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diff --git a/old/55181-0.txt b/old/55181-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c35a013..0000000 --- a/old/55181-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1531 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 40, -April 3, 1841, 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. 40, April 3, 1841 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: July 23, 2017 [EBook #55181] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, APRIL 3, 1841 *** - - - - -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 40. SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 1841. VOLUME I. - -[Illustration: THE IRISH MIDWIFE, PART III.--DANDY KEHO’S CHRISTENING. BY -WILLIAM CARLETON.] - -The following Sunday morning, Rose paid an early visit to her patient, -for, as it was the day of young Dandy’s christening, her presence was -considered indispensable. There is, besides, something in the appearance -and bearing of a midwife upon those occasions which diffuses a spirit of -buoyancy and light-heartedness not only through the immediate family, -but also through all who may happen to participate in the ceremony, or -partake of the good cheer. In many instances it is known that the very -presence of a medical attendant communicates such a cheerful confidence -to his patient, as, independently of any prescription, is felt to be a -manifest relief. So is it with the midwife; with this difference, that -she exercises a greater and more comical latitude of consolation than -the doctor, although it must be admitted that the one generally falls -woefully short of that conventional dress with which we cover nudity -of expression. No doubt many of her very choicest stock jokes, to -carry on the metaphor, are a little too _fashionably_ dressed to pass -current out of the sphere in which they are used; but be this as it may, -they are _so_ traditional in character, and so humorous in conception, -that we never knew the veriest prude to feel offended, or the morosest -temperament to maintain its sourness, at their recital. Not that she -is at all gross or unwomanly in any thing she may say, but there is -generally in her apothegms a passing touch of fancy--a quick but terse -vivacity of insinuation, at once so full of fun and sprightliness, and -that truth which all know but few like to acknowledge, that we defy -any one not irretrievably gone in some incurable melancholy to resist -her humour. The moment she was seen approaching the house, every one -in it felt an immediate elevation of spirits, with the exception of -Mrs Keho herself, who knew that wherever Rose had the arrangement of -the bill of fare, there was sure to be what the Irish call “full an’ -plinty”--“lashins an’ lavins”--a fact which made her groan in spirit at -the bare contemplation of such waste and extravagance. She was indeed a -woman of a very un-Irish heart--so sharp in her temper and so penurious -in soul, that one would imagine her veins were filled with vinegar -instead of blood. - -“_Banaght Dheah in shoh_” (the blessing of God be here), Rose exclaimed -on entering. - -“_Banaght Dheah agus Murra ghuid_” (the blessing of God and the Virgin on -you), replied Corny, “an’ you’re welcome, Rose ahagur.” - -“I know that, Corny. Well, how are we?--how is my son?” - -“Begarra, thrivin’ like a pair o’ throopers.” - -“Thank God for it! Hav’n’t we a good right to be grateful to him any way? -An’ is my little man to be christened to-day?” - -“Indeed he is--the gossips will be here presently, an’ so will _her_ -mother. But, Rose, dear, will you take the ordherin’ of the aitin’ an’ -drinkin’ part of it?--you’re betther up to these things than we are, -an’ so you ought, of coorse. Let there be no want of any thing; an’ if -there’s an overplush, sorra may care; there’ll be poor mouths enough -about the door for whatever’s left. So, you see, keep never mindin’ any -hint _she_ may give you--you know she’s a little o’ the closest; but no -matther. Let there, as I said, be enough an’ to spare.” - -“Throth, there spoke your father’s son, Corny; all the ould dacency’s not -dead yet, any how. Well, I’ll do my best. But she’s not fit to be up, you -know, an’ of coorse can’t disturb us.” The expression of her eye could -not be misunderstood as she uttered this. “I see,” said Corny--“devil a -betther, if you manage that, all’s right.” - -“An’ now I must go in, till I see how she an’ my son’s gettin’ an: that’s -always my first start; bekase you know, Corny, honey, that _their_ health -goes afore every thing.” - -Having thus undertaken the task required of her, she passed into the -bedroom of Mrs Keho, whom she found determined to be up, in order, as she -said, to be at the head of her own table. - -“Well, alanna, if you must, you must; but in the name of goodness I wash -my hands out of the business teetotally. Dshk, dshk, dshk! Oh, wurra! -to think of a woman in your state risin’ to sit at her own table! That -I may never, if I’ll see it, or be about the place at all. If you take -your life by your own wilfulness, why, God forgive you; but it mustn’t be -while I’m here. But since you’re bent on it, why, give me the child, an’ -afore I go, any how, I may as well dress it, poor thing! The heavens pity -it--my little man--eh?--where was it?--cheep--that’s it, a ducky; stretch -away. Aye stretchin’ an’ thrivin’ an, my son! Oh, thin, wurra! Mrs Keho, -but it’s you that ought to ax God’s pardon for goin’ to do what might -lave that darlin’ o’ the world an orphan, may be. Arrah be the vestments, -if I can have patience wid you. May God pity you, my child. If anything -happened your mother, what ’ud become of you, and what ’ud become of -your poor father this day? Dshk, dshk, dshk!” These latter sounds, -exclamations of surprise and regret, were produced by striking the tongue -against that part of the inward gum which covers the roots of the teeth. - -“Indeed, Rose,” replied her patient, in her sharp, shrill, quick voice, -“I’m able enough to get up; if I don’t, we’ll be harrished. Corny’s a -fool, an’ it’ll be only rap an’ rive wid every one in the place.” - -“Wait, ma’am, if you plaise. Where’s his little barrow? Ay, I have it. -Wait, ma’am, if you plaise, till I get the child dressed, an’ I’ll soon -take myself out o’ this. Heaven presarve us! I have seen the like o’ -this afore--ay have I--where it was as clear as crystal _that there was -something over them_--ay, over them that took their own way as you’re -doin’.” - -“But if I don’t get up”---- - -“Oh, by all manes, ma’am--by all manes. I suppose you have a laise o’ -your life, that’s all. It’s what I wish I could get.” - -“An’ must I stay here in bed all day, an’ me able to rise, an’ sich -wilful waste as will go an too?” - -“Remember you’re warned. This is your first baby, God bless it, an’ spare -you both. But, Mrs Keho, does it stand to raison that you’re as good a -judge of these things as a woman like me, that it’s my business? I ax you -that, ma’am.” - -This poser in fact settled the question, not only by the reasonable force -of the conclusion to be derived from it, but by the cool authoritative -manner in which it was put. - -“Well,” said the other, “in that case, I suppose, I must give in. You -ought to know best.” - -“Thank you kindly, ma’am; have you found it out at last? No, but you -ought to put your two hands under my feet for preventin’ you from doin’ -what you intinded. That I may never sup sorrow, but it was as much as -your life was worth. Compose yourself; I’ll see that there’s no waste, -and that’s enough. Here, hould my son--why, thin, isn’t he the beauty o’ -the world, now that he has got his little dress upon him?