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ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
SEVENTH EDITION.
THE
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
DICTIONARY
OF
ARTS, SCIENCES, AND GENERAL LITERATURE.
SEVENTH EDITION,
WITH PRELIMINARY DISSERTATIONS ON THE HISTORY OF THE SCIENCES,
AND
OTHER EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS;
INCLUDING THE LATE SUPPLEMENT.
A GENERAL INDEX,
AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS.
VOLUME XVI.
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH;
M.DCCC.XLII.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
General
observa¬
tions.
Origin of
ca'nals.
¥NLAND WATERS, suitable for navigation, form a
medium of conveyance, upon which can be transported,
at a very small expense, and with a smooth or easy mo¬
tion, all sorts of articles; but it is especially adapted for
those which are very heavy, very bulky, or which could
not well bear any rough carriage. In these respects, in¬
land navigation has greatly the advantage of common roads,
and is often preferable even to railways; and, besides, in
many cases where a ship cannot be brought close up to a
railway, goods can be loaded immediately from, or disload-
ed into, a canal-boat coming alongside of the ship, thus
avoiding a second loading and disloading. Frequently, too,
canals combine the advantage of aqueducts and of drain¬
age with navigation; but they can never compete with rail¬
ways where great speed of travelling is required, or where
water is scarce, or in the time of frost; for the value of
inland navigation in any particular country, or the fitness
of that country for it, must depend very much on the sup¬
ply of water, and the duration of the season which is ex¬
empt from frost. In the following brief treatise, we shall
confine ourselves chiefly to artificial navigation,1 and touch
very slightly upon rivers and lakes ; because descriptions of
the most of these will be found in other parts of the work,
either under their own names or those of the countries to
which they belong; and the same thing may be said of va¬
rious canals.
It is not known when, by whom, or in what country, arti¬
ficial water communications were first constructed; though
it is extremely probable that canals which had originally
been made as aqueducts for drainage and for irrigation,
came at length to be applied to the purposes of naviga-
tmn. It is well known that works of this kind, connected
with the Nile, the only river of Egypt, had existed in that
country at a period so remote, that history has left us nearly
as ignorant of the precise era of their origin, as it has of that
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
of the pyramids. Nay, history does not so much as inform
us with certainty when, or by whom, the great canal was
first constructed, which anciently connected the Nile with
the Red Sea. The early inhabitants of Babylonia or Chal-
daea guarded against the detrimental inundations of the Ti¬
gris and Euphrates, by numerous artificial rivers and canals,
which served to distribute the waters for the benefit of the
country in general; and these at length were applied to
form an easy navigation between its different parts. At
a very remote period of antiquity, too, canals and pits were
dug in Boeotia for drawing off the water of the Lake Copais,
in order to prevent its overflowing the whole country ; and
these came to be afterwards used for navigation. The “fos-
siones Philistines” which were large canals, first made to
drain the marshes bordering on the Po, are ascribed to the
Canaanites, and especially to the Caphtorim, who at a
remote period are supposed to have emigrated from the
country of the Philistines.
EGYPT.
It is not our intention to enter into a particular descrip- Great ca¬
tion of even the existing canals of Egypt; but, on account nal an-
of the recent attempts to abridge the route to India bycientlJ
passing through Egypt, we shall briefly advert to the an.c°nstruct-
cient history of its great canal, and to the proposals for re-^ a^0jts
storing it, or constructing another across the isthmus of1 e a*
Suez, especially as the other route to India by the Eu¬
phrates has been abandoned. Some learned moderns, per¬
plexed by the vague and contradictory statements of the
ancients respecting a canal between the Nile and the Red
Sea, have questioned its having ever existed, except par¬
tially as an aqueduct for irrigation. The survey made by
order of Bonaparte in 1799 has, however, not only tended to
remove these doubts, but also to ascertain the line which it
ever'hetlte ““ “1’^ Ttwhich were given it artificially , for when-
form, whilst the hollow comers at the bottom nro L ^ Protube[ant. corners gradually crumble away, taking a rounded
,n ™nrvilin“°^ S“-p 8 s tl,e c”n,our of the section °f ,l,e c“al for the
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
followed. Of ninety miles of inland water communication
of which it consisted, it appears that sixty-five were cut by
human labour ; and, of this portion, about one half yet ex-
ists in many parts so entire that its dimensions can be mea¬
sured with tolerable accuracy, and little more than clean¬
ing would be required to render it again fit for navigation.
According to the French engineers, this canal extended
upon one level from Bubastis toArsinoe; or rather, it must
have had a very slight declivity, so as to carry the waters
of the Nile to the Red Sea. . ^ u at
The direct distance from the nearest point of the Me¬
diterranean, which is a little south-east ot Tyneh, to the
northern extremity of the Arabian Gulf, which is a little
to the north-east of Suez, is about seventy-five miles ; and
it is almost precisely the same from the latter to the site
of the ancient Bubastis, on the now deserted Pelusiac
branch of the Nile. The length of a canal from sea to
sea, following what the French engineers considered as the
most suitable ground, would be ninety-three miles, and that
of the ancient canal from the Red Sea to the Nile was about
ninety-two.
Since, according to the levels taken by the French, the
inundation of the Nile, when not restrained by artificial
barriers, must have reached to within two or three miles of
the Red Sea, it has been supposed that the practicability
of forming a canal must have suggested itself at an early
period. The sandy isthmus north of Suez, which is but a
yard above high-water level at present, has, no doubt, dur¬
ing the lapse of 3000 years, been raised a little by deposits
of%oil and sand. It is therefore supposed, that in those
remote ages when the canal was first thought of, a shallow
trench or furrow two or three miles long would have united
the waters of the Nile and the Red Sea, affording the an¬
cients a pretty correct idea of the relative levels of the
Delta and the Gulf.1 Aristotle, Pliny, and Strabo, ascribe
the plan of forming the canal to Sesostris. The two foimer
say it was abandoned because the waters of the Red Sea
were higher than the Delta. Strabo treats this opinion as
unfounded. Herodotus, in his book Euterpe, says the pro¬
ject was begun about 616 before Christ, by Necos, the son
of Psammeticus, but who desisted at the command of the
oracle, after having lost 120,000 men, and that it was com¬
pleted by Darius Hystaspes; that the canal was supplied
with water from the Nile, which it joined a little above
Bubastis; and that it terminated in the Arabian Gulf near
the city Patumos. Diodorus says it was begun by Necos,
and continued by Darius, who afterwards abandoned it
from the fear of Egypt being inundated by the Red Sea,
but that it was completed by Ptolemy Philadelphus; that
it extended from the Gulf to the Bay of Pelusium ; and that
it had sluices or gates, which were opened to allow ships
to pass and quickly shut again (lib. i. sect. 1). Accord-
jng to Strabo, certain lakes above Pelusium in the desert
were connected with the Red Sea by one canal, and with
the Delta by another ; and these lakes, which had original¬
ly been bitter, became sweetened by the introduction of
the water of the Nile. This canal was completed by Ptole¬
my, who constructed a gate which afforded an easy pas¬
sage between the sea and the canal, and which some fancy
to have been what we now call a lock (lib. xvii.). Accord¬
ing to Pliny, the canal reached only from the Nile to the
Bitter Lakes, and was about thirty-four miles long. These
statements may be reconciled by supposing, that though
from the Delta to the Gulf the canal had been repeatedly
opened, the communication with the Red Sea being dif¬
ficult, and only available for ships during a very limited Naviga-
part of the year, this southern portion of the canal had been jnlan,d>
often closed and abandoned. The other portion being ser-  
viceable for a longer season, might be kept more generally
open About the year 644, the canal was re-established
and greatly improved by the Caliph Omar, who carried the
western end south to Cairo, by a branch called the ‘ Canal
of the Pfince of the Faithful,” but afterwards the “ Canal
of Cairo.” The water being thus taken from a point of the
Nile six feet higher than the former one, the navigation
could, of course, be kept open during a much longer part
of the year. In this way the Nile and Red Sea were con¬
nected for more than 120 years; but since then the com¬
munication has been shut during more than 1000 years.
The line or track of the ancient canal, in its more im- Irack of
i.ne line or uai;* ui niv. —,  
proved state, is generally represented on maps as having a
pretty close resemblance to a semicircle, both extremities Nile t0
being nearly in the thirtieth parallel of latitude, and the Re(1 sea.
middle about half a degree more to the north. Such a line
almost coincides with that surveyed by the French engineers
between Suez and Cairo, and which they have described in
their great work on Egypt. But, from the flatness of the
country, they thought it would likewise be quite practi¬
cable to construct a ship canal, which would join the two
seas, independently altogether of the Nile, by leading off1 a
branch from near the middle of the line which we have
just mentioned, to meet the Mediterranean at Tyneh, a
place nearly in the meridian of Suez. This second canal
being only~of the same length as the other, and free from
the tedious navigation of the Nile, would be a much shorter
route and, if fed and kept clear by a constant curient from
the Red Sea, it would be navigable at all seasons, and quite
independent of the extremely variable depth of water in
the Nile. According to the French engineers, the current
having a fall of twenty-six feet, would have energy enough
not only to clear the canal of drift sand, &c. but also to
hollow out and maintain a channel in the shallow and
muddy bottom of the bay at lyneh, so as to afford a suf¬
ficient depth of water into the port. Some English en¬
gineers, again, who have more recently visited Egypt, think
a preferable and still shorter canal might be constructed
from Suez to the great lakeMenzaleh, which communicates
with the Mediterranean to the west of Tyneh. But there
is every reason to believe that the proposed railway across
the isthmus would be greatly preferable to any canal which
would not admit ships.
There would be no tunnels, nor rock cuttings, nor stu¬
pendous aqueduct bridges required in forming a ship ca¬
nal across the isthmus. The only difficulty would probably
be to obtain a sufficient depth of water at the ports in the
two seas. Were this attained, we might assert with Mr
Maclaren, “ that there is not a spot in the world where
a water communication of equal extent could be made
with the same facility, and where human skill could pro¬
duce so great a change with so small an effort.” Ihe na¬
vigation would suffer no interruption from frost in that
climate; though there is reason to think that the differ¬
ence of level in the two seas must vary somewhat with the
direction and force of the wind, increasing with a south
wind, and diminishing with a north ; but this is not likely
to be to such an extent as to prove at all detrimental to
the scheme.
The Nile, which is remarkable for having no tributaries Present
for 1300 miles up from its mouth, continues navigable for navigati011
large vessels 600 miles above Cairo, up to the cataracts,
1 Such is nearly Mr Maclaren’s view of the matter (Edin. Phil. Jour. vol. xiii. p. 274); but, since the levels of several coasts, rela¬
tively to those of the contiguous seas, are known to have varied sensibly in the course of a few centuries, it is evident that, inde-
nendentlv either of depositions or corrosions, the relative levels of the Delta, Mediterranean, and Red Sea may now be very different
from what they were 3000 years ago. Hence such a mode of judging how far the notions of the ancients on this point were correct,,
entirely fails.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- so long as it is sufficiently swollen by any remains of the
tion, inundation ; but its waters become so low in May and June
Inland. as on]y t0 jje t}ien navigable for small boats. A great part
of the Delta is intersected in all directions with canals or
aqueducts conveying water from the Nile for the use of
the inhabitants, and for irrigating their fields; and some of
these are likewise used for navigation. The present enter¬
prising ruler of Egypt has turned his attention to the con¬
struction of canals; but, like his predecessors of old, he
has been much blamed for being a very hard task-master,
especially to the poor women and children, whom he com¬
pels to assist the men in digging canals, with no other tools
than their fingers, and to continue at such work sometimes
till numbers of them expire upon the spot. The “ house
of bondage” was nothing to this. The pasha has, however,
been very unfortunate in the canal which he made in this
manner, with the loss of 23,000 lives in ten months, from
Alexandria to Fouah, a distance of about forty miles, as it
has by no means come up to his expectations.1 It is said
that he is about to construct a very gigantic bridge of
stone across the Nile, at the point where it is cleft into two
principal branches, about five leagues below Cairo; and
that this bridge is to be furnished with gates for regulat¬
ing and retaining the waters for the necessary supply of
the aqueducts and canals. Already he has made a bridge
of this sort over the ancient Canal of Jussuf, which runs
along the west side of the Nile, considerably above or to
the south of the proposed new bridge.
CHINA.
Chinese No'country abounds more in canals and navigable rivers
canals. t]ian China; but the greater part of that vast empire is so
little known to foreigners, that the state of its inland na¬
vigation is in a great measure conjectural. The Chinese
date the formation of some of their canals prior even to the
Christian era ; but, however that may be, they have, as far
as is known, made almost no improvement on their mode
of construction since Europeans became acquainted with
them. Their canals, after all, are rather rivers flowing
through considerably altered channels, than what are strict¬
ly artificial communications by still water. The Imperial
or Grand Canal, forming a communication between Canton
and the neighbourhood of Pekin, is, according to some,
2000 miles long, whilst others make it only 825. The
whole line is no doubt of great length, but it is uncertain
how much of it is mere river navigation. It is said to have
occupied 30,000 men for forty-three years, and to have
been completed in a. d. 980. Innumerable branches run
from it in every direction. Since almost no part of it is
level or still water, it has been inferred that the Chinese
are ignorant of levelling; but this wTe should regard as a
most groundless surmise, because the mere dealing so
much with the management of waters as they have done
for many ages could not fail to have taught these people,
however stupid, something of the principles of levelling.
It seems rather to have been the want of locks which na¬
turally led them purposely to give that form to their canals;
and it should not be forgotten that stagnant canals would
be exceedingly unwholesome in a warm climate.
INDIA.
The inland navigation of the vast territory of India is of
the most extensive sort, particularly that of the great rivers,
the Indus, the Ganges, and the Brahmaputra, with their
numerous branches, creeks, and canals. Taking the limit
of the Ganges and Jumna to the west and south, and the
3
Brahmaputra and Megna to the east, the country inter- Naviga-
sected by navigable rivers, &c. may be computed as cover- Ttl1on’
ing an area exceeding 180,000 square miles. ^ n an<^ ^
There is an uninterrupted navigation of 1000 miles upjn(lus
the Indus from the sea to Lahore, which is situated on
the Ravee or Hydraotes, one of the most meandering of
the five Punjab rivers or branches composing the Chenab.
But, owing to the numerous shallows and sand-banks in
some parts of the Indus, this extensive navigation can only
be said to be open to the flat-bottomed boats of the coun¬
try, which draw but four feet of water. There are, how¬
ever, few rivers on which steam could be used with better
effect than on the Indus, which is said to discharge four or
five times as much water as the Ganges. It has no rocks
nor rapids, and, unless when swollen, the current does not
exceed two and a half miles an hour. The swell com¬
mences about the end of April, increases till July, and
disappears altogether in September. Captain Burnes,
who treats largely on this subject, supposes that the Indus
is also navigable all the way up to Attock.2
There are many canals connected with the Indus, but
they are principally for the purpose of irrigation, and the
greater part of them are mostly natural creeks, having no
water except during the swollen state of the river. Such
canals intersect the delta, and are likewise pretty nume¬
rous between the latitudes of 26° 20' and 28°, particularly
on the west side of the river; but the most ancient artifi¬
cial canals connected with this river seem to belong to the
Punjab district.
By means of the Ganges and its subsidiary streams, all Ganges,
sorts of articles can be conveyed between the sea and the
north-west portions of Hindustan, over a distance of more
than 1000 miles; and the time may not be distant when
the navigations of the Indus and Ganges will be connected
by a canal. The commercial capital Calcutta, upon the
Hooghly branch of the Ganges, is therefore favourably si¬
tuated for internal navigation. It is about 100 miles from
the sea, and 130 from the Sandheads; but it has a very
intricate and tedious navigation through the banks of
sand and mud, which occasionally shift their beds in the
Hooghly River, as wrell as in the other branches of the
Ganges. The Nuddeah Rivers, which connect the Ganges
with the Hooghly, are likewise, for eight months in the
year, so extremely shallow, that the water communication
between Calcutta and the upper country is during that
time maintained by the Sunderbund passages, at a great
expense of time and labour. To obviate this inconvenience,
it has been proposed to construct a canal, which, branch¬
ing off from the Ganges at Rajamahl, shall join the Hoogh¬
ly at Mirzapore near Kulna; for, owing to the difference
of level at the extremities, amounting to sixty feet, and
the height of the Ganges itself varying thirty feet at dif¬
ferent seasons, an open cut, without locks, would not suf¬
fice. The intended line, besides, being 300 miles shorter
than the present route, would traverse a country rich in
iron-ore and limestone, and would pass near extensive col¬
lieries.
Since the renewal of the East India Company’s charter,
the following works have been executed: Canal between
the Ganges and Bugruttee Rivers; repair of an ancient
aqueduct in the Deyra Doon, and restoration of the Delhi
Canal; canal to unite the Hooghly with the Ganges, through
the Salt-water Lake ; canal to unite the Damrah and Chur-
ramunee; re-opening of Feroze Shah’s Canal in Delhi com¬
pleted ; restoration of Zabita Khan’s Canal in the Upper
Dooab; the course of Ali Murdher’s Canal drawn into
Delhi; a new cut for the Votary Nullah; and canal at
Chumnapore. A canal of seventy miles is now being exe.
1 St John’s Travels in the Valley of the Nile.
Captain Buines 1 ravels to Bokhara; and his Memoir on the Indus, in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
cuted, if not already finished, in the king of Oude’s domi¬
nions, between the Ganges and its tributary the Goomty.
, There are several canals in Agra, but they are chiefly used
' for irrigation ; some of them are of considerable antiquity.
Backwater South Malabar, and nearly all Travancore, are naturally
navigation, provided near their coasts with a noble system of inland
navigation, called the Backwater, which extends from Chow-
ghaut in Malabar on the north, to Trivanderam, the capi¬
tal of Travancore, within fifty miles of Cape Comorin, on
the south, a distance of 170 or 180 miles. A continuation
of it is in progress of being naturally formed, and is in
fact navigable ninety miles farther for small boats during
the rains, from Clowghaut to Cotah, sixteen miles south
of Tellicherry; and all that this portion requires is, that
the bed be deepened during the dry weather. The rivers
descending to the sea at intervals of every eight or ten
miles, would flow into and fill the deepened bed during the
rains. The Backwater runs nearly parallel to the sea¬
shore, sometimes at the distance of a few hundred yards,
at other times of three or four miles. Its breadth varies
from 200 yards to twelve or fourteen miles ; its depth from
many fathoms to a few feet. Into this Backwater, as into
a grand trunk, all the numerous rivers, flowing like so many
veins from the Western Ghauts, are discharged and re¬
tained. The Backwater empties itself into the sea only
by six mouths; of all which the only one navigable for
ships is the mouth on the south bank of which is situated
Cochin. There is a bar at this mouth, but on it there are
seventeen or eighteen feet of water at spring tides.
CEYLON.
In the maritime provinces of Ceylon, particularly in
Batticaloa, the internal communication is maintained by
canals connecting extensive salt lakes, which have stupen¬
dous embankments, said to have been constructed by the
Cingalese three centuries before the Christian era. Small
vessels from India may land their cargoes at Calpentyn,
in the Gulf of Manaar, and have them conveyed by canal
to Columbo. In the southern parts, where the rains are
copious, canals are not less useful in draining the low lands
than in the conveyance of produce; whilst in the northern
districts, owing to the frequent droughts, they are in the
greatest request for irrigation. There are rivers in Cey¬
lon which might be rendered navigable to a considerable
extent. Mr Brook, in tracing the course of the Maha
Villagunga River in 1825, came on the ruined tracks of
several very extensive canals, one of which had been from
five to fifteen feet deep, and from forty to 100 feet wide,
and which, according to the natives, had been cut by people
forty feet in height.
EUROPE.
Inland.
Both Greeks and Romans failed in their repeated at¬
tempts to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth.
The Romans indeed were more successful in some of the
branches which they cut for drainage from the Rhine;
though these and others of the sort are now likely soon to
be all cut off; or closed next the Rhine by locks. But
the honour of properly introducing artificial navigation
into Europe seems to be due to Italy and Holland, in both
of which countries it has long been practised to a consider¬
able extent, though their canals were made principally for
the purposes of irrigation and of drainage. It is now com¬
puted that about the twenty-sixth part of Holland is taken
up by canals, one of which is of uncommon dimensions.
They have been gradually introduced into the different Naviga-
countries of Europe, and to such an extent that, by means tion,
of canals and rivers, an internal water communication now ^
connects various parts of the great seas which surround
that quarter of the globe.
The Caspian is connected with the Baltic through the
Wolga, the great lake Ladoga, and intervening canals;
and the Baltic is also connected with the Black Sea through
other rivers and artificial waters.
The Ladoga Canal, formed along the southern shore of
that lake, for the sake of a better navigation, extends from
Schlusselburg to New Ladegaat, at the mouth of the Vol-
kof, a distance of sixty-seven miles and a half, on one le¬
vel, with a guard-lock at each end. This canal is seventy
feet wide ; and the depth of water, according to the sea¬
son of the year, varies from seven to ten feet. To such an
extent has inland navigation been carried in Russia, by
connecting rivers and lakes by canals, that, with the ex¬
ception of one interruption or portage of sixty miles, goods
may be conveyed by water 4472 miles, from Petersburg
to the frontiers of China ; and also from the same capital
to Astracan, a distance of 1434 miles.
The Bega Navigation, in Hungary, extends about se¬
venty-three miles, from Fascet through the Bannat by
Temeswar to Becskerek, whence vessels pass by the Bega
into the Theiss, a little above its junction with the Da¬
nube. The Canal of Francis, again, extends from the Da¬
nube by Zambor to the Theiss, which it joins near Fold-
var, being sixty-two miles in length. The summit rises
only twenty-seven feet.
On the west, the German Sea communicates with the
Baltic likewise by the Canal of Kiel through Holstein, and
by the Gotha Navigation through Sweden. The famous
Canal of Languedoc, in the south of France, forms a com¬
munication between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ;
and the equally famous and more capacious Caledonian
Canal, in the north of Scotland, forms a similar communi¬
cation between the German and the Irish Seas. Most of
the great rivers and many lakes in other parts of Europe
are also connected by canals, thereby greatly facilitating
the intercourse between different nations, as well as be¬
tween different parts of the same state. In the north of
Germany, the Elbe,1 the Oder, the Vistula, and the Niemen,
are so connected by canals as to form a water communica¬
tion over an extent of about 500 miles, viz. from the fron¬
tiers of Russia to the city of Hamburg, and running nearly
parallel to the shores of the Baltic, at a distance of 100
miles. This is often called the Prussian Navigation.
The;Canal of Kiel joins the river Eyder with the bay
of Kiel, on the north-eastern coast of Holstein ; thus form¬
ing a navigable communication between the German Sea
and the Baltic, and enabling vessels to pass from the one
to the other, without performing the long and difficult
voyage round Jutland, and through the Cattegat ana the
Sound. The Eyder is navigable for vessels not drawing
more than nine feet water, from Tonningen, near its mouth,
to Rendsburg, where it is joined by this canal, which com¬
municates with the Baltic at Holtenau, about three miles
north of Kiel. The length of the canal is about twenty
miles and a half, exclusive of about six miles and a half of
what is principally river navigation, but attended with con¬
siderable difficulty, from shifting sand-banks. The canal is
about ninety-five feet wide at top, fifty-one and a half at
bottom, and nine and a half deep. Its summit rises twenty-
four feet and a third above the sea, by six locks.
The Gotha Navigation in like manner connects the Cat¬
tegat at Gottenburg with the Baltic at Soderkceping. It
1 According to Berghaus, the waters of the Elbe will not be navigable twenty-four years hence, if they continue to diminish at
the same rate as they have done for the last fifty years; but attempts are being made to deepen it by dredging. Many other inland
waters are said to be on the decrease, particularly the Caspian.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- consists partly of canals and partly of the river Gotha and
t'°n> the lakes Wener, Wetter, &c. The late Sir Thomas Tel-
' Inland. for^ visited and was consulted in several parts of this
^ work, which is said to be a masterly performance. The
navigations, however, in the northern and interior parts
of Europe are sadly interrupted by frost during a great
part of the year, and therefore merit less notice.
Holland.
Canal of The canals of Holland are innumerable; but, on account
Amster- of the smallness of that country, and our narrow limits, we
dam and g^u on]y notice the great ship canal of Amsterdam and
Niewdiep. which is one of the most magnificent and capa¬
cious in the world. It was constructed to afford a safe
and easy passage for large vessels between Amsterdam
and the German Sea; for although the roadstead in front
of this city has forty feet of water, yet, on the pampus or
bar, where the river Ye enters the Zuyder Zee, there are
only ten feet; and therefore any considerable ship must
only be partially loaded when passing this bar. The Zuy¬
der Zee being everywhere full of shallows, all ordinary
means of improving the access to Amsterdam necessarily
failed ; and this seems to have suggested the idea of con¬
structing a great ship canal from this city to Niewdiep, near
the Helder, the most northern point of the province of
Holland. The direct distance is forty-one miles, but
along the track of the canal it is about fifty and a half.
The width at the water s surface is a hundred and twenty-
four feet and a half, at the bottom fifty-six, with a depth
of twenty feet nine inches. Like most of the Dutch ca¬
nals, its level is that of the highest tides, and it receives
its supply of water from the sea, but which at neap tides
has to be raised by a steam-engine. The design of the
high level is no doubt to exclude mud. This canal is
crossed by about eighteen drawbridges. It has tide-locks
only, and these are, of course, at the extremities ; but be¬
tween them there are, besides, two sluices with flood-gates.
The locks and sluices are double, that is, there are two in
the breadth of the canal. There is a towing path on each
side, and the water is broad enough for two frigates to
pass. This canal was begun in 1819, and finished in 1825.
From the Ye at Amsterdam, where the canal begins, be¬
tween artificial embankments, it proceeds north to Pur-
merend, then west to Alkmaar Lake, again north by Alk-
maar to within two miles of the sea near Petten, from
which it runs nearly parallel to the coast till it joins the
sea at the fine harbour of Niewdiep. The Helder is the
only place on the shores of Holland which has deep water,
and this is owing to its being opposite the Isle of Texel,
which, by contracting the water to about the breadth of a
mile, occasions a current sufficient to scour and deepen
the channel. Had it not been for the shallow water, a
canal of half the length might have connected Amsterdam
with the German Sea.
France.
By means of its fine rivers, France was naturally pos¬
sessed of a considerable inland navigation ; but it has, be¬
sides, many excellent canals, and in various places this ex¬
tensive country is well adapted for a great many more.
We can, however, only give a brief description of its prin¬
cipal canals, some of which are of very recent construc¬
tion, or not quite finished.
Languedoc ^nguedoc Canal, connecting the Bay of Biscay with
Canal. t“e Mediterranean, commences in the port of Cette in the
bay of Lyons, from which it proceeds in a westerly direc¬
tion through the lake of Thau, passing by Agde, Beziers,
and, through a tunnel of 181 yards at Malpas, thence
5
by Sommail to Carcassonne. From this the course is north- Naviga.
west by Castelnaudary to Naurouse, which is on the sum- ti00'
mit-level; and to this it has ascended in all 621^ feet, v .
by seventy-four locks. The remainder of the track con- Y ^
tinues north-west to its termination in the river Garonne
at Toulouse, with a total descent of 207 feet by twenty-
six locks. The entire length is 241,146 metres, or about
148 miles ; breadth at top sixty-one feet, at bottom thirty-
four, with a depth of six feet and a half. The total length
of feeders is about forty-nine miles.
This great canal was begun in April 1661, and finished
in June 1681. The rest of its history is given at great
length in most works on inland navigation. But although
usually ascribed to the genius and skill of Paul Riquetti,
intendant of the province of Languedoc, it is very ques¬
tionable how far he was qualified for such a vast and diffi¬
cult enterprise, in which he had had no previous expe¬
rience. Nay, from a comparison of the different state¬
ments, it appears that, in place of engineer, Riquetti had
been rather the contractor for the whole works, and had
advanced one fourth of the outlay, for which his descend¬
ants still draw a considerable revenue from the canal. Ac¬
cording to General Andreossy,1 the works were planned
and conducted by a relative of his, Francois Andreossy,
an Italian engineer, who had had experience in the con¬
struction of canals in his own country, and who was em¬
ployed by Riquetti to conduct this great work.
The Canal of Narbonne is a branch running south from Narbonne.
the Canal of Languedoc to Narbonne, where, uniting with
the Robine, the line is continued to the sea considerably
to the south-west of Cette.
The Canal of Arles and Bouc was undertaken in order Arles and
to avoid the shifting sands which render the navigation of’Bouc.
the mouths of the Rhone difficult and dangerous. Besides,
it affords an outlet to the superfluous water of the district,
by which means lands formerly useless may be rendered
valuable. This canal extends twenty-seven miles and a
half along the east bank of the Rhone, from Arles on that
river to the port of Bouc in the Mediterranean. It is fur¬
nished with four locks. Being intended for sea-going
vessels, it is sixty-eight feet wide at the top, forty-four at
bottom, and fully six feet deep. The sides are raised
three feet above the highest floods of the Rhone.
The Canal of Beaucaire is very similar to that of Arles and Beaucaire.
Bouc, was made for a similar purpose, and is nearly of the
same length, with four locks. It commences at Beaucaire,
on the west bank of the Rhone, and extends in a south¬
west direction by Aigues Mortes to the sea; but from
Aigues Mortes it also communicates with Montpellier and
the port of Cette by means of the Canal de Grave and the
Canal of the Lakes.
The Canal of Craponne commences near Arles, and runs Craponne.
eastwards for about thirty-five miles to the Durance. It is
principally used for drainage. Several others, which branch
southward from it, are chiefly employed for the same pur¬
pose, and for irrigation.
The Canal of Givors commences at that place, on the Givors.
Rhone, ten miles below Lyons, and proceeds eight miles to
the Gier. It was originally intended to have been con¬
tinued to the Loire at St Etienne.
The Canal of the Centre commences in the Saone at Centre.
Chalons, and terminates in the Loire at Digoin, from which
the navigation is continued by the Canal of the Loire. It
is about seventy-one miles long, rising 400 feet from the
Saone by fifty locks, and falling 240 feet to the Loire by
thirty locks.
The Canal of the Loire begins at Digoin, in the Canal The Loire
of the Centre, from which it crosses the Loire by an aque-
1 Ilistoire du Canal dn Midi, 8vo, Paris, 1800.
6
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
Briare.
Loing.
Orleans.
Nivernais.
duct of five miles, and running along the south-west side
of that river, it also crosses the river Allier by an aque¬
duct, but still continuing on the same side of the Loire,
till, a little above Briare, it re-crosses that river through
its bed, and there terminates in the Canal of Briare. Its
whole length is 134 miles, with forty-five locks for a rise
and/all of 317 feet. It was begun in 1822, and was near¬
ly finished at the end of 1836. _
The Canal of Briare, connecting the Seine with the
Loire, was the earliest important project of the sort in
France, and the first in that country which had locks car¬
rying it over a height. It was begun in 1605, and finish¬
ed in 1642 ; but the works had been suspended from 1610
to 1639. The length is thirty-four miles and a quarter,
but the breadth varies from twenty-five to thirty-two feet.
It begins in the Loire near Briare, ascends by Ouzonne
along3the side of the Trezee River, by Rogny, where there
are seven locks; then passes by Chatillon and Montnigis,
and near Cepay joins the river Loing, a tributary of the
Seine. _ , , . .
The Canal of Loing is a prolongation, tor about thirty-
three miles, of the Canal of Briare, from Montargis to the
Seine, near the city of Moret. It descends 137 feet by
twenty-one locks. .
The Canal of Orleans connects the Canal of Loing near
Montargis with the Loire near Orleans. The length is
about forty-five miles, with twenty-eight locks for a rise of
1371 feet from the Loing, and a fall of ninety-eight to the
Loire.
The Canal of Nivernais begins in the Yonne at Auxerre,
and ends at Decize, near the junction of the Aron with
the Loire. It is 103 miles long, with 117 locks for a rise
and fall of 746 feet. It is only partially in use, but is ex¬
pected to be finished in 1838.
The Canal of Berry, or of the Cher, consists of three
branches united at one point near Khimbe. i heir total
length is 186 miles, with 110 locks for a rise and fall of
757 feet. The works are unfinished, and the navigation
only partially in use.
The Canal of Layon consists of the river Layon made na¬
vigable for thirty-five miles up from its mouth at Chalonne
on the Loire. It has twenty-eight locks, and is principally
used for the carriage of coals. .
ixaiiivs The canal from Nantes to Brest was intended principally
and Brest. for conveying materials and stores during war to the lar¬
gest and most important arsenal of France. It is composed
of three canals passing successively from the basins of the
Loire, of La Vilaine, and of Blavet, to the river Alne, which
joins the harbour of Brest. Its total length is 218 miles,
with 238 locks for a rise and fall of 1711 feet; but there
are about seventy miles not yet finished.
The Canal of Blavet, which is only a branch, towards the
sea, of the Nantes and Brest Canal, begins at Pontivy and
ends at Hennebon. Its length is thirty-four and a half
miles, with twenty-seven locks for a rise and fall of 162
feet. From Hennebon the Blavet is navigable to the
sea.
The Canal of Hie and Ranee is designed to open a navi¬
gable communication between the Channel and the Bay of
Biscay, across the peninsula of Bretagne ; and also to con¬
nect, through the Canal of Nantes and Brest, the ports of
Nantes, Brest, and St Malos. It is fifty miles long, with
twenty locks for an ascent of 129 feet on the side of the
Vilaine, and twenty-eight locks for 193 feet on the side of
the Ranee. This canal was begun in 1804 and opened in
1832, but the reservoirs are scarcely yet completed.
In the course of the river Isle, between Perigueux and
ments have been made on the channel to render it navi¬
gable.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
Berry.
Layon.
Nantes
Blavet.
life and
liance.
Itiver Isle.
Libourne, which is eighty-four miles and a half, the dif¬
ference of level is 237 feet. It was therefore naturally
unfit for navigation. To remedy this, it has lately been
furnished with thirty-nine locks, and various other improve-
The Canal of the Rhone and Rhine connects the basins
of these two rivers, commencing on the Saone near bt Jean anj
de Losne, and ending near Strasburg. _ It is sometimes llhine<
called the Canal of Alsace. The entire length is 203
miles, including the branch of sixteen miles and one third
from Mulhausen to Humngue, near Basle. The prin¬
cipal line has 160 locks, and the branch four: there are
also thirteen sluices. There is a rise of 550 feet on he
side of the Saone, and a fall again of 658 on that of the
Rhine. This canal was planned about the middle of last
century: the part between the Dole and the Saone was
begun in 1784 and finished in 1790 ; but the whole line was
0nTh°ePCanal1of Burgundy, uniting the basins of the Seine Burgundy,
and of the Rhone, and thus forming part of perhaps the
shortest navigable line from Havre de Grace to Marseilles,
has one end at La Roche-sur-Yonne, and the other at St
Jean de Losne, on the Saone. Its entire length is 141
miles, with 191 locks ; it rises 612 feet from the baone, and
falls again 923 feet towards the Yonne. It has a tunnel of
two miles. It was begun in 1775, and, after various interrup¬
tions, opened in 1832. There has been a deficiency of
water in the dry season, but possibly this may be remedied.
The Canal of Ardennes, connecting the valleys of the Ardennes.
Aisne and the Meuse, begins atDoncherry, on the Meuse,
and joins the Aisne at Semuy, whence it is continued on
the one side to Neufchatel, and on the other to \ouziers.
It has forty-nine locks to overcome a difference of level of
fifty-two and a half feet next the Meuse, and 355i to¬
wards the Aisne. The total length is sixty-one miles.
The Canal of the Ourcq is only the river of that nameOurcq.
rendered navigable for twenty miles, principally to supply
Paris with water, and to turn mills.
The canal from the Seine to the Seine, viz. from near Seine to
St Denis to the basin of the arsenal, near the Pontdu Jar-the Seine,
din du Roi, is about eight miles long, and was made to
avoid the bridges of Paris, and a loop or bend of the river
amounting to about seventeen miles. It consists of three
parts: 1st, The Canal of St Denis, which is four miles
and a quarter long, with twelve locks; 2d, about one mile
of the Canal de 1’Ourcq ; and, 3d, the Canal of St Martin,
which, including the basin of the arsenal, is about two
miles and three quarters.
The Canal of St Maur is a cut of three quarters of a St Maur.
mile, to avoid a bend of eight miles in the Marne, about two
miles and a half above its junction with the Seine. It has
often been proposed to cut off other bends in these rivers.
Several of the long narrow loops in the Seine, near Rouen,
might be easily cut off with great advantage; but the river
is in general so ill suited for navigation on other accounts,
that a separate canal, as has long been proposed, would be
greatly preferable.
The river Oise forms the channel through which the RiverOise
canals of the north, as well as the Scheldt, the Somme, the
Meuse, and the Aisne, communicate with Paris. I he im¬
portance of keeping it in a proper state for trading vessels
is therefore sufficiently obvious. A lateral canal of seven¬
teen miles was opened in 1828. It connects two points on
the river twenty-eight miles distant along the course, and
avoids a difficult and dangerous navigation to that extent.
The towing and pilotage of a large boat, which now cost
only four or five francs, along the canal, formerly cost 200
along the part of the river for which the canal is substi¬
tuted. The traffic has of course increased remarkably.
The Canal of the Somme, which is part of a navigable The
line connecting Paris with the sea, is ninety-one and a halt Somme,
miles long from its commencement, near St Limon, to its
termination at the mouth of the Somme. It has twenty-
three locks, with a rise and fall of 178 feet.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- The Canal of St Quxntin commences at that place on the
tion, rjver Somme, and proceeds by Omini, Le Trouquoi, Bel-
Inland- linglise, Riqueval, and Maquincourt, to Cambray on the
Scheldt, a total distance of thirty-two miles and two thirds,
tin. Um From the commencement to the lock of Trouquoi, at the
end of the summit, is about four miles, rising thirty-three
feet and a half by five locks. The summit-level extends
about thirteen miles and a quarter. In this there are two
tunnels ; one of 1191 yards at Trouquoi, and another of the
very great length of three miles and three-fifths at Riqueval.
Their width is twenty-six feet and a quarter. The remain¬
ing fifteen miles and two fifths to Cambray descend 1231
feet by seventeen locks. From this the navigation may
either be continued along the Scheldt, or by the Canal of
Lille or that of St Omer, the river Deule, &c. to the sea
at Calais, Gravelines, Dunkirk, Furnes, Ostend, &c.
Spain.
Spain, from its abounding in great valleys separated
by rugged mountains, is not the most suitable country
for inland navigation. But its principal rivers, the Ebro,
Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Tagus, Douro, and Minho, are
to a considerable extent navigable, have their sources in
the middle of the kingdom, and fall into the Atlantic Ocean
and Mediterranean. These, and various other rivers of
less note in Spain, might easily be connected by navi¬
gable canals, so as to form a ready communication between
many of the interior districts of that extensive country,
and between these again and the sea. In this, as in many
other respects, the prosperity of Spain has been greatly
impeded by superstition, priestcraft, changes of dynasties,
and the frequent wars in which it has been involved, so
that it has accomplished very little indeed in inland navi¬
gation. An early project of the sort was, however, effected
by the Saracens, who formed a canal from the city of Gre¬
nada to the navigable river Guadalquivir, which falls into
the Bay of Cadiz. But the Romans, it is said, had long
before this formed an aqueduct to convey fresh water to
Cadiz, from springs more than thirty miles distant.
In 1776 a canal was projected, and partly executed, to
form a communication between Carthagena and the river
Gualantin, at a distance of more than 100 miles. In 1784,
a survey was made of a canal, which, beginning near the
Escurial, should proceed to join the Tagus, thence to the
Guadiana, and terminate in the Guadalquivir, above An-
dujar. It was partly executed. It is chiefly in the north
of Spain that canals have been constructed. A line pro¬
jected in Old Castille, from Segovia to Olea, near Rey-
nosa, is ninety-nine miles long, exclusive of the princi¬
pal branch to the cities of Castille and Leon. Another
canal has been projected in the province of Campos, to the
west of Pisuerga, to pass by Medina de Rio Seco, and at
Grisotu to unite with the Canal of Castille. The Emperor
Charles V. of Germany proposed a canal to be carried
along the valley of the Ebro, and onward to the Bay of
Biscay. It was intended to receive the waters of the Ebro
at Tudela, in Navarre, and thence descend towards Sara¬
gossa and Quinto.
Great Britain.
General Long after artificial canals had been introduced on the
observa- Continent, England contented herself with merely endea¬
vouring to improve the navigation of her rivers. The prin¬
ciples on which the earliest acts of parliament were framed
for this purpose, consisted in deepening, straightening, and
embanking the rivers, where necessary ; and, by means of
sluices and weirs, penning up or lowering the surface of the
water, for the purpose of producing “ flashes,” and over¬
coming the obstructions to navigation. Long experience,
however, showed that navigations of this sort were liable to
perpetual deterioration, from the alterations produced in
7
the regimen of the rivers by such artificial works, which Naviga-
frequently augmented instead of remedying the evil, tion,
whilst they obstructed the general drainage of the country. Inlanch
The circuitous navigation, and the trackage against the ^Y ^"
stream, were at all times laborious and dilatory. These dif¬
ficulties suggested the propriety of deserting the natural
bed of the river, and led to the formation of separate cuts,
with the pound-locks, and the various contrivances which
were subsequently invented to supersede their use. Until
the invention of the lock, therefore, very little could be
done in the way of inland navigation, except in the fens,
when connected with drainage. Accordingly, the most an¬
cient attempts of this kind are to be found in the Carr and
Foss Dikes by the Romans; the former skirting the up¬
lands and fens, from the river Nene at Peterborough, to
the river Witham, near Lincoln, by a canal of forty miles;
and the latter connecting the Witham at Lincoln with the
Trent above Gainsborough, by a level cut of eleven miles.
In England, the artificial system of navigation has been
carried on for more than half a century, on a scale no less
extensive than the drainage. The passing of an act in 1755
for constructing the first artificial canal in England, which
was that of Sankey Brook, the completion of that work in
1760, and the formation of the Duke of Bridgewater’s
Canal in 1761, opened the eyes of the nation to the vast
advantages that were likely to be derived from artificial na¬
vigation, and led to the system of direct and indirect com¬
munication, which has united all the great rivers and ports
of the kingdom. In Scotland, the progress of inland navi¬
gation, although less rapid, has been proportionally suc¬
cessful. As early as the reign of Charles II., the idea of
joining the Forth and Clyde is said to have originated with
his brother, James Duke of York; and, if true, forms a
singular exception to the rest of his history. The subject
was again resumed in 1722 ; in 1760 a survey was made by
Messrs Mackell and Watt; and in 1766 that great work
was commenced by Mr Smeaton, and completed in 1790.
Between the above periods, also, Mr Watt made many re¬
ports on the improvement of the Clyde, and on the proposed
Monkland, Crinan, and Caledonian Canals; and, in 1802,
Mr Telford was employed to make surveys of the whole
coast and interior of Scotland, with a view to improving
its harbours and rivers, and which ultimately led to the
execution of the Caledonian Canal by that able engineer.
The following is a concise account of the principal in¬
land navigations of Britain, arranged alphabetically.
Aberdare Canal, about six and a half miles long, is a
branch of the Cardiff or Glamorgan Canal, from near the
aqueduct of the latter over the river Taff. It terminates
at Ynys Cynon, three quarters of a mile from Aberdare.
From this canal proceed railways to the iron-works of God-
leys, Abernaut, Aberdare, &c. and also to a steep descent
to the Neath Canal, up which waggons are drawn by a
steam-engine. It has been proposed to unite the Aber¬
dare Canal with that of the Neath.
Aberdeen Canal extends about nineteen miles from the
tideway in the port of that town up the valley of the river
Don to Inverury. It rises 169 feet by seventeen locks, of
which fifteen are near the city. The width of this canal
is twenty-three feet, and the average depth three feet nine
inches.
The Adur River, in Sussex, has been rendered navigable
southward from Binesbridge, in West Grinsted, to the
sea at Southwick, below Shoreham Harbour, a distance of
fourteen miles.
Aire and Calder Navigation. The river Aire, in York¬
shire, is navigable for sloops of sixty tons for forty miles,,
from its mouth in the Ouse at Armin, up to Leeds, where
the Leeds and Liverpool Canal begins. The river Calder
falls into the Aire about ten miles below Leeds, and is
navigable about ten miles to Wakefield, where the Calder
8
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland-
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
and Hebble Navigation commences. From the Aire and
Calder not less than three canals and their branches have
, been carried across the central ridge of England to Man¬
chester and Liverpool, forming an important water com¬
munication between that port and Hull, and between these
and the intervening manufacturing districts.
Alford Canal is to extend from the town of Alford, in
Lincolnshire, to the sea at Anderby, a distance of six and
a half miles, with a depth of eight feet.
The Ancholm and Caistor Navigations join the Humber
above Hull. The old meandering course of the river
Ancholm is changed into a nearly straight canal twenty-
six miles long, and running nearly from south to north.
The Caistor Canal, which meets it from the east, is about
four miles long. They serve the double purpose of drain¬
ing a marshy track, and affording a communication to the
towns of Caistor and Market-Raisin.
Andover Canal begins in the tideway at Redbridge, in
Southampton Water, and proceeding northward up the
east side of the Anton River, ends at Barlowrs Mill, near
Andover. It is about twenty-two miles and a half long,
and descends 177 feet towards the sea. From near its
middle the abandoned Salisbury Canal branches off to the
west, whilst from its south end the Southampton Canal
passes eastward to the Itchin River.
Arun River Navigation begins at Newbridge, near Wis-
borough Green, and proceeds thirteen miles, partly by the
course of the river, and partly by cuts to Arundel Haven.
From this the river Arun itself has been rendered navi¬
gable all the way to Arundel Port, making a total length of
twenty-six miles and a quarter.
Arundel Canal, see Rother River.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal passes by a very winding
course northward for forty miles, to the town of that name,
from the Coventry Canal at Marston Bridge, nearNewnea-
ton. The first thirty miles and a half, together with parts
of the Oxford and Coventry Canals, form one level of se¬
venty-three miles; but on the next two miles there is a
rise of 140 feet to the summit-level, which then continues
four miles north of the great tunnel, and in the next quar¬
ter of a mile the fall is eighty-four feet. One branch of
about two miles goes off to Swadlingcote Colliery ; another
almost a mile falling twenty-eight feet to Stainton Lime-
works ; a third 200 yards to Hinckley Wharf. Besides,
there is a railway of about six miles to Ticknall Lime-
works, and another of five miles to Measham Collieries.
Near Ashby-de-la-Zouch is a tunnel of 700 yards, and
near Snareston another of 200 yards. At Boothorpe a
steam-engine raises water, which passes in a feeder to the
summit-level. This canal passes one aqueduct bridge at
Shakerton, and another at Snareston.
Ashton and Oldham, or Ashton-under-Lyne, Canal,
branches off from the Rochdale Canal at Manchester. It
passes Fairfield, and terminates in the Huddersfield Canal
at Duckenfield Bridge. The length is eleven miles, and
the rise 152 feet. A branch of a quarter of a mile connects
it with Peake Forest Canal, another of one mile goes up
to the town of Ashton, a third of nearly four miles to
New Mill and to Park Collieries, and a fourth of six miles
to Stockport.
Avon River, Hampshire, was once made navigable from
the sea at Christchurch north to Salisbury, a distance of
36 miles. The works were, however, very insufficient, and
were allowed to go to ruin, and the river is now only navi¬
gable two miles in the tideway.
Avon River, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, is navi¬
gable from Stratford-upon-Avon, near the junction of the
Stratford Canal, to the Severn at Tewkesbury, a distance
of forty-three miles and three eighths, in a south-westerly
direction. This navigation is of great use to the towns
of Pershore, Evesham, and Stratford.
Avon River, Gloucestershire and Somersetshire, is navi- Naviga-
gable from Bath, near the commencement of the Kennet
and Avon Canal, and passes by Bristol to the Severn at ^ . .
King’s Road, a distance of twenty-six miles and a half in a
north-west direction. Its course formerly lay through the
heart of the city of Bristol; but a new channel for the river
has been cut on the south side of that city, two miles in
length, whilst the ancient course has been converted into
an excellent floating dock and harbour, which on the north
receives the small river Frome, navigable only for half a
mile through the city. At Mbrgan s Pill, six miles below
Bristol, is the junction of the proposed Bridgewater and
Taunton Canal.
Axe River, Somersetshire, is navigable from its mouth
in Uphill Bay, Bristol Channel, eastward to Lower Weare,
near Axbridge, a distance of nine miles. Near Loxton it
is crossed by the proposed line of the Bridgewater and
Taunton Canal.
Barnsley Canal begins in the river Calder, a little be¬
low Wakefield Bridge, and proceeds south and west over
a track of fifteen miles and a half to its termination at
Barnby Basin. In the first three miles it rises 120 feet
by twenty-one locks, partly fed by a steam-engine. A
great quantity of coal and paving-stone is conveyed by this
canal. It connects the manufacturing towns in the west
riding of Yorkshire.
Basingstoke Canal commences at Westley, in the Wey
River, about two miles from the Thames, and proceeds
westerly thirty-seven miles in Surrey and Hants, to the
town of Basingstoke. It rises 195 feet in the first fifteen
miles, by twenty-nine locks ; the remainder is level.
Baybridge Canal, in the county of Surrey, proceeds
from Binesbridge along the course of the river Arun to
Baybridge, which is about three miles and three eighths.
It rises fourteen feet, by two locks.
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal begins at the east end
of the Old Birmingham Canal, near Farmer’s Bridge, in
Birmingham, and passes through a part of the town, thence
by Newhall, Middleton Hall, and Drayton manor-house,
to the Coventry Canal at Fazeley, near Tamworth, a dis¬
tance of fifteen miles, with a fall of 248 feet. The re¬
maining five miles and a half to Whittington Brook are
level.
Birmingham (Old) Canal, twenty-two miles and a hah
long, proceeds from Farmer’s Bridge, passes Smethwick and
Oldbury. It then passes to the east of Tipton and Wolver¬
hampton to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal,
near Autherley, where it descends 132 feet by twenty-one
locks. The supply of water is chiefly drawn from old coal¬
mines by steam power. This canal communicates with the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Birmingham, with
the Dudley Canal near Tipton Green, and with the Wyrley
and Essington Canal near Wolverhampton. By means of
its canals, Birmingham communicates with the most im¬
portant towns in England and Wales.
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal com¬
mences in the summit-level of the Staffordshire and Wor¬
cester Canal near Tettenhall, about a mile from Autherley,
the place where the Birmingham Canal communicates with
the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal. Its course is north¬
westerly to its termination in the United Navigation of the
Ellesmere and Chester Canal near Dorford Hall. The to¬
tal length is thirty-nine miles, with a fall of 175 feet by
twenty-seven locks.
The Blyth River, Suffolk, is navigable from Halesworth
Bridge to the haven of Southwold, about nine miles, de¬
scending by four locks.
The Bourn Eau River is navigable from the river Glen
in Deeping Fen, for three and a half miles, in a north-west
direction, to the town of Bourn.
The Bradford Canal extends from the Leeds and Liver-
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 9
Naviga- pool Canal, near the village of Shipley, to the town of Brad-
tion* ford, a distance of three miles, rising eighty-six feet by ten
Inland. i0Cj{S> which are each sixty-six feet long and fifteen wide.
The Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal proceeds from
the Monmouthshire Canal, about a mile south of Pontypool,
and, crossing the river Avon by an aqueduct, continues
for fourteen miles and a half on a level line to the west of
Uske, whence it goes on to Brecon, eighteen miles and a
half, with a rise of sixty-eight feet, the entire length be¬
ing thirty-three miles. Various railways proceed from this
canal to the different iron and coal works in that rich mi¬
neral district.
The Bridgewater Canal, which has already been noticed,
may be called the root and model of canal navigation in
England, being the first which crossed hill and valley in
that country. The general direction of its principal line,
which extends from Manchester to Runcorn-Gap, in the
tide-way of the Mersey, amounting to about twenty-se¬
ven miles, is nearly south-west, in the counties of Ches¬
ter and Lancaster, and, except the last 600 yards, in
which there is a fall of eighty-two feet and a half by ten
locks, the whole of this branch, together with twenty-
eight miles of the other branches, and eighteen of the
Grand Trunk Canal, into which it joins, in all seventy-
three miles, are on one level. The determination of pre¬
ferring one level led to the construction of such tunnels,
aqueducts, and embankments, as were truly formidable in
that infant state of canal operations. Nothing, however,
could shake the fortitude and perseverance of the Duke
of Bridgewater, or baffle the ingenuity of his talented en¬
gineer, James Brindley. The original design of the part
of this canal first projected was for conveying coals from
the duke’s mines at Worsley to Manchester, a distance
of about seven miles ; but when the canal had reached the
road from Warrington to that town, it was resolved to
vary the line by crossing the river Irwell at Banton Bridge,
and proceed to Manchester up the south side of that river,
with a branch to Longford Bridge. From this latter place
it was next proposed to carry the canal past Altringham,
to the river Mersey, at Hempstones in Cheshire; but this
line was partly changed, and the canal finally carried by
Preston Brook to Runcorn. In 1795 an extension was
made from Worsley Mill to the town of Leigh in Lanca¬
shire, with a branch to Chat Moss. The branches of this
canal in the collieries under ground are together said to
exceed eighteen miles in length.
It is said, that notwithstanding the great and increasing
traffic upon the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, there
has been no falling off in the canal business between these
towns, but a considerable increase.
The Bridgewater and Taunton Canal has been projected
to commence at Morgan’s Pill in the river Avon, six miles
below Bristol, and to pass south-westerly by Bridgewater
to Taunton, a distance of forty-two miles and a half.
The Britton Canal commences in the river Neath, direct¬
ly opposite the end of the Neath Canal, and runs south-west
to Swansea Harbour in the river Tawe, a distance of four
miles and a quarter.
The Bude and Launceston Canal commences in Bude
Haven, within the port ofPadstow, from which it runs south¬
easterly for five miles and three fourths to the Red Post,
and thence easterly by a very crooked course of fifteen and
five eighths farther to its termination at Thornbury. From
the Red Post a branch of nineteen miles passes south by
a very winding course along the west bank of the river
I amar to near Launceston. From Veala a branch of
three miles and seven eighths passes to Virworthy; and
another of one mile and a half from Burmsdon to Moreton
Mill. Several inclined planes are used on this canal and
its branches.
Bure River, Norfolk, is navigable from the town of Ayls-
vol. xvi.
ham by a very crooked south-easterly course to its mouth Naviga-
in the Yare, near the sea at Yarmouth, a distance of forty tion’
miles by the river ; at Horning Marsh it receives the Ant
River, a navigable branch of eight miles, proceeding from
the termination of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal
at Wayford Bridge; and at Thurn it receives the Thurn
River branch of seven miles from Hickling Broad.
Burn River, see Larke.
Bury River is a wide estuary entering from the west, be¬
tween the southern parts of Carmarthenshire and Glamor¬
ganshire, and is navigable for about twelve miles inwards
to the mouth of the River Loughor, which again continues
the navigation two miles farther up the country north¬
wards, and is joined by various railways.
The Bute Ship Canal commences in Cardiff Harbour,
near the mouth of the river Taft’, in Glamorganshire, running
north to Cardiff' Moors, and thence, parallel with the Gla¬
morganshire Canal, to near Whitmoor Lane, on the south
side of the town of Cardiff, where it terminates. The
part from the commencement to Cardiff Moors is called
the Entrance Ship Canal, and is almost two miles long,
and 33 feet deep. The upper part, called the Basin, is
about 1500 yards long, and twenty feet deep, with two
short cuts to the Glamorganshire Canal.
Caister, see Ancholm.
Calder and Hebble Navigation commences at Fall Ing,
near Wakefield, in the Aire and Calder Navigation, and
proceeds, partly by the river, and partly by side cuts and
locks and weirs, twenty two miles, to Sowerby Bridge
Wharf, near Halifax, where it enters the Rochdale Canal,
having descended 192| feet by twenty-eight locks.
The Caledonian Canal. A valley remarkable for its unifor¬
mity, straightness, and depth, and extending from sea to sea,
between two parallel ranges of steep mountains, divides the
Highlands of Scotland into two nearly equal parts. The ge¬
neral direction of this chasm is from north-east to south¬
west, making an angle of about 35 degrees with the meridian;
and, besides being entered at each extremity by an arm of
the sea, viz. by the Moray Frith on the north, and Loch
Linnhe on the south, the rest of its bottom is for the most
part occupied by a concatenation of rivers and lakes. The
remarkably elongated form and contiguity of these lakes had
long ago suggested the facility of forming an inland commu¬
nication between the Atlantic Ocean and the German Sea.
For, to accomplish this important object, it seemed sufficient
to connect these lakes and the friths by several short canals,
amounting together to twenty-three miles, and thereby
obtain a navigable line to an extent of more than 100
miles ; and this was farther recommended by the summit-
level only rising ninety-four feet and a half above the sea.
So far back as the year 1773, this line had been surveyed
by the celebrated James Watt, who reported favourably
of it, and proposed that the lakes should be connected by
a canal of a very moderate size. Nothing farther, how¬
ever, was done till early in the present century, when the
subject was taken up by government, and new surveys
were made by Messrs Jessop and Telford, who recom¬
mended a canal of such dimensions as should admit fri¬
gates of thirty-two guns, and the greater part of merchant
ships, particularly that class which trade between the Bal¬
tic and the ports of Ireland and the west coast of Britain,
as by this means a tedious and often dangerous navigation
by the Orkneys would be avoided. The work was next
set about at the public expense, and under the direction
of Mr Telford, who gave to the undertaking the name of
the Caledonian Canal. The dimensions then proposed by
him, and which have been in a great measure adhered to,
were a width of fifty feet at bottom, 120 at top, and a
depth of twenty feet; the locks to be from 170 to 180 feet
long, forty wide, with a depth of twenty feet of water be¬
sides the lift or rise. These measures have been followed
a
]0
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Inland.
Naviga- in the case of the locks, but as yet the canal has only been
tion, excavated to the depth of fifteen feet in the summit-level,
, though the width has been slightly increased to 122 feet
' at top, but with a break in the slope such that there is on
each side a horizontal shelf six feet broad at the depth of
two feet under the surface of the water. The design of
this break in the slope of the sides is to keep large ves¬
sels from approaching too close to the brink of the canal,
and destroying the upper edge of the banks, either by
contact or by the eddy produced between the vessel and
the sides of the canal. It serves, besides, to prevent any
loose earth which may crumble in at the margin from go¬
ing down to the bottom, and retains it there till it be con¬
venient to clean it out.
It was not deemed advisable that the rivers which flow
through or from the lakes in the valley should form any
part of this line of navigation; but on entering from the
north w^e find the Caledonian Canal commencing with a
sea-lock at Clachnacarry, in a sheltered bay of Loch
Beauly, which is the more inland part of the Moray Frith.
The sea-lock here is about two miles north-west of Inver¬
ness, and three quarters of a mile west of the well-frequent¬
ed ferry of Kessock, which is near the mouth of the river
Ness. In order to have sufficient depth of water at or¬
dinary neap-tides, it was necessary, on account of the flat¬
ness of the shore, to place this lock about 400 yards with¬
in sea-water mark, an operation which was attended with
no small difficulty, on account of the softness of the bottom.
This lock is 170 feet long, forty wide, with a lift of eight
feet and a half; and proceeding from it, the canal is form¬
ed by embankments till it passes the sea-mark, where ano¬
ther lock of the same size, with a lift of six feet, is built
on firm ground. Next, on the south of this, is the Muir-
ton basin, 967 yards long and 162 broad, with a wharf for
the trade in that quarter, being about a mile from Inver¬
ness. At the southern extremity of this basin is a swivel
or swing bridge for the public road between Beauly and
Inverness; and then four locks, which, however, from
their being connected, have only five double gates in the
whole. These raise the canal thirty-two feet, which puts
it on the ordinary summer level of Loch Ness. Each lock
is 180 feet between the gates, and forty wide. From this
the canal proceeds by gentle windings till it meets and
runs along the north-west bank of the river Ness to the
small lake Doughfour, which is about 2100 yards long,
and from five to nine fathoms deep, and is six miles and a
half from Clachnacarry. It communicates with Loch Ness
by the pass of Bona Ferry. The intended line of canal
being on the west side of the river Ness, which in three
different places approached close to the steep sides of the
hills on the west, it was necessary to alter the course of
that river, so as to obtain room for the canal without cut¬
ting into the hills. At the entrance to Loch Doughfour
is a regulating or guard-lock, without any lift, to prevent
any overflow from the lake. It is 170 feet long, and forty
wide. It was necessary to deepen this small loch in seve¬
ral places by dredging, and to raise it six feet to the level
of Loch Ness by a wear and embankment. The next part
of this navigation, and by far the most extensive lake in
it, is Loch Ness, a fine sheet of water, about twenty-three
miles and three quarters long, and from one to LS mile
broad. Its depth is so great that it never freezes, being
from five to 129 fathoms, and along the middle it averages
100. It affords good anchorage at each end, and also in
a few bays, although the sides of this lake are generally
straight. It was proposed to introduce buoys for more
convenient mooring. There are nowhere in it either rocks
or banks detached from the shore.
Loch Ness receives the river Oich in its western shore,
not far from its southern extremity, and a little south of
this the canal leaves the lake, whilst almost quite at the
southern end stand the fort and village of Fort Augustus.
From this the canal ascends forty feet by five locks, and
at Callachie, about two miles and a half farther on, it rises ^
eight feet by another lock. 1 hree miles more, bring it to
Loch Oich, where a regulating lock raises it thirty inches,
so as to be even with that lake, which is on the summit-
level.
To obtain a proper line for the canal upon the south-
east side of the river Oich, the channel of that river has
been somewhat altered. Loch Oich, which forms the
summit-level of this navigation, is about three miles and
three quarters long, and, on an average, a quarter of a
mile broad. In one place in the middle, and at both ends,
it had to be deepened by dredging. The water which
falls into this lake, particularly from the river Garry, af¬
fords at all times an ample supply for the canal. Between
Loch Oich and the next lake in the line, Loch Lochy,
there is no natural communication. The interval is about
a mile and three quarters, and rises twenty feet above
Loch Oich, which, with the depth of the canal, required a
cutting of thirty-five feet. Loch Lochy, which was twen¬
ty-one feet nine inches lower than Loch Oich, has been
raised about twelve feet by an embankment to avoid rock¬
cutting, and the canal descends to it nine feet nine inches
by two locks, one of which is also a regulating or guard
lock. Loch Lochy is ten miles long, and averages one in
breadth. In some places it is seventy-six fathoms in depth.
About half a mile of the course of the river Lochy had ta
be shifted into a new bed to make room for the canal,
which now, in its last stage, proceeds from the lake for
eight miles along the north-west bank of that river over a
rugged surface to the shore of Loch Eil, which is the more
inland part of the frith called Loch Linnhe. A little south
of Loch Lochy there is a regulating lock ; and about a mile
from Loch Eil there are eight connected locks, called Nep¬
tune’s Stairs, by which the canal descends sixty-four feet.
At Corpach shore it falls fifteen feet by two locks, and, after
expanding into a basin 250 yards long and 100 broad, it
finally descends seven feet nine inches by the sea-lock
into Loch Eil, near Fort William.
The entire length of this navigation is sixty miles and a
half, and that of the artificial part, including Loch Dough¬
four, is twenty-three miles and eight chains. There are in
all twenty-eight locks. This canal has as yet been a most
unprofitable speculation, for all it has hitherto yielded does
not pay the mere expense of maintaining it. Foreigners
affect to smile at the classic title of “ Neptune’s Stairs,”
which is not altogether free from vanity; but although
many locks have certainly a greater lift, as, for instance,
five locks rising together eighty-eight feet on the Leeds
and Liverpool Canal, yet it is very unusual for gates to be
so wide, and to descend twenty feet into the water, besides
the eight feet of lift. The gates indeed descend five feet
too low, and so do the locks, but this was done intention¬
ally, in the expectation that the canal might yet be made
five feet deeper. Amongst the wonders lately announced
in Kentucky, we find locks thirty-eight feet wide, with a
lift of sixteen feet. Such, however, will often spend just
double the water in lowering a boat through the same
height which locks with eight feet of lift would do, espe¬
cially if none of the water can be withdrawn from the
locks into side-ponds.
Cam, or Grant River, is navigable fourteen miles, from
Cambridge to its mouth in the Great Ouse at Harrimere,
above Ely. It is embanked above the fens in all its lower
parts, and has sluices for making flashes of water, to enable
boats to pass the shallows. There is a cut of three miles
from it to Rehe, and another of three miles and a half to
Burwell.
Camel River is navigable from Guinea Port, near Wade
Bridge, to the sea at Stepper Point, three miles east from
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 11
Naviga- Padstow, in the Bristol Channel, a distance of eight miles
tion> and a half by the low-water channel.
Inland. Canterbury Navigation, or river Stour, from the city
of Canterbury to the Downs at Sandwich Haven, having
been very imperfect and incommodious, an act was obtain¬
ed in 1825 for making various improvements on it; parti¬
cularly a canal or harbour eight feet deep, from the Small
Downs, commencing between the Batteries No. 1 and 2, to
the river Stour at Sandwich, which is to be two and a half
miles in length from the end of the proposed jetty of 1000
feet next the Downs ; thence the navigation is continued
in its old course sixteen miles to Fordwich, where there is a
lock of six feet lift. From this to the tail of Abbots Mill,
Canterbury, the length is two miles and a quarter, includ¬
ing three short cuts amounting together to one and a
quarter mile. There is another lock of six feet lift half a
mile from Canterbury. The total length is twenty miles
and seven eighths.
Cardiff Canal, see Glamorganshire.
Carlisle Canal proceeds north-west from the west side of
that city, and twice crossing the line of the Piets’ Wall,
continues by Kirk-Andrews to Wormanby, taking a west¬
erly direction along the south side of the Piets’ Wall, by
Burgh ; thence crossing the marshes, and passing by Drum-
burgh Castle and Glasson, it enters the Solway Frith at
Fisher’s Cross near Bowness. It is eleven miles and a quar¬
ter long, descending seventy feet by nine locks.
Carron River, Stirlingshire, is navigable from its mouth,
in the estuary of the Forth, up to the village of Carron
Shore, and thus far vessels drawing seven or eight feet
water may ascend at neap tides; but still larger vessels
come up for a shorter way to Grangemouth, where this
river connects by means of a tide-lock with the Forth and
Clyde Canal, and is indeed the only entrance to it from
the Forth. But from the Carron Iron Works, which are
situated farther up on this river, there is a cut southward
to that same canal at the village of Bainsford.
Cart River, Renfrewshire, sometimes called the White
Cart, is navigable for about five miles, from the town of
Paisley northwards to the Clyde near Inchinnan ; but this
navigation is now in a great measure superseded by the
Glasgow and Paisley Canal.
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation extends east¬
wards from the basin at Chelmsford to the tideway at Col¬
lier’s Reach, a distance of thirteen miles and five eighths,
partly by the course of the river Chelmer, and partly by
cuts, viz. first, to Burleigh Mill, ten miles and seven eighths,
with a fall of fifty-nine and a half feet; thence to Hey-
bridge, one mile and an eighth, falling seven feet; and
thence by a canal of one mile and five eighths to the basin
at Collier’s Reach, with a fall to low-water mark of twelve
feet and two thirds. From this, the length of the estuary
of Blackwater to the sea opposite Sales Point is about
eleven miles.
Chester Canal, see Ellesmere.
The Chesterfield Canal commences in the tideway of the
Trent at Stockwith, in Nottinghamshire, near the mouth
of the Idle. The general direction of its crooked course
is south-west to Chesterfield, a distance of forty-six miles,
having a rise of 335 feet, and fall of eighty-five feet, with
sixty-five locks. Between Harthill and the village of Wales
there is a tunnel of 2850 yards on the summit-level.
Clyde River becomes navigable at Glasgow, and, pro¬
ceeding thence westward by Govan and Renfrew, it receives
the river Cart a little below that town. From this it gra¬
dually expands into a fine estuary, which, at Port-Glas-
gow, becomes fully two miles wide. Along the course
of the river, the distance from Gorbals Bridge in Glasgow,
to the mouth of the Cart, is about seven miles; thence to
Bowling Bay, where it is joined by the Forth and Clyde
Canal) four and a half; thence to Dumbarton harbour,
three; and thence to Port Glasgow, five. But the total Naviga-
length of the navigable part of this river to where it falls t^on>
into the Frith of Clyde opposite Roseneath, is about twen-^j^an^'
ty-five miles. Under the act 6 Geo. IV. this navigation
was to be made thirteen feet deep at neap tides. The
trade upon it is very extensive.
Colne River is navigable from the Hythe, near Colches¬
ter, to the sea. From the Hythe to Wivenhoe the dis¬
tance is three miles and a half, and thence the river ex¬
pands into an estuary extending four miles and a half far¬
ther to the sea opposite the isle of Mersea.
Conway River, Denbighshire, is navigable in the tideway
from Llanrwst to its mouth at Conway harbour, a distance
of thirteen miles and a half.
Coombe Hill Canal extends from this village in Glou¬
cestershire to Fletcher’s Leap on the Severn, a distance
of three miles and a half, falling fifteen feet.
The Coventry Canal commences at the Trent and Mersey,
or Grand Trunk Canal, on Fradley Heath, whence it goes
southerly to Huddlesford, being there joined by the Wyr-
ley and Essington Canal. It next proceeds to Fazeley, near
Tamworth, where the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
locks down into it. It then crosses the Tame by Amling-
ton, approaching the Little Anker River, running parallel
to it; then by Polesworth and Hartshill it proceeds to its
termination at Coventry. The wLole track just mention¬
ed amounts to thirty-seven miles and three fourths, but of
this the second five miles and a half from the north end
now belong to the Birmingham Canal. From Fazeley to
Atherstone, about ten miles, there is a rise of ninety-six
feet, by thirteen locks.
Cree River is navigable about eight miles in the tide¬
way from Carty, near Newton-Stewart, to Creetown, in
WTigton Bay.
The Crinan Canal, in Argyleshire, runs nearly south-east
from Crinan, in the Sound of Jura, to Ardreshaig in the
frith of Loch Fine, and is about nine miles and a half long
by from twelve to fifteen feet deep, with fifteen locks.
From the west it rises fifty-nine feet to the summit-level,
and then falls fifty-eight feet to the east. This short ship
canal tends greatly to simplify and abridge the navigation
in this quarter, as it cuts off about sixty miles from the
long isthmus or tongue of land called Cantire, which ves¬
sels must otherwise double or go round.
The Cromford Canal, eighteen miles in length, proceeds
from the head of the Nottingham Canal by Hynor Harly,
Tadmoor, and Critch, to Cromford, near Matlock. In the
first four miles it rises eighty feet, and the rest is level. It
has several tunnels; one at Ripley is 2966 yards long.
Crouch River is navigable in the tideway from Hull
bridge, in Essex, to its mouth in the sea at Foulness, a dis¬
tance of sixteen miles.
The Croydon Canal commences in the Grand Surrey
Canal, near Deptford, and extends nine miles and a half
southward to Croydon. It rises about 150 feet, by twen¬
ty-six locks.
Darent River is navigable about four miles in the tide¬
way from Dartfort to Longreach in the Thames.
Dart River is navigable about twelve miles and a half
in the tideway from about a mile above Totness down to
Start Bay in the English Channel.
The Dearne and Dove Canal commences in a side cut of
the Don or Dunn River, between Swinton and Mexbourgh,
and terminates in the aqueduct carrying the Barnsley Canal
over the river Dearne. It is about nine miles and a quar¬
ter long, and rises altogether 127 feet, by eighteen locks.
Deben River, Suffolk, is navigable about nine miles and
a half in the tideway from Wilford Bridge, about a mile
above Woodbridge, down to the sea about four miles
north of Harwich. At high water it has the appearance
of a considerable estuary, and at Woodbridge and Rams-
12
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- holt there are docks for ship-building and commodious
lion.
Inland.
wharfs.
Dee River, Cheshire, is navigable in the tideway for
large vessels from Hand Bridge, at the city of Chester, by
a new channel of eight miles, to where it enters the es¬
tuary of the Dee; and thence by the low-water channel to
the opening into the Irish Sea off Great Helbre Island,
which is a farther distance of fifteen miles and a half. At
Chester this river connects with the Chester CanaL
The Derby Canal commences in the Trent, near Swark-
stone, and about three furlongs to the north enters the Grand
Trunk Canal, having risen twenty-six feet. From this to
Derby, five miles and a quarter, it rises twelve feet, and,
crossing the Derwent, proceeds three miles and a quarter
by Little Chester and Breadsall, rising seventeen feet, to
its termination at Little Eaton. From the east bank of the
Derwent a brajich extends eight miles and a half to the
Ere wash Canal, falling twenty-nine feet.
Derwent River, in Derbyshire, is navigable from the town
of Derby, with a very tortuous course, till it falls into the
Trent at Wilden Ferry, below Shardlow, where the Grand
Trunk or Trent and Mersey Canal connects with that river.
This navigation extends about thirteen miles.
Derwent River, in Yorkshire, is navigable from Yeding-
ham Bridge to Barmby, in the tideway of the Ouse, about
seven miles below Selby, a distance of forty-nine miles
and a half, viz. from Yedingham Bridge to New Malton
eleven miles and a half, thence to Howsham Hall nine
and a half, thence to Stamford Bridge six and a quarter,
and thence to the Ouse twenty-two.
The Donnington Wood Canal commences in the Shrop¬
shire Canal, near its junction with the Shrewsbury Canal,
and runs north-east, for seven miles, to Pave Lane Wharf,
near Newport.
Douglas Navigation, see Leeds and Liverpool.
The Driffield Navigation, eleven miles in length, com¬
mences at Aike Beck Mouth, in the river Hull, and ends
at Great Driffield. The first five miles is in the Hull, and
the remainder by a canal. The Hull and Leven Canal, of
three miles, is a branch of this.
Droitwich Canal extends five miles and three quarters
from Chapel Bridge, in that town, to Hawford, on the
Severn, descending fifty-nine feet and a half, by eight
locks. It is fed from salt springs.
The Dudley Canal proceeds from the Worcester and
Birmingham Canal, near Selly Oak in Worcestershire, and
passes a little east of Hales Owen, and north of Dudley,
to the Old Birmingham Canal, near Tipton. From near
Dudley it proceeds to the Black Delph and Stourbridge
Canals. For the first ten miles and a half it is level to the
Black Delpb, thence two miles to Stourbridge it falls
eighty-five feet by nine locks, and in three quarters of a
mile to the Dudley tunnel it rises thirty-one feet by five
locks. Through the 2926 yards of the tunnel it is level;
thence, in one furlong, to Old Birmingham Canal, it falls
thirteen feet by two locks. The main line is thirteen miles
long. There are two more tunnels, one at Lapal of 3776
yards, and another at Grotsy Hill, 623 yards.
The Dun River Navigation, consisting of parts of the
river Dun or Don, and short pieces of canal alternately,
commences in the Ouse at Goole Bridge, and extends
south-west about thirty-nine miles to Tinsley, near Shef¬
field, where it is joined by the Sheffield Canal. The total
rise is ninety-two feet and a quarter, by sixteen locks.
Eden River has been made navigable ten miles and a
half in the tideway from Carlisle Bridge, by Kirk-Andrews
and Rockcliff, to Burgh Marsh Point, where it empties it¬
self into the Solway Frith. It has been in some measure
superseded by the Carlisle Canal.
The Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal has its western
extremity at lock No. 16 of the Forth and Clyde Canal, from
the south-eastern bank of which it rises 110 feet, by eleven
connected locks, to a height which enables it to be conti¬
nued for thirty-one miles wholly on one level to its termi¬
nation at Edinburgh. These locks are a little west of lal-
kirk, which the canal passes on the south, proceeding east¬
ward through Prospect Hill tunnel of 696 yards in the solid
rock, then over the Avon by a stupendous aqueduct bridge
eighty feet above the water of that river. This is about
two miles west of Linlithgow, which the canal passes close
on the south, and continuing east six miles farther, turns
south past the villages of Winchburgh and Broxburn, and
then east again to the aqueduct bridge by which it crosses
the river Almond ; thence by Ratho to another aqueduct
bridge at Slateford over the Water of Leith ; and finally, to
Port Hopetoun Basin at Edinburgh. This canal is forty feet
wide at top, twenty at bottom, and five deep. The late
Mr Telford recommended to continue the line of this canal
from Falkirk to lock No. 20, at the eastern extremity of the
Forth and Clyde summit, and to reserve the more depress¬
ed junction at No. 16 for the Grangemouth trade only.
By this mode about nine fewer locks would need to be
passed in the journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow;
and both canals would require less water, especially as the
Union Canal would then throw a large quantity of water
into the summit of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which the
latter now receives at too low a level to be ot any use.
The Ellesmere and Chester Canal begins at Ellesmere
Port in the tideway of the Mersey, about ten miles south¬
east of the port of Liverpool, proceeding south by Stoke,
Wervin, and between Moston and Mollington Hall to Ches¬
ter, where a short branch locks down into the river Dee.
From this it passes east by the north wall of the city, then
more southerly by Christleton and Beeston Castle, to
Wardle Green, from which a branch goes to join a branch
of the Grand Trunk at Middlewich. The main line pro¬
ceeds a mile and a half from Wardle Green to near Hurle-
ston, whence another branch proceeds to near Darlord
Hall near Nantwich, and connects with the Birmingham
and Liverpool Junction Canal. From Hurleston the main
line proceeds southward by Burland to Woodcot, and
thence westward to near Whitechurch, where the canal
enters Shropshire. Next, passing close by a detached part
of Flintshire, it reaches the Cottage; and then continuing
westerly by the south side of Ellesmere, to which there is
a short branch, it turns more southerly to Francton Com¬
mon, where the Llanymynech branch proceeds from it to
the Montgomeryshire Canal. The direction of the main
line is again westerly by Halston Hall, crossing the river
Ceiriog by a fine aqueduct, then through Chirk Tunnel to
the river Dee, which it passes by means of the famous cast-
iron aqueduct bridge at Pont-y-Cysylte. (See the article
Aqueduct.)
The entire length of the main line from the Mersey to
the Montgomeryshire Canal is sixty-one miles, viz. to
Chester, eight miles and a quarter, with a rise of forty-six
feet; to Hurleston Locks, fifteen miles and three quarters,
with a rise of 131 feet; to Francton Common, twenty-five
miles, with a rise of 115 feet; and to the Mongomeryshire
Canal, eleven miles and a half, with a fall of fifty-two feet.
The branch to meet the Birmingham and Liverpool Junc¬
tion Canal is two miles, and level. The branch from the
Cottage to Edstaston Wharf is three miles; the branch
to the town of Ellesmere is one furlong; the branch to
the Ruabon Brook Railway is fully eleven miles; and that
from Wardle Green to the Grand Trunk is nearly ten
miles, with a fall of forty-four feet. This navigation, con¬
sidering its extent, is remarkable for having been princi¬
pally undertaken for agricultural purposes, the supply ol
towns and manufactories being a secondary consideration,
though these have been greatly benefited by it. For many
other particulars, see Priestley’s Account of Canals.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 13
Naviga- The English and Bristol Channels Ship Canal was pro-
tion, jected principally with the view of shortening and render-
inland. jng more certain and expeditious the passage of vessels
trading from the Bristol Channel, the ports of Ireland, and
the western ports of Britain, to the English Channel. Its
length is to be forty-four miles and five eighths from its
southern extremity, at Beer Roads, Seaton Bay, in the
English Channel, to the northern, in Bridgewater Bay, in
the Bristol Channel, which is shorter by fully 220 miles
than going round the Land’s End. The width is to be
ninety-feet, with a depth of fifteen.
The Erewash Canal proceeds from the Cromford Canal,
near Langley Bridge, to the Trent, near Sawley Ferry, be¬
ing eleven miles and three quarters long, with a fall of 109
feet. The Nut-Brook Canal proceeds from the middle of
this, and farther down it receives a branch of the Derby
Canal, and near Sawley the Trent Canal.
« The Exe River and Exeter Canal. The estuary of the
Exe is navigable for eight miles, from Exeter up to the town
of Topsham, and a little above this a canal proceeds from
the river, running fully three miles up its west side. It
is said that the first lock constructed in England was on
this navigation, in 1675. But in 1829 an act was passed
for making the canal enter the estuary at the Turf, two
miles lower down, which will increase its length to five
miles, with a depth of fifteen feet.
Forth River begins to be navigable at Stirling Bridge;
but the tide reaches a little farther, to Craigforth Mill.
From this downward the windings of the river are singu¬
larly intricate ; its course to Alloa measuring more than
three times the direct distance, which is only seven miles.
On this account, although vessels of from sixty to seventy
tons have water enough to Stirling, it is visited by few
excepting steamers. About three miles above Alloa the
Forth receives the river Devon, which is itself navigable
for a short way, and very susceptible of great improve¬
ment. From this the Forth gradually expands into an es¬
tuary two miles wide opposite the mouth of the Carron,
which is at the distance of thirty miles from Stirling by
water. This estuary, called the Frith of Forth, continues
eastward about forty-six miles farther to the Isle of May,
where it may be reckoned to enter the German Sea.
The Forth and Clyde Canal commences in Grangemouth
harbour, in the small river Carron, about two miles by the
low-water channel, above its mouth in the estuary of the
Forth. The general direction of this canal is that of west
by south. It at first runs a considerable way on one level
along the south side of the Carron, with which it again
communicates by a cut from it at Bainsford, to that river at
the Carron Iron-Works. The main line then passes to the
north-west of Falkirk, and thence to Bonny Bridge, proceed¬
ing by the south side of Kilsyth, and along the south bank
of the river Kelvin, and over the Logie Water by a stone
aqueduct at Kirkintilloch. It then reaches Hamilton Hill
about two miles from the north-west quarter of the city of
Glasgow, to which there is a branch of two miles and three
quarters, communicating with a branch from the Monk-
land Canal at Port-Dundas basin. The main line now pro¬
ceeds westerly, crossing the Kelvin by a noble aqueduct,
and then runs along the side of the Clyde, till it at length
locks down to that fine river at Bowling Bay. The main
line is thirty-five miles long, fifty-six feet wide at top,
twenty-seven at bottom, and ten feet deep. In ten miles
and three quarters from Grangemouth to the summit, it
rises 156 feet by twenty locks. The summit-level con¬
tinues about sixteen miles, and from it to the Clyde there
is a descent of 156 feet by nineteen locks. Each lock is
seventy-four feet long by twenty wide. At lock No. 16
from Grangemouth, this canal connects with the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Union Canal.
Few canals have proved so lucrative as the Forth and
Clyde. Instead of having its eastern extremity in the Car- Naviga-
ron, it was originally intended to have had it considerably t^on’
farther east, or lower down the Forth, in the deeper water. lnlan •
at Borrowstownness. This would certainly have been an
immense improvement, but probably not so easily executed
as some imagine; for the work was really once consider¬
ably begun, and after all abandoned, chiefly, we presume,
from the difficulty of passing over the river Avon, without
raising the canal a good deal for several miles along the
low carse lands. The remains of a bungled aqueduct bridge
for this purpose were lately to be seen on the banks of that
river.
The Foss Navigation, in the north riding of Yorkshire,
follows the course of the river Foss from Stillington Mill,
partly in that river and partly by canal, for about twelve
miles and a half, to the Ouse, at York, descending forty-
seven feet and two thirds.
Foss-dike Navigation commences in the Trent, at Torksey,
continuing south-east on one level for eleven miles, through
a flat country, to Brayford Mere, near Lincoln High Bridge,
where it is joined by the river Witham; and about five
miles west of Lincoln it receives the river Till. At Tork¬
sey is a double lock, with gates pointed both ways. This
canal is supposed to have been first executed by the Ro¬
mans.
Gippen or Gipping River has been made navigable from
near Stowmarket for sixteen miles in a south-easterly di¬
rection, to where it falls into the tideway of the Orwell,
on the south side of the town of Ipswich, near Stoke Bridge.
From this the estuary of the Orwell extends about twelve
miles to the sea at Landguard Fort.
Glamorganshire or Cardiff Canal commences about one
mile and a half below Cardiff, on the east side of the river
Taff, near its entrance intoPenarth harbour. It runs north¬
west, parallel with the Taff, by the city of Landaff, cross¬
ing the Taff by an aqueduct bridge, and it is then joined
by the Aberdare Canal. Still keeping up the vale, it
reaches its termination at Merthyr Tydvil; the total length
being about twenty-five miles, with a rise of 611 feet.
The Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardrossan Canal, though ori¬
ginally intended to connect these places, and to be thirty-
two miles and three quarters long, has as yet only been exe¬
cuted for twelve miles. It begins at Port Eglinton, near
Glasgow, proceeding westerly by the north bank of the
White Cart River, along which it continues till near Paisley,
where it crosses that river, and then passes on the south
of that town to its termination at Johnstone. It is twenty-
eight feet wide at top, fourteen at bottom, four and a half
deep, and all on one level. The excavation of the rest of
the canal seems to be quite laid aside ; but the line is to
be continued to Ardrossan by a railway now in the course
of being constructed.
Glastonbury Navigation begins at the confluence of the
rivers Brue and Parrett, in the Bristol Channel, running
along the course of the Brue to Highbridge, and is to be
continued by a canal, partly in that river, to the west side
of the town of Glastonbury, in all fourteen miles and a
quarter.
Glenkenns Canal, on the Solway, though described in
various books for the last thirty-five years, has never yet
been executed.
The Gloucester and Berkeley Ship Canal begins in the
Severn, at Sharpness Point, about three miles north of the
town of Berkeley, proceeding by Slimbridge and Saul,
and, crossing the Stroud Canal on the same level, it passes
Wheatenhurst, Hardwick Court, and Hempstead House,
and reaches the city of Gloucester, where it terminates
in a spacious basin, out of which there is a lock into the
Severn. The distance between Sharpness and Gloucester
by the Severn is twenty-eight miles, whilst by the canal it
is only sixteen and a half, and avoids a difficult and often
14 NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- dangerous navigation. The width of this canal is seventy
non, feetj depth eighteen, and it is level throughout.
Inland. Qrancj Junction Canal proceeds from the Thames
at Brentford, across the Brent rivulet, to the valley of the
Colne, which it continues to follow past Uxbridge, Rick-
mansworth, Walford, King’s Langley, Two-Waters, Berk-
hampstead, to the summit-level at Cowroast; being thirty-
five miles and three eighths, with a rise of 395 feet, and
through an almost continued series of mill pools. The
summit-level extends only three miles and three fourths to
Tring, and is chiefly in deep cutting. From Tring the ca¬
nal continues by Marswath, near to Leighton Buzzard
and Fenny Stratford, to the Ouse at Wolverston, near
Stony Stratford, a distance of twenty-five miles and a
quarter, with a descent of 192 feet. Here it crosses the
Ouse on a small aqueduct, and an embankment half a mile
long. Then running along the western side of, and hav¬
ing crossed the Five Rivers, the canal arrives at Stoke-
Bruern, being a distance of six miles and a half, with a
rise of 112 feet. It next goes through Blisworth tunnel,
of 3080 yards, proceeding by Western Beck to the south¬
ern extremity of Whitton parish, being thirteen miles and
a half, on one level. In three quarters of a mile from this
to Whitton Mill it rises sixty feet, and then continues le¬
vel for four miles and a quarter, to the farther extremity of
Braunston tunnel, of 2045 yards. It is seven eighths of a
mile, with a fall of thirty-seven feet, from this tunnel to
the junction with the Oxford Canal. The total length of
the main line of the Grand Junction between the limits
now mentioned is ninety miles and a quarter. Its average
width is forty-three feet, and depth from four and a half
to five feet. The locks are eighty-two feet long by four¬
teen and a half wide. The Paddington branch, of thirteen
miles and a half, is of the same dimensions. It connects
with the main line about midway between Uxbridge and
Brentford, and again with the Regent’s Canal at Padding¬
ton. From Tring a level branch of six miles and three
quarters reaches near Wendover; and, a little north of
Tring, a branch of six miles goes to Alyesbury, falling
ninety-five feet. From the embankment over the Ouse,
a branch of nine miles and a half proceeds to the town of
Buckingham; and another of nine miles from Gayton, by
Old Stratford, to the Nen, near Northampton. By means
of the Grand Junction a communication has been opened
between London and the great manufacturing districts in
the interior of the kingdom.
The Grand Surrey Canal commences at Wilkinson’s Gun
Wharf, on the south bank of the Thames, about a quarter
of a mile east of the Thames Tunnel, and passing 1200
yards through the docks of this navigation, its course is
southward, approaching at Bridge Place within 250 yards
of the King’s Dock Yard at Deptford, near to where it is
joined by the Croydon Canal. It then turns west by Peck-
ham New Town to the north side of Adlington Square,
where it terminates. It is four miles and two chains in
length.
Grand Trunk, see Trent and Mersey.
The Grand Union Canal unites with the Leicester Union
Canal near Foxton, about four miles from Market Har-
borough, to which there is a branch. Its course is south¬
erly, passing through a tunnel of 1166 yards at Bosworth,
between Lutterworth and Northampton, and thence by
Elkington and Guildsborough to Crick, at which there is a
tunnel of 1524 yards. Then leaving Watford on the
east, it continues to its termination in the Grand Junction
Canal at Long Buckby. The entire length is about forty-
five miles, with an ascent of seventy-six feet by ten locks,
and a fall of fifty-four feet by seven locks.
Grantham Canal commences at the town of that name
in Lincolnshire, passing Harloxton, Woolsthorp Point,
Stainwith Close, Cropwell Butler, to its termination in the
river Trent, nearly opposite the mouth of the Netting- Nayiga-
ham Canal. The'length is about thirty-three miles, with tl0n’
a fall of a hundred and forty-seven feet and a half. A v n ^ _
branch of three miles and a half goes to the town of Bing¬
ham.
Gresley Canal forms a short connecting portion between
or in the line of the Newcastle-under-Line Canal and the
Newcastle-under-Line Junction Canal, the principal pur¬
poses of which are for conveying coals from the Apdale
and Partridge Collieries on the west, and the Caldon line
from the east.
The Hartlepool Ship Canal connects the Hartlepool har¬
bour with the sea. It is 300 yards long, and nineteen feet
deep, being cut through the solid rock.
Hereford and Gloucester Canal commences in the Se¬
vern opposite Gloucester, crosses Alney Isle and another
branch of the Severn to Lassington, and terminates at
Byster’s Gate in Hereford. In eighteen miles from the
Severn to Ledbury it rises 195^ feet, and then continues
on the summit-level eight and a half miles to Monkhide,
from which it descends thirty feet in three miles to With-
ington March, and thence to Hereford, six miles, it is level.
The total length is thirty-five miles and a half, with three
tunnels of 2192, 1320, and 440 yards respectively.
Hertford Union Canal is a cut of one mile in length, to
connect the Hackney Cut of the River Lea Navigation at
White-Post Bridge, near Temple Mills, with the Regent’s
Canal at Old Ford Lock, Bethnal Green. It is also called
the Lea Union and Sir George Duckett’s Canal.
The Horncastle Navigation commences in the Old
Witham River, near Tattershall, Lincolnshire, and, partly
occupying the bed of what was formerly the Tattershall
Canal, proceeds to Horncastle by the course of the Bain
River. It is about eleven miles long, and very little elevat¬
ed above the sea.
Huddersfield Canal commences on the southern side of
that town, running south-west by Slaithwaite, nearly pa¬
rallel with a branch of the Colne, for seven miles and a half,
which river it crosses three times by aqueducts ; and,
ascending 436 feet by forty-two locks, it attains, near Mars-
den, the highest summit-level in the island, being 656 feet
above the sea, but only four miles long. This is princi¬
pally occupied by the Standedge tunnel, of 5451 yards,
which is upwards of three miles, being the largest in Bri¬
tain, from which the canal emerges into the vale of Dig-
gle in Saddlewmrth, to near Wrigley Mill. It then glides
along the valley alternately on the north and south sides
of the River Tame, past Dobcross, Scout, and Stayley
Bridge, to its junction with the Manchester, Ashton, and
Oldham Canal, near Duckinfield Bridge ; having passed a
farther distance of eight miles and a quarter, with a de¬
scent of 334^ feet by thirty-three locks. There is a tun¬
nel at Scout of 240 yards, and another at Ashton of 198
yards. This canal forms part of the shortest water com¬
munication between the east and west coasts.
Hull River, see Driffield.
Itchin Navigation follows the course of the river Itchin
from Blackbridge, near the city of Winchester, to the tide¬
way at Northam, near the town of Southampton, a distance
of fourteen miles.
Ivel River, which empties itself into the Ouse at Temps-
ford in Bedfordshire, has been made navigable for five miles
and three fourths, up to Biggleswade ; and it has long been
proposed to extend it five miles and a quarter farther, up
to Sheffbrd.
Ivelchester and Langport Canal, in Somersetshire, is
nearly seven miles long, running eastward from its com¬
mencement in the river Parrett, below the town of Lang¬
port, to Ivelchester or Ilchester.
Kennet and Avon Canal commences at the head of the
navigable part of the river Kennet, at Newbury in Berk-
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
15
shire^ar.dpassesup thevalleyofthatriverby Hungerford little above this it is connected with the Regent's Canal Naviga-
by a cut of one mile, called the Hertford or Lea Union tion,
Lanai* l1rom lemnle lYTills T.<aa tvi*rtr*oc»eIc! + c ife, Inland*
tion,
Inland.
and Great Bedwin to Crofton, a distance of sixteen miles
_ and a half, rising 210 feet by thirty-one locks. From this
the summit-level continues two miles and a half, through a
tunnel of 510 yards, to Brimslade. In one mile farther
there is a descent of thirty-three feet by four locks to
Wootton-Rivers, from which the canal continues fifteen
miles along the vale of Pewsey, on one level, to Devizes ;
and in the next two miles and a half to Foxhanger it falls
239 feet by twenty-nine locks. Other four miles and a half,
descending fifty-six feet by seven locks, bring it to Se-
mington, where it is joined by the Wilts and Berks Canal.
From this it passes five miles and a half to Bradford, and
there descends ten feet by one lock into the vale of the
Avon, along which it continues nine miles on one level to
Sidney Gardens, Bath; and in about a mile farther it de¬
scends sixty-six feet and a half by seven locks into the
Avon, near the Old Bridge. From this the Avon itself is
navigable downwards by Bristol into the Severn. The en¬
tire length of the canal is fifty-seven miles ; the breadth is
forty-four feet at top, twenty-four at bottom ; and the depth
is from five to six feet. Few canals afford more specimens
of deep cutting, aqueducts, and tunnels, than the Kennet
and Avon. It completes a circuit of navigable canals,
which, traversing the northern, midland, and southern coun¬
ties of England, connect its four largest rivers, the Trent,
the Mersey, the Severn, and the Thames. Thus, by
uniting the rivers Kennet and Avon, the former of which
runs into the Thames at Reading, and the latter into the
Severn a few miles below Bristol, this canal becomes the
central line of communication between the Irish and the
German Seas.
Kennet River has been made navigable from where it
falls into the Thames, about a mile and a half below Read¬
ing, up to its junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal
at Newbury, in Berkshire, a distance of twenty miles. It
ascends 126 feet, by twenty locks.
Kensington Canal, 3000 yards long, consists of Counters
Creek, greatly enlarged and improved, its mouth being in
the Thames, near Counters Bridge, on the road from Lon¬
don to Hammersmith.
Ketley Canal, see Shropshire.
Kingston Canal, see Leominster.
Lancaster Canal commences at Bark Hill, near Wio-an
passing Chorley to Clayton Green, near the south bank of
the river Ribble, a distance of thirteen miles and a half,
which is level. From this across the valley of the Ribble
to the top of its north bank the distance is four miles and
a quarter, with a depression of 222 feet, which is passed
by a railway and inclined plane on each side of the valley.
From this railroad, past Garstang and Lancaster to Tewit-
eld, near Barwick, a distance of forty-two miles, the line
of the canal is on one level, and is commonly called the
Lancaster Level. In the next thirteen miles, to its termi¬
nation at Kirkby-Kendal, it rises sixty-six feet. The ge¬
neral direction of this canal is north, and the entire length
about seventy-three miles. It has a magnificent aqueduct
over the river Lune, near Lancaster, being fifty-one feet
above the river, and having five arches of seventy feet
span each. J
The Larke or Burn River, in Suffolk and Cambridge-
shire is navigable for fourteen miles, from Long Common,
Bury StF6^ ^lIde" Hal1 Mill> t0 Eastgate ^Bridge, in
fUT bt Edmunds. Being connected with the Ouse, near
Littleport, it is a very useful navigation.
Lea River Navigation commences at the town of Hert-
S easterly by Ware to its junction with the
Stort River Navigation, near Hoddesden, from which it
veers south to Waltham Abbey, and preserves the same
Wans!endt0 j‘ . u' ’ ^l,ere’ !’gain bendlllg south-east by
Wanstead and Aldersbrook, it arrives at Temole Mills.
From lemple Mills the Lea proceeds to its de-,
scent into the Uiames at Bow Creek. At Bromley there
is a cut of one mile and a half, falling seventeen feet and a
half into the Thames at Limehouse. The track of the Lea
from the Hertford to the Ihames is about twenty-six
miles; and connected with it is the canal called the New
River, which supplies London with water.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal commences at Leeds
Bridge, where it unites with the Aire and Calder Naviga¬
tion, and terminates at North Ladv’s Walls- T „
A
tion, and terminates at North Lady’s Walk, Liverpool^ a
distance of 127^miles. In the course of forty-one miles
from Leeds to the summit-level, near Greenberfield, the
total rise is 411 feet; from the summit near Colne, to the
basin at Liverpool, there is a fall of 433 feet; and from
the basin to low water in the Mersey the fall is fifty-six
feet. It is to be observed, that of this line of navigation
eleven miles belong to the Lancaster Canal; that is, from
Cophurst, or Johnson’s Hillock, to Kirklees. The great
tunnel of Foulridge is 1640 yards long, eighteen feet high,
and seventeen wide. At Bingley, a connected series of
five locks effect the enormous lift of eighty-eight feet and
two thirds, which must often occasion a great waste of
water, unless recourse be had to some additional artifice.
This canal was forty-six years in hand, being begun in
1770, and finished in 1816. & ^
The Leicester Navigation commences at the basin of the
Loughborough Canal, and proceeds three miles to the se¬
paration of the Melton-Mowbray Navigation. (See Wreak
and Eye Navigation.) From this the distance is eleven
miles, with a rise of forty-five, to its termination in the
Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal.
The Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal,
commencing at the junction with the Leicester Navigation,
proceeds partly in the bed of the river Soar, and partly by
an artificial course, to the Grand Union Canal at Gumley
Hall, a distance of seventeen miles, rising 160 feet. From
the last place a branch of four miles goes to Market Har-
borough. There is a tunnel half a mile long at Saddington.
The Leominster Canal commences at Kington, 505i feet
above the sea, where it meets the Kington Railway; thence
observing an easterly direction, it passes to the aqueduct
over the Lugg at Kingsland, and then bends south to near
Leominster. From this town it runs north for a consider¬
able distance past Berrington House, then turns east with
many windings past Tenbury to the aqueduct over the
Rea, and the tunnel at Sousant, which is 1250 yards long
From the latter, which is 264^ feet above the sea, the ca¬
nal runs eastward to its termination at Stourport, where it
unites with the Severn and the Stafford and Worcester Ca¬
nal, having described a track of forty-six miles. From
Kington to Staunton Park it is level for four miles, then
falls 152 feet in two miles and a half to Milton, thirty-
seven feet in three miles and a half to Kingsland aque¬
duct, and sixty-four feet in four miles and a half to Leo¬
minster. In the next mile and a half it rises eighteen feet,
and in five miles and a half farther to WIston it is level;
thence to Letwich Brook it falls thirty-six feet in four miles
and a half. The next seven miles to Rea are level, then
is a rise of thirty-five feet in one mile to Sousant tunnel,
then nine level miles to Great Pensax tunnel of 3850 yards.
But in the last three miles to the Stafford and Worcester
Canal there is a fall of 207 feet; the total fall being 496
feet, and the rise forty-eight.
dhe Leven Canal is a cut of three miles from the village
of Leven to the Driffield or Hull River Navigation.
Lewes, see Ouse River, Sussex.
•d u Eiskeard and Looe Canal commences at Tarras
Pill, and runs northward to Moorswater, in the parish of Lis-
keard, in Cornwall. It is five miles and seven eighths long,
16
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
It has a branch of
rising 156 feet by twenty-five locks,
one mile to Sand Place. i v r
Louth Canal runs from that town northwards by Lea-
therhill Mead and North Cockering to Titney, in the mouth
of the Humber, a distance of fourteen miles, falling htty-
six feet and a half.
The Loyne or Lune River is navigable about seven miles
in the tideway from Lancaster Bridge to its mouth in Lan¬
caster Bay.
Lynn River, see Narr. , , f
Macclesfield Canal commences near the north end ot
the summit-level of the Peak Forest Canal, and passes
through a very undulating part of Cheshire to the road
from Buxton to Congleton, where it locks down to its low¬
est level; then crossing the Dane, it runs south-west to
its termination in the summit-level of the Trent and Me
sey Canal, a distance of twenty-nine miles and a halt, with
a total fall of 113# feet. This, when executed, will shorten
the communication between London and Manchester about
thirteen miles.
Manchester, see Ashton. _ . j • *
The Manchester, Bolton, and Bury Canal ascends sixty-
eight feet and one third, by six locks, from the Irwell to the
basin in Salford ; thence for four miles running parallel to
the Irwell it is level, but in the next three miles it rises
121 feet by twelve locks. The remaining four miles to
Bolton are level, and so is a branch of four miles to Bury.
Market Weighton Canal commences at New River Head,
near Market Weighton, and runs almost directly south tor
eleven miles to its termination, with a sea-lock at toss-dike
Clough, in the Humber. Near the upper end are three
l0Vhe Medway River begins to be navigable for barges at
Penhurst Bridge, about six miles above Tunbridge, and
about forty-five miles by the crooked course of the river,
from its mouth in the Thames at Sheerness; but some de¬
duction should be made for several bends being now cut off.
The tide formerly reached up to Maidstone, but has been
obstructed by locks and weirs. Below Rochester Bridge
this river is in many places of great width, and so deep as
to float the largest vessels at low water, thus affording a
safe and extensive harbour for Chatham dock-yard. A
little below Rochester Bridge it is joined by the ihames
and Medway Canal, and near its mouth by the East Swale
or tide passage round the south side of the Isle of Sheppey.
The Mersey and Irwell Navigation commences in the
estuary of the Mersey at Runcorn Gap, and terminates
at the bridge between Manchester and Salford. It con¬
sists in these rivers improved by locks, weirs, and exten¬
sive side-cuts, so as to be conveniently navigable over a
distance which by the course of the rivers exceeds fifty
miles. The various canals connected with the Mersey and
Irwell render this an undertaking of great utility.
The Monkland Canal begins at Old Monkland Colliery,
and runs nearly direct west for twelve miles to Port Dun-
das at Glasgow, where it communicates with a branch ot
the Forth and Clyde Canal, to which it acts as a feeder.
In its course it receives the Monkland and Kirkintilloch,
Garnkirk and Glasgow, and Airdrie Railways. At hheep-
ford it falls twenty-three feet by two locks, and at Black-
hill ninety-six feet by twelve locks. It is thirty-four feet
wide at top, twenty-four at bottom, and four and a half
Monmouthshire Canal commences in the Usk a
little below Newport, close to the termination of the Rum-
ney and Sirhowey Railways. Passing northward, this ca¬
nal extends by Pontypool to Pontnewynydd, a distance ot
fully seventeen miles and three quarters. Near the latter
place it connects with the Abergavenny and Brecknock
Canal. In the last twelve miles it rises 447 feet; and,
opposite Malpas, a branch of eleven miles, rising 358 feet,
goes to Crumlin Bridge. There are various extensive
railway branches from this canal. p^rtvwnin lime-
Montfomeryshire Canal commences at Portywain lime
works wEereT joins a branch of the Ellesmere Canal;
I" having passed the village of Llanymynach, and eross-
ed the Verniew River, it joins another branch of the El¬
lesmere Canal. Next running to Gwern-felu, where a
branch to Guilsfield turns off, it proceeds to Welchpool;
after this it runs parallel to the Severn, which it at length
tains on the east side of Newton. It is about twenty-se-
ven miles long, running in a south-west direction, with a
10 Not of Lym River is navigable from the Ouse at King's
Lynn to Castle Acre in Norfolk, a distance of about fif-
16 Neath Canal commences in the tideway of the Neath,
at Giant’s-grave-pill, in Briton’s ^7’andKrun"‘Dg nAor“‘
west, terminates in the Aberdare Railway branch at Aber-
naut, a distance of fourteen miles. It has various other
railway branches to the neighbouring collieries, &c.
Nen or Nyne River is navigable from the sea below
Wisbeach, through the Fens to Peterborough, and from
that by the natural channel, improved by cuts and locks,
to Northampton, which forms a course of about ninety-
nine miles. ^ Beginning in the Wash at Peter s Point, and
passing up nine miles to Wisbeach, the navigation may ei¬
ther be continued thence to Outwell by the course of the
river, or by the still shorter track of the Wisbeach Canal,
which also forms a communication between these places.
But the navigation likewise proceeds frona both places by
two or three embanked courses through the Fens to Pe¬
terborough, a farther distance of forty miles ; and thence
by the original channel, greatly improved by cuts, weirs,
and locks, for fifty miles more, up to the town of North¬
ampton, to which a canal branch descends 112 feet from
the Grand Junction Canal. Near Salter s Load the Nen
communicates with the Ouse by means of Well Creek;
and a still shorter navigation has been formed from Wi.-
beach to Lynn, through the Wisbeach Canal. The above
may give some idea of the principal lines of navigation
belonging to this river; but since most of the rivers an
navigable drains in the fens are embanked on both sides,
and since they are almost still water too, this occasions
such a number of navigable branches intersecting and
crossing in all directions, that a description of them would
greatly exceed our limits.
The Newcastle-under-Line Canal extends about three
miles westward, from the 1 rent and Mersey Canal at to'e
upon-Trent to Newcastle, in the Newcastle-under-Line
Junction Canal, which again continues the line north-west
for eight miles farther (including in its middle the five
miles of Gresley’s Canal) to Partridge-Nest and Bignel-
End Collieries. , . ,
The Newport Pagnell Canal is a branch of a mile and a
quarter from that town to the Grand Junction Canal at
Linford, with a rise of fifty feet by seven locks.
Nith or Nidd River Navigation commences in the 8ol-
way Frith, and extends nearly north for about nine miles
in the tideway between the counties of Dumfries and
Kirkcudbright, to Dumfries Bridge; but it stands much m
need of improvement.
North Walsh am and Dilham Canal commences at Way-
ford Bridge, in the parish of Dilham, Norfolk, in the river
Ant, and runs north-west by North Walsham and Wlnt-
ton Park, to its termination at Antingham, a distance or
seven miles.
North Wilts Canal, see Wilts and Berks.
The Norwich and Lowestoff Navigation, commencing in
the Wensum or Yare River at Norwich, follows partly the
course of that river, and those of the Yare and Wensum,
and proceeds partly through the Lake Lothmg, and by
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- cuts to Lowestoff, a distance of thirty miles. It traver-
tion, ses so flat a country, that a tide-lock only is necessary,
Inland. admits vessels eighty-four feet long, twenty-one
wide, and drawing ten feet of water.
Nottingham Canal commences in the Trent, from which
it has a winding course for about fifteen miles, with a rise
of 108 feet to the junction of the Erewash and Cromford
Canals at Langley Bridge.
Nutbrook or Shipley Canal is a branch extending four
miles and a half, from the Erewash Canal, near Trowen,
to the Shipley Collieries.
The Oakham Canal extends from that town to Melton-
Mowbray on the Leicester and Melton-Mowbray Navi¬
gation ; a distance of fifteen miles, falling 126 feet.
Ouse River, Sussex, navigable naturally nine miles in
the tideway op the Lewes, has, by artificial means, been
rendered navigable for twenty-two miles farther, up to
Hammer Bridge.
Ouse River, Yorkshire, is navigable for vessels of 150
or 160 tons from where it receives the Trent, up to the
junction of the Aire and Calder Navigation at Armyn, a
distance of fifteen miles, and for smaller masted vessels
twenty-five miles farther to the city of York. This river,
notwithstanding its limited trade above that city, has such
an immense traffic in the lower part, by reason of the nu¬
merous rivers and canals communicating with the manu¬
facturing and mining districts, that it undoubtedly ranks
the second river in the kingdom in importance and utility ;
whilst, by its union with the Humber, merchandise is ex¬
ported to and imported from all parts of the globe.
Ouse River Navigation (Bedford Level) commences in
the estuary of the Wash, below the town of Lynn, and pro¬
ceeding thence by a cut of two miles and three quarters,
called the Eau Brink, to Salter’s Load and Denver’s Sluice,
it is thus far, which is about seventeen miles above Lynn,
an open embanked navigation. From this upwards the
natural river continues navigable still by an embanked
crooked course through the Fens to Ely and Hermitage
Sluice near Erith, and thence onward to Bedford, altoge¬
ther about eighty-four miles from the sea. From Lynn
the Narr or Lynn has been made navigable fifteen miles
to Castle Acre in Norfolk; and from Salter’s Load the
Well Creek extends to the Nen and Wisbeach Naviga¬
tion. Near Denver’s Sluice the Ouse receives the river
Stoke, also the Old and New Bedford Rivers, which are
two parallel straight cuts of twenty-one miles, joining the
Ouse again at Hermitage Sluice. From this last place a
navigable cut of twelve miles conveys water from the
Ouse to the Nen at Benwick. At Brandon Creek Bridge
the Ouse receives the Little Ouse, which is navigable for
twenty-two miles and a half south-east by Downham and
Santon to Thetford ; and at Prickwillow it receives the
Larke, navigable to Bury St Edmund’s. Near Barkway
the Soham Lode, navigable for four miles to Soham, falls
into the Ouse. At Harrimere it receives the Grant or
Cam, navigable to Cambridge, and at Tempsford the Ivel.
Almost the whole of the rivers and large drains connected
with the Ouse are embanked and nearly level. Many
others of them are navigable for short distances besides
those we have noticed, but they are chiefly used for drain¬
age.
The Oxford Canal commences in the Coventry Canal at
Longford, proceeding thence twenty-six miles and a half
on one level across the upper part of the valley of the
Avon to near Hill Morton, where it rises nineteen feet by
three locks. About eight miles farther on it is joined by
the Grand Junction Canal ; and in eight miles and three
quarters more, at Napton, by the Warwick and Napton Ca¬
nal. Thus far the course is very crooked. In the next
two miles it rises fifty-five feet by nine locks to the summit-
level, on which it continues ten miles and three quarters
VOL. xvl.
17
(passing a tunnel of 1188 yards) to Claydon. From this Naviga.
the canal descends into the valley of the Charwell, pro- t'011’
ceeding seven miles and a quarter to Bambury, with a fall v Inlaiu'- ^
of seventy-seven feet by twelve locks. Following the ^
Charwell, and crossing it near Hampton Gay, it passes to
its termination in the Thames at Badcock’s Garden on the
west of the city of Oxford. The total length is about
ninety-one miles; and in the last twenty-seven miles and
a half from Banbury it falls 118 feet, by eighteen locks.
It is twenty-eight feet wide at top, sixteen at bottom, and
four and a half deep ; but, to act partly as a reservoir, the
summit-level is six feet deep. For various improvements
and alterations on this navigation, we beg to refer to Priest¬
ley’s Account of Canals, &c.
The Peak Forest Canal commences at Duckenfield, in
the Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne, and Oldham Canal,
and passes south-east fifteen miles to Bugsworth, from which
the line is continued seven miles by a railway to Limestone
Rock, Peak Forest.
Penclawdd Canal extends eastward from the river Burry
at Penclawdd, in Glamorganshire, for three miles and
three fifths, to Kingsbridge; and, though short, it is said
to be of great utility.
Pocklington Canal, Yorkshire, extends from East Cot-
tingwith, on the Derwent, to Street Bridge, Pocklington,
a distance of eight miles and a half.
The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal commences in the
tideway in the river Arun, at the village of Ford, three miles
from the sea, at Arundel harbour, and proceeds westward
close by Yapton, Barnham, and Merston, to half a mile
from North Mundham, where the Chichester branch takes
off’. From this it passes by Donnington to Chichester
harbour, where the principal line, which is almost twelve
miles long from the Arun, terminates. The bed of the
Arun is fifteen feet below high water spring tides; and
there is a lock of five feet, above high-water mark, on the
bank of the river. A little farther on is another lock of
seven feet lift, from which the canal continues on the same
level for ten miles five furlongs, to two locks, equal respec¬
tively to the two just mentioned, and similarly situated in
respect of the other termination in the tideway. This ca¬
nal is thirty-three feet wide at top, nineteen and a half
at bottom, and four and a half deep. Both it and the Chi¬
chester branch, of a mile and a quarter, are fed by water
raised by a steam-engine. The channel from the extremity
of the main line of canal in Chichester harbour, round
Thorney Island and Hayling Island, by Thorney and
Langstone Wadeways, and Langstone harbour, to the end
of the Portsea Canal, is thirteen miles and an eighth.
The canal from Eastnay Lake is two miles and three
eighths long; there are two locks at the east end, and a
basin at the termination at Portsea. This part is five feet
deep, and is fed by an engine. From the end of the main
line in Chichester Harbour to the canal at Cosham, the
distance is fifteen miles and a quarter ; and the length of
the canal to Porchester Lake in Portsmouth harbour is
one mile and a quarter. This branch is seven feet deep,
with a sea-lock of ten feet lift at each end. These im¬
portant undertakings, from their connections with so
many other navigations, will tend to open a ready inland
communication between this quarter and almost every
part of the kingdom, and may become serviceable for con¬
veying military stores from London to Portsmouth in
time of war.
Ramsden’s (Sir John) Canal, is a short connecting
link of three miles and three quarters, between the Hud¬
dersfield Canal at the King’s Mill near Huddersfield, and
the Calder and Hebble Navigation near Cooper’s Bridge.
It descends fifty-seven feet and a half, by nine locks.
Regent’s Canal commences in the Paddington branch
of the Grand Junction Canal, near the Harrow Road, and,
c
18
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Inland.
Naviga- proceeding in a north-east direction, passes through a short
tion> tunnel under the Edgeware Road, and thence runs paral¬
lel to Primrose Hill Road, till, having passed on the north
of the Zoological Gardens, a branch of half a mile runs
south-east to a basin at Cumberland Market. The main
line preserves nearly its first direction, till, crossing the
Pancras Vale Road, on the north of Camden Town, it
turns more eastward ; then locking down, it crosses Cam¬
den Road and the King’s Road, and turns south-east across
Maiden Lane, next to Horsfall’s Basin, a quarter of a mile
beyond which it enters the tunnel under Islington, 900
yards long, but which, most unfortunately, to save a trifle
of expense, has no room for a towing-path. It next cross¬
es the New River to Frog Lane, on the east of which is a
lock, and also a branch called the basin, passing under the
City Road. The main line continues eastward to Brid-
port Place, and, running parallel with Felton Street, it
leaves a second basin on its north bank, and a little far¬
ther on a third basin on its south bank. From this it pro¬
ceeds across Cambridge Heath Road, and then, bending
greatly south, crosses Mile End Road, passes to Stepney
Lane, crosses the Commercial Road, and finally arrives at
the basin at Limehouse, by which it locks into the Thames,
being a total distance of eight miles and a half, de¬
scending ninety feet by twelve locks besides the tide-lock.
At Globe Town, a cut of one mile, running north-east,
connects this canal with the River Lea Navigation. It is
named the Hertford Union Canal, and sometimes the Lea
Union.
Ribble River, Lancashire, has been rendered navigable
for eleven miles westward from Penwortham Bridge, near
Preston, to its mouth in the Irish Sea.
Rochdale Canal commences in the Bridgewater Canal
at Castlefield, Manchester, and about a mile from this is
joined by the Manchester, Ashton-under-Line, and Old¬
ham Canal. It then passes the town of Rochdale, and
along the north border of the high ground called Black-
stone Edge, to its termination in the Calder Navigation at
Sowerby Bridge Wharf, a distance of thirty-one miles
and a half. The rise from Knott Mill, Manchester, to the
summit, is 533| feet, and the fall from this to Sowerby
Bridge is 353J. This canal is one of the main links
in the chain of inland navigation between the east and
west seas.
The Rother River Navigation commences at Lower Platt,
near Midhurst, Sussex, and passes by Cowley Park to
Ambersham, and by Petworth and Burton to a little be¬
yond Little Fittleworth, from which a cut passes to the
river Arun, near Stopham Bridge, where the navigation
terminates, the total length being eleven miles.
The Royal Military Canal commences in the tideway at
Shornclifl' in Kent, proceeding west to Hythe, and, gradu¬
ally bending southward, passes on the south of Lympne
and Appledore to the junction with the long proposed
Weald of Kent Canal. From this it proceeds south to the
river Rother, in the bed of which it continues past Rye to
Winchelsea, where that river verges south-east, whilst the
canal continues due south to Cliff End, and there termi¬
nates. The total length is about thirty miles, the width at
top is from sixty-two to seventy-two feet, and at bottom from
thirty to thirty-six, and the depth is nine feet. The locks are
seventy-two feet long and sixteen wide ; they are only re¬
quired for the tide, and the fluctuations of the Rother.
St Columb Canal is a cut of six miles, from Maugan
Porth to Lower St Columb Forth, in the county of Corn¬
wall.
The Salisbury and Southampton Canal commences in the
Itchin River at Norham, near Southampton, and runs
along the north-east shore of Southampton Water to Red¬
bridge, from which the line of navigation is continued
north in the Andover Canal. From the latter, at Mitchel-
mersh, a branch was dug westward to Salisbury, but was
abandoned because it would not hold in the water. This
had not, it would seem, been thought worth a lining of
clay, which, if properly executed, would make any canal
hold in.
Sankey Brook Navigation, the first executed in England,
originally commenced at Fidler’s Ferry, at the mouth of
Sankey Brook, from which it at first runs north, gradually
bending west, and latterly turns south to St Hellens, where
it terminates. The length is about twelve miles, rising
seventy-eight feet by ten locks ; width forty-eight feet at
top, depth five and a half. In 1830 an act was obtained
for extending this navigation three miles and a quarter,
from a little above Fiddler’s Ferry to Widness Wharf, West
Bank, near Runcorn Gap.
The Severn River is navigable for 178 miles, with a de¬
scent of 225 feet, from Welshpool, through the counties of
Montgomery, Salop, Worcester, and Gloucester, till it en¬
ters the Bristol Channel. Its navigable connections are the
Montgomeryshire Canal at Newtown; the Shrewsbury Canal
at Shrewsbury ; the Shropshire Canal at the Hay ; the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, and the Leomin¬
ster Canal, at Stourport; the Droitwich Canal at Hawford ;
the Birmingham and Worcester Canal at Diglis, below
Worcester ; the river Avon at Tewkesbury ; the Coombe
Hill Canal at Fletcher’s Leap; the Hereford and Glou¬
cester Canal at Gloucester; the Gloucester and Berkeley
Canal, both at Gloucester and at Sharpness Point; the
Stroud Canal at Framiload ; the Lydney Canal below Lyd-
ney; the river Wye at Beachley; the Bristol River Avon
at Morgan’s Pill; and the Monmouthshire Canal at New-
port.
Sheffield Canal connects that town with the river Dan
Navigation in the township of Tinsley. It is little more
than four miles long, with a fall of seventy feet by eleven
locks.
The Shrewsbury Canal commences at Rockwardine Wood,
in the north extremity of the Shropshire Canal. Ihe first
mile is level. At Woombridge it descends seventy-five
feet by an inclined plane; and in the next four and three
quarters miles to Langdon is a farther fall of seventy-nine
feet by locks. It then crosses the river Tern by the first
iron aqueduct used in a navigable canal, and, proceeding
by Roddington, it passes a tunnel of 970 yards, and at
length runs along the bank of the Severn to its termina¬
tion at Shrewsbury. The total length is about seventeen
miles and a half.
Shropshire Canal commences at the Donnington Wood
Canal, and passing Rockwardine Wood and Madeley, pro¬
ceeds to its termination in the Severn at Coalport, two
miles below Coalbrook Dale. The length is seven miles
and a half. It has a rise of 120 feet, and two falls of 126
and 207 feet, all of them by inclined planes.
Sleaford Navigation extends from Chapel Hill, on the
Old Witham River, to the Castle Causewray near Slea¬
ford. It is about thirteen miles and a half long, thirty feet
wide at top, eighteen at bottom, and five feet deep. The
greater part of its course is embanked through the fens.
Soar River Navigation consists of the river Soar, made
navigable for seven miles up from the Trent, and of a cut
of one mile and a half, which continues it to Lough¬
borough, where it connects with the Leicester Navigation.
Somersetshire Coal Canal commences at the Kennet and
Avon Canal at Limpley Stoke, and terminates at Paulton,
a distance of ten miles. It is connected with various col¬
lieries by railways.
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal commences in
the Severn at Stourport, and proceeds northerly by Mil-
ton, Kidderminster, Tittenhall, Penkridge, and Baswich, to
its termination in the Trent and Mersey Canal near Hay¬
wood, Staffordshire. The total length is forty-six miles
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- and a half. In the first twelve miles and a quarter from
tion> Stourport, to where it is joined by the Stourbridge Canal,
Inland. rjges 127^- feet by thirteen locks; in the next eleven
^1^ it rises 166^ feet by eighteen locks. The next ten
miles, in which it is joined by the Old Birmingham Canal,
are level; and in the remainder it falls 1001 feet by thir¬
teen locks. This canal is thirty feet wide at top, and five
deep. The locks are seventy-four feet long, and seven
feet wide, but had originally only four feet water on the
sills.
Stainforth aftd Keadby Canal begins in the river Dun,
near Stamforth, Yorkshire, and passes eastward fifteen
miles to the Trent at Keadby, Lincolnshire, where it has
a tide-lock. There is only another lock near Thorne, of
five feet lift, the tract is so flat.
Stort River has been made navigable for ten miles in
Hertfordshire and Essex, from the New Bridge, Bishop-
Stortford, to the river Lea at Rye near Hoddesden.
Stourbridge Canal extends about five miles from the
Stafford and Worcester Canal at Stewponey, near Stour-
ton, to the Dudley Canal at Black-Delph, from which a
branch of one mile goes to Stourbridge, and another of two
miles to Pensnet Chase Reservoir. It rises 191^ feet by
twenty locks.
Stour River, between Suffolk and Essex, has been ren¬
dered navigable for nineteen miles from Sudbury to Man-
ningtree; thence to Harwich it is a wide estuary.
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal commences at King’s Nor¬
ton, about six miles from Birmingham, and proceeds south¬
eastward by Lapworth and Preston Mill to Stratford, a
distance of twenty-three miles and a half, descending 309
feet. From near Hockley, a branch of two miles and a half
goes to Tamworth quarries ; from Lapworth another of
one mile and three quarters to the Warwick and Birming¬
ham Canal; from Wilmote another of four miles to Tem¬
ple Grafton Limeworks ; and from this branch a cut of
one mile to Aston Cantlow.
Stroudwater Navigation commences at Framiload, run¬
ning eastward across the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal,
and the Stroudwater, to Wallbridge, near Stroud, in the
Thames and Severn Canal, a distance of eight miles, rising
1021 feet.
Swale River, see Ouse.
Swansea Canal commences in Swansea harbour, and
running north-eastward by Landoor, and across the small
river Twrch, terminates at Pen Tawe, a distance of seven¬
teen miles, rising 373 feet.
Tamar Manure Navigation. The river Tamar has been
made navigable from Morwelham Quay (where Tavistock
Canal begins) up to Boat Pool, whence a canal has been
continued north-west for about twenty-two miles to Ta-
merton Bridge. From near Poulson Bridge a branch goes
off to Launceton.
Tavistock Canal extends from the tideway in the Tamar
four and a half miles north-east to Tavistock, with a rise
of 237 feet. From Crebar a branch of two miles goes to
the slate quarries at Millhill Bridge, rising nineteen feet
and a half.
Tay River is navigable from the city of Perth, gradual¬
ly widening downwards by Dundee to the German Sea,
a distance of twenty-eight miles, through which the tide
flows; but it only admits of large vessels reaching Perth
at stream tides. It was formerly much obstructed by
floods at one season, and shallows at another; but in 1830
an act was obtained for its improvement.
The lees Navigation commences in that river at Stock-
ton, and proceeds chiefly by an artificial course to Portrack,
19
and thence by the estuary of the Tees Mouth to the Ger- Naviga-
man Sea; the total distance is about twelve miles, and level tion>
in the tideway. Inland.
Thames River having a separate article devoted to it,
we shall only here treat very briefly of its navigation and
navigable connections. The principal branch of this noble
river, under the name of the Isis, and greatly improved
by artificial means, begins to be navigable at Lechlade,
about 146^ miles above London Bridge by the course of
the river, and where the Thames and Severn Canal locks
into it. At Oxford it receives the Oxford Canal; at Abing¬
don, the Wilts and Berks Canal; near Dorchester, its other
branch the Thame ; at Caversham Bridge, near Reading,
the Kennet Navigation ; near Woburn Park and Ham, the
river Wey, with the Basingstoke Canal; near Brentford,
the Grand Junction Canal; a little below Wandsworth,
the Kensington Canal. Pursuing its course through Lon¬
don, it comes to the St Katherine’s Docks, and then to the
London Docks, a little below which it is passed under¬
neath by a tunnel. It is next joined on the south by the
Grand Surrey Canal, and then at Limehouse on the north
by the Regent’s Canal, and the Limehouse Cut to the
river Lea. Proceeding a little, it reaches the western en¬
trance to the West India Docks at the Isle of Dogs, round
which it makes a more than semicircular bend, first south
to Deptford and Greenwich, and then north again to the
eastern or Blackwall entrance to the West India Docks.
To avoid or shorten this route, a cut, called the City Canal,
was made by government across the isthmus, and after all
cutting off little more than half the bend; but so few in¬
clined to avail themselves of such a partial improvement,
that this canal was quite neglected, and was latterly sold
to the West India Dock Company, who now use it for
the wood trade, under the name of South Dock. But
before reaching Deptford, the Thames had on its west¬
ern bank passed the Commercial Docks. At Blackwall
it passes the East India Docks, and, at Bow Creek receiv¬
ing the river Lea, pursues its way to Woolwich, where a
short canal is cut to the Arsenal, a little below which it
receives the river Roding on the north, and, nearly oppo¬
site Purfleet, the river Darent on the south. At Graves¬
end, the Thames and Medway Canal unites with it; at
Sheerness on the south it receives the river Medway, and
has now itself become a large estuary, five miles wide,
called the Mouth of the Thames, which, expanding greatly,
receives from the north and west the rivers Crouch, Black-
water, and Colne.
Owing to the natural obstructions which exist in many
parts of the river, from bends, shoals, islands, weeds, &c.
the velocity of the Thames does not follow the law of the
variation of the inclinations ; and the artificial obstacles
from weirs, pound-locks, fishing-aytes, &c. render it im¬
possible to ascertain the velocity correctly. Much depends
also on the volume of water which may be passing down
the river at the time, and the use offlashes.1 The total fall
from Lechlade to low-water mark at London Bridge, a dis¬
tance of 146^ miles, is 258 feet; being on an average
about twenty-one inches per mile. This is overcome by
several locks, constructed at different periods, of which the
lowest, at Teddington, eighteen miles and three quarters
above London Bridge, forms the limit of the tide. In ge¬
neral the velocity may be estimated at from half a mile to
two miles and three quarters per hour ; but the mean may
be about two miles. Between London Bridge and West¬
minster Bridge the mean velocity of the flood tide is now
three miles per hour, maximum three and a half; and the
mean ebb three miles and one sixth, maximum three and
the channel ^ Suddeniy let out to increase tlie depth over a shallow while a boat is passing. It also helps to scour and deepen
20
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
three quarters. Formerly they were much less. The fall
from Teddington Lock to London Bridge is only sixteen
feet and three quarters, or ten inches and three quarters,
' per mile ; for in general the fall gradually diminishes from
Lechlade downwards.
The removal of the numerous and bulky piers of the
Old London Bridge has wrought an important change in
the Thames, not only above or west of the bridge, but
likewise, though in a smaller degree, below or east of it.
The very contracted spaces through which the water had
formerly to force its way occasioned frequently a fall of
five feet at low water, instead of which there is now only
a fall of about two inches at the new bridge ; so that the
low-water line above the bridge is nearly five feet lower at
spring tides than formerly. In consequence of this, a great¬
ly increased body of tidal water now flows up and down the
river, and with a decidedly greater velocity than formei j.
The effect of this is to scour and deepen the bed of the
river; its influence in this respect being already sensibly
felt as far up as Putney Bridge, seven miles and a half
above London Bridge. The shores above the latter, tha..
were formerly foul and muddy, are now becoming clean
shingle and gravel; and near low water the beach is quite
hard°and firm. East of London Bridge the shoals are also
deepening ; and there can be little doubt that the change
will at no distant period be felt from the Nore up to Ted¬
dington. The depression of low water below the bridge
has been so considerable as to cause ships in many in¬
stances to ground in their tiers. From a register of the
tides, it appears that the average depth at low water on
the sill at Shadwell Dock is twenty-two inches below the
old mark called Trinity Datum ; and where formerly there
were eight feet upon the dock sill there are now only six
feet two inches on the average. Before the removal of
the old bridge, a barge starting from the Pool at Rother-
hithe with the first of the flood, could not get farther than
Putnev Bridge without the assistance of oars or horses.
But, under similar circumstances, a barge now reaches
Mortlake, four miles farther up, before using oars; and with
a little help she may reach Richmond, and, taking horses
there, get to Teddington in a tide. The descent down the
river has been equally facilitated.
The immense trade of the navigable part of this river
arises principally from its having London on its banks, and
bearing to and from it numberless ships, fraught with the
produce of every country and every climate. Its depth of
water is so great, that even at ebb tide it is from twelve
to thirteen feet in the fair way of the river above Green¬
wich. The mean range of the tides at London Bridge is
about seventeen feet, whilst at extreme springs it is about
twenty-two. Up to Deptford, the river is navigable for
ships of any burthen ; to Blackwall, for those of 1400 tons;
and to the St Katherine’s Docks, adjoining the Tower, for
vessels of 800 tons.
The Thames and Medway Canal is a cut of about seven
miles and a half through the isthmus, or rib of land, be¬
tween these rivers, and was constructed for the purpose of
shortening by forty miles (some say forty-seven) the watei
communication between Gravesend and Chatham, or Ro¬
chester, which had hitherto been by the Nore. It com¬
mences in the south bank of the Thames, at Gravesend,
nearly opposite Tilbury Fort, where it has a great tide-
lock, and a basin and wharfs. From this it runs eastward
for about three miles through Gravesend Marshes ; then,
after turning considerably to the south, it passes through
a tunnel of two miles and a half, and proceeds to join the
river Medway,where it has another tide-lock and basin
nearly opposite to Chatham. The water in this canal is
fifty feet wide at top, twenty-eight at bottom, and eight feet
deep. The hill through which the tunnel is carried is in
some places of such a loose texture that several of the work¬
men were killed by the unexpected shooting in of the Naviga.
chalk and flints upon them. They had not, it seems, used Inlan’d
any precaution to prevent such an occurrence, or to avoid, ^
the danger of it. This tunnel, being of large dimensions,
and provided with an excellent towing path, has greatly
the advantage of many of the miserably confined holes
which are carried through hills in other paits of the king¬
dom. The breadth of the water through the tunnel is
twenty-two feet; but a particular description of the locks
will be found farther on.
The Thames and Severn Canal commences at the extre¬
mity of the Thames and Isis Navigation, near Lechlade, and
proceeds by Kempsford and Cricklade to Latton, where it
is joined by the Wilts and Berks Canal; thence it passes
to Siddington St Mary, at which a branch of a mile goes
to Cirencester; continuing westward, it passes through
the famous Sapperton tunnel, 4300 yards long, and 250
feet under the top of the hill. From this, it passes to its
termination in the Stroudwater Canal, at Wallbridge, near
Stroud. The total length is thirty miles and one eighth,
viz. from Lechdale to the tunnel twenty miles and three
eighths, rising 134 feet by fourteen locks; the tunnel or
summit-level two miles and three eighths, and from it to the
termination seven miles and three eighths, falling 243 feet
by twenty-eight locks. This canal is forty-two feet wide
at top, twenty-eight at bottom, and five deep. The locks
are eighty feet long and twelve wide.
The Tone and Parrett Navigation commences in the line
of the proposed Grand Western Canal at Taunton, and runs
nearly north by a bending course, passing Bridgewater, to
Start Point, in the Bristol Channel; being, however, join¬
ed in its course at Borough Chapel by the Parrett River.
The length is about twenty-seven miles.
Trent River begins tobe navigable at Burton-upon-Trent,
where it is joined by a branch from the Grand iiunk, and
which is about 117 miles from the Humber. It proceeds
in a north-easterly direction to near Swarkestone, where it
receives the Derby Canal, and then at Wilden Ferry it is
joined by the Grand Trunk or Irent and Mersey Canal;
next by the river Soar or Loughborough Navigation, and
opposite to it by the Erewash Canal; then passing Clifton
Hall, where the Beeston Cut, which connects with the
Nottingham Canal, joins it on the north, it runs down to
Nottingham, and there joins the Grantham Canal. Next
at Torksey it connects with the Foss-dike Navigation,
and at West Stockwith with the Chesterfield Canal and
the river Idle. At Keadby it connects with the Stain-
forth and Keadby Canal, and joining the river Ouse at
Trentfalls, their united waters form the Humber. The
total descent in the 117 miles is about 118 feet. Thte
river, connecting the port of Hull with a wide extent of
country, by numerous rivers and canals, forms a ready
medium of traffic for the several very extensive manufac¬
turing and agricultural districts with which it communi-
cates.
The Trent and Mersey Canal, sometimes called the Grand
Trunk, from its passing through the central parts of the king¬
dom and connecting the Trent, Mersey, and Severn, com¬
mences at Wilden Ferry, where the Derwent falls into the
Trent, and running south-west, passes Aston and Swarke¬
stone, near where it is crossed by the Derby Canal; thence
continuing to Burton, where it communicates with the
Trent, it passes on to Tradley, and there joins the Coventry
and Fazeley Canal. Turning north-west by Rugeley to Hey-
wood Mill, it is there joined by the Staffordshire and Wor¬
cestershire Canal. Passing by Weston to Stone, and north
by Trentham to Stoke, it is there joined by the Newcastle-
under-Line Canal on the south; and the Caldon branch
runs from its north side to near Uttoxeter. Continuing
north by Etruria, it passes through the new tunnel of 2880
yards at Harecastle, in Staffordshire, which was made only
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 21
Naviga- about a dozen years ago, the original tunnel being excep¬
tion, sively confined, and without a towing-path. This canal is
Inland. then’joined by the Macclesfield Canal. It next inclines
north-west to Middlewich, where the Middlewich branch
goes off; then passes near Northwich, and through the
three small tunnels of Barnton, Saltersford, and Preston,
to its termination at Preston Brook, in the Duke of Bridge¬
water’s Canal. From Wilden Ferry on the Trent, to the
Harecastle summit, there is a rise of 316 feet; and from
this to Middlewich the fall is 326 feet; the remainder
being level to Preston Brook. The total length is about
ninety-three miles.
Tyne River is navigable for large vessels in the tide¬
way for fifteen miles up from its mouth, in the German
Sea, to Newcastle, and a few miles farther for a particu¬
lar kind of barges called keels. The principal trade is in
coals, and has for ages been carried on to a great extent.
Ulverstone Ship Canal commences at Hammerside, in
Morecombe Bay, in the Irish Sea, and terminates at the
new basin and wharfs at Ulverstone; it is about a mile
" and a half long. The water is sixty-five feet wide at top,
thirty at bottom, and fifteen feet deep. It has a tide-lock
112 feet long at its entrance.
Ure River Navigation, or Ripon Canal, proceeds partly
up the Ure, from its mouth at Milby, on the Ouse or Yore
River, and partly by a canal to Ripon. The length is about
eight miles and a half.
Tbe Warwick and Birmingham Canal commences in the
Warwick and Napton Canal at Saltesford, in the borough
of Warwick, and passing north-west by Bowington to
Kingswood, is there joined by the Lapworth branch of
the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal; thence, by Knowle, Olton
End, and Kingsford, it at length joins the Digbeth branch
of the Birmingham Canal at Birmingham. The first half
mile is level; the next two and a half to Hatton rise 146
feet by twenty locks ; and thence there is a level of eight
miles and a half to Knowle Common. Having in the next
quarter of a mile risen forty-two feet by seven locks, it then
runs ten miles level, and the remainder falls forty-two feet
by five locks. The total length is twenty-two miles and
a half.
Warwick and Napton Canal extends from the Warwick
and Birmingham Canal at Saltesford to the Oxford Canal,
near Napton-on-the-Hill, a distance of about fourteen miles,
with a rise of 134 feet.
Waveney River, between Suffolk and Norfolk, is navi¬
gable for about twenty-three miles from its mouth in the
Yore, at Burgh, up to Bungay.
Wear River is navigable from its mouth in the German
Sea, at Sunderland, up to near the city of Durham; a dis¬
tance of about eighteen miles. This navigation is of great
importance for the exportation of coal, which abounds in
the neighbourhood; and in 1830 an act was obtained for
various improvements on it.
Weaver River Navigation commences in the tideway of
the Mersey at Weston Point, and proceeds first in a cut
for four miles, and then nearly up the course of the river
to Winsford Bridge ; a total distance of twenty-three miles
and three quarters, ascending fifty feet by twelve locks.
Welland River has, by means of locks, weirs, and cuts,
been made navigable from its mouth in the Wash, up to
Stamford, in Lincolnshire; but the works require to be
greatly improved.
Wey River has been rendered navigable from its mouth
in the Thames, partly by extensive side-cuts, and partly
in the bed of the river, up by Woburn Park and Guildford
to Godaiming. In fifteen miles and a quarter from the
Thames to Guildford it rises sixty-eight feet and a half;
and thence to Godaiming, which is mostly an artificial ca¬
nal, the rise is thirty-two feet and a half. The total length
is about twenty miles and a half. About two miles from
the Thames it is joined by the Basingstoke Canal, and Nayiga-
farther on by the following. t1]011’!
The Wey and Arun Junction Canal extends from the v n an ^
Wey, near Shalford Powder Mills, to the Arun Naviga¬
tion at Newbridge ; a distance of eighteen miles. It forms
part of the navigable line between London and Portsmouth.
The Wilts and Berks Canal commences at Semington, in
the Kennet and Avon Canal, and proceeds by near Melk-
sham, Chippenham, Wootton-Basset, and Wantage, to the
Thames at Abingdon ; a distance of fifty-two miles. From
Derry Hill a branch of one mile and a half goes off to
Chippenham; and near Stanley House another of three
miles goes to Caine. From near Eastcott a branch of eight
miles and a half, originally called the North Wilts Canal,
goes to join the Thames and Severn Canal, near Crick-
lade, with a fall of fifty-eight feet and two thirds ; and from
Breach Field a branch of three quarters of a mile goes to
Wantage. In the first seven miles and three eighths to the
Chippenham branch the rise is fifty-four feet; thence to
the Caine branch, one mile and a half, rising seventeeo
feet; and thence to the summit-level, ten miles and three
quarters, rising 130 feet. The summit extends nine miles
and three eighths, and in fifteen miles from it to Wan¬
tage River the fall is seventy-one feet and a half; thence
to Abingdon, seven miles and three quarters, the fall is
ninety-six feet and a half. This canal is an important link
in several navigations.
The Wisbeach Canal is a level cut of six miles, from the
Nen River at Wisbeach, to the Old River at Outvvell,
at the end of Well Creek, through which it communicates
with the Ouse at Salter’s Load Sluice.
Witham River is navigable from its mouth in the Wash,
up to the Foss-dike Navigation, at the city of Lincoln ; a
distance of thirty-eight miles, through a level country, viz.
from the sea to Boston five miles, thence to the Sleaford
Canal eleven miles, thence to the Horncastle Navigation
three miles, and thence to Lincoln nineteen miles. The
greater part is embanked on both sides from the sea up¬
wards.
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal commences at
the junction of the Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham
and Fazeley Canal, at the upper end of the town of Bir¬
mingham, and runs south-west to its junction with the
Dudley Canal at Selly Oak; thence south-east to King’s
Norton, where it receives the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal.
From this it continues south-west by Stoke Prior, till,a little
east of Droitwich, it joins the Severn at Diglis, a little be¬
low Worcester. The total length is twenty-nine miles, the
breadth at top forty-two feet, and the depth six. In the
first fourteen miles the canal is level; but in the remaining
fifteen it falls 428 feet by seventy-one locks, which are each
eighty-one feet long and fifteen wide. There are five tun¬
nels on this line; that at West Heath is 2700 yards long.
Wreak and Eye Rivers, or Leicester and Melton-Mow-
bray Navigation, extends from the Leicester Navigation at
Turnwater Meadow to the Oakham Canal at Melton-Mow-
bray, about eleven miles. It follows the courses of the
Wreak and Eye.
Wye and Lugg Rivers, the former the principal branch,
begins to be navigable ninety-nine miles and a half by
water from the Severn, viz. from Hay to Hereford thirty
miles, thence to the mouth of the Lugg seven and a half,
thence to the town of Ross twenty-one and a half, thence
to Lidbrook eight, thence to Monmouth twelve, and
thence to the Severn twenty and a half. This river has
a considerable declivity; and the great rise of the tides
renders the lower part difficult and dangerous.
Wyrley and Essington Canal commences near Wolver¬
hampton, in the Birmingham Canal, and passes by Polsal
and Lichfield to the Coventry Canal near Huddlesford,
a distance of twenty-four miles. The first sixteen to Can-
22
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga- nock Heath Reservoir are level; in the remaining eight is
tion.
Inland.
a fall of 270 feet by thirty locks. There is a branch of
, five miles and a half to Hay-Head Lime-works ; another of
two miles and a half to Lords-Hay Collieries; another of
four miles to Wyrley-Bank Collieries, with a cut of one
mile from it to Essington New Collieries. The canal is
twenty-eight feet wide at top, sixteen at bottom, and four
and a half deep.
Yare River is navigable from Norwich to Yarmouth by
a crooked course of twenty-eight miles. At Yarmouth it
is joined by the river Thyrn, and at Burgh by the Wave-
ney. This navigation being incommoded by shallows, gave
rise to the Norwich and Lowestoff Navigation.
Yore River, see Ure.
Several of the British canals always were, and others
are now become, very unproductive. Some have suffered
from an ill-advised location, and others have been reduced
in value by changes in the course of trade. The rapid
progress of manufactures, and the increase of domestic
commerce, have invited a resort to new and shorter chan¬
nels of communication ; and not a few costly works are
now sustaining an unequal competition with the less ex¬
pensive productions of more modern art. The day may not
be very distant when these will in their turn become un¬
profitable, and give place to other projects ; but they can
never cease to be regarded as monuments of skill in me¬
chanical construction. Some of the canals ot England are
sadly cramped, by the miserably confined state ot their
bridges, and especially of their tunnels, which are often
so low and narrow as to have neither room for a towing-
path, nor yet for the boatmen, except lying prostrate, and
moving the boat slowly along, by pawing against the walls
■with their hands or feet. Some excuse might be pleaded
for those of this sort which were first made, or which are
in obscure districts; but it is remarkable that the tunnel
of the Regent’s Canal, which passes under a wing of the
great metropolis, and was only made in 1819, should have
no towing-path.
Ireland.
It has been said that the unfortunate Earl of Strafford,
from having seen the utility of inland navigation in the
Low Countries, first suggested the improvement of river
navigation in Ireland. In 1703 the first act of parliament
was passed for rendering the Shannon navigable, and many
improvements were projected. Nothing, however, was
effected but an useless expenditure of L.140,000 on the
Shannon and Boyne in the year 1758. Various other large
sums were afterwards granted and frittered away in partial
improvements of the Shannon, Boyne, Barrow, and Newry
Rivers, besides the Grand, Royal, Kildare, Naas, and
Lough Earne Navigations.
The following is a concise account of the principal in¬
land navigations of Ireland, arranged alphabetically ; but
several others are in progress.
Bandon River, county Cork, is navigable from the port
of Kinsale up to within two miles of Bandon.
Bann River, county Down, is navigable for nine miles,
from where it is joined by the Newry Canal, near Porta-
down, to its entrance into Lough Neagh. This is some¬
times called the Upper Bann. The outlet of Lough
Neagh, called the Lower Bann, is not navigable, but might
surely be easily made so, since it has only a descent of
thirty-eight feet to the sea, five miles below Coleraine.
Barrow River has been rendered navigable from the
tideway below St Mallins, up to where it is joined by the
Grand Canal at Athy Bridge, a distance of forty-three
miles, falling 172 feet. But from Athy to the mouth of
the Barrow, in the estuary of Waterford harbour, and
through that to St George’s Channel, the distance exceeds
sixty miles.
Blackwater River, county Cork, is navigable from its
mouth at Youghall, up as far as the tide reaches, or at
most to Cappoquin. There is another and smaller Black- ^
water, connected with the Tyrone Canal, and flowing into
Lough Neagh.
Boyne River is navigable from the bay of Drogheda for
twenty-two miles up to Trim, in the last seven miles ot
which it ascends from Navan 189 feet, by means of locks,
which are from eighty to 100 feet long, and fifteen wide.
Corrib River and Lough or Lake form a navigable line,
commencing at the mouth ot that river in Galway Bay,
and extending from Galway town in a north-westerly di¬
rection for about twenty-four miles.
Earne River and Lough or Lake are navigable through
the lake, from the upper part, where the river enters it, be¬
low Belturbet, till it leaves it again at Enniskillen, where
it is obstructed by weirs ; but below the isle on which that
town is built the river again expands into the lower part
of the lake, through which it is also navigable. Thus far
the entire distance is about thirty miles, and the naviga¬
tion is terminated by a fall, from which the river has a
rapid course of nine miles to Donegal Bay. It has been
proposed to construct a canal from Lough Earne, begin¬
ning near Belturbet, and to follow along the valleys of the
Finn and Blackwater to Lough Neagh.
Fergus River, county Clare, is navigable from its mouth,
in the Shannon, up to Ennis, the county town.
Foyle River is navigable for ten miles from its mouth,
in the estuary of Lough Foyle, below Londonderry, up to
Strabane.
The Grand Canal commences on the south side of the
river Liffey, near its mouth, and proceeds westward by the
south side of the city of Dublin, through the counties of
Dublin, Kildare, and King’s County to the Shannon, with
which it unites near Banagher. But, exclusive of this main
line of about eighty-seven miles, there is a westerly branch
or rather continuation of the line for fourteen miles beyond
the Shannon to Ballinasloe, and there is a southerly branch
of twenty-six miles from Lawton to Athy, where it joins
the Barrow. There are also branches to Naas, Mount
Mellick, Portarlington, and other places. The water is
forty feet wide at the surface, twenty-five at the bottom,
and six deep. The locks on the main line are seventy feet
long, fourteen and a half wide, with five feet of water on
the sill, and their average lift is nine feet. The track of
this canal passing for a considerable way through the bog
of Allen added greatly to the expense, which is said to
have exceeded two millions sterling. The highest part
rises 278 feet above the sea.
Lagan Navigation commences in the tideway at Belfast,
and proceeds mostly by the course of the river as far as
Lisburn, from which it is continued by a canal, by Hills¬
borough and Moira, to Lough Neagh. The total length is
twenty-eight miles.
Lee River is navigable in the tideway up to the city of
Cork, and for small craft somewhat farther. Below Cork,
however, the navigation is principally an arm of the sea
called Cork harbour.
Liffey River is navigable from its mouth in Dublin Bay
for about three miles up to Carlisle Bridge, at the farther
end of the city of Dublin. From the south side of this
navigable part proceeds the Grand Canal, and from the
north side the Royal Canal.
Limerick Navigation commences at that city, and pro¬
ceeds in a north-easterly direction, partly in the Shannon
and partly by canals, for fifteen miles, to Killaloe, at the
south end of Lough Derg.
Maig River, county Limerick, is navigable from its
mouth in the Shannon to near Adare.
Moy River, county Mayo, is navigable for about five
miles, from Killala Bay up to Ballina.
Naviga.
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 93
Naviga- Neagh Lough or Lake, being about twenty miles long
tion, and ten broad, is generally of sufficient depth to be navi-
Inland. gat>je to a considerable extent in every direction. It com-
municates with Belfast by the Lagan Navigation, with the
Tyrone Collieries by the Blackwater, ^vith Antrim by the
Antrim River, and southward with the sea by the Newry
Navigation.
Newry Navigation commences in the tideway of Lough
Fathom, three miles below Newry, which it passes, and
proceeds sixteen miles by a canal to the upper Bann River,
in which it continues to Lough Neagh. The entire length
is about thirty miles and three eighths, generally in a north
direction. It has hitherto been a very imperfect naviga¬
tion, but was the first executed in Ireland.
Nore River is navigable from its mouth, in the Barrow,
two miles above New Ross, for considerable vessels to In-
nistioge, and up to Thomastown for barges.
The Royal Canal commences at Dublin, on the north side
of the Liffey, and proceeds in a direction which generally
diverges slightly from that of the Grand Canal, being about
west by north for eighty-three miles to its junction with
the Shannon at Tarmonbury. The water is forty-four feet
wide at top, twenty-four at bottom, and six deep, and the
summit is 322 feet above the sea. The locks are eighty-
one feet long and fourteen wide. A few years ago this
canal was said to be in a sadly neglected state ; part of it
at Leikslip, eight miles only from Dublin, having scarcely
ever been used, and the works apparently fast going to
ruin.1
Shannon River forms the most important feature in the
inland navigation of Ireland. For the first 144 miles of
this navigation, viz. from the head of Lough Allen to the
sea below Limerick, the Shannon may be considered as a
concatenation of rivers and lakes. Issuing from Lough
Allen, it passes Leitrim, Carrick, Tarmonbury, &c., and
then enters, at Lanesborough, a very irregularly shaped
and extensive sheet of water, called Lough Ree, about
seventeen miles in length. Leaving it, the river, now
greatly augmented, passes Athlone, and then winds by
Shannon Bridge and Banagher to Portumna, near which it
expands into Lough Derg, another narrow lake, twenty-
three miles long, with deep bays and inlets. From the
southern extremity of this lake it flows on to Limerick.
In this extent of navigation we have, first, Lough Allen,
ten miles; thence to Lough Ree, forty-three; Lough Ree
itself, seventeen; thence to Lough Derg, thirty-six ; Lough
Derg, twenty-three; thence to Limerick, fifteen ; making
together 144 miles. The mean height of Lough Allen
above the sea at Limerick is about 143^ feet, being on an
average about a foot of declivity per mile. Instead of the
natural fall, however, the water has been reduced, by
means of locks, to a series of level pools. The estuary or
frith of the Shannon extends south-west about seventy
miles beyond Limerick to its mouth, which is finally about
eight miles wide between Loop Head and Kerry Head, at
the Atlantic.
The direction of the Shannon from Lough Allen to Li¬
merick, though generally south by south-west, is very cir¬
cuitous, and broken by many streams, islands, and rocks.
The soundings are as various, and both banks are liable to
be overflowed by the river to a great extent; and the
arge expanse ol the lakes would require a different sort
of vessels from those which navigate the river. The works
which have been constructed to overcome the natural dif¬
ficulties of the navigation are either insufficient or in a
state of decay ; and it seems to be generally admitted that
very little real good can be effected until the natural ob¬
structions are removed, the number of lakes reduced, and
the channel deepened and improved in various parts ; Naviga.
though it is still doubted if the navigation would even t*011’
then be suitable for any thing but steam-vessels. The ^n^ar>'^
Shannon connects with the Royal Canal at Tarmonbury,
and with the Grand Canal at Shannon harbour, near Ba¬
nagher. At Shannon Bridge it receives, on the west, its
principal tributary the Suck; on the east, the Inny, the
Upper and Lower Brosna, Mulkerna, Maig, Fergus, &c.
Much information on this and the other navigations of Ire¬
land will be found in the Parliamentary Reports, particu¬
larly those for 1830 and 1834.
Slane or Slaney River is navigable from its mouth in
Wexford Haven, for fourteen miles, to Enniscorthy.
Suir or Sure River unites with the Barrow in the estu¬
ary called Waterford harbour, about five miles below the
town, and is navigable from that up to Carrick for sloops,
and to Clonmell for barges. At the town of Waterford,
the largest ships lie afloat in forty feet water.
The Tyrone Colliery Canal commences at the south¬
west extremity of Lough Neagh, proceeding by a short cut
across the isthmus of Maghery to the Blackwater River,
and, following it a short way, passes by another cut of
three miles to the Colliery Basin, from which a railway ex¬
tends to the mines.
NORTH AMERICA.
United States.
The advantages resulting to the United States from General
their separation from the mother country, and the great observa-
and rapid improvement which has taken place in the con-tions*
dition and circumstances of that republic since the Ame¬
rican revolution, are in nothing more strikingly displayed
than in the increased facilities of travelling and intercourse
between the different parts of the Union, produced by the
construction ol roads, canals, and railways, and by the
improvement of river navigation. But the spirit of enter¬
prise with respect to internal improvement has been chiefly
manifested, and has extended more or less to all the states
of the Union, since the close of their last war with Britain.
For although it is a considerable time since something
was first done towards inland navigation in the United
States, yet till then comparatively little attention was paid
to this by the Americans. Indeed, as long as they were
cramped by the narrow policy of the parent country, they
had little inducement to undertake any thing of the sort;
and from the peace of 1783 till the adoption of the present
constitution they had not the means; besides, their pecu¬
liar situation and employment during the long wars in Eu¬
rope rendered internal improvements of this kind less ne¬
cessary. The experience of the last war between Britain
and the United States, and the long peace which suc¬
ceeded it in Europe, together with the vast expansion of
American population, have shown the importance and ne¬
cessity of such works, as well as others, in that extensive
country; and, since the year 1815, the United States have
progressed in these improvements with an unexampled ra¬
pidity. Most of the canals on the continent of Europe have
been constructed at the expense of governments ; in Eng¬
land chiefly at the expense of companies or individuals;
and in the United States they have been made by the
states and by individuals, aided occasionally by the gene¬
ral government. In locating canals in this latter country,
two principal objects have been kept in view ; one to in¬
sure a safe inland communication along the Atlantic bor¬
der in case of a war with any power possessing a superior
maritime force; whilst another and very important object
* Macculloch’s Statistics of the British Empire.
24
NAVIGATION, INLAND
N aviga-
tion,
Inland.
has been to connect the waters of the western districts
with those of the eastern, and thereby facilitate the inter¬
course between these two distant sections of the country.
The vast expansion of population in the western parts,
and the great and growing resources of that portion of the
Union, have rendered such improvements of great import¬
ance, and have created rival interests in the eastern, in or¬
der to secure the advantages of this intercourse. 1 he val¬
ley of the Mississippi is watered by rivers, some of which,
only of the third rate, extend 1000 miles; and it is also in¬
dented by lakes the magnitude of which justly entitles them
to the appellation of inland seas. Its population is spread
over a country unrivalled in the extent and magnitude of
its navigable waters, as well as in the fertility of its soih
The navigation of these great rivers, as well as that of
many others, which was formerly very difficult, against tne
stream, has been wonderfully facilitated by the application
of steam power, which has enabled the navigator to propel
his vessel up the river, and to triumph over the violence of
the torrent; and thus the rivers by which great continents
are intersected have been rendered doubly valuable in fa¬
cilitating the inland communications of the country, and in
laying open the most remote and formerly sequestered
scenes to the inquisitive researches of travellers. With re¬
spect to canals, there is no navigable line entirely artificial
(for those of China are partly rivers) of such length as the
Erie Canal, which is 363 miles, and was formed in about
eight years. That of Languedoc, in France, is only 148
miles, and occupied fourteen years in construction, even
durin" the reign of Louis XIV. However, the great canal
of Amsterdam, in Holland, though only fifty miles long,
contains twice as much water as the Erie Canal.
The aggregate length of canals now finished in the
United States exceeds 2000 miles ; but some of the states
do not admit of their construction, except to a compara¬
tively small extent, whilst others present a vast field and
great inducements for prosecuting such works on a mag¬
nificent scale. Our limits, however, will only admit of a
very brief description of these improvements ; and to this
we shall now proceed, following the order in which the
states are usually arranged, and omitting of course such of
them as are not possessed of canals.
The Cumberland and Oxford Canal, twenty miles and
a half long, extends from the tideway near Portland to
Sebago Pond. It has twenty-six locks, and was com¬
pleted in 1829. By means of a lock in Songo River, the
navigation is continued into Brandy and Long Ponds,
making in all fifty miles. Improvements have been pro¬
jected in the navigation of the river St Croix and the ad¬
jacent waters. It has also been proposed to construct a
canal from the mouth of the Sebasticook River, near YVa-
terville, on the Kennebeck, to Moosehead Lake.
Several canals have been constructed around falls in the
Wamnshire Merrimack. Bow Canal, one third of a mile in length,
11ampB three miies below Concord, with four locks, passes a fall
of twenty-five feet. Hooksett Canal, fifty rods long, with
three locks and a lockage of sixteen feet, passes Hooksett
Falls. Amoskeag Canal, with nine locks and a lockage
of forty-five feet, passes Amoskeag Falls, nine miles below
Hooksett Falls. Union Canal, immediately below Amos¬
keag, overcomes seven falls in the river, and has seven locks
in nine miles. A canal is now in progress around Sewall’s
Falls, in Concord.
The Middlesex Canal, connecting Boston harbour with
Massachu- ^ Merrimack at Chelmsford, two miles below Lowell,
opens a water communication between Boston and the
central parts of New Hampshire, and is twenty-seven miles
in length. It has twenty locks, with a lockage of thirty-
six feet; and is thirty feet wide at top, twenty at bottom,
and three feet deep. It was completed in 1808, and was
then the largest in the United States.
Maine.
New
setts.
Blackstone Canal, extending from Worcester to Provi- Na ja-
dence, in Rhode Island, is forty-five miles long. inland.
The Hampshire and Hampden Canal, extending fiom^—
the boundary of Connecticut in Suffield, to Northampton, is
twenty-two miles long, and, forming a continuation of
Farmington Canal, which is fifty-four miles in length, makes
the whole line from Newhaven to Northampton seventy-
six miles. , _x r
Montague Canal, for passing the fails m the town of
that name, is three miles in length ; and South Hadley
Canal, around falls in the town of South Hadley, is two
miles in length. . „
Farmington Canal, fifty-four miles long, commences atConnecti-
Newhaven, passes through the valley of Farmington River, cut.
and at the boundary of the state of Massachusetts it uni tes
with the Hampshire and Hampden Canal, which reaches
to Northampton, and is twenty-two miles in length. En¬
field Canal, five miles and a half long, is constructed around
the Enfield Falls in Connecticut River. . v ,
The Erie Canal, extending from Albany on the Hud-New i ork.
son River to Buffalo on Lake Erie, a total distance of
363 miles, is one of the greatest and most important works
of the kind in the world. It was projected by an Ameri¬
can patriot, Mr De Witt Clinton; commenced in 181/,
and finished in 1825. The water is forty feet wide at
the surface, twenty-eight at the bottom, and four feet
deep. These are generally the dimensions of the other
canals in this state, and therefore they cannot carry very
heavy boats ; but a less depth will always suffice if the
boats are not encumbered with keels, which are utterly
useless in a canal. The western section, from Buffalo on
Lake Erie to Montezuma on Seneca River, is 157 miles in
length, with twenty-one locks for a fall of 186 feet; the
middle section, from Montezuma to Utica, is ninety-six
miles, with eleven locks for a rise and fall of mnety-hye
feet; the eastern section, from Utica to Albany, is 1
miles, with fifty-two locks for a fall of 417 feet; total lengt i
363 miles, with eighty-four locks for a total rise and fall of
698 feet. Lake Erie is 565 feet above the Hudson River
at Albany. The average rise or fall of eighty-one of the
locks is eight feet and a half, the other three are regulating
or guard-locks. , „ .
This canal forms a channel by which the trade of tne
great inland waters of Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake i Ii-
chigan, &c. may find access to markets in the populous
cities of Eastern America and of Europe. Indeed there
is already such a traffic on this canal and its blanches,
described below, that it has been proposed greatly to in¬
crease its dimensions, which must require many times the
additional expense necessary to have made it sufficiently
large at first. There is, however, nothing very remarkable
in this, because the most proper size of a canal can seldom
be foreseen by the projectors.
Champlain Canal, sixty-three miles long, commences, at
its junction with the Erie Canal, nine miles north of Al¬
bany, and terminates at Whitehall, on Lake Champlain,
in Washington county, thus connecting the Erie Canal
and the Hudson River with Lake Champlain. It has
seven locks for a rise of fifty-four feet from the lake to
the summit-level, and fourteen locks for a fall of 134 feet
from this to the Hudson, in all twenty-one locks; the
rise and fall are 188 feet. It has a lateral cut connecting
it with the Hudson by three locks at \\ ateiford, eleven
miles north of Albany, similar to the cut connecting the
Erie Canal with the same river at West Troy by two locks.
The Oswego Canal, of thirty-eight miles, from Salina to
Oswego, connects Lake Ontario with the Erie Canal. Half
the distance is canal and halt slack-water or river naviga¬
tion. It has fourteen locks, thirteen of stone and one of
wood and stone, for a fall of 123 feet from Salina to Lake
Ontario.
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 25
Naviga- The Cayuga and Seneca Canal commences at the Erie
tion, Canal at Montezuma, Cayuga county, and terminates at
Inland. Qenevaj Ontario county, connecting the Erie Canal with
Seneca Lake. It has also a lateral branch to East Cayu¬
ga village on the Cayuga Lake, being thus connected with
that lake. It opens altogether a lake navigation of more
than a hundred miles. The length is twenty miles and
forty-four chains from Geneva, on the Seneca Lake, to
Montezuma on the Erie Canal. It is half canal and half
slack-water navigation, and has eleven wooden locks for
a fall of seventy-three feet from Seneca Lake to the Erie
Canal at Montezuma.
The Chemung Canal extends from the head of the waters
of Seneca Lake to Chemung (or Uioga) River, a branch
of the Susquehannah, at the village of Elmira, Tioga
county. The length is twenty-two miles and a half, with
a navigable feeder of thirteen miles and a half from Painted
Post, Stuben county, on the Chemung River, to the sum¬
mit-level; total, thirty-six miles. This canal connects the
Erie Canal with the Susquehannah River. It has fifty-
two wooden locks, with 516 feet of lockage, and one guard-
lock.
The Crooked Lake Canal extends from Penn Yan to
Dresden, both in Yates county, connecting the Crooked
and Seneca Lakes. It is eight miles long, and has 260
feet of lockage, with twenty-seven wooden locks, and one
guard-lock.
The Chenago Canal extends from Utica to Binghamp, a
distance of ninety-seven miles, with 109 locks. It has six¬
teen miles of navigable feeders.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal extends from the
Hudson River at Kingston, to Port Jervis on the Delaware,
fifty-nine miles ; thence up the Delaware to the mouth of
the Lackawaxen River, twenty-four miles; thence in Penn¬
sylvania to Honesdale, twenty-six miles ; total, 109 miles.
From Honesdale a railway of sixteen miles and a half,
with five inclined planes, rising 800 feet, extends to the
coal mines at Carbondale on the Lackawana.
Haerlam Canal, of three miles, intended to connect the
Hudson and East Rivers, is begun, but not completed.
Chittenango Canal, connecting that place with the Erie
Canal, is one mile and a half long, with four locks. Sodus
Canal, intended to connect Seneca River with Great So¬
dus Bay on Lake Ontario, was projected in 1829, and will
be twenty-five miles long. Scottsville Canal, intended to
connect the, Genesee River with Scottsville, in Monroe
county, was projected in 1829. The Oneida Lake Canal, of
eight miles and a half, intended to connect Oneida Lake
with the Erie Canal, was put under contract in 1833. Au¬
burn and Oswasco Canal, intended to connect Auburn with
Oswasco Lake, was projected in 1832, and is to be three
miles in length.
It has been proposed to connect by railways or canals
the Erie Canal, somewhere about Rome or Herkinner, with
the waters flowing into the St Lawrence at Ogdensburg.
The Genesee and Alleghany Canal. The projectors of
the Erie Canal contemplated its connection with the river
Ohio, by a south-west branch, uniting with the river Al¬
leghany at Olean, in Cattaraugus county. A report of a
survey ot the line was made to the legislature in 1829.
The length from Rochester along the valley of the Gene¬
see to Olean, including navigable feeders, is to be 107
miles, which, with a side-cut to Danville of fifteen miles
and a half, make the total length 1224 miles, with 1057 feet
of lockage.
The Black River Canal is proposed to extend from the
Erie Canal at Rome to the foot of High Falls on Black
River, a distance of about thirty-five miles, with improve¬
ments in the navigation of Black River from the High
Falls to Carthage, a farther distance of forty miles.
A steam-boat canal from Lake Ontario to the Hudson has
VOL. XVI.
been proposed, extending from Oswego to Utica, and thence Naviga-
along the Mohawk to the Hudson. A steam-boat or a ship tion’
canal has likewise been proposed around the Falls of the v n an ‘
Niagara. The longest proposed route would be fifteen
miles, with a lockage of 320 feet; a second route would
be nine miles, with the same lockage; and a third only
seven miles and a half. A ship canal around these falls,
on the Canadian side, called the Welland Canal, has been
in operation for several years, and will be noticed hereafter.
Delaware and Raritan Canal extends from Bordentown New Jer-
to New Brunswick, forty-three miles. A navigable feeder sey*
from Bool’s Island to Trenton is twenty-four miles long.
Morris Canal, extending from Jersey city to Easton, is 101
miles long. Salem Canal, from Salem Creek to the Dela¬
ware, is four miles long.
During the last eight or nine years, Pennsylvania has Pennsyl-
engaged in works of internal improvement more exten-vania.
sively than any other state in the union; and the Penn¬
sylvania Canal and Railway, extending from Philadelphia
to Pittsburg, a distance of 395 miles, is the most magnifi¬
cent work of the kind which has yet been completed in
any part of the United States. It consists of the follow¬
ing parts:
Miles.
1. Columbia Railway, from Philadelphia to Colum¬
bia  8P60
2. Pennsylvania Canal, central division, or eastern
and Juniata divisions, from Columbia to Holli-
daysburg  17P75
3. Alleghany Portage Railway, from Hollidays-
burg to Johnstown  36*69
4. Pennsylvania Canal, western division, from
Johnstown to Pittsburg  105*00
395*04
1. Columbia Railway commences at Philadelphia, passes
Downingstown and Lancaster, and enters Columbia, on the
Susquehannah, by an inclined plane 1720 feet in length.
It has thirty-one viaducts, seventy-three stone culverts,
and eighteen bridges. It attains its greatest height at
Mine Ridge, which is 555 feet above tide-water in the
Delaware.
2. The central division of the Pennsylvania Canal com¬
mences at Columbia; follows the east bank of the Susque¬
hannah, crossing the Union Canal at Middletown; passes
Harrisburg; crosses the Susquehannah at the head of Dun¬
can’s Island; and enters the valley of the Juniata, which
it follows to Hollidaysburg. It has thirty-three aque¬
ducts, and 111 locks.
3. The Alleghany Portage Railway, connecting the cen¬
tral and western divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal, com¬
mences at Hollidaysburg, passes over the range of the Al¬
leghany Mountains, and terminates at Johnstown. It has
one tunnel through a mountain ridge, and ten inclined
planes, with stationary engines, five on each side of the
summit-level, their total length being 4*37 miles. The
total rise and fall is 2570*29 feet.
4. The western division of the Pennsylvania Canal com¬
mences at Johnstown, traversing the valley of the Cone-
maugh, Kiskiminetas, and Alleghany Rivers, and termi¬
nates at Pittsburg. It has sixty-four locks, sixteen aque¬
ducts, sixty-four culverts, 152 bridges, and a remarkable
tunnel about 1000 feet long.
The Beaver Canal extends from the town of Beaver, at
the entrance of the Beaver River into the Ohio, to New¬
castle, and is twenty-five miles long. The Mahoning and
Beaver Canal, extending from Newcastle in Pennsylvania
to Akron in Ohio, on the Ohio Canal, is now in progress.
The Pittsburg and Erie Canal, of which the Beaver Ca¬
nal is a part, is intended to connect the Pennsylvania Ca¬
nal at Pittsburg with Lake Erie, and is to be seventy-three
D
26
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Inland.
Delaware.
Maryland.
Virginia.
Naviga- miles and a half long. There are various other canals in
tion, this state, besides some which are in progress, and others
which are only projected.
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which connects the
Delaware River with the head of Chesapeake Bay, is partly
in Delaware and partly in Maryland, and commences at
Delaware city, about forty-two miles below Philadelphia.
The length is 13-63 miles, the breadth at top sixty-six feet,
and the depth ten feet.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, begun in 1828, com¬
mences at Georgetown, on the Potomac, in the district of
Columbia, and extends to Harper’s Ferry. Its course, as
laid out, extends to Cumberland on the Potomac, thence by
Will’s Creek, Youghiogeny, and Monongahela Rivers, to
Pittsburg. The total length, as proposed, is 341 miles and
a half, and the lockage 3215 feet. It requires a tunnel
through the Alleghany Mountains of four miles and eighty
yards. Port Deposit Canal, ten miles long, is designed to
overcome the rapids of the Susquehannah above Port De¬
posit. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal has been al¬
ready noticed.
The Canal of Dismal Swamp commences at Deep Creek,
about seven miles above Norfolk, and proceeds southwaid
about thirteen miles to the boundary ot this state, beyond
which it is continued about nine miles in North Carolina,
to Joyce’s Creek, a branch of the Pasquotank, fliis canal
is thirty feet wide at bottom, and eight deep. Very ex¬
tensive improvements have been projected and paitly ex¬
ecuted on the river navigation of Virginia, by means of
lateral canals or side-cuts. One on James River extends
from Richmond for twenty-three miles up the side of that
river, and then joins it again. There are various side-cuts
on the Roanoke; one extends about twelve miles from
Weldon upward, but that is after the river has got into
North Carolina.
Dismal Swamp Canal, already mentioned amongst those
of Virginia, enters about nine miles into North Carolina ;
and Lake Drummond Canal, five miles long, is a navigable
feeder of it. North-west Canal, six miles long, connects
North-west River with Dismal Swamp Canal. Weldon
Canal, twelve miles long, forms the commencement of the
Roanoke Navigation, extending around the falls of the Roa¬
noke above the towns of Weldon and Blakely. The na¬
vigation of the Roanoke from the Weldon Canal to the
town of Salem in Virginia, a distance rf 232 miles, as
likewise the Cape Fear, the Yadkin, the lar, the Catawba,
and New Rivers, have been greatly improved.
Santee Canal, twenty-two miles long, connects the har¬
bour of Charleston with the Santee. By means of this and
the Santee and Congaree Rivers, the navigation of which
has been improved, a communication is opened between
Charleston and Columbia, ihe navigation ot the Catawba
has been improved by five small canals of two, one and a
quarter, two and a quarter, one and three quarters, and
four miles. Saluda Canal, of six miles, extends from the
head of Saluda Shoals to Granby on the Congaree. Drehr’s
Canal, of one mile and a third, is designed to overcome
a fall of 120 feet in the Saluda River. Lorick’s Canal, on
Broad River, one mile and a half above Columbia, is a
mile long ; and Lockhart’s Canal, in Union Disti ict, around
Lockhart’s Shoals in Broad River, is two miles and three
quarters in length.
The Savannah and Ogeechee Canal, sixteen miles long,
extends from the city of Savannah to Ogeechee River. An
extension of this canal to the Alatamaha, sixty miles, is
* Huntsville Canal, from Triana on the Tennessee, to
Huntsville, is sixteen miles long. A canal of thirty-seven
miles, from the head of the Muscle Shoals to Florence, is
considerably advanced, but not yet completed.
Louisiana. A ship canal, of eight miles, has been projected at New
Orleans, to lead from the Mississippi to the ocean. It is
to commence about three miles below Fort Jackson, and
pass through the prairie on the left bank of the river. Be¬
sides, there are in progress the Orleans Bank Canal, of
four miles and a quarter, from New Orleans to Lake Pont-
chartrain ; the Carondelet Canal, of two miles, which like¬
wise connects New Orleans with Lake Pontchartrain,
Naviga.
tion.
Inland.
North Ca¬
rolina.
South Ca¬
rolina.
Georgia.
Alabama.
through the river or bayou St John, which is four miles,
making the whole line six miles; and the BaratariaCanal,
proceeding from the Mississippi, six miles above New Or¬
leans, to the Lafourche, thence through the lakes to Ber¬
wick’s Bay, and thence to the sea by Barataria. It con¬
sists of four parts, amounting to twenty-two miles, which
connect an extensive river navigation. The whole ex¬
ceeds ninety miles.
Kentucky River Navigation, in the course of being ex- Kentucky,
ecuted, viz. the part of that river about to be rendered na¬
vigable by locks and dams, extends from its mouth up
to where it branches into the three forks. For about 250
miles the whole will be slack water, adapted for steam¬
boats of 150 tons burden. The locks are to be 175 feet
long by thirty-eight wide in the chamber, ten feet above^
the'dam; the depth of water is to be six feet; the lift ot
the locks from twelve to sixteen feet; the dams from
twenty to twenty-five feet high, and from 400 to 500 long,
and about seventy feet at the base. A variety of improve¬
ments, some of them of considerable extent, on other liver
navigations in this state, have also been projected, and are
partly in progress.
The Ohio Canal, which extends from Cleveland upon Ohio.
Lake Erie, to Portsmouth on the Ohio River, is 307 miles
lono-; it was begun in 1825, and completed in 1832. The
summit-level is 305 feet above Lake Erie, 499 above the
Ohio at Portsmouth, and 973 above the Atlantic. It has
152 locks for a lockage of 12,050 feet. Ihe distances
along this canal, beginning from Cleveland, are, to Akron
thirty-eight miles, New Portage nine, Massillon twenty-
one, Bolivar twelve, New Philadelphia fourteen, Gnaden-
hutten thirteen, Coshocton twenty-six, Newark forty,
Bloomfield fifty-two, Circleville eleven, Chillicothe twen¬
ty, Piketon twenty-four, Portsmouth twenty-seven. It
has three navigable feeders, amounting to thirty-three
miles. .
The Miami Canal, which extends from Cincinnati to
Dayton, is sixty-nine miles long ; it was begun in 1825, and
finished in 1830. The summit at Dayton is 175 feet above
the Ohio at Cincinnati. It has thirty-two locks for a
lockage of 296 feet. This canal is now in the course ot
being extended along the valleys of the St Mary s and
Au-Glaize Rivers, and is to be united at Defiance with the
Wabash and Erie Canal, which extends from Lafayette on
the Wabash River in Indiana, to near the entrance of the
Maumee into the west end of Lake Erie. It is 187 miles
long, and is nearly completed. The whole extent ot this
united line, from Cincinnati to Lake Erie, is about 265
miles, of which 105 are in Indiana.
The Mahoning and Beaver Canal, now in progress, ex¬
tends from Newcastle, in Pennsylvania, on the Beaver di¬
vision of the Pennsylvania Canal, to Akron on the port¬
age summit of the Ohio Canal. It is eighty-five miles
in length, but of this eight miles are in Pennsylvania.
Sandy Creek and Little Beaver Canal, also in progress,
extends from Bolivar on the Ohio Canal, in an easterly
direction, to the Ohio River. Various other extensive na¬
vigations have been projected in this state, and companies
have been formed for carrying them into execution.
Several extensive canals and river navigations have been Indiana,
projected in this state, and are partly in progress. We
have already mentioned the Wabash and Erie Canal, ot
which part is in Ohio.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal, now in progress, ex-Illinois.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Navig- tends from Chicago on Lake Michigan, to Ottawa on
tion, Illinois River, a distance of about ninety-five miles. It is
Inland. to sjxty feet wide at the surface, thirty-six at the bot-
—tom, and six deep. About twenty-four miles of this line
are to be cut from seven to twenty-eight feet deep, through
solid rock. Other canals have been projected in this state.
District of The Washington Branch Canal, of one mile and a quar-
Columbia. ter, connects the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal with the
Potomac at Washington. I he Alexandria Canal, of seven
miles and a quarter, extends from that town to the extre¬
mity of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at Georgetown.
Florida It has been proposed to connect the Atlantic Ocean
erritory. wjth the Gulf of Mexico, by a canal across the northern
part of the peninsula of Florida.
Canada.
Some considerable works for promoting inland naviga¬
tion have likewise been executed in Canada. 01 these the
following are the principal ones.
The Rideau Canal commences in about long. 75. 35. E.,
and lat. 45. 20. N., at Entrance Bay, in the Ottawa River,
about a mile and a half from where the Rideau River falls
into it, 128 miles from Montreal, and 130 from Kingston
on Lake Ontario. It is not so properly a canal as an ar¬
tificial concatenation of natural lakes. The general di¬
rection is south-westerly, to its termination at Kingston ;
and the total length of the navigation is 132 miles, ol
which about twenty only are artificial cuts connecting
Rideau River and Lake, Mud Lake, Cranberry Lake, and
Kingston Mill-Stream. The ditference of level is 445
feet, with forty-seven locks, which are each 142 feet long,
thirty-three broad, and five deep. This canal, it has been
fancied, would be of immense importance for the convey¬
ance of military stores; but this seems to proceed on the
assumption that the enemy is to be perfectly torpid du¬
ring the half year in which the canal is useless from being
frozen.1
The Welland Canal, connecting Lakes Erie and Ontario,
communicates with the latter by the Iwelve-mile Creek,
and thence ascends the barrier of Lake Erie, near the Falls
of Niagara, by means of locks, till it meets the Chippawa,
which it ascends for some length, and then joins the Ouse
at about a mile and a half from its entrance into Lake
Erie. The shifting bar at the mouth of this river has been
remedied by extending piers into the deep water. A safe
communication between these great lakes is thus effected
by this navigation, which is forty-one miles long ; the ar¬
tificial part being fifty-six feet wide, and eight and a half
deep. It has thirty-seven wooden locks, each 100 feet
long and twenty-two feet wide, overcoming a height of
330 feet. A much shorter canal for passing round the
Falls of Niagara has been proposed on the American side.
Grenville Canal consists of three detached parts, of the
nature of side-cuts, or lateral canals ; one at the Long
Sault on the Ottawa, another at the fall called Chute a
Blondeau, and the third at the Carillon Rapids. This ca¬
nal renders the navigation of the Ottawa between the Ri¬
deau and Montreal complete ; but unfortunately some of
the earlier constructed locks are only twenty feet wide.
La Chine Canal is a cut of seven miles across the south¬
east corner of the island of Montreal, to avoid some diffi¬
cult parts of the St Lawrence, particularly the rapid of
St Louis. It is forty-eight feet wide at top, twenty-eight
at bottom, and five feet deep, with a fall of forty-two feet;
but the locks only admit boats twenty feet wide.
By means of these great and useful works, a large ex-
27
tent of country is opened up to the industry of settlers. Naviga-
There is a continuous steam-boat communication in Upper A.00’,
Canada of about 460 miles, from the Grenville Canal, on v n U
the Ottawa, to Niagara. Many other canals are now in
contemplation, such as that projected between the bay of
Quinte and Lake Huron. A great deal of information re¬
garding the inland navigation of Canada will be found in
the Parliamentary Reports, and a more compendious ac¬
count of it in Martin’s History of the British Colonies.
The navigable rivers and lakes of North America are North
numerous and important, several of them being of vast ex- -American
tent. But a very general feature in such of its rivers as rivers’
fall into the Atlantic, is a bar obstructing their mouths.
That of the principal mouth of the Mississippi had, in 1722,
about twenty-five feet of water upon it; Ulloa, in 1767,
found twenty feet at the highest flood; and in 1826 the
depth was only sixteen feet. Above these obstructions
the rivers are generally much deeper, the Mississippi at
New Orleans being above 100 feet deep, which depth it
preserves to the mouth of the Missouri. Mobile Bay is
crossed by a bar having only ten feet of water; and the
bar of the Altamabo of Georgia has fourteen feet, which
is perhaps about the average depth to be found at the en¬
trance of most of the southern rivers of the Atlantic coast.
Lake Superior, in the great central plain of this continent,
is the largest body of fresh water on the globe, ihe out¬
let of this, and of the other great lakes of Canada, forms
the river St Law'rence, which is of vast dimensions, the
tide flowing up it for 400 miles, and affording navigation
for the largest vessels the whole of this distance ; but above
this the current is extremely rapid. Several of the most
difficult parts have already been avoided by means of side-
cuts and locks, particularly the rapid of St Louis; and
others may be disposed of in a similar manner. Vessels
of 600 tons ascend to Montreal, and boats all the way to
Lake Ontario, and thence to Lake Erie through the Wel¬
land Canal. The Connecticut is a large navigable stream
entering the sea near the north-eastern extremity of Long
Island. The Hudson has enabled New York to extend its
commerce by the Erie Canal to the lakes, being navigable
to 160 miles above its mouth for large steam-vessels. The
Delaware and its tributaries afford a navigation over an
extent of 300 miles in length and breadth. The Susque-
hannah, the Potomac, and others falling into the Chesa¬
peake Bay, together with canals, afford navigation for ves¬
sels of one sort or other into the remotest valleys and re¬
cesses of the eastern country. The Roanoke, which falls
into Albemarle Sound, together with the Pamlico, afford
a medium of commerce for North Carolina; whilst the
Pedee, Santee, Savannah, Ogeechee, Alatamaha, &c. are
so many canals intersecting South Carolina and Georgia
in all directions. The St John, again, affords a similar con¬
venience for East Florida. But although the eastern rivers
have been by much the longest employed for the purposes
of navigation, they are in many respects inferior to the im¬
mense streams which intersect the western and inland
states, particularly the Mississippi and its tributaries, which
have no parallel in any other country possessed by a people
sufficiently intelligent to turn the commercial facilities of
its inland waters to proper advantage. The Mississippi is
navigable for 3000 miles up from its mouth to the Falls of
St Anthony, and extends over fifteen degrees of latitude.
At St Louis it receives the Missouri, which above that
junction is greater than the other branch, which still bears
the name of Mississippi. The principal tributaries of the
Missouri are the Osage, Grand River, Kanses, Platte,
1 Canals, it is true, which are all on one level, as is the case in Holland, may become convenient roads whilst the ice is sufficiently
strong; but where locks occur, and are so numerous as on this canal, they form a serious obstruction; and it is besides considered ne¬
cessary in America to have canals as empty as possible during the frost.
28
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
White River, Chien, Yellow Stone Rivers, each of which
on an average adds 1000 miles to the navigation; and there
,are many others of less note. Above the junction of the
Missouri the Mississippi receives, from the east, in latitude
37°, the Ohio, which is of great importance, as affording a
direct communication with the eastern states, and being,
besides, the channel of a great inland commerce. About
1200 miles from its mouth the Ohio receives, near Pitts¬
burg, the Monongahela and the Alleghany Rivers. It is
connected with Lake Erie by means of the Ohio Canal, and
has fifteen large navigable tributaries. The other princi¬
pal tributaries of the Mississippi more to the north, and
each navigable 400 or 500 miles, are the Illinois, Des
Moines, Rock River, and St Peter’s, between some of which
and the great northern lakes there are only short portages.
Besides all these, North America contains a vast number
of other navigable rivers, which our limits will not admit
of our describing.
SOUTH AMERICA.
The vast region of South America, though it has hitherto
been kept in a sadly degraded state, by priestcraft, igno¬
rance, slavery, and incessant wars, possesses a conforma¬
tion peculiarly favourable to an extensive inland naviga¬
tion. The Andes skirt its western shore, and, though
ascending to a great height, are yet so small in breadth
as to leave between them and the eastern coast a vast ex¬
tent of comparatively flat country, divided into the basins
of the Orinoco, Amazon, and Paraguay, none of which
is much elevated above the sea; and even the dividing
ranges between them are generally of very trifling altitude.
Thus the Orinoco is navigable, without difficulty, for 260
leagues, to the falls or rather rapids of Atures, where, ac¬
cording to Humboldt, its mean height above the sea does
not exceed 350 feet; and thence, after two short portages,
it is navigable for above 100 leagues more, to the point near
Esmeralda, where the celebated bifurcation of this river
takes place, and a portion of its waters descends along the
natural canal of Casiquiari, to join the Rio Negro and the
Amazon. On both sides, along its course, the Orinoco
receives many tributaries; of which three in particular,
the Apure, Meta, and Guaviore, flowing from the west¬
ward, have also long navigable courses. The Amazon,
again, is navigable to a little above Urarina, near the con¬
fluence of the Guallaga, a distance of 750 leagues from its
mouth, flowing uniformly along the whole extent, in a di¬
rection from west to east, and receiving many tributaries
on both sides. By the Napo, Putamayo, and Japura it is
connected with the higher districts of Columbia; its own
upper navigation, which is uninterrupted above Santiago,
connects it with Upper Peru ; and the Guallaga and Uca-
vale descend to it from the south-west, along the eastern
face of the Andes, from distances, as it is said, of from 300
to 500 leagues. By the Rio Negro, as already noticed, its
waters communicate with those of the basin of the Ori¬
noco ; the Rio Branco ascends from this also to within a
short and nearly level distance of the sources of the rivers
Essequibo and Demerara; and its southern tributaries,
rising in the Campos Pareceis (the mean level of which
west of Villa Boa, and in about 16° south latitude, where
the waters divide, is not probably above 2500 feet), ap¬
proach so closely to the sources of the Paraguay and its
feeders, that near Villa Bella, in Matto-Grosso, only a short
portage of three miles divides the course of the Aguapehy,
falling into the Jaura and Paraguay, from that of the Gua-
pore, joining the Madeira and Amazon ; and, lastly, the Pa¬
raguay itself is navigable through nineteen degrees of lati¬
tude, from the confluence of the Jaura in 16° 20' south, to
its mouth in the Rio de la Plata, near Buenos Ayres, in 35°
south lat., and receives also many tributaries along its
course, of which four only need be cited, viz. the Parana
and Uruguay from the eastward, rivers each nearly equal ^
to the main trunk in value and importance; and from the
west the Pilcomayo, said to be navigable with very little
interruption as far as Chuquisaca; and the Vermejo, in
which there are three fathoms as high as the junction
of the Rio Grande, and large boats ascend beyond it as
far as Tariga.
From these facts, then, it appears that, with the excep¬
tion of one short portage of three miles, water flows, and is
for the most part navigable, between Buenos Ayres, in 35°
south, to the mouth of the Orinoco, in nearly 9° north la-
tude. The distance across the continent from east to west,
through which the same convenience exists, varies greatly
in different lines ; but in the basin of the Orinoco it is not
under 400 leagues, in that of the Amazons it is nearly 1000,
and in that of the Paraguay it varies probably from 200
to 500. That all the interior provinces of South America
would be prodigiously benefited by advantage being taken
of these facilities for internal communication, cannot ad¬
mit of a doubt; but the districts which are at present the
most secluded, and which would be most strikingly im¬
proved by it, are those of Moxos, Chiquitos, and Santa
Cruz de la Sierra, which contain about 43,000 square
leagues, and produce a great variety of valuable articles,
which are unavailable on account of there being no method
of transporting them. ,The only seaport with which they
have any communication is Lamar (Cobija), on the Pacific,
although the junction of the Jaura with the Paraguay,
where the latter becomes navigable, is only seventy leagues
from Santa Anna, the capital of Chiquitos, a hundred from
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and seventy-three from Villabella
in Matto-Grosso.
It has long been proposed to form a communication be¬
tween the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, by means of a ca¬
nal across the Isthmus of Panama. A very interesting
account of a survey of a line across the isthmus, which was
made a few years ago by Mr J. A. Loyd, will be found in
the Philosophical Transactions for 1830; and some account
of a dilferent line by the Lake of Nicaragua is given by
Captain Philips in the Journal of the Royal Geographical
Society (vol. iii. 275). There can be no question that a
ship canal, if practicable, would be greatly preferable to
any other equally slow communication ; and a railway,
again, better than a small canal. A line partaking of both
is also talked of.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
CONSTRUCTION OF CANALS, TUNNELS, LOCKS, Ac.
Canals formed for navigation are generally upon a dead
level from lock to lock, except when they are also intend¬
ed for conveying water, whether to other parts of the na¬
vigation, or for some ditterent purpose. Feeders or con¬
ductors of water to canals should always have a certain
declivity ; but even in these it is not customary to give
the bottom a greater descent than four inches in the mile.
The simplest mode of constructing a canal over level
ground, is to form it partly by excavation and partly by
embankment; that is, to proportion the depth of digging-
such, that the stuff thrown out shall exactly embank or
raise the sides sufficiently to make the canal of the re¬
quired dimensions. This is called level cutting. But
when a canal runs along the side of a declivity, the one
bank will require more raising than the other; or the
cutting may be all at one side, and the embankment only
at the other. If, again, the surface of the ground is un¬
dulating, the case becomes more complicated; but it is
always a desideratum in the formation of canals, that the
stuff excavated from one part may, with the least labour
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 29
tfaviga- or shortest carriage, exactly supply or form the embank-
tion, merits that are to be raised in another; so that, at the^
[nland. cornpletion of the work, as few spoil-banks or mounds of
—Y~—'/useless soil as possible may remain, and as little ground as
possible be rendered useless by excavations or pits. How¬
ever, the great expense of rock-cuttings, and other diffi¬
culties, often occasion a wide departure from this rule.
For, in conducting a canal across a hilly and rugged coun¬
try, there are many difficulties to be overcome, much le¬
velling, and many works of art to be executed. Some of
these, perhaps, cannot be foreseen till the operations have
been commenced or are far advanced. The slopes of
the banks are regulated by the quality and difference in
the tenacity of the soil; but they are seldom made greater
than two feet of perpendicular to three of horizontal mea¬
surement, particularly where the embankments are heavy.
The inside slope soon becomes chafed and indented at
its upper edges by the motion of the Avater, which is oc¬
casioned by the passing of boats ; and this abrasion often
penetrates so much as to diminish irregularly the width
of the towing-path. This may be remedied in a good
measure by planting the sides with aquatic shrubs, and
also by driving stakes into the bank at short intervals
along the water line, so as to form a rude wicker-work, in
places where the soil is loose and porous. The Caledonian
Canal is provided with a break in the slope for this purpose,
as was mentioned in the description of it. But the most
effectual protection against the action of the water is at¬
tained by walling or paving the sides of the canal for some
breadth both above and below the water line. This, how¬
ever, from its being expensive, has not yet been exten¬
sively resorted to; but when it is recollected that the
washing of the banks of a canal not only destroys its se¬
curity, but diminishes its depth and the facility with
which it is navigated, this reason loses its weight. By
facing the sides with a substantial wall, which might be
made nearly vertical at the top, the surface of the water
need not be much more than two thirds the usual width,
and consequently the canal need not occupy much more
than three fourths the extent of ground; so that in situa¬
tions where the ground is valuable, the wall would conduce
to economy. The canal, too, having less earth crumbling
intosit, would need less cleaning; and where water is scarce,
the smaller waste by evaporation, from the contracted
breadth of the surface, would be of importance. To pre¬
vent as much as possible the wash, as it is termed, the
speed of the canal-boats is variously restricted, and steam¬
boats have generally been excluded.
It frequently happens that canals have to be formed more
or less by artificial embankments of loose materials, or that
they are excavated in earth, sand, rock, &c. so very porous
as to allow the water to escape by filtration. To remedy
this, the usual method is to make the excavation much wider
and deeper than the intended dimensions, and to line it
to the thickness of two or three feet with a tenacious clay
mixed with gravel, which is to be thoroughly puddled, and
then, according to some, exposed for a long while to the
weather, though others condemn exposing it at all. A
trench four feet in width is also dug out in the middle of
each side-bank, to at least three feet below the bottom of
the canal, and this in like manner is ^to be filled up with
puddle. The puddle trench is made principally with the
view of preventing rats and other vermin from perforating
the banks, and occasioning breaches, as they often do.
When once the water has obtained a very small egress, it
gradually washes it wider ; so that sometimes in a few hours
a breach may be formed sufficient to empty the canal, and
require weeks or even months ere it can be repaired. But
besides being able to resist the penetration or gradual escape
of the water, an embankment must always be composed of
materials capable of withstanding, by their weight, the ten¬
dency of the hydraulic pressure to overturn them in a Naviga-
mass, and also of resisting, by their lateral adhesion, the
force tending to thrust them out horizontally. When thev ‘ ^
side of a canal gives way, it is of great consequence to
prevent as much as possible the escape of the water. For
this purpose, it is usual to have doors or valves in various
parts of the canal, so attached by joints or hinges to the
bottom, that when the water is at rest they lie nearly
flat at the bottom, but when it begins to flow rapidly over
them, they ‘rise by its force, and arrest its farther pro¬
gress. However, when such gates have lain long in the
bottom, and have become coated with slime and imbed¬
ded in the mud, their spontaneous rising at the proper
time is not much to be depended on, and therefore they
should be provided with chains or rods, by,which they may
be drawn up when required.
Tunnels.
The first thing to be attended to in constructing a tun¬
nel is to execute a correct survey of the ground through
which it is intended to pass. This is done by tracing over
the surface of the ground a line which shall be all in a
vertical plane parallel to the direction of the tunnel, and
which, when transferred upon a reduced scale to paper,
shall accurately represent a vertical section of the ground.
To obtain a section of this sort with accuracy for an ex¬
tensive tunnel, the relative levels of the principal points
along the line upon the surface are to be ascertained ; and
it is generally necessary to use an instrument similar to
a transit telescope, and perhaps to fit up one or more
temporary observatories upon the most elevated spots along
the line, from which may be determined the position of
any pits or shafts which it may be necessary to sink, whe¬
ther for the sake of free ventilation, or for commencing
and carrying on the excavation of the tunnel at several
different places at the same time. Through these openings
the stuff is to be hoisted up, and the water pumped out
should any occur. The shafts being sunk to the requisite
depth, which is ascertained from the levels which have
been taken at the surface, a heading or small tunnel, at
least sufficiently high and wide to allow the men to move
freely in the work of excavation, is to be commenced just
below the crown of the intended large one. Such smaller
excavation is generally made very unshapely in the sides
and roof, but ought to be nearly flat in the bottom. It is
to be carried forward from one working shaft to another,
as nearly as may be in a straight line, till a connection be
formed between all the shafts and the ends of the tunnel.
If, in the progress of the heading from one shaft to an¬
other, the air become so bad as to oblige the workmen to
desist, an air shaft is to be immediately commenced from
above, about five or six feet in diameter, and sunk verti¬
cally to the point at which the heading was left off. In
excavating the tunnel of the Thames and Medway Canal,
there were twelve working shafts; and, on account of the
foulness of the air, it was besides necessary to sink eleven
air-shafts. After the heading has been driven from one
working-shaft to another, or a complete perforation ob¬
tained throughout the whole of the intended line, the roof
of the tunnel is commenced, by an excavation in the form
of a circular, an elliptic, or a parabolic arch. At this stage
of the work the strength and quality of the roof are easily
ascertained; and where weak and crumbling portions oc¬
cur, a brick or stone arch must be formed for their sup¬
port. The stuff is generally carried out by means of a
railway. Some tunnels are formed in strata of such a tex¬
ture as to require no building whatever, unless, perhaps,
in fitting up a towing-path ; whilst others are so very
insecure that the construction of a complete lining of
building must keep pace with the work of excavation.
Some tunnels, again, are naturally water-tight, whilst others
30
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
require a substantial lining of clay, and must be excavated
of so much the larger dimensions as to have room foi it.
Inclined Planes.
It is probable that the earliest mode of passing a boat
from one level to another consisted in simply dragging it
over the intervening space, whether that might be a natu¬
ral rapid in a river, an obstructing rock, or a dam built
across on purpose; and this last was generally in the
form of a ridge, or double inclined plane. In a rapidly
descending current it was necessary to have many such
dams at short intervals, in order to obtain the requisite
depth of water. In China these inclined planes have been
long in use, especially in their smaller canals. Between
the upper and lower levels ol the water a double glacis of
hewn stoneis built, the principal slope of which extends fiom
the bottom of the lower canal to the surface ol the watei in
the upper canal, ora little above it, and there terminates in
a large cross beam of wood, rounded off, and very smooth.
From this beam another but shorter and steeper plane of
stone descends to the bottom of the upper canal; and over
these the boats are dragged, sometimes by simple manual
power, and sometimes by the aid of capstans. It is not un¬
common in China for a hundred men to be employed in
drawing up a large vessel from the lower to the higher canal.
Their strength is usually applied by means of levers turn¬
ing capstans, which are placed on the abutments on each
side of the glacis. A rope being passed round the stern
of the vessel, has its ends attached to and wound round
the capstans. In this way a vessel is more speedily raised
into the upper canal than if locks had been employed ; but
it is effected by a prodigions exertion of human force,
which, however, in China is always to be had at little
cost, and is there preferred to any other. When a vessel
is to be transferred from the upper to the lower canal,
she is, as before, lifted over the cross beam, and then
elides safely down by her own weight. To insure this,
the head of the vessel is provided with a railing, which
being covered with a strong matting at the time of the
descent, not only breaks the fall, but prevents any water
from flushing up over the deck. We here see human power
sadly lavished away where a very different one might suffice.
Horses, oxen, water-wheels, &c. are in some countries ap¬
plied to turn machinery for the same purpose. To lessen
the friction, long rollers are sometimes placed across the in¬
clined planes, at short intervals from each other ; but it is
evident that, whether with or without rollers, boats which
will bear to be dragged over any such structure must be ex¬
cessively strong for their size. The long feeble boats which
usually navigate canals would undoubtedly break into se¬
veral lengths were they to be passed over the ridge. Some¬
times the boats are placed upon a sort of cradle or hurdle,
with or without wheels, and the whole dragged over ; and
sometimes the boats themselves are furnished with wheels,
which only come into play in passing such planes.
There have been numerous other contrivances for trans¬
ferring boats from one level to another, without any ex¬
penditure of water; and descriptions of the most of them
will be found in some of the scientific journals, particularly
in the Repertory of Arts, Nicholson’s Journal, the Philoso¬
phical Magazine, and the Repertory of Patent Inventions.
But these have generally been very unsuccessful, although
for not a few of them patents have been obtained. One of
the most recent patents is that of Mr Thomas Grahame, of
which the specification is published in the Repertory of Pa¬
tent Inventions for March 1837. By far the greater number
of the schemes now alluded to would require an exertion of
mechanical force which would either be more than suffi¬
cient to raise water to fill a common lock, or would be at¬
tended with greater expense. Some of them, it is true,
might save a little time, but in general the case would be Naviga.
otherwise. Inland.
Lochs. " 
Amongst the many approximations to the gates of a lock,
the following rude one may be mentioned, especially as it
is still used in various parts of England. A beam or sill is
fixed across the bottom of the stream or canal ; and di¬
rectly over this, but at the water s surface, is placed a se¬
cond but moveable beam. Against and behind these pa¬
rallel beams a set of loose boards are placed upright and
close together like a door, so as to obstruct the progress
of the stream. W hen a boat is to pass, the boards aie either
removed singly, or, if they can be prevented fiom floating
away, the upper beam is lifted or moved round,so as suddenly
to let go the whole system, and thus afford a temporary in¬
crease of depth, to enable the boat to pass or repass the other¬
wise too shallow water. In China it is common to have a si¬
milar set of loose boards or planks, but placed horizon¬
tally across the stream ; these being dropped one by one
into grooves formed in the side walls, or in upright posts,
from which the boards are to be singly removed in a si¬
milar manner. Such are the sluices or gates used on the
Imperial Canal of China ; for the emperor’s boats or barges
are far too large to be dragged over inclined planes.
Machines of the same sort have also been used on the
river navigations in Flanders. Since both the kinds of
gates now described are supposed to be placed at the up¬
per end of the fall or shoal over which they are tempo¬
rarily to increase the depth of water, and since the boat is
to pass through the gate, while the accumulated water
rushes out with great force, it is evident that this must
render it difficult for a boat to ascend the stream, and must
accelerate it too much in descending. However, a method
similar to this, at least in letting go a flash of water, has long
been used in floating down rafts of timber over shallows
and rapids in rivers, and is perhaps the best that could be
contrived for the purpose. But for the navigation of boats
there is a greatly preferable mode of using the same sorts
of gates, so as to be free from the inconveniences above
mentioned; which is to place the gate in moderately deep
water at the lower end of the fall or shoal, and such that
a boat may pass up through the gate before the watei has
been raised by it at all. The gate is then shut till the
water rise sufficiently to enable the boat to ascend the fall
or shoal, which it does in almost still water. Ihese sorts
of gates Lalande calls half-locks; and indeed it is sup¬
posed, with considerable probability, that the casual posi¬
tion of two of them near each other had given rise to the
invention of the lock. For in that case it would soon be
seen, that when the lower of these two gates was closed,
and the water above it had risen to a sufficient height,
such water would be nearly stagnant at the upper gate,
and would afford an easy passage through it. If, therefore,
the boat was ascending, the upper gate being next shut,
the water above it would rise, and enable the boat to pio-
ceed a stage farther in its ascent.
However the real origin and early history of the modern Modern
lock, like those of many other valuable inventions, are in-locks,
volved in obscurity, yet its nature and mode of operating
will be readilv understood by a reference to figs. 1 and 2,
Plate CCCLXXVIII. where A A A A are the walls of the
lock chamber, which can be closed by the two single gates
G,G. The w ater in the part or reach of the canal which
lies to the right of the lock is supposed to be higher than
in that to the left. When, therefore, it is wished to pass a
vessel upwards through the lock, she is first floated in at the
lower gate, previously opened, as shown in fig. 1, and wdnch
is next to be shut. Water is then admitted through a valve
from the upper canal into the lock-chamber, till it has fill¬
ed it up to the same level, and has of course raised the
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
31
Naviga¬
tion,
nland.
vessel along with it. The upper gate being next opened,
the vessel quits the lock, and passes immediately into the
higher part of the canal. This process is called locking up;
and the reverse of it, or locking down, will obviously con¬
duct a vessel down through the lock, which is to be emp¬
tied by another valve into the lower reach of the canal.
For when the w^ater in a lock is reduced to the lower level,
it is usually said to be empty, although it has still the same
depth of water as the lower canal.
In navigations where great differences of level are to be
overcome, it is not unusual to have two or more locks fol¬
lowing in such close succession that the lower gate, or
pair of gates when they are double, of one lock, forms also
the upper gate or upper pair of the next lock below it.
