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diff --git a/old/53983-0.txt b/old/53983-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2001f0e..0000000 --- a/old/53983-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1564 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 8, -August 22, 1840, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 8, August 22, 1840 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: January 17, 2017 [EBook #53983] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, AUG 22, 1840 *** - - - - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by JSTOR www.jstor.org) - - - - - - - - - - - THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL. - - NUMBER 8. SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 1840. VOLUME I. - -[Illustration: THE HOWTH LIGHTHOUSE.] - -The bold and nearly insulated promontory called the Hill of Howth, which -forms the north-eastern terminus of the Bay of Dublin, would in itself -supply abundant materials for a topographical volume--and a most -interesting work it might be made. For the geologist, botanist, and -naturalist, it has an abundant store of attractions, while its various -ancient monuments of every class and age, from the regal fortress, the -sepulchral cairn, and the cromleac of Pagan times, to the early Christian -oratory, the abbey and the baronial hall of later years, would supply an -equally ample stock of materials for the antiquary and the historian. With -all, or most of these features, we propose to make our readers somewhat -familiar in our future numbers; but our present purpose is only to give -some account of one of its most recently erected structures--the -singularly picturesque and beautiful lighthouse, which we have attempted -to depict in our prefixed illustration. - -The Baily lighthouse, as it is popularly called, is situated at the -eastern extremity of Howth, on a nearly perpendicular rock, whose vertex -is elevated one hundred and ten feet above high-water mark. This rock, -which is nearly insulated, is the terminus of a long and narrow peninsula -of still higher altitude, which stretches out into the sea from the -eastern end of the promontory, and whose cliffs are equally precipitous on -both sides, so that the most striking and romantic views of the -lighthouse can be had from various points, in some commanding the -horizon-bound sea, and in others the Bay of Dublin, with all its -delightful sceneries of wooded country and mountain ranges. The view which -we have chosen for our illustration is taken from the northern side of -this peninsula, that presented from the other side having been already -published in several popular works; but we trust that this view will not -be deemed less striking or picturesque; and we are of opinion that a more -romantic subject of its kind is not to be found in the empire. - -The lighthouse is itself an object of great interest and beauty, and is -constructed according to the most approved models of modern times. Its -form is that of a frustrated cone, supporting a lantern which exhibits a -fixed bright light. The illumination, according to the system now -generally adopted by the Trinity-house, is produced by a set of reflectors -ground to the parabolic form, in the foci of which twenty large oil lamps -are placed: an outer gallery, lightly but securely railed, surrounds the -dome. Connected with the building on its east side, there is a large room, -which opens by folding doors on a platform, and where an excellent -telescope is kept, by means of which the shoals which obstruct the -entrance to the bay may be distinctly observed--namely, the great Kish, -and the Bennet and Burford banks, which are links of the chain extending -along the Wicklow and Wexford coasts, and called the Irish grounds. -These, though not visible, are distinctly marked in stormy weather by the -surf, which breaks over them with uncommon violence, and form a dangerous -obstruction to the approach to the bay. - -The Baily lighthouse was erected by the Ballast Board of Dublin in 1814, -previous to which time the Howth light, as it was commonly called, stood -on a hill considerably more to the north, and at an elevation of more than -three hundred feet above sea level. This circumstance of its great -elevation, led, however, to its being abandoned, and the erection of the -Baily lighthouse in its place, as it was found to be frequently involved -in clouds and mist, while lower stations were clear and well defined. - -The Baily lighthouse is a spot of no less antiquarian than picturesque -interest. Its name, which is cognate with the Latin _ballium_, is derived -from an ancient circular stone fortress which encircled the apex of the -rock, and of which considerable remains existed previous to the erection -of the present buildings. This great keep was fortified by three earthen -walls, with deep intervening ditches placed at the entrance to the narrow -peninsula, and by extending from one side of it to the other, cut it off -completely from the promontory. These works still remain, though in a very -ruinous state; yet they are sufficiently distinct to mark their purpose, -and to convey a good idea of the style of military defensive works in use -in extremely remote times. They will be found marked on the Ordnance map. - -In the popular traditions of Howth, these works--like most others in -Ireland, the real origin of which has been forgotten--are ascribed to the -Danes, a remnant of whom, after the battle of Clontarf in 1014, were -supposed to have fortified themselves in this peninsula, till they were -carried off in their vessels. But such tradition is wholly opposed to -history, and the works themselves exhibit sufficient evidences of its -fallacy; they belong to a much earlier age, being nothing less than the -remains of Dun-Criomthan (pronounced Dun-Criffan), the fortress of -Criomthan Nia-nair, who, according to our ancient histories, ascended the -throne of Ireland in the year 74, and who, after being dethroned, died in -this fastness in the year 90, after a reign of sixteen years. His -sepulchral cairn--crowning the summit of Sliabh-Martin, the highest -pinnacle of the ancient Bin-edair--is still to be seen. - -A century or two more will wholly obliterate these remains of the once -powerful prince and warrior Criomthan; but his celebrity belongs to -history, and will not thus pass away. It was in the third year of his -reign that Agricola fortified the bounds of the Roman empire in Britain -from the incursions of the Picts and Irish, the latter, it is said, led by -the monarch Criomthan himself, who, according to our annalist, returned to -Ireland, loaded with spoil, as thus stated in the record of his death in -the Annals of the Four Masters:-- - -“Criomthan Nia-nair, sixteen years monarch of Ireland, died, after his -illustrious foreign expedition. It was from that expedition he brought -home the noble spoils; the golden chariot, the golden chess-board studded -with three hundred sparkling gems, and the _ceth-criomthan_, which was a -parti-coloured shirt, interwoven with gold. He also brought with him a -battle-giving sword, having various figures of serpents engraved upon it, -and inlaid with gold; a shield embossed with bright silver; a spear which -gave an incurable wound; a sling from which no erring cast could be -thrown; two hounds linked together by a chain of silver; together with -many other valuable rarities.” - -How long after this period Dun-Criomthan existed as a fortress, it would -perhaps be impossible now to ascertain, but from the following record in -the Annals above quoted, it would appear to have been preserved at least -for six centuries:-- - -“A. C. 646. The battle of Dun-Criomthan was gained by Conall and Kellach -(co-monarchs of Ireland), the two sons of Maolcobha, over Aongus, the son -of Donall. Aongus was killed in this battle, as was also Cathasach, the -son of Donall, his brother.” - -These notices, which have not hitherto appeared in an English form, of a -highly interesting historical remain, not previously identified by the -antiquarian topographer, will, it is hoped, impart a new interest to the -Baily of Howth; but, independently of such claims on our attention, its -singular picturesqueness should have made it long since not only more -familiarly known to the visitors of our capital, but also to ourselves. - - P. - - - - -JOHNNY HALFACRE; OR, THE VALUE OF TIME. - -BY MARTIN DOYLE. - - -Statesmen and professional men, whether occupying stations of eminence, or -struggling to attain them, duly estimate the importance of time; they know -the value of an hour too well to mis-spend it. The lawyer of high -practice, during