--till I pin -up this apron across the windy; the light’s too strong for you. There -now: the light’s apt to give one a headache when it comes in full bint -upon the eyes that way. Come, alanna, come an now, till I show you to -your father an’ them all. Wurra, thin, Mrs Keho, darlin’,” (this was -said in a low confidential whisper, and in a playful wheedling tone -which baffles all description), “wurra, thin, Mrs Keho, darlin’, but -it’s he that’s the proud man, the proud Corny, this day. Rise your head -a little--aisy--there now, that’ll do--one kiss to my son, now, before -he laives his mammy, he says, for a weeny while, till he pays his little -respects to his daddy an’ to all his friends, he says, an’ thin he’ll -come back to mammy agin--to his own little bottle, he says.” - -Young Corny soon went the rounds of the whole family, from his father -down to the little herd-boy who followed and took care of the cattle. -Many were the jokes which passed between the youngsters on this -occasion--jokes which have been registered by such personages as Rose, -almost in every family in the kingdom, for centuries, and with which -most of the Irish people are too intimately and thoroughly acquainted to -render it necessary for us to repeat them here. - -Rose now addressed herself to the task of preparing breakfast, which, -in honour of the happy event, was nothing less than “tay, white bread, -and Boxty,” with a glass of poteen to sharpen the appetite. As Boxty, -however, is a description of bread not generally known to our readers, -we shall give them a sketch of the manner in which this Irish luxury is -made. A basket of the best potatoes is got, which are washed and peeled -raw; then is procured a tin grater, on which they are grated; the water -is then shired off them, and the macerated mass is put into a clean -sheet, or table-cloth, or bolster-cover. This is caught at each end by -two strong men, who twist it in opposite directions until the contortions -drive up the substance into the middle of the sheet, &c.; this of course -expels the water also; but lest the twisting should be insufficient for -that purpose, it is placed, like a cheese-cake, under a heavy weight, -until it is properly dried. They then knead it into cakes, and bake it on -a pan or griddle; and when eaten with butter, we can assure our readers -that it is quite delicious. - -The hour was now about nine o’clock, and the company asked to the -christening began to assemble. The gossips or sponsors were four in -number; two of them wealthy friends of the family that had never been -married, and the two others a simple country pair, who were anxious to -follow in the matrimonial steps of Corny and his wife. The rest were, as -usual, neighbours, relatives, and _cleaveens_, to the amount of sixteen -or eighteen persons, men, women, and children, all dressed in their best -apparel, and disposed to mirth and friendship. Along with the rest was -Bob M’Cann, the fool, who by the way could smell out a good dinner with -as keen a nostril as the wisest man in the parish could boast of, and who -on such occasions carried turf and water in quantities that indicated -the supernatural strength of a Scotch brownie rather than that of a -human being. Bob’s qualities, however, were well proportioned to each -other, for, truth to say, his appetite was equal to his strength, and his -cunning to either. - -Corny and Mrs Moan were in great spirits, and indeed we might predicate -as much of all who were present. Not a soul entered the house who was -not brought up by Corny to an out-shot room, as a private mark of his -friendship, and treated to an underhand glass of as good poteen “as ever -went down the red lane,” to use a phrase common among the people. Nothing -upon an occasion naturally pleasant gives conversation a more cheerful -impulse than this; and the consequence was, that in a short time the -scene was animated and mirthful to an unusual degree. - -Breakfast at length commenced in due form. Two bottles of whisky were -placed upon the table, and the first thing done was to administer a glass -to each guest. - -“Come, neighbours,” said Corny, “we must dhrink the good woman’s health -before we ate, especially as it’s the first time, any how.” - -“To be sure they will, achora, an’ why not? An’ if it’s the first time, -Corny, it won’t be the---- Musha! you’re welcome, Mrs ----! an’ jist in -time too”--this she said, addressing his mother-in-law, who then entered. -“Look at this swaddy, Mrs ----; my soul to happiness, but he’s fit to be -the son of a lord. Eh, a pet? Where was my darlin’? Corny, let me dip my -finger in the whisky till I rub his gums wid it. That’s my bully! Oh, -the heavens love it, see how it puts the little mouth about lookin’ for -it agin. Throth you’ll have the spunk in you yet, acushla, an’ it’s a -credit to the Kehos you’ll be, if you’re spared, as you will, plaise the -heavens!” - -“Well, Corny,” said one of the gossips, “here’s a speedy uprise an’ a -sudden recovery to the good woman, an’ the little sthranger’s health, an’ -God bless the baker that gives thirteen to the dozen, any how!” - -“Ay, ay, Paddy Rafferty, you’ll have your joke any way; an’, throth, -you’re welcome to it, Paddy; if you weren’t, it isn’t standin’ for young -Corny you’d be to-day.” - -“Thrue enough,” said Rose, “an’, by the dickens, Paddy isn’t the boy to -be long under an obligation to any one. Eh, Paddy, did I help you there, -avick? Aisy, childre; you’ll smother my son if you crush about him that -way.” This was addressed to some of the youngsters, who were pressing -round to look at and touch the infant. - -“It won’t be my fault if I do, Rose,” said Paddy, slyly eyeing Peggy -Betagh, then betrothed to him, who sat opposite, her dark eyes flashing -with repressed humour and affection. Deafness, however, is sometimes a -very convenient malady to young ladies, for Peggy immediately commenced -a series of playful attentions to the unconscious infant, which were -just sufficient to excuse her from noticing this allusion to their -marriage. Rose looked at her, then nodded comically to Paddy, shutting -both her eyes by way of a wink, adding aloud, “Throth you’ll be the -happy boy, Paddy; an’ woe betide you if you aren’t the sweetest end of -a honeycomb to her. Take care an’ don’t bring me upon you. Well, Peggy, -never mind, alanna; who has a betther right to his joke than the dacent -boy that’s--aisy, childre: saints above! but ye’ll smother the child, so -you will.--Where did I get him, Dinney? sure I brought him as a present -to Mrs Keho; I never come but I bring a purty little babby along wid -me--than the dacent boy, dear, that’s soon to be your lovin’ husband? -Arrah, take your glass, acushla; the sorrabarm it’ll do you.” - -“Bedad, I’m afeard, Mrs Moan. What if it ’ud get into my head, an’ me’s -to stand for my little godson? No, bad scran to me if I could--faix, a -glass ’ud be too many for me.” - -“It’s not more than half tilled, dear; but there’s sense in what the girl -says, Dandy, so don’t press it an her.” - -In the brief space allotted to us we could not possibly give any thing -like a full and correct picture of the happiness and hilarity which -prevailed at the breakfast in question. When it was over, they all -prepared to go to the parish chapel, which was distant at least a couple -of miles, the midwife staying at home to see that all the necessary -preparations were made for dinner. As they were departing, Rose took the -Dandy aside, and addressed him thus: - -“Now, Dandy, when you see the priest, tell him that it is your wish, -above all things, ‘that he should christen it against the fairies.’ If -you say that, it’s enough. And, Peggy, achora, come here. You’re not -carryin’ that child right, alanna; but you’ll know betther yet, plaise -goodness. No, avillish, don’t keep its little head so closely covered -wid your cloak; the day’s a burnin’ day, glory be to God, an’ the Lord -guard my child; sure the least thing in the world, where there’s too much -hait, ’ud smother my darlin’. Keep its head out farther, and just shade -its little face that way from the sun. Och, will I ever forget the Sunday -whin poor Molly M’Guigan wint to take Pat Feasthalagh’s child from under -her cloak to be christened, the poor infant was a corpse; an’ only that -the Lord put it into my head to have it privately christened, the father -an’ mother’s hearts would break. Glory be to God! Mrs Duggan, if the -child gets cross, dear, or misses any thing, act the mother by him, the -little man. Eh, alanna! where was it? Where was my duck o’ diamonds--my -little Con Roe? My own sweety little ace o’ hearts--eh, alanna! Well, God -keep it, till I see it again, the jewel!” - -Well, the child was baptized by the name of his father, and the persons -assembled, after their return from chapel, lounged about Corny’s house, -or took little strolls in the neighbourhood, until the hour of dinner. -This of course was much more convivial, and ten times more vociferous, -than the breakfast, cheerful as that meal was. At dinner they had a dish, -which we believe is, like the Boxty, peculiarly Irish in its composition: -we mean what is called _sthilk_. This consists of potatoes and beans -pounded up together in such a manner that the beans are not broken, and -on this account the potatoes are well champed before the beans are put -into them. This is dished in a large bowl, and a hole made in the middle -of it, into which a _miscaun_ or roll of butter is thrust, and then -covered up until it is melted. After this, every one takes a spoon and -digs away with his utmost vigour, dipping every morsel into the well of -butter in the middle, before he puts it into his mouth. Indeed, from the -strong competition which goes forward, and the rapid motion of each right -hand, no spectator could be mistaken in ascribing the motive of their -proceedings to the principle of the old proverb, devil take the hindmost. -_Sthilk_ differs from another dish made of potatoes in much the same way, -called _colcannon_. If there were beans, for instance, in _colcannon_, it -would be _sthilk_. This practice of many persons eating out of the same -dish, though Irish, and not cleanly, is of very old antiquity. Christ -himself mentions it at the Last Supper. Let us hope, however, that, -like the old custom which once prevailed in Ireland, of several persons -drinking at meals out of the same mether, the usage we speak of will soon -be replaced by one of more cleanliness and individual comfort. - -After dinner the whisky began to go round, for in these days punch was -a luxury almost unknown to the class we are writing of. In fact, nobody -there knew how to make it but the midwife, who wisely kept the secret -to herself, aware that if the whisky were presented to them in such a -palatable shape, they would not know when to stop, and she herself -might fall short of the snug bottle that is usually kept as a treat for -those visits which she continues to pay during the convalescence of her -patients. - -“Come, Rose,” said Corny, who was beginning to soften fast, “it’s your -turn now to thry a glass of what never seen wather.” “I’ll take the -glass, Dandy--deed will I--but the thruth is, I never dhrink it _hard_. -No, but I’ll jist take a drop o’ hot wather an’ a grain o’ sugar, an’ -scald it; that an’ as much carraway seeds us will lie upon a sixpence -does me good; for, God help me, the stomach isn’t at all sthrong wid me, -in regard of bein’ up so much at night, an’ deprived of my nathural rest.” - -“Rose,” said one of them, “is it thrue that you war called out one night, -an’ brought blindfoulded to some grand lady belongin’ to the quality?” - -“Wait, avick, till I make a drop o’ _wan-grace_[1] for the misthress, -poor thing; an’, Corny, I’ll jist throuble you for about a thimbleful o’ -spirits to take the smell o’ the wather off it. The poor creature, she’s -a little weak still, an’ indeed it’s wonderful how she stood it out; but, -my dear, God’s good to his own, an’ fits the back to the burden, praise -be to his name!” - -She then proceeded to scald the drop of spirits for herself, or, in other -words, to mix a good tumbler of ladies’ punch, making it, as the phrase -goes, hot, strong, and sweet--not forgetting the carraways, to give -it a flavour. This being accomplished, she made the wan-grace for Mrs -Keho, still throwing in a word now and then to sustain her part in the -conversation, which was now rising fast into mirth, laughter, and clamour. - -“Well, but, Rose, about the lady of quality, will you tell us that?” - -“Oh, many a thing happened me as well worth tellin’, if you go to that; -but I’ll tell it to you, childre, for sure the curiosity’s nathural to -yez. Why, I was one night at home an’ asleep, an’ I hears a horse’s foot -gallopin’ for the bare life up to the door. I immediately put my head -out, an’ the horseman says, ‘Are you Mrs Moan?’ - -‘That’s the name that’s an me, your honour,’ says myself. - -‘Dress yourself thin,’ says he, ‘for you’re sadly wanted; dress yourself -and mount behind me, for there’s not a moment to be lost!’ At the same -time I forgot to say that his hat was tied about his face in sich a way -that I couldn’t catch a glimpse of it. Well, my dear, we didn’t let the -grass grow undher our feet for about a mile or so. ‘Now,’ says he, ‘you -must allow yourself to be blindfoulded, an’ it’s useless to oppose it, -for it must be done. There’s the character, may be the life, of a great -lady at stake; so be quiet till I cover your eyes, or,’ says he, lettin’ -out a great oath, ‘it’ll be worse for you. I’m a desperate man;’ an’, -sure enough, I could feel the heart of him beatin’ undher his ribs, as -if it would burst in pieces. Well, my dears, what could I do in the -hands of a man that was strong and desperate. ‘So,’ says I, ‘cover my -eyes in welcome; only, for the lady’s sake, make no delay.’ Wid that he -dashed his spurs into the poor horse, an’ he foamin’ an’ smokin’ like a -lime-kiln already. Any way, in about half an hour I found myself in a -grand bedroom; an’ jist as I was put into the door, he whishpers me to -bring the child to him in the next room, as soon as it would be born. -Well, sure I did so, afther lavin’ the mother in a fair way. But what -’ud you have of it?--the first thing I see, lyin’ an the table, was a -purse of money an’ a case o’ pistols. Whin I looked at him, I thought the -devil, Lord guard us! was in his face, he looked so black and terrible -about the brows. ‘Now, my good woman,’ says he, ‘so far you’ve acted well, -but there’s more to be done yet. Take your choice of these two,’ says he, -‘this purse, or the contents o’ one o’ these pistols, as your reward. You -must murdher the child upon the spot.’ ‘In the name of God an’ his Mother, -be you man or devil, I defy you,’ says I; ‘no innocent blood ’ll ever be -shed by these hands.’ ‘I’ll give you ten minutes,’ says he, ‘to put an -end to that brat there;’ an’ wid that he cocked one o’ the pistols. My -dears, I had nothin’ for it but to say _in_ to myself a _pather_ an’ -_ave_ as fast as I could, for I thought it was all over wid me. However, -glory be to God! the prayers gave me great stringth, an’ I spoke stoutly. -‘Whin the king of Jerusalem,’ says I--‘an’ he was a greater man than ever -you’ll be--whin the king of Jerusalem ordhered the midwives of Aigyp to -put Moses to death, they wouldn’t do it, and God preserved them in spite -of him, king though he was,’ says I; ‘an’ from that day to this it was -never known that a midwife took away the life of the babe she aided into -the world--No, an’ I’m not goin’ to be the first that’ll do it.’ ‘The -time is out,’ says he, puttin’ the pistol to my ear, ‘but I’ll give you -one minute more.’ ‘Let me go to my knees first,’ says I; ‘an’ now may God -have mercy on my sowl, for, bad as I am, I’m willin’ to die, sooner than -commit murdher an the innocent.’ He gave a start as I spoke, an’ threw -the pistol down. ‘Ay,’ said he, ‘an the innocent--an the innocent--that -is thrue! But you are an extraordinary woman: you have saved that child’s -life, and previnted me from committing two great crimes, for it was my -intintion to murder you afther you had murdered it.’ I thin, by his -ordhers, brought the poor child to its mother, and whin I came back -to the room, ‘Take that purse,’ says he, ‘an’ keep it as a reward for -your honesty.’ ‘Wid the help o’ God,’ says I, ‘a penny of it will never -come into my company, so it’s no use to ax me.’ ‘Well,’ says he, ‘afore -you lave this, you must swear not to mintion to a livin’ sowl what has -happened this night, for a year and a day.’ It didn’t signify to me -whether I mintioned it or not; so being jack-indifferent about it, I tuck -the oath, and kept it. He thin bound my eyes agin, hoisted me up behind -him, an’ in a short time left me at home. Indeed, I wasn’t betther o’ the -start it tuck out o’ me for as good as six weeks afther!” - -The company now began to grow musical; several songs were sung; and -when the evening got farther advanced, a neighbouring fiddler was -sent for, and the little party had a dance in the barn, to which they -adjourned lest the noise might disturb Mrs Keho, had they held it in the -dwelling-house. Before this occurred, however, the “midwife’s glass” went -the round of the gossips, each of whom drank her health, and dropped some -silver, at the same time, into the bottom of it. It was then returned to -her, and with a smiling face she gave the following toast:--“Health to -the parent stock! So long as it thrives, there will always be branches! -Corny Keho, long life an’ good health to you an’ yours! May your son live -to see himself as happy as his father! Youngsters, here’s that you may -follow a good example! The company’s health in general I wish; an’, Paddy -Rafferty, that you may never have a blind child but you’ll have a lame -one to lead it!