+parts of an inch, and is furnished with slides, fitting closely, but
+movable at the pleasure of the operator. When the customer places
+himself upon this machine, standing at his full height, he has much
+the appearance of a man suffering the punishment of crucifixion, only
+his arms, instead of being extended, hang motionless by his sides,
+with the fingers pointed. A slide is now run up between the victim's
+legs, to give the measurement of what is technically called the fork;
+while others mark in like manner upon the inch scale, the position of
+the knees, hips, tips of the fingers, shoulder, neck, head, &amp;c. When
+the operator is satisfied that he has thus obtained the accurate
+admeasurement of the figure, in its natural position when standing
+erect, the gentleman steps from the machine, and turning round, sees
+an exact diagram, in wood, of his own proportions.</p>
+
+<p>This instrument, it will be seen, is very well adapted for the object
+for which it was intended; but it would, nevertheless, have escaped
+our inspection but for the other purposes of observation to which it
+has been applied by the ingenious inventor. He has measured in all
+about 5000 adults, registering in a book the measurement of each, with
+the names written by themselves. Among the autographs, we find that of
+Sir David Wilkie in the neighbourhood of the names of half a dozen
+American Indians. Here would be a new branch of inquiry for those who
+are addicted to the study of character through the handwriting. With
+such abundant materials before them, they would doubtless be able to
+determine the height and general proportions of their unseen
+correspondents. In the article of height, many men correspond to the
+minutest portion of an inch; but in the other proportions of the
+figure, it would seem that no two human beings are alike. So great is
+the disparity in persons of the same height, that the trunk of an
+individual of five feet and a half, is occasionally found to be as
+long as that of a man of six feet. In fact, Mr Macdonald, in an early
+period of his measurements, was so confounded by the difference in the
+proportions, that he at once came to the conclusion, that our
+population is made up of mixed tribes of mankind.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of all this diversity, the question was, What were the
+proper proportions? or, in other words, What proportions constituted a
+handsome figure? and here our vestiarian philosopher was for a long
+time at a loss. At length, however, he took 300 measurements, without
+selection, including the length of the trunk, of the head and neck,
+and of the fork, and adding them all together, struck the average:
+from which it resulted, that the average head and neck gives 10&frac12;
+inches; trunk, 25 inches; and fork, 32 inches; making the whole
+figure, from the crown of the head to the sole of the <i>shoe</i>, 5 feet
+7&frac12; inches. The word we have italicised is the drawback: a tailor
+measures with the shoes on; and Mr Macdonald can only approximate to
+the truth when he deducts half an inch for the sole, and declares the
+average height of our population to be five feet seven inches. On this
+basis, however, he constructed a scale of beauty applying to all
+heights: If a man of 5 feet 7 inches give 10&frac12; inches for head and
+neck, 25 for trunk, and 31&frac12; for fork, what should another give, of
+6 feet, or any other height? The approximation of a man's actual
+measurement to this rule of three determines his pretensions in the
+way of symmetry; and the inventor of the <i>shibboleth</i> has found it so
+far to answer, that a figure coming near the rule invariably pleases
+the eye, and gives the assurance of a handsome man. Independently of
+this advantage, a man of such proportions has great strength, and is
+able to withstand the fatigue of violent exercise for a longer period
+than one less symmetrically formed.</p>
+
+<p>The term 'adult,' however, used by Mr Macdonald to designate those he
+measured, is not satisfactory&mdash;it does not inform us that the persons
+measured had reached their full development; for men continue to grow,
+as has been shewn by M. Quetelet, even after twenty-five. The height
+given, notwithstanding&mdash;five feet seven inches&mdash;in all probability
+approximates pretty closely to the true average; and the very
+different result shewn in Professor Forbes's measurements in the
+University must be set pretty nearly out of the question. The number
+of Scotsmen measured by the professor was 523 in all; but these were
+of eleven different ages, from fifteen to twenty-five, all averaged
+separately; and supposing the number of each age to have been alike,
+this would give less than fifty of the age of twenty-five&mdash;the average
+height of whom was 69.3 inches. But independently of the smallness of
+the number, the professor's customers were volunteers, and it is not
+to be supposed that under-sized persons would put themselves forward
+on such an occasion. It may be added, that even the height of the
+boot-heels of young collegians of twenty-five would tend to falsify
+the average.</p>
+
+<p>Men do not only differ in their proportions from other men, but from
+themselves. The arms and legs may be paired, but they are not matched,
+and in every respect one side of the body is different from the other:
+the eyes are not set straight across the face, neither is the mouth;
+the nose is inclined to one side; the ears are of different sizes, and
+one is nearer the crown of the head than the other; there are not two
+fingers, nor two nails on the fingers, alike, and the same
+disagreement runs through the whole figure. This, however, is so
+common an observation, that we should not have thought it necessary to
+mention it, but for the bearing the facts given by our statist have
+upon the common theory by which the irregularity is sought to be
+accounted for. This declares, that use is the cause of the greater
+growth of one limb, &amp;c.: that the right hand, for instance, is larger
+than the left, because it is in more active service. It appears,
+however, that although the left limbs are in general smaller, this is
+not, as it is usually supposed, invariably the case; while the ears
+and eyes, that are used indiscriminately, present the same relative
+difference of size. We do not, therefore, make our own proportions in
+this respect: we come into the world with them, and our occupations
+merely exaggerate a natural defect. An idle man will have one arm half
+an inch longer than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[pg 392]</a></span> the other; while a woman, who has been accustomed
+in early years to carry a child, exhibits a difference amounting
+sometimes to an inch and a half.</p>
+
+<p>When these facts were first mentioned to us, we looked with some
+curiosity at the machine from which we had just stepped out; and there
+we found an illustration of them not highly flattering to our
+self-esteem. Knees, hips, shoulders, ears, all were so ill-assorted,
+that it seemed as if Nature had been actually trying her 'prentice
+hand upon our peculiar self. It was in vain to bethink ourselves of
+the physical eccentricities of the distinguished men of other times:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Ammon's great son one shoulder had too high;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Such Ovid's nose, and, sir, you have an eye!'&mdash;<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>we might have gone through tho whole inventory of the figure, and
+concluded the quotation:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Go on, obliging creatures, make me see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All that disgraced my betters met in me.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Say, for my comfort, languishing in bed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Just so immortal Maro held his head;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And when I die, be sure you let me know&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Great Homer died three thousand years ago!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>What we had seen, however, was only the length of the figure; but we
+were informed by our philosophic tailor, that the limbs, &amp;c., are
+likewise irregularly placed as regards breadth. The trunk of the body
+is of various shapes, which he distinguishes as the oval, the
+circular, and the flat. The first has the arms placed in the middle;
+in the second, they are more towards the back, and relatively long;
+and in the third, more towards the front, and relatively short. The
+length of the forearm should be the length of the lower part of the
+leg, and if either longer or shorter, the difference appears in the
+walk. If shorter, the walk is a kind of waddle, the elbows inclining
+outwards; if longer, it is distinguished by a swinging motion, as if
+the person carried weights in his hands. If the circumference of the
+body, measured with an inch-tape just below the shoulders, be smaller
+than the circumference of the hips, the person will rock in walking,
+and plant his feet heavily upon the ground. If greater, so that the
+chief weight is above the limbs, the step will be light, as is
+familiarly seen in corpulent men, whose delicate mode of walking we
+witness with ever-recurring surprise. If the shoulders slope
+downwards, with the spine bending inwards, the individual 'cannot
+throw a stone, or handle firearms with dexterity.' When inclined
+forwards, and well relieved from the body, he may be a proficient in
+these exercises. A peculiarity in walking is given by the size of the
+head and neck being out of proportion; and an instance is mentioned of
+a man being discharged from the army, on account of his conformation
+rendering it impossible for him to keep his head steady.</p>
+
+<p>All these are curious and suggestive particulars. It is customary to
+refer awkwardness of manner to bad habit, and such diseases as
+consumption either to imprudence or hereditary taint; but it may be
+doubted whether taints are not mainly the result of original
+conformation. Habit and imprudence may doubtless aggravate the evil,
+just as exercise may enlarge a member of the body; but it is nature
+which sows the seeds of decay in her own productions. Physically, the
+child is a copy of the parents, even to their peculiarities of gait;
+and these peculiarities would seem to depend on the correct or
+incorrect balance of the members of the body. When the conformation is
+of a kind which interferes with the play of the lungs, the same
+transmission of course takes place, and consumption may be the fatal
+inheritance. If the arrangement of the parts were perfect, it may be
+doubted&mdash;for symmetry is the basis of health as well as
+beauty&mdash;whether we should ever hear of such a thing as 'taint in the
+blood.' If this theory were to gain ground, it would simplify much the
+practice of medicine; for the disease would stand in visible and
+tangible presence before the eyes, and the employment of inventions,
+to counteract and finally conquer the eccentricities of nature, would
+be governed by science, and thus relieved from the suspicion of
+quackery, which at present more or less attaches to it. To pursue
+these speculations, however, would lead us too far; and before
+concluding, we must find room for a few more of our practical
+philosopher's observations.</p>
+
+<p>All good mechanics, it seems, have large hands and thick and short
+fingers; which is pretty nearly the conclusion arrived at by
+D'Arpentigny in <i>La Chirognomonie</i>, although the captain adds, that
+the hands must be <i>en spatule</i>&mdash;that is to say, with the end of the
+fingers enlarged in the form of a spatula. The hand is generally the
+same breadth as the foot: a fact recognised by the country people,
+who, when buying their shoes at fairs&mdash;which were the usual
+mart&mdash;might have been seen thrusting in their hand to try the breadth,
+when they had ascertained that the length was suitable. A short foot
+gives a mincing walk, while a long one requires the person to bring
+his body aplomb with the foot before taking the step, which thus
+resembles a stride. Good dancers have the limbs short as compared with
+the body, which has thus the necessary power over them; but if too
+short, there is a deficiency of dexterity in the management of the
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>In conclusion, it will be seen, we think, that there is much to be
+learned even in the business of the shears. There is no trade whatever
+which will not afford materials for thought to an intelligent man, and
+thus enlarge the mind and elevate the character.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_NIGHTINGALE" id="THE_NIGHTINGALE"></a>THE NIGHTINGALE:</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<h3>A MUSICAL QUESTION.</h3>
+
+<p>Is the song of the nightingale mirthful or melancholy? is a question
+that has been discussed so often, that anything new on the subject
+might be considered superfluous, were it not that the very fact of the
+discussion is in itself a curiosity worthy of attention. The note in
+dispute was heard with equal distinctness by Homer and Wordsworth; and
+indeed there are few poets of any age or country who have not, at one
+time or other in their lives, had the testimony of their own ears as
+to its character. Whence, then, this difference of opinion? Listen to
+Thomson's unqualified assertion, given with the seriousness of an
+affidavit:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;'all abandoned to despair, she sings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her sorrows through the night, and on the bough<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sole sitting still at every dying fall<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Takes up again her lamentable strain<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of winding wo; till wide around the woods<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sigh to her song and with her wail resound.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Then Homer in the <i>Odyssey</i>, through Pope's paraphrase:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Sad Philomel, in bowery shades unseen,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To vernal airs attunes her varied strains.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Virgil, as rendered by Dryden:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;'she supplies the night with mournful strains<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And melancholy music fills the plains.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Milton, too:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;'Philomel will deign a song<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In her sweetest, saddest plight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Smoothing the rugged brow of night,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gently o'er the accustom'd oak:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sweet bird, that shun'st the noise of folly&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Most musical, most melancholy.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And again in <i>Comus</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;'the love-lorn nightingale<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And Shakspeare makes his poor banished Valentine congratulate himself,
+that in the forest he can</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;&mdash;'to the nightingale's complaining note<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tune his distresses and record his wo.<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[pg 393]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>We might go on much longer in this strain. We might give, likewise,
+the mythological cause assigned for the imputed melancholy, and add
+that some, not content with this, represent the bird as leaning its
+breast against a thorn&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'To aggravate the inward grief,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which makes its music so forlorn.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But we would rather pause to admit candidly, that two of the above
+witnesses might be challenged&mdash;Virgil and Thomson; who indeed should
+be counted but as one, for the author of the <i>Seasons</i>, in the lines
+quoted, has translated, though not so closely as Dryden, from the
+<i>Georgics</i> of the Latin poet. If you will read the passage&mdash;it matters
+not whether in Virgil, Dryden, or Thomson&mdash;you will perceive that it
+is a special occurrence that is spoken of: no statement whatever is
+made as to the character of the nightingale's ordinary song. Thomson,
+in the course of his humane and touching protest against the barbarous
+art: 'through which birds are</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">&mdash;&mdash; by tyrant man<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Inhuman caught, and in the narrow cage<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From liberty confined, and boundless air,'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>represents the nightingale's misery when thus bereaved. This portion
+of the lines shall stand entire; none, we are sure, would wish us
+further to mangle the passage:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'But chief, let not the nightingale lament<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her ruined care, too delicately framed<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To brook the harsh confinement of the cage.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oft, when returning with her loaded bill,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The astonished mother finds a vacant nest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By the rude hands of unrelenting clowns<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Robbed: to the ground the vain provision falls.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her pinions ruffle, and low drooping, scarce<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where all abandoned to despair, she sings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her sorrows through the night.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It will at once be seen that this description relates to an
+exceptional condition, and we have yet to seek what character Virgil
+and Thomson would give to the ordinary song of this paradoxical
+musician. For the Roman, we do not know that any passage exists in his
+works which can help us to a conclusion; but Thomson's testimony must
+undoubtedly be ranged on the contra side, as appears from the
+following lines in his <i>Agamemnon</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Ah, far unlike the nightingale! she sings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unceasing through the balmy nights of May&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She sings from love and joy.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In the passage from his Spring, which we have given, we cannot but
+fancy that the poet endeavoured&mdash;if we may so say&mdash;to effect a
+compromise between the opinion which, through the influence of
+classical poetry, generally prevailed as to the character of the
+bird's music, and the opposing convictions which his own senses had
+forced upon him. It was desirable to describe its strains according to
+the popular fancy, and therefore he borrowed from Virgil such a
+description of the bird's sorrow as under the assumed circumstances
+did no violence to his own judgment.</p>
+
+<p>Thomson is not the only poet in whom we fancy we detect some such
+attempt at compromise. It appears to us that Villega, the Anacreon of
+Spain, in the following little poem, which we give in Mr Wiffen's
+translation, adopted, with a similar object, this idea of the
+nightingale robbed of her young. The truthful and somewhat minute
+description in the song, however, represents the bird's ordinary
+performance, and but ill suits the circumstances under which it is
+supposed to be uttered. The failure on the part of the poet may be
+ascribed to his secret conviction, that the nightingale's was a
+cheerful melody; and his labouring against that conviction to the
+necessity he felt himself under of following his classical masters.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'I have seen a nightingale<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On a sprig of thyme bewail,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Seeing the dear nest that was<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hers alone, borne off, alas!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By a labourer: I heard,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For this outrage, the poor bird<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Say a thousand mournful things<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the wind, which on its wings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From her to the guardian sky<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bore her melancholy cry&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bore her tender tears. She spake<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As if her fond heart would break.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One while in a sad, sweet note,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gurgled from her straining throat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She enforced her piteous tale,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Mournful prayer and plaintive wail;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">One while with the shrill dispute,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Quite o'er-wearied, she was mute;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then afresh, for her dear brood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her harmonious shrieks renewed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now she winged it round and round,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now she skimmed along the ground;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now from bough to bough in haste<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The delighted robber chased;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And alighting in his path,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Seemed to say, 'twixt grief and wrath:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Give me back, fierce rustic rude!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Give me back my pretty brood!"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And I saw the rustic still<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Answer: "That I never will!"'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Independently of the untruthfulness of which a naturalist would
+complain in this description&mdash;for no birds under such circumstances of
+distress sing, but merely repeat each its own peculiar piercing cry,
+never at any other time heard, and which cannot be mistaken&mdash;there is
+a palpable effort of ingenuity discoverable in the representation,
+which seems to tell us that the writer was making up a story, rather
+than uttering his own belief. It may even be doubted whether Virgil
+himself, who seems first to have invented this fancy, and behind whose
+broad mantle later poets have sheltered themselves, may not have felt
+an inclination to depart from the Greek opinion of Philomel's ditty.