the term season, steadily pursuing his laborious studies, -and determined to overcome every difficulty in his pursuit of professional -rank and wealth, rises early, and borrows from the night so many of those -hours which are spent in rest and sleep by men of less mental activity, -that he leaves himself but a very contracted measure of time for those -essential purposes. As to dining out with friends at this period of care -and labour, he rarely ventures to indulge in such a recreation; or if he -does on some very particular occasion, such is the discipline of his mind, -such the strength of his self-denying habits, that he can rise from the -table at a prescribed moment, and with a cool lawyer-like head apply to -his nocturnal labours as if there had been no interruption of an exciting -nature. - -The physician--I do not mean him who is regularly called out of church, or -from the social party, by his servant, under the pretence of a pressing -call, but the real and laborious practitioner, to whom minutes are money -and fame--will not idle away an hour; neither will the sober steady -shopkeeper, until he has realized an independence, absent himself from his -counter as long as there is a reasonable chance of a customer dropping in; -nor the operative mechanic, who has to finish his piece of work within a -prescribed time, and who will contrive to do it even in despite of all the -petty interruptions to which he is liable. - -Time is proportionably valuable to the meanest peasant who possesses a -cabbage garden, and if properly estimated and applied, will add to his -comforts in a degree of which, he who is habitually uncalculating and -unthrifty in this respect can have but little notion. - -This I am anxious to impress upon the class of labourers, many of whom I -hope can read what I write, for in them I take an especial interest, -probably because they are the least cared for of any class in the -community. Some of them perhaps will say, with a show of reality, “If -_our_ time were to bring us in such profits as the counsellor and the -doctor make, we would be busy too, and no one would see us standing idle, -sitting on a ditch side, or smoking and coshering by the fireside, or -talking to the neighbours, of a wet day, in a forge. If we could be -coining guineas as easily as the likes of them makes the money, sitting in -their soft chairs, and never doing a hand’s turn of work that would tire -their limbs, we would; but what _could_ we make, after our regular day’s -work, if we can get that same, out of a bit of a garden, that would better -us any thing to signify?” - -Now, I shall show them by actual facts what they _could_ in many cases do. - -Johnny Halfacre is a little farmer, whom I occasionally see, and who, -being in no way connected with me, nor even conscious that I am -particularly observing him, goes on in his own way, without any hint or -encouragement from me, or indeed from any one else, as far as I can -perceive. - -Johnny two years ago had not as much land as would correspond with his -name, which is really genuine; he had for several previous years but a -rood, including the site of his house, and a shed for a pig, and some -poultry; but this rood produced more than half an acre usually does with -many, and entirely by his good management and judicious application of -_time_. - -Johnny had exactly five shillings a-week, paid in full every Friday -evening, from his employer, for Johnny never had time to be sick, far less -to be drunk, and always avoided broken days, by contriving in-door work, -at Mr B.’s, in wet weather; his wife, who had two children, washed -occasionally for a neighbour’s family, thus adding two shillings and -sixpence each week to their income, and the contribution of additional -suds to the dunghill; but in other respects they had no advantage over -other labourers. Their own little garden added greatly to the support of -the family, by judicious cropping and excellent management. Johnny had -every year some drills of very early ash-leaved potatoes put down in -January, if possible, which he either sold at a very high price in summer -at a neighbouring town, or consumed as he found most economical; and his -early sowing of potatoes was far better than the more common practice of -the Irish cottier, who leaves his garden uncropped with them until March -or April, with the view of obtaining a more abundant crop (but of -inferior quality) at a late season, when they might be purchased at a mere -trifle, and that, too, without the advantage of a second crop of any -description to succeed them. Johnny had too much sense for this: he began -to dig his dish of potatoes for dinner in the first or second week in -July, when his neighbours were half starving, or paying exorbitantly for -oatmeal and old potatoes; and as he dug out his crop, he either sowed -turnips, with a little ashes and a sprinkling of dung, or planted borecole -for the winter; generally he had some of both, for he found turnips good -for his own table in winter, and profitable for the support of some -poultry, of which I shall take notice soon. He had also every variety of -common kitchen vegetables in small patches, continually changing places, -and thus improving the soil; he had, besides, two hives of bees; and for -the sake of the _straw_, as well as for rotation, and the support of his -pig and poultry, a little rye, vetches, or clover. - -Johnny, however, only worked in the garden in the evening, after his -ordinary day’s work, or, in summer, at sunrise; yet there never was a weed -to be seen in it, for they never had time to grow: by using the hoe for a -few moments now and then, they were always kept down, and every waste -blade and briar and useless sod around the hedge which enclosed it, was -carefully pared and burnt for manure. - -He had worked in the large garden of a gentleman who kept an English -gardener, who had taught Johnny the use of a _sprong_ in preference to a -spade for turning up the earth, especially when too hard for the latter -implement; and though the handle was short, and, according to my own -notion, fatiguing to the back, the fact was, that Johnny soon preferred it -for dispatch and correctness of operation to the long-handled spade which -all my other neighbours use. When he cut his own rye or other corn, the -ground was usually so hard that a broad spade could not enter it: but -Johnny quickly turned it up and broke it with his sprong, and then -completely pulverized it with what the Englishman called a beck, a -three-forked hoe, which, acting like the long tines of a harrow, loosened -and rendered the whole perfectly fine, while it brought any latent roots -of couch (or scutch grass) that might have escaped on former occasions, to -the surface. - -Johnny’s various vegetables greatly assisted his housekeeping. He had -often a good bowl of soup, flavoured with leeks, onions, carrots, &c., -made with the least conceivable portion of meat, but thickened with -barley, properly shelled, and prepared like French barley, but at only -one-third of the price of that which is sold under such denomination in -the shops; and his family always breakfasted on porridge, or coarse bread -of their _own baking_, with or without milk, according to -circumstances--for Johnny at this time had no cow--sometimes washed down -with a cup of tea, and more generally in winter with a mug of light and -good table beer, which the Englishman taught Johnny to brew at Mr B.’s -brew-house. Half a bushel of malt, with a quarter of a pound of hops, -produced ten gallons of _unadulterated_ beer which could not be bought any -where, and the grains (given to his pig) fully counterbalanced the cost of -fuel. Even at this time he killed a pig every year, and never wanted a -small supply of salt meat for his cabbage or beans, which with this -combination of flesh went farther in this way towards the actual supply of -his dinner, and sometimes of his supper too (for any remainder of the -dinner was heated and peppered up for the supper, with the addition of a -broken loaf, or a skillet full of potatoes), than can be imagined by the -poor man who has never cultivated his garden in the same manner--whose -cabbages are of little value from want of bacon, and whose allotment, -producing but one crop instead of two each year, is thus of but half its -proper value to him; besides, with him potatoes succeed potatoes -continually, until the ground becomes sick of yielding them. - -But, further, Johnny Halfacre’s garden, in which he seldom ceased from -doing something in the summer evenings as long as daylight lasted, greatly -aided in supporting his pig at that time when food is so dear and scarce -for