--ha! ha! ha! What’s the world widout a joke? I must see -the good woman an’ my little son afore I go; but as I won’t follow yez to -the barn, I’ll bid yez good night, neighbours, an’ the blessin’ of Rose -Moan be among yez!” - -And so also do we take leave of our old friend Rose Moan, the Irish -Midwife, who we understand took her last leave of the world only about a -twelvemonth ago. - -[1] A wan-grace is a kind of small gruel or meal tea sweetened with -sugar. - - - - -THE BAROMETZ, OR TARTAN LAMB. - - -Before steam and all the other facilities for travel had made us so -well acquainted with the productions of remote parts of the earth as we -are at present, every traveller on his return astonished his auditors -or the readers of his works with accounts of monsters which existed -only as the creations of his ingenuity, and to give importance to his -discoveries. One out of many which could be produced, and which, as -they may afford innocent amusement, we purpose from time to time to -bring under the notice of the readers of the Penny Journal, we lately -met with in an account of Struy’s Travels through Russia, Tartary, &c., -in the seventeenth century. The object of wonder was in this case the -Scythian or Tartarian lamb, a creature which, it was stated, sprang -from the ground like a plant, and, restrained to the spot on which it -was produced, devoured every vegetable production within its reach, and -was itself in turn eaten by the wolves of the country. This singular -production has since been found to be nothing more than a plant of the -fern tribe, the _Aspedium barometz_, found occasionally in arid plains, -where scarcely any other vegetable production can exist; it rises like -many others of the tree ferns with a rugged or shaggy stem; and the plant -having decayed or been uprooted by any accident, it is not impossible -that by means of a storm or otherwise it might be found supported on its -feet, namely, the stumps of the leaves; but that it pastured on other -plants, or was mistaken by the wolves for a lamb, although speculations -which the wonder-seeking traveller might be tempted to indulge in, it -need hardly be said are ornamental additions introduced to suit the taste -of the narrator, and to pander to that love of the marvellous which -prevailed in the age in which he lived. The following is his account of -this wonderful plant-animal:-- - -“On the western side of the Volga there is an elevated salt plain of -great extent, but wholly uncultivated and uninhabited. On this plain -(which furnishes all the neighbouring countries with salt) grows the -boranez, or bornitch. This wonderful plant has the shape and appearance -of a lamb, with feet, head, and tail distinctly formed. Boranez, in the -language of Muscovy, signifies a little lamb. Its skin is covered with -very white down, as soft as silk. The Tartars and Muscovites esteem it -highly, and preserve it with great care in their houses, where I have -seen many such lambs. The sailor who gave me one of those precious plants -found it in a wood, and had its skin made into an under-waistcoat. I -learned at Astrican from those who were best acquainted with the subject, -that the lamb grows upon a stalk about three feet high, that the part -by which it is sustained is a kind of navel, and that it turns itself -round, and bends down to reach the herbage which serves it for food. -They also said that it dries up and pines away when the grass fails. -To this I objected, that the languor and occasional withering might be -natural to it, as plants are accustomed to fade at certain times. To -this they replied, that they had also once thought so, but that numerous -experiments had proved the contrary to be the fact, such as cutting -away, or by other means corrupting or destroying the grass all around -it; after which they assured me that it fell into a languishing state -and decayed insensibly. These persons also added, that the wolves are -very fond of these vegetable lambs, and devour them with avidity, because -they resemble in taste the animals whose name they bear, and that in fact -they have bones, blood, and flesh, and hence they are called zoophytes, -or plant-animals. Many other things I was likewise told, which might, -however, appear scarcely probable to such as have not seen them.” - - M. - - * * * * * - -METHOD OF MAKING TAR AT ARCHANGEL.--They dig a hole in the ground, of -sufficient size, some two or three fathoms deep, and little more than -half way down they make a platform of wood, and thereon heap earth about -a foot deep, except in the middle, where a hole is left in the form of -a tunnel. They then fill the pit with fir billets piled up from the -platform, and rising about a fathom or more above ground, which part they -wall about with turf and clay to keep in the fire. They command the fire -by quenching: for which use they make a lixivium of the ashes of fir. -When all is ready, they set fire a-top, and keep the wood burning, but -very leisurely, till it has sunk within a foot or two of the partition; -and then they heave out the fire as fast as it is possible; for if it -once laid hold of the tar which is settled down into the lower pit, it -blows all up forthwith. These tar-pits take up a great deal of trouble, -and many men to tend them during the time of their burning, that the fire -may descend even and leisurely, whereby the tar may have time to soak out -of the wood, and settle down into the pit. As it comes from the wood it -is pure tar, but in the pit it mixes with water, which issues from the -wood also; therefore it is afterwards clarified.--_Life of Sir Dudley -North._ - - * * * * * - -AURORA BOREALIS.--According to Crantz, the Greenlanders hold the northern -lights for a game of tennis, or for a dance of departed souls; and this -opinion is not a whit more irrational than the superstition of the -oriental nations, the Greeks and Romans, and all the unenlightened people -of the middle ages, who, in the aurora borealis, and other fiery meteors, -saw fighting armies, flaming swords, chariots and spears, battles and -blood, and even thought that they heard the clashing of arms and the -sound of martial music. In the rainbow the ancient inhabitants of the -north discovered a bridge from earth to heaven, and called it the bridge -of the gods, which was watched by a dog, whom no art could elude, and -whose auditory faculty was such, that he could hear the grass grow or the -wool on the sheep’s back; the Kamschatkadales make of it a new garment -for their aërial spirits, edged with fringes of red-coloured seal-skin, -and leather thongs of various gaudy dyes. - - - - -THE ISLE OF SAINTS. - -“Primus ordo sanctissimus; secundus ordo sanctior; tertius sanctus. -Primus sicut sol ardescit; secundus sicut luna; tertius sicut -stellæ.”--See the ancient catalogue of the three classes of Irish saints, -as published by Usher and Lanigan. - - - There lived to Erin’s hallowed borders, - In days of yore, three saintly Orders. - And first, the simply HOLY:--They - Shed like the stars a flickering ray. - The second--HOLIER--poured a light - Moon-like, subdued and calmly bright. - The third, or HOLIEST of all, - Shone like the sun--or like Saint Paul. - - But, oh, the state of man’s unrest - In good!--the _last_ were first and best. - The _middle_ but a term between - The purest and the least serene; - Less than the greatest--greater far - Than those whose emblem is the star. - Waning they ran a downward race, - With fainter faith and lessening grace, - Till, reaching to the stage most lowly, - The least and latest were the Holy. - - Oh, that they there had staid!--that sin - Had, to this swept and garnished inn - Returning, found the entrance barred, - And Faith still keeping watch and ward!-- - Alas!