This obviously tends greatly to lessen the cost of construct¬
ing them, and also requires fewer lock-keepers. It tends,
besides, to lessen the time spent in the repeated stoppages
and startings in the trackage of the boats ; though it is
rather teamed for expending somewhat more w'ater than
if the locks were scattered separately over a considerable
extent.
It was not until artificial canals had become very general,
that locks were brought to any thing like their present
state of perfection ; for the difficulty of procuring water
had been but partially felt, as long as inland navigation was
confined to a few rivers. But when the value of water for
canals came to be properly appreciated, it was necessary
to be careful of every resource, and to use it with the
strictest economy. With this view the chamber, or the
space between the upper and lower gates, instead of be¬
ing made of an oval, a circular, or an octagonal figure, as
in the locks on the earlier canals, was so much contracted
as only to afford room for the vessels to pass through ; to
effect which, the sides were made vertical planes formed
of wood, brick, or stone, instead of the sloping banks of
earth or turf used in the older locks, and which required
such a length of time to fill or empty them, and consumed a
vast quantity of water besides. The lift of the lock, or the
difference of level which it is made to overcome, is regu¬
lated by circumstances. It varies from one foot or less,
up to sixteen or eighteen feet. Where the levels of the
parts of a canal, or of the several reaches as they are some¬
times called, differ greatly, and where water is plentiful,
the locks are generally made with a greater lift than where
the ground is more flat and the water scanty. For a given
difference of level, locks generally consume more water as
the lift of each is greater ; but, on the other hand, they tend
to save time. The chambers of narrow locks are generally
from seventy to eighty feet long, and from seven to eight
feet wide. Those of the Caledonian Canal are from 170 to
180 feet long, forty wide, and thirty deep ; and still larger
ones are used on the great ship canal from the Texel to
Amsterdam ; but locks are also made of every interme¬
diate dimension.
A naturally hard bottom is the best foundation for the
walls of locks ; but where that does not occur, they are
frequently built on a system of piles w'ell driven and bound
together; for the mode of preparing the foundation must
be regulated by the nature of the ground. The sides are
carried up sometimes in straight, sometimes in curved
lines, and often reclining or battering outwards from the
bottom. In this last case, too, the beds of the stone or
brick-work are generally formed at right angles to the
face of the wall, inclining from half an inch to an inch in
the foot. Such battering, however, should only be used
near the bottom; because, cceteris paribus, a lock the oppo¬
site sides of which are perfectly vertical and parallel planes,
and which is of no greater width throughout than to admit
the boats, must obviously consume the least water, and
spend least time in passing a boat; a circumstance which
ought always to outweigh any little saving of materials or
expense which might be expected from a different form of Naviga-
construction. Curving the sides longitudinally, like cres- tion’
cents, can add nothing to the strength on the principle 0f\ ^nlaiui-
the arch; because such a figure is at best an arch having
nothing to abut against. The like may be said of dishing-
carriage wheels, and of all curved structures which either
have no abutments, or which are not equally pressed against
all their abutments. At Agde, on the Languedoc Canal,
a circular basin which unites three canals of different levels
is used as a lock, and has long been extolled as the very
perfection of lock-making; whereas it requires a needless
length of time, and wastes an enormous quantity of water
in passing a boat. If the foundation be clay or gravel, a
wooden bottom is sometimes formed of cross sleepers
planked longitudinally, upon which the side-walls are built
with or without buttresses at the back, according to the
quality of the side banks. A flat segment or inverted
arch of stone or brick is sometimes laid upon the wooden
bottom, in order to distribute the weight more equably, and
to prevent any partial settling or subsiding of the work ;
and the same method is observed between the buttresses
along the outside of the chamber walls. In each wall, be¬
hind the hollow quoins, a recess is left sufficient for the
gates to open back into, out of the way of the vessels. In
the recesses belonging to the upper gates, a weir or over-
fall for the water is provided, four or five feet long, having
a coping or sill of stone or brick, just the height at which
the water is intended to stand in the upper reach of the
canal; these are called the paddle-weirs or lock-weirs.
A large flat stone is usually laid as a lintel over this open¬
ing, to complete the wall upon, and leaving a space of three
or four inches in height for the egress of the surplus water.
This cavity is conducted downward, diminishing in width
and enlarging in depth, behind the walls of the lock, into
the paddle-hole or culvert for filling the lock, if such be
in use there. This water having got into the lock, makes
its escape from it by a similar opening at the other end
into the lower canal. In other cases a culvert is pur¬
posely continued behind the wall, so as to carry this sur¬
plus water quite past the lock to the lower canal. Some¬
times an open channel, properly lined with stones or bricks,
is made for it. But in many cases, where the surplus
water would be of no use in the lower canal, it is allowed
to escape over a waste weir, built on purpose in the side
of the canal, into some river or brook which may be near.
In order that any considerable quantity of water may be
readily withdrawn from a canal when required, it is gene¬
rally provided in various places with waste-gates or sluices
in its sides, which can be drawn up either with a rack and
pinion, a chain and roller, or a crow-bar, as circumstances
may render most eligible. Sometimes pipes furnished with
valves are placed in the bottom of the canal for withdraw¬
ing the water.
The frame of a lock-gate usually consists of two strong
upright posts, connected by horizontal ribs ; and the latter
are closely covered with boards or planks caulked like a
ship. The gate, again, generally turns horizontally on one
of these uprights, which is called the Aee/-post or corn-post,
whilst the opposite one is named the /<earf-post or mitre-
post. Large gates are frequently curved, so as, for greater
strength, to present an arched or convex surface to the
pressure of the water; and on this point there is an inte¬
resting article by Mr Barlow in the Transactions of Civil
Engineers (vol. i.). It was usual to make all such gates of
timber; but, on account of the difficulty of getting it at the
time of sufficient size for those of the Caledonian Canal,
the most of the gate-frames for it were made of cast iron,
boards being still used for covering the ribs. Other locks
have since been similarly constructed ; and iron gates cast
in one piece have been used on the Ellesmere Canal. But
wooden gates are by some engineers preferred to those of
32
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
cast iron, which are apt to corrode and get out of order,
especially if exposed to the action of salt water. In Eng-
, land the cost of gates for large lock-chambers is nearly the
' same, whether they are made of wood or of iron, borne
canal gates are made to rise and fall vertically, like those
of ancient castles and temples, or, like our common win¬
dows, counterpoised by weights, which slide in grooves.
The locks on the Shrewsbury Canal are not only closed by
two gates of this sort, but can also be divided by others,
so as to admit or contain one, three, or four boats at a time,
without the loss of any more water than is just necessary
to regulate the ascent or descent ol the boat or boats that
are then in the locks. _ .
As it would on several accounts be inconvenient, and
often impracticable, to open lock-gates against a strong
pressure, they are either provided with smaller apertures
furnished with valves, through which the locks are emptied
or filled before opening the large gates themselves; or, in¬
stead of apertures in the gates, the water is passed through
one or more culverts or pipes formed in the walls of the
lock, these being in'like manner furnished with sliding
valves or paddles. The valves of lock-gates are geneially
opened and shut by a rack and pinion attached to the
lever beams of the gates, and moving in vertical guides
spiked fast to the lining of the gates. They are formed
of wood, and' placed near the middle of the gate at the
bottom. A rack and pinion are likewise generally em¬
ployed to open and shut the valves of culverts.
Sometimes the valve in a lock-gate is formed into a
large lever, shaped like a rudder, which extends from near
the bottom of the gate, and passes through a guide fixed
on the side of the beam. One edge is hinged on a pivot
about four feet above the bottom of the opening, the side-
works against the lining of the gate, and the top is drawn
backward and forward by means of a rack and pinion fix¬
ed on the lever beam. This is in some respects a conve¬
nient contrivance, being easily worked by the boatmen,
without the awkward necessity of standing upon the lever
Another method of constructing the valves, especially
for large tide-locks, where the gates have no lever beams,
but move upon rollers by means of a drag-chain, is to form
two apertures above one another, each about one foot
high by two feet wide, and to connect the two valve-
covers by links at the same distance apart; so that a mo¬
tion of one foot perpendicular, given by a coarsely thread¬
ed screw, fixed upon the head of a connecting rod, will
open and shut four superficial feet of aperture through
thBufsince all sliding valves are necessarily attended
with much friction and wear, and it is likewise inconve¬
nient to have any valve in the gates, we should think a
greatly preferable method would be, to use a culvert de¬
parting perpendicularly in the bottom of the canal or of
the lock-chamber, and to close it there with a horizontal
lid or valve, hinged at one edge, and having a long arm or
lever projecting from its opposite edge. In this simple
construction, it is obvious that a mere rod or chain attach¬
ed to the lever might have any required degree of power
to raise the valve ; which, on being let go, would readily,
of its own accord, shut down out of the way. This method
would scarcely either be attended with friction, or be sub¬
ject to wear. , , . , , i j
Many of the canals of England which have succeeded
y^est are both narrow and shallow ;l and consequently
their lock-chambers are narrow and long, particularly Isaviga.
those of the Grand Trunk and Birmingham Canals. Fig.
1 and 2, Plate CCCLXXVIII. show one of these, which is
seventy-five feet long and eight wide, with vertical and
parallel sides AAAA, built of brick, four feet thick, and
coped with stone. The gates G, G are single, hung in a
stone quoin or coin, and they shut against a rebate of stone,
which is lined on the corners with a cast-iron plate two
inches thick and six broad, screwed fast to the coins. The
gates are framed simply with square ribs, and a single
fining of plank; they contain no valves, as the chambers
are filled by side culverts c t v, formed through the wall,
and entering in the recess left for the gate to fold back
into. The valve v of these culverts is opened or shut by
turning the handle w, which works a pinion and rack at¬
tached to a post about eight inches square. The gate is
opened or shut by pushing round the long lever beam
B, which is fixed along the top of the gate, and is pur¬
posely made very heavy to act as a counterpoise to the
weight of the gate. The lower end of the coin-post, or
principal upright post of the gate-frame, has a pivot which
turns in a socket at the bottom ; and near its upper end, at
P, it is embraced by and turns in a collar held by the
clamp a, which has two long diverging arms made fast in
the top of the building. . .
The lock-chambers built by Brindley upon the Duke of
Bridgewater’s Canal at Runcorn, upwards of sixty-five
. years ago, are still in good order. They are formed with
vertical sides of brick, coped with heavy stone clamped
into the heart of the wall, and are sixty feet long by thir¬
teen wide. The gates are double, and form, in meeting,
a very acute-angled mitre. The valves or paddles are open¬
ed perpendicularly by a rack and pinion on the beam.
There are two of these apertures in each gate, about
twenty inches square. The hollow coins or grooves in
contact with the gates are of timber, bolted and clamped
into the brickwork.
Fig. 3, 4, and 5, Plate CCCLXX\III. represent one^de-locl
of the tide-locks of the Thames and Medway Canal.
Its walls AAAA are of brick built upon piles with a wood¬
en bottom, upon which is laid an inverted arch, the sides
battering into the bottom curve from the water line. The
gates G, G are double, and curved so as to form nearly a cir¬
cular arch in meeting. "Iheir frames are made of cast iion,
and their coin and mitre posts are formed hollow like a pipe,
with oblong openings in the sides for the workman to put
in his hand with the bolts which are to fix the horizontal
ribs. Formerly, when such posts had no openings in their
sides, it was necessary that a boy should go inside with
the bolts, like a sweep into a chimney. The ribs are
about eighteen inches apart, an inch and a half thick,
curved in plan, with a flange on each end, which is bolt¬
ed into the coin and mitre posts. The ribs are covered
with planks two inches thick, bolted to the libs, and
caulked in the joints like those of a ship. These gates
are very heavy, but rest in a great measure upon rollers,
which run on the curved tracks r, r, r, r when the gates
are moved by the capstans C, C, C, C, and drag-chains
winding round them, as seen in fig. 5, and denoted by the
long, cross, dotted lines in fig. 3.2 These chains pass
through holes in the walls O, O, as seen in fig. 5, where
also the curve I denotes the inverted arch. This lock is
filled and emptied through culverts, as described in the
account of the single lock of the Birmingham Canal.
As the tide-water flows and rises above that within, it
always need one capstan to open the gate and another to shut it.
NAVIGATION, INLAND. 33
Kaviga- pushes open the gates G, G, and passes into the basin and
ti°n, canal; but this can also be stopped or prevented by shut-
Inland. ^ ga(;es ^ g, which, opening outward, cannot give
Y ^ way to external pressure. The lock-chamber is 130 feet
long within the outer gates, and thirty wide. It is about
ten feet deeper than the canal, and eight wider than the
tunnel, which is only twenty-two feet; so that much larger
vessels may come into the basin, whose bottom is even
with that of the lock, than those which can get through
the canal. By these means, too, boats drawing almost
eight feet, the ordinary depth of water in the canal, may
pass through the lock when the tide-water without is ten
feet lower than in the canal.
This lock exhibits one feature which, though common
a century ago, we should not have expected in a first-rate
lock made in the nineteenth century; we mean the curva¬
ture of the side walls, which contributes rather to weaken
the structure, because, instead of these curved sides acting
as arches having something immoveable to abut against,
their only tendency in the circumstances is to transfer the
lateral pressure from the middle of the walls, where the
stress is least, to the very parts on which the gates are
hung, and which, of course, already sustain the greatest
strain, and therefore have more need of being relieved or
assisted, than thus burdened with any such unnecessary
or additional strain.
When a boat is to be raised through a given height,
there is not necessarily any difference in the expense of
water, whether the ascent be gained by one previously
empty lock, embracing the whole lift, or by ever so many
sharing it;'for since the boat on ascending leaves all
the locks full, there must at least be as much water used
as would fill up one deep lock from the lower to the higher
level, and which ought just to fill ever so many shallow
ones. However, when the locks have been previously
full, the water of one only need be expended, and there¬
fore the less the lift of each, the less will be the ex¬
pense of water. On the other hand, it is obvious that
many small lifts unavoidably put off' much time. Again,
when a boat is to have a given descent, this may be ef¬
fected with as much less expense of water as the num¬
ber of locks, if previously empty, is greater; because,
whatever water suffices for one of a series of equal locks,
may successively serve each of the rest during the de¬
scent. When the locks have been previously full, the
whole of them are emptied by the descent of a boat, whe¬
ther they are many or few. However, there is this dif¬
ference between an ascent and a descent: A boat in
ascending lets down or consumes twice the weight in
water of itself and cargo more than it does in descend¬
ing ; because, on entering the empty lock, the boat which
is about to ascend expels as much water into the lower
reach of the canal as equals the weight of itself and car¬
go, whereas a boat about to descend expels from the full
lock an equal weight of water into the upper reach of
the canal. The former is therefore lost, whilst the latter
is saved.
The failure of the schemes hitherto projected for reme-
dying the defects of the common lock are ascribed by M.
Girard to the impossibility of resolving the problem com¬
pletely, without an unnecessary expenditure of mechani¬
cal force; and he therefore reduces the maximum effect
of the common lock to questions of the comparative time
and economy required by boats in passing insulated locks,
and in passing connected systems of locks. But he does
not, says Mr Rennie,1 consider the stoppage and the loss of
time attending the repeated changes in the force of track¬
age required by the isolated system. The value of the
water lost can only be contrasted with the value of time Naviga-
under certain circumstances ; but the question had already tion\
been discussed by Gauthy and others with reference to v n an('^
the locks of the Canals of Briare and Languedoc.
Economy of Water.
There have been numerous expedients for more effec¬
tually economising the water of canals. By making the
locks double, that is, placing two equal locks on the same
level in the breadth of the canal, a much smaller quantity
of water will generally suffice. For since a boat on de¬
scending must enter a full lock and leave it empty, where¬
as an ascending boat must enter an empty lock and leave
it full, it would obviously be a saving of water could the
full lock, by which a boat had ascended, be reserved for
the next boat which should descend, and vice versa with
the empty one; though it is evident, that when several
boats pass together in the same direction, this can only
be partially done. But when the one lock is full and the
other already empty, and we wish to let down a boat
through the former one, half the water might always be
let through a sluice into the empty lock, instead of letting
the whole go to w-aste in the lower canal; and in like
manner, when we wish to raise a boat through the empty
lock, half the water may be obtained from the full one.
By putting more than two locks in the breadth of the
canal, still less water would sometimes suffice ; but the
increased cost puts this out of the question.
A different method of saving w'ater is by means of s2(/e-Side-
ponds, into which the water is partly withdrawn from a full ponds,
lock, and reserved for farther use. Sometimes a single
side-pond is employed, and sometimes two or more, being
all upon different levels. A single pond, no matter how ex¬
tensive, cannot, in the usual way in which it is employed,
save quite half the lockful of wrater, two ponds cannot
save quite two thirds, nor can three save three fourths,
&c. But it is most common to employ two ponds, each
having the same horizontal area as the lock has, and being
made to receive one fourth its fill of water. The one of
these ponds has its bottom at half the height or lift of the
lock, so that when a valve is opened into it from the full
lock, this pond receives one fourth of its contents. This
valve is now shut, and another valve opened between the
lock and the second pond, which, in its turn, receives an¬
other fourth of the water, because its bottom is at one
fourth the height or lift of the lock. The second valve
is now shut; and the remaining half-full of w'ater in the lock
is let go into the lower canal in the usual way. When the
lock is to be filled again, the lower pond is first run into
it and closed, and then the higher one, which together
make up one half of what will fill the lock, and which has
been saved by means of the ponds.
A great improvement on side-ponds has been proposed Mr Field’s
by Mr Field (Transactions of Civil Engineers, vol. i. p.improve-
61), which is to apply to them the principle of the pendu-ment‘
lum, or rather of water vibrating in an inverted syphon,
viz. that it would rise to the same height in the one leg as
that from which it has fallen in the other, were it not for
friction or other resistance. Mr Field’s method is to con¬
nect a lock with a side-pond by means of a long pipe or
culvert, in such a manner, that when the water in the lock
is allowed suddenly to run into the empty pond, it may
rise in the latter nearly to the level from which it had fallen
in the former; and at the moment this occurs, the valve or
sluice in the culvert is to be shut. The same thing should
obviously take place when the water is to be restored to
the empty lock, excepting that, whatever may have been
VOL. XVI.
1 Reports of the British Association for 1834, p. 453.
E
34
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Naviga¬
tion,
Inland.
the loss of water in the former case, the total loss will now
be doubled; but this additional loss would be avoided by
, using a second lock alongside of the other, instead of a
’ pond, as no restoration would be required.
On one point we beg to differ materially from Mr Field.
In all the five different forms in which he has illustrated
his method, he assumes it as absolutely necessary that
the long culvert should always have two valves, one at each
end ■ and in order to get these two valves near each other,
he proposes to bend round the culvert in a spiral or circu¬
lar form. Now, with all deference, we presume, that it
the culvert be kept as low down as it ought to be on seve¬
ral accounts, any more than one valve will not only be
troublesome and expensive, but occasion a needless ob¬
struction to the free motion of the water. Indeed, to avoid
o-ivins a great and sudden lateral shock to any boat or ves¬
sel whilst in the lock, it would be proper that the water
should enter or depart perpendicularly in the middle of
the bottom of the lock. In that case it would not be very
material in what part of the culvert the valve was situ¬
ated, except for the greatest convenience. It would per¬
haps be an improvement to give the culvert very wide
spreading mouths or ends. If, however, Mr Field s inge¬
nious scheme should save nine tenths of the water, as he
expects it to do, it would have the farther advantage, that
the gates of such locks could generally be opened without
their needing to have any valves or paddles to ^ previously
opened, either in them or in the walls. Mr Field ma e
his method to depend on the princip e of Montgolfiei s
ram, a principle, we beg to observe, which had been dis¬
covered, applied, and published by Mhitehurst, long be¬
fore Montgolfier’s time; but it is much more elementary
and simple, we presume, to refer, as we have done, so
much of Mr Field’s scheme as has now been described, to
the undulations of water in a syphon.
Where canals are all on one level, and have either no
locks at all, or at their extremities only, there is seldom
much difficulty in supplying them with water; though in
certain cases canals of this sort may communicate with
some very muddy river, whose waters, if admitted, would
soon silt them up with mud. In such cases it has been
recommended to exclude the muddy water, and, if nothing
better could be done, to supply the canals with clean water,
raised by a steam-engine. This method has been followed
in the case of the West India docks on the Thames, where
the foul water of that river, after having stood in a basin
till it has deposited its mud, is pumped up into the docks
by a steam-engine. But where a canal is to form a com¬
munication between separate valleys or basins of a country,
and where a double lockage is unavoidable, the summit-
level which divides the rise and fall is generally too ele¬
vated to permit a regular supply of water being drawn
directly from the streams on either side. In such cases it
becomes necessary to collect the flood waters of the adja¬
cent higher grounds into proper reservoirs, to be used as
circumstances may require. Some canals are provided
with very large receptacles for the flood-waters, lhat of
Languedoc has one of 595 acres; and one belonging to
the Trent and Mersey Canal covers 160 acres. But cases
occur in which no such supply can be obtained, and wdiere,
of course, it is necessary either to raise water by steam-
engines, or to employ inclined planes or machinery to
pass the vessels, or at least their cargoes, from one level
to another.
Inland.
MVEIIS.
Engineers are generally agreed that side artificial ca¬
nals are eventually more judicious than the attempts to
dredge or to deepen channels in the beds of the streams
themselves; and that, for the purposes of navigation, rapid Naviga-
rivers are only useful to supply canals with water. On
this account, locks are rarely constructed in the beds ol,
rapid rivers. It is more usual to apply them to side-cuts
or to a lateral canal, formed for the purposes of the naviga¬
tion, and to leave the river course for the passage of the
floods or other surplus water. A quick bend of the river
is generally chosen for being crossed by a side-cut; and to
keep up the water to a sufficient height for navigation in
the upper part of the river, a dam or weir is thrown across
the old river course, at or rather a little below the uppei
point at which the artificial cut joins it. Ihe lock is then
built at the most convenient part of the cut, generally near
the upper end; and its fall or lift is made equal to the dif¬
ference in the levels of the water at the top of the dam or
weir, and in that at the lower end of the cut. But it may
happen, that, owing to some rock or other natural obstruc¬
tion in the river, no artificial dam will be required; and,
on the other hand, it is probable that the fall of the river
may be so great that several locks will be required in the
Of the impropriety of placing locks in a rapid current,
a remarkable instance may be mentioned in the case of the
locks which Polhem, a Swedish engineer, fearlessly at¬
tempted, in 1755, to place in the cataracts of Trollhaetta,
in the river Gotha, but which were wholly swept away by
a flood, after they had been considerably advanced, and vast
sums expended upon them.
In estimating the propriety of deepening shallows in any
river, it must be of importance to take into consideration
the nature of the shoals. If they have been created by
deposits collected by the action of the current, it may be
inferred that the same process will continually tend to the
same results, and that any efforts to preserve the channel
clear will require to be perpetual and laborious ; but i
the obstructions have been artificially made, or consist of
a natural and solid substratum, it may be reasonable to
presume that the excavations once made will either be
permanent, or, at all events, be easily maintained.
Regarding the main question, whether the free and na¬
tural flow of the floods is to be arrested by locks, dams,
and other works, the principles which have guided the ope¬
rations of different engineers have been various and con¬
tradictory ; but, in general, the practice has been to con¬
fine the freshes by artificial works, as in the Clyde, Wi¬
lliam, and other rivers, and to preserve the basins, or other
receptacles for tidal waters, to their full extent. A con¬
trary proceeding has tended to ruin many riveis and estua¬
ries, and consequently to impede the drainage and naviga¬
tion in a great degree, and to occasion the desti action of
several harbours, such as those of the Dee and Rye. Ihe
effects of embankments in Plymouth and Portsmouth har-
hours, and particularly in the estuary of the Mersey, one
third of the ancient capacity of which has been filled up
by encroachments, have materially diminished the depths
of the sea-channels, and a consequent deterioration of the
harbours has been the result.
Where the navigation of a river is impeded by its waters
being too much spread, or occupying too wide a channel,
this may be remedied by contracting it by embankments,
which will have the effect of increasing the depth of the
stream, whether it scour out the bottom so as to lower it
or not. Such is the usual mode of forming inland naviga¬
tions in China. It has the advantage of being more speedy
than passing through locks, and, indeed, rather too speedy
to be safe for vessels in descending. A great power is,
in some such cases, required to make a vessel ascend
through the contraction. This is accomplished in a va¬
riety of ways ; often by men aided by capstans ; in other
cases by machinery, such as a mill being at hand, which
may be employed for towing up the vessel, while its weir
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
35
STaviga. or dam may, besides, be useful in prolonging the navigation
tion, 0f the river considerably farther up.
[[nland. A splendid example of some of the more recent opera-
tions in the management of rivers is to be found in those
eEson* of M. de Fontaine on the Rhine.1 Near Emmerik the
Rhine. Waal branches off from the Rhine, so as to form two nearly
equal rivers, each of which has its bed almost as large as
that of the whole river; and when the waters rise, they are
at an equal height in both. The Rhine divides itself again
towards Arnheim to form the Issel, which has nearly the
same section as the Rhine. The first division of all .the
waters of this river was begun under the Roman generals
Drusus and Corbulo ; and many subdivisions were made in
subsequent ages. But such a multiplicity of channels, al¬
though productive of advantages to Holland, led to many
fatal consequences. The waters being so much subdivided,
lost the rapidity and strength necessary to push forward the
alluvial matter, which being therefore deposited, occasion¬
ed a continual rising of the bottom, rendered the drainage
of the adjacent lands more difficult, increased the expense
of the embankments, and augmented the damages over
the extensive lands when the dikes happened to break.
The irregularity of the course of the Rhine, and the ra¬
vages which it constantly committed on its shores, parti¬
cularly those of Alsace, one of the most fertile provinces
of France, rendered the construction of defensive works
imperative ; and in 1820 M. de Fontaine was selected to
perform this important task. The part of the Rhine to
which he principally directed his attention is comprised
between Basle and Neuburg, that being the political limit
between France and the German states. In this part, the
bed of the river is situated in the alluvium which forms
the bottom of the valley; and through this the Rhine forces
its way by many channels, forming, in its passage, islands
and sand-banks, which render its motions very irregular
both in times of high and low water. Amongst the differ¬
ent streams there is generally one more considerable than
the others, and which forms the navigable channel. Ihese
branches are annually diminished by artificial works, and
probably in a few years the whole of the waters of the
Rhine will be forced into one channel, which may then be
expected to become so much deeper, and freer from ob¬
structions, as to be far more fit for navigation.
To enable vessels to ascend a rapid in a river, a power¬
ful though rather tedious method, called warping, has been
long in use. This consists in attaching or making fast one
end of a rope somewhere up the rapid, and then winding
up the other by means of a windlass or capstan on board,
till the vessel ascends against the stream. Sometimes a
tug-boat in constant attendance at the rapid is provided
with two paddle-wheels, one on each side, which, turning
by the force of the stream, wind up the rope on their axle,
and enable the tug itself not only to ascend the torrent,
but also to draw up other vessels after it. This method
is probably at least a century old, being described in the
Machines Approuvees par VAcademic des Sciences; but
within the last twenty years it has been repeatedly announ¬
ced as a wonderful discovery just made, sometimes here
and sometimes in America. This shows the importance
of diffusing knowledge, to save ingenious men from use¬
lessly wasting their time in re-inventing what is already
well known. Sometimes a paddle-wheel stationed some¬
where up the rapid winds up the rope, and draws the ves¬
sel to it, which we should think by much the better me¬
thod. Where the navigation of a river is incommoded by
shifting mud or sand, the force of the current is sometimes
employed, particularly in France, to urge forward a plank
held on edge across the stream, so as to make it clear the
way like a snow-plough for a fleet of boats, &c. which are to Naviga-
follow. But it is more systematic to have a boat provid-
ed with flaps or wings for cleaning a river. v n
BRIDGES.
W7here canals or rivers are navigated only by such boats
as have neither masts nor rigging, the bridges over these
waters are, for the most part, fixed, and have scarcely any
thing peculiar in them on account of the navigation, except
that the arch may rise a little higher, and have a towing-
path under it, as shown at B, fig. 8, Plate CCCLXXIX.
But a moveable bridge is always employed where a fixed
one would occasion too great a rise in a road, or where
the arch cannot be elevated sufficiently to clear the masts
of vessels. There are several sorts of moveable bridges.
The draw or lift-bridge A A, fig. 8, is one which is Draw-
fastened with ajoint or hinges at one end, so that the other bridge,
end may be lifted or let down by some easy artifice.
Formerly this sort of bridge was lifted and suspended by
chains and levers working in a huge wooden frame, which
was often of great height, and usually painted in gaudy
colours, to the great terror of such horses and other animals
as were unaccustomed thereto. Some of these were long
to be seen on the Forth and Clyde Canal. But such bridges
are now generally lifted, without chains or levers, by turn¬
ing a pinion which works into a toothed-rack fixed upon the
bridge ; or, if the bridge is large, it has two of these racks
and pinions. This simplification of drawbridges is said to
have originated with M. Perronet in France. For small
canals a drawbridge consists of one leaf or frame only ; but
for entrances to docks and harbours, and for large canals,
such as that of the Forth and Clyde, it is made in two
halves, which meet in the middle when they are shut or
let down. Such bridges, however, have been found incon¬
venient in practice, from their being apt to catch the yards
and rigging of vessels in passing through them.
This inconvenience has given rise to a different form Swing or
of moveable bridge, which, instead of lifting, like theturn
former, round a horizontal axis, swings or turns horizon- bndge.
tally, as it were, round a vertical axis; but the weight
of this bridge is not supported on the centre or axis,
but rests and is poised upon a circular series of balls or
rollers surrounding the centre of motion. Some of the
earliest of these bridges were principally made of wood,
and for small canals consisted of a single leaf only; but
they are now commonly made of cast iron, and, when large,
are double. Fig. 1 shows an elevation, and fig. 2 a plan,
of a double bridge of this sort, by the late Mr Ralph Wal¬
ker, where AA is the line of the roadway, RR the rollers
and lower ring, shown separately in fig. 6, with the outer
ring to which they are attached. The upper ring is seen
in fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the bridge through
the centre of the rings, supposing the bridge and build¬
ing to be laid on their side, and the section to be made
across the roadwaj'. In fig. 7, F is a vertical section of
the abutment, while E is the upper side of the cross for
the pivot, round which either half of the bridge turns.
Fig. 3 shows a section of the part of the bridge to which
is attached the pinion, which, by working in the fixed seg¬
ment by means of the handle H, turns either half of the
bridge quite out of the way of vessels passing along the
river or canal, and also brings it back or shuts it again.
GG are holes for putting in pins for locking the bridge.
When the bridge is shut, three of the five ribs bear at right
angles on the abutments; the other two are secured upon
the upper circles, and at GG. We should think that a far
Fontaine, Dcs Travaux du Fleuve du Rhin, 1833 ; and Mr Rennie’s Report on Hydraulics.
36
NAVIGATION, INLAND.
Inland.
Naviga- more simple bridge of the moveable sort might be formed,
ticm, so as to m0ve backwards and forwards in a straight line,
, like a waggon on a railway. Some rude bridges upon this
principle are said to have been long in use in China.
BOATS.
Boats formed exclusively for canals are much longer and
narrower than those which are also intended for rivers, or
for river navigation alone. It is found, that when made of
this shape, they are tracked with more ease or speed than
when of a wider and shorter form ; and they likewise occa¬
sion less injury to the sides of the canal. Indeed the propor¬
tions of the boats must always be regulated by the dimen¬
sions of the locks and bridges ; and these have often been
made of very reduced width, from considerations of econo¬
my in the construction. In the central districts of Eng¬
land, the boats are without masts. They are generally
sharp at both ends, having no projecting stern, but being
guarded by three rows of wrought-iron bands, which ex¬
tend round the bows to the distance of twenty feet on each
side, above and below the water line. The bottom is nearly
flat, but they are generally encumbered with a keel, which
is of no use in a canal but to require a greater depth of
water. Keels sufficiently heavy, it is true, may act as bal¬
last, but that would not compensate for the other incon¬
venience. Where very long boats would not have room to
turn, several short ones are linked together in a string;
one horse drawing these more easily than a single boat of
great breadth, which, besides, might not have room to
pass through the locks. The boats of the Mersey and Ir-
well Navigation Company are provided with masts and
sails, such that they can coast round the whole island ; and
they are capable, too, of contending with the most boister¬
ous weather. Their masts are made to strike by means of
a forestay attached to two double-sheaved blocks, one of
which is firmly fixed to the top of the stem ; and the stay
is heaved down by a windlass on the forepart of the deck.
The boom extends no farther out than the after extremity
of the rudder, and the stern is made nearly vertical. Ves¬
sels similar to these, especially in having a falling mast to
pass under bridges, are much employed on the Thames
and other rivers.
Oars, no doubt, in some shape or other, formed at an
early period a means of propelling vessels on inland waters,
and are still in use for that purpose. Sails, too, are em¬
ployed on lakes and in the wider parts of rivers, if the
current is moderate, with sufficient room for tacking; and
during a favourable wind almost all vessels which may,
on any account, be provided with sails, are in the habit of
hoisting them when on a narrow river or canal. But in
the latter cases the most usual method is to track or draw
the vessels along by the power of men or horses travelling
on the banks. The practice of men tracking boats is pro¬
bably very ancient, and is still the mode in China and other
barbarous or obscure places, where vast numbers of men
continue to be thus employed. Nay, to come nearer home,
it was even continued on the Thames and the Severn till
near the end of last century, when proper towing paths and
horses were, for the first time, introduced on these rivers,
as they had been long before on canals.
But the most efficient power hitherto employed for pro¬
pelling vessels, either in still water or against a moderate
current in a large river, is that of steam, which has now
come into general use for that purpose ; though it certainly
acts at a prodigious disadvantage, by re-acting against wa¬
ter which it is either leaving or which is moving from it,—
a disadvantage, too, which augments with the rate of sail-
ing. For this reason, and on account of the force which
is wasted by the paddle-boards in entering and quitting
the water with great velocity, and which waste also in¬
creases with the velocity of the paddles, it follows that the
force of the steam-engine must be greatly increased, to oc¬
casion such an increase in the re-action of the paddles as
shall urge the vessel with any considerably greater rapidity.
Such seem to be some of the reasons w'hy wre often heai
of a vessel being propelled by a power equal to that of 500
or 600 horses, while there is not the least probability that
it is encountering a resistance of one fifth so much.
Of late years a great many experiments have been made
on the trackage and resistance of canal-boats, particularly
by Mr Palmer, Mr Macniell, and Mr Russell; but their
results, though interesting, are very discordant. Mr Palmer
makes the resistance as the cube of the velocity, which
would be fatal altogether to any thing in the shape of
swuft boats. Mr Macniell, again, makes the most advanta¬
geous velocity about nine or ten miles per hour, which is
nearly what has been in use, and found to answer so wed
for several years with light boats carrying passengers on
different canals, as we shall presently notice moie particu¬
larly. But Mr Russell carries the most advantageous velo¬
city so very high, if indeed he gives it a limit, that, even grant¬
ing his experiments to be perfectly correct, we have great
doubts whether such velocities can ever be applicable to
any practical purpose, at least of the nature of a long navi-
gation.
Light boats for conveying passengers with a speed for¬
merly unknown upon canals, were first introduced by Mr
Houston, in June 1831, on the Glasgow and Paisley Canal.1 * 3
The following account of its success, after a two years'
trial, is given by Mr Thomas Grahame, civil engineer,
in his Letter to Canal Proprietors and Traders. “ The
ordinary speed for the conveyance of passengers on the
Ardrossan Canal has, for nearly two years, been from nine
to ten miles an hour; and although there are fourteen
journeys along the canal per day at this rapid speed, its
banks have sustained no injury. The boats are seventy
feet in length, about five feet and a half broad, and, but
for the extreme narrowness of the canal, might be made
broader. They carry easily from seventy to eighty pas¬
sengers ; and, when required, can and have carried up¬
wards of 110 passengers. The entire cost of a boat and
fittings up is about L.125. The hulls are formed of light
iron plate and ribs, and the covering is of wood and light
oiled cloth. They are more airy, light, and comfortable,
than any coach. They permit the passengers to move
about from the outer to the inner cabin; and the fares per
mile are one penny in the first, and three farthings in the
second cabin. The passengers are all carried under cover,
having the privilege also of an uncovered space. These
boats are drawn by two horses, the prices of which may be
from L.50 to L.60 per pair, in stages of four miles in
length, which are done in from twenty-two to twenty-five
minutes, including stoppages to let out and take in pas¬
sengers, each set of horses doing three or four stages alter¬
nately each day. In fact, the boats are drawn through this
narrow and shallow canal at a velocity which many cele¬
brated engineers had demonstrated, and which the public
believed, to be impossible.”
Swift boats have likewise been for several years in use
on the Forth and Clyde Canal, the Edinburgh and Glas-
Naviga-
tion,
Inland.
1 A small boat closely covered in is by no means free from danger on a deep canal; for if by accident or mismanagemen it
were allowed to sink, it'would be very apt to confine the inmates under water till they were drowned, especially as those who b -
come frantic would prevent the more sober from escaping.
N A V
Naviga- crow Union Cancilj the Uancsster Csnah snd on vtnious
tors’ others, with equal success, at least between locks, or wher-
Islands. ever tj)ey are free from locks. There is, however, little
reason to expect, as some seem to do, that any material in¬
crease of swiftness above that now described is likely ever
to be effected with advantage on ordinary canals. Horses
have already been pushed to their utmost speed; and were
steam introduced, with all its machinery and apparatus, the
weight would be so enormously augmented as to require
a prodigious increase of moving power. But, on several
other accounts, the ordinary canals, and almost every thing
connected with them, are totally unfit for a much greater
velocity. Swifter boats would require canals to be inter¬
rupted by no locks, to have no contractions at tunnels and
bridges, and to be incommoded by no barges or other slow
and heavy craft, which cannot instantly be cleared out of
the way. Drawbridges would be attended with a similar
inconvenience. The slightest covering, even of broken ice,
would occasion a serious resistance; whilst intense frost,
which has no effect upon railways, arrests boats altogether.
The Americans, it is true, pretend to have greatly out¬
stripped us in swiftness; but it is fully as easy to read some
of their statements on this head as to give them entire cre¬
dit. There can be no question that it is easier to propel
a boat more speedily along a great river like the Hudson,
than in our narrow and shallow canals, where much time
is lost in passing through the locks, or great inconvenience
is experienced in conveying the cargo from one boat to
another, past the locks.
The swiftest boat would take almost the same time to
pass through a lock as the most tardy and unwieldy barge ;
and it would be difficult, and even hazardous, from the
risk of striking against the ends of the building, to force
it swiftly through, and especially to make it enter a nar¬
row tunnel, or the narrow contractions at bridges or aque¬
ducts. On these accounts, and the perpetual risk of run¬
ning foul of other craft, the pilotage of a very swift boat
is a task with which few could be intrusted, or rather for
which no one is competent. These, however, are difficul¬
ties and dangers with which railways have not necessarily
any thing to do ; because the railway itself acts as the
most perfect pilot. In short, to think, as some do, that, at
this age of the world, canals can ever be brought to com¬
pete with railways in point of swiftness, is a project which
cannot be listened to by any disinterested person who is
sufficiently informed on such subjects.
On the other hand, although the kind of traffic on which
canals have hitherto depended principally for their sup¬
port is not likely to be withdrawn from them by the com¬
petition of railways, as appears from the canal business be-
N A V 37
tween Liverpool and Manchester having increased since Navi^a-
the railway came into operation, yet it is not so easy to
quiet the fears of those who are more immediately concern- , h a^u-'s'
ed; and those who do give way to such fears put them¬
selves in the way of being ridiculously imposed upon. Ac¬
cordingly, a few years ago, a pamphlet was most industrious¬
ly circulated throughout England, with the view of setting
forth the great superiority of canals over railways, and also
of showing what a most ruinous speculation the Liverpool
and Manchester Railway had been. Such assertions, how¬
ever, met with a speedy refutation ; and, in some discussion
which arose on the subject, the author of the pamphlet
let out that he had been hired on purpose, and also, what
is curious, that his reward was not simply derived from
proprietors of coaches and canals, but that one of our great
seminaries of religion and learning had liberally afforded
him its share of support.
The following is a list of works to which we have either
been indebted in drawing up the preceding pages, or at
least from which much farther information may still be ob¬
tained ; though these, after all, form but a small proportion
of the works which treat more or less on subjects relating
to inland navigation:—Belidor, Architecture Hydraulique ;
Lalande, Traite des Canaux de Navigation; Frisi, de Canali
Navigabili; Phillips’ History of Inland Navigation ; Fulton
on Canal Navigation; Chapman’s Observations on Canals,
&c.; Leach on Inland Navigation ; Anderson’s Recreations;
Smeaton’s Reports on Civil Engineering; Nicholson’s Philo¬
sophical Journal; Telford’s Reports on the Caledonian Ca¬
nal ; Strickland’s Reports on Canals, Railways, &c.; Coxe’s
Travels in the North of Europe ; Barrow’s Travels in the
North of Europe ; Transactions of the Society of Civil En¬
gineers ; Transactions of Statistical Society; M‘Culloch’s
Commercial Dictionary; M‘Culloch’s Statistics of the Bri¬
tish Empire; Martin’s History of the British Colonies; Jour¬
nal of the Royal Geographical Society; Dupin’s Commercial
Power of Great Britain ; Rennie on Hydraulics, in the Re¬
ports of the British Association; Fairbairn on Canal and
Steam Navigation ; Macniell on the Resistance of Water,
&c.; Priestley’s Account of Canals, &c. in Britain ; Ha¬
milton’s East India Gazetteer; Girard, Memoires sur les
Canaux, &c.; Huerne, Des Canaux Navigables ; Dutens,
Histoire de la Navigation Interieure de la France; Du¬
tens sur les Travaux Publics d’Angleterre ; Warden’s Ac¬
count of the United States of America ; Pitkin’s Statis¬
tics of the United States ; Flint’s Geography of the West¬
ern States; the American Almanac ; the Franklin Journal;
Mechanics’ Magazine; Railway Journal; Edinburgh Phi¬
losophical Journal; Edinburgh Review ; Balbi, Abrege de
la Geographic; Tableau des Etats Danois, &c. (e. e. e.)
NAVIGATORS’ Islands, a group of islands in the
Southern Pacific Ocean, remarkable for their extent, fertili¬
ty, and population. They are about ten in number, and are
situated between 169. and 172. 30. west longitude, and
from latitude 13. 25. to an uncertain boundary southward.
When seen from the ocean they present a lofty appear¬
ance, and are mountainous, but neither surrounded with a
low border nor enclosed by reefs, like the Society Islands.
The first discovery of these islands was made in 1722, by
Roggewein and Bauman, who fell in with the easternmost
of the number; whilst Bougainville, in 1768, added an¬
other ; and Perouse, in 1787, discovered the two western¬
most, which are the largest, being more than forty miles
in length. The last navigator was informed of three more
to the southward. The whole group was visited in 1791
by Captain Edwards. The inhabitants are a stout and well-
made race, of the ordinary height of five feet nine or eleven
inches. They are altogether savage in their manners, which
are said to be remarkably profligate and indecent. They are
also of the most ferocious dispositions. The least dispute
between them is followed by blows from clubs, sticks, or
paddles, and is often attended with the loss of life. They
are very ingenious, and fashion their work dexterously
with hatchets shaped like adzes, and made of very fine
and compact basalts. With these they finish works in
w’ood, and give them so high a polish that they appear to
be coated with the finest varnish. They also manufacture
a species of cloth which possesses great strength and plia¬
bility, and is well calculated for the sails of canoes. The
name of Navigators’ Islands was bestowed by Bougain¬
ville, from the practice which prevails amongst the inha¬
bitants of continually travelling in canoes. We have no
data upon which we can calculate the amount of the po¬
pulation ; but it must be considerable, considering that
these islands are amongst the largest and most fertile in the
South Seas.
38
N A
An insular empire, like that of the united kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, which is so much indebted, and
always must be, for that power, prosperity, and renown
which she enjoys, to the glorious deeds of her navy, can¬
not but take a peculiar degree of interest in every thing
that concerns it. This vast machine, indeed, has at all
times been the pride and boast of Great Britain, the ter¬
ror of its enemies, and the admiration of the world. It is
under the impression of its vast importance that we have
been induced to give, under their proper heads, such de¬
tails of the civil and military branches of the naval de¬
partments as may afford, without entering into too mi¬
nute details, a comprehensive sketch of this great nation¬
al bulwark, of which it is now proposed to take a general
view.
The term Navy is generally intended to express all
ships of commerce as well as those of war, the mercantile
as well as the military marine; but the observations con¬
tained in the present article are meant to relate only to
the latter, excepting that, in speaking of the progressive
enlargement of ships, and improvements in naval architec¬
ture, the remarks may sometimes equally apply to ships of
commerce and of war.
Navy composed of Materiel and Personel.
The composition of a navy maybe considered under the
two distinct heads into which it naturally divides itself,
and under which the French generally distinguish an army,
the materiel, and the personel; the former embracing every
thing that appertains to the ships, their capacity, con¬
struction, armament, and equipment; the latter all that
concerns the rank, the appointment, the various duties, &c.
of the officers, seamen, and marines.
I.—MATERIEL OF THE NAVY.
History. It would occupy too large a space to give even a short
sketch of the origin and the progress of naval architecture,
from a bundle of branches, or the hollow trunk of a tree—
the rude raft and the frail canoe—to the more perfect co¬
racle, or the wicker-boats of the ancient Britons, covered
with hides. For many centuries after the expulsion of
the Romans from, or their abandonment of, the British
Islands, very little progress appears to have been made by
us in the art of navigation or ship building: the natives
would appear, for many centuries afterwards, to have acted
merely on the defensive against naval invasions.
“ The whole of our naval history,” say the commis¬
sioners for revising the civil affairs of the navy, “ may be
divided into three periods; the first comprehending all
that preceded the reign of Henry VIII.; the second end¬
ing with the restoration of Charles II.; and the third
coming down from the Restoration to the present day.”
To what size, and to what extent, the amount of the
period. English ships or vessels were carried, which supported so
many contests with the invading Danes in the ninth cen¬
tury, our naval history has not preserved any record. We
are told, however, that Alfred increased the size of his
galleys, and that some of them were capable of rowing
thirty pair of oars. These galleys were chiefly employed
in clearing the Channel of the nests of pirates by which it
was infested. It is also said, as a proof of his attention to
naval matters, that, under his auspices, one Ochter under-
V Y.
took a voyage into the arctic regions, made a survey of j\fateriel.
the coasts of Lapland and Norway, and brought to Alfred' 
an account of the mode pursued by the inhabitants of those
countries to catch whales. It is, moreover, on record, that
his two sons, Edward and Athelstan, fought many bloody
actions with the Danes, in which several kings and chiefs
were slain ; and that Edgar had from three to five thousand
ships, divided into three fleets, stationed on three several
parts of the coast, with which, passing from one fleet or
squadron to the other, he circumnavigated the island ; that
after this he called himself “ Monarch of all Albion, and
Sovereign over all th6 adjacent Isles.” Some notion, how¬
ever, may be formed of the size of the vessels which com¬
posed his fleets, from the imposition of a land-tax, which
required certain proprietors to furnish a stout galley of
three rows of oars, to protect the coast from the Danish
pirates. The more effectually to check these marauders,
and protect the coasts of the kingdom, William the Con¬
queror, in 1066, established the Cinque Ports, and gave
them certain privileges, on condition of their furnishing
fifty-two ships, with twenty-four men in each, for fifteen
days, in cases of emergency. W e should not, perhaps, be
far amiss in dating the period of our naval architecture
from the Conquest. “ The Normans,” says Sir Walter
Raleigh, “ grew better shipwrights than either the Danes
or Saxons, and made the last conquest of this land ; a land^
which can never be conquered whilst the kings thereof
keep the dominion of the seas.” But Raleigh does not de¬
scribe what the ships were which the Normans taught us to
build ; nor can it now be known in what kind of vessels W il-
liam transported his army across the Channel, or what was
the description of the hundred large ships and fifty galleys
of which the naval armament of Richard I. consisted on his
expedition to the Holy Land. We are told, however, that
having increased his fleet at Cyprus to two hundred and
fifty ships and sixty galleys, he fell in with a ship belong¬
ing to the Saracens, of such an extraordinary size that she
was defended by 1500 men, all of whom, with the excep¬
tion of 200, Richard, after taking possession of her, ordered
to be thrown overboard and drowned.
There can be no doubt that the nations of the Mediter¬
ranean, particularly the Genoese and Venetians, introduced
many improvements as to the capacity and stability of their
ships, in consequence of the crusades, and the demands for
warlike stores and provisions which such vast and ill-pro¬
vided armies necessarily created ; but these improvements
would seem not to have reached, or, at least, to have made
but a tardy progress in, Great Britain. King John, it is
true, stoutly claimed for England the sovereignty of the
sea, and decreed that all ships belonging to foreign na¬
tions, the masters of which should refuse to strike to the
British flag, should be seized and deemed good and lawful
prize. And this monarch is said to have fitted out no less
than five hundred sail of ships, under the Earl of Salisbury,
in the year 1213, against a fleet of three times that num¬
ber, prepared by Philip of France for the invasion of Eng¬
land ; of which the English took three hundred sail, and
drove a hundred on shore, Philip being under the neces¬
sity of destroying the remainder, to prevent their falling
also into the hands of the English. Of the kinds of ships
of which his fleet consisted, some notion may be formed by
the account that is related of an action fought in the fol¬
lowing reign with the French, who, with “ eighty stout
ships,” threatened the coast of Kent. This fleet being dis¬
covered by Hubert de Burgh, governor of Dover Castle,
he put to sea with forty English ships, and having got to
N A
Materiel, the windward of the enemy, and run down many of the
smaller ships, he closed with the rest, and threw on board
them a quantity of quicklime, which blinded them so effec¬
tually that all their ships were either taken or sunk.
Whatever the size and the armaments of our ships were,
the empire of the sea was bravely maintained by the Ed¬
wards and the Henrys in many a gallant and glorious sea-
fight with the fleets of France, against which they were
generally opposed with inferior numbers. The temper of
the times, and the public feeling, were strongly exemplified
in the reign of Edward I. by the following circumstance:
An English sailor was killed in a Norman port, in conse¬
quence of which a war commenced, and the two nations
agreed to decide the dispute on a certain day, with the
whole of their respective naval forces. The spot of battle
was to be the middle of the Channel, marked out by an¬
choring there an empty ship. The two fleets met on the
14th April 1293; the English obtained the victory, and
carried off above two hundred and fifty sail.
In an action with the French fleet off the harbour of
Sluys, Edward III. is said to have slain 30,000 of the ene¬
my, and to have taken two hundred great ships, “ in one of
which only, there were four hundred dead bodies.” This
is no doubt an exaggeration. The same monarch, at the
siege of Calais, is stated to have blockaded that port with
seven hundred and thirty sail, having on board 14,956
mariners; twenty-five only of which were of the royal navy,
bearing four hundred and nineteen mariners, or about se¬
venteen men each. In various other sea actions did this
great sovereign nobly support the honour of the British
flag. But though we then, and ever after, claimed the
“ dominion of the seas,” that dominion, says Raleigh, “ was
never absolute until the time of Henry the Eighth.” It
was a maxim of this great statesman, that “ whosoever
commands the sea, commands the trade of the world;
whosoever commands the trade, commands the riches of
the world, and consequently the world itself.”
The reign of Henry V., however, was most glorious in
maintaining the naval superiority over the fleets of France.
From a letter of this sovereign to his lord chancellor,
dated 12th August 1417, discovered by the late Mr Ly-
sons among the records in the Tower, and of which the
following is a copy, it would appear that there was some¬
thing like an established royal navy in his reign, indepen¬
dently of the shipping furnished by the Cinque Ports and
the merchants, for the king’s own use, on occasion of any
particular expedition. The letter appears to have been writ¬
ten nine days after the surrender of the castle of Touque
in Normandy, from whence it is dated.
“ Au reverend pere en Dieu VEvesque de Duresme Tire
Chanceller d'Engleterre.
“ Worshipful fader yn God We sende you closed within
this letter a cedule conteyning the names of certein Mais-
tres for owr owne grete Shippes Carrakes Barges and Ba-
lyngers to the whiche Maistres We have granted annui-
tees such as is appointed upon eche of hem in the same
Cedule to take yerely of owre grante while that us lust at
owr Exchequer of Westmr. at the termes of Michelmasse
and Ester by even porcions. Wherefore We wol and charge
yow that unto eche of the said Maistres ye do make under
owr grete seel beyng in yowre warde owr letters patentes
seyerales in due forme after th’effect and pourport of owr
said grante. Yeven under owr signet atte owr Castle of
louque the xij. day of August.”
Extract from the Schedule contained in the preceding Letter.
yj. li. xiijs, iiijd. La Grande Nief ap-1 yj. Mariners por la
pelle the dont John William/- sauf garde deink
est Maistre \ Hamult.
V Y. 39
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Trinate Royale
dont Steph’ Thomas est Maistre
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Holy Gost dont
Jordan Brownyng est Maistre
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrake appel¬
lee le Petre dont John Gerard
est Maistre
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd, La Carrake appellee
le Paul dont William Payne
est Maistre
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrak appelle
le Andrewe dont John Thor-
nyng est Maistr’
vj.li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrak appellee le
Xpofre dont Tendrell est Maistr’
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrak appelle
le Marie dont William Riche-
man est Maistr’
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrak appellee
le Marie dont William Hethe
est Maistre
vj. li. xiijs. iiijd. La Carrak appelle
le George dont John Mersh
est Maistr’
The remainder, to the masters of which pensions were thus
granted, consist of seventeen “ niefs, barges, and ballyn-
gers,” some with three, and others two mariners only. But
history informs us, that about this time Henry embarked
an army of 25,000 men at Dover on board of 1500 sail of
ships, two of which carried purple sails, embroidered with
the arms of England and France; one styled the King’s
Chamber, the other his Saloon, as typical of his keeping
his court at sea, which he considered as a part of his domi¬
nions. Still we are left in the dark as to the real dimen¬
sions of his ships, and the nature of their armament; they
were probably used only as transports for his army. It
would appear, however, from a very curious poem, writ¬
ten in the early part of the reign of King Henry VI. that
the navy of his predecessor was considerable, but that, by
neglect, it was then reduced to the same state in which it
had been during the preceding reigns. The poem here
alluded to is entitled “ The English Policie, exhorting all
England to keep the Sea, and namely the Narrow Sea;
showing what profit cometh thereof, and also what worship
and salvation to England and to all Englishmen;” and is
printed in the first volume of Hackluyt’s Collection of Voy¬
ages. It was evidently written before the year 1438, when
the Emperor Sigismond died, as appears by the following
passage in the prologue :
For Sigismond, the great Emperour,
Which yet reigneth, when he was in this land,
With King Henry the Fifth, Prince of Honour,
Here much glory, as him thought, he found
A mightie land, which had take in hand
To werre with France, and make mortalitie,
And ever well kept round about the sea.
The part of the poem which alludes to the navy of King
Henry V. is entitled “ Another incident of keeping the Sea,
in the time of marveilous werriour and victorious Prince,
King Henrie the Fifth, and of his great Shippes.”
The following are the most remarkable passages :
And if I should conclude all by the King
Henrie the Fift, what was his purposing,
Whan at Hampton he made the great dromons.
Which passed other great ships of the Commons;
The Trinitie, the Grace de Dieu, the Holy Ghost,
And other moe, which as nowe be lost.
What hope ye was the Kings great intent
Of thoo shippes, and what in mind he meant:
It was not ellis, but that he cast to bee
Lorde round about environ of the see.
And if he had to this time lived here,
He had been Prince named withouten pere:
- vj. Mariners,
vj. Mariners.
-vj. Mariners.
vj. Mariners.
vj. Mariners,
vj. Mariners.
- vj. Mariners.
-vj. Mariners.
Materiel.
40
Materiel.
NAVY.
Second
Period.
His great ships should have been put in preefe,
Unto the ende that he ment of in chiefe.
For doubt it not but that he would have bee
Lord and master about the round see :
And kept it sure, to stoppe our ennemies hence,
And wonne us good, and wisely brought it thence,
That no passage should be without danger,
And his licence on see to move and sterre.
the whole, sixteen ships and vessels, measuring 7260 MatdneL
tons.
The Henry Grace de Dieu is stated in all other accounts,
and with more probability, to have been only 1000 tons; the
rule for ascertaining the measurement of ships being sti
vague, and liable to great error, was probably much more
so at this early period. This ship was built in 1515, at Lrith,
in the river Thames, to replace the Regent, of the same ton-
Shortly after the time when this poem must have been na<Te> which was burned in August 1512, in action with the
written, it appears from the parliament roll (20th Henry ^ ^ ^ • i—  tht* lord hio-h ad-
VI. 1442), that an armed naval force, consisting only of
eight large ships, with smaller vessels to attend them,
was to be collected from the ports of London, Bristol,
Dartmouth, Hull, Newcastle, Winchelsea, Plymouth, tal-
mouth, &c.; and, of course, the royal ships ot 1417, the
names of which are contained in the foregoing schedule
French fleet, when carrying the flag of the lord high ad¬
miral. There is a drawing in the Pepysian papers of the
Henry Grace de Dieu, from which a print in the Aichae-
ologia has been engraved, and of which a copy has been
taken as a frontispiece to Mr Derrick s Memoirs of the Rise
and Progress of the Royal Navy, hrom these papers ^ aP"
pears that she carried fourteen guns on the lower deck,
twelve on the main deck, eighteen on the quarter-deck and
were then either gone to decay or dispersed. We are not    . a - .
to judge of the size of these ships from the few marineis poop, eighteen on the lofty forecastle, and ten in her stern-
appointed to each. These were merely the ship-keepers, p0rtS) making altogether seventy-two guns. Her regular
or harbour-duty men, placed on permanent pay, to keep establishment of men is said to have consisted of 349 sol-
the ships in a condition fit for the sea when wanted.
It is very probable that, until our merchants engaged in
the Mediterranean trade, and that the attention of the go¬
vernment was turned, in the reign of Henry VII. (about
1496), to imitate Portugal in making foreign discovery,
under the skilful seaman Sebastian Cabot, very little was
added to the capacity or the power of British ships of war.
It is said, however, that on the accession of Henry VII. to
the throne in 1485, he caused his marine, which had been
neglected in the preceding reign, to be put into a condi¬
tion to protect the coasts against all foreign invasions; and
that, in the midst of profound peace, he always kept up a
fleet ready to act. In his reign was built a ship called the
diers, 301 mariners, and fifty gunners, making altogether
700 men. Some idea may be formed of the awkwardness
in manoeuvring ships built on her construction, or similar
to her, when it is stated that, on the appearance of the
French fleet at St Helens, the Great Harry, built in the
former reign, and the first ship built with two decks, had
nearly been sunk ; and that the Mary Rose, of 600 tons,
with 500 or 600 men on board, was actually sunk at Spit-
head, occasioned, as Raleigh informs us, “ by a little sway
in casting the ship about, her ports being within sixteen
inches of the water.” On this occasion the fleets cannon¬
aded each other for two hours; and it is remarked as
something extraordinary, that not less than three hundred
Great Harry, the first on record that deserved the name of cannon.sh0t were fired on both sides in the course of this
a ship of war, ifit was not the first exclusively appropriated action> From the prints above mentioned, which agree
to the service of the state. This is the same ship which very cjose]y wit,h the curious painting of Henry crossing
the Channel in his fleet to meet Francis on the Champ
de Drap d’Or, near Calais, and now in the great room
where the Society of Antiquaries hold their meetings in
Somerset House, it is quite surprising how they could be
trusted on the sea at all, their enormous poops and fore¬
castles making them appear loftier and more awkward than
the large Chinese junks, to which, indeed, they bear a
strong resemblance. It is worth remarking, that, two years
ago, the position of the Mary Rose, near Spithead, was
pointed out to that extraordinary diver Mr Deane, who
went down several times, and brought up some beautiful
pieces of brass ordnance, as perfect and as fine specimens
as any we have at the present day.
Henry VIII. may justly be said to have laid the foun¬
dation of the British navy. He established the dock-yards
at Deptford, Woolwich, and Portsmouth ; he appointed
certain commissioners to superintend the civil affairs of the
navy, and settled the rank and pay of admirals, vice-admi¬
rals, and inferior officers; thus creating a national navy,
and raising the officers to a separate and distinct profes¬
sion. The great officers of the navy then were, the vice-
admiral of England, the master of the ordnance, the sur¬
veyor of the marine causes, the treasurer, comptroller, ge¬
neral surveyor of the victualling, clerk of the ships, and
clerk of the stores. Each of these officers had their par¬
ticular duties, but they met together at their office on
Tower Hill once a week, to consult, and make their re¬
ports to the lord high admiral. He also established the
fraternity of the Trinity House, for the improvement of
navigation and the encouragement of commerce ; and built
the castles of Deal, Walmer, Sandgate, Hurst Castle, &c.
for the protection of his fleet and of the coast.
At the death of Henry VIII. in 1547, the royal navy
consisted of about fifty ships and vessels of different sizes,
the former from lOOO’to 150 tons, and the latter down to
Camden has miscalled the Henry Grace de Dieu, and
which was not built till twenty years afterwards, under the
reign of Henry \ III. Ihe Great Harry is stated to have
cost L.14,000, and was burned by accident at Woolwich
in the year 1553.
We now come to that period of our naval history in
which England might be truly said to possess a military
marine, and of which some curious details have been left
us by that extraordinary man of business Mr Pepys, a com¬
missioner of the navy, and afterwards secretary to Charles
II., at a time when the king executed in person the office
of lord high admiral, and also to James II. until his ab¬
dication. His minutes and miscellanies relative to the
navy are contained in a great number of manuscript vo¬
lumes, which are deposited in the Pepysian Library in
Magdalene College, Cambridge. From these papers it
appears, that in the thirteenth year of Henry VIII. the
following were the names and the tonnage of the royal
navy :
Tons.
Henry Grace de Dieu 1500
Gabriel Royal 
Mary Rose 
Barbara  ^0
Mary George  250
Henry Hampton  120
The Great Galley  800
Sovereign  800
Catherine Forteleza  550
John Baptist  44)0
Great Nicholas  400
Mary James  240
Great Bark  250
Less Bark  180
Add to these two row-barges of sixty tons each, making,
N A
llat^riel. twenty tons, making in the whole about 12,000 tons, and
—^ ' manned by about 8000 mariners, soldiers, gunners, &c. In
the short reign of his son Edward, little alteration seems
to have taken place in the state and condition of the royal
navy. But the regulations which had been made in the
reign of his father, for the civil government of naval affairs,
were revised, arranged, and turned into ordinances, which
form the basis of all the subsequent instructions given to
the commissioners for the management of the civil affairs
of the navy. In the reign of Mary the tonnage of the
navy was reduced to about 7000 tons ; but her lord high
admiral nobly maintained the title assumed by England of
Sovereign of the Seas, by compelling Philip of Spain to
strike his flag that was flying at the main-top-mast head,
though on his way to England to marry Queen Mary, by
firing a shot at the Spanish admiral. He also demanded
that his whole fleet, consisting of 160 sail, should strike
their colours and lower their top-sails, as an homage to the
English flag, before he would permit his squadron to sa¬
lute the Spanish monarch.
The reign of Elizabeth was the proudest period of our
naval history, perhaps surpassed by none previously to the
Revolution. She not only increased the numerical force
of the regular navy, but established many wise regulations
for its preservation, and for securing adequate supplies of
timber and other naval stores. She placed her naval offi¬
cers on a more respectable footing, and encouraged fo¬
reign trade and geographical discoveries, so that she ac¬
quired justly the title of the Restorer of Naval Power,
and Sovereign of the Northern Seas. The greatest naval
force that had at any previous period been called together
was that which was assembled to oppose the Invincible
Armada, and which, according to the notes of Mr Secre¬
tary Pepys, consisted of 176 ships, with 14,992 men ; but
these were not all “ Shippes Royall,” but were partly com¬
posed of the contributions of the Cinque Ports and others.
The number actually belonging to the navy is variously
stated, but they would appear to have been somewhere
about forty sail of ships, manned with about 6000 men.
At the end of her reign, however, the navy had greatly
increased, the list in 1603 consisting of forty-two ships of
various descriptions, amounting to 17,000 tons, and man¬
ned with 8346 men. Of these, two were of the burden of
1000 tons each, three of 900 tons, and ten from 600 to
800 tons.
James I. was not inattentive to his navy. He warmly
patronised Mr Phineas Pett, the most able and scientific
shipwright that this country ever boasted, and to whom
•we undoubtedly owe the first essential improvements in
the form and construction of ships. The cumbrous top-
works were first got rid of under his superintendence.
“ In my owne time,” says Raleigh, “ the shape of our
English ships hath been greatly bettered; in extremity
we carry our ordnance better than we were wont; we
have added crosse pillars in our royall shippes, to strength¬
en them ; we have given longer floors to our shippes than
in older times,” &c. The young Prince Henry was so fond
of naval affairs, that Phineas Pett was ordered by the
lord high admiral to build a vessel at Chatham in 1604,
with all possible speed, for the young Prince Henry to dis¬
port himself in, above London Bridge; the length of her
keel was twenty-eight feet, and her breadth twelve feet.
In 1610 Pett laid down the largest ship that had hitherto
been built. She was named the Prince Royal; her bur¬
den was 1400 tons, her keel 114 feet, and she was armed with
Sixty-four pieces of great ordnance, “ being in all respects,”
says Stowe, “ the greatest and goodliest ship that was ever
built in England.” He adds, “ the great workmaster in
building this ship was Mr Phineas Pett, gentleman, some
time master of arts, of Emanuel College, in Cambridge.”
This excellent man, as appears from a manuscript ac-
VOL. XVI.
V Y. ; 41
count of his life in the British Museum, written by him- Materiel,
self, was regarded by the shipwrights of the dock-yards,
who had no science themselves, with an eye of jealousy ;
and a complaint was laid against him before the king, of
ignorance in laying off a ship, and of a wasteful expendi¬
ture of timber and other matters. The king attended at
Woolwich with his court, to inquire in person into the
charges brought forward, and, after a painful investiga¬
tion, pronounced in favour of Mr Pett. One of the charges
was, that he had caused the wood to be cut across the
grain ; but the king observed, that, as it appeared to him,
“ it was not the wood, but those who had preferred the
charges, that were cross-grained.”
The state of the navy at the king’s death is variously
given by different writers; but on this subject the memo¬
randa left by Mr Secretary Pepys are most likely to be
correct. From them it appears that, in 1618, certain com¬
missioners were appointed to examine into the state of the
navy, and by their report it appears there were then only
thirty-nine ships and vessels, whose tonnage amounted to
14,700 tons ; but in 1624, on the same authority, the num¬
bers had decreased to thirty-two or thirty-three ships and
vessels, but the tonnage increased to about 19,400 tons.
The commissioners had, in fact, recommended many of the
small craft to be broken up or sold, and more ships of the
higher rates to be kept up.
The navy was not neglected in the troublesome reign
of Charles I. This unfortunate monarch added upwards
of twenty sail to the list, generally of the smaller kind;
but one of them, built by Pett, was of a description, both as
to form and dimensions, far superior to any that had yet
been launched. This ship was the celebrated Sovereign
of the Seas, which was launched at Woolwich in 1637.
The length of her keel was 128 feet, the main breadth
forty-eight feet, and from stem to stern 232 feet. In the
description of this ship by Thomas Heywood, she is said
to have “ bore five lanthorns, the biggest of which would
hold ten persons upright; had three flush-decks, a fore¬
castle, half-deck, quarter-deck, and round-house. Her
lower tier had thirty ports for cannon and demi-cannon ;
middle tier, thirty for culverins and demi-culverins ; third
tier, twenty-six for other ordnance ; forecastle, twelve;
and two half-decks, thirteen or fourteen ports more within
board, for murthering pieces ; besides ten pieces of chace
ordnance forward, and ten right aft, and many loop-holes
in the cabins for musquet-shot. She had eleven anchors,
one of 4400 pounds weight. She was of the burden of
1637 tons.” It appears, however, that she was found, on
trial, to be too high for a good serviceable ship in all wea¬
thers, and was therefore cut down to a deck less. After
this she became an excellent ship, and was in almost all
the great actions with the Dutch ; she was rebuilt in 1684,
when the name was changed to that of Royal Sovereign ;
and was about to be rebuilt a second time at Chatham in
1696, when she accidentally took fire, and was totally con¬
sumed. In this reign the ships of the navy were first
classed, or divided into six rates, the first being from 100
to sixty guns, the second from fifty-four to thirty-six, &c.
In 1642 the management of the navy was taken out of
the king’s hands, and in 1648 Prince Rupert carried away
twenty-five ships, none of which ever returned; and such,
indeed, was the reduced state of the navy, that at the be¬
ginning of Cromwell’s usurped government, he had only
fourteen ships of war of two decks, and some of these car¬
ried only forty guns ; but, under the careful management
of very able men, in different commissions which he ap¬
pointed, such vigorous measures were pursued, that, in five
years, though engaged within that time in war with the
greatest naval power in Europe, the fleet was increased to
150 sail, of which more than a third part had two decks,
and many of which were captured from the Dutch, and
42
NAVY.
hdeht which it had never before reached ; but from which joined with the new commissioners. To him, it has been
it In declined under the short and feeble administration -id we owe fte firs, “‘^“ken the model
Though Cromwell found the navy divided into six rates of the Superbe, a French ship of XThfLuAellar-
or classes, it was under his government that these ratings SP^^rer are o^opWon ^ no
r; n^w mtTldtmay^lTo b”^ Ider improvement ^d at this tim^been made „„ «he mode^ of
Tliird pe¬
riod.
to’ the state. Mr Pett took his model of this ship from a
French frigate which he had seen in the Thames.”
During the first period of our naval history, we know
nothing of the nature of the armament of the ships. From
the time of Edward III. they might have been armed with
cannon, but no mention is made of this being the case.
According to Lord Herbert, brass ordnance were first cast
in England in the year 1535. They had various names,
such as cannon, demi-cannon, culverins, demi-culverms,
sakers, mynions, falcons, falconets, &c. What the calibre
of each of these was is not accurately known, but the
cannon is supposed to have been about sixty-pounders, t le
demi-cannon thirty-two, the culverin eighteen, falcon two,
mynion four, saker five, &c. Many of these pieces, of dif¬
ferent calibres, were mounted on the same deck, which
must have occasioned great confusion in action in finding
for each its proper shot. , ^ , , tt i
On the restoration of Charles II. the Duke of York
was immediately appointed lord high admiral, and by his
advice a committee was named to consider a plan, pro
to be issued in weekly payments , — -
half they finished their task, to the satisfaction of the king
and the whole nation ; the number of ships repaired and
under repair being 108 sail of the line, besides a consider¬
able number of vessels of smaller size. The same year the
king abdicated the throne, at which time the list of the
navy amounted to 173 sail, containing 101,892 tons, car¬
rying 6930 guns, and 42,000 seamen.
The naval regulations were wisely left unaltered at the
Revolution, and the business of the admiralty continued
to be carried on chiefly, for some time, under the imme¬
diate direction of King William, by Mr Pepys, till the ar¬
rival of Admiral Herbert and Captain Russell from the
fleet, into whose hands, he says, “ he silently let it fall.
Upon the general principles of that system, thus esta¬
blished with his aid by the Duke of York, the civil go¬
vernment of our navy has ever since been carried on.
In the second year of King William (1690), no less
than thirty ships were ordered to be built, of sixty, se¬
venty, and eighty guns each; and in 1697 the king, in
advice and able assistance of Mr Pepys, great progress was
speedily made in the reparation and increase of the fleet.
The duke remained lord high admiral till 1673, when,
in consequence of the test required by parliament, to
which he could not submit, he resigned, and that othce
was in part put in commission, and the rest retained by
the king. Prince Rupert was put at the head of this com¬
mission, and Mr Pepys appointed secretary to the king in
all naval affairs, and of the admiralty; and by his able and
judicious management there were in sea-pay, in the year
1679, and in excellent condition, seventy-six ships of the
line, all furnished with stores for six months, eight fire¬
ships, besides a numerous train of ketches, smacks, yachts,
&c. with more than 12,000 seamen ; and also thirty new
ships building, and a good supply of stores in the dock¬
yards. But this flourishing condition of the navy did not
last long. In consequence of the dissipation of the king,
and his pecuniary difficulties, he neglected the navy on
account of the expenses; the duke was sent abroad, and
Mr Pepys to the Tower. A new set of commissioners were
appointed, without experience, ability, or industry ; and
the consequence was, as stated by the commissioners of
revision, that “ all the wise regulations formed during the
administration of the Duke of York were neglected; and
such supineness and waste appear to have prevailed, that,
at the end of not more than five years, when he was re¬
called to the office of lord high admiral, only twenty-
two ships, none larger than a fourth rate, with two fire¬
ships, were at sea; those in harbour were quite unfit for
service ; even the thirty new ships which he had left
building had been suffered to fifil into a state of great de¬
cay, and hardly any stores were found to remain in the
dock-yards.”
The first act on the duke’s return was the re-appoint-
ment of Mr Pepys as secretary of the admiralty. Finding
the present commissioners unequal to the duties required
at his accession. It was now partly composed of various
classes of French ships which had been captured m the
course of the war, amounting in number to more than
sixty, and in guns to 2300 ; the losses by storms and cap¬
tures on our side being about half the tonnage and half
the guns we had acquired. At the commencement of this
reign, the navy, as we have stated, consisted of 173 ships,
measuring 101,892 tons ; at his death, it had been ex¬
tended to 272 ships, measuring 159,020 tons, being an in¬
crease of ninety-nine ships and 57,128 tons, or more than
one half both in number and in tonnage.
The accession of Queen Anne was immediately follow¬
ed by a war with France and Spain, and in the second
year of her reign she had the misfortune of losing a vast
number of her ships, by one of the most tremendous storms
tliat was ever known; but every energy was used to re¬
pair this national calamity. In an address of the House
of Lords, in March 1707, it is declared as “ a most un¬
doubted maxim, that the honour, security, and wealth of
this kingdom does depend upon the protection and encour¬
agement of trade, and the improving and right encourag¬
ing its naval strength therefore we do in the most ear¬
nest manner beseech your majesty, that the sea affairs may
always be your first and most peculiar care.” In the course
of this war were taken or destroyed about fifty ships of
war, mounting 3000 cannon; and we lost about half the
number. At the death of the queen, in 1714, the list of
the navy was reduced in number to 247 ships, measuring
167,219 tons, being an increase in tonnage of 8199 tons.
George I. left the navy pretty nearly in the same state
in which he found it. At his death, in 1727, the list con¬
sisted of 233 ships, measuring 170,862 tong, being a de¬
crease in number of fourteen, but an increase in tonnage
of 3643 tons. _ • , «n
George II. was engaged in a war with Spain in 1739,
in consequence of which the size of our ships of the line
NAVY.
43
/at^riel. ordered to be built was considerably increased. In 1744-,
France declared against us ; but on tbe restoration of peace
in 1748, it was found that our naval strength had prodi¬
giously increased. Our loss had been little or nothing,
whilst we had taken and destroyed, of the French twenty,
and of the Spanish fifteen sail of the line, besides smaller
vessels. The war with France of 1755 added considerably
to the list, so that, at the king’s decease, in 1760, it con¬
sisted of 412 ships, measuring 321,104 tons.
In the short war of 1762, George III. added no less than
twenty sail of the line to our navy. At the conclusion of
the American war in 1782, the list of the navy was in¬
creased to 600 sail; and at the signing of the prelimina¬
ries in 1783 it amounted to 617 sail, measuring upwards
of 500,000 tons; being an increase of 185 ships and 157,000
tons and upwards since the year 1762. At the peace of
Amiens the list of the fleet amounted to upwards of 700
sail, of which 144 were of the line. The number taken
from the enemy, or destroyed, amounted nearly to 600, of
which ninety were of the line, including fifty-gun ships,
and upwards of two hundred were frigates ; and our loss
amounted to about sixty, of which six were of the line and
twelve frigates.
The recommencement and long continuance of the re¬
volutionary war, and the glorious successes of our naval
actions; the protection required for our extended com¬
merce, of which, in fact, we might be said to enjoy a mo¬
nopoly, and for the security of our numerous colonies; con¬
tributed to raise the British navy to a magnitude to which
the accumulated navies of the whole world bore but a small
proportion. From 1808 to 1813, there were seldom less than
from 100 to 106 sail of the line in commission, and from
130 to 160 frigates, and upwards of 200 sloops, besides
bombs, gun-brigs, cutters, schooners, &c. amounting in the
whole to about 500 sail of effective ships and vessels; to
which may be added 500 more in the ordinary, and as pri¬
son, hospital, and receiving ships j making at least 100O
pendants, and measuring from 800,000 to 900,000 tons.
The commissioners appointed to inquire into the state and
condition of the woods, forests, and land revenues of the
crown, state, in their report to parliament, in the year 1792,
that, “ at the accession of his majesty (Geo. III.) to the
throne, the tonnage of the royal navy was 321,104 tons,
and at the end of the year 1788 it had risen to no less
than 413,467 tons.” In 1808 it had amounted to the en¬
ormous extent of 800,000 tons, having nearly doubled it¬
self in twenty years.
It must not, however, be supposed that the effective
navy consisted of more than half this amount of tonnage.
Since the conclusion of the war, it would appear that at
least one half of the number of ships then in existence
have been sold or broken up as unfit for the service; and
as, by the list of the navy at the beginning of the year 1821,
the number of ships and vessels of every description, in com¬
mission, in ordinary, building, repairing, and ordered to be
built, has been reduced to 609 sail, we may take tbe great- Materiel,
est extent of the present tonnage at 500,000 tons; but
the greater part, if not the whole, of this tonnage may
be considered as efficient, or in a state of progressive effi¬
ciency.
According to the printed list of the 1st January 1821,
the 609 sail of ships and vessels appear to be as under:
No.
1st Rates from 120 to 100 guns 23
2d Rates ... 86... 80 do 16
3d Rates ... 78 ... 74 do 90
4th Rates ... 60 ... 50 do 20
5th Rates ... 48... 22 do 107
6th Rates ... 34... 24 do 40
Sloops ... 22 ... 10 do 136
Making a total of. 432
To which being added, gun-brigs, cutters,
schooners, tenders, bombs, troop-ships,
store-ships, yachts, &c  177
Grand total  609
In the year 1836 the total number of ships of war, in¬
cluding every description mentioned in the above list,
amounted to about 560 sail; of which ninety-five were
ships of the line in a state of efficiency for any service,
or of being speedily put into a fit state for .sea, and many
of them of a very superior class to any employed in the
last war.
The increase in the size of our ships of war was unavoid¬
able ; France and Spain had increased theirs, and we were
compelled, in order to meet them on fair terms, to increase
the dimensions of ours ; many of theirs were, besides, add¬
ed to the list of our navy. The following sketch will show
the progressive rate at which ships of the first order, or of
100 guns and upwards, were enlarged in their dimensions.
In 1677 the first rates were from 1500 to 1600 tons. In
1720 they were increased to 1800 tons. In 1745 we find
them advanced to 2000 tons. During the American war
they were raised to 2200 tons. In 1795 the Yille de Paris,
of 110, measured 2350 tons. In 1804 the Hibernia, of
110 guns, was extended to 2500 tons; and in 1808 the
Caledonia, carrying 120 guns, measured 2616 tons, and
here we stopped ; but since then, the Nelson, the Howe,
the St Vincent, the Britannia, the Prince Regent, the Royal
George, and the Neptune, have been built, or are building,
all nearly of the same dimensions, and from the same
draught—nine such ships as the whole world besides can¬
not produce. The French had one ship larger than any
of these, called the Commerce de Marseilles. She was
taken by us in Toulon, but broke her back in a gale of
wind.
The following are the comparative dimensions of the
Caledonia and the Commerce de Marseilles.
Caledonia 
Commerce de Marseilles.
Length of
Gun-deck.
feet. in.
205 0
208 4
Length of
Keel.
feet. in.
170 9
172 0
Extreme
Breadth.
feet. in.
53 8
54 91
Depth of
Hold.
feet. in.
23 2
25 01
Tons.
2616
2747
The following is the armament of the Caledonia: On
the gun-deck she carries thirty-two guns, 32-pounders;
middle-deck thirty-four 24-pounders, upper deck thirty-
four 24-pounders, carronades; quarter-deck ten 32-poun¬
ders, and six 12-pounders, carronades; forecastle two 32-
pounders, and two 12-pounders, carronades. Her comple¬
ment of men is 875.
At the commencement of the third period, we have a
somewhat more precise account of the armament of our
ships of war. On the 16th of May 1677, a committee of
the navy board, ordnance, and certain naval officers, re¬
commended to his majesty the following scheme for arm¬
ing and manning the thirty new ships of the line ordered
to be built by act of parliament.
NAVY.
Guns.
Cannon (supposed 42 prs.),
Demi-cannon (32 prs.) 
Culverins (18 prs.) 
Twelve-pounders 
Sakers, upper-deck 
... Forecastle 
Quarter-deck 
Three-pounders  
1st Rates.
2d Rates.
No. 26
28
28
4
12
2
100
3d Rates
26
26
26
io
2
26
26
4
10
4
90
70
For the 1st rate 780 men.
For the 2d do   660 do.
For the 3d do 470 do.
The rates of ships immediately after the revolution were
reduced, the first being turned to second rates, the second
rates to third, &c, and the size of each class more equal¬
ized. But from this time forward it was found impossible
to preserve any thing like uniformity in the several classes.
So many ships captured from the French, Dutch, and
Spaniards, were added to our navy, and so many new ones
built after the models of ships taken frorn these maiitime
powers, that the various descriptions of ships of which our
navy was composed became a very serious evil.
In the year 1745, a committee, composed of all flag-offi¬
cers unemployed, of the commissioners of the navy who
were sea-officers, under the presidency of Sir John Norris,
and assisted by the master shipwrights, were ordered to
meet, to consider and propose proper establishments of
guns, men, masts, yards, &c. for each class of his majesty’s
ships ; and, according to their recommendation, the rates,
armaments, and complements of his majesty s ships wei e
to be as follows :
Rate. Guns. Men.
X 100 850 or 750
2  90 750 or 660
( 80 650 or 600
3  "I 70 520 or 460
[ 60 420 or 380
4   i 50 350 or 280
5  44 280 or 220
6    24 160 or 140
But this establishment was very soon departed from ;
for, on the 3d of February 1747, the board of admiralty
acquainted his majesty, that the French ship Invincible,
lately captured, was found to be larger than his majesty s
ships of ninety guns and 750 men; and suggested that
this ship, and all other prizes of the like class, and also his
majesty’s ships of ninety guns, when reduced to two decks
and a half, and seventy-four guns, should be allowed a com¬
plement of 700 men. And it further appears, that, at the
latter end of the reign of George II. the rates of ships had
undergone a very material alteration, for they consisted as
under:
1st Rate 100 guns.
2d Rate 90 guns.
3d Rate 80 guns, 74—70—64 guns.
4th Rate 60 guns, 50.
5th Rate 44 guns, 38—36—32 guns.
6th Rate 30 guns, 28—24—20 guns.
The scales for measuring the ships were as various as
their rates ; and the evil was further increased by the va¬
rieties which it was found necessary to introduce in the
rigging and arming of the ships of war. The masts, yards,
rig|ing, and stores, were of so many and various dimen¬
sions, as to be not only highly inconvenient, but extremely
expensive. When Lord Nelson was off Cadiz with seven- Materiel,
teen or eighteen sail of the line, he had no less than seven y“*-/
different classes of seventy-four gun ships, each requhing
different sized masts, sails, yards, &c. so that, in the event
of one of these being disabled, the others could not supply
her with such stores as could be appropriated to her wants.
Present Rating of the Navy.
To remedy the many inconveniences resulting from the
irregularities above mentioned, the lords of the admiralty
suggested, by their memorial to the prince regent, which,
by his order in council, of the 25th November 1816, was
ordered to be carried into effect, that the ships of the navy
should for the future be rated as under.
The first rate to include all three-deckers, in as much as
all sea-going ships of that description carry a hundred guns
and upwards. . .
The second rate to include all ships of eighty guns and
upwards, on two decks.
The third rate to include all ships of seventy guns and
upwards, but less than eighty guns.
The fourth rate to include all ships of fifty and upwards,
but less than seventy guns.
The fifth rate to include all ships from thirty-six to
fifty guns.
The sixth rate to include all ships from twenty-four to
thirty-six guns. ,,
And that the complements of men be established as
under.
1st Rate 900 — 850 or 800 men.
2d Rate 700 or 650.
3d Rate 650 or 600.
4th Rate 450 or 350.
5th Rate 300 or 280.
6th Rate 175 — 145 or 125.
Of sloops, the complements established according to their
size were to consist of 135, 125, 95, or 75 men; of brigs
(not sloops), cutters, schooners, and bombs, sixty or fifty
men* . ,, ,
Thus stands the rating and manning of the navy at pre¬
sent ; but another war, or a new administration of the af¬
fairs of the navy, will, in all human probability, make new
regulations in these respects. It is, however, of the ut¬
most importance, with a view to convenience and economy,
that the size and dimensions of the several rates should be
kept as nearly as possible equal, in order that one descrip¬
tion of stores may be applicable to every ship of the same
rate. To this end, the commissioners of naval revision
have recommended, that the ships of each class oi i ate
should be constructed, in every particular, according to the
form of the best ship in the same class in our navy; of the
same length, breadth, and depth ; the masts of the same
dimensions, and placed in the same parts of the ship, with
the same form and size of the sails.” A complete classifi¬
cation of masts, yards, and sails, has very recently been
established.
Improvements in Construction.
If we look back to the days of Elizabeth, when the
chain-pump, the capstan, the striking of the top-masts, the
studding-sails, top-gallant-sails, sprit-sails, &c. were first
introduced into the navy, one can scarcely conceive how
they contrived to keep the sea for any length of time ; but
these improvements, important as they were, are trifling
when compared with those aids and conveniences which
have gradually been introduced since her reign, and which
a ship of war now enjoys. When Sir Anthony Deane, in
1664, raised the lower ports of a two-decker four and a
half feet out of the water, which had before been scarcely
three feet, and made a ship of this class to stow six months’
provisions instead of three, it was justly considered as a
NAVY.
45
ateriel. most important improvement; not less so, when the breadth
  ' of a ship of this class was carried to forty-five feet. “ The
builders of England,” says Pepys, “ before 1673, had not
well considered that breadth only will make a stiff ship.”
It must be confessed, however, that, as far as the form of
a ship’s bottom depends on scientific principles, we have
copied our best models from the French, sometimes with
capricious variations, which more frequently turned out to
be an injurious alteration than an improvement.
The first essential alteration in the form of our ships of
the line was taken from the Superbe, a French ship of se¬
venty-four guns, which anchored at Spithead, on the mo¬
del of which, as already stated, the Harwich was built by
Sir Anthony Deane in 1674; since which time we have
constantly been copying from French models, improving
or spoiling, as chance might determine. “ Where we have
built exactly after the form of the best of the French ships
that we have taken,” say the commissioners of naval revi¬
sion, “ thus adding our dexterity in building to their know¬
ledge in theory, the ships, it is generally allowed, have
proved the best in our navy ; but whenever our builders
have been so far misled by their little attainments in the
science of naval architecture, as to depart from the model
before them in any material degree, and attempt improve¬
ments, the true principles on which ships ought to be con¬
structed (being imperfectly known to them) have been mis¬
taken or counteracted, and the alterations, according to the
information given to us, have, in may cases, done harm.”
Whilst, therefore, they add, “ our rivals in naval power were
employing men of the greatest talents and most extensive
acquirements, to call in the aid of science for improving
the construction of ships, we have contented ourselves with
groping on in the dark in quest of such discoveries as
chance might bring in our way.”
Upon these grounds, and by the recommendation of the
commissioners, a school for a superior class of shipwright
apprentices was established in Portsmouth dockyard. It
consisted of twenty-five young men of liberal education,
whose mornings were passed in the study of mathematics
and mechanics, and in their application to naval architec-
' ture; and the remainder of the day under the master ship¬
wright in the mould loft, and in all the various kinds of
manual labour connected with ship-building, as well as in
the management and conversion of timber, so as to make
them, at the same time, fully acquainted with all the du¬
ties in detail of a practical shipwright. After producing
more officers than could be provided for, it was deemed
expedient to break up the establishment.
If, however, we have hitherto been inferior to the French
in the scientific principles of ship-building, in the con¬
structive part we have left them behind beyond all com¬
parison ; and, notwithstanding the narrow prejudices which
have been more remarkably adhered to among shipwrights
than among almost any other class of artisans, various al¬
terations and improvements have from time to time been
introduced into the mechanical part of naval architecture,
which have added to the strength, the stability, the com¬
fort, and convenience of our ships of war, and rendered
them, in every point of view, superior to those of any other
nation. The application of iron where wood was formerly
used, and of copper for iron, has added considerably to
the durability of ships ; and the sheathing of their bottoms
with copper, to their celerity; giving them, at the same
time, a protection against the worm and those marine in¬
sects which were wont to adhere to them ; yet it is re¬
markable how strong the prejudice was against this prac¬
tice before it obtained a due degree of credit. In the fleet
of Sir Edward Hughes in India there was but one copper¬
ed ship, and Rodney’s squadron in the West Indies had
but four that were coppered in the year 1799 ; but these
were enough so completely to establish their superiority
over the others with wooden sheathing, that, in the year Materiel.
1782, the whole British navy wras coppered. '
But the greatest of all improvements in the construction System of
of ships of war, as tending to their strength and durability, diagpual
is the system of diagonal bracing, introduced a few years ‘,iacin£-
ago by Mr (afterwards Sir Robert) Seppings, surveyor of
the navy, and now universally adopted in all ships of the line
and frigates ; a system that may be said to have establish¬
ed a new era in naval architecture. Of all large machines
destined to undergo severe shocks, a ship is perhaps the
least skilfully and artificially contrived. Her several parts
are put together on a principle so much opposed to that
which constitutes strength, that if a ship, on the old con¬
struction, should be put upon wheels, and drawn over a
rough pavement, the action of a day would shake her in
pieces; but being destined to move in an element that
closes upon her, and presses her equally on all sides, she
is prevented from falling in pieces outwards, and her beams
and decks preserve her from tumbling inwards. Whoever
has observed a ship in frame, as it is called, on the stocks,
that is, with only her timbers erected, must be forcibly re¬
minded of the skeleton of some large quadruped, as of a
horse or ox, laid on its back; the keel resembling the
back-bone, and the curved timbers the ribs, which is, in
fact, the name by which they sometimes go. These ribs,
issuing at right angles from the keel, consist, in a seventy-
four gun ship, of about 800 different pieces, the space be¬
tween each rib seldom exceeding five inches. These ribs
are covered with a skin or planks of different thicknesses
within and without, also at right angles to the ribs, and
fixed to them by means of wooden pins or tree-nails. In
the inside three or four tiers of beams cross the skeleton
from side to side, at right angles to both planks and ribs.
These beams support the decks. At right angles to the
beams are pieces of wood called carlings, and at right
angles to these other pieces called ledges, and upon these
the planks of the deck are laid in a direction at right angles
to the beams, and parallel to the planking of the sides.
From this sketch it will be perceived that all the parts of
a ship are either parallel or at right angles to each other.
The ribs form a right angle with the keel, the planks in¬
side and out are at right angles to the ribs, the beams at
right angles to these, the carlings to the beams, the ledges
to the carlings, and the planks of the decks to the ledges,
the beams, and the ribs.
Now, it is wmll known to every common carpenter, that
this disposition of materials
is the weakest that can be
adopted. Thus, if five pieces
of wood be pinned together
in the shape of a parallelo¬
gram, it will require but lit¬
tle force to move them from
the rectangular to the oblique or rhomboidal shape. But
place a cross-bar, as in the figure
Z, as carpenters are accustomed
to do on a common gate, and
it is no longer moveable on the
points of fastening.
The strongest proof of a ship’s
partaking of this weakness in the
old construction, is afforded on
her being first launched into the water, when it is invaria¬
bly found that the two extremities, being less water-borne
than the middle, drop, and give to the ship a convex cur¬
vature upwards, an effect which, from its resemblance to
the shape of a hog’s back, is usually called hogging. In
very weak or old ships this effect may be discovered in all
the port-holes of the upper-deck, by their having taken
the shape of lozenges, declining different wrays from the
centre of the ship to each extremity.
_a i\
46
Materiel.
NAVY.
Fasten¬
ings.
To obviate this great defect, Seppings tried the expe-
1 riment of applying to the ribs or timbers of the ship, from
one extremity to the other, and from the orlop-deck down¬
wards to the kelson, that well-known principle in carpen¬
try, called trussing; being, in fact, a series of diagonal
braces disposing themselves into triangles, the sides of
which give to each other a mutual support and counter¬
action. These triangles were firmly bolted to the frame;
and in order to give a continuity of strength to the whole
machine, and leave no possible room for play, he filled the
spaces between the frames with old-seasoned timber cut
into the shape of wedges ; but afterwards with a prepared
cement, thus rendering the lower part of the ship or floor
one solid, complete mass, possessing the strength and firm¬
ness of a rock ; but a few years have proved that this ce¬
ment has injured the timber.
The same principle of trussing is carried from the gun-
deck upwards, from whence, between every port, is in¬
troduced a diagonal brace, which completely prevents the
tendency of ships to stretch, or draw asunder their upper
works. The decks, too, are made subservient to the se¬
curing more firmly the beams to the sides of the ship, by
the planks being laid diagonally in contrary directions,
from the midships to the sides, and at an angle of forty-
five degrees with the beams, and at right angles with the
ledges.
In frigates and smaller vessels, iron plates, lying at an
angle of forty-five degrees with the direction of the trus¬
ses, are substituted for the diagonal frame of wood in ships
of the line. _ .
By this mode of construction, the ceiling or internal
planking is wholly dispensed with, and a very consider¬
able saving of the finest oak timber thereby effected ; and,
what is more important, those receptacles of filth and ver¬
min between the timbers, which were before closed up by
the planking, are entirely got rid of. This is not the least
important part of the improvement, either as it concerns
the soundness of the ship or the health of the crew. It
is stated that a ship which had been three years in In¬
dia, on being laid open, exhibited a mass of filth, mixed
up with dead rats, mice, cockroaches, and other vermin,
which was taken out in cakes, not unlike in appearance
the oil-cake with which certain animals are fed; that the
stench was abominable, and the timbers with which it was
in contact rotten. No such filth can find a lodgment in
ships of war as they are now built.
It has been a subject of discussion amongst ship-build¬
ers, whether tree-nails or metallic fastenings are to be
preferred. The objection to iron bolts is their rapid cor¬
rosion, from the gallic acid of the wood, the sea-water,
and perhaps by a combination of both; in consequence of
which, the fibres of the wood around them become injur¬
ed, the bolts wear away, the water oozes through, and
the whole fabric is shaken and disarranged. This corro¬
sion of iron fastenings was most remarkable when the
practice of sheathing ships with copper became general,
and when iron nails were made use of to fix it; for, by the
contact of the two metals in the sea-water, a galvanic
action took place, and both were immediately corroded.
Mixed metal nails are now used for this purpose; and cop¬
per bolts are universally employed below the line of flo¬
tation, though it is found that in these also oxidation takes
place to a certain degree, and causes partial leaks. Va¬
rious mixtures of metals have been tried, but all of them
are considered as liable to greater objections than pure
copper. It would appear, then, that tree-nails, if proper¬
ly made, well seasoned, and driven tight, are the least
objectionable, being seldom found to occasion leaks, or to
injure the plank or timbers through which they pass. This
species of fastening has at all times been used by all the
maritime nations of Europe. The Dutch were in the
habit of importing them from Ireland, it being supposed Materiel
that the oak grown in that country was tougher and strong- v
er than any which could be procured on the Continent,
and in all respects best adapted for the purpose. “ Under
all circumstances,” says Mr Knowles, “ it appears that the
present method of fastening ships generally with tough,
well-seasoned tree-nails, with their ends split, and caulked
after being driven, and securing the buts of each plank
with copper bolts well clenched, is liable to fewer objec¬
tions, and more conducive to the durability of the timber,
than any other which has been tried or proposed to be
established.” # , .
The rounding the form of the bow in ships of the line is Round
considered by nautical men as of great utility and import-bows to
ance. The plan was first proposed by Seppings in 1807, ^Pso
and has since been generally adopted. The removal of
the head railing, and the continuing of the rounded form,
give not only great additional strength to the ship, but
also much more comfort and convenience to the crew,
and security in that part of the ship when in action.
The scarcity of compass or crooked timber was, for Scarphing
some time, attended with serious injury to those ships
war while on the stocks, into which it was considered ne- compass
cessary to be introduced. The difficulty with which b-timber,
was procured, the length of time which a ship sometimes
remained on the stocks waiting for a few pieces of com¬
pass timber, the green wood, when found, being imme¬
diately added to the seasoned timber in other parts of the
frame, gave to the ship different periods of durability ;
though, in the long run, the seasoned parts became af¬
fected by the green wood with which they were in con¬
tact, and a premature decay of the whole fabric was the
consequence. Seppings, therefore, proposed a plan in
1806, which, by uniting short timbers according to a me¬
thod called scarphing, enabled him to obtain every spe¬
cies of compass-form that could be required from straight
timber. Since that period, the whole frame of a ship can
be prepared at once, without waiting for particular pieces,
and thus every part of it can be made to undergo an equal
degree of seasoning.
By the same ingenious and indefatigable surveyor of Plan for
the navy, a plan was proposed and adopted in the year ren erinj?
1813, by which ships of the line were built with timber
hitherto considered as applicable only to the building °lpiicabie to
frigates, and that which had been deemed only fit for in- ships of'
ferior uses was appropriated to principal purposes. The the line.
Talavera was the first ship built on this principle, and the
expense of her hull is stated to have been about a thou¬
sand pounds less than that of the Black Prince, a ship ot
similar dimensions built upon the old principle. The me¬
thod by which the timbers were united was found, on trial
of the Talavera with the Black Prince, whilst in frame, to
give so much additional strength to the former, that it
furnished the groundwork of the present mode of framing
the British navy, by the introduction of the same union
of materials in the application of the large, as was prac¬
tised in that of the small timber, and from which both
strength and economy have been united.
The building of the Talavera, and the great strength of Use of
her frame, led to the practice of putting together the chocks abo-
frames of ships of the line from timbers ot reduced lengths, 18 e
and dispensing altogether with the chocks used for unit¬
ing their extremities, or, as they are technically called,
their heads and heels. These chocks are of the form ot
an obtuse wedge, as A, and they are used to unite the
two pieces of timber, as B and C, by firmly bolting the
piece A to the two timbers B and C.
It generally happened, however, that, in the operation
NAVY.
ifatdriel. of thus fixing this chock, its two extremities split, and the
—v'""-"' surfaces of the chock and timbers not being in perfect
contact, the moisture and air were admitted, and occasion¬
ed, as they always do, the dry rot to a greater degree in
those parts of the ship than in most others; and as there
were from four to five hundred of these chocks in a se¬
venty-four gun ship, it will readily be conceived what
mischief was done to the whole fabric, if the greatest care
was not taken by the workmen to prevent their splitting,
and to bring their surfaces immediately into contact. It
is obvious, also, that a great deal of timber must have been
cut to waste in making these chocks; and, in fact, they
consumed timber in each ship, when it was at a high price,
to the value of from L.1500 to L.2000, besides a consi¬
derable expense in workmanship; and when the ship
came to be repaired, not one chock in six was found to
be in a fit state to be used again. It is not easy to con¬
ceive how this practice of uniting the timbers ol a ship’s
frame came to be introduced so generally into the British
navy, more especially as it is unknown in any other nation ;
it was probably first done to preserve the length of some
particular timbers, one of whose ends might be defective,
and the unsound part cut away in the manner we see it,
and the sound chock introduced to fill up the vacuity ; but
it is quite surprising how a practice should have become
general which creates a waste of timber, an increase of
workmanship, and sows the seeds of premature decay. To
obviate these disadvantages, Sir Robert Seppings brought
the but-ends of the timbers together thus,
^ 4:: o ^
and kept them together by means of a round dowal or
coak, as C, just as the fellies of a carriage-wheel are fas¬
tened together. He justly observes, that the simplicity of
the workmanship, the economy in the conversion of tim¬
ber, and the greater strength and durability, although of
considerable moment, are of but trifling importance when
compared with the advantage of rendering timber gene¬
rally more applicable to the frames of ships, which had
heretofore been but partially so.
Another great improvement in the construction of ships
of war, introduced by Seppings, is the round stern, vrhich,
however unsightly it may at first appear, from being accus¬
tomed to view the square stern with its grotesque carved
work, is even in appearance more consistent with the ter¬
mination of the sweeping lines of a ship’s bottom, than the
cutting them off abruptly with a square stern. But the
additional strength which is thus given to a ship in that
part which was hitherto the weakest, is alone sufficient to
recommend the adoption of the plan in our ships of war,
particularly in those of the larger classes. The advantages
gained by circular sterns are thus enumerated by Sir Ro¬
bert Seppings.
1. They give additional strength to the whole fabric of
a ship.
2. They afford additional force in point of defence.
3. They admit of the guns being run out in a similar
way to those in the sides.
4. From the circular form and mode of carrying up the
timbers, an additional protection against shot is obtained,
if the ship should be raked.
5. The stern being equally strong as the bow, no se¬
rious injury can accrue in the event of the ship being
pooped; and the ship may be moored, if so required, by
the stern.
6. A ship will sail better upon a wind, from the removal
of the projections of the quarter galleries.
7. Ships of the line have now a stern-walk, protected by
a veranda, and so contrived that the officers can walk all
round, can observe the set of the sails, and the fleet in all
directions.
47
8. The compass-timber heretofore expended for tran- Materiel,
soms is substituted with straight timber, and worked near-
ly to a right angle, which affords a considerable saving in
the consumption of timber.
9. The counter being done away by the circular stern,
the danger which arose from boats being caught under it
is obviated.
In fact, the circular stern possesses many other advan¬
tages not necessary to be enumerated in this place.
Improvements in the Preservation of the Navy.
Not only is the new mode of construction highly fa¬
vourable to the duration of ships, but the ravages of the
disease which is known by the name of the dry rot, occa¬
sioned principally by the hurry in which ships were built in
the course of the late war, and the unseasoned state of
the timber made use of (see Dry Rot), led to such mea¬
sures as tend most effectually to the preservation of the
fleet.
In the first place, various modes were put in practice By pre¬
fer assorting and seasoning the timber, and for protecting vention of
it from the vicissitudes of the weather. The oak and firdlT rot-
of Canada, which had been introduced to a great extent
into our dock-yards during the time the Baltic was shut
against this country, are now excluded ; these woods hav¬
ing been found not only to possess little durability, but
so friendly to the growth of fungi, that they communicat¬
ed the baneful disease to all other descriptions of timber
with which they came in contact. The practice of build¬
ing ships under cover, introduced into our dock-yards in
the course of the war, and carried to an extent so as to
have roofed over almost every dock and slip in all the
yards, has been destructive to the growth of dry rot. See
Dock-yards.
A ship now placed in ordinary, whether new or newly Bv precau-
repaired, is carefully housed over, so that no rain can tions in or-
reach her lower decks; several streaks of planks are re- dinary.
moved from her sides and decks to admit a thorough draft
of air, which is sent down by wind-sails, and which per¬
vades every part of the ship; and these, with the addition
of two small airing-stoves, in which a few cinders are burn¬
ed, render her perfectly dry and comfortable on all the
decks and store-rooms. All the shingle ballast is re¬
moved out of the hold, which is thoroughly cleaned and
restowed with iron ballast. The former practice of moor¬
ing two ships together, by which the two sides next
to each other, deprived of the sun and a free circulation
of air, were generally found to be decayed, is discontinued.
The lower masts are left standing, and their tops housed
over ; the gun-carriages and several of the stores are left
on board ; and such, in short, is the state of a ship in or¬
dinary, that she may be fitted in all respects for proceed¬
ing to sea in half the usual time. “ The ships,” says Mr
Knowles, “ are frequently pumped to clear them of bilge-
water, and cleanliness in every respect is attended to ; the
lower decks are rubbed with dry stones, commonly called
holly-stones, and with sand, the use of water upon them
being strictly forbidden.” But that which most of all is
likely to insure the preservation of the fleet whilst in a
state of ordinary, is the recent regulation, which places
the ordinary under the immediate superintendence of a
captain at each port, with other commissioned officers un¬
der his orders, who take care that the warrant-officers and
ship-keepers attend to the proper airing, ventilating, and
keeping clean and dry their respective ships.
A practice has recently been introduced into the dock-Bv im-
yards, of steeping oak timber in salt-water for several mersion of
months, and then stacking it till it becomes perfectly dry, timber in
which is said to have entirely put a stop to the progress 0fsa^t'water*
dry rot where it had already commenced, and to act as a
48
NAVY.
Materiel, preventive to that disease. Some doubts, however, were en-
' v tertained on this point, and the practice has been disconti¬
nued. The Americans seem to place little confidence in the
good efFects which are said to have been experienced from
the immersion of timber. Rodgers, the commissioner of their
navy, states, in an official report addressed to the secre¬
tary, that “ experiments have been made to arrest the dry
rot in ships, by sinking them for months in salt-water, but
without success. The texture of the wood was found to
be essentially injured by being thus water-soaked, and it
became more subject to this disease than before it was sunk.
The ships were also injured in their fastenings, and the at¬
mosphere within them was kept in a constant state of
humidity, whence, among other ill effects, proceeded in¬
jury to provisions and stores, and sickness to the ciews.
The truth is, the American timber, with the single excep¬
tion, perhaps, of the live-oak, is remarkably subject to diy
rot, of which, during the late war, we had fatal experience.
Mr Rodgers, however, accounts for the condition in which
the oak and pine were received in England from Canada,
by their immersion in water. “ Ihe Canada timber, he ob¬
serves, “ is brought down the St Lawrence in large rafts,
continues months in water, and in that saturated state is
landed and exposed to frost; every attempt to season it
under cover is unavailing ; its pores never close again, and
when used as ship-timber, dry rot ensues, which, when once
commenced, can never be arrested, but by taking out all the
pieces in any degree affected.” The Russians, he says, are
so fully aware of the injurious effects of soaking ship-tim¬
ber in water, that it is brought from great distances down
the rivers in crafts instead of rafts. The Russian ships,
however, with all this precaution, are not remarkable for
durability. The ships built at Antwerp by the French
were in a state of rottenness before they were launched;
but w’hether this was owing to the bad quality of the tim¬
ber of the German forests, or to its being water-soaked in
rafting down the Rhine, remains doubtful. But we can
have no doubt that porous timber is injured by moisture,
though the solid British oak may be improved by the dis¬
solution of its sap juices, to the fermentation of which the
disease known by the name of dry rot may perhaps be chief¬
ly owing. “ Water,” says Lescalier, a French writer of con¬
siderable merit on the subject, “ seems to be favourable to
the decomposition of the sap of timber when immersed;
but it substitutes in its place another kind of moisture not
less destructive, of which the timber, though afterwards
exposed to the air, will not easily get rid of; besidef> it
weakens and destroys the grain of the wood.” “ Ihe best
means,” he adds, “ of preserving timber, appears to be that
of keeping it in well-constructed and airy sheds, in a ver¬
tical position, so that the moisture which remains in the
interior of the logs, by running along the fibres of the
wood, may be enabled to issue from the lower extremity.^
Timber thus kept dry, under shelter, will preserve itself
for ages.” Mr Knowles, secretary to the committee of
surveyors of his majesty s navy, in his treatise on the
Means of Preserving the British Navy, is led to conclude,
from a variety of experiments, “ that timber is better sea¬
soned when kept for two years and a half under cover,
than when placed for six months in water, and then for
two years in the air, protected from the rain and sun;
that it loses more in seasoning, by having been, during
the six months of immersion, alternately wet and dry, than
the whole time under water ; and that the loss in mois¬
ture is greater in all cases in a given time when the but-
ends are placed downwards/ And he adds as a general
principle, that no timber should be brought into use ,in
this country until it has been felled at least three yeais.
By roofing Next to the system of diagonal braces, the roofing
the ships, thrown over them whilst building and in ordinary may be
considered as the greatest of all improvements for the pre¬
servation of the navy. The utility of it is so obvious, Materiel,
that it is quite extraordinary such a practice should not
have been earlier adopted; more especially as, at \ enice,
at Carlscrona, and at Cronstadt, ships of war had long
been built, repaired, and protected under covered roofs. It
was strongly recommended to the English ship-builders hify
years ago, but without effect; and had it not been for the
extraordinary ravages of the dry rot in the unseasonei
timber-built ships of the navy, we should still have been
without roofs to our docks and slips. . -no.
If the dock-yards were of sufficient capacity, there can By other
be no doubt that the efficient plan to accomplish their du-nieails-
rability, would be that of keeping them on the slip, when
built, under cover. A large frigate, the Worcester, has
remained on the slip and under cover for six or seven
years, and there is not a flaw in her of any kind. It was
stated by Mr Strange, when examined by the commission¬
ers for land revenue, that in the year 1790 there were
twenty-two ships of the line under roofs in the P0^ of
Venice, some of which had remained in that situation fifty-
nine years. Since, however, it is utterly impracticable to
keep our navy on slips, or in dry docks, the next impor¬
tant consideration is, how best to preserve them afloat in
a state of ordinary. Various expedients have been at dif¬
ferent times resorted to in order to prevent the premature
decay of ships laid up in this state during peace. The two
great requisites for their preservation are ventilation and
cleanliness. To promote the former, wind-sails were in
general use, though, if not attended to, so as to oppose the
open part to the quarter from whence the wind blows, or
if the weather be calm, they are of little benefit. Pneu¬
matic machines of various kinds, as pumps and bellows,
have been applied to force out the foul air, and introduce
atmospherical air into the lower parts of a ship s hold.
Heated air from stoves, placed in various parts of the ship,
and conducted through tubes, was thought at one time to
be efficacious in the preservation of the navy; but expe¬
rience soon showed that the heat thus circulated was so.
far objectionable, as it tended to encourage the growth of
fungus where there was any moisture lodged, and in the
timber which had not been thoroughly seasoned. Per¬
haps no better means can be suggested than those we
have described to be in practice, namely, to keep them
clean, to admit as much dry air as possible, and to exclude
all moisture.
Finally, if we take into consideration the numerous im¬
provements which a war, unparalleled in its duration, has
been the means of introducing into the materiel of the na¬
vy, whether it regards the economy of its application, the
construction of the ships, and their mode of preservation,
we may safely say, that at no former period was this coun¬
try in possession of such a navy as at present, in respect of
the number, size, and good condition of the ships which
compose a fleet, superior to those of the whole world be¬
sides ; and it is gratifying to find, that, with all the enor¬
mous consumption of the military and mercantile navy, it
does not appear that the naval resources of Great Britain
are at all impaired.
Naval Resources.
It is of essential importance that the supply of stores for
the use of the fleet should not only be adequate to the de¬
mand, but that a sufficient stock should be kept on hand
to answer any sudden emergency. - This is the,more ne¬
cessary with regard to those species of stores which aie
derived from foreign nations.
The principal articles of consumption required for build- Principal
ing and equipping a fleet are, hemp, canvass, pitch, tar, naval
iron, copper, and timber. All these articles might un-stores'
questionably be produced in sufficient quantities in the
united kingdom and her colonies, if necessity absolutely
N A
it^riel. required it. Hemp, for instance, might be grown to any
extent in Great Britain and Ireland, were not the land
nP‘ more advantageously employed in raising other articles of
consumption, and if it could not be cheaper imported
from Russia. In the East Indies, the Sunn hemp (infe¬
rior, it is true, to Russia hemp) might be procured to any
extent; and other plants, both there and at home, might
be substituted for the making of cordage and canvass. For
h and pitch and tar, recourse might be had to the pitch-lake on
the island of Trinidad, and the coal-tar, of which an inex¬
haustible supply may be had at home. The lake is about
four miles in circumference, and many feet in depth, of
solid pitch ; and it is stated that, when mixed with oil or
tallow, it is rendered fit for all the purposes to which
pitch and tar are usually applied. It has the advantage of
securing ships’ bottoms against the attack of the worm,
which is very active in the neighbouring Gulf of Para;
and it does not corrode iron. The coal-tar of home ma¬
nufacture, from some prejudice or other, was refused a
fair trial till very lately, and it is now deemed not inferior
for many purposes to the common tar. For painting or
tarring over wood-work of every kind, it is said to stand
exposure to the weather even better than the common
tar; and it is used for injecting in large quantities be¬
tween the timbers of ships, as a preservative from the dry
rot; its powerful smell having also the good effect of driv¬
ing rats and other vermin out of the ships on which it is
employed,
per In the two important articles of copper and iron, our own
iron, resources may be considered as inexhaustible. Former¬
ly it was deemed indispensable that certain articles should
be made of Swedish iron, but of late years our own has
been manufactured in every respect equally good ; and the
extensive application of this metal in bridges, barges, dock-
gates, roofs, rafters, floors, &c. has been equally progressive
in most naval purposes. Iron knees, and other modes of
binding the beams to the side timbers of ships, are now
substituted for those large and crooked pieces of timber
which were once deemed absolutely necessary. Our cables,
rigging, buoys, and tanks for holding water, are also now
of iron.
I her. Put the most important article of demand for the use of
the navy is timber, principally oak, concerning the supply
of which from our own territories different opinions have
been entertained. A deficiency in other articles may
readily be supplied. A failure in the importation of hemp,
for instance, in any one year, might be remedied the next,
by an extended cultivation of that article ; but it requires
a whole century to repair any defalcation of oak timber,
and to render us independent of other nations. Nor has
the subject been sufficiently elucidated, so as to form a
just opinion, by the several committees of the House of
Commons, the evidence produced being almost always
loose, and generally contradictory. The committee of
1771, which was directed to inquire into the state of oak
timber throughout the kingdom, either from a disagree¬
ment of opinion, or defect of evidence, or a wish to avoid
giving alarm, prayed the house to discharge that part of
its order which required them to report their opinion.
The commissioners of woods and forests, however, in their
report laid before parliament in 1792, appeared to estab¬
lish the fact of an alarming scarcity of oak timber in ge¬
neral, but more particularly of large naval timber, both in
the royal forests and on private estates. And if such was
really the fact in 1792, it will readily be conceived what
the state of timber fit for naval purposes must have been
at the conclusion of the revolutionary war, when the amount
?P-vate shipping had increased from 1,300,000 tons to
^,300,000 tons, or nearly doubled ; that of the East India
Company, in the same period, from 79,900 tons to 115,000
tons; and that of the navy from 400,000 to 800,000 tons •
VOL. XV£.
49
to say nothing of the vast consumption of oak timber in Materiel,
all kinds of mill-work and other machinery; in the barrack“v'"—''
and ordnance departments ; in mines, collieries, and agri¬
culture ; in docks and dock-gates ; in piers, locks, and
sluices; in boats, barges, lighters, bridges, and a great
many other purposes to which this timber is applied. From
these, and many other causes, the diminution of oak tim¬
ber was infinitely greater than the commissioners had cal¬
culated upon, and yet they recommended that 100,000
acres, belonging to the crown, should be set apart and
planted, as necessary for the future supply of the navy. A
bill to this effect, relating to the New Forest, passed the
Commons, but was thrown out by the Lords.
On the departments of the surveyor-general of the land Report of
revenue and the surveyor-general of the woods and for-the com-
ests being united, the board of commissioners made their m.iss^oner3
first report, which was printed, by order of the House ofot knd
Commons, in June 1812. In this report, it is stated that, respecdng
taking the tonnage of the navy in 1806 at 776,087 tons, it timber. b
would require, at one and a half load to a ton, 1,164,085
loads to build such a navy; and supposing the average du¬
ration of a ship to be fourteen year’s, the annual quantity
of timber required would be 83,149 loads, exclusive of re¬
pairs, which they calculate would be about 27,000 loads,
making in the whole about 110,000 loads ; of which, how¬
ever, the commissioners reckon, may be furnished 21,341
loads as the annual average of prizes; and of the remain¬
ing 88,659 loads, they think it not unreasonable to calcu¬
late on 28,659 from other sources than British oak. “ This,”
they observe, “ leaves 60,000 loads of such oak as the
quantity which would be sufficient annually to support,
at its present unexampled magnitude, the whole British
navy, including ships of w ar of all sorts, but which may
be taken as equivalent together to twenty 74-gun ships,
each of which, one with another, contains about 2000 tons,
or would require, at the rate of a .load and a half to the
ton, 3000 loads, making just 60,000 loads for twenty such
ships.”
Now it has been supposed that not more than forty oak Quantity
trees can stand on an acre of ground, so as to grow to a of timber
full size, fit for ships of the line, or to contain each a load required
and a half of timber; 50 acres, therefore, would be required for the na.
to produce a sufficient quantity of timber to build a 74-v^*
gun ship, and 1000 acres for twenty such ships; and, as
the oak requires at least 100 years to arrive at maturity,
100,000 acres would be required to keep up a successive
supply for maintaining a navy of seven or eight hundred
thousand tons. The commissioners further observe, that
as there are twenty millions of acres of waste lands in the
kingdom, a two-hundredth part set aside for planting would
at once furnish the whole quantity wanted for the use of
the navy.
This calculation, we suspect, is overrated by about one
half. In the first place, it supposes a state of perpetual
war, during which the tonnage of the whole navy is con¬
sidered as more than double of what it now actually is;
and, in the second place, it reckons the average duration
of the navy at fourteen years only, which, from the im¬
provements that have taken place in the construction and
preservation of ships of war, with the resources of teak
ships, built in India, we should not hesitate in assuming at
an average of twice that number of years ; and if so, the
quantity of oak required for the navy will be nothing like
that which the commissioners have stated. This, we think,
will appear from a statement made (apparently on good
authority) in the midst of the war, when the ships of the
line built in merchants’ yards were falling to decay after
a service of five or six years.
“ Assuming 400,000 tons as the amount of tonnage to
be kept in commission, and the average duration of a ship
of war at the moderate period of twelve and a half years,
G
V Y.
50
NAVY.
Materiel, there would be required an annual supply of tonnage, to
" preserve the navy in its present effective state, of 3^,000
tons; and as a load and a half of timber is employed for
every ton, the annual demand will be 48,000 loads. The
building of a 74-gun ship consumes about 2000 oak trees,
or 3000 loads of timber, so that 48,000 loads will build
eight sail of the line and sixteen frigates. Allowing one
fourth part more for casualties, the annual consumption
will be about 60,000 loads, or 40,000 full-grown treei^ ™
which thirty-five will stand upon an acre of ground, ihe
quantity of timber, therefore, necessary for the construc¬
tion of a 74-gun ship will occupy fifty-seven acres of land,
and the annual demand will be the produce of 1140 acres.
Allowing only ninety years for the oak to arrive at perfec¬
tion, there ought to be now standing 102,600 acres of oak
plantations, and an annual felling and planting, in perpetual
rotation, of 1140 acres, to meet the consumption of the
navy alone. Large as this may seem, it is little more than
twenty-one acres for each county in England and Wales ,
which is not equal to the belt which surrounds the park and
pleasure-grounds of many estates. . , , .
The above calculation proceeds upon the principle that
every acre is covered with trees fit for naval purposes, or
thaUt contains thirty-five trees, with a load and a half of
timber in each. It may be doubted, however, if, on the
average of plantations, we shall find more than one tent
of that number on an acre ; and as the same writer endea¬
vours to show that the quantity of oak timber consume
in the navy is only about one tenth part of the whole con¬
sumption of the country, instead of 102,600 acres being
sufficient for a perpetual supply, there would be required
some ten or twelve millions of acres, in plantations similar
to those at present existing, to supply the demand for oak
timber. Whether such a quantity exists or not, the tact
is certain, that, long before the conclusion of the war, a
scarcity began to be felt, especially of the larger kind of
timberf fit for building ships of the line ; and so great wa
this scarcity, that if Sir Robert Seppmgs had not contnv-
ed the means of substituting straight timber for those of
a certain form and dimension, before considered as in¬
dispensable, the building of new ships must have entirely
If, however, the growth of oak for ship timber was great-
,y diminished during the war, so as to threaten an alarm-
iL scarcity, there is little doubt that, from the increased
auention paid by individuals to their young plantations,
and the great extension of those plantations, as we
from the measure of allotting off portions of the royal fo¬
rests to those who had claims on them, and enclosing the
remainder for the use of the public, this country will, in
future times, be fully adequate to the production of oak
timber equal to the demand for the naval and mercanti e
marine. 4 It will require, however, large and successive
plantations, on account of the slow growth of the oak. But
there is another tree, of late years very generally planted
on rising grounds, which bids fair to become an object of
great national importance, as furnishing the best, an(* P6:1"
haps the only, substitute for oak timber. We mean the
larch, which thrives well and grows rapidly in bad soils and
exposed situations, the timber of which has been found to
bePdurable, and, from several experiments, not inferior in
strength, toughness, and elasticity to oak. So rapid is its
growth, that the Duke of Atholl received twelve guineas
for a single larch fifty years old; the timber was valued at
two shillings a foot. A larch of seventy years growth pro¬
duces timber fit for all naval purposes and may be consi¬
dered as equal in size to an oak of double that age. e
dimensions of a larch tree cut down at Blair Atholl in 1817,
and then seventy-nine years of age, were as follows • viz.
stem, eighty-two feet; top, twenty feet; total height, 102
feet; girth at the ground, twelve feet; at nineteen feet, eig
feet three inches and a half: and at fifty-seven feet, fTjJWd ^
feet ten inches; solid contents, 252-8 cubic feet. Another *
larch, growing at Dunkeld, measured, in the year 1819, ct
when it was eighty years old, and m full vigour, as fo o ,
viz. height of stem seventy-five feet, top fourteen feet,
total height ninety feet; at one foot from the ground
seventeen feet eight inches in girth ; at ten feet, ten feet
four inches; and at seventy feet, three feet two inches
its contents, 300 cubic feet, or six loads. For all kinds of
mill-work, as wheels, axle-trees, &c. the utility of the large
larch wood is unquestionable ; and the thinnings are ex¬
cellent for pailing, rails, and hurdles. The value of its
application for naval purposes has been put to the test o
experiment; two frigates of twenty-eight guns, one built
entirely of larch from the Duke of Atholl’s plantations, the
other of Riga fir (which is inferior only to oak), having
been intended to go through the same service, precisely
in the same parts of the world, in order to ascertain their
“KdiTonttrSources of naval ttaber at h„me, welMla.
have wisely availed ourselves of those which India affords
for building ships of war at Bombay, of teak, a wood far su¬
perior in every respect to oak, and many times more dura¬
ble ; not liable to corrode iron or other metallic fastenings,
not susceptible of the dry rot, nor subject to the attack of
the worm.
i
II. PERSONEL OF THE NAVY.
The personel of the navy is composed of two different
bodies of men, the seamen and the marines, each of whom
have their appropriate officers. • . c n
The commissioned officers of the former consist of flag- Comm.!,
officers, captains, commanders, and lieutenants. Flag-o - ^
cers are divided into three ranks, and each rank into three
squadrons, distinguished by the colours red, white, and
blue ; as admiral of the red, white, or blue ; vice-admiral
of the red, white, or blue ; rear-admiral of the red, white,
or blue ; the admiral wearing his colour at the main, the
vice-admiral at the fore, and the rear-admiral at the mizen-
mast head. There is also an admiral of the fleet, who, it
in command, would carry the union flag at the main.
There are besides superannuated rear-admirals, enjoying
the rank and pay of a rear-admiral, but incapable of rising
to a higher rank on the list. There is also in the navy the
temporary rank of commodore, who is generally an old
captain, and is distinguished by wearing a broad pendant.
He ranks next to the junior rear-admiral, and above all
captains, except where the captain of the fleet shall be a
captain, who, in that situation, takes rank next to the ju¬
nior rear-admiral. ,
The commissioned officers of the navy take rank with
those of the army as follows.
Navy. Army.
Admiral of the fleet. Field-marshal.
Admiral. General.
Vice-admiral. Lieutenant-general.
Rear-admiral. Major-general.
Commodore. Brigadier-general.
Captain of three years. Colonel.
Captain under ditto. Lieutenant-colonel.
Commander. Major.
Lieutenant. Captain.
And all officers of the same rank command according
to the priority of their commissions, or, having commis¬
sions of the same date, according to the order in which
they stand on the list of the officers of the navy, except in
the case of lieutenants of flag-ships, who take precedence
according as the flag-officer shall think fit to appoint them.
The warrant-officers of the navy may be compared with
NAVY.
51
Kty offi
der of
j motion
rsonel. the non-commissioned officers of the army. They take rank
as follows, viz. master, second master, gunner, boatswain,
carpenter. There are other warrant-officers of the navy,
who, though non-combatants, constitute a part of the esta¬
blishment of the larger classes of ships of war. These
are, the chaplain, surgeon, surgeon’s assistant, purser;
to which may be added, as part of the staff of a fleet or
squadron, secretary to the admiral or commander-in-chief,
and physician to the fleet. In steam-vessels, the engi¬
neers rank next after the warrant-officers.
The petty officers are very numerous, the principal of
whom are masters’ mates and midshipmen. Their names
or ratings will be seen in the table of the establishment of
the ratings and pay in the several classes of ships of war.
By the king’s order in council, the following regulations
are established for the promotion of commissioned officers
of the navy. Midshipmen are required to serve six years
on board some of his majesty’s ships, two of which years
they must have been rated as midshipmen, to render them
eligible to the rank and situation of lieutenant.
No lieutenant can be promoted to the rank of comman¬
der until he has been on the list of lieutenants during two
years ; and no commander to the rank of captain until he
has been on the list for one year. Captains become ad¬
mirals in succession according to their seniority on the
list, provided they shall have commanded four years in a
rated ship during war, or six years during peace, or five
years in war and peace combined.
No person can be appointed to serve as master of one
of his majesty’s ships who shall not have served as second
master; and no person can be appointed as second master
until he has passed such examination as may from time to
time be directed.
No person can be appointed gunner or boatswain unless
he shall have served one year as a petty officer on board
one or more of his majesty’s ships, and produce certificates
of his good conduct, and undergo the necessary examina¬
tion.
No person can be appointed carpenter unless he shall
have served an apprenticeship to a shipwright, and been
six months a carpenter’s mate on board one or more of his
majesty’s ships.
No person can be appointed purser, unless he shall
have been rated and discharged the duties of a captain’s
clerk for two complete years, one year as captain’s clerk,
and been employed in the office of the secretary to a flag-
officer for one other year, produce good certificates, and
find such security for the honest and faithful discharge of
his duty as shall be required.
No person can be appointed chaplain to one of his ma¬
jesty’s ships until he has received priest’s orders ; but he
may be appointed to act whilst in deacon’s orders.
No person can be appointed surgeon to one of his ma¬
jesty’s ships until, by long and meritorious services, he has
discharged the duties of assistant surgeon; and all persons
applying for the situation of assistant surgeon must undergo
an examination touching their qualifications before the
physician general of the navy.
The royal marines consist of four great divisions; the
first stationed at Chatham, the second at Portsmouth, the
third at Plymouth, and the fourth at Woolwich. They
are composed of seventy-two companies, besides two com¬
panies of royal marine artillery, whose head-quarters are
at Fort Monckton, Gosport. The first division has twenty-
one companies ; the second, eighteen companies ; the third,
twenty companies ; and the fourth, thirteen companies.
The officers of royal marines take rank with the officers
of the line in the army.
A colonel commandant, who is a general officer in the
corps, is resident in London ; and to each of the divisions
is a colonel commandant, two lieutenant-colonels, and two
] yal
r ?s.
majors, with a proper number of captains and subaltern Personel.
officers. Whilst on shore, the marines are subject to thev—
same regulations as the army; but when embarked, they
are liable to the naval articles of war.
Each division has its paymaster, a captain in the corps;
a barrackmaster, also a captain ; two adjutants, and a quar¬
termaster, who are first lieutenants; and to each division
is a surgeon and an assistant surgeon. There is also a re¬
tired list of officers, who, in consideration of wounds, infir¬
mities, and long and meritorious services, are permitted to
receive their full pay.
The commissions of officers of every rank in the marine
corps are signed by the sovereign ; but all commissions of
officers of the navy are signed by two or more of the lords
commissioners of the admiralty. But the marines, whether
ashore or afloat, are, as well as the officers of the navy, under
the immediate direction and control of the lords commis¬
sioners of the admiralty. All the appointments of com¬
missioned and warrant officers to ships are made ex¬
clusively by the lords of the admiralty, or made subject
to their confirmation, unless in cases of the death or dis¬
missal of officers by sentence of court-martial on foreign
stations, when the admiral commanding has the power to
fill up the vacancies. And the duties of each rank are
pointed out in a code of instructions emanating from that
board, and sanctioned by the sovereign’s order in council.
The civil powers and duties of the lord high admiral, Military
or lords commissioners of the admiralty, are treated of,(luties °f
under the article Admiral. Their military powers are^J0^
more extensive and important. By their orders all ships mfraj
are built, repaired, fitted for sea, or laid up in ordinary,
broken up, or sold ; put in commission or out of commis¬
sion, armed, stored, and provisioned ; and employed on the
home or foreign stations. All appointments or removals
of commission and warrant officers, with the exception of
masters and surgeons, are made by them, and all instruc¬
tions issued for the guidance of their commanders; all
promotion in the several ranks emanates from them; all
honours bestowed for brilliant services, and all pensions,
gratuities, and superannuations for wounds, infirmities, and
long services, are granted on their recommendation. All
returns from the fleet are sent to the board of admiralty,
and every thing that relates to the discipline and good
order of every ship. All orders for the payment of naval
monies are issued by the lords commissioners of the admi¬
ralty ; and the annual estimate of the expenses of the navy
is prepared by them, and laid before parliament for its
sanction. All new inventions and experiments are tried
by their orders before being introduced into the service ; all
draughts of ships must be approved by them ; all repairs,
alterations, and improvements in the dock-yards, and all
new buildings of every description, must be submitted for
their decision before they are undertaken.
All flag-officers, commanders-in-chief, are considered asComman-
responsible for the conduct of the fleet or squadron under der-in-
their command. They are bound to keep them in perfect c^e**
condition for service ; to exercise them frequently in form¬
ing orders of sailing and lines of battle, and in performing
all such evolutions as may occur in the presence of an ene¬
my ; to direct the commanders of squadrons and divisions
to inspect the state of each ship under their command, to
see that the established rules for good order, discipline,
and cleanliness, are observed, and occasionally to inquire
into these and other matters themselves. They are re¬
quired to correspond with the secretary of the admiralty,
and report to him all their proceedings, for the informa¬
tion of the board.
If a commander-in-chief should be killed in battle, his
flag is to be continued flying, and intelligence conveyed,
by signal or otherwise, to the next in command, who is
immediately to repair on board, leaving his own flag (if a
52
NAVY.
Other flag
officers.
Personel. flag-officer) flying, and direct the operations of the fleet
    until the battle be ended, or the enemy out of sight.
Every flag-officer serving in a fleet, but not commanding
it, is required to superintend all the ships of the squadron
or division placed under his orders ; to see that their crews
are properly disciplined ; that all orders are punctually at¬
tended to; that the stores, provisions, and water, are kept
as complete as circumstances will admit; that the seamen
and marines are frequently exercised; and that every pre¬
caution is taken for preserving the health of their crews ;
for all which he is responsible to the commander-in-chiet.
When at sea, he is to take care that every ship in his di¬
vision preserve her station, in whatever line or order or
sailing the fleet may be formed ; and in battle he is to ob¬
serve attentively the conduct of every ship near him,
whether of the squadron or division under his immediate
command or not; and at the end of the battle he is to re¬
port it to the commander-in-chief, in order that commen¬
dation or censure may be passed, as the case may appear
to merit; and he is empowered to send an officer to super¬
sede any captain who may misbehave m battle, or whose
ship is evidently avoiding the engagement. It any flag-
officer be killed in battle, his flag is to be kept flying, and
signals to be repeated, in the same manner as if he were
still alive, until the battle shall be ended; but the death
of a flag-officer, or his being rendered incapable of attend¬
ing to his duty, is to be conveyed as expeditiously as pos¬
sible to the commander-in-chief.
Captain of The captain of the fleet is a temporary rank, where a
the fleet, commander-in-chief has ten or more ships of the line un¬
der his command ; it may be compared with that ot adju¬
tant-general in the army. He may either be a flag-officer,
or one of the senior captains; in the former case, he takes
his rank with the flag-officers of the fleet; in the latter, he
ranks next to the junior rear-admiral, and is entitled to
the pay and compensation of a rear-admiral. All orfler®
of the commander-in-chief are issued through him, and all
returns of the fleet are made through him to the com-
mander-in-chief. He is appointed and can be removed
from his situation only by the lords commissioners ot the
admiralty. , - ,. ,
A commodore is a temporary rank, and ot two kinds;
the one having a captain under him in the same ship, and
the other without a captain. The former has the rank, pay,
and allowances of a rear-admiral, the latter such additional
pay as the lords of the admiralty may direct. Ihey both
carry distinguishing pendants.
When a captain is appointed to command a ship ot war,
he commissions the ship by hoisting his pendant; and it
fresh out of the dock, and from the hands of the dock¬
yard officers, he proceeds immediately to prepare her for
sea, by demanding her stores, provisions, guns, and ammu¬
nition, from the respective departments, according to her
establishment. He enters such men as may volunteer
and be fit for the service (in time of peace), or which may
be sent to him from some rendezvous for raising men in
time of war ; and he gives them the several ratings of
petty officers, able seamen, ordinary, or landsmen, as their
apparent qualifications may entitle them to. If he be ap¬
pointed to succeed the captain of a ship already in com¬
mission, he passes a receipt to the said captain for the ship s
books, papers, and stores, and becomes responsible and
accountable for the whole of the remaining stores and pro-
visions ; and, to enable him to keep the ship’s accounts, he
is allowed a clerk of his own appointing.
The duty of the captain of a ship, with regard to the se¬
veral books and accounts, pay-books, entry, musters, dis¬
charges, &c. is regulated by various acts of parliament;
but the state of the internal discipline, the order, legula-
rity, cleanliness, and the health ot the crews, will depend
mainly on himself and his officers. In all these respects,
Commo¬
dore.
Captain
the general printed instructions for his guidance are par- Personel
ticularly precise and minute. And, for the information of v-*
the ship’s company, he is directed to cause the articles ot
war, and abstracts of all acts of parliament for the encou¬
ragement of seamen, and all such orders and regulations
for discipline as may be established, to be hung up in
some public part of the ship, to which the men may at al
times have access. He is also to direct that they be read
to the ship’s company, all the officers being present, once
at least in every month. He is not authorized to inflict
any corporal punishment on any commissioned or warrant
officer, but he may place them under arrest, and suspend
any officer who shall misbehave, until an opportunity shall
offer of trying such officer by a court-martial. He is en-
joined to be very careful not to suffer the interior officers,
or men, to be treated with cruelty or oppression by their
superiors. He alone is to order punishment to be inflict¬
ed, which he is never to do without sufficient cause, nor
ever with greater severity than the offence may really de¬
serve nor until twenty-four hours after the crime has been
committed, which must be specified in the warrant order¬
ing the punishment; and all the officers and the whole ship a
company are to be present at every punishment, which
must be inserted in the log-book, and an abstract at the
end of every quarter made out and sent to the admiralty ;
a regulation which is said to have been attended with in¬
finite benefit to the strict and just discipline of the naval
service. , , , . _.
The lieutenants take the watch by turns, and are at Lieu-
such times intrusted, in the absence of the captain, with tenant,
the command of the ship. The one on duty is to infoim
the captain of all occurrences which take place cluiing
his watch, as strange sails that may be in sight, signals
from other ships in company, change of wind, &c. He is
to see that the ship be properly steered, the log hove, and
the course and distance entered on the log-board ; and, in
short, he is to see that the whole of the duties of the ship
are carried on with the same punctuality as if the captain
himself were present. In the absence of the captain the
senior lieutenant is responsible for every thing done on
b°arfl' „ , • — r
The master receives his orders from the captain, or any Master,
of the lieutenants. His more immediate duties are those
of stowing the ship’s hold, and of attending to her sailing
qualities; of receiving and placing the provisions in the
ship, so as most conveniently to come at those which may
be wanted. He is to take care that the cables are pro¬
perly coiled in the tiers. The keys of the spirit-room are
in his custody, and he is directed to intrust them only to
the master’s mates. He has the charge of the store-rooms
of the warrant-officers, which he is ordered frequently to
visit; in short, the whole of the ship’s provisions, water,
fuel, and stores of every description, are under the super¬
intendence of the master; and he is also intrusted, under
the command of the captain, with the charge of navigating
the ship, bringing her to anchor, ascertaining the latitude
and longitude of her place at sea, surveying harbours, and
making such nautical remarks and observations as may
be useful and interesting to navigation in general.
The warrant-officers are charged with the duty of re¬
ceiving on board from the dock-yards, and examining, the
various stores of their respective departments, and keeping
an account of the expenditure of them.
The gunner has the charge of the ship’s artillery, and of Gunner
the powder magazine. He is to see that the locks and car¬
riages are kept in good order, and that the powder is pre¬
served from damp; he is frequently to examine the mus-
quetry and small arms, and to see that they are kept clean
and fit for service; and, in preparing for battle, it is his
duty to take care that all the quarters are supplied with
every thing necessary for the service of the guns, and,
NAVY.
53
k iiswain.
'a enter.
Nfcwiel. during the action, that there be no want of ammunition
served out. He is frequently to exercise the men at the
guns, and to see that they perform this part of their duty
with correctness, explaining and enforcing the necessity
of their pointing the guns before they fire them, spunging
them well, and close-stopping the touch-hole immediately
after firing. The armourer and his mates are under the
immediate orders of the gunner, in every thing that relates
to the great guns and small arms.
The boatswain is charged with the duty of receiving
and examining all the stores belonging to his department,
consisting chiefly of the ropes and rigging, the latter of
which he is ordered to inspect daily, in order that any part
of it, chafed or likely to give way, may be repaired without
loss of time. He is always required to be on deck at such
times as all hands are employed; he is bound to see that
the men, when called, move quickly upon deck, and when
there, that they perform their duty with alacrity, and
without noise or confusion. The sail-maker and the rope-
maker are under his immediate orders; and he is directed
to see that both these officers perform their respective
duties with diligence and propriety.
The carpenter, when appointed to a ship, is carefully to
inspect the state of the masts and the yards, whether in
the dock-yard or on board of the ship, to see that they are
perfectly sound and in good order. He is to examine
every part of the ship’s hull, magazine, store-rooms, and
cabins. He is every day when at sea carefully to examine
into the state of the masts and yards, and to report to the
officer of the watch if any appear to be sprung, or in any
way defective. He is to see that the ports are secure and
properly lined, and that the pumps are kept in good order,
as also the boats, ladders, and gratings. The caulker
is placed under his immediate orders, and he is to see that
the former performs his duty in a workmanlike manner, in
stopping immediately any leaks that may be discovered in
the sides or decks.
The purser has the charge of all the ship’s provisions,
and of the serving them out for the use of the crew. His
charge is, therefore, of a most important nature ; and, ac¬
cordingly, he must not only produce good certificates of
his conduct whilst serving in the capacity of clerk, but must
also find two sureties for the due discharge of .his trust,
who are required to give bond in a penal sum, according
to the rate or class of ship to which he may be appointed.
The regulations and instructions for his guidance are mi¬
nutely detailed in the general printed instructions, with all
the various forms established for the keeping of his ac¬
counts with the comptroller of victualling, to whom he is
immediately responsible. To assist him in the perform¬
ance of his arduous duties, he is allowed to employ the
clerk, who, being engaged by the captain, who is respon¬
sible for the strict performance of the duties of all the
officers under his orders, is, as it were, a check on the
purser in many parts of his duty, regarding the slop-books,
muster-books, &c. He has also a steward under his im¬
mediate orders.
The duties of the physician to the fleet, the surgeon of
a ship and his assistants, the secretary to the commander-
in-chief, and the chaplain, are too obvious to require any
specification.
The midshipmen are considered as the principal petty
officers, but have no specific duties assigned to them. In
the smaller vessels, some of the senior ones are intrusted
with the watch ; they attend parties of men sent on shore ;
pass the word of command on board, and see that the or¬
ders of their superiors are carried into effect; and, in short,
are exercised in all the duties of their profession, so as,
after six years’ service, to qualify them to become lieuten¬
ants.
Krines. Every ship, according to her class, has a certain num-
Pt
PI
M ship.
m {.
ber of marines serving on board as part of her complement. Personel.
They are commanded by a captain, or brevet-major, in from v'—■—y—
first to fourth rates inclusive, with three or two subalterns
under them, and an established number of non-commis¬
sioned officers ; but the party on board fifth rates, and un¬
der, is commanded by a subaltern, and in small vessels by
a sergeant or corporal.
All marine-officers, of whatsoever rank, when embarked,
are to obey the orders of the captain, or the commanding
officer of the watch. The marines are exercised by their
officers in the use of their arms ; they are employed as sen¬
tinels, and in all other duties on board of which they are
capable, with the exception of going aloft. The officer
commanding has the charge of the arms, accoutrements,
and drums ; and he is to inspect weekly, at least, the state
of the clothing of his party. The marines are in every
respect treated in the same manner as the rest of the ship’s
company.
The long continuance of the revolutionary war neces- Number of
sarily created a prodigious increase of the commissioned cp111111*3-
oflicers of the navy. Their numbers, in the five follow-sioneti
r ^ cers.
ing years ot peace, were,
Admirals 
Vice-admirals..
Rear-admirals.
Captains 
Commanders...
Lieutenants 
1793.
II
19
19
444
160
1408
1803.
45
36
51
666
410
2461
1815.
70
73
77
824
762
3211
1821.
63
59
68
828
776
3797
1836.
43
59
63
755
823
2976
The warrant-officers have increased in each class, from
the average of about 400 in 1793, to 700 in 1821.
The number of seamen and marines voted in 1792 was
16,000 (but never reduced to that number); in 1822, it was
21,000 ; and in 1836, 32,000. The greatest number of
seamen and marines voted in any one year during the war
was 150,000.
The crew of a ship of war consists of able seamen, ordi- Ship’s
nary seamen, landsmen, boys, and marines. The lands-company,
men, boys, and marines, are always entered voluntarily,
the latter in the same manner as soldiers, by enlisting into
the corps, the two former at some rendezvous, or on board
particular ships. A supply of boys for the navy is also re¬
gularly sent from the Asylum at Greenwich and the Ma¬
rine Society. Able and ordinary seamen also very com¬
monly volunteer to serve during the war, and always in
time of peace ; but the high wages given by the merchant
ships to seamen in time of war hold out such encourage¬
ment as to induce them to give the preference to that ser¬
vice, though, in all other respects, their treatment is far
superior on board a king’s ship, having better provisions,
and being subject to much less fatigue and exposure to the
weather. Indeed, the excellent regulations now rigidly ad¬
hered to on board his majesty’s ships, and the attention that
is paid to the health and comfort of the crew, have over¬
come much of that reluctance which formerly was felt to
the service of a ship of war.
The state of health on board of a king’s ship is, general- Health of
ly speaking, not exceeded in the most favoured spot on the crew-
shore ; and that horrible disease, the sea-scurvy, may now
be considered as unknown in the British navy, since the
universal introduction of lemon juice, or the citric acid,
without an ample supply of which no ship is permitted to
sail on a foreign voyage. Sir Gilbert Blane, in a sensible
little tract on the Health of the Navy, says that he has
never seen the scurvy resist the citric acid; and that, in
the perusal of several hundreds of surgeons’ journals, he
has met with only two cases which seemed to resist it.
54
NAVY.
Personel. Yet, though it appears to have been known as a remedy
'for the scurvy, far superior to all others, two hundred years
ago, it seems to have lain dormant and utterly neglected,
till Dr Lind, more than a hundred years afterwards, re¬
vived and stated clearly the singular powers of this remedy.
In 1600, Commodore Lancaster sailed from England, with
three other ships, on the 2d of April, and arrived in Sal-
danha Bay on the 1st of August. The commodore’s crew
having each had three table-spoonfuls of lemon juice every
morning, arrived there in perfect health ; whereas the other
ships were so sickly, that they were unmanageable for
want of hands. We have all felt the commiseration and
horror which the perusal of the narrative of Anson’s Voy¬
age produces. His ship, the Centurion, left England with
400 men, of whom 200 were surviving on his arrival at
Juan Fernandez, and of these, eight only were capable of
duty, from scurvy. Yet even this horrible catastrophe
seems to have failed in rousing the nation to have recourse
to a remedy so certain and efficacious. Cook was well
supplied with vinegar and other acids, and found the good
effects of them ; but the first general supply of lemon juice
to the navy was established only in the year D95, in con¬
sequence of a trial which had been made of it the preceding
year in the Suffolk, of seventy-four guns. This ship left
England, and arrived at Madras in September, without
touching at any land. With every man’s grog there were
daily mixed two thirds of a liquid ounce of lemon juice, and
two ounces of sugar. She lost not a man ; and though the
disease made its appearance in a few, an increased dose of
lemon juice immediately removed it. Thus the Suffolk,
after a voyage of 162 days, arrived without losing a man,
or having a man sick of the scurvy; whereas the Centu¬
rion, in 143 days from the last place of her refreshment,
lost half of her crew, whilst the other half were so feeble
and emaciated as to be utterly helpless.
Nothing could more strongly point out the efficacy of
lemon juice than the following fact. When Loid St Vin¬
cent commanded the fleet which blockaded Brest from the
27th of May to the 26th of September 1800, he maintained
so close a blockade, that not a single day passed without re¬
connoitring the entrance of the harbour ; yet, although the
seamen of his fleet, consisting of at least 16,000 men, had
no other than the ordinary ship’s provisions, sixteen only,
in the course of four months, were sent to the hospital.
In 1780 the Channel fleet, as appears from Dr Lind, were
so overrun with scurvy and fever as to be unable to keep
the sea after a cruise of ten weeks only.
From the official returns collected by Sir Gilbert Blane,
M. Dupin, a French author well versed in naval subjects,
has drawn out the following table, which exhibits at one
view the progressive diminution of sickness, death, and
desertion, in the British navy, calculated on 100,000 men.
Progres¬
sive dimi¬
nution of
sickness.
Years.
1779
1782
1794
1804
1813
Sick sent to
Hospital.
40,815
31,617
25,027
11,978
9,336
Deaths.
2654
2222
1164
1606
698
Desertions.
1424
993
662
214
10
Hence it would appear, that the diminution of sickness
and of deaths has been in the proportion of four to one
nearly between the years 1779 and 1813. The diminu¬
tion of desertions from the hospital in the same period is
not the less remarkable ; and it affords, at the same time,
the strongest proof of the progressive amelioration of the
condition of seamen on board British ships of war. In¬
deed, whether on board of ship, or in any of those noble in¬
stitutions, the naval hospitals, which ate established at all
the principal ports at home, and in the colonies abroad, Personel
the attention which is paid to the sick sailor is above all "
praise. The seamen are sensible of this, and nothing
keeps them back from volunteering their services, and
giving a preference to a king’s ship over a merchantman,
but the temptation of high wages offered by the latter in
time of war, and that love of liberty and free scope for
roving which are characteristic of seamen.
The speedy manning of the fleet, on the first breaking IMannint
out of the war, is one of the most important objects that the fleet,
can devolve on the naval administration, as on it alone must
depend the safety of our commerce and our colonies. This
has been felt at all times; and, accordingly, a variety of
schemes have been brought forward for this purpose, but
all of them have failed of success, except the compulsory
mode of raising men under the authority of press-warrants,
issued by the lords commissioners of the admiralty, by
virtue of the king’s order in council, renewed from year
to year. There likewise issues, on the breaking out of a
war, a proclamation from the king, recalling all British
seamen out of the service of foreign princes or states; and
the instructions to the commanders of all ships of war di¬
rect them to search foreign vessels, and to take Biitish
seamen out of them.
The impressment of seafaring men, however anomalous Impress
under a free constitution like that of Great Britain, is de-ment.
fensible on state necessity, until it can be shown that the
fleet, on an emergency, is capable of being manned with¬
out resorting to that measure. In consequence of some
doubts being raised on the legality of the subject in the
year 1676, when the affairs of the admiralty were managed
immediately under the direction of the king and the great
officers of state, a discussion was held on this point, when
it was decided by the judges and crown-lawyers, that the
king had an indefeasible right to the services of his sub
jects when the state required them, and that the power of
impressing seamen was indispensably inherent in theciown,
without which the trade and safety of the nation could not
be secured. The first instance of impressing men in Ire¬
land seems to have been in the year 16/8, v/hen the lord-
lieutenant received directions from the privy council to
raise a thousand seamen for the fleet. In 1690, the lords-
justices of Ireland were directed to assist the officers of the
navy in impressing men in that kingdom, In 169/, a re¬
gister was taken of all the seafaring men in Ireland, which
amounted to 4424 men, of whom it is noted 2654 were
Catholics. On several occasions, during Queen Anne’s
reign, the lords-justices of Ireland received directions to
raise men to serve in the fleet.
In Scotland, the mode of raising men by impressment
was unknown before the union ; but in various instances
the council of Scotland was directed to raise volunteers
for the fleet, each man to have forty shillings as bounty.
In 1706, an experiment was tried for the speedy man¬
ning of the fleet, by virtue of an act of parliament, which
required the civil magistrates of all the counties to make
diligent search for all seafaring men, and twenty shillings
were allowed to the constables for each man taken up; the
seamen to have pay from the day of delivery to the naval
officers stationed to receive them; and if they deserted
after that, they were to be considered as guilty of felony.
By the same act, insolvent debtors, fit for the service, and
willing to enter it, were released, provided the debt did
not exceed L.30 ; and no seaman in the fleet was to be
arrested for any debt not exceeding L.20. The whole pro¬
ceeding under this act incurred a very heavy expense, and
totally failed.
In the same year, the queen referred to the Frince of
Denmark, then lord high admiral, an address from the
House of Lords, relating to the three following points
Itf, The most effectual means for manning the fleet; 2d,
NAVY.
55
P ionel. the encouragement and increase of the number of seamen;
v—the restoring and preserving the discipline of the navy.
His royal highness submitted these points to such of the
flag-officers and other commanders as could be assembled,
who made a report, of which the substance was to the fol¬
lowing effect:—1st, To cause a general register to be kept
of all seafaring men in England and Ireland, for which
they presented the draft of a bill; 2d, that all marines
qualified to act as seamen should be discharged from the
army, the officers to have levy money and the men’s cloth¬
ing returned; 3d, that not fewer than 20,000 seamen should
be kept in employ in time of peace. But they observe,
that as to the restoring and preserving the discipline of the
navy, no particular instance being laid before them wherein
it was defective, they could give no opinion on that head,
tillistry of This registry of seafaring men has been tried more than
e:|ien. once; but as the men themselves had no interest whatever
in the measure, it always failed in producing the desired
effect. It is now under trial by act of parliament, with
great inducements for men to register and enter the naval
D
C
service.
In fact, there are now so many exemptions from the
impress, that its severity is greatly abated. The following
descriptions of persons are protected by various acts of par¬
liament :
Masters of merchant ships or vessels.
First mates of such as are fifty tons or upwards.
Boatswains and carpenters of such as are of 100 tons or
upwards.
Men belonging to vessels and craft of all kinds in the
employment of navy, victualling, ordnance, customs, excise,
and post offices.
Watermen belonging to the insurance offices within the
cities of London and Westminster.
All men of the age of fifty-five years and upwards.
All youths not having attained the age of eighteen.
All foreigners.
Apprentices not having used the sea before the date of
their indentures, and not more than three years from the
said date.
Landsmen not having served at sea full two years.
Masters, apprentices, one seaman, and one landsman, of
all fishing vessels on the sea coast or on navigable rivers.
Harpooners, line-managers, and boat-steerers of the
Greenland fishery and the southern whale fishery; and
all seamen and common mariners who have entered for
the said fisheries.
And no person whatsoever can be impressed, except by
an officer who has been intrusted with a press-warrant,
ipline. The discipline of the navy, or the government of his
majesty’s ships, vessels, and forces by sea, is regulated by
the act of 22 Geo. II., usually known by the name of the
articles of war. By this act, the lords commissioners of
the admiralty are empowered to order courts-martial for
all offences mentioned therein, and committed by any per¬
son in and belonging to the fleet and in full pay ; and also
to delegate the same power to admirals commanding in
chief on foreign stations, which power also may devolve on
his successor in case of death or recall, provided that no
commander-in-chief of any fleet or squadron, or detach¬
ment thereof, consisting of more than five ships, shall pre¬
side at any court-martial in foreign parts, the officer next
in command being ordered to preside thereat,
rts. By this act, no court-martial can consist of more than
1 tia • thirteen or of less than five persons, to be composed of
such flag-officers, captains, or commanders, then and there
present, as are next in seniority to the officer who presides
at the court-martial. And when there are but three offi¬
cers of the rank of captains, the president is to call in as
many commanders under that rank as will make up five in
the whole.
This code of laws for the government of the fleet con- Personel.
sists of thirty-six articles, of which nine award the punish-
ment of death, and eleven death or such other punishmentArtic es ot
as the court-martial shall deem the offence to deserve.
Those which incur the former penalty are, the holding il¬
legal correspondence with an enemy ; cowardice or neglect
of duty in time of action ; not pursuing the enemy ; deser¬
tion to the enemy; making mutinous assemblies; striking a
superior officer; burning magazines, vessels, &c. not belong¬
ing to an enemy; murder; sodomy. The penalty of death
for cowardice, or other neglect of duty, in time of action
(art. 12), and of not pursuing the enemy (art. 13), was, by
the 19th George III. so far mitigated, as to authorize the
court-martial “ to pronounce sentence of death, or to in¬
flict such other punishment as the nature and degree of
the offence shall be found to deserve.” Under these ar¬
ticles thus mitigated, Admiral Byng would probably not
have been condemned to death. The other eleven articles,
which leave the punishment to the discretion of the court,
are, not preparing for fight, and encouraging the men in
time of action; suppression of any letter or message sent
from an enemy ; spies delivering letters, &c. from an
enemy ; relieving an enemy ; disobedience of orders in
time of action ; discouraging the men on various pre¬
tences ; not taking care of and defending ships under con¬
voy ; quarrelling with and disobeying a superior officer in
the execution of his office ; wilfully neglecting the steer¬
ing of ships ; sleeping on watch, and forsaking his station;
robbery. The i-emaining sixteen articles incur the penalty
of dismission from the service, or from the ship, degradation
of rank, or such other punishment as the court may judge
the nature and degree of the offence to deserve.
Much, however, of the internal discipline of a ship ofPetty pu-
war depends upon the captain, who, being empowered tonishment-
punish the men for minor offences, according to the usage
of the service, courts-martial on seamen are rarely found
necessary to be resorted to in well-regulated ships. The
principal circumstance which usually militates against the
perfect good order of the crew, is the great allowance of
grog served out daily to the men, as established by the
king’s order in council, and which frequently leads to drun¬
kenness, and this again to insubordination. Perhaps half
the punishments in the navy are for this offence, which it
requires the utmost vigilance and precautions on the part
of the officers to prevent.
In other respects the discipline of a well-organized ship Effects of
of war is perfect; and to this discipline M. Dupin, a French discipline,
writer of great sagacity, mainly ascribes the brilliant suc¬
cesses of the British navy, and to the want of it the ruin
of that of France. “ We have already cited,” says he,
“ as a model, the management of the materiel of the Eng¬
lish ships. In the preservation of this materiel, in the
stowing it away, in the arrangement of whatever may be
necessary either for manoeuvres or for action, the most
perfect regularity is observed. At the same time, what
becoming austerity is maintained by the commanding of¬
ficer ; what obedience amongst the subalterns; and, in a
space so limited, considering the number of men on board,
and the multiplicity of movements they have to make in
obeying so many different orders, what imposing silence.
It is the calmness of strength, the presiding influence of
wisdom. In the midst of the most complicated operations,
and even in the heat and transport of battle, one hears
only the words of command, pronounced and repeated
from rank to rank, with a measured tone and perfect sang
froid. No unseasonable advices, no murmurs, no tumult..
The commanders meditate in silence ; the word is given,
and the men act without either speaking or thinking.”
This is remarkably so in the day of battle. Every of¬
ficer and man knows precisely his place, and the duty he
has to perform, on that day. By the general printed in-
56
N A V Y.
Naval tac¬
tics.
Personel. structions, the captains of his majesty s ships are requited
‘ to accustom the men to assemble at their proper quarters,
to exercise them at the great guns, to teach them to point,
fire, &c. under all circumstances of sea and weather. In¬
deed, it is well known, that the preservation of the high
character of the British navy essentially depends on the
proper training of the seamen to the expert management
of the guns, so as to be duly prepared in the day of battle ;
the issue of which so mainly depends on the cool, steady,
and regular manner in which the ship s ordnance is load¬
ed, pointed, and fired. Practice in these respects is much
more necessary on board ships than on shore, as it can
never happen that the ship is entirely steady, and has
most frequently a rolling or pitching motion, for which al¬
lowances must be made, and which can only be made with
effect by long practice.
If the management of the great guns of a ship of war is
more difficult than the artillery of a fort, so likewise are
naval tactics more difficult than those of an army ; inas¬
much as there is more difficulty and less dependence in
placing and directing the movements of an inanimate than
an animate machine. The general principles are the same ,
the object of both being that of bringing the greatest pos¬
sible force to bear on that point which is likely to produce
the greatest possible injury to the enemy. With this view,
as well as to keep a fleet together in compact order, so
that straggling ships may not be cut oft by the enemy, it
has been ftmnd necessary to preserve a certain order of
sailing, whether out of sight of an enemy or in his pre¬
sence ; and such an order as, according to the state of the
wind and weather, and the point of bearing of the enemy s
fleet, may most conveniently and expeditiously be changed
into such a line of battle as the commander-in-chief may
deem it most expedient to adopt in the attack to be made
on his opponent. .
In order to do this, it is obvious that every individual
captain must be able to know, under all circumstances,
what the ship he commands will be able to do, in order to
preserve her station in the fleet; for it is with ships as
with horses, no two perhaps performing the same evolu¬
tion with the same tightness of rein, or the same quantity
of sail. This shows the absolute necessity of a com-
mander-in-chief frequently exercising his fleet in naval
tactics, and to observe how such and such a ship will be¬
have under a certain quantity of canvass, and to assign
her station in the line where she may appear calculated to
act with the greatest efficiency.
To facilitate these movements, the admirals command¬
ing squadrons are considered as responsible for the move¬
ment of the ships in their respective divisions. They are
to see that each captain strictly obeys the general order;
and if any one is perceived to neglect his duty, whether
belonging to his proper division or not, if in action, he has
the power to send immediately another officer to suspend
him. And in order that no confusion may arise, if, in
time of battle, the admiral commanding in chief, or any of
the admirals commanding squadrons, should be killed, his
or their flags remain flying till the battle is decided. If
the commander-in-chief be killed or severely wounded, a
private signal is made to the second in command; or if a
junior admiral be killed or wounded, the commander-in¬
chief is also acquainted by signal.
Code of na- This silent method of communicating what is going on
val signals. is the perfection of naval tactics; indeed it is very difficult
to conceive how our ancestors contrived to manage a fleet
without a code of signals. For great and important oc¬
casions, the exhibition of a flag or flags, in some particu¬
lar part of the ship, might be generally understood to im¬
ply that the fleet should anchor, or tack, or form the or¬
der of sailing in two lines, or the line of battle, or some
other great movement. The hoisting of a cask at the
yard-arm might be understood to imply a want of water ; Person^
or a hatchet, of wood ; or an empty bag, of bread ; and's-—
the table-cloth was a very significant invitation to dinner ;
but they had no means of interchanging freely their wants
or intentions, or of conveying detailed intelligence. Even
so late as the American war, there was no established
code of signals in the navy. An anecdote is told of Ad¬
miral Geary, who, in the year 1780, commanded the Chan¬
nel fleet, which clearly proves how little was then known
or practised in the way of signals. His captain, Kempen-
felt, had laboured long to improve the defective system ;
and having one day seen the enemy s fleet, he endeavoured
to communicate the intelligence by the new code; but in
the hurry of making sail and giving chase, the signals
somehow or other were not understood by the rest of the
fleet. Geary at last became impatient, and, running up to
Kempenfelt, seized him by the hand, and exclaimed with
great emphasis, “ Now, my dear Kempy, do, for God’s
sake, throw your signals overboard, and make the old one,
which we all understand,—‘ to bring the enemy to close
action.’”
“ If an admiral,” says Dr Beatson in his able Memoirs,
“ cannot command all the necessary movements of his
ships by signal in the day of battle, he is not upon a foot¬
ing with an enemy who possesses that advantage; and,
even with better ships and better men, and more ex¬
perienced commanders, he may be foiled in his expecta¬
tions of victory, if not defeated, from his want of the means
to direct and to perform the necessary evolutions of his
fleet.” “ In no fight,” he adds, “ was the insufficiency of
the present system of naval signals more conspicuous than
in this (Keppel’s unfortunate action) ; and it is to be hoped
that if ever a new code be adopted for the use of the royal
navy, it may be so clear and comprehensive, that such fa¬
tal errors as those which have been pointed out will in
future be prevented.” This, we may now say, has been ac¬
complished.
The idea of numbering the flags, and of assigning a cer¬
tain number of corresponding sentences to certain combi¬
nations of these numbers, was reduced to something ap¬
proaching a regular system in the fleet under the com¬
mand of Lord Howe”; and in the year 1798 a new signal-
book was issued from the admiralty, containing about 400
sentences, expressive of certain operations of a fleet, com¬
municated by means of flags to which the numerical cha¬
racters were applied; and these, as far as they went, an¬
swered very well, but did not supersede the necessity of
conveying orders by boats on many occasions. The fol¬
lowing year Sir Home Popham suggested the idea of mak¬
ing the flags to represent the letters of the alphabet in
combination with numbers, which not only added immense¬
ly to the means of communication, but also of making use
of words by signal. From this time improvements in the
modes of communicating by signals and telegraphs were
rapidly introduced, particularly in the shape and the co¬
lours of the flags, according to a plan of Sir Home Pop-
ham, which has rendered signals by flags as nearly perfect
as they probably ever will be.
There is, however, an imperfection in the flags them¬
selves ; as in calm weather, when they do not fly out, nei¬
ther their shape nor colour is visible without the use of
stretchers, which are not always easily managed, and never
without loss of time. Again, if the wind be parallel to
the line of vision, the flag shows only its edge, and neither
shape nor colour can be discerned. To remedy these in¬
conveniences, Sir Home Popham proposed a portable
wooden semaphore, in imitation of the French telegraph,
to be mounted on the quarter-deck or poop of a ship.
It consists of two posts, each having a moveable arm, Sea-tele
which may be placed in four positions that can never be graph-
mistaken, being at right angles to each other; and the
NAVY.
57
pro ve¬
il : it in
•sonel. number annexed to each position is that which it conveys
  ' to the person receiving the message.
The encouragement afforded by government to every
  branch of science connected with the navy, and naviga-
ji igation. j.jon jn general, has been carried much farther by England
than by any other European nation, and has produced the
happiest results for commercial enterprise, by determin¬
ing with accuracy the precise position of ships, by short¬
ening long voyages, and by the discovery of new lands
and unexplored regions. From the commencement of the
eighteenth century, when a national reward was first of¬
fered to the man of science, or the artist, who should dis¬
cover a method sufficiently exact to determine the longi¬
tude of a ship’s place at sea, to the present time, the im¬
provements in the construction and division of all kinds of
instruments for measuring angles, in the calculations of
lunar and other tables, and, above all, in the manufacture
and adjustments of chronometers, have continued in gra¬
dual progression, and may now be considered as having
arrived at such a degree of perfection, more especially the
chronometers, that the discovery of the longitude can
scarcely be said to remain a desideratum. We may form
an idea what the progress in the improvement of chrono¬
meters has been, when a public reward was offered by
parliament in the year 1814, to the first who should de¬
termine the longitude at sea within a degree ; and in 1820,
three chronometers, after remaining in the arctic regions
for eighteen months, returned to England without alter¬
ing their rates more than a few seconds of time.
] :rease of The officers of the royal navy are much more generally
i2nce in versed in the sciences oflate years than they were hereto-
: navy. fore> Jn fact, it is now necessary for a young man to be well
acquainted with a certain portion of mathematical and as- lersonel.
tronomical knowledge, to enable him to pass an examina- ^ v
tion, without which he cannot be qualified for the commis¬
sion of a lieutenant. The examinations also of the seve¬
ral warrant-officers, and their qualifications for their respec¬
tive stations, are more strictly attended to than hereto¬
fore ; and the consequence is, that a much better system
of discipline without rigour is established throughout the
fleet, and more comfort in every respect to every class of
officers and men employed.
The encouragement given to the navy from its first re- Pay and
gular establishment has marked it as a favourite service emolu-
in the minds of the public. The sea-pay, the half-pay,ments*
and other emoluments, have generally been superior to
those enjoyed by the army, but subject to great fluctua¬
tions in every reign, and to frequent changes in the same
reign. Thus King William, in 1693, gave to an admiral
L.4 a day, a vice-admiral L.3, and a rear-admiral L.2,
which, with the compensation for servants, amounted to
more than their present pay; yet their allowances were
still further increased in 1700, till a reduction took place
in consequence of an address from the Commons. From
this time till the year 1806 very little alteration took place,
when a small addition was made to the pay of each class.
The following table will exhibit, at one view, the com¬
plete war-establishment of commissioned, warrant, petty,
and non-commissioned officers, seamen, and marines, on
board every class of his majesty’s ships, with the rate of
pay granted to each, and the classes into which they are
divided for the distribution of prize-money or seizures; as
established by his majesty’s order in council of the 25th
November 1816.
FLAG PAY.
Admiral of the fleet L.6
Admiral    5
Vice-admiral    4<
liear-admiral, or commodore with captain under him }
Captain of the fleet /
In flag-ships all the lieutenants, including one extra as flag-lieutenant, are allowed 6d. per diem in addition to
their pay.
3 0
•1
Sea-pay per diem, besides which every
commander-in-chief receives a fur¬
ther sum of L.3 per diem whilst his
flag may be flying within the limits
of his station.
Classes for
Distribution of
Seizures.
II.
III.
IV.
VII.
Physician to the fleet, of less than three years’ service as such   L.l 1 0 per diem.
Physician to the fleet, of more than three and less than ten years’ service 1 11 6 do.
Physician to the fleet, of more than ten years’ service 2 2 0 do.
Master of the fleet 15 7 Q per mensem.
Secretary to the admiral of the fleet 38 7 0
Secretary to an admiral commander-in-chief. 30 13 8
Secretary to a vice or rear admiral commander-in-chief. 23 0 4
Secretary to a junior flag-officer or commodore * 11 10 0
Two clerks to secretaries of commanders-in-chief, each 4 12 0
One clerk to secretaries of junior flag-officers or commodores 3 16 8
Admiral’s coxwain     2 9 0
Steward ")
Cook *  I*   112 0
Domestics  1
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
The numbers of
these ratings to be"
' Admiral of the fleet 12
Admiral 10
Vice-admiral •  7
Rear-admiral, or commodore with captain under him  5
. Captain of the fleet  3
VOL. XVI.
H
58
NAVY.
Classes
for Dis¬
tribu¬
tion of
Seizures
in Ships
and
Sloops
IIM
RANKS AND RATINGS
IV..
V.
Captain  
1st Lieut, if of 7 years standing I
All others J
Master
2d Master
Chaplain
Purser  
Surgeon (for pay see note at the end
of this table)
Gunner
Boatswain 
Carpenter (with 7s. per month addi
tional for tools in every rate)
Master’s mate, if passed
Master’s mate, not passed
Midshipman, if passed
Midshipman, not passed
Assistant surgeon (for pay see note)
Clerk
Schoolmaster
Master at arms
Armourer
Caulker
Ropemaker
Sailmaker..
Carpenter’s mate (with 7s. per month
additional for tools in every rate)..
Gunner’s mate
Boatswain’s mate
Ship’s corporal
Quartermaster
Captain’s coxswain
Coxswain of the launch
Coxswain of the pinnace
Yeoman of the signals
Captain of the hold
Captain of the forecastle
Cooper
Armourer’s mate
Caulker’s mate
Sailmaker’s mate
Captain of the foretop
Captain of the maintop
Captain of the afterguard
Captain of the mast
Ship’s cook
NAVY.
59
5th Hate.
Pay per
Month.
L. s. d.
30 13 8
0
0
6th Rate.
Sloops.
100 Men&upwards. Under 100 Men,
9 4
9 4
4 12 0
12 5 4
4 4 4
4 19 8
j 3 9 0 {
i 2 13 8 j
f 3 1 4 *
\ 1 18 41
3 9 0
2 2 0
> 1 17 0
- 1 17 0
^ 1 15 0
2 11 6
Pay per
Month.
Sa d*
26 17 0
9 4 0
8 8 0
4 12 0
12 5 4
3 16 8
4 12 0
Pay per
Month.
/ 3
2 13
9 01
3 8 j
J 3 1 41
( 1 18 4 j
3 9 0
2 0 0
1 15 0
1 15 0
► 1 14 0
2 10 6
23 0
9 4
7 13
3 16 8
4 12 0
1?
9
13
1
18
<n
u
4/
3 9 0
> 1 19 0
> 1 15 0
1 15 0
1 14
2 10
Pay per
Month.
L* s» d»
23 0 4
9 4 0
7 13 4
3 16 8
I 4 12 0
J 3 9 01
i 2 13 8j
13 141
\ 1 18
4/
3 9 0
1 19 0
!> 1 15 0
Bombs.
1 15 0
r
J4 0
2 10 6
Pay per
Month.
L. s. d.
23 0 4
9 4 0
7 13 4
3 16 8
4 12 0
3 9 01
2 13 8 /
{Ul
3 9 0
- 1 19 0
1 15 0
1 15 0
^ 1 14 0
2 10 6
Gun Brigs.
Pay per
Month.
L. s. d.
11 10 0
7 13 4
r 3 9 0(
1 2 13 8j
f 3 1 4 1
| 1 18 4/
3 9 0
^ 1 19 0
1 15 0
1 15 0
2 10 6
Schooners & Cutters,
Pay per
Month.
L. s. d.
11 10 0
7 13 4
1 15 0
2 10 6
Classes
for Dis¬
tribu¬
tion of
Seizures
in Brigs,
Schoon¬
ers, and
Cutters.
J 3 9 0
l 2 13 8
/ 3 1 4
l 1 18 4
3 9 0
1 19 0
1 15 0
I.
II.
III.
MV.
V.
60
NAVY.
Classes
for Dis¬
tribu¬
tion of
Seizures
in Ships
and
Sloops.
1st Rate.
VI.
HANKS AND RATINGS.
No.
Pay per
Month.
VII.
Volunteer, 1st class 
Gunner’s crew   
Carpenter’s crew (with 7s. per month
additional for tools in every rate)...
Sailmaker’s crew 
Cooper’s crew 
Able seaman 
Gunner’s yeoman 
Boatswain’s yeoman 
Carpenter’s yeoman 
Ordinary seaman  
Cook’s mate 
Barber     
Purser’s steward (in vessels in which a
purser is allowed) 
Captain’s steward 
Captain’s cook 
Ward or gun-room steward 
Ward or gun-room cook 
Steward’s mate 
Landman 
L.
1
d.
0
1 14 0
2d Rate.
3d Rate.
No.
7
22
16
2
2
Pay per
Month.
L.
1
► 1 14 0
No.
6
20
14
2
2
Pay per
Month.
L.
1
J
1 14 0
4th Rate.
No.
Pay per
Month.
4
IB
12
2
2
L.
1
k 1 14 0
-L.l. 12s. in all Rates.
L.l. 4s. in all Rates.
> L.l. 12s. in all Rates.
L.l. Is. in all Rates.
VIII.
Boy, 2d class...
Ditto, 3d class.
Widow’s men...
Total.'.  207
0 12 3
0 10 9
1 12 0
12
17
7
188
0 12 3
0 10 9
1 12 0
10
16
6
166
0 12 3
0 10 9
1 12 0
7
11
5
126
The numbers included in these ratings are, in
0 12 3
0 10 9
1 12 0
NAVY.
61
Sloops.
Under 100 Men.
No.
1st Class   ^33
1st Rates 2d Class j.. 483
I 3d Class  433
J 1st Class  362
(2d Class.*  312
list Class 359
(2d Class  309
J 1st Class  264
{ 2d Class i»«.... 164
/ 1st Class  144
l 2d Class  124
(1st Class   63
-I 2d Class  33
v3d Class  13
'1st Class   50
2d Class   40
3d Class  36
2d Rates,
3d Rates..
4th Rates.
5th Rates.
6th Rates.
Sloops, Brigs, &c.
0 12 3
0 10 9
1 12 0
87
4thCla6s.
5th Class.
.£
13
12
10
12
65
16
30
20 J
0 12
0 10
1 12
900
850
800
700
650
650
600
450
350
300
280
175
145
125
135
125
95
75
60
50
Pa} per
Month.
1 0
1 14 0
Bombs.
No.
Pay per
Month.
L.
d.
1 14 0
Gun Brigs. I Schooners & Cutters.
No.
Pay per
Month.
No.
L.
1 14 0
Pay per
Month.
Classes
for Dis¬
tribu¬
tion of
Seizures
in Brigs
Schoon¬
ers, and
Cutters.
L. s. d.
1 14 0
J>vi.
47
0 12
0 10
1 12
34
12
10
12
18
12
10
18
0 12 S
0 10 9
^VII.
VIII
62
NAVY.
Personel.
Classes
for Dis¬
tribu¬
tion of
Seizures
in Ships
and
Sloops.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
RANKS AND RATINGS.
Number in each Rate.
Fd
P3
MARINES.
Captain  (
Ditto if brevet-major /
1st Lieutenant.
Ditto after 7 years 1
Ditto under 7 years  /-
2d Lieutenant  )
Serjeant 1
Ditto if colour serjeant... J
Corporal.
Ditto after 14 years
Ditto from 7 to 14 years
Ditto under 7 years
ears..^
Drummer.
P3
Bombardier.
Ditto after 14 years )
Ditto from 7 to 14 years.. /-
Ditto under 7 years )
Private or gunner.
Ditto after 14 years 'I
Ditto from 7 to 14 years >-
Ditto under 7 years )
146
Total marines... 160
■ , (/>
® £
O P
-I o.
3
-2 §
tZ2
C
2®
o
O"
138
150
114
1 1
125
53
44
60
50
21
25
o 3
20
Pay of
Marines in
all Rates.
1 1
17
20
10
12
10
14
14 14 10
17 10 10
10 10
9 2
7 7
Pay of
Marine
Artillery.
15 8 0
18 4 0
10 19 4
9 11 4
7 16 4
, f 1 18 1 2 16 9
1 \ 2 12 1 3 10 9
10
12
10
12
1 10
1 7
1 5
1 1 4
{
1 1
0 19
0 17
2 14 0
2 118
2 9 4
l 4 5
5
2 9 6
2 7 2
2 4 10
1 9 1
1 6 9
14 5
Personel,
Note.—To this table it may be added, that captains who, on the death or f f f ,a **
authorized to hoist a distinguishing pendant, are entitled to receive the pay o . p y
as captains, while the pendant is flying within the limits of the station.
Surgeons of Ships in Active Service.
Under 6 years service,
After 6 ditto 
— 10 ditto 
— 20 ditto  
10s. a day.
11s. do.
, 14s. do.
,18s. do.
Surgeons in Receiving-Ships, Prison-Ships, Sfc.
In harbour-duty ....
Surgeons of hospital-ships
Assistant-surgeons 
10s. a day.
15s. do.
6s. 6d. do.
Establish¬
ment of
half-pay.
Though the navy, as we have seen, was put upon a re¬
gular establishment under the reign of Henry VIII., nei¬
ther officers nor seamen received any pay or emolument
in time of peace, until the reign of Charles II., when, in
1668, certain allowances were made to flag-officers and
their captains out of the L.200,000 a year voted for the
whole naval service; and in 1674, certain other allowances
were granted, by order in council, to captains who had
commanded ships of the first and second rate, and to the
second captains to flag-officers, on the ground, as assigned
in the preamble, that they had undergone the brunt ot
the war, without sharing in the incident advantages of it,
as prizes, convoys, and such like, which the commanders
of the smaller classes of ships had enjoyed. But the first
regular establishment of half-pay for all flag-officers, cap¬
tains, first-lieutenants, and masters, was by King W illiam,
in the year 1693, provided they had served a year in their
respective qualities, or had been in a general engagement
with the enemy. A regular established halt-pay was fur¬
ther sanctioned by an order in council of Queen Anne in
1700 ; the conditions of which were, that no officer should
enjoy the benefit thereof who had absented himself without
permission of the lord high admiral or lords commission¬
ers of the admiralty, or who had been dismissed for any
misdemeanour, or by court-martial, or who had not be¬
haved himself to the satisfaction of the lord high admiral,
or who should have leisure to go out of his majesty’s domi¬
nions, if employed in the merchant service or otherwise,
or who enjoyed the benefit of any public employment.
Since the above period the rate of half-pay to the several
officers of the navy has undergone various modifications.
At present it stands thus :
RATES OF HALF-PAY.
NAVY.
63
Personel.
Flag- Officers.
Admirals of the fleet
Admirals 
Vice-admirals 
Rear ditto  
Per Diem.
.L.3 3 0
2 2 0
1 12 6
1 5 0
Captains.
To each of the first 100 as they stand on the
0 14 6
general list of officers in seniority
To each of the next 150  0 12 6
To the rest  0 10 6
Commanders.
To each of the first 150 on the list  1 10 0
To the remainder  0 8 6
Lieutenants.
The boatswains, gunners, and carpenters of the navy, Personel.
have pensions or superannuations, in lieu of half-pay, ac¬
cording to the following scale, formed on a consideration
of the total length of service as warrant-officers, with the
length of service in commission.
Total Service.
Years.
30  
30 
30 
30 
20 
20  
20 
20 
15 
15 
15 
10 
10 
Commissioned Service. Pension.
Years. L.
 20 85
 15 75
 10 65
  5 55
 20 75
 15 65
 10 55
  5 45
 15 60
 ..10   50
  5 40
 10 45
  5 35
To each of the first 300 on the list  0
To each of the next 700  0
To the remainder  0
Royal Marines.
Colonels  0
Lieutenant-colonels  0
Majors   0
Captains  0
First lieutenants of seven years standing  0
The rest  0
Second lieutenants  0
Masters.
To the first 100 on the list (being qualified for }
first or second rates) J
To the next 200 (being qualified for third or {
fourth rates |
The remainder having served five years in the 4
navy, two of which as acting or second mas- /-
ter, or as master’s mate or midshipman )
0
0
0
7
6
5
14
11
9
7
4
4
3
7
6
5
0
0
0
6
0
6
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
Medical Officers.
Physicians.
After ten years service 
After three years 
Under that time 
Surgeons.
Six years service 
Under that time 
Assistant Surgeons.
Three years service 
Two years 
Dispensers 
1 1 0
0 15 0
0 10 6
0 6 0
0 5 0
0 3 0
0 2 0
0 5 0
Chaplains.
After eight years service at sea, or ten in harbour 0 5 0
For less service, not under three years. . .-f a ProPorti°n
„ ^ ( of the above,
ror each year’s longer service than ten }
years, 6d. per diem additional till it reach / U 10 0
Pursers.'
To the first 100 on the list  0 5
Do. next 200 do 0 4
The remainder  0 3
Payable quarterly.
0
0
0
In point of half-pay and other pecuniary emoluments, the Naval
navy has much the advantage over the army, more parti- prize-
cularly in the chance of prize-money, which but seldom money,
falls to the share of the army, except on some conjoint ex¬
pedition. On the commencement of a war a proclamation
is issued by the king, directing that the net produce of
all prizes taken by any of his ships of war shall be for the
entire benefit and encouragement of the flag-officers, cap¬
tains, commanders, and other commissioned officers, and
of the seamen, marines, and soldiers on board at the time
of the capture ; and directing also in what manner the dis¬
tribution shall be made. Many very handsome, and, in
some instances, very splendid fortunes, have been made by
captures of the enemy’s ships.
Another great encouragement for young men to enter Honours
the naval service arises from the honours bestowed by the and re¬
sovereign for any brilliant exploit. Thus, in consequence wards,
of the skill and bravery which were exhibited in the great
and glorious action of the 1st of June 1794, his majesty
was graciously pleased to confer on Earl Howe the order
of the garter; Admirals Graves and Sir Alexander Hood
were made barons of the kingdom of Ireland ; and Rear-
admirals Bowyer, Gardner, and Pasley, together with Sir
Roger Curtis, captain of the Queen Charlotte, were creat¬
ed baronets. Gold medals and chains were also distri¬
buted to such admirals, and gold medals to such captains,
as were particularized in Lord Howe’s despatches. The
first lieutenants of each ship were promoted to the rank of
commanders; and pensions of L.1000 per annum were
granted to Rear-admirals Bowyer and Pasley, in consider¬
ation of the loss of limbs.
For the action of 14th of February 1797, Lord St Vincent
was advanced to the dignity of an earl, and a pension was
granted to him of L.3000 a year; Vice-admirals Thomp¬
son and Parker were created baronets ; Commodore Nel¬
son received the order of the bath, and Captain Calder of
the Victory the honour of knighthood; and gold medals
were distributed to the admirals and captains.
For the action of the 11th of October 1797, Admiral Dun¬
can was created a viscount, with a pension of L.2000 a
year; Vice-admiral Onslow was made a baronet; and Cap¬
tain Fairfax had the honour of knighthood. Gold medals
were also distributed to the admirals and captains.
For the action of the 1st of August 1798, his majesty was
pleased to testify his sense of the importance of this bril¬
liant achievement, by raising Sir Horatio Nelson to the
dignity of the peerage, by the title of Baron Nelson of the
Nile; and by directing medals to be distributed to the
captains. The first lieutenant of the Majestic was made a
captain, and the first lieutenants of the other ships were
64
N A
Tersonel. promoted to the rank of commanders. And for the attack
the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, Lord Nelson was rais¬
ed to the dignity of a viscount, and the order of the bath
was conferred on Admiral Graves. .
For the ever memorable action of Trafalgar, in which
Lord Nelson fell in the arms of victory, his majesty was
pleased to confer upon his brother the rank of earl, with
a pension of L.5000 a year; and the sum of L.120,00U
was voted by parliament for the purchase of an estate to
be annexed to the title. Admiral Collingwood was raised
to the dignity of baron; Lord Northesk was honoured
with the order of the bath, and Captain Hardy was creat¬
ed a baronet. The captains received medals; five lieu¬
tenants were made captains, and twenty-four, command¬
ers ; twenty-two midshipmen were made lieutenants; and
the senior captain of marines was made brevet-major.
By this last act of Lord Nelson’s life was annihilated
the only remaining hope of the combined navies of France
and Spain, and a blow given to the naval power of the
enemies of Great Britain, which they never recovered du-
V Y.
And the widows of officers of the royal marines are cn- JPersonei.
titled to the following pensions:
Per Annum.
The widow of a
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
general officer L.120
colonel 
lieutenant-colonel  80
major  ^0
captain  50
first lieutentant and surgeon 40
second lieutenant and assist-
•er;
ant surgeon  
In addition to these pensions, there has been established
a Compassionate Fund, for the relief of such widows and
orphan children as may appear to be proper objects of com¬
passion. The sums annually required are voted by parlia¬
ment, and at present are limited to L.14,000 a year.
Pensions to petty officers and seamen are granted by
the board of admiralty for wounds, infirmities, and length
of service; and the sum required for this purpose is voted
annually on the navy estimates. ,rr
The establishment of Greenwich Hospital embraced Grenwct
The first idea of this noble HosPltaL
has
20 0 0
“ScS S, John W - f mnch more ~ objec,^ ^ ^
Duckworth, Sir Robert Calder S.r Rrchard Strachan *?th Jve pearanCe of justice, to Mary,
Lord Gambler, and Lord Exmouth, and even for bnl a consort 0f William 111. Being desirous that our gal-
actions of single ships, appropriate distinctions have neve seamen wom down by age or infirmities, as well as suf-
been withheld. Exclusive of peerages and baroneto^, Lt be left destitute, she made
the honours bestowed for gallant conduct in the naval sc g with Ki william, of the palace of Green-
llvenTfeghl ^ommlndeVand 130°companions „f the wich, and of certain lands adjoining, to be appropriated
Pensions The provision which is made for officers, m the event
for wounds. 0f iosincr a limb, or being so severely wounded m the ser¬
vice that the prejudice to the habit of body is equal to
the loss of a limb, is another encouragement for entering
the naval service.
For an admiral, from L.300 to L.700 per annum.
A captain, wounds, L.250 ; loss of a limb  •
Commander...do... L.150 ; do '
Lieutenant.....do... L.91. 5s.; do 
Marine officers the same as in the army.
5s.
Widows’
pensions.
jv.o.u... likewise made for the widows of the com-
mission "and warrant officers of his majesty’s navy, by or¬
der of the king in council, and voted annually on the navy
estimates. The pensions are allowed according to the
annexed scale, being similar in most cases to
of officers in the army of corresponding ranks.
also provided for by an annual vote of parliament,
are
Scale of Pensions.
The widow of a flag-officer of his majesty’s
fleet.
■ of a captain, superannuated with
the rank of rear-admiral  10°
of a captain of three years
standing 
of a captain under three years
standing.
of a commander 
of a lieutenant, superannuated
with the rank of commander  60
of a lieutenant,
of a master.
of a surgeon..  40
of a purser,
of a boatswain,
- of a gunner 
of a carpenter  25
. of a second master of a yacht.
or master of a naval vessel warranted by
the navy board 
to this purpose, in order, as stated in the kings commis¬
sion, to “ the making some competent provision, that sea¬
men, who, by age, wounds, or other accidents, shall be¬
come disabled for further service at sea, and shall not be
in a condition to maintain themselves comfortably, may
not fall under hardships and miseries, but may be support¬
ed at the public charge; and that the children of such
disabled seamen, and also the widows and children of such
seamen as shall happen to be slain in sea service, may, in
some reasonable manner, be provided for and educated.
In 1695, the committee appointed to examine and report
on the premises recommended an additional wing to King
Charles’s building, which being approved by the king, Sir
Christopher Wren undertook to superintend the new erec-
lo LUtJ tions without any pay or reward. Since that time various
th? widows additions and improvements have been made to this mag-
The latter nificent pile of building, which was completed very nearly
as it now appears, in the year 1778.
The king granted L.2000 a year towards the carrying
on, perfecting, and endowing of this hospital. The great
officers of state and wealthy individuals also subscribed
liberally to the undertaking. It was at the same time en-
L.120 0 0 acted by parliament, that a deduction of sixpence per man
per month should be made out of the wages of all mariners
for the use of the hospital; and power was given to the
lord high admiral to appoint commissioners for receiving
the said duty, whose office is situated on Tower Hill.
These deductions no longer exist, and the establishment
has been broken up. In 1699 his majesty contributed the
sum of L.19,500, being fines laid by the House of Lords
on certain merchants convicted of smuggling. In 1705
Queen Anne assigned to the use of the hospital the effects
of Kid the pirate, amounting to upwards of L.6000. In
1707, Robert Osbaldiston, Esq. devised by will half of his
estate, which was valued at L.20,000. In the same year
Anthony Bowyer gave the reversion of a considerable es¬
tate for the use of the hospital. By several statutes, the
forfeited and unclaimed shares of prize-money were given
to the hospital, and various grants, from time to time, con¬
tinued to be made by parliament. But the most substantial
grant was that made by the Commons, of the rents and pro¬
fits of the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater,
0 0
0 0
80
70
50
40
30
25
25
25 0 0
(
NAVY.
65
e nel. amounting at that time to about L.6000 a year, and at
present to the gross rental of L.60,000, of which, after
payment of all expenses for improvements, repairs, collec¬
tions, and incumbrances, the annual receipt may be esti¬
mated at from L.30,000 to L.40,000.
:i! inent At present the permanent revenues of the hospital con-
vnaes. sist of the following heads :
1. The duties arising from the North and South Fore¬
land light-houses.
2. The rents and profits of the Derwentwater estates,
including the lead mines.
3. Rents of the market of Greenwich, and of certain
houses there and in London.
4. Interest of money invested in the public funds.
5. Forfeited and unclaimed shares of prize-money.
6. Fines for various offences.
It is evident that the funds of the establishment must
vary considerably in times of war and peace; being lowest
in the latter period, when the demands are heaviest upon
it, especially for a certain number of years after the close
of a war.
The rental of the estates belonging to the hospital in
the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Dur¬
ham, rose from L.23,000 in 1805, to L.43,000 in 1816.
The present gross rental of these estates and the lead
mines, as above stated, amounts to about L.60,000, the
North and South Foreland lights to L.7000, and the in¬
terest of funded property to L.50,000 ; making, with other
contingencies, an annual revenue of about L.150,000, the
whole of which is expended on the household establish¬
ment, the clothing, maintenance, and allowances to pen¬
sioners and other attendants, with repairs, taxes, and con¬
tingencies.
The establishment of this noble institution consists of a
governor, who is a flag-officer in the navy, lieutenant-go¬
vernor, four captains, and eight lieutenants, all resident
within the hospital; a treasurer, auditor, paj'master of
pensions, secretary, clerk of the check, two chaplains, two
physicians, three surgeons, two dispensers, steward, clerk
of the works, and several clerks. The number of in-pen¬
sioners is about 3000, and the number of nurses 180, all
of whom must be the widows of seamen of the navy, and
under the age of forty-five years at the time of admission.
Under the naval administration of Earl Grey, the fol-
ffi rs on lowing officers were added to the out-pensions of Green-
ir iiwichwich Hospital, to be selected by the admiralty, according
!ta • to their respective claims on the service :
[o ital
st ;Lish-
r
’ei oned
Per Year.
10 Captains at L.80
15 Commanders at 60
50 Lieutenants at 50
in addition to their half-pay.
)u >en- The out-pensions to seamen were first established in the
ic< d sea-year 1763, by act of 3d Geo. III. ch. 16, in consequence of
which 1400 out-pensioners were appointed at L.7 per an¬
num each, after undergoing an examination at the admi¬
ralty as to their claims.
At the close of the long revolutionary war, the applica¬
tions became so numerous, and the claims of the seamen
who had been wounded or worn out in the service so
strongly grounded in humanity and justice, that it became
necessary to adopt a scale of pensions, and to establish
certain rules and regulations, by which seamen of his ma¬
jesty s fleet and royal marines should be remunerated for
wounds or hurts, debility, and length of service. The fol¬
lowing are the regulations.
For Wounds, Hurts, or Debility.
Every seaman, landman, boy, or royal marine, wound¬
ed or hurt in his majesty’s service, is entitled to a pension
VOL. XVI.
proportioned to his wounds or hurts, of not less than six- Personel.
pence a day, and not more than one shilling and sixpence
a day. For sickness or debility, after seven years’ ser¬
vice, and under special circumstances before that period,
of not less than fivepence a day, nor more than tenpence,
according as he may appear capable of assisting himself.
Beyond fourteen, and less than twenty one years’ service,
not less than eightpence, nor more than one shilling and
threepence. And after twenty-one years’ service, one shil¬
ling and sixpence a day. But the rates are altered from
time to time.
All the above-mentioned pensions may be forfeited by
misconduct, by desertion, and by sentence of a court-mar¬
tial ; also by neglecting or omitting to attend at such
port or place, and at such time, as shall, in time of war, or
in prospect of a war, be appointed for the assembling of
the pensioners, by the lords commissioners of the ad¬
miralty.
To the noble institution of Greenwich* Hospital is ap¬
pended an asylum for the maintenance and education of
the children of officers and seamen of his majesty’s naval
service.
The Naval Asylum was originally instituted by the Naval
Patriotic Fund and private subscriptions, and afterwards Asylum,
established at Greenwich, by warrant under the king’s
sign-manual, dated in January 1818, appointing the lords
commissioners of the admiralty to be commissioners and
governors, who, with twenty-four directors, were to super¬
intend and manage the same. The object was, the main¬
tenance and education of a certain number of orphans and
other children of the non-commissioned officers, seamen,
and marines of the royal navy. As it was manifest, how¬
ever, that this establishment, so contiguous to the hospital
of Greenwich, could be managed without inconvenience
by the commissioners and directors of that hospital, under
a more effective and economical system, his majesty was
pleased, by his warrant of January 1821, to annul the for¬
mer warrant, and to vest the superintendence and inter¬
nal management of the said asylum in the commissioners
and governors of Greenwich Hospital.
The two schools of Greenwich Hospital and the Naval
Asylum, and the funds thereof, are now therefore incorpo¬
rated. The internal management is confided to the board
of directors, and one of the captains of the hospital is in¬
trusted with the general superintendence. A chaplain,
and proper schoolmasters, schoolmistresses, matron, and
inferior assistants, male and female, with moderate salaries,
reside in the building. The number of children maintain¬
ed and educated in the institution are,
In the boys’ upper school 200
lower school 600
Girls.., 200
In the whole....1000
To the upper school no boys are admitted but the sons
of seamen and marines, slain, drowned, or dead; those of
pensioners in the hospital; of seamen disabled, past their
labour, or otherwise objects of charity; and of officers in the
navy and marines, on the production of a required certi¬
ficate of poverty. The age of admission is from eleven to
twelve, and the continuance in the school three years, at
the expiration of which they are bound apprentices to the
merchant service. Presentations by the directors in rotation.
The boys and girls of the lower school are the children
of seamen and marines of the naval service, admitted by
the board of directors, giving a preference to orphans. The
age of admission is from nine to twelve years inclusive;
but none is retained beyond the age of fourteen. The
boys are sent into the navy, or merchant service, or put
apprentices to some trade. The girls, at the age of four¬
teen, are apprenticed to trades, or sent to service.
66 N A Z
Naxia Thus all the classes of officers, seamen, and marines, who
II have faithfully served in the navy, are provided for by
Nazareth, state . ailj the children of such as may be in indigent
■' v circumstances receive an education at the public expense,
suited to their condition in life.
The total expense of the navy, including every branch
N A Z
of the service, civil and military, for one -whole year, about Nazants,
the middle of the last war, may be estimated at about
L.18,000,000. In the year 1822, according to the esti¬
mates which were laid before parliament, it amounted to
about L.5,000,000; and in the year 1837 it has been fixed
at the sum of L.4i,663,000. (M*)
NAXIA, the anxient Naxos, is one of the largest and
most fertile of the islands in the Archipelago, known as
the Cyclades. Its greatest length from north to south is
seventeen miles, and its greatest breadth about twelve miles.
The north point is in latitude 37. 12. Although the roca-s
are of a most repulsive appearance, yet the island is diver¬
sified by hills, valleys, and plains, and is well wooded and
watered. Besides the city of its name, it contains thirty-
five villages, and a population of about 17,000 persons.
It produces corn equal to six months’ consumption, and
a surplus of oil, fruits, and cheese. Large quantities of
oranges and lemons are exported. There is no port on
the island for ships to enter.
NAXOS, or Naxia, a considerable town^ and capital
of the Isle of Naxos, opposite the Isle ot Paros, with a
castle and two archbishops’ sees, the one Greek and the
other Latin. The greater part of the inhabitants are
Greeks. Long. 25. 51. E. Lat. 37. 8. N.
NAYO, a small island in the Eastern Seas, near to the
north coast of Celebes. Long. 124. 24. E. Lat. 1. 24. N.
NAYRES are the nobility of the Malabar coast. We
may with truth affirm that they are the oldest nobility in
the world; for the most ancient waiters mention them,
and quote the law which permits the Nayre ladies to have
several husbands, every one being allowed four.
NAZARETH, a town or village of Palestine, celebrat¬
ed in holy writ as the residence of our Saviour. It is si¬
tuated in a deep valley, on the side of a high hill, neaier
to its summit than its base, and having a rocky eminence
along it. It contains about 250 buildings of stone, a ma¬
terial always at hand. They are flat-roofed, generally of
only one story, but sufficiently spacious for the accommo¬
dation of the numerous poor families by whom they are in¬
habited. The streets are steep and narrow, and, from the
looseness of the soil, exceedingly dirty. Of the public
buildings the mosque is the most conspicuous, and is a
neat edifice. It is enclosed with a good wall of masonry,
so that Mr Buckingham, who visited it, could only see one
of its sides, on which there were five arches. It has a
plain whitened minaret, surrounded by a gallery, and sur¬
mounted by a crescent. The Greeks have a church on
the south-eastern edge of the town, at the foot of a hill,
and the Maronites have also a church in front of a Fran¬
ciscan convent. This convent, Mr Buckingham mentions,
is one of the largest and most commodious he had seen
anywhere, being superior to those of Smyrna, Alexandria,
or “Cairo. It is still adorned with some precious remains
of antiquity. Two antique shafts of red granite columns
are used as portals to the door-way. Within is a court,
and near the gate at its further extremity is the fragment
of a shaft of another granite column, lying on the ground.
White pillars form the portals of entrance to the original
building, destroyed by the Turks ; and of these the remains
are still to be seen. On the wall, both within and without,
there are worked into the masonry several pieces of the old
ruins, containing delicate sculptures of frize, cornices, capi¬
tals, &c. The gate leads to a large paved square, in which
there are two wells, surmounted by the cross; and on the
right hand is the hall for the reception of strangers and
visitors. The interior is furnished with every convenience,
in staircases, galleries, and apartments. Mr Buckingham
mentions, that he supped in a hall below, of considerable
size. The table service consisted altogether of pewter, but
every thing was extremely clean, and the provisions were
excellent, particularly fine wheaten bread, and wine from
Mount Lebanon, not inferior to the wines of France. The
church belonging to the monastery is erected over a grot¬
to, which is believed to have belonged to the Virgin Maiy.
In this place are shown her kitchen and fire-place; and
by way of miracle a pillar is exhibited, the capital of which,
separated from the shaft, is represented as self-supported
in the air. Dr Clarke, however, soon observed that it was
fastened into the wall above. Mr Buckingham was shown
a second grotto, or a continuation of the first, with two reel
oranite pillars, of about two feet in diameter at its entrance;
and he was told that the one marked the spot where the
Virgin rested, the other where the angel stood when he
appeared to Mary. The church erected over this sacred
spot is large, and well furnished with paintings, mostly
gaudy, though there were a few not altogether devoid ot
merit. The synagogue in which Jesus read and expound¬
ed the prophet Esaias is shown here within the town;
the precipice from which his enemies would have thrown
him down is also pointed out; and, according to Mr Buck¬
ingham, it is not improbable that this precipice, which
overlooks the town, was the scene of this outrage. But
the most venerated relic is a stone called the table ot
Christ, from which he is asserted to have eaten before
and after his resurrection. Nazareth forms part of the
pachalik of Acre, and was reduced to indigence and mi¬
sery by the oppression of Djezzar Pasha. Many of the
wretched people emigrated in consequence; and several of
the neighbouring Arabs said to Dr Clarke, that the beg¬
gars in England were better and happier than they. The
stationary inhabitants are about 2000, of whom 500 are
Catholic Christians, about 300 Maronites, and 200 Ma-
hommedans, the rest being schismatic Greeks. Nazareth
is fifty miles north from Jerusalem.
NAZARITE, or Nazarean, or Nazarene, a term which
signifies one who is of Nazareth, or any native of the city
of Nazareth. It was given to Jesus Christ and his disci¬
ples, and is commonly employed in a sense of derision and
contempt by those authors who have written against Chns-
tianitv. It has also been applied to a sect of heretics called
Nazarenes ; and sometimes it means a Nazarite, or one who
has laid himself under the obligation of a vow to observe
the rules of Nazariteship, whether it be for his whole life,
as Samson and John the Baptist, or only for a time, as in
the case of those mentioned in Numbers (vi. 18, 19, 20)
and Amos (ii. 11, 12). Lastly, the name of Nazarite, in
some passages of Scripture, denotes a man of particular
distinction and great dignity in the court of some prince.
Of these several sorts of Nazarites we shall now give some
account. T . .
The name of Nazarene belongs to Jesus Const, not only
because of his having lived the greater part of his life at
Nazareth, and because this city has always been consider¬
ed as his country, but also because the prophets had fore¬
told that he should be called a Nazarene (Matth. ii. 23).
“ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.” We find no particular
passage in the prophets where it is said that the Messiah
should be called a Nazarene ; and St Matthew only quotes
N A Z
rite, the prophets in general. Perhaps he meant to insinuate,
"—-'''that the consecration of the Nazarites, and the great pu¬
rity of which they made profession, were a type and a sort
of prophecy of those of our Saviour, or else that the name
Nazir or Nazarite, given to the patriarch Joseph (Gen.
xlix. 26 ; Deut. xxxiii. 16), was a prophecy which was to
be fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, of whom Joseph
was a figure. Lastly, St Jerome was of opinion, that St
Matthew here alludes to a passage in Isaiah, where it is
said, “ And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a branch (Nezer) shall grow out of his roots.
According to the general consent of all the fathers and in¬
terpreters, this branch, or Nezer, and this root, are intend¬
ed to denote Jesus Christ.
When the word Nazarene is applied to the heretics known
by this name, it denotes Christians converted from Ju¬
daism, whose chief error consisted in defending the ne¬
cessity or expediency of the works of the law, and who
obstinately adhered to the practice of the Jewish ceremo¬
nies. The name of Nazarenes at first had nothing odious
attached to it, and it was often applied to the first Chris¬
tians. The fathers frequently mention the Gospel of the
Nazarenes, as differing in nothing from that of St Matthew,
which was either in Hebrew or Syriac, being for the use
of the first converts, but afterwards corrupted by the Ebio-
nites. These Nazarenes preserved the first gospel in its
primitive purity. Some of them were still in being in the
time of St Jerome, who does not reproach them with any
error; they were very zealous observers of the law of Moses,
and held the traditions of the Pharisees in supreme con¬
tempt.
Nazarite, when used to signify a person under the an¬
cient law who had made a vow of observing a more than
ordinary degree of purity, denotes a man or woman who
engages himself or herself by a vow to abstain from wine
and all intoxicating liquors, to let the hair grow without
cutting or shaving, and not to enter into any house which
was polluted by having a dead corpse in it, or to be pre¬
sent at any funeral. But if by chance any one should
have died in the presence of such a person, he or she be¬
gan again the whole ceremony of consecration and Na-
zariteship. This ceremony generally lasted eight days,
sometimes a month, and sometimes their whole lives.