swine. The tops of blossoming bean-stalks (by the plucking off of -which the crop is improved) and other vegetable waste, besides vetches and -rye--the latter both in the green and ripe state--gave him sufficient food -to keep the pig in fair order, with a little help from other sources; and -the pig, by being always well littered, and supplied with this food, gave -a return in most excellent manure, which with other sources of a similar -kind, and the economical distribution of crops, supplied the entire garden -with fertilizing matter. - -What the other means of providing manure were, ought to be mentioned, for -the man’s system is of such easy application that it only requires to be -stated in order to be followed. - -For two or three evenings in the summer before last, I perceived Johnny -Halfacre without his coat, rolling a wheelbarrow frequently from an -adjacent common to a corner of his garden separated from the road by an -old weather-beaten paling. When I had leisure to see what he had been -doing at this time, I found that he had marked off an oblong space for -four geese and a gander, which he had bought from Bridget Gozzard at -rather a high price, partly for the sake of their powerful manure, which, -combined with other substances, is good for stimulating the growth of -vegetables, as well as for the profit which he expected to realize by -rearing goslings for the market. Johnny was aware that fat green geese are -worth from six to ten shillings each, in the very early season in the -great English markets, and are also profitable if reared for the stubbles -at Michaelmas; and he did not see why he and his industrious wife should -not realise a profit as well as English housewives by the breeding of such -poultry, when a steam-packet and a rail-road could take them off even to -London in a few hours. Cocks and hens would ruin his own garden, and bring -him into disputes with his neighbours--he had the advantage of a run on -the common for geese--there was a pond of water near his house--and -therefore he gave them and ducks the preference. He first built his back -wall two feet and a half high and ten feet in length, with the sods from -the common, and then put down ten upright stakes in front, every pair -answering for the jambs of each compartment, with a board stretching the -whole length across, and which formed the front support of his rustic -roof; from this board he laid rafters to the top of the back wall, and -having first interwoven some small branches of a tree through these -rafters, he laid as many scraws (thinly pared grassy sods) as secured the -whole roof from rain. The jambs were then contracted to a narrow opening, -for the sake of shelter and warmth, by more sods laid one over the other. - -By this simple process of construction he formed a separate chamber for -each bird, with a yard in front six feet broad and ten long, and with an -opening through the paling at the road side, by which the inmates could go -in and out at their pleasure. His rye assisted in feeding them, and he -also cultivated grey peas for them, which are excellent for fattening; and -with cabbage and lettuce leaves, the pods of beans, and other green food, -he afterwards kept them in high condition; and in the succeeding year, -when other young geese were dying of disease, occasioned by want of -shelter, and from _starvation_, his were thriving. - -And to the credit of this worthy man and his wife I must mention, that the -feather-plucker was indignantly sent away from his door whenever he came -round for the execrable purpose of plucking the geese alive. Johnny’s wife -would as soon have let him pull out the hairs of her own head, as give up -one of her birds to his barbarous hands; and the consequence was, that -while their neighbours’ geese were miserably crawling about, with -draggling and mutilated wings and smarting bodies, until many of them -died, in their miseries invoking as it were in their dying screams shame -and curses on their unfeeling owners, Johnny Halfacre’s geese strutted -about on the common, with an independent and unconstrained step, as if -conscious of their security from the tortures to which their fellows had -been doomed. - - -HOW JOHNNY HALFACRE BECAME A LITTLE FARMER. - -If it be true, and it unquestionably is, that “he who despiseth small -things, shall fall by little and little,” the converse is, I think, no -less so--that he who pays attention to little matters will rise by -degrees. - -Mr B. having narrowly observed Johnny’s general good conduct and extreme -industry as a common labourer, put him in possession, two years ago, of a -field adjoining his cottage and garden, which contains about six statute -acres, and which fortunately was in good condition. - -Johnny at first was afraid to accept the tempting offer, at which any -other labourer would have jumped, on the sincere and modest plea that he -had no capital for such a weighty speculation. He did not wish to grasp at -more than he could properly manage; but Mr B. set him at ease, by telling -him that he considered health, industry, and skill, sufficient capital for -Johnny to possess, as he himself would not only build a barn, cow-shed, -ass-house, and pig-styes, but put the boundary fence into perfect order -(according to the frequent practice of _British_ landlords), and lend -Johnny a sum sufficient for the purchase of every thing necessary to give -him a good start, charging him only five per cent on the advances. Mr B., -who in riding over his property often “went by the field of the slothful,” -which “was all grown over with thorns and nettles that covered the face of -it, and the stone wall whereof was broken down,” wished to render Johnny -an exemplar of superior management to other tenants. - -I shall not trouble the reader with all the details of Johnny’s management -during the two last years, but shall very briefly notice those particulars -of husbandry which are new to my countrymen of the same class. He has not -subdivided the field, nor does he intend to do so, as he values every foot -of it too much for such waste. He does not keep a horse, nor will he do -so, unless his holding be increased; but he keeps a donkey and a -well-constructed cart. As yet he has no cow, not having his land in -sufficiently clean order for laying down any part of it with grasses; but -he has two yards full of pigs, which he keeps for the sake of the rich -manure they supply. I do not advocate his system altogether, but merely -relate the most striking features of it. His pig-yards are very -commodious, and well arranged for weaning, fattening, &c.; and his stock -now consists of a sow with ten young ones in one yard, and six store pigs -in another. These are in fine condition--fed on vetches, rye (of which the -grain is now, July 20, ripe), and wash, consisting of pollards and water; -their food next week, and for some time after, will be beans, ripe and -unripe, according to their successive stages. These pigs are now ten -months old, and have never been outside their yard, nor do they seem to be -(compared with pigs of the same age which have had the run of the common) -injured by confinement. Being always highly littered in the yard, having -the sleeping chamber kept perfectly clean, and being abundantly fed, they -sport about the straw, and seem quite contented. But without such care and -comfort young swine will certainly not thrive in imprisonment. - -Johnny will fatten up these pigs in October for sale in November, with -barley-meal, pollards, toppings, and potatoes; and judging from his -success last year under similar circumstances, they will weigh (at the age -of fourteen months) nearly two cwt. each. He does not intend to sell any -of his ten young ones until they shall have been fattened in the same way; -but their mother will be put up as soon as possible after they shall be -weaned. He does not expect to realize any ready money by rearing and -fattening them; when sold, his stock will merely pay for their keep--he -considers the large quantity of valuable manure a sufficient return. - -He has hired a labourer to work with him, and will incur but little -expense for horse-labour, as he and his assistant together are able to dig -an acre very deeply in ten days; and he considers one such digging equal -to three light ploughings; and from his experience of the last year, he is -of opinion that spade-husbandry is far cheaper than that which is effected -by the plough. As he reaps his vetches and rye for the pigs, he cuts out -the stubbles with a bean-hoe for litter; and for the perfect cleansing of -the ground before he digs it up, he collects the stubbles and clears them -from earth with a little harrow drawn by the ass, and will pursue the same -plan with all his stubbles. Last year he cut and bound half an acre of -wheat himself with a fagging-hook, which I have described in my -Cyclopædia, in one day; and he and his labourer intend to cut down an acre -this year in the same way. - -I could enumerate many other particulars of this man’s excellent -husbandry--such as burning the clay of headlands for manuring his -turnip-crop and cabbage seedling beds--but I fear to be tedious, and -therefore shall only add, that Johnny Halfacre is a true exemplification -of the sacred proverb, that “the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” -He is always diligent (not only in seed-time and harvest, but all the year -round), but never so busy with his field or garden crops as to choke the -seed of God’s word in his heart, and render _that_ unfruitful by sloth or -negligence. As far as I can judge, he does not permit his worldly to -supersede his eternal interests; and as he knows the value of the -_present_ TIME, so does he estimate aright the infinitely superior -importance of that which is _future_. - - * * * * * - -IDLENESS.