+Why otherwise did he not simply and at once&mdash;as his masters Homer and
+Theocritus had done before him&mdash;describe her notes as mournful,
+instead of casting about for some cause that might excuse him for
+giving them that character? But however this may be, we cannot conceal
+from ourselves, that some stubborn passages still remain in the poets,
+proclaiming that there are men, and those among the greatest and most
+tasteful, to whose fancy the voice of the nightingale has sounded full
+of wo.</p>
+
+<p>Homer must be counted of this number&mdash;unless we think with Fox, in the
+preface to his <i>History of Lord Holland</i>, that it is only as to her
+wakefulness Penelope is compared to the night singing-bird; and so
+must Milton (for although Coleridge has satisfactorily dealt with the
+passage in <i>Il Penseroso</i>, the line of the Lady's song in <i>Comus</i>
+remains still); and Shakspeare himself, who could scarcely be
+influenced, as Milton might very possibly be, by the opinions of the
+Grecian poets.</p>
+
+<p>It is a strange contest we are here considering. Which of us would for
+a moment doubt our ability to decide in a dispute as to the liveliness
+or sadness of any given melody?&mdash;yet here we see the greatest poets,
+the favoured children of nature, utterly at variance on a point
+concerning which we should have expected to find even the most
+ordinary minds able to decide.</p>
+
+<p>The question becomes more involved from the fact, that some writers
+take <i>both</i> sides; for instance, Chiobrera in <i>Aleippo</i>: the
+nightingale</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Unwearied still reiterates her lays,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jocund <i>or</i> sad, delightful to the ear;'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>and Hartley Coleridge, in the following beautiful song,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[pg 394]</a></span> which we
+transcribe the more readily because it has not long been published,
+and may be new to many of our readers:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">''Tis sweet to hear the merry lark,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That bids a blithe good-morrow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But sweeter to hark in the twinkling dark<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To the soothing song of sorrow.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, nightingale! what doth she ail?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And is she <i>sad</i> or <i>jolly</i>?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For ne'er on earth was sound of mirth<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">So like to melancholy.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The merry lark he soars on high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">No worldly thought o'ertakes him;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He sings aloud to the clear blue sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And the daylight that awakes him.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As sweet a lay, as loud, as gay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The nightingale is trilling;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With feeling bliss, no less than his<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Her little heart is thrilling.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Yet ever and anon a sigh<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Peers through her lavish mirth;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For the lark's bold song is of the sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And hers is of the earth.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By night and day she tunes her lay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To drive away all sorrow;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For bliss, alas! to-night may pass,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And wo may come to-morrow.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>We must now cite one or two of the many passages which represent the
+nightingale's as an <i>absolutely</i> cheerful song. We fear we cannot
+insist so much as Fox is disposed to do, on the evidence of Chaucer,
+who continually styles the nightingale's a merry note, because it is
+evident that in <i>his</i> day the word had a somewhat different meaning
+from that which it at present conveys. For example, the poet calls the
+organ 'merry.' Nor dare we lay stress upon the instance which Cary
+cites&mdash;in a note to his <i>Purgatory</i>&mdash;of a 'neglected poet,' Vallans,
+who in his <i>Tale of Two Swannes</i> ranks the 'merrie nightingale among
+the cheerful birds,' because we do not know whether, even at the time
+when Vallans wrote&mdash;the book was published, it seems, in
+1590&mdash;'merrie' had come to bear its present signification.</p>
+
+<p>We shall, however, find a witness among the writers of his period in
+Gawain Douglas, who died Bishop of Dunkeld in 1522. He, in a prologue
+to one of his <i>&AElig;neids</i>, applies not only the word 'merry' to our bird,
+but one of less questionable signification&mdash;'mirthful.' If we come
+down to more modern times, we shall find Wordsworth, who seems above
+all others, except Burns, to have had a catholic ear for the whole
+multitude of natural sounds, not only refusing the character of
+melancholy to the nightingale's song, but placing it below the
+stock-dove's, because it is deficient in the pensiveness and
+seriousness which mark the note of the latter.</p>
+
+<p>However, of all testimonies which can be brought on this side of the
+question, the strongest is that of Coleridge. No other has so
+accurately described the song itself; moreover, he alone has entered
+the lists avowedly as an antagonist, and confessing in so many words
+to the existence of an opinion opposite to his own.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'And hark! the nightingale begins its song,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Most musical, most melancholy" bird.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A melancholy bird? oh, idle thought!<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In nature there is nothing melancholy.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But some night-wandering man, whose heart was pierced<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With the resemblance of a grievous wrong,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or slow distemper, or neglected love,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">First named these notes a melancholy strain:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And youths and maidens most poetical,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who lose the deepening twilight of the spring<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In ball-rooms and hot theatres, they still,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Full of meek sympathy, must heave their sighs<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O'er Philomela's pity-pleading strains.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My friend, and thou, our sister! we have learnt<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A different love: we may not thus profane<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nature's sweet voices, always full of love<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And joyance! 'Tis the <i>merry</i> nightingale<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That crowds and hurries and precipitates<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With fast-thick warble his delicious notes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As he were fearful that an April night<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Would be too short for him to utter forth<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His love-chant and disburden his full soul<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of all its music!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Little now remains to be said. We have laid before the reader
+specimens of the two contending opinions, as well as of that which is
+set up as a golden mean between them; and he has but to put down our
+pages, and to walk forth&mdash;provided he does not live too far north, or
+in some smoke-poisoned town&mdash;to judge for himself as to the true
+character of the strains. Small risk, we think, would there be in
+pronouncing on which side his verdict would be given! Well do we
+remember the night when we first heard this sweet bird: how we
+listened and refused to believe&mdash;for we were young, and our idea had
+of course been that his song was a melancholy one&mdash;that those madly
+hilarious sounds could come from the mournful nightingale. Wordsworth
+attempts thus to account for the delusion under which the older poets
+laboured on this subject:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Fancy, who leads the pastimes of the glad,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Full oft is pleased a wayward dart to throw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sending sad shadows after things not sad,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Peopling the harmless fields with sighs of wo.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beneath her sway, a simple forest cry<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Becomes an echo of man's misery.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What wonder? at her bidding ancient lays<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Steeped in dire grief the voice of Philomel,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that blithe messenger of summer days,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The swallow, twittered, subject to like spell.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is curious that the people who first fixed the stigma of melancholy
+upon our bird&mdash;the Greeks, or at least the Athenians, and it is of
+them we speak&mdash;were perhaps the very gayest people that ever danced
+upon the earth&mdash;absolute Frenchmen. The very sprightliness of their
+temper, however, by the universally prevailing law of contrast, may
+have induced in them a fondness for sad and doleful legends; and we
+confess, for our own part, that while we from our hearts admire the
+poetical beauty and elegance of their various fables, we do not a
+little disrelish the constant vein of melancholy which pervades them
+all. Not the least sad of their fictions is that which relates to the
+nightingale; a story that has found its way&mdash;and even more universally
+the opinion of the bird's music which it implied&mdash;amongst all the
+nations whom Greece has instructed and civilised.</p>
+
+<p>But we have yet another reply to the question, 'Why do most people
+call the nightingale's a melancholy song?' It is heard by night,
+'whilst our spirits are attentive,' and the solemn gloom of the hour
+influences the judgment of the ear; for another false impression,
+which like the monster Error of Spenser, has bred a thousand young
+ones as ill-favoured as herself, ascribes melancholy to night. There
+is no good reason why we should think thus of the night, still less
+that the impression should influence our judgment in other matters;
+and we owe no small thanks to those who have endeavoured to reclaim to
+their proper uses these misdirected associations, and to teach, that</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'In nature there is nothing melancholy;'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>but on the contrary,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'Healing her wandering and distempered child,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She pours around her softest influences,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[pg 395]</a></span><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her sunny hues, fair forms, and breathing sweets,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her melodies of woods, and winds, and waters,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till he relent, and can no more endure<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To be a jarring and a dissonant thing<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Amid the general dance and harmony;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But, bursting into tears, wins back his way,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His angry spirit healed and harmonised<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By the benignant touch of love and beauty.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Note by Coleridge.</i>&mdash;'The passage in Milton possesses an
+excellence far superior to that of mere description. It is spoken in
+the character of the Melancholy Man, and has, therefore, a dramatic
+propriety. The author makes this remark, to rescue himself from the
+charge of having alluded with levity to a line of Milton's.'</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_TEA-COUNTRIES_OF_CHINA" id="THE_TEA-COUNTRIES_OF_CHINA"></a>THE TEA-COUNTRIES OF CHINA.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">About</span> four years ago, Mr Fortune, author of <i>Three Years' Wanderings
+in the Northern Provinces of China</i>, was deputed by the East India
+Company to proceed to China for the purpose of obtaining the finest
+varieties of the tea-plant, as well as native manufacturers and
+implements, for the government tea-plantations in the Himalaya. Being
+acquainted with the Chinese language, and adopting the Chinese
+costume, he penetrated into districts unvisited before by
+Europeans&mdash;excepting, perhaps, the Catholic missionaries&mdash;exciting no
+further curiosity as to his person or pedigree, than what was due to a
+stranger from one of the provinces beyond the great wall. His
+principal journeys were to Sung-lo, the great green-tea district, and
+to the Bohea Mountains, the great black-tea district; besides a flying
+visit to Kingtang, or Silver Island, in the Chusan archipelago. The
+narrative, which he has since published,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> manifests a good faculty
+for observation; but travelling as privately as possible, he saw
+little but the exterior aspects of the country, the appearance of
+which he describes very graphically. As a botanist, he had a keen eye
+for everything which promised to enlarge our knowledge of the Chinese
+flora, and discovered many useful and ornamental trees and shrubs,
+some of which, such as the funereal cypress, will one day produce a
+striking and beautiful effect in our English landscape, and in our
+cemeteries. Of social and political information relative to the
+Celestial Empire, the book is quite barren; and we do not know that
+there is anything in it which will be so acceptable to the reader, as
+fresh and reliable information about his favourite beverage. To this,
+therefore, our attention will be confined.</p>
+
+<p>The plant in cultivation about Canton, from which the Canton teas are
+made, is known to botanists as the <i>Thea bohea</i>; while the more
+northern variety, found in the green-tea country, has been called
+<i>Thea viridis</i>. The first appears to have been named upon the
+supposition, that all the black teas of the Bohea Mountains were
+obtained from this species; and the second was called <i>viridis</i>,
+because it furnished the green teas of commerce. These names seem to
+have misled the public; and hence many persons, until a few years ago,
+firmly believed that black tea could be made only from <i>Thea bohea</i>,
+and green tea only from <i>Thea viridis</i>. In his <i>Wanderings in China</i>,
+published in 1846, Mr Fortune had stated that both teas could be made
+from either plant, and that the difference in their appearance
+depended upon manipulation, and upon that only. But the objection was
+made, that although he had been in many of the tea-districts near the
+coast, he had not seen those greater ones inland which furnish the
+teas of commerce. Since that time, however, he has visited them,
+without seeing reason to alter his statements. The two kinds of tea,
+indeed, are rarely made in the same district; but this is a matter of
+convenience. Districts which formerly were famous for black teas, now
+produce nothing but green. At Canton, green and black teas are made
+from the <i>Thea bohea</i> at the pleasure of the manufacturer, and
+according to demand. When the plants arrive from the farms fresh and
+cool, they dry of a bright-green colour; but if they are delayed in
+their transit, or remain in a confined state for too long a period,
+they become heated, from a species of spontaneous fermentation; and
+when loosened and spread open, emit vapours, and are sensibly warm to
+the hand. When such plants are dried, the whole of the green colour is
+found to have been destroyed, and a red-brown, and sometimes a
+blackish-brown result is obtained. 'I had also noticed,' says Mr
+Warrington, in a paper read by him before the Chemical Society, 'that
+a clear infusion of such leaves, evaporated carefully to dryness, was
+not all undissolved by water, but left a quantity of brown oxidised
+extractive matter, to which the denomination <i>apothem</i> has been
+applied by some chemists; a similar result is obtained by the
+evaporation of an infusion of black tea. The same action takes place
+by the exposure of the infusions of many vegetable substances to the
+oxidising influence of the atmosphere; they become darkened on the
+surface, and this gradually spreads through the solution, and on
+evaporation, the same oxidised extractive matter will remain insoluble
+in water. Again, I had found that the green teas, when wetted and
+redried, with exposure to the air, were nearly as dark in colour as
+the ordinary black teas. From these observations, therefore, I was
+induced to believe, that the peculiar characters and chemical
+differences which distinguish black tea from green, were to be
+attributed to a species of heating or fermentation, accompanied with
+oxidation by exposure to the air, and not to its being submitted to a
+higher temperature in the process of drying, as had been generally
+concluded. My opinion was partly confirmed by ascertaining from
+parties conversant with the Chinese manufacture, that the leaves for
+the black teas were always allowed to remain exposed to the air in
+mass for some time before they were roasted.'</p>
+
+<p>This explanation by Mr Warrington from scientific data, is confirmed
+by Mr Fortune from personal observation, and fully accounts, not only
+for the difference in colour between the two teas, but also for the
+effect produced on some constitutions by green tea, such as nervous
+irritability, sleeplessness, &amp;c.; and Mr Fortune truly remarks, that
+what Mr Warrington observed in the laboratory of Apothecaries' Hall,
+may be seen by every one who has a tree or bush in his garden. Mark
+the leaves which are blown from trees in early autumn; they are brown,
+or perhaps of a dullish green when they fall, but when they have been
+exposed for some time in their detached state to air and moisture,
+they become as black as our blackest teas. Without detailing the whole
+process in the manufacture of either kind of tea, it may be stated in
+reference to green tea, <i>1st</i>, That the leaves are roasted almost
+immediately, after they are gathered; and <i>2d</i>, That they are dried
+off quickly after the rolling process. In reference to black tea, on
+the other hand, it may be observed, <i>1st</i>, That after being gathered,
+the leaves are exposed for a considerable time; <i>2d</i>, That they are
+tossed about until they become soft and flaccid, and are then left in
+heaps; <i>3d</i>, That after being roasted for a few minutes and rolled,
+they are exposed for some hours to the air in a soft and moist state;
+and <i>4th</i>, That they are at last dried slowly over charcoal fires.
+After all, then, genuine green tea is, as might reasonably be
+conjectured, an article less artificial than black. There is, at the
+same time, too much foundation for the suspicion, that the green teas
+so much patronised in Europe and America, are not so innocently
+manufactured. Mr Fortune witnessed the process of colouring them in
+the Hung-chow green-tea country, and describes the process. The
+substance used is a powder consisting of four parts of gypsum and
+three parts of Prussian blue, which was applied to the teas during the
+last process of roasting.</p>
+
+<p>'During this part of the operation,' he says, 'the hands of the
+workmen were quite blue. I could not help thinking, that if any
+green-tea drinkers had been present during the operation, their taste
+would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[pg 396]</a></span> been corrected, and, I may be allowed to add, improved.
+One day, an English gentleman in Shang-hae, being in conversation with
+some Chinese from the green-tea country, asked them what reasons they
+had for dyeing the tea, and whether it would not be better without
+undergoing this process. They acknowledged that tea was much better
+when prepared without having any such ingredients mixed with it, and
+that they never drank dyed teas themselves; but justly remarked, that
+as foreigners seemed to prefer having a mixture of Prussian blue and
+gypsum with their tea, to make it look uniform and pretty, and as
+these ingredients were cheap enough, the Chinese had no objections to
+supply them, especially as such teas always fetched a higher price!'
+The quantity of colouring matter used is rather more than an ounce to
+14&frac12; lbs. of tea; so that in every 100 lbs. of coloured green tea
+consumed in England or America, the consumer actually drinks nearly
+half a pound of Prussian blue and gypsum! Samples of these
+ingredients, procured from the Chinamen in the factory, were sent last
+year to the Great Exhibition.</p>
+
+<p>In the black-tea districts, as in the green, large quantities of young
+plants are yearly raised from seeds. These seeds are gathered in the
+month of October, and kept mixed up with sand and earth during the
+winter months. In this manner they are kept fresh until spring, when
+they are sown thickly in some corner of the farm, from which they are
+afterwards transplanted. When about a year old, they are from nine
+inches to a foot in height, and ready for transplanting. This is
+always done at the change of the monsoon in spring, when fine warm
+showers are of frequent occurrence. The most favourable situations are
+on the slopes of the hills, as affording good drainage, which is of
+the utmost importance; and which, on the plains, is attained by having
+the lands above the watercourses. Other things being equal, a
+moderately rich soil is preferred. They are planted in rows about four
+feet apart (in poor soils, much closer), and have a very hedge-like
+appearance when full grown. A plantation of tea, when seen at a
+distance, looks like a little shrubbery of evergreens. As the
+traveller threads his way amongst the rocky scenery of Woo-e-shan, he
+is continually coming upon these plantations, which are dotted upon
+the sides of all the hills. The leaves are of a rich dark-green, and
+afford a pleasing contrast to the strange, and often barren scenery
+which is everywhere around. The young plantations are generally
+allowed to grow unmolested for two or three years, till they are
+strong and healthy; and even then, great care is exercised not to
+exhaust the plants by plucking them too bare. But, with every care,
+they ultimately become stunted and unhealthy, and are never profitable
+when they are old; hence, in the best-managed tea-districts, the
+natives yearly remove old plantations, and supply their places with
+fresh ones. About ten or twelve years is the average duration allowed
+to the plants. The tea-farms are in general small, and their produce
+is brought to market in the following manner: A tea-merchant from
+Tsong-gan or Tsin-tsun, goes himself, or sends his agents, to all the
+small towns, villages, and temples in the district, to purchase teas
+from the priests and small farmers. When the teas so purchased are
+taken to his house, they are mixed together, of course keeping the
+different qualities as much apart as possible. By this means, a chop
+(or parcel) of 600 chests is made; and all the tea of this chop is of
+the same description or class. The large merchant in whose hands it is
+now, has to refine it, and pack it for the foreign market. When the
+chests are packed, the name of the chop is written upon each, or ought
+to be; but it is not unusual to leave them unmarked till they reach
+the port of exportation, when the name most in repute is, if possible,
+put upon them. When the chop is purchased in the tea-district, a
+number of coolies are engaged to carry the chests on their shoulders,
+either to their ultimate destination, or to the nearest river. The
+time occupied in the entire transport by land and river, from the
+Bohea country to Canton, is about six weeks or two months. The
+expenses of transit, of course, vary with localities, and other
+circumstances; but, in general, those expenses are so very moderate,
+that the middlemen realise large profits, while the small farmers and
+manipulators are subjected to a grinding process, which keeps them in
+comparative poverty.</p>
+
+<p>Of late years, some attempts have been made to cultivate the tea-shrub
+in America and Australia; but the result will not equal the
+expectation entertained by the projectors of the scheme. The tea-plant
+will grow wherever the climate and soil are suitable; but labour is so
+much cheaper in China than in either of those countries, that
+successful competition is impossible. The Chinese labourers do not
+receive more than twopence or threepence a day. The difference,
+therefore, in the cost of labour will afford ample protection to the
+Chinese against all rivals whose circumstances in this respect are not
+similar to their own.</p>
+
+<p>India, however, is as favourably situated in all respects for
+tea-cultivation as China itself, and its introduction, therefore, into
+that country is a matter of equal interest and importance. In
+procuring the additional seeds, implements, and workmen, Mr Fortune
+succeeded beyond his expectations. Tea-seeds retain their vitality for
+a very short period, if they are out of the ground; and after trying
+various plans for transporting them to their destination, he adopted
+the method of sowing them in Ward's cases soon after they were
+gathered, which had the effect of preserving them in full life. The
+same plan will answer as effectually in preserving other kinds of
+seeds intended for transportation, and in which so much disappointment
+is generally experienced. In due time, all the cases arrived at their
+destination in perfect safety, and were handed over to Dr Jameson, the
+superintendent of the botanical gardens in the north-west provinces,
+and of the government tea-plantations. When opened, the tea-plants
+were found to be in a very healthy state. No fewer than 12,838 plants
+were counted, and many more were germinating. Notwithstanding their
+long voyage from the north of China, and the frequent transhipment and
+changes by the way, they seemed as green and vigorous as if they had
+been growing all the while on the Chinese hills.</p>
+
+<p>In these days, when tea is no longer a luxury, but a necessary of life
+in England and her colonies, its production on Indian soil is worthy
+of persevering effort. To the natives of India themselves, it would be
+of the greatest value. The poor <i>paharie</i>, or hill-peasant, has
+scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly none of its
+luxuries. The common sorts of grain which his lands produce will
+scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market-town, far less yield
+such a profit as to enable him to procure any articles of commerce. A
+common blanket has to serve him for his covering by day and for his
+bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, capable of
+affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather. If
+part of these lands produced tea, he would then have a healthy
+beverage to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value
+in the market. Being of small bulk, and extremely light in proportion
+to its value, the expense of carriage would be trifling, and he would
+have the means of making himself and his family more comfortable and
+more happy. In China, tea is one of the necessaries of life, in the
+strictest sense of the word. A Chinese never drinks cold water, which
+he abhors, and considers unhealthy. Tea is his favourite beverage from
+morning to night&mdash;not what we call tea, mixed with milk and sugar&mdash;but
+the essence of the herb itself drawn out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[pg 397]</a></span> in pure water. Those
+acquainted with the habits of the people, can scarcely conceive of
+their existence, were they deprived of the tea-plant; and there can be
+no doubt that its extensive use adds much to their health and comfort.
+The people of India are not unlike the Chinese in many of their
+habits. The poor of both countries eat sparingly of animal food; rice,
+and other grains and vegetables, form the staple articles on which
+they live. This being the case, it is not at all unlikely that the
+Indian will soon acquire a habit which is so universal in China. But
+in order to enable him to drink tea, it must be produced at a cheap
+rate, not at 4s. or 6s. a pound, but at 4d. or 6d.; and this can be
+done, but only on his own hills. The accomplishment of this would be
+an immense boon for the government to confer upon the people, and
+might ultimately work a constitutional change in their character and
+temperament&mdash;ridding them of their proverbial indolence, and endowing
+them with that activity of body and mind which renders the Chinese so
+un-Asiatic in their habits and employments.</p>
+
+<p>That our readers may, if they choose, have 'tea as in China,' we quote
+a recipe from a Chinese author, which may be of service to them.
+'Whenever the tea is to be infused for use,' says T&uuml;ng-po, 'take water
+from a running stream, and boil it over a lively fire. It is an old
+custom to use running water boiled over a lively fire; that from
+springs in the hills is said to be the best, and river-water the next,
+while well-water is the worst. A lively fire is a clear and bright
+charcoal fire. When making an infusion, do not boil the water too
+hastily, as first it begins to sparkle like crabs' eyes, then somewhat
+like fish's eyes, and lastly, it boils up like pearls innumerable,
+springing and waving about. This is the way to boil the water.' The
+same author gives the names of six different kinds of tea, all of
+which are in high repute. As their names are rather flowery, they may
+be quoted for the reader's amusement. They are these: the 'first
+spring tea,' the 'white dew,' the 'coral dew,' the 'dewy shoots,' the
+'money shoots,' and the 'rivulet garden tea.' 'Tea,' says he, 'is of a
+cooling nature, and, if drunk too freely, will produce exhaustion and
+lassitude. Country people, before drinking it, add ginger and salt, to
+counteract this cooling property. It is an exceedingly useful plant;
+cultivate it, and the benefit will be widely spread; drink it, and the
+animal spirits will be lively and clear. The chief rulers, dukes, and
+nobility, esteem it; the lower people, the poor and beggarly, will not
+be destitute of it; all use it daily, and like it.' Another author
+upon tea says, that 'drinking it tends to clear away all impurities,
+drives off drowsiness, removes or prevents headache, and it is
+universally in high esteem.'</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>A Journey to the Tea-Countries of China.</i> By Robert
+Fortune. 1852.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="THE_GREAT_OYER_OF_POISONING" id="THE_GREAT_OYER_OF_POISONING"></a>THE GREAT OYER OF POISONING.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">In</span> a previous article, an account was given of the proceedings against
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset for the murder of Sir Thomas
+Overbury. Though they were spared, several other persons were executed
+for this offence; and the circumstances under which those who were
+represented as the chief criminals escaped, while the others, whose
+guilt was represented as merely secondary, were executed, is among the
+most mysterious parts of the history. There was so much said about
+poisoning throughout the whole inquiry, that Sir Edward Coke gave the
+trials the name of 'The Great Oyer of Poisoning.' Oyer has long been a
+technical term in English law; and it is almost unnecessary to
+explain, that it is old French for <i>to hear</i>&mdash;<i>oyer and terminer</i>
+meaning, to hear and determine. The same inscrutable reasons which
+make the evidence so imperfect against the chief offenders, affect the
+whole of it. But while the exact causes of the death of Sir Thomas
+Overbury may be left in doubt, as well as the motives which led to it,
+enough is revealed in the trials of the minor offenders to throw a
+remarkable light on the strange habits of the time, and especially on
+the profligacy and credulity of the court of King James.</p>
+
+<p>The first person put to trial was Richard Weston, who had been
+appointed for the purpose of taking charge of Sir Thomas Overbury. If
+he had been murdered by poison, there could be no doubt that Weston
+was one of the perpetrators. He had been brought up as an apothecary;
+and it was said that he was selected on account of his being thus
+enabled to dabble in poisons. The charge against him is very
+indistinct. He was charged that he, 'in the Tower of London, in the
+parish of Allhallows Barking, did obtain and get into his hand certain
+poison of green and yellow colour, called rosalgar&mdash;knowing the same
+to be deadly poison&mdash;and the same did maliciously and feloniously
+mingle and compound in a kind of broth poured out into a certain
+dish.' Weston long refused to plead to the indictment. Of old, a
+person could not be put on trial unless he pleaded not guilty, and
+demanded a trial. The law, however, provided for those who were
+obstinate a more dreadful death than would be inflicted on the
+scaffold. To frighten him into compliance, the court gave him a
+description of it, telling him that he was 'to be extended, and then
+to have weights laid upon him no more than he was able to bear, which
+were by little and little to be increased; secondly, that he was to be
+exposed in an open place near to the prison, in the open air, being
+naked; and lastly, that he was to be preserved with the coarsest bread
+that could be got, and water out of the next sink or puddle.' He was
+told that 'oftentimes men lived in that extremity eight or nine days.'