When the time of their Nazariteship had been accomplish¬
ed, the priest brought the person to the door of the tem¬
ple, who there offered to the Lord a he-lamb for a burnt-
offering, a she-lamb for an expiatory sacrifice, and a ram
for a peace-offering. They likewise offered loaves and
cakes, with wine necessary for the libations. After all this
had been sacrificed and offered to the Lord, the priest or
some one else shaved the head of the Nazarite at the door
of the tabernacle, and burned his hair, throwing it upon
the fire of the altar. Then the priest put into the hand
of the Nazarite the shoulder of the ram roasted, with a
loaf and a cake, which the Nazarite returned into the hands
of the priest, who offered them to the Lord, lifting them up
in the presence of the Nazarite; and from this time he
might again drink wine, his Nazariteship being now ac¬
complished. As to those who were perpetual Nazarites,
like Samson and John the Baptist, it appears that they
were consecrated to their Nazariteship by their parents,
and continued all their lives in this state without drinking
wine or cutting their hair.
Those who made a vow of Nazariteship out of Pales¬
tine, and could not come to the temple when their vow
was expired, contented themselves with observing the ab¬
stinence required by the law, and afterwards cutting their
hair in the place where they happened to reside. As to
the offerings and sacrifices prescribed by Moses, which
were to be offered by themselves, or by others for them
at the temple, they deferred this till they found a conve-
N E A
67
Nearchus.
nient opportunity. Hence it was that St Paul being at Nazim
Corinth, and having made the vow of a Nazarite, he had his
hair cut off at Cenchrea, and postponed fulfilling the re¬
mainder of his vow till he should arrive at Jerusalem (Acts,
xviii. 18). When a person found that he was not in a condi¬
tion to make a vow of Nazariteship, or had not leisure to
perform the ceremonies which it rendered necessary, he
contented himself by contributing to the expense of the
sacrifice and offerings of those who had made and fulfilled
the vow; and by this means he became a partaker in the
merit of such Nazariteship. When St Paul went to Jeru¬
salem, in the year of Christ 58, the apostle St James the
Less, with the other brethren, said to him (Acts, xxi. 23,
24), that to quiet the minds of the converted Jews, who
had been informed that he everywhere preached up the
entire abolition of the law of Moses, he ought to join him¬
self to four of the faithful who had made a vow of Na¬
zariteship, and contribute to the charge of the ceremony
at the shaving of their heads; by which .the new converts
might perceive that he continued to keep the law, and that
what they had heard of him was not true.
The Hebrew word Nazir, which is employed to signi¬
fy a person exalted to great dignity, as it is said of the
patriarch Joseph (Gen. xlix. 26 ; and Deut. xxxiii. 16),
“ that he was separated from his brethren,” as it is in our
translation, or as the Vulgate and others understand the
Hebrew, “ that he was a Nazarite amongst his brethren,”
has been variously understood. Some think that the He¬
brew word Nazir, in these places, signifies one who is
crowned, chosen, separated, or distinguished ; indeed the
word Nazir signifies a crown. The Septuagint translate
this word a chief, or him who is honoured. Calmet thinks
that it was a term of dignity in the courts of eastern prin¬
ces ; and mentions, that at this day in the court of Persia
the word Nazir signifies the superintendent-general of the
king’s household, the chief officer of the crown, the high
steward of his family, treasures, and revenues; in which
sense Joseph was the Nazir of the court of Pharaoh. Le
Clerc translates the term Nazir a prince, and calls Joseph
“ the prince of his brethren and Pool declares in favour
of this last translation.
NAZIM, a river of Asiatic Russia, in the government
of Tobolsk and district of Berezof, which falls into the
Obi, after a course of 160 miles.
NAZOOK, a large lake of Armenia, situated amongst
the mountains, in a bare and desolate country, being thir¬
teen miles in length and five in breadth.
NEALING, or rather Annealing, a term used to sig¬
nify the preparing of several matters, by heating or baking
them in the oven, or otherwise. See Annealing.
NEAMUTSERAI, a fortified village of Afghanistan, in
the district of Puckoli, on the north-eastern border of La¬
hore. It has a caravanserai, which is placed in a break of
the great range of mountains, which extends from the
Punjab to the Indus. Long. 71. 50. E. Lat. 33. 30. N.
NEAP or Neep Tides are those tides which happen
when the moon is in the middle of the second and fourth
quarters. The neap tides are low tides in respect of their
opposites the spring tides. As the highest of the spring
tides is three days after the full or change, so the lowest
of the neap tides is four days before the full or change ;
on which occasion the seamen say that it is deep neap.
NEAPED. When a ship wants water, so that she can¬
not get out of the harbour, off the ground, or out of the
dock, the seamen say she is neaped, or beneaped.
NEARCHUS, the admiral of Alexander the Great, was
the son of Androtinus, a native of Crete, and flourished
330 before Christ. Ele was the personal friend of Alex¬
ander before the death of his father, and was obliged to
fly from Macedonia when Philip began to be suspicious of
the intentions of his son. Nearchus attended Alexander
68 N E A
Nearchus. in his eastern expedition, and was left to watch over Ly-
'•'-"“v-*'' cia and the adjoining countries. (Arrian, iii. 6, 8 ; Irid. 18,
4, 10.) After the conquest of Darius, he was called from
his province by Alexander, and appointed to command the
fleet which was hastily constructed on the river Hydaspes,1
from the timber which grew upon its banks. Onesicritus
was appointed second in command. Both admirals after¬
wards left a detailed account of their voyage from the
mouth of the Indus, where they parted with Alexander,
proceeding along the coast towards the Persian Gulf, and
as far as the river Euphrates. The journal of Nearchus
has luckily been preserved for us by Arrian in his Indian
history (cap. 20), and it corresponds in general so closely
with the descriptions of modern navigators, that there can
be no doubt of its authenticity. Strabo (ii. 70) indeed
expresses doubts respecting the correctness of his state¬
ments ; and perhaps there may have been some exaggera¬
tion of the dangers he encountered, and the wonders he
saw, but he has certainly given a very accurate account of
the coast along which he sailed.
This was the first time that a Greek fleet had entered
the Indian Ocean; and when Alexander made known his
intentions, the sailors murmured at the unknown dangers
to which they were going to be exposed. The appoint¬
ment, however, of his beloved friend Nearchus to command
the exploring expedition quieted their apprehensions, as
they were satisfied that the dangers could not be so great
as they imagined, when Alexander was willing to allow
Nearchus to be exposed to them. Alexander left the fleet at
a spot called Xylenopolis, in the month of August 326 be¬
fore Christ, and proceeded with his army across the sandy
deserts of Mekran to Persia. About the month of Octo¬
ber, when the south-west monsoon had ceased to blow,
Nearchus sailed down the western branch of the Indus, now
called Buggaur, into the Indian Ocean, which he reached
after a passage of 150 stadia. He directed his course to
the north-west, and, after sailing 150 stadia, reached a
small sandy island called Crocala, now Chulna, or Chilni,
which is situated off Cape Mouze, about five miles from the
mainland. It is now described as a small desolate rock,
about two miles in circumference, rising abruptly from the
sea in a conical shape, to the height of about two hundred
feet. Proceeding from Crocala, and having a mountain,
which he calls Eiros, on his right, and a low sandy island
on his left, he entered a large and safe harbour, which he
designated Port Alexander. This is now called Sonmeany,
and is said to be a creek running up some distance inland.
Here he found that the south-west monsoon was still
blowing with much fury, and he therefore remained quiet¬
ly for twenty-three days. During his voyage for the next
three hundred miles, he landed at many spots along the
coast; and at the mouth of the Tomerus, or Tuburus, now
called Busul, he had an engagement with the inhabitants,
who assembled to the number of six hundred. He describes
their bodies as in the most filthy state ; their nails being so
long and hard that they made use of them instead of iron,
with which they were unacquainted. The people along this
coast he calls Oreitae, or Orae, and states, that they had
the same dress and arms as the Indians, but that their lan¬
guage and manners differed. A passage of 300 stadia
then brought him to Malana, said to be still called Malin,
which was the last spot belonging to the Oreitae.
The whole of the remainder of the coast, to the vicinity
of the entrance to the Persian Gulf, was inhabited by the
Ichthyophagi or fish-eaters, a name which the Greeks gave
to them on account of their mode of life. The country, to
a considerable distance inland, was little else than a sandy
desert, and the inhabitants supported themselves chiefly on
N E A
the fish which they caught. From Malana Nearchus sailed ^Neas.
600 stadia to Bagisara, which he represents as a harbour
fit for the reception of a fleet. It is now known under the
name of Arabah or Hormarah Bay. The high rugged
promontory which he passed immediately after leaving
this place is now Cape Arabah., At the small island of Car-
nine, now Ashtola, he was hospitably received by the in¬
habitants, who supplied him with some sheep; but they
found that even these animals tasted of fish, as well as the
sea-birds which they caught. This island is represented
as about four or five miles in circumference, and situated
twelve miles from the coast of Mekran ; but not a vestige
of any habitation now remains. Proceeding 350 stadia, he
reached an excellent harbour, which he calls Mosarna,
where there were fishermen, and plenty of water, from the
want of which they had suffered since they left the river
Indus. This harbour was formed by a promontory project¬
ing 150 stadia into the sea, now called Ras No, and the
bay is that of Gwadel. Nearchus states, that he consider¬
ed his dangers as now ended, and that the coast began to
assume a much less desolate appearance. In 1150 stadia,
he reached a small village, Barna, where there were palm
trees, gardens with myrtles and flowers, and the inhabi¬
tants seemed to have some degree of cultivation. He be¬
gan, however, to suffer from want of provisions; and having
reached a small city, the only one he mentions in his
voyage along this coast, he determined to compel the in¬
habitants to supply him with whatever they had. It is cu¬
rious that the name of the city should not be mentioned ;
but having obtained possession of it by stratagem, he found
that they had little else than flour made of the bones of
fish ground to powder. He at length reached the end of
the coast of the Ichthyophagi, which he describes as be¬
ing 10,000 stadia in length. He now found himself on
the coqst of the fertile province of Carmania, and at Badis,
now Jask, he obtained abundance of water and corn. On
reaching Harmozia, at the mouth of the river Anamis, now
called Minab, he discovered that Alexander was at no great
distance with his army; and having landed, he proceeded
to the camp, where he was received with great joy by the
king and the whole army. He was directed to conduct the
fleet up the Persian Gulf, to the mouth of the Euphrates,
and reached the city Diridotis in safety. .(See Notes on
the Eastern -Shores of the Persian Gulf in 1828, by Kemp-
thorne, in the Geographical Journal, vol. v. p. 263 ; also
the Voyage of Nearchus, illustrated by Dr Vincent, London,
1797; and Hecherches sur la Geographic des Anciens, par
Gosselin, vol. iii.)
NEAS, or Nias Isle. This island is situated on the
west coast of Sumatra, from which it is separated by a strait
sixty miles in breadth, and is fifty miles in length by twen¬
ty in average breadth. It is a large and productive island,
and is divided into about fifty small districts, under chiefs
or rajahs, who live in a state of perpetual hostility, their
great object being to make prisoners, that they may sell
them for slaves. These violences are encouraged by na¬
tive traders, who resort to these islands for cargoes of
slaves, and who are accused of occasionally surprising and
carrying off whole families. The number of slaves export¬
ed is estimated at from 600 to 1000. Besides slaves, padi
and rice are exported to a considerable amount. The cul¬
tivation of these articles is carried on at a distance from
the coast, whither the natives retire, to be secure from
piratical depredations. They bring down their produce to
the harbours, and exchange it for iron, steel, beads, to¬
bacco, and the coarser kinds of Madras and Surat piece-
goods. Hogs are reared in great numbers; and several
parts of the continent are supplied from thence with yams,
i Now the Behut or Bedusta, also called by the natives the Jylum, which still affords an abundant supply of timber.
NEC
Neath bears, and poultry. It is well peopled, and its inhabitants
II are a peculiar and distinct race, not only from those of Su-
Necessity. matraj but fr0m the people on all the islands to the south-
ward.? They are of lighter complexions, especially the
women, than the Malays ; smaller also in their persons,
and shorter in their stature, with broad mouths, flat noses,
and their ears pierced and distended in an extraordinary
manner. They have a singular sort of leprous scurf on
their skins, which in some covers the whole body and
limbs, whilst in others it resembles rather the ring-worm
running in waving lines or concentric curves. JThe prin~
cipal food of the common people is rice, and the better
classes use pork. The natives are remarkable for their
docility and expertness in handicraft work, and are ex¬
cellent house-carpenters and joiners. They are likewise
industrious and frugal, temperate and regular in their ha¬
bits, but at the same time avaricious, sullen, vindictive,
and sanguinary. They are often employed by the Dutch
as domestic servants ; but they are always esteemed dan¬
gerous. In many cases, however, this may be owing to
the bad treatment which they receive. Some of the petty
rajahs in the island have amassed treasures to a consider¬
able amount, equal to 10,000 or 20,000 dollars.
NEATH, a market-town of the hundred of the same
name, in the county of Glamorgan, in South Wales, and
distant 197 miles from London. The neighbourhood
abounds in good coal, which is brought by canals from the
pits to the navigable river Neath, and which forms an im¬
portant branch of its commerce. There are, besides, se¬
veral extensive works for smelting the copper ore produ¬
ced on the opposite shore of Cornwall. About half a mile
west of the town are the remains of its extensive and pic¬
turesque castle, and beyond it the cascade of Mellincourt,
where the river Clydaugh precipitates itself over rocks of
eighty feet perpendicular height. It is a corporate town,
under a portreeve and twelve aldermen, but has never sent
members to the House of Commons. It has a well-sup¬
plied market on Wednesday. The population amounted in
1801 to 2502, in 1811 to 2740, in 1821 to 2823, and in
1831 to 4043.
NEBULY, or Nebulee, in Heraldry, is when a coat is
charged with several little figures, in form of words run¬
ning within one another, or when the outline of a bordure,
ordinary, or the like, is indented or waved.
NECESSITY, whatever is done by a cause or power
that is irresistible. In this sense it is opposed to freedom.
Man is a necessary agent, if all his actions be so deter¬
mined by the causes preceding each action, that not one
past action could possibly not have come to pass, or have
been otherwise than it has been; or if it be so ordained
that any future action cannot possibly not come to pass, or
be otherwise than it shall be. But he is a free agent if he
be able, at any time, to do difterent things; or, in other
words, if he be not unavoidably determined in every point
of time, by the circumstances in which he is placed, and
the causes to the action of which he is exposed, to do that
one thing which he does, and not possibly to do any other
thing. Whether man is a necessary or a free agent, is a
question which has been debated with much ingenuity by
writers of the first eminence. (See Metaphysics, part
iii. chap. v.; and also Predestination.)
Necessity, in Mythology, a power superior to all other
powers, and equally incapable of being resisted by gods or
men. Herodotus, as quoted by Cudworth, mentions an
oracle which declared that “ God himself could not shun
his destined fate;” and amongst the fragments of Phile¬
mon, collected by Le Clerc, we find the following sen¬
tence :
t^ouXoi (Zut/iXuoy sir^sv, o! [ZatrtXiis thaw, o hot a'jayxyt.
“ We are subject to kings, kings are subject to the gods,
NEC 69
and God is subject to Necessity.” Hence it is that, in the Necho.
Iliad, we find Jove himself, the sire of gods and men, re-^^v^*^
gretting that he was restrained by Necessity from rescu¬
ing his favourite son from the sword of Patroclus. Nay,
to such a height was this impiety carried in the earliest
ages of Greece, that we find Hesiod and Homer teaching
that the gods themselves were generated by Necessity en¬
gendering with Night and Chaos.
This power, although always represented as blind and
unintelligent, was, however, worshipped as a goddess, bear¬
ing in her hand large iron nails, and wedges, and an¬
chors, and melted lead, as emblems of the inflexible seve¬
rity of her nature. In the city of Corinth she had a tem¬
ple, in which the goddess of Violence likewise resided, and
into which no person was ever permitted to enter except
the priest who officiated in sacris.
Learned men have exercised their ingenuity in vain at¬
tempts to trace this portentous notion to its origin. Some,
who wished to interpret it in a pious sense, have supposed
that the gods who are subject to necessity were only those
who were the ministers of the supreme numen ; and that
by necessity itself nothing more was meant than divine
providence. But this is not consistent with the generation
of the gods according to Homer and Hesiod, nor with the
epithets sceva necessitas, dura necessitas, by which this
power was perpetually distinguished. Others, amongst
whom may be mentioned Mosheim, have supposed that
this monstrous fable was invented by the Pagan priests,
and diligently inculcated upon the minds of the people, to
excuse the villanies of the objects of their worship.
NECHO, a king of Egypt, who began his reign 690 be¬
fore Christ, and was killed eight years afterwards by Saba-
con king of Ethiopia. Psammeticus his son succeeded him,
and was the father, as Herodotus informs us, of Necho II.
who reigned about 616 before Christ. This Necho II. is
celebrated in history for attempting, though in vain, to cut
a canal from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf. He carried his
arms as far as the Euphrates, and conquered the city of
Carchemish. This prince is not only known in Scripture,
but also in profane history, under the name of Necho. He
had no sooner succeeded to the crown than he raised great
armies, and fitted out vast fleets, as w'ell upon the Medi¬
terranean as upon the Red Sea ; he gave battle to the Sy¬
rians near the city of Migdol, and having routed them, made
himself master of the city of Cadytis. The learned, how¬
ever, are not agreed respecting this city of Cadytis. Some
conceive it to have been Cades in Arabia Petraea, others
Jerusalem, and others the city of Cedes, or Kedesh, in
Galilee, in the tribe of Naphtali.
The Scriptures inform us of the expedition of Necho in
all its particulars (2 Kings, xxiii. 29, &c.; and 2 Chronicles,
xxxv. 20, 21, &c.). In the year of the world 3394, this
prince having drawn out his army into the field in order
to make war with the Assyrians or Babylonians, and to
take the city of Carchemish, otherwise called Circusium,
upon the Euphrates, Josiah king of Judah, who was a tri¬
butary to the king of Babylon, marched to oppose his pas¬
sage. Necho, who had no designs against Josiah, sent
to remonstrate with him. “ What have I to do with you,
king of Judah ? It is not against you that I am come forth,
but against another people, against whom the Lord has
commanded me to make war. Leave off, therefore, to set
yourself against me, for fear the Lord should punish you
for your resistance.” But Josiah would not hearken to
the remonstrances of Necho, and gave him battle at Me-
giddo, where he received the wound of which he died.
The people of Jerusalem set up Jehoahaz as king of Judah,
and Necho soon advanced, without making any longer stay
in Judaea.
But at his return from his expedition, which proved
very successful, he halted at Iliblah in Syria; and send-
70
NEC
NEC
Necker. ing for Jehoahaz the king'of the Jews, he there deposed him,
—-v'w loaded him with chains, and carried him into Egypt. Then
marching to Jerusalem, he set up Eliakim, or Jehoiakim,
in his stead, and exacted the payment of an hundred ta¬
lents of silver and one talent of gold from the country.
Jeremiah (xlvi. 2) informs us that the city of Carchemish
was taken from Necho, by Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby¬
lon, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah ; and
Josephus adds, that the king of Babylon, pursuing his vic¬
tory, brought under his dominion all the country which is
situated between the Euphrates and Egypt, excepting Ju¬
daea. Thus Necho was again reduced within the limits of
his own country.
NECKER, James, a well-known statesman and finan¬
cier of France. He was born on the oOth of September
1732, at Geneva, being descended of a respectable family,
originally from the north of Germany. At the age of fifteen
he quitted Geneva, and proceeded to Paris with a view to
push his fortune in that city. He entered first into the
banking-house of Vernet, and afterwards into that of Thel-
luson, of which he became the cashier, and at length a
partner. On the death of Thelluson, he established a bank
on his own account, by which he accumulated a very large
fortune. After twenty years of unremitting attention to
business, he married a Protestant lady of respectable fami¬
ly, but in reduced circumstances, the patrimonial estate
having been lost in consequence of the revocation of the
edict of Nantes. With this lady he appears to have en¬
joyed the highest degree of domestic happiness. A short
time after his marriage, he was named minister of the re¬
public of Geneva at Paris. In accepting of this employ¬
ment he refused the emoluments which were attached to
it, a degree of forbearance not very usual in public men,
but in which he resolutely persisted during the whole
course of his political life. Two works which he publish¬
ed, namely, an Eulogium on Colbert, and a treatise on the
Legislation and Trade of Corn, greatly extended the le-
putation of his political talents; and he had fortunately
succeeded in adjusting some differences between the East
India Company and the crown, in such a manner as to re¬
ceive the approbation of both parties, a circumstance vv hich
added to the weight of his character.
About this time the disorder in the state of the French
finances had become so alarming, that it was found neces¬
sary to break through the routine of official promotion, and
to choose able men for tbe public service wherever they
could be found. These inducements so far outweighed
the objections to M. Necker, as a foreigner and a Protest¬
ant, that, after some conversations with M. Maurepas, he
was, in the year 1776, appointed director of the royal
treasury, and, in the following year, director-general of the
finances. The great object of M. Necker was to introduce
order and economy in the public management. With this
view he found himself compelled either to suppress use¬
less offices, or to diminish emoluments ; and his retrench¬
ments drew upon him the enmity of all those who suffered
by his economical reforms. A party was formed against
him, chiefly composed of rapacious courtiers; and though
the repeal of several most oppressive imposts had conci¬
liated the general good will of the people, he was daily the
object of malicious libels. His severe measures of economy
had also excited the dislike of the minister M. Maurepas,
although others ascribe his hostility to a different cause,
namely, to his disappointment at not finding in Necker
that subserviency which he expected from a person of his
comparatively obscure origin, and a Protestant. What¬
ever was the reason, the minister was amongst the number
of his enemies; and he is charged by Madame de Stael
with secretly instigating those libellous attacks of which
M. Necker now became the object. To enable him, ac¬
cording to Madame de Stael, the better to struggle with
his opponents, he requested some signal mark of royal fa- ^
vour, such as a seat in the council, which was granted.
This demand on the part of Necker gave rise to new and
acrimonious discussions, in the course of which he tender¬
ed his resignation, after having been five years in office.
Others give a different account of this transaction. Under
the influence, it is said, of that passion for popular ap¬
plause, which proved the torment of his lire, he published,
in 1781, the well-known piece on the state of the finances,
entitled Le Compte Rendu au Roi, of which an immense
number of copies were sold. Elated by this success, he
made a demand for a seat in the council, but was ob¬
jected to on the ground of his religion. Being persuaded
that this scruple would be abandoned, he persisted, and
offered his resignation, which was accepted; and in this
manner, as is alleged, he became the dupe of his own pie-
sumption.
The enemies of Necker reproached him with indulg¬
ing, during his short administration, his passion for popu¬
larity at the expense of the public interest. The great
point which he laboured to establish in his Compte Rendu
was, that there was no deficit in the public revenue, and
that there was no necessity for additional taxes. In lieu
of new impositions, he is charged with supplying the pub¬
lic necessities by the expedient of large loans; postponing,
in this manner, the evil day, but accumulating on posterity
an increasing load of debt, which, sooner or later, must be
provided for by adequate taxes, and all this to procure a
temporary popularity at the expense of his rivals. Not¬
withstanding these objections, he had numerous partisans,
especially amongst the men of letters, who regarded his ele¬
vation to power as the triumph of philosophy and liberal
principles over aristocratical prejudice.
After his resignation, he retired to Switzerland, where
he purchased the barony of Coppet. In 1784 he published
an able work, further illustrating his financml policy, en¬
titled De VAdministration des Finances. This work, of
which 80,000 copies were speedily sold, served to support
the reputation of his plans, and also to keep together his
adherents, whose numbers formed a counterpoise to the in¬
fluence of his enemies at court.
In 1787 M. de Calonne convoked the Assembly of the
Notables, and, in his opening speech to that body, im¬
peached the accuracy of the statements contained in the
Compte Rendu. It was not to be supposed that M. Necker
would quietly submit to this charge. He sent a memorial
upon the subject to the king, with various other papers, for
the purpose of proving the correctness of his calculations.
His majesty having read these documents, requested that
they might not be published, a proposition which by no
means suited the views of M. Necker. His statements
were accordingly printed, and for this offence he was ex¬
iled, by a lettre de cachet, forty leagues from Paris.
M. de Calonne did not, however, remain long in power ;
and the Archbishop of Toulouse, by whom he was succeed¬
ed, was also obliged to resign, and to make way for M.
Necker, the favourite of the people, who was reinstated in
his former post in August 1788. A new and remarkable
era was now about to open in the history both of France
and of the world. The writings of the French philoso¬
phers and men of letters had gradually given currency to
notions of constitutional freedom. The people could no
longer endure, like their forefathers, the bondage of feudal
privileges, by which the few acquired the power of op¬
pressing the many. They had become jealous and discon¬
tented, and were deeply irritated at the insolence and op¬
pression of the aristocratical body ; and with those indig¬
nant feelings were mingled, in the minds of the popular
leaders, the brilliant visions of speculative reform. But
as long as the people wanted a legitimate organ through
which their voice could be heard, it was clear that what-
Neckff
NEC
NEC
71
ever might be their feelings, they could make little im¬
pression on the measures of the state. What was wanting
in this respect wTas now about to be supplied ; and the po¬
pular voice, hitherto so little considered, was, through the
representative body, to become the pre-eminent influence
in the government. At this period the French government
was assailed by a complication of difficulties, the chief of
which was the impracticability of raising the necessary
supplies, and the danger of an immediate bankruptcy. A
great scarcity also prevailed at Paris, which rendered the
populace unusually discontented and tumultuous. In this
emergency various expedients were suggested; and the
convocation of the states-general, which had long been
talked of, was advised by M. Necker, as likely to give ge¬
neral satisfaction to the people. In assenting to this pro¬
position, it was the plan of the court that the different or¬
ders of the clergy, nobility, and commons, should vote in
separate chambers, in order that the deputies of the com¬
mons might be controlled by the other two bodies. But
the popular leaders were by far too penetrating to allow
their influence to be annihilated by this device. They de¬
termined, from the beginning, that the three orders should
sit and vote together; and it is well known that, after va¬
rious fruitless efforts to bring about this union, the com¬
mons resolved to form themselves into an assembly for
the despatch of business, without regard to the other two
chambers. This decisive step proved effectual, and the
three chambers at length all met and voted in one house,
by which the whole power was thrown into the hands of
the commons.
During these transactions, the king and his advisers
pursued a weak and vacillating policy. They perceived,
when it was too late, the error they had committed, or sup¬
posed themselves to have committed, in putting into the
hands of the people the powerful weapon of a represen¬
tative body. But instead of yielding to the necessity of
circumstances, and conciliating this new power, which
could no longer be resisted, by conceding with a good
grace every just demand of constitutional right, they en¬
deavoured to recover the ground which they had for ever
lost, vainly struggling against the power of the commons,
and meditating even the most violent measures for the re¬
covery of their authority. It was in pursuance of these
views that troops were drawn from the most distant parts,
and encamped around Paris; a measure, the only con¬
struction that could be put upon which was, that it was
intended to overawe the deliberations of the assembly, or,
perhaps, to dissolve it at once at the point of the bayonet.
These violent courses M. Necker opposed, and he was ac¬
cordingly dismissed on the 11th of July 1789, and ordered
to quit the kingdom in twenty-four hours. This order he
obeyed with equal secrecy and despatch, and had arrived
at Brussels before it was generally known in Paris that he
was out of office.
It is impossible to describe the consternation which
prevailed in the capital when the dismission and exile of
this favourite minister was made known. The person who
first communicated the intelligence was considered as a
madman, and with difficulty escaped some harsh treat¬
ment ; and the event was no sooner confirmed, than all
the shops and places of amusement were shut up, and his
bust, along with that of the Duke of Orleans, was paraded
through the streets, dressed in mourning. These pro¬
ceedings were interrupted by a German regiment; the
busts were broken in pieces ; and in the course of the tu¬
mult one man lost his life, whilst others were wounded.
Fresh troops arriving, a serious conflict now ensued; and
an old man being cut down in the Tuilleries by an officer
of distinction, the populace were enraged to the highest
pitch, and being joined by the French guards, who desert¬
ed their officers, they at last succeeded in overpowering
the Germans. New outrages and tumults succeeded ; the Necker.
Bastille was stormed; and the capital became the scene
of bloody massacres, whilst the people’s minds were at the
same time filled with dismay at the near approach of fo¬
reign troops, from whom they apprehended nothing less
than the sack of the city. In the midst of these alarms,
they beseeched the assembly to intercede with the king
for the recall of their favourite minister. The necessity of
complying with this demand was at length perceived by
the king, and a letter was written to M. Necker, request¬
ing him to return.
M. Necker was at Basle when he received this letter,
with the request contained in which he resolved immedi¬
ately to comply. His progress to Paris was one continued
triumph. He was cheered as he passed through the dif¬
ferent towns by the acclamations of multitudes, who hailed
him as their deliverer. This popularity, however, was not
of long duration. Being alarmed by the*excesses which
had already taken place, M. Necker became desirous to
support the authority of the sovereign ; and, without conci¬
liating the confidence of the king’s friends, he lost that of
the popular party. By the royalists he was always hated ;
he now became an object of suspicion to the more violent
patriots, and was reproached as an aristocrat. Seeing his
popularity on the decline, he resolved to retire ; and he ac¬
cordingly wrote a letter to the assembly, pleading the ne¬
cessity of repose for the restoration of his health. No no¬
tice was taken of this letter ; and his personal safety being
now in danger from the violence of the people, he quitted
Paris in the month of December 1790, having withdrawn
in the most private manner possible.
After the loss of his power and popularity, M. Necker
seems to have sunk into the greatest dejection. “I could
have wished,’’ says Mr Gibbon, who passed some days
with him about this period, “ to have exhibited him as a
warning to any aspiring youth possessed with the demon
of ambition. With all the means of private happiness in
his power, he is the most miserable of human beings; the
past, the present, and the future, are equally odious to
him. When I suggested some domestic amusements, he
answered with a deep tone of despair, ‘ In the state in
which I am, I can feel nothing but the blast which has
overthrown me.’”
But his mind was soon diverted from the disappoint¬
ments of ambition by domestic griefs of a more poignant
nature; his wife, to whom he was deeply attached, dying
after a long illness, in which he attended her with great
affection. He had now recourse to writing to divert his
melancholy; and several works, which he published, were
the fruits of his labours. He died at Coppet, on the 9th
of April 1804, after a short but painful illness. His pub¬
lic character is, of course, differently estimated, according
to the political views of parties. In his private and do¬
mestic relations he was amiable and affectionate, and ap¬
pears to have been greatly beloved.
His writings, besides those already mentioned, are the
following : An Answer to the Memorial of the Abbe Mo-
rellet, on the East India Company, 1769; Memorials on
the Provincial Administrations, 1781; Answer to the
Speech pronounced by M. de Calonne to the Assembly of
Notables, 1787 ; New Explanations on the Compte Rendu,
1788 ; Of the Importance of Religious Opinions, 1788;
Observations on the Introduction to the Red Book, 1790 ;
On the Administration of M. Necker, by Himself, 1791;
On the Executive Power in Great States, 1791; On the
French Revolution, 1796; Course of Religious Morality,
1800; Last Views of Politics and Finance. (See Dic-
tionnaire Universelle, article Necker ; Biographic Uni-
Terselle, article Necker ; Memoires sur la Vie Privee de
mon Pere, par Madame la Baronne de Stael-Holstein,
suivis des Melanges de M. Necker.)
72
NEC
NEC
Necker
Isles
II
Necro¬
mancy.
Necker Isles, a group of small islands in the South
Pacific Ocean, nine in number. They were discovered
and so denominated by Perouse. The principal island is
about 500 toises in length, and sixty in elevation. Long.
162. 32. W. Lat. 23. 31. N. ^ , . , . f
NECROLIUM, a word used by some of the alchemist
writers to express a remedy almost always capable of
averting death, and continuing life to its utmost period.
NECROLOGY (necrologium, formed of vixpoi, dead,
and Xoyos, discourse'), a book anciently kept in churches and
monasteries, in which were registered the benefactors of
the same, the time of their deaths, and the days of their
commemoration; as also the deaths of the priors, abbots,
religious, canons, and other persons. This was likewise
called calendar and obituary. _
NECROMANCY, the art of revealing or foretelling fu¬
ture events by a pretended communication with the dead.
This most superstitious and impious imposture appears
to have had its origin at an early period in Egypt, and
to have been thence propagated in every nation ^lth
manners of which history has made us acquainted. I he
conquests of Sesostris might introduce it into India ; the
Israelites would naturally borrow it from the people
amongst whom they sojourned four hundred years ; and it
would easily find its way into Phoenicia, from the vicinity
of that country to the land of its nativity, brom the
Egyptians and Phoenicians it was adopted, with the other
rites* of paganism, by the Greeks ; and with Grecian lite¬
rature and Grecian manners it was imported into Rome.
It was not, however, confined to the pagan nations of an¬
tiquity. It spread itself throughout all the modern nations
of Europe, and took such deep root as to be long retained
even after those nations had been converted to the Chris-
Of its early antiquity we have complete evidence in the
writings of Moses, where it is severely condemned as an
abomination to the Lord ; and although it appears to have
even then spread into Phoenicia, we might yet conclude
that its birthplace had been Egypt, because, at their exod,
the Israelites were corrupted only by Egyptian supersti¬
tions, and because necromancy seems to have been one
of those whoredoms which the prophet Ezekiel represen ts
his countrymen as having brought with them from Egypt,
and continued to practise until they were carried as cap¬
tives into Babylon.
If from sacred we proceed to consult profane authors,
we shall find them not only affirming that Egypt had been
the birthplace of necromancy, but in some degree account¬
ing for the origin of so impious a delusion. Irom Diodo¬
rus we learn that the Grecian fable of Charon the ferry¬
man of hell, of Styx, Cocytus, the Elysian Fields, Tarta¬
rus, the judgment of Minos and Rhadamanthus, &c. with
the whole scenery of the infernal regions, were imported
from Egypt into Greece. The ancient Egyptians, and in¬
deed all the people of the East, made use of caves as bury-
ing-places ; which were ivell suited to the solemn sadness
of&surviving friends, and proper receptacles for those who
were never more to behold the light. In Egypt, many
of these subterranean cavities being dug out of the natu¬
ral rock, still remain, and command the admiration of tra¬
vellers ; and near to the pyramids in particular there are
some apartments of a wonderful fabric, which, though they
extend in length upwards of four thousand feet, and are
about thirty feet in depth, appear to have been, if not en¬
tirely dug, at least reduced to form, by the chisel or the
pick-axe of the artist.
From the practice of burying in such caverns sprung
the opinion that the infernal mansions were situated some¬
where near the centre of the earth, which by the Egyp¬
tians was believed to be not very distant from its surface.
In these dreary abodes, it was easy for such adepts as the
priests of Egypt to fabricate Erebus, and lartarus, and the
Elysian Fields, and all those scenes which were displayed
before the initiated (see Mysteries), and by them de¬
scribed to the millions of the people. As it was in those
dark abodes that necromancy was practised, it would be
no difficult matter for such magicians as withstood Moses,
to impose so far upon the credulous vulgar as to make
them believe, that in consequence of their invocations
they actually saw the ghosts of their friends ascend out of
the earth. It appears from the book of Exodus, that the
Israelitish women were, even in the wilderness, well ac¬
quainted with the use of the mirror, which was therefore
undoubtedly known to the Egyptians. But a mirror of a
particular form, and properly illuminated at the instant re¬
quired, might be easily made to reflect, in a cavern frotn
which all other light was carefully excluded, the image of
the deceased, when called upon by the necromancer; and
we can also readily conceive, that with respect to the
question to be proposed, a person might be concealed, pre¬
pared to give such ambiguous answers as would satisfy the
inquirer, and at the same time to save the credit of the
oracle. The terrified imaginations of the spectators would
aid the delusion, and make a very slight resemblance pass
for the ghost or ilhuKov of their departed friend; or the
necromancer might assign plausible reasons why a spectre,
after having dwelt for some time in the infernal regions,
should lose something of its resemblance to the body which
it animated. Such juggling tricks, though performed by
artists less accomplished than Jannes and Jambres, have
gained credit amongst people much more enlightened than
the Egyptians can possibly have been when the science
of necromancy was invented by their priests.
That the Israelites, notwithstanding the prohibition of
their legislator, continued to practise the rites of necro¬
mancy, is apparent from Sauls transaction with the witch
of Endor. From the same transaction, it is likewise ap¬
parent that the witches of Israel, and therefore in all pro¬
bability the necromancers of Egypt, pretended to evoke
the ghosts of the dead by a demon or familiar spirit, which
they had at their command to employ upon every emer-
gency. This demon was called ob ; and therefore Saul
desires his servants to find him a woman who was mistress
of an ob.1 It is probable that those wretched impostors
had in their pay some persons who occasionally acted the
part of the demon, and, when the execution of the plot re¬
quired their agency, emitted, by means of a cavity dug for
that purpose, a low hollow voice from below the ground.
Hence we find Isaiah, in his denunciations against Ariel,
saying, “ Thou shalt be brought down, and shall speak out
of the ground ; and thy speech shall be low out of the dust,
and thy voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit
Necro.
mancy.
r ir, TnK fvxxii ver. 19!, where Elihu compares his belly to new bottles,
1 The original or radical signification of this wo niade of leather, new bottles filled with wine and ready to burst, as
which he calls oboth, the plural of ob. But as bottles were then n N , inferred that the original import of ob was
Elihu describes them, would of course be of a for“ S therefore, from the Hebrew ob is derived the
round or globular ; but b and p being labials, are often cha g the ear’th was worshipped. Upis was a name of Diana or the
Greek ’ovf, oculus, ovropcu, video, and the Latin ops, a name undoubtedly the sun. Now the difference between upis
moon : the father of one of the ^ this word was employed by the early idola-
ters td’^Fevpl^tollenote'the'first'amfgreatest of Pa^an gods, the Sun. If so, those wretches who pretended be unstresses of ok
were ettaSl} the same kind of tmpostors with the Pythonesses of the Greeks.
NEC
NEC
73
croman. (an ob), out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper
c7* out of the dust.”
But although the Egyptian priests were undoubtedly the
inventors of the whole mystery of necromancy, and al¬
though it was from them imported into Greece by the Selli
or priests of Dodona, it does not appear that the Grecian
necromancers pretended to be masters of obs or familiar
spirits. Mopsus, Orpheus, Linus, Eumolpus, and others,
who either travelled into Egypt in quest of knowledge, or
were actually natives of that country, instructed the early
Greeks in this occult science ; but whatever might be the
practice of these apostles themselves, their disciples pro¬
fessed to do all the feats of magic by performing certain
rites, by offering certain sacrifices, by muttering a certain
form of words, and by charms, spells, and exorcisms. By
these they pretended to evoke the dead as certainly as the
Egyptians and Jews did by their familiar spirits. By a
small display of critical learning this might easily be prov¬
ed from the popular story of Orpheus and Eurydice, which
certainly was founded on one of these necromantic decep¬
tions exhibited in a cave near Dodona, where the priests
had a hades or infernal mansion, in humble imitation of
those with which the first of them were well acquainted
in Egypt. It is indeed evident, without the aid of criti¬
cism ; no man of any letters can be ignorant, that whatever
superstitions of this kind prevailed amongst the Romans
were borrowed from the Greeks. But we all know that
Virgil makes one of his shepherds, by means of certain
herbs, poisons, and senseless charms, raise up ghosts from
the bottoms of their graves ; and Lucian has fabricated a
story of this kind, which may be considered as an exact
parallel to that of the witch of Endor. Just before the
battle of Pharsalia he makes young Pompey travel by night
to a Thessalian sorceress, and anxiously inquire of her the
issue of the war. This female necromancer, by a tedious
process of charms and incantations, conjures up the ghost
of a soldier who had been recently slain. The phantom,
after a long preamble, denounces a prediction much of the
same kind with that which the king of Israel received from
Samuel at Endor; and though we have elsewhere shown,
that nothing but the spirit of God could have foreseen the
inevitable destruction of Saul, his sons, and his army, it
was very easy for any man of tolerable sagacity to foresee
the defeat of Pompey’s raw and undisciplined troops by the
hardy veterans of the victorious Caesar.
It would be endless to enumerate all the fallacious evo¬
cations of ghosts, and the ambiguous responses returned
by those pretended spirits, of which we have received ac¬
counts from the poets and historians of the celebrated na¬
tions of antiquity. We shall therefore proceed to mention
a few wdnch occur in the fabulous history of more modern
nations, and then leave the subject to the meditation of
our readers. In Mallet’s Northern Antiquities we have
the following account of a necromantic exploit, between
which and the descent of the ancient heroes into hell it is
impossible not to remark a striking similitude.
Odin, the sovereign of man, arises. He saddles his horse
Sleipner; he mounts, and is conveyed to the subterra¬
nean abode of Hela. The dog which guards the gates of
death meets him. His breast and his jaws are stained
with blood. He opens his voracious mouth to bite, and
barks a long time at the father of magic. Odin pursues
his way; and the infernal cavern resounds and trembles
under his horse’s hoofs. At length he reaches the deep
abode of death, and stdps near the eastern gate, where
stands the tomb of the prophetess. He sings with a voice
adapted to call up the dead ; he looks towards the world;
he engraves Runic characters upon her tomb; he utters
mysterious words; and he demands an answer, until the
prophetess is constrained to arise and utter the words of
the dead. “ Who is this unknown that dares to disturb
VOL. XVI.
my repose, and drag me from the grave, in which I have Necropolis
been dead so long, all covered with snow, and moistened II
with the rain ?” Nectanum.
The Gaelic druids pretended to be masters of the same ^ Y
secret. This is evident from the name of a species of di¬
vination called taghairm, not uncommon amongst the Scotch
Highlanders so recently as in the beginning of the eigh¬
teenth century. This word seems to be compounded of ta,
which in some parts of the Highlands is still used to de¬
note a spirit or ghost, and ghairm, which signifies calling
upon or invoking. Taghairm, therefore, in its original im¬
port, is necromancy in the most proper sense of that word.
There were different kinds of taghairm, of which one
was practised in Skye. The diviner covered himself with
a cow’s hide, and repaired at night to some deep-sound¬
ing cave, whither the person who consulted him followed
soon afterwards without any attendants. At the mouth of
the cave he proposed aloud the questions of which he want¬
ed solutions; and the man within pronounced the respon¬
ses in a tone of voice similar to that with which the oes,
or pretended demons of antiquity, gave from beneath
the ground their oracular answers. That in the latter
days of taghairm, the Gaelic diviners pretend to evoke
ghosts, and from them to extort solutions of difficulties
proposed, we have no positive evidence ; but that such was
the original pretence there can be little doubt, when w7e
reflect either upon the place where this species of divina¬
tion was practised, or upon the import of the word by
which it was denominated.
NECROPOLIS, a suburb of Alexandria, in Egypt. It
signifies the City of the Dead, and was the place where
temples, gardens, and superb mausoleums were erected.
Here Cleopatra is said to have applied the asp to her
breast, to prevent her being led in triumph by Augustus,
who endeavoured to save her.
NECROSIS, vBxeaff/s, in Medicine, a complete mortifica¬
tion of any part. It is also called sideratio and sphacelus.
NECTANEBUS, or Nectanabis, a king of Egypt, who
bravely defended his country against the Persians. His
grandson of the same name formed an alliance with Age-
silaus, king of Sparta, and with the assistance of that prince
he quelled a rebellion of his subjects. Some time after¬
wards, he was joined by the Sidonians, Phoenicians, and in¬
habitants of Cyprus, who had revolted from the king of
Persia. This powerful confederacy was soon attacked by
Darius, the king of Persia, who marched at the head of
his troops. Nectanebus, to defend his frontiers against so
dangerous an enemy, levied twenty thousand mercenary
soldiers in Greece, the same number in Libya, and sixty
thousand were furnished in Egypt. But this numerous
body was not equal to the Persian forces, and Nectanebus,
being defeated in battle, gave up all hopes of resistance,
and fled into Ethiopia, where he found a safe asylum.
From that time the kingdom of Egypt became tributary
to the king of Persia.
NECTAR, amongst ancient poets, the drink of the fa¬
bulous deities of the heathens; in contradistinction to
their solid food, which was called ambrosia.
NECTARINE, a fruit differing in nothing from the
common peach, of which it is a species, but in having a
smoother rind and a firmer pulp.
NECTARIUM, from nectar, the fabled drink of the
gods, is defined by Linnaeus to be a part of the corolla, or
appendage to the petals, appropriated for containing the
honey, a species of vegetable salt under a fluid form, which
oozes from the plant, and is the principal food of bees and
other insects.
But notwithstanding this definition, which seems to con¬
sider the nectarium as necessary a part of the corolla as the
petals, it is certain that all flowers are not provided with
this appendage, neither indeed is it essential to fructifica-
K
NEC
Nectarium. tion. There is, besides, a manifest impropriety in terming
the nectarium a partot the corolla. Linnaeus might, with
equal propriety, have termed it a part or appendage of the
stamina, calyx, or pointal, as the appearance in question is
confined to no particular part of the flower, but is as va¬
rious in point of situation as of form. The truth is, the
term nectarium is exceedingly vague, and, if any deter¬
minate meaning can be affixed to it, is expressive of all the
singularities which are observed in the different parts ot
flowers. >
The tube or lower part of flowers with one petal Lin¬
naeus considers as a true nectarium, because it is generally
found to contain the sweet liquor formerly mentioned.
This liquor Pontedera compares to that called amnios in
pregnant animals, which enters the fertile or impregnated
seeds ; but that this is not at least its sole use, is evident
from the circumstance, that the honey or liquor in ques¬
tion is to be found in flowers where there are either no
seeds, or such as, from the want of male organs, can¬
not be impregnated. Thus the male flowers of nettle and
willow, the female flowers of sea-side laurel and black
bryony, the male and female flowers of clutia, kiggelaria,
and butcher’s broom, all abound with the honey or nectai
alluded to.
Vaillant was of opinion that the nectarium formed an es¬
sential part of the corolla ; for which reason he distinguish¬
ed the singular appearances in fennel flower and colum¬
bine by the name of petals. Ihe coloured leaves which
are now termed petals he denominated thejlower-cup. That
the nectarium, however, is frequently distinct from the pe¬
tals, is evident both from the well-known examples just
mentioned, and likewise from the flowers of monkshood,
hellebore, isopyrum, fennel flower of Crete, barrenwort,
grass of Parnassus, chocolate nut, cherleria, and sauva-
gesia. . .
These general observations being premised, we proceed
to take a nearer and more particular view of the principal
diversities, both in form and situation, of this striking ap¬
pendage of the flower. 1. In many flowers the nectarium
is shaped like a spur or horn ; and that either in flowers
of one petal, as valerian, water milfoil (utricularia), but-
terwort, and calves-snout; or in such as have more than
one, as larkspur, violet, fumitory, balsam, and orchis. 2.
In the following plants, the nectarium is properly a part
of the corolla, as lying within the substance of the petals :
Ranunculus, lily, iris, crown imperial, water-leaf, mouse-
tail, ananas or pine-apple, dog’s-tooth violet, piperidge
bush, vallisneria, hermannia, uvularia, and swertia. 3.
The nectarium is frequently placed in a series or row
within the petals, though entirely unconnected with their
substance. In this situation it often resembles a cup, as
in narcissus. A nectarium of this kind is said by Lin¬
naeus to crown the corolla. The following are examples .
Daffodil, sea daffodil, campion, viscous campion, swallow-
wort, stapelia, cynanchum, nepenthes, cherleria, balsam-
tree, African spiraea, witch-hazel, olax, and passion-flower.
4. In Indian cress, buckler, mustard, Barbadoes cheuy,
and monotropa, the nectarium is situated upon or makes
part of the calyx. 5. The nectarium in bastard flower-
fence is seated upon the antherae or tops of the stamina;
whence the name adenanthera, or glandular anthera, which
has been given to this genus ol plants. In the following
it is placed upon the filaments: Bean-caper, bay, fraxi-
nella, marvel of Peru, bell-flower, lead-wort, roella, and
commelina. 6. In hyacinth, flowering-rush, stock July
flower, and rocket, the nectarium is placed upon the seed-
bud. 7. In honey-flower, orpine, buck-wheat, collinsonia,
lathrsea, navelwort, mercury, clutia, kiggelaria, sea-side
laurel, and African spiraea, it is attached to the common
receptacle. Lastly, In ginger, nettle, dyer’s weed, heart-
seed, costus, turmeric, grewia, bastard orpine, vanelloe,
NED
shew-tree, and willow, the nectariurn is of a very singular Ne^ei
construction, and cannot properly fall under any ot the
foregoing heads. . „
In discriminating the genera, the nectarium often lur-
nishes an essential character.
Plants which have the nectarium distinct from the pe¬
tals, that is, not lodged within their substance, are affirmed
by Linnaeus to be generally poisonous. The following are
adduced as examples, viz. monkshood, hellebore, colum¬
bine, fennel-flower, grass of Parnassus, barren-wort, olean¬
der, marvel of Peru, bean-caper, succulent swallow-wort,
fraxinella, and honey-flower. ... rp,
NEDJED, a central province of Arabia, ihe name
signifying high or elevated ground, is applied to this coun¬
try in opposition to Tehama, or “ low lands, which is ap¬
plied to the tracts of low land along the coast by which
the border of high land in Arabia is encompassed. It is
described by Burckhardt as an oblong tract, extending be¬
tween three and four days’ journey from west to east, and
two journeys in breadth from south to north. ^ It is a cul¬
tivated territory, the most populous portion ot Arabia, irri¬
gated by many ancient wells lined with stone, wThich are
ascribed by the inhabitants to a primeval race of giants.
These wells are from twenty-five to thirty fathoms deep,
being mostly the property of individuals, who exact a cer¬
tain contribution from the tribes whose cattle they supply
with water. Within this province there are above twenty-
six small towns or villages. The chief town is Bereyda,
where the sheikh resides. Under the Wahabees Derayah
became a place of note. Nedjed is celebrated thioughout
Arabia for its excellent pastures, which, after rain, abound
even in its deserts, and feed an excellent breed of camels,
more numerous here than in any other of the Arabian pro¬
vinces of equal extent. It is called the mother of camels,
and Arabs resort to it from all quarters for the supply of
their own herds; it also furnishes a constant supply, not
only to Hedjaz, but to Syria and Yemen. A camel in Ned¬
jed costs ten dollars. There is also an excellent breed ot
horses in this country, so remarkable that the finest blood
Arab horses are properly denoted Nedjed horses. But the
temporary ascendency of the Wahabees caused a diminu¬
tion of the breed, as many of the Arabs sold their horses
to foreign ports, lest they should be pressed into the ser¬
vice of the Wahabee chief, who frequently required cavalry.
Nedjed is subject to scarcity, caused by the failure of rain,
and consequently of herbage. T his soon affects the cattle
of the Bedouins, who seldom expect in this country more
than three or four successive years of plenty, though ab¬
solute famine does not occur above once in ten or fifteen
years. It is generally accompanied by epidemical diseases,
much like the plague, consisting of violent fevers, which
prove fatal to great numbers. Nedjed is peopled by small
tribes of Bedouins, who never leave it, and by settlers inter¬
married with them, and often travelling as merchants to
Damascus, Bagdad, Medina, Mekka, and Yemen. Here the
pure manners of the Arabs continue unaltered by conquest,
and retain all their original simplicity ; nor have they been
contaminated by an influx of strangers ; for if we except
the caravans of pilgrims travelling from Bagdad to Mekka,
no foreigners ever pass through Nedjed. “ For this rea¬
son,” says Burckhardt, “ I consider Nedjed and the moun¬
tains between Tayf and Sanaa as the most interesting por¬
tion of Arabia, affording more objects of inquiry to a tra¬
veller than any other part of the peninsula.” Those who
are settled here as travelling merchants export camels and
woollen cloaks, of which the best are manufactured at El
Hasse ; and from Bagdad they receive rice, the produce of
the banks of the Tigris, and articles of dress, especially the
keffies or handkerchiefs, striped, green, and yellow, made
of cotton, wool, or silk. The Bedouins wear these over their
bonnets. From Mekka they obtain coffee, drugs, and per-
NEE
eedham. fumes, much used amongst them, particularly a perfume
  ' much valued which comes from Mocha. A spirit of com¬
merce prevails generally amongst the inhabitants of Ned-
jed, where the merchants are wealthy, and of better repute
for honesty than most of the eastern traders. The settlers
are generally armed with matchlocks, and they constitut¬
ed, during the ascendency of the Wahabee power, the best
portion of their infantry. They are generally successful
in repelling the inroads of the other wandering Arabs on
their pastures. Saltpetre being abundant, every family
makes its own yearly provision of gunpowder.
NEEDHAM, John Tuberville, was born at London
on the 10th of September, in the year 1713. His parents
were descended from ancient and noble families. His fa¬
ther, who had once possessed a considerable patrimony at
Hilston, in the county of Monmouth, was of the younger and
Catholic branch of the Needham family ; whilst the head of
the elder and Protestant branch was Lord Kilmory, created
viscount in the year 1625. The father of Mr Needham
died young, and left but a small fortune to his four chil¬
dren. His eldest son, who is the subject of this article,
prosecuted his studies under the secular clergy of the
English college at Douay, where he took orders, taught
rhetoric for several years, gave eminent proofs of sagacity
and genius, and surpassed all the other professors of that
seminary in the knowledge of experimental philosophy.
In 1740, he was engaged by bis superiors in the service of
the English mission, and was intrusted with the direction
of the school erected at Twyford, near Winchester, for
the education of the Roman Catholic youth. In 1744, he
was appointed professor of philosophy in the English col¬
lege at Lisbon, where, on account of his bad health, he
remained only fifteen months. After his return, he pass¬
ed at London and Paris several years, which were princi¬
pally employed in microscopical observations, and in other
branches of experimental philosophy. The results of these
observations and experiments were published in the Phi¬
losophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
in 1749, and at Paris in 1750 in one volume 12mo; and an
account of them was also given by M. de Buffon, in the
first volumes of his Natural History. An intimate con¬
nection existed between the illustrious French naturalist
and Mr Needham; they made their experiments and ob¬
servations together, though the results and systems which
they deduced from the same objects and operations were
totally different. Mr Needham was admitted as a member
of the Royal Society of London in the year 1747, and of
the Antiquarian Society some time afterwards. From the
year 1751 to 1767 he was chiefly employed in finishing
the education of several English and Irish noblemen, by
attending them as tutor in their travels through France,
Italy, and other countries. He then retired from this wan¬
dering life to the English seminary at Paris, and, in 1768,
was chosen by the Royal Academy of Sciences in that city
a corresponding member.
When the regency of the Austrian Netherlands, desirous
to promote the revival of philosophy and literature in that
country, formed the project of an imperial academy, which
was preceded by the erection of a small literary society to
prepare the way for its execution, Mr Needham was in¬
vited to Brussels by the Count de Cobentzel and the pre-
sident Neny, and was successively appointed chief director
ot both these foundations. He held this place, together
wit i some ecclesiastical preferments he had obtained in the
onl Co«ntr‘es, until his death, which happened on the
i of December 1781. His piety, temperance, and purity
ot manners, were eminent; his attachment to the doctrines
and duties or Christianity was inviolable. His opposition
to modern infidels was indefatigable, and even passionate ;
ut his probity was untainted. He was incapable of every
species of duplicity .; his beneficence was universal, and
NEE 75
his unsuspecting candour rendered him often the dupe of Needham-
perfidy. Market
The papers of Mr Needham, inserted in the Philosophical II
Transactions, are contained in vols. xlii. xliv. xlv. and li., v ee^ e' „
and treat, 1. of tubulous concretions; 2. of worms in smut¬
ty corn, observed with the microscope; 3. of some electri¬
cal experiments made at Paris ; 4. ot Buffbn’s burning mir¬
ror; 5. of the generation, composition, and decomposition of
animal and vegetable substances ; and, 6. of the discovery
of asbestos in France. Again, his works printed at Paris in
French embrace, 1. New Microscopical Discoveries, 1745;
2. The same enlarged, 1750; 3. Observations on the Ge¬
neration of Organized Bodies, 1769. He had also a consi¬
derable share in the well-known controversy respecting the
origin of the Chinese, and adopted the opinion of M. de
Guignes, that that people are descended from the ancient
Egyptians and Phoenicians. (See the article Hierogly¬
phics.) He arrived at this conclusion from comparing the
characters upon the breast and forehead of a bust in the
museum of 1 urin, supposed to be of Egyptian origin, with
those of a Chinese dictionary in the Vatican, which had
been printed at Pekin, and from perceiving a considerable
resemblance between the characters on the one and con¬
tained in the other. The result of his investigation he
published in a pamphlet, entitled De Inscriptione quadam
jEgyptiaca Taurim inventa, et characteribus, JEgyptiis olim
et Sinis communibus exarata, 1761, in 8vo. Nothing could
be fairer or more candid than the manner in which Mr
Needham proceeded in comparing the characters on the
bust with those in the dictionary; but the theory dedu¬
ced from this comparison is nevertheless entirely ground¬
less and imaginary. In all forms of hieroglyphical writing,
such casual coincidences may easily be detected, because
picture-writing is the original basis of each ; and hence the
existence of such resemblances affords no proof whatever of
one nation being descended from, or in any way connected
with, another. But there is scarcely any similarity between
the Chinese characters and the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The
former were originally mere rude delineations of external
objects, which, in process of time, came to be variously'
combined and modified, until they assumed the peculiar
forms in which we now find them. The latter, however,
were constructed on a far more complex and artificial
principle, and of their aggregate number only a small por¬
tion can be referred to picture-writing. To seek resem¬
blances, therefore, amongst things so disparate, is rather to
indulge the fancy than to prosecute rational inquiry.
Needham-Market, a town of the county of Suffolk,
in the parish of Barking, and hundred of Bosmere-cum-
Claydon, seventy-four miles from London. It is well
built, has a market on Wednesday, and had formerly some
manufactures of cloth, which are now abandoned. The
population amounted in 1801 to 1348, in 1811 to 1301,
in 1821 to 1300, and in 1831 to 1466.
NEEDLE, a very common little instrument, made of
steel, pointed at one end, pieced at the other, and employ¬
ed in sewing, embroidery, tapestry, and the like.
Needles form a very considerable article in commerce;
and as there is scarcely any commodity cheaper, the con¬
sumption of them is almost incredible. The sizes vary
from No. 1, the largest, to No. 25, the smallest. In the
manufacture of needles, German and Hungarian steel is in
general preferred.
In making this article, the first thing is to pass the steel
through a coal fire, and under a hammer, to bring it out of
its square figure into a cylindrical one. This being done,
it is di awn through a large hole of a wire-drawing iron, and
returned into the fire, and drawn through a second hole
of the iron smaller than the first; and thus successively
from hole to hole, till it has acquired the degree of fine¬
ness required for that species of needles ; observing, every
76
NEE
Needle, time it is drawn, that it be carefully greased over with lai d,
 'to render it more manageable. Ihe steel, thus reduced to
a fine wire, is cut in pieces of the length of the needles in¬
tended • and these pieces are flattened at one end on the
anvil, in order to form the head and eye. They are then
put into the fire to soften them farther, and thence taken
out and pierced at each extreme of the flat part on the
anvil, by force of a puncheon of well-tempered steel, and
laid on a leaden block, to bring out, with another puncheon,
the little piece of steel remaining in the eye. ^ ™r-
ners are then filed off the square of the heads, and a little
cavity is filed on each side of the flat of the head ; the point
is then formed with a file, and the whole filed over. They
are next laid to heat red hot on a long narrow ^on, crook¬
ed at one end, in a charcoal fire ; and when taken oj
thence, they are thrown into a bason of cold water to ha
den. On this operation a good deal depends; tQo much
heat burns them, and too little leaves them soft; the me¬
dium is only learned by experience. When they are thus
hardened, they are laid in an iron shovel, on aJire rnoje
or less brisk, in proportion to the thickness of the need es^
taking care to move them from time to time. This serves
to temper them, and take off their brittleness ; but great
care must be taken as to the degree of heat applied. They
are then straightened one after another with the hammer,
the coldness of the water used in hardening them having
twisted the greater part of them. <», .
The next process is that of polishing them. To
this, the workmen take twelve or fifteen thousand needles,
and range them in little heaps against each other upon a
piece of new buckram sprinkled with emery dust. The
needles being thus disposed, emery dust is thrown over
them which is again sprinkled with oil of olives; at last
the whole is made up into a roll, well bound at both ends
This roll is then laid on a polishing table, and over it a
thick plank loaded with stones, which two men work back¬
wards1^ and forwards a day and a half, or two days succes¬
sively ; by which means the roll is continually agltated by
the weight and motion of the plank over it, and the needle
withinside being rubbed against each other with oil and
emery are insensibly polished. After polishing, they are
taken out, and the filth washed off them with hot water
and soap ; they are then wiped in hot bran, a little mois¬
tened placed with the needles in a round box, suspended
in the air by a chord, which is kept stirring till the bran
and needles be dry. The needles being thus wiped in two
or three different brans, are taken out and put m wooden
vessels to have the good separated from those whose point
or^yes have been broken either in polishing or w.pmg ;
the points are then all turned the same way, and smoothed
with an emery stone turned with a 'vl’e1e> ^ “Pf make
finishes them, and there remains nothing but to make
Sup ntojackets of 250 each. Needles were first made
In England by a native of India, in 1545, but the art wa,
lost at his death ; it was, however, recovered in 1560, by
Christopher Greening, who settled with his three children
at Long Crendon in Bucks, where the manufactory has
been carried on from that time to the present day.
Dipping-NEEBLE, or Inclinatory Needle, a magnetical
needlef so hung that, instead of playing horizontally, and
pointing out north and south, one end dips or inclines to
the horizon, and the other points to a certain degree of
elevation above it. See the article Magnetism.
Mannetical Needle, in Navigation, a needle touched
with a loadstone, and sustained on a pivot or centre, on
which playing at liberty, it directs itse f to certain points
in or under the horizon. See the article Magnetism.
Needles, sharp pointed rocks north of the Lie of W^ht.
They are situated at the western extremity of the island
which is a point of high land from which they have been
disjoined by the washing of the sea. There were former-
N E G
ly three of these lofty white rocks, the tallest of which, Needwoo*
called Lots Wife, rose 120 feet above low-water mark, 1 ^
and in its shape resembled a needle; but being under-
mined by the constant efforts of the waves, it was thrown
down, and totally disappeared. _ , ,. , ^ ..
NEED WOOD FOREST, in Staffordshire, between the
Trent, Dove, and Blythe, and near Uttoxeter, is said to
exceed all the forests in England in the excellence of its
soil and the fineness of its turf. . f T
* NEELAB, a town of Hindustan, in the province ot
hore, situated on the east bank of the Indus, and t u y
miles south-south-west from Attock. Long. 70. o3. E. Lat.
32 50. N.
NEELAHCUND AH, a town of the Afghan territories,
in the province of Lahore, on thTe Induf. for^-JeveLn ™ 32
south-south-east from Attock. Long. 71. 49. E. Lat.
NEELGOUND, a fortress and district !out^ ^
India, province of Bejapoor, situated on the Malpur a
River. It is now included in the British territories.
NEELGUNGE, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Oude, in the vicinity of which indigo 18 P5oduc:ed *n
abundance ; it is fourteen miles west by south from Luck-
now. Long. 80. 42. E. Lat. 26. 47. N. .
NE EXEAT REGNO, in English law, is a writ to re-
strain a person from going out of the kingdom without the
king’s license. . , „
NEFASTI DIES, in Roman antiquity, an appellation
given to those days in which it was not allowed to adnn-
nister justice, or to hold courts. They were so ca»ed be¬
cause non fari licebat, the prator was not aUowe l to p
nounce the three solemn words or formulas of the law,*,
dim, addim, I give, I appoint, I adjudge. These day
were distinguished in the calendar by the letter N. tor ne
fasti; or N§P. nefastusprimo, when the day was only ne-
in the forenoon, or first part. The days of a mixed
kind were called intercisi.
NEGADA, more properly Anegada, the m®st ”0v; '
ern of the cluster of islands known by the name of the Vir¬
gin Islands, in the West Indies, and unhappily celebta^d
for the number of shipwrecks, in many cases accompanie
with a heavy loss of life, which it has occasioned. It was
first permanently settled by individuals who hoped to reap
considerable advantages by co lecting the spod of the ves¬
sels wrecked on its inhospitable shores. J , •
the loose ground which covered it was capable of bearing
provision crops, and even cotton; whilst the rearing of
stock, and the sale of the underwood, whjchwaspiogres-
sively cleared away, and, being very full of gum, had
preference in the market of St Thomas, furnished a fur¬
ther resource. The great object, however, always has been
the wreck of vessels ; and the indolence ot the inhabitants
is only thoroughly roused by the cry of “ a vessel on the
reefs.” The moment this is raised, all becomes activity
and bustle. Boats and small craft of every description
push off towards the scene of destruction, and both skill
and intrepidity are exercised to the uttermost to get first
on board. The surface of Anegada is the production of
the tribe of litkophylce, based, it is presumed, on a subma¬
rine elevation. The appearance ot the island when ap
proached is remarkable.1 First, single trees show them¬
selves on the horizon; then the most elevated pai t of the
island, called Frank’s Landing, whicb q^^Tower
eicrht miles off in clear weather ; and, last ot al, the lowe
bid. Its greatest length is 10-07 English miles, and its
greatest breadth, which is about the middle, 4-2o Enghs
miles • but it afterwards diminishes towards both extrem -
ties The reef by which it is surrounded approaches nearest
on the north side of the island, where at.one.P"‘”t^ “fnl,^
with the shore. Generally speaking, the distance of the
reef from the island is inconsiderable on the northern, u e
N E G
■capatam ern, and partly on the southern side. To the eye Ane-
II n-ada appears a dead flat, with only a turpentine or loblolly
Negative tree overlooking the underwood. However, the ground
Sign* rises gradually from north to south, about sixty feet.
  ' There is some rather productive soil on the island, and a
great number of ponds, which, in long-continued dry wea¬
ther, produce considerable quantities of salt. There is
abundance of fresh water ; and the surrounding sea abounds
with good fish, as do also the ponds. There are some rare
specimens of plants in Anegada. The feathered tribes are
very numerous ; and there is an abundance of domestic
animals. The population of Anegada consists at present
of eleven white and twenty-one coloured and black fa-
milies. . , , c
NEGAPATAM, a considerable seaport in the south ot
India, and province of Tanjore. It is well fortified, and has
a regular citadel of a pentagonal form, with wet ditches. It
has no considerable trade ; but is frequently touched at by
ships for refreshments, which are plentiful. The town lies
at the north side of the citadel, near which is the mouth
of a small river, capable of receiving vessels which draw
little water. At the mouth of the river there is a bar, over
which the surf breaks with great violence in bad weather,
and renders the entrance dangerous. The anchoring place
is about three miles from the shore, opposite the town,
where there is very little current; and to the south-east
of the town, at the distance of five miles, there is a shoal
above five miles in length, having from three to six fathoms
water on it. It wyas originally a small village, but was for¬
tified and improved by the Portuguese. In 1660, it was
taken from them by the Dutch, who strengthened its forti¬
fications, and made it the capital of their settlements on the
Coromandel coast, where they established a mint. Un¬
der their rule it enjoyed a long period of tranquillity ; its
trade increased, and it became a very flourishing city. In
1781 it was besieged and taken by the British with about
4000 troops, and wras finally ceded to them at the peace of
1783; since which period the fortifications have been ne¬
glected, and the trade has been transferred to other places.
Long. 79. 55. E. Lat. 10. 43. N.
NEGATION, in Logic, is an act of the mind affirming
one thing to be different from another; as that the soul is
not matter. See Logic.
NEGATIVE, in general, something which implies a ne¬
gation. Thus we say negative quantities, negative powers,
negative signs, and the like.
Negative Sign. The use of the negative sign, in al¬
gebra, is attended with several consequences which at first
are admitted with difficulty, and has sometimes given oc¬
casion to notions which appear to have no real foundation.
This sign implies, that the real value of the quantity re¬
presented by the letter to which it is prefixed is to be sub¬
tracted ; and it serves, with the positive sign, to keep in
view what elements or parts enter into the composition of
quantities, and in what manner, whether as increments or
decrements, that is, whether by addition or subtraction.
It serves therefore to express a quantity of an opposite
quality to the positive, as a line in a contrary position, a
motion with an opposite direction, or a centrifugal force
in opposition to gravity; and thus often saves the trouble
of distinguishing and demonstrating separately the various
cases of proportions, and preserves in view their analogy.
But as the proportions of lines depend on their magnitude
only, without regard to their position, and motions and
forces are said to be equal or unequal, in any given ratio,
without regard to their directions; and, in general, the
proportion of quantity relates to their magnitude only,
without determining whether they are to be considered as
increments or decrements; so there is no ground to ima¬
gine any other proportion of — b and 4- « (or of — 1 and
1) than that of the real magnitude of the quantities repre-
N E G
77
Negrais
Isle.
sented by b and a, whether these quantities are, in any par- Neginoth
ticular case, to be added or subtracted. It is the same
thing to subtract the decrement as to add an equal incre¬
ment, or to subtract — b from a — 5, as to add to it 4- 6.
And because multiplying a quantity by a negative num¬
ber implies only a repeated subtraction of it, the multiply¬
ing — b by — « is subtracting — 5 as often as there are
units in n ; and is therefore equivalent to adding 4- 5 so
many times, or the same as adding 4- nb. But if we in¬
fer from this, that 1 is to — n as — 5 to nb, according to
the rule, that unit is to one of the factors as the other fac¬
tor is to the product, there is no ground to imagine that
there is any mystery in this, or any other meaning than
that the real magnitudes represented by 1, n, b, and nb
are proportional. For that rule relates only to the magni¬
tude of the factors and product, without determining whe¬
ther any factor, or the product, is to be addgd or subtract¬
ed. But this must likewise be determined in algebraic
computations; and such is the proper use of the rules con¬
cerning the signs, without which the operation could not
proceed. Because a quantity to be subtracted is never
produced in composition by any repeated addition of a po¬
sitive, or repeated subtraction of a negative, a negative
square number is never produced by composition from the
root. Hence V — 1, or the square root of a negative, im¬
plies an imaginary quantity; and, in resolution, it is a mark
or character of the impossible cases of a problem, unless it
is compensated by another imaginary symbol or supposi¬
tion, when the whole expression may have a real signifi¬
cation. Thus 1 V — 1, and 1 — V — 1, taken sepa¬
rately, are imaginary, but their sum is 2; as the conditions
that would separately render the solution of a problem im¬
possible, in some cases destroy each other’s effect when
conjoined. In the pursuit of general conclusions, and of
simple forms representing them, expressions of this kind
must sometimes arise where the imaginary symbol is com¬
pensated in a manner that is not always so obvious.
By proper substitutions, however, the expression may be
transformed into another, in which each particular term
may have a real signification as well as the whole expres¬
sion. The theorems which are sometimes briefly discover¬
ed by the use of this symbol may be demonstrated with¬
out it by the inverse operation, or in some other way; and
though such symbols are of some use in the computations
by the method of fluxions, their evidence cannot be said
to depend upon arts of this kind.
NEGINOTH. This term is found before some of the
Psalms, as Psalm Ixvii. It signifies stringed instruments of
music, to be played on by the fingers, or female musicians;
and the titles of those Psalms where this word is found
may be thus translated : “ A psalm of David to the mas¬
ter of music, who presides over the stringed instruments.”
NEGOMBO, a large and populous village in the island
of Ceylon, advantageously situated lor carrying on the in¬
land trade, particularly with Colombo, by a branch of the
Mullivaddy River. It has a fort, erected by the Dutch, for
the protection of the cinnamon cutters, which still remains;
and there are, besides, three long ranges of buildings which
serve for barracks and storehouses. The neighbouring
county produces in abundance cinnamon and rice, and the
gardens are well stocked with vegetables. This place was
taken without opposition by the British in 1796. Long.
79. 49. E. Lat. 7. 19. N.
NEGRAIS Isle, a small island situated at the western
mouth of the Irrawaddy River, in the kingdom of Ava. It
has an excellent harbour, without exception the most se¬
cure in the Bay of Bengal, as a ship launches at once into
the open sea, and may work to the southward without any
other impediment except what the monsoon opposes. Cape
Negrais, the south-westernmost extremity of India beyond
78 N E G ■
Negro, the Ganges, is in long. 93. 15. E. and in lat. 16. N., and is
''•'-"'v''*-' known by a temple of Buddha erected on it. This island
was occupied by the British in 1697, and it was supposed
that it would entirely command the trade of Pegu, and
form a secure harbour for the British ships during the
monsoons. But these hopes proved fallacious, and the set¬
tlement was withdrawn. In the year 1757 the island was
ceded to the British by Alompra, the Burman emperor,
and the place was formally taken possession of in 1757. In
1759 some disputes having arisen between the Burman
governor and the English resident, the place was suddenly
attacked in the month of October, and all the British who
could not effect their escape were suddenly put to death.
Since this period the Burmans have been excessively jea¬
lous of any visits from Europeans, and will not permit any
ships to pass up the Bassein branch of the river.
NEGRO, homo pelle nigra, a name applied to a variety
of the human species, entirely black, and found in the torrid
zone, especially in that part of Africa which lies within
the tropics. In the complexion of negroes we meet with
many various shades ; but they likewise differ from other
men in the features of their face. Round cheeks, high
cheek-bones, a forehead somewhat elevated, a short, broad,
fiat nose, thick lips, small ears, ugliness, and irregularity
of shape, characterize their external appearance.
The origin of the negroes, and the cause of their remark¬
able difference in colour from the rest of the human species,
have much perplexed philosophical inquirers. Mr Boyle has
observed, that it cannot be produced by the heat of the
climate ; for although the heat of the sun may darken the
colour of the skin, yet experience does not show that it is
* sufficient to produce a new blackness like that of the ne¬
groes. In Africa itself, several nations of Ethiopia are not
black; nor were there any blacks originally in the West
Indies. In many parts of Asia under the same parallel
with the African region inhabited by the blacks, the people
are only tawny. Dr Barriere alleges that the gall of ne¬
groes is black, and, being mixed with their blood, is depo¬
sited between the skin and scarf-skin. Dr Mitchell of Vir¬
ginia, in the Philosophical Transactions, has endeavoured,
by many learned arguments, to prove that the influence of
the sun in hot countries, and the manner of life of their
inhabitants, are the remote causes of the colour of the ne¬
groes, Indians, and other races. Lord Karnes, on the other
hand, contends, along with many others, that no physical
cause is sufficient to change the colour, and the regular
features of white men, to the dark hue and the deformity of
the negro. The arguments of these writers have been ex¬
amined with much acuteness and ingenuity by Dr Stan¬
hope Smith of New Jersey, Dr Hunter, and Professor Zim¬
merman, who have rendered it in a high degree probable
that the action of the sun is the original and chief cause of
the black colour, as well as of the distorted features, of the
negro. In the article Man the reader will find opinions
stated which have been advanced in regard to the varieties
of the human race.
The most serious charge brought against the poor ne¬
groes is, that of the vices which are said to be natural to
them. If, indeed, they be such as their enemies represent
them, treacherous, cruel, revengeful, and intemperate, by a
necessity of nature, they must be of a different race from the
whites ; for although all these vices abound in Europe, it is
evident that they proceed not from nature, but from bad
education, which gives to the youthful mind such deep im¬
pressions as no future exertions can completely eradicate.
Let us inquire coolly if the vices of the negroes may not
have a similar origin.
In every part of Africa with which the nations of Europe
have any commerce, slavery of the worst kind prevails.
Three fourths of the people are slaves to the rest, and the
children are born to no other inheritance. Most parts of
N E G
the coasts differ in their governments; some are absolute Negro,
monarchies, whilst others approach to an aristocracy. In ^ v
both the authority of the chief or chiefs is unlimited, ex¬
tending to life, and it is exercised as often as caprice dic¬
tates, unless death is commuted into slavery, in which case
the offender is sold; but if the shipping will not buy the per¬
son condemned, he is immediately put to death. Fathers
of free condition have power to sell their children, but this
power is very seldom enforced. In Congo, however, a fa¬
ther will sell a son or daughter, or perhaps both, for a piece
of cloth, a collar or girdle of coral or beads, and often for
a bottle of wine or brandy. A husband may have as many
wives as he pleases, and repudiate or even sell them, though
with child, at his pleasure. The wives and concubines,
though it be a capital crime for the former to break their
conjugal faith, have a way of ridding themselves of their
husbands, if they have set their affections upon a new gallant,
by accusing them of some crime for which the punishment
is death. In a word, the bulk of the people in every state
of Africa are born slaves to great men, reared as such, held
as property, and as property sold. There are indeed many
circumstances by which a free man may become a slave,
such as being in debt, and not able to pay; and in some
of these cases, if the debt be large, not only the debtor, but
his family likewise, become the slaves of his creditor, and
may be sold. Adultery is commonly punished in the same
manner, both the offending parties being sold, and the
purchase-money paid to the injured husband. Obi, or pre¬
tended witchcraft, in which all the negroes firmly believe
(see Witchcraft), is another, and a very common offence,
for which slavery is adjudged as a suitable punishment;
and it extends to all the family of the offender. There are
various other crimes which subject the offender and his
children to be sold ; and it is more than probable, that if
there were no buyers, the poor wretches would be mur¬
dered without mercy.
In such a state of society, what dispositions can be look¬
ed for in the people, but cruelty, treachery, and revenge ?
Even in the civilized nations of Europe, blessed with the
lights of law, science, and religion, some of the lower or¬
ders of the community consider it as a very trivial crime
to defraud their superiors ; wdiilst almost all look up to
them with stupid malevolence or rancorous envy. That a
depressed people, wffien they get pow'er into their hands,
become revengeful and cruel, the present age affords a
dreadful proof in the conduct of the anarchists of a neigh¬
bouring nation ; and is it wonderful that the negroes of
Africa, unacquainted with moral principles, blinded by the
cruelest and most absurd superstitions, and whose customs
tend to eradicate from the mind all natural affection, should
sometimes display to their lordly masters of European ex¬
traction the same spirit which was so generally displayed by
the lower orders of Frenchmen towards their ecclesiastics,
their nobles, and the family of their murdered sovereign?
When we consider that the majority of the negroes groan
under the most cruel slavery, both in their own country, and
in every other where they are to be found in considerable
numbers, it cannot excite surprise that they are in general
treacherous, cruel, and vindictive. Such are the caprices
of their tyrants at home, that they could not preserve their
own lives or the lives of their families for any length of
time, except by a perpetual vigilance, which must necessa¬
rily degenerate, first into cunning, and afterwards into
treachery ; and it is not conceivable that habits formed in
Africa should be instantly thrown off in the West Indies,
where they become the property of men whom some of
them must consider as a different race of beings.
But the truth is, that the bad qualities of the negroes
have been greatly exaggerated. Mr Edwards, in his va¬
luable History of the West Indies, assures us that the
Mandingo negroes display such gentleness of disposition
N E G
N E G
79
egro. and demeanour', as would seem the result of early educa-
’ tion and discipline, were it not that, generally speaking,
they are more prone to theft than any of the African tribes.
It has been supposed that this propensity, amongst other
vices, is natural to a state of slavery, which degrades and
corrupts the human mind in a deplorable manner; but
why the Mandingos should have become more vicious in
this respect than the rest of the natives of Africa in the
same condition of life, is a question he cannot answer.
“ The circumstances which,” according to the same au¬
thor, “ distinguish the Koromantyn or Gold Coast negroes
from all others, are firmness both of body and mind ; a fe¬
rociousness of disposition ; but withal, activity, courage,
and a stubbornness, or what an ancient Roman would have
deemed an elevation of soul, which prompts them to fp-
terprises of difficulty and danger, and enables them to
meet death, in its most horrid shape, with fortitude or in¬
difference. They sometimes take to labour with great
promptitude and alacrity, and have constitutions well adapt¬
ed for it; for many of them have undoubtedly been slaves
in Africa. But as the Gold Coast is inhabited by various
tribes, which are engaged in perpetual warfare and hosti¬
lity with each other, there cannot be a doubt that many
of the captives taken in battle, and sold in the European
settlements, were of free condition in their native coun¬
try, and perhaps the owners of slaves themselves. It is
not wonderful that such men should endeavour, even by
means the most desperate, to regain the freedom of which
they have been deprived; nor do I conceive that any fur¬
ther circumstances are necessary to prompt them to ac¬
tion, than that of being sold into captivity in a distant
country. One cannot surely but lament,” says our author,
“ that a people thus naturally intrepid, should be sunk into
so deplorable a state of barbarity and superstition; and
that their spirits should ever be broken down by the yoke
of slavery. Whatever may be alleged concerning their
ferociousness and implacability in their present notions of
right and wrong, I am persuaded that they possess quali¬
ties which are capable of, and well deserve, cultivation and
improvement.
“ Very different from the Koromantyns are the negroes
imported from the Bight of Benin, and known in the West
Indies by the name of Eboes. So great is their constitu¬
tional timidity and despondency of mind, as to occasion
them very frequently to seek, in a voluntary death, a re¬
fuge from their own melancholy reflections. They require,
therefore, the gentlest and mildest treatment to reconcile
them to their situation ; but if their confidence be once
obtained, they manifest as great fidelity, affection, and
gratitude, as can reasonably be expected from men in a
state of slavery. The females of this nation are better la¬
bourers than the men, probably from having been more
hardly treated in Africa.
“ The natives of Whidah, who in the West Indies are
generally called Papaws, are unquestionably the most do¬
cile and best disposed slaves that are imported from any
part of Africa. Without the fierce and savage manners
of the Koromantyn negroes, they are also happily exempt
from the timid and desponding temper of the Eboes. The
cheerful acquiescence with which these people apply to
the labours of the field, and their constitutional aptitude
for such employment, arise, without doubt, from the great
attention paid to agriculture in their native country. Bos-
man speaks with rapture of the improved state of the soil,
the number of villages, and the industry, riches, and
obliging manners of the natives. He observes, however, Negropont
that they are much greater thieves than those of the Gold II
Coast, and very unlike them in another respect, namely,
in the dread of pain, and the apprehension of death. They
are, says he, so very apprehensive of death, that they are
unwilling to hear it mentioned, for fear that alone should
hasten their end ; and no man dares to speak of death in
the presence of the king, or any great man, under the pe¬
nalty of suffering it himself, as a punishment for his pre¬
sumption. He relates further, that they are addicted to
gaming beyond any people of Africa. All these propen¬
sities are observable in the character of the Papaws in a
state of slavery in the West Indies. That punishment
which excites the Koromantyn to rebel, and drives the
Ebo negro to suicide, is received by the Papaws as the
chastisement of legal authority, to which it is their duty
to submit patiently. The case seems to be, that the
generality of these people are in a state of absolute sla¬
very in Africa, and, having been habituated to a life of la¬
bour, they submit to a change of situation with little re¬
luctance,”
In a word, as the colour,*and features, and moral quali¬
ties of the negroes may be accounted for by the influence
of climate and the modes of savage life, so there is good
reason to believe that their intellectual endowments may
likewise be referred to circumstances, and that they are
equal to those of the whites who have been found in the
same hapless situation.
NEGROLAND. See Nigritia.
NEGROPONT, an island in the Mediterranean, the
ancient Euboea, extending in north latitude from 37. 56.
to 39. 8., and in east longitude from 22. 41. to 24. 33.
It is connected with the mainland by a very long bridge,
and is a mountainous country, inhabited by sixty thousand
persons, two thirds of whom are Greeks. The capital is
a city of the same name, being the ancient Chalcis, and
is estimated to contain sixteen thousand inhabitants, most
of whom are Turks. It is situated in long. 23. 34. E. and
lat. 38. 31. N.
NEGRO, Rio, a large river of Patagonia, in South
America. The banks of this river, as well as the numerous
islands with which it is in many parts studded, are cover¬
ed with low willows, from which cause it is sometimes call¬
ed the Rio Sauces. Its Indian name is Cusu-Leubu,
signifying Rio Negro, or the Black River, from the dark
hue of its waters.1 The results of the expedition alluded
to in the note were important, although not so completely
satisfactory as could have been wished, as the large affluent
from the north, supposed to be Diamante, was not examin¬
ed. But the great point established was, that it is possible
to navigate the main stream of the Rio Negro from its
mouth, in the Southern Atlantic, to the very foot of the
Cordillera of Chili, within fifty miles of Valdivia, upon
the shores of the Pacific, a distance of about 525 miles
without including the windings of the river. From its
mouth in south latitude 41° 5', to the great island of Cho-
leechel or Chuelechel, in latitude 39°, its general course
tends to the north-north-west, although in some parts it is
exceedingly tortuous. As far as this point, the bottom of
the river is sand, and the country is described as an arid
sandy level, destitute of vegetation, excepting some insu¬
lated patches along the shore, which being from time to
time flooded, are covered with good pasturage. The island
ol Choleechel, which constitutes so conspicuous a feature
in the map of the river, is twenty-seven miles in length
on't^aufhoritv i,!nPor,tant a feature„in the geography of that part of South America, has hitherto been laid down solely
thp Rnvnl r 0 ty 0fuX Talkner s work upon Patagonia, published in this country in the year 1775. In the year 1830 however
he Royal Geographical Society of London published a correct account and map of it, whicli were derived from / journal of an Ori’
for the pSs°e byTe^ 1Uo ^ in th* ^ ^782-17^ by bon BasiUo vX^noTTho /ad been employed
I pose by the Spanish government. I o these we have had recourse in drawing up the above article. 1 '
80
N E H
Negros and nine in width ; but appears to produce nothing ex-
II cept pasturage. From this island to Diamante, a distance
Nehavend. miles, the course of the river is nearly due west;
^ its bottom is gravelly, with many pebbles, and the aspect
of the country is for the most part desolate from want of
vegetation. The Diamante, at its confluence with the
Rio Negro, is nearly as large as the latter river; and as
it appears to be the drainage of numerous streams which
descend from the eastern side of the Cordillera, between
the latitudes of 32° and 36°, its periodical floods must be
formidable, and much greater than those of the Rio Ne-
oro. It is much intersected by small islands overgrown
with stunted willows. The low lands along the shoie are
sterile, and all beyond a range of steep red cliffs, by which
these are bounded, the country appeared totally destitute
of herbage, not a tree being visible. From about the con¬
fluence of these two rivers, the Rio Negro takes a south-
south-western direction, running between high precipi¬
tous banks, where in some parts the river was not more
than five hundred yards across. After these are passed,
the country becomes more level, and the stream widens.
Another considerable tributary, called the Pichi Epicuntu,
which descends from some of the snowy peaks ot the Cor¬
dillera, flows into the Negro in lat. 39° 35'S. farther
onwards the river becomes intersected by innumerable
islands, extremely shallow in some parts; and the bottom
is strewed with rounded stones and boulders, which in¬
crease in size as the range of the Cordillera is approached.
The windings of the river also become very large, and,
from flowing in a main current nearly due south, it takes
a westerly direction, and then bends to the north. Ihe
farthest point reached by Villarmo was in lat. 39 40 ; and
here within fifty miles of Valdivia, his course was check¬
ed b’v the Indians, who appear to have been apprehensive
that his expedition had for its main object the stoppage ot
a great pass near Choleechel, by which they were in the
habit of making predatory excursions into the province ot
Buenos Ayres. He, in fact, points out how these marauders
might be effectually kept in check by establishing a fort
at the point above mentioned; and, alter a lapse ot h ty
vears, this suggestion has been carried into effect by the
authorities of Buenos Ayres. In 1833 a military post was
formed at the Choleechel, which will not only secure the
southern parts of the republic from the hostile inroads ot
the Indians, but will no doubt ultimately lead to our ob¬
taining much new and interesting information respecting
a vast tract of country as yet unknown to us. The depth
of the Rio Negro varies much, as well as the current, de¬
pending in some measure on the breadth ot the bed ot the
river; and it is liable to great changes m the time ot the
floods, which are periodical, and twice in the year, trom
the rains in the winter, and the melting ot the snows in
summer. With regard to its breadth, nothing satisfactory
can be stated, as it varies exceedingly at all times, and
widens and contracts at different seasons of the year.
NEGROS, one of the Philippine Islands, in the East¬
ern Seas, situated due north of Luzon or Laconia,^ about
the 123d degree of east longitude. It is about 145 miles
in length by twenty-five in average breadth, and is fruit¬
ful in rice, for which the inhabitants pay tribute. Ihe
island was so named by the Spaniards, trom the Papuan
or oriental negroes, its original inhabitants, who still in¬
habit the mountains, being in a state of savage independ¬
ence, and continually at war with each other. Long. 122.
30. E. Lat. 10.10. N. . . ,
NEHAVEND, or Nehanud, a town of Persia, in the
province of Irak, sixty miles south of Hamadan. It is ce¬
lebrated for a battle fought there between the Saracens
and Persians in the year 638, when the Sassanian dynasty
was overthrown, and the Saracens established themselves
on the throne of Persia.
N E H
NEHEMIAH.or Nehemias.soo ofHachaliah, was born Nehemiat,
at Babylon during the captivity (Nehem. i. 1, 2, et seq^). ^ v',4
He was, according to some, of the race of the priests ; but
according to others, he was of the tribe of Judah and the
royal family. Those who maintain the former opinion
support it by a passage in Ezra (x. 10), where he is called a
priest; but those who believe that he was of the race of the
kings of Judah say that as Nehemiah for a considerable
time governed the republic of the Jews, it is probable he
was of that tribe to which the kings always belonged. Ne¬
hemiah mentions his brethren Hanani, and some, other
Jews, who, having come to Babylon during the captivity, ac¬
quainted him with the sad condition of their country ; and
the office of cup-bearer to the king of Persia, to which
Nehemiah was promoted, is considered as a further proof
that he was of an illustrious family. Lastly, he excuses
himself from entering into the inner part of the temple,
probably because he was only a layman (Nehem. vi. 11).
“ Should such a man as I flee ? And who is there that,
being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life ?”
The Scripture (Ezra, ii. 63; Nehem. vii. 65) calls him
tirshatha, or cup-bearer; no doubt because he held this
employment at the court of Artaxerxes Longimanus. He
had an exceeding great tenderness for the country of his
fathers, although he had never seen it; and one day, when
some Jews newly arrived from Jerusalem acquainted him
with the miserable state of that city, that its walls were
beaten down, its gates burned, and the Jews become a re¬
proach amongst all nations, he became so sensibly affected
with this relation, that he fasted, prayed, and humbled him¬
self before the Lord, imploring him to be favourable to the
design which he had then conceived of asking the king s
permission to rebuild Jerusalem. In the course.of his
attendance at court, he presented the cup to the king ac¬
cording to custom, but with a countenance sad and de¬
jected, which the king observing, entertained some suspi¬
cion that he had conceived some evil design ; but Nehe¬
miah disclosing the occasion of his disquiet, explained the
cause of his grief, upon which Artaxerxes gave him per¬
mission to go to Jerusalem, and repair its w'alls and gates,
upon this condition, however, that he should return to
court at a time appointed. Letters were accordingly made
out, directed to the governors beyond the Euphrates, with
orders to furnish Nehemiah with the timbers necessary for
covering the towers and gates of the city, and the house
designed for Nehemiah himself^ who was now appointed
governor of Judaea, in the year of the world 3350. . .
Nehemiah having arrived at Jerusalem with the king s
commission, went round the city, and having viewed the
condition of the walls, assembled the chief of the people,
produced his commission, and exhorted them to under¬
take the reparation of the gates and the walls of the city.
Finding every person ready to obey him, he immediately
began the work. The enemies of the Jews observing these
works in such forwardness, employed all the means in their
power to deter Nehemiah from this undertaking, and made
several attempts to surprise him ; but finding that their
designs had been discovered, and that the Jews were upon
their guard, they had recourse to stratagem, endeavouring
to draw him into an ambuscade in the fields, where they
pretended they would finish the dispute at an amicable
conference. But Nehemiah gave them to understand that
the work he had begun required his personal attendance,
and that therefore he could not meet them. He returned
the same answer to four several messages that they sent,
one after another, on the same subject.
Sanballat, the chief of the enemies of the Jews, together
with his associates, sent information of a report that the Jews
were building the walls of Jerusalem solely with the design
of renderinglt a place of strength, to support them in an
intended revolt; and that Nehemiah had also suborned
11 dersel-
; ers.
N E I
■ false prophets to favour his designs, and to encourage the
people to choose him king; wherefore, in order to put a
stop to these rumours, he advised Nehemiah to come to
him, that they might confer together, and adopt such reso¬
lutions as should be found convenient. Nehemiah, how¬
ever, gave himself no trouble on this account, but returned
for answer, that all these accusations were false, and had
been made at random. About the same time he discovered
that a false prophet called Shemaiah had been corrupted
by his enemies, and that some of the chief men of the city
were secretly in confederacy with them. Yet all this did
not discourage him ; he went on with his work, and hap¬
pily completed it in fifty-two days after it had been com¬
menced.
We read in the books of the Maccabees that Nehemiah
sent to search for the holy fire, which before the captivity of
Babylon the priests had hidden in a dry and deep pit; but
not finding any fire there, and only a thick muddy water, he
sprinkled this upon the altar; wdiereupon the wood which
had been moistened with this water took fire as soon as
the sun began to appear. When this miracle came to the
knowledge of the king of Persia, he caused the place to be
encompassed with walls where the fire had been hidden,
and granted great favours and privileges to the priests.
It is recorded in the same books, that Nehemiah erected
a library, in which he placed whatever he could find, either
of the books of the prophets, of King David, or of such
princes as had made presents to the temple. Lastly, he
returned to Babylon, according to the promise which he
had made to king Artaxerxes, about the thirty-second
year of that prince’s reign, and in the year of the world
3563; but he subsequently revisited Jerusalem, where he
died in peace, about the year 3580, having governed the
people of Judah for about thirty years.
The book which, in the English Bible, as well as in the
Hebrew, bears the name of Nehemiah, is in the Latin Bible
called the book of Esdras ; and it must be confessed, that
though this author speaks in the first person, and though
at the first reading one would think that he had written it
day by day as the transactions occurred, yet there are
some things in the book which could not have been writ¬
ten by Nehemiah himself. For example, memorials are
quoted, in which were registered the names of the priests
in the time of Jonathan the son of Eliashib, and even
down to the times of the high priest Jaddus, who went
out to meet Alexander the Great, which must have been
afterwards added.
It may well be questioned whether this Nehemiah be
the same that is mentioned in Ezra, ii. 2, and Nehem, vii.
7, as one who returned from the Babylonian captivity
under Zerubbabel; since from the first year of Cyrus to
the twentieth of Artaxerxes Longimanus, no less than
ninety-two years intervene ; so that Nehemiah must at
this time have been a very old man, at the lowest compu¬
tation an hundred, and consequently incapable of being
the king’s cup-bearer, of taking a journey from Shushan
to Jerusalem, and of behaving there with all the courage
and activity which have been ascribed to him. We may
therefore conclude that this was a different person, though
of the same name, and that Tirshatha, the other name by
which he is called (Ezra, ii. 63; and Nehem. vii. 65), de-
notes the title of his office, and, both in the Persian and
Chaldaic tongues, was the general name given to the king’s
deputies and governors.
NEIDERSELTERS, a town of the bailiwick of Id-
stein, in the duchy of Nassau, in Germany, celebrated
for the mineral spring which yields the water known
through Europe by the name of Seltzer water. Besides
, u-1 .usec* on .l^e sPot’ more than two millions and a
halt of jugs of it are despatched to different countries,
and produce a clear revenue of L.5000. The town is si-
VOL. XVI.
N E L
81
Nelson.
tuated in a picturesque country, and contains about 900 Neisse
resident inhabitants, but receives a great deal of company
during the summer season.
NEISSE, a city, the capital of a district of the same
name, in Prussian Silesia. It stands at the junction of the
river Biele with the Neisse, in a marshy situation, though
at the height of 580 feet above the level of the sea. It is
strongly fortified, especially with effective ditches, and con¬
tains an Episcopal palace, seven Catholic and two Lutheran
churches. There is a Catholic college, with about 300
students, besides a large endowed grammar school. It con¬
tains 9440 inhabitants, amongst whom are extensive ma¬
nufacturers of linen goods; besides which, hosiery, hats,
brandy, and other articles, are manufactured. Long. 17.
14. E. Lat. 51. 25. N.
NEITRA, a circle of the province of the Lower Da¬
nube, in the Austrian kingdom of Hungary.* It extends
over 2662 square miles, and contains a population of
348,500 persons, chiefly of the Sclavonian race; and it com¬
prises two cities, thirty-eight market towns, and 462 vil¬
lages and hamlets. The capital is a city of the same
name, the seat of a bishop, containing 500 houses and
3958 inhabitants, whose chief trade is in wine. Long. 17.
58. 56. E. Lat. 48. 19. 10. N.
NEJIN, a city of Russia, in the province of Tcherni-
gow, in what was formerly distinguished as Little Russia.
It stands on the river Oster. The streets are intermixed
with large gardens, filled with fruit trees of various kinds.
It contains 1000 houses, two convents, and sixteen churches,
all built after the model of those in Moscow, and is reckon¬
ed the handsomest town to the south of that capital. The
inhabitants are about 12,000, composed, besides Russians
and Kossacks, of many Greek and Armenian families. The
most distinguished building is the Gymnasium Bezborodko,
founded by the count of that name. It is a large edifice,
adorned by a colonnade of twelve Ionic pillars, and, being
surrounded by high trees, it has a truly noble appear¬
ance. It was instituted for the education of young noble¬
men.
NELSON, Horatio, Lord Viscount, the greatest na¬
val commander that any age or country has produced, was
the son of Edmund and Catherine Nelson, and was born on
the 29 th of September 1758, at the parsonage house of Burn¬
ham-Thorpe, a village in the county of Norfolk, of which
his father was rector. The maiden name of his mother
was Suckling; her grandmother was an elder sister of
Sir Robert VValpole, and the subject of this notice was
named after the first Earl of Orford. Mrs Nelson died in
1767, leaving eight out of eleven children. Upon this oc¬
casion her brother, Captain Maurice Suckling, of the navy,
visited Mr Nelson, and promised to take care of one of the
boys. Three years afterwards, when Horatio was only
twelve years of age, being at home during the Christmas
holidays, he read in the county newspaper that his uncle
had been appointed to the Raisonnable of sixty-four guns,
and immediately applied to his father for permission to go
to sea with his uncle. The boy was then receiving his edu¬
cation at North Walsham ; and his constitution, which was
naturally weak, had been much impaired by an attack of
the ague, at that time one of the most common diseases in
England. But his father’s circumstances were straitened,
and he had no prospect of seeing them bettered; he knew
that it was the wish of providing for himself by which Ho¬
ratio was chiefly actuated ; he also understood the boy’s
character, and conceived that, in whatever station he might
be placed, he would, if possible, climb to the top of the tree.
The uncle was accordingly written to, and gave a reluc¬
tant consent to the proposal which had been made to him.
“ What,” said he, in reply, “ has poor Horatio done, who
is so weak, that he should be sent to rough it out at sea ?
But let him come, and the first time we go into action a
L
/
82
nelson.
Nelson.
.rrWgajSSSSrr- assHSssss
cmmfonhe dLdpule”es%cting the Falkland Islands ; but advantage of a rising fog, set out m
rccrm:d":hi^tVM%rand°c^ Tr4i?,hS
dered as too inactive a life for a boy, and Nelson a which they were only enabled to keep at
fore sent a voyage to the West Indies in a merchan p, g aSci,asrn,;n the ice. Captain Lutwidge, seeing their
commanded by a person who had served as mas er s ma 7 7 which had the desired effect of fright-
Nelson, ]
under his uncle in the Dreadnought. He returned a prac¬
tical seaman, but with no affection for the kings service,
and was received by his uncle on board the^Tnumph, then
lying at Chatham, in the month of July 1772.
Not many months after his return, his inherent love ot
enterprise was excited by hearing that two ships were fit¬
ting out for a voyage of discovery towards the North Pole.
From the difficulties expected on such service, these ves¬
sels were to take out none but effective men, msteac. of the
usual number of boys. This, however, did not deter Ne -
son from soliciting to be received, and by his uncle s inte¬
rest he was admitted as cockswain under Captain Lutwidge,
the second in command. The voyage was undertaken in con¬
sequence of an application from the Royal Society; and
the Honourable Captain John C. Phipps, eldest son of Lord
Mulgrave, volunteered his services to command the expe¬
dition. The Racehorse and Carcass, bombs, were selected
as the strongest ships, and therefore best adapted for such
a voyage; and they were taken into dock and further
danger, fired a gun, which had the desired effect of fright¬
ening the beast; and, on their return to the ship, he sternly
reprimanded young Nelson for conduct so unworthy of the
office he filled. When asked what motive he could have had
for leaving the ship to hunt a bear, he replied,‘‘ I wished
to kill it, that I might carry the skin to my father.
The ships were paid off shortly after their return, and the
youth was then placed by his uncle with Captain Farmer
in the Seahorse of twenty guns, which was about to sail
for the East Indies in the squadron of Sir Edward Hughes.
In this ship he was rated as a midshipman, and attracted
attention by his general good conduct. But when he had
been about eighteen months in India, he felt the effects o
the climate of that country, so perilous to European con¬
stitutions, and became so enfeebled by disease that he lost
for a time the use of his limbs, and was brought almost to
the brink of the grave. He embarked for England in the
Dolphin, Captain Pigot, with a body broken down by sic -
ness, and spirits which had sunk with his strength. But
a voyage; and they were taken into dock ana iu t ’ , , materially improved during the voyage, and his
strengthened, to render them as secure as possible again s ^ speedily Repaired the injury it had sustained,
the ice. Two masters of Greenlandmen [ 0n the 8th of Apnl 1777 he passed, with much credit to
pilots for each ship; and tJieu]first1 lo.1'd.1of ,thev J’ himself his examination for a lieutenancy, and next day
Lord Sandwich, with a iaudab'e solicitude^ to t^ of_ receive’d his commission as second lieutenant of the Lowes-
that every thing had been provided to the wis thirtv-two nuns then fitting out for Jamaica. In
fleers. The expedition sailed from the Nore on the 4th of it"11 Fre"ch
June 1773, and in the course of thefollowng month came ^ ^ harassing our ,rade in
in sight of Spitzbergen, whence they procee , , [j ^'est Indies; distinguished himself on various occasions
Island, beyond which they 8d.—^‘eVe" ” by hTs 00!“; and enterprise; and formed a friendship with
situated in the latitude ot 81. 21. north, mt aavanu g y iocker, 0f the Lowestoffe, which continued
further in search ot an opening, the s "P® "'“e duriiJhis life. Having been warmly recommended to Sir
ice, in which they became suddenly wedged, no fissure during ms me d j ,1 that gtati
of any kind being visible; and m this critical situat on flag-ship, and soon after-
they remained five days, “"8 "^iSilThav"^ wardXcaine firsUiemenant. OnBthe £th of December
^^di^eTcrhad^f Stated by k ^htest ^7^"^
and6the fee to^telfTegun loTrift toT westward! crew of the Glasgow when that ship was accidentally set
the ships were at length got clear. The season was now so (11th of June 1799),
far advanced that nothmg more could have been att^ p ^ ^ obtained the rank of post-captain, and with it the corn¬
ed, if indeed any iing vn,,raKiP. and they had care- mand of the Hinchinbrook of twenty-eight guns, an ene-
summer had been unusually favourable, and t y mv’s merchantman sheathed with wood, which had been
fully surveyed the vast wall of ice extending f« Ann ^Tn,^0Tvice ^ Count d'Esking, with a fleet
twenty degrees between the latitude^ of 80 a 125 gail men of war and transports, and a reputed force
out discovering the7f &siJ ]y of 25,000 men, now threatened Jamaica from St Domingo,
expedition returned to England in October, y offered hig gervices tQ the admiral and the gover-
afterwards the ships were paid ort. . . f Dallim? and was appointed to command the
During this voyage Nelson gave several ind,cat,onsef ™Port^oy.l, the most import-
that daring and fearless spirit which ever afteiwards s island. D’Estaing, however, attempted
tinguished him. Having been appointed to command one P . formidable armament, and the British
of the boats sent out to explore a passage into the open nothing with th s tormmabte arma e, ^ ^ had
water, he was instrumental in saving a boat belonging to g inst the Spanish colonies. This project was to
the Racehorse from a singular but imminen t danger. So o situated upon the river of that name,
of the officers having fired at and struck a walrus the f^Xke Ntaragua into the Gulf of Mexi-
wounded animal immediately dived, and having b™uS1 “P . k l i e|f master of the lake itself, and of the
a number of its companions, they all joined ■" an attack “.• Leon. and thus t0 cut off the com-
upon the boat. tha” die crew could munication between the northern and southern possessions
^Hherfr::^
^sSTnlinr^e^ But a!,hough the gene-
N E L
son. ral’s plans were well formed, the nature of the country had
v—not been studied so accurately as its geography. The diffi¬
culties which occurred in fitting out the expedition delayed
it till the season was too far advanced ; and the men were
thus sent to adventure themselves, not so much against
an enemy whom they might have beaten, as against a cli¬
mate which would effectually do the enemy’s work. Early
in 1780, five hundred men, destined for this service, were
convoyed by Nelson from Port-Royal to Cape Gracias a
Dios in Honduras; and, on the 24th of March, they reached
the river San Juan, where Nelson’s services were to ter¬
minate. But not a man in the expedition had ever been
up the river, or knew the distance of any fortification from
its mouth. Nelson, however, not being one to turn his
back when so much was to be done, resolved to carry up
the soldiers, and, in spite of every difficulty, succeeded in
conveying them a hundred miles up a river which none
but Spaniards had navigated since the time of the bucca¬
neers. On the 9th of April they reached a small island,
called St Bartolomeo, which the Spaniards had fortified as
an outpost, to command the river, in a rapid and difficult
part of the navigation. Nelson, at the head of a few seamen,
leaped upon the beach, and being gallantly supported by
Despard, then a captain in the army, advanced against the
battery, which he at once stormed, or, in his own phrase,
boarded, driving away the Spaniards, and capturing their
guns. The castle of San Juan, situated sixteen miles higher
up, was the next object of attack. Nelson advised that it
should instantly be carried by assault; but he was not the
commander, and it was thought proper to observe the for¬
malities of a siege. The attack commenced on the 13th,
and the place surrendered on the 24th of April. But
victory procured to the conquerors none of that relief
which they had expected. No supplies of any kind were
found; the castle itself proved worse than a prison; the
huts which served as hospitals were surrounded with filth
and putrid hides; sickness at length became general, leav¬
ing few men able to perform garrison duty; and the rains
continued with scarcely any interval from April till Octo¬
ber, when this baleful conquest was abandoned. Of 1800
men who had been sent to different posts upon this wretch¬
ed expedition, not more than 380 ever returned. Nel¬
son himself was saved by a timely removal, though not
until after he had been seized with the prevailing dysen¬
tery. Having been appointed to succeed Captain Glover
in the Janus of forty-four guns, he sailed for Jamaica; but
on reaching Port-Royal he found himself so greatly re¬
duced by the disorder, that he was compelled to ask leave
to return to England, as the only means of recovery. He
was taken home in the Lyon, by Captain, afterwards Admi¬
ral, Cornwallis, to whose care and kindness he believed him¬
self indebted for the preservation of his life.
In three months, however, his health was so far re-esta¬
blished that he applied for employment; and being ap¬
pointed to the Albemarle of twenty-eight guns, he was sent
to the North Seas, and kept there during the whole winter,
a mode of conduct which he deeply resented, as equally
cruel to the individual, and detrimental to the service. In
this cruize, however, he gained a considerable knowledge
of the Danish coast and its soundings. On his return he
was ordered to Quebec, and in consequence sailed for Ca¬
nada, During this cruise, the Albemarle had a narrow
escape from four French sail of the line and a frigate, which
having come out of Boston, gave chase to her. Confiding
in his own skill in pilotage, Nelson, perceiving that they
gained on him, boldly ran amongst the numerous shoals of
St George’s bank, and thus escaped. In October 1782, he
sailed from Quebec with a convoy of transports for New
\ ork, where he joined Lord Hood, who, with a detachment
of Rodney s victorious fleet, was then at Sandy Hook. His
professional merit was already so well known, that Lord
83
Hood, on introducing him to the Duke of Clarence, who was Nelson,
at that time serving as a midshipman in the Barfleur, told 'v--—^
his royal highness that, if he wished to ask any questions in
naval tactics, Captain Nelson could give him as much in¬
formation as any officer in the fleet. In November he ac¬
companied Lord Hood to the West Indies, and continued
there in active employment till the peace of 1783, when
the Albemarle returned to England, and was paid off.
After his arrival in England, Nelson, finding it prudent
to economise his half-pay during the peace, went to France,
and took lodgings at St Omers, where he remained till the
spring of the following year. In the interval he had lost
his favourite sister, and formed an attachment for the
daughter of an English clergyman, whom his straitened cir¬
cumstances alone prevented him from marrying. On his
return he was appointed to the Boreas of twenty-eight guns,
which had been ordered to the Leeward Islands as a cruiser
on the peace establishment. Whilst on this station, where
he found himself senior captain, and consequently second
in command, he evinced the utmost zeal and activity in
protecting British interests, and in causing the navigation
act to be r’espected, especially by the Americans, who had
attempted, under various pretences, to establish an indepen¬
dent commerce with the West India Islands ; a line of con¬
duct which involved him in much trouble, without procur¬
ing him reward or even acknowledgment, the thanks of
the treasury having been transmitted to the commander-
in-chief, who had thwarted instead of encouraging him in
the discharge of an arduous and important duty. He had,
however, something to console him amidst his perplexities.
Having become acquainted with an amiable and accom¬
plished lady, the widow of Dr Nisbet, a physician, and then
only in her eighteenth year, he made proposals of marriage,
which were accepted, and they were married on the 11th
of March 1787, the Duke of Clarence, who had gone out
to the West Indies the preceding winter, being present, by
his own desire, to give away the bride. During his ser¬
vice upon this station he had ample opportunities of observ¬
ing the scandalous practices of the contractors, prize-agents,
and other persons in the West Indies connected with the
naval service, and he did every thing in his power to check
them, although, unhappily, without success. The Boreas
returned to England in June, but was not paid off till the
end of November, having been kept nearly five months at
the Nore as a slop and receiving ship. Nelson was still in
a very precarious state of health ; and this unworthy treat¬
ment, whether it proceeded from intention or neglect, ex¬
cited in his mind the strongest indignation. His resent¬
ment, however, was appeased by the favourable reception
which he met with at court, when presented to his majesty
by Lord Howe ; and having fully explained to that noble¬
man the grounds upon which he had acted, he retired to
enjoy the pleasures of domestic happiness at the parsonage-
house at Burnham-Thorpe, which his father had given him
as a residence. But the vexatious affair of the American
captures was not yet terminated. He was harassed with
threats of prosecution, and, in his absence on some business,
a writ or notification was served on his wife, upon the part
of the American captains, who now laid their damages at
L.20,000. When presented with this paper, his indigna¬
tion was excessive; and he immediately wrote to the trea¬
sury, that unless he was supported by government he
would leave the country. “ If sixpence would save me
from prosecution,” said he, “ I would not give it.” The
answer he received, however, quieted his fears; he was
told to be under no apprehension, for he would assuredly
be supported ; and here his disquietude upon this subject
seems to have ended.
During the time which he spent in retirement, he re¬
peatedly requested the admiralty not to leave him to rust
in indolence; but his various applications were unsuccess-
S O N.
84
NELSON.
Nelson. ful. At the commencement of the French war, however,
it was judged expedient to employ him ; and, on the 30th
of January 1793, he was appointed to the Agamemnon of
sixty-four guns, and placed under the orders of Lord Hood,
then appointed to the chief command in the Mediterra¬
nean. The limits prescribed to this article admit not of
our entering into any details of his various achievements
upon this station. The high opinion which Lord Hood
entertained of his talents and ability, as well as courage,
was manifested by the arduous services with the execution
of which his lordship intrusted him. Being sent to Corsica
with a small squadron to co-operate with Paoli and the
party opposed to France, he undertook the siege of Bastia,
and in a short time reduced it. The place capitulated on
the 19th of May 1794. He next proceeded in the Aga¬
memnon to co-operate with General Sir Charles Stuait in
the siege of Calvi. Here Nelson had less responsibility
than at Bastia; he was acting with a man after his own
heart, who slept every night in the advanced battery. But
the service proved not less hard than that of the formei
siege ; twenty-five pieces of heavy ordnance having been
dragged to the different batteries, mounted, and, all but
three, fought by seamen. Here Nelson received a serious
injury. A shot having struck the ground near him, drove
the sand and small gravel into one of his eyes. He spoke
of it lightly at the time, and in fact suffered it to confine
him only one day ; but the sight of the eye was neverthe¬
less lost. After the fall of Calvi his services were, by a
strange omission, altogether overlooked, and his name was
not even mentioned in the list of wounded. Nelson felt
himself not only neglected, but wronged. “ They have
not done me justice,” said he; “ but never mind, 111 have
a gazette of my own.” And, on another occasion, the
same second-sight of glory led him to predict that one day
or other he would have a long gazette to himself. “ I
feel,” said he, “ that such an opportunity will be given
me. If I am in the field of glory, I cannot be kept out of
sight.” ,
Lord Hood now returned to England, and the command
devolved upon Admiral Hotham. At this time the affairs
of the Mediterranean wore a gloomy aspect. Tuscany
had concluded peace with France ; Corsica was in danger ;
Genoa was threatened; and the French, who had not yet
been taught to feel their inferiority upon the seas, openly
braved us on that element. Having a superior fleet in the
Mediterranean, they now sent it out with express orders
to seek the English and engage them. In the action which
followed between the English fleet under Admiral Hotham,
and that which had come out from Toulon, Nelson greatly
distinguished himself, manoeuvring and fighting his ship
with equal ability and determination ; and when the action
was renewed the following day, he had the honoui of
hoisting the English colours on board of the Ca Iia and
the Censeur, which both struck to him, and were the only
ships of the enemy taken on that occasion.1 About this
time Nelson was made colonel of marines, a mark of ap¬
probation which he had rather wished for than expected ;
and soon afterwards the Agamemnon was ordered to Ge¬
noa to co-operate with the Austrian and Sardinian forces.
This was indeed a new line of service, imposing multifari¬
ous duties, and involving great responsibility; yet it was
also one for which Nelson had already evinced a singulai
aptitude, and in which, had he been at all seconded by the
land forces, his assistance would have led to important
results. But there was no unity in the views of the allied
powers, no cordiality in their co-operation, no energy in
their councils. They acted upon no fixed principle, and
their officers were distinguished only for their utter incapa¬
city. Through the gross misconduct of the Austrian general,
Devins, the allies were completely defeated by an army of
boys, and the French obtained possession of the Genoese
coast from Savona to Voltri, thus intercepting the direct
communication between the Austrian army and the bngiis
fleet. After this disgraceful affair, the Agamemnon was
recalled, and sailed for Leghorn to refit, being literally
riddled with shot, and having all her masts and yards
wounded. , , .
Sir John Jervis having arrived to take the command in
the Mediterranean, Nelson sailed from Leghorn m the Aga¬
memnon, which had now been repaired, and joined the ad¬
miral in Fiorenzo Bay. When the French took possession
of Leghorn, he blockaded that port, and landed a force in
the isle of Elba to secure Porto Ferrajo. Soon afterwards
he took the island of Capraja; and the British cabinet hav¬
ing resolved to evacuate Corsica, he ably performed this
humiliating service. He was then ordered to hoist his
broad pendant on board of the Minerve frigate, Captain
George Cockburn, and to proceed, with the Blanche, to
Porto Ferrajo, and bring away the troops and stores left
at that place. On his way thither he fell m with two Spa¬
nish frigates, the Sabina and Ceres, the former of which,
after an action of three hours, during which the Spaniards
lost 164 men, struck to the Minerve. The Ceres, how¬
ever, had got off from the Blanche; and as the prisoners
had hardly been conveyed on board of the Minerve when
another enemy’s frigate came up, Nelson was compelled
to cast off the prize and go a second time into action. But
after a short trial of strength, this new antagonist wore
and hauled off; and as a Spanish squadron of two sail of
the line and two frigates now came in sight, the commo¬
dore made all sail for Porto Ferrajo, whence he soon re¬
turned with a convoy to Gibraltar.
Having completed this service, he immediately pro¬
ceeded to the westward in quest of the admiral, being ap¬
prehensive lest a general action should take place before
he could join the fleet. Off the mouth of the Straits he
fell in with the Spanish fleet, and, reaching the station off
Cape St Vincent on the 13th of February 1797, he commu¬
nicated this intelligence to Sir John Jervis, by whom e
was now directed to shift his broad pendant on board t e
Captain, of seventy-four guns. Before sunset the signal
was made to prepare for action, and to keep in close order
during the night; and at day-break on the 14th the ene¬
my were in sight. The British force consisted of two ships^
of 100 guns, two of 98, two of 90, eight of 74, and one of
64, with four frigates, a sloop, and a cutter ; the Spaniards
had one ship of 136 guns, six of 112 guns each, two of 84,
and eighteen of 74, with ten frigates and a brig. The dispro¬
portion was no doubt great, but it was in a great measure
neutralised by the superiority of the British crews, and the
tactical ability displayed by the British admiral. Before the
enemy could form a regular order of battle, Sir John Jer¬
vis, by carrying a press of sail, came up with them, passed
through their fleet, then tacked, and thus cut off nine of
their ships from the main body. These ships now attempt¬
ed to form on the larboard tack, either with a design of
passing through the British line, or of running to leeward
of it, and thus rejoining their friends. But only one of
them succeeded, because, being covered with smoke, her
intention was not discovered till she had reached the rear,
the others were so warmly received that they put about,
took to flight, and did not appear again in the action till
Nelsot:
1 Nelson urged the admiral to pursue the enemy, and follow up his advantage to the utmost; but the latter rePh^T t'keiften
contented • we^have done very well.” The captain of the Agamemnon did not understand such timid reasoning. Ha
” said hT“ and allowed the eleventh to escape when it had been possible to have got at her, I could never have called it well
done.” He adds, that, if his advice had been followed, they would have had such a day as the annals of Lnglan never pro
NELSON.
; elson. its close. The admiral being now at liberty to direct his dron at the blockade of Cadiz. During this service, his per-
•'■'v'-'-''attention to the enemy’s main body, still superior in num- sonal courage was eminently signalized. In a night attack
ber to his whole fleet, made signal to tack in succession, upon the Spanish gun-boats (3d of July 1797), his barge
Nelson whose station was in the rear of the British line, was assailed by an armed launch, carrying twenty-six men,
perceivino' that the Spaniards were bearing up before the whilst he had with him. only the usual complement of ten
wind with an intention of forming line and joining their men and the cockswain, besides Captain Freemantle. After
separated ships, or of avoiding an engagement, disobeyed a severe conflict, hand to hand, eighteen of the enemy
the signal without a moment’s hesitation, and ordered his were killed, all the rest wounded, and the launch taken,
ship to be wore. This at once brought him into action Twelve days after this rencontre, Nelson sailed at the head
with seven of the enemy’s ships, four of which were first- of an expedition against Tenerilfe. It having been ascer-
rates. But he was nobly supported by Troubridge in the tained that a homeward-bound Manilla ship had recently
Culloden ; and the Blenheim also came to his assistance, put into Santa Cruz, the expedition was undertaken in the
The Salvador del Mundo and San Isidro dropped astern, hope of capturing this rich prize. But it was not fitted out
and were fired into with tremendous effect by the Excellent, upon the scale which Nelson had proposed ; no troops were
Captain Collingwood, to whom the latter struck. At this embarked ; and although the attack was made with great
moment the Captain was closely engaged with three first- intrepidity, the attempt failed. The boats of the squadron
rates, the San Nicolas, an eighty-gun ship, and a seventy- being manned, a landing was effected early in the night,
four ; the Blenheim was ahead, and the Culloden, crippled, and Santa Cruz taken and occupied for about seven hours ;
had drifted astern. Disdaining the parade of taking posses- but the assailants, finding it impracticable to storm the ci-
sion of beaten enemies, Collingwood immediately ranged up, tadel, were obliged to prepare for retreat, which they effect-
passed within ten feet of the San Nicolas, giving her a tre- ed without molestation, agreeably to stipulations which had
mendous broadside, and then pushed on for the Santissima been made with the Spanish governor by Captain Trou-
Trinidad of 136 guns. The San Nicolas having luffed up, bridge, whose firmness and presence of mind were conspi-
the San Joseph fell on board of her, and Nelson resumed his cuously displayed on this occasion. The total loss of the
station abreast of them, and close alongside. The Captain English in killed, wounded, and drowned, amounted to 250.
being now incapable of further service, either in the line or Nelson himself was amongst the wounded, having, in step-
in cliase, Nelson directed the helm to be put a-starboard, and ping out of the boat to land, received a shot through the
calling the boarders, ordered them to board. The San Nico- right elbow, which shattered the whole arm, and rendered
las was carried after a short struggle, and the San Joseph amputation necessary.
boarded from the San Nicolas, Nelson himself leading the Nelson was now obliged to return to England, where
way, and exclaiming, “ Westminster Abbey or victory.” honours awaited him sufficient to cheer his mind amidst
This was the work of an instant; but before Nelson could the sufferings occasioned by the loss of his arm. Letters
reach the quarter-deck of the Spanish ship, an officer look- were addressed to him by the first lord of the admiralty
ed over the rail, and said they surrendered. This daring and the Duke of Clarence; the freedom of the cities of
achievement was effected with comparatively small loss, London and Bristol was transmitted to him; he was in-
and Nelson himself received only a few bruises. The Cap- vested with the order of the Bath ; and he also received
tain, however, had suffered severely in the action. She a pension of L.1000 a year.1 His sufferings from the lost
had lost her fore-top-mast; not a sail, shroud, nor rope limb, however, were long and painful. A nerve had been
was left; her wheel had been shot away; and a fourth part taken up in one of the ligatures at the time of the opera-
of the loss sustained by the whole squadron had fallen upon tion, and besides, the ligature was of silk instead of waxed
that single ship. thread; a circumstance which produced a constant irrita-
The Spaniards had still eighteen or nineteen ships which tion and discharge, until at length, after three months of
had suffered little or no injury; that part of the fleet which continual pain, it came away about the end of November,
had been separated from the main body in the morning From that time the arm began to heal, and, as soon as he
was now coming up; and Sir John Jervis made the signal found his health re-established, he sent to a neighbouring
to bring to. The enemy, however, did not venture to re- church a form of devout thanksgiving to Almighty God
new the combat; and, as soon as the action was disconti- for his recovery from a severe wound,
nued, Nelson went on board the admiral’s ship. Sir John In April 1798, he hoisted his flag on board the Van-
Jervis received him with open arms, and said he could not guard, and was ordered to rejoin Earl St Vincent. Im-
sufliciently thank him. For this victory the commander- mediately on his arrival, he was despatched to the Medi-
in-chief was rewarded with a peerage and the title of Earl terranean with a small squadron, to ascertain, if possible,
St Vincent; whilst Nelson, who, before the action was the object of the great expedition which was then fitting
known in England, had been advanced to the rank of rear- out at Toulon. He sailed from Gibraltar on the 9th of
admiral, received the insignia of the Bath, and a gold medal May, with three seventy-fours, four frigates, and a sloop
from his sovereign. of war. On the 19th the squadron reached the Gulf of
In April 1797, Sir Horatio Nelson, having hoisted his Lyons, and on the 22d a violent storm inflicted serious
flag as rear-admiral of the blue, was sent to bring away the injury on the Vanguard ; the main-top-mast went over the
troops from Porto Ferrajo ; and having performed this ser- side, the mizen-top-mast soon afterwards gave way, the
vice, he shifted his flag to the Theseus, a ship which had fore-mast went in three pieces, and the boltsprit was found
taken part in the mutiny in England. Whilst in the The- to be sprung in as many places. Captain Ball in the
seus, he was employed in the command of the inner squa- Alexander now took the disabled ship in tow in order
The memorial which, as a matter of course, he was called upon to present on this occasion, exhibited an extraordinary catalogue
o services performed during the war. It stated, that he had been in four actions with the fleets of the enemy, and in three ac-
10ns with ingates, in six engagements against batteries, in ten actions in boats employed in cutting vessels out of harbour or in
es roying them, and in taking three towns; that he had served on shore with the army four months, and commanded the batteries
a . le sieges of Bastia and Calvi; that he had assisted at the capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and eleven
priya eers ot diflerent sizes; that he had taken and destroyed nearly fifty sail of merchant-vessels, and had actually been engaged
agains the enemy upwards of one hundred and twenty times; in which services he had lost his right eye and right arm, and had
been severely wounded and bruised in his body. This memorial, which is dated “ October 1797,’’ and addressed “ to the king’s
most exce.lent majesty,” is perhaps without a parallel in our naval history ; yet what splendid additions were afterwards made
by him to the catalogue of his services !
86
NELSON.
Nelson.
to carry her into the harbour of St Pietro, in Sardinia.
'Nelson, apprehensive that the attempt might endanger
both vessels, ordered him to cast her off; but that excel¬
lent officer replied that he was confident he could save the
Vanguard, and, by God’s help, he would do it. Previously
to this there had been a coolness between Sir Horatio and
Captain Ball; but from this time the former became fully
sensible of the great merit of the latter, and a sincere
friendship subsisted between them during the remainder
of their lives. By extraordinary exertions the Vanguard was
refitted in four days ; the supply of water was also complet¬
ed ; and he received a reinforcement of ten ships of the line
and one of fifty guns, which Lord St Vincent had sent to
him under the command of Commodore Troubridge. lhat
officer took with him to Nelson no instructions as to the
course he was to steer, nor any certain account of the ene¬
my’s destination. Every thing was left to his own judg¬
ment. But, unfortunately, the frigates having been sepa¬
rated from him in the tempest, had not yet been able to
rejoin; and he was obliged to sail without them. The first
news of the enemy’s armament was that it had surprised
Malta. Nelson now formed a plan for attacking it whilst
at anchor at Gozo ; but on the 22d of June he received in¬
formation that the French had left the island on the 16th,
the day after their arrival. Thinking it clear that their
destination was eastward, he accordingly made all sail for
Egypt, and arrived off Alexandria on the 28th; but the
enemy were not there, neither could any account of them
be obtained. He then shaped his course to the north¬
ward for Caramania, and steered along the southern side
of Candia, carrying a press of sail night and day, with
a contrary wind. The want of the frigates was now se¬
verely felt; they wrere the eyes of the fleet, and ii they
had not been separated, he could scarcely have failed to
fain information of the enemy. Baffled in the pursuit,
however, he returned to Sicily, took in what stores he
required at Syracuse, and on the 25th of July sailed for the
Morea. The period of uncertainty was now approaching
its term. On the 28th the squadron made the Gulf of
Coron, and Troubridge having entered the port, return¬
ed with the intelligence that the French had been seen
about a month before steering to the south-east from Can¬
dia. On receiving this information, Nelson determined
to return immediately to Alexandria; and, accoidinglj,
the British fleet, with every sail set, stood once more for
the coast of Egypt. On the 1st of August they came in
si<rht of Alexandria; and, at four in the afternoon, Cap¬
tain Hood, in the Zealous, made the signal for the French
fleet. For several days previous to this the admiral had
scarcely taken either food or sleep. He now ordered his
dinner to be served, whilst preparations were making for
battle; and when his officers rose from table to repair to
their several stations, he said to them, “ Before this time
to-morrow I shall have gained a peerage, or Westminster
Abbey.”
The French fleet had arrived at Alexandria on the 1st
of July ; and the admiral, Brueys, not being able to enter
the port, which time and neglect had ruined, moored his
ships in Aboukir Bay, in a strong and compact line of
battle ; the headmost vessel being close to a shoal on the
north-west, and the rest of the fleet forming a kind of curve
along the line of deep water, so as not to be turned by any
means on the south-west. The advantage of numbers,
both in ships, guns, and men, was in favour of the French.
They had thirteen ships of the line and four frigates, car¬
rying 1196 guns, and 11,230 men. The English had the
same number of ships of the line, and one fifty-gun ship,
carrying 1012 guns and 8068 men. The English ships
were all seventy-fours; the French had three eighty-gun
ships, and one three-decker of 120 guns. But any dispa¬
rity of force on the part of the latter was more than com¬
pensated by their having such a commander as Nelson. Nelson.
That gallant chief has not left any detailed account of his
plan of attack: but it was well understood by the squadron,
and has been accurately described by several who assist¬
ed in carrying it into execution. It had been his practice,
during the pursuit, to have his captains on board the Van¬
guard, whenever circumstances would permit, and to ex¬
plain to them his own ideas as to the best modes of at¬
tack, and the plans which he proposed to execute on fall¬
ing in with the enemy, whatever their situation might be.
His officers were thus well acquainted with the principles
of his tactics; and such was his confidence in their abili¬
ties, that the only thing determined on, in case they
should find the French at anchor, was that the ships should
form in the manner most convenient for mutual support,
and then anchor by the stern. But the moment he perceiv¬
ed the position of the enemy, the thought instantly struck
him that where there was room for a French ship to swing,
there would also be room for one of his to anchor.. He,
therefore, resolved to keep entirely on the outer side of
the French line, and to station his ships, as far as he was
able, one on the outer bow, and another on the outer quar¬
ter, of each of the enemy’s, thus doubling on a certain
portion of their line. When he had fully explained his
plan of attack, Captain Berry, perceiving the scope of the
design, exclaimed with transport, “ If we succeed, what
will the world say ?” “ There is no if in the case, replied
the admiral; “ that we shall succeed is certain; but who
may live to tell the story is a different question.”
The battle commenced at half-past six o’clock, a little
before sunset. Captain Foley led the way in the Goliath,
out-sailing the Zealous, Captain Hood, which for some
minutes disputed with him the post of honoui. As the
squadron advanced, the enemy opened a steady fire from
the starboard side of their line, into the bows of the lead¬
ing British ships. It was received in silence, whilst the
men on board of each ship were employed aloft in furling
the sails, and below in tending the braces and making
ready for anchoring; a proceeding which told the enemy
that escape was impossible. Foley, in the Goliath, intend-
in0, to fix himself upon the inner bow of the Guerrier, kept
as near the edge of the bank as the watei would admit;
but his anchor hung, and having opened his fire, he drift¬
ed to the second ship, the Conquerant, before it was clear,
then anchored by the stern, inside of her, and in ten
minutes shot away her masts. Hood, in the Zealous, took
the station which the Goliath intended to have occupied,
and, in twelve minutes, totally disabled the Guerrier. The
Orion, Sir James Saumarez, was the next ship which
doubled on the enemy’s van. Passing to windward of the
Zealous, she opened her larboard guns as long as they bore
on the Guerrier, then passing inside the Goliath, sunk a
frigate, hauled round, and anchoring between the fifth and
sixth ships from the Guerrier, took her station on the lar¬
board bow of the Franklin, and the quarter of the People
Souverain, receiving and returning the fire of both. The
Audacious, Captain Gould, pouring heavy broadsides into
the Guerrier and Conquerant, fixed herself on the larboard
bow of the latter ; and when that ship struck, passed on to
the Peuple Souverain. The Theseus, Captain Millar, fol¬
lowed, and having brought down the remaining masts of
the Guerrier, anchored inside the Spartiate, the third ship
in the French line. Whilst these advanced ships thus
doubled on the enemy’s line, the Vanguard was the first
which anchored on the outer side, within half pistol-shot
of the Spartiate. Nelson veered half a cable, and instant¬
ly opened a tremendous fire, under cover of which the
fbur other ships of his division sailed ahead of the admiral.
In a few minutes every man stationed at the first six guns
in the fore part of the Vanguard was either killed or wound¬
ed ; and these guns were three times cleared. I he Mino-
NELSON.
87
son. taur, Captain Louis, anchored next ahead, and took off
v^^the fire of the Aquilon, the enemy’s fourth ship. The Bel-
lerophon, Captain Darby, passed ahead, and dropped her
stern anchor on the starboard bow of the Orient, Bruey’s
own ship, of 120 guns. Captain Peyton, in the Defence,
now took his station ahead of the Minotaur, and engaged
the Franklin, the enemy’s sixth ship, by which judicious
movement the British line remained unbroken. The Ma¬
jestic, Captain Westcott, got entangled with the main
rigging of a French ship astern of the Orient, and suffer¬
ed severely from the fire of that three-decker ; but she at
length swung clear, and closely engaged the Heureux, the
ninth ship, on the starboard bow, receiving also the fire of
the Tonnant, the eighth in the French line.
The four remaining ships of the British squadron, hav¬
ing been detached previously to the discovery of the French
fleet, were at a considerable distance when the battle com¬
menced. Troubridge, in the Culloden, the foremost of
these ships, was two leagues astern. He came on sound¬
ing, as the others had done; but as he advanced the in¬
creasing darkness augmented the difficulty of the naviga¬
tion, and, in rounding the reef, his ship suddenly ground¬
ed, and, notwithstanding the greatest exertions, could not
be got off in time to bear a part in the action. The Cul¬
loden, however, served as a beacon to the Alexander and
Swiftsure, which entered the bay, and took their stations
amidst the darkness, which was relieved only by the flashes
of light from the contending fleets. The Swiftsure, Captain
Hallowell, occupied the position from which the Bellero-
phon, overpowered by the huge Orient, had drifted almost
a complete wreck, opening a steady fire on the quarter of
the Franklin and the bows of the French flag-ship; and at
the same instant the Alexander, Captain Ball, passed under
his stern, and anchored within-side, on the larboard quar¬
ter of the Orient, raking that ill-fated ship, and keeping
up a severe fire of musketry upon her decks. Lastly, the
Leander, Captain Thomson, finding that the Culloden could
not be got off, advanced with the intention of anchoring
athwart hawse of the Orient; but the Franklin being near
ahead, there was not room for him to pass clear of the two,
and he took his station athwart hawse of that ship, in a
position which enabled him to rake both.
The first two ships of the French line had been dis¬
masted within a quarter of an hour after the commence¬
ment of the action; and the others had suffered so severe¬
ly that victory was already certain. At half-past eight
o clock, the third, fourth, and fifth were taken possession
of. In the mean time Nelson had received a severe wound
on the head from a langridge shot, which cut a large flap of
skin from the forehead, and occasioned such an effusion of
blood that the injury was at first believed to be mortal.
But when the surgeon came to examine the wound, he
found that the hurt was merely superficial, and requested
that the admiral would remain quiet. Nelson, however,
could not rest, and having called for his secretary, had be¬
gun to dictate his despatches, when suddenly a cry was
heard upon deck that the Orient was on fire. In the con¬
fusion, he found his way up unassisted and unnoticed, and
having appeared on the quarter-deck, immediately gave
orders that boats should be sent to the relief of the enemy.
It was about ten minutes after nine o’clock when the fire
broke out in the Orient. Brueys was dead. He had receiv¬
ed three wounds, yet would not leave his post; and when a
fourth cut him almost in two, he desired to be left to die
upon deck. In the meanwhile the flames soon mastered the
devoted ship, and by the light of the conflagration, the si¬
tuation of both fleets could be perceived, their colours being
clearly distinguishable. About ten o’clock the ship blew
up with a tremendous explosion, which was followed by a
pause not less awful. The firing immediately ceased ; and
the first sound which broke the silence was the dash of
her shattered masts and yards falling into the water from Nelson,
the vast height to which they had been projected by the
explosion. The combat recommenced with the ships to
leeward of the centre, and continued till about three in
the morning. At day-break on the 2d, the Guillaume Tell
and the Genereux were the only ships of the French line
which had their colours flying. Not having been engaged,
they cut their cables in the forenoon, and stood out to sea,
accompanied by two frigates. The Zealous pursued ; but
as there was no other ship in a condition to support her,
she was recalled. Of thirteen sail of the line, nine were
taken, and two burnt (the Timoleon having shared the
fate of the Orient); and of four frigates, one was burnt
and another sunk. In short, it was a conquest rather
than a victory. The French fleet had been annihilated;
and if the English admiral had been provided with small
craft, nothing could have prevented the destruction of
the store-ships and transports in the harbour of Alex¬
andria.
Nelson was now at the very summit of glory. Congra¬
tulations, rewards, and honours were showered upon him
by all the foreign states and powers to which his victory
promised a respite from French aggression. In his own
country, he was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and of
Burnham-Thorpe, with a pension of L.2000 a year for his
own life and those of his two immediate successors ; a de¬
gree of rank which, though it might be the measure of
ministerial gratitude, was by no means commensurate with
the services for which it was bestowed on him. A grant of
L.10,000 was voted to Nelson by the East India Company;
the Turkish Company presented him with a piece of plate ;
and the city of London bestowed honorary swords on the
admiral and on each of his captains. In the distribution of
rewards, he was particularly anxious that the captain and
first lieutenant of the Culloden should not be passed over
because of their misfortune. “ It was Troubridge,” said
he, in addressing the admiralty, “ who equipped the squa¬
dron so soon at Syracuse ; it was Troubridge who exerted
himself for me, after the action; it was Troubridge who
saved the Culloden, when none that I know in the service
would have attempted it.” As the ship had not been en¬
gaged, however, it was thought necessary to make an ex¬
ception as to the captain ; but Nelson was desired to pro¬
mote the lieutenant upon the first vacancy that should
occur.
Having made the necessary arrangements in regard to the
prizes, and left a squadron before Alexandria, Nelson stood
out to sea on the seventeenth day after the battle, and early
on the 22d of September appeared in sight of Naples,
where the Culloden and Alexander had preceded him, and
given notice of his approach. Here he was received with
every demonstration of joy and triumph, both by the royal
family and the people, and formed' that unfortunate con¬
nection with Lady Hamilton which exercised so baneful an
influence on the rest of his life. The state of Naples at
this period was deplorable. The king, like the rest of his
race, was passionately fond of field-sports, and cared for al¬
most nothing else. The queen had all the vices of the house
of Austria, with little to mitigate and nothing to ennoble
them. The people were sunk in ignorance, and debased by
misgovernment; at once turbulent and cowardly, ferocious
and indolent, irreligious and fanatical. Nelson was fully
sensible of the depravity and weakness of all by whom he
was surrounded ; yet, seduced by the blandishments of the
queen, the flatteries of the court, and the pernicious influ¬
ence which Lady Hamilton now began to exercise over
his mind, he suffered himself to be implicated in transac¬
tions which compromised the honour of his country, and
deeply tarnished his hitherto unsullied fame. The de¬
feat of Mack at Castellana, and the advance of the French
towards Naples, were followed by the flight of the royal
88
NELSON.
Nelson, family, who were conveyed by Nelson to Palermo. After
'this an armistice was signed (10th of January 1799), by
which the greater part of the kingdom was given up to the
enemy; and this cession necessarily led to the loss of the
whole. Naples was occupied by the French under Cham-
pionnet, and the short-lived Parthenopean republic soon
afterwards established. But the successes of the allies in
Italy speedily changed the face of affairs, and prepared
the way for the restoration of the exiled monarch.
Relying on the diminished numbers of the enemy, whose
force had been greatly reduced, the royalists took the field,
and Cardinal Ruffo appeared at the head of an armed rab¬
ble, which he called the Christian army. Captain Foote,
in the Seahorse, with some Neapolitan frigates, and a few
smaller vessels, was ordered to co-operate with this force,
and to give it all the assistance in his power. Ruffo, ad¬
vancing without any plan, but ready to take advantage of
any accident which might occur, now approached Naples.
Fort St Elmo, which commands the city, was garrisoned by
French troops ; but the castles of Uovo and Nuovo, com¬
manding the anchorage, were chiefly defended by the
Neapolitan “ patriots,” the leading men amongst them
having taken shelter there. As the possession of these
castles would greatly facilitate the reduction of Fort St
Elmo, Ruffo proposed to the garrison to capitulate, on
condition that their persons and property should be re¬
spected, and that they should, at their own option, either
be sent to Toulon or remain at Naples, without being mo¬
lested in their persons. These terms were accepted, and
the capitulation was signed by the cardinal, the Russian and
Turkish commanders, and also by Captain boote as com¬
manding the British force. But Nelson, who soon after¬
wards arrived in the bay with a large fleet, made a signal
to annul the treaty, declaring that he would grant to re¬
bels no other terms than those of unconditional submis¬
sion ; and, notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of the
cardinal, who protested that a treaty solemnly concluded
could not be honourably set aside, the garrisons of the
castles were delivered over as rebels to the vengeance of
the Sicilian court. The tragedy which followed formed
an appropriate sequel to this disgraceful and infamous trans¬
action. The aged Prince Caraccioli, a man of high cha¬
racter and great personal merit, was accused of having
ioined the enemy, and, after a sham trial by a court-martial
of Neapolitan officers assembled on board the British flag¬
ship, found guilty, and sentenced to death; and this sen¬
tence Lord Nelson ordered to be carried into execution the
same evening, on board of the Sicilian frigate La Minerva.
He was arrested at nine in the morning, put on his trial
at ten, condemned at twelve, and hanged at the fore-yaid-
arm of the frigate at five o’clock in the afternoon, after
which his body was cut down and thrown into the sea.1
If any thing could deepen the indignation and abhorrence
which these foul deeds are calculated to excite in. every
honourable and virtuous mind, it would be the circum¬
stance that Nelson accepted from the Sicilian court a re¬
ward for services which leave such an indelible stain on
his memory. In addition to a sword splendidly enriched
with diamonds, he received the dukedom of Bronte, a title
which seems to have greatly flattered his vanity, with a ^Nelson.
domain worth about L.3000 a year. , . _
After the appointment of Lord Keith to the chief com¬
mand of the fleet in the Mediterranean, Nelson made prepa¬
rations for his return to England; and, as a ship coulu not
be spared to convey him thither, he travelled through ber-
many to Hamburg, in company with Sir William and Lady
Hamilton, and having embarked at Cuxhaven, landed at
Yarmouth on the 6th of November 1800, after an absence
of three years from his native country. He was welcomed
in England with every mark of popular respect and admi¬
ration ; in the towns through which he passed the People
came out to meet him, and in London he was feasted by
the city, drawn by the populace, thanked for his victory
by the common council, and presented with a gold-hilted
sword studded with diamonds. He had now every earthly
blessing except domestic happiness, which, in consequence
of his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton, he had
forfeited for ever. Before he had been three months m
England he separated from Lady Nelson, at the same time
calling God to witness that there was nothing in her or in
her conduct which he could wish otherwise. His best
friends remonstrated against this causeless and cruel de¬
sertion ; but their expostulations produced no other ettect
than to make him displeased with them, and dissatisfied
with himself. , ,
The three northern courts of Denmark, Sweden, and
Russia, had now formed a confederacy for the purpose ot
setting limits to the naval pretensions of Great Britain ;
and as such a combination, under the influence of Prance,
would soon have become formidable, the British cabinet
instantly prepared to crush it. With this view a formida¬
ble fleet was fitted out for the North Seas, and the chief
command of it given to Sir Hyde Parker; under whom Nel¬
son, who had recently been made vice-admiral ot the blue,
consented to serve as second in command. The fleet sail¬
ed from Yarmouth on the 12th of March 1801; and on the
30th of the same month, Lord Nelson, having shifted his flag
from the St George to the Elephant, led the way through
the Sound, which was passed without any loss. The Danes,
upon whom the storm was now about to burst, were well
prepared for defence. Upwards of two hundred pieces ot
cannon were mounted on the Crown batteries at the en¬
trance of the harbour, and a line of twenty-five two-deck¬
ers, frigates, and floating batteries, was moored across its
mouth. Besides, the navigation was little known, and ex¬
tremely intricate ; all the buoys had been removed; an
the channel was considered as impracticable tor so large a
fleet. It was apparent, therefore, that the Danes could
not be attacked without great difficulty and risk ; and in a
council of war, held on board of the flag-ship, considerable
diversity of opinion prevailed. Nelson, however, cut short
the discussion, by offering his services for the attack, re¬
quiring only ten sail of the line, and the whole ot the
smaller craft. Sir Hyde Parker assented, but gave him two
more line-of-battle ships than he had asked, and left every
thing to his own judgment. On the morning of the 1st ot
April, the whole fleet moved to an anchorage within two
leagues of the town ; and, about one o’clock, Nelson hav-
i After receiving sentence, Caraccioli requested Lieutenant Parkinson, in whose custody he was, to intercede with Lord Nelson for a
new trial. He complained that he had not been allowed time to prove his defence, which was, that he had
and in particular, that Count Thurn, who presided at the court-martial, was notoriously his personal enemy. o is j(?ri , .
swered,Pthat the prince had been fairly tried by the officers of his own country, and that he could not ^ f • A of
if he felt himself warranted in ordering the trial and the execution, no human being could ever have ffijest P P , J-
his interfering on the side of mercy. Caraccioli then earnestly entreated that he might be shot, declaring that the disgrace ot be g
tnged was dgreadM to him. Even to this supplication Lord Nelson lent a deaf ear and told the lieutenant to f and attend to his
Tty As a last hope, Caraccioli thought of an application to Lady Hamilton ; and Lieutenan Parkinson went to ^k her S e
was not to be seen on this occasion; but she was present at the execution. Quis taha fando Mhilst horror
thrills through our veins at the conduct of those parties, it is impossible to contemplate without emotion the fate of t g p
who was thus cruelly sacrificed.
N E L
;lson. ing completed his last examination of the ground, made
N’ the signal to weigh, which was received with a shout
throughout the whole division destined for the attack.
They weighed with a light and favourable wind, the small
craft pointing out the course to be followed ; and the whole
division, having coasted along the shoal called the Middle
Ground, doubled its farther extremity, and anchored there
just as the darkness closed, the signal to prepare for action
having been made early in the evening. As his anchor
dropped, Nelson exclaimed, “ I will fight them the moment
I have a fair wind.”
On the following morning, at half past nine, the signal was
made for the ships to weigh in succession ; at ten minutes
after ten the action commenced, at the distance of about
half a cable length from the enemy; and by half-past eleven
the battle became general. The plan of attack had been
complete ; but seldom had any project of the kind been
disconcerted by more untoward accidents. The Agamem¬
non was immoveably aground, at a distance which rendered
her entirely useless; the Bellona and the Russell had also
grounded in a situation where they could not render half
the service that was required of them ; of the squadron of
gun-brigs, only one could get into action, ow ing to the baf¬
fling currents; and only two bomb-vessels could reach their
station on the Middle Ground, where they were to open
their fire on the arsenal. Nelson’s agitation wras extreme
w'hen he found himself, before the action began, deprived
of a fourth part of his force; but no sooner was he in ac¬
tion than the wild music of the fight seemed to drive away
all anxious thoughts; his countenance brightened, and his
conversation became joyous, animated, and delightful. At
one o’clock the enemy’s fire continued unslackened; and the
commander-in-chief, despairing of success, made the signal
for discontinuing the action. At this moment, whilst Nel¬
son was pacing the quarter-deck in all the excitement of
battle, a shot passing through the main-mast, knocked the
splinters about. “ It is warm work,” said he, “ and this day
may be the last to any of us at a moment; but, mark you,”
he added, “ I would not be elsewhere for thousands.” The
signal-lieutenant now called out that the signal for discon¬
tinuing the action had been thrown out by the commander-
in-chief. Nelson continued to walk the deck, and appeared
not to notice it. At the next turn, the lieutenant asked if
he should repeat the signal. “ No,’’ replied Nelson; “ ac¬
knowledge it.” He then called to know if the signal for
close action was still hoisted; and being answered in the
affirmative, said, “ Mind you keep it so.” A little after,
“ I have a right to be blind sometimes, Foley,” added he,
addressing the captain; then putting the glass to his blind
eye, in a mood of sportive bitterness, which gives an in¬
expressible interest to the scene, “ I really do not see the
signal,” he exclaimed ; and, after a pause, “ Keep mine for
closer battle flying; that’s the w^ay I answer such signals;
nail mine to the mast.”
Between one and two o’clock, however, the fire of the
Danes slackened ; and about two it ceased along the great¬
er part of their line, and some of their lighter ships were
adrift. But it was difficult to take possession of those which
had struck, because the batteries on Amak Island protect¬
ed them, and an irregular fire was still kept up from the
ships themselves, the crews being continually reinforced
from the shore. By half-past two, however, the action had
ceased, except with the Crowm batteries, and one or two
ships which had renewed their fire, though wfith but little
effect. At this critical moment, Nelson, with a presence
of mind peculiar to himself, and never more signally dis¬
played than now, availed himself of the circumstance to
secure the advantage he had gained, and to open a negotia¬
tion. He retired into the stern gallery, and wrote to the
Crown Prince thus: “ Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson has been
commanded to spare Denmark, when she no longer resists.
VOL. XVI.
SON. 89
The line of defence which covered her shores has struck Nelson,
to the British flag; but if the firing is continued on the''"-"■'v'™—'''
part of Denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes he has
taken, without having the power of saving the men who
have so nobly defended them. The brave Danes are the
brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the English.”
I his, after an interchange of communications, led to an
interview between Nelson and the Crown Prince, at which
the preliminaries of negotiations were adjusted ; and a
treaty was at length concluded, by which the northern con¬
federacy was dissolved, and the maritime superiority of
Britain unequivocally recognised. For the battle of Co¬
penhagen, Nelson was raised to the rank of Viscount, and,
on the recall of Sir Hyde Parker, appointed to the chief
command in the North Sea.
Having settled affairs in the Baltic, Lord Nelson return¬
ed in a frigate to England. But he had not been many w7eeks
ashore when he was called upon to undertake a service
which might have been equally well executed by a much
inferior man. This was an attack on the flotilla which had
been prepared at Boulogne for the threatened invasion of
England. A force had been got together, with an alacri¬
ty that has seldom been equalled; and the attack was made
by the boats of the squadron, in five divisions; but the ene¬
my were fully prepared, and, though nothing could exceed
the gallantry with which they were assailed, the enter¬
prise proved unsuccessful. Owing to the darkness, the
state of the tide, and the uncertainty attending all night
attacks, the divisions had separated; and the great effort
was not made with that unity which alone can insure suc¬
cess. In his letters to the admiralty, Nelson affirmed, that
it our force had arrived as he intended, all the chains and
the moorings with which the enemy’s flotilla were secured
could not have prevented our brave seamen from bringing
off the whole of them. Every thing that prudence could
suggest had been done; no error had been committed ;
and never did Englishmen display greater courage. But he
now desired to be relieved from this boat-service, thinking
it an unsuitable employment for a vice-admiral ; and his
wishes were speedily gratified by the signature of the pre¬
liminaries of peace.
He had purchased a house and an estate at Merton in
Surrey, meaning to pass there the remainder of his days,
in the society of Sir William and Lady Hamilton. But
the happiness which he had promised himself was not of
long continuance. Sir William Hamilton died early in
1803. A few weeks subsequent to this event the war was
renewed; and the day after his majesty’s message to par¬
liament announcing the re-commencement of hostilities,
Lord Nelson departed to assume the command of the fleet
in the Mediterranean.
On the 20th of May 1803, he hoisted his flag on board
the Victory, and having taken his station immediately off
Toulon, he there waited with incessant watchfulness for
the coming out of the enemy. This blockade proved one
of the longest and most persevering that have been recorded
in our naval annals ; yet notwithstanding all his vigilance,
the Toulon fleet put to sea on the 18th of January 1805,
and shortly afterwards formed a junction with the Spanish
squadron at Cadiz, Sir John Orde, who commanded off that
port, having retired at their approach. Nelson had formed
his own judgment of their destination, when Donald Camp¬
bell, then an admiral in the Portuguese service, went on
board of the Victory, and communicated his certain know¬
ledge that the combined French and Spanish fleets were
bound for the West Indies. The enemy had five and thirty
days start; but Nelson calculated that he should gain eight
or ten days by his exertions. To the West Indies therefore
he bent all sail, and on the 4th of June reached Barbadoes,
whither he had sent despatches before him. Deceived by
false intelligence, he then stood to the southward in quest
. M
90
NELSON.
Nelson.
of the enemy; but advices having met him by the way, that
’ the combined fleets were at Martinique, he immediately
sailed for that island, where he arrived on the 9th, and
received certain intelligence that they had passed to the
leeward of Antigua the preceding day, and taken a home¬
ward-bound convoy. It was now clear that the enemy,
having accomplished the object of their cruize, were flying
back to Europe ; and accordingly, on the 13th, he steered
for Europe in pursuit of them. On the lr/th July he came
in sight of Cape St Vincent, and directed his course to¬
wards Gibraltar, where he soon afterwards anchored, and
went on shore for the first time since the 16th of June lot 5.
The combined fleet having thus eluded his pursuit, he re¬
turned almost inconsolable to England, to reinforce the
Channel fleet with his squadron, lest the enemy should
bear down upon Brest with their whole collected force.
Having landed at Portsmouth, Lord Nelson at length
received news of the enemy’s fleet. After an inconclusive
action, in which they had run the gauntlet through Sir
Robert Calder’s squadron on the 22d of July, about sixty
leagues west of Cape Finisterre, they had proceeded to
Ferrol, brought out the squadron which there awaited their
arrival, and with it entered Cadiz in safety. Upon receiving
this intelligence, Nelson again offered his services, which
were willingly accepted; and Lord Barham, then at t le
head of the'admiralty, gave him a list of the navy, desiring
him to choose his own officers. No appointment could be
more in unison with the feelings and judgment of the na¬
tion. The Victory, destined once more to bear his flag, was
refitted with incredible despatch ; and such was his impa¬
tience to be at the scene of action, that although the wind
proved adverse, he worked down the Channel, and, after a
roucdi passage, arrived off Cadiz on the 29th of September,
theDday on which the French admiral, Villeneuve, had re¬
ceived peremptory orders to put to sea the very first oppor¬
tunity. Fearing that the enemy, if they knew his force,
might be deterred from venturing to sea, he kept out ot
sight of land ; desired Collingwood to hoist no colours, and
fire no salute ; and wrote to Gibraltar to request that t le
force of the fleet might not be inserted in the gazette pub¬
lished there. The station which he chose was some fifty or
sixty miles to the westward of Cadiz, off Cape St Mary s.
At this distance, he hoped to induce the enemy to come out,
whilst he guarded against the danger of being caught by
a westerly wind near Cadiz, and driven within the Straits.
In the meanwhile the blockade of the port was rigorously
enforced ; and a line of frigates communicated between him
and the squadron of eight or nine sail left before Cadiz,
so as to give him the earliest intelligence of the enemy s
movements. The advantage of this plan was, that he could
receive supplies and reinforcements without the enemy
being informed of it; whilst, by preventing the entrance of
neutral vessels into Cadiz, the combined fleets were de¬
prived of both. Accident also contributed to mislead Ville-
neuve, by inducing him to doubt whether Nelson himself
had actually assumed the command. An American, lately
arrived from England, assured him it was impossible this
could be the case, for he had seen the English admiral only
a few days before in London, and at that time there was
no rumour of his going again to sea.
On the 9th of October, Lord Nelson communicated to
Admiral Collingwood his plan of attack. The order ot
Nelson.
sailing was to be the order of battle ; the fleet formed in two ^
lines, with an advanced squadron of the fastest-sailing two-
deckers. The second in command, having the entire di¬
rection of his line, was to break through the enemy s line
about the twelfth ship from their rear; he himself was to
lead through the centre; and the advanced squadron were
to cut off three or four ahead of the centre. This plan was
adapted to the strength of the enemy, and had for its object
to render the two lines, and the squadron ahead, one-foui 11
superior in force to those they cut off. His object he oe-
clared to be, close and decisive action. “ In case signals
cannot be seen or clearly understood,” said he, “ no captain
can do wrong if he place his ship alongside that of an
enemy.” Tfiis was what he called the Nelson-touch. It
was a mode of attack equally new and simple. Every one
comprehended it in a moment, and was convinced that it
would succeed. In fact, it proved irresistible.
Villeneuve, relying upon the inlormation he had received,
put to sea on the 19th, and at day-break on the 21st of
October the combined fleets were distinctly seen from the
deck of the Victory, formed in a close line ahead, about
twelve miles to the leeward, and standing to the southward,
off Cape Trafalgar. The British fleet consisted of twenty-
seven sail of the line, and four frigates; the enemy’s fleet, of
thirty-three sail of the line, and seven frigates. But their
superiority was greater in size and in weight of metal than
in numbers; they had 4000 troops on board; and the best
riflemen who could be procured, many of them Tyrolese,
were dispersed throughout the ships. Soon after day-light
Nelson came on deck, and the signal was made to bear
down on the enemy in two lines, upon which the fleet set
all sail; Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, leading the
lee line of thirteen ships, and Nelson, in the Victory, lead-
ino- the weather line of fourteen. Having seen that all was
right, he retired to his cabin, and wrote a devout prayer,
in which, after beseeching the Almighty to grant a great
and glorious victory, he committed his life to the God o
Battles ; and in another writing which he annexed in the
same diary, he bequeathed Lady Hamilton as a legacy to
his king and country, and commended to the public bene¬
ficence his adopted daughter, Horatia, desiring that in fu¬
ture she would use the name of Nelson only. Blackwood
went on board the Victory about six, and found him in good
spirits, but very calm, and with none of that exhilaiation
which he had displayed on entering into battle at Aboukir
and at Copenhagen. With a prophetic anticipation, he
seems to have looked for death with almost as certain a
conviction as for victory. His whole attention was fixed
upon the enemy, who now formed their line on the larboard
tack; thus bringing the shoals of Trafalgar and St Pedro
under the lee of the British, and keeping the port of Cadiz
open for themselves. This was most judiciously done ; and
Nelson, aware of the advantages it gave them, made signal
to prepare to anchor. But Villeneuve, though a skilful sea¬
man, did not profit by this manoeuvre, nor attempt to evade
the combat. His plan of defence was as well conceived, and
as original, as that of the attack. He had formed his fleet
in a double line, every alternate ship being about a cable s
length to windward of her second ahead and astern, and
offered battle in the most handsome manner, being appa-
oneieu uaitit.      - , i K li,a
rently determined to risk a fair trial ot strength. On the
other hand, Nelson, being certain of a triumphant issue to
,. , ,, nf adonted by the British fleet, it may be considered as presumptuous to
* Of the advantages or disadvantages of the mode .°^ttackh d ptessitvyot aU}. particular experiment frequently depends upon con ui-
speak, since the event proved so completely successful, but as the nece^ y^ ^.^stioning whether the same plan would succeed in
gent circumstances, not originally calculated on, t e attack was suo-gested on the supposition that the enemy’s fleet consisted
all circumstances, and on all °“^1ponRS;. it was intended to be&made from the windward ; and on the supposition that the
all possible sllf on’the
NELSON.
91
eison. the day, declared to Captain Blackwood that he would not
'“'v'''—'' be satisfied with less than twenty of the enemy’s ships.
Then appeared that signal, Nelson’s last signal, which will
be remembered as long as the language or even the me¬
mory of England shall endure : “ England expects every
man to do his duty.” It was received throughout the fleet
with a responsive burst of acclamation, rendered sublime
by the spirit which it breathed, and the determination it
expressed. “ Now,” said Nelson, “ I can do no more. We
must trust to the great disposer of all events, and the jus¬
tice of our cause. I thank God for this great opportuni¬
ty of doing my duty.”
On this memorable day, Nelson wore, as usual, his admi¬
ral’s frock coat, bearing upon the left breast the various
orders with which he had at different times been invest¬
ed. Decorations which rendered him so conspicuous a
mark to the enemy were beheld with ominous apprehen¬
sion by his officers ; especially as it was known that there
were riflemen on board the French ships, and it could not
be doubted that his life would be particularly aimed at.
This was a point, however, on which it was hopeless to
reason or remonstrate with him. “ In honour I gained
them,” said he, when allusion was made to the insignia
he wore, “ and in honour I will die with them.” Never¬
theless, Captain Blackwood, and his own captain, Hardy,
having represented to him how advantageous it would be
to the fleet were he to keep out of action as long as pos¬
sible, he consented that the Temeraire and the Levia¬
than, which were sailing abreast of the Victory, should
be ordered to pass ahead. But the order was unavailing ;
for these ships could not pass ahead if the Victory conti¬
nued to carry all her sail ; yet, so far from shortening sail,
Nelson took an evident pleasure in pressing on, and render¬
ing it impossible for them to obey his own order. As the
enemy showed no colours till late in the action, the Santissi-
ma Trinidad was distinguishable only by her four decks ;
and to the bow of his old opponent in the action off Cape
St Vincent he ordered the Victory to be steered. In the
mean time, an incessant raking fire was kept up on the
Victory; and as the ship approached, Nelson remarked,
“ This is too warm work to last long.” She had not yet
returned a single gun, though by this time fifty of her
men had been killed or wounded, and her main-top-mast Nelson,
with all her studding-sails and booms shot away. A few v ■ v'—*”
minutes after twelve, however, she opened her fire from
both sides of her deck, and soon afterwards ran on board the
Bedoubtable, just as her tiller ropes were shot away. Cap¬
tain Haivey, in the Femeraire, fell on board the Redoubt-
able on the other side 5 and another enernj^s ship, the Fou-
gueux, tell on board the lemeraire; so that these four
ships formed as compact a tier as if they had been moor¬
ed together, their heads lying all the same way. The
lieutenants of the V ictory now depressed their guns, and
fired with a diminished charge, lest the shot should pass
through and injure the lemeraire ; and as there was dan¬
ger that the Redoubtable might take fire from the lower-
deck guns, the muzzles of which, when run out, touched
her sides, the fireman of each gun stood ready with a
bucket of water, which, as soon as the gun had been dis¬
charged, he dashed into the hole made by the shot. In
this situation, the Victory kept up an incessant fire from
both sides, diiecting her larboard guns on the Bucentaur
and Santissima Trinidad.
But Nelson’s hour was now come. It had been part of
his piajei that the British fleet might be as distinguished
for humanity in victory as for bravery in battle. Setting
an example himself, he twice gave orders to cease firing
upon the Redoubtable, supposing she had struck, because
her great guns were silent; for as she carried no flag, it
was impossible instantly to ascertain the fact. FronAhe
ship which he had thus twice spared he received his death-
wound. In the heat of the action, about a quarter after one
0 clock, a musket-ball from the mizen-top of the Redoubt¬
able struck the epaulette on his left shoulder; and he fell
upon his face on the spot covered with the blood of his
secietaiy, nlr Scott, wdio had been killed a short time be¬
fore. “ They have done for me at last, Hardy,” said he,
as a serjeant of marines and two seamen raised him from
the deck. “ I hope not,” replied Captain Hardy. “ Yes,”
he rejoined; “ my back bone is shot through.” But, though
mortally wounded, he did not for a moment lose that pre¬
sence of mind for which he was ever distinguished. As
they were carrying him down the ladder to the cockpit,
he observed that the tiller ropes, which had been shot
out of their stations were to assist those of their friends who should be hard Dressed The remnlnrle^ ,
left to the management of the Commander-in-chief. pressed, i he remainder of the enemy’s fleet were to be
Now, if this plan had been adhered to, the English fleet would have borne un together and «nil0d r i. ....
spec live divisions, until they came up with the enemy; the plan which consideration had matured wool 1 , ines abreast 111 their re-
yictory would have been more speedily decided ; and 'the brunt of the action would have been more equdly felt ? f
in two great divisions, with a squadron of observation, seems to combine every necessary precaution ll : . k'
power of bringing an overwhelming force against a particular point of an enemy’s fleet, so i 1 f
ed, and afterwards concentrating such a force as may be sufficient not only to protect the attack^ shins flonAnv PS ft l
winch may be made against them by the unoccupied vessels of the enemy, but also to secure the prizes already made ften?pt
biy lead to victory, perhaps to the annihilation of the greater part, if not the whole, of the fleet ffius attacked P
i e mode of attack adopted with such success at Trafalgar had, however, few or none of these advantages The n- e
was brought forward so leisurely and successively, that an enemy of equal spirit and eoua abih v m ™ Jh0 attacking force
would have destroyed the ships in detail one after another, carried on, as they were, sloi^ bv a heavv swen111’, n ,.SU"nelT’
llns may easily be demonstrated. Besides, whilst the fleet was advancing to the attack on the 21st of Oclober ri. S a"'S-
actly such as might have produced this result, seeing that when the battle began the sternmost shffis o^the Brit^h Weath™ ex’
seven miles distant. By the mode of attacking in detail, and the manner in which the combined Appi ll 5 SUl1 S1X °r
the British, instead of doubling on the enemy, were themselves doubled and triried on ti a f f v dra,wn up to receive it,
ing force collectively was thus Totally lost. The Actory^P^ of applying an overwhelm-
situations at the onset, that nothing but the most herok eallantrv andoreat nrnoV l ’ lAi f Ti ’ am 15elleroPhotl, were placed in such
tile enemy’s vessel, had closed “'T ?f
active courage, it may be doubted whether even British skill and gallantry would LyfavaSr thfnnriif d/ruearer ^Uaillt/m
being precisely that in which the British were desirous of beino- nlaced namolv tAA f Y10 P0Sltl.0n of the combined fleet
separated from the main body. The attack, however succeeded in suite of ■ill ^ the 0J?posi”& fleet doubled on, and
spired throughout the fleet by having Nelson to command them • secondly from tl L 0 d1S!*dvantages ; first, from the enthusiasm in¬
visions ; thirdly, from the individual exeA?ons of Xh shin f lla"t fonduct ?f th? leaders of the two grand di-
from the consternation spread throughout the combined fleet on finding thp'nrirT'* ’ ^ tbe ®uP0rior Practice of the guns ; fourthly,
ly, from the rapid destruction whic,^ B,ntl? T° much stronS0r tllan had been expected; fifth,
the loss of the French admi^alAhip earhrin the action Nelson knew hri n whl0h,was *ed by both fleets ; and, lastly, from
^rjutcitTeilrpriTe"’ ^ Wh°le Professional car00r ^ ™'ked ‘brought bVgeniuYand^^^^^
92
N E L
N E M
Nemea
Nelson.
/C
away early in the action, were not yet replaced, and or-
S that new onea should be immediately rove. He
was laid upon a pallet in the ™idshiP™a" wi
surgeon being called, it was soon perceived that the won
had received would speedily prove moital, but this
was conceded from all except Captain Hardy the clmp am
and the medical attendants. Being certa ,
from the sensation which he felt in his back>and ^
of blood within his breast, that no human aid cou'd avad
him, he insisted that the surgeon should eave hun and
attend to those to whom “'^^“ftom in“ense
with a gleam of joy as often as the , struck
the Victory announced that an enemy s ship had struck.
Wlth 1 ' i k h fivp nf the enemy’s van have tacked,
anTsCt tlml for h-mg down on the V,ctrd
“d..“ is:
taking the hand ot fjs ,ete victory. He did not
him on liavl"g gal^ ecnemy Ld struck, as it was impos-
know how many or t ) fourteen or fifteen
sible to perceive them distmc y ^ t d Nel.
at ’^^t I had bartitd for twenty" Then, in a strong-
son ; » bu I hadbargame^t ^ , anchorand again,
er voice, he sa , anchor.”5 Next to his country,
most earnestly, Do you aacn , « Xake care of
Lady Hamilton occiipied hi^thoug^ of Lady
my dear Lady Hamilto ’ P Jbefore he expired, he said
S^X^^ember thaU leave Lady HamiLon
The Stwolte waXr^
ssstassra‘3.1- -
’'^The'total ^oss of°the British In the battle of Trafalgar
tori tn 1 587 Twenty of the enemy struck, and, of
amounted to lob . y afterwards taken by Sir
the ships which fleet did not anchor,
heavy, gale cam driven on the shore, one ef-
prizes went ’ p di others were destroyed, and
fected its exertions, saved. Still,
r Js hS: th^hav0! n^eTret
“?Ssr^rrii—
reXslo adS ha"all L honours which a grateful coun-
“y6 could bestow were heaped on the memory of the man
who had achieved this unequalled victory.
In Lord Nelson’s professional character were united
mind, ardent zeal, unbounded confidence in the «sources #
of his own mind, and that intuitive decision . , . Nemesis.
ffdifficuTt; and peril, which, afterall.is ^ distm^mshing
attribute of great military or naval genius. S t
men ivith confidence in him, as u'all as w.th conhdence
in themselves. But the best character which can oe
drawn of him is the history of his aclnevemenB, all stamp
ed with the impression of h,s genius; and, that nothing
mi«ht be wanting to the consummation of his renown, ne
departed in a bright blaze of g'»7’leav,n8 *° '“ample
a name which is her pride and boast, and an examp
which will continue to be her shield and her strength, (b
o .i >a r;f0 n/' Nelson, in two vols. I^mo, l^tje oy
Clarke and McArthur, 8vo; Ekins’ Naval History, ito^and
JTeMe"«S6W%! a place situated be-
,,, i pViUirc in Argohs ; but whether town,
tween Cleome and f b'”8’ m A'8° h Xhere st0„d a
district, or something else, is unc®na „ames •
orove, in which the Argives celebrated the Nemean games
and there happened all the fabulous circumstances ot the
NeNEMEAN GAMES, so called from Nemea, a place si-
tuamd“enGthe cities of Cleonm andJMhis, where
SdToS"^
These games were instituted in memory of Opheltes or A
ch’emorls the son of Enphe.es and Creusa nursed by Hyp-
sinele who, leaving him in a meadow whilst she went t
show ’the besiegers of Thebes af»u”‘ain, found him dead
„n w return, and a serpent twined about his neck, ana
hence the fountain, before called Langi* ™
a 7 onrl these games were instituted to comtoit
Archemorus, ^ game iD8titution t0
HSiraftefhu ’victmy ov’erthe Nemean lion ; whilst
others think that they were instituted first in honour o
Arcbemorus, but intermitted, and afterwards revived again
bv Hercules. The victors were crowned with parsley, a
herb used at funerals, and fabled to have sprung from Ar-
heib usea at A ivea presided at these games.
C NEMEllANUS, a'eeu^ Olympius, a Latin poet
who was born at Carthage, and flourished about the yea.
981 of our era, under the Emperor Cams, and Ins sons
Cannus and Numerian, the last of whom was so fond o
noetrv that he contested the glory with Nemesianus, who
had written a poem upon fishing and maritime affairs. We
have still remaining a poem of this author caHe ynege-
timn and four eclogues, which were published by 1 aul
Manutius in 1538, by Barthelet in 1613, and at Leyden in
1653 with the notes of Janus Vhtias. Giraldi has pi -
served a fragment of Nemesianus, which was c.onj™11CJm;
ed to him by Sannazarius, to whom we are indebted to
this noet’s works, which, having been found written in Go¬
thic characTers, he caused to be converted into the Roman
d tben gent to Paulus Manutius. Although this poen
has Squired some reputation, it is greatly interior to
ihnse of Oppian and Gratian upon the same subject, je
Ihe stv e of Nemesianus is natural enough, and has even
the sty e , e The world was so much pos¬
seted wkh an opinion of'his poem in the eigh th century,
that it was read amongst the classics in the public schools,
particularly in the time of Charlemagne, as appears from
a letter of die celebrated Hincmar, bishop ot Rheims,
hl NEMESIS, in pagan worship, the
and Necessity, or, according to others, ot Oceanu
>5.
N E M
nesius Nox, and who had the care of revenging the crimes which
li . human justice left unpunished. She was also called Ad-
'“rastaea, because Adrastus king of Argos was the first who
1 raised to her an altar ; and Rhamnusia, from her having a
magnificent temple at Rhamnus in Attica. She had like¬
wise a temple in the Capitol at Rome. Nemesis is repre¬
sented with a stern countenance, holding a whip in one
hand and a pair of scales in the other.
NEMESIUS, a Greek philosopher who embraced Chris¬
tianity, and was made bishop of Emesa, in Phoenicia, his
birthplace. He flourished in the beginning of the fifth
century. There is a work of his extant, entitled De Na~
tura Hominis, in which he refutes the fatality of the Stoics,
as well as the errors of the Manicheans, the Apolinarists,
and the Eunomians; but he espouses the opinion of Ori-
gen concerning the pre-existence of souls. This treatise
was translated by Valla, and printed in the year 1535.
Another version of it was afterwards made by Ellebodius,
and printed in 1665; it is also inserted in the Bibliotheca
Patrum, in Greek and in Latin. Lastly, an edition was pub¬
lished at Oxford in 1671, folio, with a learned preface, in
which the editor endeavours to prove, from a passage in
this book, that the circulation of the blood was known to
Nemesius; an opinion, however, which has since been
shown to be a mistake. (See Freind’s History of Physic.)
NEMOURS, a town of France, in the department of the
Seine and Marne, being situated on the river Loing, eleven
miles south from Fontainbleau. It was erected into a duchy
in the fourteenth century, and has been in the house of Or¬
leans since the time of Louis XIV. It has a considerable
trade in corn, wane, and other articles. The population in
1837 amounted to 3839. Long. 41. E. Lat. 48.15. N.
NENAGH, a market-town of Ireland, in the county
of Tipperary and province of Munster, ninety-five miles
south-west from Dublin. It is situated upon the Nenagh
River, a little to the southward of its union with the Shan¬
non, before it reaches Lough Derg. The town enjoys a
good general country trade, but has no manufactures pro¬
perly so called. Here are the ruins of an ancient castle,
called Nenagh Round; also those of an hospital founded
in the year 1200, for canons following the rule of St Au¬
gustin. There are four fairs held here in the course of
the year. The population of the town amounts to 6335.
NENIA, or N-Enia, in ancient Latin poetry, a kind of
funeral song sung to the music of flutes at the obsequies
of the dead. Authors represent the nasnia as sorry com¬
positions, sung by hired female mourners, called prceficce.
The first rise of these nasnia are ascribed to the physicians.
In the heathen antiquity, the goddess of tears and funerals
was called Nenia, whom some suppose to have given that
name to the funeral song, and others to have taken her
name from it.
NEOMENIA, or Noumenia, a festival of the ancient
Gieeks, celebrated at the beginning of every lunar month.
As the name imports, it was observed upon the day of the
new moon, in honour of all the gods, but especially Apollo,
who was called Neomenios, because the sun is the foun¬
tain of light; and whatever distinction of times and sea¬
sons may be made on account of other planets, yet they are
a owing to him as the original of those borrowed rays by
which they shine. The games and public entertainments
at these festivals were provided by the rich, to whose tables
ne poor flocked in great numbers. The Athenians at
tnese times offered solemn prayers and sacrifices for the
prosperity of their country during the ensuing month.
ie Jews had also their neomenia, or feast of the new
moon, on which peculiar sacrifices were appointed; on
this oay also they had a sort of family entertainment and
rejoicing. But the most celebrated neomenia was that at
the beginning of the civil year, or first day of the month
isn, on which no servile labour was performed; and the
N E P
93
people then offered particular burnt sacrifices, sounding Neophytes
the trumpets of the temple. The modern Jews keep the (I
neomenia only as a feast of devotion, which any one may NePauh
observe or not as he pleases. J y-—'
NEOPHYTES, or new plants, a name given by the
ancient Christians to those heathens who had newly em-
braced the faith, such persons being considered as rege-
nei ated, or born anew by baptism. The term neophytes
has also been used for new priests, or those just admitted
into orders ; and sometimes for the novices in monasteries
or convents. It is still applied to the converts made by
the missionaries amongst the infidels.
NEOTS, St, a market-town of the county of Hunting¬
don, in the hundred of Toesland, fifty-six miles from Lon¬
don. It stands on the navigable river Ouse, over which there
is a fine stone bridge. It is a well-built place, with a large
maiket-place, and has a handsome church, with an elegant
and lofty spire. It has a good market, which is held on
Thursday. The population amounted in 1801 to 1752, in
1811 to 1998, in 1821 to 2272,* and in 1831 to 2617.
Neots, St, a town of the county of Cornwall, in the hun¬
dred of West, distant 226 miles from London. It is said to
have been built by a relation of King Alfred, who died here
in 899, and was buried at the place of the same name in
Huntingdonshire. The population amounted in 1801 to
906, in 1811 to 1041, in 1821 to 1255, and in 1831 to 1424.
NEPAUL, an extensive country of Hindustan, long
and narrow in its form, and, although somewhat curtailed
in its dimensions by the progress of British conquest, still
one of the largest and most compact independent king¬
doms in the country. To the north it is bounded by the
great mountain wall of the Himalayas, which separates it
from Ihibet; to the south the Nepaul territory reaches
about twenty miles beyond the base of the mountains, into
the plains, being bounded by the provinces of Delhi,
Oude, Bahar, and Bengal, with the exception of about sixty
miles of territory belonging to the nabob of Oude, which
intervene; to the east the river Mitchee separates Nepaul
from the British territories; and thence it is bounded by
the principality of Sikkim, which extends to the Chinese
frontier. Previously to the late war with Britain, the con¬
quests of the Ghoorkhas or Nepaulese extended to the banks
of the Sutlege, the eastern river of the Punjab ; but the
boundary is now the river Cali, or the western branch of
the Goggra, which separates the Ghoorkha territory from
the British province of Kumaon. The above limits, how¬
ever, include a territory much larger than that to which
the peculiar name of Nepaul Proper belongs, and made up
of conquests gained by the Ghoorkhas within the last sixty
years from a variety of petty hill states. This extended
dominion is mostly included between the twenty-seventh
and thirty-first degrees of north latitude, and in extreme
length may be estimated at 460 miles, by 115 miles in
breadth. The following are the modern districts into which
this territory is divided :
1. Nepaul Proper. 6. Khatang.
f Country of the twenty-four rajahs. 7. Chayenpoor.
3. Country of the twenty-two rajahs. 8. Saptari.
4. Muckwanpoor. 9. Morung.
5. Kirauts.
Nepaul comprehends the greater part, probably about Aspect of
two thirds, of Northern Hindustan. It is accordingly ex- die coun-
tremely diversified in its surface, the mountains whicht]T-
form its northern boundary rising to the level of perpe¬
tual snow. Ihese high mountains generally decline into
lower hills, from which they are separated by fine val¬
leys, which are still considerably above the level of the
p ains, and the lowest belt of the Nepaul dominions forms
part of the great plain of Hindustan. Immediately to
t ie north of this flat country there is a region of nearly
the same width, consisting of small hills, which rise gra-
94
N E P A U L.
Nepaul.
Climate.
Produce.
s S'?
lulls are found t either for straightness or size,
hornbeam Weymouth pine, and common spruce, to
vatecWegion,0lco^sistmg^or one niountain^ieaped^uiionjin-
°tl,er nsing covted with s„ow, ar,d it even falls
nuts are tor a shoi t time frogt alg0 very 0ften
sometimes in the valley be' • u occa8i„nany for
reXforZnihXvere^ough to freeze the ta„h;and
poolsof standing water, the riversarene^rfroM^
the mountatns are narrow valleys o . ^ yall of
is nearly of an oval H u , S and west nine
same climate as the southern counmes of EutoP •
Lying near a region buried in snow, its cm ^
doubt be somewhat modified by^uc JJ1^iermometer rose
patrick mentions that in sum his residence in the
°n,f t\7d i usuaThe |ht about noon varied from eighty-
valley ; and lts ^ad S At sun.rise it was commonly
one to eighty-four degrees in the evening it
between hfty and fifty-iour, ana a • t de<Trees.
generally fluctuated 17 h t the 25th March,
Fifty-one observations ftorntteim to ^ are
S^rqZth^inU^Hi— nterams
q“Vey 'are ge-ahy very ™lenh and break ^
The produce also varies along with the clima
some parts rattans “"^ZZducZonly'ZkTand pines,
sions, l.pen>
whilst othersPyield only barley, millet, and similar S-arns.
’Phe mulberry grows luxuriantly all over the h i ,
they cut its young ffiZfoZfodd'er!
kayes, a^ > 1,aviaS botl^nutritious and agreeable to the
which is sa d o ^jKflh and devated cUmate,
T Udi^l rains are not favourable for the ripening
the pen everywhere abound, but never come to
0t -krtion the heat of the climate not being sufficient to
peite * ’ nnturitv before the approach ot the rams.
Peache^grow ^MonXybilli buZne side of them is
^ hv the damn, whilst the other side is green ; and
Ihe Lnes Which grow without shelter from the rams,
flways’ bad. Kirkpatrick, however, from the spoil-
are a ^ d tions which he saw on the spot, namely.
of England might with P™r«
raised in the mountainous valleys ot ^CP ,
warmer valleys, the pine-apple is uncommonly « , ,f
the orange, which npens m wmter. The abunda^^ ^ ^
they spod the fruits, are, h^^ tb laSnd can be levelled
produce of grain , and adapted for trans-
into terraces, however aarr^r Jbe vains have ceased. The
planted rice, which ripens p.enerally cut into these
least rocky faces of the hills are generally c ^
operation, and it is otte^ ^ ^ strip of ground.
drain^to'tlZldgher cultivated ^^gj^^joZme^part^the
rating them, to the^owerrange^iPields^nlusornay
same land gives a wtnte P is „e„erally cultivated
the land is too steep for terraces -US gen^ y oad_
after fallow -thf boe.^nd producer c of ^
cast, maize, cottOj^^H madderj wh^atj barley, and sugar-
tard, manjeet ^ ,, pnera| cultivation in these
cane. Tobacco is an article of general cmuvai
hills, and it isconsidered as of a finequa^ y. I s ^
between Nepaul 11 optr a Various dry rices are
exposed to tails ot sno , h . h d iest and i0(.
in Bengal, “ b"d, but^nsh t^ ^
Lest spots. .. d several edible roots and herbs,
ductions of this fertile soi sustenance of the
which form a a spectes of yam,
poorer inhabitants w(.„ as various other plants
and a kind ot wild asparag , „ There are also
agSSjSSSssiw
cured from bitter or aim estimation,
ly in the country, and which ate held mg ^
Thejeea is a very “"“^“‘ZnherrisZhich is a po-
the potato, fhp npttle wild wormwood, rasp-
the leaf of which answers the purpose oi eme y
S=sjs.5S«s*?
ln STme„f those extensive tracts which lie in the neigh-
bourhood o/perpetual sao^* Zve fineZtol ^heriarger are
Te ir" ,Tweera"countries, but are no, numerous.
N E P A U L.
paul
Mi
rals.
Buffaloes are not reared by the natives, neither are hogs
nor goats, though the country is admirably adapted for both.
Horses are brought from Thibet, as none are bred south
of the Himalaya; also the large ox of Thibet, or the bos
grunniens, described by Turner, the beautiful tail of which
forms one of the exports from Nepaul; and the goat which
produces the shawl wool. The kustoora or musk-deer is
a native of Lower Thibet, though it is not very abundant
anywhere. It is usually caught by means of a snare made
of a particular kind of mountain bamboo. It is difficult to
obtain the musk pure, even at Catmandoo; and Colonel
Kirkpatrick mentions, that it is even usual to adulterate it
whilst it is yet in the bag on the body of the animal. In the
great forest which skirts the Nepaul territories through¬
out their whole extent, from Serinagur to the Teesta, wild
animals abound. Elephants are found here in great num¬
bers, and are a source of revenue to the Nepaul govern¬
ment. About 200 or 300 of these animals are caught an¬
nually ; but most of them being very young, and not being
above seven feet and a half in height, they are not of great
value. They are extremely mischievous, and two or three
of them sometimes take possession of the road, and ob¬
struct the progress of travellers for a considerable time.
A large herd of them assaulted the camp of the Nepaul
deputies when they were on their way to Patna, and were
with great difficulty driven away. They sometimes issue from
the forest in droves, and overrun the cultivated country
on its borders, penetrating sometimes a considerable space
within the company’s territories. The rhinoceros, the
tiger, the leopard, and other ferocious animals, find shelter
in the depths of the forests. The animal known in Ben¬
gal by the name of the Nepaul dog is brought from Upper
and Lower Thibet, of which it is a native. It is a fierce,
surly creature, about the size of an English bull-dog, and
covered with thick long hair. Several very fine birds are
found in these mountainous countries, as the manal (me-
leagris satyra), and the damphya (phasianus impeyanus).
They are a species of pheasants, the damphya being of
the golden, and the manal or moonal of the spotted sort.
They are both extremely beautiful birds. The chakoor
is well known to the Europeans of India under the name
of the fire-eater. It is a species of partridge, and derives
its name from its reputed power of swallowing fire. The
fact is, that in the breeding season this bird is remarka¬
bly fond of red pepper, after eating two or three cap¬
sules of which, it will bite at a red coal if presented to it.
The khaledge is met with in the thickets which overrun
the gorges of the mountains near Noakote. The sarus,
wild goose, wild duck, and several others of the feathered
species common to Bengal and the rest of the countries
to the southward of Nepaul, are occasionally seen in this
and the adjacent valleys; w here, howrever, they merely ap¬
pear as birds of passage, making Nepaul only a stage in
their flight from Hindustan to Thibet.
The stones and ores collected in the country indicate
the existence ol a variety ot minerals in the mountains of
Nepaul, such as iron, lead, copper, &c. It was formerly a
pievalent idea amongst the Hindus, from whom it was re¬
ceived by the British, that the country contained mines
of gold. . I he only foundation for this notion appears to
be, that in the course of commerce the gold of Thibet
passed into Bengal and Bahar through Nepaul; or that a
lew grains of gold were occasionally collected in the sands
of the rivers, or found in the consecrated pebbles of Gun-
duck ; or sometimes that specimens of gold ore have been
sent to the governor-general by way of presents or curio¬
sities. Other accounts of gold mines may also be referred
to the circumstance of scanty particles of gold being found
in the beds of torrents from the mountains. With regard
to silver, it is said that some veins of it have been disco¬
vered to the westward of Noakote. But Kirkpatrick, in
95
his account of Nepaul, suspects that it has no better foun- Nepaul.
dation than that silver has lately been found in certain ores
which were very rich in lead ; whilst others appeared to be
a species of galena, well worth the working for the sake of
the silver which they contained. Several attempts had
been made to extract the silver, but by such an unskilful
process, that most part of the baser metal was sacrificed,
in consequence of which the return scarcely repaid the ex¬
pense. The copper is found quite near the surface of the
earth, the ore being dug from trenches open above, so that
the work is entirely interrupted by the rainy season.
Those ores are found in several varieties, and are said to
be lich and of an excellent kind. The mine is shared
amongst certain families along with the rajah, who, there is
every reason to believe, claims the lion’s share, and, as in
all other parts of Hindustan, leaves the workmen a bare
subsistence. Oude was formerly supplied with copper from
Nepaul; but of late years it has been superseded by Euro¬
pean copper, owing to the difficulties and expense of trans¬
ferring it to the market through a mountainous country
without navigable rivers. The iron ore is also found near
the surface, and is not surpassed in excellence by that of
any other country. Sulphur is likewise abundant, and pro¬
cured in great quantities. There is no good authority for
believing that either the ores of antimony or mercury are
found in the territories of Nepaul; but the western parts
abound in arsenic and pyrites, though these sulphureous
ores are no longer worked, on account of the deleterious ef¬
fects occasioned by the operation. Stone is found in abun¬
dance and variety, particularly jasper and marble ; but the
houses are universally built of brick, because the use of
stone, though abounding everywhere, is prevented by the
expense of carriage in a country where the roads do not
admit of wheel-carriages, and where there is no navigation.
1 lieie is said to be a considerable mass of rock crystal near
Ghoorkha, and limestone as well as slate abounds every¬
where; yet there are no limekilns in the country, the only
cement employed being mud, which, the natives pretend,
answers better in their humid climate than mortar.
The alpine region belonging to Nepaul is about the same Moun-
breadth of thirty or forty miles from north to south. Scat-tains,
tered peaks are here seen covered with perpetual snow,
until, in advancing to the boundaries of Thibet, everlastino-
winter reigns, ibis inhospitable region consists chiefly o^'
immense rocks rising into sharp peaks and tremendous pre¬
cipices, covered with snow, and almost constantly involved
in clouds. Some of these mountains are estimated to rise
19,960 feet above the valley of Nepaul. The rains here
aie periodical, as in the plains of Hindustan, and fall in
tie hottest season of the year. The snowy ridge of the
Iimalaya Mountains, though it has a winding course, has
ew interruptions, and is in most places impassable. Seve¬
ral rivers which take their rise in Thibet make their
way through the mountainous ridges, but by such narrow
cliasms, and amidst such enormous precipices, that these
openings afford no practicable communication between the
mountains and the plains. In the mountain passes no sort
of baggage or merchandise is transportable, except on the
shoulders of hill porters. The price of this carriage is re¬
gulated by the government.
ihe numerous valleys which are interspersed through-Ponula-
out the mountains of Nepaul are inhabited by a variety of lion,
mixed races. I he aboriginal inhabitants appear, from their
p lysiognomy, to have been of Tartar or of Chinese origin,
ami to have had no resemblance to the Hindus either in
features, religion, or manners. Before their arrival they
had no idea of caste. The period when these mountainous
regions were first invaded by the Hindus is uncertain ; but,
according to the most authentic traditions, it is supposed
to have taken place about the fourteenth century. The
Hindus who now inhabit these mountains were about this
96
N E P A U L.
Nepatfl. period driven from their country by the invasion of the
Mahommedan sovereign of Delhi, who made proposals to
marry a daughter of the rajah of Chitore, celebrated tor her
beauty. This offer was refused, and the consequence was
that his city was captured and destroyed ; and, to avoid the
hated yoke of the conqueror, great numbers of the inhabi¬
tants fled to the mountains. Many of the chiefs amongst
the mountain tribes, accordingly, claim descent from these
Chitore princes, although on doubtful grounds. 1 here are
a few raipoots whose claims to a pure descent from the Chi¬
tore family are allowed ; and the families of the mountain
chiefs who have adopted the Hindu rules of purity, and
some even who have neglected this, are now admitted to
be rajpoots ; whilst, on the other hand, the purity ot the
Chitore blood has been so often contaminated by alliances
with the Tartar and Chinese races, that several ot the
Chitore family have acquired the Tartar countenance, and
some of the mountain tribes, by intermarriages with pure
raipoots in a low station, have acquired the oval faces and
high noses of that remarkable race. The original puruy
of the raipoot blood having been thus lost by indiscrimi¬
nate alliances, all the hill chiefs, whether their descent
from the Chitore family be real or pretended, are now call¬
ed raipoots, and hold the principal offices, civil and mili¬
tary, of the petty states in which the country was subdi¬
vided, until Nepaul was subdued by the reigning family of
the Ghoorkhas. In the eastern parts of the country the abo¬
riginal tribes still remain ; and, until the predominance of
the Ghoorkhas, they enjoyed unmolested their customs and
religion. But west of the Cali the case is different, almost
all the inhabitants claiming a descent from the Hindu co¬
lony. They accordingly consist principally of the two su¬
perior classes of Hindus, or brahmins and chetrees, wit
their various subdivisions.
East of the Cali the tribes which possessed the country
were chiefly, 1. Magars, who occupied the lower hills in the
western parts, and were very soon converted to the biahmin
doctrine of abstaining from beef. They are at present enlist¬
ed bv the Ghoorkha sovereigns, and compose a great majo¬
rity of their troops. 2. The Gurungs, a pastoral tribe, shift
their abode between the mountains and the valleys with
the summer and the winter. They still adhere to the ama
priesthood and the Buddhist religion. They cultivate with
the hoe, are diligent miners and traders, and employ the nu¬
merous flocks which they possess in conveying their goods
to market. 3. The Jariyas form a numerous trl ,be’an^3
bit the lower hilly region between the Cali and the Nepaul
valley, and are now nearly all converted to the brahmimcal
doctrines. 4*. The Newars are an industrious people, to -
lowing agriculture and commerce, and are more advanced
in the mechanical arts than the mountain tribes. ie
Greater part of them adhere to the tenets of the Buddhists,
though they have adopted the distinctions of caste, they
do not acknowledge the lamas, and have a priesthood o
their own. The more fertile part ot what is called jSepau
Proper was chiefly occupied by the Newars, a race addict¬
ed to agriculture and commerce, and far more advanced in
the arts than any other of the mountain tribes, ihen
style of building, and most of their arts, appear to have
b Jen introduced from Thibet. All the Newars burn their
dead; they eat buffaloes, sheep, goats, fowls, and ducks, and
are addicted to the immoderate use ot spirituous liquors.
They live in towns or villages, in houses built of brick ce¬
mented with clay, and covered with tiles; these houses are
three stories high, the ground-floor being allotted to the
cattle and poultry, the second to the servants, and the third
to the family of the owner. Their rooms are low, and have
a mean and dirty appearance, and, besides, are infested with
vermin, which, in addition to the filth, the oiials of t e
shambles, and the blood of their sacrifices collected in the
streets, give their towns an exceedingly offensive aspect
to Europeans. The Newar women are never confined to Nepaui
the house. At the early age of eight years they are car-
ried to a temple, and married, with the usual ceremonies
of the Hindus, to a fruit called ull; and when they arrive
at puberty they are betrothed to a man of the same ca^te>
and the parents give a dower to the husband, or rather
her paramour, their manners being extremely licentious.
Like the women amongst the Nairs, they may in fact have
as many husbands as they choose, being at liberty to di¬
vorce them as often as they please, and upon the slightest
pretences. The Newars are peaceable, industrious, and
even ingenious; much attached to the superstition which
they profess, and now reconciled to the chains imposed on
them by their Ghoorkha conquerors. Their occupations
are chiefly those of agriculture ; and they arc> besides, al¬
most exclusively employed in the arts and manufactures
of the country. They are generally of the middle size,
possessed of great corporeal strength, with broad shoulders
and chest, very stout limbs, round and rather flat faces,
small eyes, low and somewhat spreading noses, and open
and cheerful countenances, with little or no resemblance,
according to Kirkpatrick, to the Chinese countenance. Ihe
complexion of the women is somewhat between a sallow
and a copper colour. 5. The Dhenwars and Mhanjees are
the husbandmen and fishers of the western districts. 6.
The Bhootias. Though some families of this race are plant¬
ed in the lower lands, they occupy, generally speaking,
such parts of the mountainous country as are included in
the Nepaul territories. They shave their heads, and ob¬
serve many idolatrous rites and customs. 7. Ihe Bhanras
are a sort of separatists from the Newars, and are suppos¬
ed to amount to 5000. They observe many of the customs
of the Bhootias. To the eastward some districts of the
Nepaul dominions are inhabited by tribes, such as the Lun-
booas, Nuggerkootees, and others, of whom little more is
known than the names. ... ,
With regard to the number of inhabitants within the
bounds of Nepaul, we have no data to form any thing li e
an accurate estimate. The wild and rugged nature of the
country gives no ground to suppose that the population is
considerable. It is in the valleys that the population is
collected; and these, says Kirkpatrick, with the exception
of Nepaul and two or three others, are little better than
mountainous cavities. Even the Temani, or low belt of
land which runs along the southern frontier, is but indif¬
ferently peopled, the villages being, according to the tia-
veller already mentioned, very thinly scattered, and mean
both4n their appearance and in their size. 1 he Nepaulese
themselves give the most exaggerated account ot their
numbers. They reckon their population by houses; and
to Patan, their largest town, they assign 24,000 houses,
to Bhatgong 22,000, and to Catmandoo 18,000. this
would give a population of 640,000. I here are, besides,
many large villages and towns scattered around ^irtee-
poorf containing 12,000 houses; Theamee, Buneba, Phai-
ping, Punonlee, Dhulkill, Chappagang, all containing from
6000 to 7000 houses; and, besides these, there are reck¬
oned between twenty and thirty smaller^ of from lOOO to
4000 houses, all within the valley of Nepaul. But th s
Mves a population that sets probability at defiance, and i
considered, both by Frazer and Kirkpatrick, as a glaring
fallacy A loose estimate of the latter traveller lowers the
population of Nepaul to half a million of souls.
1 The lands are held by various tenures. Those const! Sta
tuting crown-lands, or the rajahs immediate estates, areP
chiefly situated in the Ghoorkha territory, though there s
hardly any portion of the Ghoorkha conquests in which
the prince has not appropriated land to his own use. Some
of these lands are cultivated by husbandmen, who recede
a share of the produce; others are tilled by the neighbour-
ing husbandmen, who are obliged to dedicate a certain
N E P A U L.
97
paul,
M i I'.ary
■,:br
number of days in the year to this service. From such lands
"'the rajah draws all the supplies necessary for the support
of his household. The brahmins also possess lands, the
title to which they receive by royal investiture. These
lands are rent free, saleable, and hereditary ; but they may
nevertheless be alienated for certain crimes. Their pro¬
prietors are bound to the reigning prince for nothing beyond
his prayers, though they sometimes consider it as prudent
to conciliate him by more substantial gifts. Another tenure
by which land is possessed by the Newars, is the payment
of a considerable fine when the original titles are con¬
firmed, which must be renewed on the accession of each
prince. Other lands pay a rent to the crown, or to the jag-
hiredar (proprietor), in proportion to their produce. The
khyra and barilands are those which are destitute of
springs or running water, and which, requiring consider¬
able labour, yield, after all, no very profitable return.
These pay a rent according to their produce, which is es¬
timated by the number of spades or ploughs employed.
Widows may cultivate as much of this land as they can,
without paying any rent at all. The kaith or plantation-
lands, which are well supplied with water, and, being situ¬
ated in the valleys, are fruitful, and yield all the superior
kinds of grain, pay the half of their produce to the culti¬
vator, who in return defrays all the charges of tillage, with
the exception of the seed. These lands are reckoned to
yield from twenty to thirty fold; and they pay different rates
to the proprietor, according to the value of their produce.
The whole population of Nepaul are liable to military
service in times of public danger, though they are not re¬
gularly trained to arms. But there is a standing army
dispersed over the country, besides a large force always in
the capital, amounting to 30,000 or 35,000 troops. These
troops are regularly trained, disciplined, and officered after
the manner of European troops ; and they likewise affect
the European exercise, dress, and arms. The regular
force of Nepaul has so long been accustomed to active
service and to constant victory, that they have acquired
all the qualities of veteran soldiers, a fearlessness of dan¬
ger, and a contempt of any foe opposed to them. “ They
have,” says Frazer, “ much of the true and high spirit of
a soldier, that setting of life at nought in comparison of
the performance of duty, and that high sense of honour
which forms his most attractive ornament, and raises his
character to the highest.” These qualities were frequently
displayed in the course of the campaign with the British,
against whose overwhelming attacks fortresses were de¬
fended with a determined bravery, and a patient endu-
lanceof famine and misery, that were truly exemplary.
And when they at length surrendered a fort which w as no
longer tenable, they deplored their hard fate, called them¬
selves wretched men that ought rather to have died, and
refused to return to their native country ; whilst the courte¬
sy they showed to the British, and the reciprocal good offi¬
ces leceived and returned, resembled more the generous
spirit of European warfare, than the cruel practices of the
East. The expenses of the military establishment are most¬
ly defiayed by assignments of land, though in some in¬
stances the soldier receives his pay from the treasury, and
occasionally from the public granary ; others are paid partly
in money, and partly in land ; but the most usual mode, and
the one most agreeable to the troops, is by putting them in
possession of tracts of land, on which they generally settle
theii lamilies, whom they can maintain better in this man¬
ner than by any pecuniary stipend. There seems no fixed
rate of reward for different ranks, a good deal depending on
t le interest of the parties, and other incidental circumstan-
ces. One of the captains of the rajah’s company of guards
informed Colonel Kirkpatrick, that the lands which he held
yielded him 180 rupees a year, and that he received an ad¬
ditional sum in money of 280 rupees; but added, that he was
VOL. XVI.
better off when he belonged to a private company. It may Nepaul.
be added, that government evinces great consideration for
its military and public servants, being particularly indulgent
to their widows, orphans, and other destitute branches of
their families. The soldiers are in general stout, thick,
and well-built men. They are very brave, and prefer close
fighting, giving an onset with a loud shout. During the
war with the British they attacked with great valour and
impetuosity, advancing to the very muzzles of the cannon.
They understand the use of the sabre ; and each man
wears, besides, a fi cookree,” or long crooked heavy knife,
which may be used in war, but is also of great use in all
common operations where a knife or hatchet is required.
The soldiers also carry a long sort of matchlocks or mus¬
kets. The officers, besides the sword and shield and
“ cookree,’’ carry bows and arrows, which they use very
dexterously. The sword which they use has the edge
curved inwards like a reaping hook, but far more straight,
and very heavy, particularly at the point, where it is very
broad, and ends abruptly squace. A few small guns are
used ; but they are confined to the walls of forts, and never
carried into the field.
The government of Nepaul is essentially a despotism, Govern,
and is good or bad according to the character or temporary ment.
views of the reigning prince. It is no doubt slightly ame¬
liorated by the authority of immemorial customs, and the
influence of religion, which no prince, however despotic,
can safely disregard ; as well as by the occasional opposi¬
tion of the aristocracy or chiefs. But the great body of
the people derive little benefit from the struggle for powder
between the prince and his nobles. They seem to possess
no civil rights, and are at the mercy of their rulers for
whatever treatment the latter think proper to give them.
It was observed by Kirkpatrick, in the course of his jour¬
ney into the country, that the carriers were pressed, with¬
out ceremony, into the service of government, and com¬
pelled to work without any promise of pay; and in the
war with the British, a detachment of troops, because they
yielded a post to the enemy which they could no longer
hold, were punished with extraordinary cruelty, being mu¬
tilated in their faces in the most shocking manner. In Eu¬
rope the progress of improvement has modified the rigour
of the most absolute governments ; but in Nepaul, as in
all the Asiatic states, despotism grows up to the most
frightful maturity in the congenial soil of ignorance ; and
although the arbitrary will of the prince may be opposed
by the force of circumstances, yet there is no permanent
security for life and property, such as is derived from the
authority of fixed laws. The administration of public af¬
fairs is carried on by various officers. The first of these is
the choutra or prime minister to the rajah, to whom he is
invariably akin. His business is to receive and examine
all written and verbal communications regarding public
business, and to act as a sort of comptroller-general over
the inferior departments of administration. He holds his
office during the pleasure of the prince, to whom he sub¬
mits all his reports on matters of state ; and the former, if
he see proper, refers them for further investigation to a
court of inspection appointed for the purpose. He is paid
by a commission or fine on every rice plantation, with the
exception of those of the Thurgars or nobles and the mili¬
tary. Secondly, the kajees are four commissaries who
superintend all civil and military affairs, and are employed
in the collection of the revenue, and in the management
ot the Jaghire lands. They are paid by a tax of one rupee
on all taxable lands. Thirdly, the sirdars command the
armies of the state, and likewise participate in the ma¬
nagement of civil business. Fourthly, the kurdars act as
secretaries, preparing all communications from the rajah to
foreign powers, or to the officers of state. Fifthly, the kup-
perdar and the kuzanchee have the charge, the one of the
98
N E P A U L.
Revenue.
Nepaul. raiah’s private wardrobe, jewels, and kitcnen; and the
“n   other of the public wardrobe, from which honorary dresses
are issued. All these officers are paid by a moderate duty
upon all taxable lands. Sixthly, the ticksali or superin¬
tendent of the mint is paid by a commission on the im¬
port duties from*. Thibet, and on a tax payable by all na¬
tives of Nepaul who return to their country Irom Lehassa,
Diegercheh, or other parts of Thibet. This tax is exact¬
ed with a good deal of rigour. Seventhly, the dhurma-
udhikar is the chief criminal judge, who commissions all the
inferior judges, excepting those who officiate in the iaime
districts. The fees in this department are very great;
and as most crimes are punishable by fine, the penalties
constitute a large source of emolument, which does no
by any means favour the pure administration ot justice.