--The worst vices springing from the worst principles--the -excesses of the libertine, and the outrages of the plunderer--usually take -their rise from early and unsubdued idleness.--_Farr’s Discourses on -Education._ - - - - -LIFE AND ITS ILLUSIONS. - - “Lean not on Earth--’twill pierce thee to the heart-- - A broken reed at best, but oft a spear, - On whose sharp point Peace bleeds, and Hope expires.” - - YOUNG. - - - We are but Shadows! None of all those things, - Formless and vague, that flit upon the wings - Of wild Imagination round thy couch, - When Slumber seals thine eyes, is clothed with such - An unreality as Human Life, - Cherished and clung to as it is; the fear, - The thrilling hope, the agonizing strife, - Are not more unavailing there than here. - To him who reads what Nature would pourtray, - What speaks the night? A comment on the day. - Day dies--Night lives--and, as in dumb derision, - Mocks the past phantom with her own vain vision! - - Man shuts the Volume of the Past for aye-- - A blind slave to the all-absorbing Present, - He courts debasement, and from day to day - His wheel of toil revolves, revolves incessant; - And well may earth-directed zeal be blighted! - And well may Time laugh selfish hopes to scorn! - He lives in vain whose reckless years have slighted - The humbling truth which Penitence and grey - Hairs teach the Wise, that such cold hopes are born - Only to dupe and to be thus requited! - How many such there be!--in whom the thorn - Which Disappointment plants festers in vain, - Save as the instrument of sleepless pain-- - Who bear about with them the burning feeling - And fire of that intolerable word - Which, inly searching, pierceth, like a sword, - The breast whose wounds thenceforward know no healing! - - Behold the overteeming globe! Its millions - Bear mournful witness. Cycles, centuries roll, - That Man may madly forfeit Heaven’s pavilions, - To hug his darling trammels:--Yet the soul, - The startled soul, upbounding from the mire - Of earthliness, and all alive with fears, - Unsmothered by the lethargy of years - Whose dates are blanks, at moments _will_ inquire, - “And whither tends this wasting struggle? Hath - The living universe no loftier path - Than that we toil on ever? Must the eye - Of Hope but light a desert? Shall the high - Spirit of Enterprise be chilled and bowed - And grovel in darkness, reft of all its proud - Prerogatives? Alas! and must Man barter - The Eternal for the Perishing--but to be - The world’s applauded and degraded martyr, - Unsouled, enthralled, and never to be free?” - - Ancient of Days! First Cause! Adored! Unknown! - Who wert, and art, and art to come! The heart - Yearns, in its lucid moods, to Thee alone! - Thy name is Love; thy word is Truth; thou art - The fount of Happiness--the source of Glory-- - Eternity is in thy hands, and Power-- - Oh, from that sphere unrecognised by our - Slow souls, look down upon a world which, hoary - In Evil and in Error though it be, - Retains even yet some trace of that primeval - Beauty that bloomed upon its brow ere Evil - And Error wiled it from Thy Love and Thee! - Look down, and if, while human brows are brightening - In godless triumph, angel eyes be weeping, - Publish thy will in syllables of lightning - And sentences of thunder to the Sleeping! - Look down, and renovate the waning name - Of Goodness, and relume the waning light - Of Truth and Purity!--that all may aim - At one imperishable crown--the bright - Guerdon which they who by untired and holy - Exertion overcome the world, inherit-- - The Self-denying, the Peaceable, the Lowly, - The truly Merciful, the Poor in spirit! - - So shall the end of thine all-perfect plan - At length be realised in erring Man. - - - - -DONNYBROOK. - - -Verily, Donnybrook fair is, to all intents and purposes, “dead and gone;” -for the modern wretched assemblage of hungry-looking cattle, dogs’-meat -horses, measly swine, and forlorn-looking human creatures, obliged to -content themselves with staring at the exterior of the show-booths, for -want of the means to visit the interior, no more resembles the Donnybrook -of the past, than a troop of the old “bulkies,” armed with their Arcadian -crooks, and helmeted with their old woollen nightcaps, resembled a -squadron of lancers. - -Alas! alas! how every thing is altered! No longer does the quiet citizen -dread the approach of Trinity Sunday; no longer does he think it necessary -to barricade his windows, and postpone exterior painting for a week or -two, in order to save his glass and the decorator’s labour from the -nocturnal industry of the gentle College students. - -The students never mustered in much force at Donnybrook, because it -unluckily came during the long vacation; but there were enough at any time -to kick up a shindy or scrimmage (by modern innovators called “a row”), -for, between those who resided in town, and such as for various reasons -kept the vacation within the College walls, a pretty decent muster could, -upon an emergency, be called together. - -It was upon the 26th of August--isn’t it strange that I should recollect -the day of the month, though I forget the year!--that Bob O’Gorman, Dan -Sweeny, Dick Hall, and a few other under-graduates of T.C.D., resolved to -go to the fair and have a spree. - -Dick was a little, delicate, effeminate-looking “ould crab,” and so -smock-faced that he would easily pass for a girl, and a rather -good-looking one, if dressed in female attire. - -But Dick’s effeminacy was confined to his looks, for his muscular power -far exceeded that of any man an inch or two more in stature, or a stone -more in weight. He was a perfect master of the small-sword, had no match -at single-stick; and woe to the unhappy wretch who fell under the -discipline of his little bony fists, for he was an accomplished amateur in -the science of pugilism, then but little known and less practised than -subsequently by gentlemen. - -On the present occasion it was resolved that Dick should sustain the -character of a girl, and much fun was anticipated from the punishment that -the remainder of the party would inflict upon any presumptuous individual -who should dare to molest the modest fair one. - -At the end of the double range of tents called “Dame-street,” was one -called “the Larkers;” and as this was uniformly crowded by citizens of -Dublin, it was scarcely possible for any one, residing but for a month in -town, not to be recognised by some person present, who immediately passed -the name of the new-comer round, and he was surprised (if a raw one) to -hear himself addressed by name, by persons whom he never saw in his life -before. - -It was at the entrance of this tent that a countryman stood, attired in -the usual large frieze over-coat (which, from its being worn in summer as -well as winter, might lead a stranger to suppose that there seldom or -never is a hot day in Ireland), and accompanied by a pretty, -bashful-looking girl, apparently fresh from the “interior.” After gaping -for a considerable time, some gentlemen, amused by the wonderment that he -exhibited, and probably somewhat touched by his companion’s charms, called -to him to “come in.” With some reluctance he accepted the invitation, and, -fearful of intruding upon the “gintlemin,” seated himself awkwardly upon -the end of a form; up _it_ tilted, and down _he_ went, to the great -delight of the beholders. Having gathered himself up, he reseated himself -more firmly, placing “Biddy” near him, she having declined all offers of -other accommodation pressed on her