+People have sometimes endured the <i>peine forte et dure</i>, as it was
+called, because, unless they pleaded and were convicted, their estates
+were not forfeited; and they endured the death of protracted torture
+for the sake of their families. Weston's object was supposed to be to
+prevent a trial, the evidence in which would expose his great patrons
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset. The motive was not, however, strong
+enough to make him stand to his purpose. He pleaded to the indictment,
+was found guilty, and executed at Tyburn.</p>
+
+<p>The next person brought up was of a more interesting character&mdash;Anne
+Turner, the widow of a physician. It is stated in the Report, that
+when she appeared at the bar, the chief-justice Coke said to her:
+'that women must be covered in the church, but not when they are
+arraigned, and so caused her to put off her hat; which done, she
+covered her hair with her handkerchief, being before dressed in her
+hair with her handkerchief over it.' Although Mother Turner's pursuits
+were of the questionable kind generally attributed to old hags&mdash;she
+dealt in philters, soothsaying, and poisoning&mdash;she must have been a
+young and beautiful woman. In some of the letters which were produced
+at the trials, she was called 'Sweet Turner.' In a poem, called
+<i>Overbury's Vision</i>, published in 1616, and reprinted in the seventh
+volume of the Harleian Miscellany, she is thus enthusiastically
+described&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">'It seemed that she had been some gentle dame;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For on each part of her fair body's frame<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nature such delicacy did bestow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That fairer object oft it doth not shew.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her crystal eye, beneath an ivory brow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Did shew what she at first had been; but now<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The roses on her lovely cheeks were dead;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The earth's pale colour had all overspread<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her sometime lovely look; and cruel Death,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Coming untimely with his wintry breath,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Blasted the fruit which, cherry-like in show,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon her dainty lips did whilome grow.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, how the cruel cord did misbecome<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her comely neck! And yet by law's just doom<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Had been her death.'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It might be said to be Mrs Turner's profession, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[pg 398]</a></span> minister to all
+the bad passions of intriguers. The wicked Countess of Essex employed
+her to secure to her, by magic arts and otherwise, the affection of
+Somerset, and at the same time to create alienation and distaste on
+the part of her husband. Among the documents produced at her trial was
+one said to be a list of 'what ladies loved what lords;' and it is
+alleged that Coke prohibited its being read, because, whenever he cast
+his eye on it, he saw there the name of his own wife. Some mysterious
+articles were produced at the trial, which were believed to be
+instruments of enchantment and diabolical agency. 'There were also
+enchantments shewed in court, written in parchment, wherein were
+contained all the names of the blessed Trinity mentioned in the
+Scriptures; and in another parchment + B + C + D + E; and in a third,
+likewise in parchment, were written all the names of the holy Trinity,
+as also a figure, on which was written this word, <i>corpus</i>; and on the
+parchment was fastened a little piece of the skin of a man. In some of
+these parchments were the devil's particular names, who were conjured
+to torment the Lord Somerset, and Sir Arthur Manwaring, if their loves
+should not continue, the one to the Countess, the other to Mrs
+Turner.' Along with these were some pictures, as they were termed, or,
+more properly speaking, models of the human figure. 'At the shewing,'
+says the report, 'of these, and inchanted papers, and other pictures
+in court, there was heard a crack from the scaffolds, which caused
+great fear, tumult, and confusion among the spectators, and throughout
+the hall, every one fearing hurt, as if the devil had been present,
+and grown angry to have his workmanship shewed by such as were not his
+own scholars.'<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>The small figures, which appeared to have created the chief
+consternation, were, we are inclined to believe, very innocent things.
+There was, it is true, a belief that an individual could be injured or
+slain by operations on his likeness. There was, however, another
+purpose connected with Mrs Turner's pursuits to which small jointed
+images, like artists' lay figures, were used. This was to exhibit the
+effect of any new fashion, or peculiar style of dress. In this manner
+small figures, about the size of dolls, were long used in Paris. We
+have seen people expressing their surprise at pictures of full-grown
+Frenchwomen examining dolls, but in reality they were not more
+triflingly occupied than those who now contemplate the latest fashions
+in their favourite feminine periodical. Mrs Turner was very likely to
+have occasion for such figures, for she was, with her other pursuits,
+a sort of dressmaker, or <i>modiste</i>; in fact, she seems to have been a
+ready minister to every kind of human vanity and folly, as well as to
+a good deal of human wickedness. In the department of dress, she had a
+name in her own sex and age as illustrious as that of Brummel among
+dandies in the beginning of this century. As he was the inventor of
+the starched cravat, she was his precursor in the invention of the
+starched ruff, or, as it is generally said, of the yellow starch.</p>
+
+<p>The best account we have of the starched ruff is by a man who wrote to
+abuse it. An individual named Stubbes published an <i>Anatomy of
+Abuses</i>. Having become extremely rare, a small impression of it was
+lately reprinted, as a curious picture of the times. Stubbes dealt
+trenchantly with everything that savoured of pride and ostentation in
+dress; and he was peculiarly severe on Mrs Turner's invention, which
+made the ruff stand against bad weather. He describes the ruffs as
+having been made 'of cambric Holland lawn; or else of some other the
+finest cloth that can be got for money, whereof some be a quarter of a
+yard deep; yea, some more&mdash;very few less.' He describes with much glee
+the elementary calamities to which, before the invention of the
+starch, they were liable. 'If &AElig;olus with his blasts, or Neptune with
+his storms, chance to hit upon the crazy barque of their bruised
+ruffs, then they goeth flip-flap in the wind, like rags that flew
+abroad, lying upon their shoulders like the dish-clout of a slut.'
+Having thus, with great exultation, described these reproofs to human
+pride, he mentions how 'the devil, as he, in the fulness of his
+malice, first invented these great ruffs, so hath he now found out
+also two great pillars to bear up and maintain this his kingdom of
+great ruffs&mdash;for the devil is king and prince over all the kingdom of
+pride.' One pillar appears to have been a wire framework&mdash;something,
+perhaps, of the nature of the hoop. The other was 'a certain kind of
+liquid matter, which they call starch, wherein the devil hath willed
+them to wash and dye their ruffs well; and this starch they make of
+divers colours and hues&mdash;white, red, blue, purple, and the like,
+which, being dry, will then stand stiff and inflexible about their
+necks.'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs Turner, at her execution, was arrayed in a ruff stiffened with the
+material for the invention of which she was so famous. She had for her
+scientific adviser a certain Dr Forman&mdash;a man who was believed to be
+deep in all kinds of dangerous chemical lore, and at the same time to
+possess a connection with the Evil One, which gave him powers greater
+than those capable of being obtained through mere scientific agency.
+Had he been alive, he would have undoubtedly been tried with the other
+poisoners. His widow gave some account of his habits, and of his
+wonderful apparatus, such as 'a ring which would open like a watch;'
+but the glimpse obtained of him is brief and mysteriously tantalising.
+We remember that, about twenty-five years ago, this man was made the
+hero of a novel called <i>Forman</i>, which contains much effective
+writing, but did not somehow fit the popular taste.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the scientific ingenuity both of the males and females
+concerned in this affair, the poisoning seems to have been conducted
+in a very bungling manner when compared with the slow and secret
+poisonings of the French and Italians. It is believed that a female of
+Naples, called Tophana, who used a tasteless liquid, named after her
+<i>Aqua Tophana</i>, killed with it 600 people before she was discovered to
+be a murderess. The complete secrecy in which these foreigners
+shrouded their operations&mdash;people seeming to drop off around them as
+if by the silent operation of natural causes&mdash;was what made their
+machinations so frightful. Poisoning, however, is a cowardly as well
+as a cruel crime, which has never taken strong root in English habits;
+and, as we have observed, the poisoners on this occasion,
+notwithstanding the skill and knowledge enlisted by them in the
+service, were arrant bunglers. Thus, the confession of James Franklin,
+an accomplice, would seem to shew that Sir Thomas Overbury was
+subjected to poisons enough to have deprived three cats of their
+twenty-seven lives.</p>
+
+<p>'Mrs Turner came to me from the countess, and wished me, from her, to
+get the strongest poison I could for Sir T. Overbury. Accordingly, I
+bought seven&mdash;viz., aquafortis, white arsenic, mercury, powder of
+diamonds, <i>lapis costitus</i>, great spiders, and cantharides. All these
+were given to Sir T. Overbury at several times. And further
+confesseth, that the lieutenant knew of these poisons; for that
+appeared, said he, by many letters which he writ to the Countess of
+Essex, which I saw, and thereby knew that he knew of this matter. One
+of these letters I read for the countess, because she could not read
+it herself; in which the lieutenant used this speech: "Madam, the scab
+is like the fox&mdash;the more he is cursed, the better he fareth." And
+many other speeches. Sir T. never eat white salt, but there was white
+arsenic put into it. Once he desired pig, and Mrs Turner put into it
+<i>lapis costitus</i>. The white powder that was sent to Sir T. in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[pg 399]</a></span>
+letter, he knew to be white arsenic. At another time, he had two
+partridges sent him by the court, and water and onions being the
+sauce, Mrs Turner put in cantharides instead of pepper; so that there
+was scarce anything that he did eat but there was some poison
+mixed.'<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to believe that the human frame could stand out for
+weeks against so hot a siege. It would appear as if Franklin must
+really have confessed too much. It has already been said, that the
+confused state of the whole evidence renders it difficult to find how
+far a case was made out against the Earl and Countess of Somerset.
+Such a confession as Franklin's only makes matters still more
+confused. That Sir Thomas Overbury really was poisoned, one can
+scarcely doubt, if even a portion of what Franklin and the others say
+is true; but the reckless manner in which the crime was gone about,
+and the confusion of the whole evidence, is extremely perplexing. Not
+the least remarkable feature in this tragedy is the number of people
+concerned in it. We find, brought to trial, the Earl and Countess of
+Somerset and Sir Thomas Monson, who, though said to be the guiltiest
+of all, were spared: Weston, Franklin, and Mrs Turner, were executed:
+Forman, and another man of science who was said to have given aid, had
+gone to their account before the trials came on. Then, in Franklin's
+confession, it was stated that 'the toothless maid, trusty Margaret,
+was acquainted with the poisoning; so was Mrs Turner's man, Stephen;
+so also was Mrs Home, the countess's own handmaid;' and several other
+subordinate persons are alluded to in a similar manner.</p>
+
+<p>The quietness and secrecy of the French and Italian poisonings have
+been already alluded to. The poisoners, in general, instead of acting
+in a bustling crowd, generally prepared themselves for their dreadful
+task by secretly acquiring the competent knowledge, so that they might
+not find it necessary to take the aid of confederates. They generally
+did their work alone, or at most two would act together. It certainly
+argues a sadly demoralised state of society in the reign of King
+James, that so many persons should be found who would coolly connect
+themselves with the work of death; but still there was not so much
+real danger as in the quiet, systematic poisonings of such criminals
+as Tophana and the Countess of Brinvilliers. The great Oyer of
+poisoning was, however, calculated to make a very deep impression on
+the public mind. It filled London with fear and suspicion. When
+rumours about poisonings become prevalent, no one knows exactly how
+far the crime has proceeded, and this and that event is remembered and
+connected with it. All the sudden deaths within recollection are
+recalled, and thus accounted for. People supposed to be adepts in
+chemistry were in great danger from the populace, and one man, named
+Lamb, was literally torn to pieces by a mob at Charing-Cross. The
+people began to dwell upon the death of Prince Henry, the king's
+eldest son, who had fallen suddenly. It was remembered that he was a
+youth of a frank, manly disposition&mdash;the friend and companion of
+Raleigh and of other heroic spirits. He liked popularity, and went
+into many of the popular prejudices of the times&mdash;forming altogether
+in his character a great contrast to his grave, dry, fastidious, and
+suspicious brother Charles, who was to succeed to his vacant place. He
+had died very suddenly&mdash;of fever, it was said; but popular rumour now
+attributed his death to poison. Nay, it was said that his own father,
+jealous of his popularity, was the perpetrator; and it was whispered
+that <i>this</i> was the secret which King James was so afraid his
+favourite Somerset might tell if prosecuted to death. In a work called
+<i>Truth brought to Light</i>, a copy was given of an alleged medical
+report on a dissection of the body, calculated to confirm these
+suspicions: it may be found in the <i>State Trials</i>, ii. 1002. Arthur
+Wilson, who published his life and reign of King James during the
+Commonwealth, said: 'Strange rumours are raised upon this sudden
+expiration of our prince, the disease being so violent that the combat
+of nature in the strength of youth (being almost nineteen years of
+age) lasted not above five days. Some say he was poisoned with a bunch
+of grapes; others attribute it to the venomous scent of a pair of
+gloves presented to him (the distemper lying for the most part in the
+head.) They that knew neither of these are stricken with fear and
+amazement, as if they had tasted or felt the effects of those
+violences. Private whisperings and suspicions of some new designs
+afoot broaching prophetical terrors that a black Christmas would
+produce a bloody Lent, &amp;c.' Kennet, in his notes on Wilson's work,
+says that he possesses a rare copy of a sermon preached while the
+public mind was thus excited, 'wherein the preacher, who had been his
+domestic chaplain, made such broad hints about the manner of his
+(Prince Henry's) death, that melted the auditory into a flood of
+tears, and occasioned his being dismissed the court.'</p>
+
+<p>But suspicion did not stop here. When King James himself died in much
+pain, his body shewing the unsightly symptoms consequent on his gross
+habits, poison was again suspected; and as it had been said on the
+former occasion, that the father had connived at the death of his son,
+it was now whispered that the remaining son, anxious to commence his
+ill-starred reign, was accessory to hurrying his father from the
+world. The moral character of Charles I. is sufficient to acquit him
+of such a charge. But historians even of late date have not entirely
+acquitted his favourite, Buckingham, who, it was said, finding that
+the king was tired of him, resolved to make him give place to the
+prince, in whose good graces he felt secure. The authors of the
+scandalous histories published during the Commonwealth, said that the
+duke's mother administered the poison externally in the form of a
+plaster.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>State Trials</i>, ii. 932.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>State Trials</i>, 941.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="NEURALGIA" id="NEURALGIA"></a>NEURALGIA.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Obstructives</span> and sceptics are in one sense benefactors: although they
+do not generally originate improved modes of thought and action, they
+at least prevent the adoption of crude theories and ill-digested
+measures. To meet the criticism of these opponents, inventive genius
+must more carefully bring its ideas and plans to the test of practical
+experiment and thorough investigation; and as truth must ultimately
+prevail, it cannot be considered unjust or injurious to insist upon
+its presenting its credentials. This is, we submit, one of the
+benefits resulting from schools, colleges, and guilds: it is difficult
+to impress them with novel truths; but in a great degree they act as
+breakwaters to the waves of error. In no department of social life is
+this doctrine better illustrated than in the medical profession, which
+is among the keenest and most sceptical of bodies in scrutinising
+novelty; but it has rarely allowed any real improvement to remain
+permanently untested and unadopted. We believe this to be the fair
+view to take of a class of scientific men who have certainly had a
+large share of sarcasm to endure.</p>
+
+<p>General readers, for whom we profess to cater, take no great interest
+in medical subjects and discussions; but as historians of what is
+doing in the world of art, science, and literature, we think it our
+duty to record, in a brief way, any information we can collect that
+may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[pg 400]</a></span> be beneficial to the suffering portion of humanity; and in this
+'miserable world' it is most probable that one-fourth part of our
+readers are invalids. Why should they not have their little troubles,
+whims, and maladies studied and cared for? The disease which gives a
+title to this short notice is perhaps one of the most mysterious and
+vexatious to which our nature is liable; both its cause and cure are
+equally occult, and its <i>modus operandi</i> is scarcely intelligible. A
+contemporary thus playfully alludes to the subject in terms more funny
+than precise:&mdash;'What is neuralgia? A nervous spasm, the cause of which
+has, however, not been satisfactorily and conclusively demonstrated;
+but we may, perhaps, obtain a clearer view of its nature, if we look
+upon it as connected with "morbid nutrition." Every one knows that the
+system is, or ought to be, constantly subject to a law of waste and
+repair; and if the operation of this law is impeded by "cold," "mental
+excitement," or any other baneful condition, diseases more or less
+unpleasant must ensue. The <i>vis natur&aelig;</i> uses certain particles of
+matter in forming nerves; others in forming membrane, bones, juices,
+&amp;c.; while used-up particles are expelled altogether from the system.
+We can readily conceive that each order of atoms is used by a distinct
+function, and has a different mission; and any morbid perversion or
+mingling of their separate destinies must end in disorder and
+suffering&mdash;nature's violent endeavour to restore the regularity of her
+operations. A cough is simply an effort of the lungs or bronchi&aelig; to
+remove some offending intruder that ought to be doing duty elsewhere;
+and may we not call neuralgia <i>a cough of a nerve</i> to get rid of a
+disagreeable oppression&mdash;nature's legitimate <i>coup d'&eacute;tat</i> to put down
+and transport those "<i>red socialist</i>" particles that would interfere
+with the regularity of its constitution? Let us fancy, for a moment, a
+delicate little army of atoms marching obediently along, to form new
+nerve in place of the substance that is wasting away: another little
+army of carbonaceous particles have just received orders to pack up
+their luggage and be off, to make way for the advancing
+nerve-battalion; but in their exodus they are met by a fierce
+destroyer, in the shape of an east wind&mdash;a Caffre that suddenly throws
+the ranks of General Carbon into disorder, and drives them back upon
+the brilliant and pugnacious array of General Nerve: a battle-royal is
+the result. General Nerve immediately places lance in rest, and
+advances to the charge with the unsparing war-cry of: "Mr Ferguson,
+you don't lodge here!" and if Caffre East-wind is not despised and
+trifled with, he is generally beaten for a time; but great are the
+sufferings of humanity&mdash;the scene of this encounter&mdash;while the fight
+is raging.'</p>
+
+<p>Now comes the question: How to get rid of this cruel invader? Dr
+Downing has undertaken to give an answer, which we believe to be
+satisfactory. In addition to the proper medical and hygienic
+treatment, which is carefully and ably stated in the work before us,
+Dr Downing has invented an apparatus which appears to be very
+efficacious; and we will therefore allow him to describe it in his own
+words:&mdash;'From considering tic douloureux as often a local disease,
+depending on a state of excessive irritability, sensibility, or spasm
+of a particular nerve, and from reflecting upon its causes, and
+observing the effect of topical sedatives, I was led to the
+conclusion, that the most direct way of quieting this state was by the
+application of warmth and sedative vapour to the part, so as to soothe
+the nerves, and calm them into regular action. For this purpose, I
+devised an apparatus which answers the purpose sufficiently well. It
+is a kind of fumigating instrument, in which dried herbs are burned,
+and the heated vapour directed to any part of the body. It is
+extremely simple in construction, and consists essentially of three
+parts with their media of connection&mdash;a cylinder for igniting the
+vegetable matter, bellows for maintaining a current of air through the
+burning material, and tubes and cones for directing and concentrating
+the stream of vapour. The chief medicinal effects I have noticed in
+the use of this instrument are those of a sedative character; but its
+remedial influence is not alone confined to the use of certain herbs.
+A considerable power is attributable to the warm current or intense
+heat generated. When the vegetable matter is ignited, and a current of
+air is made to pass through the burning mass, a small or great degree
+of heat can be produced at pleasure. Thus, when the hand is gently
+pressed upon the bellows, a mild, warm stream of vapour is poured
+forth which may act as a <i>douche</i> to irritable parts; but by strongly
+and rapidly compressing the same receptacle, the fire within the
+cylinder is urged like that of a smith's forge, and the blast becomes
+intensely hot and burning.'</p>
+
+<p>Those who wish to know more of this mode of treatment, had better
+refer to the work itself. We must content ourselves with having simply
+drawn our readers' attention to it.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <i>Neuralgia: its various Forms, Pathology, and Treatment.</i>
+Being the Jacksonian Prize Essay of the Royal College of Surgeons for
+1850; with some Additions. By C. Toogood Downing, M.D., M.R.C.S.
+Churchill, London.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="ANCIENT_GLACIERS_IN_THE_LAKE_COUNTRY" id="ANCIENT_GLACIERS_IN_THE_LAKE_COUNTRY"></a>ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE LAKE COUNTRY.</h2>
+
+<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of
+    Contents</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr Robert Chambers</span>, in a recent tour of the lakes of Westmoreland
+(April 1852), has discovered that the valleys of that interesting
+district were at one time occupied by glaciers. Glacialised surfaces
+were previously observed in a few places not far from Kendal, but
+without any conclusion as to the entire district. By Mr Chambers
+conspicuous and unequivocal memorials of ice-action have been found in
+most of the great central valleys, such as those of Derwentwater,
+Ulleswater, Thirlwater, and Windermere. The principal phenomena are
+rounded hummocks of rock on the skirts of the hills, and in the middle
+of the valleys; and as these hummocks, whatever may be the direction
+of the valleys, invariably present a smoothed side up, and an abrupt
+side downwards (<i>stoss-seite</i> and <i>lee-seite</i> of the Scandinavian
+geologists), it becomes certain that the glaciers proceeding from the
+mountains at the upper extremities were local to the several valleys.