Civil questions regarding property are decided by ano¬
ther tribunal, the members of which are usually brahmins.
Over this court the criminal judge sometimes presides.
Intricate questions are occasionally referred to a supersti¬
tious ordeal, in which chance decides; and this barbarous
process is a sure index to the manners of the people, and
to the low state of their civil institutions. There is, be¬
sides, a superintendent of the police, a minister who is em¬
ployed in complimentary embassies to foreign powers, or
in carrying orders to public officers. I he soubahs aie go¬
vernors of districts, or farmers, and government collectors,
acting as officers of revenue, of justice, and of police ; and
the omrahs are commanders of military posts.
The public revenue is derived from land-rents, customs,
fines of various sorts, and from mines. Annual presents
are made by the soubahs, and by every one who approach¬
es the court; and a sort of arbitrary income-tax is besides
levied from all ranks, even the sacredoorder, who possess
free lands, not being exempted. An officer is often em¬
ployed for the express purpose of collecting this tax, which
is rated according to the exigencies of the state, and which
mounts up in many districts to more than the regulai re¬
venue. According to Colonel Kirkpatrick, who visited the
country in 1792, and who derived his information irom
good authority, the revenue actually remitted to Catman-
doo never exceeded thirty lacs of rupees (L.35,000), but it
sometimes fell to twenty-five lacs. The subsequent con¬
quests by the Ghoorkha sovereigns were not productive of
a oreat increase of income ; and the reduction of temtory
by5the late war would of course occasion a corresponding
diminution. The export duties, and the profits on the sale
of elephants, bring in from three to four lacs ot revenue.
The import duties levied on the trade from Thibet,include
under the mint, as the returns consist chiefly in silver bul¬
lion, amount to about seven or eight lacs. I he duties on
salt, the profits on saltpetre, which appears to be a mono¬
poly, on copper and iron mines, and the produce of the
land-tax, may be estimated at from fifteen to eighteen lacs.
Formerly the inhabitants of Thibet were supplied with a
silver currency from the mint of Nepaul, on which the
treasury gained a profit of a lac of rupees.
The trade of Nepaul is by no means so extensive as it
might be if it were conducted under proper regulations ;
being shackled by monopolies for the benefit ot govern¬
ment or of a few favoured merchants, who labour to pre¬
serve their privileges by the most invidious and corrupt
means in their power, and by other injudicious restraints.
But at the same time, the surplus produce ot so poor a
country could scarcely afford the basis of an extensive
trade; and it was accordingly rather the medium of com¬
munication between other countries, than remarkable for
the extent of its own commerce, formerly merchants
from Cashmere carried their manufactures to kutti and
other towns in Thibet, and received in return the wool
produced in these countries from the shawl goat. Such
portions of these manufactures as are not used in Ihibet
If
Trade.
were exported by the way of Teshoo Loomboo and Lassa, ^epaul. y
to Siling or Sining on the frontiers of China, and partly --
sent to Catmandoo by way of Patna. The principal goods
imported in return to answer the demand of Cashmere and
Nepaul were teas and silks ; and from Patna, it is said, they
exported otters’ skins to a great amount, procured from
the neighbourhood of Dacca. The articles imported into
Nepaul from Thibet are coarse woollen cloths, paper, horses,
sheep, shawl goats, chowry bullocks, chowries or cow-tads,
musk-deer, dogs, falcons, pheasants, sa t, sal-ammoniac,
hurtal or yellow arsenic, borax, quicksilver from China,
gold in grains and in small lumps, antimony, rugs or coarse
blankets, munijheet or Indian madder, cherns or extract
of hemp, besides various medicinal drugs anu preserved
fruits, sucb as almonds, walnuts, raisins, dates. . t iesc
articles, the greater part of the musk, chowries, hurtal,
borax, and bullion still find their way to Patna; whence m
return are sent north, buffaloes, goats, broad cloth, cutlery,
glass ware, and other European commodities, Indian cotton
manufactures, mother of pearl, pearls, coral, beads, spices,
pepper, betel nut and leaf, camphor, tobacco, tin, lead, zinc,
and phaioo, the red powder thrown by the Hindus during
the hooly. Besides these articles, utensils in wrought cop¬
per, brass, bell-metal, and iron, are sold to the merchants ot
Thibet. The borax and salt are said to be brought from
a lake which is situated nearly north from Catmandoo, about
fifteen days’ journey beyond the Brahmaputra. 1 he car¬
riers of these articles are a large kind ot sheep, with four
horns, which appear to be the common beasts of burden in
all countries towards the sources of the Inuus, Ganges,
and Brahmaputra. Formerly the lamas ot Lassa and ie-
shoo Loomboo sent a large sum in bullion to be coined at
the mint of Catmandoo, on which an allowance oi loui
per cent, was made for the coinage. But the rapacity of
the raiah induced him to alloy the rupee to the amount of
eight per cent., which had the effect of putting an entire
stop to this source of revenue. . xT i tit i \
The Newars are almost the only artisans in Nepaul; Manuk
and they appear to be acquainted with and to exercise ures-
most of the handicraft occupations of their neighbours.
The Newar women of all ranks, as well as the men, ot the
hill-tribe of Mugar, weave two sorts of cotton cloth, partly
for home use and partly for exportation. These cloths are
the dresses of the middling and lower classes, although
woollens would be much better fitted lor the cold climate
of a Nepaul winter. Those, accordingly, who are not very
poor, wear woollen blankets, which .are manufactured by
the Bhooteas, who wear nothing else. The dress of the
higher ranks is not manufactured at home, but is import¬
ed^ consisting of Chinese silks, shawls, low country mus¬
lins, and calicoes. European broad cloth is worn by the
military alone. They work very well in iron, copper, brass,
&c.; and in Lalita, Fatan, and Bhatgong, there are consi¬
derable manufactories of these articles, and also ot a spe¬
cies of bell-metal. One bell which was manufactured at
that place measured five feet in diameter. The Thibet
bells are superior to those of Nepaul, though a great many
bell-metal vessels are made by the Newars, and exported to
Thibet, along with those of brass and copper. They are
likewise particularly ingenious in carpentry; but it is re¬
markable that they never use a saw, dividing their wood,
of whatever size, by a chisel and mallet. They are skilful in
gilding ; and they manufacture at Bhatgong, from the bark
of a shrub, a very strong paper, remarkably well suited for
packages. They distil spirits from rice and other grains,
and also prepare a fermented liquor from wheat, munooa,
rice, &c. which they call jhaur. It is made somewha i
the manner of malt liquors, but is more intoxicating, ine
Newar peasants use it in the same manner, and consider
it as necessary for their comfort as the labouring people or
Britain do porter.
N E P A U L.
99
mil. The early history of Nepaul, like that of most of the
eastern countries, is buried under a mass of fable. The in-
habitants exhibit a list of princes for several thousand years
back, which is given in Colonel Kirkpatrick’s work, but
without any evidence of their authenticity. It is doubtful
whether such persons ever existed. We know, however,
that Nepaul was the scene of important revolutions, though
it never was subjected to the Delhi emperors, or to any of
the other great Asiatic powers. It is said to have been
completely subdued in a. d. 1323, by Hurr Singh, one of
the princes of Oude, who was driven out of his own pos¬
sessions by the Patans. But from that period there exists
no accurate information respecting the dynasties which
ruled during the interval, or the race of princes who go¬
verned Nepaul at the time of the Ghcorkha conquest. Run-
jeet Mull was the last of the Surya Bansi race, or children
of the sun, that reigned in Nepaul. He formed an alliance
with Purthi Nirain, which ended in the loss of his domi¬
nions, of which he was stript by his ally in the Newar year
890 or 888, corresponding to A. d. 1768. He possessed
great courage and insatiable ambition, and was indebted
for his success in war to his introduction of firelocks and
European discipline amongst his troops. It was in his reign
that Captain Kinloch, with a British force, endeavoured to
penetrate into Nepaul. But, from the sickness of the troops,
and the difficulty of the country, the enterprise was aban¬
doned. Purthi Nirain died about three years after the
final conquest of Nepaul, that is, in the year 1771. He
left two sons, Singh Pertaub and Behadur Shah, the former
of whom succeeded to the throne, and, conceiving a jealousy
of his brother, threw him into prison, whence he was with
difficulty released by the interference of one of the spiritual
guides of the Ghoorkha family, on condition that he should
live in exile. Singh Pertaub, after having extended his
father’s conquests, died in 1775, leaving one son, who was
an infant. Behadur Shah, on the death of his brother, re¬
turned from his exile to Catmandoo, and, having placed his
nephew on the throne, assumed the office of regent. But
the mother of the infant prince, Rajender Letchemi, con¬
trived to supplant Behadur Shah in his office, and even to
secure the person of her rival. Through the mediation,
however, of one of the priests, an accommodation took place,
and Behadur Shah was thus enabled to seize and confine
the ranee in his turn. Neglecting, however, to conciliate
the chief men of the state, he was again driven into banish¬
ment, from which he did not return till the death of the
princess, when he re-assumed the regency without opposi¬
tion. In the course of his administration, Palpa, and many
other petty states to the westward, Bhote to the north,
and Sikkim to the east, were compelled to submit to the
rule of the Ghoorkhas.
Towards the close of the administration of Mr Hastings
in India the Ghoorkha sovereigns were involved in hostili¬
ties with Thibet, and finally with China. The Teshoo Lama
of Thibet having proceeded to Pekin, died soon after his
ariival in that city. His brother, Sumhur Lama, taking
advantage of Ids absence, fled from Lassa to the rajah of
Nepaul, carrying along with him a considerable quantity
of treasure; and he made such representations to the Ne¬
paul government that their avarice was inflamed, and hav¬
ing marched a body of troops to Lassa, they extorted from
tne lama a tribute of three lacs of rupees. In 1790 they
detached to feshoo Loomboo, the residence of another
sacrea lama, a second body of troops, amounting to 7000
men, who pillaged the place and the sacred temples, and
succeeded m carrying off a large booty, though closely pur¬
sued by a Chinese army, and though, from the severity of
the weather, they lost 2000 men in their retreat. The em¬
peror of China, as the terrestrial superior of the lamas, and
their worshipper and protector, incensed by these unpro¬
voked aggressions, despatched an army of 70,000 men
against the Nepaulese, who were overthrown in repeated
battles ; and the Chinese army advanced to Noakote, within
twenty-six miles of Catmandoo, and sixty of the British
territory of Bengal. A peace was at last concluded, though
on terms ignominious to the Nepaulese, who were com¬
pelled to become tributaries to the Chinese, and to refund
the spoil which they had taken from the Thibet lamas. It
does not appear, however, that this tribute was ever ex¬
acted. It was about this period that Lord Cornwallis at¬
tempted to conclude a treaty of commerce with the Ne¬
paulese ; but every proposition of this nature was frustrat¬
ed by their extreme jealousy.
The queen-regent died in 1786, w hen the care of the
young rajah devolved entirely on his uncle Bahadur Shah,
who was accused of having, from disgraceful motives, en¬
couraged the rajah in his debaucheries, in hopes of bring¬
ing him into contempt, and of thus securing to himself the
reins of authority. In this expectation, however, he was
deceived, as the rajah, in 1795, when he had entered into
his twentieth year, suddenly announced to his uncle that
he had now resolved to assume the reins of government,
and being supported by a large proportion of the nobles,
Bahadur Shah, making a virtue of necessity, forbore all
resistance, and received in return assurances of the most
distinguished favour. The young rajah rendered himself
extremely popular during the first year of his reign. But
this fair prospect was speedily overcast, and the youth plun¬
ged into all the excesses of the most furious despotism and
cruelty. His first act was to arrest his uncle, and, loading
him with chains, to throw him into prison, where he was
starved to death. He daily tortured and mutilated his
subjects, and beheld their sufferings with savage joy. In
his outrages he made no distinction of age or sex. Wo¬
men of all castes, even those belonging to the sacred or¬
ders, were seized, and subjected to abuse from the vilest
characters. In 1797, he had a son by a brahmin widow,
who being taken seriously ill next year, and finding her
end approaching, reminded the rajah of the prediction of
astrologers, that he would never complete his twenty-fourth
year, and entreated that he would provide for the unpro¬
tected orphan they were about to leave. The rajah, rely¬
ing implicitly on the superstitious prophecy, immediately,
and in the most solemn manner, before all the chiefs, ab¬
dicated the throne in favour of his son, though illegitimate,
and an administration was then appointed, over which one
of his ranees or queens was appointed to preside. The ab¬
dicated monarch now devoted his whole time to attendance
on his favourite widow, who, notwithstanding all his atten¬
tion, and rich offerings at the different temples, soon after¬
wards expired. In his affliction he became quite frantic,
and perpetrated atrocities, the bare mention of which
causes the Nepaulese still to shudder, and which are too
shocking to be narrated. Amongst various enormities, he
directed the sacred temple of Bahvani to be demolished,
and the golden idol, which was a venerated object of wor¬
ship, to be ground to dust; and when the soldiers to whom
he had issued the orders demurred at such an act of sa¬
crilege, he commanded boiling oil to be poured on their
naked bodies. Nor did any one escape his rage. Neither
rank nor caste afforded any protection from his violence.
Even the first members of the government were scourged
without mercy, and otherwise tortured. A confederacy
was at last formed against the tyrant, who finding himself
abandoned, absconded during the night, and fled to Be¬
nares, which he reached in May 1800.
A close connection with Nepaul had always been a fa¬
vourite object with the British rulers of India, and the
flight of the rajah to Benares appeared to present a fair
opportunity for bringing it about. A treaty of alliance
was accordingly concluded between the two states, by
Captain \v. D. Knox, who was appointed ambassador,
Nepaul.
100
Nepaul.
N E F A U L.
and who proceeded to Catmandoo for the purpose in 1802.
' The terms of the treaty were considered as favourable to the
British interests; the Nepaulese being anxious to secure
the influence of such powerful neighbours against the tac¬
tion of the abdicated rajah, who still contended tor his re¬
storation. But whatever advantages were attained by this
treaty, were ultimately rendered nugatory by the jealous op¬
position of the subordinate officers amongst the Nepaulese,
who were probably instigated by their chiefs, the latter be¬
ing entirely unable to fulfil the obligations which they had
entered into. ,
The residency at Catmandoo was accordingly withdrawn
in the year 1804. About this time the abdicated monarch,
Run- Bahadur, by the able management of his queen, whom
he had always ill treated, was restored to his former au¬
thority. But as he continued to rule with his former bar¬
barity, his reign was of short duration; in 1805 a conspi¬
racy was formed against him, which terminated in his as¬
sassination. His death was succeeded by the most violent
conflicts between the adverse parties in the state, and did
not terminate until nearly the whole of the nobles at Cat¬
mandoo had perished. The surviving adherents of the
late rajah having at length secured the person of his son,
seized on the reins of government, putting to death such
of the opposite party as still remained. . . .
But during all these intestine commotions, it is remark¬
able that the Nepaulese still extended their conquests on
every side. To the west of Catmandoo, and towards the
Sutlege, the hill-chiefs were distracted by mutual jeal¬
ousies, and by no means in a condition to form a league for
their mutual defence. They were accordingly subdued
one after another by the armies of the Ghoorkhas, who very
soon made themselves masters, without the aid of artil¬
lery, of every hill-fort, from the Ganges to the Sutlege.
When their movements first attracted the notice of the
British government, their chief was vigorously prosecuting
the conquests of these states ; and as he advanced west¬
ward, he erected strong forts and stockades at convenient
positions, namely, Almorah, Serinagur, and Malowa. 1 he
Sikh frontier was also guarded by a strong line of fortified
posts ; and thus the consolidation of the Ghoorkha empire
proceeded with a slow but sure progress. The extensive
tract which lies between Catmandoo and the Sutlege was
held in firm subjection by a strong military force, whilst to
the east the Sikkim rajah was deprived of half his territo¬
ries, and compelled to pay a tribute for the remainder.
To the north the progress of conquest was restrained by
the Chinese power, with which the Ghoorkha chiefs had al¬
ready found themselves unable to cope, and also by a lofty
range of barren mountains. But the fertile and low situat¬
ed plains of the south presented a more alluring prospect,
and greater probabilities of success in a contest with a new
and untried power. The consequence was a series of en¬
croachments along the whole northern frontier of the Bri¬
tish possessions, especially in the district of Gorruckpoor
and Sarun. The British remonstrated against these pro¬
ceedings, and an investigation into the respective claims
of the two powers was commenced by commissioners joint¬
ly chosen, the result of which being entirely favourable to
the British, a detachment of regulars was ordered to take
possession of the debateable ground. But these being
withdrawn during the rainy season, the chief police sta¬
tion upon the frontier was attacked by large bodies of Ne¬
paulese, and the officers were compelled to fly, with a loss of
eighteen killed and six wounded. Shortly afterwards a se¬
cond attack was made on another police station, and several
persons were killed, after which the whole body was with¬
drawn ; and, in 1814, the war commenced. A brief account
of the operations of this war will be found under the article
Hindustan ; and it is only necessary here to state gene¬
rally, that the invasion of the Nepaulese dominions was
commenced on the western frontier, beyond the Jumna Nepaul.
and near the Sutlege, the country there being considered' v-
as of easier access than the mountainous barrier which
bounds the Nepaulese dominions on the side of Bengal, but
the British troops, in attempting to storm the stockades
and hill-forts, were repeatedly driven back with severe
loss, and suffered reverses to which they had been wholly
unused in the wars of India. Here it was that the brave
General Gillespie was slain, whilst he was encouraging Ins
troops, who had been repulsed, to renew the attack. In
1815 Sir David Ochterlony assumed the chief command,
and by a series of skilful operations, in which he dislodged
the Ghoorkha troops from the fortified heights of Malowa,
and ultimately so hemmed in their renowned commander
Ameer Singh, and his son, that they were forced to sign a
capitulation, by which they agreed, on being permitted to
retreat with their remaining troops, to abandon the whole
territory west of the Cali branch of the Goggra. In Ku-
maon also the British troops succeeded m driving the ene¬
my before them ; and, in consequence of these successes, a
definitive treaty of peace was signed on the 28th of Novem¬
ber 1815. But the signature of the rajah being withheld,
it was determined to renew the war, and to strike a deci¬
sive blow directly at the capital of the country. Prepara¬
tions for this arduous enterprise were made on a great
scale, a force being assembled at Sarun amounting to about
13,000 men, of whom 3000 were Europeans, besides a
large body of irregulars, amounting in all to above 46,000
troops. This formidable force took the field in the end of
January 1816, and advanced from the Bettiah district di¬
rectly on Catmandoo. The greatest difficulties weie en¬
countered, from the ruggedness of the country, in march¬
ing along the dry beds of torrents, through ravines, and
in the face of precipices. But all these obstacles weie
overcome by the patience of the troops, and the consum¬
mate skill and science of their commander. 1 he Ghoorklias
made a brave resistance, but they were overthrown in
several severe encounters; and the British force had now
approached within three days’ march of their capital, Cat¬
mandoo. Deeming all further resistance vain, an ambassa¬
dor was sent to the British head-quarters, to sue for peace ;
and the unratified treaty of the year 1815 was accordingly
duly signed. By this treaty the Nepaulese renounced all
claims to the territory in dispute. They also ceded all the
conquests which they had made to the west of the Cali
branch of the Goggra, and which, with the exception of
Kumaon, the Deyrah Doon, and some other portions of ter¬
ritory annexed to the British dominions, were restored to
the families of the chiefs who had reigned there prior to the
Ghoorkha invasion, and who were now to rule as vassals of
the British; it being understood, however, that the latter
were not to interfere in the internal administration, but
were merely to act as arbiters between rival chiefs.
In the course of this contest with the British, the Ne¬
paulese had earnestly entreated the aid of the Chinese
against the Europeans, whom their ambassadors represent¬
ed as desirous of acquiring Nepaul merely to serve as an
intervening point in their progress to China. I hen app i-
cation being transmitted by the grand lama to Pekin, an
answer was received, in which the emperor expressed his
conviction that the Ghoorkhas had themselves been the
cause of the war by their unjust encroachments, and de¬
clined all interference. After peace was concluded, the
Chinese emperor expressed deep offence against the rulers
of Nepaul, who, being merely tributaries, had presumed to
make war or peace with the British, without the sanction
of their superior; and, to back those lofty pretensions, an
army of 15,000 men, commanded by five generals, and at¬
tended by Chinese functionaries of superior rank, usually
stationed at Lassa, actually advanced towards the Nepau¬
lese territories. At the request of the Nepaul ministers,
ean
J i aid
N E P
tlie British consented to act as mediators. But in the
mean time they themselves despatched to the Chinese camp
agents, who having reached it early in September 1816,
^succeeded in bringing about the restoration of peace, and
of all the ancient relations between the two powers. In
1816, Ameer Singh Thappa, one of the most distinguished
Ghoorkha commanders, who had so gallantly disputed the
field with Sir David Ochterlony, died, at the age of sixty-
eiglit. To the last day of his life he was endeavouring, by
negotiation, and by every art, to excite amongst the different
states a spirit of hostility against the British, as the com¬
mon enemies of Indian independence. Two of his widows
devoted themselves to death along with him; one sacri¬
ficed herself on the spot, and the other was at the same time
preparing for the fatal pile at the temple of Pushpoonath,
within the valley of Catmandoo. In November 1816, the
young rajah died of the small-pox, at the age of twenty-
one years. One of his queens, and one of his concubines,
together with five female attendants, devoted themselves
to the funeral pile along with the corpse. He left one
son, three years of age, named Rajindra Bickram Shah, who
succeeded quietly to the throne, under the guardianship
of the minister Bheem Singh Thappa ; a very unusual cir¬
cumstance in the annals of Nepaul. No interruption has
occurred since this period to the peace happily concluded
with the British ; nor, according to the latest accounts, has
the internal tranquillity of the country been disturbed.
NEPEAN Island, in the South Pacific Ocean, is about
a quarter of a mile distant from Norfolk Island. The com¬
munication, however, is rendered difficult by the moun¬
tainous sea which runs between the two islands, and which,
during the short period they have been occupied by British
settlers, has occasioned numerous fatal accidents. It is
uninhabited, and is employed as a place of transportation
for refractory convicts, where they are employed in boil¬
ing salt.
NEPEAN Point, a rocky promontory on the north
coast of New Holland, and' the eastern point of entrance
into Port Philip. Long. 144. 38. E. Lat. 38. 18. S.
NEPOMUK, a town of the Austrian kingdom of Bo¬
hemia, in the circle of Klattau, adjoining to which are
some extensive iron-works and mines, on the hill called
the Gruneburg, belonging to Prince Colloredo. It is a
place highly venerated, from having given birth to John
Nepomuk, in the year 1320. That person is reported
to have been confessor to the queen, whose chastity was
suspected by her spouse. He demanded of the confessor
the revelation of what had passed in the confession ; but
Nepomuk refused to disclose it. For this he was bound
hand and foot; and still refusing to discover the secrets,
wras in that condition thrown into the Moldau and drown¬
ed. He was afterwards, for this conduct, canonized by
the pope, and included in the catalogue of martyrs. He
thus became the tutelar saint of the Bohemian Catholics.
NEPOS, Cornelius, a Latin writer, who was the friend
of Cicero, Atticus, and the poet Catullus, and flourished
D. c. 40. It is uncertain where he was born, but Pliny (iii.
22, 2) calls him Padi accola; and his friendship with Ca¬
tullus makes it not improbable that Hostilia, near Verona,
where that poet was born, was also his birthplace. We
possess no information respecting his private life; but
many of his works are cited by later writers. 1. His
Chronicles or Annals, probably in three books, of which
the fragments do not enable us to decide whether they
were confined to the history of Rome, or included that of
all nations. Some have asserted that this was a mere trans¬
lation of the work of Apollodorus on the same subject;
but they have no sufficient grounds for so believing. 2.
The Pxemplorum Libri, of which the fifth book is cited
by Aulus Gellius (vii. 18), and which seems to have been
a work containing remarkable transactions selected from
N E P
101
history; but this may have been only another title for his Neptune,
work. 3. The Lives of Illustrious Men, of which the six-"
teenth book is cited, and the lives we now possess no doubt
formed a part. 4. The Lives of Historians (Nep. Dion, iii.),
which included both Greek and Latin. It seems not un¬
likely that the biographical sketch still remaining of Atti¬
cus, and the longer one of Porcius Cato, which he men¬
tions (Cato, iii.), belonged to this collection. 5. The Let¬
ters to Cicero, which must have been published, as some
of them are quoted by Lactantius (Inst. iii. 15). It would
appear that he had also made successful attempts in poetry
(Phn. Ep. v. 3).
We possess a work under the name of Nepos, Vita
Excellentium Lnperatorum, which is not mentioned by any
ancient writer under this title. It contains short biogra¬
phical sketches of twenty commanders, mostly Greek ; an
essay, Be Regibus, which is little else than the mere names
of Greek and Persian kings ; and the lives of Hamilcar and
Hannibal. There are also two other biographical sketches
of Atticus and Cato, which used to be separated from the
rest, because they were not found in all the manuscripts,
or, when found, were entitled Ex libro Corn. Nepotis de
Latinis Historicis, whilst the others used to be considered
as the work of a certain Aimilius Probus, whose name wras
found in all the manuscripts. The following unpoetical
lines were found to precede them :
Vade liber noster, fato meliore memento,
Cum legat hsec dominus, te sciat esse meum.
Si roget auctorem, paullatim detege nostrum
Tunc domino nomen, me sciet esse Probum.
This JEmilius Probus was long considered as a contem¬
porary of Nepos; but he is now generally believed to be
theprafectuspratorio to whom Ausonius addresses his six¬
teenth epistle, and is supposed to have lived in the reign
of Iheodosius, a. d. 370. At first, however, this work ap¬
peared under the name of Probus, and was thus published
1471, and in the following editions till 1563. Gifanius in
1566 first directed the attention of the literary world to
Nepos as the author; and subsequent investigation has
nearly set the question at rest. Attempts have, however,
been recently made by an Italian critic (in his Saggio di
un Esame critico per restituire ad Emilio Probo il libro
Be Vitis Excell. Imp. creduto communemente de Corn. Ne-
pote, Venez. 1818, et Kohen; and in Considerazioni sul
Saggio di un Esame del Sign. Rinck. Mediol. 1819) to revive
the old opinion; and he founds his belief on the authority
of the manuscripts and of the poetical address or dedica¬
tion, on the silence of ancient writers, to whom these lives
seem to have been unknown, on several mistakes in his¬
tory and chronology which appear in the work, and on the
language, which he considers as unworthy of the golden age
of Roman literature. (See this question treated fully by
Bardili, in his preface to his edition, Stuttgard, 1820; and
by Diihne, Lips. 1827.)
NEPTUNE, in pagan worship, the god of the sea, was
the son of Saturn and Vesta or Ops, and the brother of
Jupiter and Pluto. He assisted Jupiter in his expeditions,
for which reason that god, when he attained the supreme
power, assigned to him the sea and the islands as his empire.
He was, however, expelled from heaven along with Apollo,
for conspiring against Jupiter; and after this event both
were employed by Laomedon, king of Phrygia, in building
the walls of Troy; but that prince having dismissed Neptune
without a reward, the latter in revenge sent a sea-monster to
lay waste the country. He is said to have been the original
inventor of horsemanship and chariot racing, on which ac¬
count Mithridates king of Pontus threw chariots drawn by
four horses into the sea in honour of this god, and the
Romans had horse-races in the circus during his festival,
when all other horses left working, and the mules were
adorned with wreaths of flowers. In a contest with ML
y.
-<
vO
102
Neptune'
Isles
II
Nereus
N E R
N E R
's nerva lie produced a horse by striking the earth with his
trident; and on another occasion, in a trial of skill with
Minerva and Vulcan, he produced a bull, for which reason
that animal was sacrificed to him. His favourite wife was
Amphytrite, whom he long courted in vain, till sending a
dolphin to intercede for him, he met with success, and the
dolphin was rewarded by being placed amongst the stais.
Besides Amphytrite, he had two other wives; one oi
whom was called Salasia, from the salt water, and the other
Venilia, from the ebbing and flowing of the tides. He had
likewise many concubines, by whom he had a great number
of children. He is represented with black hair, and a gar¬
ment of an azure or sea-green, holding his trident in his
hand, seated in a large shell drawn by sea-horses, and at¬
tended by the sea-gods Palemon, Glaucus, and 1 horcys,
and the goddesses Thetis, Melita, and Panopsea, wit a
long train of tritons and sea-nymphs. This deity was known
in Egypt by the name of Canobus or Canopus, and was
worshipped as the nnmen aquarum, or spirit of the Nile.
NEPTUNE’S Isles, a cluster of low islands situated on
the south coast of New Holland, at the entrance into Spen¬
cer’s Gulf. r
NERAC, an arrondissement of the department ot the
Lot and Garonne, in France, 443 square miles in extent. It
contains seven cantons, divided into ninety-tvvo communes,
and inhabited by 57,500 persons. The capital is the city ot
the same name, situated on a fruitful plain, through which
the river Blaise runs. In a castle now in ruins the kings ot
Navarre held their court, and Henry IV. of France passed
his youth in it. It contains 860 houses, with 58o0 inhabi¬
tants, who make cotton goods, druggets, and serges, leather
and glass, and domestic articles of coppey ware ; and carry
on considerable trade in corn, wine, and other productions
of the soil. Long. 0. 13. E. Lat. 44. 10. N.
NERBUDDAH, a large river of Hindustan, in the pro¬
vince of Gundwana, which, after a course of 750 miles,
falls into the Gulf of Cambay. This river has its source
at Omercuntuc, in the above province, close to that of the
Soane. The Mahanuddv has also its source in the same
mountain. A Hindu temple is found in the centre of the
table-land at Omercuntuc; and here the Nerbuddah rises
from a small well, and flows along in a smooth stream, un¬
til it is precipitated into the Mundlah. This is described
as a great fall by the natives ; and the river at the foot of
the table-land expands into a wide surface, and, being join¬
ed by other streams, assumes the appearance of a large
river. From this point its course is due west, with the
straightest course of any river perhaps in the world. It
passes through Gundwana, Khandesh, Mulwah, and Guje-
rat, and, after passing the city of Broach, falls into the
Gulf of Cambay, and is navigable for boats to a consider¬
able distance. This river was in former times the boun¬
dary between Hindustan Proper and the Deccan or south-
. ern peninsula. It is sometimes called the Reva.
NEREIDS, in the pagan theology, sea-nymphs, daugh¬
ters of Nereus and Dorus. The Nereids were esteemed
very handsome, insomuch that Cassiope, the wife of Ce-
pheus, king of Ethiopia, having triumphed over all the
beauties of the age, and dared to vie with the Nereids,
they were so enraged that they sent a prodigious sea-mon¬
ster into the country ; and, to appease them, Cassiope was
commanded by the oracle to expose her daughter Andro¬
meda, bound to a rock, to be devoured by the monster.
In* ancient monuments, the Nereids are represented as
riding upon sea-horses ; sometimes with an entire human
form, and at other times with the tail of a fish.
NEREUS, in fabulous history, a marine deity, was son
of Oceanus and Thetis. He settled in the iEgean Sea,
was considered as a prophet, had the power of assum-
in°- whatever form he pleased, and married his sister Do¬
ris, by whom he had fifty daughters called the Neieids,
who constantly attended on Neptune, and when he went
abroad surrounded his chariot.
NERO, Claudius Caesar, the sixth of the Caesars,
was the fourth Roman emperor in succession from Augus¬
tus, and descended from a family which had taken an ac¬
tive part in all the important political transactions of their
country. This family, however, had partaken of the de¬
generacy of the times, and the more immediate predeces¬
sors of Nero had been more distinguished for their follies
and extravagancies than for the stern virtues of the eailiei
ages. His grandfather, Cneius Domitius, was chiefly known
for the cruelties he had allowed to be perpetrated in the
gladiatorial exhibitions, which it was at last found neces¬
sary to put down by a public edict, the private remon¬
strances of AugustusHiaving been disregarded. Cneius
Domitius was married to Antonia Major, the elder daugh¬
ter of Marc Antony by Octavia, sister to Augustus, and
had by her L. Domitius, the father of Nero. L. Domitius
attended C. Ciesar to the East, where he was dismissed
with ignominy, because he had put to death his fieed-
man for refusing to drink as much wine as he ordered.
Towards the end of the reign of Tiberius, he was accused
of a variety of enormities, and only escaped by the death
of the emperor. He was married to Agrippina, the daugh¬
ter of Germanicus, and the sister of Caligula the emperor.
Nero was born at Antium, in Latium, on thelSth of De¬
cember, a. d. 37, nine months after the muider of Tibe¬
rius, and in the first year of Caligula’s reign. On receiving
the congratulations of his friends, his father said that it was
no subject of joy, as he was certain that nothing good could
spring from such parents as himself and Agrippina. Nero
lost his father in his third year, and was at the same time
deprived by Caligula of his patrimonial estate. Ihe young
Nero took refuge in the house of his aunt, vEmiiia Lepida,
till the accession of Claudius, a. d. 41, when the property
of his father w'as restored, and he also became the heir of
his step-father, Crispus Passienus, an old rich senator,
whom his mother had in the meanwhile married. In his ele¬
venth year he was adopted by the Emperor Claudius, a. d.
48, who had been induced, by the wiles of his mother, to
raise her to the imperial throne. He was now placed under
the tuition of the philosopher Annaeus Seneca ; but the
pernicious doctrines and example of a corrupt court were
far more likely to make an impression upon the youthful
mind of Nero than the stern doctrines of the philosopher.
We must not therefore place the follies of the prince to
the account of Seneca, nor conclude that he did not per¬
form his duty towards him. In his seventeenth year, A. n.
54, he married Octavia, the daughter of Claudius ; and the
same year he ascended the throne (13th of Octobei), on
the death of the emperor, who was supposed to have been
poisoned by Agrippina.
Nero began his reign with the usual professions of re¬
spect for the senate, and of an intention to take its opinion
in all matters of importance. The administration of affairs
was chiefly in the hands of Agrippina, of Burrus the pre¬
fect of the praetorian guard, and of Seneca the instructor ot
the emperor. The two latter tried to moderate the furious
proceedings of Agrippina, and to prevent her from taking
any part in public affairs. Her quarrels with Nero soon ena¬
bled them to succeed in this object, as her imperious dispo¬
sition could endure no rival. Her friend Pallas, who had
assisted her to get rid of Claudius, was ordered to retire
from court; and Britannicus, the son of Claudius, whose
cause Agrippina threatened to espouse, was removed by
poison. In the meanwhile, Nero amused himself by night
in traversing the streets of Rome in search of adventures:
he used to attack people returning from supper, and even
to break into shops and rob them, sometimes at the risk ot
his life. The most innocent of his amusements was mu¬
sic, of which he is said to have been passionately fond.
Nero.
N E R N E R 103
10. His whole time was devoted to the cultivation of this taste,
'''""'and, after he had delighted the ears of private parties with
his vocal powers, he at last made his appearance upon the
public stage, at Naples, a. d. 64, and was of course much
applauded. It is said, that whilst he was performing, the
theatre was shaken violently by an earthquake, but that
he was so absorbed with the music that he did not perceive
it. Agrippina made many attempts to regain her influence
over her son, and some of these were of the most flagi¬
tious kind ; but Nero having become entirely devoted to
Poppaea Sabina, was encouraged by her to get rid of Agrip¬
pina. After making several abortive attempts, he at last
succeeded, a. d. 59; and, that he might be legally united
to Poppasa, he ordered his wife Octavia to be put to death,
a. n. 62. By Poppaea he had one daughter, who died in in¬
fancy ; and he is said to have soon got rid of this wroman by
striking her with his heel on the stomach when she annoy¬
ed him by complaining of his being frequently absent from
her. The dreadful conflagration which happened at Rome,
a. n. 64, was generally believed at the time to have been
caused by his orders; and it was even said, that at the mo¬
ment when it was raging most furiously, he appeared on the
top of the palace of Maecenas, on the Esquiline Hill, and
sung part of a tragedy entitled the Burning of Troy. It
continued to rage during six days, and was only at last
stopped by throwing down some of the houses, and thereby
preventing the communication of the fire. The use which
Nero afterwards made of the space thus cleared by the fire
was a strong corroboration of the truth of the report. He
appropriated the ground to himself, and erected a palace,
called Aurea Domus from its magnificence, but which was
still more remarkable for the beauty of the gardens and
ground attached to it. They were laid out under the di¬
rection of Severus and Celer, two engineers, who proposed
to him to cut a canal along the coast, from Lake Avernus
to Ostia, a distance of 160 miles. What advantage he sup¬
posed likely to arise from such a project it is difficult to
discover; but he actually commenced it in the vicinity of
Cumae, and it is supposed that the Imqo di Licola is the
remains of this foolish enterprise. Another work which he
attempted had been projected by Caligula. This was to cut
through the Isthmus of Corinth ; and so much interest did
he take in the work, that he commenced it with his own hand,
in order to encourage the workmen to proceed in it with
zeal. The people were so firmly convinced that the con¬
flagration had been the work of incendiaries, that Nerofound
it necessary to turn the public indignation in some other di¬
rection than himself. The Christians were at this time at-
ti acting attention, and, like most new sects, were charged
by their enemies with the most atrocious crimes. Nero ac¬
cused them of having set fire to the city, and many w ere in
consequence put to the most cruel deaths. His conduct had
now excited very general indignation against him ; and as
no one felt secure of his life, a conspiracy was entered
into by all the principal men in Rome, including Seneca,
and Lucan the poet. It does not appear that Seneca had
any thing farther to do with the conspiracy than that he
was cognizant of it. The conspiracy, however, was disco-
vered, a. m 65, and most of the conspirators were put to
death. On the murder of Poppaea, Nero proposed to marry
Antonia, daughter of Claudius ; but she preferred death to
an union with such an inhuman monster. He married Steti-
na M essaiina,by vvhom he had no children. The first circum¬
stance which excited his alarm was the revolt of Vindex,
governor of Gaul, wdio published a manifesto against him,
in which he gave the greatest annoyance to Nero by call-
mg him a miserable and despicable musician. Nothing
could have given Nero greater pain than such an assertion.
A few days afterwards he received intelligence from Spain
o the desertion of Galba, who was destined to be empe¬
ror } and he at once gave himself up for lost. He sent some
Oi his most faithful freedmen to prepare some ships at Ostia Nertschink
for flight, and in the meanwhile solicited some tribunes T II
and centurions of the praetorian guard to accompany him; -^eiva-
but on various pretexts they refused. He soon found him- ^ ^ v ”
self completely abandoned by all except a few of his freed¬
men, one of whom, Phaon, offered to conceal him in his
villa, about four miles from Rome, between the Via Salaria
and Nomentana. But on his way thither he was recognised
by a soldier, and though he reached his place of conceal¬
ment, he was soon discovered, and had only time to give
himself a mortal wound when his enemies appeared. He
died on the 9th of June, a. d. 68, in the thirty-second
year of his age, and the anniversary day on which he
had put his wife Octavia to death. He was succeeded
by Galba, the last of the family of Augustus who ruled
the Roman empire. (Suetonius’ Life of Nero; Dion. Cas-
sius, in the Extracts of Zephilinus ; Tacitus’ Annals, books
xiii.-xvi.)
NElv ibCHIMv, a town of Asia, under the jurisdiction
of Russia. It is situated on th*e Chinese frontier ; but its
importance has much declined since the route of the Chi¬
nese caravans, which was formerly through this town, has
been changed to the route of Selinginsk. A few merchants
still remain, who carry on a small fur trade, particularly in
sables. It was built in 1658, and was then merely a pali-
sadoed fort; but in 1781 it was raised to the rank of a
town. It contains two churches, and about 2000 inhabi¬
tants, including the military. The neighbouring moun¬
tains afford excellent pasturage, but the district is chiefly
distinguished by the mines of lead and silver, which are
worked by the crown ; and persons condemned to exile
aie employed in this remote part of the empire. Long.
116. 44. E. Lat. 51. 56. N. &
NERVA, M. Cocceius, the eleventh Roman emperor
in succession from Augustus, was born a. d. 33, in the
twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius. It is curious that
his name is scarcely mentioned in history till he ascended
the imperial throne, after he had passed his sixtieth year.
He was piobably the relation of Cocceius Nerva, who is
described by I acitus (Ann. vi. 26) as distinguished for his
knowledge of law', and as having put himself to death ra¬
ther than survive his friends, who had fallen a sacrifice to
the tyranny of Tiberius. We find him consul a. d. 71, being
the second year of the reign of Vespasian, and a second
time a. d. 90, in the tenth year of the reign of Domitian ;
but history records nothing for which he was distinguish¬
ed. lowards the close of Domitian’s reign, he was in
exile with many good men at Tarentum; and hearing of
the bold defence made by Pliny the younger for the inha¬
bitants of Boetica against Bcebius Massa, he wrote to Pliny
to congratulate him on the example he had given. (Plin.
Ep. in. 33.) When the conspirators had resolved to put
to death the Emperor Domitian, they found it no easy task
to discover a person who would agree to be his successor,
as every one suspected that it was a snare laid by Domi¬
tian himself to entrap them. Nerva, howrever, was per¬
suaded to i un the risk, an astrologer having some time be-
foie piedicted that he would ascend the imperial throne.
Domitian was murdered on the 18th of September a. d. 96,
and Nerva was on the same day saluted emperor. The kind
and benevolent disposition of Nerva must have been doubly
felt from its strong contrast with the ferocious cruelty of
his predecessor. One of his first acts was to release all those
who had been accused of what was designated impiety,
which consisted of the slightest neglect of respect to the
emperor or his statues. This law was of so comprehen¬
sive a nature, that it was scarcely possible to escape, and
the only chance seemed to be, by being active in the ac¬
cusation of others. Domitian had also passed a severe law
against those who practised Jewish rites, by which profane
writers no doubt meant the followers of the Christian reli-
104
Nerves
II
Nestor.
N E S
N E S
gion; but Nerva refused to listen to any such accusations, ror spared Ins life, ami plac U er of C|ymcnus.' ^
Whatever property had been taken unjustly by Domitian Pylos. He mamed E J t|.e 5au hter 0,-- Alreup.
.he restored to its lawful owners; and he at the same or, according to othe, - the fieia of battle, and
time did every thing in his power to lessen the expenses He soon ^‘ingoished h.ms 1 pirith when a bloody
of the state. He swore in the senate that no senator was present at the "uptml Cen[aur5 and the La.
should be put to death by his orders; and even when a encounter took place ^ ^ ^ yIe8scniai |le led his subjects
conspiracy was formed against him, he kept to his resolu- pith®. s mg > distinguished himself amongst
tion. He used frequently to say that he had done nothing to the Trojan " et, "here he distm “ wisdom,
to prevent him living in safety as a private citizen if he the Grecian chief, by h eloquence ^ re_
chose to laydown his authority. In nothing did he show enj d iJn ,hc bosom of his
his sagacity and his anxiety to secure the happiness of the turne , .|]iiv wbich were necessary at
empire more than by his adoption of M. Ulpms Nerva family the "‘^.nd the time of his death
Trajanus to be his successor, although he was not without his advtmced age. The manner a tl]at
many near relatives. He died, after a reign of sixteen are "en^rations of men. He had two daugh-
months, on the 27th of January, a. D. 98, in the sixty-fifth ,ie °U p; ? p ‘ j Polvcaste; and seven sons, Perseus,
year of his age. (Xiphilinus, Extracts from Dion Cassius.) *ars, P suhce a 1 ^ J Pisistratus, Antilochus, and
NERVES, certain white glistening chords, proceeding btraticus, Aretus, I
from the brain and spinal marrow, and dividing mtoJCT, a „ „hos£, secular name is not known, was
a native of Russia, and the earliest historian of the north.
He was born at the town of Bielozero in the \ear 10o6,
and in the nineteenth year of his age he assumed the mo-
nastic habit, in the convent of Petcherski, at Kiew, and
took the name of Nestor. He there made considerable
small branches, which are sent off throughout all parts of
the body, and which form the organs of sensation and mo-
NESA, a town of Khorasm, or Independent 1 artary
which was taken and nearly destroyed by Genghis Khan
in 1221, after a siege of fifteen days. It is situated near
in 1221, after a siege of fifteen days, it is situated near look ^ j ^ but appears to have
the Persian province of Khorassan, 100 miles norti of profici cy ^ manner rather from the study of the
Meshed. ^ ,
NESHIN, a circle in the Russian province Ischerm-
20W, extending in north latitude from 50. 32. to 52. 26.
and in east longitude from 21. 19. to 22. 43. It is one of
the most extensive but poorest portions of the ancient
Ukraine. The capital is a city of the same name, situated
on the river Ostin, 822 miles from St Petersburg, and is
the best built city, not only of the province, but of the
country which was formerly known as Little Russia, it
is surrounded with walls and defended by a citadel ; and
it contains fifteen churches, 3000 houses, and 16,oOO in¬
dustrious inhabitants. There are several establishments
of Greeks and Arminians, who have manufactories of silk
goods, soap, leather, liqueurs, and especially of perfum-
erv which is dispersed throughout the whole of Russia,
and sent into Moldavia, Poland, Hungary, and even to
Vienna. There are three great annual fairs, at which
much business is transacted in wool, tobacco, honey, wax,
salt, and manufactured goods. Public schools are main¬
tained for instruction in the classical languages, and in mo¬
dern Greek. It is situated in north latitude ol. ~. 4o.
and east longitude 21. 44. 25. , , . ^ ,
NESSUS, in fabulous history, was a celebrated Centaur,
the son of Ixion and a Cloud. He offered violence to Deja-
nira, whom Hercules had intrusted to his care, with orders
to carry her across the river Evenus. Hercules saw the
distress of his wife from the opposite shore of the river,
and immediately let fly one of his poisoned arrows, which
struck the Centaur to the heart. Nessus, as he expired,
Formed his style and manner rather from the study of the
Byzantine historians, Cedrenus, Zonaras, and Svncellus,
than from that of the ancient classics. The time of Nes¬
tor’s death has not been ascertained; but he is supposed
to have lived to an advanced age, and to have died about
the year 1115. His great work is his Chronicle, to which
he has prefixed an introduction. In this work, after a
short sketch of the early state of the world, taken from
the Bvzantine writers, he gives a geographical description
of Russia and the adjacent regions; with an account ot
the Sclavonian nations, their manners, their emigrations
from the banks of the Danube, their dispersion, and their
settlement in the several countries in which their descen¬
dants are now established. He then enters upon a chro¬
nological series of the Russian annals, from the yea[
to about 1113. His style is simple and unadorned, being
such as best suits a mere recorder of facts; and his chrot
nological exactness, although it renders his narrative dry
and tedious, has enabled him to fix the era and to deter¬
mine the authenticity of the events which he relates.
NESTO RIANS, a sect of ancient Christians, who held
that Mary was not the mother of God. They received
their name from Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, whose
doctrines were spread with much zeal throughout Svna,
Ecrypt, and Persia. One of the chief promoters of the Nes-
torian cause was Barsumas, who appears to have been creat¬
ed Bishop of Nisibis in the year 435. Such were his zeal
and success, that the Nestorians considered him alone as
their parent and founder. By him Pherozes the Persian
struck the Centaur to the heart. Nessus, as he expired t0 ex*pel those Christians who had
^^th^^^W-mhCS’^ ans^the^p^ce'-5and^to^pu^the^lattertn^os^ssiorToDhe
sure, and this mournful present cause ie a sch0ol, from which proceeded those Nestonan doctors who
cules. rwtor in thp him- in the fifth and sixth centuries spread their tenets through;
and contains nofewer than seven other townships, v Great
Neston had, in 1801, 1486 inhabitants; m 1811, 1332 ; in
1821, 1418; and in 1831, 1633.
NESTOR, in fabulous history, was the son ot Neleus
and Chloris, nephew to Pelias, and grandson to Neptune
He had eleven brothers, who, with his father, were all kill-
two persons in Jesus Christ, as well as that the \irgin was
not his mother as God, but only as man. The abettors o
this doctrine refuse the title Nestorians, alleging that it had
been handed down from the earliest times of the Christian
church. In the tenth century, the Nestorians in Chaldsea,
whence they were sometimes called Chaldceans, extende
thers, who, with his father, were all kill- wnence cney >ve.c \ ! * ~~'a ntrnduced
and^prov'edtecause of ts" pTsenS^ Thelnque^ Se'cSan rel^on Into TaTtary properly so called, espe-
N E S
N onus, dally into the country bordering on the northern part of
v“' China. The prince of that country, whom the Nestorians
converted to the Christian faith, is said to have assumed,
after his baptism, the name of John, to which, from a prin¬
ciple of modesty, he added the surname of presbyter; and
hence it is said that his successors were each of them call¬
ed Prester John until the time of Ghengis Khan. But
Mosheim observes, that the famous Prester John did not
begin to reign in that part of Asia before the conclusion of
the eleventh century. The Nestorians formed so consi¬
derable a body of Christians, that the missionaries of Rome
were industrious in their endeavours to reduce them un¬
der the papal yoke; and for this purpose Innocent IV. in
1246, and Nicolas IV. in 1278, employed their utmost
efforts, but without success. Till the time of Julius III.
the Nestorians acknowledged but one patriarch, who resided
first at Bagdad, and afterwards at Mosul; but a division
having arisen amongst them, in the year 1551 the patriar¬
chate became divided, at least for a time, and Julius con¬
secrated a new patriarch, whose successors fixed their re¬
sidence in the city of Ormus, in the mountainous part of
Persia, where they were distinguished by thename of Simeon.
The great Nestorian pontiffs, who form the opposite party,
and look with a hostile eye on this patriarch, have since
the year 1559 been distinguished by the name of Elias,
and reside constantly in the city of Mosul. Their spiritual
dominion is very extensive, including a great part of Asia,
and comprehending also within its circuit the Arabian Nes¬
torians, and the Christians of St Thomas, who dwell alonf
the coast of Malabar. About the middle of the seven¬
teenth century, the Catholic missionaries gained over to the
communion of Rome a small number of Nestorians, whom
they formed into a congregation or church, the patriarchs
or bishops of which resided in the city of Amida, or Diar-
bekir, and all assumed the denomination of Joseph. But
the Nestorians in general persevered in their refusal to
enter into the communion of the Church of Rome.
NES TORIES, from whom the sect of Nestorian Chris¬
tians derive their name, was born in Germanica, a city of
Syria. He received his education at Antioch, where he
was likewise baptized ; and soon afterwards he withdrew
to a monastery in the suburbs of that city. Upoa bein»
admitted into the order or priesthood, he acquired so great
reputation, by the eloquence of his preaching, and the re¬
gularity of his life, that the Emperor Theodosius deemed
him a fit person to fill the second see in the Christian
church ; and he was accordingly consecrated Bishop of Con-
stantmople m the year 429. In one of his first sermons
after his promotion, he publicly declared his intention to
make war upon heretics, and called upon the emperor to
free the earth from heretics, promising to give him heaven
as a reward for his zeal; and adding, “ Join with me in war
against them, and I will assist you against the Persians.”
Although the wiser and better part of his audience were
amazed to see a man, before he had tasted the water of
his city, as an historian expresses it, declare that he would
persecute all who were not of his opinion, yet tile majority
of the people approved of this discourse, and encouraged
mm to execute his purpose. Accordingly, five days after
ins consecration, he attempted to demolish the'church
in which the Anans secretly held their assemblies; and
he succeeded so far in his design, that these people, ren¬
dered desperate, set it on fire of their own accord, by
‘t was consumed, along with some of the
in °U,nn^ ouses. This fire excited great commotions
incendiary ’ ^ NeSt0nus was ever afterwards called an
From the Anans he turned his persecution against the
s^tinn ofntHbUt WaS Checked in his career by thf interpo-
TnZ Cl hf- empf?r-. He then let loose his fury upon
™lCxyi ASia’-Lydia’ and Caria’ who celebrated
NET
105
the feast of Easter upon the fourteenth day of the moon; and
for this unimportant deviation from the Catholic practice,'
these people were murdered by his agents, both
at , Iiletum and isardis. One can scarcely regret that such
a relentless persecutor should himself have been afterwards
condemned as a heretic, for holding an opinion which no
man out of the church of Rome will now venture to con-
troyert. The obnoxious tenet which produced a schism
in the church, and was condemned by a general council,
consisted in maintaining that the Virgin Mary cannot with
propriety be called the mother of God. The’people beinjr
accustomed to hear this expression, were much inflamed
against their bishop, imagining that he had revived the
error of Paul of Samosata and Photinus, who taught that
Jesus Christ was a mere man. The monks declared open-
ly against him, and, along with some of the most consider¬
able men of Constantinople, separated themselves from his
communion. Several bishops wrote to him, earnestly urg¬
ing him to acknowledge that Mary was the mother of God •
and when he refused to comply,*they procured his condem¬
nation in the council of Ephesus, which deprived him of
is see. He then withdrew to his former retreat at Anti¬
och, whence, four years afterwards, he was removed by the
emperor s order, and in 435 banished to Tarsus ; and when
that city was taken and destroyed bv the barbarians, he
was transferred to Panopobs, a city of Thebais. But he
w as not suffered to remain long there, and being compelled
to wander from place to place, having received a severe
bruise m one of his journeys, death soon relieved him from
the rage of his persecutors.
If we examine such of his writings as remain, we shall
find that he was unjustly condemned. It appears that he
rejected the errors of Ebion, Paul of Samosata, and Pho-
tinus; that he maintained in express terms, that the Di¬
vine Uord was united to the human nature in Jesus Christ
in the most strict and intimate sense possible; that these
two natures, in this state of hypostatical union, make but
one Christ and one person ; that the properties of the di¬
vine and human natures may both be attributed to this
person; and that Jesus Christ may be said to have been
born of a virgin, to have suffered and died. But he would
never admit that God could be said to have been born, m
have suffered, or to have died.
NET, a device for catching fishes and fowls. The taking
of fowls by means of nets is the readiest and most advan¬
tageous method, where numbers are to be caught. The
making of the nets is very easy, and what every true sports¬
man ought to do for himself. All the necessary tools are,
wooden needles, of which there should be several of diffe¬
rent sizes, some round, and others flat; a pair of round
pointed and flat sassars; and a wheel to wind off the
thread. The pack-thread should be of different strength
and thickness, according to the sort of birds to be taken •
and the general size of the meshes, if not for very small
bu-ds should be two inches from point to point. The nets
shou d neither be made too deep nor too long, for they
are then difficult to manage; and they must be verged on
each side with twisted thread. The natural colour of the
thread is too bright and pale, and it should therefore in
many cases be altered. The most usual colour is the rus¬
set, which is to be obtained by plunging the net, after it
is made, into a tanner’s pit, and letting it lie there till it
be sufficiently tinged. This is of a double service to the
net, since it preserves the thread as well as alters the
colour. I he green colour is given by chopping some green
wheat and boiling it in water, and then soaking the net in
this green tincture. The yellow colour is Sven in the
same manner, with a decoction of celandine, which gives a
pale straw-colour, like that of stubble in the harvest-time,
ihe brown nets should be used on ploughed lands, the
green on grass grounds, and the yellow on stubble lands.
Net.
106
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
In the article Holland lias been 'traced the history of to be the chief theatre ^"'"^’^sest0 "p “
the revolt of the seventeen provinces ot the Netherlands “P P°''er f ’ wh() sti[j a[i|lcre,l to the Catho-
" against the Spanish monarchy, and the subjugation ot the Amo ^ anxi0us to preserve it, without yielding
greater part of ten provinces to that power m the year he faxth and were anxmus^to ^
1578, whilst the remaining seven provinces, under the ^ , Argch(|tI the h&ead ofa powerful family, who
Prince of Orange, maintained and ultimately secured their , .u ;’eaiousv of the aristocracy of Flanders
independence in a republican form. Whilst this work has stT" ^faTaitt^ which the seven northern
beetTio progress, a change has been effected- he Ne; th^ !„ order ,o
therlands, terminating in a division which renders it c P , , tj t nower they resolved upon sending an
cessary to introduce here an account of the new kingdom , Archduke Mathias, the brother of the Em-
of Belgium; the name which has been assumed by he ln''‘tfi0,X,f Il a vouth uX twenty years of age, to
southern par. of what was formerly the ktngdom ot the P^orfum A secretDmes.
Netherlands. c T„„ dpsnatched to Vienna, and communicated with
The decisive battle of Gemblours, on the 31st o . a - g vduke with tbe precipitation of youth, ardent-
uary 1578, which terminated in favour of the Spaniards, a d 0ffer; withdrew privately from Vienna with-
in the dispersion of the army of the states with the los of Ij acceded the otter .wit^ ^ P§ . and with great
all its artillery, baggage, and stores, must be viewed as t celeri P and aiTived at Maestricht without pre¬
event by which the history of the Netherlands is - 1. . , Jh ino. ann0unced his resolution, which was scarce-
ed from that of the seven united provinces, which were ;hat had inviied him, and quite
collectively called Holland, after the first «f tiese s a es. ^ P ^ the ^rince 0f Orange and his friends.
The archduke, better known by the name ’ T,P DrincJ with his usual coolness and prudence, ex¬
having gained this victory, was suddenly arrested by 1 d Peither surprise nor dissatisfaction at this unwar-
hand of death whilst following up his success and h s Pinst his authority ; but, on the con-
death has generally, but on insufficient evidence, bte became or appeared to become, anxious for adopt-
tributed to the effects of poison. He was immediately - Y’ ’ wldch could do honour to Mathias, and
ceeded by the Prince Alexander Farnese the son of the ^g the security of the country. He
Duke of Parma and Piacenza, in Italy, by Marga e , rmtlineof the plan upon which his office was to
Austria, a daughter of the Emperor Charles V., who had graT.ed to him, but so much
formerly governed the Low Countnes under t J , cnvereia'ntv of the states general, as to
of Philip king of Spain. On his accession to the command ™^ “ "o J e “l ugS ss yol but life empty title
the provinces were in a most unsettled state. Don Juan 1“leh ^ 'dbeen femptedto make this wild excur-
had feared to attack the partisans of the I mice ot 0rfig , y p j f 0range was appointed his lieutenant
who held possession of Brussels; but he was ^ccessfu n mn.^ Frince of the govern.
seizing upon Tirlemont, Louvain, Bovmes, Philippe ^ ^ Duke of Arschot was left, with little power
and several other smaller but foi tiffed places. > i fl t0 brood over the disappointment of his
cesses were, however, more than counterbalanced by the and^les^mfluence, to^D ^ ^ extent>
loss of Amsterdam, where the inhabitants roseon th^ p^^ - ^ re . ned it with g00Pd humour; and the states, who
nish garrison, and, having succeeded in d & , , adopted him in the hope of thereby obtaining
troops, boldly declared in favour of the Prince of & • fore}o.n assistaP ce, when they found he was not supported
The great strength of the Spanish party in the tc P ? brother or by the empire, accepted his resignation,
vinces depended more on their union under one chief, by Ins Mother or^the en ^ of ^ for
and on the discipline of the few regular Loops who Y . Af difficulty, Mathias was allowed
had been able to collect, than on the number of soldiers ^vices Attei o y ^ dominions> and
or the abundance of pecuniary resources. The people of by l^brother to ^
customed. Ihese constituted the chief reliant his death in 1619 His history belongs rather to that of
s rr. ^»
retat o=’ Tnh ^ of
though there was a greater number of the populatio , < , Brabant who, in an assembly at Brussels, had
a far greater power in warlike stores and in Plummy - d onfer on the then Duke of Alencon, afterwards
sources, yet there were such party divisions and contests, ag A • the brother of the king of France, thedig-
and such struggles folff P^f oa" the nity of Duke of Brabant, Lothier, Limbourg, and Guelders.
much to weaken the effect.of their efforts, t< At- this neriod the Duke of Parma collected an army m
Spaniards, or even to maintain against them ie p 1 i fhe city of Cambray ; but the siege, which he
wLh they still held in Brussels, and m the commercml order mtake oppoJn’ arrival of
and maritime cities. Animi at the head of a large army of French
Although the Prince of Orange, by his talents and his «>o D k ^ A ^ Spaniilrds from before
afteTthe independence o” the seven provinces had^ been Cambray, the^Duke h,habn
;r!ne *ftriSlsUTthetenap-^ were tant’s, mostly Protestants, made a powerful defence, «-
Nether--
lands.
NETHERLANDS.
ther.
:,nds.
cited by the example of the Princess of Epinol, wife of the
absent governor. This heroic lady, though wounded in
the attack, fought in the breach, sword in hand ; and, when
it was impossible to continue the resistance, she obtained
an honourable capitulation, and marched out at the head
of the garrison, with the appearance of a triumph rather
than that of a defeat.
The Duke of Anjou, after the delivery of Cambray, leav¬
ing his army on the frontiers of Flanders, repaired to Eng¬
land, in the hope of completing a treaty which had before
been commenced for his marriage with Queen Elizabeth.
That sovereign allowed him for some time to indulge hopes
of succeeding in his suit; and, from political motives, when
the offer was finally rejected, showed him every mark of
feeling and regret, accompanied with such tokens of high
respect as she supposed would lessen the mortification
which he felt. His plan evidently was to unite on his own
head the crowns of England and of Belgium.
The duke, escorted by a powerful English fleet, repaired
to Antwerp, where he was received by the Prince of Orange
with the greatest splendour, and invested with the insignia
of the dignities to which he had been invited, but of which
he proved himself utterly unworthy. It is related of him,
that when the Prince of Orange placed the ducal mantle
on his shoulder, Anjou said to him, “ Fasten it so well,
prince, that they may not be able to take it off again.”
The king of Spain had about this period issued a paper
full of invective, abuse, and falsehoods against the Prince
of Orange, who was therein proscribed, and all persons in¬
vited “ to assail him in his fortune, person, and life, as an
enemy to human nature and for the recompense of vir¬
tue and the punishment of vice, he promised, to any one
who should deliver up William of Nassau, dead or alive,
the sum of 25,000 golden ducats, in lands or money, at his
choice ; to grant a free pardon to such person for all former
offences, of whatever kind; and to invest hirn with letters-pa-
tent of nobility. To this infamous paper William replied
by that Apology which Voltaire has described as “ one of
the noblest monuments of history,” in which he delivered a
most splendid refutation of every charge against him, and
a more terrible recrimination against the guilty tyrant. He
thus stood before the whole public of Europe, not as a re¬
bellious subject, but as the accuser of a king, who had dis¬
graced his ancestors and his throne.
The inauguration of the Duke of Anjou at Antwerp
gave occasion to continued festivities, and the opportunity
was seized in order to put in practice that which the de¬
claration of King Philip had intimated, and promised to
reward. After a dinner on the Duke of Anjou’s birth-dav
being the I8th of March, and as William was quitting the
dining-room on the way to his private apartment, a young
man stepped forward to offer what purported to be a pet£
tion. Whilst he read the paper, the treacherous suppliant
discharged a pistol at his head; the ball struck him under
the left ear, and passed out at the right cheek. As he tot¬
tered and fell, the assassin drew forth a poniard to com¬
plete his crime by suicide, but he was instantly put to
death by the attendant guards.
Papers found upon the assassin proved him to be a
Spaniard a native of Bilboa, and clerk to a Spanish mer¬
chant of Antwerp. They showed that he had received the
sacrament and confessed previous to the attempt, and that
he was encouraged to the deed by prayers found amongst
papers m the Spanish language, one of them addressed
™ i d. 3 tP .Gabne1’ lmploring his intercession with God
< d the Virgin to aid him in the completion of his object.
s young fanatic was shown afterwards to have been in-
.t.gated to the crime by his master and a Dominican monk,
who were t ^ and> before their execution, made a full
thotX°T !heir cnminality- It is asserted by D’Ewes,
the Jesuits, some years afterwards, solemnly gathered
107
the remains of the three pretended martyrs, and exhibited Nether-
them as holy relics for public veneration. lands.
Severe as was the wound inflicted on the prince, it did
not prove fatal; but within three months he had so far re¬
covered as to be able to accompany the Duke of Anjou to
Ghent, Bruges, and the other great towns of Flanders, in
each of which the same ceremony of inauguration was per¬
formed. On each occasion he had taken the prescribed
oaths to maintain and preserve to the states-general the
several rights and privileges they had inherited from the
succession of princes who had for a long period governed
the country. 1 he duke soon began to compare the power
he possessed with that held by the unlimited monarchs of
the rest of Europe. He was found to be intemperate, in¬
constant, and utterly unprincipled ; and the French officers
who suirounded him, and alone enjoyed his confidence, had
no great difficulty, whilst nourishing his discontent at his
limited power, in exciting him to take the most treacher¬
ous steps to extend his own authority, and to extinguish
the liberties of the people which he had been invited to
defend, and had sworn to maintain.
Amongst these privileges, that of refusing to admit fo¬
reign troops to garrison the fortified towns was the one
which those towns most zealously exercised. Though the
smaller towns had overlooked slight infractions of tins pri-
vdege, yet the larger ones, especially Antwerp, most se¬
dulously preserved it. Whilst a few of Anjou’s troops were
admitted into some places, the main body was either en¬
camped or cantoned in quarters in the villages.
He had secretly resolved on seizing on The towns, and
sent orders to his officers to take possession in his name of
Dunkirk, Bruges, Fermonde, and some other places, re¬
serving to himself the attempt to be made upon Antwerp.
To prepare for the execution of his project, he had or¬
dered his numerous army, composed chiefly of French and
Swiss, to approach the city, and form a camp very near to
it. On the 1 /th of January 1583, having risen earlier than
usual, under the pretext of going out afterwards to review
us army in the camp, he set out at noon, accompanied by
his guaid of 200 horse; and when he had reached the se¬
cond drawbridge, one of his officers gave the preconcerted
signal for an attack on the blemish guard, by pretending
that he had fallen and, broken his leg. The duke called out
to his followers, “ Courage, courage; the town is ours.” The
guard of Flemings at the gate was soon despatched ; and
the French troops, which waited without to the number of
3000, rushed in furiously, shouting the war-cry, “ Town
taken, town taken; kill, kill!” The astonished but in¬
trepid citizens, recovering from their confusion, instantly
flew to arms. All differences in religion and politics were
forgotten in the common danger to their freedom. Catho¬
lics and Protestants, men and women, rushed alike to the
conflict. The ancient spirit of Flanders seemed to ani¬
mate all. W orkmen, armed only with the instruments of
their various trades, started from their shops, and flung
themselves on the enemy. Those who had fire-arms, after-
expending their bullets, took from their pockets and
pouches pieces of money, which they bent between their
teeth, and used for charging their arquebuses. The French
were driven successively from the streets and ramparts;
and the cannons planted on the latter were immediately
turned against the reinforcements which attempted to en-
ter the town. The French were beaten everywhere; the
Duke of Anjou saved himself by flight, and reached Ter-
monde after the perilous exploit of passing through a
large tract of inundated country. His loss in this atroci¬
ous enterprise amounted to 1500, whilst that of the citi¬
zens did not exceed eighty men. The attempts of the same
kind simultaneously made at Dunkirk and at Termonde
succeeded, but they failed in all the other places.
Ihe consternation first, and soon afterwards the indig-
108
NETHERLANDS.
Nether, nation, of the whole of Belgium, excited by this act of
lands, treachery, is indescribable; but the Prince of Orange alone
'was cool and collected, and on the Duke of Anjou mak¬
ing abundance of professions of his repentance, of his sub¬
mission, and of future fidelity and obedience to the states,
he was disposed to some kind of reconciliation, especially
as his brother the king of France despatched a special en¬
voy to intercede for him. A treaty was then commenced,
the tendency of which was to restore to Anjou the com¬
mand of the troops, with some new security against treach¬
ery on his part. He had in the mean time withdrawn to
France to escape the general burst of indignation, and
there his worthless existence was suddenly terminated,
as some thought by poison, which in that day was com¬
monly supposed to be the cause of unexpected death. He
had then scarcely attained his twenty-ninth year.
The conduct of the Prince of Orange in trying to re¬
concile the states to the re-assumption of command by
Aniou, although it could not arise from any selfish views,
since he might himself have easily obtained the supreme
power, was misunderstood by many of the Belgians, but
more especially by the people of Antwerp. Unable to
comprehend the greatness of his mind, they openly ac¬
cused him of having joined with the French for then; sub-
iugation, and concealed a body of that detested nation in
the citadel. The populace rushed to the place, and hav¬
ing minutely examined it, were convinced of their own
folly and the prince’s innocence. He scorned to demand
their punishment for such an outrageous calumny, but he
was not the less afflicted at it. He took the resolution of
quitting Flanders ; and he retired into Zealand, where he
was better known, and consequently more trusted.
The cities of Belgium which were free from the domi¬
nation of Spain were all more or less subject to the most
violent political agitations, the bad effects of which were
not lightened, but rather increased, by being mixed up with
the prevailing religious differences of the times. Ihe
evils of this state of public feeling displayed themselves
more extensively, and during a longer period, in the city
of Ghent, the capital of the province of West Handers,
than in any other part of the Netherlands. Ihe persecu¬
tions of the Spaniards had driven the Flemings to a state
of frenzy, which destroyed the exercise of reflection.
Hatred to Spain begat hatred to that which Spain most
cherished, the Catholic religion; and it is not to be won¬
dered that the lower classes in the cities should, from
passion rather than from reason, have taken part wit i
those more intelligent persons who had embraced the Fio-
testant religion; and it must be added, that the persons
who envied the property of the convents and churches,
and who were anxious to seize upon that wealth and con¬
vert it to their own use, vastly augmented the adherents
of the Protestant party. In Ghent, two men had taken
advantage of these circumstances, and thereby gained an
unbounded and most noxious ascendency over the public
mind. John de Hembise is described by Vandervynkt as
a man descended from a junior branch of a good family,
educated, fluent and even eloquent, and well informed
on every subject relating to his own country; but, on
the other hand, a sceptic, destitute of morals, capable of
assuming any character either sacred or profane, impa¬
tient of all control, and treating with contempt all who
were in superior stations. Besides these qualities, his his¬
tory shows that he was bold, despotic, and imperious in
prosperity, but did not exhibit the same courage m adver-
sity The other, Francis de Kethule, lord of Ryhove, was
also of a distinguished family, but of a character similar to
Hembise, only much more violent and imprudent; but
those qualities were somewhat checked by his adherence
to the Prince of Orange, whose calm wisdom exercised at
times some influence on his conduct.
These two men, with all the qualifications necessary for Isetliei'
demagogues, were allied with many of the respectable fami- Jands.,
lies of the city, amongst whom they gained some partisans;
but their chief adherents were furnished in part by the
burghers, and by almost all the mere populace. 1 hough
afterwards they differed, at first they acted in concert; and
as they most vehemently preached nothing but liberty,
they were soon regarded by the populace as the heroes
and the liberators of their country. The Duke of Arschot
had been appointed governor of the city, with the appro¬
bation of the Prince of Orange ; and, though opposed by
both the demagogues, he was seated in the dignity. He had
drawn to him as a council the Bishops of Bruges and Ypres,
the high bailiffs of Ghent and Courtray, and the governor of
Oudenarde, and other eminent magistrates. Whi st they
were assembled in council, the popular leaders collected a
force of the lower classes, and, without even allowing him
to dress himself, led him away to prison. They then seized
the arsenal, armed the population, and soon had under
their command a body of 20,000 well-armed and resolute
men. The constitution of the city was changed, and the
public treasury was seized upon, by the new rulers, who
assumed the title of consuls; Ryhove being placed in the
command of the military, and Hembise at the head of the
civil power. The two consuls then nominated eighteen ot
their own partisans, to whom was intrusted the supreme
power of what they denominated the republic, ihe seve¬
ral guilds were ordered to elect officers, amongst whom the
ranks of colonels, captains, and other grades, were distri¬
buted ; and the more wealthy and respectable inhabitants
were excluded from any participation in power. The in¬
fluence of the other states of Belgium, headed by the Prince
of Orange, was ineffectual in checking the violent pi o-
ceedings of the city, further than in procuring the release
of the imprisoned duke. The two heads of the democracy
fortified the city, and thus gave employment to the poor,
and extracted from the rich the means of paying them.
The rich abbeys and other religious houses were plunder¬
ed, the occupiers turned out destitute, and the buildings
converted into barracks for the troops and labourers.
Whilst one of the consuls ruled in the city, the other
issued forth with detachments of troops, laid waste the
surrounding country, and subjected several of the towns
in the vicinity to the horrid despotism exercised in the
name of liberty. When any persons were known or sus¬
pected to be averse to the system of terror, if they were
rich they were amerced in very heavy sums, or, if not able
to furnish the requisitions, were, without trial, exiled,
and in some instances put to death in secret. Ihese ca¬
lamities were so deeply felt that many of the gentry and
burghers became voluntary exiles, and removed to fiance,
to Holland, or to Brabant, so that when thus left only to
the demagogues and the democrats, they found they
put in movement a machine which they could neither di¬
rect nor stop. When the people became tired of anarchy,
and sick of the sufferings they had caused and endured,
the Prince of Orange determined to proceed to Ghent.
Hembise did all in his power, by his harangues to the po¬
pulace, to prevent his admission ; but with the venality ot
such assemblages his eloquence now failed. He was seiz¬
ed with a cowardly panic, and attempted to withdraw pri¬
vately by night. He had entered a boat to descend the
river, when one of his partisans recognised him, and ex¬
claimed, “ Point de fuite ; tu nous as mene dans le bour-
bier • il faut nous en tircr, ou perir avec nous. He
then made him land from the boat, and followed him
to the city, where he remained in private, employed with¬
out success in exciting tumults, whilst the prince was m
WilHam of Orange reached Ghent in August and
in a short time extinguished the spirit of democracy; hut
NETHERLANDS.
ether- though he restored the ancient constitution, and re-esta-
iauds. bHshed some of the ancient magistracy, he could not re-
store the wealth and the industry that had been destroj^ed
or dissipated under the reign of democratic terror. Hem-
bise retired from the city for four years; and, though it is an¬
ticipating the course of our narrative, it may be stated here,
that, having again acquired a degree of influence, he made
use of it to betray the city into the hands of the Spaniards,
his mortal enmity to whom had been the original cause
of his popularity. But he failed in his purpose. His de¬
signs were detected and exposed ; his partisans abandoned
him ; and he was carried before the criminal tribunal, where,
having defended himself very feebly, he was condemned
to death. Hie sentence of decapitation was executed on
the 4th of August 1584. His coadjutor Ryhove had before
withdrawn from Flanders, and found an asylum in Hol¬
land, where, after a long illness, which terminated in fixed
insanity, he died.
1 he transactions which have been noticed with regard to
the Archduke Mathias, the Duke of Anjou, and the dema¬
gogues of Ghent, were the principal causes that led to the
submission of the ten provinces of the Netherlands to the
crown of Spain. Others, however, contributed in a greater
or less degree to the same result. The differences be¬
tween the Catholics and their opponents pervaded every
one of the towns; and as the respective parties prepon-
deiated in any one place, they had no hesitation in per¬
secuting the others. It was of little avail that the states
had issued a law called that of the peace of religion, by
which, in places where there were a hundred families and
upwards of either faith, they should be allowred the public
exercise of their worship; and in the smaller places the
majority should have the churches, but the minority might
open others. This might have tended to peace, if not to
union ; but, to the great mortification of the Prince of
Orange, the clergy of both parties, by their influence over
their followers, rendered the edict inoperative, and seem
to “ave increased rather than abated the animosity. In
Holland and in Zealand, however, there was a greater de¬
gree of religious tranquillity than in the southern pro¬
vinces. r
Ihese troubles paved the way to the submission or con¬
quest of the greater part of the ten provinces. This was
the more easily effected, because the people, wearied out
with their sufferings, had learned that security to their
persons and their property was of far greater benefit to
iem than any of those kinds of liberty which the several
adverse parties pretended to bestow on them. The assas¬
sination of the Prince of Orange in 1584, though not con¬
trived by the Prince of Parma, but at the court of Madrid,
was communicated to that commander before its perpetra¬
tion, and he prepared the measures to be adopted when the
iniquitous design should have been consummated. In the
consternation produced by that event, those parts of Bel¬
gium which were free from the Spanish dominion sent
tieir representatives to Antwerp, where they were ioined
by others from the Dutch states. In this assembly it was
resolved to offer the sovereignty of the whole to the king
o Trance; and ambassadors were immediately despatched
^J>8: T‘1C \inS> Henry III., received them with great
v- ■ 10n’ rut 118 affairs were so much embarrassed with
der TnvrS 1*°^ ^ he found unable to ten-
nation t0 the Norlands. On the termi-
, 0t thls embassy, another was despatched to England
zab«h asrilar,fenJde'; 0f fl,e s°™4nty to Queen” Eli-
thus nffereH i ’1-' <IeJllneiI to accept the supreme power
thus offered, but agreed to treat them as allies, and to send
Plies This8!:armj °f 6?0° men’ a"d lar8e pecuniary sup-
8 e Earlof r„?S *nstantly performed; and her favourite,
of Flushino- lePaireff 10 Holland, where the towns
Hushing, the Brett, and the fortress of Ilammekens,
109
were delivered up to him as securities. As that force only Nether-
entered Holland, the conduct and the operations of it be- lands,
long rather to the history of Holland than to that of those
parts of the Netherlands which were soon afterwards wholly
separated from it, and to which we here direct our atten¬
tion.
Whilst these negotiations were in progress, the Prince
of Parma on his side was active and acute, and contrived
to enter into treaties with some of the leading inhabitants
of those cities in Flanders which had hitherto resisted the
Spanish dominion. By various measures, applied in va¬
rious ways, he obtained possession, first of Ypres, and after¬
wards of Bruges and some other places, by which he was
enabled to cut off the supply of stores and provisions from
Ghent. He then formed a camp sufficiently near to com¬
plete the blockade. Scarcity soon appeared, and was fol¬
lowed by almost absolute famine. Agitations and factions
reigned in the city ; yet, by flattering reports of succours
expected, the orators of the populace were for a time en¬
abled to delay surrendering. But at length a capitulation
was agreed to in September 1584. The terms were, that
in future the Catholic worship alone should be performed,
and no other be tolerated; that all who chose to do so
should be allowed two years to dispose of their property
and to leave the city; that the clergy should be established
in their property as before the troubles, and the city should
pay as a contribution the sum of two hundred thousand
florins, and allot quarters to the troops. A few of the
most violent of the partisans were excepted from the °-e-
neral indemnity. At first the number of exceptions were
limited to six, and then reduced to three ; but these persons
were, after an imprisonment of a few weeks, liberated, and
allowed to depart from the city.
During the operations against Ghent, the Prince of Par¬
ma had begun his preparations for the most important of
all his military designs, the capture of Antwerp. With
this view his army was gradually drawn around it, and a
camp formed at Bevern, near the city. As a part of the
preparation for this object, it was necessary to menace the
large cities of the province of Brabant which still repudi¬
ated the Spanish power, such as Brussels and Mechlin,
and to seize upon those which were less formidable. Par-
ma took first Vilvorde, and then Willebrocke ; and the cap¬
ture of these places soon caused scarcity to be felt in the
cities. Brabant, now so well cultivated and fertile, had
suffered most severely during the troubles ; and, for some
months after the last harvest, whatever could be obtained
was conveyed to the city of Antwerp, to provide against the
impending siege by the one party, or to furnish the army
destined to attack it by the other. Brussels first felt the
misery of famine, and the interception of a convoy destin¬
ed to supply its wants raised the discontent of the inhabi¬
tants to such a height, that Temple, an English officer in
command of the garrison, and the civil governor, were
obliged to send deputies to the camp of the Prince of
1 arma to treat for the surrender. A capitulation was sign-
ed on the 10th of March 1585, the garrison retired, and
t e inhabitants submitted to Spain. The same causes pro-
sarne effects a few weeks afterwards in the city
of Mechlin and the smaller fortified town of Brabant; and
thus, Maestricht having been captured five years before,
the whole of the ten southern provinces of the Nether¬
lands, except the city of Antwerp, were subjected, after a
most vehement struggle of twenty years’ duration, to their
former cruel and intolerant sovereign.
As the siege and capture of Antwerp was in its dav
considered as the most important military occurrence of
the age, the history of its progress merits a detailed no-
tice. I he city of Antwerp stands upon the right bank of
t le river Scheldt. I he stream is deep and the tides are
rapid, so that the largest vessels could approach its banks.
110
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
Below the city the river divides into several large branches
or arms, and thus forms the islands which compose the pro¬
vince of Zealand, by which there are safe communications
by water with the several towns of that province, which
was then in the possession of the Dutch. These towns were
filled with seamen, and they were in possession of powerful
naval armaments, and of arsenals where other vessels could
be equipped with facility. They also contained abundance
of storehouses filled with all the implements of war, and
others provided with necessary articles for subsistence, such
as were indispensable in a large city when in a state of siege.
The mouth of this river on both sides was commanded by
powerful forts in the hands of the friends of the detenders
of the city, but which at the commencement of the siege
were taken by the assailants. By the possession of Ghent,
which the Spaniards had gained soon after the commence¬
ment of the siege, and of the other strong places near the
upper part of the river, no means of relieving the besieged
could be drawn from that quarter ; but supplies, which were
conveyed by the Scheldt from Friesland, forbade the ex¬
pectation that by means of famine the city could ever be
compelled to surrender. The extent of the works sur¬
rounding the city, the strength of the citadel that com¬
manded it, the number of men under arms within it, and
especially the tried courage, skill, and inflexibility of the
commander, whom Prince Maurice of Orange, the succes¬
sor of the assassinated prince, had recommended, rendered
inoperative all the efforts on land to reduce the place.
The commander was Philippe de Marnix, lord of St
Aldegonde, and generally known by that name ; he was
the intimate confidant of William, and one of those who
opened the first scene of the opposition to the tyrannical
measures of the king of Spain.
The Duke of Parma soon saw that, in spite of the forts
which he had erected on the banks of the river, the vessels
from Friesland, laden with provisions, could with little risk,
when favoured by the rapid tide and a good breeze, pass to
the city and return with very little or no injury. He then
conceived and planned the execution of a bridge over the
stream, at a bend of the river near to Lillo and Liefenscho-
eck ; and thus, by shutting up the passage, hoped to reduce
the city by famine. At the spot selected, the breadth of the
stream is 2400 feet, or about half a mile. The execution
of this work was intrusted to a celebrated Italian engineer
named Barroccio, who had been sent by King Philip tor
the purpose, as soon as the project of the duke had been
communicated to him ; a man well calculated to carry into
effect the great project which Parma had originally formed
in his own mind, without intimation from any of the gene¬
ral officers, many of whom opposed his views, as being im¬
practicable. The first steps were the erecting of two
strong forts on the opposite sides of the river, and then
throwing forward two piers from each side, which rvere
to correspond in the middle when half the waterway was
closed. The piers were formed of stakes driven firmly
into the bed of the river, and rested on hard sand below
the mud ; and they were cemented with masses of earth
and stones, and, when at a proper height, were covered
with planks, and defended by parapets, on which can¬
non were mounted.
The vacancy between the termination of the two piers
was filled up by a bridge of boats fastened together by
chains, and secured by anchors. They were thus moored
so as to yield to the rising and falling of the tide, and were
armed with a great number of cannon. For the construc¬
tion of this work, almost all the labour of the country
was put in requisition. Carpenters, shipwrights, smiths,
and even masons, were all compelled to work at this erec¬
tion ; whilst great numbers of other men were employed
in cutting down the trees in the neighbouring district of
Waaslande to furnish materials. Heavy contributions
were extorted from every part under the Spanish autho¬
rity; and thus, as neither money nor labour was spared, ai
few months were sufficient to complete the bridge, which
was twelve feet in breadth, so that eight men could march
abreast, and were under the protection of wooden bulwarks,
which were musket-proof.
But the work was not suffered to proceed without some
interruptions. The Antwerpers burned some and captured
others of the boats on which the bridge was to be erected,
and many vessels succeeded in forcing their passage
through the unfinished bridge, and conveyed cargoes of
provisions to the besieged. Some of these, however, being
captured, orders were issued in Zealand that no single
ship should attempt to force a passage, but should wait till
a fleet had been collected, to proceed in concert. By
way of creating a diversion in favour of the besieged, an
attempt was made by the Frieslanders under Prince Ho-
henlohe to seize the city of Bois-le-Duc, then garrisoned
by Spaniards ; but though at first successful, the ultimate
issue was a repulse, with considerable loss of life to the
Frieslanders.
The approach of winter caused the Spaniards some ap¬
prehension for the fate of their yet unfinished work, and
for a time totally suspended it; and when the frost broke
up, some fears were entertained that the great masses of
ice brought down from the upper part of the river might
carry away the works by their weight; but fortunately the
larger bodies of ice grounded near the piles, and melting
there, caused little or no damage. When the ice had thus
been removed, the work was completed, and the entrance
closed. Other contrivances were adopted to impede the
passage of ships, especially some rafts, composed of thirty
vessels loaded with ballast, and armed with sharp iron
points to entangle vessels attempting to ascend.
This prodigious work, which required six months to
complete, so securely barred the entrance of provisions
and stores from Zealand, that the destruction of it requir¬
ed the most sedulous exertions of the besieged ; and efforts
were immediately commenced to effect that object. An
Italian by birth, but who had been long established in
Antwerp, named Giambelli, had intrusted to him the con¬
struction of the engines to destroy the bridge, and to open
a passage for a fleet loaded with provisions which had been
prepared in Zealand.
The consternation excited in Antwerp at the prospect of
the completion of the bridge was so great, that when known
it was considered as the operation of the Evil Spirit; but
that view soon gave way to a firm resolution to counter¬
act this work of the demons. Giambelli, being skilful as a
fire-worker as well as an engineer, determmed, by means of
explosion and mining, to destroy the bridge. To effect
his purpose, he required three of the largest ships lying
at Antwerp to be used as mines, and sixty smaller and
flat-bottomed vessels to be converted into fire-ships ; but
motives of economy had such weight with the inhabitants,
that he was compelled to contract the plan of his opera¬
tions. He could only prevail on the council to give him
two ships, and those of small size, and thirty-two flat-bot¬
tomed barges. The mining-ships had a magazine built of
masonry three feet in height, the same in breadth, and
sixty feet in length, to be filled with gunpowder. It was
covered with a roof formed of mill and other hard stones,
six feet in thickness, that by its weight the explosion
should take effect in a sideway direction. These mines
were charged with between six and seven thousand pounds
of the finest gunpowder, and between it and the roof was
laid a vast quantity of stones, iron bars, and all such other
pieces of iron as could be most easily got together.
Through a hole in the mine, a due quantity of match
to ignite it was introduced. The whole was on the
outside so finished as to have the appearance of only a
NETHERLANDS.
common tire-ship. The interior of the mining-ships were
furnished with mechanical clock-work, by which, when the
hand reached a certain point, it would move a spring con¬
nected with a musket-lock, by which the match would
kindle, and the explosion would be produced. The flat-
bottomed vessels were filled with combustibles to act as
fire-ships, as the destruction of the bridge was to depend
on the mines; but thtese were thought necessary to hide
the main design of destroying the bridge by the floating
volcanoes, and to attract the attention of the enemy’s ar¬
tillery whilst the volcanoes were getting to their proper
station. This formidable fleet, on the 4th of April, at the
close of the day, departed from Antwerp, at the moment of
the first reflux of the tide. First proceeded a small fire-
boat, then the thirty-two fire-ships, in four tiers of eight
each, fastened together with chains. The two floating-
mines closed the squadron. The direction of the vessels
was intrusted to a number of boats, well manned with
rowers, by which means the whole was brought into and
kept in the middle of the stream.
The report of some great intended effort of the besieged
had been spread in the Spanish army, and proper measures
of watchfulness were adopted, by strengthening the guards
on the forts, on the banks of the river, and on the bridge, so
that, at the first appearance of the squadrdn, each corps
was at its proper post, waiting tranquilly the approach of
the enemy. The outposts on the river first observed the
fire-boat in flames, and then the others appeared with their
burning fires, hiding the mining vessels in their rear. Every
man was quickly in motion. The whole bridge, from one
end to the other, was crowded with troops, as well as the
forts at each end of it, and the batteries on both shores;
and each gunner stood with his linstock ready to discharge
the cannon. The Duke of Parma was himself present giv¬
ing his orders, and observing the astonishing spectacle.
Not only the combustibles in the vessels, but the vessels
themselves, appeared to be in flames. The stream was il¬
luminated, and the bank blazed with the reflection. The
squadron had approached to within two thousand feet of the
bridge, when the preparation of the mines was completed,
and the boats that had towed them cut off and removed to a
distance to wait the expected explosion. The squadron,
thus too early left to the sole direction of the tide, was
drifted in different directions. Some of the fire-ships got
on shoals, and there burned out without doing any mis¬
chief; the smallest of the two mines got on shore, sprung
a leak, and sunk; others of the fire-ships became entangled
in the floating vessels, and burnt themselves out. All dan-
gei seemed to the Spaniards to be over, and they enjoyed
their jests at the expense of those who had expended so
much time, labour, and money, so ineffectually. In a few
minutes, however, the largest of the mining-ships descend¬
ed the stream, and fell on the bridge on the Flemish side,
near to where the pier terminated in the fort. The duke
was standing near it, and, urged by a young officer who
Had been an engineer, and knew the skill of Giambelli, to
retire rom the spot on which he stood, he refused to do
so, when the young man seized him by the cloak and
pulled him away. At that moment the great magazine
expo e . I he report and the shock were tremendous.
J^ven the bottom of the river was turned up by its force,
and rushed with impetuosity over the banks. A concus¬
sion ot the earth, resembling an earthquake, was felt over
acirce o ten miles. "1 he contents of the floating volcano,
k^i-1 ^ °f the bridge, w ith shot, weapons,
vieihl 6| ^ !es.ofsoldiers and sailors, w ere blown to an in-
6 lei® lt: ln t^le a*r’ and their fall were scattered
thpt ho nSt an exte1nt’ that scarcely any particle of what
with h f laS dlstingoishable. The Duke of Parma
films lp1S S a ']°^lcers were thrown down senseless, and
himself severely wounded by one of the beams, which was
111
forced between his head and his shoulders. The Marquis Nether-
of Richebourg, with two other superior officers, Roubais Ends,
and Billi, near him, were killed, and more than 800 sol-
diers perished. The casualties were produced, some by
the flood, others by flames ; and the fragments of their bo¬
dies were scattered far and wide.
W hen the duke had recovered from his fainting, he im¬
mediately gave directions to repair in some degree the da¬
mage which his works had sustained. In the night when the
explosion took place, and the following day, expectation
was alive, in both the opposing forces, for the appearance
of the Zealand fleet, to the progress of which the remains
of the bridge w^ould have been no obstacle. By some want
of combination, that fleet was detained, and the prince in¬
spired those under his command with so much energy,
that, directing their united powers to one object, they
were enabled, by sinking boats and vessels in the open
places, by driving piles, and by fastening chains, to op¬
pose such powerful impediments as prevented the Zea¬
landers from attempting to force the passage up to Ant¬
werp.
Ihe besieged, although thus disappointed, did not give
way to despair. Giambelli prepared another floating mine,
to which was given the presumptuous name of the End of
the War; but this machine grounded in descending the
stream, and was destroyed without producing any effect on
the enemy. There was one resource left to the besieged,
which was recommended by the example of the siege of
Leyden, where it had been attended with success. It was
that of inundating the whole country between Lillo and
Stabroch, including the Spanish camp at Bevern. In order
to accomplish this, it was necessary to cut through the dike
or bank which defended it against the irruption of the East¬
ern Scheldt. The whole plain intended to be covered with
water was traversed by a high and wide counter-dike,
called the Dike of Couvestien; and the Duke of Parma,
knowing its importance, had early taken possession of it,
and had protected it by several strong forts. The garri¬
son, aided by the Zealanders, made two spirited attacks
on this series of works, in the latter of which the blood of
both parties was most profusely shed. Each fought with the
most desperate valour; but finally the confederates were re¬
pulsed, leaving three thousand dead upon the dike, or at its
base, and the Spaniards lost more than eight hundred men,
Ihe unsuccessful issue of these several efforts had its effect
on the population of Antw erp. The scarcity of provisions
already felt, and the prospect of the famine which evidently
impended, made some clamorous and most anxious for
peace. I his disposition led to negotiations for surrender,
and the commander Aldegonde himself repaired to the camp
of 1 arma to open a treaty ; but the duke would not listen
to the terms proposed, which required an amnesty for all
past transactions, and permission to the Protestants to be
allowed to follow their own religious opinions. Other ne¬
gotiations followed, and, whilst they were depending, the
surrender of Mechlin to the Spaniards cut off the little
hope of a supply of provisions which had hitherto existed.
Ihe clamours of the inhabitants became so loud, that the
council and the commander were compelled to yield : they
proceeded in a body to the Spanish camp, and there, after
a close siege of fourteen months’ duration, a capitulation
was signed on the 17th of August 1585. The terms of
it were, that the city should submit itself to the king of
Spain in his character of Duke of Brabant; that all past
events should be forgotten; that the Catholic religion
alone should be exercised, and that those of other persua¬
sions be allowed four years to dispose of their property
and withdraw ; that the churches should be rebuilt at the
expense of the citizens, wdio were also to present to the
Spanish army 400,000 ducats (about L.38,000), and, as
longas Holland continued in a state of hostility with Spain,
112
Nether¬
lands.
NETHEB,LANDS.
to maintain a garrison of 2000 men. Aldegonde, the com¬
mander, was also, by the terms of the treaty, prohibited
from bearing arms against Spain for one year. .
The capture of Antwerp was one of those important
events the consequences of which became of less weight as
time advanced; but these consequences were ultimately
more in favour of the vanquished than of the triumphant
party. Both parties had been weakened by the long con¬
tests which had been carried on ; and both had nearly ex¬
hausted their powers in the struggle, which left them in
such a state that a great degree of inactivity prevailed.
Spain had acquired in the ten provinces a full aidhority,
which no exertions on their part could shake oil. ine
united provinces had also secured their independence and
self-government, and, from the nature of their country, and
the adaptation thereto of their naval power, were enabled
to bid defiance to any attempts made to subjugate them to
the power of Spain.
At this period the warlike operations between what may
be called Holland and Belgium had been suspended, be¬
cause in the latter country no resources were left to the
government, and no aid was sent by King Philip, who was
hindered from doing so by his treasures being required to
secure the acquisition he had lately made of the kingdom of
Portugal, and by the expenditure he applied to the equip¬
ment of that force destined for the conquest oi Kngland
which had been pompously styled the invincible armada.
Some contemporary authors have assigned another cause
of Philip’s withholding supplies to the Netherlands, name¬
ly, a jealousy of the Duke of Parma, which led that suspi¬
cious monarch to apprehend that, seeing Belgium to be of
far greater value than his dominions in Italy, feeling his
own great popularity, and observing the general hatred
of the Spaniards, he might be induced to assume for him¬
self the sovereignty. .
The capture of Antwerp, though celebrated with most
extraordinary demonstrations of joy in all parts ot the ten
provinces, was to them only the consummation of that
misery and depression under which they had so long suf¬
fered. That city had been the focal point to which the
commerce which enriched the country had been attiacted.
In the hands of the Spaniards, it was closed from the sea
by the Dutch being in possession of the mouth of the
river on both sides. The disputes about religion, wdnch
had distracted the two opposing parties, were quieted by
the absence of the Protestant portion of the merchants
and manufacturers, who carried writh them what could be
obtained for their fixed capital, and directed their fluctuat¬
ing and scattered funds to be transmitted to the places to
which they had removed. Amsterdam rose, with a rapidi¬
ty hitherto unknown, to be a vast commercial place ; the
other towns in Holland shared in the advantage ; and much
of it was imported into London, Hamburg, and other fo¬
reign cities.
According to Schiller, the reconciled provinces in the
interior exhibited the most deplorable spectacle. Ihe in¬
habitants of the great towns had in a great measure fallen
victims to the united calamities of war, pestilence, and fa¬
mine. Large villages, which once contained from two to
three thousand inhabitants, were absolutely abandoned to
the wolves, who had become so numerous and fierce that
they attacked not merely decrepit persons and children,
but strong and full-grown men ; the dogs, driven about by
hunger, had become as ferocious as other beasts of prey,
and joined in large packs in hunting down cattle and men ;
neither fields, nor woods, nor roads were to be distinguish¬
ed by any visible boundaries ; all was an entangled mass
of trees, weeds, and grass; so that many who returned to
take possession of their property could not find out the
places where their dwellings and fields had been. The
prices of the necessaries of life were so high, that persons
of rank were compelled to dispose of whatever they had Netb
to buy bread, and were often so 1’educed as to have re-
course to open beggary in the streets; whilst the poorer^““v
classes could only sustain life by food of the worst and
most unhealthy description. Few marriages were con¬
tracted, few children born, and of these a great proportion
were early carried off by death.
Although more properly belonging to an account of
Holland, we cannot omit to remark the great contrast be¬
tween that country and Belgium at this particular con¬
juncture. There the pecuniary contributions were extort¬
ed to a greater extent, and with equal severity. There,
by the increase of their shipping, no scarcity nor any great
enhancement of the prices of corn had been felt, as their
supply was copiously obtained from the shores of the Bal¬
tic ; and the extension of the fisheries supplied them amply
with that kind of food, whilst within the dikes the rich
meadows yielded abundance of butter, cheese, and pork,
with some other kinds of meal. The heavy contributions
for defence, as well as the means of subsistence, were al¬
most exclusively met by the rapid increase of a profitable
commerce. Their vessels sailed freely to the British king¬
doms, to the Baltic ports, to Italy, and even to. the har¬
bours of their enemy, King Philip, both in Spain and in
Portugal. The trade between the last-mentioned coun¬
tries and their settlements in Asia and America was ra¬
ther in the hands of foreigners than of natives, the Spanish
houses of commerce scarcely giving more than their names
to the transactions. I he Hollanders partook largely of this
trade; their manufactures and their cured herrings were
much sought after, and gave them an enormous profit;
and though the trade was pronounced contraband by the
Spanish king, it could not be prevented ; for, in spite of
his ordonnances, it was so profitable to both parties, that
Dutch ships under Hamburg or Lubeck colours were to
be seen in all the ports of the Peninsula. By these and
by other means the linens of Holland were to be seen in
all the shops of Mexico, Brazil, and Peru, the payment for
which, besides the tropical productions, brought gold and
silver, coined or uncoined.
The religious dissensions of the period here referred
to gave rise to that formation of national character which
has since distinguished the two countries. The Bel¬
gians, in their severe suft'erings, attributed them all to
the part which the Protestants had taken in the first op¬
position to their Spanish king. This begat hatred to the
reformed religion, and as their priests did not fail to im¬
press that feeling, it was natural that augmented suffering
should give it a more intense bitterness. It is not there¬
fore wonderful that the hatred of the Belgians should have
naturally grown, as it maniiestly has done, to a degree of
bigotry in religious matters, which could not be much
lessened by the attempt made two centuries later to form
the two parts into one kingdom under a Protestant prince.
The Hollanders, on the other hand, gradually became as
rigidly attached to the religion which they had embraced.. It
was naturally associated in their minds with all the priva¬
tions which they had at first endured, with the victories they
had afterwards gained, with the independence they had
accomplished, and with the flourishing state of the com¬
merce they had acquired. The emigrants, too, who join¬
ed them from Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels, and the other
places which had capitulated under the condition that the
Protestants should have time and permission to remove
with their property, felt themselves to be suffering banish¬
ment for their religion, and as martyrs became more zeal¬
ous in their adherence to the cause for which they had
suffered. The Dutch did not, like the Belgians, proscribe
the adherents of the opposite religion, but granted them
permission to indulge in their own faith and ceremonies.
This was, however, more owing to the indifference of the
NETHERLANDS.
princes of the house of Orange on these subjects, and their
views of the political and commercial benefits of toleration,
than to the absence of bigotry amongst the Dutch people
and their clergy. Very soon after their independence was
universally acknowledged, the states showed quite as much
bigotry towards the professors of the Protestant religion
who differed on incomprehensible subjects with each other,
as had ever been exhibited by any Catholics in behalf of
the rites, ceremonies, and dogmas of their more magnifi¬
cent church.
Besides the difference of character between the people
of these two portions of the Netherlands, there was a great
dissimilarity in their manners and domestic habits, which
may be the more properly noticed here, because its ope¬
ration has been continually active during the attempt made
in the present day to consolidate into one body politic tbe
two nations, and because the attempt has altogether failed.
The southern or the ten provinces had grown up to be a
great commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural com¬
munity. Each of these branches, acting upon the other,
had created that general prosperity which naturally leads
to the indulgence of hospitality, of jovial intercourse, and
the enjoyment of luxuries of various kinds, according to
the relative state of the parties composing the commu¬
nity. The fat burghers of Ghent and of Bruges, and the
farmers of Flanders with their ornamented strong horses,
and their bedizened spouses, with their ear-rings of silver
or gold, were sometimes objects of ridicule and sometimes
of envy to the other people of Europe. Though not very
ready to pay taxes to their princes, they were always pre¬
pared to spend with cheerfulness on their own gratifica¬
tions, and in hospitality to their friends. Even the pea¬
santry w ere merry and cheerful in their village dances and
their rural festivals, which some of the best artists have
painted, and made visible to subsequent ages by their un¬
perishing works. In short, if the people of Flanders w’ere
not profuse, they were not rigidly economical. Some of the
profits of the different branches of industry were undoubt¬
edly saved and added to the capital; but a considerable
portion was expended in gratifying the tastes for show,
conveniencies, a cheering table, and good strong beer.
The Northern Netherlands, at the period when the troubles
began, were generally in a state of great poverty. Their
trade was inconsiderable, and their rural industry chiefly
confined to the dairy. The nature of the country reco¬
vered from the w'ater, and protected by strong embank¬
ments from being again flooded, required all the labour
and all the revenue that could be collected. The only
way in which the population could subsist was by the
practice of the most severe parsimony in their dwellings,
their food, and their clothing. When the war commenced,
they began to bestir themselves in the fisheries and the
foreign trade. I he profits of this were slow in arriving,
and thus the habit of frugality was strengthened; and,
when the profit did arrive, so large a portion was required
for the general defence that none could prudently be de¬
voted to purposes of luxury or splendour. Whilst extra¬
vagance w'as wisely forbidden, it is generally thought that
ospitality disappeared. The domestic enjoyments were
unsocial, and, except the practice of extreme cleanliness,
ittle engaged the attention of the families but the saving
of money. This representation of the national character
ot the Dutch has been generally dwelt upon with more
severity than it deserves ; but it was necessary in the cir¬
cumstances, in which a tone was given to manners and
morals, which has been more or less strictly adhered to till
the present time. The emigrants who came to them from
tie southern division were at first compelled, by the losses
they had suffered, to practise the same parsimony as the
ormer residents. They too, therefore, at first from ne¬
cessity, and at length from principle or habit, became,
VOL. XVI.
equally with the others, habitually parsimonious and eco¬
nomical. It has been deemed proper to notice in this
place the growth and difference of national character be¬
tween the Dutch and the Belgians, because it will tend to
throw some lighton the most recent transactions which have
taken place relative to those countries.
. Although Parma, after the conquest of Antwerp, did all
in his powei to conciliate the inhabitants, and to relieve
the distress to which they were reduced, he could only
succeed with the Catholic portion of the population. The
Protestants almost all left the country within the period
allotted to them. The merchants removed to Amsterdam,
and the manufacturers to Haerlem and other towns in Hol¬
land ; and some of them repaired to England, and to the
towns of the Hanseatic League on the Continent. What¬
ever projects the duke may have formed to relieve the
pressure on the people under his command, they were all
soon suspended in order to assist in the grand operation
of King Philip to invade and conquer England by his in¬
vincible armada. Whilst that aVmament was preparing in
Spain, and employing all the treasures of the monarchy,
Parma, with no other resources but such as he could draw
from the impoverished Flemings, was enabled, by his vi¬
gour, to fit out and arm a very powerful flotilla of vessels
calculated for the conveyance of troops, and to man them
with sailors better adapted for the stormy seas of the north
than the Spaniards and Portuguese who"manned the ships
of the grand armada which had sailed from Lisbon. The
Belgian fleet was collected in the Scheldt, and when com¬
pleted found itself blockaded there by a Dutch naval force
under the grand pensioner De Witt, and by the forts con¬
structed at the mouth of the river, which were held by
Zealanders. I he flotilla was then ordered to ascend the
river to Ghent, and from thence to be conveyed, either by
old canals deepened for the occasion, or by new canals
constructed on purpose, or by land carriage, to the small
streams of the Lise, the Moere, and the Yperlee, which
run to the ocean near Nieuport. They waited there for
the arrival of the armada, whilst the shipsof war which were
destined to protect them were in the harbour of Dunkirk.
The Hollanders, then, by a series of admirable manoeuvres,
under Justin de Nassau, so managed, that, with a fleet of
ninety sail of temporary armed vessels, they closed up every
opening to theseafromthe mouth of the Scheldt to Dunkirk.
When the Duke of Parma arrived at Dunkirk to embark,
he discovered the impediment, and found the exertions he
had made all rendered fruitless. The Spanish armada was
then in the strait between Dover and Calais; the com¬
mander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, was in difficulties,
as the project was that Parma should land an army from
his flotilla, and seize upon London, then without defence.
Medina Sidonia’s fleet had been weakened by the various
and spiiited attacks made on it in the passage up the Bri¬
tish Channel, and he had lost some of his ships. Near Ca¬
lais one large galleon was taken by Sir Francis Drake, and
the ship of Admiral D’Ocquendo was burned; and the
Spanish fleet, which could obtain no succour from the Fle¬
mings, began to feel a scarcity of provisions. It was at
anchor near Calais when six fire-ships were equipped by
Giambelli, the engineer who had directed the operations at
Antwerp, and who was now in the service of Queen Eliza¬
beth. ihese were kindled, and at two in the morning,
with the wind and tide in their favour, despatched towards
the Spanish fleet. The Spaniards, who had seen the in¬
fernal machines of Giambelli before Antwerp, thought
these vessels were of the same description, and spread
consternation around them by the cries and shouting, “ The
fires of Antwerp.’' In the terror, many of the ships cut
their cables and fled before the wind, to avoid the flames
of the fire-ships.
Hie result of the Spanish expedition belongs to the his-
113
Nether¬
lands.
114
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- tory of that country or of England ; but the efforts of pre¬
lands. paration made in the Netherlands pressed with more weight
  on that country than many of their sacrifices during the
war, and the consequences were longer complained of.
The wars in France between the Catholics and the Pro¬
testants engaged the attention of the Duke of Parma, and
some of the Flemish troops aided the cause of the former,
especially in raising the siege of Rouen. He was about
to send a more considerable expedition into that country,
and had proceeded as far as Arras, in the abbey of which
city he died, after a short illness, on the 3d of December
1592, in the forty-fifth year of his age. After the termina¬
tion of the siege of Antwerp, he had sedulously attended to
the interests of the dominions retained by Spain. Agricul¬
ture was supported, and domestic manufactures weie en¬
couraged ; the taxes were lightened; and in the seven years
that passed betwreen the surrender of Antwerp and the death
of Parma, a visible improvement had taken place in the
appearance of the country. It had been freed from ci\il
war, and almost secured from invasion ; the power of the
law was so far restored as to give security to property, and
thus promote industry; and, though warlike expeditions
were undertaken, the troops only acted as auxiliaries, and
were not maintained from the resources of Belgium, but
drew their supplies from the countries in which they served.
The Duke of Parma had been intrusted by King Phi¬
lip with power to name his successor, and, foreseeing his
death, he had appointed the archduke, Pierre-Ernest Count
of Mansfeldt, a younger son of the emperor of Germany.
The army, which had been before prepared, w’as led by him
into France, and there signalised itself by the assistance
which it afforded to the party of the league. He did not
return to Belgium till January 1594. During his absence
domestic tranquillity prevailed, though in the interval the
Dutch, who had chosen Prince Maurice to succeed VV il-
liam of Orange, had captured the towns within the seven
united provinces which were held by Spanish garrisons.
These were, Deventer, Zutphen, Groll, Breda, Nimwe-
gen, Gertrudenburg, and Steenwyk ; and they formed a
powerful barrier against any attempts that could be made
by the troops of Spain in Belgium.
The archduke, obtaining no remittances from Spam,
made application to the states of Holland for entering into
a pacific negotiation with them, and addressed his letter
to the states, which, by implication, was an acknowledg¬
ment of their sovereignty. Commissioners from both par¬
ties met; but about that time the Dutch had discovered
some attempts at a plot for the assassination of their stadt-
holder, Prince Maurice, his brother Prince Henry, the
pensioner Oldenbarnevelt, the chancellor Leoninus, and
the general Aldegonde. A priest of Namur having been
taken disguised as a soldier, had confessed the criminal
design, and named his accomplices. The suspicion excited
by this discovery was strengthened by that of another
project to be executed in England by a Portuguese physi¬
cian against the life of Queen Elizabeth. The Dutch would
not trust to Spain. The archduke was assured by them,
and in most courteous terms, that they could not trust to
any terms which Spain could nullify by changing their go¬
vernor of the Netherlands ; but they were willing to treat,
and wished to be at peace with the Catholic provinces.
The archduke was mortified at the rejection of his offers,
and other vexations arose from the withholding pecuniary
supplies by Spain, so that when the army returned from
France their arrears could not be paid, and they mutinied
and ravaged the province of Hainault. At the same pe¬
riod the news arrived that Henry IV., who had been re¬
conciled to the church of Rome, and w^as peaceably seated
on the throne of France, had just declared war against
Spain. These troubles, with others created by his aspiring
to the French sceptre, so affected the health of the arch¬
duke, that after a short sickness he died at Brussels in Fe¬
bruary 1595. . ,
He was succeeded in authority by Count ruentes, who,
as a military man of approved exertion, raised two armies,
one to defend the frontier against the Dutch, and another
for the purpose of invading France. On the side of Hol¬
land little was done, both parties watching each other with¬
out coming to any decisive action. On the side of France,
whilst the army of that country entered Hainault, the force
under Fuentes attacked the fertile episcopal state of Cam-
bray, and after a spirited siege took the capital city. But
the vice-regency of Fuentes was of short duration ; for in
the beginning of the next year the Archduke Albert was
appointed governor, and arrived at Brussels, bringing with
him the Prince of Orange, the eldest son of William the
Silent, who had been carried away when Count of Beuren
in 1568, and kept as a prisoner in Spain during the whole
period of the glorious achievements of his father.
This archduke was the fifth son of the Emperor Maxi¬
milian II., and nephew of Philip, by whom he had been
educated, and whose good opinion he had gained by his
prudence and valour whilst acting as viceroy in Poitugal.
Philip had designed him to be the husband of his daugh¬
ter Isabella, and intended to create the provinces of the
Netherlands into a sovereignty under his command. He
was sent, in the character of governor-general, to prepare
the inhabitants for this change, by conciliating the Flemings.
Albert brought with him large pecuniary supplies, which
enabled him to continue the warlike operations against
France under the conduct of his predecessor Fuentes. In
this he was in some measure successful, as he was enabled
to capture Calais, and to avoid a pitched battle with Henry
IV. king of France, who commanded his army in person.
Whilst engaged in these operations, he attempted to enter
into some negotiations with the view to a reconciliation
with the Dutch; but the latter would not trust to the sin¬
cerity of Spain. Though the Prince of Orange made some
efforts, his principles were doubtful; and, from the court
and country in which his mind had been formed, they ob¬
jected to his visiting Holland. Civil communications took
place, but no progress towards conciliation was made, and
the prince continued to reside in Brussels in a state of
inactivity till his death.
The attempt of the archduke to draw the Dutch into a
negotiation bv the instrumentality of the Prince of Orange
having failed,' he was induced to prepare an army of 6000
men for the invasion of Holland ; but his general, Varas,
was out-manoeuvred by Prince Maurice, who met him at
Turnhout on the 24th of January 1597, and, with very
little loss on his part, obtained a most decisive victory, dis¬
persing the Belgians, and capturing the whole of their ar¬
tillery, stores, and baggage, with many prisoners. This
was the last considerable battle between the armies of the
two divisions of the Netherlands. The effect of this dis¬
comfiture to Belgium w^as serious, inasmuch as it disor¬
ganized the army and deranged the finances, whilst it in¬
creased the strength, and still more the confidence, of their
opponents. . ,
Philip of Spain, who now felt his end approaching, be¬
came desirous of putting an end to the war with France,
and also of establishing a general peace. At first the ne-
o-otiation comprehended the states of Holland; but, in
May 1598, a peace wras concluded which did not extend
to them. In a few days after, a public communication was
made, that the sovereignty of Burgundy and the Nether¬
lands had been transferred from the crown of Spain to the
Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella on their being
betrothed, a ceremony which was performed by proxy on
the part of the Infanta, who was still in Spain ; after which
he was solemnly inaugurated at Brussels on the 22d ot
August. He immediately departed for Spain to complete
Nether.
lands.
1
NETHERLANDS:
i'Vether- the marriage, and left the government of his newly-acquir-
lands. ecj dominions in the hands of his brother, the Cardinal An-
drew of Austria, but placed the troops, which amounted to
22,000 men, under the command of Mendoza, a Spaniard.
As the archduke travelled slowly, he was nearly six months
before he reached Valencia in Spain, where the marriage
was consummated, and where soon afterwards he received
the intelligence of the death of King Philip, the father of
his bride; but it was then nearly six months more before
the archduke and archduchess arrived in the city of Brus¬
sels.
In this year Mendoza, on the pretence of invading PIol-
land, led his army into the duchy of Cleves, and some of
the neutral states in Westphalia, where the most atrocious
cruelties were exercised and the most extensive devasta¬
tions practised. They were, however, in some degree
checked by Prince Maurice with a much inferior force, and
prevented from passing the Dutch frontiers. The Ger¬
mans, roused by their country being invaded, hastily mus¬
tered an army of 14,000 men, badly disciplined and equip¬
ped. Mendoza resolved to abandon his projected inva¬
sion of Holland, and encounter the advancing Germans
under the Count de Lippe. In an action fought with
these Germans, Mendoza was eminently successful; with
the loss of a few men, he was enabled to gain a victory,
by which his opponents, if not destroyed, were completely
dispersed.
These transactions kindled anew the patriotic spirit of
the Hollanders, which from inactivity had begun to lan¬
guish, and which had also been checked by the heavy
taxes imposed on them, and by the demand of Queen Eli¬
zabeth for payment of the supplies she had afforded them,
accompanied with the orders for the recall of her troops.
But Prince Maurice knew how to inspire the Dutch with
energy, and he obtained some auxiliary troops from other
countries. He had some Germans, some Swiss sent by
France, and troops both from England and Scotland, then
separate kingdoms; and he collected the whole disposable
force of the Dutch confederacy, amounting to about 17,000
men, whom he secretly transferred to the island of Wal-
cheren, and having plenty of craft adapted to the purpose,
he suddenly shipped them, and ascended the river Scheldt.
He passed with the rapid flood-tide the city of Antwerp,
and was in hopes of surprising Ghent, where he had cal¬
culated on finding a party disposed to assist him. In this,
however, he was disappointed; and taking possession of
some forts in the vicinity of that city and of Bruges, he
advanced to Nieuport, the siege of which place he imme¬
diately commenced.
The archduke was taken by surprise, and the Spanish
forces wrere in a state of mutiny on account of their pay
being in arrear. In this crisis he acted with great decision
and celerity, and in a few days was able to collect a force
of 12,000 men, which assembled at Ghent. Nieuport,
which Maurice was besieging, is on the sea-coast, amongst
the downs or sand-hills, and in a country affording but
scanty supplies. The first movement of the archduke was
to cut oft' the retreat of the Hollanders, in which he was
favoured by the occupation of Ghent and Bruges. He
also determined on raising the siege of Nieuport, and re-
captuied all the forts which Maurice had taken, except
those of Ostend. As he advanced he came in contact
with a part of the army of the Dutch, consisting of 3000
men, commanded by Prince Ernest of Nassau, and com¬
posed for the most part of Scottish infantry. These were
attacked, and, to give time to the main body under Mau-
rice to form, they fought most gallantly; but, after a loss
of neaily one third of their number, and being completely
separated from the rest of their army, they were defeated,
and at length threw themselves into Ostend. The arch¬
duke, encouraged by this success, resolved to attack Prince
Maurice. Most of his more experienced and cautious offi- Nether,
cers recommended that the army should remain in their ^ lands,
position, where, by famine, they would shortly compel their v ^
opponents to surrender. Others, especially the Spanish offi¬
cers, elated by their recent success, urged an immediate
advance. Maurice, who had been surprised by the rapid
movements of the enemy, was in a most embarrassing situa¬
tion. Before him was the garrisoned town of his enemy, and
behind him the main army, now more than equal to his own
in numbers, as well as in courage and discipline. The sea
was open to him, and such was his alarm, that he desired
his brother, Prince Frederick Henry, and a young prince
of Holstein, with several young English nobles, who were
volunteers, to embark on board a vessel; but they all re¬
fused, and resolved to face the threatened battle; and, as
Maurice could not embark his whole army on an open
shore in the face of a superior force, he determined to risk
an action in which he had little cause to hope for a vic¬
tory. It was the resolution of despair rather than of hope.
The vessels on the coast were ordered to depart and range
themselves before the port of Ostend.
It has been remarked by the historians of the day, Van-
dervynk and Grotius (the latter of whom, then a youth of
eighteen, was present), that each of the armies was of such
a variety of troops as to make them respectively an epi¬
tome of the various nations of Europe. The force of Mau¬
rice consisted of Dutch, English, Scotch, Germans, French,
and Swiss, under Count Louis of Nassau, Sir Francis
Vere, Sir Horace Vere, and other English officers of con¬
siderable celebrity. The archduke had under his command
Spaniards, Italians, Walloons, Belgians, and Irish, who were
led by Mendoza, La Berlotta, and other celebrated officers.
The rival generals rode along their respective lines, ad¬
dressed a few words of encouragement to their men, and
the contest commenced.
On the 2d of July 1600, at three o’clock, the archduke
began the attack. His advanced guard, commanded by
Mendoza, and composed of the mutineers, who now resolved
to atone for their former misconduct, marched across the
sand-hills with desperate resolution. They soon came into
contact with the English part of the force under Sir Francis
Vere, who was desperately wounded in the first shock.
The assault was almost irresistible. The English, borne
down by numbers, were forced to give way; but the main
body pressed on to their support, and Sir Horace Vere step¬
ped forward to supply the place of his brother. Not an
inch of ground was gained or lost; the firing ceased, and
pikes and swords crossed each other in the regular conflict
of man to man. The action now became general along the
w hole line. The two commanders-in-chief were to be seen
at all points. Nothing could exceed their mutual display
of skill and courage. At length the Spanish cavalry, bro¬
ken by the well-directed fire of the patriot artillery, fell
back on their infantry and threw it into confusion. At
the same instant the archduke was wounded by a lance in
the cheek, unhorsed, and forced to quit the field. The
report of his death, and the sight of his war-steed gallop¬
ing alone across the field, spread alarm throughout the
royalist ranks. Prince Maurice saw’ and seized on the cri¬
tical moment. He who had so patiently maintained his
position for three hours of desperate conflict, now discern¬
ed the instant for a prompt and general advance. He gave
the w ord, and having led his troops to the charge, the vic¬
tory was at length decided.
The defeat of the royalist army was in fact complete.
The whole of the artillery, baggage, standards, and am¬
munition, fell into the hands of the conquerors. Night
alone saved those who fled, and the nature of the ground
prevented the cavalry from consummating the destruction
of the beaten army. Accounts differ as to the actual num¬
ber of the killed, some stating it at 6000 men, others at
116
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
3000 ; but perhaps the latter computation does not include
the wounded. For the number of men engaged, it was
' the most bloody battle that had yet been fought. All agree
that more than half of the men engaged on both sides
were either killed or desperately wounded. Ihe Holland¬
ers alone made prisoners, and amongst them were many
officers of the first rank. Mendoza was one of these ; lie
had been wounded, and the prince had difficulty in saving
his life from the German auxiliaries, who were desirous ot
revenging on him the atrocities committed by his army
in the8duchy of Cleves and in Westphalia. Amongst the
other prisoners of eminence were the admiral of Aragon,
the seneschal of Montemilard, and the generals Don
Louis de Yellar, Don Idiaquez Monroy, p Avlla’ and the
aide-de-camps of the archduke. The archduke, furnished
with a fresh horse, made his escape from the field, and
reached Bruges, where he joined his wife, who had ?on‘1'
dently expected him to return victorious, and immediately
proceeded to Brussels. Although wounded, and at one
time a prisoner, but rescued by his own troops, he uniform¬
ly preserved his presence of mind, and throughou gav
such directions and orders as evinced the soundest judg-
meThis bloody victory was of little military consequence,
but the moral effect on the courage of the conquerors, and
in the depression of the defeated, was of the gieatest im-
portance. Prince Maurice had escaped from a deduc¬
tion that appeared almost inevitable. Aftei the battle
he resumed the siege of Nieuport; but some remfoice¬
ments had been introduced, which rendered Us speedy
capture impracticable, and, from want of supplies, the
attempt was abandoned; and having prepared Oste d
for a vigorous defence, he returned to Holland with e
remains of his army. He was there received with the
most rapturous congratulations by his countrymen, but
amongstPthe more rigid of the republicans some jealous}
arose, lest the successful soldier should aspire o be t e
sovereign of the country. This jealousy was felt by the
pensionary Barnevelt, and, when extended, led to those
agSonswhich long endured in the states, and which
at a later period led to the death of that inva uable pa¬
triot ; but these are transactions belonging exclusively to
the history of Holland. c
The archduke called together at Brusse s the states of
the Catholic provinces, who, when assembled, communi¬
cated their opinion, that nothing but peace would satisfy
the inhabitants, or preserve the country from exhaus-
Bon and complete ruin. He could not but sep the rea¬
sonableness of the view thus presented to him, and re¬
solved to attempt a treaty. The states of Holland readi y
embraced the intimations made to them, a,Jd at ^
commissioners from both parties were nominated, and met
at Bergen-op-Zoom ; but their negotiations were broken
fff aSt as'soon as they had commenced. The Spanish
deputies demanded that the new republicans should sub¬
mit themselves to their ancient masters. But this was re¬
ceived by the deputies of Holland as worse than insult,
and as a proof of the insincerity of those with whom it had
originated, who must have known that such a proposition
could never be permitted to become a subject of discus¬
sion The parties soon separated, and during the win¬
ter that followed both made preparations for continuing
th Early in the spring, Maurice found himself at the head
of an army of 16,000 men, composed chiefly of English
and French, who, in this instance, cheerfully united and
rivalled each other. He attacked the town ot Rheinberg,
and took it; but from before Bois-le-Duc he was obliged
to retire. The whole attention of both the contending
armies was drawn toward Ostend, a place of some thoug
but little importance to either party, when put in com¬
parison with the extraordinary loss of lives which the con- Net!*
test for its possession ultimately occasioned. The arch-Jana
duke, however, resolved on making the conquest of this' r
place, and the Dutch seem to have made it a point of ho¬
nour not to yield it up. The attack and the defence
were carried on with equal skill, courage, and persever¬
ance, and the operations, protracted for more than three
years, kept alive the anxiety of all the military men of
Europe during that period. Sir Francis Vere commanded
in the place at the time of the first investment; but go¬
vernors, garrisons, and besieging forces, were renevved and
replaced with a rapidity which gave one of the most fright¬
ful instances of the ravages of war.
This siege became a school for the young nobility of ail
Europe, who repaired to the one party or the other to learn
the principles and the practice of attack and defence. Every
thing that the military skill of that age could devise was re¬
sorted to on either side. The slaughter in the various as¬
saults, sorties, and bombardments, was enormous, bqua-
drons at sea gave a double interest to the land operations.
The celebrated brothers, Frederick and Ambrose Spinola,
founded their reputation on both elements. Frederick
was, however, killed in one of the naval combats with the
Dutch galleys, and Ambrose acquired his fame by the ul¬
timate conquest of Ostend. As the Dutch had the su¬
periority at sea, they could throw in renewed succours,
whilst the Spaniards having full possession of the suiround¬
ing land, could bring to the besiegers whatever stores or
recruits were needed. Redoubled attacks and multiplied
mines at length reduced the town to a mere mass ot ruins,
and scarcely left to its undaunted garrison sufficient toot¬
ing on which to prolong their desperate defence. Ostend
at length surrendered on the 22d of Septeinber 1604, after
a siege which had commenced in July 1601. The vic¬
tors marched in over its crumbled walls and shattered
batteries. Scarcely a vestige of the place reniained be¬
yond those terrible evidences of destruction. The ditches
filled up with the rubbish of ramparts, bastions, and re¬
doubts, left no distinct line of separation between the ope¬
rations of attack and defence. It resembled a va*t se¬
pulchre rather than a ruined town, a mountain ot earth an
rubbish, without a single house in which the wretched
remnant of the inhabitants could hide their heads.
The death of Queen Elizabeth of England happened
during this siege, and some time was passed in anxious
expectation of what would be the conduct of her su -
cessor, who was actuated on the one side y Rs ug
opinion of the rights of royalty, and on the other by the
policy of his English ministers, and the representations ot
Henry IV. of France. In this case, though he threatened,
he did' not withdraw his troops from the Dutch ; but e,
at the same time, gave liberty to the Spaniards to raise
recruits in England for the Belgic states.
In the year 1605, both the Dutch and the Belgians, the
former under Prince Maurice, and the latter under Spino¬
la, took the field. The prince projected the surprise <*
Antwerp ; but the vigilance of Spinola anticipated ns
tention. Spinola then invaded the province of Overys^k
and took some of the smaller towns. Maurice flew to the
relief of the province ; and by his tactics oblige p
to retire to the Rhine, where he awaited at Roer.oord “f
attack of the Dutch. A battle was there fought, m « hie
the fortune of the day more than once varied. At lengtn
Maurice desisted, and the Spaniards had the honour o
victory ; but the loss on both sides was nearly equal, an
few of no prisoners were taken. In the mean time, the
Dutch had gained a naval victory of much importance- a
squadron of ships commanded by Hautain, admira
land, attacked a superior force of Spanish vessel do
Dover, and defeated them with consMerabie loss,
victory was, however, sullied by an act ot grea
NETHERLANDS.
JC : ier-
Is.
all the soldiers found on board the captured ships were
tied two and two, and thrown into the sea. Some few ex-
^ tricated themselves, and by swimming reached the shore ;
and others were picked up by the English boats, the crews
of which witnessed the scene, and hastened to the relief of
the sufferers.
The military forces of the Catholic states had been
abundantly supplied with pecuniary resources from the
treasures of Spain. But Philip III. who had succeeded
to the throne of that kingdom, found difficulties arise re¬
specting the supplies. He wanted that economical arrange¬
ment in his finances which had been one of the peculiar fea¬
tures of the late king; he was embarrassed with troubles in
Portugal, which showed strong dispositions to throw off
the yoke of the Spanish government; and he had been
prevented from drawing resources from his dominions in
both the Indies, by the interruptions which the Dutch
navy had caused in all parts of the world, and by the cap¬
ture or destruction of some of his ships returning with the
treasures of Mexico and Peru. Discontents had been
created in the Catholic Netherlands, excited by suspicion
of the design of Spain to place those states again under
her immediate government. In one of his public rescripts,
Philip had described the people of the Netherlands as his
beloved subjects. This caused great agitation in the states,
as they had imagined that the cession of the sovereignty to
the archduke had made them an independent kingdom. The
debts of the states had also accumulated to a large amount,
and there was no prospect of discharging them as long as
the war with the Hollanders should continue. Even the
general, Spinola, had so encumbered himself with personal
obligations to further the public service, that he gave a
lead to the feeling generally entertained in favour of peace.
In this state of affairs, proposals were made by the arch¬
duke in May 1607, to enter into negotiations for a peace;
and two plenipotentiaries having been despatched from
Brussels, repaired to the Hague.
But public opinion in the Dutch states was much divided
on this important question. An instinctive hatred against
the Spaniards, and long habits of warfare, led the great
mass of the people to consider any overture of peace as
some wily artifice aimed at their religion and liberty. War
seemed to have opened to them inexhaustible sources of
wealth ; whilst peace appeared to threaten the extinction
of the trade, which was now as much a habit as war ap¬
peared to be a want. This reasoning was particularly
convincing to Prince Maurice, whose fame, with a large
portion of his authority and revenues, depended on the
continuance of hostilities. It was also strongly relied on,
and supported in Zealand, and in the chief towns, which
dreaded the rivalry of Antwerp. Those who bore the
burden of the war saw it, however, under a different as¬
pect. They feared that the present state of things would
lead to their conquest by the enemy, or to the ruin of
their liberty by the growing power of Prince Maurice;
and they hoped that peace would consolidate the republic,
and cause the reduction of the debt, which already amount¬
ed to twenty-six millions of florins. This party was head¬
ed by Barnevelt, whose wisdom has been established by
the issue. J
The wish of that great man was for a suspension of
arms, in order that opposition might subside, and the in-
terests of the contending parties might be calmly discuss-
ei ; an e managed so as to gain a reluctant acquiescence
to Ins views from the Prince of Orange and his partisans,
ine united provinces positively refused to admit even the
commencement of a negotiation until the archduke made
a distinct recognition of their independence, and an am¬
bassador was appointed with instructions to require this im¬
portant admission. Some delay was occasioned by the de¬
mand tor this preliminary, and many suspicions were either
117
kindled or kept alive in the united states by the dubious Nether-
tone of the Belgian authorities. These were, however,
at length surmounted, and the independence of the states
admitted in explicit terms, upon which a suspension of arms
was agreed to for eight months. During this term of sus¬
pension the negotiation had nearly been suddenlv broken
off by the plenipotentiary of the archduke having at¬
tempted to bribe Aarsens, the greffier of the states-sene-
ral. He was a monk, named Neyen, a native of Antwerp,
and had several times passed between Brussels and the
Hague, and had held private interviews with Maurice and
Barnevelt. He took an opportunity to present Aarsens
with a diamond of great value, and a bond of the arch¬
duke for 50,000 crowns, which was accepted and commu¬
nicated to Prince Maurice, who, still anxious to prevent
peace, hoped the rumour of this attempt would excite dis¬
trust, and break off the negotiation. But Barnevelt ob¬
tained the diamond and bond, and in the assembly handed
them to one Verreiken, who had assisted Neyen, and read
him a lecture of true republican severity. Verreiken was
overwhelmed with shame, and Neyen w:as dismissed from
the embassy; but, after this delay, the negotiation proceed¬
ed, in spite of the opposition of Prince Maurice and his ad¬
herents.
The assembly of ambassadors met at the Hague in Ja¬
nuary 1608, and though the plenipotentiaries of the arch¬
duke and of the Dutch states were the principal nego¬
tiators, yet the kings of England, France, and Spain had
each their ministers, who interfered in the negotiations,
and thereby created various obstacles, and many delays.
The main points for discussion, on which depended the de¬
cision for peace or for war, were those which concerned
religion, and the demand on the part of Spain, that the
united provinces should renounce all claims to the navi¬
gation of the Indian Seas. Philip required for the Catho¬
lics of the united states the free exercise of their religion ;
but it was opposed by the states-general, and the arch¬
duke, seeing the impossibility of carrying that point, sent
his confessor Briznella to Spain. This dominican was fur¬
nished with the written opinions of several theologians,
that the king might conscientiously pass over the article of
religion ; and he w as the more successful with Philip, as
his minister, the Duke of Lerma, was resolved to bring
about peace at any price. The conferences at the Hague
were thus little impeded, though they advanced slowly
till the month of August, when it was announced that the
king of Spain had abandoned the question concernire re¬
ligion ; but it was with the certainty that his moderation
would be recompensed by ample concessions in regard to
the India trade, on which he was inexorable. This ar¬
ticle became the rock upon which the whole negotiation
eventually split. The court of Spain on the one hand,
and the states-general on the other, inflexibly maintain¬
ed their opposing claims. The other ambassadors em¬
ployed every possible expedient to shake the determina¬
tion of the Dutch; but the influence of the East India
Company, of the islands of Zealand, and of the city of Am¬
sterdam, prevailed over all. Reports of the avowal, on
the part of the king of Spain, that he would never re¬
nounce his title to the sovereignty of the united pro¬
vinces, unless they abandoned the Indian navigation, and
granted the free exercise ot religion, tiirew the whole di¬
plomatic corps into confusion ; and, on the 25th of August,
the states-general announced to the Marquis of Spinola,
and the other ambassadors, that the congress was dissolved,
and all hopes of peace abandoned.
d he ambassadors of England and of France did not,
however, altogether despair of succeeding in bringing
about tranquillity; and Barnevelt with his great influence
joined them in all their efforts. The king of Spain and
the archduke wished for a temporary repose, but, being
118
Nether¬
lands.
NETHERLANDS.
strongly disliked by Maurice and his powerful party, they
were compelled apparently to give way. A new congress
' having been agreed upon, was assembled at Antwerp; and
the states-general removed from the Hague to Bergen-op-
Zoom, to be within reach, and ready to co-operate in the
negotiation. It did not appear so easy to make a peace
as to effect a temporary truce; and, working in that direc¬
tion, the two representatives of England and France, with
the aid of Barnevelt, in opposition to Maurice, who re¬
signed in disgust all his employments, but afterwards le-
sumed them, succeeded in concluding a truce, which was
at length signed by all parties on the 9th of April 1609. by
this treaty hostilities were to cease for twelve years. 1 he
terms were vague and inconclusive in many parts; but as
it was desirable to all parties, it became durable, ihe
united states were declared free and independent. Each
party was to retain the places they respectively held at the
commencement of the armistice. In terms very obscure,
the right to navigate the Indian Seas was granted to the
Dutch. The article which respected religion was so ex¬
pressed as to be differently interpreted ; but it practically
gave toleration to the Catholics in Holland, with some re¬
strictions. The other articles settled points relative toboun-
daries, custom-houses, and some other internal matters.
The treaty was guaranteed by the kings of trance and
This treaty was received in both the divisions of the
Netherlands “with rapturous acclamation, and the most
sincere demonstrations of joy. The northern division, du¬
ring all the tempestuous visitations it had endured from
hostilities, had risen to opulence, power, and weight, in the
rank of European nations. Belgium was now permanently
fixed under the sovereignty of the house of Austria, but
still left in possession of some of those ancient privileges
which had been transmitted to the people from the earlier
times, when they composed part of the duchy of Bur¬
gundy. No sooner was the truce concluded, than Belgium,
fike the independent states, began to labour assiduously to
repair the dreadful ravages caused by the long and bloody
war. The success in Belgium was considerable, for the
Archduke Albert, and his wife Isabella, joined to much
probity of character considerable talents for government,
and exercised the greatest possible degree of humanity and
benevolence. The whole of their dominions began quickly
to recover from the ravages of war. Agriculture and the
minor branches of trade resumed some degree of activity ;
but the manufactures of Flanders, as far as they were of
oreat value and objects of foreign commerce, were destroy¬
ed, as well as the capital necessary for their re-estabhsh-
ment. Some encouragement, however, was given to ma¬
nufactures of the common kind for internal consumption,
and the demand for them was increased in proportion as
the soil, naturally fertile, became better cultivated, and the
proprietors more enriched. As the port of Antwerp, the
chief outlet for foreign trade, had been deprived of its ship-
uino- by the emigrations to Holland, and its only access to
me sea was through the Dutch territory, there were few
inducements, and fewer means of opening foreign trade at
that place. . . „ i • i
The tranquil course of prosperity in Belgium was only
once interrupted during the whole twelve years of the
peace It arose from a disputed succession to the sove¬
reignty of the adjoining German duchy of Cleves-Juhers.
Two parties claimed the inheritance, ihe Dutch sided
with one, and the Belgians with the other, and both marched
armies and seized upon towns; but they never came in con¬
tact with each other, and no blood was shed, the prudence
of the archduke and the forbearance of the states-gene¬
ral having averted the evil, and removed the alarm creat¬
ed in Belgium, with very little injury to its growing in¬
dustry.
The Archduke Albert, who had long been a martyr to Nether,
the gout, died of that disease on the 21st of July 1621, ands.
universally lamented in the ten provinces. Though his edu-
cation in Spain gave him an air of reserve and of pride,
and his sole use of the language of that country was not re¬
lished by the Belgians, yet he had displayed both courage
and judgment during the war, and was uniformly just, di¬
ligent, liberal, and humane. The term of the truce with
the states of Holland terminated three months before this
event; but it was renewed from time to time for a few
months, and was at length tacitly considered by all parties
as having become a final settlement.
The infanta of Spain, wife of the archduke, succeeded
him as sole governor of the Netherlands ; but, according to
the matrimonial compact, and the clauses of the cession of
Philip II., the sovereignty returned to his successor on the
throne, Philip IV., her nephew. The ten provinces thus
became once more a part of the Spanish monarchy. I ie
infanta or archduchess continued in the government as
vice-regent till her death, which occurred in 1633. Du¬
ring her government, the religious war in Germany be¬
tween the Catholics and the Protestants, generally deno¬
minated the Thirty Years’ War, raged with fury. Hol¬
land was agitated with theological disputes between the
Calvinists and Arminians, whilst the Belgians were in re¬
pose on those subjects, having embraced with firmness the
Catholic system, which was insured by the restoration of
the monasteries and churches, and by the animosity creat¬
ed in their minds by the long war against the Protestants
of Holland.
But the death of the infanta gave rise to a conspiracy
against the Spanish government in the Netherlands. It
is said to have arisen from the arrangement of offices, by
which the commander of the army, the Duke of Berg, was
mortified. The project of the conspirators was to form
these provinces into an independent republic, in alliance
with France and the states of Holland. 1 lie plot was, how¬
ever, discovered, and some of the leaders were seized,
whilst others fled. As the whole transaction was involved
in obscurity, so when ascertained it was soon consigned to
oblivion. ^ .
The king of Spain appointed his brother Ferdinand, a
cardinal, and archbishop of Joledo, to administei the go¬
vernment of the Netherlands in 1634, and he arrived at
Brussels with a force of more than 16,000. At that time
a rivalry between the courts of France and Spain led to a
treaty, offensive and defensive, between the former and
the Dutch, in consequence of which hostilities were begun
in 1635. As far as relates to Belgium, however, they were
but of short duration. A French army advanced to the
then German province of Luxembourg, occupied by the
Spaniards, and in a bloody battle near Avein the latter
were completely defeated. They then formed a junction
w ith the Dutch under the Prince of Orange, entered Bel¬
gium, and captured the cities of Tirlemont and St Trend,
and exercised some severities. This roused the Belgians
throughout all the ten provinces. The prince-cardinal
joined them with all the troops he could collect. The in¬
vaders were harassed and repulsed, and, being exhausted
by forced marches and by sickness, were compelled to re¬
treat into Holland, and, having embarked at Rotterdam,
were conveyed by sea to France. _
The vice-regency of the prince-cardinal was terminated
by his death in the year 1641. During his government he
showed considerable talent and much activity. He fre¬
quently made incursions into the frontier provinces of
France, ravaged Picardy, and even alarmed Paris; and at
the same time carried on a defensive war on the side to¬
wards the Hollanders. By these hostilities, the progress
of industry amongst the Belgians received a severe check,
whilst the demands for supplies vastly diminished the
NETHERLANDS. 119
; ther- sources of that prosperity to which the interval of peace
ncIs> had a:iven birth. Spain herself was also much weakened
1 -v   by her warlike unsuccessful operations at sea., and more
especially by the revolution of Portugal, in consequence of
which that kingdom gained its independence, and placed
Don Juan IV. on the throne. From the want of resources
on the part of Spain and her Belgian provinces, the war
which affected the latter was carried on with but little vi¬
gour under the vice-regency of Mello, a Spanish general
who had gained much fame by his defeat of the French
army under De Guiche at Hannecourt, but lost it at the
famous battle of Rocroy, where the French, who conquer¬
ed, were commanded by the great Conde, and nearly an¬
nihilated the Spanish and the Walloon infantry.
In the midst of these extensive military struggles, which
extended throughout the continent of Europe, and whilst
England was contending for its king or its parliament, a
treaty of peace was in course of negotiation by a congress
of plenipotentiaries assembled at Munster and Osnaburg.
Several years had already been occupied at these two places
in projects and protocols. At that period all Europe wish¬
ed for peace, except perhaps Cardinal Mazarin, the prime
minister of France under the regency of the queen mo-
ther Anne of Austria, and Oxenstiern, the prime minister
of Sweden in the minority of Queen Christina. The em¬
peror of Germany, the king of Spain, and the Dutch re¬
public, were the first to endeavour to bring about a gene¬
ral peace ; and the inferior states in a short time concurred
with them. The first step was taken in 1641, when some
preliminaries were agreed to and signed at Hamburg ; but
several years passed before other places for assembling the
general congresses could be fixed upon besides Hamburg
and Cologne, which had been first intended. Some pro¬
posed Worms and Spires as the two most proper cities,
from being near to each other; but at length the Swedes
contended lor Munster and Osnaburg in Westphalia, which
was then unanimously approved. The Catholic ambassa¬
dors met at the first of these cities, and the Protestant at
the other. When the two parties had occasion to confer
together, deputies from each met at Lengerich, a small
town nearly equidistant from both.
As the negotiation had been commenced by the media¬
tion of the pope and the republic of Venice, they both sent
ambassadors to the congress. These envoys took up their
residence at Munster; but Contarini, the envoy for Venice,
a man highly reputed for his patience and his prudence,
often repaired to Osnaburg, and by his wisdom succeeded
in allaying the greatest discords.
The ambassadors who composed these illustrious as¬
semblies were the representatives of the emperor of Ger¬
many, and of the kings of Spain, France, and Sweden, each
of the ecclesiastical or secular electors of the empire ; the
Archduke of Innspruck, the house of Brunswick, that of
Mecklenburg, of Holstein, and of Baden; the Duke of Wir-
temburg, Amelia Elizabeth of Hanau-Muntzenburg, the
Dowager Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel, the Landgrave of
Hesse-Darmstadt, those of the imperial cities, of the circle
of Burgundy, and of the cities of the Hanseatic league.
From Italy there appeared an envoy from the reigning
Duchess of Savoy, from the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and
fromnhe Marquises of Mantua and Montserrat. To these
may be added the plenipotentiaries from the seven united
and independent provinces of the Netherlands, who are
noticed separately, because they treated only and distinctly
for a separate peace with Spain.
I he king of Portugal, Juan IV., who had just ascended
the throne, but had not yet been acknowledged by Philip
of Spain, sent to Westphalia his ambassador in company
with the ambassador of France ; but the minister of Spain
declared, as soon as he arrived, that if he were admitted to
the congress, he had orders immediately to retire. The
emperor had demanded the admission of the plenipoten- Nether-
tiaries of the Duke of Lorraine, and the French opposed lands,
it; and thus both the envoys of these powers were exclud-
ed. The Duke of Lorraine afterwards settled his differ¬
ences with France, and was admitted at the final settlement
of the treaty. The singularity of this meeting, and the
important event with which it concluded, may excuse the
notice of the component parts of the two bodies.
Various delays, from discussions, some of a trifling'nature,
some of importance, prevented even the commencement of
the negotiations till 1643 or 1644; but from that time they
proceeded regularly, and as rapidly as the nature of the
various matters to be discussed would admit. The sepa¬
rate negotiation between the king of Spain and the states-
general was of the most simple kind, its perplexities hav¬
ing been in a great degree unravelled by what had passed
previous to the truce of 1609. It was, therefore, the first
completed, and was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the
two powers, at Munster, on the 30th of January 1648, and
the ratifications were exchanged on the 15th of May fol¬
lowing. As this treaty proceeded on the principle of the
uti possidetis, it was favourable to the states-general, as
they were in possession of more extensive territories than
at the signing of the truce of 1609.
Though not immediately connected with the history of
Belgium, we may here state, that the general treaty of
Westphalia, by which peace was established in the whole
of Europe, was definitively signed on the 24th of October
1648, to the satisfaction of all the powers except France,
which complained of the Dutch having neglected to afford
the stipulated support, and of the pope, who made a formal
protest against the confiscation of the ecclesiastical pro¬
perty, and against the freedom granted to the Protestant
princes to appropriate the revenues of the church to other
than Catholic ecclesiastical purposes.
The peace of Westphalia, important as it was to the
whole of the contending powers, proved peculiarly so to
the ease and improvement of Belgium, which being now
merely an appendage to Spain, had the least apparent
connection with the negotiations. During the former
truce the archduke and archduchess had laboured to re¬
medy the abuses in the administration of the law which
had grown up in the period of the troubles. They had
sworn to maintain that compact long endeared to the Bel¬
gians by the name of the Joyeuse Entree. It was former¬
ly made to secure the states of Brabant and Limburg,
including Antwerp, and to confer privileges upon other of
the states; and an oath was taken at the inauguration of
the duke, that if he should ever be tempted to infringe
any of their privileges, none of the subjects should be
bound to yield him obedience. The privileges of those
states were so much valued, that it was customary for fe¬
males to repair to them previous to their confinement, that
their children being born within them, might have the be¬
nefit of these privileges. They granted several new charters
to provinces and towns, and the privileges of the people were
placed upon a footing adapted to their wants. After the
peace of Westphalia, the sufferings from the recurrence of
the war under the prince-cardinal were soon ended, and
the joy on account of the peace and at the amount of li¬
berty secured to them had a very beneficial effect. Anarchy
gave place to regular government, persons and property
were secure, the cry to arms was not heard calling the
husbandman from the peaceful labours of the field, and the
fertile soil was tilled with renewed industry and increased
skill.
I he re-establishment of the religious houses in their
estates proved highly beneficial. They were mild landlords,
and the peasantry that worked under them were instructed
in the best means of culture. In the nunneries also in¬
dustry was introduced and flourished ; and the females in
120
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- them were so improved, and acquired such a delicacy
lands. 0f touch in their fingers, that they could spin flax to a
degree of fineness unequalled in any other part of the
world. This gave them a great value; the nuns’ thread, a
kind of second-rate fineness, was sought after everywhere;
and by constant practice the art of making very fine thread
was carried so far, that some of that from Mechlin was sold
in England as high as thirty-five pounds sterling for a
pound weight, or acquired a value of more than ten times its
weight in silver. Besides the fine thread which was sent to
foreign countries, much of it was made into lace at home,
both by nuns and by the females in private families in the
towns as well as in the villages. The tame of Brussels
lace was rivalled by that of Mechlin, and at a humble dis¬
tance imitated in Valenciennes, then a fort ot Flanders, and
other towns. The soil was, and still is, admirably adapt¬
ed for the growth of the finest flax; and the thread spun
from it was woven into those delicate cloths which receiv¬
ed the name of cambrics from the city where the mer¬
chants collected and bleached them, and where the trade
still exists, though Cambray has since become one of the
cities of France. The fine lawns of which the bishops ot
all Europe had their roquelaures and sleeves made, were
also a product of Belgium ; and, in spite of the laws which
prohibited their importation in many countries, the diffu¬
sion of them could not be anywhere prevented.
It must be obvious that these branches ot industry could
not have flourished during the dreadful hostilities which had
wasted the country ; but the rudiments of the arts were
not destroyed, so that they began to spread immediately
after the truce of 1609, and with greater celerity after the
conclusion of the peace of Westphalia, in 1648. To show
the progress which had been made in agriculture, it does
not seem unnecessary to notice, that Cromwell, when he
obtained the supreme rule in England, sent to Flanders for
husbandmen to cultivate his pattern farm at Iheobolds,
within ten years after the peace of Munster; and having
introduced the practice of sowing clover and other grasses
in the corn after the Flemish mode, became a great bene¬
factor to the husbandry of his country.
With the revival of industry, both in agriculture and
in manufactures, the fine arts also made their appealance.
Painting was cherished, and the Flemings established that
school which furnished works of their peculiar style, that
rival the best productions of Italian art. The decoration
of their religious edifices w7as the chief object of the art¬
ists ; but in the representations of country scenery, of ru¬
ral groups, of peasants, of cattle, and of domestic life, their
skill has never been exceeded. Neither architecture, sta¬
tuary, nor music, seem to have made much progress ; and
learning appears to have been almost kept out of sight, or
to have passed the boundary, and taken up its residence
amongst the Dutch, who in that age produced the most
eminent scholars in antiquities and classics, as well as the
most able cultivators of natural history and of medical
science. Their theology was in a great measure confined
to the dogmas ot the infallible church, and their moial
science to the discussions of the schoolmen. Belgium, now
fixed as a Spanish province, enjoyed a long course of tran¬
quillity. Whilst England and the Dutch, during the exist¬
ence of the commonwealth and under Charles II. were car¬
rying on hostilities, and fighting tremendous battles at sea,
the provinces of the Netherlands were not in the least af¬
fected by the contest. In one instance, indeed, in the year
1672, when the united forces of France and of England
were assailing the united states, the king of Spain gave or¬
ders to his governor of the Belgian provinces, Monterey,
to collect an army of 10,000, and march to the relief of
the Dutch. But before this force reached the scene of the
war, the king of France was compelled, by the movements
of a body of troops of Leopold, emperor of Germany, and
by some demonstrations of the Elector of Brandenburg, Nether
added to some checks he had received from the Prince of v ianils-
Orange, to abandon with great rapidity the conquests he “ ^
had made ; and England, withdrawing from his alliance,
concluded a treaty of peace w ith the Dutch.
Spain, however, in alliance with the Dutch and the em¬
peror, continued the war with France. That power had an
army in Brabant, with which William, prince of Orange, who
had recently married the Princess Mary of England, and
ultimately ascended the throne along with her, attacked the
French under Conde, and in the battle of Senef first dis¬
played his military talents. This battle was fierce and
bloody, but indecisive, and was chiefly remarkable as the
last action of Conde and the first of William.
In the following year the Dutch and Belgians made an
attempt to take Maestricht, which, though conducted by
William, proved unsuccessful. On the other frontier the
French were fortunate, and took from Belgium the cities
of Valenciennes, St Omer, and Cambray. William has¬
tened to the relief of those places, and having encounter¬
ed the French near Cassel, met with a most serious defeat.
This led to negotiations for peace, and a treaty was con¬
cluded between the French and Dutch, at Nimwegen, in
1678, to which Spain also reluctantly acceded in the latter
end of the same year.
The increase of the prosperity of Belgium was little if
at all checked by these hostilities. It had been but local¬
ly, and for a short period, the seat of war. Besides, that
war was carried on with much more humanity than had
been displayed in the long civil war; and as the allied
troops of Holland and of Germany paid for what they con¬
sumed, it is not unlikely that the high prices paid to the
Belgians for the produce of their soil proved more beneficial
to them than the light additional taxes with which they
were charged was detrimental.
Belgium again enjoyed an interval of tranquillity, which
was well employed in domestic improvement. It expe¬
rienced more alarm than evil by an irruption of the French,
which the Spanish army was too weak to oppose ; but V il-
liam of Orange agreed, in the name of the Dutch, to a
truce with France for twenty years, to which the emperor
of Germany and the king of Spain gladly acceded.
The accession of William to the throne of England gave
rise to a confederacy of several powers against the am¬
bition of Louis XIV.; and, at the congress of Utrecht, in
the year 1690, that prince, at the same time uniting in his
person the executive power in England and Holland, was
named as the chief of the confederation. The war which
followed was generally indecisive, as far as relates to Bel¬
gium ; Mons and Namur were captured by the French, and
the fortress of Huy was taken by William. Marshal \ ille-
roy with his army advanced to Brussels, and during three
days kept up a furious bombardment, by which the town-
house, fourteen churches, and 4000 dwellings, were redu¬
ced to ashes, but with no farther effect. The other events
of this war, extensively as they were spread, have only a
remote connection with Belgium. It was terminated in
1697, by the peace of Ryswick, where a treaty was framed
very little differing from that concluded at Nimwegen
nineteen years before. By the treaty Spain gained the re¬
storation of Luxembourg, Charleroy, Mons, Courtray, and
all the towns and fortresses taken by the French in the
province of Luxembourg, Namur, Brabant, Flanders, and
Hainault, except eighty-two towns and villages claimed by
them.
The death of the king of Spain, in 1700, gave rise to a
general war, which extended to almost every part of the
world. He was a weak prince, without an heir to his do¬
minions, and thought himself empowered to appoint a suc¬
cessor. The leading powers of Europe, and France amongst
the rest, had agreed amongst themselves so to settle the
NETHERLANDS.
121
V^i
her- succession as to balance the power, in conformity to the
Jds- treaties then existing. The dying king, displeased with
this distribution of his dominions, by his will bequeathed
them to the Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Louis XIV.
king of France, whose ambition had by his previous con¬
duct roused the jealousy of almost all the other states.
Louis, who during the peace had kept up his armies to
their full war establishment, was prepared to maintain, by
force of arms, the disposition of the Spanish monarch. This
gave rise to the Grand Alliance, usually considered as the
master-stroke of policy of King William. About the same
time King James died in France and William in England;
upon which Louis acknowledged the son of the former as
king of England and Scotland. As William had died with¬
out issue, Anne ascended the throne. The declaration of
Louis operated to unite the parties in England, and to en¬
able the new queen to extract from her subjects extraor¬
dinary supplies for carrying on the war.
The events of this war belong to the history of Europe,
and not to that of the Netherlands peculiarly, though the
latter country was one of the prominent scenes of its trans¬
actions. The parties to this alliance were at first only the
emperor of Germany, the sovereign of England, and the
states-general of the united provinces ; but other princes,
both in Italy and in Germany, were subsequently included
in it, either as allies or as auxiliaries. The Netherlands
was a part of the countries contended for, and to a limited
extent, and during limited periods, the theatre of bloody
battles and sieges; but as the contending parties wished
to occupy and not destroy the provinces, they suffered
but little, and the contending armies expended so much
money in the country, that the capital left behind was
thought to be more beneficial than the injury sustained
amounted to. The battering down the walls of some of
the towns, the blowing up of forts, and even the casual
trampling down of the growing crops, inflicted but tran¬
sient inconvenience; whilst the large sums expended by
the numerous troops of English and Dutch, officered by
some of the wealthiest and profuse men in Europe, and
paying for the productions of the soil rates far beyond the
cost to the cultivators, remained in the country, and form¬
ed a capital the influence of which was felt long after the
operations of war had ceased.
After various successes in some quarters, followed with
reverses in other parts, France became exhausted, and was
ready to make peace upon any terms; and the allies, too,
were weakened and ready to enter into treaty. But the
emperor and Holland wished to reduce Louis still more,
when an intrigue in the English female 'cabinet led to a
feeling in the government in favour of the pretensions of
France, in opposition to the views of the allies. England
resolved on peace, and entered into secret negotiations
with France. Holland could hope for nothing from that
power when thus left alone. The Emperor Leopold died
about this time, and was succeeded by his brother Charles,
who had been during the war a competitor with the Duke
of Anjou for the throne of Spain. That kingdom thus be¬
came an object of less personal consequence to him than
before. In these circumstances, the negotiations were
commenced in January 1712, and terminated definitively
by the peace of April 1713, usually denominated, from the
place where it was signed, the peace of Utrecht. By this
treaty, Spain, with her transmarine dominions, were se¬
cured to the Duke of Anjou, Gibraltar and Minorca to
Eingland, whilst the ten provinces of Belgium were assign-
i .Vhe emPeror °f Germany, and now assumed the name
which it long bore of the Austrian Netherlands.
These provinces were finally delivered up to the em¬
peror in 1716. From causes which the preceding narra¬
tive must render very natural, there was considerable dis¬
content amongst the people ; and it was only bv extreme
VOL, XVI.
severity, and almost overwhelming precautions, that a ge¬
neral revolt was prevented. After the first ebullitions of
disgust had expended their force, as peace was restored,
and prosperity followed, no difficulty seems to have been
found in governing the country; and neither revolts nor
punishments were spoken of during the fifteen years which
passed before the accession of Maria Theresa to the impe¬
rial throne. Whatever may have been the early repug¬
nance of the Belgian people to the Austrian dominion, they
became gradually reconciled to it; and the benevolent
reign of their new duchess converted the Netherland po¬
pulation into faithful and devoted subjects to the house of
Austria. Her government was just, mild, and firm ; her
religious opinions and acts corresponded to their own, and
she made no infringements on the Joyeuse Entree. The
continuance of tranquillity afforded time for industry to
develop its power; and agriculture, the chief industry
of the country, was constantly improving, and enriching
proprietors, cultivators, consumers, and, in short, every one
of the classes which composed the nation. The foreign
trade, however, which had in ancient times crowded to the
cities of Antwerp, Ghent, and ’Bruges, was not renewed,
as the closing of the Scheldt had been one of the condi¬
tions of the several treaties with the Hollanders ; and Os-
tend and Nieuport, the other seaports, were of very little
use to Belgium.
The tranquillity of Belgium was interrupted by the war
which broke out in 1743. The French, under Marshal
Saxe, after he had gained the battle of Fontenoy in May
1744, invaded Belgium, took Brussels and several other
towns, and thus placed the whole of the Austrian Nether¬
lands in the power of Louis XV. But the treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle in 1748 terminated hostilities, and Maria Theresa
was again established in her Belgian possessions, as she had
enjoyed them before the war. Though reduced to a state
of widowhood by the death of her husband Francis I. who
had been raised by her to the imperial dignity, she ruled
singly her vast possessions, with so much mildness, united
to firmness, that her name even to this day is cherished
in Belgium, as amongst the dearest recollections of the
people. Her good sense and good feeling preserved her
from overstepping the hounds of the ancient laws. She
had no temptation to abuse her power, nor had her sub¬
jects any cause for want of fidelity in their allegiance.
Iteforms were necessary in many of the local, provincial,
and commercial regulations; but in effecting them she
violated no principles, wounded no opinion, shocked no
prejudice, so that they were affected with but slight mur¬
murs, and no resistance. The rude burghers of Flanders
abandoned their hereditary right to an independence of
the more exaggerated kind. Faction itself yielded homage
to the ascendency of justice, and social civilization made
a rapid progress throughout the whole country. During
the Seven Years’ War which terminated in 1763, the Bel¬
gian dominions of Austria bore their share of the pecuniary
burdens and levies of men in the early part of the transac¬
tions ; but it suffered none of those inflictions which visit a
country that is itself the seat of war. After the peace of
Paris, the Austrian Belgian states continued to flourish.
The government was indeed an absolute monarchy; but
the municipal laws still retained a great portion of their
popular character, and the political privileges of the people
were considerable. This mixture of sovereign power with
popular rights, or rather the prerogative of an aristocracy
of nobles, clergy, and lawyers, worked well and gave ge¬
neral satisfaction during the whole reign of Maria Theresa.
In November 1780 this princess was succeeded by her
son Joseph II., whose own mind was somewhat tinctured
with that infectious desire of organic changes which the
contest between England and her North American colo¬
nies had spread throughout Europe.
Nether¬
lands.
Q
122
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
Joseph was inaugurated with the ancient formalities,
and both he and the states swore mutually, he to preserve
' the ancient privileges, and they to yield obedience as long
as he maintained them. This compact, already noticed
under the name of the JoyeuseEntree, included the varying
rights of the several states, those of the ecclesiastical bo¬
dies, and of the courts of law, and the privileged influence
of the nobility. As Joseph examined more minutely into
the interior affairs of his dominions, he saw with concern
the extensive despotism exercised by the clergy, and in no
part so much as in his Belgic provinces. He saw that re¬
ligious power had overstepped its boundaries, and infringed
upon the power of sovereigns ; and he honestly felt it his
duty to bring it within more beneficial limits. Had he
done this by degrees, he might have gradually restored
each branch to its due equilibrium ; but he was anxious for
a speedy reform, and not sufficiently cautious to avoid con¬
flict with prevailing prejudices. He began by breaking
the dependence in which the clerical body was united to
the pope, and, by his decrees in 1781, soon after his ac¬
cession, commanded the clergy to grant dispensations foi
marriage without any reference to the holy see. In the
following year decrees were issued, commanding the cele¬
bration of marriages between Catholics and Protestants, in
defiance of the canonical laws and customs then in force.
Of the convents and other religious houses, which were
very numerous, some were abolished, and in otheis the
rules of the institutions were altered, if not reformed, by a
simple proclamation. At length the episcopal seminaries
which were under the direction and control of the prelates
were abolished; and two universities were established, one
at Louvain, the other at Luxembourg, which, though bet¬
ter adapted for the diffusion of knowledge than the old
colleges, were looked upon by the priests, and also by the
laity, who were under the influence of the priests, as a
dangerous and even heretical innovation, and the more
noxious, because they were under the sole jurisdiction of
the emperor himself.
The dispositions of Joseph towards his favourite pro¬
jects of reform were not restricted to the ecclesiastical
bodies, but in a short time assailed the old-established and
deeply-cherished administration of law, leaving to it only
the ancient principles of the Roman jurisprudence. . The
electoral colleges of the provincial states were abolished,
as well as the courts and councils by which justice was dis¬
pensed, and the whole of the signioral and ecclesiastical
jurisdictions. By these decrees the lawyers, next to the
clergy the most influential body, were either injured or
highly offended. Some were apprehensive of losing their
professional practice, and others were removed to new
situations ; for new courts had been erected upon a simple
and uniform plan in each of the provinces, with a supreme
court at Brussels controlling all the provincial courts. On
this account it was deemed necessary to divide the whole
territory into nine circles, by which the local powers of
the magistracy were disturbed, and in many instances
destroyed, without an efficient substitute being established
in their stead. The privileges of the several municipal
and other corporations were next violated by the appoint¬
ment of their officers in virtue of the sovereign authority
alone. As discontents arose from these proceedings, the
states of Flanders and Hainault at length declined to vote
the usual subsidies; upon which a decree was issued, stat¬
ing, that in consequence of this refusal, the emperor held
himself absolved from every obligation towards the states,
and on that account declaring the abolition of the repre¬
sentation of those states. Without entering into the merits
or demerits of the projects of Joseph, it is clear that the
chief design of them was to benefit the people, by disse¬
minating amongst them more tolerant feelings in religion,
and a better administration of justice, by virtue of the in¬
creased power of the executive government, and not by Netk
any extension, or even intervention, of popular feeling and ^ lan^
co-operation. At the time when these new ordonnances
were promulgated, the democratic spirit had arisen in
France ; and though a similar tendency was not discovera¬
ble in Belgium, yet the growing discontent, caused by the
introduction of measures of genuine liberality, produced
an insensible bias towards republicanism, which had its
effect on subsequent events.
It was not till 1787 that the consequences of the rapid
measures of the emperor had raised such a spirit of dissa¬
tisfaction as to lead to the apprehension of active opposition.
But as the whole body was in a state of excitement, a spark
was sufficient to cause an explosion. The syndics or chiefs
of the corporation of Brussels, supported by those of Ant¬
werp and Bruges, presented memorials to the governor,
Prince Albert of Saxe-Teschen, which in strong terms
pointed out the danger of insurrection if the obnoxious
decrees were persisted in and acted upon. The governor was
alarmed, and suspended the execution of the decrees till
the pleasure of the emperor could be known, and held out
hopes of prevailing upon him to remedy some other com¬
plaints. These assurances diffused joy throughout the
states, and the day upon which they were given, the 30th
of May 1787, was ordered to be hereafter consecrated as
an anniversary of rejoicing. All this joy was, however,
premature. The resolution of the emperor had to be
waited for ; and he was with his army carrying on the war
with the Turks. On his return, two months afterwards,
so far from ratifying the concessions made to his Belgian
subjects, he despatched his mandates in an angry tone,
declaring that he had never intended to subvert their con¬
stitution, but sought only to correct abuses and introduce
salutary reforms. He required as a proof of obedience,
that the states of each province should send deputies to
Vienna, to lay their complaints at the foot of the throne.
Fie professed to retain the sentiments of a father, and knew
howto pardon the errors and temerity of his subjects, but
threatened them with severe chastisement if they refused
the mark of respect that he demanded. He also informed
them, that he had called to the capital the governor of
the provinces, and the commander of the army, that they
might act as mediators between him and his subjects.
This intelligence filled the provinces with consternation ;
but it was nevertheless resolved that deputations should
proceed to Vienna. Whilst on their road, accounts reach¬
ed them on all sides of the prodigious force which was on
its march to the Netherlands, and of the consent of the
several princes between that country and Austria having
been given to the passage of troops through their dominions.
But these rumours, instead of terrifying the Netherlanders,
roused them to resistance. The most prominent leader of
the party was Vandernoot, a lawyer of some eminence, who
had been the most energetic orator; in the states.
When others had been arrested, he made his escape, and
found refuge in England. He now repaired to Breda, and
there established a kind of committee, who conferred on him
the title of agent plenipotentiary of the people of Bra¬
bant. He attempted to draw the Prussian, English, and
Dutch governments into some negotiations, with a view to
favour the cause of the dissatisfied Belgians; but though
unsuccessful in these attempts, he succeeded in inflaming
the passions of the people to a high degree of religious
frenzy, a work in which he was zealously assisted by the
powerful exhortations of the ecclesiastical body. The Ne¬
therlanders were in all ages a military people, and, when
once roused to activity, capable of displaying great energy.
Arms were seized by the populace, and a commander
offered himself in the person of Van der Mersch, a soldier
of fortune, who had risen from the ranks to the command
of a regiment during the Seven Years’ War. A formal act
NETHERLANDS.
123
ier- by an armed body under this commander declared that the
.Is. Emperor Joseph had forfeited the sovereignty of Brabant;
"■"■''and this was followed by the advance of the forces he had
collected in the direction of that province. His conduct
was cautious and considerate, and he diligently directed
his efforts to introduce order into bodies of men inspired
with a degree of fanatical confidence which it was difficult
to restrain within the necessary bounds of discipline. The
Austrian troops were few in number, and Van der Mersch
approached them cautiously. Having by some feints and
stratagems induced them to follow him into the narrow
streets of the town of Turnhout, situated between Antwerp
and Breda, a bloody contest took place, in which the impe¬
rialists were finally defeated, with a loss of lives far ex¬
ceeding that which the army of the insurgents had suf¬
fered. He immediately penetrated into the province of
West Flanders, where he was received with open arms by
the inhabitants, and speedily became master of Ghent,
which was taken by assault, and of Bruges, Ypres, and Os-
tend, which voluntarily surrendered. The imperial go¬
vernment now thought it prudent to withdraw from Brus¬
sels ; and upon this the states of Brabant and Flanders as¬
sembled, on the plan of the ancient constitution in that
city. Soon afterwards Vandernoot and his associates ar¬
rived from Breda, and having made a triumphal entry with
great solemnity and parade, were received with the most
joyous acclamations by the enraptured inhabitants. The
imperial forces being dispersed, and no fresh succours ar¬
riving, the states, in 1790, formed a treaty of union, which
comprehended the seven provinces. Hitherto all had been
done by the excitement of religious bigotry ; but there
soon began to appear symptoms of a fanaticism of the very
opposite character. Van der Mersch, the successful ge¬
neral, was accused of holding French principles; and
Vonck, an advocate of Brussels, was inculpated in the same
charge. In the violent squabbles of party it is difficult to
ascertain the truth; how far these men had imbibed Ja¬
cobinical opinions, or whether they had imbibed them at
all, it is difficult and needless to ascertain. It became, how¬
ever, the signal of disunion, of which the Catholics avail¬
ed themselves in order to excite general abhorrence of
Van der Mersch, as a monster of impiety and treason. Van¬
dernoot, aided by an ecclesiastic of more talent than him¬
self, named Van Eupen, took the lead in the general as¬
sembly of the nation. Religious fury was carried to the
greatest excess; and the excited populace, urged on by
the clergy, proceeded to the most violent outrages against
the opposite party. Vonck and his party fled to save their
lives, and their houses were broken into and pillaged by the
populace. Scenes of the most revolting nature were ex¬
hibited throughout the country. These wrere encouraged
and even participated in by the priests, who, wdth the
sword in one hand and the crucifix in the other, breathed
out the most horrid imprecations against those whom they
called infidels or heretics.
During these proceedings the army became totally dis¬
organized and inefficient. An open rupture took place be¬
tween the commander of the forces and those who had the
direction of public affairs. The troops abandoned their
general, and adhered to the civil rulers, chiefly on account
of their attachment to the Catholic religion. He left the
aimy, accompanied with the curses of the populace, by
whom Vandernoot and Van Eupen were almost deified.
In Brussels, the people bent the knee when they gazed
on the picture of the one, and uncovered their heads when
they pronounced the name of the other.
Whilst the Netherlands were unassailed by open hos¬
tilities on the part of their imperial sovereign, and the
bigoted party were indulging their narrow-minded mea¬
sures of policy, the Emperor Joseph, who, with respect¬
able talents and the best intentions, had failed in every
thing he undertook, was removed from this life. He died
on the 20th of January 1791, accusing his Belgic subjects
of having caused his death, and w as succeeded in his ex¬
tensive dominions by his brother Leopold.
Leopold manifested much sagacity and moderation in
the measures w'hich he adopted for the recovery of the re¬
volted provinces; but their internal disunion proved his
best ally. The states-general occupied themselves almost
exclusively in attempts to re-establish the monkish insti¬
tutions which Joseph had abolished; and having dismissed
their able general on account of heresy, and thereby dis¬
organized the army, they had the temerity to reject with
scorn the overtures which the new emperor addressed to
them.
The imperial forces had been collected on the frontier,
and the command given to General Bender. These troops
with their appointments were sufficient to overcome all
opposition that could be offered by a country the govern¬
ment of which was compounded of ignorance, bigotry, and
rashness. As the imperialists advanced into the provinces,
town after town opened its gates ; Vandernoot and his as¬
sociates saved themselves by a rapid flight, and sunk into
obscurity. A short campaign gave the emperor quiet pos¬
session of the whole of the provinces ; and, on the 10th of
November 1791, he concluded a convention with England,
Holland, and Russia, by which an amnesty was granted for
all past offences, and assurances given to the people that
their ancient constitution and privileges wamld be respect¬
ed. In conformity to this treaty a succession of edicts w ere
issued, revoking all the offensive ordonnances of his pre¬
decessor, re-organizing the provincial councils, and re¬
establishing the form of government on the same popular
footing on which it had existed during the reign of Maria
Theresa. These arrangements were only completed a little
before the death of Leopold, an event that happened sud¬
denly on the 1st of March 1792. His son Francis II. suc¬
ceeded to the throne, and under his reign the final sepa¬
ration of the Belgian provinces from the imperial family
took place.
The new emperor, soon after his accession, found him¬
self involved in a war wdth revolutionary France. His
forces, conjointly with those of Prussia, invaded that coun-
tryjand, after advancing to Champagne, were repulsed with
tremendous loss. France then became the assailant of those
powers and their allies, and one of her first great efforts
was directed against the Belgian provinces of the house
of Austria. The battle which decided their fate was
fought at Jemmappes, near Mons, on the 6th of Novem¬
ber, and terminated in a decisive victory in favour of the
French, commanded by General Dumouriez. The result of
this action was to place the whole of Belgium at the mercy
of the conquerors. The Austrians were driven out of the
country. Dumouriez made his triumphal entry into Brus¬
sels on the 13th, and, immediately after the occupation of
that city, the whole of Flanders, Brabant, and Hainault,with
the other Belgic provinces, were subjected to France. Soon
afterwards, several pretended deputies from the Belgian
people hastened to Paris, and implored the convention to
grant them a share of that liberty and equality which were
to confer such inestimable blessings on France. Various de¬
crees were in consequence issued; and, after a variety of
procedure, the incorporation of the Austrian Netherlands
with the French republic was in due form decreed, at the
commencement of the year 1793, whilst the scaffold was
preparing for Louis XVI.
But, even in the first moments of enthusiastic ex¬
citement, few of the Belgians wished for a junction w ith
France; the spirit of nationality was still uppermost, ex¬
cept with those who were mercenary or fanatical. A
number of individuals had formed themselves into what
they called patriotic associations, in the several towns of
Nether¬
lands.
124 NETHERLANDS.
Nether- Belgium, and, being drilled into obedience by commis- Napoleon and the Archduke Charles of Austria, and con-
lands, saries despatched from the French convention, sent their firmed by the treaty of Campo Formio, signed October 1797. laijB'
^ v ' emissaries to France to misrepresent the national feeling. From the occupation of Belgium, its history as a nation''"“''jr’
There were however in Belgium many men of cool judg- becomes a blank for nearly twenty years. It formed a part
ment, respectable character, and large property, who saw of France, and shared the triumphs and defeats of that
both injury and danger from the proposed annexation ; and country under the republic, the consulate, and the empire,
they sent counter-deputations to explain the difficulties The ancient institutions, in the defence of which the people
attending the proposal. Each of the deputies who asked had revolted against their former governments, were com-
for the conjunction was honoured with the accolade by the pletely swept away; their religion was also stripped of its
president of the convention, whilst each petition on the power, its decorations, and its ministers reduced to almost
other side was received with indifference, and its reason- apostolical poverty. Iheir monastic and charitable insti-
ing unheeded. The peaceable remonstrances were put down tutions were either abolished, or, by the confiscation of their
by the clamour of the adherents of the French Jacobins, valuable property, reduced to the most depressed state.
Dumouriez himself even wrote to the convention, that the The laws, and the courts of justice, which were endear-
wishes expressed in Belgium for the junction with France ed to them by usage, were made to give place to a new sys-
“ were forced from the people by strokes of the sabre.” In tem, administered by incompetent magistrates. They be-
spite of the efforts to oppose them, however, the decrees came subject to a system of taxation, which, though equal
for a union were issued, and preparations made for their in its distribution, was heavier than Austria had ever re-
practical adoption. But they were for a time frustrated quired either in peace or in war. But the worst of the re-
by the events of the war. The strong city of Maestricht quisitions was that for personal service in the armies of the
still held out against the French. It was besieged with- conqueror, and which was so extended in its demands by
out success, owing to the want of military skill on the part the conscription law, as to be deeply felt in every domes-
of Miranda, a Spanish American, who had been transform- tic circle. Such were the evils which, if the Belgians
ed into a general. This, with the circumstances arising durst not openly complain of them, they never ceased to
from Dumouriez quarrelling with the convention, his una- lament; but it must be observed, that the property of in-
vailing attempt to turn the army against them, and his ulti- dividuals w’as protected by the government; that agricul-
mate flight, had greatly demoralized and disorganized the ture could be pursued, and any improvements the cultiva-
French army ; and it was in this state when the campaign tors chose to adopt introduced; and that, both in France
opened in March 1794. The Austrians had collected on and in Holland, they had good markets for their produce,
the frontier towards Germany a large force under the Prince From political circumstances, the manufacturers were pro¬
of Saxe-Cobourg, which entered Belgium, and gained the tected against the rivalry of English woollen, and especially
battle of Neerwinden, with many other less considerable cotton goods, which, as far as the fabrication of them ex¬
contests, owing to which the French were compelled to tended, became a beneficial employment of capital. The
abandon all their conquests with a rapidity quite equal to mines of iron and of coal, chiefly in the province of Hain-
that with which they had accomplished them. ault, w’ere beneficially worked ; and the hardware of Liege
The Belgian provinces were thus once more restored to and its vicinity afforded occupation to a hardy race, and
the house of Austria, and the emperor nominated his bro- such wages as enabled them to subsist in a state of mode-
ther, the Archduke Charles, as his viceroy. His occupa- rate comfort. >
tion of that post, however, was but of short duration. The At the commencement of Napoleon s government, he
frontier provinces of Belgium became the seat of bloody had arranged and established an excellent system of local
contests, in which were opposed to France armies compos- administration in the whole of his vast dominions ; but it
ed of Austrians, Germans, English, and Dutch. Without was a system, like that of all arbitrary monarchs, which
here entering into details, we may remark, that the ques- required the vigilant superintendence of the hand that had
tion respecting the occupation of Belgium was determin- framed it. In the latter part of his reign the whole of his
ed by the battle of Fleurus, fought on the 25th of May mind was absorbed in the single point of gaining that um-
1794. After that important victory, the French became versal dominion which had become his grand object. Ovv-
masters of Belgium; and the representatives of the city ing to the absence of his vigilant attention, the system had
of Brussels once more repaired to the national convention not been so strictly adhered to as it should have been;
of France to solicit the incorporation of the two countries, and throughout the whole of France, but especially in
This, however, was not finally pronounced till the 1st of Belgium, the local administration had become confused
October 1795, by which time the rapacity of the French in its action, and of little benefit to the community,
commissioners, and the violent measures enforced, had The roads, bridges, canals, and public edifices, except
o-iven a tolerable sample of what might be expected from as they were connected with military purposes, had been
an arbitrary government concealing its despotic tendencies neglected, and were gone to decay for want of early
under the cloak of liberty. The discussion in the French reparation. Ihe greatest evil that arose from this negli-
convention on the subject of the annexation of Belgium gent administration was felt in what r’elates to the educa-
had occupied two days: and there were not wanting a few tion of the people. In Belgium, as well as in the majon-
members who resolutely opposed the union, and spoke ty of the departments of France, amongst the inferior clas-
boldly ao-ainst the injustice of the measure, founding on ses of society, the youth grew to maturity in a degree of
the repugnance of the Belgians, as well as the dissimila- ignorance approaching to brutality. There existed every-
ritv in pmnt of religion, manners,, and morals between the where something that resembled public schools; but they
two countries. Reasoning, however, was of little avail were in a most deplorable state, dirty, dark, and without
when opposed to the ambitious spirit which actuated the order; whilst the teaching was limited to tracing a few
maiority of the convention, who already looked to the pe- words or letters, and to reading or reciting a few passages
riod when, by the extension of their limits,the Rhine should without understanding the sense of them. Useful books
form the eastern boundary of the republic. A new system were not provided, and the children were frequently ob-
for a division of the Austrian Netherlands and of the bishop- served, from the want of better means, handing from one
ric of Liege into nine departments was adopted, and they to the other an old almanac, a torn book of prayers, or
were declared integral parts of the French republic. This the detached pages of some old newspaper. Ihe con
new state of affairs was at length consolidated by the pre- tion of the instructors Avas commonly wretched, and t ie
lirninaries of peace signed at Leoben, in Styria, between discipline practised was either harsh or indolent, or bot .
NETHERLANDS.
her- In Holland, a most valuable system of local administra-
ds- tion had prevailed, which from ancient times had been
~ ^ found highly beneficial. When that country was added
to France, the system had not yet given way to the gene¬
ral plan of the empire, and the roads, canals, and dikes, as
well as the schools, had been left to the same direction and
superintendence as formerly. Under the reign of Louis
Bonaparte, they had been cherished and somewhat im¬
proved; and the consolidation of Holland with France
had hitherto produced none of the evils which affected
Belgium. To this circumstance may in some measure be
attributed that difference of character between the two
people, which will be found displayed in the subsequent
events that come under our notice in the progress of this
history.
Except in one important respect, the country now called
Belgium, when forming only a few departments of France,
may be viewed as rather in a flourishing state. The de¬
mand for personal service, however, pressed heavily on it,
as well as on all the other portions of that great empire, in¬
asmuch as it robbed the land of the labourers who were
required for its cultivation, and left a large portion of the
work to be performed by the females, or by the males who
had not reached maturity, or had passed the age when the
human frame is capable of severe labour.
The evil of the conscription was, however, counterba¬
lanced by the freedom from actual warfare. The scenes
of contest had been removed far from its boundaries, and,
during the whole period of the union with France, its fields
had been untrodden by armies. Two attempts had been
made by England to invade Belgium. The first was the
landing of a few troops intended to destroy the means of
water communication. They disembarked at Ostend, and,
after damaging some of the sluices, were under the neces¬
sity of yielding to a superior force. A grand attempt was
made in the year 1809 to take Antwerp, and to create a
diversion in favour of the allied powers, by operating from
Belgium on the communications of Bonaparte’s army, then
advancing towards the east of Europe. This, however,
though the largest naval and military force that had ever
been despatched from English ports, proved a total failure;
and it never reached Belgium, its advance having-been re¬
tarded, and the design at length frustrated, by the siege of
Flushing, and a most dreadful mortality amongst the troops
on the island of Walcheren.
The internal tranquillity of Belgium, whilst vast armies
were collected in other parts of Europe, had considerable
influence on the great pecuniary interests of that country.
Its chief productions are those of the soil and of the first
necessity. The consumption of the vast armies had raised
the prices in every part of Europe, and none reaped greater
benefit from the advance than those who cultivated the
fertile fields of Belgium.
The reverses experienced by the French armies during
the invasion of Russia were followed by others of a similar
kind in Germany, till the issue of the great battle under
the walls of Leipzig, in October 1813, excited a general
hope throughout Europe of being delivered from the mili-
tary tyranny that had long oppressed it. This hope gave
animation to the minds of the men of Germany, more espe¬
cially at first, and was from them rapidly communicated to
other countries. Its effect was powerful in Holland ; but, if
felt, it was scarcely perceptible in Belgium. The differ¬
ence in feeling between the two divisions of the Nether¬
lands may in part be accounted for from the longer dura-
tmn of the union of Belgium with France, which had now
reached its twentieth year; whereas Holland had been in¬
corporated with that empire but little more than three
years when the battle at Leipzig decided the fate of Eu¬
rope. Belgium, under the character of a portion of France,
had enjoyed a degree of prosperity in its agricultural in-
125
dustry; whilst Holland, mainly depending on foreign and Nether-
colonial commerce, had been brought, not to the verge, but lands,
into the very gulf, of ruin. The feeling of nationality had
been weakened during twenty years in Belgium, whilst it
had been strengthened in Holland by three years of suf¬
fering. The mode of action in the two countries at the
crisis produced by the victory of Leipzig merits notice
here, because upon the contrast between them depended
the character of that series of transactions which subse¬
quently occurred.
The intelligence of the defeat of the French had no
sooner reached Holland, than a spirit began to show it¬
self which alarmed General Molitor, who commanded the
forces of Napoleon in that country. His head-quarters
were in Amsterdam; and fearing an insurrection in that
populous city, he resolved not to be surprised in the nar¬
row streets, but, contrary to the opinion of Le Brun, duke
of Plaisance, and of Count Celles the prefect, withdrew
with his troops to the more defensible city of Utrecht.
The whole of the French troops in Holland did not exceed
10,000 men, and a part of these were in garrison in the
fortified places. The intolerant tyranny of the French
government had made the whole population ripe and eager
for revolt. This disposition was taken advantage of by a
few able, influential, and patriotic men, the most prominent
of whom were Count Gysbert Charles von Hogendorp, emi¬
nent as a diplomatist and statesman, and Count Van der
Duyn de Maasdam, a man of enterprising genius and judg¬
ment On the 21st of November 1813, they made the first
movement at the Hague, unsupported by any armed force,
excepting a few of the old city guard, and a number of
gentlemen with fowling-pieces, and solemnly proclaimed
that the people of Holland had returned to their ancient
state of independence and freedom. Amsterdam, at all
former periods the most powerful city, and the focal point
of the ancient union, was the first to renounce its prepon¬
derating superiority in the government, and, immediately
after the movement of the Hague, proclaimed the Prince of
Orange as the sovereign of the country. The decision of
Amsterdam was communicated from city to city, and re¬
ceived an universal concurrence, plainly showing the spon¬
taneous wish of the whole Dutch nation.
A provisional directory was immediately formed, consist¬
ing of six persons, who sent Messrs Fagel and Perponcher
as envoys to England, to recall the Prince of Orange to his
native country, from which he had been long banished by the
foreign domination that had ruled it. The allied armies on
the frontiers were made acquainted with the events which
had transpired; and when some of their forces arrived,
they found the insurrection had been so successful that no¬
thing was needed but a short space of time to consolidate
the power gained by the arrival of the prince. During
the events of the few days, the force under Molitor at
Utrecht was kept inactive by the movements of General
Bulow and his division of the Prussian army, which had
arrived at Munster, and was advancing towards Arnhem.
The Prince of Orange landed on the 30th of November,
at Schevelling. and his arrival in his native country com¬
pleted the great work of its enfranchisement, and the es¬
tablishment of its political and civil freedom. The invita¬
tion had been spontaneous, and the government had been
offered to him with no restrictions or conditions ; but he
gave instant proof that he had no desire for arbitrary
power, by issuing a proclamation, in which are the follow¬
ing words: “ Je me rends a vos vceux ; mais je 1’accepte
uniquement a condition qu’elle soit suivie d’une constitu¬
tion qui garrantisse vos libertes, et les mette en surete
centre toute atteinte.”
On the 6th of December the prince assumed the sole
executive authority, and brought to that task all the ac¬
tive industry, penetration, and regularity by which his
126
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- whole reign has been distinguished. The fortresses were
lands, mostly held by the soldiers of Napoleon. Many bodies of
the allied armies were on the frontiers, but none felt more
acutely than William that no country can be independ¬
ent in the presence of foreign armies, whether consisting
of friends or foes. He wished that the same hands which
had conquered the national freedom should defend and
maintain the precious blessing; and that thus the allied
powers might be enabled to unite their forces, and march
on towards France, wdiere the decisive battle of liberty
was to be fought. The first object, therefore, was the for¬
mation of an organized army; but this was attended with
immense difficulties. The country was completely desti¬
tute of arms, ammunition, and every thing necessary roi
the equipment of an army, so that it was impossible to
clothe the new levies ; and the severity of that remarkab e
season prevented the removal of stores from one part to
another, and the arrival of the various necessary articles
which were provided and despatched from England. Not¬
withstanding these difficulties, an army of 25,000 was en¬
rolled, armed, and equipped in the space of little more than
three months, out of a population of 1,800,000 souls, in a
country which had been previously drained of active men
by the conscription, and some parts of which were still held
by the enemy. In the month of March the prince was
enabled to announce to the public that a force to that ex¬
tent was ready, and would soon be united on the frontier
under the command of his eldest son, who had distinguish¬
ed himself whilst serving in Spain under the Duke of Wel¬
lington.
The formation of a constitution proceeded simultaneous¬
ly with the creation of an army. Ihe first sketch of the
constitution had been framed by Count Hogendorp. It
w'as submitted to the consideration of fifteen persons of the
most approved integrity and most enlightened judgment;
and after their revision it was transmitted to the prince,
who accepted it as the fundamental law of the state, as.
being in harmony with the manners and the habits of
the nation, and conformable to the wants and the spirit
of the age
The scheme, thus far approved, was then printed and
distributed over the whole country, previous to the assem¬
bling of a meeting of Notables, who were to be selected for
that purpose from all the provinces and towns, including
persons of all religious persuasions, whether Jews or Chris¬
tians. Twelve hundred names were selected, of the most
proper persons, being householders of various descriptions,
but not including those in the service of others, those whp
had, within the last six months, been relieved by the pub¬
lic charitable institutions, or those who were insolvent, in
prisons, or under the surveillance of the police. The lists
were ordered to be exposed during eight days, in each
small district in which a justice of peace was established,
that each householder might affix his approval or disappro¬
val of the individuals named in them. One half the num¬
ber, as determined by these votings, were to be excluded,
and the remaining 600 were appointed to meet on the
24th of March. After a few hours spent in deliberation,
the acceptance of the fundamental .law was decided by a
majority of 458 votes against twenty-five. There were 117
absent, many of them kept away by unavoidable circum¬
stances, some by a feeling that they were not sufficiently
authorized to give a decision on so important a subject,
some from judging that the power of making peace and
war was held by the prince alone, and a few from religious
scruples. The more rigid Calvinists thought the Protes¬
tant religion would suffer by admitting persons of all per¬
suasions to public offices, anti some Catholics complained
that there was not a sufficient provision made for the main¬
tenance of their clergy and their institutions. If the whole
of the absent members had voted, as their opinions were
well known, it was calculated that the measure submitted Nethe?
to them would have been accepted by five sixths of the^hnds.
number.
Mr Chad, secretary of legation from the court of St
James’s, who was then officially in Holland, says, “ Per¬
sons accustomed to the spectacle of the impetuosity and
ardour of political discussions in England, would perhaps
have been surprised at the calm moderation with which
this transaction was accomplished in Holland.” But he
adds, that from all the information he could in any way
acquire, he never could learn that the government of the
prince made the least attempt to control, or even to in¬
fluence, the public opinion.
In consequence of thus organizing a form of govern¬
ment, the prince assumed the title of king, and his eldest
son that of Prince of Orange. The state which had thus
secured its own independence was immediately acknow¬
ledged as such by all the governments of Europe; not by
the formality of any treaty, which would have weakened
rather than strengthened the right, but as an assumed fact,
evidenced by the mission of ministers to the court of king
William from the sovereigns of the great powers of the ci¬
vilised world.
We turn now to the conduct pursued by the Belgians
in this crisis, not with the view of inculpating the people
of that country by the contrast, but in order to place be¬
fore the reader a simple narrative of the occurrences. No
effort was made, nor the slightest indication displayed,
which could give encouragement to the cause of the allied
powers against the common enemies of Europe. It is pro¬
bable that the Belgians saw, with great though silent sa¬
tisfaction, the progress of the allied armies. But the Bel¬
gian provinces were not, like those of Holland, situated at
the extremity of Napoleon’s empire, and thus out of the
reach of that immediate chastisement which a premature
revolt would surely have brought down on them. It would
have been difficult to create a central point round which
to rally the scattered elements of insurrection ; nor had
the Belgians a family or chief upon whom to fix the ge¬
neral hopes of the country, or fitted to secure the confi¬
dence of foreign powers. But, worse than all, they had
no legitimate and acknowledged nationality that could
inspire them. Their past recollection could only present
to their minds the prospect of a subservient junction with
some other country, such as had always been their fate ;
and as they had no expectation of being left to their own
choice in that junction, there was little to inspire them
with the ardour of patriotism.
No hostilities took place in Belgium, except an attack
by bombardment on Antwerp by a united force of Eng¬
lish and Prussians, which was productive of no conse¬
quences, as the army of the latter was ordered to advance
into the territory of France itself.
The French troops abandoned Belgium as the allies ad¬
vanced, and in January 1814 the Duke of Saxe-\\ eimar,
one of the allied generals, entered Brussels without any
opposition. But his troops had merely a military occupa¬
tion of the country ; and the emperor of Austria, then ad¬
vancing towards Paris, despatched from Dijon Baron Vin¬
cent, who had been commissioned pro tempore to act as
governor of Belgium.
From the events in Holland and Belgium our attention
must now be turned to Paris, where the allies, after driving
away Napoleon and seating Louis XVIII. on the throne,
had convened the ministers of the several powers, to re¬
store tranquillity and order in those parts of Europe which
had been disorganized by the victories of the French em-
pire.
This august assembly, in the midst of the congratula¬
tions which the extraordinary scenes that had thus col¬
lected them produced, did not forget the perils they had
NETHERLANDS.
ier.
1 Is.
• escaped, nor the danger which might still arise behind the
glory of their triumphs. Bonaparte was indeed dethroned,
''and a Bourbon seated on his throne; but the spirit of fo¬
reign conquest and universal dominion was not extinct in
France, with its millions of men still animated by the de¬
sire of domination, and smarting under the severe morti¬
fications which their vanity had recently suffered. The
throne that had been restored was still in a tottering state,
all the institutions which formerly supported it having been
swept away; and, besides, the remains of the defeated
armies would soon be joined by thousands of men who,
having been made prisoners, would return filled with angry
passions, and fully prepared to aid in any combinations
which might have for their object the plunder of foreign
countries, the subjugation of foreign potentates, and the
superiority of the military over the civil authority through¬
out France itself, as well as over all Europe.
Aware of the dangers lurking behind their success, the
allies directed their attention to such measures of security
as seemed most advisable, in case a re-action in France
should again throw the power of that kingdom into the
hands, first, of the populace, and then, as a necessary step,
into that of some military leader.
Belgium had, by the right of conquest, fallen into the
power of the allied sovereigns. From its position it had
been the battle-field of Europe in former periods ; and the
possession of that country by France would be of vast im¬
portance as an advanced post, from which she might easily
proceed to other conquests. The house of Austria, having
always found the Belgian provinces a source of trouble and
annoyance, was ready to abandon its claims; trusting there¬
by to secure some advantages nearer the centre of its power.
The Netherlands, if united under one power', might be suf¬
ficiently strengthened to become a strong barrier against
France, and the means of securing the continuance of that
general peace which was then so much desired, and in¬
deed wanted. Belgium, and the other territories near
it, the bishopric of Liege, and the duchy of Luxembourg,
were considered merely as European objects, which were
so to be disposed of as would best suit the purposes of the
combined powers, particularly that of securing the tran¬
quillity of the great community of nations. It was not,
then, from any peculiar favour to Holland, or from any per¬
sonal regard to King William, though his minister formed
one of the assembly, that, in less than two months after
the seizure of Paris, it was adopted as a principle by the
representatives of all Europe, and promulgated to the
world, “ that Holland, placed under the sovereignty of the
house of Orange, should receive an increase of territory.”
This declaration was made on the 30th of May, and at the
time received with general approbation, although at a sub¬
sequent period it was one of the principal grievances set
forth by the Belgians in their declaration of independence.
I he principle thus announced received its final sanction
by a treaty dated the 21st of July, in virtue of which Ba¬
ron Vincent was to deliver over to King William the pro¬
visional power he exercised in Belgium, upon the follow¬
ing conditions, viz. 1. That the two countries should form
one state, governed by the constitution already established
in Holland, to be modified by common consent: 2. That
there should be no alteration in that part which assured to
all religious sects an equal admissibility to public offices :
3. That the states should assemble in alternate years in a
city of Holland and in one of Belgium : 4. That all the in¬
habitants of both parts should be alike in all commercial
matters, without any restriction being imposed on one for
the benefit of the other : 5. That the provinces and cities
of Belgium should be admitted to the full enjoyment of
commerce with the colonies: 6. That all expenses should
be in common, and the debts of the two parts should be as¬
sumed by the treasury of the kingdom : 7. That the ex-
127
pense of maintaining and strengthening the fortresses
should be defrayed from the common treasury : and, 8.
lhat the cost of supporting the dikes should be furnished
by the districts more immediately interested in them ; but
in case of any great disaster, succours were to be supplied
by the general government, in the same manner as had
ormeily been practised in Holland. The king of England,
by a separate treaty, on the 13th of August, agreed to give
up to the newly-created king of the Netherlands all the
conquests made from the Dutch during the war, with the
exception of the Cape of Good Hope, and the settlements
of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, on the continent of
South America.
By the treaty of the 21st of July, the government of the
Netherlands accepted, on the conditions therein stated, that
sovereignty over the Belgian provinces which the allied
powei s had offered, not from any peculiar feeling of regard
to the interests of King William or of Holland, but as a
European benefit, “ de pourvoir a 1 etablissement d’un etat
d equilibre en Europe, et en vertu de leur droit de con-
quete sur la Belgique. ’ The duchy of Luxembourg was
not a portion of Belgium, but a part of Germany ; and that
division was given up to the king of the Low Countries,
by the German confederation, of which he was a member,
not in his regal capacity, but in consequence of his trans¬
ferring to Prussia the sovereignties, hereditary in his fa-
mily, of Nassau-Dittenburg, Siegen, Hademar, and Dietz.
After the union of the two countries had been settled
by tieaty, and the whole delivered up to the government
of William, it was thought necessary to submit, not the
union itself, but the fundamental law or constitution, to
the acceptance of the people. That constitution had al¬
ready been accepted by an almost unanimous vote in the
northern division, but it was deemed necessary to sub¬
mit it also to the southern division. An assembly of
Notables was accordingly convened in Belgium, on the
same plan as had before been pursued in Holland. The
number of the members of this assembly was 1600, but not
more than 1325 attended. Upon the vote being taken,
there appeared to be 529 in favour of accepting the consti¬
tution, and 796 against it; and thus, as far as that assem¬
bly was concerned, the acceptance of the proposed consti-
tution was negatived. The government, however, took a
difierent view of the subject, founded upon the assumption,
that the union being adopted must be considered as a fact
not to be questioned; and that this was a question for the
united kingdom, which must be determined by a majority
of the whole. For this purpose, the statistical view given
of the kingdom was thus represented.
Ihe inhabitants of the northern division, or what was be¬
fore Holland, were 2 071 18L
Ihose of the south part, or Belgium 3*411,082
In all. 5,482,263
The votes in favour of the acceptance were stated to be
the whole of the northern part 2,071,181
Two fifths of the southern part, who voted by
their 529 delegates 1,364,432
The majority of the Belgian representatives,
who voted for three fifths of that part, amount¬
ed to.
3,435,613
.2,046,650
Thus giving in favour of the constitution, or ) , 000 n_0
fundamental law, a majority of.  j 1,388,963
. We lia/e g‘ven an account of this proceeding, because
it was subsequently made one of the grievances complain¬
ed of. Ihe assembly had been chosen fairly, and conse¬
quently under clerical influence, which was decidedly op-
Nether-
lands.
128
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
posed to the toleration of any other party than the Ca¬
tholic religion. This was proved by a kind of protest,
' issued under the title of “ Jugement Doctrinal des Eveques
du Royaume des Pays-Bas, sur le serment prescrit par la
Nouvelle Constitution.” In an authoritative style it con¬
demns the liberty given to appoint persons of any religious
creed to offices of power and trust; and it reprobates the
enactment that the Catholic church was to be submissive
to the law of the state, that the other religious sects were
to be protected in their worship, that the government
wras to have the power to regulate all the seminaries of
the kingdom, and that the liberty of the press was recog¬
nised. It concluded with these words : “ Mais des qu’une
loi humaine est intrinsequement mauvaise, et opposee a la
loi divine et aux lois de 1’eglise, on ne peut, sous aucun
pretexte, s’engager d’y obeir.” This declaration was signed
by all the prelates, viz. the Archbishop of Malines, and
the Bishops of Ghent and of Tournay, and the vicar-ge¬
neral of the chapter of Liege. It is natural to suppose
that such a declaration must have had great influence
with people so ignorant and superstitious as the lower
classes of the Belgian population are universally allowed
to be, and averse as they had ever been to a connec¬
tion with the Dutch, who were represented to them as a
combination of heretics. The nobles are also said to have
been more attached to the ancient Austrian government;
but the middle classes were supposed to have more sym¬
pathy with the French than with the German nation, and
to be peculiarly jealous of the Dutch.
Whatever may have been the common sentiment, of
which it is always difficult to judge, not the least appear¬
ance of discontent was displayed at the promulgation of
the constitution, or the public entry made by the king and
his family into Brussels. His first efforts there, as they
had been in Holland, were directed to the means of de¬
fence ; and all due exertions were employed for the pur¬
pose of raising an effective and numerous army. In this
much progress had been made when the intelligence ar¬
rived that Bonaparte had escaped from Elba, advanced in
a sort of triumphal procession through France, and again
assumed the imperial title, and all the power connected
with it. . .
The alarm and terror created by this event had the
effect of, in a great measure, disarming the power of the
ecclesiastical fulminations, and uniting all classes with the
new government in preparing for the contest which was
evidently about to take place on the frontiers of the king¬
dom. The time spent by Bonaparte in Paris in organiz¬
ing his recovered army, and in conciliating the several
parties in his capital, was most actively employed by the
king in strengthening his means of defence ; and a great
advance had been made in his military affairs, when it be¬
came evident that the first inroad of the French would be
on the side of Belgium.
An army composed of Dutchmen and Belgians, but
chiefly officered by the former, was collected and led to¬
wards the frontiers by the Prince of Orange. When the
French entered Belgium, these troops formed the advance
of the allied army. It encountered the French at Quatre-
Bras, and, aided by the British, resisted during the whole
day (the 16th of June) the attacks of the left division of
the French army, commanded by Marshal Ney. The loss
of lives on both sides was great; but that action had a
powerful influence on the issue of the battle of the 18th,
as it gave time to bring up the whole of the allied forces,
and place them on the field of Waterloo, where the deci¬
sive conflict took place which decided the fate of the French
empire, and gave a long peace to Europe. During the
whole of that day the troops of the Netherlands sustained
the character for courage which past centuries had estab
ing terror, and some solitary examples of disaffection, aris- Nether.;
ing from past associations with the French; but the great knds.
principle of public duty pervuded the Netherlands army, m v**1
as was proved by the loss which they sustained in the bat¬
tle. The victory was cemented by the blood of the Prince
of Orange, who stood at the head of his troops through¬
out the whole of that arduous day, encouraging them by
his cool and determined conduct. On one occasion he
made a desperate charge on the enemy, and advanced so
far that he was actually in the midst of the French, and
in the greatest danger, when a Belgian battalion rushed
forward, repulsed the enemy, and, after a desperate strug¬
gle, disengaged the prince. From the impulse of his gra¬
titude, and his admiration of the bravery displayed, he
tore from his breast one of the decorations gained by his
conduct in some^preceding action, and flung it amongst the
battalion, calling out, “ Take it, my lads ; you have all
earned it.” This decoration was eagerly grappled for, and
tied to the regimental standard amidst loud shouts of “ Long
live the Prince,” and vows to defend the trophy, in the
utterance of which many a brave man received the stroke
of death. A short time afterwards, towards the close of
the battle, the prince was hit by a musket-ball on the left
shoulder. He was carried from the field, and conveyed
to Brussels the same evening in a cart, accompanied by
two of his aides-de-camp, one of whom, like himselt, was
badly wounded; displaying to those near him as much in¬
difference to pain as he had previously shown contempt of
danger.
The battle of Waterloo appeared at the moment to have
consolidated the establishment of the kingdom of the Ne¬
therlands. It seemed to have attached the militaiy part
of the Belgians to the prince who had been wounded at
their head, and who had led them to that victory which
they so mainly ascribed to their own exertions, as almost
to tbrget that the troops of any other nation had contri¬
buted to it. Advantage was taken ot this feeling to com¬
mence the working ot the new constitution, which had
been accepted, as before noticed, by a majority of the
whole kingdom, though rejected by a majority of the Bel¬
gian portion. The solemn inauguration was held a few
weeks after the battle, and much interest was excited by
the appearance of the Prince of Orange, on the occasion,
still wearing his wounded arm in a scarf, and w ith the
palid countenance of an invalid.
The constitution was then declared to have been ac¬
cepted by the people, and no allusion was made to the ir¬
regularity of the decision, as the objections once urged
had arisen from repugnance to religious toleration ; those
who had urged them being sensible that any allusions to
the subject would have been unavailing amidst the pre¬
vailing military enthusiasm. None was made, but such
were certainly nourished, to be brought forward at some
moment more favourable for making the desired impres-
No murmurs were heard, and Belgium became, or
sion
appeared to have become, reconciled to the arrangement
which had been made by the allied powers.
The speedy concentration ot the two divisions was a
spectacle viewed with astonishment, whilst a thousand
channels were opened for the egress of national industry,
capital, and enterprise. Every obstacle seemed to have
vanished, asperities were softened down or concealed, fac¬
tion seemed dead or paralysed, and a quiet enjoyment of
the present formed the only public manifestation. The
people of Belgium appropriated to themselves the glormus
victory of which their country had been the theatre. The
king, by his love of peace, and by his activity in whatever
could improve the institutions and the condition ot the
country, at first gained a high opinion amongst those Bel¬
gians who were able to endure the religious toleration he
lished.