by the company. - -Paddy O’Neill (the name by which he announced himself), having been pretty -well plied with punch, had grown very voluble, and seemed to be beginning -to feel himself quite at home, had told many queer stories, and made his -entertainers laugh very heartily, when two elderly gentlemen, closely -muffled, entered rather stealthily, and sliding over, suddenly seated -themselves behind Paddy. Biddy, who had been hitherto quite silent, -answering every compliment or remark addressed to her only with a smile, -gave Paddy a nudge, and whispered something into his ear, that caused him -to turn and gaze at the new arrivals. - -“Arrah, thin, Docthor M----, agrah, who’d ha’ thought o’ meetin’ _you_ -here?” said he, addressing one of them, who sprang at the mention of his -name, as if he had sat on the point of a stray nail; he and his companion -Dr H----, both senior fellows of Trinity College, having disguised -themselves, as they thought effectually, for the purpose of seeing, for -the first time in their lives, the fair, and the fun of it, without being -recognised in such an uncanonical assemblage. With this object they had -avoided exposing themselves to the risk of walking down the tent, but had -merely slipped in to reconnoitre from behind the shelter of the -frieze-coated customer, who now, so inopportunely and innocently, had -announced the name of one of them. - -“Hold your tongue, sir!” said Dr M.; “you mistake me, sir.” - -“Arrah, docthor darlint, sure iv I mistake ye, ye need’nt get into sich a -comflusthration about id; bud sure I know ye too well to mistake ye. Sure, -aint I the boy that had the misforthin to dhrop yer honor’s riverince into -the bog-hole, whin ye wint out to make believe ye were snipe shootin’, -down at Colonel Thrench’s, last Candlemas was a twelmonth.” - -“I don’t know you, sir!” roared the doctor in an agony, hoping by his -ferocity to overawe the countryman into silence; but Paddy had taken too -much punch to notice the tone, and seemed incapable of entertaining or -following up more than one idea at a time, and the one now before him was -that of forcing himself, will he nill he, upon the recollection of the -worthy doctor. - -“Ye don’t know me!--well, listen to that!--ye don’t know me!--oh, well, iv -that does’nt flog! Arrah, thin, maybe ye don’t recollect the bog-hole that -ye wanted me to carry ye over, an’ ye war so mortial heavy that my fut -slipped, an’ I had the luck to fall an my face, jist at the very edge iv -the slush, an’ ye pitched right-over, head foremost, into the very middle -iv id; an’ iv id was’nt for the good luck that yer legs stuck out, jist -the laste taste in life, by which I got a hould iv ye, sure would’nt ye be -lost intirely? An’ don’t ye”---- - -“Hold your tongue, you infernal scoundrel!” roared the enraged doctor, who -saw that every eye was fixed upon him, and every one’s attention drawn to -the spot, from the eagerness of manner and stentorian voice of Paddy, -whose reminiscence had produced a roar of laughter. Escape, too, was -utterly hopeless, for the tent had been filling, and the doorway was -blocked up by those who were pressing forward from the outside to get a -view of the speaker. “Hold your tongue, sirrah; you mistake me for some -one else. I never was thrown into a bog-hole in my life.” - -“Oh! pillelieu! meellia murther! listen to that--as iv any one that iver -seen Docthor M-- ov Thrinity College could iver mistake him agin; bud sure -Docthor H-- there ’ill may be help out yer mimory [Dr H-- gave a writhe, -for he had hoped to have escaped, at least]; sure he was at the colonel’s -whin ye war brought home in the muck.” - -This announcement of the names and address of both the unfortunate -betrayed, was received with a shout, whilst Paddy’s earnestness to free -himself from the charge of having blundered, increased every moment, and -reminiscence followed reminiscence, each in a louder tone than the -preceding, until his argument became a perfect shout, whilst the unlucky -S.F.T.C.D.’s strove to out-bellow him with their denials, and the audience -laughed, shouted, and danced with glee at the fun. - -“I protest,” bawled Dr H--, “that I do not know Colonel Trench. You -mistake, my honest man; I never was at his place in my life. My friend -here, Dr M--, knows him, and has been there often; but I have not, I -assure you.” - -“Oh! you ass,” bellowed Dr M--, “what do you acknowledge my name for? ’Tis -no wonder they call you ‘Leatherhead H--.’” - -A renewed roar followed this piece of blundering recrimination. - -“Never at Colonel Thrench’s!--not you!--oh! ye desavin’ ould villain!” -screamed the hitherto silent Biddy. “Not you!--Do ye know me!--do ye!--do -ye!!--Do-o-o-o-o ye!!!” every repetition of “do ye” being louder and -longer than the last, until she finished in a terrific long shriek, -squeezing her hands together upon her knees, and stamping alternately with -her feet, with a rapidity that gave the effect of a shake to her voice. - -“I do protest and declare,” shouted the worthy doctor, “that I never, to -my knowledge, saw your face before.” - -“Arrah, Biddy, avourneen, is this the ould Turk that ye tould me about, -bud would’nt mintion his name, that was so imperant to ye? Scraub his -face, the ould thief! and let me see iv he dar purvint ye, my darlin’. -Tache him to behave himself to unpurtected faymales!” - -Biddy, who seemed quite inclined to forestall her companion’s orders, had -sprung upon the unlucky doctor before the sentence was half finished. He -strove in vain to shake her off; she clung to him like a wild-cat, -screaming, shrieking, scolding, biting, scratching, and tearing, until at -length she maddened him past all endurance by pulling two handfuls of hair -successively out of the little that remained on his skull, for which he -repaid her with two furious blows. - -The spectators, who had hitherto looked on, and merely laughed at the -entire affair as an excellent joke, had undergone a change of sentiment -upon hearing the innuendo contained in Paddy’s last speech; and, no longer -considering the old gentlemen as a pair of innocents amusingly “blown,” -they now looked upon them as a pair of wicked old profligates, worse than -young ones; and one, more zealous than the rest, shouting out “shame! to -strike the girl,” stretched Dr H-- with a blow. - -Dr M., irascible at all times, now lost all self-possession, and, unable -to reach his friend’s new assailant, turned furiously upon the cause of -all his woe, and bestowed a shower of blows with his stick upon Paddy, -before the latter had time to bring his cudgel to parry them. He soon -recovered himself, however, and from defendant quickly became assailant. - -Many of the bystanders indignantly called out, “Murder the ould -villain--knock out his brains, Paddy. That’s right, Biddy; flitther him!” -and several proceeded to give a helping hand to the good work; but others -thought it was a shame for a whole lot of people to fall upon two, and in -their love for justice they ranged themselves alongside the reverend -doctors, shouting, “fair play’s a jewel!” The fight thickened, volunteers -joining either rank every moment, in the laudable endeavour to keep up the -balance of power. Biddy had quitted her grip of the doctor, and was now, -to the surprise of those who had time to look about them (and they were -few), engaged in the endeavour to wrench a stick out of the hands of a -huge hulk of an Englishman, who, having merely gone to see the fun at -Donnybrook, without the most remote idea of joining in a fight, could not -be persuaded of the necessity of giving his stick, as he did not intend to -use it himself, to one who _did_, and that one “a female!” At first he -laughed; but he was quickly obliged to put forth all his strength to -retain it, and, whilst twisting about, he caught a stray blow that floored -him; he fell against a table, which of course overset; the confusion -increased, when a shout suddenly arose, “Hurrah for Dr M--! Hurrah for Dr -H--! College to the rescue!--Trinity!--Trinity!” - -At the well-known war-cry of the students, several changed sides; those -who had just been defending the doctors now turned upon them, whilst many -of their late assailants ranged themselves on their side. The citizens, -thinking that the number of students must be small, rushed to the spot, to -pay off sundry old scores; but one would imagine that the cry of “Trinity! -Trinity!” which resounded on all sides, was a sort of spell, or -incantation, that raised spirits from the earth, so many voices responded -to the call. - -The unfortunate doctors, who had just expected nothing short of utter -annihilation, felt their spirits rise at the prospect of aid and rescue, -and bellowed with might and main, “Trinity! Trinity!” and in a few minutes -they were the nucleus of a fight in which the whole fair had joined. - -“The poliss!