+The smoothed hummocks are very noticeable in Derwentwater or
+Borrowdale, the celebrated Bowderstone resting on one; a particularly
+fine low surface appears at Grange, near the head of the lake. At
+Patterdale, in Ulleswater Valley, the rocks are so much marked in this
+manner, that the whole place bears a striking resemblance to the
+sterile parts of Sweden; and some small rocky islets, near the head of
+the lake, are unmistakable <i>roches moutonn&eacute;es</i>. The two valleys
+descending in opposite directions from Dunmail Raise, have had
+glaciers proceeding from some central point: in that of Thirlwater,
+the rounded hummocks are conspicuous at Armboth; in the other, near
+Grasmere, and near the Windermere Railway Station. In all these cases,
+the characteristic striation, or scratching produced on rock-surfaces
+by glaciers, is more or less distinct, according as the surface may
+have been protected in intermediate ages. Where any drift or alluvial
+formation has covered it, the polish and striation are as perfect as
+if they had been formed in recent times, and the lines are almost
+invariably in the general direction of the valley.</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+
+<p>Printed and Published by W. and R. <span class="smcap">Chambers</span>, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. <span class="smcap">Orr</span>, Amen Corner, London; D. N. <span class="smcap">Chambers</span>, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. <span class="smcap">M'Glashan</span>, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
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+Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442, 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: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442
+       Volume 17, New Series, June 19, 1852
+
+Author: Various
+
+Editor: Robert Chambers
+          William Chambers
+
+Release Date: March 10, 2007 [EBook #20792]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                     CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL
+
+  CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S
+  INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.
+
+
+  No. 442. NEW SERIES.   SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1852.   PRICE 1-1/2_d._
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD HOUSE IN CRANE COURT.
+
+The roaring pell-mell of the principal thoroughfares of London is
+curiously contrasted with the calm seclusion which is often found at
+no great distance in certain lanes, courts, and passages, and the
+effect is not a little heightened when in these by-places we light
+upon some old building speaking of antique institutions or bygone
+habits of society. We lately had this idea brought strikingly before
+us on plunging abruptly out of Fleet Street into Crane Court, in
+search of the establishment known as the Scottish Hospital. We were
+all at once transferred into a quiet narrow street, as it might be
+called, full of printing and lithographic offices, tall, dark, and
+rusty, while closing up the further end stood a dingy building of
+narrow front, presenting an ornamental porch. A few minutes served to
+introduce us to a moderate-sized hall, having a long table in the
+centre, and an arm-chair at the upper end, while several old portraits
+graced the walls. It was not without a mental elevation of feeling, as
+well as some surprise, that we learned that this was a hall in which
+Newton had spent many an evening. It was, to be quite explicit, the
+meeting-place of the Royal Society from 1710 till 1782, and,
+consequently, during not much less than twenty years of the latter
+life of the illustrious author of the _Principia_, who, as an
+office-bearer in the institution, must have often taken an eminent
+place here. We were not, however, immediately in quest of the
+antiquities of the Royal Society. Our object was to form some
+acquaintance with the valuable institution which has succeeded to it
+in the possession of this house.
+
+We must advert to a peculiarity of our Scottish countrymen, which can
+be set down only on the credit side of their character--their sympathy
+with each other when they meet as wanderers in foreign countries.
+Scotland is just a small enough country to cause a certain unity of
+feeling amongst the people. Wherever they are, they feel that Scotsmen
+should stand, as their proverb has it, _shoulder to shoulder_. The
+more distant the clime in which they meet, they remember with the more
+intensity their common land of mountain and flood, their historical
+and poetical associations, the various national institutions which
+ages have endeared to them; and the more disposed are they to take an
+interest in each other's welfare. This is a feeling in which time and
+modern innovations work no change, and it is one of old-standing.
+
+When James VI. acceded to the throne of Elizabeth, he was followed
+southward by some of his favourite nobles, and there was of course an
+end put to that exclusive system of the late monarch which had kept
+down the number of Scotsmen in London, to what must now appear the
+astonishingly small one of fifty-eight. Perhaps some exaggerations
+have been indulged in with regard to the host of traders and craftsmen
+who went southward in the train of King James, but there can be no
+doubt, that it was considerable in point of numbers. But where wealth
+is sought for, there also, by an inevitable law of nature, is poverty.
+The better class of Scotchmen settled in London, soon found their
+feelings of compassion excited in behalf of a set of miserable
+fellow-countrymen who had failed to obtain employment or fix
+themselves in a mercantile position, and for whom the stated charities
+of the country were not available. Hence seems to have arisen, so
+early as 1613, the necessity for some system of mutual charity among
+the natives of Scotland in London. So far as can be ascertained, it
+was a handful of journeymen or hired artisans, who in that year
+associated to aid each other, and prevent themselves from becoming
+burdensome to strangers--an interesting fact, as evincing in a remote
+period the predominance of that spirit of independence for which the
+modern Scottish peasantry has been famed, and which even yet survives
+in some degree of vigour, notwithstanding the fatally counteractive
+influence of poor-laws. The funds contributed by these worthy men were
+put into a box, and kept there--for in those days there were no banks
+to take a fruitful charge of money--and at certain periods the
+contributors would meet, and see what they could spare for the relief
+of such poor fellow-countrymen as had in the interval applied to them.
+We have still a faint living image of this simple plan in the _boxes_
+belonging to certain trades in our Scottish towns, or rather the
+survivance of the phrase, for the money, we must presume, is now
+everywhere relegated to the keeping of the banks. The institution in
+those days was known as the SCOTTISH BOX, just as a money-dealing
+company came to be called a bank, from the table (_banco_) which it
+employed in transacting its business. From a very early period in its
+history, it seems to have taken the form of what is now called a
+Friendly Society, each person contributing an entrance-fee of 5s., and
+6d. per quarter thereafter, so as to be entitled to certain benefits
+in the event of poverty or sickness. Small sums were also lent to the
+poorer members, without interest, and burial expenses were paid. We
+find from the records that, in 1638, when the company was twenty in
+number, and met in Lamb's Conduit Street, it allowed 20s. for a
+certain class of those of its members who had died of the plague, and
+30s. for others. The whole affair, however, was then on a limited
+scale--the quarterly disbursements in 1661 amounting only to L.9, 4s.
+Nevertheless, upwards of 300 poor Scotsmen, swept off by the
+pestilence of 1665-6, were buried at the expense of the Box, while
+numbers more were nourished during their sickness, without subjecting
+the parishes in which they resided to the smallest expense. We have
+not the slightest doubt, that not one of these people felt the
+bitterness of a dependence on alms. If not actually entitled to relief
+in consideration of previous payments of their own, they would feel
+that they were beholden only to their kindly countrymen. It would be
+like the members of a family helping each other. Humiliation could
+have been felt only, if they had had to accept of alms from those
+amongst whom they sojourned as strangers. Such is the way, at least,
+in which we read the character of our countrymen.
+
+In the year 1665, the Box was exalted into the character of a
+corporation by a royal charter, the expenses attendant on which were
+disbursed by gentlemen named Kinnear, Allen, Ewing, Donaldson, &c.
+When they met at the Cross Keys in 'Coven Garden,' they found their
+receipts to be L.116, 8s. 5d. The character of the times is seen in
+one of their regulations, which imposed a fine of 2s. 6d. for every
+oath used in the course of their quarterly business. The institution
+was now becoming venerable, and, as usual, members began to exhibit
+their affection for it by presents. The Mr Kinnear just mentioned,
+conferred upon it an elegant silver cup. James Donaldson presented an
+ivory mallet or hammer, to be used by the chairman in calling order.
+Among the contributors, we find the name of Gilbert Burnet (afterwards
+Bishop) as giving L.1 half-yearly. They had an hospital erected in
+Blackfriars Street; but experience soon proved that confinement to a
+charity workhouse was altogether uncongenial to the feelings and
+habits of the Scottish poor, and they speedily returned to the plan of
+assisting them by small outdoor pensions, which has ever since been
+adhered to. In those days, no effort was made to secure permanency by
+a sunk fund. They distributed each quarter-day all that had been
+collected during the preceding interval. The consequence of this not
+very Scotsman-like proceeding was that, in one of those periods of
+decay which are apt to befall all charitable institutions, the
+Scottish Hospital was threatened with extinction; and this would
+undoubtedly have been its fate, but for the efforts of a few patriotic
+Scotsmen who came to its aid.
+
+Through the help of these gentlemen, a new charter was obtained
+(1775), putting the institution upon a new and more liberal footing,
+and at the same time providing for the establishment of a permanent
+fund. Since then, through the virtue of the national spirit,
+considerable sums have been obtained from the wealthier Scotch living
+in London, and by the bequests of charitable individuals of the
+nation; so that the hospital now distributes about L.2200 per annum,
+chiefly in L.10 pensions to old people.[1] At the same time, a special
+bequest of large amount (L.76,495) from William Kinloch, Esq., a
+native of Kincardineshire, who had realised a fortune in India, allows
+of a further distribution through the same channel of about L.1800,
+most of it in pensions of L.4 to disabled soldiers and sailors. Thus
+many hundreds of the Scotch poor of the metropolis may be said to be
+kept by their fellow-countrymen from falling upon the parochial funds,
+on which they would have a claim--a fact, we humbly think, on which
+the nation at large may justifiably feel some little pride. As part of
+the means of collecting this money, there is a festival twice a year,
+usually presided over by some Scottish nobleman, and attended by a
+great number of gentlemen connected with Scotland by birth or
+otherwise. A committee of governors meets on the second Wednesday of
+every month, to distribute the benefactions to the regular pensioners
+and casual applicants; and, in accordance with the national habits of
+feeling, this ceremony is always prefaced by divine service in the
+chapel, according to the simple practice of the Presbyterian Church.
+Since 1782, these transactions, as well as the general concerns of the
+institution, have taken place in the old building in Crane Court,
+where also the secretary has a permanent residence.
+
+Such, then, is the institution which has succeeded to the possession
+of the dusky hall in which the Royal Society at one time assembled. It
+was with a mingled interest that we looked round it, reflecting on the
+presence of such men as Newton and Bradley of old, and on the many
+worthy deeds which had since been done in it by men of a different
+stamp, but surely not unworthy to be mentioned in the same sentence. A
+portrait of Queen Mary by Zucchero, and one of the Duke of Lauderdale
+by Lely--though felt as reminiscences of Scotland--were scarcely
+fitted of themselves to ornament the walls; but this, of course, is as
+the accidents of gifts and bequests might determine. We felt it to be
+more right and fitting, that the secretary should be our old friend
+Major Adair, the son of that Dr Adair who accompanied Robert Burns on
+his visit to Glendevon in 1787. He is one of those men of activity,
+method, and detail, joined to unfailing good-humour, who are
+invaluable to such an institution. He is also, as might be expected,
+entirely a Scotsman, and evidently regards the hospital with feelings
+akin to veneration. Nor could we refrain from sympathising in his
+views, when we thought of the honourable national principle from which
+the institution took its rise, and by which it continues to be
+supported, as well as the practical good which it must be continually
+achieving. To quote his own words: 'From a view of the numbers
+relieved, it is evident, that while this institution is a real
+blessing to the aged, the helpless, the diseased, and the unemployed
+poor of Scotland, resident in London, Westminster, and the
+neighbourhood, extending to a circle of ten miles radius from the hall
+of the corporation, it is of incalculable benefit to the community at
+large, who, by means of this charity, are spared the pain of beholding
+so great an addition, as otherwise there would be, of our destitute
+fellow-creatures seeking their wretched pittance in the streets,
+liable to be taken up as vagrants and sent to the house of correction,
+and probably subjected to greater evils and disgrace.' The major has a
+pet scheme for extending the usefulness of the institution. It implies
+that individuals should make foundations of from L.300 to L.400 each,
+in order to produce pensions of L.10 a year; these to be in the care
+and dispensation of the hospital, and each to bear for ever the name
+of its founder; thus permanently connecting his memory with the
+institution, and insuring that once a year, at least, some humble
+fellow-countryman shall have occasion to rejoice that such a person as
+he once existed. The idea involves the gratification of a fine natural
+feeling, and we sincerely hope that it will be realised. And why,
+since we have said so much, should we hesitate to add the more general
+wish, that the Scottish Hospital may continue to enjoy an undiminished
+measure of the patronage of our countrymen? May it flourish for ever!
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Note by an Englishman._--It is not one of the least curious
+particulars in the history of the Scottish Hospital, that it
+substantiates by documentary evidence the fact, that Scotsmen, who
+have gone to England, occasionally find their way back to their own
+country. It appears from the books of the corporation, that in the
+year ending 30th November 1850, the sum of L.30, 16s. 6d. was spent in
+'passages' from London to Leith; and there is actually a corresponding
+society in Edinburgh to receive the _revenants_, and pass them on to
+their respective districts.
+
+
+
+
+THE HUNCHBACK OF STRASBOURG.
+
+
+In the department of the Bas-Rhin, France, and not more than about two
+leagues north of Strasbourg, lived Antoine Delessert, who farmed, or
+intended farming, his own land--about a ten-acre slice of 'national'
+property, which had fallen to him, nobody very well knew how, during
+the hurly-burly of the great Revolution. He was about five-and-thirty,
+a widower, and had one child, likewise named Antoine, but familiarly
+known as Le Bossu (hunchback)--a designation derived, like his
+father's acres, from the Revolution, somebody having, during one of
+the earlier and livelier episodes of that exciting drama, thrown the
+poor little fellow out of a window in Strasbourg, and broken his back.
+When this happened, Antoine, _pere_, was a journeyman _ferblantier_
+(tinman) of that city. Subsequently, he became an active, though
+subordinate member of the local Salut Public; in virtue of which
+patriotic function he obtained Les Pres, the name of his magnificent
+estate. Working at his trade was now, of course, out of the question.
+Farming, as everybody knows, is a gentlemanly occupation, skill in
+which comes by nature; and Citizen Delessert forthwith betook himself,
+with his son, to Les Pres, in the full belief that he had stepped at
+once into the dignified and delightful position of the ousted
+aristocrat, to whom Les Pres had once belonged, and whose haughty head
+he had seen fall into the basket. But envious clouds will darken the
+brightest sky, and the new proprietor found, on taking possession of
+his quiet, unencumbered domain, that property has its plagues as well
+as pleasures. True, there was the land; but not a plant, or a seed
+thereon or therein, nor an agricultural implement of any kind to work
+it with. The walls of the old rambling house were standing, and the
+roof, except in about a dozen places, kept out the rain with some
+success; but the nimble, unrespecting fingers of preceding patriots
+had carried off not only every vestige of furniture, usually so
+called, but coppers, cistern, pump, locks, hinges--nay, some of the
+very doors and window-frames! Delessert was profoundly discontented.
+He remarked to Le Bossu, now a sharp lad of some twelve years of age,
+that he was at last convinced of the entire truth of his cousin
+Boisdet's frequent observation--that the Revolution, glorious as it
+might be, had been stained and dishonoured by many shameful excesses;
+an admission which the son, with keen remembrance of his compulsory
+flight from the window, savagely endorsed.
+
+'Peste!' exclaimed the new proprietor, after a lengthened and painful
+examination of the dilapidations, and general nakedness of his
+estate--'this is embarrassing. Citizen Destouches was right. I must
+raise money upon the property, to replace what those brigands have
+carried off. I shall require three thousand francs at the very least.'
+
+The calculation was dispiriting; and after a night's lodging on the
+bare floor, damply enveloped in a few old sacks, the financial horizon
+did not look one whit less gloomy in the eyes of Citizen Delessert.
+Destouches, he sadly reflected, was an iron-fisted notary-public, who
+lent money, at exorbitant interest, to distressed landowners, and was
+driving, people said, a thriving trade in that way just now. His pulse
+must, however, be felt, and money be obtained, however hard the terms.
+This was unmistakably evident; and with the conviction tugging at his
+heart, Citizen Delessert took his pensive way towards Strasbourg.
+
+'You guess my errand, Citizen Destouches?' said Delessert, addressing
+a flinty-faced man of about his own age, in a small room of Numero 9,
+Rue Bechard.
+
+'Yes--money: how much?'
+
+'Three thousand francs is my calculation.'
+
+'Three thousand francs! You are not afraid of opening your mouth, I
+see. Three thousand francs!--humph! Security, ten acres of middling
+land, uncultivated, and a tumble-down house; title, _droit de
+guillotine_. It is a risk, but I think I may venture. Pierre Nadaud,'
+he continued, addressing a black-browed, sly, sinister-eyed clerk,
+'draw a bond, secured upon Les Pres, and the appurtenances, for three
+thousand francs, with interest at ten per cent.'----
+
+'Morbleu! but that is famous interest!' interjected Delessert, though
+timidly.
+
+'Payable quarterly, if demanded,' the notary continued, without
+heeding his client's observation; 'with power, of course, to the
+lender to sell, if necessary, to reimburse his capital, as well as all
+accruing _dommages-interets_!'
+
+The borrower drew a long breath, but only muttered: 'Ah, well; no
+matter! We shall work hard, Antoine and I.'
+
+The legal document was soon formally drawn: Citizen Delessert signed
+and sealed, and he had only now to pouch the cash, which the notary
+placed upon the table.
+
+'Ah ca!' he cried, eyeing the roll of paper proffered to his
+acceptance with extreme disgust. 'It is not in those _chiffons_ of
+assignats, is it, that I am to receive three thousand francs, at ten
+per cent.?'
+
+'My friend,' rejoined the notary, in a tone of great severity, 'take
+care what you say. The offence of depreciating the credit or money of
+the Republic is a grave one.'
+
+'Who should know that better than I?' promptly replied Delessert. 'The
+paper-money of our glorious Republic is of inestimable value; but the
+fact is, Citizen Destouches, I have a weakness, I confess it, for
+coined money--_argent metallique_. In case of fire, for instance,
+it'----
+
+'It is very remarkable,' interrupted the notary with increasing
+sternness--'it is very remarkable, Pierre' (Pierre was an influential
+member of the Salut Public), 'that the instant a man becomes a landed
+proprietor, he betrays symptoms of _incivisme_: is discovered to be,
+in fact, an _aristocq_ at heart.'
+
+'I an _aristocq_!' exclaimed Delessert, turning very pale; 'you are
+jesting, surely. See, I take these admirable assignats--three thousand
+francs' worth at ten per cent.--with the greatest pleasure. Oh, never
+mind counting among friends.'
+
+'Pardon!' replied Destouches, with rigid scrupulosity. 'It is
+necessary to be extremely cautious in matters of business. Deducting
+thirty francs for the bond, you will, I think, find your money
+correct; but count yourself.'
+
+Delessert pretended to do so, but the rage in his heart so caused his
+eyes to dance and dazzle, and his hands to shake, that he could
+scarcely see the figures on the assignats, or separate one from the
+other. He bundled them up at last, crammed them into his pocket, and
+hurried off, with a sickly smile upon his face, and maledictions,
+which found fierce utterance as soon as he had reached a safe
+distance, trembling on his tongue.
+
+'Scelerat! coquin!' he savagely muttered. 'Ten per cent. for this
+moonshine money! I only wish---- But never mind, what's sauce for the
+goose is sauce for the gander. I must try and buy in the same way
+that I have been so charmingly sold.'
+
+Earnestly meditating this equitable process, Citizen Delessert sought
+his friend Jean Souday, who lived close by the Fosse des Tanneurs
+(Tanners' Ditch.) Jean had a somewhat ancient mare to dispose of,
+which our landed proprietor thought might answer his purpose. Cocotte
+was a slight waif, sheared off by the sharp axe of the Place de la
+Revolution, and Souday could therefore afford to sell her cheap. Fifty
+francs _argent metallique_ would, Delessert knew, purchase her; but
+with assignats, it was quite another affair. But, courage! He might
+surely play the notary's game with his friend Souday: that could not
+be so difficult.
+
+'You have no use for Cocotte,' suggested Delessert modestly, after
+exchanging fraternal salutations with his friend.
+
+'Such an animal is always useful,' promptly answered Madame Souday, a
+sharp, notable little woman, with a vinegar aspect.
+
+'To be sure--to be sure! And what price do you put upon this useful
+animal?'
+
+'Cela depend'---- replied Jean, with an interrogative glance at his
+helpmate.
+
+'Yes, as Jean says, that depends--entirely depends'---- responded the
+wife.
+
+'Upon what, citoyenne?'
+
+'Upon what is offered, parbleu! We are in no hurry to part with
+Cocotte; but money is tempting.'
+
+'Well, then, suppose we say, between friends, fifty francs?'
+
+'Fifty francs! That is very little; besides, I do not know that I
+shall part with Cocotte at all.'
+
+'Come, come; be reasonable. Sixty francs! Is it a bargain?'