Th^rewe^probabTya^wlnstmlcesrfoverpower- latablished, and amongst others his persona! virtues, his
NETHERLANDS.
ier- domestic habits, and his unwearied industry, as favourable
's' a view was taken of his character as could be formed of
one who had the misfortune to be a heretic. This last
party was soothed, if not reconciled, by the exertions which
he made to recover and restore to their churches those
pictures and other objects of value which had been pillaged
by the French and carried to Paris.
The naval transaction of the following year, when a
squadron of Netherlands ships joined the fleet under Lord
Exmouth in the attack on Algiers, was another circum¬
stance favourable to the consolidation of the new kingdom ;
for although the battle was gallantly fought by Dutchmen,
yet the Belgians took care, in the exercise of their vanity,
not to allude to the Hollanders; and as they had forgotten
the English at Waterloo, so they now gladly assumed to
themselves the glory of the united victory. The pros¬
perity of Belgium made it the chosen residence of many
respectable foreigners, as well as the place of refuge of
others of the most opposite descriptions. The king busied
himself less in projects to secure popularity, than in efforts
to benefit the country ; and it may here be proper to no¬
tice the institutions which were either established or ame¬
liorated, and the beneficial consequences they produced.
Under the rule of France, Belgium, like the other parts
of the Continent, had suffered severely from the operation
of the conscription laws, which had deprived the country of
those active labourers who were necessary to cultivate the
fields. Although peace could not restore the great num¬
bers who had perished, yet it stopped the farther progress
of the evil in the Netherlands, by the establishment of a
voluntary enrolment for a small regular army, and of a
militia, whose service was required only for one month in
the year. The mines felt the benefit of this regulation. The
minerals of Belgium consist of coal, iron, and calamine. As
soon as the union had been formed, and labourers became
less scarce, a great impetus was communicated to this
branch of industry ; and companies were formed, who were
most liberally repaid by the profit of their investments in
this branch of industry, which was augmented from year to
year as long as Belgium and Holland constituted one king¬
dom. By the excitement communicated to mining, the pro¬
vinces of Liege and Hainault, and a part of Namur, were
greatly enriched; and a company formed to explore the
mines of Luxembourg were amply rewarded in their la¬
bours and their profits, till interrupted by internal commo¬
tions. The various branches of manufacturing industry re¬
ceived a similar impulse, though at first they were checked
by the peace. The continental system of Bonaparte had
given a factitious encouragement to some articles of ma¬
nufacture, which ceased with the return of peace; and, till
the formation of the kingdom of the Netherlands, many
branches were depressed by the rivalry of foreign goods
in the markets to which they had access. But as soon as
the junction was completed, a stimulus was given to the
manufacturers, by opening to their goods the markets of
the East and West Indies, and those of all countries with
which the Hollanders had traded. The iron manufactures
of Liege advanced rapidly in prosperity; the woollen ma¬
nufactures of Verviers felt most powerfully a similar im¬
pulsion ; and many large establishments were formed at
Ghent and other places, where cotton goods were fabricated
w rivalled those of England, and so far surpassed those
of t rance, that much of the goods were sold by the contra¬
band trade in that kingdom. The opening of the Scheldt
was the necessary effect of the formation of the united king¬
dom. Merchants from various countries formed establish¬
ments with large capitals at Antwerp; its docks became
crowded with ships from all countries ; its warehouses were
oaded with colonial and other produce ; and it advanced
rapidly to a rivalry with Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Ham¬
burg, in the transit trade to the interior of Germany. The
VOL. xvi. J
129
king directed his best efforts to the state of the roads, the
greater part of which had suffered dilapidation, whilst the
cross roads, so important in a country chiefly agricultural,
were in many places scarcely passable. The management
of the former was under the general government, whilst
that of the latter was superintended by the local authori¬
ties ; but in the first few years of the union the whole were
repaired and placed in the most excellent state. The in¬
terests of internal navigation were sedulously watched over
by the king. The old canals were repaired, the shallow
parts of the rivers were deepened, and new and important
water communications were formed. The chief of these,
the Canal Guillaume, which extends from Maestricht to
Bois-le-Duc, was an expensive but highly beneficial work ;
whilst that of Antoing in Hainault, that of Charleroy in
the province of Namur, and that of Ternuse in Flanders,
have been found in a very high degree beneficial. Though
no longer of any importance to Belgium, it may not be quite
out of place to remark, that the spirit of improvement which
spread throughout the whole kingdom was to be seen in
Holland in the Grand Canal of North Holland, which opens
to Amsterdam a way for ships of the largest size to the
ocean by way of the Helder, without incurring the risks
arising from the shoals of the Zuyder Zee.
Some other plans of this kind had been decided on, when
the disturbances broke out which ended in this disjunction
of Belgium from Holland. One of these was to make the
river Sambre navigable; the other was to form a canal from
the Meuse to the Moselle, by means of which the prospe¬
rity of the duchy of Luxembourg would have been greatly
advanced.
The state of education, from the schools for primary
instruction up to the universities, was in a wretched state
when the king ascended the throne. In Holland it had
ever been an object of the greatest consideration; and it
had received from Louis Bonaparte, during his short reign,
a degree of perfection which fitted it for reception in Bel¬
gium. Normal schools for the instruction of teachers
were early founded; and as soon as any were found qualified,
they were fixed with moderate stipends in the rural districts
where they could be most beneficially placed. To such
an extent was this plan of organizing primary schools car¬
ried during the first ten years of the reign of William,
that their number in 1826 was 3329, in which the pupils
were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and the system
of weights and measures. The numbers of pupils in the
several schools of Belgium were 156,075 boys and 116,761
girls; in Luxembourg the numbers were 19,925 boys and
14,819 girls.
The schools for higher instruction were improved, and
the number of students in them yearly increased. In ten
years they had risen from 3400 to 7048. These were in
general the institutions in which the youth were prepared
for the universities. The king founded a new university
at Liege, in addition to the two previously existing at Lou¬
vain and at Ghent. Great care was taken to procure the
most able men in every branch of science ; and as the coun¬
try was rather deficient in such as possessed eminent qua¬
lifications, it was found necessary to repair to foreign lands
for help. Several were invited from Germany, and others
from F'rance and Italy. No one establishment for educa¬
tion in Europe could boast of more distinguished names
than those of the individuals who filled some of the profes¬
sors’ chairs, both in Liege and Ghent.
Whilst in the united kingdom the surface appeared
smooth, and the vessel of the state seemed to be making a
rapid progress, an under-current was perceived to be mak¬
ing its way in a direction not favourable to permanent tran¬
quillity. At first William gained the highest applause from
his Belgian subjects. The whole kingdom exhibited a show
of bustling activity, if not of prosperity. Amongst the re-
Nether¬
lands.
130
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
fusees from other countries, the king and people were
spoken of as models of public and domestic happiness; the
' diplomatists joined in the flattery, and prided themselves
on the skill with which they had accomplished the tran¬
quillity of Europe, by founding the kingdom of the Ne¬
therlands ; and all united in the assertion that the king was
much too good for his Belgian subjects. .
For several years this favourable or flattering state ot at-
fairs continued, though thoughtful people soon discerned,
from events unnoticed by superficial observers, the prog¬
nostics of future disunion. At the earliest meeting ot the
representative house, the different languages spoken by the
members caused some difficulties ; a Belgian in t le iscus
sions speaking in French, and a Hollander replying in
Dutch. Too many of the questions brought forward might
be of a local nature ; and in these, as the whole of the H
landers voted on one side, and the whole of the Belgians
on the other, the decision was often dependent on the ac¬
cidental absence of an individual on the one side 01 the
other. The equality of numbers between the Dutch and
Belgians made it difficult to come to a settlement on such
subjects as affected the interests of the two countries in
a different or opposite way. This was first exhibited on t
subject of a free trade in corn. The Dutch provinces had
never produced sufficient corn for their consumption, but
a free trade in it had always furnished them with a suf¬
ficient supply. The Belgian provinces grew more corn than
they consumed. As in the other parts of Europe during
the last years of the war, the prices of corn had risen to an
enormous rate, and the Belgian proprietors of land had in¬
creased their rents in due proportion. With the return of
tranquillity the prices of grain and the rents of land were
much reduced; and the Belgian members of the assembly
desired to impose restrictions on the importation ot grain.
This was naturally opposed by the Dutch members, whose
interest was engaged in favour of low prices, both as re¬
garded the subsistence of the inhabitants, and the trade
of the distilleries. The question was finally decided in fa¬
vour of the freedom of the trade; but the contest gave
rise to the formation of two parties, so equally balanced as
to make the decision of many legislative questions depen¬
dent on accident. xj ,, j
As the royal authority had been established in Holland
the greater part of a year before the union with Belgium,
it had been organized without reference to that event.
Holland had been a shorter period under French power; and
during the prevalence of that influence when King Louis
filled the throne, its government had been carried on upon
the principle of nationality ; the fittest men filled the offices
in the different departments, and many of them remained
unchanged when Holland became a French department.
It was natural that King William should continue such men
in their offices, and that in selecting officers for the new
branches which were to be created, a preference should be
given to natives, of whom there were numbers whose edu¬
cation, habits, and patriotism had well fitted them for the
public service. At the union of Belgium and Holland the
whole administration was in the hands of French func¬
tionaries, who speedily disappeared. Few men in Belgium
had been brought up in such a way as to form them for
official duties, and those who had sufficient information and
capacity had been nominated to employments in the dis¬
tant provinces of France. Under these circumstances, the
greater number of officers was necessarily appointed from
the northern division of the kingdom. Another cause of
many offices in Belgium being filled by Dutchmen was, that
some of those Belgians to whom offers were made declin¬
ed to serve, on account of the influence of the priests, which
prevented them from taking the oath to a constitution, one
of the first stipulations of which was an equal freedom to
all religions.
A complaint was brought forward, that in the appoint- ^ eth
ment of officers in the army an undue preference had been
shown in favour of the natives of Holland ; and as Mr Nlor-
thomb, an opponent of the house of Orange, m his work
entitled Essai Historique et Politique sur la Revolution
Relqe, has placed the numbers in a statistical point of view,
this matter is entitled to examination. According to his
statement, in 1830 the officers of the army of the king¬
dom of the Netherlands is thus shown .
Hank.
Whole Num.
her of
Officers.
Generals 
Lieutenant-generals
Major-generals  
Colonels 
Lieutenant-colonels,
Majors 
Captains 
Lieutenants 
Sub-lieutenants.....
5
21
50
48
48
137
211
808
639
Belgians.
Belgians set
tied in
Holland.
0
2
5
8
9
19
38
115
82
1967
278
0
10
This great disproportion is in some measure lessened,
from the circumstance that many of the oflicers were Ger¬
mans, some were Swiss, and some were natives of other
countries. With this allowance, the exact number of which
is unascertained, the contrast between the whole and the
Belgians is very striking. Baron de Keverburg, a parti¬
san of King William, gives a different account, making the
whole number of Belgians in the army to be 536 instead
of 278. In his work entitled Du Royaume des Pays Bas,
he asserts of his catalogue that it is “ d’apres des ren-
seignemens puises a des sources authentiques ; but, even
on^this showing, the more numerous population supplied
but one fourth of the officers. This is accounted for, if
not justified, by the baron, on various grounds.
When Louis Bonaparte became king of Holland, he se¬
dulously attended to the formation of his army ; and when
he abandoned the throne the armed force was so well
trained, equipped, and officered, that, on the annexation
of Holland to France in 1810, it formed a military body
equal to any other of the empire in its adaptation to the
purposes of war. When that army was transferred to
France, the different grades of officers retained their Dutch
rank, and their former course of promotion. But when
the people of Holland rose against France, and raised W il¬
liam to the throne, the Dutch resigned their posts in the
French service, and repaired to their own country, where
they were gladly received, and reinstated in the rank
which they had attained during their service in France.
It will be seen by the list of Mr Northomb that all the ge¬
nerals were Dutchmen ; but that rank had been acquired
in the French service, where, by their military talents,
they had gained high reputation, and had been honoured
and trusted by the French emperor. The names ot the
Dutch officers thus appointed generals by William are well
known. Tindal had been raised by Bonaparte to the rank
of general, and commanded a regiment of his body guard.
Jansens had been distinguished as governor of Batavia,
and in the army of the French emperor on the Ardennes
frontier. Daendels was one of those Dutchmen who had
been always placed in posts of the greatest danger, and
had displayed the highest skill and valour. Dumonceau.
though a Belgian by birth, had by his long service m the
northern provinces become a Dutchman, and was big i y
esteemed in the French army. Chasse, an old officer ot
NETHERLANDS.
her- Holland when he was transferred to the French service,
ls- became known by the familiar title of General Bdionnette,
^'"■''and afterwards distinguished himself by his gallant defence
of the citadel of Antwerp.
When men like these returned to their liberated coun¬
try, and at a moment when their services were wanted,
there were no rivals to compete with them in Holland,
and they were necessarily placed at the head of their pro¬
fession. Those of the successive ranks who also returned,
as almost the whole did, were retained in those ranks in
the army, formed first in Holland, and afterwards strength¬
ened by the addition of Belgians. The Belgian officers
serving in the French army had not been kept apart, but
mixed up with the Frenchmen. They had formed a part
of the general conscription; few had raised themselves to
the rank of officers ; and of these only three had attained
the grade of colonel, no one having risen higher. Being
thus insulated, they had nourished little or no national feel¬
ing ; some few tardily returned to their native country after
the occupation of Paris; but many of them remained in the
service, and fought against their country at Waterloo.
The king, in the hasty organization of an army, natu¬
rally availed himself of the materials within his reach, and
adapted them to the emergency. When after the battle
of Waterloo peace was established, it would have been
highly unjust to the brave men who had assisted there not
to have confirmed them in their ranks, or to have placed
others over them merely because they were born in Bel¬
gium. But for these, and even for such as had fought
against their country, and repaired to it after the victory,
the provision made was the best that could be effected at
the time; and they were subsequently placed in new corps,
retaining their former rank and seniority.
The utmost economy was practised respecting the army;
and from the number of good officers in the highest classes’
and their seniority, there was no prospect of rapid promo¬
tion. Thus the gentry of Belgium had but little induce¬
ment to enter the military service, so that, without at¬
tributing to the king any great partiality, the facts here
stated sufficiently account for the greater number of offi¬
cers belonging to one division of the kingdom.
The other charge of partiality on the part of the king,
which ultimately became one of the grievances, was, that,
in the legislative body, the number of deputies was as great
from the northern as from the southern division of the
kingdom, although the number of inhabitants in the latter
was so much greater. The foundation of this settlement
o. . e re*ative numbers was based upon the principle of
giving legislative power according to the rate of revenue
to be extracted from each division, rather than according
o t e number of the population. The proportion of re¬
venue raised in Holland was nearly equal to that raised
in lielgmm; indeed it w'as shown, at a subsequent pe-
rio , to be as fifteen to sixteen. The rate of revenue
per head in Holland was sixteen florins, and in Belgium
ten florins. Whether the rate of revenue or the number
oi inhabitants be the proper scale for regulating the pro-
this 'pla ° e§1Slat0rS’ *S n°^ a su^jec*: be discussed in
In the distribution of the higher civil offices of the go-
wpr;T.ent’ complaints were urged and magnified into
statemJnS^f ^ ^ BelSians- °n this subject the
de Keverburg> when confirmed by the
official part of L Almanack Royal, are as follow:
before the ^ COn*ls,teti of s,x members. It was formed
wholly of Hnl1°n ? t le tvvo countries, and was composed
two of the I ?ders; b,Ut after the junctlon of Belgium,
mitted in theiV ^tead^Thrfi ^ £W0 .Be!gia"s, were ad'
general simil*,. t tt firSt chamber of the states-
fhe kTn- Z hf °Ur °USe °f Peers’ but nominated by
the king foi hfe, contained fifty-six members, of whom
131
thirty were Belgians, and twenty-six Hollanders. The
Conseil d Etat, or privy council, was composed of twelve
Dutch and eleven Belgian members. The Prince of Orange
and his brother Prince Frederick presided over the two
divisions into which it was formed ; one for the direction
of the army, the other for that of the naval force. The
Chambre des Comptes, or treasury, consisted of sixteen
persons, taken equally from the two divisions of the king¬
dom. The judicial authority of the provinces and com¬
munes was in general intrusted to persons chosen in the
division in which they were to execute their duties. There
were a few exceptions to this rule, for two Dutchmen ex¬
ercised these functions in Belgium; but two also, natives
of Belgium, filled the same offices in Holland. Thus far
there was an equality; but in North Brabant the judicial
office was filled by a Belgian, which gave a trifling superio¬
rity to the southern division.
It may fairly be presumed, that in the appointment of
officers in the several civil departments, the king had been
mainly influenced by his view of the capacity of the per¬
sons selected to discharge the netessary duties; for at a
subsequent period, when the most scrutinizing activity
was exercised to discover grounds of complaint, no accu¬
sations were made of any other fault in the appointments
than that which related to the portion of the kingdom to
which the functionaries belonged. The king himself was
active and regular; and being in a great degree his own
prime minister, he must have been peculiarly anxious that
the persons under him should be adapted to their several
stations, and certainly under no government was more in¬
dustry exercised or more regularity preserved.
Many of the important institutions of the country had,
by the constitution, been left to the will of the king as to
their local establishment. The seat of the states-general
had been fixed by that law to be alternately in Belgium
and in Holland, but not the place for the king’s residence
oi the council of state; yet these also, though with some
personal and political inconvenience, were made change¬
able, business being transacted six months of each year at
Brussels and six months at the Hague. But the supreme
court of justice, the court of appeal from all the inferior
tribunals of the kingdom, was permanently fixed at the
Hague, to the great disadvantage of the more numerous
suitors in the southern part of the kingdom. This form¬
ed a material, and apparently a just cause of complaint;
and nothing has been stated by the Dutch which has
disproved the inconvenience, though attempts have been
made to represent the practical injury arising from it as
very trifling and insignificant. Several other establish¬
ments were also made permanent in Holland, such as the
state archives, the diplomatic offices, the council of the
nobles, the coinage of money, the military and naval boards,
the academies for the instruction of naval, artillery, and
engineering officers, and the principal naval and military
arsenals. This arrangement was justified upon public
grounds by the partisans of the king. The kingdom, they
affirmed, had been established as an European object, and
to form a barrier for the defence of all the powers against
the ambition of Trance. In any display of that ambition,
Belgium would, as heretofore, become the first theatre of
war, and, in spite of the range of fortresses about to be
erected, might be occupied by an invading army. If the
means of carrying on the war fell into the enemy’s power,
the effect might be fatal; but by having the establishments
farther from the frontiers, and where they could be guard-
etl by natural defences, the war might be kept up effective¬
ly behind the rivers and canals of Holland, so as to render
the advance of the enemy a dangerous or a ruinous step.
There are in Belgium a variety of languages spoken,
and the attempt of King William to introduce one uniform
tongue created much discontent, and wras by a great and
Nether¬
lands.
132
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- influential part of the inhabitants considered as a serious
lands, grievance. The far greater portion of both the northern
and southern inhabitants are of German origin, and their
vernacular language is chiefly composed of Teutonic words.
It is divided into several idioms, namely, the Dutch, the
Flemish, and the Brabant. These three are so nearly si¬
milar, that those who use them understand each other bet¬
ter than the English and Scotch peasantry do. The Dutch
language has been more polished than either of the others,
having been the tongue of some of the most learned men
that Europe has produced. It contains books of art, science,
literature, law, theology, and history of the greatest merit,
and which have been the means of spreading knowledge ot
all kinds to a great extent. The care bestowed on educa¬
tion has produced a greater number of readers and writers
than are to be found in any other country of the same li¬
mited population. The Flemish and Brabant dialects have
been little cultivated ; few books have been written in it,
except those of devotion, the lives of saints of the Catho¬
lic church, almanacs, and spelling-books. The numbers
who read them are very small in comparison of the whole
population, but with the rural inhabitants this dialect is the
general medium of intercourse.
During the French dominion great pains were taken to
extend the use of their language, and with much success
as far as regarded those who had enjoyed the advantage
of even the commonest education. I his has extended the
use of that language amongst those above the lowest classes;
and it is said that even in Holland there are more persons
acquainted with the French tongue than in those parts or
Belgium where the other dialects of Teutonic origin are
used. The Walloon language, a corrupted dialect of the
French, is commonly used in the provinces of Hainault,
Liege, and Namur; and the German language is most pre¬
valent in Luxembourg. f1UOQ
Baron de Keverburg, assuming the population ot
gives the statistics of languages as follows.
The divisions in which the German is used, and their
InPH£dI.   
In Belgium, the provinces of Antwerp, Lim-
bourg, and the two Flanders 
The largest part of Brabant  V-i’ow
One half of Luxembourg  1M,317
4,832,524
The divisions in which the French and Walloon are used,
with their population cok
The provinces of Hainault, Liege, and Namur...1,124,5
The arrondissement of Nivelles, in the province
of South Brabant 
One half of Luxembourg  lol,3 W
1,402,645
In this view the Dutch language is used by two fifths
of the population, the other languages of German origin by
two fifths, and the French and Walloon by one fifth. From
the most remote periods all public affairs in Belgium were
transacted in one or other of the Teutonic idioms. The
Joyeuse Entree, the Magna Charta of the country, was ori¬
ginally drawn up in the Teutonic dialect, and was only
translated into French at a recent period, when the princes,
no longer residing in the provinces, began to give a de¬
cided preference to that language; but all the proceed¬
ings of the states of Brabant were conducted in it till the
conquest of the country by France. From that moment all
public deeds were written in French, and the subdued people
supported with pain the loss of their native tongue; but they
dared not utter a complaint. This attachment of the Bel¬
gians to their native language was shown to have been little
weakened by their subjugation to France; for when the al¬
lies had freed them from that yoke, and Baron Vincent was Nether,
appointed governor ad interim by the house of Austria, a pe- v antk
tition was presented to him by the ancient representatives
of the city of Brussels, who resumed their former titles un¬
der the name of Syndics des neuf nations, et des cent qua-
rante-trois doyens, complaining of the compulsory use of the
French tongue. The petitions were favourably received,
and an arret issued on the 18th of July, authorizing the
use of the Flemish language, not, indeed, in all public wri¬
tings, but in all notarial writings.
When this provisional government ceased by the acces¬
sion of King William to the throne of the Netherlands, he
proposed to redress what was then deemed one of the
grievances of the country, by a decree of the 1st Octo¬
ber 1814, which stated as a fact, “ that, in consequence
of the union with France, the national languages of the
provinces had been almost suppressed, to give place to the
French tongue ;” and then added, “ that if it was neces¬
sary on one side still to tolerate the use of the latter lan¬
guage in some parts where the Flemish is not used, it is
but just, on the other side, that the Flemish, which is
the natural language of the country, should be re-estab¬
lished in all the parts in which it is used and understood.”
The king was certainly desirous of restoring the national
language, and of restraining the use of the French; and for
a time, whilst it was gratifying to the great body of the
people, it occasioned very little complaint upon the part
of those who alone spoke or understood French. Gradual
enactments were made to induce practitioners to study
the national languages; and three years were allowed to ac¬
quire them, at the end of which time those who did not
understand them were to be removed to other stations,
where they could practise their official duties in the tongue
they were most familiar with. At the expiration of the pre¬
scribed time, 1st of January 1823, a decree fixed the fol¬
lowing arrangement on the subject of languages L The
use of the French language shall be preserved in the Wal¬
loon provinces of Liege, Hainault, and Namur. 2. The
use of the Dutch language shall continue to be maintained
in Holland. 3. The use of the Flemish language, in its se¬
veral idioms, shall be re-established in the Flemish pro¬
vinces. 4. The German language shall be used in the
German part of the grand duchy of Luxembourg. In
short, it was provided that the official language in each
of the provinces should be that which was used and un¬
derstood by the mass of the people who inhabited them.
The profession of the law in Belgium forms a body which,
next to the clergy, is the most formidable body of any.
They had been trained by the study of French eloquence,
and the young advocates, when called upon to plead in the
language of the country, were often mortified by the ridi¬
cule of the audience. They did not wish to incur the dis¬
pleasure of the Belgians by degrading their language, and
therefore directed their attacks on the Dutch language,
which, for that purpose, they confounded with the Flemish.
In these attacks they were joined by the writers of many
pamphlets, and also those of the public journals. The at¬
tacks were very violent. From those on the Dutch lan¬
guage they passed on to attacks on their literature, on their
manners, and their morals. The Dutch writers, irritated
by these attacks, replied and defended themselves; and
thus arose, from mere literary disputes, a powerful and en¬
during animosity between the two countries.
The subject of religion was one which, above all others,
served to produce discontent. A set of writers who nei¬
ther had, nor pretended to have, any religious principles,
encouraged the government at first in measures of tolera¬
tion, according to the fundamental law, and were, or af¬
fected to be, vehement against the Jesuits, who opposed
it. William was no bigot in religion, but it was his desire
to raise the character of the Catholic clergy, by imparting
.A
NETHERLANDS.
?' her
ds.
■ to them a more extensive and better education than had
previously been necessary before entering on their office.
^ With this view he framed regulations which offended the
clergy and the ignorant party who submitted to them, and
who were at length joined by those who distinguished
themselves as liberals, as soon as they saw that some ad¬
vantages could be drawn from that union to forward their
own republican views.
The Catholic clergy in Belgium had submitted to the
regulation of their affairs which French subjugation had
imposed. The vicar of the diocese of Ghent has indeed
been unwilling to allow this ; but Baron de Keverburg, him¬
self a Catholic, and under the French regime governor of
West Flanders, asserts most positively that the imperial
institutions were observed in Belgium as elsewhere ; that
the catechism of the empire was taught to almost every
one; and that the four articles of the clergy of France
formed a part of the religious instruction in all the Belgian
departments. As soon as the kingdom was established,
they brought forward claims to power which they dared not
even to whisper under Napoleon, and even carried those
claims to an extent beyond what they had been urged for
the last three or four centuries, and beyond what are ac¬
knowledged in the Catholic kingdoms of Europe.
The vicar-general of Ghent had required, as essential to
the establishment of the kingdom of the Netherlands, “ le
retablissement de tous les articles des anciens pactes in-
auguraux, constitutions, chartes, et cetera, en ce que con-
cerne, non seulement le libre exercise de religion Catho-
lique, mais aussi les droits, privileges, exemptions, et pre¬
rogatives des eveques, prelats, des maisons-dieu, et des
autres institutions religieuses quelconques.” A single ex¬
ception was indeed admitted to this exercise of power.
The church would indulge the monarch so far as “ accor-
der au prince et a sa cour des chapelles,bien entendu seule¬
ment dans 1’enceinte des palais royaux.” Thus these old
powers, which the French had destroyed twenty years be¬
fore, were to be restored; and then the prelates would al¬
low, but only to the king and his family, the toleration of
his own worship in secret. According to the principle of
the prelates, the chief and sole duty of the temporal power
was, in its relation to the Catholic church and its'clergy,
limited to “ proteger la religion et ses ministres, a faire
executer les lois de 1 eglise, a faire punir les actes exterieurs
nuisibles a la societe religieuse.”
This extraordinary claim of the church to a power in¬
dependent of, and in fact governing the state, would not,
on its own account, have deserved the notice here taken
of it. It was at least quieted by the prudent conduct of
the king, who suffered the Count Mean, one of the pre¬
lates, upon his nomination to a seat in the council of state,
to swear to the tolerating constitution under a protest, that
it the pope should declare the oath to be contrary to the
rights of the church, it should thereby cease to be bind-
mg. The king, whilst he adhered to the constitutional
principle of tolerating other sects, extended his liberality
to the Catholic clergy, by increasing the stipends of the in¬
terior orders; by making provision for those who, from age
or infirmity, were incapable of performing their duty; and by
contributing liberally to the erection or repairs of churches
where the communal funds were inadequate to the purpose.
he opposition of the clergy was for a time dormant; but
it was again roused, when, at a subsequent period, the lead-
eis ot the church formed a junction with the leaders of the
french party, and thus placed the lower classes, who could
not read their effusions, but were under the influence of
the priests who spoke to them in Flemish, in a state of
hostile excitement towards the government. The hostility
t le clergy was much aggravated by the attempts made
to improve the education of the priests. The king had
determined that no priest should be inducted who had not
passed two years in the study of the literce humaniores be¬
fore his ordination, and appropriated a college at Louvain
for that purpose, to which was given the unfortunate name
of the 'philosophical college, a name with good Catholics al¬
most equivalent to infidel or heretic. The prelates, to coun¬
teract this, established seminaries connected with the ca¬
thedrals, in which the pupils were instructed in their hu¬
manities. These contravened the design of the king, and
were forcibly shut up. It was an objection to the philo¬
sophical college that the professors of history were not
priests, but laymen, and some Protestants. This may not
seem a solid ground of declining to attend lectures on his¬
tory ; but it was so with the Catholics; for, as their doc¬
trines rest quite as much on tradition as on the Holy Scrip¬
tures, it was of vast importance that history should be
taught by those alone who were orthodox in their opinions.
In truth, the critical spirit of some of the German profes¬
sors would make sad work with many parts of the tradi¬
tions held sacred by the Catholic church. The prelates,
in the discussions on this subject, indulged in language of
a violent kind, and were prosecuted. A law enacted by
Napoleon was made the instrument of condemning one or
two of them to banishment, and excited no small degree
of hatred amongst their adherents, who, if not the most
enlightened, were the most numerous, portion of the inha¬
bitants. These mortifications were increased by circum¬
stances of inferior importance. Some of the religious festi¬
vals were curtailed, certainly with no views inimical to re¬
ligion, but to benefit the morals of the people, by lessening
the number of days that were devoted to idleness and drun¬
kenness. The architecture of the national schools was simi¬
lar to that of the reformed places of worship, and the youth
of the country were forbidden to be educated out of the
kingdom. These trifles were magnified into matters of
plain evidence of a regular system to proselytise the whole
of the Netherlands. Whilst these controversies respecting
religion and education were carried on, the conduct of the
king was applauded and encouraged by the active party of
the liberals, who represented them as proper steps to secure
the people from the insidious attempts made by the Jesuits
to blind and cajole them. There was no evidence of anv
plan of the kind on the part of the Jesuits, and it was only
affectation in the liberals to insinuate it. It served their
turn for the time, but was soon forgotten, when it appear¬
ed advantageous for their party purposes to join with the
most bigoted of the Catholics against the government of
the house of Orange.
Another subject was at times brought forward, and must
be added to the causes of the internal disunion between
the two parts of the kingdom. The number of members
of the representative body had been fixed at the time of the
union, and made equal for Holland and for Belgium. The
subject was then investigated with the greatest delibera¬
tion, and all parties were content. It had been suggested
that Belgium brought, to form the kingdom, a more nume¬
rous population than Holland, and therefore ought to have
a greater proportion of members in the assembly. But,
upon the other hand, it was shown that the colonies which
Holland brought to the common stock contained, in Asia,
Africa, and America, as many persons as rendered them
equal in number, and, in regard to common advantage, much
superior to Belgium ; and, besides this, it was urged, that
the Dutch contributed to the common cause a powerful
fleet and an army, with the stores belonging to both ser¬
vices. Ihis point was, however, settled with perfect cor¬
diality, and remained at rest during several years. But
at length it was thought necessary to extend to Belgium
the Dutch system of taxation on the grinding of corn.
Ihis was severely felt, and gave rise to renewed agita¬
tion as to the inequality of representation in reference to
the numbers of inhabitants. It became a more prominent
Nether-
lands.
134
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- object, because the tax was imposed only by a majority of
lands. tw0 voles> all the Hollanders voting for the measure, and
ed to oppose the calumniating writers by employing others Nether.
1 1 • i T. „ ^ 4-4-^ 4- «.r <-« r, -4', % 10 n
all the Belgians but two against it
During the whole of the period from 1815 to 1829 the
popularity of the monarch was very variable. After the
uttering of some loud complaints, as alleged grievances
arose, they seemed to die away and be forgotten ; and,
till some new cause supervened, the king was as much re¬
spected as his best friends could wish. At no time, in¬
deed, was his personal character assailed ; and the general
feeling in Belgium was, that he always meant well, but
gave too ready an acquiescence to what they tauntingly
called the schemes of their Dutch cousins.
The king, attacked by two parties, by the priests and
their bigoted followers on one side, and by the republicans
on the other, avowed his intention to act with indifference
to all parties in the pursuit of what he deemed for the ge¬
neral advantage. In conformity with this disposition a con¬
cordat was in 1827 entered into with the pope, by which
the right of nomination to the bishoprics was settled. It
was provided that each should be selected by the pope
out of three individuals to be nominated by the king, and
that the education of the priests should be under the con¬
trol of the prelates; but that in the seminaries professors
should be appointed to teach the sciences, as well as what
related to ecclesiastical matters. This arrangement was
highly satisfactory to the cool and thinking part of the
community, but was far from pleasing to the extravagant
partisans. The clergy thought that too little had been
granted to them, and the liberals that too much power
was conferred on their order. Conciliatory as this mea¬
sure was intended to be, it thus proved nugatory ; and se¬
veral nominations of Belgians to offices before filled by
Dutchmen had no better effect.
Brussels at this time contained a most heterogeneous fo¬
reign population, consisting of the intriguing and discon¬
tented subjects of almost every country of Europe. There
were of Frenchmen, regicide conventionalists, exiled Na-
poleonists, and proscribed constitutionalists, besides Italian
carbonari, expatriated Poles, Spanish liberals, disgiaced
Russians, English and Irish radicals, and visionaly stu¬
dents from the various parts of Germany. As the greater
part of these had but insecure means of subsistence, and
for the most part understood the French language, the
press groaned with libels, not more against the Belgian
than against all other governments, and thus contributed
towards the production of a high state of political excite¬
ment. The press of the capital also furnished cheap edi¬
tions of such works as, either from their irreligious, im¬
moral, or democratic tendency, were prohibited in France;
and thus became a nuisance to the regular governments
of Europe. The great mass of the population could not be
inflamed by these fire-brands ; few of them could read, and
fewer still could read French. They were, however, acted
upon by other means. The Flemish preachers, school¬
masters, and confessors, in their several spheres, were
ready to join in any movement, and were sure to be sup¬
ported by the idle, the dissolute, and the indigent, with
which the cities and large towns abounded. To bring the
whole body of discontent to bear upon the same point, it
was found advisable to form the two parties into one; and
this was achieved by the liberals affecting a zeal for the
Catholic faith, which they had before treated with con¬
tempt and ribaldry. The union was thus formed, meetings
of the parties were held, the junction was openly announced,
and threatenings were promulgated tending to give con¬
fidence to the confederacy, as well as to excite appre¬
hension in the king and his ministers.
This system of agitation was carried to an extent which
no government could behold with indifference, however
confident in the rectitude of its measures. It was attempt-
to counteract their influence; but the attempt wTas xar
from successful, as in that kind of warfare the assailants
have almost always the advantage on their side. The
avowed object of the liberal writers was to urge the cle¬
rical party to make such extravagant demands of exten¬
sive power as they knewr, if granted, would be the ruin of
the royal authority, and if refused, would increase the agi¬
tation they had already created. Although the whole of
the Dutch members of the representative assembly, and
several of the most respectable of the Belgian members,
gave a majority in favour of the royal party, yet many of
the latter adopted most inflammatory language, and, as
far as the rules of debate allowed, seconded the views of
the united party of the liberals and bigots.
As the union openly flung defiance at the government,
it appeared necessary to bring before the courts of law
the most notorious of the inflammatory writers; and two
were selected as subjects for prosecution before the court
of assizes of South Brabant. These individuals are thus
described by the Baron de Keverburg. Of the first,
Louis de Potter, he says, “ II s etait fait remarquer long-
temps avant les troubles de la Belgique par des ecrits qui,
aux yeux de 1’eglise, etaient reputes fort impies, et, aux
yeux des hommes doues, d’un peu de delicatesse, de tres-
mauvais gout. Ce que j’ai de dire sur le second est moins
honorable encore. M. Francois Tielemans, avant I’epoque
pre-indique, n’etait connu que par les bienfaits qu’il avail
re^us et qu’il continuait de recevoir du roi, et plus tard il
le fut par son ingratitude envers son bienfaiteur.”
These men, with two others, likewise editors of journals,
were sent to the tribunal in which Van Maanen filled the
office of presiding judge. The prosecution terminated in
a sentence of banishment from the kingdom for the period
of eight years ; a sentence which brought on the judge the
execrations of the libellous journals, and elevated the pri¬
soners to the rank of martyrs. The sentence was put in
force by sending the culprits to the frontiers, where they
were detained, as neither of the neighbouring states would
admit them. The revolution of July occurred in Paris
whilst they were in this state; and the party which pre¬
vailed in that city allowed them to enter France, and they
were received in the capital with great applause by the
propagandists.
The popular mind in Brussels was highly agitated by
these trials, which did not operate to restrain the indig¬
nant language of the journals, nor the distribution of the
most vehement placards, many of them in the Flemish
tongue, in which the minister Van IMaanen, and the edi¬
tor of a royalist journal entitled the National, were held
up to the public indignation, and threatened with ven¬
geance. In this state of the public feeling, the news of the
success of the Parisian mob in overturning the throne was
received with enthusiasm. Numbers of the young pro¬
pagandists from Paris reached Brussels. Assuming to
themselves the character of heroes of the revolution, and
with feelings of disappointment at the tranquil issue at
which it had so soon arrived, these young men displayed
the three-coloured cockade in the streets and public places;
talked loudly in the theatres and coffee-houses ; sang the
Marseillaise and Parisienne hymns in chorus with impas¬
sioned groups ; and dwelt with enthusiasm on the glories of
the republic and the empire, aird the future destinies of their
“ young France.” Some of the more active of the Bel¬
gians repaired to Paris, and are said to have sounded the
new government on the subject of the re-union of their
country to France, in the event of the dissolution of the
monarchy of the Netherlands. These last were, however,
mere adventurers, who had little or no power over, or in¬
tercourse with, those who were destined to influence the
fate of Belgium.
NETHERLANDS.
The disturbances which followed at first may be easily
concluded to have been the result of mere popular exci-
'' tation, such as is often seen in large cities. The first symp¬
tom of outrage was presented by the audience of the
theatre, on the 25th of August 1830, after the representa¬
tion of a piece, the Muettede Portici, which abounded with
passages well calculated to kindle a flame amongst mate¬
rials well charged with inflammable particles. When the
curtain fell, the excited audience rushed into the street,
exclaiming, “ To the office of the National.” They ran
thither, soon forced in the doors and windows, and began
the work of destruction. They then rushed into the dwel¬
ling of the editor, which was speedily demolished, though
the obnoxious individual, whose life was threatened, made
his escape unhurt. Ihe house of Van Maanen was that
next assailed. It was plundered, and then set on fire,
135
be known by the events which followed; and they show Nether-
that neither the adoption of concessions, nor the positive lan(ls-
use of force, was resolved upon, but a course was pursued ^
which, being some undefined medium between the two dif¬
ferent paths, ended, as was natural, in converting a mere
popular riot into a confirmed revolution. It was determined
by the council that the Prince of Orange should proceed
to Brussels on a peaceful commission ; whilst the command
of the army was conferred on his brother, and the troops
advanced with alacrity from the various parts of Holland,
where they were quartered, and where the most astonishing
zea\ was displayed in support of the royal authority.
The prince, however, departed for Brussels, but only
furnished with such limited powers as, in the actual cir¬
cumstances, were utterly ineffective. On his arrival at
Vilvorde, near the city, he was waited on by a deputation
and the populace stopped the fire-engine from playing till from the’city, compoid o^
every thmg m .t was consumed. The police-office was inhabitants, who had been nominated at a public meefrng
Pictures, and nlatfi of nf thp a    i- • 1 v . 5
then attacked; the books, furniture, pictures, and plate of
the chief magistrate were brought out and burnt in the
street; and the hotel of the provincial governor shared the
same fate ; whilst some private houses and several manufac¬
tories were pillaged, and otherwise much damaged. Fury,
contusion, or terror were visible in every countenance, be¬
fore the civil and military powers made any attempts to stop
these disorders; and those which were made showed awant
either of the courage or the coolness necessary to act with de¬
cision. “ From this conduct,” says an eye-witness, “before
ten o’clock on the morning of the 26th, the guards and posts
in the centre of the city had been overcome, or had tran¬
quilly surrendered ; and the troops who had been drawn out
either retreated to their barracks, or were withdrawn to the
upper part of the city, where they piled their arms in front
of the king s palace, and renounced all attempts at sup¬
pressing the tumult.”
By the operations of these two days, the multitude had
i roof rr r> -i /-I 4-1-,^-. ^ ~ a.   _ f* * 1 • . i .
of the householders. After some preliminary discussions^
the prince courageously resolved on entering the city with
no other suite than a few officers of his staff. His passage
through the streets, crowded with the irregular burgher
guard, and a ferocious mob, was attended with imminent
risk; but at length he reached his own palace, and com¬
menced a conference. Discussions were continued for se¬
veral days between the prince on one side, and respectable
citizens on the other, which were conducted with firmness
and in a conciliatory spirit by both parties. The substance
was not a rejection of the royal authority, or of the rei<m-
dynasty, on the part of the citizens, but a separation
of the administration of Belgium from that of Holland.
Ihey all declared that no wish prevailed for any union with
France, but only for such a kind of independence for both
countries as had been fixed between Sweden and Norway,
with which both countries were satisfied and benefited.
It was more than intimated to the prince that the wishes
in lac. gained ,be — of tbe city, and e7e7;'one i'„ U rf w ~
furv TthP ieXPOfedlt0 rhateve,r Pnyate mallce> Political the throne; but in answer to such suggestions he firmly
inflict. a.sked °f"ne of tbe most influential men both at that and
inflict. This moved a few of the more influential inhabi¬
tants to take up arms, and to enrol themselves into a burgher
guard, for the protection of their lives and property. With-
in three days, not less than as many thousand persons,
c nefly heads of families, had enrolled themselves in this
coips, and, under chiefs of their own selection, paraded the
the present time, “ W hat opinion would you entertain of
me were I to sacrifice the interests of my father to my
own ? What confidence could you repose in a man who
could cast off his allegiance to his king, and that king his
father, merely to gratify his own ambition? I also am a
father,” added the prince with deep emotion, “ and am
strppte* tfiof .i j-i ~  —auueu uie prince witn deep emotion, ‘
scarcel^aarmed^ciri2ensl0nThevledetermbuld,r^an*2e^f"11 A‘ a “"“i"^c"8 heltI 0" the M of September, when
the troops, which were'advindni 3 the Z 3*“^ “?"!r Kmfmbers ?f the states-general attended, it was so
commandpd tEpm i • a cin?’ an, the general who fully obvious to the prince that nothing but a senaratead-
toTt readilv- a? n0 preC!Se, 0rderS {r0m the kinS ministration of the two countries would restore tranaudhtv
ed il rfi ^ he reeved to - Muence witST,^
ed into a kind of treaty of neutrality with the burghers,
till they could receive directions from the Hague, where
. and hls family had that year their residence. The
inte igence of these events in the capital soon spread
throughout the provinces, and in all the large towns, ex-
cep ing ntwerp and Ghent, similar scenes were exhibited,
commencing with plunder and outrages by mobs, and set-
ing own into an uneasy but rather more secure state by
the mstitutmu of burgher guards. ^
ratprl6/11^^1106 Pr°m ■^russeJs was quickly communi-
in nLL u^aSUf’ butthe ro)'al ^uncils were divided
dismission" nfti6 on/.Positive demand in Brussels was the
resbmTol ^aa"en ; and he “lfered
in<>-1u« rpeP ’*• k‘ng is said to have refused accept¬
ing his resignation, whilst the Prince of Orange urged the
~ f th?ad0Pti0" of —e otlfer measures
of a conciliatory kind. The result of the decision can only
complish that object; and he received the fullest assurance
from the persons present, that they would unite in the most
efficacious measures to assure the dynasty of the house of
Oi ange, and to protect the territory of Belgium against any
attempts to subject it to France, or any other foreign
power. The prince expressed his determination to use his
most powerful arguments with his father to obtain his as¬
sent to this proposal; but expressed his apprehension that
lie should be unable to succeed in his endeavours. The
prmce then quitted the city, carrying with him the respect
of all those with whom he had communicated, for the cou¬
rage he had displayed, for the knowledge of public affairs
which he discovered, for the cool judgment which he exer¬
cised, and, above all, for the sense of parental duty which
he had manifested. Whilst these transactions were passin<>-
in Brussels, the whole country was in a flame; in every
town the populace were triumphant, and indulged unre-
136
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
strained in plunder, to which, especially in the important
city of Liege, was added the conflagration of several valu¬
able manufacturing establishments. The officers of the
army, with no definite orders how to act, were paralyzed in
some places, in others gave up their arms, and in others
engaged to be neutral.
The king, amidst the general disorder in Belgium, and
the most fanatical attachment to the royal cause in Hol¬
land, had summoned the states-general from both divi¬
sions to assemble at the Hague. The members from Bel¬
gium, with some slight hesitation, resolved to repair thi¬
ther, and the assembly was opened on the 13th of Sep¬
tember, by a speech from the king, which was firm and
temperate, but by no means definite. The proceedings
of this body were dilatory; the Belgium members weie
treated with indignity and insult by the populace ; and
the language of some of the Dutch members expressed
vengeance rather than conciliation. The accounts re¬
ceived at Brussels from the Hague, and the warlike de¬
monstrations made by the troops, rekindled and accelerated
the preparations for defence, and induced some approaches
to organization. The burgher guards had become tired
of military duty, and being mostly tradesmen living on their
business, which had now been ruined, they were anxious
for the return of the tranquillity upon which their existence
depended. The leaders of the opposition, however, drew
fresh recruits of a more determined and more reckless de¬
scription from the rude population of the Walloon pro¬
vinces, from the men employed in the coal and iron mines,
and from the iron forges and other works which had been
destroyed or shut up in and around Liege. These were,
in a great measure, old and hardy soldiers, who had served
in the ranks of Bonaparte’s army, and fought in Germany,
in Russia, or in Spain. Their arrival in the capital spread
terror amongst the peaceable inhabitants, and kindled
alarms lest they should be again exposed to the outrages
which had marked the first days of the explosion. The de-
fenders were thus divided into two parties; but, as usual,
the most violent soon prevailed; and the council of the rab¬
ble soon dispersed that of the burghers (for both had their
separate assemblies), seized the arms of the latter, and add¬
ed to them others which had been collected in different
parts of the country.
Although the states were still sitting at the Hague, the
king’s army was gradually drawn around Brussels. It con¬
sisted of 14,000 well appointed troops, under the command
of Prince Frederick. But the motions of this powerful
body were so dilatory, and its whole operations so unmih-
tary, that they are difficult to be accounted for, unless on
the supposition that the conduct of the king was too conci¬
liatory when force should have been applied, and too hos¬
tile when conciliation would have been of most advantage
to his cause. On the 20th of September the council resolv¬
ed to take possession of Brussels, and orders were sent to
Prince Frederick to that effect. This resolution was taken
at the Hague in consequence of the information of nume¬
rous emissaries from Brussels, who represented the inha¬
bitants as eager to receive the troops, and to assist in put¬
ting an end to the anarchy and oppression which the mob
were exercising. The most respectable names in the city
were appended to these representations, which were doubt¬
less sincere, but came from such as were more prepared to
enjoy the return of peace and good government than to
contribute any share of their personal services to secure
these blessings. , , . j
On the 25th, the troops advanced towards the city, and
with little opposition occupied the upper portion or court
part of it, which is situated on a hill, by which the whole
of the rest of the town is commanded. The opponents in
the lower part of the city were dispirited and disunited,
and most of the more violent leaders had fled. But the
commanders of the army seem to have been seized with a Nethei' ^
panic, or to have dreaded doing too much mischief to the^hmls: lar
houses and property of the more wealthy inhabitants. Inv“V'' ^
the square, where the troops had been drawn up, they
were exposed to a galling fire from an invisible enemy,
who, from the roofs of the houses, and from the cellars,
picked off the officers and men without being much ex¬
posed to any return from the troops. Instead of destroy¬
ing the houses and buildings which concealed the assail¬
ants, the prince had recourse to unavailing negotiations,
and, after three days of most harassing service, deter¬
mined to withdraw his troops. He had the means of stop¬
ping all supplies from entering the city, and thus of ef¬
fecting a surrender by starvation; or, by a bombardment,
he might have easily enforced submission. Why neither
of these means were adopted cannot be certainly known;
but the friends of the royal party attribute it to huma¬
nity alone. The loss of lives was not very great on the
side of the king’s troops, considering their exposed situa¬
tion, and the number engaged. It is stated in the re¬
turns as 138 killed, and 650 wounded ; whilst of the defen¬
ders of the city, though far inferior in numbers, the casu¬
alties were acknowledged by themselves to be 450 killed,
and 1250 wounded. This disparity must be considered as
one of the many extraordinary circumstances of the trans¬
actions, and renders the result utterly incomprehensible.
The incredible intelligence of this repulse was rapidly
conveyed to the provinces, with great exaggerations ; and
disaffection, anarchy, and demoralisation were spread every¬
where. The army retreated towards Antwerp, which, in
spite of the force near it, soon became involved in con¬
fusion. Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, and the other towns in
that direction, immediately became a prey to the revolu¬
tionary party, and experienced the horrors of anarchy in
the destruction of some of their most extensive manufac¬
turing establishments. The universal rejoicing of the
Belgians did not prevent some measures from being adopt¬
ed to restrain outrages. In a few days, some individuals,
with the general acquiescence, formed themselves into a
provisional government. They were for the most part
men of character and property; but amongst them was
De Potter, who had returned as soon as the danger was
over, and had been placed by the popular feeling at the
head of the body. His power was but of short duration,
and he soon fell into utter insignificance, if not contempt,
as did others of the original leaders of the insurrection.
When those of the representatives who had assembled at
the Hague returned home, and their conduct was reviewed
in a dispassionate manner, the weight of their character
gave them an influence which proved favourable to the re¬
turn of order. Some of them were added to the body
forming the provisional government, and they exercised
their influence with prudence, firmness, and integrity.
In the provisional government the state of parties was
singular, from the variety of opinions. De Potter, who
looked forward to the dignity of president, advocated a re¬
publican form of government; Gendebeer, a decided ad¬
vocate of democracy, preferred a union with France; whilst
Van de Weyer wished for an independent government,
on a monarchical basis, with the Prince of Orange at
the head, if he would consent to withdraw altogether from
his Dutch obligations, and become exclusively the sove¬
reign of Belgium. The plan of Van de Weyer was known
to be favoured by all the kings of Europe; and even France,
at that moment under the pilotage of Lafayette, was averse
to the entire exclusion of the Nassau dynasty, and sent
an agent to Brussels to forward his views. Gendebeer had
visited Paris, and there found little or no disposition amongst
the leading people to agree to a union with the Belgians,
which, they were aware, would involve them in a war with
all those powers that had founded the kingdom of the
NETHERLANDS.
Vet r-
laiU
Netherlands in 1815, solely as a European object and a
barrier against France.
^ It soon became evident in Belgium itself that republi¬
canism had made little or no progress. The prevailing opi¬
nion was strong in favour of the Catholic religion, with all
its ancient powers and observances, but stronger still in fa¬
vour of a nationality independent of all foreign control.
This latter spirit contributed to increase the number of
those who had taken up arms ; and by such persons the re¬
pulse of the Dutch at Brussels was vainly considered as an
evidence of the military power of the people. Many of the
privates, and a few Belgians of distinction, had been in the
army of Prince Frederick; but they soon left his colours,
and entered the ranks of their countrymen. The Belgian
colours waved on every tower in the country, except those
of Antwerp and Maestricht; when the Dutch army, greatly
reduced in numbers as regarded subalterns and privates,
but with the artillery in complete order, withdrew into their
own territory.
The council of the king at the Hague resolved on the
separation of the two governments into different adminis¬
trations; but it was then too late to produce reconciliation;
and an attempt made by the Prince of Orange to procure
for himself the supremacy of Belgium had no other effect
than to beget contempt in that country, and to draw upon
himself the temporary suspicion of double dealing towards
his father and his countrymen in Holland.
The transactions which took place at Antwerp in Octo¬
ber had the further effect of rendering the Belgians still
more adverse to the Orange dynasty than they had before
been. That city was invested by a Belgian force, whilst
within, notwithstanding the resistance of the armed burgh¬
ers, the populace became masters of the place; and the citadel
was occupied by a garrison of 8000 good troops, command¬
ed by the bravest of the Dutch officers, General Chasse. A
truce had been concluded between the adverse parties, and
a white flag hoisted from the fort; but the Belgian officers
were unable to maintain it, the populace having begun an
attack on the citadel, though with no other arms than mus-
Kets. 1 his was not returned, but a cannon was brought for¬
ward by the populace, and a fire opened on the gates of the
citadel, which, as the Belgian officers assert, was without
their approbation or knowledge. On this infraction of the
truce, Chasse ordered two or three guns to be fired from the
bastion facing the arsenal. This being found ineffectual,
the white flag was taken down; a signal was made to the
fleet, consisting of eight vessels of war, in the Scheldt, close
to the town; and a cannonade and bombardment commenced.
It was more terrific than injurious, the fire being chiefly
directed against the arsenal and the entrepot, where all
t le military and naval stores in the former v.rere destroyed;
whilst in the latter large quantities of sugar, coffee, hides,
cloths, silks, and spices, were burned and buried in the
ruins of the storehouses. The firing had continued some
hours when a deputation from the city made their way to
he citadel, and proposed a suspension of hostilities, which
was instantly agreed to, and the firing ceased. Never, per¬
haps, was exaggeration or misrepresentation carried farther
than on this occasion, in the reports printed and circulated
roug elgium; and the effect which they produced de¬
stroyed the last hope of those who wished well to the
®’nce t^lat event, official accounts made
ut by the Belgian custom-house show, that the whole loss
T 1 wonn11 lh®.1stor1es amounted to 1,888,000 florins, or
and /hff 5 ?llst the damage done to private buildings,
L inIthem’ amounted to 679,466 florins, or
inrlnrWl' T)1 18 ^ *°SS ^le Pu^‘c buildings was not
Whim 1 le number 0f the killed vvas on]y sixty-eight, of
She nonnG n Tt men’ and tde others thise
aSSerted^ lad CaUSed the calamity- The Dutch
vol^xvl he fire WaS confined alraost wholly to the spot
where the munitions of war were stored, and that the rest
of the city was designedly spared.
As all hope of conciliation was thus destroyed, the court
of the Hague made pressing solicitations to the four powers
who by treaty had formed the kingdom of the Netherlands,
to fulfil the obligations imposed upon them by the treaty of
Vienna of 1815. Bu t it was soon seen by the answer of Lord
Aberdeen, the British secretary of state, and by those of
the ministers of the other powers in succession, that none
of them was disposed to make use of any other than pacific
measures. This proceeding gave rise to negotiations be¬
tween the allied powers, which were chiefly carried on in
London, out of which proceeded numerous protocols, which
had no decisive influence on the course of events. The pub¬
lic affairs of Europe favoured the independence of Belgium.
All the powers were in alarm at the recent events in France,
and all feared, not that the scarcely seated king would wil¬
lingly commence a war of aggression, but that the democra¬
tic party might become sufficiently powerful to compel him
to associate himself with the Belgians, and to bring that
country under the power of France. ‘The obvious interest
of the four great powers was tranquillity, and the securing of
the Continent against Flanders becoming the base of mili¬
tary operations towards the centre of Europe. If these
could be obtained, it mattered little whether they arose
from the junction or the separation of the two portions
which had formed the kingdom of the Netherlands. The
fiist meeting of the ministers of the great powers showed
that they merely considered themselves as arbitrators be¬
tween the northern and southern divisions of the newly-
dissolved kingdom; and their first measures were addressed
to the object of a suspension of hostilities, which was to a
limited extent acquiesced in by both parties.
lo settle the internal government now became the first
object of the Belgians, who considered their independence
as firmly assured. A national congress was accordingly as¬
sembled at Brussels, consisting of two hundred deputies,
chosen in the several provinces, from all tax-paying persons
above twenty-five years of age, without exception as to re¬
ligion. 1 he qualification for the electors and the elected was
the paying of taxes, which varied in the several provinces ac¬
cording to their estimated wealth. Thus, in Luxembourg,
the poorest province, the qualification was the payment of
taxes annually to theamountof twenty-one shillings and six- *
pence ; but from this the required rate was gradually raised,
till, in Flanders, the richest of the provinces, the tax paid
required to be six pounds five shillings. The assembly was
a fair representation of the people of Belgium ; for scarcely
any proprietor was excluded from voting, whilst in the larger
towns and cities the mere populace, from the qualification
being higher, had not the means of introducing their fa¬
vourites. As soon as the assembly met, the demagogues,
who had contributed to the revolution, became insignifi¬
cant. De Potter, Ihielman, and the others who had been
martyrs and heroes with the mob, sunk into insignificance.
I he assembly proceeded to business in a regular manner.
Three important propositions were presented to the con¬
gress. Ihe first was the declaration of independence, which
was voted unanimously; the second, proposed on the 22d of
November, decided against a republic, and in favour of a
constitutional hereditary monarchy, by a majority of 174
against thirteen votes, but it did not fix on the title of the
future chief of the state; the third proposition, brought for¬
ward on the 23d, was for the perpetual exclusion of the
Orange Nassau family. This was debated during two days,
and at the close was agreed to by a majority of 161 against
twenty-eight. The object of the minority was to delay the
proposition till a more cool and distant period, and till it
could be known whether the revolution which had taken
place would lead to a war against Belgium. Mr Van de
Weyer had, however, returned from a mission to London,
137
Nether¬
lands.
138
NETHERLANDS.
Nether- and it was commonly believed lie bad ascertained that the
lands, sentiments of Lord Grey and the new ministers were as
' averse to any warlike interference as those which had been
previously expressed by the Duke of Wellington and Lord
.A-bcrclGGn •
It seems probable, that at the period in question the go¬
vernments of England and France were co-operating in en¬
deavours to place the Prince of Orange on the throne of
Belgium; even if it could be accomplished in defiance of
the positive declaration of the king his father, who did not
scruple to assert, “ that he would rather see De Potter
placed on the throne than the Prince of Orange. But it
such was the desire of the two kingdoms, it was soon disco¬
vered to be utterly impracticable, though much time was
spent under the impression of its feasibility, and much sus¬
picion excited amongst the Belgians against the sincerity
of France. , . •
Whilst the plenipotentiaries were settling the most equi¬
table plan for separating the two countries, and had given
their view with respect to the boundaries of each, they also
adjusted what portion of the debt of the Netherlands should
be assigned to Belgium, and what to Holland, hxing tie
former at 44 Parts> and tlie latter at ^ Parts-, These dlS"
cussions led to others; and it soon became known, that
however independent Belgium might become as regarded
Holland, it was too dependent on the superior power of
the European kingdoms to be permitted the spontaneous
nomination of the individual who was to become its sove¬
reign. At that time a large, perhaps a predominant, party
in die assembly would have preferred one of the Bona¬
parte family; but this, it soon appeared, would not be
permitted by France. Another party were inclined to se¬
lect a son of Louis Philip, the king of the French; but in¬
timations had been communicated to that prince, that Eng¬
land would consider an acquiescence in the project as a
sufficient cause of war; and he agreed to the exclusion of
his son, but so privately that it was only known to a tew
individuals beyond the diplomatic circles. The partisans
of the house of Orange took no open and avowed part in
these discussions. ,. .
The inefficiency of this representative assembly to the
real purposes of a government was speedily shown in the
long and bombastical speeches of the members ; m the ab-
• solute confusion in every department, whether civil, mili¬
tary, or judicial; and in the mobbing and plundering which
prevailed in all the provinces. The necessity for an exe¬
cutive power was so strongly felt by the more reflecting
members of the assembly, that after several days prepara¬
tory debate, it was resolved, on the 19th of January 1831,
to proceed to the election of a chief on the 28th of that
month. The election of a sovereign, or rather of a dy¬
nasty, was enough to kindle agitation and intrigue; but
perhaps less of these than might have been expected was
discoverable, from the great number of the candidates
whose pretensions were urged. On the day before the
election, petitions were presented to the assembly in fa¬
vour of Lafayette, Fabvier, Chateaubriand, the Prince of
Carignan, the Archduke Charles; Surlet de Chokier, Charles
Rogier, and Felix de Merode, private Belgians; Prince
Otho of Bavaria, John duke of Saxony, a Prince of Salm,
the Pope, the Duke of Nemours, second son of Louis Phi¬
lip and the Duke of Leuchtenburg. Besides these, the
Duke of Lucca, the Duke of Reichstadt, the son of Na¬
poleon, and the Prince of Capua, brother of the king of
the Two Sicilies, were suggested. 1 he choice of the last
was seriously contemplated by the French, through Talley¬
rand ; but the Belgians showed no predilection for him, al¬
though he was not objectionable to any of the four powers.
Had the Belgians showed any decided eagerness for Prince
Otho of Bavaria, it was known that he would have been
recognised by England, France, and Prussia; and that he
would then have obtained the hand of the Princess Mary, Ne
third daughter of the king of the French. But his age,^
for he was only fifteen, formed an objection with the Bel¬
gians. The popular press, decidedly democratic, was most
united in favour of the Duke of Leuchtenburg; but its
power had been used till it was exhausted; and, besides,
the choice was in better hands than those who are influenced
by its inflammatory declamations. It is remarkable, that
amongst the long list of candidates the name of Prince
Leopold was never once mentioned. It has been suggest¬
ed that England had not even then abandoned the hope of
fixing the Prince of Orange on the throne. This would
have been approved of by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and
by the nobles and wealthier part of the Belgians, but not
by France, as Louis Philip was disposed to fear that the
example of enthroning the son of the deposed monarch
might hereafter have been taken as a precedent in favour
of the Duke of Bordeaux against his son in France.
At the eve of the election, however, by some strange
caprice of circumstances, all the names were withdrawn
excepting the two, who, all intelligent persons knevv, could
not be allowed to rule. It was remarked of them by Nor-
thomb, one of the most respectable of the democratic mem¬
bers, that “ the Duke of Leuchtenburg was essentially anti-
French, without being European, whilst the Duke of Ne¬
mours was so exclusively French as to be directly anti-
European.” It is singular that both these personages had
been declared inadmissible by the conference of the re¬
presentatives of the great powers. The name of the Ayca*
duke Charles of Austria was then brought forward ; but tie
could only be considered as a cloak for the partisans of the
Prince of Orange, and for other members, who knew he
would not accept the dignity, for the purpose of reducing
that absolute majority of the whole voters which was ne¬
cessary to the choice. The votes were taken by ballot,
and the following result appeared when the names were
drawn from the urn The total number of voters was 191,
and consequently the required absolute majority was nine¬
ty-six. Nine members being absent, there appeared for
the Duke of Nemours eighty-nine, for the Duke of Leuch¬
tenburg sixty-seven, and for the Archduke Charles thirty-
five, so that, in fact, there was no election. A new voting
then became necessary, and the second scrutiny gave a de¬
finite result. Another member had entered, making 192,
and consequently the absolute majority required was nine¬
ty seven. The state of the voting then appeared to be, tor
Nemours ninety-seven, for Leuchtenburg seventy-four, and
for the archduke twenty-one. This annunciation was re¬
ceived with acclamation by the populace, and with expres¬
sions of joy by the partisans of the successful candidate,
who well knew his father would not permit him to accept
the offered crown. A deputation was despatched to Pans
to announce the choice. But the throne was refused, and
the deputies returned after paying and receiving some un¬
meaning compliments. , , t> •
The moment was seized by the partisans of the 1 nnce
of Orano-e in order to raise a commotion in his favour. It
was a mid project, confined to Ghent, Bruges, and Ant¬
werp where his adherents were numerous, especially
amongst the lower class, who had been thrown out of em¬
ployment by the cessation of commerce and manufactures.
The attack on Ghent was speedily quelled, and the leader
fled- but he was seized on his way to France, and on Jus
person were found letters from the Prince of Orange, then
in London, encouraging the project. This unsuccesstu
effort, and the evidence of the prince’s participation m it,
proved very injurious to his cause ; and even sober men
who had favoured him, were disgusted with what appeared’
to them to be an attempt to involve the country in a civi
war.
On the refusal of France, the assembly, still feeling the
NETHERLANDS. • 139
s - want of an executive power, passed an act that the throne
was vacant, thereby establishing the monarchical principle,
and then proceeded to the election of a regent as a tem¬
porary measure. The choice fell upon Baron Surlet de
Chokier, a worthy, well-meaning man, of no great abilities,
who showed little solicitude for the dignity; and on the
25th of February he was installed with some parade. Plots
and conspiracies were forming around him in every direc¬
tion, and the demon of civil war was urging on the people
to mutual destruction. The feeble government of the re¬
gent could produce neither obedience nor tranquillity with¬
in the country; and it was threatened by the Dutch, who
adhered to their king and his purposes with equal union and
ardour. It was reported, during the regency, that schemes
for the dismemberment of Belgium were contemplated by
some of the continental powers. According to this project,
two thirds of Flanders, the province of Antwerp, and the
northern half of Limburg and Brabant, including Brussels,
would have fallen to Holland ; the eastern part of Luxem¬
bourg, with Liege and other territories upon the left bank
of the Meuse and the Moselle, would have been transfer¬
red to Prussia ; and Namur, Hainault, and the west part of
Flanders, would have been ceded to France. If this project
was seriously entertained, it received such discouragement
from the British government, that it was speedily abandon¬
ed. About the same period, that is, about a month after
the instalment of the regent, extensive plans were formed
for a general rising amongst the Orange party, in connec¬
tion with some of the chief officers of the army and the
most influential leaders of the burgher guards of Brussels.
But this came to nothing, having, it is said, been discoun¬
tenanced by the British minister at Brussels, who saw no
other effect that could arise from it but a general European
war. It is said that after some discussion respecting Lux¬
embourg, and checking the petty hostilities on the frontier,
the British government in April gave up all hope of estab¬
lishing the Prince of Orange on the Belgic throne. On the
12th of that month a kind of proposition was made by some
of the influential members of the assembly, and privately
communicated to Sir Edward Gust, one of the equerries of
Prince Leopold, with the design of ascertaining whether
the prince, if chosen, would accept the crown. Leopold
answered in the affirmative, but strictly abstained from
giving any authority to make exertions in his favour. He
was how’ever convinced, before the election, that a vast
majority of the electors would vote in his favour; and that
he should have all the aid of the clergy and the high Ca¬
tholic nobility, with no opposition but from the French and
movement party, and the few Orangeists that had seats
in the assembly. A deputation of four members repaired
to Claremont, and had an interview with the prince. They
explained their object, and the conditions upon which they
were authorized to offer the crown, and awaited his reply.
It manifested a noble, simple, and frank disposition, and
concluded thus: “ All my ambition is to contribute to the
happiness of my fellow-creatures. When yet young, I
found myself in so many difficult and singular situations,
that I have learned to consider power only with a philo¬
sophic eye. I never coveted it but for the sake of doing
good, durable good. Had not certain political differences
arisen, which appeared to me essentially opposed to the
independence of Greece, I should now be in that country;
an yet I never attempted to conceal from myself the dif-
culties of my position. I am aware how desirable it is
that Belgium should have a sovereign as soon as possible.
^ yH Peace Europe is deeply interested in it.”
I he deputation returned, and many stormy discussions
ensued. Attempts were made to defer the election till all
differences with Holland were settled; but these were over¬
come by the votes of 137 to 48. The election took place
on the 4th of June, when 152 votes out of 196, four only
being absent, determined that Prince Leopold should be Nether,
proclaimed king of the Belgians, under the express condi- Ends,
tion, that he “ wrould accept the constitution, and swear to v J Y 1
maintain the national independence and territorial inte¬
grity.”
This choice, though not expressly unanimous, was such
in reality ; for of the minority of forty-three, nineteen vot¬
ed on the ground that the election was premature, four¬
teen voted for Baron Surlet de Chokier, solely on account
of private friendship, and thus the real opposition to Leo¬
pold consisted only of ten. Though the voting was by bal¬
lot, yet the vote of every man was known; and all who
dared, gave reasons for it, except the ten, who were well
known as terrorists.
Leopold lost no time in repairing to the post to which
he was appointed, and, with only one aide-de-camp and a
few domestics, landed at Ostend on the 17th of June, and
proceeded directly through Ghent to the palace of Lacken,
near Brussels. He made his public entry into that city
on the 21st, and was received with cordiality by the higher
classes, and by the populace with loud acclamations. The
king took the oath to the constitution ; the regent deliver¬
ed up his power; and the congress was dissolved, to make
way for the election of the members who were to form the
two legislative chambers, as prescribed by the fundamental
laws.
The first chamber, or the senate, was to consist of fifty
members, chosen for eight years, but one half of them was
to be renewed at the end of four years. The qualifica¬
tions were to be, having attained the age of forty years,
and paying direct taxes to the amount of 1000 florins, or
L.84 yearly. The second chamber was to consist of 101
members, being at the rate of one for 40,000 inhabitants.
They w’ere to be of the age of twenty-five years, to pay
annual direct taxes to the amount of L.8, and to be paid
at the rate of 200 florins, or L.16, each month during the
session. They were to be renewed by one half retiring at
the end of two years, but they might be again elected.
After a few formalities, and appointing the ministers to
compose the cabinet, on the choice of which much judg¬
ment was exercised, the king left the capital to visit Ant¬
werp, Liege, and the other parts of the new kingdom, and
was everywhere received with demonstrations of respect and
of loyalty. But whilst the proceedings just narrated were
passing in Belgium, a storm was gathering on the side of
Holland, which had not been anticipated, and to meet which
no adequate preparations had been made. The Belgians
relied on the armistice which the conference of the ambas¬
sadors had established, and the few measures which were
taken by them discovered only the confusion and disorder
inseparable from all popular movements. In Holland, every
thing betokened tranquillity, order, and loyalty. The dif¬
ferent orders of the government and the people were more
eager for punishing what they denominated the rebellion,
than even the king and his family. A powerful army was
quickly assembled. It was well disciplined, officered, and
appointed, and furnished with an ample train of artillery;
and yet all was done with so much secrecy, that till that
army was ready to advance beyond the frontiers, no pre¬
paration was made to resist it.
Much dispute has arisen relative to the right of Holland
to commence hostilities without due notice of the cessation
of the armistice; but, on the other hand, Flolland main¬
tained that due notice had been given. The whole turned
on the precise sense of the words “ ses.moyens militaires,”
in a note delivered by the Dutch ministers to the confer¬
ence of ambassadors. The king was certainly encouraged
in the enterprise by the stormy scenes exhibited in the
Belgian assembly between the period of Leopold’s election
and the time of his arrival. By the noxious influence of
the press, such angry passions had been kindled in every
140
NETHERLANDS.
Nether¬
lands.
division of society, as seemed to threaten internal war; but
happily a most powerful speech of Mr Lebau in favour of
union, and urging the importance of rallying round their
new monarch, had the effect of producing feelings of tran¬
quillity ; though no language had power to produce order
or infuse energy, when the time approached for the exhi¬
bition of the one and the exercise of the other.
The Prince of Orange having assumed the command of
the Dutch army at Breda, on the 1st of August, the order
to advance was instantly given; and the march of the se¬
veral divisions commenced the next day. This was a com¬
plete surprise to the Belgians, who were unprepared at
every point to resist a disposable army of more than 40,000
men. It is not necessary here to describe the position and
the movements of the various corps on both sides. It was,
however, remarked by military men, that the Prince of
Orange advanced more deliberately than the occasion re¬
quired. Leopold collected his forces, such as they were,
near Louvain, in order to cover his capital. In this posi¬
tion the Dutch army, having seized the road which led to
Brussels on the 9th of August, advanced to attack him.
The Belgian troops could not stand for a moment against
their opponents, but instantly fled, throwing away their
arms, and escaping in disorder; and a neglect of the Dutch,
who thoughtlessly left open a road behind Louvain, alone
prevented Leopold and his whole stall from becoming pri¬
soners of war. He, however, made good his retreat to the
capital, upon which all hostilities ceased. As soon as the
movements of the Dutch were known, Leopold appealed to
France for assistance. A French army was cantoned on
the frontiers, which, by telegraphic communications, was
instantly set in motion ; and intelligence of their advance
was formally announced to the Prince of Orange by Lord
William Russell, coupled with an intimation, from the
French marshal Gerard, of the determination of the two
powers to enforce the abandonment of all military opera¬
tions. As the French army rapidly entered the country,
the Prince of Orange soon saw the necessity of retreating;
and a convention was concluded between him and the
French general, in consequence of which he returned to
Holland, and the French repassed the frontier ; so that by
the 1st of September both armies had left the Belgian ter¬
ritory.
The cowardly disgraceful conduct of the Belgic troops
was of great benefit to the new government. It showed the
reflecting part of the community the folly of trusting the
defence of their country to a host of popular partisans, too
ready to destroy or to plunder, but too much inflated by
the flattery they bestowed on themselves to become effi¬
cient defenders when steadily opposed. All saw the ne¬
cessity of confiding in their chief, and became convinced
that a regular army must be formed, in which the men
should be compelled to obey their officers. The formation
of an army was therefore determined on; but Belgium could
not furnish officers. Most of those appointed had been
placed in stations of which they were unworthy, because
they had been what was called distinguished patriots, that
is, leaders of the revolutionary movements; but those active
disorganizers were found worse than useless when energy
against an enemy required order, discipline, and obedience.
By the interference to protect Belgium against Holland,
this farther advantage was gained, that the protecting
powers were placed in a position to obtain more weight in
the negotiations carried on in the conferences of the am¬
bassadors, and both parties were more disposed to leave
the contested points respecting boundaries to their arbitra¬
tion.
In forming an army, Leopold was assisted by the French,
who, as far as could be done, furnished it with able officers ;
a want which Belgium could by no means supply from the
natives of that country. The partisans of the Orange fa¬
mily, on this occasion, justified the conduct of King Wil- Netl:
liam previous to the revolution, in having selected few of hud;
his officers from the Belgians. The selection of French-' >
men, they contended, proved that William was right in not
trusting to officers taken from that division of his kingdom.
After the Dutch irruption, Leopold proceeded with cool¬
ness and vigour to restore order and gain confidence. He
kept on the best of terms with the most important party,
the Catholic clergy and the Catholic nobility, and avoided
any nearer contact with the French party than politeness
and civility required. He knew who were the real friends
of monarchical government, and his best supporters. His
marriage with a daughter of the king of the French, who
was a Catholic, and the contract that the children of the
marriage should be educated in the Catholic faith, were
powerful means of attaching to his throne all those of his
subjects who were under the influence of the clergy. The
Belgian army, under the French officers, soon attained con¬
siderable advancement in organization and discipline. The
undisciplined free troops were disbanded, and the best of
the men incorporated in the regiment of chasseurs. Some
superior officers were superseded, and many of the sub¬
alterns dismissed. A military school was established, and
a corps of sappers and miners with a pontoon brigade raised.
The civil list was arranged with economy and order, and
the other branches of the public service reformed, and
others newly arranged. The talents and the integrity of
Leopold, and his benevolent disposition, made a very fa¬
vourable impression on all that approached him.
Whilst affairs were thus proceeding within, the great
work of general pacification was attended to by the mem¬
bers of the conference in London. A final decision was
come to on the 15th of November, expressed in twenty-
four articles. These settled the great point of boundaries,
and placed the question of Luxembourg in a way the most
favourable, as was thought, for future pacific arrangement;
but, above all, it expressed a determination “ to oppose, by
every means in their power, the renewal of hostilities be¬
tween the two countries.” This arrangement was ratified
by the Belgian and French sovereigns on the 20th and 24th
of November, by the British on the 6th of December, by
Austria and Prussia on the 18th of April 1832, and by
Russia on the 4th of May.
By these articles, the division of the joint debt was fixed
on the scale before arranged, viz. f°r Belgium, and ^
for Holland ; but as the latter had discharged the whole
interest as it became due from the first disturbances, she
was to be paid the share of the advances, with interest
on them at the rate of five per cent. Another point arose
out of the settlement of the limits of the two countries.
Holland was to have Maestricht, and was in actual pos¬
session of that place and its citadel; but Antwerp, which
was allotted to Belgium, and was in possession of the Bel¬
gians, was commanded by the citadel, which was garrisoned
by a Dutch army under the command of General Chasse,
a distinguished officer, who, after the annexation of Hol¬
land to France, had served in the army of the Emperor Na¬
poleon. The Belgians had given only a conditional rati¬
fication of the articles of the 15th of November, upon the
express stipulation that the whole of them, in which the
possession of the citadel of Antwerp wras certainly included,
should be fulfilled. They w'ere precluded by that instru¬
ment from exercising hostilities, and therefore claimed from
the parties to it the performance of its conditions.
It was important to the allied powers that the throne
which they had established in the person of Leopold should
be strengthened in the views of his subjects, who had some¬
times manifested dispositions to democracy, and at others
strong inclinations for a union with France, neither of which
were deemed compatible with the interests of the European
commonwealth. But it could not retain respect if the con-
NETHERLANDS.
141
ii r- ditions framed by the founders were to be impugned by the
p Dutch holding the citadel of Antwerp, whilst they were
’'"“''still in possession of Maestricht. These considerations
had their due effect on the conference, who, on the 1st of
October, unanimously resolved that forcible means were
necessary. They differed in regard to the means, the north¬
ern courts wishing to adopt pecuniary coercion, by deduct¬
ing from the debt due from Belgium to Holland a sum
weekly till the fortress was delivered up; but to this France
and England objected, as leading only to future and te¬
dious negotiations, during which Rotterdam and Amster¬
dam might enjoy those exclusive commercial advantages
which Antwerp was entitled to share with them.
Belgium, being wearied with these entangled negotia¬
tions, and having now created an army of more than 100,000,
gave notice that, unless their territory was evacuated be¬
fore the 3d of November, they wrould use force to compel
it. But this would have created a war, which all the powers
were anxious to prevent. On the 22d of October, a con¬
vention was therefore entered into between England and
France, which was forthwith communicated to the three
other powers, of whose passive adhesion they were assured.
By this convention it was determined, that if the places
assigned by the former resolutions to the respective par¬
ties were not given up before the 12th of November,
France and England would enforce the delivery of these
places. This determination was communicated to both
nations. Belgium was ready to give up Venloo, which she
held; but Holland positively declined surrendering the
citadel of Antwerp. The result was, that a combined
fleet of English and French proceeded to blockade the
ports of Holland, and detain the merchant-ships, whilst
France prepared an army to besiege the citadel, without
allowing the Belgians in any way to interfere in the mili¬
tary operation. The siege of Antwerp by the French, as
a fine practical exemplification of science, became an ob¬
ject of great interest to the military amateurs of all Europe,
who repaired thither as spectators. But this is not the
place for recording the history of that warlike spectacle.
It was vigorously and skilfully attacked; and the defence,
which was altogether passive, exhibited a conspicuous ex¬
ample of fortitude and endurance. The first works of the
besiegers were opened on the 30th of November, and on
the 24th of December the citadel capitulated, when the
garrison marched out, and the French took possession of
the battered fortress, which, on the 1st of January, they
delivered up to the Belgians. The city of Antwerp
was not in the least injured, as the approaches were car¬
ried on upon the opposite side. The French army shortly
afterwards withdrew from Belgium to its own territory.
The Dutch garrison was marched into France as prisoners,
on the ground that two forts on the river Scheldt, those
of Lillo and Liefenschoeck, were still retained by the
Dutch. This led to long and complicated diplomatic ne¬
gotiations, which were at length adjusted, when the cap¬
tured garrison returned to their own country. Since that
period no hostilities have taken place; but, on the other
land, no treaty has been entered into, and consequently no
intercourse between the two countries has been permitted.
Belgium has at length been acknowledged as an inde¬
pendent power by most of the states of Europe, but only
provisionally by some of them. Many of the owners of
s ups, especially of those of the first class, have withdrawn
their concerns from Antwerp and Ostend, and formed es¬
tablishments in Rotterdam and the other parts of Holland.
these removals, not a few have been caused by the co¬
lonies appertaining exclusively to Holland. But this with-
drawal has had less influence on the marine commerce of
the Netherlands than might have been expected ; for Bri-
is i and American ships have brought to Antwerp colonial
pro uce, on quite as favourable terms as they were before
supplied, and in sufficient quantity to enable the Belgians
to maintain their commerce with the interior of Germany.
Attempts are now in progress to bring Antwerp in com¬
munication with the Rhine. But, on the part of the Prus¬
sian government, these have encountered some obstacles,
not from any disinclination to the work, but from doubts
as to the particular line to be followed, and some financial
circumstances respecting the tolls. If the projects in ques¬
tion be accomplished, the Belgians will be much benefited,
and have the power of supplying produce to the south of
Germany, and also to Switzerland.
The manufacturers have suffered much from the sepa¬
ration, especially those of Ghent. But a trade has grown
up to a wonderful extent, of smuggling English goods of
the finer kind into France, which the numerous douaniers
have not been able to prevent along such an extended line
of frontier.
Agriculture, which, after all, is the chief source of Bel¬
gian wealth, does not appear to have retrograded in con¬
sequence of the struggle of the separation. On the con¬
trary, it appeared to the writer of this’ article, in two jour¬
neys which he made through the country, that much im¬
provement was visible in the appearance of the farms, and
in their appurtenances.
This kingdom, in the condition in which it now exists,
is bounded on the north by the kingdom of Holland; on
the east by the Prussian, Westphalian, and Rhenish terri¬
tories ; on the south by France; and on the west by the
German Ocean.
The civil divisions of the kingdom are as follow.
Provinces.
South Brabant.
East Flanders...
West Flanders
Antwerp 
Hainault  
Namur 
Liege 
Limburg 
Luxembourg...
Extent in
Square Miles
1,298
1,188
1,276
1,128
1,474
1,422
1,421
1,128
1,194
11,529
Population.
556,146
733,938
601,704
354,974
604,957
212,725
369,937
337,703
292,151
4,064,235
Capitals of the
Provinces.
Brussels.
Ghent.
Bruges.
Antwerp.
Mens.
Namur.
Liege.
Limburg.
Luxembourg.
As the above statement is taken from the official returns
of the Belgian government, the disputed portions of Lim¬
burg and Luxembourg are included in that kingdom, al¬
though still subjects of discussion. The number of the
inhabitants is given according to the census of the year
1830, since which the number must have increased. The
tables of the population annually furnished by Smits to
Quetelet show an excess of births over deaths of 20,000
persons in each year, and consequently the whole popula¬
tion may now (1837) be taken at 4,200,000. Of the po¬
pulation at the census of 1830, the numbers in the cities
were about one fourth of the whole: they amounted to
998,118, whilst the rural inhabitants were 3,066,117.
The cities which contain more than 10,000 inhabitants
are,
Courtray 19,036
St Nicholas 16,386
Lokeren 16,069
Ypres 15,940
Alost 14,791
Lierre 13,153
Turnhout 12,493
Thiel t 11,519
Ostend 11,328
Brussels 103,200
Ghent 83,783
Antwerp 77,199
Bruges 42,198
Tournay 28,737
Louvain 25,643
Mechlin 24,436
Mons 23,010
Namur 21,571
Yerviers 19,592
Nether¬
lands.
142
Nether¬
lands.
NETHERLANDS.
The following division of the land is drawn up by Mr Quetelet, with his usual accurate examination of facts.
Provinces.
Limburg 
Liege 
Namur 
Luxembourg...
Hainault 
Brabant 
East Flanders..
West Flanders.
Antwerp 
Cultivated.
Uncultivated.
310,514
237,579
278,397
463,423
356,258
316,883
264,988
296,915
197,303
139,410
40,850
58,959
167,760
3,455
1,356
1,310
8,690
72,651
Land Itoads, Canals,
Built on. and llivers.
1,480
915
926
1,462
2,962
1,768
4,422
2,015
1,719
15,283
9,648
9,401
17,571
9,794
8,419
11,641
8,965
12,157
Total.
2,722,260 494,441
17,669
102,879
466,687
288,992
347,683
650,216
372,469
328,426
282,361
316,585
283,830
3,337,249
This account is framed in the hectolitre of France, each
hectolitre being somewhat more than two English acres
and a quarter.
From the proportion which the rural inhabitants bear
to those in the cities, it may be concluded that agriculture
is the chief pursuit of the kingdom. It becomes, there¬
fore, a branch of industry of the most interesting kind.
The land of Flanders is not naturally fertile ; on the
contrary, its quality is merely such as to admit of fer¬
tilization by a series of operations more or less expen¬
sive and laborious. Where cultivation has not been ex¬
tended, the soil produces nothing but heath and fir. As
the property of such lands may be acquired for a very small
sum, many individuals have attempted to bring portions
of it into cultivation, but have almost uniformly found the
expense of doing so to exceed the value of the produce which
can be drawn from it. Abbe Mann, to whom we are in¬
debted for some valuable communications on the subject
of Flemish agriculture, observes, “ What land is cultivated
in the Campine of Brabant, is owing to the religious houses
founded in it, especially to the two great abbeys of lon-
gerloo and Everbode. Their uninterrupted duration for
five or six hundred years, and their indefatigable industry,
have conquered the barren harsh sands, and rendered
many parts of them highly productive. The method they
follow is simple and uniform ; they never undertake to
cultivate more of this barren soil than they have sufficient
manure for ; seldom more than five or six bunders (fifteen
or eighteen acres) in a year; and when it is brought, by
labour and manuring, into a state capable of producing
sufficient for a family to live on, it is let out to farmers on
easy terms, after having built them comfortable habita-
tions. From the undoubted testimony of the historians of
the Low Countries, it appears that the cultivation of the
greater part of these rich provinces took its rises from the
self-same means, 800 or 1000 years ago, when they were
in a manner one continued forest.” Although, from the
destruction, dispersion, or diminution of the religious com¬
munities by the French Revolution, the process of re¬
claiming other parts of the heaths has been suspended or
rendered languid, yet the excellent agricultural practices,
which a long series of years had ingrafted into the minds
and habits of the sluggish peasantry, have been adhered
to with a tenacity which is obviously distinguishable in all
the other customs, as well as in the manners, dress, food,
and religion of the people. Besides that general system
of economy which is indispensable to the success of all
efforts, and which there enters into the minutest details of
husbandry, the two great objects which seem to be aimed
at in all their operations are the increase of those crops
which afford sustenance for cattle, and the careful preser¬
vation of every substance which can be converted into
manure, and returned again to the land, in order to renewr
its exhausted fertility.
The foundation upon which the agriculture of Belgium
rests is the cultivation of clover, which seems indigenous,
since none of the most ancient records notice its introduc¬
tion, but speak of it as familiarly as of hay or oats. It is
probably from this country that the plant in question has
been, though but recently, slowly, and hitherto only par¬
tially, introduced amongst the farmers of Germany, France,
and Great Britain. The clover in Flanders is sown in
every sort of grain, in wheat, rye, and winter barley, in
the spring of the year, when the blades of those plants
have acquired a growth of three or four inches; and with
oats and summer barley at the same time wdth those seeds.
It is also often sown with flax; and, in general, the crops
grown between those plants are more luxuriant than when
sown with the cerealia. It frequently happens, when sown
with flax, that clover yields a heavy crop a few months
after it is sown, two still more abundant crops the next
year, and sometimes even three; and if, as it occasionally
happens, it be suffered to stand another year, it will yield
one heavy crop, and afterwards good pasture for cattle, till
it is ploughed up to receive the seed of wheat, which usu¬
ally follows it. The original strength of the plants which
yield such abundant nourishment is undoubtedly due to
the care taken in pulverizing the soil by frequent plough-
ings and harrowings, to the careful extirpation of all weeds,
and to the copious stores of manure laid on the ground, and
its complete amalgamation with the soil; but the successive
harvests which the plants yield are attributed, and wito ap¬
parent probability, to the top-dressings which are bestowed
upon them. The top-dressings administered to the young
clover consist either of rotten yard-dung, lime, pigeons’
dung, coal, or native turf-ashes, and are laid on as soon
as the plants begin to extend themselves over the ground.
Sometimes the plants are refreshed with a liquid manure,
which will hereafter be noticed. These manures, though
administered to the clovers, as far as they can be obtain¬
ed, are found far inferior in powers of fertility to that sub¬
stance which is most generally used, and the effects of which
form the theme of the praises bestowed by all who have
witnessed the Belgian husbandry. The turf-ashes of Hol¬
land are sown by the hand on the clovers, in quantities
varying from eighteen to twenty bushels to the English
acre. This small quantity produces a most surprising, and
almost magical effect. Within a few weeks after it is sown,
a field where none or but slight straggling plants were to
be seen becomes covered with a most abundant herbage.
The parts of a field sown with these ashes, at the first
mowing, show their efficacy in a most striking manner;
the clover being frequently a foot higher on such parts than
on those where its sowing has been omitted. These ashes
are found superior in efficacy to such as are made from the
turf commonly used for fuel in Flanders, insomuch that one
third of the quantity is deemed sufficient to afford as great
productiveness. We have no analysis of the turf-ashes of
NETHERLANDS.
143
Flanders, by which we can form a comparative estimate of
the proportional substances which create so vast a differ¬
ence between their vegetative faculties and those of the
turf-ashes of Holland. The latter have been carefully ana¬
lyzed by Mr Brande, secretary to the Royal Society of
London, who found them to contain,
Siliceous earth 32 parts.
Sulphate of lime 12
Sulphate and muriate of soda  6
Carbonate of lime 40
Oxide of iron  3
93
Impurities and loss  7
100
These ashes are brought from Holland by the canals to
Brussels, whence they are conveyed by land-carriage to
the different farms where they are applied. Long prac¬
tice has so convinced the Flemish farmers of their benefit,
that a common proverb, in the patois of the country, may
be thus translated: “ He that buys ashes for his clover
pays nothing, but he who does it not pays double.” They
are frequently fetched from the canal by persons who have
to carry them forty or even fifty miles by land.
The abundance of the clover produced from the soil of
Flanders enables the cultivator to maintain a great number
of cattle, principally cows, the dung of which is managed
with an attention and care that is highly worthy of imi¬
tation, and contributes to maintain in a state of high fer¬
tility that soil which yields the most exhausting crops.
“ The farmers,” says the Abbe Mann, “ supply the want
of straw in the following manner : The peat or sods which
are cut from the heath are placed in the stables and cow-
stalls as litter for the cattle. The ground under them is
dug to a certain depth, so as to admit a considerable quan¬
tity of these peat sods, and fresh ones are added as the feet
of the cattle tread them down into less compass. These
compose so many beds of manure, thoroughly impregnat¬
ed with the urine and dung of the cattle. This mixture
produces a compost of excellent quality for fertilizing
ground where corn is to be sown.”
But the most remarkable practice of the Flemish' culti¬
vators is the application of liquid manure. Under the farm
buildings, large reservoirs are constructed, into which the
draining of the dung, the urine of the cattle, and the con¬
tents of the privies, all run. This receptacle is divided by
rails, so as to prevent any more solid substances from coming
into that part where the pump is placed, by which it is
raised from the reservoir into the carts employed to con¬
vey it to the fields. The liquid in these receptacles is
commonly increased in efficacy by throwing into them, for
solution, large quantities of rape-cake. This liquid manure,
enriched by oil-cake in proportion to the purse or the spirit
of the proprietor, is spread over the land, sometimes by the
hand; and by habit the workmen have acquired the tact
of distributing it equally and in previously prescribed pro¬
portions over a whole field. But it is more commonly con¬
veyed to the fields in large casks on wheels, to the bung-
hole of which is appended a wooden shoot, narrow at the
top, and broad at the lower extremity, which spreads the
substance equally. For the flax and rape crops this manure
is most liberally used. The quantity of this liquid applied
to an acre of flax is commonly about 2500 gallons of Eng¬
lish beer measure, in which about 1000 rape-cakes of three
pounds each have been dissolved.
No country in Europe provides from its soil so great a
quantity of sustenance for its inhabitants, so large a sur-
p us of food for exportation, and such valuable commodi¬
ties to exchange for articles of foreign growth, as Flan-
ers. Besides wheat, rye, barley, oats, pease, beans, and
buck-wheat, madder, rape-seed, hops, tobacco, clover-seed, Nether-
mustard-seed, flax, hemp, poppy-oil, and some other pro- Ends.
Auctions, are raised beneficially, both for home consump- v "" v-*-1
tion and for exportation. As the inhabitants are in every
thing averse to innovation or improvement, the implements
of husbandry are in a rude state, and very little variation
is made from the examples set by their ancestors some
centuries ago. The various machines used in England for
abridging animal labour in husbandry are unknown, and
the use of human beings is still retained in many operations,
for which horses and machinery are adopted by us with
great advantage. The same aversion to innovate is seen
in the management of the cows, the sheep, and the pigs;
the races not having been improved by crossing, as in
some other countries. The horses seem to have attracted
more attention, and the race commonly seen is excellent
for agricultural purposes, as well as for the road.
The separation of Belgium from Holland must have had
some effect upon the agriculture of the former country, by
excluding for the present the farmers from one of their
best markets for corn ; but the influence does not appear
on the face of the country, where improvements still seem
in progress.
In the most remote periods, the Netherlands were dis¬
tinguished by their manufacturing skill and industry. Un¬
der the Romans, the inhabitants of Arras and several other
Flemish cities were celebrated for the production of wool¬
len cloths. At a later period, under the Emperor Charle¬
magne, a present of fine linen and of woollen cloth, sent
to the caliph of Bagdad, Haroun al Raschid, was deemed
to display the most curious specimens of the industry and
skill of the western world. In the instructions of that
monarch ( Capitular, de Villis Regum Rrancorum), it ap¬
pears that there existed at Liege, and other cities of the
Netherlands, very extensive manufactories, both from flax
and wool, in the dyeing of which madder and kermes ber¬
ries were used, and were forbidden to be adulterated.
The ancient condition of the manufactories of the Nether¬
lands is peculiarly interesting, because it is to them that
we and the rest of Europe are indebted for the first rudi¬
ments of those arts which have since been so widely ex¬
tended in England, Scotland, France, Germany, and Hol¬
land. In the time of Charlemagne, it appears from the
same collection, and from the Historia Mon aster ii Salmu-
riensis, that iron wares, gold and silver work, embroidery,
arms, horse furniture, and various other articles, were ex¬
tensively manufactured. The earliest Flemish fabrics
were those of linen ; and, as early as the year 960, free
marts were established in several of the cities, to which
great numbers of merchants from foreign countries perio¬
dically resorted. The present state of the linen manufac¬
tory is by no means flourishing; but large quantities of
the finer kinds, made from flax of their native growth, are
supplied by the inhabitants of this kingdom, and are
everywhere highly esteemed. The finest yarn and the
best bleacheries are at Haarlem ; the best linen is woven
at Herzogenbasch, Eindoven, and some other places ; but
some fine linen, spun in Westphalia, is mixed with that of
those places, and when bleached in Holland is not distin¬
guishable from it. The curious manufactory of thread
lace originated in this country, and still distinguishes it.
The best is that of Brussels and Mechlin. In the former
city and its vicinity it once gave employment to more than
14,000 persons; and at one period the exports of goods
fabricated in Flanders, from the flax of their own growth,
amounted to more than L.2,000,000 sterling. The wool¬
len manufactories of Flanders were in a flourishing state
as early as the year 980, but were most extensive from the
twelfth to the sixteenth century. In the city of Louvain,
in the year 1317, there were four thousand looms for weav¬
ing woollens. Brussels and Antwerp employed an equal
144
NET
N E U
Netopion number. Ghent was, however, the most distinguished city
il for its fabrics, both of wool and flax, and at that period em-
Netravut- p]oye(j 40,000 looms. When called upon to take arms,
ty' , the weavers, under the banners of their trade, mustered
16,000 men. Ypres contained 4000 looms. Bruges was the
storehouse and central point for the commerce of the half
of Europe ; but in 1478 the situation was changed for that
of Antwerp, which continued to be one of the most flou¬
rishing cities of the world till the beginning of the six¬
teenth century, when the tyranny and fanaticism of Philip
II. of Spain inflicted on the Flemish provinces the greatest
sufferings.
A variety of circumstances have operated upon the ma¬
nufacturing branches of industry in Belgium, and rendered
them exceedingly fluctuating. The great extent of the cot¬
ton fabrics has diminished the consumption ot linen goods,
and been extensively felt in Belgium. In consequence of
this, much capital was invested in machinery for making cot¬
ton goods, especially at Ghent; and the access to the set¬
tlements of Holland in the East and West Indies gave a
degree of energy to the employment which the separation
of the two countries has damped, if not quite destroyed.
The home consumption, however, is very great, owing to the
density of the population, and the general state of easy,
if not affluent circumstances, in which the great economy
of the people places them. In Ghent, Brussels, and some
other spots, cotton goods are made. Verviers and the
towns near it are celebrated for their excellent cloth, and in
all the towns and villages, the making of linen and lace is
a kind of domestic employment. There are refineries for
sugar in Antwerp, Ostend, and Brussels. The produce oi
the mines of coal and iron in the provinces of Liege, Na¬
mur, Hainault, and Luxembourg, have laid the foundation
of hardware manufactories to a great extent in the city of
Liege, and on the banks of the Meuse. Ihe chief evil
which has been produced by the separation from Holland is
experienced in the mining provinces. In consequence of
this event, the whole of Holland now obtains its supply of
the important article of coal from England, and ot iron
from our country, or from Russia and Sweden.
Belgium is well situated for foreign trade. The whole of
its coasts are indeed rendered dangerous from sand-banks,
but the channels between them and the shore are well
buoyed and lighted, and there is a vast number of excel¬
lent pilots at all the various stations. The three ports are
Ostend, Nieuport, and Antwerp. The first two are
harbours, but the latter is situated upon the Scheldt, and is
accessible to the largest class of vessels in any state of the
tide. It has also the advantage of capacious docks and
storehouses, and is thereby admirably adapted to become a
depot for an extensive commerce with the south of Germany,
and with Switzerland. As the Dutch possess the shore on
both sides of the entrance of the Scheldt, this has proved Netticj
a discouragement to the trade of Antwerp, though a tem- l|
porary agreement has been made ; and some impediments v |
have been thrown in the way of the intercourse between
Belgium and Germany by the financial confederation form¬
ed by Prussia. From these circumstances, some of the
most considerable houses who were ship-owners have re¬
moved their establishments, including their vessels, from
Antwerp, to Rotterdam and others of the ports of Holland.
The Belgians have, however, been actively awake to the
events of the period, and are making efforts to open new
and favourable communications between Antwerp and the
Rhine. A projected line of railroad has been completed
as far as Brussels, a distance of thirty miles, and will be
continued till it reaches the Rhine. These roads, in ad¬
dition to the numerous canals and rivers which facilitate
internal intercourse, are considered as likely to be pro¬
ductive of great commercial advantages.
The religious establishment of Belgium is strictly that of
the Roman Catholic church ; but its endowments are much
curtailed by the long subjection to France. The whole
of the inhabitants adhere to that communion, with the ex¬
ception of 12,500 Protestants, mostly foreigners, and lOoO
Jews. These are allowed to celebrate publicly their seve¬
ral modes of worship. There are two universities, one at
Lie°-e with about 500 students, and another at Ghent
with about 400 ; and several seminaries for clerical educa¬
tion. The system of popular education is in a state of re¬
vision ; but the schools will probably be placed under the
exclusive superintendence of the clergy, as the classical
schools have already been. . . ,
The circumstances in which the kingdom is still placed
as regards the disputes respecting Luxembourg seem to
render a large army necessary. At present the forces on
foot consist of 59,000 troops of the line, and a reserve ot
58,000 ; but reductions are in contemplation.
The sole executive government is vested in the king,
and the ministers are responsible. The legislative power
is lodged in two houses; the senate consisting at present
of forty-two members, and the chamber of representatives
consisting of eighty-five, no legislators being as yet sent
from Limburg or Luxembourg, on account ot the uncertain¬
ty which exists as to their ultimate fate.
Until the adjustment respecting the debt between Bel¬
gium and Holland is completed, it is not easy to state the
exact condition of the financial affairs. The revenue is on
the increase, but not quite adequate to the expenses o
each year. The national debt, when compared with the
aggregate wealth of the country, is much lighter than in
any other state in Europe; and, with the economy that has
been adopted in every branch, a solid peace must in a short
period produce general prosperity. (G‘)
ifeiifd
NETOPION, a name given by the ancients to a very
fragrant and costly ointment, consisting of a great number
of the finest spicy ingredients. Hippocrates, in his treatise
on the Diseases of Women, frequently prescribes the neto¬
pion in diseases of the uterus ; and in other places he speaks
of its being poured into the ear as a remedy for deafness.
The word netopion is also sometimes used to express the un-
guentum Egyptiacum, and sometimes simply oil ot almonds.
NETRAVUTTY, a river of the south of India, in South
Canara, which has its source in the western range of the
Ghauts, whence its flows in a westerly direction, runs into
the lake of Mangalore, and then discharges itself in the
sea. It passes by the towns of Areola and Buntwalla. It is
navigable for small vessels as far as the tide flows, which is
to Areola, and afterwards by smaller boats twenty or thirty
miles inland.
NETTINGS, in a ship, a sort of grates made of small
ropes seized together with rope yarn or twine, and fixed
upon the quarters and in the tops. They are sometimes
stretched upon the ledges from the waist-trees to the root-
trees, from the top of the forecastle to the poop, and some¬
times are laid in the waist of a ship to serve instead of
§1 NEU-BRANDENBURG, a city of the duchy of Meck¬
lenburg-Strelitz, situated on a small river which empties
itself into the lake of Tollen. It is surrounded with walls,
and contains 652 houses, with 5145 inhabitants, who are
chiefly employed, in smnll mBnufectories.
NEUDORF, a city of the circle of Zips, in the province
of the Hither Theiss in Hungary, situated on the river Her-
nath. It contains one Lutheran and two Catholic churches,
900 houses, and 5250 inhabitants, who are occupied in
N E U
i- making linen goods, and in producing iron and copper
wares. Long. 20. 29. 25. E. Lat. 48. 56. 30. N.
NEUFCHATEAU, an arrondissement of the grand
duchy of Luxembourg, in Germany, comprehending ten
^cantons, inhabited by 91,750 persons. The capital is the
town of the same name, situated in a raw and cold region
of the Ardennes. It contains 230 houses, and 1340 inha¬
bitants, who trade chiefly in cattle.
Neufchateau, an arrondissement in the department of
the Vosges, in France. It extends over 454 square miles,
is divided into five cantons and 133 communes, and con¬
tains 60,500 inhabitants. The chief town is of the same
name, and is situated at the junction of the river Mouzon
with the Meuse. In 1837 the number of inhabitants was
3524. Long. 2. 35. E. Lat. 48. 20. N.
NEUFCHATEL, an arrondissement of the department
of the Lower Seine, in France, extending over 641 square
miles, and peopled with 84,000 inhabitants. It is divided
into eight cantons and 200 communes. The capital is the
city ot that name, situated in a fertile country watered by
the river Bethune. In 1837 it contained 3430 inhabitants,
who were employed chiefly in making woollen cloths of
various descriptions for the Paris market. In the neigh¬
bourhood some good cider and perry are made. Long;. 1.
30. E. Lat. 49. 45. N.
Neufchatel, or, in German, Neuenburg, a canton in
the western part of Switzerland. It extends in north la¬
titude from 46. 51. to 47. 10., and in east longitude from
6. 22. to 7. L, being 293 square miles. It contains three
cities, three market-towns, 112 villages and hamlets, with
7468 houses, and 62,500 inhabitants, all of whom are of
the Burgundian race, and speak the French language.
About 2500 profess the Catholic religion, and the remain¬
der adhere to the reformed church. The land rises like
an amphitheatre from the lake of Neufchatel, which is
1312 feet above the level of the sea, to the mountains of
the Jura, which divide it from Trance, the highest points
ol which are about 3600 feet. The lake of the same name
is a very fine object, being about twenty miles in length
and four in breadth, and it has the extraordinary depth of
420 feet. I he soil is of a medium fertility, generally rest-
ing upon a calcareous subsoil, on which the products ripen
early. It scarcely produces corn sufficient for the con¬
sumption of the people, but it yields abundance of potatoes,
pulse, culinary vegetables, and fruits, especially grapes. The
wine is of a moderate quality. The quantity usually made is
about 600,000 gallons, of which one half is exported. The
chief manufacturing occupation consists in making watches
and watch movements. About 130,000 are annually sent to
other countries; and materials for the interior works, espe¬
cially the chains, are exported to a large amount. The fe¬
males are employed in making thread lace. A few good
printed calicoes are also produced. The king of Prussia is
the prince, and there is a council which regulates the in¬
ternal affairs, of which the members are chosen for life.
The revenue of the principality is 440,000 francs, the ex¬
penditure 420,000. It is bound to furnish to the Swiss con-
tederacy a force of 960 men, and a contribution of 19,200
raifES" ii 6 caP*ta^ the city of the same name, situated
on the lake, at the point where the river Seyon falls into
it- It contains two churches, a senate-house, three hos¬
pitals, and 540 houses, with 4715 inhabitants. The chief
trade is in wine, and in the craft which navigate the lake,
Pgrt^ employed in fishing. Long. 6.45.19. E. Lat.
a town of Hungary> in the Sclavo-
rTi^u Tfrv°nUer Province, the capital of the circle of
nonnlS3’ i o^8 °Ver 668 scluare miles> and has a
it/ni 1 " °f 39i12,4, Persons> from whom the regiment of
and cnnf»;, 1SllPPAed,W!th recruits. The town is fortified,
vol xvi06 3 ^at^° lc an<^ a Greek church, with 209
N E U
145
Neuter.
houses and 1349 inhabitants. Long. 27. 19. 27. E. Lat. 45. Neusatz
27. N. ii
NEUSATZ, a city of the circle of Bars Varmeyge, in
the province of the Lower Danube, in Hungary. It stands
on the banks of the Danube, is the seat of a Greek bishop,
and has one Catholic and five Greek churches, 2367 houses,
and 13,395 inhabitants, who are chiefly Servians and Ar¬
menians. It is a place of considerable trade, especially
with the Turkish dominions. Long. 19. 46. 51. E Lat
45. 16. N.
NEUSOL, a city in the circle of Soler, in the province
of the Lower Danube, in Hungary. It is situated on the
river Gran, and is the place of assembly of the states of
the comitat, and of the several boards of the government.
It contains Catholic and Lutheran churches, a castle, 800
houses, and 10,069 inhabitants. There are also seminaries
for the education of Catholics and Protestants ; and the
trade in iron and copper articles is considerable. Near to it
good wine is produced, and there is an extensive royal
manufactory of warlike arms. Long. 19. 4. 25. E. Lat. 48.
45. N.
NEUSS, a city, the capital of a circle of the same name,
in the Prussian government of Dusseldorf. It stands upon
the river Erft, which is navigable to the Rhine. It con¬
tains four churches, 850 houses, and 7200 inhabitants,
who are occupied in manufactures of woollen, cotton, and
other articles, and carry on considerable traffic by the Rhine
with Holland and the interior of Germany. Long. 3. 30.
55. E. Lat. 51. 18. 2. N.
NEUSTADT, a city of the government of Opplen, in
the Prussian province of Silesia, and the capital of a circle
of the same name. It stands on the river Braune, sometimes
called the Prudnick, and is surrounded with walls. It con¬
tains one Lutheran and two Catholic churches, a convent
of the order of mercy, 446 houses, and 4520 inhabitants,
who produce much linen and woollen cloth, and some cot¬
ton goods. Long. 27. 29. 25. E. Lat. 50. 15. 30. N.
Neustadt, a city of Bavaria, in the circle of the Upper
Danube, and the capital of the bailiwick of the same name.
It stands on the Danube, over which there are two bridges.
There is an ancient castle, in the great hall of which many
venerable curiosities are exhibited. It contains 600 houses,
with 4384 inhabitants. It has but little trade, and depends
chiefly on the seminaries for education, and the numerous
pilgrims who resort to a celebrated image in the church of
St Peter. Long. 11. 6. 4. E. Lat. 28. 44. 23. N.
Neustadtl, a circle of the Austrian Illyrian government
of Laybach, extending over 1530 square miles, containing
thirteen cities and towns, and 1835 villages and hamlets,
with 29,236 houses, and 160,890 inhabitants, who are, for
the most part, of the Wenden or Vandal race, and retain
that language, which is a dialect of the Sclavonian. The
capital is a city of the same name, situated on the river
Gurk; it is fortified, and contains 280 houses, with 2050
inhabitants. Near to it are some warm baths, which are re¬
sorted to by invalids.
NEUTER, in Grammar, is a term applied to those nouns
which are neither masculine nor feminine. The Latins have
three genders; the masculine, the feminine, and the neu¬
ter. In the modern tongues, however, there is no such
thing as a neuter noun.
Verbs Neuter, by some grammarians called intransi¬
tive verbs, are those which govern nothing, and are neither
active nor passive. When the predication expressed by
the verb has no object, and the verb alone supplies the
whole idea, then the verb is said to be neuter ; as, I sleep,
thou yawnest, he sneezes, we walk, ye run, they stand still.
Some grammarians divide verbs neuter into those which do
not signify any action, but a quality, as albet, it is white;
or a situation, as sedet, he sits; or some relation to place,
as adest, he is present; or some other state or attribute,
T
146
N E V
NEW
Nevis.
Neuter. as regnat, he rules; and those which do signify actions,
chenfeld but such only as do not pass into any subject different
from the actor, as, to dine, to sup, to play, and the like.
. But this latter kind sometimes cease to be neuter, and be¬
come active, especially in Greek and Latin, when a sub¬
ject is given them ; as, vivere vitam, ambulare viam, j)ug-
nare pugnam. In like manner, the old French poets say,
Soupirer son tourment; and the English, to sigh his woes.
This only obtains, however, where something particular is
to be expressed, that is not contained in the verb ; as, vi¬
vere vitam heatam, to live a happy life ; pugnare bonam pug¬
nam, to fight a good fight. However, according to the
Abbe de Dangeau, verbs neuter may be divided into ac¬
tive and passive; the former being those which form their
tenses in English by the auxiliary verb to have, and in
French by avoir ; and the latter, those which form them
in English with the verb to be, and in French by etre. Thus,
to sleep, to sneeze, dormir and eternuer, are neuters active ;
to come, and to arrive, venir and arriver, are neuters pas¬
sive. . . ,
NEUTERCHENFELD, a town of Austria, in the pro¬
vince of the Lower Ens, where there is an establishment
for military invalids. It contains 4950 inhabitants, who are
employed in various kinds of trade and manufactures.
NEUTITSCHEIN, a city of the circle Pererau, in the
Austrian province of Moravia. It is a well-built town, with
two large suburbs, consisting of villages separated from it
bv the river Titch ; but, exclusive of them, the city con¬
tains 622 houses and 5410 inhabitants. It is celebrated
for the manufacture of fine cloths.
NEUWIED, a city within the Prussian government of
Coblentz, on the right bank of the Rhine. It is now the
capital of the circle of that name, part of which was a prin¬
cipality, now mediatized, governed by the Prince of Neu-
wied, comprehending two towns and twenty-seven com¬
munes, with 10,960 inhabitants. The place is finely situ¬
ated, and has a flourishing population, a great part of whom
consists of a Moravian establishment, and of several Me-
nonite families. The Moravian house contains between
400 and 500 brethren and sisters, who have an institution
for the education of boys, and another for girls, which are
attended by considerable numbers from other countries.
The whole city has 720 houses, and 4850 inhabitants, who
are occupied in various manufactures, and carry on a
siderable trade by the river. The prince, author of Tra¬
vels in Brazil, has a fine palace and museum. Long. 7. 23.
15. E. Lat. 50. 25. 30. N.
NEVA, a river in Russia, flowing through St Peters¬
burg, the capital of that empire. The views upon the banks
exhibit the grandest and most lively scenes. The river is
in most places broader than the Thames at London. It is
deep, rapid, and transparent as crystal, and its banks are
lined upon each side with a continued range of handsome
buildings. See Petersburg.
NEVERS, an arrondissement of the department of the
Nievre, in France, extending over 971 square miles. It
is divided into eight cantons and 109 communes. The
capital is the city of the same name, situated on the river
Loire, where the Never joins that stream. It is beautifully
situated on an amphitheatre rising from a bend in the river.
The cathedral is a fine ancient building. In 1837 it con¬
tained 15,085 inhabitants. There are many china manu¬
factories, several iron furnaces, some glass-houses, and
many makers of linen and woollen cloths, of cutlery and
common jewellery, and it has a considerable trade by the
navigable rivers. Long. 3. 4. 11. E. Lat. 46. 59. 17. N.
NEVIS, or Nievis, one of the West India islands, so
called by its discoverer Columbus, after a high mountain
of the same name in Spain. It is separated from St Kitt s
by a strait about two miles broad, and full of shoals, in
latitude 17. 14. north, and longitude 63. 3. west. Nevis
is a small but beautiful and fertile spot, consisting of one
conical mountain about twenty-four miles in circumference,
and containing an area of twenty square miles. That this^v
island is of volcanic formation appears evident from a crater^'
being visible on the summit; and the prevalence of sulphur
in various parts affords additional proof of the fact. It is
beautifully green, perfectly cultivated, and a complete forest
of ever-green trees grows like a ruff or collar round the neck
of the high land, where cultivation ceases. Its natural fer¬
tility is enhanced by an abundant supply of water; and su¬
gar, the staple product, is raised in considerable quantities.
Charlestown, the seat of government, lies along the shore
of a wide curving bay, and the mountain begins to rise
immediately behind it in a long and verdant acclivity.
The court-house is a handsome building, with a square in
front; it contains a hall on the ground floor for the assem¬
bly and the courts of law, and another room up stairs for
the council. The island is divided into five parishes, and
it has three tolerable roadsteads. In 1831, the population
amounted to 500 whites, 2000 free coloured, and 8722
slaves manumitted by the emancipation act; in all, 11,222.
The shipping which entered inwards in 1832 amounted to
14,440 tons. The government is quietly and respectably
conducted by its council and assembly, but is in certain
respects subordinate to that of St Christophers.
The following is a statement of the commerce of this
island with the united kingdom. The exports into Great
Britain were, in 1834, sugar unrefined, 59,748 cwts., in
1835, 39,637 cwts.; rum, 23,286 gallons in 1834, and in
1835, 39,366 ditto; molasses, 5466 cwts. in 1834, and in
1835, 161 cwts.; arrow-root, 17,768 lbs. in 1835; and dur¬
ing the same year, 1267 lbs. of succades, and 3511 lbs. of
cotton.
This island was originally settled by an English colony
from St Christophers, and, by the wise management of the
first government, it soon became very flourishing. It was
taken by the French in 1706, but restored at the peace of
Utrecht. In the year 1782 it was again taken by the
French, but restored at the peace in 1783.
NEVYN, or Nefin, a borough-town of the county of
Caernarvon and hundred of Dinlaen, in North W ales, 249
miles from London. At this place Edward I. triumphed
after his conquest of Wales in 1284. It is a borough, and,
conjointly with Caernarvon, Pwllehi, Conway, Bangor, and
Cricceth, returns one member to the House of Commons.
The population amounted in 1801 to 1028, in 1811 to 1177,
in 1821 to 1614, and in 1831 to 1726.
NEW ABBEY, situated near Kilcullen Bridge, in the
county of Kildare, and province of Leinster, in Ireland.
It was founded by Rowland Eustace, a man of ancient fa¬
mily in that county. The tower is still standing, and also
some part of the abbey; the ruins of which have contii-
buted to build several dwellings near it.
NEWARK, a town of the county of Nottingham, in the
hundred of its own name, 121 miles from London. It is si¬
tuated in a rich district, watered by the river Trent, over
which there is a bridge, and an access to it by a fine road
constructed on arches, so as to escape those inundations to
which that part of the river is liable. Newark is a well-
built town, with a fine market-place and a magnificent
town-hall. The church is considered as one of the finest
in the kingdom, and its spire is lofty and elegant. It was
erected by King Henry V. A strong castle was built here
by King Stephen, the walls of which are still to be traced.
The town has withstood several sieges, the last of which
occurred in the civil wars of the reign of Charles I., when
it was taken after a long defence by the forces of the par¬
liament. Newark was incorporated by Charles II. in gra¬
titude for the defence it had made in his father’s cause. It
sends two members to parliament. There is a well-supphed
market, which is held on Saturday. The population amount-
8e’r
3#:
NEW
NEW
147
»ek¬
ed in 1801 to 6730, in 1811 to 7236, in 1821 to 8084, and
in 1831 to 9557.
Newark, a post-town, and the capital of Essex county,
New Jersey, one of the United States of North America.
It is finely situated on the west side of Passaic River, six
or seven miles by the course of the river above its mouth.
It is handsomely built, and contains a court-house, a jail,
two banks, an academy, and several places of public wor¬
ship. The principal manufactures are those of shoes, lea¬
ther, coaches, fancy chairs, and cabinet work. Morris
Canal passes through Newark. In 1820 the population
amounted to 6507, and in 1830 to 10,953.
NEWBALD CAPE, a projecting point on the northern
coast of New Holland, near the entrance into the Gulf of
Carpentaria.
NEW BEDFORD, a town of Massachusetts. See the
article Massachusetts.
NEWBERN, a post-town and port of entry in North
Carolina, North America. It is very pleasantly situated
on the south-wTestern bank of the Neuse, at the junction of
the Trent. It contains a court-house and other public
buildings, including several places of public worship. Be¬
ing considered healthy, as well as eligibly situated for
trade, Newbern enjoys considerable commerce, the exports
being principally of grain, pork, lumber, and naval stores.
A steam-boat plies between this place and Elizabeth city,
and thus connects it with the great routes to the north¬
ward, and to Charlestown. The population in 1820 amount¬
ed to 3363, and in 1830 to 3776.
NEWBOROUGH, or Newburgh, a borough-town of
North Wales, in the island of Anglesey, and hundred of
Menai, 257 miles from London, and twelve from Beau¬
maris. It uas once the residence of the princes of An¬
glesey, and a corporation founded by Edward I. There
is a market, which is held on Tuesday. The population
amounted in 1801 to 599, in 1811 to 750, in 1821 to 756,
and in 1831 to 804.
NEW BRUNSWICK, a British province of North Ame¬
rica, situated between the parallels of 45. 5. and 48. 4.
30. north latitude, and the meridians of 63. 47. 30. and 67.
53. longitude west of Greenwich. It is bounded on the
north by the Bay of Chaleurs and the river Ristigouche,
which separate it from Lower Canada; on the south by
the Bay ofFundy and Chignecto inlet, which nearly insulate
Nova Scotia, the latter being divided on the land side by a
short boundary line; on the east by the Gulf of St Law¬
rence and Northumberland Strait, the latter separating it
from Prince Edward Island ; and on the west by the Unit¬
ed States territory, from Mrhich it is separated chiefly by
the river St Croix. The whole of New Brunswick con¬
tains an area of 27,704 square miles, or 17,730,560 acres.
The greater part of this vast territory is still in a natural
state, covered with dense forests and fine extended prai¬
ries, and intersected by numerous rivers and lakes, which
afford ample means of inland navigation. Yet, with the ex¬
ception oi a few rocky districts, principally on the coast of
the Bay of Fundy, and several not very extensive swampy
tracts, the soil of this wilderness is rich and fertile. Its
quality here, as elsewhere, may always be determined by
the nature of the timber which it produces. Along the
countless rivers, there are also innumerable tracts of M’hat
is termed here, and in other colonies in this quarter, “ in¬
tervale land; and from its being occasionally overflow¬
ed, and thus enjoying the advantage of alluvial deposits, it
is also termed alluvial soil. In several parts of the inte¬
rior, generally along small brooks, there are wild meadow-s,
w nch owe their origin to the dams constructed by the
eaver; which, by arresting portions of the streams, have
caused the water to flow over the flat tracts of land. The
aspect of New Brunswick is bold and undulating, sometimes
uMv. ing into mountains, and again subsiding into vales and
low lands. Its geology is but imperfectly known. Lime- New
stone, graywacke, clay-slate, and sandstone, occasionally ®runfiWlclf-
interrupted by gneiss, trap, and granite, seem to prevail
on the southern coast, the calcareous rock appearing to
predominate. Along the shores which face Chaleur Bay
and the Gulf of St Lawrence, gray sandstone and clay-
slate predominate, with detached rocks of granite, mica,
quartz, and ironstone. Specimens of amethyst, carnelian,
jasper, and other stones, have been picked up in various
places; and marble having fair pretensions to beauty
abounds in at least one part of the country. Coal is plen¬
tiful in different localities, and iron ore is abundant. The
other minerals found are copper, plumbago, and manganese.
Salt springs are numerous, and some sulphureous or he¬
patic springs have lately been discovered.
“ As we proceed from the sea-coast up the rivers of
this province,” says Mr M‘Gregor, “ the rich fertility of
the country claims our admiration. A great flat district
may be said to prevail, from the parallel of Long Reach,
up the river St John, to the foot of Mars Hill. High hills
occasionally rise in ridges in various pjaces, but no part
of New Brunswick can be considered as mountainous. The
scenery of the rivers, lakes, and cataracts is generally pic¬
turesque and beautiful, and often wild and grandly roman¬
tic.” The principal rivers are, the St John, the St Croix,
the Petit Condiac, the Ristigouche, the Miramichi, and the
Nipisighit, besides which there are innumerable inferior
streams. The St John, called by the Indians Looshtook,
or the Long River, is, next to the St Lawrence, the finest
river in British America. From its source near the Chau-
diere, in Lower Canada, to where it falls into the Bay of
Fundy, it has a course of six hundred miles, for about half
of which distance it is navigable. It receives innumerable
tributaries, and in some parts presents remarkable na¬
tural phenomena, which will afterwards be described, along
with the other important streams, when we come to treat
of the counties in which they are situated. The wild ani¬
mals in New Brunswick are, bears, mouse-deer, the cariboo
fox, loup-cervier, tiger-cat, racoon, porcupine, marten, bea¬
ver, otter, mink, musquash, fisher, hare, weasel, and others.
Most of the birds and the fishes common to North America
are also plentiful here. The climate may be pronounced
very salubrious, and, generally speaking, more healthy than
that of England. Consumption and rheumatism are the
most prevalent diseases; but agues and intermittent fevers
are rare, if not unknown. Sea-fogs frequently envelop
the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and render the culture of
wheat near the coast uncertain ; but they do not appear to
occasion any unhealthy tendencies. The temperature of
the southern parts is much milder than that of those which
border on the Gulf of St Lawrence, the Bay of Chaleur,
and Lower Canada. The following is a meteorological
return for Frederickton, the capital, situated in latitude
45. 57. and longitude 66. 45 : Daily average for January,
17 ; for April, 40 ; for August, 69|; for October, 47^ ; for
December, 13|. Mean of the whole, 41f.
New Brunswick is divided into ten counties, viz. Glou¬
cester, Northumberland, Kent, Westmoreland, St John’s,
Charlotte, King’s, Queen’s, Sunbury, and York. The three
counties first enumerated were originally comprised in one
county, named Northumberland ; and their characteristics
are nearly the same. They have a sea-board along the
Gulf of St Lawrence, the shore of which is low and sandy,
covered with trees of a stunted growth, and skirted with
extensive marshes, large and deep morasses, and long sand
beaches, formed by the conflicting currents of the gulf
and the various rivers which penetrate the shore. The
coast line of the magnificent Bay of Chaleur has much
the same character as the gulf shore. At its mouth,
contiguous to New Brunswick, are the islands of Shippi-
gan and Miscou. The former is about twenty miles long;
148
NEW BRUNSWICK.
New is low and sandy, and produces bent grass, fir and birch
Brunswick. treeS) shrubs, and a great abundance of cranberries, blue-
berries, and other wild fruits. The soil is tolerably fertile,
and the island is inhabited by Acadian French. Miscou
island is about ten miles in circumference ; and here the
French once had an extensive fishing station, the remains
of their buildings still being seen. The great river of the
district just described is the Miramichi, which, from its
position on the map, appears to be the great drain of the
counties of Northumberland and Kent. It falls into the
Gulf of St Lawrence in latitude 47. 10. north, and longi¬
tude 64. 40. west, forming at its estuary a capacious bay,
with several islands, and a ship channel for vessels of se¬
ven hundred tons burden, which can navigate for upwards
of thirty miles from the sea. The importance attached to
Miramichi has arisen within the last twenty-five years, in
consequence of the vast quantity of timber exported from
it; and this has superseded almost every other pursuit.
Upwards of two hundred vessels annually load with tim¬
ber for Great Britain and other countries. Chatham, the
principal seaport town of the district, is situated on the
south-eastern bank, about twenty-five miles from the Gulf of
St Lawrence ; and on the opposite banks are the towns of
Douglas and Newcastle. In 1825, this part of the coun¬
try became the scene of perhaps the most dreadful confla¬
gration recorded in the history of the world. The catas¬
trophe was preceded by a fearful hurricane, which, sweep¬
ing through the forest, parched almost to tinder by an un¬
usually hot and long summer, soon wrapped both sides of
the river in one tremendous blaze, extending over more
than six thousand square miles of country. Several towns,
about five hundred human beings, and an inestimable
amount of animal life, perished in the flames. Seven miles
above Chatham the Miramichi divides into two great
branches, and these again are broken into innumerable
streams. The sea-coast of this river is low; but inland
the country rises in some places, consisting of extensive
and rich intervales, and in others, of a rugged, rocky ter¬
ritory. It is as yet but thinly peopled, having scarcely re¬
covered from the desolating effects of the fire in 1825 ; but
the establishment of the New Brunswick Company will no
doubt gradually facilitate the settlement of this fine por¬
tion of the country.
Gloucester county, commencing about thirty miles north
of the Miramichi, stretches along the shore round the
island of Miscou, up the south side of the Bay of Chaleur,
and onward to the sources of the Ristigouche. This river
is about two hundred and twenty miles long, and forms at
its estuary a large and commodious harbour. For upwards
of two hundred miles from its embouchure it is above a
mile in breadth; and from thence to within forty miles
of its source, it is navigable for barges and canoes. The
scenery upon this river is exceedingly grand and impres¬
sive ; much of the territory is rich upland, skirted with
large tracts of intervale, and covered with a dense and un-
violated growth of mixed wood, in which large groves of
pine are very conspicuous. There are several other rivers
of considerable size, as the Nipisighit and the Upsalquitch ;
but the county, notwithstanding its many natural advan¬
tages, is but thinly sprinkled with inhabitants, except along
the shore from Nipisighit to Ristigouche. St Peter’s or Ba¬
thurst, the county town, situated on the eastern side of Ni¬
pisighit, is a flourishing little settlement, provided with a
commodious haven, where, for several years past, timber of
most excellent quality has been shipped. Kent and West¬
moreland counties present nothing that requires particular
mention. They have both an extensive sea-board, several
large rivers, and tracts of excellent soil. Two thirds of
Westmoreland has a water frontier; and, forming, as it does,
the only land communication between Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick, it is a rich and valuable district.
St John’s county is bounded on the south and south-east New ^
by the Bay of Fundy, on the north and north-west by theBrunswit[ ^
King’s county, on the east by Westmoreland, and on the^-^'
west by Charlotte county. The corporate town, or city
of St John, is situated on the southern declivity of a pe¬
ninsula, and on the northern side of the entrance from
the Bay of Fundy to the river St John, in latitude 45. 20.
north, and longitude 66. 3. west. It is not the metropolis,
although the largest town in the province, and the empo¬
rium of the greater part of its inland trade. St John’s is
a handsome place, but situated on rocky and irregular
ground. The government and public buildings, which are
numerous and built of stone, if not splendid, are handsome
structures. Being an incorporated city, St John’s is go¬
verned by a mayor, aldermen, and commonalty, who have
an annual revenue at their disposal for the improvement of
the city, which has a population of about 12,000 inhabitants.
There is here a good and thriving bank, places of worship
for various persuasions of Christians, some literary insti¬
tutions and schools, and the society of the place has lat¬
terly much improved. The harbour is easy oi entrance,
capacious, and safe, with a lighthouse on a small island
about the centre of the entrance. On the opposite side
of the river, and under its municipal government, stands
a pretty little town called Carleton. The upper part of
St John’s is named Portland, and the whole, including
Carleton, is divided into six wards. There are always
troops stationed here ; and the barracks are spacious,
handsome, and commodious. The country in the vici¬
nity is stubborn, but, when subjected to cultivation, it is
fertile. An extensive prairie of about 3000 acres, and oc¬
cupying a space which is by some considered as the ancient
bed of the river, lies near the town. The soil is remark¬
ably rich and productive. About a mile above the city,
the river St John passes through a fissure of solid and over¬
hanging rock, exhibiting every appearance of having been
formed by a convulsion of nature. Through this narrow
passage of only 1300 feet the immense volume of water
collected during a course of many hundred miles is com¬
pelled to pass, and occasions what are called the falls of St
John, which foam and thunder through with tremendous
violence. Navigation is thus rendered impracticable, ex¬
cept for four short diurnal periods. But the tide rises to a
great height at St John’s, and when the flood rises twelve
feet at the fort, sloops and schooners pass in safety for
about twenty minutes, and during the same space of time
when the tide ebbs to twelve feet. Above the falls the river
widens, and forms a bay of some magnitude, surrounded by
high and rugged woodland. Passing up the bay, the country
assumes a very grand aspect, high calcareous rocks and vast
pine forests stretching up the sides of lofty hills and promon¬
tories. Still farther up is Grand Bay, where the same scene¬
ry prevails. From this extensive bay Kennebekacis Bay
and River trend away to the eastward for nearly forty miles,
twenty of which are navigable for large vessels. By an¬
other curve of the river a beautiful vista, of eighteen miles
in length, called the Long Reach, is formed; and still
farther up is Belle Isle Bay, a fine sheet of water, which
here branches off for upwards of twenty miles to the west¬
ward. The St John then winds to the northward towards
Frederickton, receiving the waters of the Washdemoak
and Grand Lake from the east, and the Oromucto from the
west. No part of America exhibits greater beauty or more
luxuriant fertility than the lands upon each side, and the
islands here situated. A great proportion of the soil is in¬
tervale or alluvial, and coal is found in great plenty, so that
it must ultimately become a very rich and populous country.
Beyond Frederickton the river St John winds through a
fertile and wooded country, and receives several large rivers
in its course. One hundred miles distant from Frederickton
is Mars Hill, interesting from the circumstance of its being
NEW BRUNSWICK.
N the point fixed on by the British commissioners as the com-
un ick. mencement of the range of high lands forming the boundary
of the United States. The mountain is about three miles in
length, with a base of upwards of four miles, and an eleva¬
tion of 2000 feet above the level of the sea. The prospect
from the summit is extensive and grand, embracing an un¬
dulating expanse of forest, varying in shade from the fune¬
real green of the fir to the bright verdure of the birch. The
next objects of any interest, as we proceed to the source
of the St John, are the grand falls, where, for a mile, the
river foams and boils through contracting walls of rock and
over perpendicular precipices. Farther up there is a strag¬
gling colony of Acadian French at Madawaska, some miles
above which the St John receives the waters of the Ma¬
dawaska, which issue from the Lake Tamisquata, a sheet
of water about thirty miles in length by two or three miles
in width. It is only necessary to state with respect to this
rich and fertile part of the country, that it is claimed by
the Americans, who do not appear to have the shadow' of
a right to it.
York county, which is traversed by the river St John,
bounded on the north by the river Ristigouche, on the
south by Charlotte county, on the east by that of Sun-
bury, and on the west by the United States. It is of
great extent, but thinly settled, and in several parts little
known. It is well watered by various rivers and lakes;
and although the soil is in some places rocky, there is a
large quantity of intervale or alluvial land, which, at the
settlement of Madawaska and some other parts, is well
cultivated. This county contains Frederickton, the metro¬
polis of New Brunswick. This town is regularly laid out
on the right bank of the river St John, which here forms
an angle, enclosing the city on twTo sides; whilst on the
land side, in front of it, stx-etches a chain of hills. The
streets are disposed rectangularly, some of them being a
mile in length, and for the most part composed of wooden
houses. The public buildings consist of the province hall,
where the provincial assembly and courts of justice con¬
gregate, the court-house, barracks, government-house, lib¬
rary, several churches, and other structures. The trade
of Frederickton consists principally in selling British goods
to the settlers along the river St John and its streams, and
receiving timber and agricultural produce in return. Its
situation as a central depot for commerce and military
purposes is admirable, and it will doubtless increase ra¬
pidly with the advancing prosperity of the province. The
population may be estimated at about 500.
The remaining counties of New Brunswick present little
requiring special notice. Sunbury county contains some
of the most productive tracts in the province, from being
annuady overflowed by the St John. These parts of the
country exhibit a most luxuriant scene during harvest.
Sunbury is computed to contain 40,000 acres of pasturage
and tillage ground, and upwards of 20,000 of meadow
ground. Contiguous to it, but lying on both sides of the
river, is Queen’s county, which is extensively fertile, and
yields fine timber, in large quantities, for ship-building.
The same remarks apply to King’s county, which em¬
braces the whole of Belle Isle Bay, the Long Reach of
St John, and the estuary of the Kennebekacis, including
Long Island and Kennebekacis. Charlotte county, oppo¬
site to St John’s, on the other side of the river, contains
the well-laid-out town of St Andrews, which has about
5000 inhabitants. This district abounds with spacious, ex¬
cellent, and easily accessible harbours. Connected with it
are the islands of Campo Bello, Grand Manau, and Deer
Island. Campo Bello, about eight miles in length by two
in breadth, is in a high state of cultivation. Grand Manau,
near the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, is twenty miles in
length by about five in average breadth. A great part
of it is cultivated ; the herring fishery is extensively pro-
149
secuted on its shores; and from its situation, command- New
ing the entrance to the Bay of Fundy, it is valuable as a Brunswick.
defensive position. Deer Island, lying at the entrance ^
of Passamaquoddy Bay, is studded with numerous islets,
some of which are richly wooded. This noble bay has the
advantage of being free from ice to a greater extent inland
than any other harbour north of New York.
Agriculture is yet in its infancy, and can scarcely be
said to have existed till 1825, about which period agri¬
cultural and emigrant societies were formed; and since
then a desire to bring the soil under culture has been gra¬
dually diffusing itself over the province. In the inte¬
rior all kinds of grain and vegetables arrive at full perfec¬
tion, and on alluvial lands yield great returns. Hereto¬
fore it has been necessary to import grain and flour for
home consumption ; but this cannot long continue in a
country where the necessaries of life may be so readily
procured. Of agricultural stock, the number of horses is
estimated at 12,000, that of horned cattle at 87,000, hogs
65,000, sheep 105,000, whilst the number of acres of land
under cultivation is about half a millioq. The staples of
the province are timber and fish. The felled trees are cut
up into square timber, deals, spars, and staves, for which
purpose an immense number of saw-mills are required.
In 1833 the number of establishments for sawing deals
in New Brunswick was 228, the estimated quantity of
lumber sawed at which during the same year amounted
to 103,840,000 feet. The amount of shipping employ¬
ed in the timber trade is necessarily very great; and for
this reason the province assumes an importance which it
does not seem to possess, considering the number of its
inhabitants. In the year 1834 there entered inwards from
Great Britain, the colonies, and foreign states, 3102 ves¬
sels, of 304,929 tons burden. In the same year there went
outwards 2605 vessels, of 316,214 tons burden. A consi¬
derable whale fishery has commenced, and several large
vessels proceed from New Brunswick to the Pacific and
Eastern Oceans for seals, sperm, and black whale oil. In
1833 there were employed in the coasting trade 550 vessels
of 34,780 tons burden. During the same year there were
fishing for bounty thirty-five vessels of 1615 tons burden,
and not for bounty twenty-eight vessels of 1048 tons burden.
For theyear ending January 1833, the total imports amount¬
ed to L.590,488, and the total exports to L.411,572. The
trade of this province consists chiefly in exporting square
timber, deals, spars, staves, and a few firs, to Great Bri¬
tain and Ireland, in return for British manufactures; and
also in shipping boards, shingles, scantling, and fish to the
West Indies, for which rum, sugar, tobacco, and dollars,
are brought back. Gypsum and grindstones are shipped
on board of American vessels, and flour, meal, bread, and
even Indian corn, are received in exchange; a trade which
reflects little credit on the industry and enterprise of the
New Brunswickers, who possess so much valuable soil ca¬
pable of producing all kinds of grain.
The constitution of this province is similar to that of
the other North American colonies, except that the lieu¬
tenant-governor’s executive council of twelve have also a
legislative capacity, which is not the case in the Canadas.
I he house of assembly consists of twenty-eight members,
sent by the difl’erent counties. The provincial parliament
sits for about two months during the winter at Frederick¬
ton. The laws are administered by a supreme court and
minor tribunals. The former has a chief justice and three
puisne judges. There are also courts of chancery, vice¬
admiralty, and for granting probates of wills, and for other
purposes. The revenue of New Brunswick is chiefly de¬
rived irom duties levied on the importation of goods at the
several ports of the province. The grand total revenue
of the province in 1832 was L.68,769. The expenditure
was about the half of that sum, the surplus being laid out
150
NEW
N E W
Newburgh, in the construction of roads and bridges, in which the
v v ' ' province was greatly deficient, and for the purposes of edu¬
cation. Grammar schools, and those on the Madras sys¬
tem, are established in all the settlements; and a college
has been built under the auspices of Sir Howard Douglas,
to whom the province is otherwise much indebted. Ihe
established church is within the diocese of Nova Scotia,
to which persuasion there belong twenty-six churches,
each having one clergyman, and the whole being superin¬
tended by an archdeacon. The Presbyterians, Methodists,
Baptists, Roman Catholics, and others, have also places
of worship. There are eight newspapers published ; and
altogether the social aspect of New Brunswick is as pro¬
mising as that of any of our North American colonies.
The improvement of the province will be greatly accele¬
rated by the New Brunswick Land Company, which was
established in London in 1832. This company purchased
from the crown 500,000 acres of fertile inland tenitory, at
2s. 6d. per acre, which is in the course of being disposed
of by the board of management established in London.
The population of New Brunswick in 1824i amounted to
74,176 ; and it may now (1837) be estimated at 90>0°0-
It appears that the legislative assembly has passed a bill
for the support of the civil government of the province,
in conformity with the terms prescribed by the head of the
colonial department in this country; and that the crown
has, in consequence, surrendered to the legislature the
casual and territorial revenues of the province. The his¬
tory of this province is comprehended in that of Nova oco-
tia, to which article the reader is referred, (r. R. R.)
NEWBURGH, a royal burgh and parish of Scotland,
in the county of Fife, advantageously situated on the
south side of the river Tay. The town seems to be coeval
w ith the abbey of Lindores, and was early created a buigh
of regality under the abbot of that place. In the year
1457 it w'as erected into a royal burgh, and the charter
was again renewed by Charles I. in the year 1631. Ihe
rovalty extends over 400 acres, of which 178 imperial
acres belong to the burgh. The town of Newburgh may
be said to have been entirely rebuilt within the last fifty
years. It consists of a single street of considerable length,
which has been levelled to a gentle slope, the side paths
being neatly paved. This street is parallel with the course
of the river; and from its centre a by-street leads down to
the harbour, which formerly consisted of three continuous
piers, projecting into the south deep of the river; but to¬
wards the east two additional piers were lately erected,
on which have been built several dwelling-houses, store¬
houses, granaries, and other conveniences lor commerce.
A new town-house was erected in 1808 ; and there has re¬
cently been attached to it a building of considerable dimen¬
sions for the accommodation of those engaged in the stock-
market. The new parish church was erected in 1833 ; it is
in the Gothic style, and is a handsome and elegant struc¬
ture. There is also a meeting-house of the United Asso¬
ciate Synod, which is a plain and commodious edifice. 1 he
whole of the buildings are constructed of the greenstone
trap found in the parish. The town is lighted with gas.
The principal employment of the inhabitants is connected
with the linen trade, which is in the hands of thirteen in¬
dividuals, who not only employ all the weavers in New¬
burgh, but furnish work for great numbers in the difierent
villages throughout Fife. They also export their goods
. directly to the West Indies and South America. There
is here a considerable trade in corn ; and Newburgh di¬
vides with Kirkcaldy the exporting of the grain and other
agricultural produce from Fife. There are only ten ves¬
sels, from sixty to a hundred and fifty tons burden, that be¬
long to Newburgh, and these are chiefly engaged in the coal
trade; but vessels from all quarters land and take in theii
cargoes here. Besides, those bound for Perth must often
wait for the flowing of the tide, and many of them have to Newb*
unload part of their cargoes before proceeding. The river fl “
here is about two miles broad, and ships of 500 tons burden1 ewcai ^
can reach this port. Operations have, however, been com- UjV'
menced on an extensive scale to contract the river, as well
as to deepen it by dredging. Salmon fishing is carried on
to a considerable extent, and affords employment to about
sixty of the weavers of the place during the summer months.
The fish are shipped for London by one of the Dundee steam¬
ers. The principal objects of interest in the parish are the
remains of the celebrated abbey of Lindores, which was
founded in the year 1178 ; Mugdrum’s Cross, a little to the
westward of the town; and Macduff’s Cross, about one
mile to the south. The value of the raw agricultural pro¬
duce of the parish is about L.6000 a year ; and the sum an¬
nually expended in the manufacture of linen in the town
amounts to about L.128,500. Ihe debt of the burgh is
nearly L.1650. Its yearly revenue is about L.170, and its
yearly expenses amount to nearly L.100. The burgh is
governed by two magistrates and fifteen councillors, fhe
population of the parish and burgh amounted in 1811 to
2118, in 1821 to 2190, and in 1831 to 2642. The parlia¬
mentary burgh voters give their suffrages in the election
of a member for the county of Fife.
NEWBURY, a market-town of Berkshire, in the hun¬
dred of Faircross, fifty-three miles from London. It is
situated in a beautiful valley, through which runs the river
Kennet, which being joined by a canal with the Avon,
forms a water communication between Bristol and Lon¬
don. The great road to the former city is at the end of
this towm. It was famous for its woollen trade in the reign
of Henry VIII.; and it is related that Jack of Newbury
sent one hundred of his clothiers, armed at his owm ex-^
pense, on the expedition which terminated in the battle ot
Flodden. Several of the public buildings and charitable
endowments were founded by the same individual. I hat
trade by which his wealth was gained has disappeared.
The town is well built, the streets are wide, and the build¬
ings handsome. The principal trade is that which arises
from the transit of goods on the canals and the river Ken¬
net. It was incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, and is
governed by a mayor or high steward, and aldermen, but
has never sent members to parliament. Near this town
two battles were fought during the civil war between
Charles I. and the parliament. There is a large market,
which is held on Thursday. The population amounted
in 1801 to 4275, in 1811 to 4898, in 1821 to 5347, and
in 1831 to 5959. ' r, , ,
NEWCASTLE, a small market-town of South Wales,
in the county of Carmarthen, 216 miles from London. It
stands on the river Teifi or Tawy, and is situated in a
dreary mountainous district, but has a well-attended mar¬
ket on Monday. The fine castle which stood here is now
in ruins. „ . , •
Newcastle is also the name of a handsome town in tne
county of Limerick and province of Munster, on the high
road to Kerry, 145 miles from Dublin. It consists of a
large square, where markets and fairs are held, and pos¬
sesses a handsome church, Catholic chapel, market-house,
and barracks. Here the knights templars formerly had
an establishment, the ruins of the walls and fortifications
of which still remain. The population at last census
amounted to 2866. j? ct f
Newcastle-under-Line, a town of the county ot fetai-
ford, in the hundred of Pirehill, 149 miles from London.
It is situated on a small branch of the Trent. It had once
four churches ; but these, with much of the town, were de¬
stroyed in the civil wars. The chief trade of the town
consists in making hats; but as coal is abundantly obtain¬
ed near it, a great quantity of pottery ware is made in tne
neighbourhood.
It is a corporate town, governed by a
Ne
N E W
istle-mayor, two justices, and twenty-four common council men,
,n* and returns two members to parliament. It has a good mar-
ie' ket on Monday. The population amounted in 1801 to 4604<,
in 1811 to 6175, in 1821 to 7031, and in 1831 to 8192.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne is an extensive and wealthy
town in the county of Northumberland, of which it is the
metropolis ; but it is also a county of itself. As its name
denotes, it is situated on the river Tyne, to which circum¬
stance it is principally indebted for its flourishing condi¬
tion. That river is formed out of two branches, one called
the North Tyne, which rises upon the borders of Scotland
near Keilder, and, after passing Falstone, Greystead, and
Bellingham, receives the wrater of the river Reed, and
near Woodburn is joined by the South Tyne, which rises
behind Crossfell, on the borders of Cumberland, and pass¬
ing Haltwhistle, forms the united stream at Warden near
Hexham. The mass of water then passes Newcastle, and
empties itself, after a course of near seventy miles, into the
German Ocean, between the towns of North and South
Shields, which stand on the banks at the mouth of the
river. At the extreme point on the northern bank is the
town of Tynemouth, with its haven. This latter place is
known to seamen in the day by a castle in ruins on the
northern side, and in the night by a revolving light, which
is constantly kept burning, and exhibits a face every mi¬
nute.
Within the river, near the town of North Shields, there
are two lighthouses for the use of vessels passing over the
bar. There are three warping buoys within the river, two
on the south and one on the north side ; and in addition to
these, there is a distinguishing buoy on the north side,
where the low light is situated. The tide flows up the
Tyne from Shields to a distance of eighteen miles ; and at
Newcastle Bridge it generally runs upwards about four
hours and a half, and downwards about seven hours and a
half. The perpendicular rise at the bar, at Tynemouth is
about eighteen feet, and at the bridge from eleven to
twelve feet. It is high water on the bar, at the full and
change of the moon, at about three o’clock if the weather
be settled; but a strong northerly wind will sometimes
make it high water an hour sooner, and a strong southerly
wind an hour later, than the regular course ; and there will
be at times two or three feet more water on the bar with a
strong northerly wind than with a strong southerly one.
The corporation are making great exertions to improve
the navigation of the river, and employ a powerful steam-
engine for the purpose of dredging.
Due precautions against accidents to shipping have been
rendered necessary by the vast number of vessels that pass
upand down the Tyne; and an association, formed in 1825,
at the Irinity House, has for its object the preservation of
lives from shipwreck, and the maintenance of a life-boat
at South Shields. The pilots on the river are remarkable
for their skill and carefulness, and are under the regula¬
tion of the corporation of the Trinity House, who have an
office on the quay. The bridge was founded in very an¬
cient times, and consisted of wood. It was once burnt,
and at subsequent periods was more than once carried
aw ay by the floods. I he existing bridge was built between
the year’s 1/75 and 1799. It was only twenty-one feet
wi e, which, as the population and trade increased, was
ound very inconvenient; and in 1801 it was enlarged and
widened, and is now thirty-three feet six inches in width,
it connects the town of Newcastle with its suburb Gates¬
head, which is in the county of Durham.
rom the bridge a fine quay extends along the river 500
yards m length. The new corporation have commenced
a most important improvement, by lengthening the quay
one musan yards eastward, and a still greater extension
intended. W hen completed, it will make this the finest
quay, for commercial purposes, in Europe. The buildings
NEW
151
on the quay consist of shops, warehouses, and taverns; theNewcastle-
custom-house stands on the quay, and in lanes leading from upon-
it there are a number of extensive warehouses belonging ^ tyne-
to private merchants, and also a large bonding tobacco ^ Y ^
warehouse under the care of the custom-house.
Newcastle is to be chiefly viewed as a trading town;
and as the principal foundation of its trade is the shipping
of coals, we shall first take a view of the growth and ex¬
tent of that branch. It is doubtful when coals were first
discovered and applied to serve as fuel; but by some an¬
cient documents it seems to be shown that in the year 1280
the revenue of this town arising from the sale of coal
amounted to L.200 per annum. In 1306 it must have
been introduced in London, as the parliament complained
to the king of its infecting the air with noxious vapours,
in consequence of which the use of coal was prohibited,
and strict orders given to destroy all furnaces and kilns in
which it was used. Coals, however, must have again come
into use in 1327, as at the coronation of Edward III. a
debt appears to have been due for this mineral; and in the
same reign orders were issued relating to the measuring
of coals, and such as were got in the field of Gateshead were
to be taken across the Tyne in boats, and, after paying the
custom-duty, to be sent to any port of the kingdom, but to
no port out of the kingdom, except to Calais. About the
year 1338 the prior of Tynemouth granted colliery leases.
In the year 1582 Queen Elizabeth obtained a lease for
ninety-nine years of the manors and royalties of Gateshead
and Whickham for L.90 per annum, which caused the price
of coals in London to rise to nine shillings the chaldron;
upon which the lord mayor made application to Lord Bur¬
leigh that the price might be reduced to seven shillings.
In 1615 the trade appears to have employed 400 sail of
ships, some of which sailed to France, and others to the
Netherlands. During the civil wars the trade and the prices
of coal fluctuated much, as at one time London was with
the parliament and Newcastle with the royal party. In
1675 the shipping of Newcastle was estimated at 80,000
tons. In 1710 the annual average export for the three
preceding years had amounted to 178,143 chaldrons, and
in 1776 to 260,000. The following account will show the
vast but gradual increase since that time.
An Account of the quantity of Coals shipped at Newcastle
from 1794 to 1836, distinguishing those sent Coastwise
and those over Sea.
Year.
1794
1800
1805
1810
1815
1820
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
Coastwise.
Chaldrons.
388,724
537,793
552,827
632,299
650,209
756,513
687,029
792,365
683,745
725,082
738,426
817,870
772,686
682,797
699,741
761,306
853,359
858,403
Over Sea.
Chaldrons.
39,935
47,487
49,572
17,258
42,834
44,826
51,444
62,620
65,417
59,325
61,653
74,456
60,848
74,467
73,186
85,828
116,803
155,357
The preceding account is given in Newcastle chaldrons,
which weigh fifty-three hundred, but the London chaldron
152
NEWCASTLE.
Tyne" the duty on coals water-borne has ceased, the account of soda, aquafortis, whitening, g ue, \in B , p
' the quantities shipped has been kept with less correctness, numerous and extensive.
It may be observed in this place, that whilst describing
the shipping and trade of Newcastle, the transactions of the
towns of North and South Shields, and of Tynemouth, are
comprehended, as far as regards the official returns, because
these returns are taken from the books of the custom-house,
which is at Newcastle alone. These towns, which are a
portion of the port, contain together nearly 30,000 inhabit¬
ants. The larger ships are, in fact, mostly loaded and dis¬
charged near them, though vessels of 300 or 400 tons bur¬
den may at high water reach the bridge between Newcastle
and Gateshead. The whole extent ot the port is such that
two thousand sail of vessels may lie in a state of security
within its limits.
It is very difficult to estimate with accuracy the propor¬
tion which the coals raised in the vicinity of Newcastle,
and shipped from its port, bears to the whole quantity
raised in the kingdom. We must trust to estimates by no
means deserving of implicit confidence, when we state that
the trade of digging coals, and of conveying them to the
Since the yccir 1816 o. most important business nss
arisen in the neighbourhood of Newcastle, namely, the
making of crystals of soda and mineral alkali by the decom¬
position of common salt. For such a manufacture, as well
as those of glass and iron already noticed, the banks of
the Tyne are, it is true, most favourably circumstanced;
but the history of its establishment is curious, and affords
an instance of the way in which important trades some¬
times owe their origin to little more than individual energy
and enterprise. ,,,,,, . ,
In the year 1794, Lord Dundonald, who had previously
directed his attention to various chemical manufactures,
represented to IVIr William Losh ot Newcastle, the ad¬
vantage, as he conceived, of a process of his own for
making alkali by the decomposition of certain refuse
salts; and accordingly a company was formed, consisting
of Messrs John and William Losh, and Messis Surtees,
bankers, under the firm of William Losh and Company,
who begap the trade of making alkali at Bell’s Close, on
;
the trade of digging coals, ana or conveyiii| ^ ‘‘~Tvn7 Biree miles above Newcastle. The refuse salts
ships, gives in this vicinity n i p^cuS wShate o? potash front makers of oil of vi-
that a capital ® SZ amoul to K and sulphate of soda from makers of marine acid, both
that the weekly value of that uhich is sold a t be obtained in t lenty.
L.60,000; and that the duty paid on it in 1831, when it process „as t0 decompose them
CTs Newcasde is a kta’d of metropolis to a considerable by saw-dust, forming alkaline sulphurets which by ixma-
It has, however, one branch of most ey™s"? ^ uej “S ; Jeresting to observe how nearly his lordship approached
rd“ wlrl“of rtstteSive seamen L trained to success: for if in the first part of his process a little lime
UllUtl V/X ~   r 
up with a skill, activity, and perseverance that is exceed¬
ed by no sailors in the world. The extent of this branch
of industry may be seen by the following table.
Vessels registered at the Port of Newcastle.
Years.
Number of
Vessels.
1821
1825
1830
1834
1835
1836
822
909
986
1097
1076
1080
Tonnage.
178,047
193,014
203,587
219,640
211,173
213,907
Number of
Men and Boys.
8,369
8,752
9,496
10,173
9,806
to success ; for if in the first part of his process a little lime
had been used, the decomposition would have been ac¬
complished exactly as it is at present. Lord Dundonald
then proposed to decompose muriate of soda by potash,
obtaining thus carbonate ot soda and muriate ot potash,
both valuable products; and this mode of obtaining soda
from common salt was pursued for some time. At the
end of little more than a year from the establishment
of the works at Bell’s Close, Lord Dundonald, who was
not a partner, left the neighbourhood of Newcastle. At
this time there was known to exist in a colliery at \\ alker,
three miles below Newcastle, a salt spring of very great
strength and copiousness, capable, it was said, of furnish¬
ing salt enough to supply the consumption of the whole
kingdom; and Lord Dundonald, previously to leaving
Bell’s Close, made the important suggestion to William
Losh and Company, of endeavouring to obtain from go¬
vernment a grant of salt for the purpose of making alkali,
duty free, from this spring at Walker. Accordingly the
It has been estimated that this town has belonging to
it one sixteenth ^^ rfge Brmsh company succeededT inthe
empire. In the year 1836 there were registe U ^ obtaini a nt 0f sait t0 be made from
port of Newcastle ninety-one steam-vessels. J at a duty of thirty shillings per ton. The
If the amount of duty collected at the custom-house be Jkal^works at Walker were soon afterwards com-
the proper scale by which to measure the foreign trade at p , , , establishment at Bell’s Close discontinu-
the respective porJs of the kingdom, Newcastle stands the potash as above
fifth on the scale annual mtfroned and 2o fo? some time from oxid'e of lead, until,
don, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hull. In 1836, about the year 1799, the price of lead became too high o
amount was L.275,369. 9s. Tel. admit of its continuance. About this period the works at
In Newcastle and its neighbourhood are carried on ya- became the property of Mr John Losh of Wood-
rious important manufactures, which are chiefly fosteied Cumberland and were placed under the entire ma-
by the abundant supply of coal. Amongst these may be of his brother} William Losh, who soon ah
enumerated glass bottles and crown and plate g!ass,j)a- , important alterations, and who may
enumerated glass bottles and crown ana plate glass, pa- important alterations, and who may
tent shot, and all the preparations of lead, whether for pig considered3 as the father of soda-making on the
ments or otherwise. The manufacture of -on is earned justly in this article t0 tl|Ce very
on upon the most extensive scale, as is the construct o f telv the history of soda-making, and it may be suft-
^rJiorof^TuiVbX-l-ighTh^'The^’auu. f^^^runStryt'mrSrM^llS
NEWCASTLE.
153
i le- now followed universally, which he immediately put into
operation at Walker. *
1 This process, for which we are entirely indebted to our
intelligent neighbours the French, consists in making oil of
vitriol from sulphur, and with the sulphuric acid decom¬
posing muriate of soda, to obtain dry sulphate of soda,
which salt is mixed with certain proportions of chalk and
coal in powder, and the whole heated in a proper furnace
until a sort of incipient fusion takes place, after which the
mass is drawn out and suffered to cool, forming an im¬
pure carbonate of soda called ball alkali. This ball alkali be¬
ing lixiviated, boiled down, heated in a furnace to redness,
with or without carbonaceous matter, again dissolved, and
crystallized, yields the soda of commerce. From 1816 to
1822 alkali-making was carried on only at Walker; but at
the latter date Messrs Cookson and Company commenced
the manufacture at South Shields, and were speedily fol¬
lowed by other enterprising individuals at various places on
the Tyne.
At present there are nine soda manufactories on the
Tyne, at which upwards of 1000 workmen are employed ;
and the quantity of crystallized soda made per week is up¬
wards of 250 tons, besides at least 100 tons of alkali or
soda ash, containing from 25 to 45 per cent, of soda, which
is sold in an uncrystallized state to bleachers, soap-makers,
and others. To produce this quantity of alkali there is burned
into sulphuric acid per week 120 tons of sulphur, and the
common salt decomposed weekly amounts to nearly 400 tons.
The price of crystallized soda was, in the early days of al¬
kali making, 60s. per cwt.; but it is now sold at one fifth
of that sum, or 12s. per cwt.; and as society are only be¬
ginning to experience the usefulness of the article for do¬
mestic purposes, and the demand is consequently likely to
increase, it is probable that this branch of manufacture on
the Tyne has not yet reached its fullest extent.
The town is supplied with excellent beer from several
breweries, which together make about 30,000 barrels of
strong, and about 18,000 barrels of small beer, and use in
the fabrication about 19,000 quarters of malt. Paper of
various kinds is made, and some of it printed; and there
are a great number of coaches and other kinds of carriages
built. The spinning of linen and woollen thread employs
about 300 persons, but chiefly in the surrounding villages,
and the salmon fishery on the Tyne is considerable. From
this sketch of the numerous products of industry, the ex¬
port trade may be seen to be extensive in other articles
besides coals, cinders, culm, the preponderating commo¬
dities of this important trading town.
Ihe imports are various, but the principal articles are
corn, wine, spirits, fruits, sugar, tobacco, tea, coffee, but¬
ter, cheese, tallow, hides, oak-bark, rags, flax, hemp, linen
yarn, mahogany, deals and other timber, spars, masts,
cordage, tar, iron, and what is necessary for the equip¬
ment of shipping. This view of exports and imports ac¬
counts for the number of vessels which have entered this
port in successive years from foreign countries.
The municipal government of Newcastle has from a
very remote period been conducted by an incorporated
body originating in royal charters, and composed of a
mayor, aldermen, and common councilmen, with various
subordinate officers. Having been originally a Roman
station, it became under the heptarchy a regal villa, one
p !jes^ences °f the Northumbrian kings, styled by
e e. Ad murum regia villa illustris. It afterwards ob¬
tained the name of Monkchester ; but soon after the Con¬
quest, on the construction of a new fortress, it acquired
£e„naraeT?hich has been continued to the present time,
v ilham II. converted the town into a royal borough,
conveyed to the burgesses considerable fee-farm rents,
and conferred some privileges which were extended by
enry . several additional immunities were granted bv
VOL. xvi. ° J
successive charters, all of which were, in the reign ofNewcastle-
Elizabeth, in 1660, condensed and confirmed by what was upon-
known then as the great charter; and that, being after- ^ J -vne‘
wards slightly changed in the reign of James I., continued '
till the passing of the existing law in 1835. By that law
the town has been divided into seven wards for the pur¬
poses of that act, and has now fourteen aldermen, fortv-
two councillors, a mayor, and sheriff, with justices of the
peace nominated by the crown.
The revenue of the corporation is very large, arising
from a tonnage on coals, a duty for depositing ballast, ac¬
tual possession of land and houses, and some other sources,
amounting together to L.40,000 per annum. The corpo¬
ration has the superintendence of the river Tyne, which,
with the other necessary expenses, and interest on loans,
amounts to nearly the same as the income. Besides the
corporation, there are many guilds or companies having
chartered privileges, and halls for their assembling. There
are the Twelve Mysteries, founded between the years 1215
and 1621; the Fifteen By-trades, founded between 1426
and 1626; and the various companies, eight in number,
created at different periods, like the others, between the
years 1454 and 1675. These companies choose annually
sixty-nine stewards, out of which a body of nine is nomi¬
nated, who are called the Herbage Committee, whose duty
it is to superintend the improvement and enforce the re¬
gulations respecting the free commons, upon which the
burgesses have the privilege of pasturing two cows each,
and a free pasturage is thus afforded to 700 fine cows, and
also to watch over the interests of the freemen, and of
their respective fraternities. They have a revenue of about
L.100, derived from ground and dunghill rents, and from
other sources.
Newcastle is a county of itself, and the courts of assize
and nisi prius are held twice a year for each division ; those
for the town at the guildhall at the Exchange, and those
for the rest of Northumberland in the county courts at the
Castle Garth. They are held at the same time. There
are also some inferior courts of justice held, such as the
mayor’s court, in which only free burgesses or their wi¬
dows are sued, and in which are tried all cases relating
to real or personal actions to any amount arising within the
town; the sheriff’s court, in which all actions are brought
as in the mayor’s court, but with this distinction, that they
may be instituted against all other persons than free bur¬
gesses ; the court of conscience to determine all debts or
actions not exceeding in amount forty shillings, which ex¬
tends to all persons residing within the liberties of the
town ; and the court of guild, the chief business of which
now is the admission of persons to their freedom, whether
they are entitled to it by birth, or by an apprenticeship dur¬
ing seven years. Besides these, a court of admiralty is
occasionally held, the principal duties of which consist in
preventing injury from being done to the river or to the
salmon fishery. The corporation have lately established
a body of police upon the London plan, which has been
found very effectual.
The population of Newcastle has advanced in nearly the
same proportion as that of the other towns of the kingdom.
It appears, by the comparative account of the population of
Great Britain in the years 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831,
printed by order of the House of Commons, 19th October
1831, that the number of the inhabitants at those periods
amounted in 1801 to 28,366, in 1811 to 27,587, in 1821
to 35,181, and in 1831 to 42,760. But each of these ac¬
counts is materially deficient, owing to their exhibiting
only the number of inhabitants within the limits of that
portion of the town which is within the county of the town
of Newcastle, and not giving the numbers of the town of
Gateshead, which, though one of the suburbs, is within the
county of Durham, nor the population of those parts of the
u
154
NEWCASTLE.
Newcastle-parishes of the town which are not within the limits of the
upon- county. By the enumeration abstract of the population,
ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on the 2d
April 1833 (vol. i. p. 472), the population is thus shown:
Tyne.
Parishes.
Males.
Females.
Total.
All-Saints 7887   9176   17,063
St Andrews 4984   6452   11,436
St John 3912   4223   8,135
St Nicholas 2877   3249   6,126
42,760
19,660 23,100
To this must be added the inhabitants of Gates¬
head in the county of Durham, which is a sub-
urb only divided by the bridge    15,1/7
Besides this must be added that portion of the
parish of All-Saints which is in the east division ^
of the ward of Castle  5,6/7
Those portions of St Andrew’s parish which are
in the east and west divisions of the ward of
Castle   2,424
The portion of St John’s parish which is in the
west division of Castle Ward  5,061
Total number of inhabitants in 1831......... .  _ 71,099
If the past rate of increase has been maintained since that
period, the whole population at the present time must ex¬
ceed 80,000 persons.
The public buildings for religious purposes are nume¬
rous. Those of the established church claim the first at¬
tention. Of these, the mother church of St Nicholas is
probably the oldest, and certainly the most striking. It
was founded in the year 1091, by Osmond, bishop of Sa¬
lisbury, and placed under the jurisdiction of the bishop of
Carlisle. The edifice was burned in 1210, and the present
structure finished in 1359. The interior of the church is
242 feet, and on entering it by the great western door, the
spectator is struck with mingled impressions of delight and
solemnity, from the general and noble effect produced by
the view. Some considerable improvements in the ar¬
rangement of the pews made in 1783 have adapted it for
accommodating a congregation of more than 1200 persons.
The organ is a remarkably fine instrument. The frame-work
is mahogany, and the two pillars in front are magnificent;
the centre is surmounted by the figures of two recumbent
angels, and the compartments of the front are embellished
with a variety of richly gilt pipes. There are several fine
specimens of modern sculpture lately erected on this edi •
fice, and these marble monuments have been very costly.
A public library is attached to this church, formed by do¬
nations at different periods since the year 1661, but prin¬
cipally by Dr Thorburn.
St John’s church is an ancient structure, and supposed
to have been built in the latter end of the thirteenth tea-
tury; but it has since been enlarged and beautified at dif¬
ferent periods. The great eastern window contains some
curious ancient specimens of stained glass. By the erec¬
tion of some new galleries and other arrangements of pews,
it has been made capable of seating, including scholai s in
the aisles, more than 1400 persons. It has a square steeple
with four pinnacles, a clock and six bells, with a large
burying-ground adjoining.
St Andrew’s church is said to have been built by David
king of Scotland, who died in 1153. It still exhibits some
specimens of Anglo-Norman architectuie, though many al¬
terations have been made at different periods. Being near
the town wall, it suffered much during the siege of 1644,
and was long afterwards closed. It has lately been fur¬
nished with a new organ, and the interior so arranged as to
accommodate 1300 hearers, besides 200 children. Near to
it is the burying-ground, which, by the destruction of some
houses in 1824, is laid open to public view, and handsomely Newcast, )'f
surrounded by palisades. * ... Tri
All-Saints’church is a modern structure, having been ^
erected between the years 1786 and 1796, at an expense ^ '
of L.27,000, raised by an assessment upon the owners of
houses in the parish. It has a stately Doric portico at the
entrance, from which there rises an elegant spire to the
height of 202 feet from the ground. It has a fine set of
bells and a clock. It contains a spacious gallery, and the
whole seat-room will accommodate near 1200 persons, and
270 children of the charity schools, who have seats in the
gallery. This building was erected on the site of an ancient
church which existed before the year 1284, but which was
considerably larger, and capable of containing 2000 per-
sons.
St Ann’s church is, properly speaking, a chapel of ease
to the parish of All Saints. It was erected in 1768, on
the foundation of an ancient building, at the expense of
the corporation. It has a large school attached to it, in
which boys are instructed in reading, writing, and arith¬
metic, on very cheap terms. The church has seat-room
for about 500 persons.
St Thomas’ church is a chapel of ease to the parish of St
Nicholas. It was begun in 1828, and finished in 1830. It
is an elegant structure, built in the style of one of the ear¬
liest examples of ecclesiastical architecture. The church
is 135 feet in length and sixty-three feet in breadth, and
has a tower 138 feet in height. It can accommodate from
1000 to 1100 persons. In the suburb or town of Gateshead
is the church of St Mary, a new steeple to which was built
on an old foundation in 1740. Its chief ornament is an ele¬
gant window of stained glass in the southern transept, which
was presented to it in 1824. There is seat-room for 800
persons, including that for the charity children.
The places of worship for the various classes of dissent¬
ers from the established church are numerous. From the
vicinity to Scotland, the adherents of the Presbyterian
form of worship are the greatest in number, occupying
nine meeting-houses, most of them being of the Scotch
kirk, and others secessions from it. The next largest por¬
tion of worshippers are the Wesleyan Methodists of the
new and old connection, who have six chapels, one of
them the largest place of worship in the town. The In¬
dependents occupy three chapels, the Baptists three, and
the following persuasions one each, viz. the Homan Catho¬
lics, the Quakers, the Glassites, the Unitarians, and the
Swedenborgians. .
To the enterprise of Mr Richard G-rainger the inhabi¬
tants of Newcastle owe the creation of almost a new town,
built in a style of architectural beauty not inferior to any
in the kingdom. After having built Eldon Square, Blackett
Street, and several others of minor importance, Mr Grain¬
ger’s first exertions in an embellished style of architecture
were made on a large piece of ground adjoining the Leazes.
Upon this he erected a parallelogram, consisting of up¬
wards of fifty houses, all faced with polished stone, and of
great elegance of design, and some of them of large di¬
mensions. This undertaking was carried through by him
at the same time that a spacious and splendid arcade was
constructed in the centre of the town. The next attempt
of this individual was more gigantic, and incurred an ex¬
penditure of half a million sterling. There existed in the
very centre of the town a large piece of ground, about
thirteen acres, which had originally been the gardens of
the Grey Friars, and of a convent of Benedictine nuns, but
some time ago was the garden of the house of Sir Walter
Blackett, Bart., and, latterly, of Major Anderson. I his
completely cut off the communication between the oppo¬
site sides of the town, except by circuitous streets, and
was partly occupied by stables, cow-sheds, and other nui¬
sances. Mr Grainger conceived the idea of covering this
NEWCASTLE. 155
s .tie- extensive piece of ground with houses and markets of ele-
: - gant construction. The purchase of the ground was effect-
i'* ed, and the work begun, in the summer of 1834; and its
completion will probably not require more than twelve
months from the present time (1837). This extraordi¬
nary undertaking consists of seven streets, some of them
eighty feet broad, and all of stone, and highly embellished ;
besides a butcher-market and a vegetable-market, which
alone occupy a space of more than two acres, and are en¬
tirely covered in. These markets are unquestionably the
most elegant and commodious in the world. The butcher-
market consists of four avenues, nineteen feet four inches
wide, twenty-seven feet high, and extending in length 338
feet. The vegetable-market is connected with the butcher-
market, and consists of one stupendous hall, 318 feet long,
fifty-seven feet wide, and upwards of forty feet high. A
new theatre of great architectural beauty, a chapel for the
Methodists of the new connection, a new dispensary, and a
church, are also included in the plan. The number of houses
will exceed 300. Such are the outlines of what has been
done, and is in the course of completion. At the top of
the principal street, named Grey Street, in honour of Earl
Grey, workmen are at present (1837) employed in build¬
ing a column, which will be 150 feet high, and surmounted
by a statue of Earl Grey. This elegant memorial is from
a design by Messrs John and Benjamin Green of New¬
castle, and the statue is by Bailey of London. The cost
is defrayed by public subscription. Within the last ten
years there has been erected a large and massive building
for the jail and house of correction, which cost LAO,000 ;
and during last session of parliament an act was passed by
which twenty new streets are to be made and altered.
Newcastle is quite as well supplied with those institu¬
tions which tend to the acquisition and diffusion of know¬
ledge as any other place of its extent in the kingdom.
The Literary and Philosophical Society was founded in
1793. Its objects were the discussion of the several
branches of polite literature, and making inquiries into
the situation and properties of the mineral productions of
the neighbourhood, with the elucidation of the sciences ap¬
plicable to commerce, antiquities, local history, biography,
nautical inquiry, and other subjects. A new institution
for delivering lectures has been united with it since 1802.
A library of more than 12,000 volumes has been collected,
and a valuable apparatus purchased for the illustration of
chemistry and other branches of physics. The Natural
History Society has erected an elegant building, which
contains a museum of very great value. The published
Transactions of this Society have raised the character of its
members to a high rank in that science. In the same
building the Newcastle Antiquarian Society hold their
meetings.
There is also an establishment recently formed, called
the Literary, Scientific, and Mechanical Institution, of
which young persons may become members, and attend
classes appointed for drawing, mathematics, chemistry,
and the languages, at a very small expense. This society
is also gradually forming a library, and various collections
to assist in science and in art. There are likewise several
subscription rooms for newspapers, especially a very good
one at the Exchange.
There is a well-endowed royal free grammar school, in
which Greek and Latin were intended to be taught gra¬
tuitously ; but a small fee is now paid by the scholars. It
has access to some exhibitions at Lincoln College, Oxford.
In several other schools many boys and girls are taught
on the Lancasterian and Madras plans, and most of the
churches and chapels have schools connected with them.
I he institutions for benevolent purposes are numerous,
of which the most prominent are Jesus’ Hospital, which
provides for forty old persons ; Blacket and Davison’s Hos¬
pital, for six poor widows of clergymen or merchants; Newcastle-
Westgate Hospital, for aged freemen and widows ; the l‘J)on"
Keelman’s Hospital, formed by that class of persons for the ^ ne
relief of their destitute, and chiefly maintained by a duty Newel,
of one farthing per chaldron on all coals exported from the
river Tyne ; and the hospitals of St Mary Magdalen and of
the Virgin Mary.
The establishments for administering relief to the dis¬
eased or infirm poor are, the Infirmary, to which is now' an¬
nexed a Lock Hospital, and which extends relief to the sick
and lame poor of the counties of Newcastle, Durham, and
Northumberland, the average annual .number of in-pa¬
tients being 800, and of out-patients 700 ; the Dispensary,
founded in 1777, supported by voluntary contributions,
the object being the administration of medical and surgi¬
cal aid to all diseased applicants, and the promotion of
vaccine inoculation; the House of Recovery, for the re¬
ception of persons afflicted with febrile diseases ; the Lu¬
natic Asylum, for thirty-eight males and the same number
of females; the Lying-in-Hospital, for poor pregnant wo¬
men ; the Eye Infirmary; and St Luke’s Hospital.
The markets are well supplied with provisions of all
kinds, which are sold at very cheap rates; and the mar¬
ket for corn is one of the largest in the north of England.
Water is abundantly supplied by the Water Company, from
resources and reservoirs in Gateshead. There are no less
than twelve public fountains, here called ■pants, in dif¬
ferent parts of the town. These are ready to furnish wa¬
ter for the fire-engines, which are under good regulation.
There are companies for insurance against fire, as well as
for ship and life risks. The town is well watched, and
lighted for the most part with gas.
The places of amusement are not numerous ; the most
prominent being the theatre denominated royal. The for¬
mer house was opened in 1788, and was pulled down in 1836
to make way for the building of Grey Street. The new
theatre, which is a structure of great beauty, was opened
in February 1837. The assembly-rooms, built in 1766,
are commodiously planned, having a ball-room ninety four
feet by thirty-six, with a music gallery ; adjoining are card-
rooms, a room for private assemblies, and on the lower
story is a supper-room, in which 460 individuals have been
accommodated at the same time. There is a music-hall
appropriately fitted up, with the requisite auxiliary apart¬
ments. The Northern Academy of Arts is solely appro¬
priated for the public exhibition of pictures, and for the
purposes of a diorama. The first exhibition of paintings
in Newcastle was opened in September 1822.
The communication between Newcastle and the western
coast will be greatly facilitated by the Newcastle and Car¬
lisle Railroad, which it is expected will be completed in
1838, and, with the Brandling Junction Railroad, will con¬
nect the towns of South Shields, Monk-Wearmouth, Bishop-
Wearmouth, and Sunderland, and increase the trade very
considerably. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railroad, in its
present unfinished state (thirteen miles in the centre not
being completed), yields a revenue of L.50,000 a year;
and, when completed, it is estimated to produce an an¬
nual income of L.100,000. The length of this railway, in¬
cluding the Brandling Junction, will be sixty-five miles from
sea to sea.
NEWEL, a circle of the Russian province Witepsk, ex¬
tending in north latitude from 55. 45. to 56. 20., and in
east longitude from 28. 54. to 30. 21. It contains four
towns, and 1872 hamlets or farms, in eighteen Greek and
twelve united parishes, having a population of 69,430 in¬
habitants. The capital is a town of the same name, 388
miles from St Petersburg, on the lake Newelskoi, at the
mouth of the river Emerka. It contains three churches,
434 houses, and 2860 inhabitants. Long. 29. 30. E. Lat.
55. 58. N.
156
NEW
NEW
New NEW ENGLAND, the name of the northern states of
England, North American union, namely, Maine, Vermont, New
J Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The physical characteristics, and the social and commercial
relations, of these states, will be found described each under
its individual head. But the history of the several states has
not yet been given, because, since an account of one state in¬
volves to a considerable extent that of another, it was con¬
sidered as most judicious to give a narration of the whole
transactions which have taken place in this part of the
American union under one head. In 1606, the portion of
North America lying between the thirty-fourth and forty-
fifth degrees of latitude was divided into two parts, called
North and South Virginia, and granted to two companies.
The London Company were allowed to make settlements
anywhere between 34° and 41°, and the Plymouth Com¬
pany received the same privilege in regard to the country
between 38° and 45°. Previously to the survey of the
coasts by Captain Smith, in 1614, the country went by
the name of North Virginia ; but in 1660 Prince Charles
changed it to that which it now bears, at the same time
granting a patent to the Plymouth Company, comprehend¬
ing that part of the country which lies between 40° and
48° from north to south, and extending throughout the
mainland from sea to sea. The name of New England has,
ever since the landing of the first settlers at Plymouth,
Massachusetts, in December 1620, continued to desig¬
nate the country lying east of New York ; and although it
has never, properly speaking, formed a political whole, it
possessed from the first, and still possesses, certain cha¬
racteristics which distinguish it from the rest of the Union.
Most of the colonies planted in New England were found¬
ed on the same principles of government, by men closely
associated with each other from similarity of political and
religious views. Before landing, they signed a solemn co¬
venant, forming themselves into a body politic for the pur¬
pose of making laws for the general good. The govern¬
ments which were erected in these colonies were charter¬
ed governments, the ownership and administration of af¬
fairs being vested in the colonists, whilst the governments
of the other colonies were royal or proprietary, civil au¬
thority and property being vested, the one in the crown,
and the other in the colonists. The New England settlers
were republicans before their arrival in North America,
and being afterwards joined by those who fled thither as to
a city of refuge during the civil commotions in the mother
country, and also after the Restoration, the body became
very numerous, and they may be said to have adhered
to their principles ever since. The early and general pro¬
vision for common education in New England was another
peculiarity of that part of the country. Laws were soon
passed commanding the establishment of schools in every
town, and these enactments laid the foundation of the New
England system of free schools. The organization of the
church government is entirely democratical, and the mu¬
nicipal system is in many respects peculiar.
In consequence of the representations made by Martin
Pring, an English navigator, who explored part of the
shore of New England in 1603 and 1606, a settlement
was attempted to be formed at the mouth of the Kenne¬
bec, in the state of Maine. But accidental circumstances
frustrated this design, and it was not until 1622, when
Sir Ferdinando Georges, conjointly with one Mason, ob¬
tained a grant of the territory lying between the rivers
Merrimac and Kennebec, that such measures were taken
as secured a permanent settlement in this part of the
country, which commenced the year following at the
mouth of the Pascataqua. Several patents of inferior
extent were subsequently issued, one of which conveyed
the Pemaquid tract of country, now Bristol, which is re¬
garded as the oldest permanent settlement in Maine. In
1635 the council conveyed to Georges a separate title to
the portion of the former grant east of the Pascataqua,
having previously confirmed in the possession of the west¬
ern part Mason, from whom it received the name of New
Hampshire. Georges obtained for himself, by royal char¬
ter, the powers of lord palatine, as exercised by the Bishop
of Durham ; appointed a board of counsellors ; and in 1640
assembled a court, at which the inhabitants of the several
plantations appeared, and renewed their oath of allegiance
to the lord proprietor. Sir Ferdinando, who was a royalist,
had his share of the disasters with which the adherents of
Charles I. were overwhelmed ; and dying in 1645, he left
his estate to his son John Georges. During the civil com¬
motions which confounded alike titles and property, one
Colonel Rigby laid claim to forty square miles of the best
part of Georges’ inheritance, which claim was recognised
in 1646 ; and the small remaining portion of Maine, having
elected a governor, petitioned parliament in 1650 to consti¬
tute them a distinct jurisdiction, “ a part of the common¬
wealth of England,” but without success. Their apprehen¬
sions of falling into the hands of the Puritans were soon
realized. In the year 1652, nearly the whole of Maine was
claimed by the colony of Massachusetts Bay, under the
pretext that it was embraced in their charter; and they suc¬
ceeded for a time in exercising supreme control over it. In
1665, after the restoration of Charles II., commissioners
were appointed to visit Maine, w’ho declared the province
to be under the protection and government of the king,
and nominated a magistracy. No sooner had they quitted
the country, however, than the authorities of Massachu¬
setts resumed their sway, and the inhabitants were com¬
pelled to yield an unwilling submission. But Georges, the
legal proprietor, at length succeeded in obtaining a resti¬
tution of his title, and the authorities of Massachusetts
Bay were summoned to appear at Whitehall. Determined
to retain possfession of the cpuntry, they instructed their
agents to make a purchase of it should the decision go
against them, which happening to be the case, Georges
disposed of his title to the province for L.1250. This trans¬
action took place in 1677—78. Immediately after purchas¬
ing Maine, the council of Massachusetts proceeded to or¬
ganize a provincial jurisdiction, constituting it a county
under the name of York; an arrangement which lasted,
without any change, till 1760, when the counties of Cum¬
berland and Lincoln were incorporated, and the county of
York was reduced to nearly its present limits. After the
independence of the colonies was established, Maine was
styled a district, although its connection with Massachu¬
setts remained the same until it was erected into an inde¬
pendent state in the year 1820. See the article Maine.
Plymouth, the next colony, was founded by a body of
Puritans, who had removed from England to avoid religious
persecution, and landed at a place in the new world, to
which, in 1620, they gave the name of Plymouth. They
entered into a voluntary compact, by which they bound
themselves to observe certain laws and ordinances which
should be framed and issued to promote the general good
of the colony. This is the earliest American constitution,
and is dated the 11th of November 1620, and signed by
forty-one persons. The government was administered by a
governor, chosen annually by the people, and by seven per¬
sons called assistants, elected in the same way. It was at
first a pure democracy, but in the year 1639 a house of re¬
presentatives was established. The political affairs of this
colony are closely interwoven with those of Massachusetts,
with which it was incorporated in 1772. ’
The colony of Massachusetts Bay, which has acted so
conspicuous a part in the affairs of New England, origi¬
nated in a number of individuals having, in 1628, obtain¬
ed from the Plymouth Company a grant of that part of
New England lying three miles south of Charles River,
s—v “Y
NEW
NEW
157
and the same distance north of the Merrimac, and extend-
I - Jng from the Atlantic to the South Sea. In the following
year they obtained from Charles I. powers as the company
of Massachusetts Bay, being authorized to elect a gover¬
nor and eighteen assistants annually, to hold courts, and
to make laws and regulations for the colony. Settle¬
ments were immediately formed at Salem, Charleston, Bos¬
ton, and other places, and the settlers soon obtained per¬
mission to transfer the charter and government to New
England, thus rendering that the constitution of a state
which was merely designed to constitute the organization
of a company. In 1634 the people claimed a participation
in the government, and declared that the general court (the
name which the two houses of legislature in Massachu¬
setts still bear) alone had power to frame laws, levy taxes,
and fill up offices. This, therefore, became a fundamental
part of the constitution ; but disputes arising between the
assistants and the deputies of the people, who met in the
same room, it was determined, in 1644, that the legisla¬
ture should consist of two separate bodies, each having a
negative on the other. No judicial authority was given
by the charter, but the power was in fact assumed and
acted upon. Courts of justice were created, and in crimi¬
nal cases the Mosaic law was mainly followed.
Connecticut was an offshoot from Massachusetts, and
at first was governed by magistrates empowered by the le¬
gislature of the parent colony. But in 1639 they framed
a constitution for themselves, the substance of which was
contained in the charter granted by Charles II. in 1662,
and continued, without any material alteration, to be the
fundamental law of the state until 1818. New Haven,
which was settled in 1637 by a body of Puritans, conti¬
nued to exercise powers of government as a separate body
until 1662, when the colony was by charter included in
Connecticut.
In the year 1634, a minister of the name of Williams
having been banished from Massachusetts on account of his
religious creed, settled at Providence, whither he was fol¬
lowed by a few adherents. Four years afterwards, a lady,
banished from the same place for the same reason, pur¬
chased Rhode Island from the Indians; and thus two new
communities, with distinct governments, were formed. In
1643, commissioners of plantations had been created.; and
from these a charter of incorporation was obtained for the
I inhabitants of the towns of Newport, Portsmouth, and Pro¬
vidence, under the designation of the Providence Planta¬
tions, with full powers to adopt a form of government, and
to rule themselves. In the same year in which the com¬
mission was appointed, the colonies of Massachusetts, New
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, formed a confe¬
deracy, under the title of the United Colonies of New Eng¬
land, which lasted about forty years, when James II. de¬
prived them of their charters. This confederation was
exactly the future union of states in miniature. According
to the articles of the confederacy, the colonies bound them¬
selves by a perpetual league of friendship and amity for
offence and defence, whilst individually they managed their
own affairs. Two commissioners of each of the confede¬
rates formed a board for transacting the affairs of the confe¬
deracy generally. This was just congress in embryo. Dur¬
ing the ascendency of Cromwell the New England colonies
were highly favoured ; but the restoration of royalty sub-
them to suspicion, and, as we have seen, to scrutiny.
In the year 1664, royal commissioners were appointed to
visit them, and hear and decide all their complaints, and
appeals, civil, criminal, and military, thus bringing the
whole under the immediate superintendence of the crown.
ut, as Lord Clarendon expressed it, the colonies were al¬
ready hardened into republics, and the commissioners found
it impossible to execute their powers. Arbitrary measures
were resorted to, to bring the refractory provinces under
proper control, but without effect; so that, by the year Newent
1687, it had been declared that they had forfeited their >TII
charters and their liberties, which were accordingly seized
by the crown. Sir Edmund Andros, the governor, put him- ^
self at the head of a body of troops, and advanced to Con¬
necticut for the purpose of seizing the charter. The as¬
sembly was convened, and the charter was conveyed to
the room, where they met to confer with Andros. The
conference was prolonged till night, when the people with¬
out made a rush into the room, extinguished the lights,
and secreted the charter in an oak, which is still shown at
Hartford. In many places the inhabitants refused to pay
taxes, and a rumour having been circulated that the Prince
of Orange had landed in England, the people of Boston
rushed to arms, seized the governor, and the captain of a
frigate which lay in the harbour, compelled the castle to
surrender, and thus effected a complete revolution. Sub¬
sequently to these events, Connecticut and Rhode Island
resumed their former charters; but, in 1672, a new one
was granted to Massachusetts, by which the appointment
of the governor was vested in the crown. It is superfluous
to narrate the wars with the Indian tribes in which these
colonies were involved, or those in which Britain finally
annihilated the power of France in America. An account
of these belongs more to the general history of the United
States than to the present sketch. Vermont, the only New
England state which remains to be mentioned, took no lead
in these transactions; and any event of importance in which
it was concerned will be found related in the article New
York. (r. r. r.)
NEWENT, a market-town of the county of Gloucester,
in the hundred of Botloe, 108 miles from London. It is
a small town, and what little trade it enjoys arises from its
market on Friday, and from the canal from Gloucester to
Ledbury, which passes near to it. The inhabitants amount¬
ed in 1801 to 2354, in 1811 to 2538, in 1821 to 2660, and
in 1831 to 2859.
NEW FOREST of Hampshire, in England, is a tract of
at least forty miles in compass, which had many populous
town and villages, and thirty-six mother churches, until it
was destroyed and turned into a forest by William the
Conqueror. As this large tract lay many ages exposed to
invasions from foreigners, Henry VIII. built some castles
in it. It is situated in that part of Hampshire which is
bounded on the east by Southampton River, and on the
south by the British Channel. It possesses advantages of
situation, vrith respect to the convenience of water car¬
riage and nearness to the dock-yards, superior to every
other forest, having in its neighbourhood several ports and
places of shelter for shipping timber, amongst which Ly-
mington is at the distance of only two miles, Bewley
about half a mile, and Redbridge three or four miles from
the forest; and the navigation to Portsmouth, the most
considerable dock-yard in the kingdom, is only about thirty
miles from the nearest of these places. This is the only
forest belonging to the crown of which the origin is known.
Doomsday-book contains the most distinct account of its
afforestation by William the Conqueror, The contents
of every field, farm, or estate, afforested, in hides, caru-
cates, or virgates, by which the extent of land was then
computed, together with the names of the hundreds and
villages, and of the former proprietors, which are for the
most part Saxon; the rent or yearly value of each posses¬
sion, and the tax which had been paid for it to the crown
during the reign of Edward the Confessor, before the in¬
habitants were expelled, and that part of the country laid
waste; are all to be found in that curious and venerable
record. Wishing to discover the original extent of the
forest, we had extracted all that relates to it in that ancient
survey ; but the extract is far too voluminous for insertion.
The names of many of the places having since that time
158
NEW
Newfound-been changed, it is difficult to ascertain with precision
land. what were then the limits of the forest. The oldest per-
ambulation we have met with is amongst the Pleas of the
Forest, in the eighth year of Edward I. preserved in the
chapter-house at Westminster. The boundaries there de¬
scribed include all the country from Southampton River
on the east to the Avon on the west, following the sea-
coast as far as the southern boundary between these rivers,
and extending northwards as far as North Chadeford, or
North Charford, on the west, and to Wade and Ower-
bridge on the east; and the greater part, if not the whole,
of that extensive district, is mentioned in Doomsday-book
as the forest belonging to the crown. Another perambu¬
lation was however made in the twenty-ninth of the same
king, and leaves out a great part ol the country contained
in the former. This perambulation, which is preserved in
the Tower of London, confines the forest to limits which,
as far as can be traced, appear to have been followed in
the twenty-second year of Charles II. when the forest was
again perambulated. By the Chavta de Fovastn, all lands
not belonging to the crown which had been afforested by
Henry II. Richard I. or King John, were to be disafforest¬
ed ; but as no provision was made for the reduction of the
more ancient afforestations, it is easy to account for the
great diminution of this forest in the reign of Edward I.
who was not a prince likely to submit to any encroachment
on his rights. The perambulation of the twenty-second
of Charles II. is the last which is found upon record, and
contains the actual legal bounds of the forest. According
to the perambulation last mentioned, and the plan founded
thereon, the forest extends from Godshill on the north-west
to the sea on the south-east, about twenty miles, and from
Hardley on the east to Ringwood on the west, about fifteen
miles, and contains within those limits about 92,365 acres
statute measure. The whole of that quantity, however, was
not forest land, nor is it now the property of the crown.
There are several manors and other considerable freehold
estates within the perambulation, belonging to individuals,
to the amount of about 24,797 acres ; about 625 acres are
copyhold or customary lands belonging to his majesty’s
manor of Lyndhurst; about 1004 acres are lease-hold un¬
der the crown, granted for certain terms of years, and form¬
ing part of the demised land revenue, under the manage¬
ment of the surveyor-general of crown lands; about 901
acres are purprestures or encroachments on the forest;
about 1193 acres more are enclosed lands held by the
master-keepers and groom-keepers, with their respective
lodges ; and the remainder, being about 63,845 acres, con¬
sists of woods and waste lands of the forest. To perpetuate
the spot where William Rufus was killed by the glance of
an arrow shot at a stag, a triangular stone was erected in
1745.
NEWFOUNDLAND, an island in the North Atlantic
Ocean, lying on the north-eastern side of the Gulf of St
Lawrence, between the parallels of 46. 40. and 51. 31.
north latitude, and the meridians of 52. 44. and 59. 31.
longitude west of Greenwich. It is separated on the north¬
west from Canada by the Gulf of St Lawrence; on the
north and north-east it is divided from the coast of La¬
brador by the strait of Belleisle, which is about fifty miles
lono- by twelve broad; on the south-west it approaches
Cape Breton, so as to form the main entrance from the
Atlantic Ocean into the gulf; and along the whole of its
eastern side extends the Atlantic Ocean. Its form is
somewhat triangular, but without any approach to regu¬
larity, being on all sides, at very short intervals, indented
by broad and deeps bays, creeks, harbours, caves, and es¬
tuaries. In this respect its shores resemble those of Nova
Scotia, and the serrated appearance which they have on
maps is attributable to the same cause. A vast and unin¬
terrupted body of water impelled by the trade-wind from
NEW
the coast of Africa to the American continent strikes this Newify
part of it with tremendous violence, and working away the land;
softer strata, forms those numerous arms and inlets of the^^vr
sea which we have mentioned. The same powerful agent,
combined with the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, has
produced the same effect upon other parts of the coast be¬
sides those exposed to its first attack. The coast outline,
the only part of Newfoundland which has been satisfac¬
torily explored, is rock, girt all round with abrupt fissures,
and having some lofty headlands on the south-west side.
Its width, at the broadest part, between Cape Ray and
Cape Bonavista, is about 300 miles ; its extreme length,
measured on a curve from Cape Race to Griquet Bay, is
about 419 miles ; and, exclusively of the bendings and in¬
ferior inflections of the coast, its circumference may be es¬
timated at about 1000 miles, the whole comprehending an
area of 36,000 square miles.
This vast island reposes upon an immense bank, a suc¬
cession of which has been observed all the way to Nova
Scotia. It is apparently a mass of solid rock, having a very
wild and rugged appearance from the sea, and being any
thing but inviting. On its south-eastern quarter New¬
foundland is formed into a peninsula of twenty-six leagues
in length by from five to twenty leagues in breadth, the
isthmus which unites it with the main land being not more
than four miles in breadth. This peninsula is called Ava¬
lon. To the north of it, and on the eastern side of the
island, lies Trinity Bay, which is separated from that of
Bonavista by a narrow neck of land, the point of which
is Cape Bonavista. A long neck of land also divides Trinity
Bay from Conception Bay on the northern side ot Avalon.
This bay ranks as the first district in Newfoundland, as well
on account of the spirit and enterprise of the inhabitants
who people its shores, as from its natural advantages of
large harbours, coves, and the like. The scenery on this
part of the coast is majestic, wild, and calculated to strike
the beholder with awe. On the eastern side of Concep¬
tion Bay are several islands, one of which is Bell Isle, so
called from the shape of a remarkable rock close to its
western side. This island is about six miles in length,
and extremely fertile. Seven leagues distant from Cape
St Francis, the eastern boundary of Conception, are the
bay and harbour of St John’s, the capital ot Newfound¬
land. A succession of bays indent the coast all round the
peninsula of Avalon, the principal of which are, Trepas-
sey Bay, which has a large secure harbour and excellent
anchorage, with a considerable fishery carried on in the
coves and creeks ; and Placentia Bay, which is about sixty
miles deep and forty-five broad, lying between Cape St
Mary and Cape Rouge, which are fifteen leagues apart. It
is very spacious, with several rugged islands near its head.
The port and town of Placentia lie on the eastern side, as
well as the chief harbour, which, although it can only be en¬
tered by one vessel at a time, affords anchorage for one
hundred and fifty. Placentia Bay contains several other
harbours. It is separated from Fortune Bay by one of those
long and narrow necks of land which are so common in the
island. Fortune Bay is from sixty to seventy miles deep,
and from twenty to thirty miles broad, receiving many
rivers from the island lakes, and containing numerous har¬
bours, the principal of which is Fortune Harbour on the
eastern side. St Pierre and Miquelon Islets are situated at
the mouth of Fortune Bay. They were ceded to France
in the year 1814, and the former contains a harbour which
is the rendezvous of the French shipping, and the residence
of the governor. From this point, all along the south side
of Newfoundland to Cape Ray, which forms the north¬
east entrance of the Gulf of St Lawrence, there are nume¬
rous bays, but none of sufficient size or importance to re¬
quire particular description. On the western side, formed
by Cape Anguille and Cape St George, is the Bay ot St
NEWFOU
nd- George, a large and deep inlet of the sea, into which se¬
veral rivers emerging from lakes in the interior empty
themselves. Further to the north is the Bay of Islands,
formed by three arms, through which several rivers dis¬
charge their waters. One of these, called the Humber,
is the most considerable yet discovered, its course having
been traced for one hundred and fourteen miles to the
north-westward, where it issues from a cape of ten leagues
in length. As its name would indicate, this bay contains a
number of islands, but none of any particular consequence.
The next large indentation of the sea on the western side
of Newfoundland is Bonne Bay, which has also rivers com¬
municating with the lakes inland to Point Rich. The next
bay is called Ingornachoix Bay, which contains two har¬
bours ; and to the north of it is St John’s Bay, which re¬
ceives the waters of Castor’s River. Along the straits of
Belleisle, which separate Newfoundland from the coast of
Labrador, are a few inconsiderable inlets ; but beyond Cape
Norman, the north-west point of the island, is a large bay
called Pistolet Bay, bounded by Cape Barut. On the
northern extremity of Newfoundland are Griquet Bay and
Hare Bay, a deep gulf, the bottom of which intersects the
island for two thirds of its breadth at this point, branching
off into innumerable bays and coves, sheltered by lofty
hills. From this haven to White Bay, a very large inlet
of the sea, on the eastern side of the island, and thence to
Cape St John, the coast is indented at short distances by
commodious and much-frequented harbours. The Bay of
Notre Dame and the Bay of Exploits are of great extent,
and contain a vast number of islands, together with a thriv¬
ing settlement called Twilingate. The river Exploits is
about seventy miles long, but its navigation is obstructed
by rapids, some of which have a velocity of nearly ten miles
an hour. This river connects the Red Indian Lake, a large
sheet of water in the interior, with the Atlantic. Gander
Bay is much of the same description ; and all have import¬
ant salmon fisheries. From Cape St John to Cape Freels
the coast is a continuation of ledges, shallows, islands, and
rocks, but affords excellent fishing grounds. Bonavista
Bay contains several islands, and is itself indented by a
number of small inlets and harbours. To the south of it
is Catalina Bay, containing Ragged Harbour, which con¬
cludes the circuit of the island.
After the exterior aspect of Newfoundland has been de¬
scribed, the interior comes naturally to be noticed. But
this has been very imperfectly explored, and therefore is
but little known. In 1823, a Mr M‘Cormack succeeded
in traversing its breadth from Conception Bay on the east
to St George’s Bay on the west; and from his account it
appears, that this portion of it at least is much intersected
with lakes and rivers, but poorly wooded, and of a rocky and
barren soil. In this respect the island differs greatly from
the other North American colonies, producing little tim¬
ber but what is dwarf and stunted, except on the margins
of bays and rivers, where spruce, birch, and poplar some¬
times grow to a considerable size. Several high hills, sup¬
posed to be situated near the centre of the island, can be
discerned from the sea ; but the inland country is repre¬
sented as generally level, so that lakes, rocks, marshes, and
extensive alluvial savannahs or plains, with occasional ele¬
vations, constitute its characteristic features. The geolo-
gy of Newfoundland is nearly the same as that of the coast
of Labrador. The island, it appears, abounds with mine¬
rals of various sorts. Coal and lime have been wrought in
more than one part with some success; and there is lit-
t e doubt as to the existence of copper, iron, and other
mines, but it is not likely that they are very productive.
iere are excellent gypsum quarries near Cape Ray, and
ieie is also a quantity of the mineral called marcasite,
NDLAND. 159
copperas stone, and horse gold, which the early discoverers Newfound-
mistook for the genuine metal. With regard to the pro- land,
ductions of the island, Mr Bouchette observes r1 “ At the
heads of the bays, and along the rivfers, there are many
tracts of land formed of deposits washed from the hills ;
the soil of which tracts is of much the same quality as that
of the savannahs in the interior of America. These lands
might be converted into excellent meadows, and if drained
to carry oft' the water which covers them after the snows
dissolve, they would yield excellent barley and oats. The
rich pasturage which the island affords adapts it in an
eminent degree to the breeding and raising of cattle and
sheep, insomuch as to authorize the belief that it might
produce a sufficient quantity of beef to supply its fisheries.
Firs of various sorts, poplars, birches, and a few maple
trees, are found in Newfoundland, with a variety of shrubs.
Most of the English common fruits arrive at perfection,
and various grasses grow spontaneously in all the plains.
The wild animals are nearly the same as those of Prince
Edward Island, and indeed of our other American colo¬
nies. The Newfoundland dog is an animal whose pecu¬
liarities and virtues are too well known to need any detail
in this place ; it is, however, generally considered that
the true original breed exists now only on the coast of La¬
brador.
“ The climate is severe, and the winter long ; but it has
generally been represented more unfavourable than strict
truth will warrant. The excess of humidity and constant
visitation of dense fogs, which have been commonly ascrib¬
ed to these coasts, is by no means a continual visitation.
The sea-winds often bring a considerable quantity of vapour
to the southern and eastern coasts ; but it is only when the
wind blows from the sea that this inconvenience is felt.
The range of the thermometer is nearly the same as in Ca¬
nada, but as the length of the island extends over nearly
five degrees of latitude, it will of course vary. The har¬
bours on the Atlantic shore are generally freed from their
icy bonds earlier than any other within the Gulf of St Law¬
rence, and the western shore is seldom visited by fogs.
The heat of the summer is sometimes oppressive in the
day-time, but the mornings and evenings, as in almost all
insular situations, are temperate and agreeable. The
breaking up of the winter, when the vast shoals of ice
formed in the northern regions are driven along the coast
by the winds, is the most disagreeable time of the year.
The inhabitants, however, maintain excellent health, and,
notwithstanding the exposure and hardships of a fisher¬
man’s life, frequently attain a remarkable longevity.”
The most remarkable feature connected with Newfound¬
land is the fogs above alluded to. Those of the Gulf of
St Lawrence are attributed to the coldness of the gulf-wa¬
ters, which is supposed to be permanent a few feet below
the surface, as well as at great depths. This cold water is
brought to the surface by winds, and, reducing the tempe¬
rature of the air below the dew point, forms vapour. The
fogs on the banks of Newfoundland are also, in all likeli¬
hood, caused by cold currents of water being brought to
the surface. On the great bank the surface of the water
is many degrees colder than it is in the neighbouring sea,
and much less than that of the gulf-stream, which is with¬
in a short distance of it.
I he most valuable vegetable productions of the island
are potatoes and cabbages ; and next to these turnips, car¬
rots, parsnips, pease, radishes, and most garden roots, yield
the most abundant crops. Besides the great staple of the
island, fish, the numerous large and small sheets of water
abound in divers kinds of excellent trout and eels of a great
size, and lobsters, lance, herrings, mackerel, salmon, are in
great abundance ; plaice, sole, hallibut, and thornback, are
* Couchette’s British Dominions in North America, vol. ii. pp. 187, 188.
160
NEWFOUNDLAND.
Newfound-likewise found on the coast. The capelin arrives periodi-
land. cal]y in such immense shoals as to change the colour of the
—v—■'ySea. Herrings likewise arrive during spring and autumn
in prodigious numbers. As a product of the coast may
be mentioned kelp, which, with other sea-weed, is used as
manure.
The importance of this colony has exclusively arisen
from its fisheries. The different settlements amount to be¬
tween sixty and seventy in number, and are scattered on
the shores of the eastern and southern sides of the island,
but principally on the former. There are, indeed, some
inhabitants on the western shore, near its southern extre¬
mity; but they do not extend to the northward of St George’s
Bay, although the vicinity of that bay has proved extreme¬
ly fertile. The settlements are generally formed at the
heads of the bays, particularly Conception Bay, thence to
St John’s, and southward to Cape Race. The principal are,
besides St John’s, the Bay of Bulls, Brigus, Cape Broyle
Harbour, Ferryland, Fermore, and Renowes. St John’s,
the capital of the island, is a place of considerable strength,
situated about seventy miles to the north of Cape Race,
and about one hundred and twenty south of Twilingate
Island in the Bay of Exploits, which is the most northerly
settlement, latitude 47. 35. north, longitude 52. 48. west.