--the poliss!--here come the bloody poliss!” was now the cry; -and the horse police dashed into the mob with their customary ardour, -their spurs fastened in their horses’ flanks causing them to plunge, and -bite, and kick most furiously, and laying about them with their swords, -cutting at every thing and every one within their reach; luckily they did -not know the sword exercise, and, therefore, when they struck with the -edge, it was only by accident. In a jiffy, the reverend seniors, caught in -the very act of shouting “Trinity!” were handcuffed, as were also the -Englishman, who got a blow of a sabre from a policeman that nearly took -off his ear, for attempting to expostulate; Paddy, who submitted quietly; -and Biddy, after a severe tussle, in which she reefed one policeman’s -face, and nearly bit the thumb off another. They were all put together -into a jingle, and conducted by a mounted escort to town; the police -hurrying them for fear of a rescue, by keeping continually whaling the -driver with the flats of their swords, and prodding the horse with the -points, which so enraged the jarvy, that when he got near the corner of -Leeson-street, Stephen’s-green, where two or three hundred of his -brethren were assembled, having whipped his Rosinante into a gallop, he -drove against a brewer’s dray, by which his traces were smashed, his horse -set free, the jingle locked fast, and he, springing off his perch, shouted -out, “down with the bloody poliss!” - -In an instant the mob rushed upon them. Paddy and Biddy, with an alacrity -and agility truly astonishing, sprang from the lofty vehicle, plunged into -the crowd (where there were plenty of willing hands to free them from the -handcuffs), and escaped. Nor were the worthy doctors slow in following -their example, the only prisoner that remained being the bewildered -Englishman, who suffered “only” a three months’ incarceration in his -majesty’s jail of Newgate for going to see Donnybrook, and the fun at it, -his sentence having been mercifully mitigated, in consideration of its -being his first offence! - -“Well,” said Dr H--, when he went with his head bandaged up, a shade over -his right eye, and about twenty bits of sticking plaster stuck over his -face, to visit Dr M-- (who was unable to leave his bed for a week), “well, -what a fool I was to be persuaded by you to go to Donnybrook fair! what a -pretty exhibition we would have made at the police office this morning! -Was it not most fortunate that we made our escape?” - -“I have been thinking,” said (or rather groaned) Dr M--, “who that -scoundrelly country fellow could be. I never fell into a bog in my -life--that was all a lie; and still the blackguard’s face was familiar to -me.” - -“I think he was very like that scapegrace Robert O’Gorman, only that he -had light hair; and though I could take my oath I know nothing of that -infamous little wretch that they called Biddy, yet I do think I have seen -her face before--hum”-- - -“Could it have been that he disguised himself, eh! I’ll inquire into it, -and if he did, by”-- - -“I think, my dear M--, you had better let it alone; the less _we_ say -about it the better. You know we really led the fight--that’s a fact that -can’t be denied; though it surprises me how we were hooked into it.” - -A rustle at the door, followed by a loud knock, announced that the -newspaper had been thrust into the letter-box, from which Dr H-- -immediately extracted it; and as he glanced over the page, the following -paragraph met his eye. It was headed “Disgraceful and fatal riot at -Donnybrook:” - -“It is with mingled feelings of indignation, horror, and contempt, that we -feel bound, in discharge of our imperative, onerous, and painful duty to -the public, to give publicity to one of the most astounding, frightful, -and overwhelming facts which it has ever fallen to our lot, as faithful -journalists, to record. The peaceable, gentle, and innoxious inhabitants -of the village of Donnybrook, and the casual visitors who sought a little -innocent recreation at the fair now being holden, were yesterday evening -thrown into a state of the utmost alarm, confusion, and dismay, by a -barefaced attempt to carry off by brutal force a young girl from the -guardianship and protection of her brother. It appears that they had gone -into a tent to rest and refresh themselves (having probably over-exerted -their light fantastic toes), when their savage assailants (respecting -whose rank and station various rumours are afloat, which for the present -we forbear from mentioning) rushed upon them, and endeavoured to force her -away. The indignant bystanders interfered to prevent the outrage, -when--will it, can it be believed? our pen trembles, and a cold thrill -runs through us as we write it!--the worse than Indian war-whoop, the yell -of the collegians, was raised, and their numbers would in all human -probability have succeeded, but for the timely interference of the police, -to whose humanity, promptitude, and forbearance, upon the trying occasion, -too much praise cannot be given. The riot was not quelled until the -military were called out, and by three o’clock this morning all was again -quiet. Up to the time of going to press we had only heard of sixteen lives -being lost. - -Second Edition.--We stop the press to announce that no lives have been -lost; but Sir Patrick Dunn’s, the Meath, and Mercer’s hospitals, are -crowded with wounded. N.B. The soldiers were not called out. - -Third Edition.--Dr Fitzgerald has just informed us that there are no -wounded in either Sir Patrick’s, the Meath, or Mercer’s.” - -“Well,” said Dr H--, “if they are not there, we at least know where some -of them are.” - - NAISI. - - - - -WHAT IS THE USE OF WATER? - - -Why is it that of the whole surface of this globe, we may consider that -three-fourths are covered by water, and that only one-fourth is in a -condition to be permanently inhabited by human beings? Is there any great -object in nature served by this? Is there any law of nature which would -prevent the proportion being one-fourth water to three-fourths land, or -even less water? In fact, what after all is the great use of water upon -the large scale in nature? - -First of all, although three-fourths of the globe are now covered with -water, there is no reason to suppose that it has been always so. On the -contrary, it is quite certain that the proportion between land and water -has changed very much and very frequently; that the whole continent of -Europe was at one time the bed of an immense sea, when probably there was -a great continent where the Pacific Ocean is now spread; that even Old -Ireland was once not merely what Admiral Yorke wished her to be, -forty-eight hours under water, but probably many thousand years in that -condition; and that the great tract of limestone which occupies all the -centre of the country, is nothing more than a collection of the skeletons -of shell-fish, her first inhabitants, which by time and pressure have been -converted into the hard material of which we build our houses, and which -we burn into lime. There is thus no particular reason why there should be -three times as much water at present as land, but it is easy to show that -water on the great, as well as on the small scale, is of paramount -importance in nature. - -Water is a portion of the food of all living beings. In the case of -animals, the bodies from whence they derive nutriment are so varied and so -complex, that to illustrate the peculiar part which water plays in each, -would occupy too much space. In all our drinks, even in ardent spirits, -there is a very large quantity of water, and our solid food very seldom -contains less than nine-tenths of its weight of water. The living body is -even less solid. A man weighing 150 lbs. would, if perfectly dried, weigh -not more than 10 lbs., the other 140 lbs. being water. It is to the -existence of this quantity of water that we owe the elasticity, the -softness, and pliability of the different portions of our frame, the -animal tissues being, when dry, hard and brittle as dry glue. - -The nutrition of vegetables furnishes a beautiful and simple example of -the use of water in nature. The body of the vegetable, the proper wood, -may be considered as being composed of water and of charcoal; and hence, -when we heat a piece of wood until we decompose it, the water is expelled, -and carbon or charcoal remains behind. In order to grow, a plant must -therefore get water and charcoal in a form fit for