+
+Jean still shook his head. 'Tempt him with the actual sight of the
+money,' confidentially suggested Madame Souday; 'that is the only way
+to strike a bargain with my husband.'
+
+Delessert preferred increasing his offer to this advice, and gradually
+advanced to 100 francs, without in the least softening Jean Souday's
+obduracy. The possessor of the assignats was fain, at last, to adopt
+Madame Souday's iterated counsel, and placed 120 paper francs before
+the owner of Cocotte. The husband and wife instantly, as silently,
+exchanged with each other, by the only electric telegraph then in use,
+the words: 'I thought so.'
+
+'This is charming money, friend Delessert,' said Jean Souday; 'far
+more precious to an enlightened mind than the barbarous coin stamped
+with effigies of kings and queens of the _ancien regime_. It is very
+tempting; still, I do not think I can part with Cocotte at any price.'
+
+Poor Delessert ground his teeth with rage, but the expression of his
+anger would avail nothing; and, yielding to hard necessity, he at
+length, after much wrangling, became the purchaser of the old mare for
+250 francs--in assignats. We give this as a specimen of the bargains
+effected by the owner of Les Pres with his borrowed capital, and as
+affording a key to the bitter hatred he from that day cherished
+towards the notary, by whom he had, as he conceived, been so
+egregiously duped. Towards evening, he entered a wine-shop in the
+suburb of Robertsau, drank freely, and talked still more so, fatigue
+and vexation having rendered him both thirsty and bold. Destouches, he
+assured everybody that would listen to him, was a robber--a villain--a
+vampire blood-sucker, and he, Delessert, would be amply revenged on
+him some fine day. Had the loquacious orator been eulogising some
+one's extraordinary virtues, it is very probable that all he said
+would have been forgotten by the morrow, but the memories of men are
+more tenacious of slander and evil-speaking; and thus it happened that
+Delessert's vituperative and menacing eloquence on this occasion was
+thereafter reproduced against him with fatal power.
+
+Albeit, the now nominal proprietor of Les Pres, assisted by his son
+and Cocotte, set to work manfully at his new vocation; and by dint of
+working twice as hard, and faring much worse than he did as a
+journeyman _ferblantier_, contrived to keep the wolf, if not far from
+the door, at least from entering in. His son, Le Bossu, was a
+cheerful, willing lad, with large, dark, inquisitive eyes, lit up with
+much clearer intelligence than frequently falls to the share of
+persons of his age and opportunities. The father and son were greatly
+attached to each other; and it was chiefly the hope of bequeathing Les
+Pres, free from the usurious gripe of Destouches, to his boy, that
+encouraged the elder Delessert to persevere in his well-nigh hopeless
+husbandry. Two years thus passed, and matters were beginning to assume
+a less dreary aspect, thanks chiefly to the notary's not having made
+any demand in the interim for the interest of his mortgage.
+
+'I have often wondered,' said Le Bossu one day, as he and his father
+were eating their dinner of _soupe aux choux_ and black bread, 'that
+Destouches has not called before. He may now as soon as he pleases,
+thanks to our having sold that lot of damaged wheat at such a capital
+price: corn must be getting up tremendously in the market. However,
+you are ready for Destouches' demand of six hundred francs, which it
+is now.'
+
+'Parbleu! quite ready; all ready counted in those charming assignats;
+and that is the joke of it. I wish the old villain may call or send
+soon'----
+
+A gentle tap at the door interrupted the speaker. The son opened it,
+and the notary, accompanied by his familiar, Pierre Nadaud, quietly
+glided in.
+
+'Talk of the devil,' growled Delessert audibly, 'and you are sure to
+get a whisk of his tail. Well, messieurs,' he added more loudly, 'your
+business?'
+
+'Money--interest now due on the mortgage for three thousand francs,'
+replied M. Destouches with much suavity.
+
+'Interest for two years,' continued the sourly-sardonic accents of
+Pierre Nadaud; 'six hundred francs precisely.'
+
+'Very good, you shall have the money directly.' Delessert left the
+room; the notary took out and unclasped a note-book; and Pierre Nadaud
+placed a slip of _papier timbre_ on the dinner-table, preparatory to
+writing a receipt.
+
+'Here,' said Delessert, re-entering with a roll of soiled paper in his
+hand, 'here are your six hundred francs, well counted.'
+
+The notary reclasped his note-book, and returned it to his pocket;
+Pierre Nadaud resumed possession of the receipt paper.
+
+'You are not aware, then, friend Delessert,' said the notary, 'that
+creditors are no longer compelled to receive assignats in payment?'
+
+'How? What do you say?'
+
+'Pierre,' continued M. Destouches, 'read the extract from _Le bulletin
+des Lois_, published last week.' Pierre did so with a ringing
+emphasis, which would have rendered it intelligible to a child; and
+the unhappy debtor fully comprehended that his paper-money was
+comparatively worthless! It is needless to dwell upon the fury
+manifested by Delessert, the cool obduracy of the notary, or the
+cynical comments of the clerk. Enough to say, that M. Destouches
+departed without his money, after civilly intimating that legal
+proceedings would be taken forthwith. The son strove to soothe his
+father's passionate despair, but his words fell upon unheeding ears;
+and after several hours passed in alternate paroxysms of stormy rage
+and gloomy reverie, the elder Delessert hastily left the house, taking
+the direction of Strasbourg. Le Bossu watched his father's retreating
+figure from the door until it was lost in the clouds of blinding snow
+that was rapidly falling, and then sadly resumed some indoor
+employment. It was late when he retired to bed, and his father had not
+then returned. He would probably remain, the son thought, at
+Strasbourg for the night.
+
+The chill, lead-coloured dawn was faintly struggling on the horizon
+with the black, gloomy night, when Le Bossu rose. Ten minutes
+afterwards, his father strode hastily into the house, and threw
+himself, without a word, upon a seat. His eyes, the son observed, were
+blood-shot, either with rage or drink--perhaps both; and his entire
+aspect wild, haggard, and fierce. Le Bossu silently presented him with
+a measure of _vin ordinaire_. It was eagerly swallowed, though
+Delessert's hand shook so that he could scarcely hold the pewter
+flagon to his lips.
+
+'Something has happened,' said Le Bossu presently.
+
+'Morbleu!--yes. That is,' added the father, checking himself,
+'something _might_ have happened, if---- Who's there?'
+
+'Only the wind shaking the door. What _might_ have happened?'
+persisted the son.
+
+'I will tell you, Antoine. I set off for Strasbourg yesterday, to see
+Destouches once again, and entreat him to accept the assignats in
+part-payment at least. He was not at home. Marguerite, the old
+servant, said he was gone to the cathedral, not long since reopened.
+Well, I found the usurer just coming out of the great western
+entrance, heathen as he is, looking as pious as a pilgrim. I accosted
+him, told my errand, begged, prayed, stormed! It was all to no
+purpose, except to attract the notice and comments of the passers-by.
+Destouches went his way, and I, with fury in my heart, betook myself
+to a wine-shop--Le Brun's. He would not even change an assignat to
+take for what I drank, which was not a little; and I therefore owe him
+for it. When the gendarmes cleared the house at last, I was nearly
+crazed with rage and drink. I must have been so, or I should never
+have gone to the Rue Bechard, forced myself once more into the
+notary's presence, and--and'----
+
+'And what?' quivered the young man, as his father abruptly stopped,
+startled as before into silence by a sudden rattling of the crazy
+door. 'And what?'
+
+'And abused him for a flinty-hearted scoundrel, as he is. He ordered
+me away, and threatened to call the guard. I was flinging out of the
+house, when Marguerite twitched me by the sleeve, and I stepped aside
+into the kitchen. "You must not think," she said, "of going home on
+such a night as this." It was snowing furiously, and blowing a
+hurricane at the time. "There is a straw pallet," Marguerite added,
+"where you can sleep, and nobody the wiser." I yielded. The good woman
+warmed some soup, and the storm not abating, I lay down to rest--to
+rest, do I say?' shouted Delessert, jumping madly to his feet, and
+pacing furiously to and fro--'the rest of devils! My blood was in a
+flame; and rage, hate, despair, blew the consuming fire by turns. I
+thought how I had been plundered by the mercenary ruffian sleeping
+securely, as he thought, within a dozen yards of the man he had
+ruined--sleeping securely just beyond the room containing the
+_secretaire_ in which the mortgage-deed of which I had been swindled
+was deposited'----
+
+'Oh, father!' gasped the son.
+
+'Be silent, boy, and you shall know all! It may be that I dreamed all
+this, for I think the creaking of a door, and a stealthy step on the
+stair, awoke me; but perhaps that, too, was part of the dream.
+However, I was at last wide awake, and I got up and looked out on the
+cold night. The storm had passed, and the moon had temporarily broken
+through the heavy clouds by which she was encompassed. Marguerite had
+said I might let myself out, and I resolved to depart at once. I was
+doing so, when, looking round, I perceived that the notary's
+office-door was ajar. Instantly a demon whispered, that although the
+law was restored, it was still blind and deaf as ever--could not see
+or hear in that dark silence--and that I might easily baffle the
+cheating usurer after all. Swiftly and softly, I darted towards the
+half-opened door--entered. The notary's _secretaire_, Antoine, was
+wide open! I hunted with shaking hands for the deed, but could not
+find it. There was money in the drawers, and I--I think I should have
+taken some--did perhaps, I hardly know how--when I heard, or thought I
+did, a rustling sound not far off. I gazed wildly round, and plainly
+saw in the notary's bedroom--the door of which, I had not before
+observed, was partly open--the shadow of a man's figure clearly traced
+by the faint moonlight on the floor. I ran out of the room, and out of
+the house, with the speed of a madman, and here--here I am!' This
+said, he threw himself into a seat, and covered his face with his
+hands.
+
+'That is a chink of money,' said Le Bossu, who had listened in dumb
+dismay to his father's concluding narrative. 'You had none, you said,
+when at the wine-shop.'
+
+'Money! Ah, it may be as I said---- Thunder of heaven!' cried the
+wretched man, again fiercely springing to his feet, 'I am lost!'
+
+'I fear so,' replied a commissaire de police, who had suddenly
+entered, accompanied by several gendarmes--'if it be true, as we
+suspect, that you are the assassin of the notary Destouches.'
+
+The assassin of the notary Destouches! Le Bossu heard but these words,
+and when he recovered consciousness, he found himself alone, save for
+the presence of a neighbour, who had been summoned to his assistance.
+
+The _proces verbal_ stated, in addition to much of what has been
+already related, that the notary had been found dead in his bed, at a
+very early hour of the morning, by his clerk Pierre Nadaud, who slept
+in the house. The unfortunate man had been stifled, by a pillow it was
+thought. His _secretaire_ had been plundered of a very large sum,
+amongst which were Dutch gold ducats--purchased by Destouches only the
+day before--of the value of more than 6000 francs. Delessert's
+mortgage-deed had also disappeared, although other papers of a similar
+character had been left. Six crowns had been found on Delessert's
+person, one of which was clipped in a peculiar manner, and was sworn
+to by an _epicier_ as that offered him by the notary the day previous
+to the murder, and refused by him. No other portion of the stolen
+property could be found, although the police exerted themselves to the
+utmost for that purpose.
+
+There was, however, quite sufficient evidence to convict Delessert of
+the crime, notwithstanding his persistent asseverations of innocence.
+His known hatred of Destouches, the threats he had uttered concerning
+him, his conduct in front of the cathedral, Marguerite's evidence, and
+the finding the crown in his pocket, left no doubt of his guilt, and
+he was condemned to suffer death by the guillotine. He appealed of
+course, but that, everybody felt, could only prolong his life for a
+short time, not save it.
+
+There was one person, the convict's son, who did not for a moment
+believe that his father was the assassin of Destouches. He was
+satisfied in his own mind, that the real criminal was he whose step
+Delessert had dreamed he heard upon the stair, who had opened the
+office-door, and whose shadow fell across the bedroom floor; and his
+eager, unresting thoughts were bent upon bringing this conviction home
+to others. After awhile, light, though as yet dim and uncertain, broke
+in upon his filial task.
+
+About ten days after the conviction of Delessert, Pierre Nadaud called
+upon M. Huguet, the procureur-general of Strasbourg. He had a serious
+complaint to make of Delessert, _fils_. The young man, chiefly, he
+supposed, because he had given evidence against his father, appeared
+to be nourishing a monomaniacal hatred against him, Pierre Nadaud.
+'Wherever I go,' said the irritated complainant, 'at whatever hour,
+early in the morning and late at night, he dogs my steps. I can in no
+manner escape him, and I verily believe those fierce, malevolent eyes
+of his are never closed. I really fear he is meditating some violent
+act. He should, I respectfully submit, be restrained--placed in a
+_maison de sante_, for his intellects are certainly unsettled; or
+otherwise prevented from accomplishing the mischief I am sure he
+contemplates.'
+
+M. Huguet listened attentively to this statement, reflected for a few
+moments, said inquiry should be made in the matter, and civilly
+dismissed the complainant.
+
+In the evening of the same day, Le Bossu was brought before M. Huguet.
+He replied to that gentleman's questioning by the avowal, that he
+believed Nadaud had murdered M. Destouches. 'I believe also,' added
+the young man, 'that I have at last hit upon a clue that will lead to
+his conviction.'
+
+'Indeed! Perhaps you will impart it to me?'
+
+'Willingly. The property in gold and precious gems carried off has not
+yet been traced. I have discovered its hiding-place.'
+
+'Say you so? That is extremely fortunate.'
+
+'You know, sir, that beyond the Rue des Vignes there are three houses
+standing alone, which were gutted by fire some time since, and are now
+only temporarily boarded up. That street is entirely out of Nadaud's
+way, and yet he passes and repasses there five or six times a day.
+When he did not know that I was watching him, he used to gaze
+curiously at those houses, as if to notice if they were being
+disturbed for any purpose. Lately, if he suspects I am at hand, he
+keeps his face determinedly _away_ from them, but still seems to have
+an unconquerable hankering after the spot. This very morning, there
+was a cry raised close to the ruins, that a child had been run over by
+a cart. Nadaud was passing: he knew I was close by, and violently
+checking himself, as I could see, kept his eyes fixedly _averted_ from
+the place, which I have no longer any doubt contains the stolen
+treasure.'
+
+'You are a shrewd lad,' said M. Huguet, after a thoughtful pause. 'An
+examination shall at all events take place at nightfall. You, in the
+meantime, remain here under surveillance.'
+
+Between eleven and twelve o'clock, Le Bossu was again brought into M.
+Huguet's presence. The commissary who arrested his father was also
+there. 'You have made a surprising guess, if it _be_ a guess,' said
+the procureur. 'The missing property has been found under a
+hearth-stone of the centre house.' Le Bossu raised his hands, and
+uttered a cry of delight. 'One moment,' continued M. Huguet. 'How do
+we know this is not a trick concocted by you and your father to
+mislead justice?'
+
+'I have thought of that,' replied Le Bossu calmly. 'Let it be given
+out that I am under restraint, in compliance with Nadaud's request;
+then have some scaffolding placed to-morrow against the houses, as if
+preparatory to their being pulled down, and you will see the result,
+if a quiet watch is kept during the night.' The procureur and
+commissary exchanged glances, and Le Bossu was removed from the room.
+
+It was verging upon three o'clock in the morning, when the watchers
+heard some one very quietly remove a portion of the back-boarding of
+the centre house. Presently, a closely-muffled figure, with a
+dark-lantern and a bag in his hand, crept through the opening, and
+made direct for the hearth-stone; lifted it, turned on his light
+slowly, gathered up the treasure, crammed it into his bag, and
+murmured with an exulting chuckle as he reclosed the lantern and stood
+upright: 'Safe--safe, at last!' At the instant, the light of half a
+dozen lanterns flashed upon the miserable wretch, revealing the stern
+faces of as many gendarmes. 'Quite safe, M. Pierre Nadaud!' echoed
+their leader. 'Of that you may be assured.' He was unheard: the
+detected culprit had fainted.
+
+There is little to add. Nadaud perished by the guillotine, and
+Delessert was, after a time, liberated. Whether or not he thought his
+ill-gotten property had brought a curse with it, I cannot say; but, at
+all events, he abandoned it to the notary's heirs, and set off with Le
+Bossu for Paris, where, I believe, the sign of 'Delessert et Fils,
+Ferblantiers,' still flourishes over the front of a respectably
+furnished shop.
+
+
+
+
+PHILOSOPHY OF THE SHEARS.
+
+
+The vestiarian profession has always been ill-treated by the world.
+Men have owed much, and in more senses than one, to their tailors, and
+have been accustomed to pay their debt in sneers and railleries--often
+in nothing else. The stage character of the tailor is stereotyped from
+generation to generation; his goose is a perennial pun; and his
+habitual melancholy is derived to this day from the flatulent diet on
+which he _will_ persist in living--cabbage. He is effeminate,
+cowardly, dishonest--a mere fraction of a man both in soul and body.
+He is represented by the thinnest fellow in the company; his starved
+person and frightened look are the unfailing signals for a laugh; and
+he is never spoken to but in a gibe at his trade:
+
+                'Thou liest, thou thread,
+    Thou thimble,
+    Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail;
+    Away thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant;
+    Or I shall so bemete thee with thy yard,
+    As thou shalt think on prating while thou liv'st!'
+
+All this is not a very favourable specimen of the way in which the
+stage holds the mirror up to nature. We may suppose that a certain
+character of effeminacy attached to a tailor in that olden time when
+he was the fashioner for women as well as men; but now that he has no
+professional dealings with the fair sex but when they assume masculine
+'habits,' it is unreasonable to continue the stigma. In like manner,
+when the cloth belonged to the customer, it was allowable enough to
+suspect him of a little amiable weakness for cabbage; but now that he
+is himself the clothier, the joke is pointless and absurd. Tailors,
+however, can afford to laugh, as well as other people, at their
+conventional double--or rather _ninth_, for at least in our own day
+they have wrought very hard to elevate their calling into a science.
+The period of lace and frippery of all kinds has passed away, and this
+is the era of simple form, in which sartorial genius has only cloth to
+work upon as severely plain as the statuary's marble. It is true, we
+ourselves do not understand the 'anatomical principles' on which the
+more philosophical of the craft proceed, nor does our scholarship
+carry us quite the length of their Greek (?) terminology; but we
+acknowledge the result in their workmanship, although we cannot trace
+the steps by which it is brought about.
+
+Very different is the plan now from what it was in the days of Shemus
+nan Snachad, James of the Needle, hereditary tailor to Vich Ian Vohr,
+when men were measured as classes rather than as individuals, and when
+a cutter had only to glance at the customer to ascertain to which
+category he belonged.
+
+'You know the measure of a well-made man? Two double nails to the
+small of the leg'----
+
+'Eleven from haunch to heel, seven round the waist. I give your honour
+leave to hang Shemus, if there's a pair of shears in the Highlands
+that has a baulder sneck than her ain at the _camadh an truais_ (shape
+of the trews).' And so the thing was done, without tape or figures,
+without a word of Greek or anatomy! However, the anatomical tailors we
+shall not meddle with for the present, because we do not understand
+their science; nor with the Greek tailors, because we fear to take
+the liberty; nor with the Hebrew tailors, because we are only a
+Gentile ourselves. Our object is to draw attention to the doings of an
+individual who interferes with no science but his own, and who
+patronises exclusively his mother-tongue, which is not Hebrew, but
+broad Scotch.
+
+This individual is Mr Macdonald, a near neighbour of ours, who, about
+eighteen years ago, listened with curiosity, but not with dread, to
+the clamorous pretensions of the craft to which he belonged. At that
+time, every man had a 'new principle' of his own for the sneck of the
+shears, some theoretical mode of cutting, which was to make the coat
+fit like the skin. Our neighbour, who had a practical and mechanical,
+rather than a speculative head, resolved not to be behind in the race
+of competition, but to proceed in a different way. 'It is all very
+well,' thought he, 'to talk of principles and theories; but with the
+requisite apparatus, the human figure may be measured as accurately as
+a block of stone;' and accordingly he set to work, not to invent a
+theory, but to construct a machine. This machine, though exhibited
+some time ago in the School of Arts, and received with great favour,
+we happened not to hear of till a few days ago; but a visit to our
+neighbour puts it now in our power to report that his apparatus does
+much more, as we shall presently explain, than measure a customer.
+
+The machine consists of three perpendicular pieces of wood, the centre
+one between six and seven feet high, with a plinth for the measuree to
+stand upon. The wood is marked from top to bottom with inches and
+parts of an inch, and is furnished with slides, fitting closely, but
+movable at the pleasure of the operator. When the customer places
+himself upon this machine, standing at his full height, he has much
+the appearance of a man suffering the punishment of crucifixion, only
+his arms, instead of being extended, hang motionless by his sides,
+with the fingers pointed. A slide is now run up between the victim's
+legs, to give the measurement of what is technically called the fork;
+while others mark in like manner upon the inch scale, the position of
+the knees, hips, tips of the fingers, shoulder, neck, head, &c. When
+the operator is satisfied that he has thus obtained the accurate
+admeasurement of the figure, in its natural position when standing
+erect, the gentleman steps from the machine, and turning round, sees
+an exact diagram, in wood, of his own proportions.