--they slept in Ease’s bower; - They could not “watch one little hour.” - The stars their ineffectual light - In slumber sealed. The thief by night - Entered; and o’er the rich domain - Sowed tares among the better grain. - Sin flourished;--poverty and strife - Embittered all the charms of life; - And passion, with unbounded sway, - Swept sun and moon and stars away. - - And yet not ever such, sweet Isle, - Shall be thy fate. The stars shall smile - Again upon thy valleys green, - Again the moon shall beam serene - Upon thy mountains; and the bright - Celestial sun clothe thee with light, - With plenty bless, and warm and cheer - Thy long-delayed millenial year. - - Even now the sacred morning dawns, - The clouds are fleeting from thy lawns; - And, as light thickens in the sky, - Lo! Riot and Intemperance fly; - And chaste sobriety imparts - Her cup, and Industry his arts. - Peace, Love, and Holiness once more - Row their sweet ark towards thy shore; - And Heaven renews the favouring smile - That made thee once the SAINTLY ISLE. - - - - -ANIMAL CHARMING, OR THE SUBJUGATION OF ANIMALS BY MEANS OF CHARMS, -SPELLS, OR DRUGS. - -Third and Concluding Article. - - -In my last paper I endeavoured to show how exceedingly absurd and -unfounded was the notion of the Abbé Dubois and Denon, that the -serpent-charmers of India were and are a set of juggling impostors, -who practise on the credulity of the vulgar, and vainly set forward -pretensions to an art which has no actual existence, and which, -consequently, possesses no legitimate claims on the attention of the -philosophic inquirer. I now wish to bring all that I would observe upon -this very curious subject to a conclusion. I acknowledge my inability -to furnish my readers with a thorough explanation of the means by which -these wonders are performed, but I think I may be able, at all events, to -suggest such hints as may place them on the direct path to the attainment -of the knowledge they desire; after which, nothing will be necessary -but some degree of research and perseverance to afford them a complete -gratification of their wishes. - -It is evident, that whatever may be the supplementary means employed in -serpent-charming, music is necessary to its accomplishment. I should not -be satisfied on this point were it merely dependent upon the assertions -of the jugglers themselves, as in such case it might not unnaturally be -set down as a mere external cloak for some more important secret which -the performers did not wish to be discovered; and for this reason I made -the observation in my first article on this subject, that the precise -importance of the music in these operations was not as yet entirely -apparent. I wish it to be understood, however, that although the degree -of importance in which music should be held as an adjunct to the charming -of snakes, or as a primary part of the process, has not as yet been -ascertained by those who have investigated or endeavoured to investigate -the business, and published the results of their inquiries, I for my -part am fully satisfied on the subject. To return, however, to our more -immediate matter of discussion. - -Many have conceived that serpent-charming depends in the first instance -upon the snakes being previously deprived of their fangs, and thus -rendered innocuous. This opinion I have already demonstrated as palpably -erroneous. Others, again, hold that the jugglers possess a power, by -eating certain herbs, or chewing the leaves or roots of certain plants, -of rendering themselves proof against animal poisons. In order to render -themselves perfectly secure, it is said that their practice is to chew -the herbs, to inoculate various parts of their body with the juice, and -even bathe themselves in water in which these herbs have been steeped. -It is supposed that the bodies of the charmers thus become not merely -proof against the most deadly poison should they chance to be bitten, -but that those thus prepared exhale from their persons an odour which -produces a benumbing or stupifying effect upon the reptiles, and renders -them an easy capture. Whether or not it be true that such is the case, -we know that the Psylli not merely profess the power of charming snakes, -but also that of curing by spells, and the application of certain herbs, -such as have been bitten by them. We are informed by the historian and -biographer Plutarch, that Cato in his march through the desert took with -him many of those persons called Psylli (then a distinct tribe, though at -the present day that name is applied indiscriminately to all professing -the art of serpent-charming) to suck out the poison from the wounds of -any of his soldiers that might chance to be bitten by any of the numerous -venomous serpents which infested his route. The powers of the Psylli were -then always attributed to magic, and the performers themselves took care -to confirm that opinion by accompanying the application of remedies to -their patients with muttered spells or elaborately wrought and imposing -incantations. This is a testimony respecting the ancient repute in which -charmers were held, not lightly to be rejected. - -While some travellers are too sceptical, I have likewise to complain -that others are too credulous. For instance, while Dubois and Denon -scout the idea of serpents being charmed at all, Bruce asserts, and -that from minute personal observation, that all the blacks of Sennaar -are completely armed by nature against the bite of either scorpion or -viper. “They will,” says he, “take their horned snakes (there the most -common and one of the most fatal of the viper tribe) in their hands at -all times, put them in their bosoms, and throw them at one another as -children will balls or apples, during which sport the serpents are seldom -irritated to bite, or if they do, no mischief results from the wound.” Of -course it must be evident that Bruce in this instance ascribed rather too -much to the bounty of nature, and forgot how far art might have aided in -producing the appearance which astonished him. - -Don Pedro D’Orbies Y. Vargas, who published in the year 1791 the result -of a series of investigations he instituted to ascertain the secret on -which serpent-charming depended, informs us that it is also extensively -practised by the natives of South America, and that they produce the -wished-for end by means of a certain plant named the quacho-mithy, so -designated from its having been first observed to have been resorted -to by the serpent-hawk, or, as the bird is sometimes styled, the -“quacho-mithy,” and by it sucked, preparatory to its encounters with -the poisonous reptiles which it fought with and destroyed for its prey. -Taking the hint from the naturally and instinctively instructed bird, -the Indians chewed the plant thus discovered, and inoculated and washed -their bodies with its juice, rubbing it into punctures made in their -breasts, hands, and feet; and, thus prepared, they dreaded not the bite -of the most venomous snake. Don Pedro himself, and the domestics of -his household, used after these simple precautions to venture into the -thickest woods and the most dangerous meadows, and fearlessly seize in -their hands the largest and most poisonous serpents; the creatures seemed -as if under the influence of a sort of charm or fascination, and very -rarely attempted to bite; and at any rate, even if they did, no evil -consequence resulted from the wound beyond the temporary inconvenience -produced by the laceration of the flesh by the animals’ teeth. - -The same gentleman to whom I was indebted for the anecdote of the -encounter with the cobra de capella, mentioned in a preceding paper, -informed me that he had detected a snake-charmer in the act of chewing -and inoculating himself with some plant, the name or character of -which he could not however ascertain, though he offered the juggler a -considerable sum for the information. One of the leaves of this plant, -and the only one he saw, he states to have been of a long and narrow -form, with the sides indented or scolloped, somewhat like those of our -own common dandelion. - -Now, it appears to me by no means difficult of deduction from the -facts brought forward in this and the preceding papers on the same -subject, that the secret of the snake-charmers is dependent upon two -ingredients, viz, in the first place the employment of an antidote which -will not only mollify the effects of the reptiles’ venom, should the -experimenters happen to be bitten, but, from some peculiar odour which it -emits, stupify or intoxicate the snake, and indispose it from violence, -inclining it rather to appreciate the melody with which they are treating -it, and luxuriate in hearing of their fife; and, in the second place, the -sounds of music which the whole class of reptiles appear more or less to -be sensible of, and which will induce the serpents to quit their holes -when they come within the sphere of the influence of the intoxicating -odour, and, abandoning themselves to its effects, fall into a state -of temporary oblivion, and are taken captive. We ourselves are well -acquainted with several substances which are capable of producing upon -such creatures as we are conversant with in these islands, effects no -less astonishing than those produced upon the snakes by the charmers of -India or South America. It is, for instance, a very common thing, and -an experiment I have not only often seen tried, but have tried myself -dozens of times, and that with success, to charm trout, perch, or roach, -with assafœtida. If you sprinkle this substance, finely powdered, upon -the surface of the water, you will presently see the fish crowding to -the spot; and even if you rub your hands well with it, and, gradually -approaching the water, gently immerse them in it, you will ere long find -the fish attracted towards you, and, losing their natural timidity, -actually permit themselves to be taken. Many have imagined that it was -upon the use of a certain drug that the wonderful power possessed and -successfully exerted by Sullivan, the whisperer, depended; but for my -part I think the circumstance of Sullivan’s son having been unable -to produce similar effects, although instructed by his father in the -mystery, is sufficient to show that Sullivan’s trick depended upon some -means less certain in operation than the mere employment of a drug would -be, and in which mechanical dexterity and personal bearing occupied -places of no mean importance. - -Rat-catchers used formerly to employ certain drugs, or combinations of -them, to collect these vermin into one place, and thus destroy them -wholesale, or to entice them into the trap; and it has been pretended by -some worthy members of this ancient and mystic calling, that they are -possessed of secrets by which they can, if they please, draw away all the -rats from any premises on which they may be employed. I have, however, -sought after the most _talented_ living professors of rat-catching, -and I cannot say I have ever witnessed miracles equal to that. I have, -however, _seen_ a trap placed in a cellar haunted by rats, and left -there all night, filled next morning with these vermin to the number of -thirty, and surrounded by a host of others, who actually could not enter -from want of room! I have _seen_ a tame white rat smeared with a certain -composition, let loose in a vault, and in less than half an hour return, -followed by at least half a dozen others, who appeared so enamoured of -the white-coloured decoy, or of some scent that hung about him, that -they suffered themselves to be taken alive in the rat-catcher’s hand, -and never so much as offer to bite. I purchased this secret from an old -rat-catcher, and have much pleasure in communicating it to the public, -and more especially to the discriminating patrons of the Irish Penny -Journal. It consists of the following simple preparation:-- - - Powdered assafœtida 2 grains. - Essential oil of rhodium 3 drachms. - Essential oil of lavender 1 scruple. - Oil of aniseed 1 drachm. - -Let the assafœtida be first well triturated with the aniseed, then add -the oil of rhodium, still continuing to rub the material well up together -in a mortar, after which add the oil of lavender, and cork up the mixture -in a close bottle until required. The method of employing this receipt is -very simple, and consists merely in smearing the decoy rat with it, in -mixing a few drops of it with a little flour or starch, and employing the -paste thus formed as a bait for the trap; and if you anoint your hands -with this mixture, you may put them into a cage full of rats without -the slightest danger of a bite. I have done so repeatedly myself, and -never got bitten unless when I had prepared the composition improperly, -or displayed timidity in proceeding to handle the animals--a defect of -demeanour which appears capable of counteracting the working of the charm. - -The liking which rats exhibit for the perfume produced by the above -simple composition is truly wonderful, but will be readily admitted, -even while as yet its efficacy remains untested, by any person who has -witnessed the passion exhibited by cats for valerian, or of dogs for -galbanum, and after much consideration and attentive observation I have -come to the conclusion that the effects produced by different substances -upon these animals have a common origin, viz., in the peculiar odour -calling into play the sexual appetite, and that too in a more than -commonly energetic manner; of course I only mean to apply this latter -observation to the case of dogs, rats, and cats. I have no intention -of thus seeking to explain away the effect produced upon serpents -or fishes by certain odours, accompanied by music; indeed, in these -instances I should rather ascribe the effects produced to a sort of -intoxicating, fascinating influence, bearing no distant resemblance to -the power exercised towards other animals by many of the serpent tribe -themselves. The fascination of the rattle-snake, for example, seems in a -great measure to depend upon the agency of a certain intoxicating odour -which the reptile has the power of producing at pleasure. In support of -this opinion I may adduce the testimony of Major A. Gordon, who thus -explains the fascination of serpents in a paper read before the New York -Historical Society. He adduced various facts in support of his opinions, -and amongst the rest mentions a negro, who could by smell alone discover -a rattle-snake when in the exercise of this power, at the distance of -two hundred feet, and who, following such indications, never failed of -finding some poor animal drawn within its vortex, and in vain struggling -with the irresistible influence. By no means remotely allied to charming -and fascination would appear to be that mysterious and as yet doubtful -power, animal magnetism, a subject on which I shall not dilate, as it -hardly falls within the limits indicated by the heading of this paper, -which has now run to a length considerably greater than I contemplated -at starting; and consequently I think it time to take my leave, trusting -I have at least given a clue to the great secret on which depends the -magical influence of the serpent-charmer. - - H. D. R. - - - - -WHY DO ROOTS GROW DOWNWARDS, AND STEMS TOWARDS THE HEAVENS? - -Second Article. - - -Our readers may remember a very simple experiment, but pregnant with -important results, which we described in our former article: namely, -if an onion plant, exposed to day light, be laid horizontally on the -ground, the extremities of the stem and roots will in the course of a -few hours turn themselves in their natural directions, the one upwards -and the other downwards; if a similar plant be placed in a dark cellar, -to which no light has access, the same things will take place; but that -which happens in a few hours in the one instance, will require as many -days in the other. From this experiment we were led to conclude that in -the production of the proper directions of stems and roots, two classes -of causes operate, namely, the light; and, secondly, some other principle -distinct from light. Our former article was devoted to the explanation -of the manner in which light causes stems to ascend, and roots to -descend; we shall now endeavour to investigate that other principle, less -powerful, but more universal, which shares in the production of the same -phenomena. - -If the flower stalk of the common dandelion be split vertically into a -number of portions, each of these will be seen, spontaneously, to curl -outwards; the same tendency must be familiar to every one in celery -dressed for the table; if the root of the dandelion be split vertically -into two or more parts, these will likewise be found to curve, but in a -contrary direction from those of the stem; they will curl inwards. We -thus find that all the portions of stem placed round the central axis -have a natural tendency to curl outwards; while all the portions of root -round the central axis have a tendency to curl inwards. The stem may be -therefore considered as consisting of a number of springs placed round a -central axis, and all endeavouring to burst away from each other; while -the root, in a like manner, may be regarded as composed of a number of -springs placed round a central axis, and all pressing against each other. -These natural tendencies are overcome, in the living plant, by the mutual -cohesion of these parts or springs; but when this cohesion is removed by -the knife, their influence becomes acknowledged. - -Now, if we imagine a number of springs, all