its use, that is, in -such a form as it can make food of, and digest them. For this, the carbon -is supplied in the carbonic acid which the air contains, and the water in -the state of vapour which the air contains also, and which is continually -descending under the form of dew and rain to moisten the leaves and the -roots of the plants, when it has been absorbed into the ground. All the -water which is absorbed by plants is not assimilated, or digested; a great -part is again thrown out by the surface of the leaves; for, precisely as -the air which an animal expires from the lungs in breathing is loaded with -vapour, so is there a process of perspiration from the surface of the -leaves, which are the lungs of plants. For the formation of substances -which are peculiar to certain plants, other substances are required as -food, thus, most plants require nitrogen, which is accordingly furnished -abundantly in atmospheric air; others must have access to sulphur, in -order to flourish; but this depends, as it were, upon particular branches -of manufacture in which the plant is engaged; for its own support, for -making wood, and the tissue of its leaves and vessels, it uses only water -and carbonic acid. - -The conversion of water into steam or invisible vapour by boiling, is one -of the best known facts in science; but by a little attention we can -observe that this change takes place at almost all temperatures, although -much less rapidly. Thus, if a little water be laid in a plate, it is soon -dried up, and wet clothes, by being hung up in the air, are very soon -completely dried. Even below the temperature at which water freezes, it -still evaporates; and thus, when a fall of snow is succeeded by a -continued frost, the snow gradually disappears from the fields without -having melted, evaporating while yet solid. From the surface of all the -water of the globe, therefore, there is continually ascending a stream of -watery vapour; but as the proportion of sea is so much greater than that -of land, we may look upon the ocean as being the source of the watery -vapour of the air upon the large scale. - -Now, watery vapour is lighter than air, and hence the vapour, as soon as -formed, ascends in the air like a balloon, until it arrives at a part of -the air which is of its own specific gravity. The air in these higher -regions is extremely cold, and the vapour can no longer maintain itself -under the form of invisible steam: it is condensed, and would immediately -fall back to its source as rain or hail, but for a singular property which -it acquires at the moment of being vaporised. When water evaporates, it -becomes highly electrified, and could attract a feather, or other light -bodies, like a stick of sealing-wax which has been rubbed briskly on a -woollen cloth. Now, the vapour which passes off is electrified also; and -while in this state of electricity, it, on arriving at the colder regions -of the air, cannot condense, to form liquid water. The minute particles of -the water repel each other too violently, in virtue of their -electricities, to form drops, but they constitute the great loose -collections of clouds which diversify so much the appearance of our sky. -The clouds being thus highly electrical, and being very light, are -attracted by the tops of mountains and high lands, or by elevated -buildings; and, giving off their electricity, the particles of water -coalesce, to form drops which descend as rain. In this country the air is -so damp that in general the discharge of the electricity of the clouds -takes place quietly and silently; but in summer, and in dry climates, it -produces the vivid flashings and injurious effects of the lightning, and -the re-echoed rattle of the thunder-clap. - -When water is cooled, it diminishes in bulk like other bodies; but at a -particular temperature it deviates from the general law of contraction, -and by doing so, becomes, perhaps, the most striking example of -providential design that is to be met with in inorganic nature. Cold water -is specifically heavier than warm water, in consequence of the contraction -it has undergone, and hence will sink in it, as water would sink in oil. -Now, if we consider the surface of a lake exposed to the cooling action of -a wintry wind, the water which is first cooled becomes heavier, and, -sinking to the bottom, is replaced by the warmer water, which floats up to -the top; there is thus a current established of cold water descending and -of warmer water rising up. This continues until all the water in the lake -has been cooled down to the temperature at which its specific gravity is -greatest, which is about 40 degrees, or about eight degrees above the -point at which it begins to freeze. The action of the cold wind -continuing, the water at the surface is still further cooled; but now, in -place of contracting, it expands--instead of becoming heavier, it becomes -lighter, and remains floating upon the surface. It is then still further -cooled, and finally its temperature being reduced to 32 degrees, it -freezes, and a layer of ice is formed on the surface of the lake. This -ice, and the cold water next it, are impermeable to heat: it actually -serves as a blanket to the water at 40 degrees which is below, preventing -the escape of the heat, and retaining it at that temperature, sufficient -for the purposes to which it is subservient; for at the temperature of 40 -degrees, the life and enjoyments of all the various tribes of animals and -vegetables which reside permanently under the surface of the water are -perfectly secured, at least for a very considerable time; the water -holding dissolved a quantity of oxygen for the animal respiration, and the -vegetables living on the carbonic acid which is formed by the respiration -of the fish. On the approach of spring, the warmer air, and the rays of -the more elevated sun, act directly on the surface of the ice, and each -portion of water formed by melting, becoming heavier, sinks, so as to -expose the ice itself to the source of heat. Thus the ice is rapidly -dissolved, and after a few days the lake throws off its wintry aspect -altogether. - -Now, if water did not possess this peculiarity of being heaviest at the -particular temperature of 40 degrees--if it contracted according as it was -cooled, up to the moment of freezing, as almost all other liquids do, what -would be the result? The cold wind acting on the surface of the lake, and -the water becoming heavier by being cooled, the circulation would continue -until all the water had been cooled to the point at which it freezes. The -ice would then form indifferently in all portions of it, at the bottom and -in the centre, as well as on the surface; and by the continued action of -the source of cold, the wind, the whole mass of water in the lake would be -frozen into a solid block of ice. The watery sap in the vessels of the -aquatic plants, the blood in fishes and other animals inhabiting the -water, would be equally frozen, and all these living beings consequently -killed. Further, on the approach of summer, by the first heating action -of the air and sun, a layer of ice, of a few inches thick upon the -surface, would be melted, but the water thus produced would, by being -impenetrable to heat, prevent the great body of ice below from being -affected. Just as, in reality, the cold water at the surface prevents the -warmer water below from being cooled, so then it would prevent the colder -ice below from being warmed; and hence the heats of summer passing over -without the melting process extending beyond a few feet in depth, the -first cold days of the next winter would solidify all again. - -In every country, therefore, where at present water is frozen at all in -winter, we should have there established the reign of perpetual frost. By -the presence of such large masses of ice, the temperature of the ground -would be so much reduced, that, in place of the rich herbage of our -meadows, and the luxuriant produce of our corn-fields, we should have our -country yielding a scanty support to wandering herds of deer, in the -mosses and lichens that could be scraped up from beneath the snow. The -oaks, the beeches, the horse-chesnuts, which give such beauty to our -sylvan scenery, would disappear, and the monotony of wildernesses of the -Scotch fir and of the spruce would be varied only by patches of stunted -birch. The countries nearer the tropics would be gradually brought into -the same condition, by the depression of their mean temperature; and thus, -in a short time after water had ceased to possess this peculiar property, -the whole surface of the globe would be reduced to the condition of which -we now happily