The harbour is one of the best in Newfoundland, being
formed between two mountains, the eastern points of which
leave an entrance, called the Narrows. This is the only
assailable part, but it is so well defended, that any vessel
attempting to force an entrance would inevitably be de¬
stroyed. There are about twelve fathoms of water in the
middle of the channel, with tolerably good anchorage
ground. The most lofty perpendicular precipices rise to
an amazing height upon the north side, and the southern
shore appears less striking in its altitude, only from a com¬
parison with the opposite rocks. There is a light shown
every night on the left side ot the entrance, where there
are also a small battery and a signal-post. Other batteries
of greater strength appear towering above the rocky emi¬
nences towards the north. At about two thirds of the dis¬
tance between the entrance and what may properly be term¬
ed the harbour itself, there is a dangerous shelf called the
Pancake, opposite the chain rock, so called from a chain
which extends across the strait at that place, to prevent
the admission of any hostile fleet. There are other forti¬
fications besides those already noticed, planted upon the
heights around the town, so as to render St Johns perfect¬
ly secure against any sudden attack. Fort Townshend is
situated immediately over the town, and is the usual resi¬
dence of the governor. Forts Amherst and Yv iiliam are
more to the north; and there is also a small battery perch¬
ed on the top of a single pyramidal mount, called the Crow s
Nest. The town itself forms one long straggling street,
extending nearly parallel to the shore on the north side
of the port, from which branch out several narrow lines of
houses, that can only be called lanes. The houses are
chiefly built of wood, although diversified by some of brick
and a few of stone ; but they are most irregularly placed,
in consequence of an act of the British legislature, passed
in 1820, after the great fires, which directs, that where the
houses are built of stone, the street shall be forty feet in
width, and where of wood, fifty; so that all the stone
houses project ten feet into the street. The principal fea¬
ture of the town consists in its multitude of wharfs and fish¬
ing stages, which entirely line the shore. The government
wharf is a fine broad quay, open to the accommodation of
the public. The roadway of the main street is very rugged
and irregular, and the general appearance of the town in¬
dicates exactly what it is, viz. a fishing station. St John’s
has repeatedly and severely suffered from fires. In 1815,
a great amount of property was destroyed by a visitation
of this sort, which was repeated in November 1817, with
increased severity, property to the amount of L.500,000 Newfbu^n
having been destroyed. Within a few days afterwards, an- land ^
other conflagration consumed nearly all of the town that had
been left by the former one ; and in August of the same
year a fourth calamity nearly completed its destruction.
There are places of public worship of various denomina¬
tions at St John’s, two school-houses, and a book society ;
and five newspapers are also published. The population of
the town is constantly fluctuating. At the height of the
fishing season it is perfectly crowded, but the greater part
of these are strangers, who return with their vessels to
Europe. The resident population may be estimated at
11,000. The society of this town has for some years ra¬
pidly advanced in respectability and civilization ; partly on
account of several merchants deeply engaged in trade hav-
ino- settled here, and many of the industrious inhabitants
having raised themselves to comparative^ opulence; and
partly^owing to the administration of justice having been
placed upon a more permanent footing than formerly, ihe
settlements extend almost continuously along the southern
shore, as far as Fortune Bay ; and at most of the harbours
there are places of public worship. The establishment at
St George’s Bay is perhaps more agricultural than any
other on the island; but Conception Bay, being the most
populous, requires more particular notice. “ Harbour
Grace is a good port, ’ says Captain Robinson; u and the
town is considerable, and of a respectable appearance. Con¬
ception Bay, in which it is situate, is the-richest and most
populous country district in Newfoundland, containing al¬
together about 14,600 inhabitants, a large proportion of the
86J)00 which the most recent census (1820) gave for the
whole population of the island. They are distributed in a
number of small towns, or fishing and agricultural ham¬
lets ; near another of which, Port Grace, a remarkable
basin is hollowed out in the cliffs by the action of fiost, or
the more certain operation of time, in the decaying slate
clay of which the rocks are composed. First an arch is en¬
tered twenty feet wide by twenty feet high, and beyond is
the basin itself, which is about 300 feet in circumference,
and surrounded by perpendicular rocks 120 feet in height,
with a border of dwarf spruce at top. At one corner, a
little exit among broken masses of rock carries off the su¬
perfluous water ; the depth near the centre of the cavity is
about fourteen feet.” On leaving the harbour, the same
writer observes: “ The harbour is good; and though the
space between the end of the bar and the north shoie is
rather narrow, a large ship, well handled, may beat through,
or back and fill in and out, with the tide.
Near the extremity of Port Grace Harbour are the re¬
mains of a supposed ancient colony, which some have at¬
tributed to the Danes or Icelanders; a sea-king of the lat¬
ter people having, according to tradition, been driven by
stress of weather upon this part of the coast about the year
1000. The ruins were discovered by a party ot settlers,
who, proceeding up a river which falls into Conception Bay,
observed, at the distance of six or seven miles above the
bay, the appearance of stone walls rising just above the sur¬
face. “ On removing the sand and alluvial earth, they as¬
certained these to be the remains of ancient buildings, with
oak beams, and mill-stones sunk in oaken beds. Enclosures
resembling gardens were also traced out, and plants of va¬
rious kinds were found growing about the place, not indi¬
genous to the island ; but the most decisive proof of these
ruins being the remains of an ancient European colony,
was drawn from the different kinds of coins found about
them, some of Dutch gold, which the inhabitants consi¬
dered to be old Flemish coins ; others of copper without in¬
scriptions.” Captain Robinson, however, throws doubt on
the antiquity of the buildings, and asserts that they are not
older than the settlement of Lord Baltimore in 1623.
Newfoundland is justly considered as a very important
NEWFOUNDLAND.
161
colony, both from the value of the fisheries there esta- early trade of the colony, so that, in order to show its pre-Newfound-
blished, and also on account of the hardy race of seamen sent condition, it may be sufficient to give the returns ap- land>
who are trained up in that useful pursuit. In the article plicable to a recent period. The following table shows the
Fisheries in this work will be found an account of the progress of trade since 1822.
Years.
1822
1823
1826
1827
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
Inwards from
Great
Britain.
No.
297
289
279
279
275
286
274
268
251
Tons.
38,167
39,813
35,196
37,595
38,608
39,856
37,577
36,265
35,171
British
Colonies.
No.
274
254
295
268
319
321
385
362
419
Foreign
States.
No.
178
201
277
Tons.
20,818
21,015
24,594
22,417j 239
17,507j 197
26,363j 221
30,643 218
27,881
33,287
215
222
Tons.
22,037
23,650
33,316
30,368
24,915
28,204
20,349
25.783
26.784
TotaL
No.
749
753
851
786
791
828
877
845
892
Tons.
81,022
84,478
93,406
90,380
91,030
94,423
96,569
89,929
95,242
Outwards to
Great
Britain.
No.
146
116
171
164
147
158
181
167
151
Tons.
17,457
12,238
19,770
20,182
17,766
19,054
21,764
20,221
18,515
British
Colonies.
No.
281
272
326
311
350
357
432
430
450
Tons.
24,299
25,725
30,557
33,114
36,544
37,610
43.159 223
39,113 199
42,327j'244
Foreign
States.
No.
321
353
328
291
278
284
Tons.
38,859
42,569
40,223
35,667
34,883
35,718
27,575 836
25,111 796
30,118' 845
Total.
No.
748
741
825
776
775
799
Tons.
80,615
80,532
90,550,
88,963
89,193
92,382
92,498
84,445
90,960
A more detailed view of the shipping employed with different countries is thus shown by custom-house returns.
United kingdom 
Guernsey and Jersey 
British West Indies 
British North America 
Foreign) British vessels....
Europe J Foreign vessels...
United) British vessels 
States j Foreign vessels....
Madeira..  
Azores 
Brazils 
Gibraltar 
St Pierre.- 
Porto Rico 
Total.
Year ending 5th January 1833.
Inwards.
No.
245
6
54
363
132
5
68
5
Tons.
34,322
849
5,490
27,522
16,276
565
7,938
849
458
415
275
112
171
Men.
1969
53
356
1535
1017
40
451
42
27
23
14
12
13
Outwards.
No.
150
1
73
371
183
'29
6
23
6
3
Tons.
18,280
235
7,796
33,748
22,137
3,515
458
3,896
789
112
Men.
1110
12
503
1867
1413
206
26
225
44
12
Year ending 5th January 1832.
Inwards.
No.
257
11
54
308
159
50
3
2
1
Tons.
34,704
1,561
5,605
22,276
19,995
5,i46
409
163
70
Men.
2024
103
379
1158
1413
279
14
10
5
892 95,242 5552 845 90,966 5418 845 89,929 5385 796 83,745 4870
Outwards.
No.
164
3
71
355
173
2
21
1
1
1
4
Tons.
19,728
493
7,821
30,871
21,500
336
2,330
73
102
70
421
Men.
1203
33
515
1595
1333
14
137
4
6
4
26
The following table presents a view of the principal ex¬
ports from Newfoundland.
Dry cod fish quintals
Seals’ skins...No.of casks
Cod and seal oil tons
®taves number
Salmon casks
Herrings barrels
Mackerel Jq.
Tongues,sounds,)
and caplins..../casks
848,463
300,682
8,306
25,204
4,439
1,083
390
1,759
1831.
755,667
559,342
12,371
32,568
3,606
1,799
456
2,092
1832.
654,053
682,803
13,118
29,000
2,924
1,064
984
1,646
663,787
501,436
10,539
40,679
2,705
3,969
606
819
Besides these articles, various kinds of skins are exported,
and also whalebone, pine-board, juniper plank, billets, knees,
oars, staves, and the like ; but the above returns show that
the cod and seal fisheries are by far the most important
branches of the trade of Newfoundland.
For an account of the nature of the Newfoundland fish¬
eries, and their importance to Great Britain, the reader is
referred to the article Fisheries.
The principal imports consist of bread, flour, pork, and
beef, butter, rum, molasses, wine, brandy, and gin, coffee,
tea, sugar, oatmeal, salt, pease and beans, lumber, shingles,
and the like. ^ The value, together with that of the exports,
has been as follows.
Imports valued in Sterling Money.
. Years.
1822
1826
1827
1830
1831
From Great
Britain.
L.
656,327
204,753
549,816
546,839
530,954
From
British
Colonies.
L.
177,423
131,090
157,731
130,286
177,958
VOL. XVI.
From
Foreign
States.
L.
34,002
179,600
181,714
91,291
102,441
Total
Value of
Imports.
L.
867,752
512,443
889,261
768,416
829,353
Exports valued in Sterling Money.
To
Great
Britain.
L.
245,578
293,745
316,596
252,389
393,584
To
British
Colonies.
L.
82,952
121,746
116,513
140,520
132,258
To
Foreign
States.
L.
400,668
343>814
331,477
292,771
277,690
Total
Value of
Exports.
L.
729,198
759,305
764,586
685,680
803,532
x
162
Newfound
land.
NEWFOUNDLAND.
• The total value of the Newfoundland trade may be es¬
timated, in round numbers, at L.2,000,000 sterling per an¬
num, independently of its great importance in a maritime
point of view. But besides the trade in fish and oil car¬
ried on by Great Britain in the British seas, that of Ame¬
rica and France is also of immense extent and importance.
To France it averages about 300,000 quintals of fish, and
not only are bounties given for this article, and for the
vessel so much per ton, but also for those men employed
who have never before been at sea. No bounty whatever
is paid by our government, so that our fishermen have to
compete under the greatest disadvantages. But this is
not all. In 1814, the French obtained a right to a large
extent of the coast fishery, or rather the right which they
had enjoyed previously to 1792 was then restored, and the
islands of St Pierre and Miquelon were ceded to them, to
serve as a shelter for the French fishermen. This privi¬
lege, which was conferred by treaty, they have rendered
exclusive, and so late as 1833 drove some English vessels
off the coast of Newfoundland, not allowing them to fish
upon the shores of their own island. The Americans also
take every possible advantage of the privileges granted by
us as regards the latitude fixed, fishing close to the land
during night; and they likewise injure their neighbours by
throwing their offal into the sea. Of the entire quantity
of cod-fish which they take, not less than 1,500,000 are
reckoned as caught on our own shores. The regular trade
of Britain, besides suffering from the causes mentioned, is
seriously injured by the extensive smuggling which the fo¬
reign fishermen carry on. From 1815, when the French
and American vessels were allowed the privilege of fishing
in the British seas, till 1820, the tonnage of the British ves¬
sels employed in the trade fell off about one third. I he
deep-sea fishery, in particular, is now almost abandoned by
the English to the Americans and French. Indeed every
thing relating to British interests, in connection with the
Newfoundland fisheries, appears to have been grossly mis¬
managed or neglected.
The affairs of the island are administered by a house of
assembly, consisting of fifteen members chosen by the
people, to which is added a legislative and executive coun¬
cil. The laws are in the English language, and are admi¬
nistered by circuit courts. There is no militia in the island,
and the police force is small. The revenue is derived from
custom-duties, amounting to about L.15,000 per annum,
and licenses, L.1000. To meet the expenditure, a parliamen¬
tary grant of about L.10,000 was for several years given ;
but this was withdrawn in 1832, and since then the reve¬
nue has not covered the expenditure by about that amount,
so that its restoration has been found necessary. The
moral aspect of Newfoundland is rather encouraging. Con¬
siderable unanimity has usually existed amongst the differ¬
ent religious persuasions, consisting of Wesleyans, Roman
Catholics, and Congregationalists ; the dissenters being ge¬
nerally more numerous than the Episcopalians, over whom
there is an archdeacon. The Catholic church is governed
by a bishop. There are several newspapers published in
the island, and of late years a taste for literature has been
diffusing itself. There are between thirty and forty schools,
as well for adults as for children. At St John’s there is a
commercial society, out of which a chamber of commerce
is chosen annually, to watch over and promote the trade
and fisheries. There are several benevolent societies and
two benefit societies. The population of Newfoundland
for several years was as follows:
Males. Females. Total.
1822-23 31,746 20,411 52,157
1827-28 34,617 23,471 58,088
To these numbers must be added 2000 individuals distri¬
buted over distant parts of the coast, which could not be
visited by those who took the census. The population ne- Newfinm
cessarily fluctuates greatly, so that much difficulty is expe-
rienced in obtaining correct returns. The resident inha¬
bitants are now (1837) reckoned at about 90,000.
When Newfoundland was first visited, it was found to
contain two distinct races of aborigines ; the one termed
Red Indians, and the other Esquimaux. Both are now al¬
most extinct; the former, it is supposed, is entirely so, as
deadly feuds were waged between them and the early set¬
tlers. Besides, the Mic-mac Indians, who were introduced
into the island from Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, carried
on with the Red Indians an exterminating war, which
proved far more fatal to them than the hostilities of the
Europeans. A female of this tribe was captured in 1818,
and from her a vocabulary of their language was obtained.;
Without dwelling upon the tradition which represents
Newfoundland as having been settled at a very early pe¬
riod by one Biron, a sea-king or pirate of Iceland, we have
authentic evidence of its re-discovery by John Cabot, on
the 24th of June 1497. Sailing under the commission of
Henry VII. in these seas, he descried a headland, which,
as a lucky omen, he called Bonavista, a name which it still
retains. It was at that time inhabited by native Indians,
three of whom he brought home, clothed in skins, and
speaking a language which no person understood. It was
afterwards visited by navigators from trance and Portugal,
who reporting favourably of the abundance and excellency
of its cod fishery, European fishermen were soon attract¬
ed to its coasts. In 1536 an English vessel attempted to
winter upon the island, but the crew nearly perished from
starvation. Not deterred by this failure, however, nor by
that of a former attempt, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1583,
landed on the island with two hundred followers, and, un¬
der a patent of Queen Elizabeth, took quiet possession of
the country. But too desirous of prosecuting his discove¬
ries, his crews became disaffected, and having separated in¬
to two parties, one of them returned home. Most of those
who followed him were lost in a gale of wind off the Sable
Island, and the remainder perished, along with himself, on
their voyage homewards. Subsequent attempts were made
to explore and settle Newfoundland, but it was not until
the year 1623 that the first colony was established under
Sir George Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore. His son
was made governor of the colony, which he named Avalon,
and soon afterwards proceeding thither himself, it increas¬
ed and flourished under his auspices. Ten years subse¬
quently Charles I. issued a regulation for “ governing of
his majesty’s subjects inhabiting in Newfoundland, or traf¬
ficking in bays,” &c.; and about the same time Lord Falk¬
land sent a colony from Ireland. Other individuals ob¬
tained grants of land; and about the year 1654, fifteen
settlements, comprehending three hundred families, had
been made on the island, notwithstanding the constant
bickerings between the English and French, the latter
having established a colony at Placentia. On the break¬
ing out of the war after the accession of William III., these
assumed a more serious character, and, after various recri¬
minations, St John’s was compelled to surrender to the
French in 1696. The captors set fire to the fort and
town, and destroyed most of the British settlements. To
repair these losses, our government despatched a squadron;
but the cowardice of one commander and the ignorance
of another frustrated the design. The re-establishment
of peace put an end to hostilities for the time; but they
were resumed in 1702, during which year most of the
French settlements were destroyed, and a great many fish¬
ing-boats were burned or captured. In the following year
an expedition miscarried, and this circumstance encouraged
the French to attempt the conquest of the whole island in
1705. For this purpose five hundred men were despatch¬
ed from Canada; but being repulsed from Petty Harbour,
NEW
NEW
ew al¬
low j"
Ni
Ha i-
shl
a port within nine miles of St John’s, they extended their
ravages over the different settlements as far as Bonavista.
In 1706 the French trade received a severe blow from an
English commander, who, with only ten vessels, crippled
the armed force on the station, and destroyed a number of
^ the enemy’s vessels in the harbours along the coast. These
disasters, however, did not deter the French from attempt¬
ing the permanent expulsion of the English. In the year
1708 they completely demolished the town of St John’s;
and shortly afterwards Carbonia, the only settlement of
consequence remaining in our hands, was partially de¬
stroyed. From this time until the conclusion of the peace
of Utrecht the French remained in quiet possession of New¬
foundland ; but by this treaty the island, with all the ad¬
jacent ones, was declared to belong to Great Britain, the
French being only allowed the use of the two islets of St
Pierre and Miquelon. The final conquest of all the Ame¬
rican colonies extinguished any claims which the French
might set forth to possession in these seas ; and they were
glad to receive back at the peace of 1763 the privilege
above conferred. The revolutionary war in America oc¬
casioned fresh disputes as to the right of fishing upon the
banks of Newfoundland. The New Englanders had hi¬
therto enjoyed the right of taking fish, and on this being
resisted, they retaliated, by refusing to supply the colony
with many articles of provision upon which it depended.
This reciprocal annoyance caused the subject to form one
of the articles of the treaty of peace, signed at Paris in
1783, by which it was stipulated that the inhabitants of
the United States should have liberty to take fish of every
kind on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as Bri¬
tish fishermen should use, but not to dry or cure their fish
upon the island. The question of supplies from America
was a long time agitated, but finally authorized by act of
parliament in 1822, confining the transit of goods to Bri¬
tish bottoms. Newfoundland has had a resident governor
ever since the year 1728. Civil and justiciary courts were
early established ; and about the year 1750, a superior
court was added. But for many years the imperfect ad¬
ministration of justice continued to be a subject of com¬
plaint amongst the colonists. Bills have been repeatedly
passed for the purpose of placing matters upon a more sa¬
tisfactory footing; and in 1832 a representative govern¬
ment was granted to Newfoundland, similar to that enjoy¬
ed by Nova Scotia. (r. r.
NEW GALLOW’AY, a small royal burgh of Scotland,
in the centre of the stewartry of Kircudbright. It is plea¬
santly situated on the western bank of the Ken. The town
is formed of a single street, stretching along the public
road. The parish church is about half a mile from the
town, on the north side. There is attached to the town-
house a criminal and debtor’s jail, surmounted by a steeple
and town clock. Below the town a handsome stone bridge
was erected over the river in 1822. The inhabitants are
entirely supported by the retail trade arising from the de¬
mands of the population of the surrounding country. It
was erected into a royal burgh in 1629. By the set or con¬
stitution which, in 1708, received the sanction of the con¬
vention of royal burghs, the town ought to be governed by
a provost, two bailies, a treasurer, and fifteen councillors;
out as the parliamentary constituency do not amount to that
number, the council is never complete. It has no funds
or property of any description, with the exception of cus¬
toms and small dues, which do not amount to L.3 yearly,
it returns a member to parliament along with Wigton,
Stranraer, and Whithorn. The population amounts to about
163
NEW HAMPSHIRE, one of the United States of
or i America, is bounded on the north by the mountain¬
ous ridges which separate Canada from the states of the
union, on the east and south-east by Maine and the Atlan¬
tic Ocean, on the south by Massachusetts, and on the west
by Vermont. It is situated between 42. 41. and 45. 11.
of north latitude, and between 70. 40. and 72. 23. of west,
longitude; extending in length about 168 miles, whilst its
average breadth is about fifty miles, and its area is com¬
puted at 9491 miles. On the map its shape nearly resem¬
bles a wedge inserted between the states of Maine and
Vermont, and having Massachusetts for its base. New
Hampshire, for its narrow extent, differs more in relative
elevation than any other state of the union, and of course
the extremes of temperature are in corresponding excess.
The line of coast is indented with small inlets of the sea,
and skirted by a narrow sandy plain. At no great distance
the country swells into a mountainous region, and New
Hampshire has justly been called the state of hills, and
also the granite state. The highest peaks of the White
Mountain range, some of them 7000 feet in height, are
more elevated than any others in the United States, with
the exception of the Rocky Mountains. Between the
Merrimack and the Connecticut are situated many consi¬
derable mountains; the names of the principal heights being
Monadnock, Sunapee, Kearsarge, Carr’s Mountain, and
Moosehillock. As a whole, the physiognomy of New
Hampshire is bold and prominent, and, although rugged,
often sublime in the highest degree. The mountains of the
state are in the centre, with a zone of finely-diversified hill
and dale country around, the hills consisting generally of
stony and moist land, and affording excellent pasturage.
There are no extensive barrens, and most of the land is
capable of cultivation. Many of the valleys are beautifully
green, sheltered, and fertile. The rivers in particular
have rich alluvial bottoms or intervale lands, the soil, al¬
though encumbered with stones, having a considerable
degree of fertility. The state originally was heavily tim¬
bered, and in the interior there are still considerable tracts
of forest country. There are extensive plains of warm,
light, sandy, and peculiar soil, resembling, when cleared,
the poorer lands of the high western prairies, covered in
their natural state with white pine, and called pine plains.
Mount Washington, one of the White Mountains, often
visited by travellers, Mr Hinton thus describes: “ After
climbing the side of the mountain for some distance, the
forest trees begin to diminish in height, till, at the ele¬
vation of about four thousand feet, you come to a re¬
gion of dwarfish evergreens, about the height of a man’s
head, which put forth numerous branches, and surround
the mountain with a formidable hedge, a quarter of a mile
in thickness. On emerging from this thicket, you are
above all woods, at the foot of what is called the bald
part of the mountain, which is very steep, and consists of
a huge pile of naked rocks. After attaining the summit,
the traveller is recompensed for his toil, if the sky be se¬
rene, by a most noble and extensive prospect. On the
south-east there is a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the near¬
est part of which is sixty-five miles distant in a right
line; on the south, Winnipiseogee Lake lies full in view ;
m the south-west is the lofty summit of Moosehillock;
and far away in the horizon is the Grand Monadnoc. The
barren rocks, which extend a great distance in every di¬
rection from the summit, add a melancholy cast to the
grandeur of the scene. The notch or gap in the White
Mountains is also frequently visited as a curiosity. It is
on the west side of the mountains, near the source of Sa¬
co River. It is a deep and narrow defile, in one part only
twenty-two feet wide. I he mountain appears as if clo¬
ven quite to its base, perpendicularly on one side, and on
the other at an angle of forty-five degrees.” The Lake of
Winnipiseogee, mentioned above, is the largest sheet of
water in New Hampshire, being about twenty-three miles
in length. It is sprinkled with numerous islands, and
abounds in the finest kinds of fresh-water fish. Umbagog
New
Hamp¬
shire.
164
New
Hamp¬
shire.
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Lake is situated partly in this state and partly in Maine.
Squam, Ossipee, Sunnapee, and Newfound Lakes, are also
large collections of water. Five of the largest rivers of
New England have their sources in this state, viz. the
Connecticut, Merrimack, Androscoggin, Saco, and Pasca-
taqua. There are also a number of inferior streams ; and,
throughout, New Hampshire is remarkably well watered,
the water being generally of the purest quality. In re¬
ference to the geological features of the state, it may
be mentioned, that the high ridge of mountains which di¬
vides the waters of the Connecticut from those of the
Merrimack is composed ol the older primitive rocks. Gra¬
nite prevails in the northern and more elevated part, and
mica slate in the southern. A beautiful fine-grained gra_
nite occurs in many parts of the state, and great quantities
of it are transported to Boston as a building stone. Io
the eastward of the great ridge, mica slate, gneiss, and
greenstone, are found. Steatite or greenstone of good
quality is found at Ortord and Francestown, and primitive
limestone abounds in several places. New Hampshire also
possesses beds of iron ore of excellent quality, and coppei
ore has likewise been discovered. Plumbago is found, at
some places in large quantities, and of excellent quality.
These are the principal minerals which this state pro¬
duces in such quantities as to be much regarded by the in¬
habitants.
The climate of New Hampshire is subject to the ex¬
tremes of heat and cold, and to great and sudden changes,
yet it is reckoned healthy, the air being generally pure
and salubrious. Winter commences in November, and
continues till April, the lakes being ordinarily frozen four
months in the year, during six wTeeks of which travelling
by means of a species of sledge is quite common, both on
the ice and on terra firma. The open fields are commonly
cleared of snow by the end of April; but the cold wea¬
ther, which commences as early as the first of September,
continues till May. In all the states in this neighbour-
hood the autumn is a delightful season. New Hampshire
is an agricultural state, and by far the greater number of
the inhabitants are engaged in the cultivation of the soil.
The articles principally cultivated are, wheat, rye, Indian
corn, oats, barley, pulse, and flax. I he quantity of live
stock is considerable, consisting of horned cattle, sheep,
swine, and horses. Apples are abundant, and no goo
husbandman considers his farm as complete without an 01-
chard ; but other kinds of fruit are not so extensively cul¬
tivated. The principal articles of export are, lumber, fish,
beef, pork, horses, neat cattle, sheep, flax-seed, and pot and
pearl ashes. The manufactures of New Hampshire have of
late years greatly increased. In 1831 there were forty cot¬
ton mills, which manufactured during that year 29,060,500 ^
yards of cloth, and employed 875 males and 4090 females,
besides some children. There are likewise some woollen
establishments, ten or twelve paper mills, a number of iron
founderies, and works for preparing the ore; and glass is
also manufactured. In this and in some other states, large
quantities of carpeting, of an inferior quality, are made in
families, but these are not noticed in the estimated amount
of exports. Mr Pitkins, in his statistics of the United
States (1835), observes regarding this manufacture in
New Hampshire : “ The agent for New Hampshire, in his
return to the secretary, says that the amount of carpeting
made in the counties of Rockingham, Strafford, Grafton,
and Coos, mostly in families, and sold in other states, ex¬
ceeds, in his opinion, the amount of foreign articles con¬
sumed.” The value of the imports from December 1832
to December 1833 was 167,754 dollars ; and the value of
the exports for the same period was, of domestic produce,
145,355 dollars, and of foreign produce, 9903 dollars;
total, 155,258 dollars ; the tonnage entered being 17,126.
From the same source (the American Almanac) we learn,
that for the year ending the 30th of September 1835, the
value of the imports was 71,514 dollars; that of the exports,
of domestic produce, 75,076 dollars, and of foreign pro¬
duce, 6605 dollars, total, 81,681 dollars ; whilst the ton¬
nage which entered was, 6564, and that which departed,
3996 tons. This remarkable falling off in the trade of the
state we have no other means of accounting for, than by
supposing that the trade in this part of the United States
is becoming more and more concentrated at Boston, where
goods of all kinds can be more readily disposed of; and
this, we have been informed by a native of the country,
is the fact. Amongst the towns where the principal ma¬
nufacturing establishments are situated may be mention¬
ed Exeter, Dover, Peterborough, Franconia, Pembroke,
New Ipswich, Keene, and Durham. In 1835, there were
in New Hampshire twenty-six banks, having a ^capital
of 2,655,008 dollars, and a circulation of 1,389,970 dol¬
lars. The number of post-offices was 289, and the amount
of postages for the preceding year was 23,429 dollars.
There are several savings’ banks and insurance offices in
this state. At the commencement of the war in 1775, New
Hampshire had only one newspaper; but in 1834 twen¬
ty-seven were published, besides a few other periodicals.
The following table exhibits a view of the counties and
county towns.
New
Hatnp.
shire.
Counties.
Population
in 1820.
Population
in 1830.
Rockingham.
Strafford.
Merrimack...,
Hillsborough,
Cheshire 
Sullivan 
Grafton 
Coos 
Total  243,986
40,526
51,415
32,743
35,781
26,753
18,628
32,989
5,151
44,452
58,916
34,619
37,762
27,016
19,687
38,691
8,390
County Towns.
Population.
Distance from
Concord. Washington.
269,533
J Portsmouth.
\ Exeter 
f Dover  
J Gilmanton..
} Gilford 
(Rochester..,
Concord 
Amherst....
Keene 
Newport....
f Haverhill...
(Plymouth..,
Lancaster..,
8082
2759
5449
3816
1872
2155
3727
1657
2374
1913
2153
1175
1187
45
39
40
20
30
40
30
55
40
67
40
116
491
474
490
500
504
500
474
448
431
467
509
515
558
Portsmouth, the largest town, and the only seaport in three miles from its junction with the sfa,^ J
the state, is situated on the south side of Piscataqua River, north, and longitude 70. 4o. west. I he
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
N dered as excellent, having sufficient depth of water for ves-
^ sels of any size, being easy of access, protected from every
s 'r wind, and, owing to the rapidity of the tide, never frozen,
“[it is so well fortified by nature, that it can be made secure
against any attack, with little trouble or expense. Seve¬
ral forts have been planted upon commanding positions. A
lighthouse on Great Island indicates the entrance, and
the largest ships can come close up to the wharfs. Ports¬
mouth is well provided with houses of public worship, and
contains a custom-house, an insurance office, and several
banks. This town enjoys considerable trade; but as a great
portion of that from the interior of the state centres at
Boston, and a part at Portland, its commerce is not so ex¬
tensive or flourishing as it would otherwise be, and, as has
already been shown, it is on the decline. In Navy Island,
on the Piscataqua, opposite to Portsmouth, there is a navy
yard of the United States. The island belongs to the ge¬
neral government, and is convenient for building ships of
war, being well furnished for this purpose. Portsmouth
has suffered much from fires at different periods, the places
of the buildings destroyed being supplied by brick edifices.
A very handsome bridge across the Piscataqua connects
it with the state of Maine. This town was settled in 1623,
and incorporated by charter in 1633.
Concord, the capital of New Hampshire, and the seat of
government, is situated on both sides of the river Merri¬
mack, in latitude 43.12. north, and longitude 71. 29. west.
The principal portion of the town is exceedingly plea¬
sant, extending along the western bank of the river for
nearly two miles. It contains a state-house, a state-prison,
a court-house, several places of public worship, and above
two hundred dwelling-houses. Two bridges connect the
chief village with that on the opposite bank, and much of
the trade of the upper country centres here; whilst the im¬
portance of the town is increased by the boat navigation
which has been opened between this place and Boston by
means of the Merrimack River and Middlesex Canal. The
town of Concord issues three or four gazettes, and is alto¬
gether a place of large and growing business. Exeter is a
handsome village, fifteen miles south-west of Portsmouth; it
is situated at the head of tide-water on the Exeter River,
and small vessels ascend to it. This village contains a
number of public buildings, with three or four churches, and
j rs the seat of very considerable manufactures. Philips’
Exeter Academy, in this place, is one of the most ancient,
opulent, and useful institutions in the United States, hav¬
ing many of the advantages and endowments of a college.
Hover is a large manufacturing village, situated on the
, western bank of the Piscataqua, twelve miles north-west of
Portsmouth, and through it flows the Cochecho. This river
has several falls, the largest of which, being upwards of
lorty feet perpendicular, is at the centre of the town, and
affords water-power equal to any in New England. Lame
iron and cotton manufactories have been erected upon these
falls, and upon others a few miles higher up the river. Dover
contains a number of good public buildings, has a consider¬
able share of shipping, and is one of the most flourishing
erHVnln v6 Stue' 1?e greatest Part of the timber export-
ed from New Hampshire is brought to this place. Keene
on the TJT it(;wnmun the south*west Part of the state,
River w6 i ^ PrinciPal towns on the Connecticut
Charted Wap0?’ thlrteen miles north-west of Keene;
“e ea,„f"ntW,el,C f"68 Walpole; Hanover
mUes north S‘S'n0U “'f8*5 Haverhill> twenty-even
tTe head If ^”7“and Bath’ adjoi”i”g Haverhill, at
rous thriving E navlgation. There are, besides, nume-
- tlmving and beautiful villages. The common schools
165
ai-p wpll . 7 T ,111£*scs. common schools
ished in mST^i ^ flourishing academies are estab-
u in many of the towns. Dartmouth College at Hu
nover, was founded in 1770 i a,tll,uulil ,-oiiege, at Ha-
institution i„ NeXS
ed with it ten instructors, 1858 alumni, 512 ministers, ahd
186 students, with 6000 volumes in the college libraries,
and 8500 volumes in the students’ libraries. The funds of\
this institution are considerable, the annual income being
above 4000 dollars. It has likewise a medical school of de-
sci ved reputation at Hanover, where there are three profes¬
sors and about eighty students. Philips’ Exeter Academy,
at Exeter, is an old and flourishing institution. It has funds
amounting to about 80,000 dollars, a library of 700 volumes,
and a handsome philosophical apparatus. Its officers are, a
principal, a professor of mathematics and natural philoso-
pny, and an assistant. Ihe funds are appropriated in
part to the support of theological students. There are a
great number of less extensively-endowed academies, and
the primary and other schools established throughout the
state are upon the general footing of the New England sys-
t,ei|1?' Vie state has a library fund amounting to 64,000
dollars, formed by a tax of one half per cent, upon the capi¬
tal of banks. The proceeds of this fund, and also an an¬
nual income of 9000 dollars derived from a tax upon banks
are appropriated for the support of schools ; and for main¬
taining common schools, 90,000 dollars are annually rais¬
ed by a separate tax. There are in New Hampshire 159
churches for Congregationalists, and eleven associations;
the Baptists have ninety churches and six associations; the
.Tree-will Baptists have a hundred congregations ; the Me¬
thodists, seventy-five ministers; the Presbyterians,ten con-
gregations; the Christians, twenty-three congregations;
the Unitarians, seventeen congregations; the Friends,
fllteen societies; the Episcopalians, nine congregations;
the Roman Catholics, two congregations; and the Shak¬
ers, two societies. The clergy of New Hampshire are
supported by salaries, which are raised by subscription, or
by voluntary taxation on property, or by contribution. The
sa,a7 °* Congregational ministers is about
40° doliars, that of the Episcopalian 600 dollars, that of
the Unitarian 500 dollars, that of the Baptist 300 dollars,
but those of other persuasions have still less. The inha¬
bitants are a strong, healthy, industrious, and well-inform¬
ed people; frugal, religious, and jealous of their rights.
Ihe salubrity of the climate is proved by the fact, that
many instances of considerable longevity occur in the state.
As in the other states of the Union, internal improve¬
ments have within the last ten years made considerable
advances in New Hampshire. Several canals have been
constructed around falls in the Merrimack, viz. Bow Ca¬
nal, three miles below Concord, with four locks, and pass¬
ing a fall of twenty-five feet; Hooksett Canal, fifty rods
long, with three locks, and a lockage of sixteen feet, pass¬
ing Hooksett Falls; Amosheag Canal, with nine locks,
and a lockage of forty-five feet, passing Amosheag Falls,
nine miles below Hooksett Falls; Union Canal, immediate¬
ly below Amosheag, overcomes seven falls in the river
ana lias seven locks in nine miles. A canal is now in pro¬
gress around Sewali’s Falls, in Concord. The Nashua and
Lowel Railroad, extending from Nashua, New Hampshire,
to Lowell in Massachusetts, about fifteen miles in length
was incorporated in the year 1836, and is now (1837) in
progress. This railroad is expected to be continued from
Nashua to Concord. The Concord Railroad Corporation
nas been organized.
The early history of New Hampshire will be found in the
article New England. In the year 1741 a final separation
took place between it and Massachusetts. A constitution
was established in 1784; but in 1792 this constitution was
altered and amended by a convention of delegates held at
Concord, and it is that now in force. The legislative power
is vested in a senate and house of representatives, which
together are styled The General Court of New Hamp-
sme. Every town or incorporated township having one
hundred and fifty rateable polls may send one representa-
New
Hamp¬
shire.
166
NEW
New
Haven.
tive, and for every three hundred additional polls it is en¬
titled to an additional representative. The senate consists
' of twelve members, who are chosen by the people in dis¬
tricts. The executive power is vested in a governor, and a
council which consists of five members. The governor,
council, senators, and representatives, are all elected an¬
nually by the people, their term of service commencing on
the first Wednesday in June, upon which day the general
court meets yearly at Concord. The right of suffrage is
granted to every male inhabitant of twenty-one years ot
age, excepting paupers, and persons excused from paying
taxes at their own request. The judiciary power is ve^
in a superior court and a court of common pleas. I e
judges are appointed by the governor and council, and
hold their offices during good behaviour, but not beyond
the age of seventy years. v *lR’ tt •*.
NEW HAVEN, a city of Connecticut, one of the Unit¬
ed States of North America. It lies round the head of a
bay, which stretches inwards about four miles from Cong
Island Sound, seventy-six miles north-east from Nevv York,
and stands on a large and beautiful plain, which is border¬
ed on the north partly by eminences called East and West
Rock, presenting bold and almost perpendicular columns
of bare trap rock from three to four hundred ieet in height.
Upon the eastern and western sides the city is skirted by
small rivers, and extends from east to west three miles, be¬
ing about two miles in width. It is regularly laid out, and
consists of two parts, the old and the new town. The for¬
mer was originally laid out in one large square, and is di¬
vided into several smaller squares. The central square is
intersected by a very fine street, in which three handsome
churches have been erected; and it also contains a new
state-house, built after the model of the Parthenon, and
ranking with the best American buildings. The public
square and the principal streets are ornamented with trees ;
and a great part of the dwelling-houses have gardens filled
with fruit trees, which give to the city a rural and delight¬
ful appearance. New Haven contains eight or nine places
of public worship, Congregationalists and Episcopalians be¬
ing the most numerous sects. There is a jail, an alms¬
house, a custom-house, a museum, two banks, two insur¬
ance offices, an institution for popular lectures, and a num¬
ber of printing offices, from which five or six newspapers
and a few other periodicals are issued. Yale College con¬
sists of ten buildings; four halls one hundred feet by forty,
and four stories in height, containing thirty-two rooms each
for students, a chapel, a medical college, a laboratory, and
other necessary apartments. According to the Ameri¬
can Almanac for 1837, the state of this institution was as
follows: Instructors, twenty-seven ; alumni, 4485 ; minis¬
ters, 1297 ; students, 413 ; volumes in the college libraries,
10,500; and volumes in the students’ libraries, 15,000.
The philosophical and chemical apparatus are good, and
the cabinet of minerals is the most valuable in the United
States. In connection with this establishment there are the¬
ological, medical, and law schools ; and the place is celebrat¬
ed for the number of its boarding schools, there being seldom
fewer than one thousand persons who come hither from
abroad for the purpose of education. The harbour of New
Haven is well defended from winds, but is shallow, and gra¬
dually filling up with mud; an evil which has been reme¬
died in part by the construction of a wharf, about a mile in
length, extending into the harbour. The maritime com¬
merce of this city is greater than that of any other place in
Connecticut, and it owns a considerable amount of ship¬
ping. Both the foreign and the coasting trade are extensive,
and packets and steam-boats ply regularly between New
Haven and New York. It was first settled by the English
in the year 1638, and, as the capital of the colony of New
Haven, continued distinct from that of Connecticut till the
year 1665. The legislature of the state meets alternately
NEW
here and at Hartford. The population in 1820 amountedNewhs
to 7147, in 1830 to 10,678, and in 1837 to about 13,000. «
Long. 72. 57. W. Lat. 41. 18. N. J ^
Newhaven, a town of the county of Sussex, and the. ^
hundred of Holmstrough, sixty miles distant from London.
It stands at the mouth of the river Ouse, and is the port
of Lewes, where the custom-house is established. It was
formerly a place of more importance than at present; but
the harbour has been neglected, and nearly choked up by
sand. It is sometimes called Meeching. The population
amounted in 1801 to 584, in 1811 to /55, in 1821 to 927,
and in 1831 to 904.
Newhaven, an ancient and considerable fishing vil¬
lage, situated on the Frith of Forth, less than two miles
north from Edinburgh, and one mile west from Leith.
The village is formed by a street running contiguous with
the shore, with several back lanes, and in appearance it
has nothing to recommend it to attention. It possesses a
low-water pier, which affords shelter to the fishing boats
of the station, and accommodation to the ferry and other
steamers in the taking up and landing of their passengers
and goods. A handsome chapel has lately been erected
at the west end of the village, and forms a subsidiary place
of worship, or chapel of ease, to North Leith church. The
inhabitants are a most industrious race, both sexes being
busily employed, the men in procuring the fish, and the
females in carrying them to the market. The oyster-bank
is valuable, and yields fish of excellent quality. Were
it turned to its proper account, it would yield a tar greater
amount of revenue to the proprietors. At the west end of
the village there has been erected within these few years^
a considerable suburb, called Trinity, consisting chiefly ot
houses built in the villa style, and cottages for sea-bathing
quarters. There is a chain-pier here, built by Captain
Brown, from which steamers for various quarters hourly de¬
part. A bill passed last session (1836—37) for constructing^
a harbour here, in order to accommodate the large class ot
steamers plying between the English and Scotch capitals.
At Granton, about a mile farther west, a harbour is consi¬
derably advanced for the same purpose. 1 here is no mu¬
nicipal government in Newhaven, the superiors of the place
being the town-council of Edinburgh, who purchased it
in the year 1511, with all the privileges and rights with
which James IV. had endowed it. Along with Leith, Por-
tobello, Musselburgh, and Fisherrow, it returns a member
to Parliament.
NEW HOLLAND. See Australasia.
NEWINGTON, a parish of the county of Surrey, in the
hundred of Brixton. It is nearly adjacent to London, or
rather to Southwark, and by the reform act contributes
to the election of two members of parliament along with
Lambeth and Camberwell It is frequently called Newing-
ton-Butts, from having formerly been the place where the
citizens of London practised archery. The population
amounted in 1801 to 14,847, in 1811 to 23,853, in 18»
to 33,047, and in 1831 to 44,526.
Newington-Stoke, a parish in the county of Middle¬
sex, and hundred of Ossulton, two miles and a half from
London, on the road from Shoreditch. The population
amounted in 1801 to 1462, in 1811 to 2149, in 1821 to
2670, and in 1831 to 3480. .
NEW LONDON, a city and port of entry in Connec¬
ticut, North America, situated on the western bank of the
river Thames, about three miles from its mouth, the
town is irregularly laid out, but has convenient public
buildings, and several churches for various denominations
of Christians. The harbour is the best in the state. It18
defended by Fort Trumbull on the western side ot the
river, and by Fort Griswold on the eastern side, in Groton.
A lighthouse has been erected upon a point which projects
considerably into the Sound. The commerce is extensive,
NEW
NEW
167
wn s
'W[ .
jgr.'
-Y ••
and packets and steam-boats ply regularly between this
port and New York. The population in 1836 was about
6000. Long. 72. 9. W. Lat. 41. 22. N.
NEWMILLS, a considerable burgh of barony, situated
on the right bank of the river Irvine, in the parish of Lou¬
don, Ayrshire. It was erected by royal charter in 1490.
The inhabitants are generally weavers. There are about
140 burgesses, who pay a small sum at admission, which
is applied in keeping the streets in repair. The whole in¬
come of the burgh consists in the customs, public green,
and feu-duties, which in all do not yield L.10 per annum.
In the town there is the parish church, and a meeting¬
house belonging to the United Secession body. A good
market is held weekly, and five annual fairs may likewise
be held. The burgh is governed by two bailies, a chan¬
cellor, treasurer, twelve councillors, and a town-clerk. The
population in 1821 amounted to 1543, and in 1831 to
1650.
NEW ORLEANS. See the article Louisiana.
NEWPORT, a small town, or rather village, of Cornwall,
in the parish of St Stephen, near to Launceston, which
had long the privilege of sending two members to the
House of Commons; but it has been disfranchised. The
parish in which it stands contains 1084 inhabitants, few
of whom live within the limits of the borough.
Newport, a market-town of the county of Salop, in the
hundred of South Bradford, 140 miles from London. It is
situated upon a plain on the borders of Staffordshire, and
has a market, which is held on Saturday. The population
amounted in 1801 to 2307, in 1811 to 2114, in 1821 to
2343, and in 1831 to 2745.
Newport, a town of the county of Pembroke, in the
hundred of Kemmess, in South Wales, distant 244 miles
from London. It is situated on the river Nevern, which
is navigable, and runs into the Bristol Channel. It is a
corporate town, governed by a mayor, twelve aldermen,
and a recorder ; but the market, having long declined, has
at length disappeared. The population amounted in 1801
to 1392, in 1811 to 1433, in 1821 to 1666, and in 1831 to
1798.
Newport, a market-town of the county of Monmouth,
and hundred of Wentlodge, 147 miles from London. It
stands at the mouth of the river Usk, across which there is a
fine bridge. A canal, divided into two branches, and run¬
ning into great coal-fields, has created a large trade in coals
between this town and the opposite ports of the Bristol
Channel in the counties of Somerset and Devon. In the
neighbourhood there are many ruins of ancient castles and
of religious houses. The market is held on Saturday. The
population amounted in 1801 to 1135, in 1811 to 2346, in
1821 to 4001, and in 1831 to 5441.
Newport, a town situated within the parish of Caris-
brook, in the Isle of Wight, and the capital of that island.
It is seventy-nine miles from London, and stands upon a
gentle elevation close to the river Medina. It is a well-
built town, with a good market-place, wide streets, and
respectable dwellings. It has a corporation, consisting of
a mayor, twelve aldermen, and twelve burgesses, in whom
was formerly vested the right of electing two members
to the House of Commons; but this is now extended to
all the inhabitants. There are good markets, which are held
on Wednesday and Saturday, and at the latter the greater
part of the corn grown on the island is sold. About one
mi e from the town is Carisbrook Castle, a remarkable pile,
celebrated for the imprisonment of Charles I. within its
walls. It is still in tolerable preservation. The population
amounted in 1801 to 3585, in 1811 to 3855, in 1821 to
40o9, and in 1831 to 4081.
Newport. See the article Rhode Island.
ewport-Pagnell, a town of the county of Bucking-
am, in the hundred of the same name, fifty-one miles dis¬
tant from London. It stands on the river Ouse, where the New Itoss
water of the small river Lovett falls into that stream. The II
church, situated upon an elevation, is an ancient and mag- 1 ewsPa'
nificent building ; and near it there are several alms-houses v ^eJS‘ ,
endowed by a citizen of London. Considerable occupation
is afforded in making bone lace, and there are paper-mills.
It was long the residence of the poet Cowper. There are
markets, which are held on Wednesday and on Saturday.
The population amounted in 1801 to 2048, in 1811 to
2515, in 1821 to 3103, and in 1831 to 3385.
NEW ROSS (anciently Roseponte) is not, as its name
might import, a new town, but one of considerable anti¬
quity, and is called new only to distinguish it from an older
place in the neighbourhood, also called Ross, but now of
no importance. New Ross is denominated an ancient bo¬
rough in the charter which was granted to it by James I.
It is situated on the left bank of the river Barron, in the
county of Wexford, at the distance of eighty-six statute
miles from Dublin. The river is navigable up to the town
for vessels of 200 tons burden. On the banks are exten¬
sive quays and lofty warehouses. A wooden bridge over
the Barron connects the town with the county of Kilken¬
ny. A thriving export trade is carried on in agricultural
produce, and the commerce of the town is increasing, and
likely to increase considerably. Great advantages are ex- v
pected to accrue from the port having been opened by the
lords of the treasury for the importation and bonding of
customable goods ; and a communication is contemplated
with Kilkenny by means of inland navigation. The place
was formerly enclosed by walls, and regularly fortified, yet
it made but a feeble resistance to the army of Cromwell.
In 1798, an obstinate and bloody conflict ensued here be¬
tween the king’s troops and the insurgents. The borough
of New Ross returns one member to parliament. In 1831
the population stood thus: Males, 2173; females, 2838;
total, 5011. The families chiefly employed in agriculture
were eighteen; in trade, manufactures, and handicraft,
532; not comprised in the two preceding classes, 578;
total, 1128.
NEWSPAPERS are publications issued in numbers,
consisting generally of single sheets, which, appearing at
short and regular intervals, convey intelligence of pass¬
ing events, and at the same time advocate certain princi¬
ples in politics, literature, and religion, but chiefly in the
first of these departments.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of modern, The na-
as compared with ancient times, is the periodical press, anture and
engine affecting society in all its relations, and forming 0nePra(;tical
of the most important safeguards of public liberty. Under utility of
this head are usually included reviews, magazines, and other newspa'
publications of a similar kind, as well as newspapers. But^er
although, upon certain grave and important questions, the
former sort of periodicals may contribute more to enlighten
the public mind, and to guide public opinion into safe and
proper channels; yet the wide diffusion of newspapers, their
rapid communication of intelligence on subjects ofimmediate
interest, their hasty and rough but often vigorous comments
on the leading events of the day, and the means which they
thus afford of acting immediately and constantly upon the
public mind, in all its varied states, render them much
more powerful as instruments of political influence, and thus
secure to them a prominence to which, intrinsically, they
are by no means entitled. They circulate every kind of
information with equal celerity and regularity ; they bring
to every man s home and fireside intelligence of all that is
passing in the great world, whether at home or abroad,
in war, in politics, in government, in commerce, and in the
common affairs of life ; they are registers of extraordinary
events, as well as of ordinary occurrences, of discoveries
and inventions, as well as accidents, offences, calamities,
or crimes; they often diversify their contents with scienti-
168
NEWSPAPERS.
Newspa¬
pers.
Historical
notices of
their ori¬
gin and
progress.
fic and literary notices ; and from the variety of facts and
information which they contain, they are indispensable to
many classes of society, and more or less agreeable or in¬
structive to all. To persons engaged in mercantile trans¬
actions they are peculiarly important, inasmuch as, from
the advertisements they circulate, and the details they fur¬
nish respecting the supply and demand of commodities in
all parts of the world, with the prices 'and the regula¬
tions by which these are affected, newspapers supersede a
great mass of epistolary correspondence ; place merchants
in remote situations upon an equality, in point of informa¬
tion, with those frequenting the principal marts ; and won¬
derfully quicken all the movements of commerce. Besides,
these publications have themselves become a considerable
article of commerce, in the production of which skill, ta¬
lents, and capital are equally requisite.
An historical account of newspapers, and of periodical
publications in general, is still a desideratum in literature ;
nor can it be doubted, that if the task were undertaken by
an individual of competent ability, and executed with the
requisite care and research, the result would be a work of
the greatest interest and importance. From the researches
of Mr Chalmers, it appears that to the state of Venice be¬
longs the honour of having produced the first gazetta ov
newspaper, which appeared as early as the year 1536. Ihe
war which the republic of Venice then waged against Sulei¬
man II. in Dalmatia, appears to have given rise to the cus¬
tom in that state of communicating both military and com¬
mercial information in written sheets (notizie scrilte), which
were read at a particular place by those desirous of learning
the news, and who paid for this privilege in a coin that is
no longer in use, called gazetta. From this circumstance,
it would seem, the name was, in course of time, transfer¬
red to the newspaper itself, not only in Italy and France,
but at length also in England and in other countries.1
The first of these notizie or gazettes was a monthly paper,
circulated, or rather read, at Venice. The jealousy of the
government prevented its being printed; and the gazetta
continued to be distributed in manuscript till towards the
close of the sixteenth century. In the Magliabecchi library
at Florence there are still preserved thirty volumes of these
gazettas, all of them in manuscript. Those who first wrote
newspapers in Italy were commonly called menanti, be¬
cause, according to Vossius, they intended, by these loose
papers or sybilline leaves, to spread about defamatory re¬
flections ; and for this reason all such gazettes were prohi¬
bited by Gregory XIII. in a bull entitled Minantes, from
the Latin minari, to threaten. But Menage, with more pro¬
bability, derives the name from the Italian verb menare,
which signifies to lead, direct, or produce.
The first English newspaper appeared in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, during the alarm occasioned by the ap¬
proach of the Spanish Armada to our shores. In the Bri¬
tish Museum, there are several copies which were printed in
1558, whilst the Spanish fleet was in the English Channel;
in order that, during a moment of general anxiety, the cir¬
culation of false reports might be prevented by publishing
real information. This newspaper is entitled The English
Mercuric, which, by authority, “ was imprinted at London,
by Christopher Barker, her highnesses printer, 1583.” Bur¬
leigh’s newspapers, however, were all extraordinary ga¬
zettes, not regular journals, and they were published from
time to time, according as that skilful statesman desired to
soothe, inform, or exasperate the people. Periodical papers
appear to have first come into general use during the civil
wars in the reign of Charles I., and in the time of the com¬
monwealth ; in fact, each party had their newspapers, to dis» kewspj
seminate sentiments of loyalty, or to foster a spirit of resist- Pers,
ance against the inroads of power. The country was ac¬
cordingly overflowed with tracts of every size, and of vari¬
ous denominations, many of them written with great ability,
and displaying uncommon courage. Mercury, however, was
the prevailing title, although generally qualified with some
epithet; and the quaintness peculiar to the age is curiously
exemplified in the names of some of the 4t news-books, as
the Dutch Spye, the Scots Dove, the Parliament Kite, the
Secret Owle, Heraclitus Ridens, the Parliament Vulture,
the Parliament’s Screech Owle, the Loyal Scout, and so
forth. A catalogue of the different Mercuries would ex¬
hibit a curious picture of those singular times. Mercurius
Acheronticus brought hebdomadal tidings from the infer¬
nal regions; Mercurius Democritus communicated marvel¬
lous intelligence from the world in the Moon ; the Laugh¬
ing Mercury gave exact information of proceedings at the
antipodes ; and the Mercurius Mastix lashed unmercifully
all other Mercuries, Scouts, Posts, Spies, Discoverers, and
Intelligencers. The Restoration and the Revolution occa¬
sioned each the establishment of a number of newspapers
in England, all of which have long since disappeared; nor
was it until the reign of Queen Anne that London could
boast of a daily paper. The first of the class published in
Great Britain was the Daily Courant, which for a consider¬
able time occupied the field alone ; but at length two rivals
appeared in the Daily Post and the Daily Journal, and, in
1724, we find that these three papers were simultaneously
published. Little change seems to have taken place dur¬
ing the reign of George I.; but in that of George II. every
kind of periodical publication increased abundantly. The
number of newspapers annually sold in England,^accord¬
ing to an average of three years ending with D53, was
7,411,757; in 1760 it amounted to 9,464,790; in 1767 it
rose to 11,300,980; in 1790 it was as high as 14,035,636,
and in 1792 it amounted to 15,005,760.
The victorious arms of Cromwell communicated to Scot¬
land the first newspaper. It appeared at Leith in October
1653, under the title of Mercurius Politicus, but, in Novem¬
ber 1654, was transferred to Edinburgh, where it continued
to be published until the 11th of April 1660, when it came
out under the name of Mercurius Publicus. This paper was
a reprint, for the information of the English soldiers, of a
London publication, entitled a Diurnal of some Passages
and Affairs. But a newspaper of native manufacture soon
made its appearance, under the title of Mercurius Caledo-
nius. The first number of this journal was published at
Edinburgh on the Slstof December 1660, “comprising,” as
its title bears, “ the affairs in agitation in Scotland, with a
summary of foreign intelligence.” The publication, how¬
ever, extended only to ten numbers, which, as Chalmers
says, “ were very loyal, very illiterate, and very affected.
Even after the Restoration the newspapers published by
authority continued to be reprinted in Edinburgh, and the
Mercurius Publicus instructed the natives until it was su¬
perseded by the Kingdom’s Intelligencer. At the era of
the Revolution there was not a newspaper printed in Scot¬
land ; nor was it until after ten years had elapsed that the
Edinburgh Gazette was published, in the month of February
1699, by James Watson, author of a History of Printing,
who, after the publication of forty numbers, transferred it to
one John Reid, whose son continued to print the paper even
after the union. In February 1/05, Matson establishe
the Edinburgh Courant, which he relinquished, after the
publication of fifty-five numbers ; and, in September 1706,
?
1 Some have thought that the word gazetta is derived from gazza or gazzera, a magpie, or chatterer ; whilst others deduce it from
the Latin gaza, colloquially lengthened into gazetta, and therefore signifying a little store or treasury of news. From the Italian
the word passed into the Spanish language, which has also gazetista, signifying one fond of or partial to the gazette. In German,
zeilung is formed from the ancient theidinge or teidung, identical with the English tiding and the Swedish tidingar.
NEWSPAPERS.
169
Gazette, or Scots Postman, twice a week; and, in Decern-
ber 1718, the town-council gave an exclusive privilege to
James M‘Evven to publish three times a week the Edin¬
burgh Evening Courant; upon the condition, however, that
“ the said James’ should, before publication, “ give ane
coppie of his print to the magistrates.” This journal still
continues to be published, but whether or not the original
stipulation be complied with, we are unable to say. The
establishment of the Courant was followed by that of the
Caledonian Mercury, the sequel of Mercurius Caledonius,
the first number of which appeared on the 28th of April
ndoi
■■spa
>a- he commenced the Scots Courant, which he continued to ers and nthm-c imnn v t . j A . „ , „ „
print until after the year 1718. To these papers were add- L 180 • and if t • t fobhshment, do not fall short of Isewspa-
Scowr:etii?Au- report>the^
by John M„„cU a d i„ Makh 17.0 the North xX! LT/kS ttol
the title of the Glasgow Courant; but this did ™t prevent commencratvTth theZblii ^o7,he PnnC,pal edlt,°r
»ssr.-ii2=»£SSS
He generally remains at his post until a late hour, prepar¬
ed to write comments on the foreign journals as they ar¬
rive (a duty in which he is generally assisted by the sub¬
editor), and also to direct attention, in a leading article, to
any topic of public interest. During the sitting of parlia¬
ment, he is frequently obliged to remain at the office of the
paper until two or three o’clock in the morning; and such
is the energy with which the metropolitan press is direct¬
ed, that it is not uncommon to see a leading article of near¬
ly a column in length written on a subject which had been
editor, and continued in his family until May 1772 when ImEi - . “ ,mPuIses !'“',llar >° tllc occaston.
it was sold by the trustees of hi/t-randdiildren Z John !,erllE‘[ls the most extraordinary part of the machinery
“"s aweT’ ^ ^ C°™> h- ;7; sontetipXsTat S
Having given this slight sketch nf ihc cri’crir. 1 ^ and int5 JfSence*. Hunng the session of parliament, the
of newspapers, we now proceed to consideAhe actual°ftate from the"time th^^^^ paperS attend by turns each day,
and condition of this portion of the press amongst ourseves other Ac , SineSS commences’ one succeeding the
dity with which they are printed and circulated, and the fhl- enter” a^mairapartmen" at ?he endTthelobb relie5el1’
ssatacsttrifaraSifi “■ - »^
Ring sent a body of troops to Portugal in comnhAce , A i • V i hen Proceeds at once to the office of the paper on
a demand made by the government of that countrv reAV 7 n^h c6 18 e,1gaged> and by him the attention of the edi-
ers belonging to several London journals accompanied the nAy have AmisniroT H? 0f.C0mm^dinS interest which
expedition; and since the commoncpmcni nfrni d- i may nave tianspired. His slips, as they are written, are
in Spain, the head-quarters of Don Carlos and tlmAofTA Anded 11G Prmter to the compositors, whose number
Christine generals,^avTresictiAlv bA; ?^ duiilng the SeSSIon of Parliament is generally increased ;
emissaries of the leading moaning papers lienorm nf thl Tf f °nie r1ePu°rter foliovvS another’ 11 is not unusual for a
 .... .. ug.morning paper,. Keports of the debate which has terminated at midnight to be set up in
types, and ready for printing, by two o’clock in the morn-
mg. On nights of prolonged discussion, when the houses
sit late, some of the reporters, particularly those whose pre¬
vious task may have proved least onerous, are required to
return to the gallery, and take what is called “ a double
turn. In general, however, owing to the subdivision of
labour, the duty ot an individual reporter is by no means
burdensome, and requires promptitude and facility rather
than prolonged exertion. The expertness produced by
labit is remarkable, and it not unfrequently happens that
— -.v, saving uiuiimjg papers, iteports or 1
proceedings in the Spanish Cortes, and the discussions in
e French Chamber ot Deputies, have on particular occa¬
sions accompanied those of the debates in the British houses
rpiA Indeed there is almost nothing beyond the
reach of their enterprise and activity.
tll(~mployed “P00 each morning paper of the first class
Ihere are awed,tor and sub-editor / from te„ to twelve, or
en fourteen, regular reporters, at salaries of from four to
six guineas each per week; from thirty to thirty-five com-
F]?p nA 7 t le Pnnting-office; several readers, who correct
uie proors as they come from tho • • i  ^ 1XV,° unncuudiuy Happens mat
number ofmen and boys to‘ittcnd in tl1 \ ’ , •am a singJe reporter, from the notes taken in three quarters
and take off the papers as they fall fromAlA r ^ A*011116’ 0t 30 hour’.suPPlies fr°m one to three columns ofVmted
Publisher and sub-^Lt^ matter f .the,paper on which he is engaged. Besides the
the office to receive advertisements and keen the t U C°rpS ° 1fgu ar. rePorters attached to a newspaper, there
with various other individuals emme-ed inAfe J S’ T severaloccasi°nal ones,called “penny-a-line men,”from
of subordinate duties. The salary of an ed nCe 16 c‘.rcu™stance of burnishing articles of intelligence
L.600 to L.100Q per annurand foat of A ?0m at a,fixued Price Per ‘me. The reporters of this class are
L.400 to L.600. The largesAkerntn the e^nen' A °A t0 4 ? 7 °f' the preSS what the Cossacks are to a dis‘
1 morning paper is that clfarged under the heJd nfrA6 r uipuned army; a species of active but irregular troops, who
ng, which generally amounteCupwardAof J ^000 IT ^ T* m a!1 directions, pick up every scrap that
I ium. In fact, the salaries paid weekfo ro ° P an' C°TeS 10 their way’ and iiavinS dresSed b up in their best
vol. xvi. aneS Paid weekly t0 edltors> ^port. style, straightway offer it for sale at the newspaper offices.
170
Newspa¬
pers.
newspapers.
In obtaining intelligence by express, and also in forward¬
ing it in this manner, some of the evening papers have
'latterly made great exertions. The Courier and the bun
have sometimes published the speech of the king ot the
French twenty-six or twenty-seven hours after it had been
obtained by their agents at Paris; and the latter jouma
has, on many occasions, forwarded “ express editions to all
parts of the'country, containing the conclusion of an im¬
portant debate which terminated several hours after the
departure of the mail, and thus anticipating by a day the
ordinary course of publication. , j .
Newspapers, in London, are, for the most part, sold to
newsmen or news-venders, by whom they are distributed to
the purchasers both in town and country. The newsmen,
therefore, are the retailers, and for the business ot distri¬
bution they receive a certain regulated allowance, amount¬
ing to two shillings and threepence upon a quire (as it is
called) of twenty-seven papers. Some of the clerks at
the post-office, called clerks of the roads, are likewise con¬
siderable news-agents. The stamp-duty charged upon
each newspaper was formerly fourpence, with a discount
however, of twenty per cent, on such as were sold
a price not exceeding sevenpence, which reduced the
stamp-duty actually paid to threepence and one fifth. But,
by the act 6 and 7 William IV. c. 76, this duty has been
repealed, and the following duties are now imposed in its
StCFor every sheet, or other piece of paper, whereon any
newspaper shall be printed, one penny. But where such
sheet or piece of paper shall contain on one side a super¬
ficies, exclusive of the margin of the ,e,XtC-ee^
ing 1530 inches, and not exceeding 2295, the additional
duty of one halfpenny is charged; and where the same
shall contain on one side a superficies, exclusive of mar¬
gin, exceeding 2295 inches, a further duty of one penny;
provided always that any sheet or piece of paper con¬
taining on one side a superficies, exclusive of the margin of
the letter-press, not exceeding 76o inches, which shall be
published with and as a supplement to any newspaper
chargeable with any of the foresaid duties, shall in that case
be charged only with the duty of one halfpenny. Then
follow definitions of what are to be deemed anu taken to be
newspapers chargeable with these duties. These are, 1st,
Any paper containing public news, intelligence, or occur¬
rences, printed in any part of the united kingdom, to be
dispersed and made public; 2dly, any paper printed in
any part of the united kingdom weekly or oftener, or at
intervals not exceeding twenty-six days, containing only
or principally advertisements ; and, 3dly, any paper con¬
taining any publicnews, intelligence, or occurrences, or any
remarks or observations thereon, printed in any part ot the
united kingdom, for sale, and published periodically, or in
parts or numbers, at intervals not exceeding twenty-six
days between the publication of any two such papers, parts,
or numbers, where any of the said papers, parts, or num¬
bers shall not exceed two sheets of the specified dimen¬
sions, exclusive of any cover or blank leaf, or shall be pub¬
lished for sale for a less sum than sixpence, exclusive ot
the duty imposed by the act. With reference to this last
description of newspapers, it is provided, that no quantity
of paper less than a quantity equal to twenty-one inches
in len°th by seventeen inches in breadth, in whatever
way or form the same may be made or divided into leaves,
or "in whatever way the same may be printed, shall, with
reference to any such paper, part, or number, as has been
above described, be deemed or taken to be a sheet. And
it is also generally provided, that any of the several papers
before described shall be liable to the duties imposed by
the act, in whatever way or form they may be printed or
folded, or divided into leaves or stitched, and whether the
same shall be folded, divided, or stitched, or not. I he
exemptions are, the Police Gazette or Hue and Cry; daily Xe**.
accounts or bills of goods imported and exported ; warrants
or certificates for the delivery of goods, and the weekly bills
of mortality ; and also papers containing lists of prices cur¬
rent, the state of the markets, accounts of the arrival, sail¬
ing, or other circumstances relating to merchant ships or
vessels, and generally any other matter wholly of a com¬
mercial nature ; provided such bills, lists, or accounts do
not contain any other matter than that which has usually
been comprised in them. . „ „ .
The regulations prescribed by this act are the following,
viz. A discount of twenty-five per cent, on the above du¬
ties is allowed to newspapers printed in Ireland. 1 o pre¬
vent fraud in the returns as to newspapers, it is enacted
that, from the 31st of December 1836, a separate or dis¬
tinctive stamp or die must be employed for each paper.
No person can print or publish a newspaper until alter a
declaration has been made and lodged at the stamp-office,
containing certain particulars specified in the act as to the
names and addresses of the printer and certain of the pro¬
prietors, &c. of such paper, under a penalty of fifty pounds;
and persons wilfully making a false or defective declara¬
tion are, upon conviction, to be deemed guilty ot a mit>de‘
meanour. There are also a number of regulations intended
to provide for the discovery and liability ot the printer and
proprietors, the security of the duties, and the prevention
of the sale of unstamped papers. Any person publishing,
selling, or disposing of newspapers not duly stamped, is
subjected to a penalty of tw enty pounds; and it is de¬
clared to be lawful for any officer of stamps, or any person
authorized by the commissioners for that purpose, to seize
any such offender, and take him before any justice ha\ung
jurisdiction where the offence is committed, who shall
summarily determine the matter, and, in default or pay¬
ment upon conviction, commit such offender to prison lor
some term not exceeding three calendar months, nor less
than one. The penalty for sending abroad newspapers not
duly stamped is L.50. Justices may grant warrants to
search for unstamped newspapers, to seize presses, &c. used
in printino- them ; on admittance being refused, officers and
others may enter forcibly ; and persons offering resistance
to officers in the discharge of their duty incur a penalty ot
twenty pounds. . . f
Such are the provisions, exemptions, and regulations ol
the act 6 and 7 William IV. c. 76. The duty, which for¬
merly amounted (deducting the discount) to threepence
one fifth, being thus reduced to one penny, the price ot
the great majority of the London papers has in COD*e
quence been lowered from sevenpence to fivepence ; but
provincial papers, which are got up at comparatively little
expense, are now generally sold for fourpence halfpenny
or fourpence; and this is also the case with one or two ot
the metropolitan journals. The reduction of the price oc¬
casioned a considerable increase in the demand for the esta¬
blished journals; and, since the reduction of the duty,
considerable number of new weekly papers also started in¬
to existence, both in the metropolis and throughout tn
country ; but hitherto no new daily paper has been es
blished, and several of the weekly prints have already dis¬
appeared. Supposing it to have been expedient to reduce
the duty, and to fix it at an uniform amount upon all papers,
the arrangements prescribed in the act 6 and < V i
IV. are perhaps as unexceptionable as any that coul
devised; but some persons are of opinion that u
have been better to assess the duty upon an ad™ {
principle, making it in every case a certain aliquot par
t.li6 price. »
The returns of the London journals arise from two sour¬
ces ; the profits on the circulation, and those derived
advertisements. Each paper being now sold to the ne
man at fourpence, the sum received by the propneto
^3
NEWSPAPERS.
m
paper, printing, and the expense of his establishment, is
threepence, or one halfpenny more than under the former
^aw. Advertisements form a considerable source of pro¬
fit to newspapers ; indeed, without this, some of the most
widely circulated of their number could not support the
great expenditure necessary for carrying them on. Each
advertisement published in Great Britain is now charged
with a duty of one shilling and sixpence, without distinc¬
tion of length ; but until the year 1833 the duty charged
was three shillings and sixpence. In 1832, the advertise¬
ments produced L.155,400 in Great Britain, and L.15,249
in Ireland, at least three fourths of which were derived Newspa-
from newspapers. pers.
The follow ing table has been constructed from detailed
returns showing the number of stamps issued to each news~
paper in Great Britain and Ireland, with the number of
advertisements published, and the amount of advertise¬
ment duty paid, by each paper during the first six months
of the year 1837. The duty is charged at one shilling
and sixpence upon each advertisement published in Great
Britain, and at one shilling upon each advertisement pub¬
lished in Ireland.
Number
of
Papers.
London Papers 
English Provincial Papers.
Welsh Papers  
Edinburgh Papers 
Scotch Provincial Papers..
Dublin Papers 
Irish Provincial Papers 
Total in Great Britain and Ireland.
93
217
10
13
46
21
GO
Number
of
Stamps.
15,100,197
7,290,452
190,955
768,071
1,121,658
1,493,838
1,049,358
Number of 1 Amount of
Advertise- ; Advertisement
ments. , Duty.
292,033
317,474
6,499
20,579
45,371
45,848
41,284
460
27,014,529 769,088
L. t.
21,902 9
23,810 11
487 6
1,543 9
3,402 16
2,292 8
2,064 4
55,503 5 2
In 1832, when the government duty was charged at
three shillings and sixpence upon each advertisement, the
produce of this branch of the revenue in Great Britain
and Ireland amounted to L.170,649. The portion of this
sum derived from newspapers, as distinguished from other
periodical publications, has not been stated; but it may
fairly be taken at not less than three fourths of the whole,
or L.127,986. From the above table, however, it appears
that the newspaper advertisement duty, for the first six
months of 1837, amounted to L.55,503s. 5s. 2d. which,
for the whole year, would give a return from this source
alone of L.l 11,006. 10s. 4d. But in 1833 the duty was
reduced to one shilling and sixpence in Great Britain, and
one shilling in Ireland, at which rates it is nowr charged
upon advertisements in each country respectively; yet
notwithstanding this reduction, it appears that, if the se¬
cond half of 1837 equal the first, the total produce of that
year, arising from advertisements, will fall short of the
total produce of 1832, the year before the duty was re¬
duced, by only L.16,980.
Newspapers were of later origin in France than in Eng-
land. The earliest notice we have of any publication of
this kind is that contained in Saint Foix’s curious Essai
Historique sur Paris, where it is stated that Renaudot, a
physician of Paris, sought to amuse his patients by collect¬
ing and circulating news, and thus greatly increased his
practice. As the seasons were not always sickly, and the
doctor had a taste for newsmongering, he considered that
e might turn both his time and his talents to account by
giving weekly to his patients some fugitive sheets contain¬
ing the news of various countries ; and for this he obtain-
e a privilege in 1632. But there was really no political
press in France until the year 1789, when the Constituent
h 6 \ u m tlie declaration of> rights, decreed (5th Oc¬
tober) that the free communication of thoughts and opi¬
nions is one of the most precious rights of man, and that
every citizen may therefore speak, write, and print freely,
sau a repondre de 1’abus de cette liberte dans le cas de-
^rn\in^ P^.r a l0*- This decree, which formally recog¬
nised the liberty of the press, at the same time called it
in o existence. But no distinction was made between the
V an(?us jr’odes of publication, and no greater securities were
mjuired for newspapers than for books and pamphlets,
me periodical press was a stranger to the habits of the
country, and the public were not prepared for it. Violent
and witty pamphlets were indeed written, but no one had
yet learned either to write or to read a journal. In this re¬
spect the Moniteur, an official paper, began the education
of the community in France. No journals were previously
known, except the Mercure, the Gazette de France, and
the Courrier de Provence, which had been the depository
of Mirabeau’s harangues, before the opportunity had ar¬
rived for launching them in the National Assembly. As
the passions of men became heated, a new brood was hatch¬
ed, amongst which Marat’s Ami du Peupie, and Hebert’s
Pere Duchesne, enjoyed a bad pre-eminence. The rapidity
and acerbity of the pamphlets of the time were suited to
the taste of a people which lived upon excitement. But
still a journalist was, in fact, an individual who united and
confounded all the branches of the work in his own per¬
son ; it was Marat, or Hebert, or Camille-Desmoulins. Vio¬
lent alternations of license and despotism distinguished the
most stormy period of the Revolution ; yet, in spite of the
extravagance of the one, and the disproportionate severity
of the other, the press continued to make way. Under the
consulate and the empire it was subjected to systematic
control. No journal could appear without the authority of
the minister ot the interior; the number of provincial pa¬
pers was limited to one for each department, and these
were placed under the authority of the prefects. On some
occasions, however, Napoleon himself became a journalist,
and replied in the Moniteur to the manifestoes of the Bri¬
tish government. He also encouraged a revival of religious
doctrines, the influence of which was felt in literature be¬
fore it reached the sphere of politics. Of this school the
Journaldes Debats v/as, the centre, and Chateaubriand and
Bonald wrere the organs. Things proceeded in this way till
af ter the disastrous campaign of Moscow, when the liberty
of writing and speaking began to be once more asserted, and
public opinion was ardently supported by the rising genera¬
tion ; so that, upon the whole, when the French empire was
broken up, the press had in some measure taken root in the
habits of the country, and the demand for newspapers had
become general. Even whilst the expression of opinion
was checked, the means of publicity were established and
increased. The Moniteur, the Bulletin des Luix, and the
Journal de la Librairie, awakened attention to the public
interests ; each department had a paper of its own; and
172
NEWSPAPERS.
Newspa¬
pers.
Paris had already several journals, particularly the Gazette,
the Journal de Paris, the Quotidienne, and the Journal
'des Debats, which, under the title of Journal de [Empire,
had as many as 20,000 subscribers. Literary criticism
was installed in the daily papers, and gave birth to the
Feuileton, to which the pens of Dussault and Geoffrey im¬
parted that sharp and sparkling vivacity which still pre¬
serves its traditional charm. At first, however, it was no
better treated by the government of the restoration than
it had been by that of the empire. Its history during this
period is tilled with laws and ordinances, succeeding each
other at short intervals, and marking the various turns of
the conflict between the men of the past and those of the
present time, the restored government, and the liberal
party, as it is called. But in 1819 a law was passed which
had the merit of acknowledging sound principles x’especting
the rights of publicity ; and by another enactment, made in
1828, a sort of compromise was entered into between the
rights of the press and the prejudices of the government.
Since the revolution of July 1830, however, a material
change has taken place. In 1819, the interest and the
position of the parliamentary tribune and the press were
identical; since 1830, they have become two distinct and
rival powers, one or other of which must ultimately give
way. In the meanwhile, the gagging enactments of the
year 1835, which characterize the existing legislation, have
given a decided preponderance to the tribune, and, through
it, to the government.
The French journals fluctuate so greatly that they can
only be described generally in connection with the events
of the time. When M. de Villele came into office, the
two organs of the liberal party were the Constitutionnel
(established in 1815), the Courrier Frangais, the Journal
du Commerce, and the Journal de Paris ; whilst the royal¬
ist party divided their patronage between the Journal des
Debats, the Gazette de France, and the Quotidienne. I he
Aristarque and the Oriflamme were then set up by the
ultra-royalists ; and Villele established the Etoile, an even¬
ing paper devoted to the personal defence of the minister.
The Journal des Debats now seceded from the side of go¬
vernment, and brought over to the liberal party the sup¬
port of that portion of the middle classes which had es¬
poused the interests of the restored monarchy. The Globe
and the Producteur led on the public to the study of science,
literature, politics, political economy, and philosophy, and
sowed the seeds of instruction in many minds where they
have since ripened into an abundant harvest, f he daily
papers obtained an entire mastery over public opinion. The
Constitutionnel and the Journal des Debats were really
the kings of the multitude ; and their slightest hint acted
sympathetically upon the resolutions of the community.1
The administration of M. de Martignac, which was a com¬
promise with the liberal party, abolished the censorship,
and reduced the securities paid in by the journals. It
only gave birth to one ministerial paper. But that of M.
de Polignac, which was openly hostile to the liberty of the
press, elicited a new class, resolved to go all lengths, and
to yield to no obstacle. Then appeared the Universel, a
partisan of absolute power; the Temps, representing the
centre gauche; the National, detached from the Constitu¬
tionnel, and conducted by M. Thiers, in the interest of the
house of Orleans; and the Globe, which now became a daily
paper. In the provinces appeared the Tribune, des De-
partements, and the Courrier des Electeurs ; but the great
body of the people still clung to the old-established and
well-known papers. The popularity of the Constitutionnel,
the Journal des Debats, and the Courrier Fran^ais, in- pers.
creased with the danger. When the revolution of July^-yv
broke out, the first of these papers had a circulation of
22,000, and the second of 18,000 ; and each of the twelve
shares in the former journal, which were originally taken at
L.200, though the money was never paid, returned a divi¬
dend of L.2000. In fact, the revolution of July was the
royal reign of the press, when the two journals already men¬
tioned enjoyed an almost supreme authority. But since
that period it appears to have undergone very considerable
changes. The republican party was the first to multiply
its organs. In a short time it brought out the National,
the Mouvement, the Revolution, the Tribune, the Patriote,
the Avenir, the Rejbrmateur, the Populaire, and the Eons
Sens. The two last were Sunday papers, which only cost
one penny each, and were sold by hawkers. As many as
50,000 copies of the Eons Sens have been sold in this
manner in one day. But the law which subjected the
public hawkers to the monopoly of the police put a stop to
this traffic ; the republican press shared the same fate as
the republican emeutes 7 and subsequent enactments gave
it the coup de grace. The Eons Sens and the National,
however, still maintain a languishing existence as daily
papers. From 1832 to 1835, whilst the tiers-parti, headed
by Dupin, had a majority in the Chambers and in the
country, several journals were published in harmony with
that state of affairs, and some of the old ones moderated
their tone, or changed their denominations. In 1836,
newspapers were founded, not in support of any party or
opinion, but purely on speculation, the profits realized by
a few fortunate journals having tempted adventurers to
embark in such undertakings. We may add, that a few
enterprising individuals have undertaken to bring the daily
press in France to the level of the humblest fortunes, by
publishing newspapers at forty francs, or L.l. 12s. pet an¬
num. The projector of this system was M. Emile Girar-
din, deputy of the Creuse, whose own paper, La Presse,
has obtained a circulation of about 12,000. But the Ulti¬
mate success of the experiment is far from being certain.
We have no means of ascertaining with any degree of
precision the actual number of the French journals, and
the extent of their circulation respectively. In an arti¬
cle written in 1829, and inserted in the Compilateur, the
author, speaking of things as they then stood, says,
“ There are in Paris a hundred and fifty-two journals, li¬
terary, scientific, and religious, and seventeen political;
in all a hundred and sixty-nine. Of these papers a hun¬
dred and fifty-one are constitutional, or, as they are call¬
ed, liberal, the eighteen others being more monarchical
in their spirit. The hundred and fifty-one constitutional
journals have, it is stated, 197,000 subscribers, 1,500,000
readers, and produce an income of 1,155,000 francs
(L.46,200) ; the eighteen others have 21,000 subscribers,
192,000 readers, with an income of 437,000 francs
(L.l7,480). The Moniteur, the official paper, has from
2500 to 4000 subscribers, principally public functionaries;
the Constitutionnel, from 18,000 to 20,000 subscribers;
the Journal des Debats, from 13,000 to 14,000 subscrib¬
ers ; the Quotidienne, 5000 subscribers; the Courrier
Frangais, 4500 subscribers; the Journal du Commerce,
3500 subscribers; the Gazette de France, 7000 subscrib¬
ers; the Messager des Chambres, 2500 subscribers; the
Tribune des Departements, a new paper, 100 subscribers,
and the Nouveau Journal de Paris, from 1000 to 1500
f
^r
» When General Foy died, the daily press called upon the country to provide for his children, and a mffffon of francs^was soon
nent hazard of another conflict in the streets of Paris.
ew
per
''v
NEWSPAPERS.
rma
ers.
* subscribers. All these are published in the capital. The
journals printed in the provinces are calculated at seventy-
five, exclusive of papers for advertisements and ministe¬
rial bulletins. Of these, sixty -six are constitutional, being
supported only by subscribers of the same way of think¬
ing. One, the Memorial de Toulouse, is supported by the
archbishop of that diocese; four are, it is asserted, paid
from the secret funds of the Jesuits; and the other four
are monarchical, but possess little influence.” Since the
period to which this applies, however, great changes have
taken place, and the circulation of some of the leading
daily journals has declined. Nevertheless, it appears that
a share in the Constitutionnel is still worth twenty-five
times its original cost; that the shares in the Gazette des
Tribunaux, which, at the outset, were worth only 500
francs, are now sold for 30,000 ; and that the Gazette de
France has, for a long time, brought the proprietor an in¬
come of 200,000 francs, or L.8000 a year.
In Germany, newspapers originated in the Relations, as
they were termed, which sprung up at Augsburg and Vien¬
na in 1524i, at Ratisbon in 1528, at Dillingen in 1569, and
at Nuremberg in 1571, and which appeared in the form of
letters printed, but without date, place, or number. The
first German newspaper in numbered sheets was printed in
1612, and entitled “ Account of what has happened in
Germany and Italy, Spain and France, the East and West
Indies, and other countries.” Since that time, public pa¬
pers have successively appeared in different places, and
under various titles, but all of them subject to a strict cen¬
sorship. In Germany, however, as in France, the periodi¬
cal press was of little importance till the era of the French
Revolution, and, in comparison with the state of matters in
these countries, it has always remained so. By the reso¬
lutions of the German Diet in 1819, it was placed under
strict supervision, and still continues subject to a vigilant
censorship. Till the commencement of the French Revo¬
lution, the Hamburger Correspondent was almost the only
paper in Germany which derived its information respect¬
ing foreign countries from original correspondence; and
at that time its sale was estimated at between 30,000 and
36,000 copies. Subsequently, however, it declined, prin-
cipaHy owing to the occupation of Hamburg by the French,
and its sale amounted to only a few thousands. In the
year 1828, twenty-one gazettes, daily and weekly, were pub¬
lished at Hamburg. But a new kind of periodical sprang
up in Germany in the year 1798, and soon outstripped all
others. This was the Allgemeine Zeitung, or Universal
Gazette, established by Cotta, a bookseller in Tubingen,
aJ/? ^estjne^ to become an important political organ. The
Allgemeine Zeitung is now published at Augsburg. In all
the countries of Europe it has correspondents, who sup¬
ply it with intelligence; and both the German and foreign
governments frequently make use of it to influence pub¬
lic opinion by demi-official articles. This has been done
uit i much dexterity by the Austrian government, espe-
oia y in its transactions respecting paper money and the
pub ic stocks; and even the French ministry have, it is
said, occasionally made use of it for similar purposes. But
9000 a olnSn advfntages> the sale is small, not exceeding
-.000 or 2500, and barely covers the expenses. The de-
i.veranceof Germany in the year 1813 gave rise to a num-
nf f-° 1 lCa^ PaPers’ ad imbued with the awakened spirit
inumnl ,otzebue and Niebuhr each commenced a
tinufv] °tk11S descr'Pti°n; but both were soon discon-
~ r
of 1816. fho ^“?fi:,S„Ca,ree.r in “l* be.sin'™«
173
servpr wn- i zstereichische Beobaster, or Austrian Ob-
MettlrnT h !b lshfd by the Private secretary of Prince
na it snl aS organ of the cabinet of Vien¬
na, it speedily acquired a considerable circulation. The
German papers of amusement originated with the Zeitung Newspa-
fiir die Elegante Welt, which was established at Leipzig in pers.
1801. The number of papers of this description has since
been constantly increasing, although many* of them have
perished as rapidly as they arose. But of those which have
maintained their ground, the most important are, the Mor-
genblatt of Stuttgart, the Abendzeitung of Dresden, the
Gesellschafter of Berlin, and the Litterarische Wochenblatt,
established by Kotzebue. Of all these, however, the Mor-
genblatt has the greatest sale.
Italy, Spain, and Portugal, present little worthy of notice Journals
as respects the newspaper press. Of the Italian journals,ofltaly,
the Gazetta di Firenze, the Gazetta di Milano, and the Spain, &c.
Diario di Roma, are almost the only ones which are read in
foreign countries. - The Giornale Arcadico di Roma em¬
braces literature, the fine arts, and miscellaneous subjects,
and the Eco di Milano endeavours to keep up a literary
intercourse between Italy and other countries. The Ga-
ceta of Madrid has a semi-official character, but in other
respects is undeserving of notice. Lisbon has also its or-
gan fbi the publication of official documents and commu¬
nications. In Belgium and Holland there are, in French
and Dutch respectively, a considerable number of daily
and weekly papers, besides monthly publications. In 1830
Switzerland had twenty-four weekly papers, and five others
which appealed once a fortnight. The first Russian paper
was published in 1703, under Peter I. In 1829 thenum-
bei of papers and periodicals published in the Russian em¬
pire was seventy-three; but the only important political
journals are the Gazette de St Petersbourg and the Journal
de St Petersbourg, both of which are written in the French
language. In Sweden there is not much opposition nor
independence amongst the newspapers, and political dis¬
cussion is at a very low ebb. An interesting account of
the Norwegian journals will be found in Laing’s Residence
in Norway, to which the reader is referred. Denmark has
about eighty journals, of which twenty-three are devoted
to politics, and twenty-five to the sciences.
The Greeks have now several newspapers in their own c,-ppV nr, i
language, though none of them exerts any considerable in-other pa-*
fluence, or has a numerous subscription. A journal is also pers.
published at Corfu. In Smyrna the Speciateur Oriental was
in 182/ displaced by the Observateur Impartial, and sub¬
sequently by the Courrier de Smyrne, which is conducted
in a spirit friendly to the sultan. At Constantinople the
Moniteur Ottoman is published in French under the sanc¬
tion of the sultan ; and the viceroy of Egypt has likewise
his official organ, in the same language, printed at Boulak,
near Cairo.
The increase of newspapers in the United States has a™™
been much more rapid than in England. The total num-newspa-
ber of newspapers annually issued in the Union has been pers.
estimated at from 55,000,000 to 60,000,000, whereas the
total number issued in Great Britain and Ireland during
the year 1833 was only 34,515,221. It follows that, mak-
ing allowance for the difference of population, every indi¬
vidual in America has, at an average, more than twice the
supply of newspapers enjoyed by each person in England,
brom the low price of the American, as compared with the
English and even the French newspapers, they are libe-
lally patronised by all classes, and are to be seen in al¬
most every dwelling and counting-house, and in all hotels,
taverns, and shops. But we must not estimate the value
nor the influence of newspapers by their quantity alone.
Regard must likewise be had to its quality, which indeed
is the principal consideration to be attended to. But in
whatever degree the American may exceed the English
or French journals in number, they sink immeasurably be¬
low them in point of quality. In the United States the
state of the newspaper press is such that it can scarcely
descend lower ; indeed it may be considered as a disgrace
174:
NEWSPAPERS.
Newspa- to the country. These journals, with but few exceptions,
pers.
Compara'
tive esti¬
mate.
io uie uuuutiy. j   - --- .
indulge in the most offensive, and often brutal personali¬
ties. B Instead of examining the principles of measures,
their assail the character and misrepresent the motives of
those by whom they are introduced; and, in fact, it would
be difficult to name an individual of any distinction who has
not been libelled and calumniated by a large portion of the
press, to a degree which can scarcely be imagined. Hie
magnitude of the evil, however, will in all probability lead
to its cure. It can scarcely be supposed that an intelligent
and well-instructed people will long continue to patronise
a press which traffics in misrepresentation, scurrility, and
exaggeration, and which, besides the outrages it commits
against individuals, opposes a serious obstacle to wise go¬
vernment and well-considered improvement. .
From the immense number of newspapers circulated m
the United States, as compared with the population of the
country, it follows that the number of subscribers to each
paper must be limited ; indeed 2000 is considered as a re¬
spectable list. The consequence is, that one paper is unable
to command the talents of several able men, as in France,
and that, in the general scramble, the object is t0
flatter the known prejudices, and minister to the bad pas¬
sions of the people, than to enlighten their understandings
by inculcating sound principles, or enforcing salutary truths.
Their abundance, however, happily neutralises their eftects.
Declamation and sophistry are rendered comparatively
innocuous by running in a thousand conflicting curren s.
But the case would be very different, and the evil alto¬
gether intolerable, if there were in the United States only
a few papers, with from 25,000 to 30,000 subscribers, and
perhaps five times as many readers. Upon such a supposi¬
tion, journalism would be as influential in America as in
France, and in its effects ten times more dangerous, io
show the progressive extension of the American newspaper
press, it is only necessary to state, that at the commence¬
ment of the revolutionary war in 1775, the number of
newspapers published in the United States was only th-rty-
seven ; that in 1810 it had increased to 359 ; that in 1828
it exceeded 850 ; and that in 1834 it amounted to no less
than 1265. At this time the number of daily papers pub¬
lished within the Union was ninety, and that of other pe¬
riodical journals 130. . . . . , ,.
A comparison of the number of periodicals and inhabi¬
tants of different countries, made in the year 1827, gave
the following results. At that time there
United States upwards of 800 journals to 11,600,000 i
habitants; in Great Britain, 483 different newspapers to
23,400,000 inhabitants; in Sweden and Norway, eighty-
two journals to 3,866,000 inhabitants ; in Denmark, eighty
journals to 1,950,000 inhabitants ; in Prussia, 288 journals
to 12,416,000 inhabitants ; in the Netherlands, 150 journals
to 6,143,000 inhabitants; in the German confederation,
exclusive of both Austria and Prussia, 305 journals to
13,300,000 inhabitants; in Saxony, fifty-four newspapeis
to 1 400,000 inhabitants; in Hanover, sixteen newspapers
to 1,550,000 inhabitants; in Bavaria, forty-eight newspapers
to 3,960,000 inhabitants; and in France, 490 P^odical
publications of all kinds to a population of about 32 000,000.
A comparison of the number of periodicals and inhabitants
in different capitals gives results scarcely less varied. Ihus,
Stockholm, with 38,000 inhabitants, has thirty journals;
Rome, with 154,000, has only three ; Berlin, with 221 000
has fifty-three periodical works; Copenhagen, with
inhabitants, has fifty-seven journals; and in Paris, which
contains a population of nearly 900,000, there are H 6 pe¬
riodical works. Since the date to which this comparison
refers, however, the numbers in both respects must have
varied considerably; but it is probable that the relative
proportions remain pretty nearly the same. It may also
be observed, that no general conclusion as to the state
of intellectual culture or of political information amongst Newspa.
a people can safely be deduced from such comparative ex-
positions as that which is above given. The proportional
number of journals circulated m the United States is
much greater than in any other country; yet, as we have
already shown, they are the most worthless, and conse¬
quently the least calculated to diffuse useful knowledge, or
to excite a spirit of inquiry, of any in the world.
Much has been said both as to the absolute and the General
comparative effects, moral and political, produced by news-remark,
papers, in those countries where they are freely circulated;
and there is room for considerable diversity of opinion re¬
specting the degree and the kind of influence which they
exert upon the sentiments and opinions of the public. But
that this influence must be considerable, in whatever mode
or direction it may operate in particular cases, or under pe¬
culiar circumstances, there can be no doubt at all, even
amono-st those who differ most widely as to its real character
and effects. It will of course vary according to the re¬
lative condition of different classes or communities in point
of information; but the joint effect and full result of Us
continual appliance can scarcely fail to be very consider¬
able, even where its action is least concentrated, ihe
power of the newspaper press depends, not on single and
disjoined impulsions, but on the aggregate effects of con¬
stantly reiterated action ; it is a practical exemplification
of the proverb, that the drop hollows the stone, non vi sed
scepe cadendo. All experience shows, that any agency or
force, however small, if continually applied in the same di¬
rection, and towards the same object or objects, will in course
of time produce the greatest results. Still, in different
countries, variously circumstanced in point of education
and general information, considerable diversity may be ob¬
served in the operation of this power, and in the mode m
which it attains its ultimate effect upon the public mino.
Where the mass of the people are comparatively enlight¬
ened, and more or less habituated to reflection, the press,
in order eventually to govern, must begin by following the
current of opinion. It cannot stem, but it may divert, the
stream; it must not begin by opposing a direct resist¬
ance, but by skill and address it may ultimately succeed
in turning it into a new channel, and in some measure
governing it at pleasure. In such cases, there is both ac¬
tion and re-action. Public opinion acts upon the press, and
the press re-acts upon public opinion, with an accumulating
force, of which, in certain circumstances, it is difficult to
exaggerate the extent and the power. But it is otherwise
in countries where the mass of the people are comparatively
unenlightened, and unaccustomed to form an independent
judgment amidst the conflict of antagonist opinions. I here
the press is a real and direct po^ver, which acts at once on
the public mind, and which, if left to act uncontrolled, may
eventually produce the most baneful, not to say fatal, im¬
pressions." In the former case, there is a check in the pre¬
existent condition of society ; in the latter, there is none
whatever, except that which may happen to be applied oy
^ From an elaborate calculation made in the year 1819, it
was inferred that, including the provincial journals, an
Englishman reads daily twenty or thirty times as much as a
Frenchman does of the newspapers of his country. I ■>
calculation may have been exaggerated, and the dispan y
is probably much less now than it was eighteen years ago,
but it is nevertheless evident that the balance of the news¬
paper reading, all kinds of journals included, is still on t
side of the Englishman, who, again, is exceeded in this re¬
spect by the North-American. Yet, in France, the jou -
nals exert a much more direct influence upon public op -
nion than either in England or in America. Ihey consu
tutea sort of power in the state, which is al;ogetl?erfirre its
sible within the limits prescribed by the law, that is, in
NEW
NEW
175
cia
- ordinary exercise; and they give the tone to the senti¬
ments and opinions of the nation. They are not so much
"^mirrors which reflect the state of the public mind, as agen¬
cies which impart to it whatever bias or tendency they
please. Journalism in that country is therefore seen un¬
der a different aspect from that in which it appears in almost
any other; and hence it has been an object of constant
vigilance and suspicion on the part of the general govern¬
ment. But if its influence be greater in France than else¬
where, that influence has also been more contested. From
its birth, as it displayed a tendency to absorb every thing,
so nothing was granted to it without a struggle. No power
has ever excited more alarm, has had more enemies, has
survived severer trials, or has undergone more singular
revolutions. From 1789 to 1830, the ordinary condition
of the French press was a rule of censorship and oppres¬
sion ; the rare intervals of liberty vouchsafed to it only
served as moments of rest to take breath in that adventu¬
rous campaign, every advance in which was won by hard
fighting. Yet the power of the press has grown amidst
these trials; the bonds which were imposed upon it to
check its movement have fortified its strength, and it is
now a sort of dictatorship in the state. The existence of
this extraordinary power is accounted for by the circum¬
stances of the countrj'. In Great Britain, and in the
United States, where a representative government is firm¬
ly established, each political power occupies its natural
place, without transgressing the limits of its proper sphere
of action. The press does not invade the province of the
legislative chambers, nor do the latter encroach upon the
domain of the press. But in France the government is
still at a stage of experiment and difficulty ; it alternately
looks back to the past, and forward to the future, seeking
its equilibrium and its point of rest. The time is not yet
come for it peaceably to work out its established princi¬
ple, because that principle is still a matter of doubt and
debate; and as long as this experimental state of things
shall continue, the constituted powers will have only a se¬
condary importance, and the press, which takes the lead
and opens the road to discovery, will necessarily govern the
country. But, in a country like Great Britain, where the
great body of the people are possessed of informatioq, and
the habit of political discussion has long been formed and
matured; where the conflicts of party enter as an essential
element into the practical working of the constitution, and
there exists a steady independent opinion, upon which vio¬
lence and exaggeration are powerless, except in periods of
great public excitement; the press is rather an exponent or
index of the feelings, sentiments, and opinions of the people,
than a controlling or governing power, assuming the form
of a dictatorship, and really constituting an imperium in im-
perio, as in France. The whole action of government is
concentrated in the houses of parliament and in the hands
of the administration; and the press is restricted to its
proper function, namely, the criticism of events and of pub¬
lic opinions. Ihe people, too, are trained and habituated
to this state of things. They are not the slaves, but the
patrons, and even the critics, of the press; nor are their
minds primarily moved by its speculations, commentaries,
and arguments, directed, as these generally are, towards the
support of some particular set of opinions. Party journals
are for the most part read as such, and the statements or
reasonings of one set of writers are coolly compared with
those of another. There is nothing, or next to nothing, of
t mt undoubting faith, or that blind credulity, which leads
nien to believe merely because it is written. Even the
warmest partisan will not submit his understanding to the
exclusive guidance of the w riter whom, perhaps, he in ge¬
neral most admires and approves of; and hence the best
sa eguard against the abuse of free discussion, or the licen¬
tiousness of the press, is to be found in the inherent sta¬
bility of our institutions, and the sense, intelligence, and Newton,
morality of the people.
(See Chalmers’ Life of Ruddiman ; Periodical Press of
Great Britain ; Babylon the Great-, The Great Metropolis;
hPCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary and Supplement, 1836
and 1837; Le Compilateur; Girardin, Moyens Legislatifs
pour regenerer la Presse, 1835; Encyclopcedia Ameri¬
cana, article Newspapers; the American Almanac for
1835; La Chromque Suisse ; Swedish Language and Li¬
terature ; Statistique et Itineraire de la Russie; Edinburgh
Review, vols. xxxii. and xxxviii.; British and Foreign Re¬
view, No. xiii. April 1837.) (a.)
NEWTON, a town of the county of Lancaster, in the
parish of Winwick, and the hundred of West Derby, dis¬
tant 179 miles from London. It is a borough, and was a
market-town, and it had the right of electing two members
to the House of Commons, but has been disfranchised. It
has some trade in cotton goods. The population amounted
in 1801 to 1455, in 1811 to 1589, in 1821 to 1643, and in
1831 to 2139.
Newton, a town in the Isle of Wight, within the parish
of Colbourn, which formerly returned two members to the
House of Commons, but has been disfranchised. It has a
good harbour, which, however, is but little resorted to.
Newton, a market-town of the county of Montgomery,
in South Wales, distant 178 miles from London, and some¬
times called Trenewydd. It is situated in a pleasant and fer¬
tile district on the banks of the Severn. It shares with
Montgomery and four other towns the right of electing
one member to the House of Commons. It has a market,
which is held on Saturday. The population amounted in
1801 to 990, in 1811 to 2025, in 1821 to 3486, and in
1831 to 4550.
Newton-Bushel, a town of the county of Devon, 187
miles distant from London. It is situated on the river
Teign, about four miles from its mouth, in Torbay. There
is a market, which is held on Wednesday. As it is com¬
posed of portions of two parishes, the population of the
town in the last census is not distinguished from that of
the parishes.
NEWTON, Sir Isaac, a distinguished mathematician
and natural philosopher, was born at Woolsthorpe, a pic¬
turesque hamlet about half a mile to the west of Colster-
worth, in Lincolnshire, and some six miles to the south of
Grantham. His birth, which was premature, took place on
the 25th of December, O. S. 1642. His father, Mr Isaac
Newton, was proprietor of Woolsthorpe to the extent of
about L.30 per annum, and farmed it with his own hands.
His mother was Harriet Ayscough, the daughter of Mr
James Ayscough, of Market-Overton, in Rutlandshire.
Ihey had been mai’ried only a few months when Mr New¬
ton died, leaving his wife in a state of pregnancy. The post¬
humous child was so small that “ they might have put
him into a quart mug,” and no expectation was entertain¬
ed of his continuing to live. “ Providence, however, ” as
his biographer observes, “ had otherwise decreed ; and that
frail tenement, which seemed scarcely able to imprison its
immortal mind, was destined to enjoy a vigorous maturity,
and to survive even the average term of human existence.”
Mrs Newton possessed a small property in Leicestershire,
about three miles from Woolsthorpe, which raised her an¬
nual income to about L.80.
In consequence of the marriage of Mrs Newton to the
Rev. Mr Smith of North Witham, she left her son Isaac
under the charge of her mother. He received his early
education at two day schools at Skedington and Stoke;
and in his twelfth year he went to the public school at
Grantham, taught by Mr Stokes, and was boarded at the
house of Mr Clark, an apothecary. Here his attention was
less occupied with his studies than with the mechanical
amusements, in which he spent all hisjeisure hours. Mo-
176
NEWTON.
Newton, dels of wind-mills, water-clocks, and self-moving caniages,
—V"—' were executed by him in succession; and he contrived to
amuse his schoolfellows with paper kites and paper lan-
thorns, which he raised to great heights in the air.
From the play-things of his childhood, Newton made a
rapid transition to higher amusements. The daily move¬
ments of the sun were traced upon the walls and roots ot
the buildings at Woolsthorpe, and by means of pins and
lines he indicated the hours and half hours of his rude
dials; and though he was now employed in tending the
cattle, and going to the market at Grantham, yet he was
often found studying mathematics under a hedge, or glean¬
ing fragments of science from old books m Mr Glark s
garret at Grantham. This inattention to the duties ot the
farm increased with his years, and his mother came to the
resolution of giving him an academical education. After the
preparation of a few months at Grantham Schoo , e was
sent to Cambridge, where he was admitted ot trinity
College on the 5th of June 1660, in the eighteenth year
of his age. He was admitted a subsizer in 1661, a bachelor
of arts in 1665, a junior fellow in 1667, and master ot aits
in 1668. Young Newton’s attention was first turned to
the study of mathematics by a passion for judicial astro¬
logy. He considered the propositions in Luchd as selt-
evident truths; and in the geometry of Descartes, the Mis¬
cellanies of Schooten, the Clavis of Oughtred, and the
Arithmetic of Infinites of Wallis, he acquired his first
knowledge of the mathematics. Kepler’s Optics and kaun-
derson’s Logic were amongst the books which he caretully
studied, and upon which he wrote comments; and so ra¬
pid was his progress in knowledge, that he was considere
as bein0- more deeply versed in several branches than his
own tutor. In the year 1664. he purchased a prism for
the purpose of studying Descartes’ T heory of Colours ; but
he does not seem to have made any special use of it. In
1666 he purchased another prism ; and early in 1668
three additional prisms, which were no doubt those which
he used in his experiments. He had in 1666 applied him¬
self to the grinding of “ optic glasses of other figures than
sphericaland finding that there were other causes than
the imperfect converging of rays to a focus which i ender-
ed refracting telescopes imperfect, he was led to inquire
into the cause of the colours produced by lenses and
prisms, and to make those splendid discoveries icspecting
the different refrangibility ot the rays of light, the history
and nature of which has been given in the article on
Optics.
Having despaired of improving the refracting telescope,
Newton directed his attention to the reflecting one. At this
time Gregory’s Optica Promota, published in 1663, fell
into his hands ; and, in considering the construction ot the
Gregorian telescopes there described, “ he found the dis¬
advantages of them so great,” “ that he altered the design
of them, and placed the eye-glass at the side ot the tube
rather than at the middle.” On this altered principle he
executed a reflecting telescope with his own hands in the
year 1668. In 1671 he executed a better one, which was
shown to the king, and presented to the Royal Society, in
whose custody it still remains.
Although Newton delivered a course of lectures on op¬
tics in Cambridge in 1669, 1670, and 1671, containing an
account of his discoveries respecting the different refran¬
gibility of the rays of light, yet the Royal Society was not
acquainted with them till 16/2. On the 23d of December
1671, he was proposed as a member of that body by Dr
Seth Ward, bishop of Sarum, and he was elected on the
11th of January 1672. On the 6th of February he commu¬
nicated to Mr Oldenburg his discoveries respecting light,
which he regarded as “ the oddest, if not the most consi¬
derable, detection which had hitherto been made in the Newto ^
operations of nature.
No sooner was it communicated to the world that white
light consists of seven different colours, having different
degrees of refrangibility, than a crowd ot obscure indivi¬
duals assailed, not only his conclusions, but the accuracy
of the experiments from which they had been denved. Dr
Hooke and Huygens attacked them on different grounds;
but Newton, in'a letter to Oldenburg, dated the 11th of
June 1672, silenced the arguments of his opponents, and
established his general doctrine upon an impregnable basis.
The colours of thin plates, first observed by Boyle, and
studied by Hooke, had occupied the special attention of
Newton. The results of his inquiries were laid before the
Royal Society on the 7th of December 1675, and about
twelve years afterwards tbe theory of fits was completed,
and applied to the explanation of the permanent colours
of natural bodies. These researches, however, including
his experiments on the inflexion of light, which he gives
only as an imperfect fragment, were not published till
1704., when his treatise on Optics appeared. For a full ac¬
count of these discoveries the reader is referred to the
article Optics.
The first idea of gravity as the cause of the celestial mo¬
tions occurred to Newton in the year 1666, when sitting
alone in the garden of Woolsthorpe. Conjecturing that it
might extend as far as the moon, he was led to confirm the
conjecture by calculation, and thus to establish the doc¬
trine of universal gravitation, “ that every particle of mat¬
ter is attracted by, or gravitates to, every other particle of
matter, with a force inversely proportional to tne squaies
of the distance.” This great discovery, and its application
to the movements of the planetary system, as well as to
that of the comets, was published in 1686, in his Philoso-
phice Naturalis Principia Mathematica, a work which, to
use the words of Newton’s biographer, “ is memorable,
not only in the annals of one science or one country, but
will form an epoch in the history ot the world, and will
ever be regarded as the brightest page in the records of
human reason.” This remarkable production was speedily
circulated over Europe; and although the discoveries
which it contained were for awhile opposed by national as
well as personal jealousies, yet the Newtonian philosophy
made rapid progress, and finally supplanted the rival sys¬
tems of Aristotle and Descartes.
As early as the year 1666, Newton had discovered the
binomial theorem and the method of fluxions ; and although
he had not communicated this discovery to any ot his
friends, yet he had clearly described the principle, and ex¬
hibited the application of his method, in his Analysis per
Equationes numero Terminorum injinitas, a work which he
had communicated to Dr Barrow in June 1669, and which
was not published till 1701, nearly half a century after it
was written. Our readers are well aware that the disco¬
very of fluxions was claimed by Leibnitz, and that the
controversy which sprung out of this claim is scarcely yet
at an end.1 .
From the year 1669, when Newton was appointed to
succeed Dr Barrow as Lucasian professor of mathematics
at Cambridge, till 1688, he led a secluded life within the
walls of his college; but events now occurred which drew
him from retirement, and placed him conspicuously on the
stage of public life. James II., desirous of re-establish¬
ing the Catholic faith as the national religion, had begun
to assail the privileges of his Protestant subjects. He or¬
dered Father Francis, an ignorant Benedictine monk, to
be received at Cambridge as a master of arts, and the
oaths of allegiance and supremacy to be dispensed with.
The university resisted this illegal mandate, and chose
1 A full account of this controversy will be found in the article Fluxions, vol. ix. p. 633 ; and Leibnitz, vol. xiii. p*
208.
NEWTON.
I^irton. nine delegates to defend their independence. Having
“^joined in resisting the wishes of the court, Newton was
chosen one of the delegates; and such was their firmness,
and the argumentative weight of their representations, that
the king was led to abandon his design. Newton’s popu¬
larity was extended by the success of the delegates, and he
was elected member for the university in 1688, along with
Sir Robert Sawyer, having beaten Mr Finch by only five
votes. Newton sat in the convention parliament from
January 1689 till its dissolution in February 1690.
In the discharge of his parliamentary duties, he no
doubt experienced the unsuitableness of his income to his
new position. The limited means of his relations, and his
own generous disposition, had exhausted his scanty re¬
sources, and he and his friends naturally looked to some
patronage on the part of the government which might ena¬
ble him to pursue his scientific researches, unembarrassed
by those physical wants which have ever been the scourge
of genius, and especially of that variety of it which is call¬
ed forth by patient and continuous inquiry. There is ample
evidence that unsuccessful applications had been made for
this purpose, and the vexation and disappointment which
this ingratitude produced, combined with other causes,
seem to have thrown Newton into a state of nervous irri¬
tability, which threatened to paralyze even his mighty in¬
tellect. It is difficult to trace with distinctness the suc¬
cession of causes which at this time contributed to disturb
his serenity ; but it appears that, about the end of 1692,
or early in 1693, his chemical laboratory had been burn¬
ed, and a number of manuscripts destroyed ; and on another
occasion, several valuable manuscripts were consumed by
a candle which he had left burning whilst he went to cha¬
pel. These losses seem to have affected him deeply, and
“ he was so troubled thereat, that every one thought he
would have run mad, and he was not himself for months
after.” Another account of these events, communicated
by one Colin or Collins to Huygens,1 represents Newton as
having actually become insane, and unable to understand
his own writings; and, relying upon the accuracy of this
statement, M. Biot and other French philosophers consi¬
dered his insanity as the reason why Newton had ceased
to make scientific discoveries. They even went so ffir as to
ascribe his study of theology to this enfeebled state of
mind,, and thus to deprive our faith of that support which
it derived from having been illustrated and defended by so
great an expositor and champion.
1 hat the mind of Newton was sound and active during
t le period when it is said to have been seriously disturb¬
ed, may be proved by many undoubted facts. In this
interval he composed his four celebrated letters to Dr
Bentley on the existence of a Deity ; letters which evince
a power of thought, and a serenity of mind, incompatible
177
even with the slightest obscuration of his faculties. The Newton,
first of these letters was written on the 10th of December
1692, the second on the 17th of January 1692-3, the third
on the 25th of February, and the fourth on the 11th of
February 1693-4. In 1692 we find him also engaged in
mathematical researches on the quadrature of curves, and
in obsei vations on halos; and in November and December
1693 he was occupied in discussing mathematical questions
with his correspondents. On the 1st of September 1694
Newton visited Flamsteed at Greenwich, and he was at
that time occupied with the difficult and profound subject
of the lunar theory.2
That Newton’s health was affected from the middle of
1692 to the middle of 1693, is quite certain ; and that his
nervous system .was shaken by loss of sleep and appetite,
is mentioned by himself. Exaggerated rumours had
reached his friends in London, and Mr Pepys was led to
inquire of his friends at Cambridge if these rumours of
a discomposure of his mind had any foundation. Mr
J. Millington, who, we believe, was tutor of Magdalene
College, returned the following answer:—“ I was, I must
confess, very much surprised at the inquiry you were
pleased to make by your nephew about the message that
Mr Newton made the ground of his letter to you, for
I was very sure I never either received from you or de¬
livered to him any such ; and therefore I went imme¬
diately to wait upon him, with a design to discourse with
him about the matter; but he was out of town, and since
I have not seen him, till, upon the 28th, I met him at
Huntingdon, where, upon his own accord, and before I
had time to ask him any question, he told me that he
had writt to you a very odd letter, at which he was
much concerned ; added, that it was in a distemper that
much seized his head, and that kept him awake for about
five nights together, which upon occasion he desired I
would represent to you, and beg your pardon, he being
very much ashamed he should be so rude to a person for
whom he hath so great an honour. He is now very well,
and though I fear he is under some small degree of melan-
choly, yet I think there is no reason to suspect it hath at
all touched his understanding, and I hope never will; and
so I am sure all ought to wish that love learning, or the
honour of our nation, which it is a sign howmuchitis look¬
ed after, when such a person as Mr Newton lyes ne¬
glected BY THOSE IN POWER.”
In the beginning of the year 1692, Charles Montague,
Lord Monmouth, and Mr Locke, were exerting themselves
to obtain some appointment for Newton. In his letters to
Locke, Newton himself refers, with a considerable degree
of feeling, to these exertions. He conceived that Charles
Montague, .under the influence of some old grudge, had
been false to him, and that there had been a design to sell
1 'rS <5r!> t|'e„n'!‘nu;KriPt “f Huygens was first published in Biofs Life of Newton. “ On the 29th of May
come insane, eifhVr In eonSqtnce of “S* ilIustrious Keometer Isaac Newton had he!
h“me’and
is'l'eMrtewS fS Thtyefe S)°
excellent mathematician, philosopher Line Vo wl p n f 1 c 7 Cohege, that is mightily famous for his learning, being a most
the ill luck to perish anX miprl^ h - f l , ThlS,book: whlch he valu^ so much, and which was so much talked of had
«er. In a winferWninXav X ^]USt "X X waf almost a* Putting a conclusion to the same af?XhL man
fortunately left burning thfre too catchedhoH hv “XX7 table’ wh,ilst he went to chaPel> the candle, which he un-
sumed it, and several other valuable writlLs an/ LT i f "X FT"’ aTlhey ^ed the aforesaid book and utterly con-
from chapel, and had seen what wi« ,1 ” ’ and’ T1 ^ TSt "TT" ’ dlJ 110 ^urther mischief. But when Mr Newton came
run mad! he w“ »troubled th“eat’
z
178
newton.
Newton, him an office; and it is to the failnre of these attempts
'that Mr Millington alludes with such just seventy in the
letter which we have quoted. . i
Newton was now in the fifty-third year of his age; and
whilst those of his own standing at the university had been
appointed to high stations in the church, or to lucrative
offices in the state, he still remained without any mark of
national gratitude. His fellow-labourers in science in
every part of Europe were enjoying the favour and pro¬
tection of their respective sovereigns, who had even in¬
vited foreign philosophers to their capitals to enjoy the li¬
berality which they had extended to their own. F«re,gn-
ers viewed with astonishment the treatment of Newton
bv his own sovereign, and the French king had thf ^
bfeness of mind to* offer him, through Cassini, a liberal
PeBuUhiS blot upon the English name was atlast removed
by Charles Montague, when, in the yearH16^ hner "?s Jv
pointed chancellor of the exchequer. He had previously
consulted Mr Newton upon the subject of the recoinage ,
and when Mr Overton, the warden of the mint, was made
a commissioner of customs, he served both his friend and
his country by appointing Newton to that important office.
« I am very gkd? says he, “ that last I can give you a
good proof of my friendship, and the ^teem the kmg
of your merits. Mr Overton, the warden of the mint, is
made one of the commissioners of the customs, and *
king has promised me to make Mr Newton warden of the
mint. The office is the most proper for you. fis the
chief office in the mint; ’tis worth five or six hundred
pounds per annum, and has not too much business to re¬
quire more attendance than you can spare. K
The chemical and mathematical knowledge of Newton
proved of great use in carrying on the recoinage, which
was completed in about two years ; and such ^as tj16 ?eaJ
and devotion with which Newton discharged the laborious
duties of this office, that he was appointed, in 1697, to the
mastership of the mint, which was worth between twelve
and fifteen hundred pounds per annum. < In this situation
he drew up a table of assays of foreign coins, and composed
an official report on the coinage. Having retained his pro¬
fessorship at Cambridge whilst he was warden, he now ap¬
pointed Mr Whiston as his deputy, with all the emolu¬
ments of the chair. , r
In the same year Newton was elected a foreign asso¬
ciate of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris. In 1701
he was elected one of the members of parliament tor the
University of Cambridge. In 1703 he was raised to the
presidency of the Royal Society of London, to which he
was annually re-elected during the remaining twenty-hve
yeWhen Queen Anne and the court visited Cambridge on
the 16th of April 1705, she conferred the honour of knight¬
hood on Mr Newton. _ . t
On the dissolution of parliament in 1 *05, Sir Isaac was
again a candidate for the representation of the university ;
but he was beaten by a great majority. He was supported
by all the resident members; but being a whig in politics,
and the cry of the church in danger having been raised on
that occasion, he became the victim of the ignorance and
fanaticism of the non-resident constituency.
The first edition of the Principia having been sold oft,
Dr Bentley and his other friends had, for a considerable
time, been urging Sir Isaac to prepare a new edition. The
duties of the mint would not permit him to devote much
time to such a task; but he willingly complied with the re¬
quest of his friends, when Mr Roger Cotes, Plumian pro¬
fessor of astronomy at Cambridge, undertook to super¬
intend its publication. Newton promised to send his own
revised copy to Mr Cotes in July 1709; but delays took
place, and the work was not completed till the spring of
1713 Nearly three hundred letters passed between Sir Newto:
Isaac and Cotes, in which the various alterations and ad-
d tons are discussed; and this correspondence a. least the
letters of Newton to Cotes, has been carefully preserved
in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
When George I. succeeded to the throne of Great Bri¬
tain Sir Isaac became an object of interest at court^ I he
Princess of Wales, afterwards queen-consort to George
II took great pleasure in conversing with him, and in
corresponding with Leibnitz. Having one day mentioned
to her royal highness a new system of chronology which
he had composed whilst resident at Cambridge, she re¬
quested Sir Isaac, through the Abbe Conti, to give her a
cony of it. He accordingly drew up an abstract of it from
the loose papers to which it had been committed, and sent
it to the princess for her private use alone. He afterwards
allowed a copy to be given to the Abbe Conti, on the con¬
dition of its not being communicated to any person what¬
ever The abbe, however, forgetting his obligation, com¬
municated it to M. Freret, a learned antiquary in Paris,
who translated it, and endeavoured to refute R- H was
printed early in 1725, under the title of Abrege de^Chro.
noloaie de M. le Chevalier Newton, fait par hu-meme, et
traduit sur le Manuscrit Anglais. Upon receiving a copy
of this work, Sir Isaac Newton printed, in the Philoso¬
phical Transactions for 1725, a paper, entitled Remarks
on the Observations made on a Chronological Index ot
Sir Isaac Newton, translated into French by the obser-
vator, and published at Paris. In these remarks Sir Isaac
charges the abbe with a breach of promise, and gave a
triumphant answer to the objections which Freret had
urged against his system. Father Souciet entered the field
in defence of Freret; and, in consequence of this contro-
versy, Sir Isaac was induced to prepare his larger work,
which was published in 1728, after his death, and entitled
the Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms amended ; to which
is prefixed, a short Chronicle from the First Memory of
Kings in Europe to the conquest ot Persia by Alexander
There is no part of Sir Isaac Newton’s biography more
remarkable than that which relates to his theological stu¬
dies. From a very early period of his life Newton had se¬
riously embarked in the study of theology. Previously to
1692 he was known by the appellation of an excellent di-
vine, and it is well known that he had begun to study the
subject of the prophecies before 1690; whereas, in order to
show that his theological writings were the productions
of his dotage, and subject to his supposed mental aliena¬
tion, M. Biot has fixed their date between 1712 and 1719,
between the seventieth and the seventy-fifth year of his
a°One of the most remarkable of Sirlsaac’stlieological
productions is his Historical Accountof Two Notable Cor-
ruptions of the Scripture, in a letter to a friend. This friend
was Mr Locke, who received the letter in November 1690.
Sir Isaac seems to have been then anxious for its publica¬
tion ; but as the effect of his argument was to deprive the
Trinitarians of two passages in favour of the trinity,
became alarmed at the probable consequences of sud a
step. He therefore requested Locke, who was then go j
to Holland, to get it translated into French, and published
on the Continent. Being prevented from going to Hoi
land, Locke copied the manuscript, and sent it, witho
Newton’s name, to M. le Clerc, who received it before the
11th of April 1691. On the 20th of January 1692, Le Clerc
announced to Locke his intention to publish the pamphlet
in Latin; and upon intimating this to Sir Isaac, he
treated him “ to stop the translation and imPreSf,10l •
soon as he could, for he designed to suppress them, in
was accordingly done; but Le Clerc sent the manuscrip
to the library of the Remonstrants, and it was aft
NEWTON.
} rton. published at London in 1754, under the title of Two Let-
—'ters from Sir Isaac Newton to M. le Clerc. This edition
is imperfect, and in many places erroneous ; and Dr Hors¬
ley has published a genuine one, which is in the form of a
single letter to a friend, and was taken from a manuscript
in Sir Isaac’s own hand, in the possession of the Reverend
Dr Ekins, dean of Carlisle.1
Sir Isaac Newton left behind him in manuscript a work
entitled Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the
Apocalypse of St John, which was published in London in
1733, in one volume 4to; another work entitled Lexicon
Propheticum, with a dissertation on the sacred cubit of the
Jews, which were printed in 1737; and Four Letters ad¬
dressed to Dr Bentley, containing some arguments in proof
of a Deity, which were published by Mr Cumberland, the
nephew of Dr Bentley, in 1756.2 Sir Isaac composed some
other theological manuscripts which have not been pub¬
lished.
Sir Isaac Newton devoted much of his time to the study
of chemistry; but the greater number of his experiments
still remain in manuscript. His Tabula Quantitatum et
Graduum Caloris contains a comparative scale of tempe¬
rature from that of melting ice to that of a small kitchen
coal fire. He wrote also another chemical paper, De Na-
tura Acidorum, which has been published by Dr Horsley.
Sir Isaac spent much time in the study of the writings of
the alchemists; and the Rev. Mr Law informs us, that
he had diligently studied the writings of Jacob Behmen,
and that there were found amongst Sir Isaac’s manuscripts
copious abstracts from them in his own handwriting. He
states also, that in the earlier part of his life he and his
relation Dr Newton of Grantham had put up furnaces and
had wrought for several months in quest of the philoso¬
pher’s tincture. These views are rendered more probable
by the fact, that in the list of Newton’s manuscripts pub¬
lished by Dr Hutton, and in the possession of the Earl of
Portsmouth, there are many sheets in Sir Isaac’s hand, of
Flamsteed s Explication of Hieroglyphic Figures, and in
another hand many sheets of William Yworth’s Processus
Mysterii Magni Philosophicus.
Amongst the inventions of Sir Isaac Newton we must
enumerate his reflecting telescope, his reflecting micro¬
scope, a sextant similar to Hadley’s, and his prismatic re¬
flector, with plane and convex surfaces. We owe also to
him some very interesting views on the decussation of the
optic nerves, which were first published in Harris’s Op¬
tics; a hypothesis respecting ether as the cause of light
and gravity; and some experiments upon the excitation
ot electricity on glass.3
The sale of the second edition of the Principia having
been rapid, a third edition was called for in 1722. Roger
otes had died in the prime of life, and therefore Newton
engaged Dr Pemberton to superintend the new edition,
w ich was published in 1726, with numerous alterations.
During the last twenty years of Sir Isaac’s life, his beau-
titul and accomplished niece, Miss Catherine Barton, had
managed his domestic concerns. She was the daughter of
Mr Robert Barton of Brigstock, and of Hannah Smith,
ew on s half sister. She had been a great favourite of
Chades Montague, earl of Halifax, who, at his death in
o, bequeathed to her a very large portion of his for-
une. ns lady, who had been educated at Sir Isaac’s
lma1rned Mr Conduit, and continued to reside
death 61 1US^an^ ®ir Isaac’s house until the time of his
17.9
hepncA;6 W^len was eighty years old, he had
been seized with an incontinence of urine, which was ascribed
to stone. By great attention to diet and regimen he succeed- Newton.
ed in keeping down this dreadful malady ; but in 1724 he  
passed a small stone, and for some months enjoyed a tolera¬
ble degree of health. In January 1725 he was seized with a
violent cough and inflammation of the lungs, which indu¬
ced him to reside at Kensington ; and in the February of
the same year he had a fit of gout both in his feet and
hands, which produced a decided improvement in his ge-
neial health. His duties at the Mint were discharged by
Mr Conduit, and he therefore seldom went to London.
Feeling himself well, he went to London on the 28th of Fe¬
bruary 1728, to preside at a meeting of the Royal Society;
but the fatigue which attended this duty brought on a
violent return of his former complaint, and he returned to
Kensington on the 4th of March, when Dr Mead and Dr
Chesselden pronounced his disease to be stone. He en¬
dured the sufferings of this complaint with wonderful pa¬
tience and meekness. He seemed a little better on the
15th of March, and on the 18th he read the newspapers and
conversed with Dr Mead ; but at six o’clock in the even¬
ing he became insensible, and continued in that state till
Monday the 20th of March, when he expired between one
and two o’clock in the morning, in the eighty-fifth year of
his age. His body was removed to London, and on Tues¬
day the 28th of March it lay in state in the Jerusalem Cham¬
ber, and was thence conveyed to Westminster Abbey,
where it was buried near the entrance into the choir, on
the left hand. The pall was supported by the Lord Chan¬
cellor, the Dukes of Roxburghe and Montrose, and the
Earls of Pembroke, Sussex, and Macclesfield, who were
fellows of the Royal Society. The Bishop of Rochester
performed the funeral service. The relations who inhe¬
rited his personal estate devoted L.500 to the erection of
a monument to his memory. It was finished in 1731, and
was erected in the centre of the abbey. The following is
the epitaph inscribed upon it:
Hie situs est
Isaacus Newton, Eques auratus,
Qui animi vi prope divina
Planetarum motus, figuras,
Cometarum semitas, Oceanique ASstus
Sua Mathesi facem praeferente
Primus demonstravit;
Radiorum Lucis dissimilitudines
Colorumque inde nascentium proprietates
Quas nemo antea vel suspicatus erat, pervestigavit;
Naturm, antiquitatis, S. Scripturm
Sedulus, sagax, fidus interpres;
Dei opt. max. majestatem philosophia asseruit;
Evangelii simplicitatem moribus expressit.
Sibi gratulentur mortales, tale tantumque extitisse,
Humani Generis Decus
Natus xxv. Decemb. mdcxlii. ; Obiit xx. Mar.
MDCCXXVII.
In the beginning of the year 1731 a medal was struck at
the Tower in honour of Sir Isaac Newton, bearing the motto,
Felix cognoscere causas; and on the 4 th of February 1755 a
fine full-length statue of him by Roubiliac, executed in
white marble, was erected in the antechapel of Trinity
College, Cambridge, at the expense of Dr Robert Smith,
the author of the Complete System of Optics. The pedes¬
tal bears the inscription
Qui genus humanum ingenio superavit;
an assertion which may be justly doubted, even by those
who are the greatest admirers of Newton’s genius.
■ Se* Brewster's L* of Newt™, p. 27a. pre^,? the librlry of Trinity College> Cambridge.
180
NEWTON.
Newton.
The personal estate of Sir Isaac Newton amounted to
' about L 32,000. It was divided amongst his four nephews
and four nieces of the half blood, the grandchildren of his
mother by the Rev. Mr Smith. The family estates of \V ools-
thorpe and Sustern were bequeathed to John Newton,
whTe great-grandfather was Sir Isaac’s uncle, by who™
they were sold in 1732 to Mr Edmund lurnor of Stoke
Rocheford Sir Isaac bequeathed his estate at Kensington
"erte the only Lighter of Mr Conduit who af
terwards married Mr Wallop, the eldest son of Lord Ly
mington, and subsequently Earl of Portsmouth Stride
was succeeded as warden and master of the mint by
nenhew, Mr Conduit^ who died in •
In his social character Sir Isaac Newton was modest
and candid, and affable, accommodating ^mself to every
class of society in which he moved. H^s humi ty was that
of a philosopher who had experienced both ^ streng
and the weakness of the human mind, and of a Chnstian
who was deeply impressed with the nnsatis png natu
all earthly greatness. “ I do not know, said he, a si
time before5his death, “ what I may appear to the world,
but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing
he 7a shore, and diverting ™y-lf‘".Xn^rdina'y
findino- a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary,
whikt the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before
me ” His ^religious and moral character were equally ad¬
mirable. He was deeply versed in the knowledge of the
Scriptures, and was not equalled in point of theologica
learnC by any of the divines of his age. He was a great
fViend of religious toleration, and never scrupled to express
bis abhorrence of even the mildest species of religious per-
“Sir Isiac Newton was remarkable for his WbffXsln
all occasions. His charity was boundless, and he was in
the habit of remarking, that those who gave away nothing
till they died never gave at all. He wrote to the Provost
of Edinburgh in 1724, offering L.20 annually to Mr i a -
laurin, provided he became assistant to Mr James Gre-
gorv, professor of mathematics in the university. In i /1J
he gave fifty guineas to the Rev. Mr Pound who made
sorne astronomical observations for Ins use ; and in 1720 he
gave him the like sum. He likewise bestowed large dona¬
tions on the Ayscoughs, his relations. „ +Vi0
In his personal appearance Sir Isaac was not above
middle size. He had “ a comely and gracious aspect, and
a very lively and piercing eye.” He was short-sighted
but never wore spectacles, nor lost more than one t00t
his life. Bishop Atterbury asserts, in opposition to this,
that the lively and piercing eye did not belong to Sir5)Ibaa
during the last twenty years of his life. ‘ Indeed, say
he, “in the whole air of his face and make there was no¬
thing of that penetrating sagacity which appears in Ins
compositions. He had something rather languid in his
look and manner, which did not raise any good expectation
in those who did not know him.”
The manor-house of Woolsthorpe, as well as every other
memorial of Sir Isaac, has been preserved with religious
care. Mr Turner of Stoke Rocheford, the proprietor, put
up in 1798, a white marble tablet in the room where Sir
Isaac was born, recording his birth and death, and bearing
the celebrated lines of Pope :
Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid in Night;
God said, “ Let Newton be,” and all was Light.
The house still contains on its walls the two dials made by
Newton himself, but without the styles. His second tele¬
scope is preserved in the library of the Royal Society ; and
his globe, universal ring dial, quadrant, compass, and are-
  || p’
fleeting telescope said to have belonged to him, in the li- Newton, Y
necung i -j
brarv of Trinity College, Cambridge.
The manuscripts, correspondence, and other papers of
Sir Isaac Newton, have been preserved in different collec¬
tions. But the most important collection is the family one
TtL possession of the Earl of Portsmouth. They are de¬
posited at Hursbourne Park, his lordship s seat in Hamp¬
shire, and have been very recently (m 1837) examined by
H A Fellowes, Esq. the accomplished nephew of Lord
Portsmouth, and by Sir David Brewster, who has been
permitted to make use of them in composing Memoirs of
the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton.
In this examination much new and valuable information
has been discovered relative to the early life of Sir Isaac,
which had been collected by his nephew-in-lavy Mr Con¬
duit, for the purpose of writing a life of him, which he was
prevented from executing by his death m the year 17d/.
Many letters and papers of Newton are in the possession
of the Earl of Macclesfield at Shirburn. They were found
amongst the papers of William Jones, the fi'iend ^ir
Isaac, and the father of Sir William Jones. These papers
have recently been put into the hands of Professor Rigaud
of Oxford, who is now preparing them for publication.
About thirty-four of Newton’s letters to Flamsteed are
deposited in the library of Corpus Chnsti College, Oxford;
but a large portion of the correspondence between New¬
ton and Halley has recently been found by Mr Baily in
the possession of Mr Giles, a private gentleman in Lon¬
don, and in the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, along
with various important documents intimately connected
with the scientific history of that period. As the papers
found in the observatory had been purchased by the Board
of Longitude in 1771, the lords commissioners of the ad¬
miralty, on the recommendation of the board of visitors
of the Royal Observatory, agreed to print thpm. they
have been accordingly printed in a large quarto volume,
under the superintendence of Mr Baily.
Doubts have been entertained by some, and openly ex¬
pressed by others, relative to the propriety of Publishing
all the papers contained in this collection. Several of the
letters of Flamsteed, and various parts of Ins autobiogra¬
phical memoir, contain bitter and malignant attacks upon
the character and conduct of Sir Isaac Newton, which, it
thev had been published during his life, or not long after
it, might have been refuted on the authority of documen¬
tary and other evidence which cannot now be oh tame .
Fortunately for the memory of Sir Isaac Newton, Ins g -
nerous and noble character, his meek and gentie dis^si-
tion, and his Christian forbearance and patience, form a
secure shield against the reckless and wanton charges of
his irritable and violent assailant. If reflections have been
cast on the character of Newton by the animadversions of
Flamsteed, the conduct of the latter has been exposed to
a scrutiny which it may not be able to sustain; and the
friends of Newton are reluctantly compelled to collect the
opinions which contemporary writers had expressed ot
Flamsteed, in order to enable the public to form J
estimate of the testimony which he has borne against
fellow-labourer in science. ,
Those who wish to know more of the dlffeJ'ence®
tween Newton and Flamsteed, may consult the vohime
above mentioned, which is entitled An ^cc0Jin •, d
Rev. John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Roy a!, compile^
from his own manuscripts, and other authentic do
never before published; to which is added, his Bntis
Catalogue of Stars, corrected and enlarged, print y
order of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty,
, This volume wa, n„t published t the who!e impression, which was small, being distributed in presents to scientific institute
public libraries, and individuals interested in the subjects to which it relates.
NEW
:hy.
1 II
2! v'ton.
M toniandon, 1835. Mr Baily, at his own expense, published, in
l loso- January 1837, a supplement to this work, which, with his
usual liberality, he “ distributed amongst those persons
and institutions only to whom the original work was pre-
^ sen ted.” (n.n.n.)
Newtonian Philosophy, the doctrine of the universe,
and particularly of the heavenly bodies, their laws, affec¬
tions, &c. as delivered by Sir Isaac Newton.
The term Newtonian philosophy is applied very differ¬
ently. Some authors under this denomination include all
the corpuscular philosophy, considered as it now stands
corrected and reformed by the discoveries and improve¬
ments made in several parts of it by Sir Isaac Newton. In
this sense it is that sGravesande calls his elements of phy¬
sics Introductio ad Philosophiam Newtonianam; and in this
sense the Newtonian is the same with the new philoso¬
phy, standing contradistinguished from the Cartesian, the
Peripatetic, and the ancient corpuscular system. By New¬
tonian philosophy others mean the method or order which
Sir Isaac Newton observes in philosophizing, viz. the rea¬
soning and drawing of conclusions directly from phenome¬
na, exclusive of all previous hypotheses; the beginning
from simple principles, deducing the first powers and laws
of nature from a few select phenomena, and then applying
those laws, &c. to account for other things. And in this
sense the Newtonian philosophy is the same with the ex¬
perimental or inductive philosophy, and stands opposed to
the ancient corpuscular system. By this philosophy some
understand that particular kind in which physical bodies
are considered mathematically, and where geometry and
mechanics are applied to the solution of the appearances
of nature. In this sense the Newtonian is the same with
the mechanical and mathematical philosophy. Others,
again, by Newtonian philosophy, understand that part of
physical knowledge which Sir Isaac Newton has handled,
improved, and demonstrated, in his Principia. Lastly, by
it is meant the new principles which Sir Isaac Newton has
brought into philosophy, the new system founded thereon,
and the new solutions of phenomena thence deduced, or that
which characterizes and distinguishes his philosophy from
all others; and this is the sense in which it ought to be
used. °
As to the history of this philosophy, we have nothing to
add to what has been stated in the preceding and in other
articles. It was first made public in the year 1687, bv
the author, then a fellow of Trinity College, Cambrid°-e ;
and in the years 1713 and 1726 republished with consi¬
derable improvements. See the articles Astronomy, At¬
traction, Dynamics, Mechanics ; Professor Playfair’s
Dissertation (part ii. sect. ii. p. 535) ; and Sir John Les¬
lie s Dissertation (sect. vii. p. 655).
Newton, lord bishop of Bristol, and dean of St
raui s, London, was born on the 1st of January 1704. His
tatlier, John Newton, was a considerable brandy and cider
merchant, who having, by his industry and integrity, ac¬
quired what he thought a competent fortune, left off trade
severa years before he died. Young Newton received
tne tirst part °t h‘S education in the free school of Lich-
eld, which, the bishop observes with some kind of exul¬
tation, had at all times sent forth several persons of note
to tTtT6’ fr°m, ?lsh°P SmaIdridge and Mr Wollaston,
in ?7i7°hns0n an,d Mr Garrick- From Lichfield he was,
der thp’ r^movedto Westminster School, and placed un-
fime to r °f iDr ,Freind and Dr Nicolk during the
more vouno-31116 at ?Vestndnster’there were, he observes,
figure in thfJ11?! Wih° aftenvards made a distinguished
before or sinpp1 u lan P?rhaPs at any other period, either
wards Earl of M u Partlcularly mentions Murray, after-
of the greatest f ?ns^e, d’ Wltl1 whom he lived upon terms
passed g*iv fnends7hlP t0 the close of his life. Having
P . years at Westminster School, he went to Cam-
N E W
bridge, and entered at Trinity College, where he con¬
stantly resided eight months at least in every year, till
he took his degrees in arts. Being chosen fellow of his
college, he went afterwards to settle in London. As it
had been his inclination from childhood, and as he was
likewise designed for holy orders, he had sufficient time
to prepare himself, and composed some sermons, that he
might have a stock in hand when he entered on the minis¬
try. His title for clerical orders was his fellowship; and
he was ordained deacon in December 1729, and priest in
the February following, by Bishop Gibson. Upon his first
setting out in this office, he was curate at St George’s,
an over Square, and continued for several years assistant
preacher to Dr I rebeck. His first preferment was that
ot reader and afternoon preacher, at Grosvenor Chapel, in
South Audley Street; an appointment which introduced
nm to the family of Lord Tyrconnel, to whose son he be¬
came tutor. He continued in this situation for many years,
iving much at his ease, and on terms of great intimacy
and friendship with Lord and Lady Tyrconnel, ‘(without so
much, he tells us, “ as an unkind word or a cool look in¬
tervening.’’ In the spring of 1744, he was, through the
interest of the Earl of Bath, his great friend and patron,
presented to the rectory of St Mary le Bow; so that he
was forty years of age before he obtained any living. At
the commencement of the year 1745 he took his doctor’s
degree. In the spring of 1747 he was chosen lecturer
of St George’s, Hanover Square, by a most respectable
vestry of noblemen and gentlemen of high distinction,
in August following he married his first wife, the eldest
daughter of Dr I rebeck, an unaffected, modest, decent
young woman, with whom he lived happily for nearly se¬
ven years. In 1749 he published his edition of Milton’s
Jraradise ^Lost, which was well received by the public,
and by 1775 had gone through eight editions. After the
1 aradise Lost, it was judged proper that Dr Newton
should likewise publish the Paradise Regained, and other
poems of Milton; but these things he thought detained
him from other more material studies, though he had the
good fortune to gain more by them than Milton did by all
his works put together. But his greatest gain consisted in
their first introducing him to the friendship and intimac\r
oUwo such men as Bishop Warburton and Dr Jortin. In
1/54 he lost his father, at the age of eighty-three; and
within a few days his wife, at the age of thirty-eight. This
was the most severe trial he ever experienced, and it al¬
most overwhelmed him. At that time he was engaged in
writing his Dissertations on the Prophecies; and in his af¬
fliction he found no better nor more effectual remedy than
p unging deeply into study, and fixing his thoughts as
intensely as he possibly could upon other subjects. The
first volume was published the following winter, but the
other did not appear till three years afterwards; and as a
reward for his past and an incitement to future labours, he
was in the mean time appointed to preach Boyle’s lecture.
Ihe bishop himself informs us, that twelve hundred and
fifty copies of the Dissertations were taken off at the first
impression, and a thousand at every other edition; and
t lough, he adds, “some things have been since published
upon the same subjects, yet they still hold up their head
above water, and having gone through five editions, are
again prepared for another. Abroad, too, their reception
has not been unfavourable, if accounts from thence may
be depended upon.” They were translated into the Ger¬
man and Danish languages, and received the warmest en-
c°™rLaais1frorn Persons of learning and rank. In the spring
oi 1757, he was made prebendary of Westminster, in the
room of Dr Green, and promoted to the deanery of Salis-
buiy. In October following, he was made sub-almoner to
his majesty, an appointment which he owed to Bishop Gil-
beit. In September 1761, he married a second wife, the
181
Newton.
182
NEW
new
  , . ._j • ic9i fn 1774, and in 1831 to Newt-,-
Newton- w^ow of the Rev. Mr Hand, and daughter Of Viscoun t populatton amounted - ■
Stewart burn ; and in the same month he kissed his majesty s i a vtfwTY FORT, a small fortress of Hindustan, on
"for his bishopric. On the death of Dr Stone, the primate   th(> nrovince of Concan, situated on the s
“ . . c ina*. Mr Grenville sent for
of Ireland, in the winter of 1764,  
Bishop Newton, and in the most obliging manner desired
his acceptance of the primacy; but having maturely weigh¬
ed the matter in his own mind, he declined the otter. 1
1768 he was made dean of St Paul’s. His ambition was now
fully satisfied, and he firmly resolved never to ask for any
thing more. From this time till his death his health *as
almost constantly \nfirm; indeed it is wonderful that such
N K W 1. i JT li. x 5 c* on-**** # i aI
western coast of the province of Concan s^u^ed the
southern bank of a small river. Long. 73.40. E. Lab 15.
06NE\V YEAR’S GIFTS, presents made on the first
dav of the new year. Nonius Marcellus refers the origin of
thfs custom amongst the Romans to latius king of the
Sabines, who reigned at Rome conjointly with Romulus
and who having considered as a g-od a P^e"' of
almost constantly infirm ; indeed it is wonderful that sue g^^branches^that had been cut in a wood consecrated to
a poor, weak, and slender thread as the bishop s ^ d Strenia; tbe goddess of strength, which he received on the
have been spun out to such an amazing leng y of the new vear, authorized this custom afterwards,
In the autumn of 1781, he laboured under repeated first day ot tne J „„„„ „f However
was. in me auiuum ui 1-700 ujo
illnesses; and on Saturday the 9th of Feb™ry 1782,^ s
breathing began to be much affected by the frost. H
complaints grew worse till the following Thursday, when
he got up at five o’clock, and was placed in a chair by t
firef having suffered much in bed. About six o’clock he
was left by his apothecary in a quiet sleep ; between se^"
and eight he awoke, and appeared rather more easy, an
took a little refreshment. He continued dozing till near
nine, when he ordered his servant to come and dress him,
and help him down stairs. As soon as he was dressed, he
inquired the hour, and bade his servant open the shutter
and look at the dial of St Paul’s. The servant answered
that the clock was about to strike nine. The bishop made
an effort to take out his watch with an intent to set it, but
sunk down in his chair, and expired without a sigh or the
least visible emotion, his countenance still retaining the
same placid appearance which was so peculiar o um
when in life. . . p
NEWTON-STEW ART, a small town in the county ot
Wigton, and parish of Penninghame, Scotland. It ex¬
tends about a mile on the right bank of fhe nver Cr^e’
and consists of one long street, in which is the tolbootli,
and a very short one along the old road to Glenluce. It
is connected with Creebridge, a village of about 2,0 in¬
habitants, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, by an elegant
bridge of granite over the river Cree. The post-road
from London to Portpatrick passes through the town.
The first houses were built in 1701, and for many years
the number seems to have been small. It was erected into
a burgh of barony about the year 1780, by the then pro
and gaveUto these presents the name of siren* However
this may be, the Romans on that day celebrated a festival
in honour of Janus, and at the same time paid their respects
to Juno ; but they did not pass it in id eness, lest they
should become indolent during the rest of the year. I hey
sent presents to one another, of figs, dates, b°ney> and
other things, to show their friends that they wished them a
happy and agreeable life. Clients, that is to say, those who
were under the protection of the great, carried presents of
this kind to their patrons, adding to them a small Piece
silver. Under Augustus, the senate, the knights, and the
people presented such gifts to the emperor, and in his ab¬
sence deposited them in the Capitol. Of the s^ceed g
princes, some adopted this custom and others abolished it
but it always continued amongst the people. The early
Christians condemned it, because it appeared to be a relic
of paganism and a species of superstition ; but when it be¬
gan to have no other object than that ot serving as a mark
of benevolence and esteem, the church ceased to disap-
Pt NEW YORK, one of the thirteen original states of the
North American confederacy, and the most populous and
important in the Union. It is bounded on the north by
Upper and Lower Canada; on the east by the states of
Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; on the south¬
east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by New Jersey
and Pennsylvania; on the west by Pennsylvania, Lake
Erie, and the Niagara River; and on the north-west by
Lake Ontario and the river St Lawrence. rhe terr't04^
of New York is situated between latitude 40. 30. and 4 .
a burgh of barony about the year 1780, by the then pro- ot between longitude 5. 5. east, and 2. 55. west
prietor, under the name of Newton-Douglas ; but the origi- n , Washington. Its extreme length from
nai name has been again assumed. About the year 1793, trom tne city o _ „ &, , t — T=land.
nai name nas ueeu again     - - f ..u
a cotton manufactory was established on the banks ot the
Cree, at an expense of L.20,000; but the speculation did
not succeed, and it was eventually given up. The whole
property belonging to the company was purchased in 183U
by the Earl of Galloway, who is superior of the town. Cot¬
ton weaving forms a considerable part of the trade °‘Jbe
place; but it has diminished much of late years. The
curing of bacon has been carried on for several years back,
and the amount brought by the curers has yielded from
L.5000 to L.7000 annually to the inhabitants of the sur¬
rounding district. There are several tan-works, and an
extensive brewery, in full operation. Vessels of from thirty-
five to seventy and eighty tons registered burden, and
even some of a larger size, sail up the Cree to within a mile
of Newton-Stewart. Their cargoes generally consist of
coals, lime, and merchants’ goods. Besides the parish
school, there is an endowment, called the Douglas School,
for the education of the children belonging to the place.
a  in n etntp nf fnrWHrd-
trom tne envoi . 7 j- t
east to west is about 340 miles, and, including Long Island,
408 miles; and its greatest breadth from north to south
310 miles, its area being about 46,000 square miles,
estimate includes the whole surface, except the waters of
th Nei^YorkTs an epitome of all configurations of surface,^
and every variety of lake, mountain, and river scenery
It may be* described, generally, as an elevated tract, wrth
indentations in various parts below its usual Jeve .
most striking depressions are the great basins m which art
cltnated Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the long_ narrow ^al
most sirifc.ui£ ^ O
situated Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the long narrow
ley which contains the Hudson River and Lake Cham¬
plain. The two latter are united by a valley occupied
the Mohawk River and Lake Oneida. Thes0«th-easrtrt
angle of the state, about forty miles above the uty ot
York, is mountainous, being traversed by several ridge
from New Jersey, one of which crOfeses the Hudson m t
vicinity of West Point, and form, the high lands of that
tor tne education oi me ^ r—- T° , rnnetitutes the dividing ridge between the
Arrangements are at present (1837) in a state of forward- river. It a^° c°ns^lt^teS j ne V pj pa°tly in the state
ness to erect a new parish church, instead of the old church, Hudson an ^  » ^ c River and
. Mrm _   „ 4.L %-vlr.rf-v-fr TTrr\rcni
built in 1777. There are other three places of worship
in the town, one belonging to the Relief body, one to the
Reformed or Cameronian presbytery, and a Roman Ca¬
tholic chapel. There is a weekly market held on Friday,
and various cattle markets throughout the year. The
Hudson ana tne ^oniieuwuui., auu j j
of Connecticut. The space south of the Moha\vk River
the Ontario Valley, and between the River Hudson an
Lake Erie, is occupied by another mountainous district, tne
western part of which forms a table-land having 2000 teei
of mean elevation, and is the source of several large rive
NEW YORK.
X, York, particularly the Alleghany, the Susquehannah, and the
V — > n      X.  1 T 1 t-y
183
Genesee. The eastern part, lying between Lake Seneca
and the Hudson, is occupied by several parallel mountain
ridges, which may be considered as continuations of the
Alleghany ridge passing out from Pennsylvania. These
ridges run in a north and south direction, and their inden¬
tations give rise to several fertile valleys. The highest
are the Catskill Mountains, which bound the valley of the
Hudson on the west. Round Top, the most elevated sum¬
mit, is 3804 feet above the level of the tide-water of the
Hudson. There is also a narrow table-land in this sub¬
division. situated a little south of the line of the Erie Ca¬
nal, and continuing almost uninterruptedly from the Cats¬
kill Mountains to the head of Seneca Lake. On this ele¬
vation are situated a number of lakes, the height of which
above tide-water varies from 380 to 1200 feet. A third
mountain district is situated to the north of the Mohawk,
between Lake Champlain and the east end of Lake On¬
tario. This division is traversed by at least five or six pa¬
rallel ridges, passing in a north-eastern direction, and
which are considered as continuations of the Appalachian
chain. The highest elevation that has been ascertained
with accuracy is a peak belonging to the ridge that passes
through Herkimer and Hamilton counties, and the north¬
ern part of Essex, near the sources of the Hudson. It is
2686 feet above the level of the sea.
^ 6 ^ave a,ready mentioned the basins in which are situ-
laku and atecj Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the valley which contains
the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The two former
depressions are portions of the vast St Lawrence basin,
which embraces the whole of the five great western lakes.
Proceeding along the basin of the Ontario, we pass through
a series of fertile counties, constituting the slope, watered
by numerous rivers, which all finally terminate in the lake.
The Genesee, Oswrego, and Black are important streams,
which rise in the interior of the state. The first-named
river is the outlet of the Canesus, Hemlock, and Honeyoe
Lakes. The Oswego, and its tributaries the Clyde and
Seneca, convey the waters of Canandaigua, Crooked, Se¬
neca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles, Onondaga, and Oneida
Lakes into Lake Ontario. The Mohawk River occupies the
eastern termination of this basin ; whilst towards the north¬
east the slope towards the St Lawrence, indicated by the
course of the Grass, Racket, Oswegatchie, and St Regis
Rivers, shows it to be a continuation of that towards the
lakes. The Hudson and Champlain Valley stretches nearly
north and south, and is remarkable for its depth below the
general surface of the level of the adjoining country. In
the northern part are situated Lakes George and Cham¬
plain, which are connected with each other. The south¬
ern portion communicates with the valley of the Mohawk,
which enters it in a south-easterly direction. The Hudson
rises in the northern part of New York, between LakeCham-
p am and the St Lawrence, and has its whole course in the
state. An American writer on geography thus describes this
river “ No fact in the topography of the state of New
ork is more remarkable than the peculiar position of the
udson and its branches. If we trace the course of any
Atlantic river south of it, we shall find the navigation
closed by the mountain chain on the west. Not so with the
u son. It penetrates the high lands, and after passing up
some undred and sixty miles, it is met by a tributary,
the sources of which reach nearly to the lakes. Here the
appy conformity of the country is such as to permit
ie establishment of an artificial navigation.” After a
course of between three and four hundred miles, the Hud-
SOn. a,^ tj1? Bay °f New York, above which it is
navigable for ships about one hundred and thirty miles,
p 6 kusquehannah rises in this state, and passes into
RennsyJvama, as does also the Delaware. The Alleghany
hio collects its head waters in the south-west
angle of this state, and passes through its noble pine-New York,
forests into Pennsylvania. Here are a vast number of^^v^^
lakes and streams besides those named, which would be
conspicuous in a state of smaller dimensions, and where the
configuration is on a less gigantic scale. But we have
preferred presenting general views of the conformation of
the face of the country to a dry catalogue of lakes and
rivers and mountains, with their courses and terminations.
Those which are remarkable for their size or peculiarities
will be found more particularly described under their re¬
spective designations. Some celebrated mineral springs
exist in this state. Those of Saratoga and Ballston are
more resorted to than any others in the United States.
The Ballston springs are situated in a valley formed by
a small creek. There are a great number of them, the
strongest and most sparkling waters being those obtained
in 1827, by boring 227 feet down. The principal efficacy
of the water arises from a chemical union of chalybeate
and saline ingredients held in solution, and the presence
of uncommon quantities of carbonic acid gas. Saratoga
springs are several miles distant from those of Ballston,
and belong to the same class of mineral waters. A large
and compact village has sprung up at this place, in conse¬
quence of the immense resort to it from all parts of the
United States, Canada, and even the West Indies. Sara¬
toga springs are thirty-two miles north of Albany. To
these may be added the tepid springs of New Lebanon,
twenty-nine miles east of Albany, which are frequented
for bathing, and on account of their cool and elevated
position ; and the sulphur springs of Avon; to all which
places crowds of fashionable people and invalids resort
during the summer months.
Most of the formations discriminated in works of geo- Geology,
logy exist in this state, and some of them are of a very
interesting character, particularly the earth and gypsum
found in the western part of the state. Granite, slate, and
limestone hills occur; and one species of impure limestone,
found in the western and northern parts of New York, has
been used with great success in the construction of canals.
Marble has been obtained in large quantities, for archi¬
tectural purposes, from the quarries of Sing Sing. Its pu¬
rity is said to increase with the depth of the excavations,
and several large and beautiful public edifices have been
constructed of it. At the head of Lake Onondaga are si¬
tuated salt springs of the same name, surrounded by the
waters of the lake, which still, however, continue perfectly
fresh. Plants peculiar to the sea-coast are found here, in
particular the salicornia and salsola. Underneath the mud
or decayed vegetable matter which constitutes the valley
of these springs, a stratum of earthy marl is found, con¬
taining numerous fossil univalves ; and this again appears
to be succeeded by a conglomerate. The peculiar nature
of the underlying rock, or rather its position, does not seem
to be determined. Great quantities of salt are manufac¬
tured here by the various processes of boiling and solar
evaporation. Gypsum, in its various forms of earthy gyp¬
sum, selenite, and even alabaster, is found, particularly in
the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, and is extensively
used for agricultural purposes. Another prominent article
of mineral wealth is iron ore, immense beds of which are
found in the counties west of Lake Champlain. The iron
ore of Columbia county is likewise highly valued and ex¬
tensively manufactured. Lead, silver, zinc, titanium, and
other metals, have been detected in various parts of the
state ; and anthracite or bituminous coal is found, but it
is questionable whether in sufficient quantities to afford
remuneration for the expenses of mining. Petroleum, por¬
celain clay, and most ot the fossils, are found in different
places, and some of the organic remains discovered belong
to the higher animals. Transition and secondary rocks
compose the body of the state; and in the granitic dis-
184
NEW YORK.
New York, tricts, near New York, and on the borders of Lake Cham-
' Diain, picturesque and remarkable projections ot rock, ca¬
verns, and the like, frequently occur. The cataracts and
smaller falls of water are numerous in this state ; and those
of Niagara are the most magnificent in the world. Co¬
hoes is a fine fall on the Mohawk River, having seventy
feet of perpendicular descent. The Little Fa Is on the
same river present most beautiful scenery; and amongst
. r, . , . . j navi-
grain and grass. The alluvial flats are here extensive; New Yorl,
those on the Mohawk comprise about 60,000 acres. W ith y—
regard to climate, a general view can scarcely be given ot
a country which stretches over four degrees and a halt ot
latitude. In the northern division, which abuts upon Ca¬
nada, the climate, as might be expected, is somewhat se¬
vere, partaking of the nature of these northern regions. In
the south-east, towards the sea, it is temperate, but^sub¬
same river present most beautiful scenery; anu amuMg=. — toTudden and great changes. As the eastern boun
the remarkable objects connected with the arti c 'L 0f New York passes along the borders of the states
gation of New York, may be mentioned the aqued Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, the ch-
Little Falls, that over the Genesee at Rochester, and the ot uonnec   
JLillXlC r dll&5 Llldt UVCi uiiv^ C
locks at Lockport, at Little Falls, and at the Junction of
the northern and western canals. Glens FaUs on tl1
Hudson, and those on the Genesee in the village ot Roche -
ter, and at Ithaca, also deserve mention as very stnki g
cascades, but only too near Niagara to be famous. A
stone cavern of vast dimensions, with its falls, columns, a
stalactites, exists on the banks of Black R-er opposi e
Waterton. The ridge road, extending from Rochester to
Lewiston, is a most remarkable geological formation, r s
its name implies, it is a "attmal road of suffiaent wjd n for
mate of these parts resembles that of the states to which
thev are contiguous. After passing the high lands, and
enterino- into the eastern country beyond Utica, the climate
becomes milder than it is to the eastward. In the west¬
ern parts, contiguous to Lakes Ontario and Erie, the tem¬
perature is moderated by these waters, and does not reach
the same extremes as in the south-east. The climate of
the whole state is in general healthy, and favourable to
cultivation. A mass of interesting facts regarding tem¬
perature has been obtained, in consequence of the regents
r • :  —»-»i*i rpnorts from the aeacte-
its name implies, it is a natural road o^ulhcient^wmtn o P annua! meteorological reports from the acade-
Under their Care- TheSe^CademieS ^ 8C--"e-
from which it is distant sometimes several miles. There
Islands.
i,0™remarkable natural production of carburet,ed hydro-
gen in the towns of Fredoma and Portland, Chautauque
county. This gas is obtained in such immense quantities
that it has been conducted into these villages, and used as
a natural gas-light. In the western part ot this state are
situated the hunting grounds and residences of the famous
six Indian nations, who have now submitted to the re¬
straints of civilization ; and these are adorned by the pro¬
ductions of industry and refinement, yet still show traces
of their former existence in the mounds and other anti¬
quities occasionally observed. t cxt
There are several islands belonging to the state ot New
mies under their care. These academies are scattered
over every part of the state, and the mean temperature ot
the whole thus furnishes an approximation towards that ot
the state generally.
In 1826, the mean temperature of ten places reporting
complete annual tables was ‘Jb-dH
In 1827, the mean temperature of 18 places was 
In 1828, the mean temperature of 24 places was 49-50
In 1829, the mean temperature of 28 places was 46-45
In 1830, the mean temperature of 34 places was 48-15
Mean of the five years 4f-00
The quantity of rain and snow has also been ascertained
in a similar manner. Thus:
There are several islands belonging to the state or inew in a a nine g wag_>>36.34
York. Long Island, as its name imports, is a long but nar- In 8-6, he mean rain a^ ^ ^ ^ wag 44.29
row strip of msular land, extendmg east^rom^^e c^y^f ^ ^ ^ ^ and snow „f 25 placeswas.,.36-74
In 1829, the mean rain and snow of 2o places was...34 »»
In 1830, the mean rain and snow of 32 places was...38-86
Mean of the five years ....38-22
The highest degree of temperature noticed in these
tables is 104°, at which the thermometer stood in an aca¬
demy in the county of Orange, on the 20th of July 1830.
It is situated in lat. 41. 32. north, and long. 74. 10. west.
The lowest degree noticed is — 33, at which the thermo¬
meter stood in an academy in the county of Lewis, on the
31st of January 1830. It is situated in lat. 43. 47. north,
The range of the thermometer in
New York one hundred and fifty miles, forming a curve
parallel to the mainland shore, and leaving a broad and
beautiful sheet of water not unlike a wide river between,
called Long Island Sound. It contains three counties, the
chief towns being Brooklyn, Jamaica, Sag Harbour, and r at-
bush. The south border is a long belt of sand, somewhat
barren ; but the northern has a fertile soil, and is in a high
state of cultivation, producing large quantities of grain,
fruits, and hay. Like other insular positions, it has a cli¬
mate more mild than that of the adjacent continent. Sag
Harbour is the principal port. New York is in a great mea¬
sure supplied with wood from this island, the eastern part
of it being remarkably well adapted to its growth. On the
of it being remarkably well adapted to its growth, un tne and Vees of Fahrenheit. It
west, Long Island is divided from Staten Island by the nar- New York state is thei e » „f January 1835,
rows! andSfrom Manhattan Island by East River. On the is ^ ^“at Nevv Lebanon/ This,
latter island is situated the city of New York, which will be it fell torty degrees   ,rQr;,
Soil, cli¬
mate, and
produc¬
tions.
afterwards described. Staten Island is above fourteen
miles in length by from five to eight in breadth, and is the
most southern land belonging to New York. _
In the maritime belt of the state the soil is sandy; in
the middle it is a finely undulating and productive coun¬
try ; and in the western and southern divisions it is re¬
markably level, rich, and inclining to alluvial formation.
The state has a great proportion of first-rate land. The
country on the Hudson, below the mouth of the Mohawk,
has a good medium soil. The counties of Westchester and
Dutchess are under very good cultivation. The alluvial
flats of Columbia and Rensselaer are very extensive and
rich. A considerable district west of Albany consists of
sandy plains interspersed with marshes. The alluvial flats
upon the Mohawk are large and extremely fertile. The soil
of the elevated plain of the western region, being occupied
by the small lakes, is a rich mould equally well adapted to
however, is an~ extreme case. The scale of variation m
summer may be given at from 35° to 60°, in autumn at
from 60° to 73°, in winter at from 70° above to 26 below
zero, and in spring at from 3° to 75°. The variation is
greatest upon the Atlantic coast, along the St Lawrence,
and around Lakes Ontario and Erie ; the north-east, east,
south-east, and south-west winds being more prevalent up¬
on the coast, and the north-east and south-west upon these
lakes and along the St Lawrence. The variations of t
weather at all seasons are great and sudden, changing tne
temperature in a few hours 40° or 50°, rising with the
southerly, and diminishing with the northerly winds.
The staple productions of New York consist principally P
of wheat and other grain, flour, flax, hemp, provisions,
salt, pot and pearl ashes, and lumber. The forest trees,
which thrive to the greatest advantage in an alluvial sou,
are common in the western divisions of this state, and at-
NEW YORK
Ne t7
rork. tain a large size. Wheat, however, is considered as the
grand staple of New York.
Ihe great wheat district of the state commences in the
valley of the Mohawk, above the primitive spur at Little
Fails, in a fertile soil of calcareous alluvion, which over¬
spreads the valley at German Flats. This district, com¬
prehending the central portions of Oneida county, extends
westward to the lakes, and is bounded northwards by the
north ridge of the valley, by Lake Ontario, and southwards
by a line running south-west from Utica to the mouth of
Cattaraugus Creek at Lake Erie. This is the garden of
the state, including the rich Seneca vale, and the far-famed
Genesee county. Some portions of this district are sandy,
and in others the rock rises too near the surface, whilst
others are not sufficiently watered; but taken as a whole,
it is not surpassed by any district of equal extent in the
United States. Here artificial manures are rarely used,
and indeed rarely needed. In the newly-cleared lands, the
richness of the mould and of the sub-soil is all that the far¬
mer requires, being content if, by clearing away the forest,
he can only bring it forth. Amongst the obstructions which
the stumps of the trees offer, he is compelled to plough as
he can, not as his judgment might dictate. In tracts long
cleared, deep ploughing, blending the mould and the soil,
preserves the former, and turns up the latter to disinte¬
grate, and thus to yield its calcareous matter. Upon such
faims some attention is given to rotation in crops, with a
view to the preservation of fertility; but it is not uncom¬
mon to find the same field sown in wheat for a series of
yeais, without the intervention of other crops. Takin"
the whole district together, the average product of wheat
may be from twenty-five to thirty bushels the acre; but
rom forty to fifty are frequently obtained. Instances have
been known of more than eighty bushels to the acre, and
of Indian corn one hundred and twenty-five. The apple,
peai, cherry, and quince, all thrive admirably; and the
peach in size and flavour is scarcely inferior to that of the
Atlantic coast. Grapes also, both foreign and indigenous,
richly repay careful cultivation.
The region south of the line above drawn, and north of
the southern boundary of the state, and between Lake
Erie and that portion of the Kaatsbergs which runs parallel
with the Hudson, may be characterized as a grazing coun-
try- Upon its northern border, the limestone, being more
abundant than in other parts, renders the soil more or less
productive in wheat; and this section, producing grain
and grass abundantly, is by many preferred to that which
is most fertile in wheat. By far the larger portion of this
south-western district is yet covered with forests, and in
most places upon its southern borders, the chief business
01 its inhabitants consists in the cutting and vending of
umber, consequently its agricultural products are incon¬
siderable compared with its population. There are, how¬
ever, some well cultivated tracts in all the border counties,
and in Chautauque, upon the shores of Lake Erie. One
the most useful improvements introduced into agricul-
e, and the result partly of experience, partly of the
necessny imposed by the opening of the eastern markets
sivpW rr” reS10n’.is the appropriation of soils exclu-
arlnru i° Pr°ductions for which they are by nature
and.the consequent abandonment of the practice
which t0 COmjf1 every sPecies t0 >’ield croPs ^
hich it is not congenial. Under this wise system much
lin H 7- .ryUTP°n the North River has ceased to be a
cul ure f L,arge P°rtionS of k are devoted to horti-
inceSnl SUpp7ng !?ulinary vegetables to the greatly
and thn«5 poPu atl°n of the cities and numerous villages ;
kefs are bP^ °nS ^ district most remote
Um77 b "g ,rapid1^ converted into pasturage. Thus
ches^eiMs'nrnfif hi St^rile sod «f Long Island and West-
voTxv? y eVOted t0 the Production of garden
185
and field esculents, fruit, hay, oats, and small meats, for New York,
the great market of the city, in tiie proximity of which '
the cultivator finds ample compensation for the inferiority
of soil, and the consequent greater cost of production, his
lands being by this circumstance, and the facility of ob¬
taining manures, rendered more valuable than the natural¬
ly rich fields of the west. Thus, too, the high and hilly
grounds of Putnam county have, by the free use of gyp¬
sum, been made very productive pastures, in which the
plough is comparatively little used, and which maintain
large droves of cattle and sheep, but chiefly of the former.
Ihe counties of Dutchess, Columbia,, and Washington,
especially the two first, comprising considerable portions
of limestone soil, alternating with slate, produce profita-
ble crops of wheat. But the eastern and northern portions
of Dutchess, and the hilly sections of Columbia, are chiefly
laid out in sheep farms, and in Washington the raisino- of
sheep is rapidly becoming the staple business. In Oranae
county the chief products are those of the dairy, and the
butter of this county has long been held in the highest esti¬
mation. Ihe raising of sheep also extends rapidly here.
Ulster and Greene counties likewise produce large quanti¬
ties of cattle and sheep, and, of late years, of butter and hay
for export. Ihe portions of Albany and Saratoga counties
which are not covered with sand, and the portion of the lat¬
ter not included in the primitive mountains, are under good
cultivation. Wheat is not unprofitable, and Albany exports
large quantities. Still the best returns are obtained from
cattle and sheep. The northern counties of Warren, Essex,
and Clinton, can boast but little of their agriculture; yet
the primitive virgin mould is scarcely anywhere exhaust¬
ed, and the forest trees grow thickly and to a large size,
the abundance of timber, and the facility of getting it to
market, together with the rich mineral deposits, have hi¬
therto chiefly occupied the attention of the inhabitants.
I he northern portions of Franklin and St Lawrence coun¬
ties, very partially cleared, and level or gently undulating,
are well adapted for cultivation. No parts of the state yield
better grass, and the raising of cattle and sheep is found
to be the most profitable employment of the soil, although
it is well adapted to wheat, Indian corn, and other grains.
Jefferson county is very productive of wheat, as are other
paits of New ^tork, which, however, do not require to be
specially mentioned. Societies have been formed in va¬
rious parts of the state for the promotion of agriculture
and horticulture, and they have already been productive of
much good.
The line of extraordinary works, supposed to have been Antiqui-
of a military character, which may be traced from the shores ties,
of Lake Ontario as far as the valley of the Mississippi, and
thence southward to an indefinite extent, must not be over¬
looked in our survey of the surface of this state. These
works consist of earthen parapets, the sites of which, with
a view to defence, appear to have been selected with much
judgment, and upon the construction of these greater skill
has been exercised than any displayed by the Indian races
known to us. Ihe erection of these fortifications has been
ascribed to the European nations, French and Spanish, who,
at periods immediately subsequent to the discovery of Ame¬
rica, visited its shores, and also to a race of inhabitants sup¬
posed to have preceded that found there by the Europeans.
11m works themselves afford no means of tracing their
ongin, but they display indubitable marks of high antiqui-
ty, so that the opinion of their having been constructed
by the hrench or the Spaniards is at once exploded. The
forms of these remains are various, being circular, ellipti¬
cal, triangular, and square; and they are generally placed
in situations which command the adjacent country. Near
many of the forts are mounds of earth raised for cemeteries,
in which human bones in various stages of decay have been
discovered. The number of forts and mounds situated in
2 A
186
NEW YORK.
New York, the western parts of this state much exceeds an hundred.
  'The enclosed areas of the fortifications vary from six acres
to one hundred feet in diameter; and the earthen walls
which enclose them, in their present abraded condition, are
from ten to twelve feet in height, and from six to eight
feet in breadth. Some of these breast-works bear or have
borne trees, whose age has been estimated at more than
two hundred and seventy-five years, and which may have
been preceded by others. One fact seems to indicate that
the architects were not greatly advanced m civilization
In the remnants of manufactured articles found, there s
an absence of any finished works of art in wood or metah*
and the fragments of pottery are rude and of a primitive
form. They are therefore in all likelihood not the produc¬
tion of the Toltecs or the Aztecs who found their way
to Mexico over the northern parts of the contment, b
must be attributed to the Alligewi or some other Indian
tribe.
About twenty-five years ago, this state commenced a New Yor ,(f\
system of internal improvement, which has been prose-
cuted on an extensive scale, and with great success. _ TheUnak
enterprise of this nature which was first undertaken is the
Erie Canal, one of the greatest and most important works
of the kind in the world. It was begun on the 4th of July
1817 and was completed in 1825. The principal canals
in New York, with the exception of the Hudson and De¬
laware Canal, have been constructed by the state, and are
now its property. But the railroads have been mostly un¬
dertaken by incorporated companies. The railroad first
undertaken in the state was the Mohawk and Hudson
Railroad, which was begun in 1830, and finished in 1833.
Since that time several railroads have been completed,
more are in progress, and a still greater number are pro¬
tected. For details as to the extent of inland navigation
in the state of New York, see the article Navigation, In¬
land.
The following table shows the number of railroads which have been completed.
Names.
Buffalo and Black Rock 
Ithaca and Oswego 
Mohawk and Hudson 
Rensselaer and Saratoga....
Rochester 
Saratoga and Schenectady.
Utica and Schenectady 
From
To
Buffalo 
Ithaca 
Albany 
Troy 
Rochester 
Saratoga Springs..
Utica  
Black Rock 
Oswego 
Schenectady 
Ballston Spa 
Carthage 
Schenectady 
Schenectady 
Total.
Com¬
pleted.
1835
1834
1832
1835
1833
1832
1836
Length
in Miles.
3
29
16
241
3
22
77
1741
The railroads which have been commenced are the following
Names.
Auburn and Syracuse 
Buffalo and Niagara........
Catskill and Canajoharie...
Haerlem   
Hudson and Berkshire 
Lockport and Niagara 
Long Island 
New York and Erie 
Saratoga and Washington.
Tonawanta. 
From
Auburn 
Buffalo 
Catskill 
Prince St. N. Y...
Hudson 
Lockport 
Brooklyn 
New York city....
Saratoga Springs.
Rochester 
To
Syracuse 
Niagara Falls 
Canajoharie 
Haerlem   
Massachusetts line..
Niagara Falls 
Greenport 
Lake Erie 
Whitehall
Length
in Miles.
26
21
68
7
30
24
98
505
41
Attica 
Total.
865
The New York and Erie Railroad, one of the greatest
works of the kind that has ever been projected, extending
from the city of New York, through the southern coun¬
ties of the state, to Portland and Dunkirk on Lake Erie,
was commenced in November 1835. The total expense
of this vast undertaking is estimated at 2,717,518 dollars.
Up to the end of 1834 there had been forty other railroad
companies incorporated, having a capital of thirty-five mil¬
lions of dollars ; and in the session of 1836 there were no
less than forty-two incorporated. One of these, the U i
and Syracuse Railroad, above fifty miles in length, and se¬
veral others, have either commenced very lately, or aie
now (1837) about to commence. . f ,
The following tables present so complete a view ot tn
actual state of New York as to render any detailed de¬
scription unnecessary.
NEW YORK
187
X?*- York.
Census of the Population of the State in 1830 and 1835.1
Counties.
Albany 
Alleghany...
Broome  
Cattaraugus.
Cayuga 
Chautauque..
Chenango....
Clinton 
Columbia 
Cortland 
Delaware 
Dutchess 
Erie 
Essex 
Franklin 
Genesee 
Greene 
Hamilton 
Herkimer 
Jefferson 
King’s 
Lewis 
Livingston....
Madison 
Monroe... 
Montgomery.
New York....
Niagara 
Oneida 
Onondaga 
Ontario 
Orange 
Orleans 
Oswego 
Otsego 
Putnam  
Queen’s 
Rensselaer....
Richmond 
Rockland 
Saratoga 
Schenectady..
Schoharie 
Seneca 
St Lawrence..
Steuben 
Suffolk 
Sullivan 
Tioga 
Tompkins  
Ulster 
Warren 
Washington...
Wayne 
Westchester..,
Yates...... 
Towns.
Total.
10
28
11
23
22
24.
19
8
18
11
18
18
17
15
12
24.
11
4.
18
19
6
11
12
13
17
16
1
11
26
18
14.
14
8
20
22
5
6
14
4
4
20
6
10
10
24
24
9
9
19
10
14
9
17
15
21
8
Population in
1830.
Population in
1835.
797
53,520
26,276
17,579
16,724
47,948
34,671
37,238
19,344
39,907
23,791
33,024
50,926
35.719
19,287
11,312
52,147
29,525
1,324
35,869
48,515
20,535
14,958
27.719
39,037
49,862
43,595
202,589
18,485
71,326
58,974
40,167
45,366
18,773
. 27,104
51,372
12,628
22,460
49,424
7,082
9,388
38,679
12,347
27,902
21,041
36,354
33,851
26,780
12,364
27,690
36,545
36,550
11,796
42,635
33,643
36,456
19,009
59.762
35,214
20,190
24,986
49,202
44.869
40.762
20,742
40,746
24,168
34,192
50.704
57,594
20,699
12,501
58,588
30,173
1,654
36,201
53,080
32,057
16,093
31,092
41,741
58,085
46.705
270,089
26,490
77,518
60,908
40.870
45,096
22,893
38,245
50,428
11,551
25,130
55,515
7,691
9,696
38,012
16,230
28,508
22,627
42,047
41,435
28,274
13,755
33,999
38,008
39,960
12,034
39,326
37,788
38,790
19,796
Male Aliens. 1 Paupers not
Taxed.
1,919,132
2,174,517
3,381
143
426
141
548
400
1,170
1,996
553
85
475
960
5,172
625
1,009
978
633
1,024
1,712
3,414
604
554
1,653
2,484
1,285
27,669
973
4,196
1,323
697
1,265
333
1,381
534
67
636
2,081
294
280
2,459
861
728
101
323
267
225
219
143
256
659
104
924
684
1,047
165
82,319
339
38
38
35
85
15
12
72
166
50
69
189
63
60
43
83
154
62
89
238
27
42
2
88
126
1,799
38
179
127
71
209
20
34
94
68
571
182
16
51
53
160
60
97
47
62
101
21
38
6
137
36
94
6
216
43
1,187
118
128
32
298
109
244
65
1,469
61
135
2,071
452
26
11
59
971
228
125
1,897
61
133
245
505
549
14,977
141
458
385
526
2,098
52
160
218
124
2,727
977
407
415
56
488
410
474
154
278
2,068
112
189
246
1,384
34
324
154
1,513
118
6,821
42,836
NEW YORK.
188
New York
"St"”/^yda«e12lEoft™ TndcZntyTXaM^ tf
the assessed Valuation, for 1835.
Counties.
Albany 
Alleghany 
Broome 
Cattaraugus 
Cayuga  
Chautauque 
Chenango 
Clinton 
Columbia 
Cortland 
Delaware 
Dutchess 
Erie 
Essex 
Franklin 
Genesee 
Greene 
Herkimer 
Jefferson  
King’s 
Lewis 
Livingston 
Madison 
Monroe 
Montgomery...
New York 
Niagara 
Oneida 
Onondaga 
Ontario 
Orange 
Orleans 
Oswego 
Otsego 
Putnam 
Queen’s 
Rensselaer 
Richmond 
Rockland 
Saratoga 
Schenectady..
Schoharie 
Seneca 
St Lawrence..
Steuben 
Suffolk 
Sullivan 
Tioga  
Tompkins....
Ulster 
Warren 
Washington..
Wayne 
Westchester.
Yates 
Acres of Land.
Value of
Real Estate.
Value of Person,
al Estate.
Total  27,324,232
297,351
758,380
401,404
788,305
414,678
650,620
514.800
596.800
399.500
299,000
847,692
485,257
560,566
744,002
977,388
625,280
359,586
877,000
720,574
26,954
718,265
316,251
377.309
392,982
1,227,712
14,000
308,662
704,740
455,100
395,111
525,042
238,154
580,978
589,302
135,352
137,178
400,106
28,072
96,418
502,077
119,494
353,279
197,550
1.738.500
897,000
379,736
577,000
625,111
371,400
645,369
513,290
486,083
375,576
280,432
204,414
Dollars.
9,050,370
2,414,359
1,752,027
1,439,725
3,516,028
2,948,159
3,299,660
1,359,950
8,469,876
2.014,093
2,858,990
13,789,484
5,938,400
1,383,602
862,000
8,839,263
2,719,831
4,301,801
4,279,100
28,020,644
I, 402,793
4,865,524
4,392,497
8,965,694
3,578,807
143,732,425
4,733,924
9,176,167
9,427,938
II, 386,629
8,567,133
4,178,166
4,308,000
4,788,285
1,970,901
6,531,850
7,070,537
800,783
1,504,214
5-,405,468
1,815,623
1,990,000
3,631,036
2,691,208
2,839,180
4,141,125
1,196,136
2,678,381
3,002,450
4,457,240
889,398
4,974,345
3,393,465
7,768,979
2,005,922
Amount of
County Taxes.
403,517,585
Dollars.
4,440,536
100,989
268,515
29,968
927,146
208,878
515,392
68,150
1,806,094
298,507
303,387
4,005,183
2,640,187
167,986
59,709
647,678
607,117
859,826
533,964
3,920,288
188,529
521,915
601,745
1,213,630
674,899
74,991,278
211,810
1,926,901
1,162,036
1,784,401
1,661,436
259,658
432,020
1,009,714
364,835
2,438,650
3,350,957
95,917
354,287
970,662
578,222
188,344
732,995
233,022
263,019
927,722
58,894
454,696
612,349
611,130
43,452
886,981
234,000
2,324,693
284,395
125,058,794
Dollars.
41,000-07
12,147-22
7,146-99
9,834-22
17,706-42
15,086-70
6,854-73
8,060-55
5,451-80
6,004-03
28,783-09
23,772-57
7,175-43
5,999-96
20,420-36
12,626-73
12,469-07
12,353-22
28,280-00
3,293-72
8,708-55
11,018-69
24,163-10
19,289-66
577,500-00
10,123-60
22,930-00
23,094-00
17,850-00
20,000-00
9,283-70
12,775-25
10,967-11
3,150-00
5,897-30
32,000-00
2,053-00
2,840-59
12,800-00
8.650- 00
5,558-08
6,531-03
12,092-81
13,553-97
3,379-22
4.651- 80
7,410-83
7,753-96
16,100-00
4,713-83
14,633-38
8,000-00
15,026-08
9,500-00
Amount of
Town Taxes.
Rate of
County and
Town Tax
upon one Dol¬
lar of V alua-
tion.
1,246,314-42
Dollars.
47,398-72
12,288-87
4,035-70
11,849-73
5,980-65
11,659-70
8,440-18
5,525-38
5,203-36
6,763-75
10,852-92
18,088-28
5,567-86
6,326-30
13,576-09
6,504-76
12,736-35
39,090-93
5,902-78
7,676-47
7,414-83
12,596-88
13,023-00
518,494-00
6,122-96
15,143-38
18,609-55
10,035-70
11,282-66
6,534-16
12,852-68
8,659-62
I, 961-54
6,601-67
8,909-39
1,91403
4,6825-3
7,814-72
5,671-21
4,365-61
11,249-46
15,274-24
II, 146-03
7,890-93
4,127-84
7,256-94
2,207-54
13,119-10
3,342-49
9,265-94
7,668-26
7,967-73
4,000-75
Mills. Fr.
6-100
5-640
14-200
8-000
15-000
4-800
4-360
2-300
8-610
14-500
6-360
5-080
1-500
7-917
3-000
3- 690
4- 220
4-500
4-118
4-340
4- 012
1-810
3-200
3-900
5- 530
3-500
2-297
1-700
4- 600
3-750
5- 900
1- 171
8-091
2- 000
7- 000
5-200
2-940
5-630
8- 700
4-105
2-200
1,032,976-15
5-011
NEW YORK.
>rk. Comparative View of the Census of the State of New York
in 1825 and 1835.
189
Whole number of souls 
Males  
Females 
Male aliens1...  
Total of aliens  
Paupers2 
Persons of colour not taxed  
Ditto taxed 
Ditto qualified to vote  
Persons subject to militia duty...
Ditto qualified to vote 
Deaf and dumb persons 
Of whom supported by charity...
Blind persons 
Of whom supported by charity..
Idiots 
1825.
1835.
1,616,4582,174,517
Of whom supported by charity...
Lunatics 
Of whom supported by charity...
Married females under 45 years 
Unmarried ditto between 16 and 45.
Ditto ditto under sixteen 
Marriages the year preceding 
Births, male 39,839, female 37,403..
Deaths, male 17,486, female 15,280..
Agricultural Statistics.
Acres of improved land 
Neat cattle 
Horses   
Sheep 
Hogs 
822,897
793,561
40,430
5,610
38,770
931
298
180,645
296,132
645
141
1,421
442
819
184
200,481
135,391
361,624
11,553
60,383
22,544
7,160,967
1,513,421
349,628
1,102,658
1,071,859
82,319
6,821
42,836
934
578
201,901
422,034
933
278
889
270
1,484
514
967
382
283,230
195,499
456,224
15,535
77,244
32,726
9,655,426
1,885,771
524,895
3,496,5394,261,765
1,467,573| 1,554,358
he manufactures of this state being of great import-New York,
ance, a detailed account of some of them is therefore ne-v-—
cessary. Leather is a most important article of manufac¬
ture, and it is made cheaper in this state than it can be,
ot equal quality, in any other part of the world. The
increase in the making of sole leather is 500 or 600 per
cent, since 1817, and 200 or 300 per cent, since 1827. It
is estimated that above one third of the whole sole leather
used annually in the United States is made in New York.
Above 16,000 individuals are employed and sustained by
the cotton factories, which are located as follows, viz. in
Onema county twenty mills ; in Rensselaer county fifteen
mills; in Dutchess county twelve mills ; in Otsego county
eleven mills; in Columbia county seven mills; and in
Westchester, Washington, and Herkimer counties, five
each. Several other counties have from one to four mills
each. . In estimating the value of woollens made in this
state, it should be borne in mind, that notwithstanding
the numerous fixed establishments for the manufacture of
this article, household or family manufactures of wool and
cotton are stiU carried on to a great extent. By the state
census of 1825, the following articles were made in fami¬
lies during the preceding year.
O„ Value per Yard. Amount, Doll.
2,918,233 yards of fulled cloth 1 dollar 2,918 233
3,468,000 yards flannel and other
woollens not fulled 0-20 cents 693,600
8,079,992 linen, cotton, and other
^ot^s   cents... 1,211,998
In 1835, Mr Pitkins reckoned that woollens alone were
manufactured in families to the amount of at least 4,500,000
dollars annually. Now, it we allow the manufacture of
linen, cotton, and other cloths, to have risen to 1,500,000
dollars, which is a fair estimate, this will make the total
amount ot domestic articles made in families six millions
of dollars.
Grist mills 
Saw ditto 
Oil ditto 
Fulling ditto 
Carding machines....
Cotton factories 
Woollen ditto 
Iron works 
Trip hammers 
Distilleries 
Asheries 
Glass factories 
Rope ditto 
Chain cable ditto 
Oil cloth ditto 
Dyeing and printing do.
Clover mills 
Paper ditto 
Tanneries 
Breweries 
Number.
Value of Raw
Materials used
and manufac¬
tured.
Value of
Manufactured
Articles.
The following; are some of the other manufactures of
New York, not included in the general summary, name-
Summary of Manufactures in the State according to the ^timate/afs 500000 Sf6 a"d finishea in thi? fate>
Census of 1835 est mated at 3,500,000 dollars annually ; boots and shoes,
J ' deducting leather, 3,000,000 dollars annually; leather,
cloth, and fur caps, probably 2,000,000 dollars annually.
Hie amount of ready-made clothing is not estimated, but
large establishments exist, particularly in the city of New
Turk, and immense quantities are shipped to the southern
states, and to foreign ports. Cabinet ware of every de¬
scription is manufactured, not only for home consumption,
but for shipment in large quantities to southern ports,
South America, and the West Indies. Machinery, piano¬
fortes, and carriages, are likewise manufactured on an
extensive scale throughout the larger cities of the state.
Ihere are, besides, a multitude of smaller manufactures,
such as those of gunpowder, fire-arms, chemical com¬
pounds, pigments, including white-lead and other paints,
pencils, printing types, and tobacco; and others including
the construction of ships and boats, chiefly for the naviga¬
tion of the great lakes. The Onondaga salt-springs are
situated in the town of Salina, Onondaga county, and are
Vff ProPerty °* t^e state. The salt is manufactured at four
different villages, viz. Salina, Syracuse, Geddes, and Liver¬
pool ; and in the year 1833 the state of the manufacture
was as follows : Number of manufactories, 131 ; number of
kettles, o309 ; number of gallons in the kettles, 312,795 ;
and number of bushels manufactured, 1,838,646 Of this
quantity about 103,000 bushels were made by solar evapora¬
tion. Coarse salt, of equal purity to any in the world, is also
manufactured, and sold at a price which nets the manufac-
2051
6948
71
965
1061
111
234
293
141
337
693
13
63
2
24
15
69
70
412
94
Dollars.
17,687,009
3,651,153
214,813
1,994,491
2,179,414
1,630,352
1,450,825
2,366,065
168,896
2,278,420
434.394
163,312
664.394
20,871
63,119
1,999,000
95,693
358,857
3,563,592
916.252
Dollars.
20,140,435
6,881,055
275,574
2,894,096
2,651,638
3,030,709
2,433,192
4,349,949
363,581
3,098,042
726,418
448,559
980,083
28,625
95,646
2,465,600
110,025
685,784
5,598,626
1,381,446
^ aToS"'';"lalSL^ ^ 3116113 ^ enumerated 1835.
r on y to permanent paupers, or such as are constantly in poor-houses.
The
190
NEW
New York, turer nine cents per statute bushel of fifty-six lbs.; and
'fine salt is sold at six cents. The trade in salt has been
pushed to a considerable extent in competition with the
foreign article, particularly since the reduction of the duty
in 1834. During that year 1,943,252 bushels were ma-
Y 0 11 K* 5
nufactured; and in 1835 the quantity made amounted toNewy ^
2,222,694 bushels. . , , „
The following table presents a view ot the exports and Export
imports of New York, for several years, each ending the and in.
30th of September.
Years.
1821
1825
1830
1833
1835
Value of Imports.
In American
Vessels.
In Foreign
Vessels.
Total.
Dollars.
21,926,635
47,751,844
33,432,098
51,832,033
82,783,459
Dollars.
1,702,611
1,887,330
2,191,972
4,086,416
5,407,846
Dollars.
23,629,246
49,639,174
35,624,070
55,918,449
88,191,305
Value of Exports.
Domestic
Produce.
Dollars.
7,896,605
20,651,558
13,618,278
15,411,296
21,707,867
Foreign
Produce.
Total.
Dollars.
5,264,313
14,607,703
6,079,705
9,983,821
8,637,397
Dollars.
13,162,547
35,259,261
19,697,983
25,395,117
30,345,264
The number and tonnage of vessels entering and depart-
ine from New York have of course increased in propor¬
tion to the trade. In 1830 there entered of American
tonnage 298,434, and departed 229,341 ; and of foreign
tonnage there entered 35,344, and departed 36,574 ; ma¬
ins a total of American and foreign which entered 333, / /»,
and which departed 265,915 tons. In 1835 there entered
of American tonnage 676,173, and of foreign tonnage
357,575, making a total of 1,033,748 tons. During the
same year there departed, of American tonnage 589,
of foreign 343,078, making a total of 932,933 tons. The
value of the merchandise annually loaded and unloaded in
the port of New York is estimated at from 100,000,000 to
120,000,000 dollars. The number of vessels in the port
in the busy season varies from 500 to ^Q, exclusively o
about fifty steam-packets. The total value of the imports
into the United States in the year ending on the 30th
of September 1832, was 101,029,266 dollars, of which no
less than 53,214,402, or more than one half, were im¬
ported into New York. The value of the exports from
the same place is estimated at between one third and one
fourth of the total exports from the whole of the United
StIt will be seen from the above table, that the imports
into this state greatly exceed the exports. This.13 ac~
counted for by the fact, that whilst almost all articles ot
export from the western states are shipped at New Or¬
leans, the greater part of the more valuable articles
brought from foreign countries, and- destined for the con¬
sumption of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and to some extent
even of Kentucky, are principally imported into New York.
The customs’ revenue on the goods paying duties import¬
ed into the city of New York amounts to about thirteen
millions of dollars, which is more than one half of the to¬
tal customs’ revenue of the entire United States. The im¬
ports comprehend an infinite variety of articles. The prin¬
cipal are cottons, woollens, linens, hardware, and cutlery;
earthenware, brass and copper manufactures, and other
articles, from Great Britain; silk, wine, brandy, and other
articles, from France and Spain; sugar and coffee from
the Havannah and Brazil, together with tea, spices, co¬
chineal, indigo, dye-woods, and other articles. The na¬
ture of the principal articles of native American produce
exported from New York w'ill be seen by the following
returns for the 1st of January 1833.
Ashes, pot barrels   18,241
Ditto, pearl ditto  2,356
Beef ditto  17,223
Pork ditto  29,418
Lard kegs  11,101
Butter....   kegs..  9,286
Cotton bales  10^74!
Cotton goods .packages  7,545
Flour (wheat) barrels....  195,614
Corn.   bushels..  93,716
pice tierces  16,678
Tar .....barrels  18,537
Turpentine ditto  144,878
Hides number  169,493
Whale oil gallons 1,392,600
Soap boxes  76,981
Tobacco.. ....hogsheads  7,783
The tonnage of New \ ork is greater than that of any
other city in the world, with the single exception of Lon¬
don, and constitutes between one fifth and one sixth of
that of all the United States put together. By a return of
the 1st of January 1834, it amounted to 319,209 tons.
The following is a return of the amount of tonnage in
the state in 1836. New York, 359,222, with 15,903 of
steam navigation; Sag Harbour, 12,314; Buffalo Creek,
3740, with 1680 of steam navigation; Sackett’s Harbour,
2236, with 280 of steam navigation ; Oswego, 2040, with
406 of steam navigation ; Oswegatchee, 799, with 417 ot
steam navigation; Champlain, 616; Genesee, 636; and Cape
Vincent, 860. These facts will convey, it is hoped, a suffi¬
cient idea of the vast extent of the commerce of New York.
This state borrowed a considerable sum for the con-1
struction of its canals, particularly the Erie and Chain-
plain Canal, which debt is in the course of being redeem¬
ed by the annual income of the state, which always greatly
exceeds the expenditure. There are several funds be¬
longing to the state, viz. the general, common school, li¬
terature, canal, and bank funds : but the general fund con¬
sists of bonds and mortgages for lands sold, loans, and
other debts due to the state. For the year ending the
30th of September 1833, the finances stood as under:
Dollars.
Permanent revenue for interest on bonds,
bank stock, and other items 62,232*26 dol.
Capital,—bonds for lands, &c....125,917*70
Miscellaneous,—loan from the
bank fund  83,149*83
Sundries    40,962*89
312,262*68
Canal fund,—the receipts arising from tolls,
auction duty, salt duty, interest on depo-
sits, and other items  1,804,439-64
Carryover  2,116,69632
1 From Williams’s New York Annual Register for 1834.
NEW YORK.
191
)rk. Dollars.
Brought over  2,116,696-32
Common school fund,—capital in bonds for
lands, bank-stock, &c 140,983-14 dol.
Revenue from interest on stock..! 09,117-77
  250,102-91
Literature fund,—capital in bonds for lands,
and various kinds of stock 12,155-00
Revenue from interest on stock,
&c 22,577-22
Bank fund,—capital 95,381-48
Revenue  3,954-79
34,732-22
99,336-27
Total receipts 2,500,857-72
The payments made during the same pe¬
riod were permanent appropriations, such
as expenses of government for salaries,
and other, necessary outlays...332,041-67
Special appropriations, and tem¬
porary expenses  73,949-98
On account of canal fund 1,798,213-05
Common school fund  113,238-36
Literature fund, dividends to
academies, &c  10,470-96
Bank fund, salaries of bank com¬
missioners 4,500-00
Loan to the general....83,149-83
  87,649-83
nks
ura
ny
'7.
igio
Total amount of warrants on the treasury... 2,415,563-85
Balance 85,293-87
From the large annual receipts obtained from tolls, auc¬
tions, sales of lands, and other items, the property of the
canals, it is expected that the canal debt will be paid off
long before the time fixed on for redeeming the whole
of the stock.
Id In 1829 an act was passed requiring every bank there-
js, after to be created or renewed, to contribute annually one
1 half of one per cent, on its capital to a fund intended for
the payment of the debts of such banks as may at any
time become insolvent. Ihese banks are placed under
the supervision of commissioners, to whom they are re¬
quired to make annual reports of their condition, and are
called “ safety-fund banks.” In 1830 there were thirty-
seven banks in Ne w York state, having a capital of 20,083,353
dollars. In 1836 there were eighty-seven banks, and two
branch banks, which stood thus : Specie funds, 670,363dol-
7>221'335 i capital, 31,881,460; circulation,
lb,427,963; and deposits, 22,000,000 of dollars. The
w 10 e of these banks, with the exception of seven or
eight, are safety-fund banks. There are, besides, nine
savings banks, having a total capital of 3,855,517 dollars.
In the city of New York there are thirteen marine in¬
surance companies, with a capital of 4,550,000 dollars;
^ in fire insurance companies, with a capital
ot iU,250,000 dollars. In the other parts of the state there
are about twenty-two insurance companies, with a total
capital of above four millions of dollars. In 1835 there
were 687 post-offices in the state of New York, and the
amount of postages for the preceding year was 430,426
ollars, of which 192,493 dollars were for the city of New
{-°tv 8 T?e’i ^ie mditary establishment (militia)
T Nrncjn °rk thus’ viz- horse artillery 1687, caval-
1 fii 0-70 ’ artl ery 11)669 ; infantry, including riflemen,
r ’ porripanies ot artillery attached permanently, or
for inspection, 3032; total number of men, 178,447. There
are five vessels of war employed in ordinary at New York,
e constitution of this state secures toleration of reli¬
gious worship, so that every denomination is to be found New York,
in it. The following is a statement of the number of the y"—-'
clergy of different denominations in 1835 : Presbyterians
and Congregationalists, 562; Methodists, 492; Baptists,
442; Episcopalians (one bishop), 181; Dutch Reformed,
116; Lutherans, thirty; Associate Reformed, twenty-
three ; Roman Catholics, one bishop and thirty-five mi¬
nisters , Universalists, upwards of twenty; Unitarians,
eight; New Jerusalemites, five; Shakers, two societies ;
Jews, three synagogues ; the Friends, a considerable num¬
ber of societies; besides various other denominations not
enumerated in this list, as well as a number of licen¬
tiates and candidates belonging to those given, particular¬
ly to the Presbyterians. The clergy are supported by
subscription, contribution, rents of pews, income from
funds, and other sources. The salaries in the city of New
York vary from 1000 to upwards of 3000 dollars. The
average annual salaries of the clergy of this state are
estimated as not exceeding 500 dollars each. The state
of the theological seminaries in 1836 was as follows: 
General theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal
church in the United States, located in New York, insti¬
tuted in 1819, four professors, eighty students, and 3880
volumes in the library; the Presbyterian theological semi¬
nary at Auburn, Cayuga county, instituted in 1821, four
professors, fifty-one students, and 4500 volumes in the li¬
brary ; the Hamilton literary and theological seminary
(Baptist), at Hamilton, Madison county, instituted in 1829,
eight instructors, 124 alumni, eighty-three students, and
1600 volumes in the library; the Hartwich theological
seminary (Lutheran), at Hartwich, Otsego county, insti¬
tuted in 1816, two professors, nine theological and a num¬
ber of academical students, and 1000 volumes in the library;
and the Oneida institute of science and industry (Presby¬
terian), near Utica, about fifty students and 1000 volumes
in the library. The Baptist college at Brockport, Monroe
county, the Methodist academy, White Plains, Westches¬
ter county, and a conference seminary belonging to the
same sect at Cazenovia, Oneida county, and the Genesee
Wesleyan seminary, Lima, Livingston county, also belong
to the list of religious institutions. Amongst these may be
included the American Bible Society, which has its seat in
the city of New York, where a spacious building has been
erected for it; the United Missionary Society, instituted
at New York in 1817; the American Home Missionary So¬
ciety, instituted at the same place in 1826; together with
several missionary, tract, Sunday school, and other religious
societies, which have various ramifications throughout the
state. The benevolent institutions are upon a very exten¬
sive scale. There are asylums adapted to almost every
case of human deprivation and misery; for the deaf and
dumb, the blind, the orphan, the widow, the indigent, the
aged, and the stranger. In 1834 their number, including
religious benevolent societies, was forty-eight, and since
then they must, like every thing else, have increased. It
may be mentioned, that temperance societies flourish bet¬
ter in New York, and some of the other states, than they
seem to do in any other part of the world.
Since the establishment of the state government, great Education
exertions have been made by the legislature to extend the
means of education to all classes of the community. The
appropriations made for this purpose, including the capital
and income of the common school and literature funds,
amount to above six millions of dollars. The common
schools are amongst the most important and interesting
institutions in the state. Every town is divided into a
suitable number of school districts, in each of which a
school-house has been erected, and is provided with fur¬
niture and fuel at the expense of the district. The follow-
ing notices are derived from the Annual Report of the su¬
perintendent of common schools, made in January 1835.
NEW YORK.
Dollars.
Interest at six per cent, on 2,116,000 dollars
invested in 9580 school-houses iSb,JbU uu
Annual expense of books for 531,240 scholars
at fifty cents each   f‘~q^«oo-00
Fuel for 9580 school-houses, at ten dollars each-• •95,800 0
Public money derived from the school fund 100,0UU UU
Ditto derived from local funds belonging to ^ ^ 538.56
some towns Vu*”* ’
Ditto levied by taxation on the property ot the ^ ^ ^
Amount paid for teachers’ wages, besides pub- ^ ^ ^
lie money  ’  
nected with the legal profession ; also the New York Law NewYo*
Institute, established in 1828, for much the same purpose ^*>4)
as the preceding, and likewise in order to forrn a large
library of law-books. In 1834 there were 2650 physicians
and surgeons, and 2052 attorneys and counsellors in this
StaTliere are numerous literary and scientific institutions Literate
in New York. The principal public libraries, besides those science^,
already mentioned, are, in the city of New York, the New the
York Society Library, 25,000 volumes; New York Mer-
cantile Library, 11,400 volumes; New \ork Apprentices
Library, 10,800 volumes ; New York Historical Society
Library, 10,000 volumes ; New York Law Institute Libra¬
ry, 2100 volumes ; and the Albany Library, 8000 volumes.
The principal institutions are, the New York Historical
Society, established in 1809, which, besides its library, has
a valuable collection of coins and medals; the New York
Athenaeum, established in 1824, for the promotion of
science and literature; the Lyceum of Natural History,
established in 1818, and which possesses a valuable library
and museum of natural history; the New York Literary
and Philosophical Society ; the American Academy ot
Fine Arts, established in 1808; the American Lyceum,
formed in 1831, for the diffusion of useful knowledge ; the
National Academy of Design, established in lb Jo ; the
Clinton Hall Association, established in 1830, for the cul¬
tivation and promotion of literature, science, and the arts;
and the New York Sacred Music Society, established in
1823. In the city of Albany, besides the library menUori-
ed, there are, the Albany Institute, established in 1S~9,
the museum of which, besides a considerable library, con-
tains above ten thousand specimens in geology, mine¬
ralogy, and botany, with coins, engravings, casts, and other
articles of vertu ; the Athenaeum, established m lb~/, in
connection with the Albany Library; and the Nor bem
Institute and Academy ot Fine Arts, established in 1 •
In the county of Rochester, there are the Rochester
Making the total expense of these schools in ^ 1;962,670-97
The number of children actually receiving education is
one in every 3-95 of the whole population. Complaints are
made by the superintendent of these schools, of the inco
petency of teachers, from the smallness ot the remuneration
whkh they receive! The rate of wages, however, is regu¬
larly advancing, and competition will gradually cure _t
ev/which exists in this well-organized system of ed ucation.