+
+This instrument, it will be seen, is very well adapted for the object
+for which it was intended; but it would, nevertheless, have escaped
+our inspection but for the other purposes of observation to which it
+has been applied by the ingenious inventor. He has measured in all
+about 5000 adults, registering in a book the measurement of each, with
+the names written by themselves. Among the autographs, we find that of
+Sir David Wilkie in the neighbourhood of the names of half a dozen
+American Indians. Here would be a new branch of inquiry for those who
+are addicted to the study of character through the handwriting. With
+such abundant materials before them, they would doubtless be able to
+determine the height and general proportions of their unseen
+correspondents. In the article of height, many men correspond to the
+minutest portion of an inch; but in the other proportions of the
+figure, it would seem that no two human beings are alike. So great is
+the disparity in persons of the same height, that the trunk of an
+individual of five feet and a half, is occasionally found to be as
+long as that of a man of six feet. In fact, Mr Macdonald, in an early
+period of his measurements, was so confounded by the difference in the
+proportions, that he at once came to the conclusion, that our
+population is made up of mixed tribes of mankind.
+
+In the midst of all this diversity, the question was, What were the
+proper proportions? or, in other words, What proportions constituted a
+handsome figure? and here our vestiarian philosopher was for a long
+time at a loss. At length, however, he took 300 measurements, without
+selection, including the length of the trunk, of the head and neck,
+and of the fork, and adding them all together, struck the average:
+from which it resulted, that the average head and neck gives 10-1/2
+inches; trunk, 25 inches; and fork, 32 inches; making the whole
+figure, from the crown of the head to the sole of the _shoe_, 5 feet
+7-1/2 inches. The word we have italicised is the drawback: a tailor
+measures with the shoes on; and Mr Macdonald can only approximate to
+the truth when he deducts half an inch for the sole, and declares the
+average height of our population to be five feet seven inches. On this
+basis, however, he constructed a scale of beauty applying to all
+heights: If a man of 5 feet 7 inches give 10-1/2 inches for head and
+neck, 25 for trunk, and 31-1/2 for fork, what should another give, of
+6 feet, or any other height? The approximation of a man's actual
+measurement to this rule of three determines his pretensions in the
+way of symmetry; and the inventor of the _shibboleth_ has found it so
+far to answer, that a figure coming near the rule invariably pleases
+the eye, and gives the assurance of a handsome man. Independently of
+this advantage, a man of such proportions has great strength, and is
+able to withstand the fatigue of violent exercise for a longer period
+than one less symmetrically formed.
+
+The term 'adult,' however, used by Mr Macdonald to designate those he
+measured, is not satisfactory--it does not inform us that the persons
+measured had reached their full development; for men continue to grow,
+as has been shewn by M. Quetelet, even after twenty-five. The height
+given, notwithstanding--five feet seven inches--in all probability
+approximates pretty closely to the true average; and the very
+different result shewn in Professor Forbes's measurements in the
+University must be set pretty nearly out of the question. The number
+of Scotsmen measured by the professor was 523 in all; but these were
+of eleven different ages, from fifteen to twenty-five, all averaged
+separately; and supposing the number of each age to have been alike,
+this would give less than fifty of the age of twenty-five--the average
+height of whom was 69.3 inches. But independently of the smallness of
+the number, the professor's customers were volunteers, and it is not
+to be supposed that under-sized persons would put themselves forward
+on such an occasion. It may be added, that even the height of the
+boot-heels of young collegians of twenty-five would tend to falsify
+the average.
+
+Men do not only differ in their proportions from other men, but from
+themselves. The arms and legs may be paired, but they are not matched,
+and in every respect one side of the body is different from the other:
+the eyes are not set straight across the face, neither is the mouth;
+the nose is inclined to one side; the ears are of different sizes, and
+one is nearer the crown of the head than the other; there are not two
+fingers, nor two nails on the fingers, alike, and the same
+disagreement runs through the whole figure. This, however, is so
+common an observation, that we should not have thought it necessary to
+mention it, but for the bearing the facts given by our statist have
+upon the common theory by which the irregularity is sought to be
+accounted for. This declares, that use is the cause of the greater
+growth of one limb, &c.: that the right hand, for instance, is larger
+than the left, because it is in more active service. It appears,
+however, that although the left limbs are in general smaller, this is
+not, as it is usually supposed, invariably the case; while the ears
+and eyes, that are used indiscriminately, present the same relative
+difference of size. We do not, therefore, make our own proportions in
+this respect: we come into the world with them, and our occupations
+merely exaggerate a natural defect. An idle man will have one arm half
+an inch longer than the other; while a woman, who has been accustomed
+in early years to carry a child, exhibits a difference amounting
+sometimes to an inch and a half.
+
+When these facts were first mentioned to us, we looked with some
+curiosity at the machine from which we had just stepped out; and there
+we found an illustration of them not highly flattering to our
+self-esteem. Knees, hips, shoulders, ears, all were so ill-assorted,
+that it seemed as if Nature had been actually trying her 'prentice
+hand upon our peculiar self. It was in vain to bethink ourselves of
+the physical eccentricities of the distinguished men of other times:
+
+    'Ammon's great son one shoulder had too high;
+    Such Ovid's nose, and, sir, you have an eye!'--
+
+we might have gone through tho whole inventory of the figure, and
+concluded the quotation:
+
+    'Go on, obliging creatures, make me see
+    All that disgraced my betters met in me.
+    Say, for my comfort, languishing in bed,
+    Just so immortal Maro held his head;
+    And when I die, be sure you let me know--
+    Great Homer died three thousand years ago!'
+
+What we had seen, however, was only the length of the figure; but we
+were informed by our philosophic tailor, that the limbs, &c., are
+likewise irregularly placed as regards breadth. The trunk of the body
+is of various shapes, which he distinguishes as the oval, the
+circular, and the flat. The first has the arms placed in the middle;
+in the second, they are more towards the back, and relatively long;
+and in the third, more towards the front, and relatively short. The
+length of the forearm should be the length of the lower part of the
+leg, and if either longer or shorter, the difference appears in the
+walk. If shorter, the walk is a kind of waddle, the elbows inclining
+outwards; if longer, it is distinguished by a swinging motion, as if
+the person carried weights in his hands. If the circumference of the
+body, measured with an inch-tape just below the shoulders, be smaller
+than the circumference of the hips, the person will rock in walking,
+and plant his feet heavily upon the ground. If greater, so that the
+chief weight is above the limbs, the step will be light, as is
+familiarly seen in corpulent men, whose delicate mode of walking we
+witness with ever-recurring surprise. If the shoulders slope
+downwards, with the spine bending inwards, the individual 'cannot
+throw a stone, or handle firearms with dexterity.' When inclined
+forwards, and well relieved from the body, he may be a proficient in
+these exercises. A peculiarity in walking is given by the size of the
+head and neck being out of proportion; and an instance is mentioned of
+a man being discharged from the army, on account of his conformation
+rendering it impossible for him to keep his head steady.
+
+All these are curious and suggestive particulars. It is customary to
+refer awkwardness of manner to bad habit, and such diseases as
+consumption either to imprudence or hereditary taint; but it may be
+doubted whether taints are not mainly the result of original
+conformation. Habit and imprudence may doubtless aggravate the evil,
+just as exercise may enlarge a member of the body; but it is nature
+which sows the seeds of decay in her own productions. Physically, the
+child is a copy of the parents, even to their peculiarities of gait;
+and these peculiarities would seem to depend on the correct or
+incorrect balance of the members of the body. When the conformation is
+of a kind which interferes with the play of the lungs, the same
+transmission of course takes place, and consumption may be the fatal
+inheritance. If the arrangement of the parts were perfect, it may be
+doubted--for symmetry is the basis of health as well as
+beauty--whether we should ever hear of such a thing as 'taint in the
+blood.' If this theory were to gain ground, it would simplify much the
+practice of medicine; for the disease would stand in visible and
+tangible presence before the eyes, and the employment of inventions,
+to counteract and finally conquer the eccentricities of nature, would
+be governed by science, and thus relieved from the suspicion of
+quackery, which at present more or less attaches to it. To pursue
+these speculations, however, would lead us too far; and before
+concluding, we must find room for a few more of our practical
+philosopher's observations.
+
+All good mechanics, it seems, have large hands and thick and short
+fingers; which is pretty nearly the conclusion arrived at by
+D'Arpentigny in _La Chirognomonie_, although the captain adds, that
+the hands must be _en spatule_--that is to say, with the end of the
+fingers enlarged in the form of a spatula. The hand is generally the
+same breadth as the foot: a fact recognised by the country people,
+who, when buying their shoes at fairs--which were the usual
+mart--might have been seen thrusting in their hand to try the breadth,
+when they had ascertained that the length was suitable. A short foot
+gives a mincing walk, while a long one requires the person to bring
+his body aplomb with the foot before taking the step, which thus
+resembles a stride. Good dancers have the limbs short as compared with
+the body, which has thus the necessary power over them; but if too
+short, there is a deficiency of dexterity in the management of the
+feet.
+
+In conclusion, it will be seen, we think, that there is much to be
+learned even in the business of the shears. There is no trade whatever
+which will not afford materials for thought to an intelligent man, and
+thus enlarge the mind and elevate the character.
+
+
+
+
+THE NIGHTINGALE:
+
+A MUSICAL QUESTION.
+
+
+Is the song of the nightingale mirthful or melancholy? is a question
+that has been discussed so often, that anything new on the subject
+might be considered superfluous, were it not that the very fact of the
+discussion is in itself a curiosity worthy of attention. The note in
+dispute was heard with equal distinctness by Homer and Wordsworth; and
+indeed there are few poets of any age or country who have not, at one
+time or other in their lives, had the testimony of their own ears as
+to its character. Whence, then, this difference of opinion? Listen to
+Thomson's unqualified assertion, given with the seriousness of an
+affidavit:
+
+    ----'all abandoned to despair, she sings
+    Her sorrows through the night, and on the bough
+    Sole sitting still at every dying fall
+    Takes up again her lamentable strain
+    Of winding wo; till wide around the woods
+    Sigh to her song and with her wail resound.'
+
+Then Homer in the _Odyssey_, through Pope's paraphrase:
+
+    'Sad Philomel, in bowery shades unseen,
+    To vernal airs attunes her varied strains.'
+
+Virgil, as rendered by Dryden:
+
+    ----'she supplies the night with mournful strains
+    And melancholy music fills the plains.'
+
+Milton, too:
+
+    ----'Philomel will deign a song
+    In her sweetest, saddest plight,
+    Smoothing the rugged brow of night,
+    While Cynthia checks her dragon yoke
+    Gently o'er the accustom'd oak:
+    Sweet bird, that shun'st the noise of folly--
+    Most musical, most melancholy.'
+
+And again in _Comus_:
+
+    ----'the love-lorn nightingale
+    Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well.'
+
+And Shakspeare makes his poor banished Valentine congratulate himself,
+that in the forest he can
+
+    ----'to the nightingale's complaining note
+    Tune his distresses and record his wo.
+
+We might go on much longer in this strain. We might give, likewise,
+the mythological cause assigned for the imputed melancholy, and add
+that some, not content with this, represent the bird as leaning its
+breast against a thorn--
+
+    'To aggravate the inward grief,
+    Which makes its music so forlorn.'
+
+But we would rather pause to admit candidly, that two of the above
+witnesses might be challenged--Virgil and Thomson; who indeed should
+be counted but as one, for the author of the _Seasons_, in the lines
+quoted, has translated, though not so closely as Dryden, from the
+_Georgics_ of the Latin poet. If you will read the passage--it matters
+not whether in Virgil, Dryden, or Thomson--you will perceive that it
+is a special occurrence that is spoken of: no statement whatever is
+made as to the character of the nightingale's ordinary song. Thomson,
+in the course of his humane and touching protest against the barbarous
+art: 'through which birds are
+
+                    ---- by tyrant man
+    Inhuman caught, and in the narrow cage
+    From liberty confined, and boundless air,'
+
+represents the nightingale's misery when thus bereaved. This portion
+of the lines shall stand entire; none, we are sure, would wish us
+further to mangle the passage:
+
+    'But chief, let not the nightingale lament
+    Her ruined care, too delicately framed
+    To brook the harsh confinement of the cage.
+    Oft, when returning with her loaded bill,
+    The astonished mother finds a vacant nest,
+    By the rude hands of unrelenting clowns
+    Robbed: to the ground the vain provision falls.
+    Her pinions ruffle, and low drooping, scarce
+    Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade;
+    Where all abandoned to despair, she sings
+    Her sorrows through the night.'
+
+It will at once be seen that this description relates to an
+exceptional condition, and we have yet to seek what character Virgil
+and Thomson would give to the ordinary song of this paradoxical
+musician. For the Roman, we do not know that any passage exists in his
+works which can help us to a conclusion; but Thomson's testimony must
+undoubtedly be ranged on the contra side, as appears from the
+following lines in his _Agamemnon_:
+
+    'Ah, far unlike the nightingale! she sings
+    Unceasing through the balmy nights of May--
+    She sings from love and joy.'
+
+In the passage from his Spring, which we have given, we cannot but
+fancy that the poet endeavoured--if we may so say--to effect a
+compromise between the opinion which, through the influence of
+classical poetry, generally prevailed as to the character of the
+bird's music, and the opposing convictions which his own senses had
+forced upon him. It was desirable to describe its strains according to
+the popular fancy, and therefore he borrowed from Virgil such a
+description of the bird's sorrow as under the assumed circumstances
+did no violence to his own judgment.
+
+Thomson is not the only poet in whom we fancy we detect some such
+attempt at compromise. It appears to us that Villega, the Anacreon of
+Spain, in the following little poem, which we give in Mr Wiffen's
+translation, adopted, with a similar object, this idea of the
+nightingale robbed of her young. The truthful and somewhat minute
+description in the song, however, represents the bird's ordinary
+performance, and but ill suits the circumstances under which it is
+supposed to be uttered. The failure on the part of the poet may be
+ascribed to his secret conviction, that the nightingale's was a
+cheerful melody; and his labouring against that conviction to the
+necessity he felt himself under of following his classical masters.
+
+    'I have seen a nightingale
+    On a sprig of thyme bewail,
+    Seeing the dear nest that was
+    Hers alone, borne off, alas!
+    By a labourer: I heard,
+    For this outrage, the poor bird
+    Say a thousand mournful things
+    To the wind, which on its wings
+    From her to the guardian sky
+    Bore her melancholy cry--
+    Bore her tender tears. She spake
+    As if her fond heart would break.
+    One while in a sad, sweet note,
+    Gurgled from her straining throat,
+    She enforced her piteous tale,
+    Mournful prayer and plaintive wail;
+    One while with the shrill dispute,
+    Quite o'er-wearied, she was mute;
+    Then afresh, for her dear brood,
+    Her harmonious shrieks renewed;
+    Now she winged it round and round,
+    Now she skimmed along the ground;
+    Now from bough to bough in haste
+    The delighted robber chased;
+    And alighting in his path,
+    Seemed to say, 'twixt grief and wrath:
+    "Give me back, fierce rustic rude!
+    Give me back my pretty brood!"
+    And I saw the rustic still
+    Answer: "That I never will!"'
+
+Independently of the untruthfulness of which a naturalist would
+complain in this description--for no birds under such circumstances of
+distress sing, but merely repeat each its own peculiar piercing cry,
+never at any other time heard, and which cannot be mistaken--there is
+a palpable effort of ingenuity discoverable in the representation,
+which seems to tell us that the writer was making up a story, rather
+than uttering his own belief. It may even be doubted whether Virgil
+himself, who seems first to have invented this fancy, and behind whose
+broad mantle later poets have sheltered themselves, may not have felt
+an inclination to depart from the Greek opinion of Philomel's ditty.
+Why otherwise did he not simply and at once--as his masters Homer and
+Theocritus had done before him--describe her notes as mournful,
+instead of casting about for some cause that might excuse him for
+giving them that character? But however this may be, we cannot conceal
+from ourselves, that some stubborn passages still remain in the poets,
+proclaiming that there are men, and those among the greatest and most
+tasteful, to whose fancy the voice of the nightingale has sounded full
+of wo.
+
+Homer must be counted of this number--unless we think with Fox, in the
+preface to his _History of Lord Holland_, that it is only as to her
+wakefulness Penelope is compared to the night singing-bird; and so
+must Milton (for although Coleridge has satisfactorily dealt with the
+passage in _Il Penseroso_, the line of the Lady's song in _Comus_
+remains still); and Shakspeare himself, who could scarcely be
+influenced, as Milton might very possibly be, by the opinions of the
+Grecian poets.
+
+It is a strange contest we are here considering. Which of us would for
+a moment doubt our ability to decide in a dispute as to the liveliness
+or sadness of any given melody?--yet here we see the greatest poets,
+the favoured children of nature, utterly at variance on a point
+concerning which we should have expected to find even the most
+ordinary minds able to decide.
+
+The question becomes more involved from the fact, that some writers
+take _both_ sides; for instance, Chiobrera in _Aleippo_: the
+nightingale
+
+    'Unwearied still reiterates her lays,
+    Jocund _or_ sad, delightful to the ear;'
+
+and Hartley Coleridge, in the following beautiful song, which we
+transcribe the more readily because it has not long been published,
+and may be new to many of our readers:
+
+    ''Tis sweet to hear the merry lark,
+      That bids a blithe good-morrow;
+    But sweeter to hark in the twinkling dark
+      To the soothing song of sorrow.
+    Oh, nightingale! what doth she ail?
+      And is she _sad_ or _jolly_?
+    For ne'er on earth was sound of mirth
+      So like to melancholy.
+
+    The merry lark he soars on high,
+      No worldly thought o'ertakes him;
+    He sings aloud to the clear blue sky,
+      And the daylight that awakes him.
+    As sweet a lay, as loud, as gay,
+      The nightingale is trilling;
+    With feeling bliss, no less than his
+      Her little heart is thrilling.
+
+    Yet ever and anon a sigh
+      Peers through her lavish mirth;
+    For the lark's bold song is of the sky,
+      And hers is of the earth.
+    By night and day she tunes her lay,
+      To drive away all sorrow;
+    For bliss, alas! to-night may pass,
+      And wo may come to-morrow.'
+
+We must now cite one or two of the many passages which represent the
+nightingale's as an _absolutely_ cheerful song. We fear we cannot
+insist so much as Fox is disposed to do, on the evidence of Chaucer,
+who continually styles the nightingale's a merry note, because it is
+evident that in _his_ day the word had a somewhat different meaning
+from that which it at present conveys. For example, the poet calls the
+organ 'merry.' Nor dare we lay stress upon the instance which Cary
+cites--in a note to his _Purgatory_--of a 'neglected poet,' Vallans,
+who in his _Tale of Two Swannes_ ranks the 'merrie nightingale among
+the cheerful birds,' because we do not know whether, even at the time
+when Vallans wrote--the book was published, it seems, in
+1590--'merrie' had come to bear its present signification.
+
+We shall, however, find a witness among the writers of his period in
+Gawain Douglas, who died Bishop of Dunkeld in 1522. He, in a prologue
+to one of his _AEneids_, applies not only the word 'merry' to our bird,
+but one of less questionable signification--'mirthful.' If we come
+down to more modern times, we shall find Wordsworth, who seems above
+all others, except Burns, to have had a catholic ear for the whole
+multitude of natural sounds, not only refusing the character of
+melancholy to the nightingale's song, but placing it below the
+stock-dove's, because it is deficient in the pensiveness and
+seriousness which mark the note of the latter.
+
+However, of all testimonies which can be brought on this side of the
+question, the strongest is that of Coleridge. No other has so
+accurately described the song itself; moreover, he alone has entered
+the lists avowedly as an antagonist, and confessing in so many words
+to the existence of an opinion opposite to his own.
+
+    'And hark! the nightingale begins its song,
+    "Most musical, most melancholy" bird.
+    A melancholy bird? oh, idle thought![2]
+    In nature there is nothing melancholy.
+    But some night-wandering man, whose heart was pierced
+    With the resemblance of a grievous wrong,
+    Or slow distemper, or neglected love,
+    First named these notes a melancholy strain:
+    And youths and maidens most poetical,
+    Who lose the deepening twilight of the spring
+    In ball-rooms and hot theatres, they still,
+    Full of meek sympathy, must heave their sighs
+    O'er Philomela's pity-pleading strains.
+    My friend, and thou, our sister! we have learnt
+    A different love: we may not thus profane
+    Nature's sweet voices, always full of love
+    And joyance! 'Tis the _merry_ nightingale
+    That crowds and hurries and precipitates
+    With fast-thick warble his delicious notes,
+    As he were fearful that an April night
+    Would be too short for him to utter forth
+    His love-chant and disburden his full soul
+    Of all its music!'