of equal strength, and either -dragging away from each other or pressing together, it will be easily -understood that in such cases perfect equilibrium should result: for, of -two springs pulling in opposite directions, for either to overcome, it -is necessary that one should be the more powerful; and the same applies -to springs pressing against each other. As long, therefore, as a stem -consists of a number of equal springs, all endeavouring to burst away -from each other, its direction will be in a straight line; and as long -as a root is composed of equal springs pressing towards each other, its -direction, likewise, will be straight. - -If a stem or root be placed for a certain length of time in a horizontal -position, the peculiar tendency to curvation of its parts will become -modified. If a stem which has been thus treated be split along its axis, -the part which, while it was in a horizontal position, was superior, will -have its tendency to curl outwards increased; while that which was under -the same circumstances inferior, will have its tendency to curl outwards -diminished. If a root be placed, during a certain period, horizontally, -and then split along its axis, the superior portion will be found to have -its tendency to curl inwards increased, while the inferior portion will -have the same tendency diminished. A horizontal position is therefore -found to increase the peculiar tendencies to curvation of the superior -parts of stems and roots, and to lessen those of the inferior half. - -Now, we have already ascertained that while equal springs either pull -against or press towards each other, equilibrium is obtained; but if -from any cause the springs become unequal, the greater power may be -expected to overcome the less. When a stem or root has been kept for -some time horizontally, the upper half has its elastic power increased, -while the spring of the most depending portion has become diminished; -we have therefore now springs of unequal power placed round a central -axis, the superior being rendered more energetic, while their antagonists -have become weakened; it is reasonable, therefore, to expect that the -respective directions of roots and stems under such circumstances should -be obedient to the excess of elasticity which the upper half has acquired -over the lower; in other words, these stems and roots ought to direct -themselves in accordance with the natural tendencies of the superior -springs which enter into the structure of these organs. Now, the superior -springs of the stems have a natural tendency to curl outwards, or when -placed horizontally, upwards; and the superior half of the root has an -equally natural tendency to curl inwards, or, when placed horizontally, -downwards. Need we be surprised, therefore, if in obedience to these more -powerful springs the stems and roots of vegetables shall (as experience -shows us they will do) curve, after having been placed for some time in a -horizontal position, the former upward and the latter downward? - -Let us now endeavour to explain the causes which produce these peculiar -and different tendencies to curvation of stems and roots, and for this -purpose it will be necessary for us to premise, that the fleshy substance -which constitutes the basis of vegetable structure is composed of a -multitude of little vesicles or cells, each perfectly distinct in itself, -and merely adhering by its external surface with those surrounding it, -while it contains a thick syrupy liquid; these cells, although pressed to -a certain extent against each other, are not so closely approached as to -obliterate completely the spaces existing between them, so that little -passages, called intercellular passages, continue to remain, during the -life of the plant, between the cells through which the ascending sap -rises in its passage to the buds. This ascending sap is not so viscid -a liquid as that contained in the cells: thus, the syrupy contents of -the latter must, according to the principle of endosmose described in -a previous article, absorb into the cells the ascending sap, in a way -similar to that whereby syrup placed in a bladder, immersed in a basin -of water, will attract the latter liquid through the membrane, until the -bladder be filled. While the sap continues to ascend, therefore, the -cells must necessarily continue swollen in proportion to their size. - -If we examine the relative size of the cells in stems and roots, we -will meet with a remarkable phenomenon: in stems the largest cells are -situated towards the centre; but on the contrary, in roots, the largest -cells are placed near the circumference. Now, we have ascertained in -the preceding paragraph that all the cells have a tendency to swell in -proportion to their size: it follows that the central cells of stems -and the circumferential cells of roots possess the greatest tendency to -swell. The centre of a stem has therefore greater elasticity than the -circumference, while the circumference of a root has greater elasticity -than the centre. When this elasticity in either case is permitted to -exert itself by means of a vertical section, it causes each half of the -stem to curl outwards, and each half of the root to curl inwards. If the -influence of endosmose be acknowledged, the explanation is perfect. - -But it may be said, what proof have we that endosmose operates in these -cases? An experiment instituted by Dutrochet, and repeated by the writer -of this article, sufficiently demonstrates its influence. A plant of -dandelion was immersed in syrup, and after a certain time the root and -stalk were severally split in a vertical direction: the tendencies to -incurvation of these organs were now seen to be completely changed from -what they are under ordinary circumstances; the parts of the stalk curled -inwards, those of the root outwards: this was exactly what might be -expected, if we suppose endosmose to be the cause of these phenomena; -placed in syrup, this thick fluid attracted liquid out of the cells, -which consequently shrunk in place of expanding; and the larger cells -contracting more than the smaller, the former elasticities became -reversed. - -It remains to be seen why it is that when roots and stems are planted -for some time in a horizontal position, the proper elasticities of the -superior parts become increased, while those of the inferior become -diminished. These phenomena can be explained by recollecting that the -ascending sap is a heterogeneous fluid, composed of mucilage and syrup, -mixed with light water and carbonic acid, which have been drawn up -unchanged from the extremities of the roots, and are destined to escape, -or undergo decomposition in the leaves. It is not difficult to imagine -that this heterogeneous fluid contained in the intercellular passages -should be subjected to the influence of gravity; if this be admitted, -we can then understand how in a horizontal root or stem the heavier and -more viscid portion of the sap should descend into the inferior half, -and the lighter ascend between the cells of the superior half; endosmose -will take place in proportion to the difference of density between the -liquid in the intercellular passages and that contained in the cells; -therefore it will take place more energetically in the superior half, -where is the lighter fluid; and as the elasticity depends upon the -energy of endosmose, the upper portion will, according to its nature, -curve with greater force, while the elasticity of the lower part will be -lessened. This explanation acquires increased weight from the fact that -the specific gravity of the most depending portions of stems and roots -growing horizontally in the dark, is greater than that of the upper. - -But we have stronger arguments in favour of the supposition that gravity -is essentially connected with the several directions of stems and roots. -These directions take place naturally in the “line of gravity,” that -is, parallel to a line drawn from the centre of the mass towards the -centre of the earth; at the same time it is to be remarked, that although -roots grow in the direction of gravity, that is, towards the centre of -the earth, stems grow in exactly the opposite way. An experiment made -by Mr Knight has been repeated by different philosophers, to determine -whether these directions of stems and roots bear to other physical laws -the same relation they do to gravity. Seeds permitted to germinate in -wet moss were attached to the circumference