By a report of the regents of the university, made in
there were in the state of New York sixty-five incorpo¬
rated academies, which had 4856 students. The whole
state is divided into eight districts, to each of which are
apportioned 1250 dollars out of the income of the litera¬
ture fund, making a total of 10,000 dollars given annually
for the support of these institutions. Ihere are also in
New York above twenty Protestant and four Roman Ca¬
tholic free schools, several infant schools, and a number ot
female and other seminaries of education supported by pri¬
vate individuals, the enumeration of which would form but
a dry catalogue of names. . , ' Tt •
There are six colleges in this state, including the Uni¬
versity of New York. The following is tne 1'®tur? ^ ^hp^um' established in 1830, for promoting literature,
1836: University of New York, established in t lecity^ gdence an’d the arts. the Franklin Institute of Roches-
thatname, founded in 1831, seventeen mstiuc > ~ 1 established in 1830, for the same purposes as the
students; Columbia College, New York (Episcopal a ), ’ . d he New York State Lyceum, formed at
founded in 1754, eleven instructors, 16-0 alur«nj» s F in\sSl The other principal institutions are, the
dents, 8000 volumes in the college library and 6000 vo- Ufca mlHdiine J J ^ General Society
lumes in the students’ library; Union College Schenec- ^w York Uiambe n ^ ^ of New York;
tady, founded in 1795, ten instructors, 1600 alumni, 308 ot iUeciiamcs ana ^ ^ of ^ York? for pr0.
ministers, 268 students, 53o0 volumes in the college libra- , interests of aoriculture, commerce, manufac-
ry, and 8920 in the students’ library ; Hamilton Col ege, ™otinS Stlfe nC York Board of Trade ; three
d’c.i„,on, founded in “nRn Botanic Garden, and
m, sixty-nme ministers, 101 students, ^ouu\oiur . thp Npw York State Society of the Cincin-
the college library, and 3700 volumes in the studen s i- o er M ’ h ts> Exchange Company', two typogra-
brary ; Geneva College, at Geneva (Episcopalian found- associatLs. There is a law journal
ed in 1823, seven instructors, eighteen alumni, nine mi- Ph ’ month at New York. In the same city
nisters, twenty-two students, 820 volumes m co ege i- Fl s issued, of literary and miscellaneous journals, two
have already noticed in connection with religious tnst.tu- every ™“ LRf the Edin-
rpitySi and ^
geons, at Fairfield, with five professors, and 190 students ; ed m the s ate, mostiy at No ^ k> ^
and the Geneva Medical College, at Geneva, having six monthly. Ihere aie also tliree 01 g _ ,  
professors, and sixty-eight students. The other medical
institutions are, the Medical Society of the State of New
York; the New York State Vaccine Institution; the Kappa
Alpha Phi Society ; the New York Eye Infirmary ; the Al¬
bany County Medical Society ; the Medical Society of the
City and County of New York ; besides a Lunatic Asylum,
the'New York Hospital, and two or three other hospitals - ■ _ .
and asylums. There appear to be no law schools, but there examination which took f „ - -<4 institution,'
are the New York Law Student’s Association, instituted in mation ot the Prison Discipline Soc 7’ already
?833 for purposes of mutual discussion on subjects con- says the Amencan Almanac for 1836, winch hasalrea ,
monthly, ihere are also uiree ui .uui ~,
cultural, and temperance publications; the total n
of journals published in 1834 being forty ,In 1810 the
were only sixty-six newspapers published in New 1 -
in 1834 they had increased to 267, ot which number
ty-one were daily papers. ,v
In each county of this state a jail is established by * ?
Previously to 1824 jails were very badly managed, but an
’ ook place during that year led to the tor r
• • i• * a  ■%mfntinri.
Fork, been productive of the most important and beneficial effects
* with respect both to the condition and character of the
prisoners, and the well-being of society.” All the peni¬
tentiaries, with the exception of that at Auburn, were so
constructed and managed as to render them only schools
of vice and crime; but the object of this society is so
to improve prisons in construction and discipline as to
produce, as far as possible, the reformation of prisoners.
The system adopted is that known by the name of the
Auburn plan, and its principal features are, solitary con¬
finement at night and during meals, and combined labour
at other hours of the day ; religious instruction, particular¬
ly on Sunday; and absolute silence amongst the prisoners
at all times. The cells are so constructed as to answer the
various ends which the society had in view. Durino- the
hours of labour the prisoners are employed in workshops, or
in the prison yard, in parties of a convenient number each.
Attention is paid to health, by the complete ventilation of
the small cells, where the prisoners sleep and take their
meals; and, to secure the well-working of the svstem, every
violation of the rules laid down is punished 'by solitude
darkness, or such other infliction as may be found neces¬
sary to enforce obedience. The eighth report of the society
speaks with confidence of the “ favourable moral results •”
and observes, on the whole, in regard to the state prisons,
that there is great cause for congratulation and thank¬
fulness. By the same report there are stated to be in
prison at Auburn 876 individuals; and the balance of pro-
ts in favour of the prison, arising from the earnings of the
prisoners, is stated at between eight and nine thousand
dollais. The Mount Pleasant state prison, Westchester
county, is likewise an admirable establishment, and in ex¬
cellent condition ; as is also that at Sing Sing. The mode
of supportmg the poor which, in America, has been found
most economical, and best calculated to discourage pauper¬
ism, is that of maintaining them in county poor-Ws
The former aw of settlement, and the practice of compul-'
sory removals, have been abrogated, and a simple rule of
setdement, founded principally on the residence of the par¬
ty, and a summary mode of settling disputed question^ s,,h
stituted in their stead. The followingPis anrbsSacUaken
from \Y ilhams s New York Register for 1834: “ Reports
state fif>n rfiecei.ved fl'om a11 the organized counties in the
state, fifty-five in number. All these counties have erect¬
ed poor-houses, with the exception of six ; and thirty-seven
poor The 6 ab°hslied the disBnction of town and^county
poor. The practical operation of our present noor hnnJ
vaSe e„r,l,erateS sa,;sfactOTily. ‘hat Ft has a decided a*
inn- ^ i 01V le score of economy over every other exist
pense0ofetheSsPIf0rtin^ indigent perSOns ; and that the ex¬
pense of the system, in proportion to the number of
nent SU5P°rted’18 regularly diminishing.” The annual ex
which the New YoriTT t0 865’‘’770 of
land, valued at 550,000 Lla f neT hhS °f
aerate with the demafd, „f .1 Tbc,r ""'"hons eornmen-
the wants of civilS life xfg'; mercant'le cU!' and
the port of New York for fo *T le lneS °f' f Jc'bets from
nludins those To I L/ ?r?Iga Parts are numerous
VOL XV, L‘verpool, London, Belfast, Havre,
NEW YORK.
193
, m-
Ja-
maica, Carthagena, and Mexico. The principal lines of New York.
packets between New York and other ports of the United'  
States compnse those to Charleston, Savannah, New Or-
leans. Mobile, Apalachicola, Darien, Baltimore, Washing¬
ton, Philadelphia, Boston, New Haven, Salem, and the
Vhe ,east- There are iines of packet-
boats on the Erie Canal, and steam-boats without number
plying on all the waters of this state. On the river Hudson,
wheie steam-navigation was first tried, it is common for
one steam-boat to tow ten other boats laden with goods.
vpo/i «9ei T1; d rnStitUtion 0f this state> adopted in the
year 18^1, the legislative power is vested in a senate consist¬
ing of thirty-two members, and a house of representatives
consisting of 128 members, all of whom receive three dollars
per them for their services. The senators, who must be
freeholders, are elected for four years ; but the members
of assembly are elected annually. To facilitate elections,
the state is divided into eight districts, each of which is
entitled to four senators, one of the number being annual-
y appointed in each district. The members of The other
house are chosen by the several counties amongst whom
they are apportioned, according to a rule prescribed in
the constitution. The executive power is vested in a go¬
vernor, who holds his office for two years. A lieutenant-
governor is elected at the same time, and holds his office
or the same term of years. He is president of the senate,
and officiates as governor when that office becomes vacant.
Ihe fianchise is exercised by every male citizen twenty-
one years of age, who has been for one year resident in
t le state, and for six months an inhabitant of the county
in whmh he votes. The suffrage is thus very extensive,
?"ithrUmb<;r ° electors 18 accordingly very great. In
I?32 the.total number of votes for governor, exclusive
of scattering votes, was 323,082. Sheriffs, coroners, and
ounty clerks, are elected by the people; but the other
civil officers are generally appointed either by the gover¬
nor and senate, the two branches of the legislature, or the
governor alone, excepting clerks of courts, district attor-
cour’ and S°me °ther officers’ who are appointed by the
The judicial establishment consists of several courts,
lhat for the trial of impeachments and the correction of
errors is composed of the president of the senate, the
thirty-two senators, the chancellor, and the justices of the
supreme court. It is the court of last resort, deciding
upon appeals from the court of chancery, and writs of er¬
ror from the supreme court, but has no original jurisdic-
tion excepting in cases of impeachments. Its sessions are
held lit the Capitol m Albany, or at the City Hall in New
York The next is the court of chancery, the powers of
which are vested m the chancellor, and in eight vice-
nf thCe ,6rc- 1.he th'rd 18 the supreme court, consisting
of the chief justice and two associate judges. Lastly, there
me eight circuit courts, each consisting of a single judge.
be“rCr corresP°nd’ both in territory and in name,
with the eight senate districts. Each of the circuit judges
P°S®f!SesK the.Powers of a justice of the supreme court
c lumbers, in the trial of issues joined in the supreme
verv ’ a'rf m C0UrtS U uyer and terminer> a"d jaif deli-
rZL lere ^USt be held in each >’ear at ]ea8t two cir-
tv t Z ; T C0TS 0yer and terminer, in each coun-
The cmZ 5 fZ1 "i 6 dty °f New York at ]east four-
he courts are held during as many days as the judge
power Zr?- • Courts ,of ?Ter and terminer, hiving
at thp 6 ^ 3 ?ni^es and m,sdemeanours, may be held
at the time and place at which any circuit clurt may
has theZ? apP<?nted- The governor, with the senate!
and tad Z 0t 1SlUm8 commission8 of oyer and terminer
and jail delivery, when occasion shall require.
Besides the powers exercised in the courts of law by
the circuit judges, each circuit judge (except the judge of
2b
J
194
after vested in the chancellor, in all causes and matte
in equity, where the same shall have arisen within his cir-
cuit?or where the subject-matter of
within such circuit, or where the defendants, or e
them, reside within the same, but subject to the chance
Appellate jurisdiction. By an act of the leg ^ture,
passed in January 1831, the equity powers of the judge
thp first circuit were taken away, and a separate vice
cete appSed for the first cLuit. T>- XeTnd°tw
„f the city of New York cons.sts o. a due^-t.ce^^ ^
NEW YORK.
v O*orn pxtremitv of Long Island Sound on the north-New
the western extremity or^^^b ^ the gouth> The City^
east, and 11 42 40 north anci longitude 74.
J“„m Gretnwth. The city and county are of
the same limits, comprising the whole island, which ex-
the same an ,1'y the gouth t0 Kingsbridge on
Ihe north thirteen miles and a half. The average breadth
• ’1^ Knt in one part it is two miles and one third
18 a "" and the area of the island is about 14,000 acres. It
ia separated from^he continent on the north by Haeriem
River which is crossed by several bridges; from New
lersey on the west by Hudson’s River ; from Long Wand
jersey on i j from Staten lgland tQ the
“u* by Sharer harbour. The island of New York
rf^elTof Ne;” k Xiaurf. chief justice and two son* by the bay-.a^. gr.„ite,
IS There arecourts^ ^11-^^"^^^
the' cotmty of New York) by the judges ot the county ”^“"very considerable throughout the whole extent,
"-™ ri r,:r, Jb.: sva
as srsssss S'S."f'S zisxst
those uunishable with death or imprisonment for life. „ ^eifipred as of sreat importance, since it
1 F oiJprmen. or mayor and ret
The
U1 lov/m***'***' ^ _ -
of dm Wand is considered as of great importance, since it
enables water reservoirs to be so located as to command
the vvhole city at an elevated head. The harbour or bay,
conmiodious^and^the largest^e'ssels'^ia^come^u^w^e
an^specia/jiirUdicdon.^'surrogates’ courts have^juriwlic- Si
countt' CoruTspedars’esst4nsbof the peace°may be held ‘y-one feeO '^"““p'^Tlmre' is a Hghthouse at
in and for the county of New York, by any three judges of ‘huy h ^ ^ New Jmey shore, eighteen mdes dis^
the court of common pleas of the said county, of whom th® b y an(, vessels h-equently anchor in the
firstTudge of the said court, the mayor, or recorder, hall 'a"‘rtr““)ou 0/Raritan Bay. The entrance to he bar-
i ait fip one • and for the several counties ot the state, ,, i tue Narrows, between Staten Island on the
by Sree pSes" the peace, or by two such justices and hour t’he easl, about eight miles froni
one judge of the county courts of such county, for F\ cit There is a lighthouse on the western part of
poses provided by law. The justices ot the marine court the c.ty.^ miles north.east of New York
in the city of New York are authorized to hold a co harbour is rarely obstructed with ice. The principal
therein, called the Marine Court of the Clty ^ . :* commercial business is transacted on the east side ot t e
Tarh of the assistant justices in the city ot Ne K'nst River being the most safe and convenien
feuu red lo hold a court in the said city within the ward cty, the ^ Rave. of ^ East River is from
requireo io nnnointed. The justices of the
vpnuired to hold a court m me . c .,
or wards for which he is appointed. The justices of the
luces’ court of the cities of Albany and Hudson are
authorized to hold courts therein, cahed respectively
Justices’ Court of the city of Albany, and the Justices
Court of the city of Hudson. Justices’ courts in each coun-
* E6'- — «
framed and not only embodies many of those safeguards
usually inserted in bills of rights, but has some provisions
of a peculiar character, by which public property and p
lie institutions are secured and protected, scmples of con¬
science in regard.to bearing arms are obviated, and mm
ters of the gospel or priests are excluded from all civil and
mihtarv offices. The common law of England, varied
from time to time by numerous acts of the colonial an
state legislature, forms the basis of the jurisprudence o
New York. Since American independence was establish-
rsew auixv  the* fttatntfl laws O
nart of the harbour. The width of the East River is from
one third to one half of a mile to the opposite shore of
Brooklyn, on Long Island. The Hudson, or North River
is one mile in width opposite to Jersey city, and a mi
and a half at Hoboken, New Jersey. The approach to
New York by sea is one of the most splendid sig ts o
the kind which the world can present. The works ot na-
ture are here on the grandest scale, and the tout ensembk
of islands, rivers, bays, and forests ot masts, wit spi
toweringamongst the trees which shade the streets con¬
stitute a scene as varied and interesting as c^n e ^ ^
The principal fortifications tor the defence ot t
hour are at the Narrows, about eight miles trom t e ciy
But on the Long Island shore are torts Hamilton and L
Favette; and opposite them, on Staten Island, are For
Tomkins and Richmond. There are several small islands
in the harbour; and upon those called Bedlow s a«d ‘s.
.1 _ thprp. are batteries,
Sew Sr Sincr^ericat, independence was establish- » f^ west^nTde", There are batteries;
ed, there have been four revisions °f the statute laws of lid Islandj 0 ■ to the battery, and very
re nave ueeii iuui v,. —  
state. The last, which took place in „18J7-^8’ ^
most important; and the enactment of this body of sta¬
tute law, which came into full operation on the 1st of Ja¬
nuary 1830, is perhaps one of the most important events
in the history of American jurisprudence. .
^•4. f The capital of this state is Albany, but by far the lar-
Sei York, gest and most populous city is New York, the commercial
* fmporium of the United States. It is situated on New
York Island, formerly called Manhattan Island, at the con
r. , tt i with thp strait called
Ts ands. situateu on uie wcoi-cm  
whilst Governor’s Island, opposite to the battery, and v y
near the city, is strongly fortified. The Battery is situat d
at the south-west extremity of the city, and ^ handsom y
laid out, being intersected with gravel walks, and tastet J
decorated with shrubs and trees. Castle Garden, conn ^
with the Battery by a bridge, is a fine promenade, d
much frequented during the summer. A telegraph is e
blished on the heights of Staten Island, commumcating J
signals with one in the city. A panorama of New York pre
8 .     vvarf Rfi tfip rit.v occunving the southern
York Island, formerly called Manhattan Island, at the con- part of occupying the southern
fluence of the Hudson or North River with the straAcalled ^^f^Xtand stretching along each river abou
the East River, which connects Long Island Sound wit p generally speaking, regularly built, th
the Atlantic Ocean. It is less than twenty miles from three mites. « , 6
NEW YORK
195
S P™c.pal streets runmng north and south, and be.ng cross- orders. The tout msemlle is elegant, if not splendid, and New York
' ed by otllcrs extending from the river on the east to that the edifice reflects great credit on the inhabitants for their — ~
on the west. Great improvements have been made on munificence and tafte. It wi™ mmencedTn 1803 and ^
the compact part of the city within the last ten or twelve finished in 1812, at a cost of 538,731 dollars It consi s
years, the clumsy fabrics of the Dutch having given place of the City Hall proper, comprising a large suite of rooms
to the more tasteful and convenient erections of modern for holding the different courts of law, and which are fit ”d
times. The style of building with granite and marble up in a rich and expensive style; and of the new Citv Hall
fronts to the basements is now almost uniformly adopted which includes the police office, and a number of offices and
n the construction of warehouses. The northern part of rooms adapted to various necessary purposes MaOTof the
the city has been very handsomely laid out in wide streets churches are in general large but there ifi„ .Y0,V .
and spacious avenues; and the style of building for dwell- architecture, or fhat of the steeples particular^Te m W™
ing-houses is neat, and frequently elegant. notice. There are above one hundred places of word, wf
ihe n iTc, I® m°St ?nend“^ S,treet in the or in New York, which is about the same proportion to the num-
the United States, runs through the centre, and extends her of inhabitants that we find in Great Britain Columbia
three miles in length from north to south, terminating College, above the City Hall, is advantageous”,; and limid
at the Battery. It is eighty feet wide, and generally pre- somely situated in a fine square. The edifice and grounds
sents massive and noble buildings including three fine attached are extensive, and it possesses an estate valued
churches several large hotels, Washington Hall, the Ma- at 400,000 dollars. Tim college contains a cha .eMecture
some Hall, with a variety of elegant shops. From this rooms, hall, library, museum, and an extensive nhilosonhi
t0 therive,rf- cal, a”d astronomical apparatus. The standard of class!-
ti, r • • s 1 5 , “ . .est t0 1,16 rlvers- cal and astronomical apparatus. The standard of olKi
e o owing is a summary of the principal streets in this cal education is supposed to be higher here than in most
city, from a work entitled New York as it is in 1833.- of the other colleg^^f the Union. The UMva siti ol ,he
•el1" re^ 18 "ue elegant» and runs parallel city of New York is proiected on the hrnarf n/'i 11 Kovo 1
—   ~    u la 111 lOOO.*
Greenwich Street is wide and elegant, and runs parallel
with Broadway, between that street and Washington
Street, which last is a fine avenue, next to West Street
extending along the North River. Pearl Street, between
Broadway and the East River, is above a mile in length,
and its course is nearly in the form of a crescent, contain¬
ing numerous spacious warehouses, and is the principal
seat of the dry goods and hardware business. Front and
Water Streets, between Pearl Street and the East River,
mission merchants, and mechanics connected with the
shipping business. South Street, running along the East
River, contains the warehouses and offices of most of the
principal shipping merchants. Wall Street runs from
Broadway to the East River, and is occupied by the banks,
insurance companies, merchants’ exchange,2 newspapers,
and brokers offices, being the seat of heavier monied trans¬
actions than any other place in America. Canal Street
running across Broadway to the Hudson River, near the
centre of the city, is a spacious street, principally occupied
by retail stores. The Bowery is a wide and extensive
street running du-ectJy north and south-east of Broadway.
Ihe third avenue, extending from the Bowery to Haer-
lem, is macadamised, and is the principal avenue to the city
sTr’l Meaf ?hatham Street' East Broadway, Nassau
S eet, Maideu Dane, Broad, Fulton, Cortlandf William,
udson, Division, Grand, and Broome Streets, deserve
XT Vr i-  . .xuc university or tne
city of New York is projected on the broad and liberal
scale of the universities on the continent of Europe, and
promises to be of great advantage to the literature of the
country. It is governed by a council of thirty-two mem¬
bers, chosen by the subscribers, together with the mayor
and four members of the common council of the city
Ihe New York Institution is a brick building, 260 feet in
length by forty-four in breadth, and is appropriated to as¬
sociations of literature and the fine arts, such as the Lite-
line Arts, and the like. The State-prison and the Lunatic
Asylum are large edifices, built of stone. The Alms-house
and the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb are also buildino-s
of ample dimensions, built of brick. The Park Theatre is
a spacious edifice, eighty feet long, 165 feet deep, and fifty-
five feet high, and is calculated to contain 2400 persons.
Ihe New York Iheatre, in the Bowery, displays much
architectural beauty, and amongst the modern ornaments
of the city stands pre-eminent. It has a front of seventy-
five feet, and is 175 feet deep and fifty feet high. Besides
these, there are other theatres and places of public amuse¬
ment in New York The Medical College is‘a conspicuous
echfice; and the following are spacious buildings: Clinton
Hall, the Bib e Society s Depository, the American Tract
Society s buildings, the Arcade and the Arcade Baths
the New York Baths, the Public Marine Bath, the Manhat¬
tan Water-works, the Exhibition Room of the National Aca-
particular notice, as amon’o- the principal streets J.an Watfr-works> the Exhibition Room of the National Aca-
portant edifice in New York. It is situated in the Park ma iA k lamniany Hotel> and several other hotels. The
ttie Ionic and Corinthian which is Washington Square: Hudson’s Square Sr s'johrt
g and two wings, principally of i
* TLAlo^Sr18’ aUt,h°r the New York Ar‘n^l Register.
835. The fnlWth a consideriible. portion of the city of New York,
I6 0win&. account of this destructive confiasration is from
J“-fire't'at0SUnt °f Z American “1!?" ^
at l ^ 11 ri a ii ouicial report of the committee, amounted to 17 11^ fjoo i mi place in the United States. The
edifice of’marHp1 ars; th.e buildlng3 the number of which was 52f> at 4 00( 000 dolkrs U'? ™fchandise destroyed was estimated
Xes have hien S at 150’0dd dollars, and the JarSs re^ Exchange, a magnificent
Mard l nr r SUpphed with buildings of the same descrintion w?th a 1?°° dollarf: The places of the destroyed
36’ C°UgreSS paSSed a biU ^ the relief of the sufferer?; but n? aid SsdLSffomToad^ “ ^ 0ther C°Untr'V- '1,1
196
NEW YORK.
New York. Park is part of the extensive tract of land, in the north-
' western part of the city, belonging to Trinity Church, it
comprises an area of four acres, and the square is enclosed
with costly and valuable private dwellings, having bt John s
Church on its western side. Amongst the places ot fa¬
shionable resort in the city and its vicinity may be men¬
tioned the Battery, which extends somewhat m the form
of a crescent along the southern extremity of the city, and
covers an area of nearly eleven acres. This favourite pro¬
menade was originally a fortification thrown up by the
Dutch, and planted with cannon, from which circumstance
it derives its name. But it is now divested of its warlike
appurtenances, having for many years been used ^ a pu -
lie walk; and being shaded with trees, and consta y
fanned by the ocean breezes, there is not a more agreeable
or healthful retreat during the summer months. In or
near the city there are a number of parks and public ga-
dens, which are also much frequented. With regard to the
buildings of New York in general, Mr Stewart observes,
“ The churches, at least many of them, are large, but there
is nothing in their architecture, or that of the steep es,
particularly requiring notice. There is no buddl"S ^eu
to bear any thing like a comparison with many of the pub¬
lic buildings in the European capitals, such as St Martins
Church in London, the front of the Register Office in Edin¬
burgh, or that of the Chamber of Deputies at Paris , but
there are churches and public buildings in all those cities
quite as deficient in good taste as any of those which I
observed here. In short, my notion is, that, though there
is no very fine building in the city, there is not much to
hurt the eye of the fastidious; and the city is generally
composed of clean-looking buildings and streets, and is re¬
gularly built.” New York is divided into fifteen wards,
each ward electing annually an alderman and an assistant
alderman, two assessors, one collector, and two constables,
who are formed into a common council of tw0 b°a^df; 1^e
mayor is elected annually by the joint ballot of both boards.
The situation of the city is considered as very favourable
to the health of the inhabitants, from the elevation of the
island, and the vicinity of the ocean. The climate at most
seasons is mild and agreeable, the winters being less severe
than in the interior of the state, and the sea-breezes ten¬
dering the heat of summer less oppressive.
The religious, benevolent, and other institutions, the
banks, insurance offices, and miscellaneous companies, the
state of the press, literature, religion, and education, the
manufactures, trade, commerce, lines of packets, and stages,
of New York, have been already enumerated in the gene¬
ral account of the state, as fully as our limits will permit.
There is no city in the United States, perhaps in the
world, which possesses greater advantages of situation than
New York, both for internal and external commerce; and
these have been immensely increased by art. It is hither
that merchants and traders resort from all quarters, from
the shores of the Atlantic, the confines of the lakes, and
the banks of the great Mississippi, with a certainty that
they can dispose of their own produce, and supply them¬
selves with every article which they require. It is at this
point that the vast stream of immigration at first collects, as
in a reservoir, whence in course of time it distributes its
contents over the whole country. Here, too, strangers and
travellers congregate as the place of departure to every
part of the world, attracted by the ample facilities afforded
them at fixed and short intervals. It may serve to give
some idea of these to state, that there are opportunities,
by regular packets, to sail to Liverpool four times a month,
to Havre three times, and to London twice a month. I he
advantageous situation of this city naturally inclines the in¬
habitants to commercial pursuits ; but of late years large New To*. >'
capitals have been invested in manufactures, which are ^
becoming more and more objects of attention. But the
probability is, that New York will long remain in a great
degree, a central point for the commerce of the United
States The numerous failures which occurred in America
during 1837 have of course affected New York; but this
is not the place to speculate on the causes and conse¬
quences of these casualties. One thing seems perfectly
clear that the natural resources and advantages of the
United States are too vast ever to be permanently affected
by the state of trade in any other country, at least for
ages to come. The population of New York, and the prin-
cipal cities in the state, for three periods, are as under.
1820.
New York....
Albany 
Brooklyn  
Troy 
Buffalo 
Rochester...
Utica 
Schenectady
Hudson
1830.
123,706
12,630
7,175
5,261
2,095
1,502
2,762
3,939
5,310
Poughkeepsie  3,401
1835.
202,589
24,209
15,394
11,550
6,321
9,269
8,323
4,268
5,392
5,023
270,089
28,109
24,529
16,959
15,661
14,404
10,183
6,272
5,531
6,281
Albany, the political metropolis, is situated on the west¬
ern bank of the Hudson, 150 miles from New York, and has
a position equally convenient for communication with that
city and with a vast interior country. The appearance of
Albany from the opposite side of the river is striking and
splendid; its situation on the side of a hill is favourable
for every part of it being seen, and the Capitol and public
edifices are conspicuous objects. It consists of one street of
very considerable length, running parallel with the nver,
from which the rest of the city rises abruptly. 1 he Capi¬
tol, built upon the upper portion of Albany, on an emot¬
ed site, is 115 feet in length by ninety-eight in breadth.
There are ten or twelve other public buildings, some of
which are very handsome. This city is very rapidly in¬
creasing, as the population returns sufficiently indicate.
The other towns enumerated in the foregoing list are also
places of considerable and growing trade.
The history of New York is so closely interwoven withHistorj.
that of the United States generally, and the latter part of
it in particular with the war of independence, and the
subsequent consolidation of the country as a federal re¬
public, that it is only necessary in this place to give a bnet
abstract of its early annals. That part of America to
which New York belongs was discovered by Sebastian
Cabot in the year 1497. He claimed the country for Ins
sovereign, but made no effort to form settlements; nor was
an undertaking of this kind attempted by the English un¬
til after the Dutch had colonized a portion of the country.
It is certain that, in 1609, Henry Hudson, an English¬
man, entered the bay of New York, and sailed up the river
now called by his name, as far as latitude 43° north; but
whether he was employed by the English government in
this service, and sold the country which he thus disco¬
vered without authority, is a point not so clearly settle •
English writers take this view of the case; but the Lutci
historians assert that he was at the time in the service oi
the Dutch East India Company. At all events, the Eng¬
lish for some time made no opposition to the settleme
of the country by the Dutch, who immediately commence
‘ Three Years in North America, by James Stuart, Esq. 1833.
N E Y
xi a trade with the natives of the country. The right of the
English to the territory, however, was formally recognised,
, by the Dutch applying for and receiving from James I.
in 1620, permission “ to build some cottages on Hudson’s
River, for the convenience of their vessels engaged in
trade with Brazil.” To the colony which they settled
under this license they gave the name of the New Nether¬
lands. Buildings were erected in the following year near
the junction of the East and North Rivers, and a governor
was appointed by the Dutch in 1629. Complaints were
made by Charles I. of the encroachments of the Dutch on
New England, and the states-general declared, that the
settlement of New Netherlands was “ only a private un¬
dertaking of the West India Company of Amsterdam.”
In 1664, Charles II. granted to his brother, James duke of
York, “ all Mattawacks, now Long Island, all Hudson’s
River, and all the lands from the west side of Connecticut
River to the east side of Delaware Bay, together with the
royalties and rights of government.” James sold that part
of the grant which comprehends New Jersey, and retained
the remainder, w'hich comprehends the present state of
New York, a name bestowed upon it in honour of the pro¬
prietor. The states-general guaranteed the possession to
him by the treaty of Breda in 1667. Previously to these
transactions, however, the parties themselves had been set¬
tling the point of possession in the disputed territory it¬
self. In 1664 the New Netherlands was taken by the
English; in 1673 it was retaken by the Dutch; and in
1674 it again fell under the power of the English, to which
it remained attached until the time of the revolution. The
remaining portion of the history of New York belongs to
that of the United States. r. R,j
NEXI, amongst the Romans, were free-born persons who
had been reduced to a state of slavery for debt. By the laws
of the twelve tables it was ordained, that insolvent debtors
should be giv,en up to their creditors, to be bound in fet¬
ters and cords; and though they did not entirely lose the
lights of freemen, yet they were often treated more harsh¬
ly than the slaves themselves. If any one wras indebted
to several persons, and could not within sixty days find a
surety, his body according to some, but according to others
his effects, might be cut in pieces, and divided amongst
his creditors. The latter opinion seems the more probable,
as Livy mentions a law by which creditors had a right to
attach the goods but not the persons of their debtors.
NEY, Michel, a marshal of the French empire, and
one of the distinguished generals produced by the French
rS? u011’ W3S b0rn at Sarrelouis> on the 17th of January
v 9'mvS father had been a soldier> but> after the Seven
iears War, had retired to his native village, where he ex¬
ercised the humble trade of a cooper. Young Ney re¬
ceived his education at a school kept by the monks of St
Augustin, under whom he appears to have made consider¬
able progress in his studies; but being fired with military
ar oui by the recitals of his father, he early enlisted into a
legiment of hussars {regiment da colonel-general), where he
served for some time, and was a subaltern at the com¬
mencement of the Revolution. He then attained the rank
of captain, in which capacity he made his first campaigns,
ac ing as aide-de-camp to General de Lamarche, and after¬
wards as adjutant-general under the orders of Kleber. This
atter employment afforded him several opportunities of
distinguishing himself; and, in the official reports of the
ime, honourable mention is made of him at the passage of
Mnni I1" m 1 and also at the combats of Altenkirchen,
1 lontabaur, and Wurtzburg. On the 8th of August 1796,
Pfort?heiTm’ and was promoted to the rank of bri-
;iurerh ■„ r Ktl,e crpaisn °f i797>he "as
uccessful, but his horse having been killed at the com-
Hoche .eimber?’ be, .feI1 lnt0 t,1e hands of the enemy,
rtoche, who admired his undaunted courage, earnestly so-
N E Y
197
icite.d his exchange, and, as soon as he had obtained it,
appomtedjiim general of division. It was in this capacity
that, in 1798, Ney commanded the cavalry of the army
which, under the orders of Schaumbourg, executed the in¬
vasion of Switzerland. On this occasion he acted towards
1 “e inhabitants with as much generosity as circumstances
wou d permit; and, the following year, he acquired a great
reputation under Massena, particularly at the battle of
Zurich. In the year 1800 he served with the army of
Moreau, and greatly distinguished himself both at Moes-
kirch and at Hohenlinden. After the peace of Luneville,
when Bonaparte wished to effect the entire subjugation of
Switzerland, Ney was sent into that country with the title
of minister plenipotentiary, and there conducted himself
in a manner to deserve more and more the favour of his
master. In 1804 he obtained the baton of marshal of the
empire; and it was in this capacity that, in 1805, he gained,
m Sunbia, the victory which procured him the title of'Duke
of Elchingen. After the capitulation of Ulm, being order-
ed to occupy the Tyrol, he entered Innspruck on the 7th
of November, at the head of the sixth corps of the grand
army, which he also commanded the following year, in the
contest with Prussia. Having contributed essentially to the
victory of Jena, he appeared before Magdeburg, and, by a
prodigy which still remains inexplicable, he, in less than
twenty-four hours, received the capitulation of that re¬
doubtable fortress, defended by a numerous garrison. In
the beginning of 1807, he obtained a signal success before
1 horn, where the whole Russian army had advanced to
attack him, hoping to surprise him in his winter quarters;
and, at a later period, he carried the town of Friedland
at the battle of that name, which terminated the war
in the north of Europe. . But the war in which Napoleon
found himself involved, if extinguished at one point, was
assiduously kept alive at others. Scarcely had he conclud¬
ed a peace with the Russians at Tilsit, when he hurried
away to attack the Spaniards; and Marshal Ney, with his
corps d armee, was transported from the banks of the Nie-
men to those of the Ebro and the Tagus. The marshal,
finding himself obliged to carry on a war of posts and of
chicane in Galicia, lost a great number of men in this in¬
glorious service, and with difficulty maintained his ground
till the moment when he received orders to unite his corps
with that of Massena, who had been sent in order to expel
the English from Portugal. But this was found to be im¬
practicable. It was judged that the lines of Torres Ve¬
ras could not be attacked with any prospect of success ;
and when Massena found himself constrained to retire be¬
fore the Duke of Wellington, Ney commanded his rear¬
guard, and, in that difficult retreat, displayed equal talent
and courage. In 1812, he was recalled by Napoleon to
assist in the approaching invasion of Russia, for which an
aimy of more than four hundred thousand men had been as¬
sembled on the ^ istula. At the terrible battle of Mojaisk
or Borodino, Ney commanded the centre; and it was on
this occasion, amidst the carnage of a conflict unequalled
in modern times, that he earned the title of Prince of
Moskwa. Nor did he display less valour and firmness in
the disastrous retreat from Moscow, in which his corps
almost entirely perished. Napoleon, who commonly call-
nl 'f lhe , i,V8St °f tbe brave’ then designated him, in
e of the bulletins of the army, as having a soul tem¬
pered with steel. In 1813, Ney participated in the inde¬
cisive victories of Lutzen and Bautzen ; but he had the
misfortune to lose the battle of Dennevitz, where he was
de eated by Bernadotte and Bulow, with the loss of ten
thousand prisoners and eighty pieces of cannon. This
event made a deep impression upon his mind. Napoleon
testified the most marked displeasure; and Ney, dissembling
h.s chagrin returned to Paris in a sort of disgrace. Ne-
vertheless, he was again employed in the beautiful but
198
N E Y
N E Y
Nev.
unfortunate winter campaign of 1814; and he was at hon-
' tainebleau when Napoleon was compelled to abdicate. Mey
contributed materially to bring about this event, and he
was one of the first generals who submitted to the Bour¬
bons. Having presented himself before Monsieur on the
12th of April, he said to that prince, “ Your royal high¬
ness will see with what fidelity we can serve our legitimate
kino1.” He also went to pay his respects to the king at
Compiegne, and was there most favourably received. Louis
XVIII. himself received his oath as a chevalier ot the or¬
der of Saint-Louis, confirmed to him all his titles and pen¬
sions, and created him a peer of France. Marshal N ey was
living at his estate of the Coudreaux when Napoleon, i£ -
ing escaped from the island of Elba, landed on the coast ot
France in February 1815; and he there received oiders
from the minister of war to repair to his government o
Besancon. He immediately proceeded to Fans, and pre¬
senting himself before the king, made great protestations
of devotion, and, kissing the hand of Louis, declared
him that he would bring back the disturber of Europe
an iron cage. He then set out for the eastern frontier,
assembled some regiments at Besan?on, and P^cl"g h™’
self at their head, proceeded towards Lyons. At Lons-le
Saulnier, however, he learned that Napoleon had already
entered Lyons ; and from this time great agitation manifest¬
ed itself amongst the troops. Nevertheless, the marsha
himself still appeared faithful to the king, and even exert¬
ed himself to calm the excitement which prevailed amongst
the troops; but in the night between the 13th and 14th
of March, an emissary sent by General Bertrand broug i
him proclamations and letters from Napoleon, who made him
brilliant promises, and styled him, as formerly, the bravest
of the brave. The marshal could not resist the seductions
of his old master, and next day he read to the troops his
famous proclamation, beginning with these words . ine
cause of the Bourbons is for ever lost. It is the Emperor
Napoleon, our sovereign, who is alone entitled to reign.
His whole conduct during the hundred days was a conse-
ouence of this step. Napoleon sent him as extraordina¬
ry commissioner to survey the frontiers of the North, am
also appointed him a member of his chamber of peers.
In the1 short but decisive campaign of Waterloo, he s
plaved none of the military qualities for which he had
been distinguished, except courage. At Quatre-Bras he
acted with unaccountable hesitation, paralysing a force
sufficient to turn the scale on either side, but whlcM«
reality, effected nothing of the least importance. A
the defeat of the French army at Mont St Jean, he re¬
turned to the capital, and in the chamber of peers gave
a most alarming picture of the disaster which had befal¬
len it. When Paris capitulated, Ney, having no hopes
of finding favour with the Bourbons, took refuge in Au¬
vergne, where he was arrested in consequence o the or-
donnance of the 24th of July, in which he was described
as one of the authors of the revolution of the 20th Maich.
Being conducted to Paris, he was confined in the Lon-
ciergerie, subjected to several interrogatories, and at
length brought before a court-martial, composed of mar¬
shals of France and lieutenant-generals, to whose com¬
petency he objected. His counsel insisted much upon this
point, in which they were ultimately successful; the mem¬
bers of the court being glad to escape from an embarras¬
sing position, by pronouncing their own incompetence to
try the prisoner. By an ordonnance of the king, Ney was
then brought before the court of the peers, whose compe¬
tency was not disputed. But his counsel remonstrated
warmly against the expressions employed by the ministers,
who had declared that it was “ in the name of Europe
that they demanded his trial; and the same learned per¬
sons appealed with much force and eloquence to the con¬
ditions of the capitulation of Paris, which guaranteed to all
who were within the walls of the capital that they should
neither be disturbed nor sought after on account of their
political conduct. All their efforts to save their client were,
however, unavailing. After fifteen sittings, Marshal Ney
was condemned to death, on the 6th of December 1815,
by a majority of 160 to 119 ; and the following day the
sentence was carried into execution Having received all
the consolations of religion from the curate of Samt-bul-
nice, he was shot by a platoon of veterans, near the palace
of the Luxembourg, where he had been condemned, and
displayed in his last moments the same heroic courage
which had so often distinguished him in the field of batt e.
Flis body was given to his friends, and conveyed to the
cemetery of Pere la Chaise, where his tomb may now be
seen. Marshal Ney and Colonel Labedoyere were the
only victims of a revolution where it is evident that nei¬
ther played the principal part, and that both were led away
bv the force of circumstances, and the spell which i apo-
leon exercised over the minds of the officers as well as the
common soldiers of the army. _ )
NEYER, a district of Hindustan, in the province of
Cutch, situated about the twenty-fourth degree of north la¬
titude, and bounded on the south-east by the fenny tract
called the Runn. The country has been but imperfectly
explored, and is of an arid and sandy nature, being inter¬
sected by no streams or rivers. Water is procured from
deep wells, which in many seasons afford but a precarious
sunnlv. The inhabitants are generally thieves and depre¬
dators The country abounds in horses of a very superior
quality, which enables the plundering rajpoots to extend
their ravages far and wide. The Coolies, also, who inhabit
this tract, are very curiously armed with a curved Stic
like the blade of a sabre. This is burnt and made ex¬
tremely hard, and thrown to the distance of 120 yards, at
which distance they can break a man s leg, or kill him it
they strike him on the head. . . v ...
NGANCHAN, a city of the first rank, in Koeitchoo,
being situated in a mountainous country, which, owing to
the rudeness of the inhabitants, is in an unimproved state.
Long. 105. 31. E. Lat. 26. 12. N. . . u
NGANLO, a town of China, of the first rank, in Hou-
quang, being situated on the river Han, in an extensive
and fruitful plain. It carries on a considerable trade. Long.
111. 24. E. Lat 31. 14. N, „ , . .
NH1NG-KOUE, a city of China, of the first rank, m
the western part of the province of Kiangnan, being situ¬
ated in a mountainous and woody country, abounding m
medicinal plants. It has considerable manufactures ot pa¬
per. Long. 118. 24. E. Lat. 31. 2. N. _
NIAGARA, a large river of North America, to whic
belong the most magnificent water-falls in the worid. 1 ie
river, forming part of the boundary line between New \o
and Upper Canada, runs from Lake Erie into Lake 0 -
tario, thus connecting the St Lawrence Lake On a-
rio with the upper lakes. It is thirty-five miles m length
and is from half a mile to several miles in breadth, there
are many islands in the Niagara, all the way to the tall,
and close above them; but the principal island is about
half-way between the "Gage of Black-Rock and the .
it is called Grand Island, and contains about 17.000 ac
The river is about two miles and a halt in width b
Grand Island, and there the current increases; butit h •
comes more contracted on its way to the falls. 1 he
pids succeed, which are swift currents, occasioned by gi ea
descents of the river, tumbling perpendicularly, m so
places six, eight, and ten feet, over ledges ot rock
whole descent being about sixty feet. From ?ort
on the Canada shore, at the outlet of Lake Erie, to Lh p
pewa (eighteen miles), the bank is from four to ten e
high. From Chippewa to the Great Fall, two and a halt
miles along the Canada shore, there is a descent ot nineij
N I A
NIC 199
ia a.
two feet, and the bank is from ten to one hundred feet in
height. The river is here so rapid, that notwithstanding
its great depth, it is always covered with a white foam.
From the cataract to Lewiston is seven miles; and near
this place the bank is 310 feet high, being composed of stra¬
ta of soft mud and sand, clay, gypsum, slate, limestone, and
a superstratum of earth. From Lewiston to Lake Ontario
is seven miles, and in this distance the northern terrace
or mountain ridge crosses the course of the river. The
height of the bank then diminishes to twenty-five or thirty
feet. The difference of level between Lakes Erie and
Ontario, forming the whole descent of the river, is 334
feet. The Niagara affords a great variety of fish, such as
sturgeon, bass, muscanunge or muscalunga; and salmon-
trout are numerous below the falls. The white fish,
weighing from two to six pounds, are taken in seines, from
October to May.
The stupendous Falls or Cataracts of Niagara are situ¬
ated about half way between Lakes Erie and Ontario. Al¬
though mere description can convey no adequate idea of the
momentum of the Niagara, some notion of it may be form¬
ed when we reflect that the descent above the falls is about
sixty feet in half a mile; that the column of water is three
quarters of a mile in breadth and twenty-five feet in depth ;
and that it is propelled onward, not only by its own gravi¬
ty, but by the weight of the whole surplus waters of the
immense inland seas of North America. Two small islands,
Bath Island and Goat Island, intervene on the American
side, very near the falls, and separate the river into two
branches, the great mass of water descending by the more
direct and wider channel on the western or Canada side, by
what is called the Horse-shoe Fall. A portion of the fall
on the American side is cut off by a small island on the pre¬
cipice ; the rest descends in one vast body, almost perpen¬
dicularly, from a height of 164 feet, its breadth being about
220 yards. Both the falls on the American side are crossed
by bridges. The Horse-shoe Fall is several feet less in
height; but it far surpasses the other in grandeur. Its
breadth is estimated at 600 yards, and seven eighths of
the waters of the river are supposed to pass over it. This
great body of water sweeps over the precipice with such
tremendous force that it forms a curved sheet, which strikes
the surface of the water beneath fifty feet from the base
of the precipice, so that visitors may venture to pass be¬
hind^ this watery wall. The best points of view are from
the Table Rock, which projects and looks over the falls;
and here the cataracts on both sides may be seen at once.
But the rapids are beheld to the greatest advantage from
Goat Island, to which a very ingeniously constructed and
strong rough bridge has been thrown on the American
side, over great blocks of rock and rapids. The river is
crossed by a small boat about two hundred or three hun¬
dred yards below the falls, where it is about 1200 yards in
breadth. I here is a steep wooden stair from the landing-
place to the top of the bank on the American side; and
from thence, by the bridge over the rapids, already men¬
tioned, Goat Island may be readily approached. “ On the
north side of that island,” says Mr Stuart, “ the rocks, pro¬
jected into the river, two hundred or three hundred feet
immediately over the falls, are accessible by a rough
wooden bridge, below which the water runs with fearful
velocity. From these rocks, the view over the precipice
and great fall is terrific, absolutely appalling, although the
prodigious magnitude of the tumbling water is not so ap¬
parent at this spot as from the Table Rock and the boat.”
A spnal stair-case conducts to the edge of the river be-
ow the Table Rock, and from a point a little way nearer
ie alls than the foot of the ladder there is an excellent
view. •< I he overwhelming sensations,” continues the
rave ei above named, “ with which a spectator can hard-
y ai to be aftected, are produced by the immense flood,
not less than one hundred millions of tons of water per Nicander.
hour, the stupendous mass, and overpowering force of the
roaring and falling waters. It is, in truth, a great deep
ocean thrown over a precipice nearly 160 feet high. Every
thing, every surrounding object, is viewed with indiffer¬
ence, whilst the mind is wholly absorbed in the contem¬
plation of a spectacle so sublime, surpassing in majesty,
and grandeur, and power, all the works of nature which
have ever arrested the attention, or presented themselves
to the imagination. No just or adequate description can
be conveyed by language. Such words as grandeur, ma¬
jesty, and sublimity, fail altogether to express the feelings
which so magnificent a sight, exceeding so immeasurably
all of the same kind that we have ever seen or imagined,
excites.” Mr Stuart gives just praise to the following de¬
scription of Mr Morris, an American minister, which ap¬
pears to be as simple, plain, and intelligible as a mere ver¬
bal picture of the spectacle can be. “ To form,” says this
individual, “ a faint idea of the cataract, imagine to your¬
self the Frith of Forth rush wrathfully down a steep de¬
scent, leap foaming over a perpendicular rock 175 feet high,
and then flow away in the semblance of milk from a vast
basin of emerald.” The great volume of water, as we have
said, inclines very much forward in its descent, and it falls,
for the most part, in an unbroken sheet of a dark-green
colour, until it meets a cloud of spray ascending from the
rocks below, in which it is lost to the eye. This cloud of
vapours, the “ everlasting incense of the waters,” as it has
been finely designated, rises a hundred feet above the pre¬
cipice, and can be seen at the distance of seventy miles.
Prismatic colours are always present, and complete rain¬
bows, sometimes three at a time, of the most brilliant hues,
are not unfrequently “ set in the cloud.” The thunder of
the cataract can be distinctly heard at ten miles from the
falls, and in favourable states of the wind and atmosphere at
even tw ice that distance. With regard to the height of the
fall, there is a discrepancy amongst authorities, some call¬
ing it 150, others 160, and a third class of writers carrying
it up as far as 176 feet. It appears to us that some cal¬
culate from the surface of the column of water, some from
its medium depth, and some from its base, just as it bends
over the incurvated precipice. This view of the matter re¬
conciles them all, the largest number answering to the top
of the column of water, and the lesser numbers to its ave¬
rage depth and the height of the precipice. The Niagara
is usually frozen over during a part of the winter, except
at the falls, and where the rapids are most violent. At
this season of the year, myriads of wild ducks alight on
the foaming stream above the falls, and, sailing on the bo¬
som of the cataract until it reaches its extreme circular
verge, at about half its descent, rise aloft into the air amidst
the spray of the “ phlegethon” below, wheel round to the
place on the rapids whence they began their descent, and
again perform with ease and for pastime what bids defiance
to the utmost power and ingenuity of man. (r. r. r.)
NIAGUR, a town of Hindustan, belonging to the Nag-
poor Mahrattas, and situated in the province of Gundwana,
twenty-eight miles north-north-west from Ruttunpoor.
Long. 82. 11. E. Lat. 22. 22. N.
NIAS ISLE. See Neas Isle.
NICANDER, a Greek physician of the empirical sect,
and also a poet and grammarian, was a native of Colophon,
and, according to some authors, had been a priest of Apollo
at Claros in Ionia. The date of his birth is uncertain ; but
it is probable that he died about a century before the com¬
mencement of our era. His father’s name was Damnseus,
and he was sometimes called an ^Etolian, because he ap¬
pears to have lived during many years in iEtolia, and to
have written a history of that country. This physician oc¬
cupied himself much with materia medica and pharmacy,
and composed his works in verse. The greater part of his
200
N I C
N I C
Nicander. writings, however, which are said to have been numerous,
v is no longer extant. One of his poems, entitled Georgica,
which he dedicated to Attains III. the last king of Perga-
mus, is cited with commendation by Cicero in his treatise
De Oratore (lib. i. c. 16). In some others of his lost works,
which were also in verse, he appears to have described
the various poisons and their antidotes; at least such is the
statement of Eustathius and Athenaeus. Of his various
poems two only remain ; the Therioca and Alexipharmaca.
The Theriaca, though composed without critical discern¬
ment, contains, nevertheless, some remarkable facts in na¬
tural history. In it may be found an exact but somewhat
prolix description of the combats of the rat of Pharaoh, or
mangouste (viverra ichneumon), with the serpents, the flesh
of which is eaten by that quadruped with impunity. The au¬
thor also treats of scorpions, which he divides into nine spe¬
cies ; a division adopted by some modern naturalists. His de¬
scription of the amphisbeena accords with that which has been
given by Linnaeus in his Amcenitates Academicce (tom. i.).
Then follow some very curious observations on the effects
of the poison of different kinds of serpents, each of which
produces different phenomena. Nicander thought he had
ascertained that the poison of serpents is concealed in a
membrane surrounding the teeth ; an opinion which is not
very far from the truth. He describes a species of serpent
which always takes the colour of the soil on which it crawls,
and which he denominates He was the first who dis¬
tinguished night-butterflies from those which are seen only
during the day; and to the former he gave the name of
phalcence, which they still bear. This poem contains a great
number of popular fables, which, however, were all firmly
believed at a period when the science of natural history
was in its infancy. Thus we find it gravely stated that
wasps are produced by the putrefied flesh of horses. As
to the poem entitled Alexipharmaca, it may be considered
as a continuation of the preceding. The effects of poisons
are there explained with tolerable accuracy. They are di¬
vided into animal, vegetable, and mineral; but under the
last head Nicander only mentions white lead, and litharge,
which is also an oxide of lead.
Of these two works there have been numerous editions.
The first, which is in folio, was published at Venice in
1499; and the next, in quarto, appeared at Cologne in
1530, with an interpretation of the Theriaca, and various
commentaries on the Alexipharmaca, by an anonymous an¬
notator. Of both there have been various Latin transla¬
tions, some into prose and others into verse; but the prin¬
cipal are those of Lonicer, Cologne, 1531, in 4to ; Erycius
Cordus, Francfort, 1572, in 4to; Jean de Gorris, Pari3,
1549, in 8vo; and Pierre-Jacques Steve, \alence, 1552,
in 8vo. Lastly, the works of Nicander were translated
into French by Jacques Grevin, Antwerp, lo67, 1568, in
4to. In the Imperial Library at Vienna there is a beautiful
manuscript copy of both poems, ornamented with figures
of venomous animals, and accompanied by a commentary
from the pen of the sophist Euteichnius, which has been
printed in the Greek edition of Nicander published by J.
G. Schneider, Halle, 1792, in 8vo. Demetrius Phalereus,
Theon, Plutarch, and Diphilus of Laodicea, all wrote com¬
mentaries upon the Theriaca; and there are still extant
learned Greek scholia on both poems, which Vossius has
ascribed to Diphilus, though upon what authority we know
not. Besides the poems above mentioned, Nicander also
wrote in verse Ophiaca, or a treatise on serpents ; Hya-
cinthia, or a collection of remedies; and a commentary on
the Prognostics of Hippocrates. He was likewise the au¬
thor of five books of Metamorphoses, some verses of which
have been preserved by Tzetzes; and he wrote in prose
several historical works, one of which, being the history of
Colophon, is cited by Athenaeus, whilst the others men- Nicand Ji
tioned are accounts of iEtolia, Bceotia, Thebes, and a gene- St v.
ral description of Europe. This Nicander has sometimes^. !
been confounded with a grammarian of the same name, a ^ ^
^ .. T 17- ;  • 4-1-* /-» 4-1 f 1 oo r\£ f-Vi r\ ~ V7
native of Thyatira ; and Vossius, in giving the titles of the
works written by both, has not been careful to distinguish
clearly their respective productions. Merian, in his essay
on the Influence of the Sciences on Poetry (see Memoirs of
the Royal Academy of Berlin for 11 <6), cites the works of
Nicander, as affording evidence of the incongruity which
exists between the language of poetry and the nomencla¬
ture of science ; and stigmatizes the author of the Theriaca
as a therapeutic versifier, who wrote lines for the apothe¬
caries, and a mere grinder of anecdotes, who sung of toads,
scorpions, and spiders. In the Bulletin de Pharmacie for
1810, however, M. Cadet de Gassicour has given an analy¬
sis of the works of Nicander, affording materials for a more
accurate judgment than the exaggerated and burlesque
representations of Merian. (A0
NICANDRO, St, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in
the province of Capitanata. It stands on the river Gar-
gano, and contains 7090 inhabitants.
NICARAGUA, one of the five states which compose
the republican confederation of Central America. It. is
bounded on the south by Costa Rica and by the Pacific
Ocean ; on the north by Honduras ; on the west by the Pa¬
cific Ocean ; and on the east by the Mosquito shore, which
is washed by the Carribbean Sea. From north to south
it extends about seventy-five leagues, and from wrest to
east about eighty-five. That elevated mountain range
which forms the spine of the whole continent, called in
South America the Andes, and in the United States
the Stony Mountains, may be traced throughout Central
America, although at a smaller elevation than in the two
adjoining continents, dividing this country into two grand
portions; the waters on the north of the ridge falling into
those of the Atlantic, and those on the south running into
the Pacific. This range has in Central America no deter¬
mined name, and in many parts is even without a visible
existence. It may almost be said to be interrupted in its
course by two transverse valleys, in one of which is con¬
tained the Lake of Nicaragua, and in the other the plain of
Comayagua. “ But this interruption,” says Colonel Galin¬
do,1 “ is more apparent than real; for to the southward of
the lake there certainly exists an elevation, which separates
its waters from the Pacific ; and in the extensive valley of
Comayagua, the only one of the union which runs north
and south, there is decidedly a central eminence, on each
side of which the waters drain off to the respective oceans.”
In the state of Nicaragua, the mountain chain inclines close
to the borders of the Pacific, leaving the lakes on the east.
The climate of this state is hot, and it yields excellent
grapes and other fruits, cocoa, indigo, cotton, the gum
called cavana, and various medicinal drugs. But the pro¬
ductions of the cold or temperate zones, such as wheat, do
not thrive, and the soil is not favourable for breeding sheep.
Immense herds of cattle, however, are pastured in the
large grazing farms, for the consumption not merely of the
province, but also of the city of Guatemala.
The most remarkable feature of this province consists in
its numerous rivers and immense lakes. The Lake of ho*
caragua, the largest sheet of water in Central America, is
about 150 English miles in length, and about sixty in
breadth. It has almost everywhere a depth of ten, and
sometimes of fifteen fathoms, with a muddy bottom, ex¬
cept along the shore, where there is clear sand. This vast
basin receives a number of rivers ; but the only visible out¬
let to its waters is the river St John, which flows into the
Atlantic, and forms about thirty considerable falls before
1 Journal of the Geographical Society of London, vol. vi. part in 1836.
N I C
ragua. it reaches the marshy shores of the ocean. On the north-
v~-"' west it communicates witli the Lake of Leon or Managua
(upwards of fifty miles in length and nearly thirty in
breadth) by means of a navigable channel called the Rio
Tapitapa, about twenty miles in length. With regard to the
grand canal by which it is proposed to connect the Atlantic
with the Pacific through the Lake of Nicaragua, the follow¬
ing is the most recent information on this very interesting
and most important subject.1 “ It would be an important
service rendered to geography, would any person endeavour
to ascertain the levels on this line of road, and the physical
obstacles it would be necessary to overcome to form a water
communication. It is believed that some such survey has
been set on foot by the government, or by a company of
the United States. In the mean time, the only observa¬
tions we have are from a Spanish manuscript existing in
the archives at Guatemala, and copied by Mr Thomson,2
which states that the engineer Don Manuel Galisteo exe¬
cuted a survey in the year 1781, by means of a water-level,
from the Gulf of Pagagayo, in the Pacific, as far as the Lake
of Nicaragua ; and that, by 347 levels, at about 100 yards
apart, the surface of the lake was found to be elevated
133-1feet above the sea. But the lake is said to be
fifteen fathoms deep, so that its bottom is still forty-six
Spanish feet (one Castille foot is 0-9267 of an English
foot) above the level of the South Sea. The distance be¬
tween the lake and the sea, at the proposed communica¬
tion, is, by this measurement, only 29,880 English yards,
or fifteen geographical miles nearly, and the greatest ac¬
tual height of any part of the land is nineteen feet above
the level of the lake. Thus we are assured of a grand
natural reservoir of water at a sufficient elevation. But
the practicability of communication with the Pacific, either
by this line or through the Lake of Leon, or with the At¬
lantic by the Rio San Juan, or some great transverse
valley, is not yet ascertained with any certainty. The
coast-line has hitherto been very imperfectly laid down on
our maps; but the recent survey of Captain Owen, R. N.
now in progress, will doubtless remedy this for the north¬
ern coast. It is also expected that the survey of Captain
Beechey, R. N. on the coast ot Peru, will reach this coast,
and correct the errors which exist in all the maps of it that
are to be met with. With regard to the undertaking itself,
it appears to us insignificant, when compared with some
of those which are frequently engaged in and successfully
accomplished by the Americans of the United States,
where canals sometimes five hundred miles in length are
cut, and not unfrequently to a considerable extent through
the solid mountain rock. We have no doubt that ere long
this speculative and enterprising people will set this great
work on foot, which will doubtless cause a revolution in the
commercial world, and prove of incalculable utility to it.
Ihere are a number of islands on the Lake of Nicaragua ;
but the only one inhabited is Ometepe, and it is also the
only one on which a volcano is found. This lake is subject
to violent agitations from tempestuous gales of wind. The
lakes, rivers, and coasts, both on the Atlantic and Pacific
Uceans, furnish an inexhaustible supply of various kinds of
tish. 1 he surrounding country is well wooded, and much
valuable timber, affording dye-woods and gums, is found
in t e forests; amongst these may be mentioned the dye-
wood which is knowm by the name of the state. Some of
t e most populous villages of Nicaragua are likewise found
in its vicinity.
Of the numerous volcanic eruptions which have taken
p ace in Central America, one of the most appalling on re¬
cord is that of the volcano of Cosiguina, situated in Nica-
N I C
201
ragua, near the eastern promontory of the Bay of Concha-Nicaragua,
gua, which separates the waters of the gulf from the Paci- 's—
fic. This took place in January 1835 ; and as no convul¬
sion of the kind ever occurred before on the same spot, it
was quite unexpected. On the 16th and 17th of that
month, continued noises were heard at a great distance all
round, and were supposed at first to be caused by artillery ;
but during the following ten days, the violent earthquakes,
the fall of showers of pumice-stone and ashes, and the
deep darkness which overspread the country and the con¬
tiguous sea for many leagues, pointed out the true cause.
The official report from the city of Leon states, that there,
and in the department of Granada, “ the catastrophe was
not perceptibly felt until the dawn of the 25th, when the
eruption developed itself to such a degree that the sky
was darkened, and continued to deepen till eleven in the
morning, when the district was enveloped in the most
fearful darkness, terrific reports being at the same time
heard, and showers of calcined lava being precipitated over
the whole face of the country.” In other parts of the
state, the same train of phenomena occurred, accompanied
with the loudest thunder and the most vivid lightnings,
together with violent convulsions of the earth. Two islands
and a number of shoals were formed in the sea ; the river
Chiquito, which flowed towards the north-west, was com¬
pletely choked up, and another river made its appearance
flowing in an opposite direction. Two farms, along with
a great quantity of live stock, were destroyed; and within
the limits of the eruption there were afterwards found
the remains of all kinds of quadrupeds and birds. Few
of the human species, however, perished ; and the damage
done was inconsiderable, considering the tremendous na¬
ture of the eruption, an idea of which may be formed
from the fact, that the sound was heard and ashes fell at
Jamaica, more than 800 miles from Cosiguina. At sea,
clouds of dust were discovered floating at a far greater dis¬
tance from the scene of the catastrophe.
The city of Leon, the capital of the state, is situated in
a savannah, about eight leagues from the western shore of
the Lake Leon, and four leagues from the shores of the
Pacific, in latitude 12. 20. north, and longitude 86.16. west.
It was originally founded in 1523, on the spot now called
Old Leon, but was rebuilt on its present site a few years
aftei waids. Previously to the revolution it was populous,
and rapidly increasing in prosperity; but, along with the
whole of the state, it suffered severely in that struggle,
and has not yet recovered from its effects. Four leagues
to the north-west of Leon, on the shores of the Pacific, is
the town of Realejo, inhabited entirely by Ladinos, who
are chiefly employed in ship-building. The harbour, form¬
ed by a laige and beautiful river, is excellent, and capable
of containing 1000 vessels commodiously. The conveni¬
ences for ship-building are great, as timber, cordage, sail¬
cloth, pitch, and tar may be procured to an almost unli¬
mited extent. The supply of masts is also inexhaustible.
The town was built in 1534, by the companions of Alva-
lado, in his expedition to Peru, who, observing the advan¬
tageous situation of the harbour, determined to establish
themselves on a spot so convenient and promising. At a
short distance is the village of the Viejo, where the corre-
gidors formerly resided, on account of the salubrity of its
situation. The principal place in the vicinity of the Lake
of N icaragua is the town of Granada. This city was founded
in the year 1523. It stands on the north-western shore, in
an advantageous position for commerce (latitude 11. 30.
north, and longitude 86. 21. west), being distant from Leon
about thirty leagues. This place contains about 6000 inha-
VOL. XVI.
Journal of the Geographical Society of London, vol. vi. part ii. 1836.
? Ikomson’s Visit to Guatemala in 1825, London, 1829.
2 c
J
202
Nicaria
N I C
NIC
bitanu. The town of Nicaragua situated twelve leagues habitants. ‘ h "e'd “2*
south-east of Granada, is inhabited by the the ghore of ^ Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Genoa,
Nice- Spaniards, who carry on a traffic in cocoa.
  ' which is said to carry on the largest trade is Masaya, situ¬
ated at the bottom of a deep rocky dell. Ihe situation ot
this village was certainly ill chosen ; water is very scarce,
and the inhabitants are compelled to bring it up in pitchers
from a well of extraordinary depth. Besides, at a short dis¬
tance from Masaya is the volcano of the same name, now
indeed extinct, but at the time of the conquest known by
the nameof the Infiernode Masaya; and the light of the la\a
constantly boiling up in the crater might be P^ved at
sea twenty-five leagues. Not far from this there is ano hei
volcano, called Nindiri, from which an eruption took p a
in 1775, when “ the torrent of lava that rolled into the La e
where the Paglion falls into the sea. It has an artificial,
haven, capable of containing 200 vessels, and is protected
from the waves by a long mole. It is fortified both towards
the land and towards the sea. It contains narrow, gloomy,
and filthy streets, but, from some of the terraces on the
shore, it has fine prospects towards the sea, including the
hills near Genoa, and the distant mountains of Corsica, it
contains a cathedral, two parish churches, fifteen monas¬
teries, four nunneries, several oratories, and two hospitals,
with 2000 houses, a few of them very magnificent, with
19,645 inhabitants. There is an extensive trade in silk,
and in liqueurs, essences,perfumes,and soaps; andthehsli-
I . 1 _/* If 1X7 Q C flip
Niceron.
in 1775, when the torrent of lava that rolled into tne1^ ig a4considerable source of employment. It was the
of Masaya destroyed the fish, and heated the lands wnc > of the painter Vanloo, and of the celebrated ma-
it traversed to so great a degree that al the cattle feeding L Long. 7. i0. E. Lat. 43. 41. N.
on them perished.” The only other Places ° NICEPHORUS, Gregouas, a Greek historian, was
deration in the state are Segovia ^ born about the close of the thirteenth century, and flou-
river Yare, near the confines of Tegucigalpa, thirty leag ^ ^ fourteenth> under the Emperors Andromcus,
north of Granada ; Esteh, Acoyapa, \ dla N«eva> John palaeoiogus, and John Cantacuzenus. He was a great
a very populous Indian village contiguous to the city f J » d Andronicus, who made him librarian
Leon; Li Nicoya The dues towns and -Hage^ m of Consta„tinople, and sent him as ambassador
caragua, and the other states of Central America, na Prince of Servia. He accompanied this emperor in
nicipalities, the members of which are annually elected,^ and ^^^ne^nd assisted at hisdeath, after which he
the alcaldes or chief justices preside. Each ot ^ states
is governed by a chief. The inhabitants are chiefly Ro¬
man Catholics, but the monkish orders have been wholly
extinguished, and the few nunneries which remain cannot
compel their members to stay in them against the*!- will.
In 1836 Colonel Galindo estimated the number of ^ha -
tants at 120,000 Indians, 110,000 whites, and 120,000
Ladinos; the total being 350,000 souls. ~
Nicaragua was the first province subdued by the bpa-
his misfortunes, and assisted at his death, after which he
repaired to the court of the younger Andronicus, where he
seems to have been well received; and it is certain that,
by his influence over the Greeks, that church was prevail¬
ed on to refuse entering into any conference with the le¬
gates of Pope John XXII. But in the dispute which arose
between Barlaam and Palamos, he took part with the for¬
mer, and maintained his cause zealously in the council held
at Constantinople in 1351. For this he was cast mto pri-
Nicaragua was the first province subdue y 1(? P * d continued there till the return of John Palaeolo-
niards, having been discovered and P^nai|2S6 Tt takJs its gUs, who released him ; after which he held a disputation
Gonzales Davila and his companions m lo22. It take g palamogj in the presence of that emperor. He corn-
name from a powerful cacique, who was one of the ffi Byzantine history from 1204, when Constanti-
enter into amicable relations with the Spaniards, and sub- piled tne py^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Andronicus
mit to baptism. The indigenous natives of i icara| P f th younger, in 1341; a work which is not only barbarous
five different languages. The Chorotec seems to be that of ^e youngei ’ ^ ^ ^ ^ &
the principal indigenous tribe. It bears no kind of affinity in styie, uui ^ " •*
with the Aztec or Mexican, which had been rendered com¬
mon, previously to the arrival of the Spaniards, by the in¬
vasion of an Aztec colony. These new comers used a
species of hieroglyphical figures for the communication o
ideas, but the Chorotecs would seem to have been ignorant
of writing. They reckoned eighteen months in the year,
and had an equal number of great festivals. Their ido s
were honoured with a sanguinary worship like those or
Mexico, and their women were liable to be offered in sacri¬
fice, although otherwise they exercised considerable power.
The Spaniards, on their arrival, discovered palaces and
spacious temples, and found some expert workers in paint¬
er’s gold. The bulk of the people, however, were in a state
of barbarism and abject misery. O R- «•)
tin translation by Jerome Wolf, was printed at Basil in
1562, and again at Geneva in 1615; but a more correct
edition than either of the preceding is that which was
printed at the Louvre in 1702, by Boivin, in two vols. folio.
Nicephorus was the author of several other works, all of
which remain inedited, excepting his Scholia upon the
treatise of Synesius de Insomniis, which were published by
Turnebus in 1553.
Nicephorus, Calistus, a learned monk of Constanti¬
nople, who flourished in the fourteenth century, under the
Emperor Andronicus Palaeologus the elder. He wrote in
Greek an ecclesiastical history in twenty-three books,
eighteen of which are still extant, and contain the transac¬
tions of the church from the birth of Christ till the death
barbarism and abject misery. vR* R’ R'C nf the Emneror Phocas in the year 610. Of the other five
NICARIA, an island of the archipelago, between Sa- of t e E p nothing but the arguments, which show that
mos and Tine, about fifty miles in circumference. A chain books w e have nothing pui me ar^u ^    
IllUa auu j. - . i .
of high mountains, covered with wood, runs through tne
middle, and supplies the country with springs. It pro¬
duces wheat, barley, figs, honey, and wax. .
NIC ASTRO, a city of the province of Calabria Ulteri-
ore, in the kingdom of Naples, being situated on the river
Polito, in a district abounding in'olives, and yielding rice,
wheat, and other corn, with excellent wine. It is surrounded
with walls, and contains 6100 inhabitants.^ _
NICE, a part of the continental dominions of the king
of Sardinia, and usually distinguished as a countship. It ex¬
tends in east longitude from 6. 27. to 7. 51. and in north
latitude from 43. 45. to 44. 28., and contains 1430 square
miles. It is divided into four provinces, viz. Nice, Sospello,
Oneglia, and Monaco ; and it is said to contain 200,000 m-
they embraced the portion extending from the commence¬
ment of the reign of the Emperor Heraclius to the end of
that of Leo the Philosopher, who died in the year 911.
This history was dedicated to Andronicus Pakeologus the
elder; it was translated into Latin by John Langius, and
has gone through several editions, the best of which is that
of Paris, published in 1630. . .
NICERON, John Francis, a French mathematician,
was born at Paris in the year 1613. Having finished Ins
academical studies, he entered into the order of the Minims,
and took the habit in 1632; and, as is usual, he changed
the name given him at his baptism for that of Francis, tn^
name of his paternal uncle, who was also a Minim, or Iran
ciscan. His inclination and taste for the mathematics ap-
N I C
ron. peared early during the course of his philosophical studies ;
and to that science he devoted what time he could spare
from his other employments, after he had completed his
studies in theology. All the branches of the mathematics,
however, did not equally engage his attention ; he confined
himself particularly to optics, and only learned as much of
the rest as was necessary for rendering him perfect in this
branch. He has himselt informed us, in the preface to his
Thaumaturgus Opticus, that he travelled twice to Rome,
and that, on his return home, he was appointed teacher of
theology. He was afterwards chosen to accompany Fa¬
ther Francis de la Noue, vicar-general of the order, in his
visitation of the convents throughout France. The eager¬
ness of his passion for study, however, induced him to
make the best use of all the moments he had to spare, and
that wise economy of time furnished him with as much
leisure as satisfied his love of knowledge. Reing taken sick
at Aix, in Provence, he died there on the 22d of Septem¬
ber 1646, at the early age of thirty-three. He was an in¬
timate acquaintance of Descartes, who had a high esteem
for him. Ihe principal works of Niceron are, 1. LTnter-
pretatioh des Chiffres, ou Regies pour bien entendre et ex-
pliquer facilement toutes sortes des ChifFres simples, Paris,
1641, in 8vo; 2. La Perspective Curieuse, ou Magie Ar-
tificielle des effets merveilleux de 1’Optique, Catoptrique,
et Dioptrique; 3. Thaumaturgus Opticus, sive admiranda
Optices, Catoptrices, et Dioptrices, pars prima, 1646, in
folio, a work to which the preceding essay was intended to
serve as an introduction.
Niceron, John Peter, celebrated on account of his
Biographical Memoirs, was born at Paris on the 11th of
March 1685. He was descended of an ancient and noble
family, which was in very high repute about 1540. He
studied with success in the Mazarin College at Paris, and
afterwards at the college of Duplessis. Having resolved to
forsake the world, he consulted one of his uncles, who be¬
longed to the order of Barnabite Jesuits. This uncle ex¬
amined him, and not doubting his election, introduced him
as a probationer to that society at Paris. lie was received
in 1702, took the habit in 1703, and made his vows in 1704,
at the age of nineteen. After he had professed himself, he
was sent to Montargis, in order to study philosophy and theo¬
logy ; and his superiors, being satisfied with his proficiency,
sent him to Loches, in Touraine, to teach the classics and
rhetoric. Here his devout behaviour and excellent con¬
duct as a teacher made him be thought worthy of the
priesthood, which he received at Poitiers in 1708 ; and as
ie had not arrived at the age to assume this order, a dis¬
pensation was obtained in his favour. The college of
Montargis having recalled him, he there professed rhetoric
or two years, and philosophy during four. Notwithstand¬
ing a these avocations, he wras humanely attentive to
every call of charity, and to the instruction of his fellow-
cieatures, many of whom heard his excellent discourses,
not only in the pulpits of the churches within the province,
u even in those of Paris. In 1716, his superiors invited
mi to the city, that he might have an opportunity of pro-
secuting with more convenience those studies for which
e Had always expressed the greatest inclination. He un-
eistood not only the ancient, but also the modern lan-
„ ’ ^Clrcuinstance of infinite advantage in the com-
and wl?- ^ |th°Se wor,ks wlljch he has given to the public,
of iiie |1C lihe c;a.rr1ied 011 with great assiduity till the time
the fiVtWh uh haPPened on the 8th of July 1738, at
fmrp ^ 0t hfty'three. His works are, 1. Le Grand Febri-
’ a, Reflation to prove that common water is the
from fh/'i/ ‘"fevers, and even in the plague (translated
caret’ T °f Hancock’ <>V St Mar-
aDnearanp00 0n ’ m f~.mo' Phis little treatise made its
inP1770 an’iam0ngSt pieces relating to this subject,
m 1770, and was attended with such success that it pass-
N I C
ed through three editions, the last of which appeared in
1/30, in two vols. 12mo. 2. The Voyages of John Ouv-
ington to Surat, and divers parts of Asia and Africa, con¬
taining the history of the revolution in the kingdom of
Golconda, and some observations upon silk worms, Paris,
1/25, in two vols. 12mo. 3. The Conversion of England
to Christianity, compared with its pretended Reformation,
a work translated from the English, Paris, 1729, in 8vo.
4. The Natural History of the Earth, translated from
the English of Mr Woodward, by M. Nogues, doctor in
physic, with an answer to the objections of Dr Camerarius,
and containing also several letters written on the same
subject, with a methodical distribution of fossils, translat¬
ed from the English by Niceron, Paris, 1735, in 4to. 5.
Memoirs of Men illustrious in the Republic of Letters,'
with a critical account of their works, Paris, in 12mo. The
first volume of this great work appeared in 1727; and the
others were given to the public in succession, as far as the
thirty-ninth, which appeared in 1738. The fortieth volume
was published after the death of the author, in 1739.
Since that period three others have been added; but in
these there are many articles of which Niceron was not the
author. To a work of this kind many objections may be
made, according to the particular taste or views of each
individual objector; and, in fact, the French critics have
expatiated with much severity upon the mistakes unavoid¬
able in an undertaking of such magnitude and difficulty.
But it is much more easy to censure than to execute.
Since the time of Niceron the French have produced no
such collection as his, which, with all its faults, has been
tne foundation, as far as it goes, of all the subsequent ac¬
counts given of the same authors. (A.)
NICE TAS, David, a Greek historian, a native, as some
relate, of Paphlagonia, who lived about the end of the
ninth century. He wrote the Life of St Ignatius, patriarch
of Constantinople, which was translated into Latin by
Fredeiic Mutius, bishop of Termoli; and he also compos-
ed several panegyrics in honour of the apostles and other
saints, which are inserted in the last continuation of the
Bibliotheca Patrum by Combesis.
Nicetas, Achominates, a Greek historian of the thir¬
teenth century, called also Choniates, from having been born
at Chone, or Colossus, in Phrygia. He was employed in
several considerable affairs at the court of Constantinople ;
and when that city was taken by the French in 1204, he
withdrew, with a young French captive, whom he after¬
wards married at Nice, in Bithynia, where he ended his
days in 1206. He wrote a History, or Annals, from the
death of Alexius Comnenus in the year 1118, to that of
Badouin in 1205 ; a work of which we have a Latin trans¬
lation by Jerome Wolf, printed at Basil in 1557, and in¬
serted in the body of the Byzantine Historians, printed at
the Louvre. 1
NICHOLS, Frank, doctor of physic, was born in Lon-
uon in the year 1699. His father was a barrister at law, and
both his parents were of good families in Cornwall. After
receding the first rudiments of his education at a private
school in the country, where his docility and sweetness of
temper endeared him equally to his master and his school¬
fellows, Frank was in a few years removed to Westmin¬
ster, and from thence to Oxford, where he was admitted
a commoner of Exeter College, under the tuition of Mr
John Haviland, on the 4th of March 1714. There he ap¬
plied himself diligently to all the usual academical studies,
but particularly to natural philosophy and polite literature,
of which the fruits were most conspicuous in his subse¬
quent lectures on physiology. After reading a few books
on anatomy, in order to perfect himself in the nomencla¬
ture of the animal parts then adopted, he engaged in dis¬
sections, and then devoted himself to the study of nature,
perfectly free and unbiassed by the opinions of others.
204
Nichols.
NIC
NIC
When he was chosen reader of anatomy in that univer-
'sitv he employed his utmost attention to elevate and il-
lustrate a science winch had there been long depressed
and neglected; and by quitting the beaten track of for¬
mer lecturers, and minutely investigating the texture ot
every viscus, as well as the nature and order of every ves¬
sel, he gained a high and just reputation. He did not then
reside at Oxford ; but when he had finished his lectures, he
used to repair to London, the place of his abode, where he
had determined to settle. He had once an intention ot
establishing himself in Cornwall, and for a short time prac*
tised there with great reputation; but being soon tired ot
the fatigues attendant on that profession in the country,
he returned to London, bringing back with him a great
insight, acquired by diligent observation, into the nature
of the miliary fever, and which was attended with the
most salutary effects in his subsequent practice in the me-
About this time he resolved to visit the Continent, part¬
ly with the view of acquiring a knowledge of men, man¬
ners, and languages, but chiefly to make himself acquaint¬
ed with the opinions of foreign naturalists on his favourite
study. At Paris, by conversing freely with the learned,
he soon recommended himself to their notice and esteem.
Winslow’s was the only good system of physiology at that
time known in France, and Morgagni’s and Santorini s in
Italy. On his return to England, he repeated his physio¬
logical lectures in London, which were much frequented,
not only by students from both the universities, but also
by many surgeons, apothecaries, and others. Soon after¬
wards, his new and successful treatment of the nnliary fe¬
ver, then very prevalent in the southern parts of Lnglan ,
added much to his reputation. In 1725, at a meeting of
the Royal Society, he gave his opinion on the nature of
aneurisms, in which he dissented from that expressed by Ur
Freind in his History of Physic.
In the beginning of the year 1728, he was chosen a fel¬
low of the Royal Society, to which he afterwards commu¬
nicated the description of an uncommon disorder, namely,
a polypus, resembling a branch of the pulmonary vein, for
which Tulpius has strangely mistaken it, coughed up by
an asthmatic person. He also made observations on a
treatise, by M. Helvetius of Paris, concerning the lungs.
Towards the end of the year 1729, he took the degree of
doctor of physic at Oxford. On his return to London, he
underwent an examination by the president and censors
of the College of Physicians, previously to his being ad¬
mitted a candidate, which every practitioner must be a
year before he can apply to be chosen a fellow. Ur -N1*
chols was admitted into the college on the ~bth of June
1732 ; and two years afterwards, being chosen Gulstoman
reader of Pathology, he made the structure of the heart
and the circulation of the blood the subject of his lec¬
tures. In 1736, at the request of the president, he again
read the Gulstonian lecture, taking for his subject those
parts of the human body which serve for the secretion and
discharge of the urine,* with the causes, symptoms, and
cure of the diseases occasioned by the stone. In 1739,
he delivered the anniversary Harveian oration. In 1743,
he married Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the celebrated
Dr Mead, by whom he had five children, two of whom
died young. In 1748, Dr Nichols undertook the office of
surgical lecturer, beginning with a learned and elegant
dissertation on the Anima Medica. About this time, on the
death of Dr John Cuningham, one of the elects of the col¬
lege, Dr Abraham Hall was, without any apparent reason,
chosen to succeed him in preference to Dr Nichols, who
was his senior. With a just resentment, he immediately
resigned the office of surgical lecturer, and never after at¬
tended the meetings of the fellows, excepting when busi¬
ness of the utmost importance was in agitation. In 1751,
Nicholf
buir
he took some revenge in an anonymous pamphlet, entitled
The Petition of the Unborn Babes to the tj‘.e r
Royal College of Physicians of London in which Dr Nesbit ^
(Focus), Dr Maule (Maulus), Dr Barrowby {Barebone) ^^
principally, and Sir William Browne, Sir Edward Hulse,
and the Scotch incidentally, are the objects of his satire.
In 1753, on the death of Sir Hans Sloane in his ninety-
fourth year, Dr Nichols was appointed to succeed mm as
one of the king’s physicians, and held that office till the
death of his royal master in 1760, when this skilful phy¬
sician was superseded with something like the oiler ol a
pension, which he rejected with disdain. The causes ot
the uncommon disorder of which George II. died, viz a
rupture of the right ventricle of the heart, he explained in
a letter to the Earl of Macclesfield, president of the Royal
Society, which was published in the Philosophical Irans-
In 1772, Dr Nichols published a second edition of his
treatise De Anima Medica, to which he added a disserta¬
tion De motu Cordis et Sanguinis in homme nato et non
nato, inscribed to his learned friend and coadjutor Dr
Being at length tired of London, and also desirous of
superintending the education of his son, he removed to Ox¬
ford, where he had most agreeably spent some ye,ar® in il!8
youth. But when the study of the law recalled Mr Ni¬
chols to London, he took a house at Epsom, where he
passed the remainder of his life in literary retirement, not
inattentive to natural philosophy, especially the cultivation
of grain and the improvement of barren soils, and contem¬
plating also with admiration the internal nature of plants,
as taught by Linnaeus. T . . .
His constitution never was robust. In his youth, at
Oxford, he was with difficulty recovered from a danger¬
ous fever by the skill of Drs Frampton and krewen ; and
afterwards at London he had frequently been afflicted with
a catarrh, and an inveterate asthmatic cough, which, re¬
turning with great violence at the beginning of the year
1778, deprived the world of this valuable man, on the 7th
of January, in the eightieth year of his age.
NICHOLSBURG, a city in the circle ot Brunn, intne
Austrian province of Moravia. It is the municipal city ot
a majorat belonging to Prince Dietrichstein, which com-
prebends four market-towns and eight villages. Iheie is
a most magnificent palace, in a most picturesque situation,
belonging to the noble proprietor, in which is a library con-
tainintr 20,000 volumes. There are a minster and several
other churches, with 760 houses and 7420 inhabitants, who
carry on some extensive woollen and cotton manutactures,
and much internal trade towards Vienna. Near to h are
vineyards, yielding good wine. Long. 16. 31. 25. E. Eat.
48'nICIAS, an Athenian statesman, was son of Niceratus,
a person of great wealth, but who seems to have taken no
part in the political transactions of his country Nicia
was possessed of considerable abilities, both political and
military ; but he was by no means fitted to occupy th^°ra-
manding position which Pericles had long *et 0
the death of that great man, 428 b. c., m the thir
of the Peloponnesian war, Nicias was put forward by tn
aristocracy and the more moderate of Ae democrahcal
party, as the fittest person to lead the councils of the com
monwealth. He was also rather a favourite w.th theje»-
pie, as he was liberal of his wealth tor their gratification,
and ever ready to assist the distressed. He ^ cau¬
tious, too, in all his proceedings, and avoided any thing
which might excite the envy of the Athenians,
taken noprominent part in public affairs till the death of
Pericles, when the necessity of some counterpoise to
mad projects of the demagogue Cleon Placed. htin\ pnce
head of a strong party. It shows the complete absen
5 WW
N I C
of any commanding genius, that Nicias should have been
thought of, as his diffidence in a public assembly, and his
want of firmness, stood much in the way of his usefulness.
^ The first matter in which the two parties took opposite
views was the punishment that ought to be inflicted on the
inhabitants of Mitylene for their rebellion. Cleon pro¬
posed and carried a decree for putting every man to death,
and for reducing the women and children to slavery. This
monstrous proposition was opposed by all the influence of
Nicias, but passed in spite of its evident injustice. Nicias
led several expeditions, and was always successful, because,
as Plutarch states, he selected those commands where suc¬
cess was nearly certain, although the glory might indeed be
small. He took the islet called Minoa, at the mouth of the
harbour of Nisaea, the seaport of Megara; and he plundered
the coast of Boeotia. He commanded the fleet, 425 b. c.,
at the time that the island Sphacteria was blockaded by the
Athenians, and willingly gave up the command to Cleon,
who exclaimed that if he were in that station he would en¬
gage to subdue the island within twenty days, and bring
the garrison prisoners to Athens. To the great surprise of
all parties, Cleon succeeded in the enterprise (Thucydides,
iv. 28). The following year we find Nicias commanding
an expedition which was directed against the island of
Cythera, an important appendage of the Lacedaemonian
territory, and which Nicias took without much difficulty.
After the death of Cleon at Amphipolis, 422 b. c., there
was a strong inclination on both sides to bring the war to a
close; and as Nicias was the most active in promoting the
measure, it was usually called the Niceian peace. The fun¬
damental principle of the treaty was, that each party should
restore what had been taken in war, except that Nisaea was
reserved to Athens, in consideration of the refusal of the
Thebans to surrender Plateea. It was concluded for fifty
years, 421 b. c. (Thucydides, v. 18). At this time Alci-
biades began to occupy himself with public affairs, and
wishing to ingratiate himself with the popular party, he
took the opposite side to Nicias in almost every question.
It was so in respect to the peace ; and as there were some
articles liable to be disputed, Alcibiades soon managed to
embroil matters, and war again broke forth in all its ori¬
ginal fury, 418 b. c. An expedition to Sicily was next
proposed by Alcibiades, and although it was strongly op¬
posed by Nicias, the decree was passed, and Nicias was
appointed, along with Lamachus and Alcibiades, 415 b. c.,
to command the troops. Matters were conducted with va¬
rious success ; but the Athenians were at length complete¬
ly defeated, and Nicias fell into the hands of the Syra¬
cusans. Hie mob demanded his life, and although Gylip-
pus the Syracusan general exerted himself to save Nicias,
it was without success. When Nicias and his colleague
Demosthenes heard the sentence which had been passed
against them, they anticipated their fate by putting them¬
selves to death, in the year 413 b. c. (Thucydides, vii.;
liutarch, Life of Nicias ; Diodorus Siculus.)
Nicias, a celebrated painter of Athens, who flourished
about 322 years before the Christian era. He w'as univer¬
sally extolled for the great variety and noble choice of his
subjects, the force and relief of his figures, his skill in the
istnbution of lights and shades, and his dexterity in re¬
presenting all kinds of four-footed animals, a branch of
t le art in which he excelled all the masters of his time.
Wis most celebrated piece was that of Tartarus, or Hell, as
1 18 described by Homer. For this picture Ptolemy the
son ot Lagus offered him sixty talents, or L.l 1,250, which
s ret“®ed> and generously presented it to his own coun-
ry* „ ,.was a^so much esteemed by all his contempora-
rie8^lns excellent talent in sculpture.
thp rCCB^? 1SL!ANds> 3 group of islands situated in
nfn fiV!- j Sal> between the sixth and tenth degrees
or i latitude, and between the ninety-third and ninety-
N I C
205
fifth degrees of east longitude. They occupy the space Nicobar
from the north-west point of Sumatra to the most souther- Islands,
ly of the Andaman Islands. There are seven large and^
twelve small islands. The principal ones are Carnicobar,
Teressa, Chowry, Bombocha, Kaichull, Carmorta, Nancow-
ry, Toulongar, Sambelong, and Nicobar or Great Sambe-
long > besides a multitude of smaller islands without any
distinct appellation. These islands are mostly hilly, and
some of the mountains in them rise to a considerable height;
but others, again, are flat, and covered with cocoa-nut trees.
On the other islands also a large proportion of cocoa and
areca palms, with timber trees of various kinds, some of
them of an enormous size, and very fit for naval purposes,
are produced ; and so thickly are they interwoven in some
places, that they are impervious to the beams of the sun.
The falling of the leaves, twigs, and fruit below, with the
heavy dews, renders the island extremely unhealthy, es¬
pecially to Europeans. The best island for supplies is Car¬
nicobar ; and perhaps the worst is the large one, or Great
Nicobar, to the north of which runs St George’s Chan¬
nel ; a very dangerous passage for ships, on account of the
strength of the tide, and the rocks.
The wild beasts common in the Indian continent are not
to be found here, such as leopards, tigers, &c. Large flocks
of sheep and other cattle, originally brought hither by the
Danes, and which have since run wild in the woods, are found
in some of the islands ; dogs and swine are also common
in most of them, and being fed on cocoa-nuts, the quality of
the pork is excellent. In some of the southernmost islands
monkeys are found. Snakes also abound, but they are not
so numerous nor so venomous as those on the coast of Coro¬
mandel. There are numerous alligators, some of them of
large size, and a variety of crabs, which swarm every where.
Shell-fish are found in such numbers, that the most beau¬
tiful collections of shells may be made here. The inhabi¬
tants appear, from their features and their figure, to belong
to the Kalmuck race. Ihey are of a copper colour, and
have small eyes, small flat noses, large mouths, thick lips,
and black teeth. They are well made and muscular, and
are of a lively disposition, resembling the Piguans and Chi¬
nese in features, having scarcely any beard. Their mode of
living is rude. They dwell in huts of an oval form, cover¬
ed with cocoa-nut leaves, and supported on posts about five
or six feet from the ground. These huts are always circu¬
lar, resembling a stack of corn. They gain their subsist¬
ence chiefly by fishing, and trading to the neighbouring
islands; whilst the women are employed in preparing the
victuals, and in cultivating the ground. Vessels touching
at these islands are abundantly supplied with cocoa-nuts,
pine-apples, plantains, lemons, and other fruits, and also
vyith ducks and fowls; all of which they readily exchange
for cloth, tobacco, and any kind of cutlery; but they do not
appear to set much value on gold and silver, such metals
not being current amongst them, and tobacco being the or¬
dinary medium of all barter and exchange. A considerable
traffic is carried on amongst the islands, the chief articles
of which are cloth, silver coin, iron, tobacco, and some other
commodities, which they obtain from Europeans. The chief
productions of these islands are the cocoa-nut and areca-nut
trees. Wild cinnamon and sassafras also grow in them ;
and there is, besides, a nutritive fruit resembling in some
respects the jaca fruit of Bengal, and growing on a species
of palm which is found in abundance in the woods. The
country is divided into villages, consisting of ten or twelve
huts, each of w hich has a captain, who carries on a barter¬
ing trade with the ships that arrive, but who has no pecu¬
liar privileges. The clothing of the men is somewhat pe¬
culiar, consisting of a narrow piece of cloth about three
yards long, which they wrap round their waists, and then
pass between their legs, and through the girth behind, leav¬
ing the end of it to drag after them ; a circumstance which
206
N I C
Nicode- has given rise to the fabulous stories of men with tails re-
mus. lated by Kioping, a Swedish navigator.
''—y'—' The religion of the natives is an absurd and unintelli¬
gible superstition, consisting of sorceries, conjurations, and
other delusions practised on the ignorant multitude by the
priests. Their language is remarkably poor in words; and
the missionaries never having been able to acquire any
considerable knowledge of it, have not succeeded in mak¬
ing many converts.
These islands were first settled by the Danes in 175b,
for the purposes of commerce, and from that people they
received the name of Frederic’s Islands. But, owing to the
unhealthiness of the island, almost the whole colonists died.
A new attempt was made in 1768, in conjunction with the
Baptist missionaries ; but in 1771 only two Europeans and
four Malabar servants survived. The missionaries still per¬
severed in their attempts to effect a settlement on the islands,
and received supplies from Tranquebar, both of provisions
and of recruits. But the mortality continued unabated ;
and no progress having been made in the conversion of
the natives, the attempt was finally abandoned in the year
1787. The missionaries mostly died of fevers and obstruc¬
tions of the liver.
NICODEMUS, a disciple of Jesus Christ, one who was
a Jew by nation, and by sect a Pharisee. The Scripture
calls him a ruler of the Jews, and our Saviour gives him
the name of a master of Israel. When our Saviour began
to manifest himself by his miracles at Jerusalem, at the
first passover which he celebrated there after his baptism,
Nicodemus made no doubt but that he was the Messiah,
and came to him by night, that he might learn of him the
way of salvation. Jesus told him, that no one could see
the kingdom of heaven except he should be born again.
Nicodemus, taking this in the literal acceptation, asked,
“ How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he en¬
ter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
To this Jesus replied, “ Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.” Nicodemus asked him, “ How
can these things be ?” Jesus answered, “ Art thou a mas¬
ter of Israel, and knowest not these things ? We speak
that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye re¬
ceive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things,
and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of
heavenly things ? No one hath ascended up to heaven but
he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, who
is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.”
After this conversation Nicodemus became a disciple of
Jesus Christ, and there is little doubt that he went to hear
him as often as our Saviour visited Jerusalem. It happen¬
ed, however, that the priests and Pharisees had sent offi¬
cers to seize our Lord ; but they, returning to their em¬
ployers, reported, that never man spoke as he did. To this
the Pharisees replied, “ Are you also deceived? Have
any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him ?”
Upon this Nicodemus thought himself obliged to make an¬
swer, saying, “ Doth our law judge any man before it hear
him, and know what he doeth ?” To this they replied,
“ Art thou also of Galilee ? Search and look; for out of
Galilee ariseth no prophet. After this the council was
dismissed. At last Nicodemus declared himself openly to
be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and he came along with
Joseph of Arimathea to pay the last duties to the body of
Christ, which they took down from the cross, embalmed,
and laid in a sepulchre.
We are told that Nicodemus received baptism from the
NIC
disciples of Christ; but it is not mentioned whether this Nicolj
was before or after the passion of our Lord. It is added, ||
that the Jews being informed of the circumstance, de-JJ^olas
posed him from his dignity of senator, excommunicated^ v
him, and drove him from Jerusalem ; but that Gamaliel,
who was his cousin-german, took him to his country-house,
and maintained him there till his death, when he was
honourably interred near St Stephen. There is still ex¬
tant an apocryphal gospel under the name of Nicodemus,
which in some manuscripts bears the title of the Acts of
Pilate.
NTCOLAIEV, or Nicolaief, a city of Russia, in the
province of Cherson. It stands on the river Bug, at about ,
eight leagues from the entrance of that river into the
Black Sea, and at the point where the river Ingoul falls
into it. From the entrance of the Bug at Oczakow, up to
this city, its depth in the mid-channel is from four to six
fathoms, and the navigation is consequently safe for the
largest ships. This place is one of the chief naval ar¬
senals on the Black Sea, and, besides ships of war, many
gun-boats, with sails and oars fit for navigation, are built
and equipped. The timber for ship-building comes chiefly
by the Dnieper to Cherson. The admiral commanding in
chief in the Black Sea, and a number of inferior officers,
have their permanent residence at this place. The town
is much scattered; its streets are wide and regular, and
many of them are planted with trees on both sides, but
scarcely any of them are paved. Almost all the houses are
built of stone, and separated from each other by trees and
gardens ; but scarcely any of them are of a large size, and
few have any pretensions to magnificence. The climate is
healthy, the air is pure, rents are moderate, provisions are
cheap, and the society is good ; but fuel is scarce, and wa¬
ter is conveyed from a very copious fountain near the gates
of the city. The principal public buildings are a new
church in the great square, the guild-hall, the admiralty,
the docks, the custom-house, the marine barracks, and the
hospital. There is a school for naval instruction and for
the education of the artillery, and a fine astronomical
observatory. The number of inhabitants is now about
15,000, the greater part of whom are connected with the
marine service. The observatory is situated in longitude
32. 0. 15. E. and latitude 46. 59. N.
NICOLAITANS, in ecclesiastical history, Christian he¬
retics, who assumed this name from Nicholas of Antioch,
who, being a Gentile by birth, first embraced Judaism, and
then Christianity, when his zeal and devotion recommended
him to the church of Jerusalem, by whom he was chosen
one of the first deacons. Many of the primitive writers
believe that Nicholas was rather the occasion than the
author of the infamous practices of those who assumed his
name, and who were expressly condemned by the Spirit
of God himself (Rev. ii. 6). Their opinions and actions
were indeed highly extravagant and criminal. They al¬
lowed a community of wives, and made no distinction be¬
tween ordinary meats and those offered to idols. Accord¬
ing to Eusebius, they subsisted but for a short time; yet
Tertullian says that they only changed their name, and
that their heresies passed into the sect of the Cainites.
NICOLAS, Sx, a large market-town of the Netherlands,
situated in the province of East Flanders, and arrondisse-
ment of the Dender. It is well built, has a fine market¬
place, and is in one of the richest agricultural districts ot
that rich country, where husbandry is better conducted than
in almost any part of Europe. It has 11,500 inhabitants,
many of w'hom are employed in making cloths and cotton
goods, in distilleries, and in various other branches of ma
nufacture.
Nicolas, St, an island of the Atlantic Ocean, and one
of the most considerable of those of Cape Verd, being si¬
tuated between St Lucia and St Jago. It is of a trian-
5 W
N I C
i • gular figure, and about seventy-five miles in length. Long.
^33. 35. W. Lat. 17. 0. N.
NICOLE, Peter, a celebrated French moralist and theo¬
logian, the nephew of Claude Nicole, a French poet, and
one of the most illustrious writers of the Port-Royal, was
born at Chartres in October 1625. His father, John Ni¬
cole, having a perfect knowledge of the ancient languages,
instructed him in the elements of grammar, and initiated
him so thoroughly in the classics, that at the age of four¬
teen he had completed his preliminary studies, and read
the best works in Greek and in Latin. He then proceeded
to Paris, where he commenced a course of philosophy and
theology, and at the same time applied to the study of
Hebrew ; but the weakness of his sight, occasioned by ex¬
cessive application, obliged him to abandon this pursuit, in
which he had already made great progress. Having com¬
pleted his course of theology, and received the degree of
bachelor, he was preparing to take his license, when the
troubles which broke out in the university, on the subject
of the famous propositions of Jansenius, forced him to de¬
fer the accomplishment of this object. Being attached by
gratitude and esteem to the inmates of the Port-Royal,
he passed several years in that house, occupied in teaching
the belles-lettres. But, in 1655, he returned to Paris to
labour under the direction of Dr Arnauld, with whom he
was united by the ties of the most intimate friendship ;
and, desiring to live altogether unknown amidst the bustle
of the capital, he took the name of Rosny. The advance¬
ment of Jansenism appears to have furnished the motive
that induced him to undertake a journey which he made
into Germany, in the course of the year 1658; and whilst
there, he not only translated into Latin the Lettres Pro¬
vinciates, in the composition of which he had participated,
but published them, accompanied with very virulent notes.
He soon returned, however, to join Arnauld; and they
retired together to Chatillon, where they applied them¬
selves to the preparation of different writings. Nicole, al¬
though he did not entirely adopt the opinions of the Jan-
senists, made frequent excursions to Port-Royal, Paris, and
the neighbouring provinces, in the interest of that party ;
but in these he acted with extreme circumspection, not
choosing, as he himself observed, to play any part in civil
wars. Being warmly solicited by his friends to enter into
holy orders, he at length resolved to demand ordination
of the Bishop of Chartres, in wrhose diocese he resided.
But that prelate refused to ordain him, no doubt by rea¬
son of his connections with the Port-Royal. He conti¬
nued undisturbed at Paris until the year 1677, when a
Lettre, which he wrote in the names of the Bishops of St
Pons and Arras, on the laxity of the casuists, raised such
a storm against him, that he was obliged to withdraw from
the capital. For some time he remained concealed in the
environs of Chartres and of Beauvais; but the death of
the Duchess of Longueville, the most ardent protectress of
Jansenism, having decided him to quit France, where he
md not consider himself as any longer safe, he left the
mgdom, and took refuge successively at Brussels, the
ey of Orval, and Liege, frequently changing his name
and the place of his retreat, and believing himself inces¬
sant y exposed to the machinations of his enemies. At
engt , by the intercession of M. de Harlay, the archbishop
o ans, he obtained permission to return secretly to
Uiartres, and soon afterwards to fix his residence at Paris,
w lete ie resumed his ordinary occupations ; and it wras
tnen that he completed his Essais de Morale, a work which
s ess lead than esteemed, and which stamped his reputa-
tion as a writer. In the last years of his life he mingled
n the dispute about Quietism, and took the part of Bos-
tt • aSrSt Fenelc?n’ but with wisdom and moderation.
hanrk Sh °r SOme itime been d?Prived of the use of his
» e was meditating alone in his cabinet when he was
N I C
207
suddenly struck with apoplexy. The tidings soon spread Nicole,
in the capital, and the crowd of persons who hurried to
visit the pious cenobite proved the high consideration
which he enjoyed. Racine, being reconciled to his master,
came in a diligence, bringing a medicine (gouttes d’Angle-
terre) which for a moment revived him; but the resusci¬
tation was soon succeeded by a relapse, and he died two
days afterwards, on the 16th of November 1695, at the
age of seventy. He had given orders that he should be
interred without any ceremony; but his will, in this parti¬
cular, was not respected, and his remains were accompanied
to the grave by the most distinguished men of the time.
Nicole, being of a simple and ingenuous character, evin¬
ced during his wdiole life the timidity of an infant. No¬
thing was more easy than to embarrass him in discussion ;
an objection which he had not foreseen entirely discon¬
certed him. Speaking of Treville, one of his friends, he
said, “ Ireville beats me in the chamber; but before he
reaches the foot of the stair I confute him.” In the last
year of his life he seldom went abroad, being afraid that,
in passing along the streets, a tile would fall upon his head.
He had also a great dread of travelling, and particularly of
aquatic excursions. During a long period he had relegated
himself to the faubourg Saint-Marcel; and when asked the
reason ot this, he replied, “ It is because the enemies
who menace Paris will probably enter by the gate of Saint
Martin, and consequently will be obliged to traverse the
whole city before reaching the place where I live.” But,
with all this simplicity and timidity, Nicole had a reach
and an accuracy of thought which were altogether admir¬
able. He equalled the best dialecticians, in the order, the
method, the sequence, and the depth of his ideas; but as
his object in all bis works was rather to prove than to
please, his style, although remarkable for its purity and
clearness, often fatigues by its dryness and monotony.
“ On quitte ses Essais sans peine,” says Palissot; “ on y
revient^ sans plaisir, parce que les lecteurs ont besoin d’etre
fiattes ” Nicole attempted panegyric, but soon found that
he had no talent for a species of composition which re¬
quires invention and warmth of style.
A list of the works of Nicole will be found in the 3/e-
moires of Niceron (tome xxix.), at the end of his Life by
the Abbe Goujet, and also in the Dictionary of Moreri. The
following are the principal, viz. 1. Epigrammatum Delectus
ex omnibus turn veteribus turn recentioribus Poetis, cum
Dissertatione de vera Pulcbritudine, Paris, 1659, in 12mo ;
2. La Perpetuite de la Foi de 1’Eglise Catholique, touch-
ant 1’Eucharistie, Paris, 1664, in 12mo, called ta Petite Per¬
petuite, to distinguish it from the great work which bears
the same title; 3. Traite de la Foi Humaine, Paris, 1664,
in 4to, a work in which Arnauld had some share; 4. Les
Imaginaires et les Yisionaires, ou Lettres sur 1’Heresie
Imaginaire, Liege, 1667, in two vols. 12mo; 5. La Perpe¬
tuite de la Foi de 1’Eglise Catholique, touchant I’Eucharistie,
1 aris, 1669—1676, in three vols. 4to, a masterpiece of rea¬
soning, which appeared under the name of his friend Ar¬
nauld ; 6. Essais de Morale, et Instructions Theologiques,
Paris, 1671-1672, in twenty-five vols. 12mo ; 7. De 1’Unite
de 1’Eglise, ou Refutation du Nouveau Systeme de Jurieu,
Paris, 1687, in 12mo. The last writings of Nicole turn upon
the system of general grace, which he supported, to the no
small displeasuie of most of his friends. The consequence
was a controversy, which appears to have produced some
coldness on both sides. Arnauld, in his Letters (tome vii.),
expi esses himself with muchforce on the subject; andQues-
nel complained warmly to Nicole of this species of defection
on his part. The various pieces produced in this dispute
will be found in a collection of writings on general grace,
published by bouillon in 1715, with a long preface; and
a curious analysis of the Traite de la Grace Generate will
be found in the Bibliotheque of the Dictionary of Richelet.
208
N I C
Micomedes Nicole had a large share in the Methodes Grecques et La-
II tines, and also in the excellent treatise on Logic, known
Nicotiana. unr|er the name of the Port-Royal. The life of this able
' and laborious writer has been written by the Abbe Goujet,
who is, however, more of a panegyrist than a biographer ;
bv Besokme, in his Histoire de Port-Royal (tome iv.) ;
and also by Saverien, in his Vies des Philosophes Modernes
(tome L). , ,. „
NICOMEDES, the name of several kings ot the an¬
cient Bithynia. See the article Bithynia.
NICOMEDIA, the metropolis of Bithynia, which was
built by Nicomedes, the grandfather of Prusias. Nicome-
dia was famous, not only under its own kings, but also un¬
der the Romans; it was the royal residence of Diocletian,
and also, if we may credit Nicephorus, that of Constantine
whilst Constantinople was building. It is situated at the
bottom of a bay of the Propontis, in Asia Minor, and sti
bears the ancient name. Long. 30. 0. E. Lat. 41. 20. N.
NIC OMEDUS, a geometrician, celebrated on account ot
the invention of the curve called conchoid, which is equal¬
ly useful in resolving the two famous problems of doubling
the cube and trisecting the angle. It appears that he lived
soon after Eratosthenes, for he rallied that philosopher on
the mechanism of his mesolabe. Geminus, who flourished
in the second century before Christ, has written on the con¬
choid, though Nicomedus was always esteemed the inven¬
tor of that curve. Those who place him four or five cen¬
turies after Christ must be ignorant of these facts, by
which we are enabled to ascertain approximately the time
at which he lived. mi i • i
NICOPOLIS, a province of European Turkey, which
extends in north latitude from 42. 44. to 43. 46. and in
east longitude from 23. 30. to 26. 4. This district is na¬
turally fertile ; but agriculture is in a neglected state, and
the chief product is cattle. The capital, ot the same name,
is situated on the Lower Danube. It is fortified, .and c<™-
nected with a strong citadel, and it is said to contain 10,060
inhabitants. It is the seat of a Catholic and also of a Greek
k NICOSIA, a city of the island of Sicily, in the kingdom
of Naples, and in the province of Demone, eighty miles
from Palermo. It stands on the ridge of a rocky moun¬
tain, the Herbita of antiquity. It is an ill-built city, and
suffers from a scarcity ot water; but as the situation is
more healthy than that of many of the Sicilian cities, it
contains a population of 12,060 inhabitants,occupying3167
houses, many of which are formed by excavations in the
rocks. Near to it are two springs of fossil oil, a copious
rock-salt mine, and several sulphureous baths.
NICOT, John, seigneur of Villemain, and master of the
French king’s household, was born at Nismes, and sent in
1559 as ambassador to Portugal, whence he brought the
plant which, from his name, was called Nicotiana, but is
now more generally known by the name of tobacco. He
died at Paris in the year 1603. Nicot wrote a French and
Latin dictionary, in folio; a Treatise on Navigation ; and
some other works.
NICOTERA, a city of the province of Calabria Ulte-
riore, in the kingdom of Naples. It stands on the sea-coast,
at the mouth of the river Mesina, is the seat of a bishop, and
has a cathedral, with several other churches. It suffered
by the earthquake of 1783 ; but has been since restored,
and now contains 6250 inhabitants, who follow chiefly the
fisheries, and cure large quantities of anchovies and sar-
dinias.
NICOTIANA, or Tobacco, a plant so called from Nicot
NIC
above mentioned. There are seven species of nicotiana, Nitoti*
of which the most remarkable is the tabacum, or common ^“v»
tobacco plant. This was first discovered in America by
the Spaniards about the year 1560, and by them imported
into Europe. It had been used by the inhabitants of Ame¬
rica lone before, and was called by those ot the islands
noli, and by the inhabitants of the continent pmtun. It
was’sent into Spain from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan,
where it was first discovered, and from which it takes its
common name. Sir Walter Raleigh, it is generally said,
first introduced it into England about the year lo85, and
taught his countrymen how to use it. Dr Cotton Mather,
however, in his Christian Philosopher, says, that in the
above year one Mr Lane brought over some of it from Vir¬
ginia, which was the first time it had ever been seen in
Europe. Tobacco is commonly used by the oriental na¬
tions, though it is uncertain by whom it was introduced
amongst them. Considerable quantities of it are cultivated
in the Levant, on the coasts of Greece and the Archipe¬
lago, in Italy, and also in the island of Malta.
"There are two varieties of that particular species of nico¬
tiana which is cultivated for common use, and which are
distinguished by the names of Orinoko and sweet-scented
tobacco. They differ from each other only in the figure of
their leaves, those of the former being somewhat longer and
narrower than those of the latter. They are tall herbaceous
plants, growing erect with fine foliage, and rising with a
strong stem from six to nine feet in height. The stalk near
the root is above an inch in diameter, and surrounded with
a kind of hairy or velvet clammy substance of a yellowish-
green colour. The leaves are rather of a deeper green, and
grow alternately at the distance of two or three inches
from each other. They are oblong, of a spear-shaped oval,
and simple; the largest being about twenty inches long,
but decreasing in size as they ascend, till they come to be
only ten inches long, and about half as broad. I he face of
the leaves is much corrugated, like those of spinage when
fully ripe. Before they attain maturity, when they are about
five or six inches in "length, the leaves are generally of a
full green, and rather smooth ; but as they increase in
size they become rougher, and acquire a yellowish cast.
The stem and branches are terminated by large bunches
of flowers, collected into clusters, of a delicate red, the
edges, when full blown, inclining to a pale purple. They
continue in succession till the end of the summer, when
they are succeeded by seeds of a brown -colour and a kid¬
ney shape. These are very small, each capsule contain¬
ing about 1000 ; and the whole produce of a single plant
is reckoned at about 350,000. The seeds ripen in the
month of September.
The following extract, which is copied from a manu¬
script of Dr Barham,1 * containing directions for raising,
cultivating, and curing tobacco in Jamaica, is perhaps
worthy of the attention of those who wish to be further
acquainted with this subject.
“ Let the ground or woodland wherein you intend pla111"
ing tobacco be well burned, as the greater the quantity of
wood ashes the better. The spot you intend raising your
plants on must be well strewed with ashes, laid smooth anu
light; then blow the seed from the palm of your hand gently
on the bed, and cover it over with palm or plantain leaves.
« When your plants are about four inches high, draw
them and plant them out about three feet asunder; ano
when they become as high as your knee, cut or pluck o
the top ; and if there are more than twelve leaves on the
plant, take off the overplus, and leave the rest entire.
1 This gentleman was contemporary with Sir Hans Sloane. He was a man of great probity, an able physician, and a s u a '
ralist. He collected and arranged a number of the plants of Jamaica, which he presented to Dr Sloane, and made severa
nications to the Royal Society.
N I D
iJi “ The plant should now be daily attended to, in order
| to destroy the caterpillars that are liable to infest it; as
dj j 1- also to take off every sprout or sucker that puts out at the
n'^joints, in order to throw the whole vegetable nourishment
into the large leaves.
“ When the edges and points of the leaves begin to turn
a little yellow, cut down the stalks about ten o’clock in
the morning, taking the opportunity of a fine day, and be
careful the dew is fully off the plant; and do not continue
this work after two in the afternoon. As fast as it is
cut let it be carried into your tobacco-house, which must
be so close as to shut out all air (on this much depends),
and hung up on lines tied across, for the purpose of dry¬
ing.
“ When the stalks begin to turn brownish, take them
off the lines and put them in a large binn, and lay on them
heavy weights for twelve days ; then take them out, and
strip off the leaves, and put them again into the binn, and
let them be well pressed, and so as no air gains admission,
for a month. Take them out; tie them in bundles about
sixty leaves in each, which are called monocoes, and are
ready for sale. But observe to let them always be kept close
till you have occasion to dispose of them. ,
“ Let your curing house be well built, and very close
N I E 209
and warm. If a boarded building, it will not be amiss, in Nidifica-
a wret situation, to cover the whole outside with thatch ti011
and plantain trash, to keep oft' the damps; for by this care Jj ,
you preserve the fine volatile oil in the leaves. Observe, > iebuhl\
no smoke is to be made use of, or admitted into your cur¬
ing house.”
In 1790, the quantity of tobacco retained for home con¬
sumption in Great Brirain and Ireland was 11,860,661
pounds, and the nett amount of revenue derived from it was
L.645,579. 5s. lid. The quantity entered for home con¬
sumption in the year ending the 5th of January 1836 was
22,116,759 pounds, and the amount of duty received there¬
on was L.3,354,459. Is. 5d. The quantity imported in 1834
was 39,477,907 pounds; in 1835, 25,818,965 pounds: the
quantity exported in 1834 was 13,264,614 pounds; in 1835,
13,492,000 pounds: the quantity retained for consump¬
tion in 1834 was 21,193,860 pounds; in 1835, 21,945,589
pounds.
The price of tobacco in bond in the London market
ranges from 3d. to 5d. per pound. The rates of duty per
pound on tobacco in the year ending 5th of January 1836
was, for unmanufactured of any British possession in Ame¬
rica, 2s. 9d.; of any other place, 3s.; for manufactured to¬
bacco and segars, 9s.; snuff, 6s.
An Account of the Number of Pounds Weight of Leaf Tobacco, Manufactured Tobacco, Segars, and Snuff, upon which
Duty was paid quarterly from the year 1835, ending bth of January 1836 ; also the rate of Duty', and the total
amount of the same.
Quarter ending
5th April 1835.
5th July 1835..
10th Oct. 1835.
5th Jan. 1836..
Quantity entered for Consumption in the
United Kingdom in the several quarters
of the year ended 5th January 1{13G.
Gross Amount of Duty received thereon.
Unmanu¬
factured
Tobacco.
5,660,167
5,284,269
5,652,943
5,377,543
21,974,922 141,643
Manufac¬
tured To¬
bacco, &c.
34,023
34,863
39,730
33,027
Snuff.
40
34
97
23
194
Total.
5,694,230
5,319,166
5,692,770
5,410,593
U nmanufactured
Tobacco.
f L. s. d.
848,108 9 6
790,071 7 0
846,490 19 6
805,983 13 0
22,116,759 3,290,654 9 0
Manufactured
Tobacco, &c.
L.
15,310
15,690
17,882
14,863
63,746 1 4
Snuff
L. s. d.
12 3 7
10 4 7
29 4 11
6 18 0
Total.
L. s. d.
863,431 2 4
805,771 15 6
864,402 6 3
820,853 17 4
58 11 13,354,459 1 5
NIDDUI, in the Jewish customs, is used to signify se¬
parated or excommunicated. This, according to some, was
to be understood only of the lesser sort of excommunication
in use amongst the Hebrews. He who had incurred it was
obliged to withdraw himself from his relations, at least to the
distance of four cubits; and it commonly continued a month.
If it was not removed in that time, it might be prolonged
for sixty or even ninety days ; but if, within that term, the
excommunicated person did not give satisfaction, he fell
into the cherem, which was a second sort of excommuni¬
cation ; and thence into the third sort, called shammata ox
memaUa, the most terrible of all. But Selden has proved
that there wrere only two kinds of excommunication, the
greater and less; and that these three terms were used in¬
differently.
T a considerable town of Caramania, in Asiatic
mkey, being the ancient Cadyna. Some parts of the old
"as aie still standing, composed of large stones decayed
i.iti age; and the streets contain many ruined fragments
c columns. It is inhabited by about 5000 Greeks and
U! s, who are very poor, and is the residence of a pasha,
a is twenty-two miles east of Karahissar.
• iDJI^UL, a fortress of the south of India, in the pro¬
vince of Mysore. It was taken in 1770 by the Mahrattas,
afterwards recovered from them by Hyder, and now be-
VOL. XVI.
longs to the rajah of Mysore. Long. 77. 16. E. Lat. 13.
15. N.
NIDIFICATION, a term generally applied to the for¬
mation of a bird’s nest, and its hatching or bringing forth
its young. See Ornithology.
NIDUS, amongst naturalists, signifies a nest or properre-
pository for the eggs of birds, insects, Arc. where the young
of these animals are hatched and nursed.
NIDYCAVIL, a small village in the south of India, in
North Coimbetoor, being situated in the tract between the
Karnata and Chera countries. Long. 77. 42. E. Lat. 11.
51. N.
NIEBUHR, Bertholdt-George, son ofCarsten Nie¬
buhr the celebrated Arabian traveller, was born at Copen¬
hagen on the 27th of April 1776. The father, on his re¬
turn from his travels in the East, had married the daughter
of the celebrated physician Blumenberg, and would pro¬
bably have established himself in the Danish capital; but
the disgrace of the minister Bernstorf, his protector, had
inspired him with a great dislike for that city. Denmark, to
which the traveller now belonged, desired to employ him
in the corps of military engineers ; in fact, the government
of that country intended to avail itself of his knowledge for
determining some geographical positions in Norway. Nie¬
buhr, however, preferred a civil appointment, that of Lund-
2 D
210
NIEBUHR,
Niebuhr, schrieber? at Mildorf in Holstein.* If he had retained his
taste for distant enterprise and adventure, the East was th^ science of com-
the theatre upon which alone he would have sought to in „ . he preiecti0ns given on this subject by
dulge such a predilection ; but the attachment which le ™ > ag fn tiie most respectable mercantile
had conceived for his wife, and the birth of two children, ^ » f tliof Jnh rltv But illustrious Yossius was
Niebub:
had conceived lOl nib wne, cum tuc uiilh 7 , o ♦Rnl- r\rh ritV
presented insuperable obstacles to the execution of any ^
the friend of his father, and Klopstock likewise resided in
Hamburg. How then could he resist the impulse of Ins
genius, or escape being inspired with new ardour in favour
of antiquity ? When Yossius spoke of the Greeks and Ro¬
mans, it might have been supposed that he had just quit¬
ted their society. Niebuhr was certainly no poet ^ but
project of this kind. He therefore remained in the bosom
of his family, occupied with the preparation of his travels,
and intent only upon giving to his children useful lessons,
enforced by a virtuous example.
The original intention of the Arabian traveller was to
open to his son the route to the East. With this view the fekTtself warmed by the conversation of these
early studies of the youth were arranged; he was taught Eng- g ^ ^ Vosgius he was indebted for those views, so
lish, a language almost indispensable to the navigator,^an^ ^ which he afterwards developed re¬
specting the people of antiquity ; whilst Klopstock taught
him to interpret the language of tradition, when it speaks
in its own natural voice, and describes, with equal grandeur
and simplicity, the Ruminal fig-tree, the augury ^of the
Arabic, which he might one day have to speak in the na¬
tive country of Mahommed; whilst geography and the ma¬
thematics were destined to form the basis of his education.
But genius is a bough which it is vain to bend in a direc¬
tion not given to it by nature. Niebuhr the father had
tion not given to it by nature. Niebuhr the attier naci ^ birth of Servius, or the truly Home-
traversed space, Niebuhr the son longed to oveileap tim , , f the’ Labe Regillus. “ On dirait,” says M. de
he saw his object distinctly marked beyond past ages, and, d es pages admirables son style, tantot
free from all trammels, it was towards antiquity that his ranimer 1’esprit du lecteur,
study- sent, j,ar intetval.es, une ante .atigu^e de .top .ongues rae-
ing Sophocles. When Ins father chanced to give him a lt^tl0n^ anticiPate, Niebuhr, having entered the uni¬
lesson in geography, or to pronounce the name of On- vergit ’ of Kie] applied himself zealously to the study of juris-
ville, for which he entertained the most profound vene a- J and’was distinguished by the philosopher Jacobi,
tion, young Niebuhr saw before him nothing but the Gau ] . 5 afterwards esteemed, and also by Hentzler
of Cmsar; he read again and again the commentaries of
that great captain, and only derived from the learned French p 3 ’ , » voung student proceeded toEdin-
geographer archeological notions calculated to illustrate the ne . , . . 0f his tether in prescribing this voy-
progress of the Roman conqueror, or to restore some an- burgh. § Meet of father , ^ 3
Ci«th“ ese exercises were urerely preparatory, ‘-a. sciejrce, ^ wereUs vi^ j-Ws^artie^r d..
The celebrated philologist Jager, editor of the Latin pane appoi became so enamoured of his experiments
gyrists, was the first master of Niebuhr ; and it was under to direcUhs attention definitively
this renowned scholar that he became initiated into tie a 1 subiect and fix his views on discovering some new
mechanism of languages. His father, indeed, regarded lan- J .i on re.awabenino-old and forgotten
guages only as tlie means of attaining science ; he never substances rather t a o j |j„|lt.
stopped ^examine the details; provided he understood ”h^Edinburghl^An oldthip-cap-
the import, he was satisfiedc The lessons of Jagei too ^ i t f *Ur nf the* S(*otts had thirty years
deep ™t in the analytical mind of his pupil, who already tanr of
began to display that vigorous stamp of gemus which pro- bef The honest
mises to make more discoveries in the obscure recesses of an s i P . 0f his old friend with affectionate
a library than the most robust traveller can hope to achieve se™a"/ecely^‘ “1f°X'I‘S°'rttjae “lived in the great-
on distant coasts, or on islands regarded as inaccessible to cordiality,and I uh laquelle,”
the navigator. Already had the idea of exposing him to est intimacy w th the members o* rom Jcier
the dangers of such an adventurous career been abandon- tolberv, PP ^ ^ „ leted. A r "
ed. The mother, whose solicitude was pushed to an im¬
prudent excess, had at first created obstacles to the ac¬
complishment of the views of Carsten Niebuhr respecting
his son. In fact, the too assiduous cares which she lavish¬
ed upon him so weakened his constitution that his health
always continued precarious, and the irritability of his
nerves sometimes re-acted upon his character, which, with¬
out ever ceasing to be noble and generous, was not always
exempt from whim and caprice.
The studies of Niebuhr were now completed. A resi¬
dence of eighteen months in Scotland had enabled him to
study the institutions of that country ; but as he wished
to become still more intimately acquainted with the nation
which his father estimated so highly, he devoted six
months to travelling through different parts of Lrreat Bri¬
tain. During this period he took the greatest pains to in¬
form himself respecting the manners, the usages, an
customs of the people, and in particular directed his at en
1 Secretary of justice or registrar would be an incomplete translation of this word. The Landschrieber also exercised adminis
tive and financial functions. That the place of Niebuhr the father was superior to that of a simple registrar, is evince y
cumstance that he joined to it the title of counsellor of state. 11T10 „nnfrP'P aui. sous le
* “ Au bord de 1’Oce'an Septentrional,” says M. de Golbery, “ non loin de 1 embouchure de 1 Elbe, est, une c ; ubres.
nom de Hadeln, a fait partie de la ligue Frisonne, et qui renferme la paroisse de Ludingworth, composee de cu 1 . ^
Le duche de Saxe-Lauenbourg, le Hanovre, la France, ont successivement etendu leurs limites jusqu a ces nvage , ^ je
personnes connaissent ce petit pays. Desormais il sera celebre, car il a donne a la science un nom deux tois 1 u® J *es ,}ont
pere a su conquerir pour la geographic 1’Arabic, ITnde, la Mer Rouge, regions dont les longitudes netaient P . [le llome,
les cartes etaient imparfaites; Niebuhr le fils a fait reluire des claries de son genie les antiques debris des in ain)0rte
et d’un regard assure" il a reconnu, malgre' I’obscurite des siecles, la source du grand peuple, et les aliiuens T1 r Academe
le tribut de leurs generations.’’ (Notice Historique sur la Vie et les Ouvrages de B. G. Niebuhr, conteiller d etat, mem
des Sciences de Berlin.)
3- V
NIEBUHR.
211
hr. tion to the system of British legislation ; nor do we know France, On the one hand, he had been accustomed to Niebuhr,
—''any instance of a foreigner who, in the same space of time, hear only of the degenerate men or the effeminate cour-'
acquired so extensive a knowledge of the public law and tiers of the old monarchy; and on the other, he had been
policy of this country. Niebuhr, in fact, loved that iner- horrified with pictures of the revolutionists, their scaffolds,
tia, amounting even to obstinacy, which resists ameliora- and their crimes. In vain did the French army throw its
tion, and which sacrifices progressive improvement to the victorious sword into the balance. The father of Niebuhr
desire of lepose. Ihi& sentiment uas with him pushed to remained unmoved by its achievements, or rather became
excess, and hence he felt distrustful of every ministry which more exasperated in consequence of its successes; for if
appeared to favour reform. In a word, he had imbibed Denmark was the country of his adoption, he w as a Ha-
the essential spirit of Toryism, the distinctive characteris- noverian by birth, and each battle gained by the French
tic of which is resistance to change. Dazzled by the great- afflicted the ancient subject of England, and wounded the
ness which this country had attained, he hastily concluded sentiment of German independence. Even the expedi-
that all was directly owing to its peculiar institutions ; and tion to Egypt, with all its romantic incidents and exploits,
thinking that these were as perfect as human wisdom could found no favour in the eyes of the old traveller. That
render them, he conceived that nothing remained but to the French neither could nor would do good, was with him
place them beyond the reach of innovation. a settled maxim.1
tNiebuhr commenced his administrative career at Co- It is not to be wondered, then, if his son remained in¬
pen hagen, where he was at first appointed secretary to sensible to the astonishing achievements of Napoleon.
Schimmelmann, the minister of finance ; and about the His soul, it is true, was formed to be moved with all noble
same time we also find him acting as secretary to a com- and generous sentiments, to admire all courageous and
mission instructed to arrange some affairs with the Barbary heroic actions ; but in the warriors of France he saw only
powers. At the period of the bombardment of the Da- the slaves of a military despot, and the instruments em-
nish capital by the English, the precautions taken by Nie- ployed by him to overwhelm Germany. The fidelity of
buhr contributed materially to save from the common dis- Denmark to France was, according to him, nothing but a
aster the library of which he had for some time been as- base and cowardly compliance. That state, he conceived,
sistant-keeper. The knowledge which he had acquired was sacrificing its interests toils predilections; and when
in matters of finance soon became of practical utility to Prussia imagined that she had merely evoked the shade
its possessor, and he was appointed one of the directors of of the Great Frederick, in order to find nothing but Sou-
the Danish bank. Distinguished alike for his ability and bises in the armies of France, Niebuhr associated himself
his desire to do good, Niebuhr did not confine his labours with this final delusion, and was one of the first writers
to the cabinet, but published several memoirs on the pub- to raise the cry of war. However, as the servant of a
lie administration, and on political economy. In the year friendly power, he did not venture upon a direct attack.
1804 he married the daughter of the landvoght of the He borrowed the thunder of Demosthenes, translated the
district of Heydt. This union proved happy, and opened first Philippic, added to it notes filled with allusions to
to him the prospect of enjoying in the bosom of his family actual circumstances, and, lastly, dedicated the work, the
the repose necessary for enabling him to discharge with first fruit of his classical acquisitions, to the Emperor
credit his administrative labours. A career at once ho- Alexander. But he forgot that Napoleon was not Philip
nourable and affluent seemed calculated to satisfy his am- king of Macedonia, nor his warriors the barbarous op-
bition, whilst it afforded him leisure for the study of let- pressors of Athens ; and he also neglected to observe that
ters; it appeared, indeed, that Germany must for ever civilization was not likely to come to us from the north
abandon to Denmark both Niebuhr the traveller and in virtue of an imperial ukaz. Prussia, however, under-
Niebuhr the future historian of Rome ; and to the bril- stood this language; she called Niebuhr to her service,
hant position which the latter owed to his father’s celebrity and he was named director of the commerce of the Baltic!
and his own merit, it might have been supposed that But he did not long enjoy his new dignity. Scarcely had
he would content himself with adding the honourable re- he arrived at Berlin, when the storm which burst at lena
putation which, in official situations, always follows talent and Auerstadt reduced the Prussian monarchy to dust;
and probity. But fortune had ordered it otherwise. it became necessary to fly, and abandon to the homage of
Hie French were now waiting upon the shores of the the conqueror the remains of the great Frederick. From
Channel until winds less contrary should fill their sails, Konigsberg to Memel, from Memel to Riga, the court
and waft them across to the white cliffs of Albion; their skulked from asylum to asylum. The French cannon
ensigns, it was hoped, were destined to wave over another pursued it everywhere, and amidst the snows and mud of
Hastings, and, by a new conquest, to efface the remem- Eylau, as well as on the plains of Friedland, the imperial
brance of the warlike Normans. But England, alarmed at eagles rushed to victory.
the prospect of a struggle for existence on her own soil, Nevertheless, Prince Hardenberg invited Niebuhr to
called Austria to her aid. France, however, was not taken assist in all the councils which were held during this cri-
unprepared. The legions arrayed for the invasion of Eng- sis. The rectitude and constancy of his character never
lanu rushed like a torrent into the heart of Germany; yielded or flinched; the same love of country, the same
in three months the Austrian monarchy was humbled in aversion for foreign domination, always distinguished him.
me dust; and the Russians, then so much dreaded, were During his stay at Riga, he employed what leisure busi-
dnven mto the lakes of Moravia. If less prejudiced, Nie- ness allowed him in studying the literature of Russia;
ouiir would perhaps have admired the prodigies perform- but it appeared to him poor and barren, nor do we find
ea oy the modern Romans; and these few months, which that his occupations in this way had much influence upon
concentrated more glory than might have sufficed to il- his future labours. It may be supposed, however, that
of tl 6 an|age,.’ would have appeared to him a fragment these pursuits inspired him with a predilection for the Rus-
me annals of a great people. But early impressions are sians, and an aversion for Poland, which it is difficult to
“ nevt’r e*taced' *rom his infancy, he had, in the pa- reconcile with the generosity of his character. After the
ai mansion> imbibed the most bitter prejudices against conferences of Tilsitt, he returned to Beilin ; and recent
as
It would be unjust not to add, however, that Carsten Niebuhr afterwards saw reason
concerns the sciences.
to modify his prejudices, in as far at least
212
NIEBUHR.
Niebuhr, events having made him advantageously known, he was em-
^— 'ployed on a mission of high importance, namely, to nego¬
tiate with the agents of Great Britain in Holland some
affairs of finance. The latter country was then governed
bv Kins* Louis, or rather it was administrated in spite ot
him, and in the interest of his brother. If this prince had
been master of his states, tradition would preserve, for gene¬
rations to come, the memory of one good king more. He
understood perfectly all that was necessary to insure the
prosperity of his new subjects ; he was enlightened, loyal,
and generous. Of this it was not long ere Niebuhr ob¬
tained a satisfactory proof. The police of the empiie ha
covered the kingdom of Holland with its agents, and he
had become an.object of their attention. The king hasten¬
ed to apprise him of the dangers to which he was ex¬
posed, and even to assist him in effecting his escape. I he
day came when this good king found himself proscribed
and persecuted, even in the capital of the Christian world;
all the thrones raised by his brother had been overthrown
but the noble use which he had made of his power lived
in the recollection of the ambassador of Prussia, for that
ambassador was Niebuhr; and Louis was respected at
Rome for having been beneficent at the Hague.
When Niebuhr returned to his own country, the hour
of her deliverance had not yet come. Prussia was then
endeavouring to console herself for her misfortunes by a
wise and liberal administration, and the ministry of Ber¬
lin was occupied in founding useful establishments. Nie¬
buhr, who had just been named counsel or ot state, had
profoundly studied the agrarian law ot the Romans ; and
Prussia at this period followed a system of improvement
and colonization of waste lands, on which he furnished to
the government some very remarkable memoirs. Roman
history was thus in some measure applied to the soil,
whilst the utility of the exact sciences, the progress of
which exercises an influence on agriculture and the arts,
was at the same time exemplified. In every point Nie¬
buhr powerfully seconded the able and generous views of
M. de Stein. . , j _
About the same period, Berlin was distinguished for a
scientific activity almost without example. The univer¬
sity was created, and the Academy of Sciences re-orga¬
nized. The recent labours of Niebuhr had secured him
a place amongst the most eminent men of the kingdom;
he belonged to the university, and was likewise a member
of the academy. Buttmann, Heindorf, Spalding, and ba-
vigny, arrived in succession. With these celebrated men
he lived in terms of the greatest intimacy. In him also
they recognised their equal, and, penetrating the depth of
his views, notwithstanding the distrust which he felt of
his own powers, they conducted him to that chair of Ro¬
man history, which he hesitated to occupy ; “ comme s if
pressentait qu’apres en avoir franchi les degres, il ne lui se-
rait plus donne de s’arreter; comme s il etait, effraye de
la rapidite avec laquelle ils I’eleveraient jusqu a 1 immor-
The eulogium contained in these words of Golbery may
be thought exaggerated ; but in reality it is not so. 1 hose
who see nothing in history but a sequence of annals, and
of facts crowded on facts, are pre-occupied with the thought
that contemporary authors have bequeathed to us all an¬
tiquity, and cannot conceive that the moderns should em¬
ploy themselves otherwise than in compiling and arrang¬
ing ancient texts. It appears to such persons that to re¬
store the beautiful edifice raised by Titus Livms, we must
take fragments from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Sallust,
•md Polybius ; or glean here and there, in the grammarians
and rhetoricians, some scattered indications which the
current of ages would have swept into oblivion, if they had
not scattered their erudition athwart its course. lo act
in this way is no doubt useful. By doing so one may ac¬
quire the reputation of Trenshomius, make supplements to Hieh« P
Titus Livius, and repair the mutilated monument of his his-^-y* ^
tory in much the same fashion as if a pillar of brick were
substituted instead of a column of the Parthenon. Modern
writers have only one advantage over these Latin compil-
ers ; that of preserving an uniform style in their composi¬
tions, and never betraying in their sickly restorations the
imposing vicinage of the ancients. Whether they confine
themselves to translation, or attempt to complete what has
been left unfinished, the edifice is all trowelled with the
same mortar ; and if it has neither majesty nor solidity, its
distribution at least may present an appearance of regula¬
rity. But if, in an access of hallucination, it should enter
into the mind of a modern to abandon this coarse plastering
in order to create in his turn ; in short, to construct a rival
monument to that of Titus Livius; his folly would be the
same as that which the viceroy of Egypt might be charged
withal, if he should take a fancy to raise new pyramids be¬
side those of Djizeh, or to surpass the wonderful masses
which traditionally own Cheops or Cephrenes as their ar-
chitects.
But such was not the conception of Niebuhr. His views
on Roman history, at the moment when he undertook to
teach it, were very different. If, said he, the masterpiece
of Titus Livius were still entire, and presented to us a
continuous history, it would be at once extravagant and
presumptuous to attempt to imitate it in order to attain its
perfection. Such an undertaking would be absurd, even
althou'di we could collect materials more abundant than
those which he had consulted, or record traditions different
from his. If Titus Livius still existed entire, the task of
the moderns would, in the view of Niebuhr, be limited to
disentangling poetical history from the primary facts pie-
served by tradition, and applying a critical and inquiring spi¬
rit to proud family legends, renowned consulates, imaginary
triumphs, and those fallacious notions which have passed
from panegyrics and funeral orations into histories. But of
that admirable work we now possess only disjointed frag¬
ments; and if other indications enable us sometimes to di¬
vine its course, it is nevertheless with it as with those an¬
cient aqueducts of which, we discover the general direc¬
tion only because some of their ruined arches appear at
various distances in the valley or the plain.
The historian of Rome must have a different object in
view ; an object which it would be his duty to attain, even
if classical literature had still presented itself to our con¬
sideration as it did to that of the contemporaries of Au¬
gustus. It would be incumbent on him to apply his mind
to the critical examination of facts, and to researches con¬
nected with institutions of which the indifference or igno¬
rance of authors has suffered the memory to perish, bal-
lust conceived himself obliged to inforrn the Romans that
their own country might, not less than Greece itself, glory
in great actions. All their views were, in fact, fixed on the
latter ; they disdained their own language ; they despised
the annals of their country. In vain had the elder Cato
written his Origines ; in vain had some other Romans at¬
tempted to create a national history. They had no readers;
and perhaps Titus Livius was the first who succeeded in
avenging that long oblivion of so many great actions and
noble characters. Like a majestic hymn, his narration a
once filled the ear and awakened the patriotic feelings ot
the Roman. He struck a chord to which the hearts of fits
countrymen responded; and henceforward they despised
the subtil ties of the Greeks, who, excepting Polybius, oc¬
cupied themselves with debating questions of fatality on
the grandeur of Rome, and who consoled the vanity ot
their countrymen by announcing, in periods elaborate y
rounded, that destiny had made Rome the mistress of tne
world, and consequently that no disgrace attached to thei
inevitable defeat.
NIEBUHR.
213
pr- But what really were the ancient Institutions of Rome ?
Was it to these that she owed her success ? Could her vir¬
tues and the devotion of her citizens fail to triumph over all
obstacles ? These are questions which never engaged the
attention of the Greeks. Neglected by the Romans them¬
selves, the original organization of the state had become
a subject of doubt even in the time of Cicero. In regard
to all that was known of old Rome, and what still remained
of ancient institutions, every contemporary might form a
judgment, but few persons paid any attention to the sub¬
ject ; and nothing respecting it was consigned to histories
written for a posterity which it was not imagined could
ever cease to be itself Roman. None of the authors whose
works we possess, either in whole or in part, appears to
have thought that it would one day be necessary to learn
what every one knew in his time ; and that from the divi¬
sion of the people into centuries until the occupation of
the day of the citizen, every thing would be an object of
research. Titus Livius, moreover, has given himself little
or no concern about this species of exposition ; anxious only
to render his narrative attractive, he has rarely shown
himself an archeologist, seldom formed a distinct idea
either of the different peoples or states, and never consult¬
ed the old inscriptions of the Italic nations, or examined
the archives of Rome. Hence it is necessary, by means
of research and meditation, to penetrate the sense of de¬
tached notices comparatively few in number, and, by com¬
bining them together, to retrace the image of what the
eternal city was at its birth ; to recognise in its primitive
population the different elements of the Italic races, and in
its institutions the result of this fusion; to follow the pro¬
gress of both, and, wherever the soil is covered with ruins,
to seek under the rubbish for the ancient foundations by
which it is still furrowed.
It was on the 26th of October 1810, that, in a masterly
and vigorous introduction, Niebuhr unfolded these brilliant
and profound views. Their splendour might no doubt prove
too much for eyes accustomed only to view Rome through
the magnifying glass employed in libraries to decipher an¬
cient manuscripts. The school of routine, in fact, cried out
scandal; but elevated minds were more enlightened than
dazzled. Niebuhr was listened to; his lectures were nu¬
merously attended ; and their increasing success gave birth
to the first volumes, published in 1811 and 1812, which
he afterwards completely recast. The apparition of these
volumes was for the time a meteor the reflection of which
illuminated all the literature of Germany. They gave rise
to profound controversies, to ingenious systems, and to
learned philological discussions. Niebuhr himself, without
conceding any thing to the criticisms of others, became a
severe judge of his own work. He afterwards lamented
that at first he possessed only the erudition of a man who
had instructed himself; and he had the modesty to com-
paie his own proceedings to the uncertain motions of the
sleep-walker, who wanders at hazard on the edge of the
roof. But with more justice it may perhaps be said, that
m these first essays the lights of his genius were like those
brilliant coruscations with which a fiery atmosphere irra-
diates summer nights without a cloud, and which, so far
tom keeping to any determinate place, incessantly show
themselves at all points of the horizon.
This period of creation and enthusiasm was also marked
_ y other productions. Thus, in the same year in which he
naturalized himself in the Rome of Servius Tullius, he na¬
vigated with Scylax, interrogated the text of his Periphis,
and read to the Academy of Sciences a dissertation hav¬
ing for its object to determine the epoch when that work
was composed, which, according to him, was the first half of
the reign of Philip, or about the 105th Olympiad. A com¬
petent judge, M. Letronne, has declared that this disser¬
tation was the best which had yet appeared upon the expe¬
dition of Scylax.1 At this time also he delivered a deli¬
berate opinion concerning the epoch to which the second
part of the inscription of Adulis belongs ;2 occupied himself
with the geography of Herodotus ; determined the state of
science in the time of the venerable father of history ;
threw some light upon the annals of the Scythians, Goths,
and Sarmatians; and, lastly, by an ingenious and sound
criticism, effaced from the collected works of Aristotle the
second book of the Economics, which had beyond all doubt
been composed in Asia Minor subsequently to the time of
Theophrastus.
Nevertheless, the face of the world was about to change.
The finest army which had ever been assembled for the
purpose of conquest had just perished amidst the snows of
Russia. We have already stated what were Niebuhr’s sen¬
timents in regard to France. At this critical moment he
united with Arndt, and along with him published a jour¬
nal entitled the Prussian Correspondent. This journal was
promptly informed of all events. From Spain to Poland,
and from Italy to England, it collected every thing calculat¬
ed to rouse German valour; it announced or presaged suc¬
cess, published vehement manifestos, inflamed the minds
of the youth, revived old resentments, and, in short, pre¬
pared a war of extermination. The cabinet of Berlin was
not slow in obeying the impulsion thus given. Soon af¬
terwards, Niebuhr, having joined the armies of the allies, as¬
sisted at the battle of Bautzen ; and at that of Dennewitz
he himself laboured with Schleiermacher in raising redoubts
on the Creutzberg. But not long afterwards, the king of
Prussia, whom he had accompanied into the field, sent him
into Holland. This was about the time when the formation
of the kingdom of the Netherlands began to be discussed in
the diplomatic meetings. Niebuhr hesitated not to express
decided disapprobation of the proposed fusion of the two
states of Holland and Belgium. He spoke often against
this project to the mother of the king, who had admitted
him into her intimacy, because she had learned to esteem
him ; and, not content with this frank manifestation of his
sentiments, he placed himself in direct official opposition
to the calculations of the statesmen of the moment, found¬
ed as these were upon confined views and superficial esti¬
mates of national character. But on this occasion medio¬
crity believed itself superior to genius, and, sixteen years
afterwards, Belgium reproduced its protestation written in
characters of blood.
In the year 1815, Niebuhr was overwhelmed with severe
domestic affliction. He lost his father on the 26th of
April, and consequently took no part whatever in the events
which followed the return of Napoleon from Elba. Ab¬
sorbed in grief, he sought consolation in writing the life of
the Arabian traveller. Phis biography is short, and free
from declamation; and the style is simple, natural, nay
often sublime. No extravagance, no useless details, none
of those digressions with which the smallest commentator
conceives himself bound to overload the author whom he
has made the object of his care, deform this composition.
It is even remarkable for its strict impartiality. Carsten
Niebuhr.
geographersSwhi('hn;!)fnn0i/0n?er correct, Letronne has himself only to blame; for he has published a treatise on the ancient
to observe that he al L a resliec[s a masterpiece of erudition. Niebuhr entertained a high esteem for this great scholar, and used
2 See al h 1 * WaS W°rt 1 a W lole academy- ‘
of the Lao-uiiE a wnti-'' !'.e ^’ and advantage which M. Champollion-Figeac has derived from these in his Annals
some points of cbrnnoi/,^.0''?16 .• t Li^titute in 1819, and which, notwithstanding the controversies to which it has given rise on
P °logy, is continually cited as an authority amongst our neighbours the French.
214
NIEBUHR.
Niebuhr. Niebuhr, the son of a cultivator, died counsellor of state,
' fcnigbt of the order of Danebrog, and member ot the prin¬
cipal learned societies of Europe; he had never accepted
anv other title of nobility, which, in his estimation, would
have ooH served to impeach the humility of his virtuous
progenitors- His son, the historian of Rome, was likewise
counsellor of state, member ot the Academy of Sciences,
ambassador, and he had no wish, any more than Jiafather,
to be ennobled. Both judged rightly. The one h ad
ed his name as teas the Indian Ocean; the other had car¬
ried it hack to the age of Rhea Silvia. The authority of
parchments does not go so far in space, nor ascend so high
inthneT \ tew weeks after the death ot his father, Nieouhr
tedTte-ent the loss of his wife. To her, however, the
historian consecrated no biography. The gent ®vir^es
the female sex, concentrated around the domestic health,
seek no illustration, and their remembrance rarely sur¬
vives even in those families the happiness of which they
had mast essentially contributed to promote.
The new tempest which had in the interval exhausted it-
seK awakened ail sorts of ambition, and the conquerors vvere
disoutimr with avidity the divisionot the spoil, or, in other
words, that of continental Europe. Niebuhr took a pai t,
somewhat too active perhaps, in favour ot the ambitiou
pretensions of Prussia, and wrote, in a vehement stjle, a
pamoiilet, entitled Prmsxns Bechte gegen den Sachudmi
Hof or Rights of Prussia against the Court ot baxony. But
he at the same time showed himself the courageous adver-
52-v of M. de Schmaltz, and the stedfast supporter of all the
patriots. So much nobleness of character was not calcu-
Ered to endure long the atmosphere ot courts. The virtue
and the frankness of Niebuhr annoyed the ministry , and
although his services had entitled him to aspire to the hig
est dignities of the state, it was now resolved to remove
him. 'His mission to the Holy See may there tore be con¬
sidered as oolv an honourable exile. But to N icbuhr the
emplovment which removed him trom Berlin to Rome
wai anv thing rather than a subject of regret. He felt
himself as it were drawn towards that intellectual father-
hud which had given him erudition. In the city ot the
nootrSs be discerned from afar the vestiges ofthe enceinte
of Servius TuHius, and occupied himself with the forum
and the tribune or pulpit whence harangues had been de¬
livered to the people, much more than with the chair o
b-Veter, with'which be bad to negotiate the interests ot
the Catholic subjects of Prussia. By this time his scien¬
tific activitv had resumed all its vigour, and, notwithstand-
ki- the distractions inseparable from the new union which
fee' wished to contract with the grand-daughter of Ur
Hentzler, be began his relations with the celebrated Angelo
!daio bv publishing the fragments of Fronto, which that
’ rned’ Italian had just discovered. Associated with him
m this undertaking'were Buttman and Heindorf, men ot a
kitired 5tana. and. along with the historian of Rome,
fonniag a triumvirate of which the learned in Europe will
not soon lose the remembrance. About this period, also,
Niebuhr read to the Academy of Sciences a dissertation
©a some scenes audaciously interpolated into the text of
Piautus by the insipid versifiers of the middle ages.
The science of law was then in course of being enriched
with the fine conceptions of M. de Savigny. Niebuhr felt
insiKfeti bv hb conversation; he venerated the jurisconsult,
acd cherished the friend. M. de Savigny engaged him to
risit several libraries of Italy, conceiving that they still
or rather concealed, valuable remains of the an¬
cient iurisprodence. Niebuhr stopped only a few days at
Manich. where he again saw Jacobi, one of the men whom
he esteemed the most; then crossing the Brenner, the Niebui,
limit which he had assigned to the ancestors ofthe Etrus-'-y*
cans, he traversed the Tyrol, and having arrived at Ve¬
rona, almost immediately discovered the Institutions of
Gaius, the prototype of those ot Justinian. v''er®
found on a palimpsest or rescribed manuscript, which had
for a^es remained unnoticed in the library of the chapter.
During a residence of seven years in the ancient capital
of the world, Niebuhr enjoyed almost uninterrupted happi-
ness. He cherished his young children, and her who gave
them birth. His house was open to his countrymen ; it was
the resort of artists and learned men of all descriptions.
The hour propitious to discovery had arrived ; Niebuhr, at-
temptino- to glean where the celebrated Maio had reaped,
published the Fragmenla Ciceronis ; and it the most en¬
tire concord did not always subsist between these learned
men it is nevertheless agreeable to find them united by
the most brilliant discovery of our time. When the learn¬
ed Italian had recovered the Republic of Cicero from be¬
neath some commentaries of St Augustin,1 Niebuhr fur¬
nished notes to the first edition, discussed and restored
some of the passages which had been most altered or viti¬
ated, and by his ingenious conjectures contributed to ad¬
vance the science of philology. .
Niebuhr, having greatly modified his ideas in regard to
France, now observed with much interest the progress of
constitutional opinions. Nevertheless, being attached to
all governments consecrated by time, he was desirous that
the old dynasties should strike their roots deep into the soil
of constitutional Europe. In his opinion, too much blood
had already been mingled with that soil to run the hazard ot
shedding more. He had accordingly an equal aversion to
revolutions on the one hand, and to the excess ot power
on the other; and hence the distinguished orator who de¬
clared from the French tribune that it vyas necessary " to
plant the royal standard in the midst of the nation, ex¬
pressed the opinion of Niebuhr with all the eloquence and
maiesty of an ancient. The vehement and warm impro¬
visations of M. de Serre ; his noble and generous views, so
often developed in the most brilliant harangues; obtained
for him the esteem of the ambassador of Prussia, ine
latter saw in him a Roman of the best days; and when,
like himself, repulsed by courtiers incapable of entertain¬
ing elevated conceptions, M. de Serre was sent to Nap es,
the French envoy appeared rather to arrive from another
time than from another place. These men were soon con¬
nected by the ties of the closest friendship; and when a
premature death had taken from France one of her noblest
sons, Niebuhr formed the design of writing the history of
his life, and never afterwards spoke of him without the
deepest emotion. .
It was in the year 1823 that Niebuhr took his departure
from Rome, after having passed there seven years, the
whole of which period had been devoted to the cultivation
of the sciences. During this long residence, a great num¬
ber of important dissertations increased the claims which
Niebuhr had already acquired to the admiration of learnea
Europe. In 1819, we find him discussing the merit of the
Chronicle of Eusebius, and endeavouring to ascertain what
advantage chronology might derivef rom the discovery w hic
had just been made in the Armenian convent at Venice.
Not long afterwards, he determined the epoch m which
Quintus Curtius lived, and that in which Petromus wrote-
In elegant and easy Latin, he also explained the resm
tions of which the inscriptions brought from Nubia V ■
Gau appeared to him to be susceptible, and read this bt
tiful production to the Academy of Archeology. A
■ TW writi** appeared to Wong to the tenth century, and contained the commentaries of St Augustin on the
Ptobns, srea tie llSth to the UOtii inclusive.
NIEBUHR.
man bookseller intending to have the topography of La-
lande reprinted, Niebuhr strenuously opposed the design,
and wrote on the subject a learned and luminous mono-
graphy, which appeared in the Kunstblatt of Tubingen,
and is also inserted in the collection of his works. Lastly,
it was by his counsel and encouragement that Plainer and
Bunsen undertook the important work, which is still, we be¬
lieve, in course of publication, and which will in all probabi¬
lity be the more perfect that M. Bunsen succeeded Niebuhr
in the embassy, and consequently was placed in a situation
to continue the researches of his illustrious predecessor on
the topography of Rome. The demission of Niebuhr ap¬
pears to have been principally occasioned by the injurious
influence of the climate of Rome on the health of his wife.
But it is also possible that a little jarring or asperity in
his diplomatic relations may have deprived him of the fa¬
vour of the court. He feared not to plead the cause of
humanity, and though he had not been called to the con¬
gress of Verona, he remonstrated in favour of the Greeks,
whom a policy equally ridiculous and barbarous had aban¬
doned to the legitimacy of the Turkish sabres.
Before quitting Italy, Niebuhr proceeded to visit Na¬
ples, Pompeii, and M. de Serre ; he collated a manuscript of
the grammarian Charisius, and then set out for Germany,
without any determinate project as to his future establish¬
ment. Nevertheless, he resolved not to pass by Saint-Gall,
where discoveries so important had been made in the fif¬
teenth century. In this ancient monastery he remained
for some time, but only obtained by his researches a few
obscure fragments of the poem of Merobaudes, which he
published the same year, 1823. From Saint-Gall Niebuhr
made a sort of pilgrimage to Heidelberg. The celebrated
Vossius then resided in that city, and the ambassador of
Prussia, the academician, and the historian of Rome, went
to carry to this old friend of his father the grateful ho¬
mage of the young student of Hamburg. After this act
of piety almost filial, he directed his course towards the
provinces of the Rhine, there to await the orders of the
king, and also because he entertained an anxious wish to
visit Paris, and make the acquaintance of those learned
men whose communications had served to gladden the last
years of his father’s life. He was also desirous to converse
with M. Letronne, whose positive erudition corresponded
to the conscientious exactness of his own, and each of
whose dissertations presented all the characters of mathe¬
matical demonstration. France then inspired him with
the most lively admiration. She was rich in all kinds of
scientific glory ; but the reading of hieroglyphics (which,
low ever, does not belong to France as a discovery, but
to England and Dr Young) was, in the estimation of Nie¬
buhr, the most splendid achievement of the erudition of
our time.
Detained at Bonn by fortuitous circumstances, he im¬
mediately set about continuing his Roman History, the pre¬
paration ot which had suflered considerable interruption.
is residence at Rome did not admit of that assiduous la-
bour, or that accurate examination of books, required by
ie publication of a history ; he was only occupied in re¬
ceiving impressions, and in studying monuments. On the
° er land, he still hoped one day to rekindle those inspi¬
rations with which his mind had been originally filled and
uelighted by the conversation of Savigny. The third vo-
wimer^f moi1181 nryxT0fu^0me Wc? PrePared during the
1 1824', and Niebuhr was about to publish it, when
e was recalled to Berlin, where he took part in the deli-
eia ions o the council of state, and where, also, he was
loure with the favour of the prince-royal. He had
215
perceived, however, that the publication of hia thirri naihacae Xieronr
would require that the two preceding ones shocuki be cws-
pletely recast. This he accordingly undertook in 18:25;
and the gratuitous courses of lectures which fee ieu^ere'd
facilitated his task. Pyrrhus said to his Efxrotes. - Y®»
are my wings.” The zealous professor was anintatei wvtlk
the same feeling towards pupils whom be loved, and who
listened with their whole souls to his discourses. Wue:
distinguished his prelections was not preciselv doqnemcsc,
to which he made no pretensions. It was a sort ef inspi¬
ration; it was the richness and abundance of matter; was.
in fine, the air and tone of earnest coovictien. a quafitv
which never fails to make a deep impressioc. tho uju —r- V
sometimes be pushed too far. Whenever he bid ir.-re~
headed and made himself master of a suojectL has -re
became to him like an article of faith ; his persuasion vis
complete.1 It may easily be supposed, therefore, that the
attacks directed against his fundamental ideas rarr
little impression on him. During the twelve year* wh dh
had elapsed since his work first appeared, it .^Nes, oc¬
casion to a great deal of discussion. >L de Serhere-L in
particular, had, in his Annals of Heidelberg. daBunei far
Greece the honour of having given birth to the ~
roibut the article in which Niebuhr examined tnc.se
national songs and traditions which sumwEad the erjcLe af
Rome with a flickering and uncertain atmosphere arcear¬
ed to him a work of extraordinary merit. Three Tears af¬
terwards, Professor V nchsmuth, a man of oosicrre and se¬
vere erudition, wrote a history of the Roman. Stare, hi
which he constantly advances alongside of fai# adversarr.
attacks him without intermission, re-estahushes whaJt re
had overturned, and pulls down what he had busk op,,
none of the editions of his first volumes which he after¬
wards published, did Niebuhr make any mention, of
formidable antagonists. On the contrarv. fee aafecre i. si¬
lence in regard to them, notwithstanding he hflU engaged
in a warm controversy with Steinacker, Francius. ansi Ekiaas:..
on the celebrated passage in the republic of Cicera. cap¬
taining details respecting the comma. Some years behare
his death, Golbery asked him, if, in his second ed-^itu he
would not reply to Schlegel and Wadsusrmitik. At this
question his countenance became clouded with in excres-
sion of dissatisfaction, and he answered drdv tnat ue
name no one.
The man who believes in the knowledge fee j r~Tri; »
the Moslemin confides in the Koran, cannot fad co be exci
sive. Unfortunately this was the great defect at Nieduhr.
He kept too much aloof from other men of learning, mi-,
even from those whose labours do honour to their emaUr .
whenever the shock of opinions, or a different system in¬
terposed to wound his orthodoxy. It would be eudies
to enumerate all his antipathies, or to name the dktkagunsk-
ed professors with whom he was at feud. It is more atfa-
factory to state, that his aversions were not of long dun-
tion, and that, it prone to take offence, he was e<qua.i - reauiv
to forgive. In his correspondence with Goibery. whadk,
on one occasion, had assumed a tone of vivacitv. if mw >,
controversial character, Niebuhr observes, wuh ecaa. _s-
tice and discrimination, “ It often happens in literary dis¬
cussions, that a moment of passion, or a transient irrutsoi-
lity, leads us to give pain to a man who is ot -ti-onse the co~
ject of our esteem. Ot this there have been niamerDm* ink-
stances, from the stormy contentions of the Forum to those
of the Chamber ot Deputies, and, in philology, morn cue
time of Laurentius Valla to that of Hermatu. I expe¬
rience the regret which accompanies these unfortunate dis¬
plays ot vivacity; I feel satisfaction in seeing the rrtaem-.
N,iebuhrl-eD°fedhetlwtRewtc,eeme,<? the French savans, who, on a particular occasion, stated various objections to
lepueu, mat it was with him a matter of conscience.
his secular cycie.
216
NIEBUHR.
Niebuhr, brance of them completely effaced; and my gratitude to some who have cr^
him who seeks to re-establish what appeared to me destroy- a “j success. lt exhibits the History
ed, enhances the feeling of respect with which his goo wi i sing idiom admitting the transfusion of
qualities had otherwise inspired me.” Few men possess of Rome m ^/spirit of the original ; and it contains
the candour and the magnanimity thus to acknowledge mu cPomplete a reproduction of its characteristic
their failings. On more than one occasion Niebuhr essen- as full “" “'"'I P . perhaps possible for any
tially obliged those persons of whom he conceived that f “he „rigtoal itselff it is undoubt-
lie had most reason complain. With regard to that ^ a masSerniecef “ a foundatfon for all ages” but, u„-
class of critics who have no other authority than what they y . t ^nerstructure.” If Montesquieu takes
derive from their bookseller, Germany, more perhaps than the eagle^eye. We
any other country, is a prey to their impudent presump- g 1 p j j 0pinions, or apply his method to
tion. For this class of writers Niebuhr had such thorough may to use the
contempt that he rarely looked into the periodical pub- science in order to make new conq , _ ,  
lications, and almost never read those analyses which are
denominated reviews. _ ,
In publishing his second and third editions, Niebuhr
was far from extending this just disdain to the estimable
men who had contested some of his discoveries; he only
science in oruei   ^ > -
expression of a learned critic, “ on passera sur sa trace, sans
^ Niebuhr made immense sacrifices for the prosperity of
the university of Bonn. He gave public courses of lectures,
although he did not occupy a chair in that seminary; and
-P . .  ofofo no tmmnpn
ntested some of his discoveries; he only aiinouh . as counsellor of state he founded
pretended that what they had attacked m their criticisms iom ns PP questions of history and philology, which
was not the weak side of Ins work. Hence he did not t0 the students. As soon as
think it enough to persist in the greater par of ^ Urceived in the latter indications of merit, his purse
he had new proofs to produce, and new solutions to give
At the same time, he freely abandoned a fundamental idea
of his original essay. In his eyes Rome was no longer
Etruscan, but formed by an union of the Etruscan element
with the Sabines and the Latins. His residence in the
ancient capital of the world had enabled him to illustrate
some points which were formerly obscure; and since the
commencement of his researches, three new and abundant
sources of information had been opened by the publication
of Lydus, of Gajus, and of the fragments of the Republic
of Cicero; whereas, previously, ages had passed away with¬
out adding any thing to the means of extending our know¬
ledge. B°ut it is only by study that his book can be un
lie urunvj&cLi jwi   • i •
he perceived in the latter indications of merit, his purse
was open to them ; in him they found at once a patron, a
director, and a friend. He only quitted his new residence
twice ; once to undertake a journey to Berlin, of which we
have already spoken; and some years afterwards to con¬
duct his wife into Holstein, and there to seek the repose
rendered necessary by the excessive labour he had under-
o-one. It has been remarked as a proof of his modesty,
that, in passing through Gottingen, he inscribed his name
on the register of the library, with the addition of Private
Teacher at Bonn. - , • „
The last period of his life w^as not the least laborious,
inasmuch as he then conceived and executed the project
ledge. But it is only by study that his book can ne un- inasmucu ^ ^ B ine Collection. The
derstood. The perusal of it is difficult, nay, even pamfu; nor ^ reP’ , d Dhil0l0m8ts in Germany were associated
can the meaning of the author be discovered or appreci
ated, except by those who have thoroughly mastered the
ancient texts. The quaint archaism of the phraseology
also serves as an additional obstacle to its intelligibility. To
him may justly be applied what Cicero said ot the first
most celebrated philologists in Germany were associated
in this enterprise, and the learned M. Hase was enabled
to restore to erudition his Leo Lhaconus, the first edition
of which had been lost by shipwreck. Niebuhr himselt
commenced the collection by the publication ot Agathias;
him may justly be applied what Cicero said ot tne nrst comineuwc.* other auth0rs;
orators of Attica ; in them we remark noble expressions he suPe™ ^ 0f tlfe volumes ; and
a great abundance of ideas, many things in few words, and e enn he directed the labours of his young friends
withal a little obscurity.1 The inspiration which is most fa- by  J NJ^huhr had also established the
miliar tp the author often blends itself with this obscurity,
and Niebuhr then appears to give out oracles. But if in the
expression there be any want ot finish or precision^ oi any
thing which subjects the mind to a labour of divination,
such deficiency is compensated by the elevation of the
thought, and by a penetration hitherto without example.
The defects of his style are still more sensibly felt in the
French translation, because the language of our neighbours,
Schopen and Classen. Niebuhr had also established the
Museum of the Rhine, a periodical publication, which he
enriched with most learned dissertations. He there de¬
monstrated that Lycophron was only contemporary with
Philip the son of Demetrius; and that he had been erro¬
neously confounded with the tragedian of Alexandria.
Availing himself of a passage of Tzetzes and of a scholium,
he discovered an important fact in Italic history. In an-
French translation, because the language ot our neighbours, ne a.scove.cu ^ fragments of Teles
always clear and precise, does not naturally admit of vague ^^^Xscu^ passage of Athenaeus, an determined the
and uncertain forms of expression ; and because, in reqmr- with an obscure pa g Chremonidian. As to
ing an author to make an entire disclosure of his thought, precise war which the latte Niebuhr makes him a
it had to undergo no small violence in order to accommo- Chremomdes, who gave it Ins name Niebu^k^n
date the expression to the standard of the German origi- general in the service
nal. This inconvenience it was almost impossible to avoid, events l^eStl°hn ^ havi£g discovered a Rag-
without injury to the peculiar character of the work, piad o^oy’^^Niebuhr, notwithstanding multi-
Niebuhr, whose mind was in other respects so elevated, ment of Dion Lassms, in e , guccTess, and
was not less the proprietor of his words than of his ideas, plied lacwuc, restored t Roman history, particu-
and without accepting the one we could not be enriched demonstrated its -P^an^o ^
with the other. France, however, required a translation, larly in reference to the qua ^ ^ capture
and one almost interlineary was produced, resembling some- senate on the subject of the^a ^
what the versions of Flomer which are put into the hands
of scholars. The book, in short, was intended for science,
not for literature ; although this circumstance, which is dis¬
tinctly stated in the preface, has been lost sight of by
seiuiic uu me   
of the Janiculum, and the Lex Hortensia.
Amidst these multiplied occupations, the second v
of his Roman history was in its turn recast, and the manu¬
script had already been prepared for the press, when, on
Brutus, De Claris Oratoribus. _ * M. Lerminier, in Lc Globe.
3 Both these dissertations -were, in 182G, translated into French by M. de Golbery.
N I E
ihr. the fth of February 1830, a night of disaster destroyed the
'■—''fruit of so much labour. A violent conflagration consumed
the upper floors of the house which Niebuhr had destined
to be the asylum of his old age. This severe calamity ob¬
liged him to recommence his volume entirely, and he pass¬
ed several months in this painful occupation. His facul¬
ties were even affected by the toil which it imposed : “ I
advance,” said he, “ by means of efforts which I may ven¬
ture to call excessive ; my memory is impaired to such a
degree that I can no longer deceive myself as to the cause
of this decay.” We have already stated that Niebuhr was
of a very feeble constitution. "He was of small stature,
with a quick and keen eye ; his countenance was agreeable,
and of a mild expression. The family affections constituted
his whole happiness ; and the most profound studies never
prevented him from smiling on his infant children, or call¬
ing to his arms his little Marcus, whose interesting figure,
happy disposition, and amiable character, struck every per¬
son who saw him beside his good father, a man as deserv¬
ing of the domestic happiness he enjoyed, as of the great
reputation he had acquired. “ Twice during my residence
at Bonn,” says M. de Golbery, “ I went to see him ; and of
both visits I retain recollections that can never be effaced.
The conversation of men such as Niebuhr is an advantage
rarely enjoyed ; the hours passed in listening to him have
left in my mind an impression at once delightful and so¬
lemn ; he appeared to me simple and good. During my
first visit he related to me the history of his whole life ; se¬
veral of the facts and judgments contained in my notice of
him I owe to that conversation ; but, in my sketch, they
are presented without that charm of expression, and that
elevation of thought, which caused me to forget the flight
of time; and the approach of night alone apprised me that
one of the longest days of summer was drawing to a close.”
Niebuhr had not yet recovered from the effects of the
excessive labour to which the destruction of his house had
condemned him, “ when,” to use the expression in the
preface to his second volume, “ the madness of the court
of France broke the talisman which kept enchained the
demon of revolutions.’ I he news of the ordonnances of
July had filled him with indignation ; and in his public
course he made a vehement address to his pupils, in which
he spoke of the perversity of a ministry that sacrificed to
despotic and sacerdotal notions the happiness of a nation
and the imprescriptible freedom of thought.1 The saga¬
city of Niebuhr did not, however, enable him to foresee The
true results of that unparalleled act of audacity and folly.
He was strangely surprised when, three days later, he re¬
ceived intelligence of the events which had occurred in
Tans. Niebuhr regarded the rights of nations as sacred
as those of kings, and, as a vindication of the former, he
applauded the principle of the Revolution of July ; a prin¬
ciple, we may add, which was speedily disregarded by the
government w hich that great popular commotion installed
on the ruins ot the oldest dynasty in Europe.
o much agitation, disquietude, and labour, rendered it
-mpossible for him to receive very strong impressions with-
out danger; any thing, however slight, which affected his
ea th, might become fatal. Niebuhr often went out to
ea t e journals. On Christmas day he returned with a
severe cold from a reading-room, where he had perused
j c eeP atJ;cntion the pleadings of M. Martignac and M.
-i'r- " ^ch strongly affected him. A slight degree
ver accompanied this cold ; but, from the 30th of De-
N I E
217
cember, his medical attendant recognized the symptoms of Niece
a mortal inflammation. The pain, however, diminished in- II
versely as the danger increased. He preserved to the last NieuPort-
moment his reason entire, saw the term of his existence ^
appioach without discomposure, and surrounded himself
with the objects of his affections. At length, on the 2d of
January, at two in the morning, this truly great man breath-
_hjsJasC ant^ <( 1 arr)c du juste alia se confondre dans la
divinite, dont elle etait une faible mais pure emanation.”
Madame Niebuhr, weakened by protracted suffering from
an affection of the chest, sunk under her sorrow in°a few
days afterwards; and four orphan children, confided to the
care of M. de Classen, were subsequently sent to some re¬
lations by the father’s side in Holstein.
. Niebuhr left but few manuscripts. The third volume of
his Roman History, which had escaped destruction when
his house was burned, has since been printed ; and there
exist also some fragments of the fourth volume, but in small
number. Much may be expected from M. de Savigny,
who was thoroughly cognisant of all the great conceptions
of his friend ; and from M. de Classen, who, for a long pe¬
riod, had not quitted his house. In his last letter to M.
de Golbery, Niebuhr had offered him additions to the first
volume of the Roman History ; but it is uncertain whether
these were found amongst his papers, or whether he had
wiitten the life of M. de Serre, which he had certainly the
intention of publishing. There may also be found amongst
his papers a project relative to Goethe; it was addressed
to M. Schweighceuser, whom he had requested to obtain
from the priest of Sessenheim a portrait of Goethe such
as he was when his residence at Sessenheim rendered that
place celebrated. When this was sent to him, little did
either M. Schweighceuser or his friend M. de Golbery fore¬
see that Niebuhr, who was still in the vigour of his ao-e,
would reach the term of his cai’eer before the patriarch^of
German literature, whose likeness he was so anxious to
piocuie. A short time before his death, the Prussian go¬
vernment had engaged him to return to Berlin ; but^he
declared to M. de Golbery that he preferred the quiet of
his retreat, and pursuit of his peaceful labours, to the tu¬
mult of the capital and the cares of public business, (a.)
# NIECE, a brother’s or sister’s daughter, which in the
civil law is reckoned the third degree of consanguinity.
NIEMEN, a large river of Poland, which rises in Li¬
thuania, where it passes by Bielicka, Grodno, and Kowno;
it afterwards runs through part of Samogitia and Prussia,’
where it falls into the lake called the Kurisch-haff, by se¬
veral mouths, of which the most northern is called the
Russ. This lake communicates with the Baltic.
NIEPER, or Dnieper, a large river of Europe, and
one of the most considerable of the north, formerly called
the Borysthenes. Its source is in the middle of Muscovy,
and it runs westward by Smolensko as far as Orsa; it
then turns south, and passing by Mohilow, Bohaczo, Kiow,
Czyrkassy, the fortress of Kudak, Dessau, and Oczakow,
falls into the Black Sea.
NIESTER, or Dneister, a large river of Polish Rus¬
sia, having its source in the lake Niester, in the palatinate
of Lemburg, where it passes by Halicz. It then separates
Podolia and Oczakow from Moldavia and Budziac Tartary,
and falls into the Black Sea at Belgorod, between the
mouths of the Dnieper and the Danube.
NIEUI OR r, a fortified city of the Netherlands, in the
province of West Flanders, and arrondissement of Furnes.
nac/and the prKic^ ofTeToSt ^ °f ^ b°th th°Se who °PP0Sed this old obsti-
partmental law. ' He had unhmmX ^ alsVh°fu WS° Prev;alled on,the chamber to refuse its support to the discussion of the de-
tbe approbation which M de V?arttiaS, tfH aeJn"13 and nobIe character of this statesman, and was more proud of
VOL. xvi -Martignac had expressed of his Roman History, than of any other testimony in its favour P
2 E
218
Nievre
II
N iger.
N I G
The environs are unhealthy, from the low situation, which,
by the facility of inundation, forms one of the chief means
of defence. It is situated at the mouth of the Iser, by
’ which it has water communication with Dunkirk, Br'1g^s’
and Ypres. It contains 2600 inhabitants, who are chie y
occupied in the herring and cod fisheries. Long. 2. 39. L.
^NIEVRE, a department of France, formed out of the
ancient duchy of Nivernois. It extends m north latitude
from 46. 52. to 47. 36. and in east longitude from 2. 39.
to 4. 6. It is bounded on the north by the departments
of the Loiret and of the Yonne, on the east by the Cote
d’Or and Saone-Loire, on the sohutht,byrt11;eerSa0I"e;^0ent
and the AUier, and on the west by the Cher. In exte
H is 2953 square miles, or 686,619 hectares, and .s dmded
into four arrondissements, twenty-hve cantons, and MO
communes, the population of winch amounts »
nersons. It is generally a hilly district, and on the eastern
side it is mountainous. Nearly one third of the surface is
covered with forests ; and as the cultivation is bad, it does
not produce a sufficiency of corn for the supply of the peope,
what it does yield consisting mostly of oats, rye, and bar ey,
with very Me wheat. SoL of the meadows on the banks
of the rivers feed cows, which, with the produce of the fo¬
rests furnish the chief commodities with which the peop e
are enabled to buy corn. There are some mines of iron
the working of which, and converting the raw material into
common ufensils, furnish the chief employment to the scan-
ty population. Some wine is grown, but ™»st'y ln^r‘”
mialitv and not adequate to the consumption. By its rivers
2nd Sul the department is well .-PP^ wf cheap
means of conveyance for its wood and its iron. Ihe hshene
on the rivers and the lakes are productive, and in part sup¬
ply fish to Paris. The department elects two deputies for
die legislative body. The capital is the city of Nevers.
NIGER, or, more properly, Quorra, a great ™er °
Central Africa, the course and termination of which, for
upwards of forty years, excited an interest beyond a y
other question connected with the geography of the globe,
exceotino- perhaps that of the north-west passage. 4 his
arose not only from the importance which naturally be-
N I G.
longs to the solution of any great geographical F°J>W
but from the various and conflicting theories which had
been formed relative to the Niger. The points which so
long remained undecided were, whether the large inte¬
rior river of Africa, first mentioned by Herodotus, and after-
wards by Pliny, Ptolemy, Leo Africanus, and others, could
be idendfied with that which we now call the Quorra or
the Joliba, which latter is its name during the earlier par
of its course ; and whether this river lost itse f ^ the great
Lake Tshad, Tshadda, or Shary, or terminated in the At¬
lantic Ocean. These were the main questions which were
agitated by geographers; but there were others which
occupied no inconsiderable degree of attention, such as,
whether it carried its waters under ground through the
Great Desert, into the Gulf of Syrtis, or whether it flowed
in an easterly direction, and formed a branch of the Nile.
But every difficulty has at length been cleared away by
the enterprise and perseverance of Britons, and we can
now trace the entire line of this great river. To the first
question, whether the Quorra be the Niger, meaning by
that the river so named in the works of ancient geographers
and historians, a negative answer has been very generally
criven ; and with regard to the termination of the Quorra, it
has been found to flow into the Atlantic through a number
of mouths situated in a delta, at the head of the great gu o
the western coast of Africa. The discovery of the termi¬
nation of the river which has been so long and so impro¬
perly called the Niger, was made by Mr Richard Lander,
a very humble but intelligent individual, who, without hav¬
ing any prejudices to gratify, or theory to support, set about
the task in a straightforward manner, and accomplished,
not without difficulty and danger, an undertaking in which
all former travellers had failed, from having fallen victims
either to the insalubrity of the climate or the more fatal bar¬
barity of the natives. But before tracing Lander s voyage
along the Quorra, it may be necessary to give a short ac¬
count of what was previously known respecting that river.
Herodotus, in his geographical notice of Africa, mfor
us that some young persons belonging to a people who dwelt
in the north of Africa, on the borders of the Mediterranean,
travelled in a westerly direction from a part of Egypt, un-
ider was born at Truro, in Wales on the 8th rzr „„ .
education was accordingly of the most ordinary “*vhefe“ “ K™t £hile together in one place, and used to he delighted
savs he, “began to display themselves in early youth. I never ey S l c&uld steal an opportunity ; as well as to mix
tn" rdav truant, and stroll from town to town, and from vil 1 S’ j uged ajs0 to iisten with unmixed attention to old
in the ^society of boys possessing restless habits and inchnaUons sim ^ons 0'f the earth.” Domestic calamities compelled him to
women’s tales about the ceremonies and manners of t th eariy afTe of eleven he accompanied a mercantile gentleman to
ouit his paternal abode when he was only nine years of ^ tn hifnaUv^ coimtrv in 1818, where he entered into the service of
the West Indies. He was absent three years, and returned to his 1 g on ^ Continent. An opportunity having again oc
several individuals, one of whom he accompanied to France and othe servant to Major Colebrooke, one of his ma-
curred of visiting distant regions, he traversed the colony of the Cape ^^^^Pfr’i^o England in 1824, he accepted a situation m
iestv’s commissioners of inquiry into the state of the British colon • „ g , time passed away pleasantly and thought-
the establishment of a kinsman of the Duke of Northumberland, ^ Denham from the interior ^Africa in the following year again
lessly enough, till the return of Captain C^rtXatutas the intention of the British government to send out another expedition
roused my rambling propensities.” Having heard that it was the intentio B cla t011j and was engaged by
tbr the purpose of exploring the yet undiscovered parts of Cenf™1 are well known. After the death of Clapperton,
that enterprising traveller as his confidential ser\ ant. e himself home, which, however, he did not accomplish in ess
on the 10th of April 1827, Lander sought every opportunity of c?nT^‘n£;“ saccatoo in Houssa, to Badagry, on the western coast of
than a twelvemonth, having had to make Ins way detence ess an t ^ Portsmouth, on the 30th of April 1828 bringing wit
Africa a long, difficult, and dangerous journey. At length he arr ^ . ot. hig own> Being unable, from ill health, to su
r ssot u sirs ^ ^ ^ »ame ^
Portsmouth on the 9th of January 1830, and arrived at Cape ^oast C the mercenary chief of till place. At length they set ou
Sryeot"„5v»tL9 La auH-ennga, they.on the 06. of June,^a Boos^
the western bank of the Quorra, which place no European
when he was accompanied by Lander. 4 rom Boossa
NIGER.
219
J tJI t^iey came t0 a ^arge river ^ croco^'les> and flow-
towards the rising sun; and that they were conducted
by the natives to a considerable city situated on its banks.
The fact of the Nile flowing from the west in an early part
of its course, led the Father of History to conclude that
this river was a distant branch or source of the Nile. Thus
originated the first error regarding the Niger, and the
weight which was attached to the opinions of Herodotus
(scarcely less than belonged to those of Aristotle in a still
more important branch of human knowledge) continued for
ages to involve the subject in the greatest obscurity. The
successive facts discovered relative to the hydrography of
Africa were bent and twisted to answer the conditions of
a vague hypothesis, for the truth of which there was no
proof, and only the authority of a fiame. Notice is taken
of the Niger by Strabo, but Pliny treats largely of this
river, conducting it in an easterly direction, through sandy
deserts, to the Nile of Egypt, and thus coinciding in opinion
with Herodotus. Mela, another geographer, had the can¬
dour to confess, that w7hen the Niger reached the middle
of the continent, no one knew what became of it. Ptolemy
was the first who demolished the notion that the Nile and
the Niger are the same; but his account of the Niger is
vague, and somewhat unintelligible. He adhered to the
former opinion regarding its general direction, and consi¬
dered as one river streams that were entirely distinct. But
to return to Herodotus. The difficulty has been to identify
the track of the travellers which he mentions, and their
account of what they saw, with what is now knowm of the
river lately discovered, and the part of Africa in which
it is situated. Without going into the details of this sub¬
ject, we may briefly state how the facts stand. Herodotus
distinctly mentions, that the Nasamonian youth travelled
directly westward; and if so, they certainly could never
have reached the Joliba or Quorra. But others assert, that
as the ancients were not very accurate with regard to their
bearings, the wmrds of Herodotus are not to be interpreted
strictly; and consequently, if we allow that they proceed¬
ed, not directly westward, but a little to the south, the tra¬
vellers might have arrived at the river. The city to which
they were conducted has been surmised to have been no
other than Timbuctoo itself.1 But it is clear, that if we
allow of such latitude of meaning to the terms employed
by the ancients, either in geography or any other science,
there will be no end to conjecture regarding what they
did or what they did not know. If Herodotus is to be
taken as authority at all, we must accept of him without
any emendation whatever, just as he stands; and if so, w'e
must certainly come to the conclusion, that the Joliba or
Quorra is not the great river to which he alludes. It may
ha\ e been one of the many streams flowing in an easterly di¬
rection in that part of Africa which was called Segelmessa ;
and what seems to confirm this conjecture is, that Pliny evi¬
dently points to one of these. The celebrated Arabian geo-
giaphers Abulfeda and Edrisi, and Leo Africanus, a native
of Spain, all assigned to the Niger of Ptolemy a w’esterly
course ; and the twTo former gave it a source identical with
that of the Nile, but Leo supposed it to take its rise in a lake
situated to the south of Bornou, whence it was believed to
flow westward to the Atlantic Ocean. The early European
navigators, in their discoveries on the western coast of Afri¬
ca, found successively the estuaries of the Senegal, Gambia,
and Rio Grande, and believed them to be the mouths of the
Niger, which was described as traversing nearly the entire
breadth of Africa. In course of time they were tempted to
explore the Senegal and Gambia, for the purpose of reaching
treme point of the expedition, where they arrived on the 27th of June. The descent of the river commenced on the 2d of
and the results of the expedition are related in the text. In their voyage downwards to the sea, their adventures were sometimes of
an amusing, sometimes of an alarming character. As they proceeded, however, their difficulties and dangers increased • but thp'f*
-f £!th ‘Jjf 11,051 man1/ an^ determined resolution. At Kirree they were plundered, and nearly lost their lives ’ On their
f Eb0<j’ they were ma£e Pris.oners by the king of the place, who would not consent to their liberation except on the condition
c wing a arge ransom. I or this sum they gave a bill on the captain of a Liverpool trader, which they ascertained was Ivino- in
the river 2\un, one of the mouths of the Quorra. An obligation of a similar nature was exacted from them'by the king of Brasstown
T hwnn11! It'a,!i er ;vasfre,taTe(i a.S a h0Sta«e; but he contrived to persuade the natives to allow him to proceed The^aptain of the
navminU ’ll err! tiem 111 a 11,051 brutal manner, and refused to make any advance whatever, although he was assured of re
the British government. Their bills were consequently protested, but the demand was afterwards ordered to be paid bv
KwLeX,raVelleIS from P“ Ki° ^ e 4
c0JghratuaketioentUrnT^pe br,°SerS Landei;’and the triumphant discovery which they had made, was the subject of warm and general
brothers one tb 1,1{o-'al GeoSrapbical Society awarded Richard Lander a premium of fifty guineas, and for the journafof the
nalsnf hnii k 01usai1^ gu'-neas was given by a London bookseller. In the disaster which befell them at Kirree, portions of the iour-
a connected narraHve"^6 but fortunately that part of each journal which was saved supplied what had been lost of the other! and
the k tv l a JPTb,ll8h?d in three volumes’ entitled “ Journal of an Expedition to explore the course and termination of
but Richard’'V 1 u and J°bn Lander.” The domestic disposition of John Lander induced him to settle permanently at home-
tenRS yft been gratified. An expedition for the purpose of ascendffig the Quorra ha "ng
The result* nf somo ™erc iaots, of Liverpool, he was requested to undertake the direction of it, and he accepted the offer’
those whi unLrtwkir^erTfew Emonea^T menti°ned in, ?.he toxt’ were (luitc unsatisfactory to the projectors, andPmost fatal to
entered the nver con^^f tl ^ ^ r"g surviJedA1* Amongst the victims was Richard Lander. The expedition which
where he left Ihp Ts I a ? stcam-vessels in one of which he ascended the Quorra to the junction of the Tshadda or Shary
ioinintr his ^ 1 vessel, and returned to lernando Po, for the purpose of obtaining some medicines and other necessaries After re’
any attempt topeneteate^ P!Aetrated uP tbe Tshadda to a considerable distance; but want of provisions compelled him to relinquish
tageous teade wfth t^ nt K i TT °futhlS nver- ,He Proceeded UP the Quorra as far as Rabba, where he prosecuted an advan-
niore descended the riveftoFernandoP / PurPose, of,obta,nir!S a Particular species of goods for the markets in the interior, he once
He mentioned that he was then “on wl plfCe. hls„last fotter to his friends in England, written in high spirits, was dated,
ascended the Quo^a in two SfL, Z\au lotenor for the th,rd and last time” It was the last time. The party, which
killed and a number wnnnH , noes’ was attacked by the natives at a part of the river about seventy miles inland. Several were
est bravery and self passion' ^VHl t T latter Jas lllcliard Lander, who appears to have behaved on the occasion with the great-
in the hipfwhich mmle him^Jer i tf ^’T hls ,Comr,ades? and insPiring them by his heroic example, he received a musket-ball
enemy’s shot, when he sunk down } a C,°ntlTled ^ movement5 of bls Party until the canoes were out of reach of the
possible attention was naid^ hk l 1°“ ?S ° Having succeeded m escaping down the river to Fernando Po, every
recovery. But on the^th ofFehr,.:, S-VmP^oms became at last so favourable, that no doubts were entertained of lender’s
after midnight Thus perished i t ^edification ensued, and so rapid was the prostration of the sufferer, that he died soon
nate, of all those whose names ;V,ear ohls af’Il.lchard Lander, the humblest, but in one respect the most fortu-
exciting but fatal pursuit His widow r ^ ^ -UbjfCt °Vv n•an dl5C0VerJ’and wbo have fallen victims to their zeal in that
1 Such is the view taken of bi d° r , • f l™?011 ?°m Wffiiam IY. and his daughter a handsome donation,
graphical Society. But a wifteSn ?pSPn ,PT t, 7 .Lleuteunant-Colonel Leake, in the second volume of the Journal of the Geo-
asserting that Herodotus “ knew nf , 6 Quartfrly Review’ whose opinion is entitled to the greatest deference, takes an opposite view,
8- U tus knew of no suc'b nver, nor even mentioned the name.” [Quarterly Review, No. xci. p. 80.) 1 ^
NIGER.
,.i c y,efore the inundation commenced, to be 900 French feet ^iger ft
the far-famed city of Timbuctoo, the 'mmensej-eaUh o b f ^ ^ ^ in jepth with a current of two "-v. «
which excited their cup.d.ty. They traced these rivers ao ^ hal er |lour. From lts great a.xe here only
near to their sources as to decrease almost to nvuleB, ye miles from lts reputed source, it must hare
still they found themselves very far from the object o^ the dted the waters of s„me tributary streams, indeed
wishes, and the vast central plain ‘''tough wh-ch th reaching Bammakoo, it receives the Tankisso and
gave the sources both of the Niger and Senegal the fo oyer the plain 0f Bambarra, flowing still in an
mer being made to flow eastward and the latter 'vestwa^, directioni by Yamina, bansanding, and Sego the
which was an approximation to the truth capital, whereit forms a noble stream, equal to the lliames
lowed up this view in his map of Africa, pubhshed m ^ 'Westminster, lt pursues the same course till it reaches
and thus far a correct knowledge of the source Jinne, when it takes a bend nearly due northern which
tion of the Niger was obtained, by its being sepa auction it flows till it reaches Lake Dibbie, when it re-
the east from the Nile, and in the y6®1itf ’ verts to its easterly bearing, and continues to run m that
and by having an easterly course at .^Xt ^ht 0f, direction till it reaches Timbuctoo. De Caille navigated
These views, however, appear to have b & river from Jinne t0 Iimbuctoo, and represents the
and the belief that the Niger lo^wfedmaJne^SieCAfti! banks between these places as low and marshy. Lake
was trenerallv entertained. But the formation ot the Atu considerable magnitude, and stretches
can CcSon in England mavka the »fn“ ”0 WJ instead of from nor* to south Below
new era in tbehistory of African geography. The hrst an ^ ihe r.ver was found very deep, and from half a mueto
. . i -i • <- nnptimed the attention or iui» vvuy   Q nnnsiflprahle current. 1
can Association in “ , TEp first and trom east to west maicau —
new era in the history of African g1eogrtat^ ' ^f^y this the river was found very deep, and from half a m.leto
principal object which occupied the at“"‘lon of a „,Ue in breadth, with a considerable current. Near Ka-
was the course and termination of the Niger, andarewa thp Tnl,ha separates into two
principal ooiect wint-ti —r-— vr;^^. and a reward a mue in oreauiu, wn-n « -- -
was the course and termination of the N'SerLa[ b^^hat bra, the port of Timbuctoo, the Joliba separates into two
was held out to the person, whoever “'K1'1 “e;r‘t|ie branchesf the larger, which is about three fourths of a mile
should succeed in determining them. We pa t ^ bending its course east-south-east, and the smaller,
names of Ledyard and Lucas, hav- about a hundred feet broad, but verydeep, taking its course
Cairo before accomplishing any thing, ‘he Wte north to Kabra. Hie celebrated city of 1 imbuetoo
ing only gathered some information rom the Arabs, wh o ^ ^ e ht mi|e3 north from Kabra, and, from the most
tended rather to perplex than elucidate su^fr'eserv. accm.ate information which has as yet been obtained, stands
honour of determining the course of the Ni?ei . j titu(ie 17. 30. north, and longitude 2. 30. east, krom
ed for the celebrated Mr Mungo Park, bi ’ Kabra the smaller branch of the Johba turns south-east,
who, in the year 1795, offered to the f^mtion his^ ^ ^ parent stream t0 the eastward, from which
vices, which were accepted. In his first jou y, 0|ntJ tbere is reason to believe, although its course has
explored the course of the Niger from Bammakoo to S I a, ^ delineated> that the Joliba flows in the general
the former being, according to hls/“0“"t; abt0"‘tb“ndryed direction of its course south-east till it reaches Yaoon.
journey distant from its source, and the '“‘tet ‘wo hunp e Ximbuctoo to Yaoori, however, very httle is known
miles from Timbuctoo. In his second journey, undertake ^ ^ river . but the fact tnat Park sailed down
at the instance of the British govemment, he traced h ftom thesone lace to the other fully establishes the con-
Niger as far as Boossa, where he “n|“;‘u"f'7scP”ained ,i„uity. From Yaoori to the sea it was navigated by the
in the river, as was afterwards satisfactorily ascerta ^ Land'rSj and was found t0 dow at first nearly due south,
by Clapperton and Lander. A e Lander’ who then to take a rapid bend to the east, and afterwards g
names of Laing, De Caille, Clapperton, andi;dn^r’Jcur duai|y to return and take a south-south-westerly direction
all ascertained important facts regarding ^ > ^ t0 the Atlantic Ocean. Of these fortunate discovere
in connection with the discovery o p k pevished, we shall now proceed to give some account.
perton crossed the river at the po nt where I Boossa, the first city in the vicinity ot the Quor a at
and soon afterwards died himself at Saccat . , , which the Landers arrived, is situated on its right bank.
Lander, his faithful servant, on Return to Engiand, mile frora the river, in latitude 10. 14. north, and
volunteered to navigate the river from Boos a ^ longitude 6. 11. east. Black rocks were seen to rise ab upt-
mination; his offer was accepted by the Bntish go the centre 0f the stream; its surface was ag tated
nient, and in a few months this enterprising mdmd al whirl ols ; and in the dry season its largest branch was
accomplished the work of ages, having entered the A 1 y ^P & across> The travellers pro-
tic by the River Nun, one of the branches by which -n a canoe from Boossa to \aooii, between which
great river discharges itself into the sea. Dlaces the river was found divided into many channels, by
8 The source of the Quorra or Johba although not yet places nve^ ^ ^ islands> COVered with tall rank
actually explored, has been asce^ain.ed ^ hupdred grass’; and some of the channels were so shallow that their
tuatedin the high country of Kissi, about two hundred Sanoe’was constantly grounding. /rheywere told at^
miles north-east by east of Sierra Leone. I t oori however, that above that place, and below Boossa,
which is best known is said to originate n the east ;avio.ation was not interrupted either by rocks or sand-
Lide of Mount Loma, one of the range called the Moun- hat after the malea or wet season, which sets
tains of Kong, and which appears to be in with fourteen days of incessant rain canoes of all kinds
the Gibel el Kumn, or Mountains of the > to and fro betvveen Yaoori, NoufFe, Boossa, and Funda •
9. 15. north, and longitude 9. 36 west, h^ P^. ^ &, flourishing kingdom, ruled by a hereditary
stream, under the name of Johba, bends its con ^ sovereign, who exercises absolute despotism. Ihe cap a
east through Foota Jallo and Kan an, where city, which bears the same name, is of great extent, be g
r cS: —gtSwtr "“und it, befwoen twenty and thirty miles in circuit, and very popu
. When the orticl“ ^mS'ampl/’narrative of their discomies is necessary i»
Ihis place’/wsupply any deficiency whifh may be found in our geography of Africa.
NIGER.
221
lous; but, from the low nature of the banks of the river, it
’—'was found very swampy. Returning to Boossa, and sail¬
ing downwards, the Quorra was found completely navigable
to a finely-wooded island called Patashie ; but from thence
to Lever or Layaba, a distance of about twenty miles, the
channel is so full of rocks and sand-banks, as to render the
passage very difficult. From Lever all the way down to
the ocean, the Quorra is a broad and noble stream, varying
from one to six, but being most commonly between two
and three miles in breadth. The banks in some places were
flat and marshy, but elsewhere presented the most pleasing
aspect. They are described as “ embellished with mighty
trees and elegant shrubs, which were clad in thick and lux¬
uriant foliage, some of lively green, others of darker hues;
and little birds were singing merrily among the branches.
Magnificent festoons of creeping plants, always green, hung
from the tops of the tallest trees, and, drooping to the wa¬
ter’s edge, were pleasing and grateful to the eye.” Further
down, the river is bordered by lofty mountains, seemingly
forming part of the great chain which crosses Africa in this
latitude, but which has not been sufficient to arrest the
course of this mighty stream. These eminences are de¬
scribed as gloomy and romantic, fringed with stunted
shrubs, which overhang immense precipices ; and their re¬
cesses are tenanted only by wild beasts and birds of prey.
Even in the mid-channel, a rocky islet called Mount Kesa
rises to the height of 300 feet; and its steep sides, fringed
with magnificent trees, present a majestic appearance. The
island Zagoshie is one of the most remarkable spots in all
Africa. It is about fifteen miles in length and three in
breadth, in the midst of the Quorra, the broad channel of
which on either side separates it from the continent. The
surface is very low, and muddy, yet throughout well cul¬
tivated, and extremely productive. The manufactures of
this place are highly valued, and superior to any in the
kingdom of Nouffe or Tappa, to which it belongs. The
laigest and most flourishing city of this domain is Rabba,
situated about two miles from Zagoshie, in latitude 9. 14.,
and between five and six hundred miles from the sea. The
surrounding country abounds in the most valuable grains,
in horned cattle of remarkable size, and in horses much ad¬
mired for their strength and beauty.
Below Zagoshie and Rabba the Quorra flows almost due
east for upwards of a hundred and twenty miles, present¬
ing throughout a magnificent body of water, at one place
neaily eight miles broad. The shores are generally well
cultivated and inhabited; and at one point two very lar^e
cities appeared on the opposite banks. Towards the end
of this reach the Quorra is joined by a large stream from
the north-east, called the Coodonia. About twenty miles
lower is Egga, a very large town built close to the river,
in a situation low, and liable to inundation. The inhabi¬
tants trade both up and down the river; and here were
found Portuguese cloths, brought from Benin. Egga is the
boundary town of Nouffe, and closes on the south that range
of flourishing and comparatively well-governed countries
which here extend along both banks of the Quorra. The
riyei now flows east-south-east along a fine country, covered
with numerous villages, the principal being Kacunda, which
consists of three large villages, all under the absolute sway
of a single chief. The river then takes a direction nearly
due south, and, at the distance of three or four days’jour¬
ney below Egga, is joined by another river nearly as iaro-e
as itself, falling in from the north-eastward. This is the
Ishadda, Shar, or Shary; and Lander was informed that
Fundah, of which Clapperton heard so much when at Sac-
catoo, was at the distance of three days’ journey on the
banks of this river, and not, as had been supposed, on
those of the Quorra. This fact was verified some years
afterwards by Mr Laird,1 who, in his voyage up the Quorra,
ascended the river Fshadda (uniformly designated Sharv
in his work) for six or seven days, when he entered a creek,
from the extremity of which a land journey of about ten
miles conducted him to Fundah, a large and populous
town. Below the confluence of the rivers Quorra and
Tshadda the course of the river is south-south-west, and
a'kSLw ^ “ the “1 Alburkah, in
regard to the sonroo nfT. T ^ .01dfiel(h skiving officers of the expedition, London, 1837, in two vols. 8vo. With
denlv tto thn Niger There iXfe't^de u^fthA-l that °f ^ Niger- .'1:he.ris!7?f commence, sooner and more sud.
Soudan, would n.mrally he immense Pn.Tthe^hr 7 C0mPan;01! wl,t.h the Niger which, if it communicated with the Sea of
that thicountry lie, vefy neirThe emiator ” With ,n Vf 7’ ,9h0“>d. think that its rise is in a mountainous country, and
to he a W0u^d hal>Pen if the source of the river were a large reservoir of water, such as we knew the r ike tui,i t
stream LuS fron/tf fater’ ^tif "c*1 know1n’ is kePt permanently colder than a small one under the same circumstances - the
signed to the course of the0^6^ therefor.e’ and flowmo °nly 500 miles (which is probably more than the limit that ought to be as-
versed nearly 3000 miles in a tronica^climafe1 het0 or.lginate .V1 Lake 1 shad), will beyond all doubt be colder than one which has tra-
and, from itJshallow lentl whln f?’ be?ominP fuelled during its long course only by a great number of small tributaries
of the solar beams u C0.mPa^ed to a lar^ inland sea, having its temperature raised considerably higher by the influence
proves, tfiat a^the cmnmencemei^of^he ^ ^ TT than " ^ Ca*e with the Ni^> and a^ -ore clear"
effect at the noint V * f 1 befor^ the tnl>ntaries which join it previously to its reaching Timbuctoo have taken
dence to the contraw’ ZT U? ,.re bf remarkably favourable to such an hypothesis. Indeed, in the absei
trade on the Shary is’smalle^than0i'f woIThUmlfthmk ^ regard t0 Mr Laird’s third reason, that the
know more of the countries L tn V bTe lf . l communicated with Lake Tshad, nothing satisfactory can be advanced until we
! denis, and that an exteSe commerce and Jt WaS^nformed that tbe Tsbadda ^ Shary flowed through large and fruitful king-
to make either for or aaainst its erit t navigation were carried on by means of it. We can see nothing in its mere trade
lous country ; and this is certdnly the ca^ ^ a S 5 ProvidinS 11 be ^vigable to a great distance into the interior of a popu-
222
NIGER.
its width, as usual, varies from two to five or six miles.
Opposite to Bocqua, a considerable town situated below
the junction of the Tshadda, is the common path to the city
of Fundah; and here both banks of the river continue hilly
and well wooded, and are thickly studded with towns and
villages. Of this town Mr Laird observes, “ Bocqua, or
Hickory, as the natives call it, is the centre of this trade
(in slaves, cloth, and ivory), and a fair of three days’ dura¬
tion is held there every ten days, attended by Eboe, and
Attah, and even Bonny traders from the south, and those
from Egga, Outturn* Curaffe, and Fundah on the north
("north-east ?], besides great numbers from the interior
country on both banks of the river. The traders from the
upper country bring cloths of native manufacture, beads,
ivory, rice, straw-hats, and slaves, all of which they sell for
cowries, and buy European goods, chiefly Portuguese and
Spanish. About twenty-five large canoes passed us every
ten days, on their way to this market, each containing from
forty to sixty people. The trade is carried on by money,
not by barter; cowries are the circulating medium, and
their sterling value on an average may be taken at one
shilling per thousand.” Still farther down is the town o
Attab or Iddoh, picturesquely situated on a hill overhang¬
ing the river, in some places with cliffs 300 feet in neight.
Standing above the alluvial soil at the entrance of the val¬
ley of the Quorra, and thus removed from damp, it is heal¬
thy, and, according to Mr Laird, commands at present the
whole trade of the interior. The same traveller informs us,
that above this town the river forces its way through a
chain of mountains which he calls Kong, being in all like¬
lihood a part of the range already mentioned as traversing
this part of Africa. They seemed to be of nearly equa
height, apparently from 2500 to 3000 feet above the level
of the river, and had all flat summits. They are proba¬
bly composed of sandstone resting upon granite, of which
latter rock large masses were found in the vicinity of the
river. About forty-five miles below the junction of the
Tshadda with the Quorra, and on the left bank of the lat¬
ter river, stands the town of Abbazacca; and still farther
down Damuggoo, at which place Lander found that the
Quorra fell two feet in as many days, yet still overflowed
the town. European goods here made their appearance in
considerable abundance, consisting of powder, muskets,
soap, Manchester cottons, and other manufactures, toge¬
ther with large quantities of diluted rum, in all which
articles the natives trade to Bocqua, where they receive
in exchange ivory and slaves, which, again, are sold to
European traders. Some ten or fifteen miles below Da¬
muggoo a stream flows in from the eastward; but this,
Lander thinks, is a branch previously separated from the
main stream, and on his map it is made to enclose the large
towns of Abbazacca and Damuggoo, together with a num¬
ber of villages. At the reunion of this stream with the
Quorra stands Kirree, a large market-town, at which place
the great delta of the Quorra may be said to commence,
extending south-westerly to the mouth of the river Benin,
and south-south-east to that of Old Calabar. At Kirree a
great branch was seen to go off to Benin ; but it is not till
the traveller reaches Eboe, a large town seventy miles far¬
ther down the river, that it begins to separate into those
numerous channels which intersect the country in every
direction, and enter the Atlantic by so many estuaries.
At a little distance above Eboe a large branch runs to the
westward, terminating also, it is said, at Benin, but more
probably in one of the numerous rivers to the south-south¬
east of that estuary. Another large branch goes off' at the
same place, flowing to the south-east, apparently towards
Old Calabar and the Rio del Rey, two large estuaries.
At the point where these two arms of the Quorra strike
off, the river spreads out into a vast lake, which is said Niger,
to receive a number of small rivers. ^ J
In sailing down from Kirree to Eboe, the Landers found
a complete change from the beautiful and smiling aspect
which nature had presented on the upper banks of the
stream. The country became almost throughout an alluvial
swamp, covered with vast entangled forests, which con¬
cealed the villages. Grain and cattle had disappeared from
the fields, and the sole subsistence of the inhabitants was
derived from the produce of the trees, from roots, the ba¬
nana, the plantain, the yam, and from the fish, caught in
the river. The Quorra abounds in fish, and the inhabitants
of the banks are expert and persevering fishermen. They
make immense nets ot grass, which they use as seines with
great dexterity. The palm-tree, also, is not only an ex¬
tensive article of trade, but affords a refreshing juice. Eboe
is situated on the side of a creek running parallel with the
Quorra, and in the flooded season communicating with it at
both extremities. It may contain about six thousand inha¬
bitants, who are the most enterprising and industrious trad¬
ers on the river. The town itself, with the immediate vi.
cinity, is unhealthy, owing to the swampy nature of the
ground. The staple trade of Eboe consists of slaves and
palm-oil, the latter being produced in immense quantities;
and yet so plentiful are the trees which yield it, that, Mr
Laird says, not the twentieth part of the natural produce
is collected. But as long as the slave-trade exists, it is
vain to look for the development of industry and com-
merce in these countries. Is it likely that the natives will
explore the palm forests whilst the atrocious practice of
kidnapping them on every convenient occasion is carried
on by Europeans and Americans? Industry, however,
would soon follow security, and the trade in palm-oil
might be rendered exceedingly valuable to Europe. Be¬
low Eboe, the branches thrown off by the Quorra on both
sides are large and numerous, and that which forms the
Bonny may perhaps claim to be considered as the main
stream. The Brass River, however, flowing in a direction
nearly south-west from Eboe, and entering the Atlantic
at Cape Formosa, was that by which the Landers reached
the sea. The next points to be considered are, the extent
of the Quorra, its tributaries, and the size and character of
its delta.
“ If we measure two distances,” says an able writer on
this subject,1 “ one from the source to Timbuctoo, and the
other from that city to the sea, we shall have nearly 2000
miles, which may be considered as the direct course; and
the various windings must raise the whole line of the
stream to upwards of 3000 miles. For several hundred
miles of its lower course it forms a broad and magnificent
expanse, resembling an inland sea. The Niger must, after
all, yield very considerably to the Missouri and Orellana,
those stupendous rivers of the new world; but it appears
as great as any of those which water the old continents.