+
+Little now remains to be said. We have laid before the reader
+specimens of the two contending opinions, as well as of that which is
+set up as a golden mean between them; and he has but to put down our
+pages, and to walk forth--provided he does not live too far north, or
+in some smoke-poisoned town--to judge for himself as to the true
+character of the strains. Small risk, we think, would there be in
+pronouncing on which side his verdict would be given! Well do we
+remember the night when we first heard this sweet bird: how we
+listened and refused to believe--for we were young, and our idea had
+of course been that his song was a melancholy one--that those madly
+hilarious sounds could come from the mournful nightingale. Wordsworth
+attempts thus to account for the delusion under which the older poets
+laboured on this subject:
+
+    'Fancy, who leads the pastimes of the glad,
+    Full oft is pleased a wayward dart to throw,
+    Sending sad shadows after things not sad,
+    Peopling the harmless fields with sighs of wo.
+    Beneath her sway, a simple forest cry
+    Becomes an echo of man's misery.
+    What wonder? at her bidding ancient lays
+    Steeped in dire grief the voice of Philomel,
+    And that blithe messenger of summer days,
+    The swallow, twittered, subject to like spell.'
+
+It is curious that the people who first fixed the stigma of melancholy
+upon our bird--the Greeks, or at least the Athenians, and it is of
+them we speak--were perhaps the very gayest people that ever danced
+upon the earth--absolute Frenchmen. The very sprightliness of their
+temper, however, by the universally prevailing law of contrast, may
+have induced in them a fondness for sad and doleful legends; and we
+confess, for our own part, that while we from our hearts admire the
+poetical beauty and elegance of their various fables, we do not a
+little disrelish the constant vein of melancholy which pervades them
+all. Not the least sad of their fictions is that which relates to the
+nightingale; a story that has found its way--and even more universally
+the opinion of the bird's music which it implied--amongst all the
+nations whom Greece has instructed and civilised.
+
+But we have yet another reply to the question, 'Why do most people
+call the nightingale's a melancholy song?' It is heard by night,
+'whilst our spirits are attentive,' and the solemn gloom of the hour
+influences the judgment of the ear; for another false impression,
+which like the monster Error of Spenser, has bred a thousand young
+ones as ill-favoured as herself, ascribes melancholy to night. There
+is no good reason why we should think thus of the night, still less
+that the impression should influence our judgment in other matters;
+and we owe no small thanks to those who have endeavoured to reclaim to
+their proper uses these misdirected associations, and to teach, that
+
+    'In nature there is nothing melancholy;'
+
+but on the contrary,
+
+    'Healing her wandering and distempered child,
+    She pours around her softest influences,
+    Her sunny hues, fair forms, and breathing sweets,
+    Her melodies of woods, and winds, and waters,
+    Till he relent, and can no more endure
+    To be a jarring and a dissonant thing
+    Amid the general dance and harmony;
+    But, bursting into tears, wins back his way,
+    His angry spirit healed and harmonised
+    By the benignant touch of love and beauty.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] _Note by Coleridge._--'The passage in Milton possesses an
+excellence far superior to that of mere description. It is spoken in
+the character of the Melancholy Man, and has, therefore, a dramatic
+propriety. The author makes this remark, to rescue himself from the
+charge of having alluded with levity to a line of Milton's.'
+
+
+
+
+THE TEA-COUNTRIES OF CHINA.
+
+
+About four years ago, Mr Fortune, author of _Three Years' Wanderings
+in the Northern Provinces of China_, was deputed by the East India
+Company to proceed to China for the purpose of obtaining the finest
+varieties of the tea-plant, as well as native manufacturers and
+implements, for the government tea-plantations in the Himalaya. Being
+acquainted with the Chinese language, and adopting the Chinese
+costume, he penetrated into districts unvisited before by
+Europeans--excepting, perhaps, the Catholic missionaries--exciting no
+further curiosity as to his person or pedigree, than what was due to a
+stranger from one of the provinces beyond the great wall. His
+principal journeys were to Sung-lo, the great green-tea district, and
+to the Bohea Mountains, the great black-tea district; besides a flying
+visit to Kingtang, or Silver Island, in the Chusan archipelago. The
+narrative, which he has since published,[3] manifests a good faculty
+for observation; but travelling as privately as possible, he saw
+little but the exterior aspects of the country, the appearance of
+which he describes very graphically. As a botanist, he had a keen eye
+for everything which promised to enlarge our knowledge of the Chinese
+flora, and discovered many useful and ornamental trees and shrubs,
+some of which, such as the funereal cypress, will one day produce a
+striking and beautiful effect in our English landscape, and in our
+cemeteries. Of social and political information relative to the
+Celestial Empire, the book is quite barren; and we do not know that
+there is anything in it which will be so acceptable to the reader, as
+fresh and reliable information about his favourite beverage. To this,
+therefore, our attention will be confined.
+
+The plant in cultivation about Canton, from which the Canton teas are
+made, is known to botanists as the _Thea bohea_; while the more
+northern variety, found in the green-tea country, has been called
+_Thea viridis_. The first appears to have been named upon the
+supposition, that all the black teas of the Bohea Mountains were
+obtained from this species; and the second was called _viridis_,
+because it furnished the green teas of commerce. These names seem to
+have misled the public; and hence many persons, until a few years ago,
+firmly believed that black tea could be made only from _Thea bohea_,
+and green tea only from _Thea viridis_. In his _Wanderings in China_,
+published in 1846, Mr Fortune had stated that both teas could be made
+from either plant, and that the difference in their appearance
+depended upon manipulation, and upon that only. But the objection was
+made, that although he had been in many of the tea-districts near the
+coast, he had not seen those greater ones inland which furnish the
+teas of commerce. Since that time, however, he has visited them,
+without seeing reason to alter his statements. The two kinds of tea,
+indeed, are rarely made in the same district; but this is a matter of
+convenience. Districts which formerly were famous for black teas, now
+produce nothing but green. At Canton, green and black teas are made
+from the _Thea bohea_ at the pleasure of the manufacturer, and
+according to demand. When the plants arrive from the farms fresh and
+cool, they dry of a bright-green colour; but if they are delayed in
+their transit, or remain in a confined state for too long a period,
+they become heated, from a species of spontaneous fermentation; and
+when loosened and spread open, emit vapours, and are sensibly warm to
+the hand. When such plants are dried, the whole of the green colour is
+found to have been destroyed, and a red-brown, and sometimes a
+blackish-brown result is obtained. 'I had also noticed,' says Mr
+Warrington, in a paper read by him before the Chemical Society, 'that
+a clear infusion of such leaves, evaporated carefully to dryness, was
+not all undissolved by water, but left a quantity of brown oxidised
+extractive matter, to which the denomination _apothem_ has been
+applied by some chemists; a similar result is obtained by the
+evaporation of an infusion of black tea. The same action takes place
+by the exposure of the infusions of many vegetable substances to the
+oxidising influence of the atmosphere; they become darkened on the
+surface, and this gradually spreads through the solution, and on
+evaporation, the same oxidised extractive matter will remain insoluble
+in water. Again, I had found that the green teas, when wetted and
+redried, with exposure to the air, were nearly as dark in colour as
+the ordinary black teas. From these observations, therefore, I was
+induced to believe, that the peculiar characters and chemical
+differences which distinguish black tea from green, were to be
+attributed to a species of heating or fermentation, accompanied with
+oxidation by exposure to the air, and not to its being submitted to a
+higher temperature in the process of drying, as had been generally
+concluded. My opinion was partly confirmed by ascertaining from
+parties conversant with the Chinese manufacture, that the leaves for
+the black teas were always allowed to remain exposed to the air in
+mass for some time before they were roasted.'
+
+This explanation by Mr Warrington from scientific data, is confirmed
+by Mr Fortune from personal observation, and fully accounts, not only
+for the difference in colour between the two teas, but also for the
+effect produced on some constitutions by green tea, such as nervous
+irritability, sleeplessness, &c.; and Mr Fortune truly remarks, that
+what Mr Warrington observed in the laboratory of Apothecaries' Hall,
+may be seen by every one who has a tree or bush in his garden. Mark
+the leaves which are blown from trees in early autumn; they are brown,
+or perhaps of a dullish green when they fall, but when they have been
+exposed for some time in their detached state to air and moisture,
+they become as black as our blackest teas. Without detailing the whole
+process in the manufacture of either kind of tea, it may be stated in
+reference to green tea, _1st_, That the leaves are roasted almost
+immediately, after they are gathered; and _2d_, That they are dried
+off quickly after the rolling process. In reference to black tea, on
+the other hand, it may be observed, _1st_, That after being gathered,
+the leaves are exposed for a considerable time; _2d_, That they are
+tossed about until they become soft and flaccid, and are then left in
+heaps; _3d_, That after being roasted for a few minutes and rolled,
+they are exposed for some hours to the air in a soft and moist state;
+and _4th_, That they are at last dried slowly over charcoal fires.
+After all, then, genuine green tea is, as might reasonably be
+conjectured, an article less artificial than black. There is, at the
+same time, too much foundation for the suspicion, that the green teas
+so much patronised in Europe and America, are not so innocently
+manufactured. Mr Fortune witnessed the process of colouring them in
+the Hung-chow green-tea country, and describes the process. The
+substance used is a powder consisting of four parts of gypsum and
+three parts of Prussian blue, which was applied to the teas during the
+last process of roasting.
+
+'During this part of the operation,' he says, 'the hands of the
+workmen were quite blue. I could not help thinking, that if any
+green-tea drinkers had been present during the operation, their taste
+would have been corrected, and, I may be allowed to add, improved.
+One day, an English gentleman in Shang-hae, being in conversation with
+some Chinese from the green-tea country, asked them what reasons they
+had for dyeing the tea, and whether it would not be better without
+undergoing this process. They acknowledged that tea was much better
+when prepared without having any such ingredients mixed with it, and
+that they never drank dyed teas themselves; but justly remarked, that
+as foreigners seemed to prefer having a mixture of Prussian blue and
+gypsum with their tea, to make it look uniform and pretty, and as
+these ingredients were cheap enough, the Chinese had no objections to
+supply them, especially as such teas always fetched a higher price!'
+The quantity of colouring matter used is rather more than an ounce to
+14-1/2 lbs. of tea; so that in every 100 lbs. of coloured green tea
+consumed in England or America, the consumer actually drinks nearly
+half a pound of Prussian blue and gypsum! Samples of these
+ingredients, procured from the Chinamen in the factory, were sent last
+year to the Great Exhibition.
+
+In the black-tea districts, as in the green, large quantities of young
+plants are yearly raised from seeds. These seeds are gathered in the
+month of October, and kept mixed up with sand and earth during the
+winter months. In this manner they are kept fresh until spring, when
+they are sown thickly in some corner of the farm, from which they are
+afterwards transplanted. When about a year old, they are from nine
+inches to a foot in height, and ready for transplanting. This is
+always done at the change of the monsoon in spring, when fine warm
+showers are of frequent occurrence. The most favourable situations are
+on the slopes of the hills, as affording good drainage, which is of
+the utmost importance; and which, on the plains, is attained by having
+the lands above the watercourses. Other things being equal, a
+moderately rich soil is preferred. They are planted in rows about four
+feet apart (in poor soils, much closer), and have a very hedge-like
+appearance when full grown. A plantation of tea, when seen at a
+distance, looks like a little shrubbery of evergreens. As the
+traveller threads his way amongst the rocky scenery of Woo-e-shan, he
+is continually coming upon these plantations, which are dotted upon
+the sides of all the hills. The leaves are of a rich dark-green, and
+afford a pleasing contrast to the strange, and often barren scenery
+which is everywhere around. The young plantations are generally
+allowed to grow unmolested for two or three years, till they are
+strong and healthy; and even then, great care is exercised not to
+exhaust the plants by plucking them too bare. But, with every care,
+they ultimately become stunted and unhealthy, and are never profitable
+when they are old; hence, in the best-managed tea-districts, the
+natives yearly remove old plantations, and supply their places with
+fresh ones. About ten or twelve years is the average duration allowed
+to the plants. The tea-farms are in general small, and their produce
+is brought to market in the following manner: A tea-merchant from
+Tsong-gan or Tsin-tsun, goes himself, or sends his agents, to all the
+small towns, villages, and temples in the district, to purchase teas
+from the priests and small farmers. When the teas so purchased are
+taken to his house, they are mixed together, of course keeping the
+different qualities as much apart as possible. By this means, a chop
+(or parcel) of 600 chests is made; and all the tea of this chop is of
+the same description or class. The large merchant in whose hands it is
+now, has to refine it, and pack it for the foreign market. When the
+chests are packed, the name of the chop is written upon each, or ought
+to be; but it is not unusual to leave them unmarked till they reach
+the port of exportation, when the name most in repute is, if possible,
+put upon them. When the chop is purchased in the tea-district, a
+number of coolies are engaged to carry the chests on their shoulders,
+either to their ultimate destination, or to the nearest river. The
+time occupied in the entire transport by land and river, from the
+Bohea country to Canton, is about six weeks or two months. The
+expenses of transit, of course, vary with localities, and other
+circumstances; but, in general, those expenses are so very moderate,
+that the middlemen realise large profits, while the small farmers and
+manipulators are subjected to a grinding process, which keeps them in
+comparative poverty.
+
+Of late years, some attempts have been made to cultivate the tea-shrub
+in America and Australia; but the result will not equal the
+expectation entertained by the projectors of the scheme. The tea-plant
+will grow wherever the climate and soil are suitable; but labour is so
+much cheaper in China than in either of those countries, that
+successful competition is impossible. The Chinese labourers do not
+receive more than twopence or threepence a day. The difference,
+therefore, in the cost of labour will afford ample protection to the
+Chinese against all rivals whose circumstances in this respect are not
+similar to their own.
+
+India, however, is as favourably situated in all respects for
+tea-cultivation as China itself, and its introduction, therefore, into
+that country is a matter of equal interest and importance. In
+procuring the additional seeds, implements, and workmen, Mr Fortune
+succeeded beyond his expectations. Tea-seeds retain their vitality for
+a very short period, if they are out of the ground; and after trying
+various plans for transporting them to their destination, he adopted
+the method of sowing them in Ward's cases soon after they were
+gathered, which had the effect of preserving them in full life. The
+same plan will answer as effectually in preserving other kinds of
+seeds intended for transportation, and in which so much disappointment
+is generally experienced. In due time, all the cases arrived at their
+destination in perfect safety, and were handed over to Dr Jameson, the
+superintendent of the botanical gardens in the north-west provinces,
+and of the government tea-plantations. When opened, the tea-plants
+were found to be in a very healthy state. No fewer than 12,838 plants
+were counted, and many more were germinating. Notwithstanding their
+long voyage from the north of China, and the frequent transhipment and
+changes by the way, they seemed as green and vigorous as if they had
+been growing all the while on the Chinese hills.
+
+In these days, when tea is no longer a luxury, but a necessary of life
+in England and her colonies, its production on Indian soil is worthy
+of persevering effort. To the natives of India themselves, it would be
+of the greatest value. The poor _paharie_, or hill-peasant, has
+scarcely the common necessaries of life, and certainly none of its
+luxuries. The common sorts of grain which his lands produce will
+scarcely pay the carriage to the nearest market-town, far less yield
+such a profit as to enable him to procure any articles of commerce. A
+common blanket has to serve him for his covering by day and for his
+bed at night, while his dwelling-house is a mere mud-hut, capable of
+affording but little shelter from the inclemency of the weather. If
+part of these lands produced tea, he would then have a healthy
+beverage to drink, besides a commodity which would be of great value
+in the market. Being of small bulk, and extremely light in proportion
+to its value, the expense of carriage would be trifling, and he would
+have the means of making himself and his family more comfortable and
+more happy. In China, tea is one of the necessaries of life, in the
+strictest sense of the word. A Chinese never drinks cold water, which
+he abhors, and considers unhealthy. Tea is his favourite beverage from
+morning to night--not what we call tea, mixed with milk and sugar--but
+the essence of the herb itself drawn out in pure water. Those
+acquainted with the habits of the people, can scarcely conceive of
+their existence, were they deprived of the tea-plant; and there can be
+no doubt that its extensive use adds much to their health and comfort.
+The people of India are not unlike the Chinese in many of their
+habits. The poor of both countries eat sparingly of animal food; rice,
+and other grains and vegetables, form the staple articles on which
+they live. This being the case, it is not at all unlikely that the
+Indian will soon acquire a habit which is so universal in China. But
+in order to enable him to drink tea, it must be produced at a cheap
+rate, not at 4s. or 6s. a pound, but at 4d. or 6d.; and this can be
+done, but only on his own hills. The accomplishment of this would be
+an immense boon for the government to confer upon the people, and
+might ultimately work a constitutional change in their character and
+temperament--ridding them of their proverbial indolence, and endowing
+them with that activity of body and mind which renders the Chinese so
+un-Asiatic in their habits and employments.
+
+That our readers may, if they choose, have 'tea as in China,' we quote
+a recipe from a Chinese author, which may be of service to them.
+'Whenever the tea is to be infused for use,' says Tueng-po, 'take water
+from a running stream, and boil it over a lively fire. It is an old
+custom to use running water boiled over a lively fire; that from
+springs in the hills is said to be the best, and river-water the next,
+while well-water is the worst. A lively fire is a clear and bright
+charcoal fire. When making an infusion, do not boil the water too
+hastily, as first it begins to sparkle like crabs' eyes, then somewhat
+like fish's eyes, and lastly, it boils up like pearls innumerable,
+springing and waving about. This is the way to boil the water.' The
+same author gives the names of six different kinds of tea, all of
+which are in high repute. As their names are rather flowery, they may
+be quoted for the reader's amusement. They are these: the 'first
+spring tea,' the 'white dew,' the 'coral dew,' the 'dewy shoots,' the
+'money shoots,' and the 'rivulet garden tea.' 'Tea,' says he, 'is of a
+cooling nature, and, if drunk too freely, will produce exhaustion and
+lassitude. Country people, before drinking it, add ginger and salt, to
+counteract this cooling property. It is an exceedingly useful plant;
+cultivate it, and the benefit will be widely spread; drink it, and the
+animal spirits will be lively and clear. The chief rulers, dukes, and
+nobility, esteem it; the lower people, the poor and beggarly, will not
+be destitute of it; all use it daily, and like it.' Another author
+upon tea says, that 'drinking it tends to clear away all impurities,
+drives off drowsiness, removes or prevents headache, and it is
+universally in high esteem.'
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] _A Journey to the Tea-Countries of China._ By Robert Fortune.
+1852.
+
+
+
+
+THE GREAT OYER OF POISONING.
+
+
+In a previous article, an account was given of the proceedings against
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset for the murder of Sir Thomas
+Overbury. Though they were spared, several other persons were executed
+for this offence; and the circumstances under which those who were
+represented as the chief criminals escaped, while the others, whose
+guilt was represented as merely secondary, were executed, is among the
+most mysterious parts of the history. There was so much said about
+poisoning throughout the whole inquiry, that Sir Edward Coke gave the
+trials the name of 'The Great Oyer of Poisoning.' Oyer has long been a
+technical term in English law; and it is almost unnecessary to
+explain, that it is old French for _to hear_--_oyer and terminer_
+meaning, to hear and determine. The same inscrutable reasons which
+make the evidence so imperfect against the chief offenders, affect the
+whole of it. But while the exact causes of the death of Sir Thomas
+Overbury may be left in doubt, as well as the motives which led to it,
+enough is revealed in the trials of the minor offenders to throw a
+remarkable light on the strange habits of the time, and especially on
+the profligacy and credulity of the court of King James.
+
+The first person put to trial was Richard Weston, who had been
+appointed for the purpose of taking charge of Sir Thomas Overbury. If
+he had been murdered by poison, there could be no doubt that Weston
+was one of the perpetrators. He had been brought up as an apothecary;
+and it was said that he was selected on account of his being thus
+enabled to dabble in poisons. The charge against him is very
+indistinct. He was charged that he, 'in the Tower of London, in the
+parish of Allhallows Barking, did obtain and get into his hand certain
+poison of green and yellow colour, called rosalgar--knowing the same
+to be deadly poison--and the same did maliciously and feloniously
+mingle and compound in a kind of broth poured out into a certain
+dish.' Weston long refused to plead to the indictment. Of old, a
+person could not be put on trial unless he pleaded not guilty, and
+demanded a trial. The law, however, provided for those who were
+obstinate a more dreadful death than would be inflicted on the
+scaffold. To frighten him into compliance, the court gave him a
+description of it, telling him that he was 'to be extended, and then
+to have weights laid upon him no more than he was able to bear, which
+were by little and little to be increased; secondly, that he was to be
+exposed in an open place near to the prison, in the open air, being
+naked; and lastly, that he was to be preserved with the coarsest bread
+that could be got, and water out of the next sink or puddle.' He was
+told that 'oftentimes men lived in that extremity eight or nine days.'
+People have sometimes endured the _peine forte et dure_, as it was
+called, because, unless they pleaded and were convicted, their estates
+were not forfeited; and they endured the death of protracted torture
+for the sake of their families. Weston's object was supposed to be to
+prevent a trial, the evidence in which would expose his great patrons
+the Earl and Countess of Somerset. The motive was not, however, strong
+enough to make him stand to his purpose. He pleaded to the indictment,
+was found guilty, and executed at Tyburn.