of a wheel made to revolve -constantly in a vertical manner; under these circumstances the roots grew -outwards, away from the circumference of the wheel, and the stems towards -its centre; the roots were thus found to obey the centrifugal force, -and the stems the centripetal; but while the wheel revolved vertically, -gravity and the centrifugal force were operating in the same direction. -It was necessary to cause them to act in different directions, and for -this purpose the wheel was made to revolve horizontally: in this case -the centrifugal force acted at right angles to the line of gravity, and -it was accordingly found, in obedience to the law of the composition of -forces, that the roots no longer grew towards the centre of the earth, -nor towards the circumference of the wheel, but in a plane between these -two forces; and the angle which they formed with the line of gravity -could be rendered more or less acute by increasing or diminishing the -velocity with which the wheel rotated. It was thus made evident that -roots and stems were influenced by physical laws, although growing in -opposite directions. - -We have thus shown why roots grow downwards and stems towards the -heavens: in the dark these things arise through the influence of gravity -controlling endosmose, and thus producing the proper incurvations of the -parts of stems and roots. Under the influence of light the same phenomena -more energetically arise from the agency of this element over vegetable -growth. - - J. A. - - - - -THE LADY WITH THE SPECTACLES. - - -Beauty in spectacles is like Cupid in knee breeches, or the Graces with -pocket handkerchiefs--an excrescence of refinement; an innovation of the -ideas which spiritualize woman into a goddess; a philosophical blossom -of the “march of mind.” Beauty in spectacles! and has it come to this? -Burke said that the age of chivalry was past, and publishers say that -the age of poetry has followed it; powder and periwigs destroyed the -one, and spectacles have gone far to annihilate the other. Think of the -queen of beauty of some tournament--thanks to my Lord Eglintoun for -making such words familiar to us--looking on the encountering knights -through a patent pair of spectacles!--picture to yourself a beautiful -and romantic young lady parting from her lover, taking the “first long -lingering kiss of love,” as pretty Miss Pardoe terms it, and just imagine -the figure the spectacles would cut in such an encounter; think of Mary -Queen of Scots, Lady Jane Grey, Scott’s “Jewess,” or Shakspeare’s “Lady -Macbeth,” with such appendages! I think of a heroine in a novel taking -off her spectacles to shed “salt tears” for her lover’s absence, or in -the emotion of a distressing juncture throwing herself at the feet of -some obdurate tyrant, breaking the lenses of her “sight preservers;” -think of all this, and judge of the effect which spectacles, as an -ornament, have upon romance. Beauty has three stages--the coy, the -dignified, and the intellectual. The first exists until about twenty, -the second until twenty-five, and the last until beauty has made unto -itself wings and flown away. It is in this last stage that women wear -spectacles. The symptoms of spectacles begin at an early age. The young -Miss has a primness, a staidness, and a miniature severity of aspect, at -variance from her years. They never seem young; there is no freshness -of heart in them: they become women faster than other girls, and become -old faster than other women; they are remarkable for thin lips, sharp -noses, and white artificial teeth. They are walking strictures upon -human life--bleak visions of philosophy in petticoats--daughters, not it -would seem of love, but of Fellows of the Royal Society! They are fond -of phrenology and meetings of scientific associations. They like a good -pew in church, and write long letters to their unfortunate “friends in -the country.” They are generally spinsters, or, if married, motherless. -No young wife with “six small children” ever wore spectacles. They go a -good deal into company, where they are seen seated on sofas talking to -ladies older than themselves, or turning over the leaves of a book, and -with interesting abstraction poring over it. They dance quadrilles, but -never waltz. Heaven and earth! think of a pair of spectacles whirling -in a waltz. They have a genius for the “scholastic profession,” and -frequently exercise it as amateurs “never eat suppers;” and are, many of -them, members of the Horticultural Society. The lady with the spectacles! -Half a century ago this would have been understood to refer to some -one stricken in years, but now-a-days infirmity of eye-sight has been -raised to the rank of a charm. The moment spectacles become really -useful they are abandoned; it is the harmonious combination of youth and -short-sightedness which gives beauty to the guise. Intense interest is -expected to be felt towards her, who, still young and lovely, abandons -the frivolities of her sex for the calm secluded pleasures of intellect. -This is the point our heroines aim at. But we have done with them. They -may be very good in their way, but their ways are not as our ways. -Flirts, coquettes, prudes, and a host of other orders into which the -sex are classified, have their failings, but they, at least, are women; -while the “lady with the spectacles” seems hardly a daughter of Eve, -but a mysterious being; a new creation, come into the world to gladden -the lovers of modern science, and patronise the house of Solomons and -Co.--_Court Gazette._ - - * * * * * - -MARRIAGE.--It is the happiest and most virtuous state of society, in -which the husband and wife set out early together, make their property -together, and with perfect sympathy of soul graduate all their expenses, -plans, calculations and desires, with reference to their present -means, and to their future and common interest. Nothing delights me -more than to enter the neat little tenement of the young couple, who -within perhaps two or three years, without any resources but their own -knowledge or industry, have joined heart and hand, and engage to share -together the responsibilities, duties, interests, trials, and pleasures -of life. The industrious wife is cheerfully employing her own hands in -domestic duties, putting her house in order, or mending her husband’s -clothes, or preparing the dinner, whilst, perhaps, the little darling -sits prattling upon the floor, or lies sleeping in the cradle--and -everything seems preparing to welcome the happiest of husbands and the -best of fathers, when he shall come from his toil to enjoy the sweets -of his little paradise. This is the true domestic pleasure, the “only -bliss that survived the fall.” Health, contentment, love, abundance, -and bright prospects, are all here. But it has become a prevalent -sentiment, that a man must acquire his fortune before he marries--that -the wife must have no sympathy, nor share with him in the pursuit of -it, in which most of the pleasure truly consists; and the young married -people must set out with as large and expensive an establishment as is -becoming those who have been wedded for 20 years. This is very unhappy. -It fills the community with bachelors, who are waiting to make their -fortunes, endangering virtue and promoting vice--it destroys the true -economy and design of the domestic institution, and it promotes idleness -and inefficiency among females, who are expecting to be taken up by a -fortune, and passively sustained, without any care or concern on their -part--and thus many a wife becomes, as a gentleman once remarked, not a -“help-mate,” but a “help-eat.”--_Winslow._ - - * * * * * - - Printed and published every Saturday by GUNN and CAMERON, at - the Office of the General Advertiser. No. 6, Church Lane, - College Green, Dublin.--Agents:--R. GROOMBRIDGE, Panyer Alley, - Paternoster Row, London; SIMMS and DINHAM, Exchange Street, - Manchester; C. DAVIES, North John Street, Liverpool; SLOCOMBE and - SIMMS, Leeds; J. MENZIES, Prince’s Street, Edinburgh; and DAVID - ROBERTSON, Trongate, Glasgow. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. -40, April 3, 1841, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IRISH PENNY JOURNAL, APRIL 3, 1841 *** - -***** This file should be named 55181-0.txt or 55181-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/1/8/55181/ - -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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