only read in the tales of the arctic voyagers; and all -commerce, manufactures, and civilization, would be banished from the -earth. Of such value is this little peculiarity of water! - -A property of water, which, however, unlike the former, it shares with all -other liquids, is, that when it freezes it gives out a large quantity of -heat; and that conversely, in order that ice may melt, it must obtain, -from some other source, a quantity equally considerable. Consequently, -water freezes and ice melts very slowly; and that it should melt thus -slowly, is of essential importance in animated nature. If in spring or -summer, when vegetable life is in activity, when the development of -leaves, of flowers, and fruit, is at its greatest energy, end all the -vessels of the plant are distended with its nutritious juices, were it -suddenly exposed to cold, the sap would be frozen, and by the expansion of -the ice the vegetable tissues torn to pieces, and the plant killed. In the -thin extremities, as in the leaves, such is the effect of the frost of a -single night; but as the fluids, yielding but gradually up their latent -heat, solidify very slowly, the injury does not extend so far as to be -beyond the remedial powers of the plant itself. In another way, however, -the peculiar latent heat of water is of still more importance. If there -was no large collection of water on the globe, the change of seasons would -be amazingly more rapid and more remarkable than they at present are. A -change in the direction of the wind, the alteration which a few weeks -should effect in the position of the sun, would transfer us from the depth -of the severest colds of winter to the summer heats. These colds and heats -would also be much greater than they at present are, and an approximation -to this actually occurs in countries far distant from the sea. The central -districts of Europe and of Asia have what are termed continental climates -to distinguish them from ours, which is called insular. Their summers are -hotter, their winters are much colder, and the spring and autumn seasons -of passage, which with us might be said to occupy most of the year, are in -those countries of only a few weeks’, or even a few days’, duration. In -fact, when on the cessation of summer the first cold winds tend to bring -on the winter, and to bind up our lakes in frost, the first portion of -water frozen becomes, by giving up its latent heat, a source of warmth -which tempers the chilly air, and retards its action on the remainder. The -water freezes thus very slowly. The vegetables, and certain classes of -animals, feeling the cold of winter thus gradually coming on, prepare to -meet it without injury. The motion of the sap in the one, that of the -blood in the other class of living beings, becomes slower, and, dropping -its leaves and fruit, the tree retains but its firm trunk, within which -its energies are preserved for the ensuing season; whilst the hedgehog, -the viper, the frog, and other animals, retire to their hiding-places, and -in a state of almost lifeless stupor remain until the warmth of the -succeeding spring calls them to renewed existence. - -In the formation of the insular climate which we possess, another power of -water, however, equally or perhaps more influential, can be traced. There -issues continually from the ocean at the equator, as the earth revolves, a -current of water considerably warmer than that which bathes our shores. -This current becoming sensible first in the Gulf of Mexico, is called the -Gulf Stream; it passes obliquely across the Atlantic, floating on the -colder water of the ocean, which tends in a direction nearly opposite to -replace it, and thus diffuses over the coasts of North America and Europe -the heat which it had absorbed within the torrid zone. The northerly -winds, which would bring down a sudden winter on us, are therefore -tempered by passing over the warmer surface of the ocean; whilst the hot -winds from the south, which on the approach of spring might make too -premature a change, expend, in passing over the great expanse of sea, a -portion of their heat; and thus the transition in both directions is -rendered more gradual and harmless. - -These are but a few of the important duties which are allotted to water in -its place in nature. It in other respects presents an equally interesting -subject of examination, and it is one to which we shall return. From its -value as the great agent of nutrition to the vegetable world, and the -necessity of a supply of it to animals; from its power in modifying the -appearance and structure of a country, changing land into sea, and -elevating banks where deep water had been before, the philosophers of old -looked upon water as the origin of all earthly things, as being above all -others the element of nature. It is not so: water is not an element. Among -other wonders which chemistry has taught us, we have learned of what water -is composed; and on another occasion we shall describe the way in which -its elements may be obtained. - - K. - - * * * * * - -CELEBRATION OF THE FOURTH OF JULY IN NEW YORK.--On this day, the -anniversary of American independence, all creation appeared to be -independent; some of the horses particularly so, for they would not troop -“in no line not nohow.” Some preferred going sideways, like crabs; others -went backwards, some would not go at all, others went a great deal too -fast, and not a few parted company with their riders, whom they kicked off -just to show their independence. And the women were in the same -predicament: they might dance right or dance left; it was only out of the -frying-pan into the fire, for it was pop, pop; bang, bang; fiz, pop, bang; -so that you literally trod upon gunpowder. The troops did not march in -very good order, because, independently of their not knowing how, there -was a good deal of independence to contend with. At one time an omnibus -and four would drive in and cut off the general and his staff from his -division; at another, a cart would roll in and insist upon following close -upon the band of music; so that it was a mixed procession--generals, -omnibus and four, music, cart-loads of bricks, troops, omnibus and pair, -artillery, hackney-coach, &c. “Roast pig” is the favourite “independent” -dish, and in New York on the above day are “six miles of roast pig.” viz. -three miles of booths on each side of Broadway, and roast pig in each -booth! Rockets are fired in the streets, some running horizontally up the -pavement, and sticking into the back of a passenger; and others mounting -slanting-dicularly, and Paul-Prying into the bedroom windows on the third -floor or attics, just to see how things are going on there. On this day, -too, all America gets tipsy.--_Captain Marryatt’s Diary in America._ - - * * * * * - -IRISH DRAMATIC TALENT.--Difference of taste makes it difficult, if not -impossible, to say which is the best comedy in the English language. Many, -however, are of opinion that there are three which more particularly -dispute the palm--namely, “She Stoops to Conquer,” “The School for -Scandal,” and “The Heiress;” and it is remarkable that the authors of -these three beautiful productions were all Irishmen--Goldsmith, Sheridan, -and Murphy.--_Literary World._ - - * * * * * - -THE MORNING.--The _sweetness_ of the morning is perhaps its least charm. -It is the renewed vigour it implants in all around that affects us--man, -animals, birds, plants, vegetation, flowers. Refreshed and soothed with -sleep, man opens his heart; he is alive to Nature, and Nature’s God, and -his mind is more intelligent, because more fresh. He seems to drink of the -dew like the flowers, and feels the same reviving effect.--_Illustrations -of Human Life._ - - - Printed and Published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at the - Office of the General Advertiser, No. 6, Church Lane, College Green, - Dublin.--Agents:--London: R. GROOMBRIDGE, Panyer Alley, Paternoster - Row. Manchester: SIMMS and DINHAM, Exchange Street. Liverpool: J. - DAVIES, North John Street. Birmingham: J. DRAKE. Bristol: M. - BINGHAM, Broad Street. Edinburgh: FRASER and CRAWFORD, George - Street. Glasgow: DAVID ROBERTSON, Trongate. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 8, -August 22, 1840, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, AUG 22, 1840 *** - -***** This file should be named 53983-0.txt or 53983-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/9/8/53983/ - -Produced by Brownfox and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by JSTOR www.jstor.org) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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