+
+The next person brought up was of a more interesting character--Anne
+Turner, the widow of a physician. It is stated in the Report, that
+when she appeared at the bar, the chief-justice Coke said to her:
+'that women must be covered in the church, but not when they are
+arraigned, and so caused her to put off her hat; which done, she
+covered her hair with her handkerchief, being before dressed in her
+hair with her handkerchief over it.' Although Mother Turner's pursuits
+were of the questionable kind generally attributed to old hags--she
+dealt in philters, soothsaying, and poisoning--she must have been a
+young and beautiful woman. In some of the letters which were produced
+at the trials, she was called 'Sweet Turner.' In a poem, called
+_Overbury's Vision_, published in 1616, and reprinted in the seventh
+volume of the Harleian Miscellany, she is thus enthusiastically
+described--
+
+    'It seemed that she had been some gentle dame;
+    For on each part of her fair body's frame
+    Nature such delicacy did bestow,
+    That fairer object oft it doth not shew.
+    Her crystal eye, beneath an ivory brow,
+    Did shew what she at first had been; but now
+    The roses on her lovely cheeks were dead;
+    The earth's pale colour had all overspread
+    Her sometime lovely look; and cruel Death,
+    Coming untimely with his wintry breath,
+    Blasted the fruit which, cherry-like in show,
+    Upon her dainty lips did whilome grow.
+    Oh, how the cruel cord did misbecome
+    Her comely neck! And yet by law's just doom
+    Had been her death.'
+
+It might be said to be Mrs Turner's profession, to minister to all
+the bad passions of intriguers. The wicked Countess of Essex employed
+her to secure to her, by magic arts and otherwise, the affection of
+Somerset, and at the same time to create alienation and distaste on
+the part of her husband. Among the documents produced at her trial was
+one said to be a list of 'what ladies loved what lords;' and it is
+alleged that Coke prohibited its being read, because, whenever he cast
+his eye on it, he saw there the name of his own wife. Some mysterious
+articles were produced at the trial, which were believed to be
+instruments of enchantment and diabolical agency. 'There were also
+enchantments shewed in court, written in parchment, wherein were
+contained all the names of the blessed Trinity mentioned in the
+Scriptures; and in another parchment + B + C + D + E; and in a third,
+likewise in parchment, were written all the names of the holy Trinity,
+as also a figure, on which was written this word, _corpus_; and on the
+parchment was fastened a little piece of the skin of a man. In some of
+these parchments were the devil's particular names, who were conjured
+to torment the Lord Somerset, and Sir Arthur Manwaring, if their loves
+should not continue, the one to the Countess, the other to Mrs
+Turner.' Along with these were some pictures, as they were termed, or,
+more properly speaking, models of the human figure. 'At the shewing,'
+says the report, 'of these, and inchanted papers, and other pictures
+in court, there was heard a crack from the scaffolds, which caused
+great fear, tumult, and confusion among the spectators, and throughout
+the hall, every one fearing hurt, as if the devil had been present,
+and grown angry to have his workmanship shewed by such as were not his
+own scholars.'[4]
+
+The small figures, which appeared to have created the chief
+consternation, were, we are inclined to believe, very innocent things.
+There was, it is true, a belief that an individual could be injured or
+slain by operations on his likeness. There was, however, another
+purpose connected with Mrs Turner's pursuits to which small jointed
+images, like artists' lay figures, were used. This was to exhibit the
+effect of any new fashion, or peculiar style of dress. In this manner
+small figures, about the size of dolls, were long used in Paris. We
+have seen people expressing their surprise at pictures of full-grown
+Frenchwomen examining dolls, but in reality they were not more
+triflingly occupied than those who now contemplate the latest fashions
+in their favourite feminine periodical. Mrs Turner was very likely to
+have occasion for such figures, for she was, with her other pursuits,
+a sort of dressmaker, or _modiste_; in fact, she seems to have been a
+ready minister to every kind of human vanity and folly, as well as to
+a good deal of human wickedness. In the department of dress, she had a
+name in her own sex and age as illustrious as that of Brummel among
+dandies in the beginning of this century. As he was the inventor of
+the starched cravat, she was his precursor in the invention of the
+starched ruff, or, as it is generally said, of the yellow starch.
+
+The best account we have of the starched ruff is by a man who wrote to
+abuse it. An individual named Stubbes published an _Anatomy of
+Abuses_. Having become extremely rare, a small impression of it was
+lately reprinted, as a curious picture of the times. Stubbes dealt
+trenchantly with everything that savoured of pride and ostentation in
+dress; and he was peculiarly severe on Mrs Turner's invention, which
+made the ruff stand against bad weather. He describes the ruffs as
+having been made 'of cambric Holland lawn; or else of some other the
+finest cloth that can be got for money, whereof some be a quarter of a
+yard deep; yea, some more--very few less.' He describes with much glee
+the elementary calamities to which, before the invention of the
+starch, they were liable. 'If AEolus with his blasts, or Neptune with
+his storms, chance to hit upon the crazy barque of their bruised
+ruffs, then they goeth flip-flap in the wind, like rags that flew
+abroad, lying upon their shoulders like the dish-clout of a slut.'
+Having thus, with great exultation, described these reproofs to human
+pride, he mentions how 'the devil, as he, in the fulness of his
+malice, first invented these great ruffs, so hath he now found out
+also two great pillars to bear up and maintain this his kingdom of
+great ruffs--for the devil is king and prince over all the kingdom of
+pride.' One pillar appears to have been a wire framework--something,
+perhaps, of the nature of the hoop. The other was 'a certain kind of
+liquid matter, which they call starch, wherein the devil hath willed
+them to wash and dye their ruffs well; and this starch they make of
+divers colours and hues--white, red, blue, purple, and the like,
+which, being dry, will then stand stiff and inflexible about their
+necks.'
+
+Mrs Turner, at her execution, was arrayed in a ruff stiffened with the
+material for the invention of which she was so famous. She had for her
+scientific adviser a certain Dr Forman--a man who was believed to be
+deep in all kinds of dangerous chemical lore, and at the same time to
+possess a connection with the Evil One, which gave him powers greater
+than those capable of being obtained through mere scientific agency.
+Had he been alive, he would have undoubtedly been tried with the other
+poisoners. His widow gave some account of his habits, and of his
+wonderful apparatus, such as 'a ring which would open like a watch;'
+but the glimpse obtained of him is brief and mysteriously tantalising.
+We remember that, about twenty-five years ago, this man was made the
+hero of a novel called _Forman_, which contains much effective
+writing, but did not somehow fit the popular taste.
+
+Notwithstanding the scientific ingenuity both of the males and females
+concerned in this affair, the poisoning seems to have been conducted
+in a very bungling manner when compared with the slow and secret
+poisonings of the French and Italians. It is believed that a female of
+Naples, called Tophana, who used a tasteless liquid, named after her
+_Aqua Tophana_, killed with it 600 people before she was discovered to
+be a murderess. The complete secrecy in which these foreigners
+shrouded their operations--people seeming to drop off around them as
+if by the silent operation of natural causes--was what made their
+machinations so frightful. Poisoning, however, is a cowardly as well
+as a cruel crime, which has never taken strong root in English habits;
+and, as we have observed, the poisoners on this occasion,
+notwithstanding the skill and knowledge enlisted by them in the
+service, were arrant bunglers. Thus, the confession of James Franklin,
+an accomplice, would seem to shew that Sir Thomas Overbury was
+subjected to poisons enough to have deprived three cats of their
+twenty-seven lives.
+
+'Mrs Turner came to me from the countess, and wished me, from her, to
+get the strongest poison I could for Sir T. Overbury. Accordingly, I
+bought seven--viz., aquafortis, white arsenic, mercury, powder of
+diamonds, _lapis costitus_, great spiders, and cantharides. All these
+were given to Sir T. Overbury at several times. And further
+confesseth, that the lieutenant knew of these poisons; for that
+appeared, said he, by many letters which he writ to the Countess of
+Essex, which I saw, and thereby knew that he knew of this matter. One
+of these letters I read for the countess, because she could not read
+it herself; in which the lieutenant used this speech: "Madam, the scab
+is like the fox--the more he is cursed, the better he fareth." And
+many other speeches. Sir T. never eat white salt, but there was white
+arsenic put into it. Once he desired pig, and Mrs Turner put into it
+_lapis costitus_. The white powder that was sent to Sir T. in a
+letter, he knew to be white arsenic. At another time, he had two
+partridges sent him by the court, and water and onions being the
+sauce, Mrs Turner put in cantharides instead of pepper; so that there
+was scarce anything that he did eat but there was some poison
+mixed.'[5]
+
+It is impossible to believe that the human frame could stand out for
+weeks against so hot a siege. It would appear as if Franklin must
+really have confessed too much. It has already been said, that the
+confused state of the whole evidence renders it difficult to find how
+far a case was made out against the Earl and Countess of Somerset.
+Such a confession as Franklin's only makes matters still more
+confused. That Sir Thomas Overbury really was poisoned, one can
+scarcely doubt, if even a portion of what Franklin and the others say
+is true; but the reckless manner in which the crime was gone about,
+and the confusion of the whole evidence, is extremely perplexing. Not
+the least remarkable feature in this tragedy is the number of people
+concerned in it. We find, brought to trial, the Earl and Countess of
+Somerset and Sir Thomas Monson, who, though said to be the guiltiest
+of all, were spared: Weston, Franklin, and Mrs Turner, were executed:
+Forman, and another man of science who was said to have given aid, had
+gone to their account before the trials came on. Then, in Franklin's
+confession, it was stated that 'the toothless maid, trusty Margaret,
+was acquainted with the poisoning; so was Mrs Turner's man, Stephen;
+so also was Mrs Home, the countess's own handmaid;' and several other
+subordinate persons are alluded to in a similar manner.
+
+The quietness and secrecy of the French and Italian poisonings have
+been already alluded to. The poisoners, in general, instead of acting
+in a bustling crowd, generally prepared themselves for their dreadful
+task by secretly acquiring the competent knowledge, so that they might
+not find it necessary to take the aid of confederates. They generally
+did their work alone, or at most two would act together. It certainly
+argues a sadly demoralised state of society in the reign of King
+James, that so many persons should be found who would coolly connect
+themselves with the work of death; but still there was not so much
+real danger as in the quiet, systematic poisonings of such criminals
+as Tophana and the Countess of Brinvilliers. The great Oyer of
+poisoning was, however, calculated to make a very deep impression on
+the public mind. It filled London with fear and suspicion. When
+rumours about poisonings become prevalent, no one knows exactly how
+far the crime has proceeded, and this and that event is remembered and
+connected with it. All the sudden deaths within recollection are
+recalled, and thus accounted for. People supposed to be adepts in
+chemistry were in great danger from the populace, and one man, named
+Lamb, was literally torn to pieces by a mob at Charing-Cross. The
+people began to dwell upon the death of Prince Henry, the king's
+eldest son, who had fallen suddenly. It was remembered that he was a
+youth of a frank, manly disposition--the friend and companion of
+Raleigh and of other heroic spirits. He liked popularity, and went
+into many of the popular prejudices of the times--forming altogether
+in his character a great contrast to his grave, dry, fastidious, and
+suspicious brother Charles, who was to succeed to his vacant place. He
+had died very suddenly--of fever, it was said; but popular rumour now
+attributed his death to poison. Nay, it was said that his own father,
+jealous of his popularity, was the perpetrator; and it was whispered
+that _this_ was the secret which King James was so afraid his
+favourite Somerset might tell if prosecuted to death. In a work called
+_Truth brought to Light_, a copy was given of an alleged medical
+report on a dissection of the body, calculated to confirm these
+suspicions: it may be found in the _State Trials_, ii. 1002. Arthur
+Wilson, who published his life and reign of King James during the
+Commonwealth, said: 'Strange rumours are raised upon this sudden
+expiration of our prince, the disease being so violent that the combat
+of nature in the strength of youth (being almost nineteen years of
+age) lasted not above five days. Some say he was poisoned with a bunch
+of grapes; others attribute it to the venomous scent of a pair of
+gloves presented to him (the distemper lying for the most part in the
+head.) They that knew neither of these are stricken with fear and
+amazement, as if they had tasted or felt the effects of those
+violences. Private whisperings and suspicions of some new designs
+afoot broaching prophetical terrors that a black Christmas would
+produce a bloody Lent, &c.' Kennet, in his notes on Wilson's work,
+says that he possesses a rare copy of a sermon preached while the
+public mind was thus excited, 'wherein the preacher, who had been his
+domestic chaplain, made such broad hints about the manner of his
+(Prince Henry's) death, that melted the auditory into a flood of
+tears, and occasioned his being dismissed the court.'
+
+But suspicion did not stop here. When King James himself died in much
+pain, his body shewing the unsightly symptoms consequent on his gross
+habits, poison was again suspected; and as it had been said on the
+former occasion, that the father had connived at the death of his son,
+it was now whispered that the remaining son, anxious to commence his
+ill-starred reign, was accessory to hurrying his father from the
+world. The moral character of Charles I. is sufficient to acquit him
+of such a charge. But historians even of late date have not entirely
+acquitted his favourite, Buckingham, who, it was said, finding that
+the king was tired of him, resolved to make him give place to the
+prince, in whose good graces he felt secure. The authors of the
+scandalous histories published during the Commonwealth, said that the
+duke's mother administered the poison externally in the form of a
+plaster.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] _State Trials_, ii. 932.
+
+[5] _State Trials_, 941.
+
+
+
+
+NEURALGIA.[6]
+
+
+Obstructives and sceptics are in one sense benefactors: although they
+do not generally originate improved modes of thought and action, they
+at least prevent the adoption of crude theories and ill-digested
+measures. To meet the criticism of these opponents, inventive genius
+must more carefully bring its ideas and plans to the test of practical
+experiment and thorough investigation; and as truth must ultimately
+prevail, it cannot be considered unjust or injurious to insist upon
+its presenting its credentials. This is, we submit, one of the
+benefits resulting from schools, colleges, and guilds: it is difficult
+to impress them with novel truths; but in a great degree they act as
+breakwaters to the waves of error. In no department of social life is
+this doctrine better illustrated than in the medical profession, which
+is among the keenest and most sceptical of bodies in scrutinising
+novelty; but it has rarely allowed any real improvement to remain
+permanently untested and unadopted. We believe this to be the fair
+view to take of a class of scientific men who have certainly had a
+large share of sarcasm to endure.
+
+General readers, for whom we profess to cater, take no great interest
+in medical subjects and discussions; but as historians of what is
+doing in the world of art, science, and literature, we think it our
+duty to record, in a brief way, any information we can collect that
+may be beneficial to the suffering portion of humanity; and in this
+'miserable world' it is most probable that one-fourth part of our
+readers are invalids. Why should they not have their little troubles,
+whims, and maladies studied and cared for? The disease which gives a
+title to this short notice is perhaps one of the most mysterious and
+vexatious to which our nature is liable; both its cause and cure are
+equally occult, and its _modus operandi_ is scarcely intelligible. A
+contemporary thus playfully alludes to the subject in terms more funny
+than precise:--'What is neuralgia? A nervous spasm, the cause of which
+has, however, not been satisfactorily and conclusively demonstrated;
+but we may, perhaps, obtain a clearer view of its nature, if we look
+upon it as connected with "morbid nutrition." Every one knows that the
+system is, or ought to be, constantly subject to a law of waste and
+repair; and if the operation of this law is impeded by "cold," "mental
+excitement," or any other baneful condition, diseases more or less
+unpleasant must ensue. The _vis naturae_ uses certain particles of
+matter in forming nerves; others in forming membrane, bones, juices,
+&c.; while used-up particles are expelled altogether from the system.
+We can readily conceive that each order of atoms is used by a distinct
+function, and has a different mission; and any morbid perversion or
+mingling of their separate destinies must end in disorder and
+suffering--nature's violent endeavour to restore the regularity of her
+operations. A cough is simply an effort of the lungs or bronchiae to
+remove some offending intruder that ought to be doing duty elsewhere;
+and may we not call neuralgia _a cough of a nerve_ to get rid of a
+disagreeable oppression--nature's legitimate _coup d'etat_ to put down
+and transport those "_red socialist_" particles that would interfere
+with the regularity of its constitution? Let us fancy, for a moment, a
+delicate little army of atoms marching obediently along, to form new
+nerve in place of the substance that is wasting away: another little
+army of carbonaceous particles have just received orders to pack up
+their luggage and be off, to make way for the advancing
+nerve-battalion; but in their exodus they are met by a fierce
+destroyer, in the shape of an east wind--a Caffre that suddenly throws
+the ranks of General Carbon into disorder, and drives them back upon
+the brilliant and pugnacious array of General Nerve: a battle-royal is
+the result. General Nerve immediately places lance in rest, and
+advances to the charge with the unsparing war-cry of: "Mr Ferguson,
+you don't lodge here!" and if Caffre East-wind is not despised and
+trifled with, he is generally beaten for a time; but great are the
+sufferings of humanity--the scene of this encounter--while the fight
+is raging.'
+
+Now comes the question: How to get rid of this cruel invader? Dr
+Downing has undertaken to give an answer, which we believe to be
+satisfactory. In addition to the proper medical and hygienic
+treatment, which is carefully and ably stated in the work before us,
+Dr Downing has invented an apparatus which appears to be very
+efficacious; and we will therefore allow him to describe it in his own
+words:--'From considering tic douloureux as often a local disease,
+depending on a state of excessive irritability, sensibility, or spasm
+of a particular nerve, and from reflecting upon its causes, and
+observing the effect of topical sedatives, I was led to the
+conclusion, that the most direct way of quieting this state was by the
+application of warmth and sedative vapour to the part, so as to soothe
+the nerves, and calm them into regular action. For this purpose, I
+devised an apparatus which answers the purpose sufficiently well. It
+is a kind of fumigating instrument, in which dried herbs are burned,
+and the heated vapour directed to any part of the body. It is
+extremely simple in construction, and consists essentially of three
+parts with their media of connection--a cylinder for igniting the
+vegetable matter, bellows for maintaining a current of air through the
+burning material, and tubes and cones for directing and concentrating
+the stream of vapour. The chief medicinal effects I have noticed in
+the use of this instrument are those of a sedative character; but its
+remedial influence is not alone confined to the use of certain herbs.
+A considerable power is attributable to the warm current or intense
+heat generated. When the vegetable matter is ignited, and a current of
+air is made to pass through the burning mass, a small or great degree
+of heat can be produced at pleasure. Thus, when the hand is gently
+pressed upon the bellows, a mild, warm stream of vapour is poured
+forth which may act as a _douche_ to irritable parts; but by strongly
+and rapidly compressing the same receptacle, the fire within the
+cylinder is urged like that of a smith's forge, and the blast becomes
+intensely hot and burning.'
+
+Those who wish to know more of this mode of treatment, had better
+refer to the work itself. We must content ourselves with having simply
+drawn our readers' attention to it.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] _Neuralgia: its various Forms, Pathology, and Treatment._ Being
+the Jacksonian Prize Essay of the Royal College of Surgeons for 1850;
+with some Additions. By C. Toogood Downing, M.D., M.R.C.S. Churchill,
+London.
+
+
+
+
+ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE LAKE COUNTRY.
+
+
+Mr Robert Chambers, in a recent tour of the lakes of Westmoreland
+(April 1852), has discovered that the valleys of that interesting
+district were at one time occupied by glaciers. Glacialised surfaces
+were previously observed in a few places not far from Kendal, but
+without any conclusion as to the entire district. By Mr Chambers
+conspicuous and unequivocal memorials of ice-action have been found in
+most of the great central valleys, such as those of Derwentwater,
+Ulleswater, Thirlwater, and Windermere. The principal phenomena are
+rounded hummocks of rock on the skirts of the hills, and in the middle
+of the valleys; and as these hummocks, whatever may be the direction
+of the valleys, invariably present a smoothed side up, and an abrupt
+side downwards (_stoss-seite_ and _lee-seite_ of the Scandinavian
+geologists), it becomes certain that the glaciers proceeding from the
+mountains at the upper extremities were local to the several valleys.
+The smoothed hummocks are very noticeable in Derwentwater or
+Borrowdale, the celebrated Bowderstone resting on one; a particularly
+fine low surface appears at Grange, near the head of the lake. At
+Patterdale, in Ulleswater Valley, the rocks are so much marked in this
+manner, that the whole place bears a striking resemblance to the
+sterile parts of Sweden; and some small rocky islets, near the head of
+the lake, are unmistakable _roches moutonnees_. The two valleys
+descending in opposite directions from Dunmail Raise, have had
+glaciers proceeding from some central point: in that of Thirlwater,
+the rounded hummocks are conspicuous at Armboth; in the other, near
+Grasmere, and near the Windermere Railway Station. In all these cases,
+the characteristic striation, or scratching produced on rock-surfaces
+by glaciers, is more or less distinct, according as the surface may
+have been protected in intermediate ages. Where any drift or alluvial
+formation has covered it, the polish and striation are as perfect as
+if they had been formed in recent times, and the lines are almost
+invariably in the general direction of the valley.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh.
+Also sold by W. S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D. N. CHAMBERS, 55 West
+Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street,
+Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent to
+MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom all
+applications respecting their insertion must be made.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442, by Various
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