There can rank with it only the Nile and the Yang-tse-
kiang, or Great River of China. But the upper course of
neither is yet very fully ascertained; and the Nile can
compete only in length of course, not in the magnitude ot
its stream, or the fertility of the regions which it waters.
There is one feature in which the Niger may defy compe¬
tition with any river, either of the old or new world. Ibis
is in the grandeur of its delta. Along the whole coast, ffoni
the river of Formosa or Benin, to that of Old Calabar, about
three hundred miles in length, there open into the Atlan¬
tic its successive estuaries, which navigators have scarce y
been able to number. Taking this coast as the base of the
triangle or delta, and its vertex at Kirree, about a hundre
and seventy miles inland, where the Formosa branch sepa¬
rates, we have a space of upwards of 25,000 square mne>>
1 Edinburgh Review, No. cx. p. 415.
N I G
I. equal to the half of England. Had this delta, like that of the
"’■''Nile, been subject only to temporary inundations, leaving
behind a layer of fertilizing slime, it would have formedathe
most fruitful region on the earth, and might have been al¬
most the granary of a continent. But unfortunately the
Niger rolls down its waters in such excessive abundance, as
to convert the whole into a huge and dreary swamp, covered
with dense forests of mangrove and other trees of spread¬
ing and luxuriant foliage. The equatorial sun, with its
fiercest rays, cannot penetrate these dark recesses ; it only
exhales from them pestilential vapours, which render this
coast the theatre of more fatal epidemic diseases than any
other, even of Western Africa. That human industry will
one day level these forests, drain these swamps, and cover
this soil with luxuriant harvests, we may confidently anti¬
cipate ; but many ages must probably elapse before man,
in Africa, can achieve such a victory over nature.”
These broad estuaries of the Quorra communicate with
each other by creeks, and, frequently overflowing their
banks, render the shore a vast alluvial wooded morass for
more than twenty miles inland. The natives, having thus
far extended water communications, are the most active
traders anywhere in Africa; but, excepting slaves, the
commodities in which they deal are now entirely changed.
Gold has given place to ivory, which is collected in
considerable quantities; but palm-oil is the great staple
of the eastern districts. A vast quantity of salt is made
at the mouths of the rivers, both for consumption at the
spot and in the interior. The first leading feature is the
river Formosa, which is two miles wide at its mouth; and
on a creek tributary to it stands the capital of Benin. The
surrounding territory is well cultivated, although not so
completely cleared of wood as it might be. Jatto, about
fifty miles below, is the port of Benin, and is accessible
to vessels of sixty tons. The trade on this river has great¬
ly declined from what it once was. Warre or Owarri is
another state and city, situated on another creek, commu¬
nicating with the Formosa on its opposite side. It con¬
sists of a somewhat elevated and beautiful island, sur¬
rounded by vast woods and swamps. After doubling Cape
Formosa, and passing several estuaries, we come to that
of the Brass River, called by the Portuguese the river of
Nun. Ibis, though not the largest estuary of the Quorra,
is most directly in the line of the main stream, and be¬
ing that by which Lander entered the Atlantic, it at pre¬
sent enjoys the reputation of being the principal channel.
It is divided into two branches ; but the navigation is great¬
ly impeded, and the trade limited by a dangerous bar at
its mouth. Brass Town is not built on either of the great
branches, but on one of the numerous creeks connected
with both, and in a country overgrown with impenetrable
thickets of mangrove. It is a poor place, divided by a la¬
goon into two parts, each of which contains about a thou¬
sand inhabitants. Bonny River forms the next important
estuary, having on its opposite sides the towns of Bonny
and New Calabar, which, being only a few miles up, are si¬
tuated in the midst of the morassses which overspread all
t is country. I he people support themselves by the manu-
acture of salt, and they likewise trade in slaves and palm-
m" u- east:vvard of Bonny is the estuary of Old Ca-
a ar River, the broadest of all, and navigable for large
vessels sixty miles up to Ephraim Town, which is govern-
o y a chief who assumes the title of duke. It carries on
a considerable trade, and contains about four thousand in-
natntants. To this river succeeds that of Rio del Rey, and
en t ie Rio Cameroons. The country yields a good deal
o I'ory and palm-oil. rIhe continuity of the vast wooded
a w ich extends along the coast for more than two hun-
re rni es is now broken by some very lofty mountains,
13 000 fClpa °P suPPosed to reach the height of
N I G
223
We have seen that, besides its own ample stream, the
Quorra has a number of tributaries. Not far above the
point where the delta commences, the Tshadda enters,
being nearly equal in magnitude to the Quorra itself. A
little higher up the Coodonia enters ; it is a smaller river,
but still of great importance in a commercial point of
view, as Lander had seen it flowing through a very fertile
and highly cultivated country. Considerably higher up is
the Cubbie, a large stream from the country and city of
that name ; and higher up still is the Quarrama, which
passes by Zirmie and Saccatoo. Between this point and
Fimbuctoo we are ignorant of how many or what streams
join the Quorra, nor is the tributary which passes that city
of any great importance. But, at the eastern boundary
of Bambarra, Mr Park describes the influx from the south
of two great streams, the Maniand and Nimma; and it
seems very doubtful if De Caille was not mistaken in sup¬
posing the latter to be a mere branch of the Quorra. The
higher tributaries descending from the mountains swell
the stream, without themselves affording any important
navigation.
An interesting question, and one which has occupied a
considerable degree of attention, here presents itself, name¬
ly, what prospect does this great interior communication
open to British commerce? Our intercourse with this part
of Africa has hitherto been almost exclusively with thecoast,
which is comparatively unproductive, whilst its inhabitants
are idle and miserable. Inland, however, we find the people
improve, and the country become fertile to luxuriance, and
gradually more healthy. The territories rendered acces¬
sible by the Quorra and its tributaries are undoubtedly the
most productive and industrious in all Africa; and their
population, notwithstanding the difficulty of forming any
precise estimate, can scarcely be rated at less than about
twenty-five millions. Considerable results might reasonably
be anticipated, from British enterprise having found access
to such a region. But there are two great drawbacks to
active intercourse with the interior of Africa; the insalubri¬
ty of the climate, and the inhuman traffic in slaves, which
last is a thousand times more destructive to trade than all
the forms which disease ever assumed. If this were re¬
moved and the cdnfidence of the natives restored, our com¬
merce with Africa by means of the Quorra might be great¬
ly increased. In the mean time, the late failure of Mac-
gregor Laird and Oldfield will probably for a time damp
the ardour of enterprise, and our commercial relations with
this quarter of Africa may remain, for years to come, on
nearly the same footing as before. (r. r. r.)
NIGH I, that part of the natural day during which the
sun is underneath the horizon ; or that time when it is dark
or dusky. Night was originally divided by the Hebrews
and other eastern nations into three parts or watches. But
the Romans, and after them the Jews, divided the night
into four parts or watches ; the first of which began at sun¬
set, and lasted till nine at night, according to our way of
reckoning ; the second lasted till midnight; the third ex¬
tended to three in the morning; and the fourth ended at
sunrise, dhe ancient Gauls and Germans divided their
time, not by days, but by nights ; the Anglo-Saxons follow¬
ed the same method of reckoning; and the people of Ice¬
land and the Arabs do the same at this day. The length
and shortness of the night or of darkness is according to
the season of the year and position of the place ; and the
causes of this variation are now well known. See Astro¬
nomy.
Night-Watching, a practice of very remote antiquity,
and which belongs to the oldest regulations of police. As
earJy f the time of Solomon we find mention made of it,
and likewise in the Psalms of David. Sentinels were sta¬
tioned in different places in Athens and in other cities of
Greece, and they were kept to their duty by the visita-
Night.
224
N I G
N I L
Nigidius tions of the thesmotheta. There were also triumviri noc-
Figulus. lumi in the city of Rome, as we learn from the commen-
- Varies of Henback on the police of the Romans. It ap¬
pears, however, that the design of these institutions was
rather the prevention of fires than the guarding against
alarms or dangers by night, although in process of time at¬
tention was likewise paid to these objects. The apprehen¬
sion of fires was the pretext of Augustus, when he wished
to strengthen the night-watch for suppressing nocturnal
commotions. ,
It does not appear that the practice of calling out the
hours became established before the erection of city gates.
It most probably had its rise in Germany ; yet it would
have been attended with advantage in ancient Rome, where
there were no public clocks, nor any thing in private
houses to indicate the hours. The various periods for sol¬
diers to mount guard were determined by water-clocks;
at the end of each hour they blew a horn, and by means
of this signal every individual was apprised of the hour ot
the night. It seems evident, however, that these regula¬
tions were only attended to in time of war.
In the city of Paris, as at Rome, night-watching was
established at the very commencement of the French mo¬
narchy; and De Lamare quotes the ordinances of Uothaire
II. upon this subject, in the year 595. The citizens at first
kept watch in rotation ; but this practice was afterwards
set aside, and, by the payment of a certain sum of money,
a permanent watch was established. In the opinion of the
learned and indefatigable Beckmann, the establishment ot
single watchmen, to call out the hours through the streets,
was peculiar to Germany, and has only been copied by
surrounding nations in more modern times. L he elector
John George, in 1588, appointed watchmen in Berlin ; and
Mabillon describes it as a practice peculiar to that country.
Horns were made use of by watchmen in some places, and
rattles in others ; the former being most proper for villages,
and the latter for cities. , , „ ,
The Chinese, as early as the ninth century, had watch¬
men posted upon their towers, who announced the hours
both by day and by night, striking forcibly on a suspended
board, which in that country is said to be in use to the
present period; and at St Petersburg the watchmen em¬
ploy a suspended plate of iron for a similar purpose. In
this manner also Christians are assembled together in the
Levant, for the purpose of attending divine service ; and
at an early period monks were thus awakened in monas¬
teries to attend to the proper hours of prayer.
We find mention made of steeple-watchmen in Germany
in the fourteenth century. In the year lo63, a church-
steeple was erected in Leisnig, and an apartment built in
it for a permanent watchman, who was obliged to proclaim
the hours every time the clock struck. In the fifteenth
century permanent watchmen were kept in many of the
steeples at Ulm. The same thing was practised at hrank-
fort on the Mayne, at Oettingen, and in many other places ;
and Montaigne records his astonishment at finding a man
on the steeple of Constance, who kept watch upon it con¬
tinually, and who upon no pretext whatever was permitted
to descend.
NIGIDIUS FIGULUS, Publius, one of the most
learned men of ancient Rome, who flourished at the same
time with Cicero. He wrote on various subjects, but his
pieces appeared so refined and difficult that they were not
regarded. He assisted Cicero, with great prudence, in
defeating Catiline’s conspiracy, and did him many services
in the time of his adversity. He adhered to Pompey in
opposition to Caesar, which occasioned his exile ; and he
died in banishment. Cicero, who had always entertained
the highest esteem for him, wrote to him a beautiful con¬
solatory letter, the thirteenth of the fourth book of his
Epistolce ad Familiares.
NIGRITIA, Negroland, or Soudan, a general name Nigrit h
for a considerable portion of the interior of Africa, some li
parts of which are as yet unknown, wink some have been^
only recently explored by Clapperton, De Caille, Lander,
and others. It comprises a great number of kingdoms,
large and small, each of which will be found described un-
dei- its own head. It appears to include a 1 those countries
which are situated between the sixth and seventeent i de¬
grees of north latitude, and the eighth degree of west and
fhirty-second degree of east longitude 1 hey are represent¬
ed in maps as stretching along both sides of the Niger, and
cluster around the great Lake 1 §Fad or Sh£ry- ^ h
to the east, in the neighbourhood of the Bahr-el-Abiad or
White River, one of the great branches ot the Nile, is the
country of the Shilluks, comprising Donga, Kordofan, Dar¬
fur, and Bergoo. The other chief states are Bambarra,
Timbuctoo, and Kong, on the west; and Houssa, Burgou,
Yarriba, Nouffe or Nyffe, Fundah, Bornou, Mandara, Be-
gharmi, Kanem, and others, in the centre. These, al¬
though widely scattered, will, if taken as a whole, be found
to be bounded on the north by the Sahara, on the east by
Nubia, on the south by the Mountains of the Moon and
Lower Guinea, and on the west by Senegambia. As thus
defined, Nigritia is about 2500 miles from west to east, 50C
from north to south, and has a superficial area of 1,250,000
square miles. A considerable portion of this territory is tra¬
versed by the Niger. In the centre is Lake I shad, into
which some large rivers empty themselves. For an ac¬
count of this vast inland sea, and the surrounding coun-
try, the reader is referred to the article Bornou. There
are several high ranges of mountains, such as those of Kong
and Donga ; some of the summits of the Mountains of the
Moon are covered with perpetual snow. Hie nature ot
the climate, the productions and other particulars regarding
this portion of Africa, will be found described in the article
NIJIBABAD, or Nijibgur, a town of Hindustan, in the
province of Bareilly. It was built by a Rohilla chieftain, as
a mart for the Cashmere trade, and is situated on the north
branch of a small river which runs into the Ganges. Long.
78. 41. E. Lat. 29. 35. N.
NIKOLAJEW. See Nicolaiev.
N1KOLSK, a circle in the Russian province ot Wologda,
extending from east longitude 43. 45. to 47.59., and from
north latitude 58. 10. to 60. 25., being 13,lo6 square miles
in extent. It is an elevated district, sloping both to the
north and the south, and is the source of severa rivers
running in both directions. It is moderately productive,
affording corn in average years sufficient for its scanty popu¬
lation, which does not exceed 65,000 persons. Nearly one
half of the surface is covered with wood. The capital,
of the same name, stands on the river Jug, and depends
on the river navigation. Long. 45. 30. E. Lat. • • •
NIKOLSKOI, a small town of Asiatic Russia, m the
government of Oufa, on the Oural. It is eighty miles east-
south-east of Orenburg. . r
NILCUND, a town of Northern Hindustan, and one os
the celebrated places of Hindu pilgrimage, situated among
the Himalaya Mountains, on the frontiers of Ihibet. me
cold at this place is intense; and at the end of June o
beginning of August, when it is chiefly visited, the road b
nearly impassable on account of the depth of snow. Ava¬
lanches are common on the road, and glaciers are seen
various parts. In the vicinity of this place there is a co¬
lossal statue of Gunneis; but the temple is dedicated to
Mahadeva, one of whose numerous names is JNilcuna,
Blue Throat. Long. 88. 50. E. Lat. 27. 51. N.
NILCUND AH, a town of Hindustan, in the Prov'n ,
of Hyderabad, forty-two miles south-east from Hydera a >
and the capital of a district of the same name. Long.
15. E. Lat. 16. 55. N.
NILE,
225
NILE, a large and celebrated river of Africa, which
flows through Nubia and Egypt. A general account of
this celebrated stream has already been given in the ar¬
ticle Egypt, and more particularly of its course below As¬
souan, where it enters the long valley of Egypt; but im¬
portant information having been obtained from recent
travellers, especially regarding the upper courses of its two
main forks, the Bahr-el-Abiad or White River, and the
Bahr-el-Azrek or Blue River, it is necessary to give here
some account of each of these branches.
The knowledge which the ancients possessed of the river
Nile was much more perfect than that which they had ac¬
quired of the river Niger. Eratosthenes, the librarian of
Alexandria, who flourished about 220 years before Christ,
had a knowledge of the entire course of the river more
correct than has been attained by moderns until a recent
date and if his remarks be compared with those of Ar-
temidorus, Strabo, and Ptolemy, it will be found that little
information was ever added to that of Eratosthenes, regard¬
ing either the Nile or its branches, which form the great
peninsula of Meroe. Eratosthenes distinguishes three
great branches of the Nile ; the first or most easterly being
the Atbara or Tacazze ; the second the Astapus or Bahr-
el-Azrek ; and the third the Nile proper, to which the two
former are tributaries, namely, the Bahr-el-Abiad. He
places lakes at the head of the Blue and White Rivers, and
in so doing is followed by Ptolemy, who assigns an enor¬
mous extension southwards to the Blue River. In con¬
sidering the White River the real Nile, he agrees with
Herodotus, inasmuch as the historian states that the Nile
came from the westward, and that the Automoli were at
a distance above Meroe equal to that of Meroe above
Elephantine; thus placing the Automoli on the White
Nile, in the country now inhabited by the Denka. Under
the Ptolemies the Greeks exploded the vulgar error which
prevailed in the time of Herodotus, of supposing that the
rivers of Western Africa flowed to the Nile. The opinion
that lakes were situated at the sources of the two main
branches of this great river having been found correct with
regard to the Blue Nile, there is some reason for presum-
ing that the Nile proper may have a similar origin ; “ and
if,’ as Colonel Leake says, “ we suppose Ptolemy to-have
placed the two lakes of the Nilus, or White River, twelve
degiees to the south of their real position, as he is proved
to have placed the Lake Coloe at the source of his Astapus,
or the Abyssinian branch, it will follow that the lakes of the
, e Biver are about the latitude of five degrees north.”
fhis, of course, is merely conjectural; nor is it very philo¬
sophical to determine the latitude in which a river rises
on the ground of a presumed error.
11 ^ur jnf°rrnation regarding this great and unsolved pro¬
blem of African geography, viz. the source of the Bahr-el-
Abiad, is derived from three modern authorities, Browne,
Linant, and Ibrahim Kashef, who headed a party sent out
by the viceroy of Egypt in order to capture slaves in the
distant regions of Soudan. Browne, it is well known, pe¬
netrated some degrees to the south of Darfur ; and his in¬
quiries went to prove that the sources of the river were
situated about latitude seven degrees nortu and longitude
twenty-seven degrees east, not in lakes, but in °many
streams flowing from the Gibel-el-Kumri, or Mountains of
the Moon. It may be remarked, that this is precisely the
name given by Ptolemy to the mountains at the source of
the Nile ; and Denham also found it attached to a part of
the same great range farther to the westward. Linant,
who travelled for the African Association in 1827, sur¬
veyed the course of the White Nile from the confluence
of the Blue River to Aleis, a direct distance of 132 geo¬
graphical miles. But the most recent information is that
of Ibrahim Kashef, who set out from Khartum, at the fork
of the two great branches. This expedition, divided into
two parties, marched for thirty-five days along both banks
of the river. On the twelfth day they reached the first
island of the Shilluks, traversed the territory of that people
for fifteen days, and on the twenty-ninth day entered that
of the Denka, from which they returned at the end of six
days. The river was then shallow, and full of islands, six
hours in breadth, and there were no mountains to be
seen. “ The latter part of the march,” says Colonel
Leake, “ appears, from the description of Ibrahim, to have
been in a direction nearly west; so that if the first island
of the Shilluks, which they reached on the twelfth day,
was not far from Aleis, as Linant’s journal gives rea¬
son to believe, the extreme point obtained by them was
about twenty-nine degrees east longitude, and ten degrees
north latitude. The result of the last expedition agrees
with that of Browne’s, inasmuch as it gives an easterly
course to that part of the river which lies to the south of
Darfur, and as it makes the sources of the river to fall to
the south-westward of that kingdom, not farther northward
than seven degrees north. It supports the opinion also
that Browne’s Donga is no other than the country of the
Denka; that both the sources and mountains are more dis¬
tant than Browne’s information supposed ; and still leaves
the possibility, therefore, that Ptolemy was right in de¬
scribing the river as originating in lakes. In fact, the
enormous breadth attributed to the river by the Turkish
slaving party, although it may be an exaggeration, and is
certainly not to be reckoned by the usual allowance of the
itinerary hour, leaves little doubt that the river, at the
extreme point of their journey, was much broader than at
its junction with the Blue Nile ; and indicates, therefore,
that its conformation is of an extraordinary kind, its origin
being perhaps in a lake or lakes, which may be supplied
Nile.
south weSernhhemt nf n Colonel Leake> was well informed on the course of the Nile above Egypt, and particularly as to the great
Eratosthenes ,Do"gola’ iv.hich ^as scarcely known to the moderns before the journey of Burckhardt into Nubia. It was from
dor us of lnhrsustlSra?°fide(ri,Te( iUS in/«rmatlon on the peninsula of Meroe, and it was probably from the same source that Artemi-
firmed oSoriT rS °f ^eroLi vvas fifteen da*s distant frora the sea- Eratosthenes described the island of Meroe aS
tasobas while the n?68 16 Nl 6’ name,d ^staboras’ now Atbara> and Astapus; but added, that the latter was sometimes called As-
an-rees with Ptlu ® Astapus was applied to another river rising in certain lakes to the south, meaning the White Kiver. This
proper Nile that T/t inasm.l!ch AafMh.e cl^ly attaches the name Astapus to the Blue or Abyssinian Nile,' and derives the Nilus, or
Pliny followed tU J t7’ ^ ^ kkeS Sltuated far t0 the south- On the other htnd, Artemidorus, Strabo, and
the Blue RRet The lau/r nf alluded to by Eratosthenes, who gave the name Astapus to the White Nile, and that of Astasobas to
bank of the Bahr d AzS or Bb^'u ^ hj^°5 kte tl!'avellers ’ from whom we Barn, that on the right
same a-e as those of J ^lver’a llttle abov! the fuork at Kharutum’ there are some ruins called Soba, apparently of The
composition of this and the twJnfp06 would m that Astasobas meant the river of Soba, and that the Ast, which enters into the
by the Effvntiar rrJiw 1 a? ^ nameS ot the nTers 0l Meroe> implies rtver, having probably been introduced into that country
mon, andSShaDsGaBoktbrmn^aCevnif’.WhereAWefind US !iemenls’ doubtless ^ith the same lml)ort’ in the names Astneus, Stry-
probablv of the ?fVer IIth mode!:n Vistntza. Astapus, in tact, was the name of a Macedonian city (now called Istib), and not im-
that of Astapus may still hC ! ? VT",13 situat1ed- When lbe Eluue Nile had generally assumed the appellation of Astasobas,
come attached also L. e W m theuUIllt(rd ?tream as tar as the junction of the Astaboras, and may at length have be-
fbrmed of two nearly eoual e™ the\fork’^ a Process whl,cb has otten changed the names of rivers, especially when
I of the time of Strabo ” C ** > .. ‘^ie ^camander or Iroy is a remarkable instance. The Simoeis of Homer was the Scamander
trabo. (Journal of the Geographical Society.)
VOL* XVI,
2 F
LI
226
NILE.
Nile.
by streams flowing from a distant range of mountains. The
'existence of lakes having a communication with the nver
only in time of high water is rendered highly probable by a
passage in the journal of M. Linant, which states, that at the
time of the inundation of the White River an incredible
quantity of fish is brought down towards Khartum by the
current.”1 This is all the knowledge we possess regarding
the source of the Nile proper, which, in spite ot Bruce, st i
remains the same problem as it has ever been. e^al.
ing the Egyptian expedition, Colonel Leake observes, As
a want of success alone caused the return of the Turkish
slaving party, the natives constantly eluding their pursuit,
it seems evident, that if geographical discovery, msiead
man-stealing, had been their object, they nug a'
plored the river much farther ; and that it ralShtc0^
quently be in the power of the viceroy of Egypt to arrive
at the ’mysterious sources, or to escort an Luropea
sion thither, if a motive sufficiently powerful shoa d *
prompt him to assist in the attempt. In the mean time,
a route by water, in the direction of the sources ot t
White Nile, is now afforded from the westward by mean
of the newly-discovered branch of the Quorra, called Shary,
or Shadda, or Tshadda, which, being one mile and a halt at
its junction with the Quorra, is probably navigable tor a
Seit distance above the confluence.- There are great
doubts, however, of the river Shary ever aiding in dis¬
covery of the sources of the Nile, inasmuch as it probably
has its origin in Lake Tshad, which is situated at least ten
degrees west-north-west from the reputed sources of th
great stream. Nor are our hopes that the problem w 11
speedilv be resolved at all raised by the Egyptian expedi¬
tion ; tor the proceedings of the viceroy in hunting or
slaves on the banks of the river has so exasperated the na¬
tives against the whites, that they will allow no opportu¬
nity of making reprisals upon them to escape, ^uch a
least is the opinion of Mr Hoskins. “ The source ot the
Nile could only,” he thinks, “ be discovered by an arm¬
ed force; and even that method would present great dit-
ficulties. It would require a large army to subdue the grea
extent of country through which the Bahr-el-Abiad proba¬
bly passes. Not only the chiefs, but the whole population,
instead of any of them joining the standard of the invader,
or furnishing him with provisions, would resolutely oppose
him. Each man would fight with desperation for the Pre'
servation of his property, family, and liberty. J Resides,
they thirst for vengeance on all Mahommedans and white
men, and the circumstance of their being trench or Eng¬
lish would not avail. “ They distinguish but two races,
Pagan and Mahommedan, and two colours, black and white,
their friends and enemies.” .
The voyage of M.Linant along the Bahr-el-Abiad having
thrown considerable light on its character near to the
point of junction, we shall present a brief analysis of his
journal. From the mean of this traveller’s astronomical ob¬
servations, a small island placed just at the junction of the
Bahr-el-Abiad with the Blue River is situated in latitude
15. 34. north, and longitude 32. 30. 58. east from Green¬
wich. On ascending the river, it was found in many places
a mile and a half in width, and even then was far with-
in its regular banks, which sometimes seemed about tour
miles apart, and were distinctly marked beyond a wide sandy
beach destitute of any appearance of verdure. Even this
is not the extreme breadth when the river is at its great¬
est height, as it then overflows the adjoining country to a
considerable extent, especially to the westward, the eastern
bank being the higher, although on both sides the general
aspect of the country is flat. The farther banks are cover¬
ed on the eastern side with wood of stunted grow th, rooted
chiefly in the sand ; on the western side it is of larger size,
Lowing on a better soil. The borders of the river were
crowded with water game, such as wild geese, pelicans,
swans, and the like. On being repeatedly sounded the
depth was always found to be from three to tour fathoms.
Farther up, the river was found to be somewhat nar¬
rower, the eastern shore to be lower, and both banks very
richly wooded, with fine verdure clothing it clo5e to the
water’s ed^e. Fish were taken in abundance by the na¬
tives, and ^hippopotamuses and crocodiles swarmed every¬
where. Numerous islands were passed at intervals, some
of them beautiful spots covered with tall trees of a splen¬
did ureen, and thickly set with herbaceous plants. Mul¬
titudes of birds were found upon them ; and Irom the
trunks of trees bee-hives were easily procured. The bhil-
luks came from a distance for the sole purpose of ob¬
taining this honey, and chasing the hippopotamuses. Aleis
was the highest point attained by M. Linant; and the fol¬
lowing are the conclusions which he draws from the voy-
acre • “ The Bahr-el-Abiad is undoubtedly the principal
of the two rivers which form by their junction the Nile of
Eevnt. It discharges a greater volume of water than the
Bahr-el-Azrek ; and although somewhat narrower imme¬
diately at the confluence than it is higher up, it is, e\en
in this respect, equal to the Blue River. The colour c
its waters is also that which characterises the conjunc
stream in the dry season, the Bahr-el-Azrek being tlieu of
a greenish hue, while the Bahr-el-Abiad is always white,
and as it were soapy, even during the inundations, when
the Bahr-el-Azrek becomes reddish, from the nature of the
detritus brought down by the Bahr-Toumat, which falls
into it in the province of Fasuolo. And the Bahr-Mo-
gren, or northernmost branch of the Nile, also brings down
at this time a quantity of black earth, which influences the
general colour.”....44 I have been unable, he continues,
“ to obtain any precise information as to the origin of ffie
Bahr-Abiad, none but the Arabs called Corouns and the
Silt, f:
canr-Auiau, uuut *  • TJ
Wed Abrof pretending to know any thing of it. iiassan,
the sheikh of Fasuolo, a well-informed man for his coun-
tlie sneixn oi Actauuiu, » ...... .
try, and who has travelled a great deal in the adjacent
districts, gave me, however, some particulars, which m-
duce me to believe that it cannot rise m a lower latitude
than Fasuolo.4 For the merchants who go directly west
from that province into the country of the Negroes, ind
those who traverse the countries south of Darfur and Kor-
dofan, along nearly the same road, and m the same paraf
lei of latitude, as the Coroun Arabs, the Bagarras, the
Wed Abrof, &c. all agree in saying that they pass no river
west of Fasuolo, excepting the Toumat, and some sligtit
streams which are nearly dry in the summer season; and
that during the same season they have no water in their
encampments along the skirts of the Ethiopian chain, which
extends east and west a great distance, except wbatthey
find in the beds of torrents or among the rocks. \ i
asked them, also, why they did not rather follow thebanks
of the Bahr-Abiad, they always answered me that it pa-
ed a long way north of them ; and that, beyond the bhd-
luks, it came directly from the west quarter. ,
“ It is certain that, in the country of the
there are other rivers which come from the west; and tn
following is a list of them in the order in which thev^
met in ascending the stream. First, the iVid-e/-xJ,
Feast of the Nile, which passes close under the moun^
tain called Guebel Dahir, or Mountain of the Round, »
2 Ibid.
1 less so the resuit of tke oral
4 The journey of Ibrahim Kashef, already mentioned is adverse to tins opinion,
tion obtained from Mehemet Bey, by M. Ruppel, in Kordofan.
NILE.
227
Nl called because it is ascended spirally. It is covered with
negro villages, is situated in the country of the Tagal-
la, and the river which passes to the south of it is said
to flow from a great lake, to which I heard several names
given, none of which I shall therefore recite. Several other
rivers are reported to fall into it, the first called the Bahr-
Soudan,1 the second the Suar, the third the Hor-el-Karna,
the fourth the Serat, and the fifth the Hor-el-Nahal, be¬
sides some others.
“ The Sheikh Hassan of Fasuolo also told me, that south
of the Shilluks the Bahr-Abiad is lost in some extensive
lakes, which stretch away to the westward, and commu¬
nicate with each other during the inundations, the inter¬
vening country being flat and marshy. And the remarks
which I made on the stream agree well with this state¬
ment, neither gravel nor sand indicative of its being fed
by torrents being found in it, and its shoals being all clay,
proving that it does not come from mountains, but from a
country of the same nature ; or, at least, that if it does ori¬
ginate in mountains, it has a long subsequent course over
a country of an opposite kind ; whence its source cannot
possibly be in the Mountains of the Moon, or, at least, in
the place where they are marked in our maps. Besides all
which, another remarkable fact seems to me to prove in¬
dubitably that it comes from a system of lakes; namely,
the prodigious quantity of fish w'hich arrive with the freshes
at their first appearance ; for these fish can only come from
lakes, where they remain imprisoned when the waters are
low, and escape when the inundation takes place.”
At the point of its junction wdth the Bahr-el-Azrek the
Bahr-el-Abiad is about eighteen hundred feet across ; but,
as we have already observed, it enlarges much a little
above, its banks being frequently three or four miles apart,
and in some places during the inundations the waters ex¬
tend twenty-one miles from side to side. “ It is said that
they are specifically lighter,” says M. Linant, “and more
wholesome for use, than those of the Azrek ; it is certain, at
least, that the banks of the Abiad are much the more
healthy.” The cause of the comparative heaviness of the
waters of the Azrek here mentioned, is no doubt to be at¬
tributed to the presence of earthy matters held in sus¬
pension by the w aters, being part of the “ detritus brought
down by the Toumat,” as described by M. Linant. But
the statement regarding the superior salubrity "of the wa¬
ters of the Abiad is quite at variance with that of Mr Hos¬
kins. “ I have been assured by several Arab merchants,
and also Turks,” says he, “ that the water of the river is
less sweet than that of the Azrek, that the caravans sta¬
tioned on what they call the island, between the two rivers,
universally prefer the water of the latter. The Egyptians,
therefore, are indebted to the Azrek for the singular
sweetness of the waters of the Nile.’2 Mr Hoskins con¬
tinues : “ The Arabs’ invariable description of the Bahr-
el-Abiad is, that it has waves like the Red Sea, but the
current is not powerful like that of the Blue River; that a
boat would sail rapidly up, on account of the prevailing
northerly winds, but it would be more difficult to descend.
It is not improbable that the reason of the superior rapi¬
dity of the Blue River is its proximity to its source in the
mountains, whilst the Bahr-el-Abiad may pass through im¬
mense districts, where the surface is more level and uni-
orm. 3 The shores of the Abiad are in general very
at, especially on the western side; and the water is only
eep towards the middle of the stream. On the western
side the bank is composed a of deposit from the river, Nile,
without any sand; but, on the opposite side, it is entirely
of a yellow ish sand, not brought down by the river, but by
the south-east winds during the winter; and this being
stopped by the river, forms hillocks, which give this side
a greater elevation, and the descent from it to the water a
greater declivity than on the opposite shore. Hence, also,
the water on this side is a little deeper. The rise of the
Bahr-el-Abiad is not perceptible till some time after that
of the Bahr-el-Azrek. Below the junction the general as¬
pect of the Nile has much more of the character of the
Bahr-el-Azrek than that of the Bahr-el-Abiad, excepting
in the colour of its waters during the dry season. In every
respect it resembles the former as to the nature of its banks
and adjoining scenery, its width, sinuous course, sand-banks,
and the want of large shells, such as are only to be found
on the shores of the Bahr-el-Abiad. Below, also, as well as
along the banks of the Bahr-el-Azrek, there are compa¬
ratively few aquatic birds, whilst near the Bahr-el-Abiad
they are innumerable. Lord Prudhoe thus compares the
two rivers: “ The banks of this river (the Bahr-el-Abiad)
are low' and flat, presenting a succession of grass lawn, and
fine trees of the harrez (accacia). No scenery can be
more unlike the Nile, whilst the Bahr-el-Azrek is its fac¬
simile ; the same high banks forming steppes from the an¬
nual inundations, bare of trees, but eminently fertile from
the rich deposit of the river; whilst the Bahr-el-Abiad,
stretching into wide lakes during the inundation, leaves
the soil so sterile, that neither corn nor other crops, not
even doorrah, can be grown when the waters subside ; in
lieu springs up grass, a production nearly unknown in
Egypt. Here we saw a bird like the ibis, never seen on
the Nile; it was black and white, with a curved beak,
as represented in Egyptian sculpture. Many of the picus
species were also flying about, with feathers of blue and
red. The fish, too, of the Bahr-el-Abiad are peculiar to
that river, and are not found in the Nile.”4 Such is a
summary of the facts ascertained regarding the main branch
or artery of the Nile.
The Bahr-el-Azrek, the other branch, flowing from the
south-east, rises in Abyssinia, and joins the Bahr-el-Abiad
under the parallel before specified. The province of Go-
jam, in which it rises, is very mountainous; and numerous
streams which have their origin in this chain flow first
eastward and form the great lake of Dembea, one of the
most conspicuous features of Abyssinian geography. That
which appears to be the largest of these issues from two
fountains in Sacala, near Geesh, and after flowing into the
lake, and quitting it on its eastern shore, sweeps in a se¬
micircular direction round the provinces of Damot and Go-
jam, flowing first in a westerly course, and then taking its
main bearing, which is north-north-west. The result of
about forty observations of Bruce places these fountains in
east longitude 36.55. 30. and 10.59.25. north latitude. The
mercury in the barometer stood at twenty-two inches, which
indicates an altitude of more than two miles above the level
of the sea. This river is considered in Abyssinia as the real
Nile, and was so regarded by Bruce. All the Portuguese
travellers and missionaries, from whom alone our early in¬
formation is derived, were impressed with the same idea. It
is not, therefore, wonderful that Bruce embarked on his ar¬
duous undertaking of penetrating to its sources under this
impression; and that, after having placed his glory in the
discovery, he should have admitted slowly and with can¬
on t)11 Linant, he was informed by some Takrouri pilgrims from Dar Sille, that they travelled two months
ward- a"ttb i betore tbe-Y frrived at Sennaar; that, before arriving at the Abiad, they followed the course of another river up-
5’ ""u . • the ^biad had its rise in a country called Bahr-el-Lesse, from which some of the waters flow towards Marok, or
Aiaiocco, that is, to the north-west.
4 ^°5kins 1 ravels in Ethiopia, above the Second Cataract of the Nile. 3 Ibid. p. 119.
ournal of the Geographical Society, vol. v. part i. p. 41.
228
NILE.
Nile.
tion the observation of D’Anville, that the Bahr-el-Abiad,
'admitted to be the greater stream, even by the traveller
himself, had in all respects the best title to be considered
as the Nile of the ancients. But even granting that it is
not, the admission will deduct little from the achievement
of Bruce, whose journey to the fountains of Geesh, througn
wild and unexplored regions, must ever be regarded as one
of the noblest instances of human daring, directed by judg¬
ment and science. -p.
In its northerly course, the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue it -
ver, receives an accession of several considerable, streams,
amongst which are the Beto and Bahr-Toumat, flowing in
on the western side, and the Bender, Rehab and Baba ,
which unite with it on the eastern side. Ihe waters ot
the Bahr-Toumat are very considerable during the freshes,
but at other times they are so dried up as not even to flow.
When it begins to rise, however, it does so with such rapidi¬
ty and violence as to carry every thing before it, the noise
of its approach being thus heard at a considerable distance,
and taken as a signal to escape from its banks with the ut¬
most precipitation. At Sennaar, which is about one hundred
miles above thej unction of the Blue and White Rivers, Bruce
describes the former as a “ delightful river, above a,mile
broad, full to the very brim, but never overflowing. Every¬
where on these banks are seen numerous herds of the most
beautiful cattle of various kinds.”... “ Ihe banks of the L \ e
about Sennaar resemble the pleasantest parts of Holland in
the summer season ; but soon after, when the rains cease,
and the sun exerts his utmost influence, the dorra begins
to ripen, the leaves to turn yellow and to rot, the lakes to
putrefy, smell, and be full of vermin, all this beauty sud¬
denly disappears.” The principal tributary ot the united
streams of the Azrek and the Abiad, called various y the
Tacazze, Atbara, Astaboras, Sittet, and Mugrum, falls into
it in east longitude 34. 5. and in north latitude 17.
This river rises in Abyssinia, and flows through a great
portion of it, draining all the high chains or mountains in
its western part. The streams which combine to form the
main river spread over a wide tract of country, and are
very numerous, which is partly the cause of the 1 acazze
having so many names. Its principal tributaries are the
Mareb and Mogreu (the March of Bruce), the latter join¬
ing it not far from its confluence with the Nile. Here
Bruce found it a quarter of a mile broad, and very deep,
flowing through a parched, desert, and barren country, its
banks having lost the beauty which clothed them whilst it
flowed through Abyssinia. Mr Hoskins gives a more par¬
ticular account of it. “ Opposite to Unmatur is the
junction of the Mugrum, the ancient Astaboras, with the
Nile, which is comparatively clear at this season (March).
I perceived also that the taste was different, and that it
had a strong disagreeable smell.”...“ Ihe width of the - lu-
grum, as the Astaboras is now called, from what I could
fearn, is, at the time of the rise, about a thousand feet.
At this season they tell me it is almost stagnant. It
swells many days earlier than the Bahr-el-Abiad or the
Azrek ; and I think the green colour that tinges the whole
Nile for the first thirty or forty days after its rise may be
attributed to the influx of the waters of this river. The
chief province or district on its banks is called Atbaia,
evidently a corruption from the ancient name of the river,
which is curious, as any analogy is rarely to be found be¬
tween the modern and ancient names in this country. ...
.« From the best information I have been able to obtain,
there are seven days’ journey from the mouth of the Mu-
o-rum to Goss Radjeb, the principal village on its banks :
tor the first two days the direction of this river is nearly
east.”1 Mr Hoskins was also informed by some intelligent
Arabs that the Mugrum abounds much more than the
Nile in hippopotamuses and crocodiles, and that the west¬
ern bank is infested with lions. This river, along with the
Nile and its branch the Bahr-el-Azrek, encloses a tract
of country called Meroe, which obtained from the ancients
the name of Island. See Merge. . . . R ,
After the junction of the Bahr-el-Azrek with the Bahr-
el-Abiad, the Nile takes a very remarkable bend, which, as
it appears on the map, cannot be better described than by
savinu that it resembles an irregular letter, S, the upper part,
inclining to the left- This immense tortuosity extends from
about the sixteenth to nearly the twenty-third degree o
north latitude. To give a detailed account of the Nile and
its banks during this long course, would only be to present
an ever-recurring picture of the same objects. Ihe width
of the Nile varies exceedingly, being sometimes more than
a mile, and at other times only about a quarter of a mile,
in breadth. It is studded with innumerable islands, some
of which are of very considerable size, and clothed w ith the
richest vegetation. The banks of the Nile, also, are often
picturesque and beautiful; and the portions of land which
may be said to be enclosed by the bendings of the river
contain a much greater extent of cultivated soil, and sup¬
port a larger population, than any part of Lower Nubia.
The whole of the country, however, which has been sub¬
jected to cultivation, can only be described as a long and
narrow oasis, that has been rescued from the surrounding
desolation by the river which traverses it. Dongola is the
name of the territory most remarkable for its fertility and
beauty. High granitic rocks enclose the green and culti¬
vated valley of Jarjar, which flourishes in freshness and
fertility in the bosom of the wildest waste. Immediately
beyond it there is a pass called the Water s Mouth, parti¬
cularly celebrated for the grandeur of its scenery. It is
formed by a succession of huge detached masses of naked
rock, and of large fragments scattered along the plain. Be¬
low is the large island of Argo, a spot of peculiar and strik¬
ing fertility, forming in the bosom ot the desert -the most
luxuriant natural garden. About ten miles above it is J\ -
raega, El Ourde, or New Dongola, the last name having
been given to it by the Mamelukes, who, during their tem¬
porary occupation of this country, made it their capital.
Before the Nile enters Egypt there occur those cataracts
of the river so celebrated in antiquity, and so much exag¬
gerated by some modern travellers. The first is situated
about three miles above the island of Elephantine, in a i-
tude 24° north. The beauty of this green spot on the
waters strikes all travellers with admiration ; by the natives
it is termed the Island of Flowers, and travellers call it he
Garden of the Tropics. It presents, inueed, withm the
space of a mile in length and a quarter of a mile m breadth,
a verdure and fertility equal to the finest parts of E yp •
Whether or not the body of water of the Nile has, in
course of ages, worn or rather broken down the precjce
over which the river once rushed, we cannot say ; but mis
is certainly not at all probable. However, the thundering
sound of the cataracts which was said to compe! the inha
bitants to remove to a distance from the deafemng comm
tion, is no longer to be heard. It does not appear that here
is at present any considerable fall, the highest not being
above1 five feet in perpendicular descent. A pictu
and extraordinary scene, however, is produced by
dashing through the wild confusion of granite rocks, witn
which its bed for several miles is thickly strewe -
rocky chain which stretches along either hank, pre
ing projections of every form, meet and cioss in i
die of its course. The river, which above flows m cal
majesty upwards of a mile in breadth, is here narrowed t
Kile,
Hoskins’ Travels in Ethiopia above the Second Cataract of the Nile.
S «
N I L
N I M
229
lo ter. half that space : and its stream, forcing its way through
'the innumerable islets situated above, amidst, and below
the cataract, boiling and foaming amidst a thousand rocks,
presents a scene of peculiar grandeur and effect. The
water in the different channels is tossed about in every
direction, forming numberless little cascades ; and the
noise, resembling that of a tempestuous ocean beating
on a rocky shore, is in winter and spring very formidable,
being heard at the distance of three miles. There are six
of these cataracts enumerated by travellers, besides some
falls of inconsiderable size, although not surrounded by pic¬
turesque scenery. The most celebrated is the second ca¬
taract, situated at Wady Haifa, in latitude 21. 50. north.
This cataract has also disappointed travellers, who expect¬
ed to find it a mighty waterfall. Like the first, it is formed
by a multitude of rocky islands, through which the Nile
dashes amidst clouds of foam, and is whirled and tossed in
perpetual eddies. The rocks consist of a species of black
marble, not of granite, and the islets being covered with
patches of verdure, and several of them being even in¬
habited, produce a picturesque effect, which relieves the
aspect of desolation characteristic of the first. The fifth
cataract is not to be compared to either the first or second
for picturesque effect. “ There are here no mountains or
even hills,” says Mr Hoskins, “ and the fall at a little dis¬
tance is scarcely perceptible. The sound is great, the ra¬
pids strong, and of such an extent, that at this season of
the year (February) certainly no boat of any size could
pass; when the Nile is high there would be little difficul¬
ty.” The other cataracts do not require any particular
notice. It is clear that they are rather what the Ameri¬
cans call rapids than what w'e are accustomed to associate
with the name of cataract; a series of inconsiderable falls,
remarkable rather for their number and the picturesque
scenery adjacent thereto, than for any other circumstance
or peculiarity.
The Nile enters Egypt at Assouan, near the site of the
ancient Syene, in latitude 24° north. It follows nearly a
northerly course, and below Cairo (latitude 30. 15. north)
divides into two main arms, the Damietta or the eastern,
and the Rosetta or western branch. A description of this,
the most important part of the course of the Nile,-has al¬
ready been given at sufficient length in the article Egypt,
to which the reader is referred, as well as for an account
of the inundation and other circumstances connected with
this great river. As to the length of its course, the dis¬
tance from the confluence of its two head branches to the
sea has been estimated at 1500 miles, and from its high¬
est sources at 2500 miles. (u. r. r.)
KILOMETER, an instrument used amongst the ancients
to measure the height of the water of the river Nile during
the periodical inundation. The word comes from Ns/Aof,
Nile, and [urgov, measure. The Greeks more commonly
called it Ns/Xoffxcmoi/. The nilometer is said, by several
Arabian writers, to have been first set up, for this purpose,
by Joseph during his regency in Egypt; and the measure
of it was sixteen cubits, this being the height of the in¬
crease of the Nile which was then necessary to the fruit¬
fulness of Egypt.
From the measure of this column, Dr Cumberland de¬
duces an argument, in order to prove that the Jewish and
Egyptian cubits were of the same length. In the Royal
Library of Paris there is an Arabic treatise on nilometers,
entitled Neilfi alnal al Nil, in which are described all
the overflowings of the Nile, from the first to the 875th
year of the Hegira. Herodotus mentions a column which
had been erected in a point of the island of Delta, to serve
as a nilometer; and there is still one in a mosque at the
same place.
<i ^ruce’s account of the nilometer.
n tne point of the island Rhode, between Geeza and
Cairo, near the middle of the river, is a round tower en- Nimbus
closing a neat well or cistern lined with marble. The . II
bottom of this well is on the same level with the bottom ^ V‘mro<l-
of the Nile, which has free access to it through a large Y
opening like an embrasure. In the middle of the well
rises a thin column of eight faces of blue and white mar¬
ble, of which the foot is on the same plane with the bot¬
tom of the river. This pillar is divided into twenty peeks,
of twenty-two inches each. Of these peeks the two low¬
ermost are left, without any division, to stand for the
quantity of sludge which the water deposits there. Two
peeks are then divided, on the right hand, into twenty-
four digits each ; then on the left, four peeks are divided
into twenty-four digits ; then on the right, four, and on the
left another four; again, four on the right, which com¬
pletes the number of eighten peeks from the first division
marked on the pillar. Thus the whole, marked and un¬
marked, amounts to something more than thirty-six feet
English.” (See Bruce’s Travels (vol. hi.), and also the
article Egypt.)
NIMBUS, in Antiquity, a circle observed upon certain
medals, or around the heads of some emperors, answering
to the circles of light drawn round the images of saints.
NIMETULAHITES, a description of Turkish monks,
so called from their founder Nimetulahi, famous for his
doctrines and the austerity of his life.
NIMROD, the sixth son of Cush, and to all appear¬
ance much younger than any of his brothers, since Moses
mentions the sons of Raamah, his fourth brother, before
he speaks of him. What the sacred historian says of him
is short; and yet he says more than of any other of the
posterity of Noah, till he comes to Abraham. He tells
us that “ Nimrod began to be a mighty one in the earth ;”
that he was “ a mighty hunter before the Lord,” even to
a proverb; and tfyat “ the beginning of his kingdom was
Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of
Shinar.”
From this account Nimrod is supposed to have been a
man of extraordinary strength and valour. Some represent
him as a giant; all consider him as a great warrior. It is
generally thought that by the words “ a mighty hunter,”
is to be understood that he was a great tyrant; but some of
the rabbin interpret these words favourably, thinking that
Nimrod was qualified by peculiar dexterity and strength
for the chase, and that he offered to God the game which
he caught; and several of the moderns are also of opinion
that this passage is not to be understood of his tyrannical
oppressions, or his hunting of men, but only of beasts. It
must be owned that the phrase “ before the Lord” may
be taken in a favourable sense, and as a commendation of
his good qualities ; but the generality of expositors and
commentators understand it otherwise.
Hunting must have been one of the most useful employ¬
ments in the times immediately after the dispersion, when
all countries were overrun with wild beasts, of which it was
necessary that they should be cleared, to render them
habitable; and therefore nothing seemed more proper to
procure a man esteem and honour in those ages than his
being an expert hunter. By that exercise, we are told,
the ancient Persians qualified their kings for war and go¬
vernment ; and hunting is still, in many countries, consi¬
dered as part of a royal education.
There is nothing in the short history of Nimrod that car¬
ries the least air of reproach, excepting his name, which
signifies a rebel; and that is the circumstance which seems
to have occasioned the injurious opinions which have been
entertained respecting him in all ages. Commentators,
being in general prepossessed in favour of the opinion that
the curse of Noah fell upon the posterity of Ham, and
finding this prince stigmatised by such a name, have in¬
terpreted every passage relating to him to his disadvan-
N I M
taffe They represent him as a rebel against God, in per¬
suading the descendants of Noah to disobey the divine
command to disperse, and in setting them on to build the
tower of Babel, with an impious design of scaling heaven.
They brand him as an ambitious usurper and an insolent
oppressor, and make him the author of the adoration ot
fire and idolatrous worship, as well as the first persecutor
on the score of religion. On the other hand, some ac¬
count him a virtuous prince, who, far from advising the
building of Babel, left the country, and went into Assyria,
because he would not give his consent to that extravagan
P Nimrod is generally thought to have been the first king
after the Deluge, though some authors, supposing a p an-
tation or dispersion prior to that of Babel, have thought that
there were kings in several countries before his time. Miz-
raim is conceived, by many who contend for the antiqui y
of the Egyptian monarchy, to have begun his reign much
earlier than Nimrod; and others, from the uniformity of
the languages which were spoken in Assyria, Babylonia,
Syria, and Canaan, affirm that those countries must have
N I N
in these conjectures, nor have we any knowledge of his Nimwegr
immediate successors. . , ,
The Scripture mentions nothing respecting the death ^nevet:
of Nimrod. Some of the rabbin pretend that he was slain
by Esau, whom they make his contemporary. There is a
tradition that he was killed by the fall of the tower of Ba¬
bel when that structure was overthrown by tempestuous
winds. But others say, that when he led an army against
Abraham, God sent a squadron of gnats, which destroyed
most of them, and particularly Nimrod, whose brain was
pierced by one of those insects.
NIMWEGEN, a city of the province of Guelderland,
in the circle of the same name, in the Netherlands, com¬
prehending six cantons, and 51,100 inhabitants. Of this
circle Nimwegen is the capital. It stands on the left bank
of the river Waal, over which there is an excellent flying
bridge. It is situated on five hills, in a rich and pleasant
district, and is well fortified. The streets are wide and
clean, and the houses large and well built, and it has some
agreeable promenades adjoining to it. In 1830, it contain¬
ed 1900 houses, and 17,734inhabitants, viz. 8402males and
Syria, and Canaan, amrm mai uiusc * g females. Its chief trade consists in brewing, tanning,
been peopled before the confusion of tongue . bleaching distilling, and making Prussian blue, tobacco,
The four cities which Moses gave to Nimrod constituted bleaching, dist llm S , con.
The four cities w n i^i* & .. , ,
a lar<re kingdom in those early times, when few kings had
more than one ; only it must be observed, that possessions
might at first have been large, and afterwards divided into
several parcels; and Nimrod being the leader of a nation,
we may suppose that his subjects were settled within those
limits. Whether he became possessed of those cities by
conquest or otherwise, does not appear. It is most proba¬
ble he did not build Babel, all the posterity of Noah seem¬
ing to have been equally concerned in that affair ; nor does
it appear that he built the other three cities, although the
founding of them, and many more, besides other works, are
attributed to him by some authors. It may also seem a little
strange that Nimrod should have been preferred to the re¬
gal dignity, and enjoyed the most cultivated part of the
earth then known, rather than any other of the elder chiefs
or heads of nations, even of the branch of Ham. Perhaps
it was conferred on him for his dexterity in hunting, or it
may be that he did not assume the title of king till after
the death of his father Cush, who might have been settled
snuff, and sealing-wax. It is celebrated for the peace con¬
cluded there in 1678 and 1679. Long. 5. 3o. 21. E. Lat.
51.51.20. N.
NINE, the last of the radical numbers or characters,
from the combination of which any definite number, how¬
ever large, may be produced. “ It is observed by arith¬
meticians,” says Hume, “ that the products of 9 compose
always either 9 or some lesser products of 9, if you add
together all the characters of which any of the former pro¬
ducts is composed. Thus of 18, 27, 36, which are products
of 9, you make nine, by adding 1 to 8, 2 to 7,3 to b.
Thus 369 is a product also of 9; and if you add 3, b, and
9, you make 18, a lesser product of 9.” (See Humes
Dialogues on Natural Religion, p. 167,168, 2d edit.)
NINE ISLANDS, a cluster of small islands in the ra-
cific Ocean, which were so called by Captain Carteret.
Long. 154. 30. E. Lat. 4. 40. S.
NINEVEH, the capital city of Assyria, which was found¬
ed by Ashur the son of Shem (Gen. x. 11) ; or, as others
the death of his father Cush, who might have been sett ea eu uy the ^ of Cush> However this
there before him, and left him the sovereignty , bu^we h be(!n yit must be owned that Nineveh was one
cline to think that he seized Shinar from the descendan s of ^ ^^ ancient cities of the world. It is
Shem, driving out Ashur, who went from thence and found- ot the largest ana must n _
ed Nineveh, and other cities in Assyria
The Scripture does not inform us when Nimrod began
his reign. Some date it before the dispersion ; but such a
conjecture does not seem to suit with the Mosaical his¬
tory ; for before the dispersion we read of no city but Ba¬
bel, nor could there well be more whilst all mankind were
yet in a body together. But when Nimrod assumed the
very difficult to assign exactly the time of its foundation,
but it cannot have been long after the building of Babel.
It was situated upon the banks of the Tigris ; and in the
time of the prophet Jonas, who was sent thither under Je¬
roboam II. king of Israel, and, as Calmet thinks, under the
reDn of Pul, father of Sardanapalus, king ot Assyria, Nine¬
veh was a very great city, its circuit being three days jour-
’-U^WeTee^s to have been other cities and this
shows that he must have done so a considerable time afte circumference, and that it was surrounded
the dispersion. The learned writers of the Universal His- se^n, I?1*eS’ j? C^Cd towers . t’he former being 200 feet in
tory place the beginning of his reign thirty years after that with y broad tbat tbree chariots might drive
event, and in all likelihood it should be placed rather a er abreastJ and tbe iatter 200 feet in height, and
than earlier. . . ~ 150a ;n number; and Strabo allows it to have been much
Authors have taken a great deal of trouble to find Nim- < Babvlon Diodorus Siculus was, however, cer-
rod in profane history. Some have imagined him to be aronter than Babylon. Uiodorus aicuius _,
the same with Belus, the founder of the Babylonian em¬
pire ; and others take him to be Ninus, the first Assyrian
monarch. Some believe him to have been Evechous, the
first Chaldcean king after the Deluge ; and others perceive a
great resemblance between him and Bacchus, both in actions
and in name. Some of the Mahommedan writers suppose
Nimrod to have been identical with Zohak, a Persian king
of the first dynasty ; whilst others contend for his being
Kay Kaus, the second king of the second race; and some
of the Jews say that he is the same with Amraphel, the king
of Shinar, mentioned by Moses. But there is no certainty
greater than Babylon,   - •
tainly mistaken in placing Nineveh on the Euphrates, sm
all historians as well as geographers who speak of that y>
tell us in express terms that it was situated on the 1 igris' ^
the time of Jonah’s mission thither, it was so populous tnai
it was reckoned to contain more than six score thousana
persons who could not distinguish their right hand nom
their left (Jonah, iv. 11), which is generally explained
young children who had not yet attained to the use o
Ln l so that upon this principle it is computed to.' “
inhabitants of Nineveh were then above 600,000 perso
Nineveh was taken by Arbaces and Belesis, m the y
N I N
fijoo the world 3257, under the reign of Sardanapalus, in the
time ot Ahaz, king of Judah, and about the epoch of the
ups, foun(Jation of Rome. It was reduced a second time by
J.-^Astyages and Nabopolassar, who took it from Chynalada-
nus, king of Assyria, in the year 3378. After this time,
Nineveh no more recovered its former splendour. It was
so entirely ruined in the time of Lucian us Samosatensis,
who lived under the Emperor Hadrian, that no traces of
it could be found, nor so much as the place w here it stood.
However, it was rebuilt under the Persians, and again de¬
stroyed by the Saracens about the seventh century.
NINGPO, a city of the first rank, and a great seaport,
of China, in the province of Tchekiang, known to the early
Portuguese navigators under the appellation of Siampoo.
It is five miles in circumference, is situated in a fertile
plain surrounded by hills, and is watered by numerous ca¬
nals. It is much resorted to by the Chinese merchants of
Fokien, as well as by those settled in Siam and Batavia,
who icpair thither tor the purpose of buying the silks pro¬
duced in its neighbourhood. It also carries on an exten¬
sive trade with Japan. Long. 120.14. E. Lat. 29.51. N.
NINIA, or Ninian, commonly called St Ninian, a holy
man amongst the ancient Britons. He resided at or near
a place called by Ptolemy Leucopibia, and by Bede Cati-
dida Casa; but the English and Scotch called it White-
home. He is said to have been the first who converted
the Scots and Piets to the Christian faith, which he effect¬
ed during the reign of Theodosius the Younger. Bede
informs us that he built a church dedicated to St Martin,
in a style unknown to the Britons of that time ; and adds,
that during his time the Saxons held this province ( Cra/Zo-
vidia, now Galloway), and that, as the converts to Christi¬
anity increased in consequence of the labours of this saint,
an episcopal see was established there. Dr Henry, con¬
sidering that few or none of the writings of the most an¬
cient fathers of the British church are now extant, and that
we can know but little of their personal history, and the
extent of their erudition, gives a short account of some
ot them. Of St Ninian, he says that he was a Briton of
noble birth and excellent genius. “ After he had received
as good an education at home as his ow n country could af¬
ford, he travelled for his further improvement, and spent
several years at Rome, which was then the chief seat of
learning as well as of empire. From thence he returned
into Britain, and spent his life in preaching the gospel
in the most uncultivated parts of it, with equal zeal and
success.
NINIANS, St, a large village in the parish of the same
name in Scotland, about one mile and a quarter distant
irom Mining. It has an ancient appearance, and consists
of one large narrow street. Many of the houses are of con-
si erable antiquity, and on them are carved the implements
°ueirln tra^e ^e original proprietor. During
the rebellion m 1745-46, the former church of St Ninian!
as use v the Highlanders as a powder magazine, and
bl°'Vn Up on their hurried departure for
the r,°r i i 6 ste?P^e» however, escaped unscathed from
c ®stryct‘on> and now stands separated from the
i ' esihesthe parish church, there is in the vil-
ofPRare ifuChapeL, • Be.tvveen St Ninians and the village
the pa!00 ^ "hich is situated at a short distance to
rnmp mraS f°U,sht the famous battle known by that
inp thp The PapiSh °f St Nmians is also celebrated for be-
wa! foutbT- ^ °tber battles; that of Stirling, which
Tomm Jd 2w?uWhen the Scottish ^ uade‘- the
ST faS:iWlll*m Wallace’ entirely defeated the
James III ^aachleburn, where the forces of
kine nut r*n tbose of his nobility, and the
he had been carried fr0m the field’ t0 which
*d in the man f f ” ^habitants are chiefly employ-
m the manufacture of nafis and leather; the former are
N I O
231
considered as superior to those made in England. A con- Ninon de
siderable trade is also carried on in the manufacturing of I’Enclos
carpets, tartan and other stuffs of the same kind, five hun- «
dred of the inhabitants being thus employed. The popu- ■Nions*
latl°n °f the Parish amounted in 1821 to 8274, and in 1831
to
NINON de i/Enclos, a lady of a noble family, born
at Pans in the year 1615, and famous for her wit and her
gallantries. Her mother was a person of exemplary piety,
but her father early inspired her with the love of pleasure.
Having lost her parents at fourteen years of age, and find¬
ing herself mistress of her own actions, she resolved never
to marry. She had an income of ten thousand livres a year •
and, according to the lessons she had received from her
father, drew up a plan of life and gallantry, which she pur¬
sued until her death. Never delicate with respect to the
number, but always so in the choice, of her pleasures, she
sacrificed nothing to interest, but loved only whilst her
taste for it continued, and had amongst her admirers the
greatest lords of the court. Notwithstanding the levity of
her conduct, however, she had many virtues. She was con¬
stant in her friendships, faithful to what are called the laws
of honour, of strict veracity, disinterested, and more par¬
ticular^ remarkable for perfect probity. Women of the
most respectable characters were proud of the honour of
having her as their friend; at her house there w'as an as¬
semblage ot every thing most agreeable in the city and the
court; and mothers were extremely desirous of sending
their sons to that school of politeness and good taste, that
they might learn sentiments of honour and probity, and
those other virtues which render men amiable in society.
But Madame de Sevigne remarks with great justice in her
letters, that this school was dangerous to religion and the
Christian virtues, because Ninon made use of seducing
maxims, capable of depriving the mind of those invaluable
treasures. This singular woman was esteemed beautiful
even in old age, and is said to have inspired the passion of
love at eighty. She died at Paris in 1705.
NIX US, the first king of the Assyrians, is said to have
been the son of Belus. It is added, that he enlarged Nine¬
veh and Babylon ; conquered Zoroaster, king of the Bac-
tnans ; married Semiramis of Ascalon ; subdued almost
all Asia ; and died after a glorious reign of fifty-two years
about 1150 before Christ- But all these alleged facts are
apocryphal.
MO, an island of the Archipelago, situated between
iSaxi on the north, Armago on the east, Santerino on the
south, and Sikino on the west, and about thirty-five miles
in circumference. It is remarkable for nothing but Ho¬
mer’s tomb, which it is pretended is in this island, where
he is said to have died in his passage from Samos to Athens-
Long. 25. 35. E. Lat. 36. 43. N.
NIOBE, according to the fictions of the ancient poets,
was the daughter of Tantalus, and the wife of Amphion,
king of Ihebes, by whom she had seven sons and as many
daughters. Having become so proud of her fertility and
high birth, as to prefer herself before Latona. and to slight
the sacrifices offered up by the Theban matrons to that
goddess, Apollo and Diana, the children of Latona, resent¬
ed this contempt; the former slew the male children, and
the latter the female, upon which Niobe was struck dumb
with grief, and remained without sensation. Cicero was
of opinion, that on this account the poets feigned that she
had been turned into stone.
NIONS, an arrondissement of the department of the
Dome, in France, 470 square miles in extent. It compre¬
hends four cantons, divided into seventy-five communes,
and containing a population of 33,800 persons. The ca¬
pital is the city of the same name situated on the river
Aigues. It contains only 2850 inhabitants, who carry on
some trade in silks, woollens, and leather.
232
Kiort
Nisan.
N I S
N I S
NIORT, an ammdisseinent of d|P ‘ e miles.
Two Sevres, in France, extending ove ^ q ^r
,It contains ‘en,c.a"t“8’"h’f8?loopersons. The capital,
communes, and inhabited by , t nt jg tbe city
both of the arrondissement and t P river Sevres-
of the same name
Mortaise. It has a fine Gothic c^wcn, a a bo.
a library of 12,000 volumes, a chemical It
tanic garden, and a cabmet of p ys P 1^5 who
contains 1980 houses, and , an(j in’ preparing
occupation in making woo ,g , Ago 000dozen pairs
leather, chiefly for gloves, of ^Arich’hf consequence
are annually produced. It su . the Revolution,
of the insurrection in La Vendee p b return of
but has in a great ^e reccrvere^smce^ret
tranquillity. Long. 0. 34. _ • • f ^ -a form-
NIPHON, an extensive island ^ ^ e^°ire of japan.
ing by much the largest P°[ 10 rous windings, and is
It is of an irregular form, wit a<Te breadth it does
800 or 900 miles -. ^ ^^rtemporal capitals of
not exceed 100. I He spiruud 1 _ but for a
Jedo and Macao are situa e m referred to the ar¬
ticular account of these the readei is reterreo
11 NIPPERS, in ^e ^^^^’^he^ppe^and^o1^ ^the
Crlaw!’ThAorTe'lJutTthen, for/between the second
^'NlRGuTa town of Colombia in Sj* W- ^
caybo. 1 he climate is ? ^^buted to reduce the
which, with other cause , contains only about
three thousami inhabitants-^Depons describes Pe°P^
2 robust and ff a
some gold niines situated >"Ni-gua is in lat.
lorv north^'and 1^° ™ -t /f Paris, about forty-
eight leagues west of Caraccas. province of Be-
tvtrmtTT. a town of Hindustan, m tne pi .
33NISAN a^nonthof the Hebrews, corresponding to our
MaXuJ t hich --t^“.AA^hT^ An;l;
?^2d Cd iJ It rtvfthAol of tire cSil
(Exod.xi. . 11 d Abib. The name Nisan is
y6fv found since^the time of Ezra, and the return from the
only found since tne month the
TeKdtXe dea* “hilefren of Aaron On
tbe tenth day was celebrated a fast for the deat i o i i
• m tbe sister of Moses, and every one provided himself
nam the sister oi^ ^ 0n this day the Israelites
with a lam P der the conduct of Joshua. On the
mb div in the evening, they sacrificed the paschal
lambVand the’day following, '’^"^thethtenth they
offered a'sheaf of tlmeilisof barley as the first fruits of the
fff of that vear. The twenty-first, being the octave of
She palso.er, wL solemnized with particular ceremomesu
On ?he twenty.sixth the Jews fasted in memory ot the
Un y16 i „nd this dav they commenced then
2 mM wS,s 23:
NISHAPOUR, an ancient city of Persia, formerly oneKsb,, ft
of the richest and greatest in the extens.ve jn-o.mce o ^
Kliorassan, is situated in a fine plain, about g 5. ri.i
ivnordsscui,   uVOQfitiy well studded with finev 
Kborassan, is situateu m a « ,, q -..i, n
in length by fifty or.^ty in breadth,
villages,1 ami pl’entiful gardens full of trees, which bear
S of the hfghest flavour. Accordmg to Frazer m In,
Narrative of a Journey into Kliorassan (p. 43.), it was a
rich and pleasing scene, and by far the most populous
and cultivated tract he had seen in Persia. This plain
was formerly irrigated by 12,000 aqueducts, winch have
now been suffered to fall into decay, and are destitute of
water. The city has suffered deeply from the wars which
have at different times desolated Persia. It was destroyed
‘b Alexander the Great, and was, after the lapse ot many
years, rebuilt by Sapor I., whose statue was to be seen at
Nishapour until it was overturned and broken in pieces by
he Arabs. About the middle of the twelfth century
Nishapour was taken by tbe Tartars, and so completely
ruined by those barbarians, that the inhabitants, on the.r
return, could not distinguish the site of their own houses.
Hakani the Persian poet, who flourished at this period
describes, in tbe most affecting terms, the overthrow of
this great'city. It recovered from this imn, however, and
once more regained its former splendour, when it was again
taken and pillaged by the savage Genghis Khan, and re¬
duced to desolation. The inhabitants amount at presen
to about 15,000, who occupy only a single quarter of the
city, the ruins of which are said to cover a circuit of twen-
tv-five miles. The most delicious fruits are here found in
the greatest abundance. The city is at present subject to
the dominion of the king of Persia, and has nine districts
dependent on it, each of which contains about ten waded
villages. It is thirty miles south of Meshed, and 230 north
NISHEGOROD, a province of the Russian empiie, in
Europe. It takes its name from the capital city, and ex¬
tends^ north latitude from 54. 31. to ^ ^ ^
longitude from 41. 3/. to 46. 27., containing ~ , 4
miles. It is divided into eleven circles, which comprehend
thirteen cities and 5380 villages, which latter are formed in-
to 762 parishes, each having a Greek church. The inhabi
tants are estimated at 1,500,000, feat
adhere to the religion of the Greek church but her are
many tribes of Tartars scattered throughout the pronne ,
who, like their ancestors, remain heathens. 1 he who
province is undulating, with no elevations that are more
than 400 feet above the level of the sea. Hie soi is ge¬
nerally sandy, but much of it is compounded of portions o
clav and marl, and other earths, so that where cultivation is
conducted with any degree of skill and attenUon,t e p
duce is considerable. In corn the crops commonly yield
one fourth more than the consumption requires, i he eti e
grains are rye and buck-wheat; but there s much whea
grown, and the increase on appropriate sods is said t
tenfold the seed. A great quantity both of hemp d
is raised, and all the common garden vegetables and trait
The woods extend along the banks of the Sreat11'Auction
afford abundance of fuel, and of timber for the constructio
of houses and ships. The province is admirably watered,
the chief river being the W olga, which receives t ^
of the Oka, the Kutma, the Kirsentz, the ^ra, b
1 ™ „nd the Alatvr, all of which are navigable to tne
main stream. It is a manufacturing district, producing
abundance of matting, hempen and flaxen cbths, soap
candles, iron in bars and in common ^Uve cattle, raw
corn, spirits, and some glass. These,
hides, and wood, form the principal articles of the
trade which is chiefly carried on by the W otgaanu
tributary streams. The city ot Nmliegoro , t e c p ^ ^
830 miles from St Petersburg, being platitude G- ^ ^
north, and in longitude 4b. 23. a. east.
a S
N I S
i junction of the Oka with the Woiga, in a picturesque situ¬
ation, between hills; and it is the centre of the trade, as
^.well as of the government of its province, and the seat of
a Greek bishop. It contains 1826 houses, mostly of wood,
and 12,300 inhabitants, who chiefly subsist by manufactures
and trade, which connect them with the Persians, Sibe¬
rians, Turks, and Tartars, who resort in great crowds, es¬
pecially to a fair which lasts from the 29th of June to the
end of July annually.
NISIBIN, a village of Persia, in the pachalik of Bag¬
dad, which was in ancient times the celebrated fortress of
Nisibis, and, from the time of Lucullus until the decline
of the empire, was regarded by the Romans as the firmest
bulwark of the East. This city was taken by Lucullus,
from Tigranes, king of Armenia. It was three times be¬
sieged by the king of Persia, who, by the treaty of Dura,
at last obtained quiet possession of the fortress, which had
successfully resisted the utmost efforts of his arms. Ni¬
sibis, in the hands of the Persians, braved the attacks of
successive emperors, and baffled the military talents of
Belisarius; until at last, after the final overthrow of the
house of Artaxerxes, it was reduced, along with the other
cities of Mesopotamia, under the power of the Saracens.
Ihe foundations of the walls, and several detached towers,
as well as part of the church built in honour of St James,
who was formerly bishop of Nisibis, are still standing. They
overlook the little but rapid river Mygdonius, and are ap¬
proached by a small Roman bridge of twelve arches. To
the west there is a view of the lofty mountains of Sinjar,
covered with verdure ; and the prospect to the north and
east is bounded by the ridge of Mount Masius, forming a
vast amphitheatre, at the extremity of which, in a clear
day, may be descried the distant turrets of Merdin. The
adjacent country has a pleasing appearance, the number¬
less villages w'hich overspread the plains being built whol¬
ly on conical hills, bearing a striking resemblance to our
feudal castles. Grecian and Roman coins, with other an¬
tiquities, are frequently dug out of the ruins. The black
tents of the Kurds now cover the greater part of the city.
jSisibin is seventy-eight miles south-east of Diarbekir, and
seventy north-west of Mosul.
NISI PRIUS, in Law, a judicial writ which lies in cases
where, the jury being impanelled and returned before the
justices of tbe bank, one of the parties requests to have
such a writ for the ease of the country, that the trial may
take place before the justices in the same county on their
coming thither. The purport of a writ of nisiprius is, that
t ie sheriff is thereby commanded to bring to Westminster
the men impanelled, at a certain day, before the justices,
nm. Pnus justiciaru domini regis ad assisas capiendas ve-
nermt.
NISMES, an arrondissement of the department of the
tjard, m.I ranee, 635 square miles in extent. It compre¬
hends eleven cantons, divided into seventy-five communes,
and contains 122,4-50 inhabitants. The capital is the city
or tlie same name, which is situated in an extensive and fruit¬
'd Plailfi bounded by two parallel hills. It has a labyrinth
o narrow and ill-built streets ; but the suburbs are much
!e leguai, and contain the best edifices, together with
ome open places, and pleasing promenades. Nismes con-
tlipnt many1 hh'ains of antiquity, especially a Roman amphi-
thpdrid capa^ e seating 20,000 spectators. It has a ca-
linnco^ ’ i Vo™ . anc* ^Ve ’’formed churches, with 4800
1,-p p8* ant* 42,800 inhabitants, of whom about one eighth
30 nnn° eifants‘ 4t contains an academy, with a library of
of silkc V0 U™es’ ^ts ihdustry consists in the manufacture
dv XT-5 10sleiT’ cottons, lace, ribbons, and especially bran-
P^eadhlT? W-S t le !)irthI)!ace of the celebrated Protestant
P NtSro^u1"’ and of the P°et Fiorian.
killed bv twn of r°d 0t theu.Assyrians- Sennacherib was
vol. xvi ° US S°nS Vvdllst he was Paying his adora-
N O
233
No.
tions to the god Nisroch in his temple (2 Kings, xix. 37) ; Nithsdale
but it is not known who this god Nisroch was. The Sep- "
tuagint calls him Mesrach, and Josephus denominates
him Araskes, while the Hebrew of Tobit, published by’
Munster, calls him Dagon. The Jews have a strange no¬
tion concerning this deity, whom they fancy to have been a
p ank of Noah s ark. Some think that the word signifies
a dove ; and others understand by it an eagle, which has ^
given occasion to an opinion, that Belus, from whom the
Assyrian kings pretended to be derived, was worshipped
by them under the form of an eagle, and called Nisroch.
NITHSDALE, Nitiusdalb, or Niddisdale, a district
of Dumfriesshire, in Scotland, lying to the westward of
Annandale. It is a large and mountainous tract, deriv¬
ing its name from the river Nid or Nith, which rises on
the borders of Ayrshire, and, running by Sanquhar and
Dumfries, discharges itself into the Solway Frith.
N1TOCRIS, the mother of Belshazzar, whose father
was Evilmerodach, and his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar.
She was a woman of extraordinary abilities, who took upon
heiself the burden of all public affairs, and, whilst her son
followed his pleasures, did all that could be done by hu¬
man prudence to sustain the tottering empire. She per¬
fected the works which Nebuchadnezzar had begun for
the defence of Babylon; raised strong fortifications on the
side of the river; and caused a wonderful tunnel to be con¬
structed under it, leading from the old to the new palace.
She likewise built a bridge across the Euphrates, and ac¬
complished several other works, which were afterwards
ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar. Philostrates, in describinff
this bridge, tells us that it was built by a queen, who was
a native of Media; and hence we may conclude that this
illustrious princess w'as by birth a Mede.
NIVELLE de la Chaussee (Peter Claude), a comic
poet, was born in Paris, and acquired great reputation by
inventing a new kind of entertainment, called the Weep-
Ylo Comedy. Instead of imitating Aristophanes, Terence,
Moliere, and the other celebrated comic poets who had
preceded him ; and instead of exciting laughter by paint¬
ing the different ridiculous characters, or giving strokes of
humour and absurdities in conduct; he applied himself to
represent the weaknesses of the heart, and to touch and
soften it. In this manner he wrote five comedies: 1. La
Fausse Antipathic ; 2. Le Prejuge a la Mode ; 3. Mela-
mde ; 4. Amour pour Amour; and, 5. L’Ecole des Meres.
He was received into the French Academy in 1736, and
died at Paris in 1754, at the age of sixty-three. He also
wrote a tragedy entitled Maximianus; and an epistle to
Clio, an ingenious didactic poem.
• NIVFLFES, a circle of the province of South Brabant,
in the Netherlands, comprehending six cantons, divided
1?*° I1.5 communes, and containing 87,480 inhabitants,
i he chief place is the city of the same name situated on
the river Ihienne. It contains 750 houses, and 7000 in¬
habitants, whose chief employment consists in making lace
cambrics, and other linen goods, and in growing hemp, flax!
50 S^^N m SUrroundinS Long. 4. 10. E. Lat.
NIZAMPATAM, a town of the south of India, in the
province of the Northern Circars. It is situated at the
mouth of the Krishna River, forty miles west-south-west
from Masuhpatam. It carries on a considerable coasting
trade. Long. 80. 35. E. Lat. 15. 56. N.
NIZZA DELLA PAGLIA, a city of the province of
Aqup m Piedmont, standing on the river Belbo, where
t le Nizza falls into it. It is a poor place, surrounded with
Wa,fc’(;0i1^ai]nia8 a few splendid houses, five monasteries,
and 51o6 inhabitants, who chiefly subsist by spinning silk
and cultivating vineyards.
NO, or No-Ammon, a considerable city of Egypt, dedi¬
cated to Ammon or Jupiter. The Septuagint translate
2 G
234:
Noacote
II
Noah.
N O A
the name in Ezekiel, Diospolis, or the City of Jupiter. Bo-
chart takes it to be Thebes in Egypt, which, according to
Straho and Ptolemy, was called Diospolis. Jerome, a er
the Chaldaic paraphrast Jonathan, supposes it to be Alex¬
andria, named thus by way of anticipation; or an anC1^
city of that name which is supposed to have stood on the
snot where Alexandria was afterwards built.
NOACOTE, an inconsiderable town of Northern Hin¬
dustan, situated in a fruitful valley of the same name*
Though small, it contains some of the largest and best loo -
in- houses in Nepaul, also a celebrated Hindu temple de¬
dicated to Bhavany. Its situation is of importance, ^ com¬
manding the only entrance into this quarter from Upp
as well as Lower Thibet, and standing close to Mount
Dhvboon, by which the Chinese army was obhged to de¬
scend in 1792, when they invaded Nepaul. The valley of
Noacote, in which the town .is situated, 18 S1X m
length by one mile and a quarter in breadth. Long. Hb.
SO E Lat ST. iSf.
NOAH, Noach, or Noe, the son of Lamech, was born
in the year of the world 1056. Amidst the general cor-
ruptioninto which all mankind had at this time fallen, Noah
alone was found to be just and perfect in his generation,
walking with God. This extraordinary person having there¬
fore found favour in the sight of Heaven, the A mighty, see¬
ing that all flesh had corrupted their ways, told Noah that
he was resolved to destroy mankind from the face of the
earth by a flood of waters; and not them alone, but all t e
beasts of the earth, and every creeping thing, as well as
the fowls of the air. The Lord therefore direc ed Noah
as a means of preserving himself and his family (for
had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who were all
married before the Flood), to build an ark or vessel of a
certain form and size fitted to that end, and which mig
besides accommodate such numbers of animals o all sorts,
that were liable to perish in the Flood, as would be suffi¬
cient to preserve the several species, and again to replen¬
ish the earth. . , . , ,
In the year of the world 1656, being the six hundredth
of his age, Noah, by God’s appointment, entered the ark,
together with his wife, his three sons, their wives, and all
the animals which God had caused to come to him ; and
being all entered, and the door of the ark being shut down
from the outside, the waters of the Deluge began to fall
upon the earth, and increased in such a manner that they
were fifteen cubits above the tops of the highest mountains,
and continued thus upon the earth for 150 days; so that
whatever had life upon the earth, or in the air, was de¬
stroyed, except such as were with Noah in the ark. But
the Lord remembering Noah, sent a wind upon the earth,
which caused the waters to subside; so that upon the seven¬
teenth day of the seventh month the ark rested on the
mountains of Ararat; and Noah having uncovered the root
of the ark, and observing that the earth was dry, he re¬
ceived orders from the Lord to come out of it, with all the
animals that were therein. This he did in the six hundred
and first year of his age, on the 27th day of the second
month. See the article Deluge.
Then Noah offered as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord one
of all the pure animals that were in the ark ; and the Lord
accepted his sacrifice, and said to him that he would no
more pour out his curse upon the whole earth, nor any
more destroy all the animals, as he had now done. He gave
Noah power over all the brute creation, and permitted him
to eat of them, as well as of the herbs and fruits of the
earth; excepting only the blood of animals, the use of which
God did not allow him. He bade him increase and mul¬
tiply, made a covenant with him, and engaged no more to
send an universal deluge upon the earth ; and as a me¬
morial of his promise, he set his bow in the clouds, to be
as a pledge of the covenant which he had made with Noah.
NOB
Noah, being an husbandman, began now to cultivate the -
vine; and having made wine and drank thereof, he un- „
warily became intoxicated, and falling asleep in his tent,.-
happened to uncover himself in an indecent posture. Ham, ^
the father of Canaan, having observed him in this condi-
tion, made sport with his father, and acquainted his two
brothers, who were without, of the exposure of the patriarch
But they, instead of making it a matter of sport, turned
away from it, and going backwards, they covered their fa¬
ther’s nakedness, by throwing a mantle over him. Noah
awaking, and knowing what Ham had done, said that Ca¬
naan the son of Ham should be accursed, that he should
be a slave of slaves in respect of his brethren. It is
thought he had a mind to spare the person of his son Ham,
for fear the curse might light upon the other children of
Ham, who had had no part in this action. He cursed Ca¬
naan by a spirit of prophecy, because the Canaamtes, his
descendants, were afterwards to be rooted out by the Israel¬
ites. Noah added, Let the Lord, the God of Shem, be
blessed, and let Canaan be the servant of Shem. And he
was so in effect, in the person of the Canaamtes subdued
by the Hebrews. Lastly, Noah said, Let God extend the
possession of Japheth; let Japheth dwell in the tents of
Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. This prophecy had
its accomplishment, when the Grecians, and afterwards
the Romans, being descended from Japheth, made a con¬
quest of Asia, which formed the portion of Shem.*
But Noah lived yet after the Deluge three hundred and
fifty years ; and the whole duration of his life having been
nine hundred and fifty years, he died in the year of the
world 2006. He left three sons, Shem, Ham, and Ja¬
pheth, of whom mention is made under their several names;
and, according to the common opinion, he divided the
whole world amongst them, in order that it might be re¬
peopled. To Shem he gave Asia, to Ham Africa, and to
Japheth Europe. Some will have it, that, besides these
three sons, he had several others. The spurious Berosus
assigns him thirty, called Titans, from the name of their
mother. It is also pretended that the Teutons or Ger¬
mans are derived from a son of Noah called Thuiscon.
Methodius likewise mentions Jonithus or Jonicus, a pre¬
tended son of Noah. ,
St Peter calls Noah a preacher of righteousness, because
before the Deluge he was incessantly preaching and de¬
claring to men, not only by his discourses, but by his
blameless life, and by the building of the ark, m which he
was employed six score years, that the wrath of God was
ready to descend upon them. But his preaching had no
effect, since, when the Deluge came, it found mankind
plunged in all their former enormities.
V Several learned men have observed, that the Heathens
confounded Saturn, Deucalion, Ogyges, the god Ccelus or
Uranus, Janus, Proteus, Prometheus, arm others, ^th
Noah. The wife of Noah is called Nonah by the Gnos
tics; and the fable of Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha is
manifestly a corruption of the history of Noah.
NOANAGUR, a very large town, and the capital ot a
district of the same name, surrounded by a stone wall o
great strength, with round towers and a ditch. It is sa
ated on the river Nagne, which is suPPose(J .by thef,np Jve.
to possess some qualities peculiarly favourable for the 0)
ing of cloths, for which, as well as the manufacture the e
off this place is celebrated. The chief of Noanagur c
money in his own name. His subjects are addicte P
racy ; but in the year 1808 he entered into a treaty ^
the British to refrain from this practice, and not to P
der any ships which might be driven on their coast by
tress. Long. 70. 15. E. Lat. 22. 20. N. . .
NOB, a sacerdotal city of the tribe of Benjamin
Ephraim. St Jerome says, that in his time it was e ^
destroyed, and that the ruins of it might be seen
NOB
>bi 7
from Diospolis. When David was driven away by Saul,
he went to Nob, and asking the high priest Ahimelech for
some provisions and arms, the priest gave him the shew-
bread which had lately been taken off the holy table, and
the sword of Goliath. Saul being informed of this by
Doeg, caused all the priests of Nob to be slain, and the
city to be destroyed. (1 Sam. xxi. xxii.)
NOBA, a small island in the Eastern Seas,near the west¬
ern coast of Aroo. Long. 135. 13. E. Lat. 5. 5. S.
NOBAH, a city beyond Jordan, which took the name
of Nobah from an Israelite of this name who had conquered
it. Gideon pursued the Midianites as far as this city.
Eusebius informs us, that there is a desolate place of this
name about eight miles from Heshbon, towards the south ;
but this could not be the Nobah now mentioned, because
the latter was much farther to the north.
NOBILIARY, a book containing the history of the
noble families of a nation or province.
NOBILITY, in general, signifies dignity, grandeur, or
greatness, but more particularly antiquity of family, joined
with riches. In the common acceptation of the word, it
means that quality or dignity which raises a man above
the rank of a commoner.
Whether that equality of rank and condition which has
sometimes been contended for would be more agreeable
to the order of nature, or more conducive to the happiness
and prosperity of mankind, may be made a question ; but
it is one, Ave apprehend, which cannot receive different
answers from men capable of reflecting without preju¬
dice and partiality. A state of perfect equality can subsist
only amongst beings possessing equal talents and virtues;
but such beings are not human. Were all mankind un¬
der the constant influence of the laws of virtue, a distinc¬
tion of ranks would be unnecessary ; but in that case civil
government itself would likewise be unnecessary, because
men would have attained all that perfection to which it is
the object of civil government as well as of religion to
guide them, and every man would then be a law unto him¬
self. But whilst, in so many breasts, the selfish passions
predominate over those which are social, violence must be
restrained by authority; and there can be no authority
without a distinction of ranks, such as may influence-pub¬
lic opinion. r
It is observed by Hume, that government is founded
solely on opinion ; and that this opinion is of two kinds,
opinion of interest and opinion of right. When a people
are persuaded that it is their interest to support the go¬
vernment under which they live, that government must
necessarily be stable. But amongst the worthless and un¬
thinking part of the community, this persuasion has sel¬
dom any place. All men, however, have a notion of rights
ot a right to property, and a right to power ; and when
tne majority of a nation considers a certain order of men
as having a right to that eminence in which they are placed,
this opinion, call it prejudice or what you will, contributes
«CTit0 r -peace and haPPiness of civil society.
1 he distinction of rank and honours,” says Blackstone,
jlecefary in every well-governed state, in order to re-
waid such as are eminent for their services to the public,
witLTine^ the moSt desirable to individuals, and yet
,.mK;.Ut burdea to the community; exciting thereby an
in nth!°US ,audab^ ardour, and generous emulation,
nf ant‘ FS* i -u ^mu^ation> or virtuous ambition, is a spring
ren?h , “ WhlC^’h0^eVerdan^erous or ^vidious in a mere
ed wiib ^ ^ a desP°tic sway, will certainly be attend-
out destr&m°- e?ects ynder a free monarchy; where, with-
|allv restmflnf kS efistence> its excesses may be continu-
nour k rW byihaf suPenor power from which all ho-
i-jives life o'6] ’ • UC 1 a sPirit> when nationally diffused,
Ss oLn d Vlg0Ur t0 the cornmunity; it sets all the
g 'rnment in motion, which, under a wise regu-
N O B
235
ator, may be directed to any beneficial purpose ; and there- Nobility,
y every individual may be made subservient to the pub-v
ic good, while he principally means to promote his own
particular views. A body of nobility is also more peculi¬
arly necessary in our mixed and compounded constitution,
in order to support the rights of both the crown and the
people, by forming a barrier to withstand the encroach¬
ments of both. It creates and preserves that gradual scale
of dignity which proceeds from the peasant to the prince;
nsmg like a pyramid from a broad foundation, and dimi¬
nishing to a point as it rises. It is this ascending and
conti acting proportion that adds stability to any govern¬
ment ; for when the departure is sudden from one extreme
to another, we may pronounce that state to be precarious.”
. Dm origin 0f nobility in Europe is a subject involved
in considerable obscurity. In this place we shall only con¬
sider the manner in which nobility may be created in this
country, with the incidents attending it.
1. Ihe right of peerage seems to have been originally
tenitonal, that is, annexed to lands, honours, castles, ma¬
nors, and the like, the proprietors and possessors of which
were, in right of those estates, allowed to be peers of the
realm, and were summoned to parliament to do suit and ser-
vice to their sovereign; and, when the land was alienated,
the dignity passed along with it as an appendage. Thus in
Migland the bishops still sit in the House of Lords in right
of succession to certain ancient baronies annexed, or sup¬
posed to be annexed, to their episcopal lands ; and thus in
11 Henry VI. the possession of the castle of Arundel was
tidjudged to confer an earldom on its possessor. But after¬
wards, when alienations became frequent, the dignity of the
peerage was confined to the lineage of the party ennobled,
and, instead of territorial, became personal. Actual proof
of a tenure by barony became no longer necessary to con¬
stitute a lord of parliament; but the record of the writ of
summons to him or his ancestors was admitted as a suf¬
ficient evidence of the tenure.
Peers of Great Britain are now created either by writ
or by patent; for those who claim by prescription must
suppose either a writ or patent to have been issued or
granted to their ancestors, though by length of time it has
been lost. The creation by writ or the king’s letter is a
summons to attend the House of Peers, by the style and
title of that barony which the king is pleased to confer ;
that by patent is a royal grant to a subject of any dignity
and degree of peerage. The creation by writ is the more
ancient way ; but a man is not ennobled thereby, unless he
actually take his seat in the House of Lords; and some
are of opinion that there must be at least two writs of sum¬
mons, and a sitting in two distinct parliaments, to establish
a hereditary barony; and therefore the most usual, be¬
cause the surest way, is to grant the dignity by patent,
which endures to a man and his heirs according to the
limitation thereof, although he himself should never make
use of it. Yet it is frequent to call up the eldest son of a
peer to the House of Lords by writ of summons, in the
name of lus father’s barony, because in that case there
is no danger of his children’s losing the nobility in the
event of his never taking his seat; for they will succeed
to their grandfather. Creation by writ has also one advan¬
tage over that by patent. A person created by writ holds
t e dignity to himself and his heirs, without any words to
that purport in the writ; but in letters-patent there must
e words to direct the inheritance, otherwise the dignity
endures only to the grantee for life. For a man or wo¬
man may be created noble for their own lives, and the
dignity not descend to their heirs at all, or descend only
to some particular heirs; as where a peerage is limited
to a man and the heirs male of his body by Elizabeth his
present lady, and not to such heirs by anv former or future
wife.
236
NOB
N O C
Nobility.
2. Let us next take a view of a few of the principal in¬
cidents attending the nobility, exclusive of their capacity
as members of parliament, and as hereditary counsellors ot
the crown. And here it may be observed, that in criminal
cases a nobleman must be tried by his peers. The great
are always obnoxious to popular envy. Were they to be
iudged by the people, they might be in danger from the pre-
iudices of their judges ; and would moreover be deprived ot
the privilege of the meanest subjects, that of being tried by
their equals, which is secured to all the realm by Magna
Charta (c. 29). It is said that this does not extend to
bishops, who, though they are lords of parliament, and sit
there bv virtue of the baronies which they X\o\& jure ec-
clesice, yet are not ennobled in blood, and consequent ) no
peers with the nobility. As to peeresses, no provision was
made for their trial when accused of treason or felony, till
after Eleanor duchess of Gloucester, wife to the lord pro¬
tector, had been accused of treason, and found guilty ot
witchcraft, in an ecclesiastical synod, through the intrigues
of Cardinal Beaufort. This very extraordinary trial gave
occasion to a special statute (20 Hen. II. c. 9), which en¬
acted, that peeresses, either in their own right or by mai-
ria^e, should be tried before the same judicators as peers of
the realm. If a woman, noble in her own right, marries a
commoner, she still remains noble, and must be tried by
her peers ; but if she be only noble by marriage, then by
a second marriage with a commoner she loses her dignity ,
for as by marriage it is gained, so by marriage it is also lost.
Yet if a duchess-dowager marries a baron, she continues
a duchess still; for all the nobility are pares, and therefore
it is no degradation. A peer, or peeress, either m her own
right or by marriage, cannot be arrested in civil cases ,
and they have likewise many peculiar privileges annexed
to their peerage in the course ol judicial proceedings,
peer sitting in judgment gives not his verdict upon oath,
like an ordinary juryman, but upon his honour ; he answers
also to bills in chancery upon his honour, and not upon ms
oath : but when he is examined as a w itness either m civil
or criminal cases, he must be sworn ; for the respect wTich
the law shows to the honour of a peer does, not extend so
far as to overturn a settled maxim, that injudicio non ere-
ditur nisi juratis. The honour of peers is how ever so
highly tendered by the law, that it is much more pena to
spread false reports concerning them, and certain other
great officers of the realm, than concerning other men ;
scandal against them being called by the peculiar name of
scandalum magnatum, and subjected to peculiar punish¬
ment by different ancient statutes.
A peer cannot lose his nobility except by death or at¬
tainder, although there was an instance, in the reign o
Edward IV., of the degradation of George Neville, duke
of Bedford, by act of parliament, on account of his pover¬
ty, which rendered him unable to support his dignity.
But this is a singular instance, which, by having happen¬
ed, serves to show the power of parliament; and, by hav¬
ing happened only once, proves how tender the parlia¬
ment has been in exerting so high a power. It has been
said, indeed, that if a baron waste his estate, so that he
be not able to support the degree, the king may degrade
him ; but it is expressly held by later authorities, that a
peer’eannot be degraded except by act of parliament.
Matthseus observes, that nobility amongst the Romans
was quite a different thing from what it is amongst us.
The nobles, amongst the Romans, were either those rais¬
ed to the magistracy, or descended from magistrates;
there was no such thing as nobility by patent.
Bartoli states, that doctors, after they have held a pro¬
fessor’s chair in an university for twenty years, become
noble, and are entitled to all the rights of counts. But this
claim is not admitted at court; though Bartoli’s sentiments
be backed by those of several other authors, particularly
Chassanseus in his Consuetudines Burgundia, Boyer sur la i ^
Coutume de Berry, and Faber C. de Big. Def. 9. The last, |
however, restrains Bartoli’s rule to doctors in law, and^
princes’ physicians. ...
NOBLE, Nobilis, a person who has any privilege which
raises him above a commoner or peasant, either bv biith,
by office, or by patent from his prince. The word comes
from the Latin nobilis, formed from the ancient noscibilis,
distinguishable or remarkable.
In England the word noble is of a narrower import than
in other countries, being confined to persons above the
degree of knights ; whereas abroad it comprehends not
only knights, but what we simply call gentlemen. The no-
bles of England are also called pares regni, as being noti-
litatis pares, though gradu impares.
Nobles, amongst the Romans, were such ashadthejt/j
imaginum, or the right of using the pictures or statues of
their ancestors; a right which was allowed only to those
whose ancestors had borne some curule office, that is, had
been curule aedile, censor, praetor, or consul. For a long
time none but the patricii were the nobiles, because no
person except those holding that superior rank cou d bear
any curule office; and hence in Livy, Sallust, and other
authors, the word nobilitas is used to signify the patrician
order, and is hence opposed to plebs. To render the true
meaning of nobiles still clearer, let it be observed, that the
Roman people were divided into nobiles, noyi, and igm-
biles. The nobiles were those who had the pictures or sta¬
tues of their ancestors; the wot-t were such as had only
their own; and the ignobiles were such as had neither.
The Roman nobility, by way of distinction, wore a half
moon upon their shoes, especially those of patrician rank.
The nobility of Greece were called Euirurpoui, as be¬
ing descended from those old heroic ancestors so famous
in history. Such were the Praxiergidce, Firobutidce, Ale-
mceonidce, and others, all of whom had many privileges
annexed to their quality, and, amongst the rest, that they
wore grasshoppers in their hair as a badge of nobility.
Noble, a money of account, containing six shillings and
eightpence. The noble was anciently a real coin struck
in the reign of Edward III., and then called the pennyoj
qoldi but it was afterwards called a rose-noble, from its
being stamped with a rose. It was current at six shillings
and eightpence. .. , j
NOCERA DE PAGANI, a city of the kingdom ot
Naples, in the province Principato Citeriore. It stands
at the foot of a hill near the river Sarno, and is the see o
a bishop, containing a cathedral, several parish churches
and monasteries, with 6790 inhabitants.
NOCTAMBULI, Noctambulokes, or JSigM-wamh
a term of equal import with somnambuli, applied to persons
who have a habit of rising and walking about in their
sleep. The word is compounded of the Latin nox, mg
and ambulo, I walk. See Somnambula.
NOCTILUCA, a species of phosphorus, so called nt
cause it shines in the dark without any light being thro
^NOCTURNAL, something relating to the night, m
contradistinction to diurnal. . <
Nocturnal, Nocturlabium, an instrument chiefly u>e
at sea, in order to take the altitude or depression of some
stars about the pole, and thereby to find the lati u
hour of the night. Some nocturnals are hemispheres or p
nispheres, on the plane of the equinoctial. Those oom®
ly used amongst seamen are two ; the one adapted
polar star, and° the first of the guards of the Little Bear,
the other to the pole star, and the pointers ot tlie u
This instrument consists of two circular P^ates
to each other. The greater, which has a hand‘e 1
the instrument by, is about two inches and a halt in a
If
NOE
ter, and is divided into twelve parts, agreeing to the
twelve months; and each month is subdivided into every
fifth day, so that the middle of the handle corresponds to
' that day of the year in which the star observed has the
same right ascension with the sun. If the instrument be
fitted for two stars, the handle is made moveable. The
upper left circle is divided into twenty-four equal parts for
the twenty-four hours of the day, and each hour is subdi¬
vided into quarters. These twenty-four hours are noted
by twenty-four teeth to be told in the night. Those at
the hour of twelve are distinguished by their length. In
the centre of the two circular plates is adjusted a long in¬
dex, moveable upon the upper plate; and the three pieces,
viz. the two circles and index, are joined by a rivet which
is pierced in the centre with a hole, through which the
star is to be observed.
To use the nocturnal, turn the upper plate till the long
tooth marked twelve be against the day of the month upon
the under plate; then, bringing the instrument near the
eye, suspend it by the handle with the plane nearly pa¬
rallel to the equinoctial, and viewing the pole star through
the hole of the centre, turn the index about, till, by the
edge coming from the centre, you see the bright star or
guard of the Little Bear (if the instrument be fitted
to that star) ; then the tooth of the upper circle, under
the edge of the index, is at the hour of the night on the
edge of the hour circle, which may be known without a
light, by counting the teeth from the longest, which is for
the hour twelve.
N 0 L
237
NOD, or the Land of Nod. It was to this country that
Cain withdrew after the murder of his brother. The
beptuagint, as well as Josephus, read Naid instead of AW,
and have taken it for the name of a place. It is not easy
to ascertain what country this was, unless perhaps it was
the country of Nyse or Nysea, tow'ards Hyrcania. St Je¬
rome and the Chaldaic interpreters have taken the word
Nod in the sense of an appellative for vagabond or fugi¬
tive ; “ He dwelt a fugitive in the land.”
NODATED Hyperbola, a name given bv Sir Isaac
Newton to a kind of hyperbola, which by turning round,
decussates or crosses itself.
NODES, in Astronomy, the two points where the or¬
bit of a planet intersects the ecliptic. See Astronomy.
NODUS, or Node, in Dialling, a certain point or pole
, in the gnomon of a dial, by the shadow or light of which
either the hour of the day in dials without furniture, or
the parallels of the sun’s declination, and his place in the
„dliS with furniture> are shown. See Dialling.
L ^OkSA BARON, an island in the Eastern Seas, near
tne south coast of Java, about twenty-five miles in cir¬
cumference. Long. 113. 20. E. Lat. 8. 20. S.
NOESA CAMBAZ, or Pulo Cannibaz, an island in
ne Eastern Seas, near the southern coast of Java, about
128 ve mi es in circu inference. Long. 109. E. Lat. 7.
™qN(gESA I(A0ER’ a sma11 island in the Eastern Seas,
3 sV S S0Uthern coast °r Ceram. Long. 129. 0. E. Lat.
Ia sma^ istand in the'Eastern
Lat 8 9 rsthC n°rthern coast of Timor- Long. 126. 30. E.
in Ecclesiastical History, Christian here--
3her Of F Lhird CeVtUry’ followers of Noetius, a philoso-
es Int KP nSU,I * * * S’ Wh,° I)retended that he was another Mo-
Jr fmr ^ ° ’.an^ ^at brother was a new Aaron.
>erson ^ affirming that there is but one
jpirit ",e Codhead; that the Word and the Holy
‘onseauencpbUf rff6™31 denominations given to God in
'e is clledV/i'^ °Perations 5 and that, as Creator,
" the aposlks, ISfy gS."""’ ^ and aS descendinS
NOGARCOTE, a town of Northern Hindustan, in the Nogarcote
kingdom of Nepaul. It is now tributary to the Chinese, T II
by whom it was taken in 1792. It is sixty miles east from Nollekens.
Catamandoo. Long. 86. 5. E. Lat. 28. 2. N.
NOGENT le Rotrou, an arrondissement of the de¬
partment of the Eure and Loire, in France. It extends
over 402 square miles, is divided into four cantons and
sixty-five communes, and contains 42,500 inhabitants.
The capital is the city of the same name, situated on the
river Huine, which here unites with the Arcisse, and both
form a remarkable cascade. It is a well-built place, in a
fruitful district, and contains 1250 houses, with 6850 in¬
habitants, who are employed in weaving linens and serges.
Long. 0. 37. E. Lat. 48. 20. N.
NOGENT sur Seine, an arrondissement in the de¬
partment of the Aube, in France. It is 365 square miles
in extent, contains 30,600 inhabitants, and is divided into
four cantons, which are subdivided into sixty-nine com¬
munes. The capital is the city of the same name, situated
on the left bank of the Seine. It contains 750 houses,
and 3400 inhabitants, who make some cotton goods and
hosiery, but whose chief trade consists in sending wood to
Paris. Long. 3. 55. E. Lat. 48. 5. N.
NOIRMO U TIER, an island belonging to the department
of La Vendee, and arrondissement of Les Sables d’Olonne,
in France. It forms a canton, and is on the western side
of the island of Bouin. It is about fifteen miles in length,
and about four in breadth. Its situation is low, and, to pre¬
vent the sea from overflowing it, it is surrounded with
powerful dikes. The soil is very rich within the enclosure,
and produces heavy crops of corn. Beyond the dikes are
marshes, which afford abundance of salt formed by natu¬
ral evaporation. The inhabitants are 5700, and many of
them expert seamen, occupied in the fisheries. The chief
town gives its name to the island ; it contains 1600 inhabi¬
tants, and has a harbour capable of admitting vessels of
fifty or sixty tons. Long. 2. 21. W. Lat. 47.1. N.
NOJA, a city on a river of the same name, in the pro¬
vince of Basilicata, in the kingdom of Naples. It suffered
a loss of one fourth of its population in 1816, from an epide¬
mic disease. The inhabitants now amount to 5400, who
cultivate much cotton.
NOLA, a city of the kingdom of Naples, in the province
of Terra dx Lavoro. It is the site of an ancient Roman
city, buried under the effects of an eruption of Mount Ve¬
suvius, and is altogether a gloomy place, w ith a cathedral
and thirteen other churches, containing 8950 inhabitants
NOLLE PROSEQUI is where a plaintiff in an action
does not declare in a reasonable time, in which case it is
usual for the defendant’s attorney to enter a rule for the
plaintiff to declare, after which a non prosequitur mav be
entered. A nolle prosequi is esteemed a voluntary confes¬
sion that the plaintiff has no cause of action ; and therefore
if a plaintiff enters his nolle prosequi, he may be amerced ;
but if an informer cause the same to be entered, the de¬
fendant may have costs.
NOLLEKENS, Joseph, a distinguished English sculp¬
tor, was born at London, on the 11th of August 1737.
His father, a native of Antwerp, was a painter by profession,
, xt ne?tl0ned by Horace Walpole, under the name of
Old N ollekens, as an artist of some repute. He died whilst
Joseph was still very young, and his widow having mar¬
ried again soon after his decease, the education of the
youthful sculptor was much neglected. In his thirteenth
year we find him in the studio of Scheemakers, where he
exhibited his passion for his art by drawing and modelling
early and late with the utmost assiduity. As his powers
expanded, he became a candidate for the prizes offered to
rising genius by the Society of Arts, which in the year
1 /oJ gave him a premium of fifteen guineas for a group of
figures in clay; in 1760 they presented him with thirty
238
N 0 L
Nollekens. guineas for a bas-relief, and during the same year they
— 'gave him ten guineas more for a model m clay of a dan-
cino- faun. He now began to attract considerable notice,
as much on account of his quiet, mild, inoffensive appear¬
ance as from the unquestionable cleverness of his produc
tions; and Garrick, proverbially an observer of character,
set down Joseph as a rising man of genius. No artist
ever greeted with even the comparatively limited applause
which the works of this young sculptor ellclt^’Jltl °
longing to visit those miracles of genius which are trea
sured in the land where art, like one of the native deities,
sprang forth at once ; nor was Nollekens an pception
the rule. In his twenty-third year, we find him m Ror«e’
fripndless and nearly reduced to want, but enthusiastically
W "vo"cS. He modelled and carved in stone a
bas-relief which brought him ten guineas £
in the following year, his group of nmociea before Al
ander in marble, was honoured by the Soc ety of Arts wit
a premium of fifty guineas. This success placed h,m above
absolute dependence ; and he was now noticed by the ar
lists in Rome, particularly Barry, a".d^s0 ^ Engjhe
visitors amongst whom were Garrick and bteine.
great English actor recognised him one day in the Vatican,
invited him to breakfast next morning, and ended by sit^
ting to him for his bust, for the model of which Garrick
paid twelve guineas to the artist. Sterne likewise sat to
him at Rome; and the bust of the wit, which is in terra
cotta, is considered as an admirable likeness, fo the last
hour of his life Nollekens alluded to it with pleasure.
“ Dance,” he used to say, “ made my picture with my hand
leaning on Sterne’s head ; he was right.
But8Nollekens, if he did not discover, profited by other
means of enriching himself, which were less laborious than
cutting”out beautiful forms from the marble. In 1/6 ,
fragments of antique sculpture were more frequently to
be met with in Rome and its vicinity ; and legs, arms,
heads, and other members of the body, strewed abou
like wrecks, when collected and put together with skill,
were sold at very considerable prices. Joseph being sprung
of a race of picture-makers and sellers, his spirit for bar¬
gaining was probably never surpassed; and this, with his
proficiency as a sculptor, enabled him not only to collect
the best fragments at the most reasonable prices, but to
supply deficiencies, and put them together to the greatest
advantage. That this proved a most successful specula¬
tion, the following anecdote, amongst many of the same
kind which might be related, will sufficiently show. A
loose head of Minerva, which even Englishmen would not
purchase, lay on the shelf of a regular dealer m such arti¬
cles, where it attracted the attention of Nollekens. It hap¬
pened that the body of the same, or some other heathen
goddess, was brought to light, and purchased by him for
fifty guineas. A consultation was held with his brother
dealer ; the head and trunk were found of similar propor¬
tions, and the sculptor undertook to unite them as neatly
as if they had both been chiseled from the same block
of marble. This he accomplished, and Minerva stood forth
restored. “ It was sold,” says his biographer and executor,
Mr Smith “ for the enormous sum of one thousand gui¬
neas, and is now at Newly, in Yorkshire.” A few specula¬
tions equally profitable would soon have raised the artist
to affluence. He was, besides, liberally patronised by his
countrymen who annually migrated to the capital or Ita y,
•md for whom he executed many considerable works in
marble, of which Mercury and Venus chiding Cupid are
considered as the best. For all his productions he receiv¬
ed immediate and liberal payment. Early misfortunes had
made Nollekens acquainted with privation. Being an eco¬
nomist from necessity, he became frugal from habit; and
this continued to influence his conduct when the necessity
for parsimony no longer existed. He lived at Rome in a
N O L
very humble manner, and after ten years of profitable study,
he returned to London comparatively rich. . ^" ■A
p Nollekens was now prepared to commence business upon
his own account, and accordingly he took a lease of ex¬
tensive premises in Mortimer Street. J he busts of Sterne
and Garrick had spread his fame in his native country, and
he no sooner opened his doors than orders came in abun¬
dance. In 1771 he was admitted an associate of the Royal
Academy, and in the following year was elected a mem¬
ber, much to the satisfaction of George III., who soon af¬
terwards honoured the artist by sitting for his bust. The
history of a man of genius is that of his works; and the
few events which diversify his career, besides the succes¬
sive appearance of his productions, serve but little to relieve
its characteristic monotony. Amongst these the choice of
a partner for life is probably the most important. Nolle¬
kens was not unfortunate in this respect. The lady of his
choice was the friend of Samuel Johnson, and, it report
mav in aught be credited, the great critic was not insen¬
sible to her charms. Mrs Nollekens was endowed with
no small share of that parsimonious spirit which her hus¬
band is said to have been so abundantly gifted withal,
and was quite of his opinion as to one material point,
namely, that the accumulation of wealth is not the least of
our terrestrial pleasures. Nollekens was fully aware that
his strength lay in busts; and as this line of art was an ex¬
ceedingly profitable one, it may readily be supposed that his
time and talents were principally devoted to it. Amongst
his sitters were the great, the beautiful, and the titled of
the land ; and his profits were commensurate with the con¬
dition of his employers. He also found leisure to work¬
out, slowly and with much care, marble groups and statues,
amongst which may be mentioned those of Bacchus, Ve¬
nus taking oft* her sandal, Hope leaning on an urn, Juno,
Paetus and Arria, and Cupid and Psyche. His portraits
were excellent, and there was generally a gentleness in
the expression, and a gracefulness in the handling, which
never failed to please. The likenesses of his busts were
acknowledged by all, and the prettiness of the statues could
not fail to be as generally admitted. But original vigour
was wanting. He was one in whom the merely imitative
faculty infinitely surpassed,, the imaginative. He could
transfer to the marble, with the most perfect certainty and
success, the features of a sitter; but he could not impart to
the works of his hands that ideal beauty which etherealzes
the subject, and is equal to the creation of a whole dynast;
of gods and goddesses. As his strength lay in tne sculp¬
ture of busts, so he pursued it with unparalleled success,
and his studio became a fashionable lounge for those who
reckoned their heads of sufficient importance to their triends
or their country to have them modelled and cut in marble.
Towards his sitters, even the most exalted personages,
he conducted himself with exceeding homeliness. Nolle¬
kens was all his life an unsophisticated child of nature, ana
his manners would no doubt appear very uncouth, periap
vulgar, to that class of people who were accustomed to
the dignified respect of Reynolds, or have since adrm ed
the courtly attentions of Lawrence. He had too m
knowledge of human nature, however, not in his own b un
manner to employ flattery for the purpose of securing stea¬
diness or a good position in the sitter. ,,
, The want of imagination Nollekens partially supplied by
a diligent study of the antique; and hence, whilst eve y
statue surpassed its predecessor in delicacy of wo ma
ship, the artist only attained eminence by inCf ith
He was not one of those prodigies who reach thel , ■
as it were at the first flight. He was probably asj
debted to nature as most men who have attained gre
but never-failing zeal for his profession, joined to untt
ing industry, would have raised to distinction a e. p
mising artist than Nollekens. During a period of te y
N O L
i- from 1776 to 1786, he exhibited sixteen busts, five statues,
^and four groups, some of which were not in marble. The
statues were those of Juno, Diana, Adonis, Cupid, and Mer¬
cury, in which he followed the beaten track, without at¬
tempting any thing new. Amongst his monumental effigies
may be mentioned that which commemorated the three
commanders who fell in Rodney’s great battle of the 12th
April 1782. This being one of the government statues,
the choice of the sculptor rested with the Royal Academy,
and, after a fair competition, the design of Nollekens was
that approved of. The monument is of large dimensions,
and has a look of magnificence; but it is deficient in na¬
ture and sentiment, which can only be compensated to a
limited extent by fine marble and fine workmanship. Ano¬
ther of his monumental works commemorates a lovely wo¬
man who died in childbed, and in it Religion is by her side
holding up her finger to heaven. This production has al¬
ways been greatly admired for the simplicity and beauty of
the design, and for the skilful manner in which it is exe¬
cuted. The love of the nation for busts seemed to increase
with the supply, and Nollekens found ample employment
for his talents. Between 1786 and 1800, he sent some
dozen of these to the exhibition; but during that period
he is well known to have executed thrice as many more,
his prices increasing with his fame, from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty guineas. From his Venuses and
other statues of that description, we pass on to those pro¬
ductions which were more suitable to the genius of the ar¬
tist. The ten years which followed 1800 were the busiest
in the life of Nollekens ; for although he was between sixty
and seventy years of age, he continued to work with the
same diligence and skill as in his youth. Upwards of fifty
busts proceeded from his chisel, besides nearly a score of
groups and statues. Amongst the former were the far-
famed heads of Pitt and Fox, those of the Prince of Wales,
afterwards George IV., Dr Burney, the Marquis of Staf¬
ford, the Duke of Bedford, and others. Of the twenty sta¬
tues and groups, the statue of Pitt for Cambridge attract¬
ed most attention at the time. The Venus anointing her¬
self, however, was the favourite work of Nollekens, though
it is deficient both in originality and in propriety of action.
The workmanship of the statue, however, is very fine.
By temperance and perpetual equanimity of mind, Nol¬
lekens, although declined into the vale of years, still la¬
boured as assiduously as ever. From 1810 till 1816, the
last year of his exertions, he modelled some thirty busts,
not a tew of which are ranked amongst the most valuable
of his works. The principal heads are those of the Duke
o York, Lords Castlereagh, Aberdeen, Erskine, Egre-
mont, Liverpool; Canning, Perceval, Benjamin West, and
ihomas Coutts the banker. In 1817 Nollekens lost his
wife, but being above eighty years of age, he was beyond
t lat period of life when grief can be very acutely felt; and
it is even hinted by some of his biographers, that his na-
tural parsimoniousness, not being kept alive by the exam¬
ple of Ins still more penurious lady, assumed a milder form,
ne became in every respect more liberal, and presents to
ie needy members of his profession, with donations to be-
aevo ent institutions connected with art, were occurrences
so uncommon as formerly. For several years he lin-
^ered in that state of listlessness in which the mind shares
-ne decay of the body, and dissolution, being preceded only
y a gradual and almost imperceptible sinking of the vital
owerg when it does take place, may be said to be felt
)o ie*" ^an nbserved. Nollekens departed this life on the
7 ° 1823, leaving a fortune of some two hundred
ipPnSan Poun^s* 1 his appears a vast sum indeed to have
, • i a^cumulated by an artist; but several other distin-
hprJn ornarrijnts °1 the profession have been even more
ail J rewarded than he was, and have only left less be-
ley were either less industrious or less economical.
N O L
239
Vith regard to the merits of Nollekens as an artist, Nollet.
little need be added to what has already been said. It was'
in bust sculpture that he most excelled; and here the chief
attraction is ease and simplicity, whilst the chief defect is
a want of dignity and sentiment. “ There is little dignity,”
says his biographer, “ but much truth; sometimes mechanic
vigoui, never exaggeration. It cannot be denied, however,
that his vigour is often tame, his serenity languid ; that his
women aie often beautiful without sentiment, and that in
his men he is apt to miss that manly breadth of character
which is the token of all that is great and noble.” There
is, however, some cant and affectation in all this. It is
not the business of an artist to look into the soul or read
the characters of men and women. He has to do only with
material forms, and all that can be expected of him is to
interpret faithfully, and fix permanently, that natural ex¬
pression by which each individual is distinguished. Mr
Nollekens, like Crabbe, was “ nature’s sternest painter, but
her best.” Adhering to strict truth, rather than dealing in
sentiment, he did not feel himself at liberty to misinterpret
the signs of natural expression according to the rank of his
sitter, and give the intellectual grandeur of a forehead like
Burke s to the features of Castlereagh because he was a
lord, or to those of Mr Coutts because he was a banker and
could afford to pay for it. (Rt R> R>j
• ■‘^^LE F, Jean Antoine, regius professor of physics
in the College of Navarre, and member of the Academy
of Sciences at Paris, of the Royal Society of London, of
the Institution of Bologna, and of the Academy of Sciences
of Erfurt, was born at Pimbre, in the diocese of Noyon
on the 17th of November 1700. He was the son of re¬
spectable but not wealthy parents, who, to make up for
the want of riches, determined to give their son a good
education. They sent him to the College of Clermont in
Beauvoisin, and afterwards to Beauvais, there to finish his
introductory studies. The progress which he made in the
different classes decided them to send him to study phi¬
losophy at Paris; and having intended him for the cle¬
rical order, they considered the strictness and purity of
his morals, together with his unwearied application to
study, as sufficient proofs of his vocation. The young Nol¬
let yielded without reluctance to the wishes of his parents.
As soon as he was capable of showing an inclination for
any thing, he had discovered a taste for physics; but this
had not become his ruling passion; and he therefore sacri¬
ficed it to the study of scholastic divinity, to which he
wholly dedicated himself during the time of his probation in
1728. No sooner had he been invested with the deacon-
ship, than he solicited and obtained a license to preach.
This new occupation, however, did not make him entirely
lose sight of those studies which had first engaged his at¬
tention, and insensibly began to occupy a greater portion
of his time, which was now more equally divided between
theology and the sciences. The latter, however, prevail¬
ed ; and thenceforth he entered upon the study of phy¬
sics with an ardour which was only increased by that kind
of privation to which he had been long subject. He was
received into the Society of Arts established at Paris un¬
der the patronage of the Count de Clermont. In 1730,
the Abbe Nollet was engaged in a work in conjunction
with Reaumur and Dufay of the Academy of Sciences. In
1734 he went to London in company with MM. Dufay,
Duhamel, and Jussieu; and his merit procured him a place
in the Royal Society without any solicitation. Two years
afterwards, he went to Holland, where he formed an inti¬
mate connection with Desaguliers, s’Gravesande, and Mus-
schenbroeck. On his return to Paris, he resumed the course
of experimental physics which he had begun in 1735, and
which he continued till 1760. These courses of physics
first suggested the idea of giving particular courses in other
branches of science, such as in chemistry, anatomy, and
240
N O M
Nomades natural history. In 1738, the Count de Maurepas pre-
II vailed on Cardinal Fleury to establish a public class tor
Nomarcha. • ntai nilvsiCS; and the Abbe Nollet was appcn^f11
vaileci on L-arainai ricuiy tu « r . j
experimental physics; and the Abb6 Nollet was appointed
the first professor. In the beginning of the year 1739, he
was admitted a member of the Royal Academy °f Sciences ,
and in the month of April following, the king of ^ardima,
intending to establish a professorship of physics at lun >
invited the Abbe Nollet to visit his dominions. In m ,
he was honoured with an invitation to Versailles, to i
struct the dauphin in experimental philosophy ; and the
king and royal family were often present at h,s lef u"e&-
The young prince, until the period of his death, showed
marks of the strongest attachment to this ingenious phdo^
sopher • and even prevailed upon him to go and p< „
to a man in power whose patronage might be of service t
him. The Abbe Nollet accordingly waited upon the ph^
man, and made him a present of his woi s.
any works of that kind,” said the patron coldly, at the sam
time casting a look at the volumes before him. >
plied the Abbe, “ will you allow them ^ re™ain 'n you
antichamber? There, perhaps, there may be found men «
genius who will read them with pleasure. In the montli
of April 1749, he made a tour in Italy, having been sent
thither for the purpose of making observations. At iu-
rin, Venice, and Bologna, the Abb6 Nollet appeared as a
deputy from the philosophers of the rest of Europe. D
ring Ids short stay in Italy, the wonders of electricity were
not the only object of his researches ; every part of phy
sics the arts, and agriculture, came equally under h.s no¬
tice. Upon his return through Turin, the king of Sard
nia, sensible of his merit, offered him the order of St 1 la -
rice which, however, he did not think proper to accept
without his sovereign s permission. In 17o3 king in¬
stituted a class of experimental philosophy in he Royal
College of Navarre, and appointed the Abbe Nollet pro es
sor. In 1757 he received from the king a brevet appoint
ing him preceptor in physics and natural history to ie
Irfans de la France. In the month of August the same
year he was appointed professor of experimental philo¬
sophy in the school of artillery, which was at that tme
established at La Fere. In the month of November fol¬
lowing, he was admitted as a pensionary of the Royal Aca¬
demy of Sciences. M. de Cremillo, director-general of
artillery and fortification, having founded a class of expe¬
rimental philosophy at Mezieres m 1761, the Abbe Nollet
was appointed professor. This celebrated and laborious
philosopher, who rendered the most important services
to physics by the discoveries with which he has enriched
every branch of this science, but particularly electucity,
died^t Paris on the 25th of April 1770, aged seventy.
His works are, 1. Several Papers inserted in the Memoirs
of the Academy of Sciences, amongst which one on the
Hearing of Fishes is particularly valuable ; 2. Lemons de
Physique Experimentale, in six vols. 12mo; 3. Recueil de
Lettres sur I’Electricite, three vols. 12mo, 1753 ; 4. Essai
sur I’Electricite des Corps, one vol. 12mo ; 5. Recherches
sur les Causes particulieres des Phenomenes Electriques,
one vol. 12mo'; 6. L’An des Experiences, three vols. P~mo,
1770. .... i
NOMADES, a name given in antiquity to seveial na¬
tions whose whole occupation was to feed and tend their
flocks, and who had no fixed place of abode, but were
constantly shifting their ground, according to the conve¬
niences of pasturage. The word comes from the Cnee ',
wuw, pasco, I feed.
NOMARCHA, in Antiquity, the governor or comman¬
der of a nome or department. Egypt was anciently divid¬
ed into several regions or departments, called names, from
the Greek lo.aog, taken in the sense of a division ; and the
officer who had the administration of each nome from the
king, was called nomarcha, from io/aos, and command.
N O M
NOMBRIL Point, in Heraldry, is the next below the Not*
fess point, or the very centre of the escutcheon. Sup- P-
1 . 9 ’ ,  aiwirWl into two eaual parts
eo-n^lhe Escutcheon to be divided into two eq„a, pant J
F : » . c tWn d Visions is the nombnl, !mn‘
rerwgtlieef”«"st of these divisions is the notnbril, ^
an NOMeE or ^Avnsfin Algebra, denotes any quantity^
with a sign prefixed or added to it, and by which it ,s con-
fected with some other quantity, so that the whole becomes
a binomial, trinomial, or the like.
NOMENCLATOR, in Roman antiquity, was usually a
slave who attended upon persons who stood candidates tor
offices, and prompted or suggested to them the names o
all the citizens they met, that they might court them and
call them by their names, which amongst that people was
the highest piece of civility. . , .
Nomenclators, amongst botanical authors, are those
who have employed their labours about settling and adjust¬
ing the right names, synonymes, and etymologies of names,
in^regard to the whole vegetable world.
- NOMENCLATURE, Nomenclatura, a catalogue of
several of the more useful or radical words in any language,
with their significations, compiled in order to facilitate the
use of such words to those who are to learn the tongue,
such as the Latin, Greek, French and Italian nomencla¬
tures : or it is a system of technical language, by which the
objects of any science are denoted, as, for instance, the pre¬
sent language of chemical science, usually called the new.
chemical nomenclature,” from its recent construction.
NOMINALISTS, a sect of school philosophers, the dis- ^
ciples and followers of Occam, or Ocham, an English cor¬
delier, who flourished in the fourteenth century. They re¬
ceived the denomination of Nominalists, because, in opposi¬
tion to the Realists, they maintained that general terms,
and not things or images, are the objects of the mind w en
engaged in abstract reasonings or inquiries.
This sect had its first rise towards the end of the eleven
century, and pretended to follow Porphyry and Aristotle;
but it was not till Occam’s time that they bore the name of
Nominalists. The chief of this sect, in the eleventh cen-
tury, was a person named John, who, on account of h s lo-
gical subtilty, was called the sophist; and his principal dis¬
ciples were Robert of Paris, Roscelin of Compiegne, an
Arnoul of Laon. At the beginning the Nominalists had
the upper hand; but the Realists, though greatly divided
amongst themselves, were supported by men of eminent
abilities, such as Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and
Duns Scotus. The Nominalist sect thus fell into disrepute
till Occam, in the fourteenth century, again revived t, ana
filled France and Germany with the flame of disputation.
His followers having joined the party of the F™1*
monks, who strenuously opposed John XXII., that pop
himself, and his successors after him, left no means
tried to extirpate the philosophy of the Nommahsts, wh h
was deemed highly prejudicial to the *c^l'eo|-
and hence it was that, m the year 1339, the , L.
Paris bv a public edict, solemnly condemned and prohi
fd the pffiophy ofOccam, which was that of t he Nonoinal-
• The consequence was, that the Nominalists flo
Tor, ?han e°,T In the fifteenth century the controve »,
was continued with more vigour and animosity ha b
fore- and the disputants, not content with using merey
the force of eloquence, had frequently recourse to more
dangerous weapons, and battles were the consequent ^
a philosophical question which neither side understood, i
most places, however, the Realists maintained a. 1
over the Nominalists. Whilst the famous Gerson and
most eminent of his disciples were living, the Nominal
were in high esteem and credit in the university o ^
but. upon the death of these patrons, the to 1^
changed much to their disadvantage. > Bishop
Louis XL, at the instigation of his confessor, the
NON
NON 241
It is much used in the calculation of Nonagon
orfea- of Avranches, issued a severe edict against the doctrines pole of the ecliptic,
ti of the Nominalists, and ordered all their writings to be solar eclipses.
- . seized and secured, that they might not be read bv the NONFAflOlM „ i, • ... . xt 11
Z S1' PeoP,e ; but the same monarch mitigated this edict the a regular nonagon or^hal thJTna-llT6 ^ —
^ folio,.-ing, and pernntted acne of the books of that all e"qual, if ^
sect to be delivered from their confinement; and, in the of the tangent of 70° to the radius 1 ^ ° f
year 1481, he not only granted a full liberty to the Nomi- NONCONFORMISTS fWo . V x- • • ,
nalists and their writings, but also restored that philosophi- established worship. Nonconformists 1 m
cal sect to its former authority and lustre in the university, to be of two sorts First those wlm ah * rheld
The student of philosophy will do well to examine the divine worship in the
researches of Brucker and the other historians of philo- ligion, and attend the service of no olher persSua^0n "Z'
sophy on the subject of Nominalism, and also to peruse condly, those who offend thro,.ah Persaasion- ^e-
what is to be found on the subject in the works of Mr Du- mistaken or perverse zeal Bv^he Fn churchmen call a
gald Stewart and Dr Thomas Brown. since the Ume of R pfh ? the English laws enacted
NOMINATIVE, in Grammar, the first case of nouns dissenters were constdereLs^
which are declinable. The simple position, or laying down both were supposed to be equally schismaRc nnotcom
of a noun, or name, is called the nominative case ; yet it is municating with the national church ; vdth this diffm™
not so properly a case, as the matter or ground whence that the Papists divided from it unon ml pH.1 M ! i ’
the other cases are to be formed, by the several changes roneous reasons, but many of the dissentpr® ' * er"
or inflections given to this first termination. Its chiefSse of indifference, o^ln othL words for what wT T'T*
is in being placed m discourse before all verbs, as the sub- no reason at all. “ Yet certainly as sTr W;nt «Tg
ject of the proposition or affirmation. stone observes «nnr onLT. J ’ • , W 1.lham Black“
NONA, a city of Dalmatia, now remarkable only for its of compulsion and intolerance* ^TheTin ^ ^ their pla?S
ruins, but which are so buried by the repeated devasta- is by no means ^
tions to which that unhappy city has been exposed, that ment. If, through welkness If iineUec^throuHr0^- PHUmsh"
scarcely any vestige of them appears above ground. “I went ed nietv thrnmdi npw^ teflect, thiough misdirect-
thither,” says Fo& in his T.'alels, « in ifopes of finding 0r>
r0rthy •* notlc,e’ but 'T“ disappointed. No- tage in herding with a party! men quarrel wTthlh^cX
siastical establishment, the civil magistrate has nothing to
to with it, unless their tenets and practice are such as
threaten ruin or disturbance to the state. He is bound
indeed to protect the established church; and if this can
be better effected by admitting none but its genuine mein-
become a fetid pool, by means of a little muddyTive? that liberty so t^do th^disnolw^ffl11611^ ^ iS certainly at
falls into it, after a course of about six miles throuS he vour 2nd d scretion i T h ^ belng matter of fa-
rich abandoned fields of that district. The ancient inha! persecution fo^di^r^v nf P01 bfng once .^^ed, all
bitants turned this water into another channel and madp absurd tlmv m l . ^ 0Plnions> however ridiculous or
it ran through the vallev of Drasnfch to" dm sea and to “cv and ’f conb^7 t0 eVery PrinciJ,le “f
the remain, of the bank'raised by them for that nu’rnose Sf he der^ to T 1‘T mmeS 0nd sub‘>''‘li"‘>tio„
are s«i„ t0 be seen But> notwithsLding £ ^ „ttK toS ^„° em X0"',,!!" ™Cfah
Of this district, and the dreary situation of Nona in particu- unknown form nf nrilf.g nT\i J g in a known or
ar, the inhabitants have not lost courage, but, animated by kind, must be left to the opdon^f eve^ ’tht' Same
e privileges granted to them, have endeavoured to bring judgment.” See Toleration ^ inUn S puvate
the population and agriculture once more into a flourishina NON-NATURAT S in
,,re Puvate persons, who have derived no inconsider- NON-OBSTATVTF , v; / j-
able advantage from the fishina- and if flip,, l-o i i * . • oLAlS IE, notwithstanding, a clause frequent
.he country for fore.gn salt hsh. To the left of the NON-SUIT signifies the dropping „f a 6uit or action>
thing is to be seen that indicates the grandeur of the Ro¬
man times; neither are there any remains of barbarous
magnificence to put one in mind of the ages in which the
kingsof the Croat Slavi had their residence there.” It stands
on a small island, surrounded by a harbour, which in for¬
mer times was capable of receiving large ships, but is now
auu save at least a part oi t
»™s a narrow channel in this place, which teLsi vfo U "h,en ‘h? is so
‘Person continues under the ao-f^f twenty1 o^e tllat f J?0NES’ non^ ln the Roman calendar, the fifth day
gp’cxis “i^ ^
eckoned from its intersection with thirtv’-onc days Xh thXX h!,Xy!^ . L?““a’?ad
egree of thp ppi; X , point, or ninetieth
'•-etion, or equal to the distanXof theltetoh from the nof aSthet XTXsXXX ^ ^
2 H
242
N O O
NOR
Nonjurors
I!
Noogoo.
NONJURORS, those who refused to take the oaths to
government, and who were in consequence under certain
incapacities, and liable to certain severe penalties. It can
scarcely be said that there are now any nonjurors in the
kingdom ; and it is well known that all penalties have
been removed both from Papists and Protestants, former¬
ly of that denomination, as well in Scotland as in England.
The members of the Episcopal church ot Scotland were
long denominated nonjurors ; but they are now improper¬
ly called so, because the ground of their difference from
the establishment is more on account ot ecclesiastical than
of political principles. j t> ^.
NONIUS, Peter, in Spanish Nunez, a learned Portu¬
guese, and one of the most able mathematicians ot the
sixteenth century, was born at Alcacer. He was precep¬
tor to Don Henry, son of Emmanuel, and taught mathe¬
matics in the university of Coimbra. He published the
following works, by which he gained great reputation, viz.
1. De Arte Navigandi; 2. Annotationes in 1 heorias 1 lane-
tarum Purbachii, which are greatly esteemed; A trea¬
tise De Crepusculis ; 4. A treatise on Algebra, it is ob¬
served in Furetiere’s Dictionary, that Peter Nonius, m
1530, first invented the angles of 45 degrees made in
every meridian, and that he called them rhumbs in his
language, and calculated them by spherical triangles. No¬
nius died in 1577, aged eighty.
Nonius, the name given to the common device foi sub¬
dividing the arcs of quadrants and other astronomical in¬
struments, from the persuasion that it was invented by the
above-named Nonius or Nunez. The generahty of astro¬
nomers, however, transferring the honour of the invention
from Nunez to Peter Vernier, a native of Franche Comte,
have called this method of division by his name. But Mr
Adams, in his Geometrical and Geographical Essays, has
shown that Clevius the Jesuit may dispute the invention
with both of them. The truth seems to be, that Nunez
started the idea, Clevius improved it, and Vernier carried
it to its present state of perfection. The method of Nu¬
nez described in his treatise De Crepusculis, printed at
Lisbon in 1542, consists in describing within the same quad¬
rant 45 concentric circles, dividing the outermost into 90
equal parts, the next within into 89, the next into 88, &c.
till the innermost was divided into 46 only. On a quad¬
rant thus divided the plumb-line or index must cross one
or other of the circles very near a point of division ; and
hence, by computation, the degrees and the minutes of
the arch may be easily ascertained. This method is also
described by Nunez in his treatise De Arte atque Ka-
tione Navigandi, where he would fain persuade himse f
that it was not unknown to Ptolemy. But as the degrees
are thus divided very unequally, and as it is very difhcult
to attain exactness in the division, especially when the
numbers into which the arches are to be divided are m-
composite, the method of diagonals, first published by
Dirges in a treatise entitled Alecs seu Scales Mathematiccs,
printed at London in 1573, and said to be invented by one
Richard Chenseler, was substituted in its stead. Nonius s
method, however, was improved at different times and by
different persons; and it must be acknowledged, that if
Vernier saw either the original or any of the improvements
(and there can be little doubt of his having seen them
all), his merit consists only in having applied to an useful
practical purpose the speculative invention of another
^NONNUS, a Greek poet of the fifth century, and a na¬
tive of Panopolis, in Egypt. He was the author of an heroic
poem in forty-eight books, entitled Dionysiacorum, and a
paraphrase in verse of St John’s Gospel, which may serve
as a commentary thereupon. T i j ,,
NOOGOO, one of the small Friendly Islands, three
miles north-east from Tongataboo.
NOOGOONAMO, one of the Hapaee Islands, a little %
to the south-east of Haano. „ , T e 7
NOOHEVA, or Federal Island, one of the Ingraham ^
Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. Long. 140. 5. \\. Eat. 8.^
58. S.
NOOLDROOG, the capital of a district of Hindustan,
in the province of Bejapoor, situated between the 17th and
18th degrees of north latitude. Long, of the town /6. 37.
E. Lat. 17. 42. N. .
NOONT AL, a small and mountainous district ot North¬
ern Hindustan, in the province of Cashmere, situated
about the 35th degree of north latitude.
NOOPORE, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Gujerat. Long. 73. 50. E. Lat. 21. 11. N. .
NOOR ABAD, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Agra, situated on the Sank River, over which there is a
bridge of seven arches, built of stone. Adjoining there is a
lar^e garden, laid out by Aurungzebe as a monument to
the memory of Goona Begum, a princess of great personal
and mental accomplishments. The shrine contains this
Persian inscription : “ Alas, alas, Goona Begum. Long.
78. 6. E. Lat. 26. 25. N. .
NOORNAGUR, the capital of a district of the same
name, in Bengal, situated at the foot of the Tipperah
Mountains. Long. 91. 5. E. Lat. 23. 45. .
NOORPEELY, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Orissa, twenty miles north of Jager. .
NOORRI, a "village of Hindustan, in the province of
Sinde, situated on the banks of the. Fulalee, fifteen miles
below Hyderabad, between which city and the river there
is a free intercourse. Lat. 25. 8. N. . . , „ XT
NOOTKA, or Vancouver’s Island, an island ot New
Georgia, on the western coast of North America. Black
granite, mica, grit for grindstones, and hematites, are
found there. In some places the vegetable earth forms a
bed of two feet in thickness. The climate here is favour¬
able to vegetation, being much milder than that of the
eastern coast of America in the same latitude. Nootka
Sound, situated in latitude 49. 35. north, and longitude
126. 36. west, was discovered by Captain Look in
The water in the sound is from forty-seven to ninety fa¬
thoms deep, and there are many anchoring p aces and good
harbours. All the mainland opposite this island, compiis-
ing New Georgia, New Hanover, and New Albion, is
claimed by the United States, and generally goes by the
name of the Western Territory. See Western Iersi-
NORD, a department of France, and, as its name denotes,
the most northern of the kingdom. It has been formed
out of French Flanders, French Plennegau, and the Um
bresis extending in north latitude from 49. 58. to 51. a-,
a,,d in east Jgi.ude from 2 1. to 3. 9. Its surface n
2406 square miles, or 681,500 hectares, in extent,
level plain, with few elevations; and only
hill on which Cassel stands, attains the height of 400 tee
above the level of the sea. The sod is genera by —
and heavy, but, owing to good cultivation, is hig y >
except on some sandy moors on the sea-shore
kirk. According to the Description Topographqueet St^
tistique, the land under the plough amounts to S-M
hectares, the meadows to 138,428, the woodland t 62^
the morass and other uncultivated fields to lo’000, [the
remainder is occupied by rivers, roads, gardens, and ^
sites of cities, towns, and villages. In 110 ot j\ d 3S.
France is agriculture practised with so much ski) < n
siduity as in this department. The fields, by go«d
ing and abundance of manure, yield crops c°nsj^ed by
out fallowing; and corn is almost geneially ^
green crops, which, especially the clover, 18 ]ands>
matched in the province of Flanders, in the B e
Abundance of wheat, winter and summer bailey,
\#it(
Jjtot-i
taii.
NOR
;csand the several kinds of pulse, are produced; and although
the land is not quite two English acres to each individual
of the population, the produce is more than sufficient for
their consumption, and much of it is exported.
^ The department is watered by numerous streams, the
greater part of which are emptied into the Scheldt, which
enters from the department of the Aisne, and, after a
course of about forty-five miles, passes through the Ne¬
therlands to the sea. Some few of the rivers fall directly
into the sea, and others reach it by the Sambre and the
Meuse. There are several canals, used either for naviga¬
tion or for the purpose of irrigation. The inhabitants of
the department amount to about 900,000, who, besides
the employment connected with agriculture, are occupied
in the fisheries, and in manufactures. The sea-fishing con¬
sists in the taking of herrings, cod, turbot, and others, and
is extended also to the Greenland whale-fishery ; whilst that
on the rivers and canals furnishes a large portion of food.
The chief manufacture is that of linen, including cambrics,
damask table-linen, lawns, and thread-lace. This is said
to employ 40,000 looms, and to furnish occupation for
more than 160,000 persons in spinning. Some woollen
and cotton goods are also made, as well as hats, hosiery,
and leather. There are likewise many oil-mills, brewer¬
ies, and distilleries of corn-spirits. The chief trade is
carried on at Lush, but there are also extensive works at
Douay, Cambray, Dunkirk, and Valenciennes. This de¬
partment belongs ecclesiastically to the bishopric of Cam¬
bray. The chief court of law is held at Douay ; and
the department elects eight deputies to the legislative
body. The religion is that of the Roman Catholic church,
though there are a few Protestants, who support three
chapels or churches for their worship.
Nord, Cotes du, a department of France, formed out
of a part of the ancient province of Bretagne, and ex¬
tending in north latitude from 48. 16. to 48. 56. and in west
longitude from 2.12. to 3.49. It is bounded on the north
by the sea, on the east by the department of Ille Vilaine,
on the south by that of Morbihan, and on the west by
Finisterre. It is 3022 square mHes, or 736,720 hectares,
in extent, and contains five arrondissements, forty-seven
cantons, and 376 communes, with a population of 540,000
persons. It is a level plain, interspersed with a few gentle
elevations. The shore is covered with rocks and small
islands, and encircled by a belt of sandy soil, but intermix¬
ed with a few rich meadows near the rivers. The streams
are all of but short course, and only navigable at the time
ot high tides. The climate is temperate, but moist and
changeable. Agriculture is in a backward state, as is the
civilization of the inhabitants, who speak for the most part
a kind of Welsh, and live mostly in small villages or little
arms; but, by subsisting chiefly on bread made of oats or
buck-wheat, they furnish grain sufficient for their own con¬
sumption, and produce, besides, hemp and flax, which are
converted into wearing apparel in their own houses, or
made into sail-cloth and other articles. The fisheries give
employment to some of the inhabitants ; and iron mines, of
" nc i there are a few, furnish occupation to others. Much
ioney and bees wax is obtained from the department. It
XT^T?^r^puties t0 the legislative chamber.
RDBOTTENS and Wasterbottens, two provin-
° the ??0St nortllern P^t of Sweden, now formed into
ne, extending in north latitude from 63. 28. to 69. 20.,
extern QnI*tUt^e *r0nl to ^ ^ antl liaving an
trv ’ t° S(luare mles. It is a mountainous coun-
Sin" T^Se,d with ,ake?- The ^ter lasts nine months,
few cLu 1'Ch1 the surfaee is covered with snow; but in a
and hem 616 S^i°tS a kttde rye ancl barley* and some flax
few treeJ5’ rna^ ^ cultivated. In the most northern part
firs tk ^r°W ’tke soutb there are some birches and
the cows yield some butter; but the chief animals
NOR
243
Nores.
are the rein-deer, which form a great article of food. The Xorden
whole population is estimated at 75,000. There are no
places in the province that can be considered as towns,
though Tornea and Pithea are called so.
NORDEN, Prederick Louis, an ingenious traveller
and naval officer in the Danish service, was born at Gluck-
stadt, in Holstein, in the year 1708. He was well skilled in
the mathematics, ship-building, and especially in architec-
tuie; and in 1 <’32 he obtained a pension to enable him to
travel for the purpose of studying the construction of ships,
particularly that of the galleys and other rowing vessels
used in the Mediterranean. He spent nearly three years
in Italy; but Christian VI. being desirous of obtaining a
circumstantial account of Egypt, Mr Norden, whilst at
Florence, received an order to extend his travels to that
country. How he acquitted himself of this commission
appears from his Travels into Egypt and Nubia, printed
at Copenhagen in 1756, and which were soon afterwards
translated into English by Dr Peter Templeman. In the
war between England and Spain, Mr Norden, then a cap¬
tain in the Danish navy, attended Count Ulric Adolphus
to England, whence they went out as volunteers under
Sir John Norris, and afterwards under Sir Chaloner Ogle.
During his stay in London, Mr Norden was made a fellow
of the Royal Society, and gave the public drawings of some
ruins and colossal statues at Thebes, in Egypt, with an ac¬
count of the same in a letter to the Royaf Society, 1741.
His health was at this time declining, and having repaired
to France, he died at Paris in 1742.
Norden, a seaport town of the kingdom of Hanover, in
the province of East Friesland, and the capital of the baili¬
wick of the same name. It stands at the mouth of the
river Leysand, but the harbour is not good; and it con¬
tains 814 houses, with 4917 inhabitants. It is much re¬
sorted to in the summer as a sea-bathing place, and there
are several distilleries and breweries, with some export of
corn. Long. 7. 6. 1. E. Lat. 53. 35. 57. N.
NORDHAUSEN, a city, the capital of the circle of
Holstein, in the Prussian province of Erfurt, on the river
Zorge. It is an ancient town, surrounded with walls, and
defended by several towers, and it contains one Catholic
and seven Lutheran churches, with 1456 houses, and 9684
inhabitants, who are manufacturers of woollen cloths, espe¬
cially flannels, lackered ware, leather, seed-oil, corn-spirits,
nails, soap, and hats, besides many smaller articles. There
is also a considerable trade in corn, cattle, wool, and bacon.
Nordhausen contains a school of considerable celebrity,
three hospitals, and an orphan-house. Long. 10. 43. 40*
E. Lat. 51. 30. 22. N.
NORDLAND, a province in the most northern part of
Norway, extending over 45,000 square miles, the whole of
which, with a slight exception, is within the polar circle. It
is divided into two bailiwicks, Nordland and Finmark, which
together contained in 1801 a population of 78,425 persons;
but, within the thirty-six years that have since elapsed, it
is supposed to have somewhat increased. The climate for-
bids extensive agriculture, but some little barley is grown
as high as the latitude of seventy degrees. The chief sub¬
sistence of the inhabitants depends on the fisheries and the
chase ; and the only articles of exportation are salted fish,
furs, hides, cind feathers, which 3x0 sent to Bergen in ex-
change for the few foreign commodities that are wanted.
NORDLINGEN, a city of Bavaria, in the circle of the
liezat, and the capital of the bailiwick of its own name.
It stands on the river Eger, and is surrounded with walls,
defended by towers and bastions, and with ditches. It
contains /80 houses, and 6130 inhabitants, who make flan¬
nels, cai pets, blankets, and other woollen goods, and have
considerable trade in wool, corn, and leather. Long. 10.
23. 10. E. Lat. 48. 51. N.
NORES, Jason de, a scholar, poet, and philosopher,
244
N O II
NOR
Norfolk, was born at Nicosia, in Cyprus* Having lost his
^ -when the Turks made themselves masters of that island
in 1570, he retired to Padua, where he acquired g^at re¬
putation by teaching ethical philosophy. His character
had that cast of severity which is often the c°"s^e^Ce_
of scholastic habits. He was one of those men who d^
cuss every thing without being capable of thoroughly un
derstanding an/thing. The Pastor Fido o Guanni made
its appearance, and in consequence pastorals beca
sh ion able species of reading throughout all Italy* Nores,
who did not relish works of this kind, attache P
duction of Guarini, who entirely confuted 1 im in a
piece printed at Ferrara in 1588. Nores made a reply two
years afterwards; and the poet was preparing an a^wer
still more severe than the former when h.s antagonist died
of grief, occasioned by the banishment of his ^ san^0
having killed a Venetian m single comTba!: nHflen !e^thers
hind him a great many works, some in Italian, a
^1’ 3^“ ^r'e”’theWoria an. its Pan, Ve^
1571 8vo ; 4. Introduction to three books of Anstot es
Rhetoric Venice, 1548, 4to; 5. A Treatise on the aid which
Comedy Tragedy, and Epic Poetry, may receive from Mo-
raTphiiosophy. ^is Latin works are, 1.
losophiam Ciceronis, Padua, 1576 8™! a Brev.s et d
tincta Summa Prateeptorum de Arte D'-"u,,one
CWnisPhiiolphite 4to ; 4. Interpre
?atio in Artem Poetiean, Horatii. In all h.s works we e-
mark <rreat perspicuity and accuracy, profound erudition,
and happy expressions, with acompact and somet.mes for-
ClbNOUFOLK, an English maritime county, bounded on
the northern and north eastern sides by the Ge™ Oeean,
on the south and south-east by the county of Suffolk and on
the west by the counties of Lincoln and Cambrtdge. 1 he
shape is nearly that of an ellipsis bounded by a convex
line a little indented on the western extremity. ® §
est length is fifty-nine miles, and its greatest breadth thir¬
ty-eight. According to the most recent calculation aS
made by Mr Rickman, the number of acres is '
The population, according to the returns a e
decennial enumerations, appears to haje amounted 1801
to 273 371, in 1811 to 291,999, in 1821 to 344,3bb, and
in 1831 to 390,000. The annual value of the real pioper-
,y of the whole county, as taken for the property-tax m
18TtabSlfifclutofhofh‘the registered and the un-
reltered hr the ten ylkrs from 1821 to 1831, appear to
have been one in fifty-two of the whole number ot inha-
bitants then living. The illegitimate births were one in
nineteen of the whole number born.
The occupations of the inhabitants, according to the re¬
turns arranged by Mr Rickman in 1831, were as follow .
Norfolk j
Occupiers of land employing labourers  5,2-9
Occupiers of land not employing labourers  2,718
Labourers employed in agriculture...  37,466
Employed in retail trades or handicraft 2b,5«
Capitalists, bankers,    ^
Labourers not agricultural...  jo/
Other males twenty years ot age 
Male servants  ’
Female servants 
The surface of this county presents less variety than al¬
most any other in England. It is generally a level plain, with
few undulations, and no bold or abrupt elevations. With
the exception of some recently-planted districts around
the seatsPof noblemen and gentlemen, the woody parts of
the county are very inconsiderable; and there is general¬
ly a great scarcity of the more umbrageous trees. The
streams have almost all a languid and sombre appearance.
Though, to the traveller of taste, the sameness and uni¬
formity is wearisome, yet to him who directs his attention
to the wealth and comforts of the districts through winch
he journeys, few countries can be more pleasing The
number and substantial appearance of the farm-houses
and even of the cottages, the condition o the roads and
fences, and the high cultivation ot the fields are marks of
rural prosperity that are nowhere more striking, borne
few portions on the eastern side of the county form excep¬
tions1 to this general description, but these are inconsider¬
able when compared with the whole.
From its exposure to the North Sea, the winters in Nor¬
folk are usually severely cold, and the powers ot vegeta¬
tion are retarded to a later period of the year than in the
western counties. In the hundred of Marshland the cli¬
mate is not only cold, but damp; and the inhabitants are
subject to intermitting fevers, which commonly attack all
strangers who come to reside in that district. Th^ SQl1 of
Norfolk is generally a light sand or sandy loam; for although
a part of the fens are within the county, and the district
of Marshland consists of ooze formed by deposition from
the sea, as well as a narrow tract of land upon the banks ot
the river Waveney, yet these form but trifling exceptions
to the general character of the soil of the , r
Arthur Young, in his Agricultural Survey of Norfolk, has
made an attempt to classify the soils, and estimate their
Quantities. The difficulty of doing this with accuracy must
be acknowledged by every one who considers the nice gra¬
dations which soils discover, and how various are their mo¬
dification*. We give this estimate rather as an approxi¬
mation to the truth than as absolutely exact
Soils. Square Miles.
Light sand 220 
Good sand 420 
Marshland clay  60 
Various loams 600 
•32’480
Since the land of Norfolk, from the representation here
given, appears to be far from being naturally of a fertite
description, the great amount of its productions must be
attributed to the excellent system of agriculture which
has been there introduced and extended, and which, thoug
scarcelv calculated for most of the other districts of our
island, Is admirably adapted for the soil
it is pursued. The foundation upon which the whole sys
tem of its agriculture is built is the cultivation of t.1jirnlP ‘
These light soils are easily brought into a fine 1 ?
repeated ploughings and harrowings and Jeir Pjod
maintains so large a portion of live stock, ^t heir ma
nure, when carefully preserved, and properly distributed,
enriches the soil at every successive course more tha
is impoverished by the crops of corn which are
it. The land is thus in a constantly progressive state oH
provement. The soil being so light, no deep P1^1 ^
reauired, but such a repetition of moving it as w ill be su
cient to destroy the surface weeds, and to puNeme
tually* This is easily effected by means‘ ide(iby
ed light ploughs, drawn by two horses, which are § , jn
reins in the hands of the man who directs the p'ough- *
many instances a four-course system of rotation isfo ow
consisting of turnips, barley, artificial g-sses and wheat*
In some instances the artificial grasses aie left }
the ground, and then, after three or four ploughmg^
wheat is sown. A very common rotation, Pr°™‘f^out
ed the six-course shift, is wheat, barley w clover
clover, turnips, barley or oats, clover mown for hay» £
fed, and then wheat again. Both these systems, wi h th h
rieties of each, are founded upon the principle that as
0.
Acres.
.140,800
.268,000
. 38,400
.576,000
94,720
NOR
jr#.:. land shall be cultivated with green crops which furnish
’■n --'sustenance for cattle, and thereby produce manure, as is
destined to the growth of corn. The system of drill-hus¬
bandry is carried to a great extent, and the practice of
planting or dibbling grain of all kinds has been of late years
very much and beneficially increased. By perseverance
in these excellent plans, many extensive portions of the
county of Norfolk, especially in the north-eastern part of it,
which were a few years ago deemed incapable of produ¬
cing a wheat crop, now yield abundant harvests of that
grain. Oats are but a small object of cultivation; but bar¬
ley is deemed the grain most appropriate to the soil and
climate, and is consequently sowed to the greatest extent,
occupying nearly one fourth of the arable land of the
county. The increase of grain varies very considerably.
On the heavy soils of Marshland and Flegg the produce of
wheat is frequently six quarters, and of oats ten quarters,
to the acre ; but as these districts form but a small pro¬
portion of the whole, the average quantity of wheat in the
county is about three quarters to the acre, and of barley
four quarters. In no part of the kingdofo have the various
mechanical inventions for facilitating agricultural labour
been so generally diffused as in Norfolk; and the imple¬
ments used there may well serve as models for the other
counties. Besides the common grains, wheat, barley, oats,
pease, and beans, this county yields mustard, saffron, flax,
and hemp ; but none of them in such quantities as to merit
especial notice.
The live stock of this county possess few peculiarly dis¬
criminative features. The horses, crossed by the breed of
Suffolk, are bony, active, and hardy, and well adapted for
husbandry or the road; and they are almost universally used
for agricultural labour, to the exclusion of oxen. The na¬
tive cows were a small breed, not unlike those of Alderney
and Guernsey ; but they have been improved by a mix¬
ture with the cows of the richer adjoining counties. The
greater part of the cattle fattened in Norfolk are bought
from the Scotch drovers, who bring them to the fairs about
Michaelmas. They are fed upon the banks of the rivers on
the natural grass, or upon the arable farms on turnips, till
they become fit for slaughter. The number of Scotch
cattle annually bought by the Norfolk farmers is estimated
to vary from 15,000 to 20,000. The original sheep of
Norfolk were a very hardy race, with horns, black feet, and
black noses, the fleece yielding about two pounds of wool
of third-rate fineness, and the quarters weighing, when
fattened, about eighteen pounds. They were well calcu¬
lated for the land when it was less highly cultivated than
at present, as they were good travellers, and ate the herb-
age very close ; but as the improved systems of husbandry
have been extended, this native breed has sometimes been
crossed by others, and in many instances has given place
to the South Down sheep. The increase of arable farms
has diminished the dairies, and consequently the pigs which
were reared from them ; and the practice of fattening hogs
for bacon is scarcely known.
The poultry of Norfolk has been long celebrated, and
vast quantities of it are conveyed to the London markets.
Ihe turkeys are most highly prized, from their superior
delicacy of flavour. The dry nature of the soil is deemed
peculiarly favourable to the rearing of these birds; and
tie numbers which are sent from Norfolk to other districts
amount to hundreds of thousands. No part of England is
so abundantly stocked with game, especially pheasants and
partridges, as Norfolk. They are sedulously preserved by
t ie andlords, and generally reserved in the leases, so that
icy liave obtained the character of property, and are com-
mon y respected as such by adjoining proprietors of es-
a es. Great numbers of rabbits are bred on extensive
warrens in many parts of the county, both for the sake of
the flesh and of the wool.
NOR 245
Norfolk has long been and still continues to be an exten- Norfolk,
sive manufacturing county. The Flemings first settled here
as early as the year 1336, and made woollen goods at the
village of Worstead ; hence the name of that place was ap¬
plied to the thread made of the longer kinds of wool. Un¬
der the persecutions of the Duke of Alva in Flanders, many
more natives of that country found refuge in and near the
city of Norwich, dhe fabrics have indeed successively
changed with the change of fashions and the fluctuations
of markets, but the manufactures have been continued
through many vicissitudes to the present time. The chief
goods now manufactured are bombazeens, camblets for the
markets of China, and shawls of various and elegant kinds,
principally for home consumption. This last article, intro¬
duced when the demand for stuffs from Spain ceased, has
been highly beneficial to the city of Norwich and its vi¬
cinity'. The introduction of machinery in the northern
counties had destroyed th& habit of spinning, which, a few
years ago, universally prevailed amongst all the females of
the peasants’ families in this and the adjoining counties.
Besides the manufactories of Norwich and its vicinity, some
inferior kinds of bone-lace are made in Diss, and some
other parts of the county; but the quantity produced is
slowly and gradually diminishing.
Scarcely any of the goods manufactured in this county
are sent directly to foreign markets, those destined for
distant countries being almost w holly exported from Lon¬
don. The commerce is notwithstanding very extensive,
from the two ports of Yarmouth and Lynn. Yarmouth,
in regard to the number of its ships, is the eighth port in
the kingdom, having more than 300 registered vessels. It
is well situated for trade, and has one of the finest quays
in Europe ; but the depth of water is not sufficient for ships
of great draft, and the bar at the mouth of the harbour is
a serious impediment. The great support of the shipping
of Yarmouth is the herring fishery. These fish are caught
by the \armouth men, in the months of June and July, on
the shores and in the lochs of Scotland, and at a later period
on their own coasts. They are first cleaned, and then slight¬
ly salted ; after which they are hung up in large appropriate
houses, where, by the application of the smoke of wood
fires, the preparation of curing them is completed. This
fishery usually yields from 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of
red herrings, each barrel containing about 1000 fish. This
branch of industry, besides the employment of the sea¬
men, gives occupation to several thousand artificers of va¬
rious kinds. Besides this fishery, the exports of Yar¬
mouth, as well as Lynn, and the smaller ports of Wells,
Blackney, Burnham, and Clay, afford great employment
to shipping, by the surplus quantity of corn which the
county produces and sends to London and other ports.
The imports at these towns consist of timber, hemp, wine,
spirits, and foreign fruit; which, by means of the navigable
rivers, are forwarded to the interior adjoining counties.
Ihe rivers are sufficiently easy of navigation to render
canals unnecessary, and there are consequently none in the
county, though several have been commenced, and, after
languishing some time, have been abandoned without being
completed. 'Ihe Great Ouse is a navigable river, which
rises in Northamptonshire, enters this county at Down-
ham, and empties itself into the sea near Lynn. It has a
great rise of tide, and is navigable for barges twenty-four
miles from its mouth, and for boats as far as Bedford ; thus
affording water communication with seven of the midland
counties. The Little Ouse rises in the southern part of
this county; at Thetford it receives the small river Thet,
and from thence is navigable to its junction with the Great
Ouse, on the borders of Cambridgeshire. The Waveney
rises within nine or ten feet of the source of the Little
Ouse, and takes a directly opposite course. It has many
sinuosities, as its name denotes, becomes navigable at Bun-
246
NOR
Norfolk.
gay, receives the Yare at Burgh, and empties itself into
the sea at Yarmouth. The Bure rises near Aylsham, and
after joining the Thone near Ndrth W alsham, becomes
navigable for boats. It falls into the Yare previously to
its meeting the sea. The Yare rises near Attleburgh, be¬
comes navigable at Norwich, and, after receiving the wa¬
ters of the Tass and the Wensum, merges in the Waye-
ney. Recently a communication directly from Norwich
to the sea has been formed by a canal to LowestofF. The
Nar rises near Litcham, and has a short course to the sea
at Lynn, whence it is navigable upwards to Narborough,
a distance of fifteen miles.
The whole of the county is wdthin the diocese of Nor¬
wich, the bishop of which see has his palace and cathe¬
dral in that city. The titles derived from the county are
that of duke to the family of Howard ; Earl of Norwich to
the Scotch Duke of Gordon, and of Yarmouth to the Mar¬
quis of Hertford, Marquis and Viscount Townsend ; \ is-
count Thetford to the Duke of Grafton ; Barons Walsing-
ham, Calthorpe, Wodehouse, Hobart, Walpole, and Nel¬
son. ' Norfolk, under the reform act, was divided into two
portions, each returning two members. The election for
the eastern division is held at Swaffham, and the polling
places are Downham, East Deerham, Fakenham, Lynn
Regis, S waff ham, and Thetford. The election for the
w estern division is held at Norwich, and the polling places
are that city and the towns of Long Stratton, North \\ al¬
sham, Reepham, and Yarmouth. Besides the four mem¬
bers for the count}7, the following places return two each,
viz. Norwich, Yarmouth, Thetford, and Lynn Regis. Cas¬
tle Rising, which before the change returned two mem¬
bers, has been disfranchised.
This county contains few Roman antiquities, but some
of Saxon date are to be seen in the cathedral, the episcopal
palace, the gates of Yarmouth and Lynn, and in several
piles of ruins of ecclesiastical edifices, as well as in some
of the parish churches. Amongst many distinguished na¬
tives of this county, the most celebrated have been Anne
Boleyn, Dr Samuel Clarke, Sir Edward Coke, Archbishops
Herring and Parker, Lord Nelson, Richard Porson, Sir Ro¬
bert Walpole, and the Right Honourable William Wind¬
ham.
In so large a county we may naturally expect to find
many seats of noblemen and gentlemen. It would far ex¬
ceed‘d the limits which the nature of this work prescribes,
to enumerate one half of them ; but the most remarkable
are the following :—Bickling, Lord Suffield ; Binl^y Hall,
Earl of Rosebery; Bracon Ash, T. F. Berney, Esq.; Beck¬
enham House, Lord Petre; Costessey Hall, Sir William
Jerningham ; Felbrigg, Captain Lukin ; Harling, Sir John
Sebright; Hethel Hall, Sir Thomas Beevor; Hillington
Park, Sir Martin Folkes; Houghton Hall, the Marquis of
Cholmondeley ; Intwood Hall, Earl of Buckinghamshire ;
Gunton, Lord Suffield ; Kimberley Hall, Lord Wodehouse ;
Kirby Bedon, Sir John Berney; Melton Constable, Sir J.
H. Astley; Quiddenham, Earl of Albemarle; Rainham
Hall, Marquis of Townsend; Wareham, Sir M. B. Folkes ;
Wolterton Hall, Earl of Orford ; Oxburgh Hall, Sir Rich¬
ard Boddingfield.
The towns having a population exceeding 1500 inhabi¬
tants are the following:—
Inhabited Houses. Inhabitants.
Norwich 13,156 61,116
Yarmouth  4,570 21,115
Lynn  2,707 13,370
East Deerham  785 3,913
Wells  734 3,624
Thetford  675 3,462
Sw7affham  626 3,285
Diss  559 2,934
North Walsham  560 2,615
NOR
Inhabited Houses. Inhabitants.
Aylsham  484 2,334
Downham  458 2,198
Upwall   390 2,123
Fakenham  383 2,077
Attleburgh  372 1,939
Shipdam  376 1,889
Harlestone  357 1,784
Holt  306 1,622
Hingham  308 1,539
Norfolk, a borough-town and a port of entry in Nor¬
folk county, Virginia, one of the United States of North
America. ‘ It is situated on the north-eastern side of Eliza¬
beth River, eight miles above its entrance into Hampton
Road, and thirty-two miles from the sea. The land side of
the town is not pleasant, being low, and in some places
marshy. The streets are crooked and irregular, and nei¬
ther the public nor the private buildings are remarkable
for elegance. Of the former there are above twenty, in¬
cluding places of public worship for Episcopalians, Pres¬
byterians, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Methodists.
The Farmer’s Bank, the Orphan Asylum, and the Lan-
casterian School, are amongst the most conspicuous struc¬
tures in Norfolk. It has a spacious and commodious har¬
bour, nearly a mile in width, defended by three forts: Fort
Norfolk on the north-east side of Elizabeth River, about
a mile below the town ; Fort Nelson on the south-west side
of the river, a little higher than the former; and a large
and strong fort upon Craney Island, five miles below the
town. Norfolk has more shipping and maritime commerce
than any other town in the state. On V ashington Point,
between the eastern and western branches ot the river,
there is a marine hospital, a handsome brick edifice. Near
this town, also, there is an United States navy yard. The
population of Norfolk amounted in 1820 to 84/8, and in
1830 to 9816. Long. 76. 10. W. Lat. 36. 52. N.
t- Tct ax-tv in the Southern Pacific Ocean, is fif¬
Kortjj
^-v
teen miles in circumference. It was discovered in 1774
by Captain Cook, who found it uninhabited. It has a re¬
markably fruitful soil; the whole country is clothed with
verdure, and presents a scene of most exuberant fertility.
It is described by Turnbull, who visited it in 1801, as being
so uniformly fertile, that, with the exception of the moun¬
tains overhanging the sea, it would be difficult to find one
spot less fertile than another. This island was colonized
shortly after that of Port Jackson, by Governor Philips,
who sent thither the more profligate division of the co¬
lonists ; and the most abandoned convicts were afterwards
sent to the same place. One great objection to the island
as a colonial settlement is the difficulty of approaching it, in
consequence of the mountainous sea which constantly beats
on its rocky shores, so that ships from Port Jackson have
often been obliged to beat off and on for upwards of a
month, and found themselves still as distant as ever from
all communication with the shore. This circumstance,
and the want of any harbour or roadstead for shipping, h
much against the island; and hence, in 1805, it was found
necessary to remove the colonists and convicts either to
Port Dalrymple or to the river Derwent. The population
amounts to 1000. Long. 168. 10. E. Lat. 29.3. S.
Norfolk Sound, according to the account of Captain
Dixon, is situated in 57. 3. north latitude, and 135. 36.
west longitude. It is a very extensive place, but how far
it stretches to the northward is not knowm.
NORHAM, a township, the capital of the parish of the
same name, in the district of Norhamshire, county-pala¬
tine of Durham, pleasantly situated on the south side ot
the river Tweed, nine miles above Berwick. It is cele¬
brated for being the frequent scene of forays during the
wars between England and Scotland, probably because one
of the principal fords across the Tweed between Berwic
*
247
NOR NOR
and Kelso is only at a short distance above the village.
,-^Norham, in its present state, appears to have been built
from the ruins of the celebrated castle situated at its east¬
ern extremity. It has been much improved, and is now
kept free from the filth which was formerly allowed to ac¬
cumulate on its streets. The cross, which is at the west
end of the village, also adds to its appearance. The church
of Norham is of very old date, and has for its middle aisle
part of the first church, which was built in the year 840.
Before the Reformation, it had the privilege of affording
sanctuary for thirty-seven days. There is also a Presby¬
terian meeting-house and an endowed school in the vil¬
lage. Its inhabitants are principally supported by salmon
fisheries on the Tweed, shoe-making, and agricultural em¬
ployment in the neighbourhood. In consequence of the
dangerous state of the ford across the Tweed, and from
the river being often impassable, even for boats, when it is
swollen with rain, it is in contemplation to construct a
chain-bridge across the river. The ruins of the castle are
situated on a high rock, which overhangs the river Tweed ;
they are of considerable extent, and consist of the remains
of two sides of the tower or keep, many vaults, with the
fragments of other edifices, and the remains of the out¬
ward walls, which enclose the castle to a considerable ex¬
tent. There are also traces of field-works, which appear
to have been erected by the forces which besieged it, in
order to enable them to reduce it. The ruins have a most
picturesque appearance. The inhabitants amounted in 1821
to 901, and in 1831 to 819.
NOKIA, an hydraulic machine much used in Spain. It
consists of a vertical wheel of twenty feet in diameter, on
the circumference of which are fixed a number of little
boxes or square buckets, for the purpose of raising the
water out of the well, communicating with the canal be¬
low, and of emptying it into a reservoir above, which is
placed by the side ot the wheel. The buckets have a la¬
teral orifice to receive and to discharge the water. The
axis of this wheel is embraced by four small beams, which
cross each other at right angles, tapering at the extremities,
and thus form eight little arms. This wheel is near the
centre of the horse walk, contiguous to the vertical axis,
into the top of which the horse-beam is fixed ; but near
the bottom it is embraced by four little beams, forming eight
arms similar to those above described, on the axis of the
water-wheel. As the mule employed to turn it goes round,
these horizontal arms, supplying the place of cogs, take
hold, each in succession, of those arms which are fixed
upon the axis of the water-wheel, and keep it in rota¬
tion.
This machine, than which nothing can w’ell be cheaper,
throws up a great quantity of water. Yet it has two serious
defects. The first is, that part of the water runs out of the
buckets and falls back into the well after it has been rais¬
ed nearly to the level of the reservoir; and the second is,
that a considerable proportion of the water to be discharged
is raised higher than the reservoir, and falls into it only at
the moment when the bucket is at the highest point of the
circle, and ready to descend. But both these defects might
be remedied with ease, by leaving the square buckets open
at one end, making them swung upon a pivot fixed a little
above their centre of gravity, and placing the trough of
the reservoir in such a position as to stop their progress
whilst perpendicular, make them turn upon their pivot,
and so discharge their contents. From the reservoir the
v ater is conveyed by channels to all parts of the garden.
lese have divisions and subdivisions in beds, some large,
an others very small, separated from each other by little
c. annels, into wdiich a boy with his shovel or his hoe di¬
rects the water, first into the most distant trenches, and
successively to all the rest, until all the beds and trenches
nave been either covered or filled with water. Mr Town¬
send thinks, that on account of the extreme simplicity of Noricum
this machine, it is an invention of the most remote anti- T II.
quity. By means of it the inhabitants every morning draw. y°ns'
as much water from the well as serves throughout the day, J‘ y
and in the evening distribute it to every quarter, accord¬
ing to the nature of their crops. The reservoirs into which
they raise the water are about twenty, thirty, or even
forty feet square, and three feet in height above the sur¬
face of the ground, with a stone cope on the wall, declining
to the water, for the women to wash and beat their clothes
upon.
NORICUM, a Roman province, situated between the
Danube on the north, which separated it from ancient
Germany; the Alpes Noricae on the south; the river
iEnus on the west, which separated it from Vindelicia;
and Mons Cetius on the east, which divided it from Pan-
nonia. It now includes a great part of Austria, all Saltz-
burg, Styria, and Carinthia. It was anciently a kingdom
under its own sovereigns.
NORIS, Henry, a cardinal, and a great ornament of
the monastic order of St Augustin, w^as descended from the
president Jason, or James de Noris, and was born at Vero¬
na in 1631. He was carefully educated by his father Alex¬
ander Noris, originally of Ireland, and well known by his
history of Germany. From his infancy he discovered an
excellent understanding, great vivacity, and quick appre¬
hension. His father instructed him in the rudiments of
grammar, and procured an able professor of Verona, called
Massoleim, to act as his preceptor. At fifteen he was ad¬
mitted as a boarder in the Jesuits’ College at Rimini, where
he studied philosophy; after which he applied himself to
the writings of the fathers of the church, particularly those
of St Augustin ; and taking the habit in the convent of the
Augustinian monks of Rimini, he in a short time distin¬
guished himself amongst that fraternity by his erudition,
insomuch that, as soon as he had completed his noviciate,
the general of the order sent for him to Rome, to give him
an opportunity of improving himself in the more solid
branches of learning. Nor did he disappoint the expecta¬
tions of his superior. He gave himself up entirely to his
studies, and spent whole days, and even nights, in the li¬
brary of the Angeliques of St Augustin. His constant
course was to study fourteen hours a day ; and this he con¬
tinued till he became a cardinal. Thus he became qua¬
lified to instruct others, and was first sent to Pezaro, and
thence to Perugia, where he took his degree of doctor of
divinity ; after which, proceeding to Padua, he applied him¬
self to finish his History of Pelagianism. He began it at
Rome at the age of twenty-six, and when he had complet¬
ed his design, the book was printed at Florence, and pub¬
lished in 1673. In the following year the Grand Duke of
Tuscany invited him to that city, made him his chaplain,
and appointed him professor of ecclesiastical history in
the university of Pisa, which his highness had recently
founded.
In his history he explained and defended the condem¬
nation pronounced, in the eighth general council, against
Origen and Mopsuesta, the original authors of the Pela¬
gian errors ; and he also added an account of the schism
of Aquileia, with a vindication of the books written by St
Augustin against the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians. The
work procured the author great reputation, but called forth
several antagonists, to whom he published proper answers.
The dispute grew warm, and was carried before the sove¬
reign tribunal of the Inquisition. There the history was
examined with the utmost rigour, and the author dismiss¬
ed without the least censure. It was reprinted twice after¬
wards, and the author was honoured by Pope Clement X.
with the title of qualificator of the holy office. Notwith¬
standing this, the charge was renewed against the History,
and it was delated afresh to the Inquisition in 1676; but it
248
NOR
NOR
Normans came a^ain out of the trial with the same success as before.
T H Mr Noris was now suffered to remain in peace for sixteen
Norrkop- anri ecclesiastical history at Pisa, without any
take in and discharge their cargoes a little below the city,
Lono-. 16. 5. 24. E. Lat. 58. 36. 5. N-
years, and taught ecclesiastical history at Pisa, without any
^molestation, until he was called to Rome by Innocent XII.,
who, in 1692, made him under-librarian of the ^ atican.
This post was a step to a cardinal’s hat: his accusers, there¬
fore, took fire afresh, and published several new pieces
against him. Upon this the pope appointed some learned
divines, who had taken neither side, to re-examine Fatner
Noris’s books, and report on them. Their testimony was
so advantageous to the author, that his holiness made him
counsellor of the Inquisition. F et this did not prevent one
of his adversaries, the most formidable on account o ns
erudition, from rising up aeainst him, and attacking him
warmly, under the assumed title of a Scrupulous Doctor ot
the Sorbonne. Noris tried to remove these scruples in a
work which appeared in 1695, under the title of, An His¬
torical Dissertation concerning One of the inmty that sut-
fered in the Flesh, in which, having justified the monks ot
Scythia, who had made use of that expression, he vindi¬
cated himself also from the imputation ot having attainted
the Pope’s infallibility, and abused Yincentius Linnensis,
and other bishops of Gaul, as favourers of Semi-Pelagian-
ism, and as having themselves fallen into the errors ot the
Bishop of Ypres. ^But his answers to all these accusations
were so much to the satisfaction of the pope, that at length,
in 1695, his holiness honoured him w ith the purple.
After this he was in all the congregations, and employ¬
ed in the most important atfairs; so that he had little time
to spend in study, a circumstance of which he frequently
complained to his friends. Upon the death of Cardinal
Casanati, he was made principal keeper of the \ atican
Library in 1700, and two years afterwards he was no¬
minated, amongst others, to reform the calendar ; but he
died at Rome, of a dropsy, in 1704. He was one of the
most learned men of his time; his writings abound with
erudition, and are also remarkable for their elegance. His
works are numerous, and' were published at \ erona, in
1729 and 1730, in five volumes folio.
NORMANS, a fierce and warlike people of Norway,
Denmark, and other parts of Scandinavia. They at dif¬
ferent times overran and ravaged most countries in Eu¬
rope, in the respective histories of which a full account ot
them will be found. _ . . . , ,
Norman Characters, a species of writing introduced
into England by WiUiam I. From some old manuscripts,
the Norman writing appears to have been composed of let¬
ters nearly Lombardic. In regal grants, charters, public
instruments, and law proceedings, this character was used
with very little variation from the reign ot the Conqueror
till that of Edward III. , . , ■ c
NORRKOPING, a city of Sweden, in the province of
Linkoping. It stands on both sides ot the river Motala,
and is connected together by a bridge of boats. It is a mo¬
derately built town ; one side of the river rising against the
side of a hill, the other part being almost level with the
water. The streets are wide and well paved, and there
are some handsome squares, with a fine market-place. It
contains three churches, one of which is for the Germans.
There are several institutions tor instruction and for cha¬
ritable purposes. In 1834, it contained about 2000 houses
and 10,500 inhabitants. It is the principal piace of trade
in the kingdom, next to Stockholm. It has some large fa¬
brics of cutlery, and of all kinds ot iron and copper ware.
There are refineries for sugar and salt, some weavers ot
linen, cotton, and woollen goods, manufactories of soap
and leather, and conveniences for building ships. Ine
export trade consists of iron, steel, and copper in bars or
in manufactured articles; in timber, pitch, tar, cordage,
and sometimes salted fish. As the river is not more than
twelve feet in depth, the larger ships are compelled to
NORRLAND, one of the provinces of Sweden, which
extends in north latitude from 62. 28. to 64. 25. and in ^
east longitude from 14. 41. to 15. 40. being 1078 square
miles in extent. It is divided into three bailiwicks, and
contains only two towns, with a great number of detached
rural establishments. The number of inhabitants does not
exceed 61,000. The capital is Hernosand, a city of 1850
inhabitants. In regard to prospects, it is one of the most
picturesque in that romantic kingdom, presenting naked
rocks rising to 1800 feet amongst lakes, rivers, and woods.
The chief products, besides corn, which is scantily grown,
are deals and tar, with some iron. Ihe principal branch of
industry is making linen, which is spun by both sexes dur¬
ing the long nights of winter. J
NORTH, one of the four cardinal points of the world,
being that point of the horizon which is directly opposite
to the sun in meridian. Ihe north wind is generally ac¬
companied with a considerable degree of cold, and some¬
times blows with almost irresistible fury. It is often men¬
tioned by the classical authors under the name ot Botcos,
which is of Greek origin.
North, Dudley, Lord, the third baron of that accom¬
plished family. He was one of the finest gentlemen in the
court of King James; but in supporting that character he
dissipated and gambled away the greater part of his for¬
tune. In 1645 he appears to have acted with the parlia¬
ment ; and by them he was appointed administrator of
the admiralty, in conjunction with the Earls ot Northum¬
berland, Essex, Warwick, and others. He lived to the age
of eighty-five; passed the latter part of his life in retire¬
ment ; and wrote a small folio of miscellanies, in prose and
verse,'entitled a Forest Promiscuous of several Seasons’
Productions, in four parts, 1659.
North, Dudley, Lord, son of the preceding, was made
knight of the Bath in 1616, when Charles was created
Prince of Wales, and sat in many parliaments, till excluded
by the prevailing party in the last, which condemned the
1 t7 . i ,  * ,1 T ATV» 11onriVQtpiV in tnP
nIhi
king. From that0 period Lord North lived privately in the
country, and towards the end of his lire entertained him¬
self with books, but, as his numerous issue required, with
economy. He wrote a little tract, called Observations and
Advices Economical, 12mo. His other works are, 1. Pas¬
sages relating to the Long Parliament; 2. the History ot
the Life of Lord Edward North, the first baron of the fa¬
mily, addressed to his eldest son ; and, 3. a volume of
North, Francis, Lord Guildford, lord-keeper of the
great seal in the reigns of Charles II. and James H. was*
third son of the second Dudley Lord North, baron ot Kert-
liner, and studied at St John’s College, Cambridge, whence
he removed to the Middle Temple. He acquired I'reD“:
Italian, Spanish, and Dutch, and became not only a good
lawyer, but thoroughly conversant with history, mathe¬
matics, philosophy, and music. He was afterwards ma e
the king’s solicitor-general, and chosen to represent
borough of Lynn in parliament. He succeeded 8ir tie-
nea^e Finch in the office of attorney-general; and Low
Chief Justice Vaughan, in that of lord chief justice o
the Common Pleas. He was afterwards made keeper w
the great seal, and in 1683 was created a baron by the u
of Lord Guildford. He died at his house at Wroxton
the year 1685. Lord Guildford wrote a philosophical es¬
say on music; a paper on the gravitation of fluids m
bladders of fishes, printed in Lowthorp’s Abndgeme
the Philosophical Transactions; and some ot“e^Pie,ce^ j
North, Frederick, Earl of Guildford, Lord Nur*. ,
warden and admiral of the Cinque Ports, governor o
Dover Castle, lord lieutenant and custos rotulorum
mersetshire, chancellor of the university of Oxford,
, i
- i
V€r-*
NOR
NOR
249
der of Gloucester and Taunton, an elder brother of the
Trinity House, president of the Foundling Hospital and
of the Asylum, a governor of the Turkey Company and of
the Charter House, was born on the 13th of April 1732.
,On the 20th of May 1756, he married Miss Ann Speke,
an heiress of the ancient family of Dillington in Somerset¬
shire, by whom he left two sons and three daughters. His
lordship succeeded the celebrated Charles Townsend as
manager of the House of Commons and Chaneellor of the
Exchequer; and, in 1770, on the resignation of the Duke
of Grafton, was made First Lord of the Treasury, in which
office he continued until the close of the American war,
or rather until the formation of the Rockingham ministry,
which began the business of peace with the colonies. He
was a man of strong mental faculties, and an orator of very
considerable powers, enlivened and recommended by much
pleasantry and amenity ; but taking the helm at a time when
the king’s party were unpopular, and when it was sup¬
posed that the Earl of Bute was the great engine by which
the cabinet was moved, he continued in a state of great
unpopularity until he resigned the seals. During the
whole of his premiership, he studiously avoided imposing
any taxes which could materially affect .the lower class of
people. The luxuries and not the necessaries of life were
repeated objects of his budget. As a financier he stood
high, even in the opinion of an opposition forming a com¬
bination of all the great talents in the kingdom ; but being
fatally wedded to the destructive plan of subduing the
republican spirit of the Americans, his administration is
marked by an immense waste of the public treasure, and
a lavish expenditure of blood. The very last time he spoke
in the senate, however, he defended that war, and said he
was then, as he had formerly been, prepared to meet the
minutest investigation as to his conduct in that contest,
which nothing but the unforeseen intervention of France
could have prevented from being crowned with success.
His lordship was one of the firmest and most strenuous
supporters of the constitution in church and state. He
died on the 5th of August 1792.
North Cape, the most northerly promontory in Eu¬
rope, situated on the coast of Norway. Long. 21. 0. E.
Lat. 78. 0. N.
North Foreland, a cape or promontory of Kent, in the
Isle of Thanet, four miles east of Margate. Between this
and the South Foreland are the Downs, through which pass
all ships bound to or from the west. Long. 1. 25. E. Lat.
51. 25. N.
North Island, a small island in the Eastern Seas, near
the east entrance of the Straits of Sunda, where those who
go ashore for wood or water are in great danger from the
treacherous Malays, who surprise and murder them. Lat.
5. 57. S. There are four other islands of this name in the
Eastern Seas, namely, one near the west coast of Borneo,
ongitude 109. 5. east, latitude 1. 22. south ; another near
the north coast of Celebes, longitude 120. 48. east, latitude
• 38. south; a third, a small island near the south-west
coast of the island of Bouton, longitude 122. 50. east, lati-
tude 5.33. south; and a fourth, an island on the north coast
o x ew Holland, near the head of the Gulf of Carpentaria,
me uded by Captain Flinders under the general appella-
ion of Sir Edward Pellew’s Group. Long, of Pellew Cape,
the northern extremity of the island, 137. 2. E. Lat. 16.
8.
North Point Isles, several small islands near the north-
east coast of New Holland, in latitude 22. S.
NT ^>0IN.T ISLET> a small island on the north coast of
ew olland, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, near the island
tfoote %lan(*E Long. 136. 45. E. Lat. 13. 37. S. s
r. 0RTH Rocks, otherwise called St Patrick’s Rocks,
^ a seat of stone amongst them called St Patrick’s
air, w lence the rocks have taken this second name, are
*ol. xvi.
situated in the harbour of Donaghadee, in the county of Northal-
Down, and province of Ulster, in Ireland. From north to lerton
south they are about two thirds of a league, between which N ^
is clear good ground. But care must be taken to avoid the °\q^ '
south rock, on which many ships have perished; for it isv L >
overflowed by every tide, and no crew can save their lives
if the wind blows high. This rock stands fully a mile from
the shore.
NORTHALLERTON, a borough, market-town, and
parish, in the north riding of the county of York, 225
miles north-north-west from London. It is situated on the
side of an eminence, which, rising from the banks of a
branch of the river Swale, called the Wiske, slopes gently
towards the east, and consists chiefly of one broad street
about half a mile in length. It is surrounded by an ex¬
ceedingly rich and fertile tract of country, the parish alone
containing 13,000 acres of land. The market-place is spa¬
cious, and is surrounded by commodious houses, built prin¬
cipally of brick. The town was formerly celebrated for
its fine ales ; its chief manufactures at the present time are
those of leather and linen. The church is a handsome Go¬
thic structure, built in the form of a cross, and containing
several fine old monuments. There is likewise a grammar
school, of ancient but uncertain foundation. A new prison
was erected, as a relief to the county jail of York, several
years ago, according to a plan of Howard. Here was for¬
merly a castle, as well as a convent for nuns ; but no vestige
of either now remains. This town has a weekly market on
the Wednesdays, and five fairs are held during the year.
At a short distance from the town was fought the cele¬
brated battle of the Standard, in the year 1138, between
the English and the Scots, when the latter were defeated.
The government of the borough is vested in a bailiff, de¬
puted by the Bishop of Durham, who is lord of the manor;
and it returns two members to parliament. The popula¬
tion of the parish amounted in 1821 to 4431, and in 1831
to 5118 ; that of the borough amounted in 1821 to 2626,
and in 1831 to 3004.
NORTHAMPTON, a borough and capital town of the
county of the same name, sixty-six miles north from Lon¬
don. It is situated on a gentle elevation, on the northern
bank of the river Nen. The borough, which is of very old
standing, extends from the north to the south upwards of
two miles, and from east to west about one mile and a half.
These limitscontain the parishesof’AU-Saints, St Sepulchre,
St Peter, St Giles, and certain extra parochial places. At
an early period it was deemed worthy of being a royal resi¬
dence. The castle then erected for this purpose was built
at the west side of the town, upon an eminence, under
which the river runs, and traces of the remains are still to
be found. Parliaments were repeatedly held here in the
reigns of the first Edwards. The town was formerly sur¬
rounded by a wall, and contained several monastic institu¬
tions ; but these decayed through time, or were destroyed
at the Reformation, or by the fire in 1675, when the town
was nearly burned to the ground. An act of parliament
was passed for the rebuilding of the town ; and from the
funds raised by subscription, as well as from the aid bestow¬
ed by the king, the damage occasioned by the disaster was
entirely repaired. The town may be said to be nearly di¬
vided into four equal parts, by two streets running in the
direction of the cardinal points, whilst various other by¬
streets extend through the town. Both of these streets are
wide and spacious,and each extends nearly a mile in length;
the limits of the burgh, as has already been mentioned, ex¬
tend farther. rIhe street called the Drapery, though not
the largest, is the finest in the town, both for its breadth
and the handsome appearance of its shops. At the south
end of the Drapery, and the west end of St Giles, is the
market-place, 600 feet square, surrounded by handsome
shops and neat private dwellings, and said to be one of the
2 i
250
NOR
Northarnp. handsomest market-places in Europe. The town is clean,
ton- and most of the houses are built of a reddish coloured stone
ana mosi, ui wc    ,
du^ in the neighbourhood; the others are or brick
the exception of the Drapery and other principal streets
the houses present an uniform appearance, and are almost
entirely occupied by journeymen shoemakers and otlier
workmen employed in that trade. A great increase o
houses of this description has taken place during tie as
few years. The principal building ground still unoccupied
lies in the parishes of St Giles and St Sepulchre , ut very
active measures are now in progress to open new s ree s,
and extend buildings upon it in every direction, the DO-
rough is evidently in a flourishing condition. ie
tants are chiefly engaged in the shoe, leather, stoc ing’**
thread-lace manufactures. The principal manufacture l ow-
ever, consists in that of boots and shoes, which has thm en
and increased during the last thirty years, wltho^e "f
affected by the various changes which have occurred during
that period. The present wages paid weekly to the jo
neymen amount to L.2000. Great quantities of the shoes
and boots are sent to London, as well as exported. 1 his
is greatly promoted by the Northampton Canal, which,
uniting with the Grand Junction Canal, gives water com¬
munication to the principal manufacturing and mining dis¬
tricts, the ports of London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hu 1.
There are also three well-employed iron-foundenes n t e
town. The town formerly had seven churches within the
walls, and two without, but there are now only four m all.
The principal church, All Saints, stands near y in
tre of the town, at the junction of the four leading streets;
it is a handsome building, with a fine portico of eight Ion c
columns, and is surmounted by a statue of Charles IL I he
church of St Sepulchre is of a circular form. St Beter s
deserves notice only as a relic of ancient archUecture.
Giles has nothing remarkable. There are likewise places
of worship for Presbyterians, Quakers, Methodists, Bap¬
tists, and Roman Catholics. We may add, tha^reare
various charitable institutions for education and the S“P;
port of the poor. On the eastern side of the town, in an airy
and salubrious situation, is the infirmary. The town-hall,
county-hall, county jail, town jail, and theatre are a -
spectable buildings. The town is lighted with gas. ihe
horse fair held here is considered as the best in the king¬
dom for saddle and carriage horses The town is divided
into three wards, and is governed by a corporate body
consisting of a mayor, six aldermen, eighteen councillois,
twelve justices of the peace, a recorder, and t0^-derk*
Northampton returns two members to parliament, the
number of voters is about 1800, and the returnmg officer
is the mayor. The market-days are Wednesday and ba
turday. The population amounted in 1801 to 7220, in 18
to 8427, in 1821 to 10,844, and in 1831 to 15,3ol.
Northampton, a post-town and shire-town of Hamp.
shire county, Massachusetts, one of the United States o
North America. It is beautifully situated on the west
bank of the Connecticut River, ninety-five miles west from
Boston. It consists chiefly of two streets, proceeding i e
the radii of a circle, although with many irregularities It
contains several handsome public buildings, of which t e
court-house, jail, and one of the religious meeting-houses,
are the most conspicuous. The private houses aie in ge¬
neral large, and in a good style, and many of them are
elegant. Northampton is a place greatly resorted to by
travellers, from the romantic beauty of the scenery in the
vicinity. The common schools of this place are high y
respectable. A stream passes near the centre of the town,
on which are erected numerous mills and many manufac¬
tories, amongst which are two of woollen. Farmingto
Canal extends from New Haven to this place. A bridge
built in 1826, connecting this town and Hadley, is 1
feet in length by thirty-six in breadth, and is supported by
NOR
six piers and two abutments. The Indians called this town Wi® ^
Nonatuck. It was the third place settled on the river in
this state, and was incorporated in 1654. Amongst the ✓
striking objects in the scenery of Northampton are the
beautiful river, and the heights called Mount Tom and
Mount Holyoke, the former being 1200 and the latter
900 feet above the river. The population amounted in
1830 to 3618. Long. 72. 40. W. Lat. 42. 16. N.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, an inland county of Eng-
land, nearly in the centre of the kingdom. It is of an ir¬
regular and very extended figure, being about sixty-seven
miles in length. In the widest part it is thirty miles, and
in the narrowest not more than eight miles in breadth, i he
extent, according to the returns collected by Mr Rickman,
is 646,810 acres. The land is thus appropriatedAbout
290 000 acres are in arable cultivation, 235,000 acres are
in pasture, and about 86,000 are uncultivated, or occupied
as forests and woodlands. The county contains one city,
eleven market-towns, 301 parishes, and is divided into 1901
liberties. _. . . .
The population, according to the official returns at the
four decennial enumerations, amounted in 1801 to 131,757,
in 1811 to 141,353, in 1821 to 162,483, and ins1831 to
179 300. The annual value of the whole real property of
the county, as taken in the year 1815 for the purposes of
the property-tax, was L.942,162. The burials, including
both the registered and the unregistered, in the ten years
from 1821 to 1831, appear to have been about one in h ty ot
the whole number of inhabitants then living. The illegi¬
timate births were one in twenty-five of the whole num¬
ber born. ,
The occupations of the people, according to the returns
arranged by Mr Rickman in 1831, were as follow :
Occupiers of land employing labourers  3,015
Occupiers of land not employing labourers  1,1 l j
Employed in retail trades or handicraft 13,841
Capitalists, bankers, and professional men  l,~o4
Labourers not agricultural   
Other males undervtwenty years of age  •*,» 4
Male servants under twenty years of age  41<
Ditto above twenty years of age...  7Ub
Female servants  ’
From its oblong shape, lying obliquely across the middle
of the kingdom, Northamptonshire comes in contact witti,
and is bounded by, a greater number of other counties
than any other division of England. Proceeding from the
north, on its western side, it touches upon Lincolnshire,
Rutlandshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Uxtorfl-
shire; and on its eastern side it is bounded by ouckin *
hamshire, Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridge¬
shire. The whole of the county is within the diocese o
Peterborough, with the exception of three parishes wnic
are included in the see ot Lincoln. ,
Northamptonshire is generally a pleasant country,
such undulations as give an agreeable variety; but, owing
to the numerous enclosures, the prospects are ^9Vn \;ik
ral extensive, except upon the summits of the hig er
The centre of the county is a level elevation, from
the rivers have their rise, and, descending in opposite u
rections, take a course both to the German Ocean a
English Channel. f the
The agriculture of this county partakes so much
nature of the several counties that border on as •
almost as various, and not to merit any particu a
tion. The most important rural pursuit is the grazing ‘ .
tie, for which the excellent pastures are admirably adf^
ed. The cattle, when fattened, are sent in week y
to the market of Smithfield for the supply o ^
polis, where they are highly esteemed. The arable la ^
produces excellent wheat, beans, and oats; but tne
NOH
hr ()* general is not well calculated to raise good barley. The
ih artificial grasses, clover, trefoil, sainfoin, and rye-grass, are
v very extensively cultivated, and, aided by turnips, form im¬
portant articles of food for the flocks and herds.
Within this county there are several large forests be¬
longing to the crown, with two chases, over which the king
has certain rights. The largest of these is the Forest of
Rockingham, in the northern part of the county, extending
over 11,000 acres. The land, in many instances, belongs
to individuals; but the royal deer have, under certain re¬
strictions, the range over the whole. Whittlewood Fo¬
rest contains about 5000 acres. It is stocked with about
1000 deer; a proportion of which, according to ancient
prescription, are killed annually for the royal household,
and for the great officers of the government, who receive
them as a matter of right attached to their appointments.
This forest contains much excellent naval timber, which
is reserved for the use of the government; but, from the
reports of the commissioners, it appears to be very negli¬
gently preserved, and very injudiciously managed. Salcey
Forest is about 1850 acres in extent. This tract was for¬
merly covered with most valuable ship-timber, but has fur¬
nished for the navy only a very small proportion of what it
is capable of. The mixture of opposite interests in this kind
of property diminishes its productiveness to all the parties
interested in it. The underwood does not belong to the
crown. The individuals who own it cut it down every
twenty-one years. During the following nine years it is en¬
closed, and for the remaining twelve it is open for the deer
to feed on the land. The crown enjoys only this right of
pasture and the timber trees. The pasture does not be¬
long exclusively to it, for many of the surrounding parishes
possess also a right to turn their cattle into the forests, un¬
der ancient grants and prescriptions, and with limitations
of a complex nature, which are productive of perpetual
dissensions and litigations. The rangership of these forests
is hereditary in the Dukes of Grafton, who have, during the
last century, derived from it a very large income, whilst
the revenue to the crown has been very trifling, scarcely
amounting to L.200 per annum upon an average of the last
hundred years.
The only navigable river in this county is the Nen or
Nine. It rises in the western part, flows across, and then
runs north, till it enters by Lincolnshire into the German
i Ocean. Ihe Welland rises in the county, then forms the
boundary between it and Leicestershire and Rutlandshire,
and only becomes navigable after entering Lincolnshire
at Stamford. The other rivers, the Ouse, the Avon, the
I Leam, and the Charwell, although they have their sources
in Northamptonshire, are but inconsiderable rivulets till
they enter the contiguous counties. The benefits of in¬
ternal navigation have been very freely bestowed here by
the canals, which afford great facilities to internal inter¬
course. The Oxford Canal connects it with that city. The
Grand Junction Canal, communicating on one hand with
London, and on the other with Liverpool and Manchester,
passes through this county. The Grand Union Canal con-
nects it with Leicester. Thus the heavy products, espe¬
cially coals, are brought to every part on very moderate
erms. Great advantage to this county is anticipated from
lat great work, now hastening to its completion, the Lon-
aon and Birmingham Railway, which will enter it near
■ 01?y Stratford, and proceed more than thirty miles, when
i wi advance through a corner of Leicestershire to War¬
wickshire.
ihe remains of Roman and Saxon antiquities are very
numerous. Amongst the former, the Watling Street Road,
umine Street Road, the camps of Arbury, of the
ii°r0 1S’ 3 , -Kffiusbury, and the tesselated pavements
>n,r ° ^ls.tock’ at Stanwick, and at Woodford Field, have
Dabe t ie attention ot Stukely and other eminent anti-
N O R
251
quaries. As there were more than sixty monasteries andNorthcote.
other religious houses at the period of the Reformation,
traces of which may still be seen, they, with the baronial
castles, present a wide field for the researches of the lovers
of antiquity; but the bare enumeration of them would be
incompatible with the limits of this work.
The manufactures of this county are chiefly of a domes¬
tic nature, and carried on in the dwellings of the workmen.
Boots and shoes are made for foreign markets, and, in war,
for the supply of the army. Both fine thread and silk lace
are made, and afford employment to the females, who are
taught the art in schools for that purpose, and attain great
perfection. The principal places for collecting the lace
are Northampton and Wellingborough. A large quantity
of horse-whips were made at Daventry, and, though di¬
minished in some degree, the trade is still continued there.
The titles derived from this county are Duke of Graf¬
ton ; Marquis of Northampton; Earls of Peterborough,
Fitzwilliam, Spencer, and Harrington ; Viscount Sackville ;
Barons Braybrooke and Lilford; and as second titles,'
Baron Burleigh to the Marquis of Exeter, Viscount Mil-
ton to Earl Fitzwilliam, Viscount Brackley to the Earl of
Bridgewater, and Baron Finch to the Earl of Winchelsea.
By the reform act this county is formed, for the purpose of
electing members of parliament, into two divisions, distin¬
guished into North and South, each returning two members.
1 he election for the northern division is held at Kettering,
and the polling places are, that town, Peterborough, Oundle,
Wellingborough, and Clipston. The election for the south¬
ern is held at Northampton, and, besides that town, at Da¬
ventry, Towcester, and Brackley. The boroughs of Brackley
and Higham Ferrers were by the same law disfranchised.
The most celebrated natives of Northamptonshire have
been, Robert Browne, the founder of the sect of indepen¬
dents; Mrs Chapone ; John Dryden, the poet; Fletcher,
the dramatist; fuller, the historian and divine; Harring¬
ton, author of the Oceana; Hervey, author of Meditations
and other works ; Knolles, the historian of the Turks; Dr
William Paley ; Bishop Wilkins ; and Thomas Woolston.
Ihe catalogue ot all the noblemen and gentlemen’s
seats in this county would extend to a long list, and we
therefore can only notice the most remarkable of them,
viz. Castle Ashby, Marquis of Northampton; Aldwinckle,
Lady Lilford; Althorp, Earl Spencer; Apethorpe, Earl
of Westmoreland; Brinworth, Walter Strickland, Esq.;
Burleigh, Marquis of Exeter; Canons Ashby, Sir J. E.
Dryden ; Cottesbroke, Sir James Lanham ; Courteen Hall,
Sir William Wake; Dean, Earl of Cardigan ; Drayton’
Duke of Dorset; Easton Neston, Earl Pomfret; Ecton,
Samuel Isled, Esq.; Fawsley Park, Sir Charles Knightley ’;
Finedon Hall, Sir William Dolben ; Horton, Sir Robert
Gunning; Kirby, George Finch Hatton, Esq; Lamport,
Sir Justinian Isham; Lilford, Lord Lilford; Martin’s
Thorpe, Earl of Denbigh ; Milton Abbey, Earl Fitzwil¬
liam ; Rockingham Castle, Lord Sondes ; Salcey Forest,
Earl Euston; Wakefield Lawn, Duke of Grafton; Wal-
grave, Sir James Langham ; Whittlebury, Lord Southamp¬
ton. 1
The towns having a population exceeding 1400 are the
following:
Northampton 15,351 Brackley  2,107
Peterborough  5,553 Buckby, Long  2,078
Wellingborough  4,688 Roth well  2,002
Kettering  4,099 Paulers Pury  1,544
Paventry  3,646 Weedon  1,439
Towcester   2,671 Middleton Cheyney.. 1,415
Oundle  2,450
NOR 1HCO IE, James, a distinguished English painter,
w as born at I lymouth in the year 1746. He evinced a pre¬
dilection foi the arts at a very early period, but received
no encouiagement from his lather, who was an eminent
252
NOB.
NOB
Northcote. ■watchmaker, and apprenticed him to his own trade. \/hen
' the period of his indenture had expired, the strong bent of
young Northcote’s genius prevailed ; and being fortunate
enough to obtain a recommendation to Sir Joshua Rey¬
nolds, that eminent artist received him as a pupil. North¬
cote had nearly reached his twenty-fifth year when he ar¬
rived in London ; and having had comparatively little ex¬
perience in painting previously to this period, his attain¬
ments were greatly inferior to those of other beginners
much younger than himself. It was therefore with no great
reliance on his talents that Sir Joshua gave him a trial ;
but diligence and native genius soon made amends for all
deficiencies, and, much to the satisfaction of his mastei,
with whom he became a favourite pupil, his improvement
was rapid. He was also of an age to be a pleasant com¬
panion to Sir Joshua ; and from his great natural talents,
and extraordinary powers ot conversation, he was enabled
to avail himself of all the advantages of that polished so¬
ciety which assembled in the house of his master. North¬
cote remained domesticated for five years, on the most
agreeable terms, in Sir Joshua’s family ; and in 177b he
reluctantly quitted an abode which had in every way been
rendered delightful to him. He commenced portrait
painter, in which he would doubtless have attained great
eminence; but his powerful intellect was scarcely satis¬
fied with this limited branch of art, and he resolved to pro¬
secute the more independent and pleasing, although much
less lucrative, study of historical painting. In furtherance
of this object, he, in 1777, repaired to Italy, where he re¬
mained three years, devoting his time alternately to the
study of the great masters, and to original compositions.
During his sojourn on the Continent, he was elected a mem¬
ber of the Imperial Academy at Florence, of the ancient
Etruscan Academy at Cortona, and of the Accademia delle
Arti at Rome. He was also requested to execute a por¬
trait of himself, to be placed amongst those of distinguish¬
ed artists which grace the gallery at Florence ; and the pic¬
ture which he presented is at once a faithful resemblance
and an exquisite specimen of his professional skill.
On his return to England, Northcote pursued the study
of design with all the ardour of an artist; and it was soon
apparent that he had not mistaken his forte or miscalculat¬
ed his powers. About this period Mr Boydell was engaged
in procuring engravings from pictures by the old masters,
whose works he had either obtained the use of, or had
caused to be copied by skilful hands. His next experiment
was to commission native artists of distinction to paint
original composition from history and other subjects, and
to cause these also to be engraved by Englishmen. North¬
cote being one of the most promising painters of the British
school, was employed by Mr Boydell, and also by other
printsellers; and prints from his designs were to be seen,
framed and glazed, upon the walls of the higher order ot
dwellings in every part of the kingdom. One of the most
admired, entitled the Village Doctress,had for several years
a considerable sale. It was not, however, until the bhak-
speare Gallery was opened, that the world was made fully
aware of the powers of Northcote. Amongst the many
splendid efforts of British art which were thus collected
together, none proved more attractive than his composi¬
tions. The scene of the smothering of the young princes
in the Tower of London; that of removing their bodies
secretly by torch-light for interment at the foot of the
stone steps; the subject of Arthur and Hubert; the en¬
trance into London of Richard II. and Bohngbroke, and
others from his pencil, are undoubtedly to be reckoned
amongst the best specimens of British art at this flou¬
rishing period of its history. These productions clearly
proved how well he had studied the works of his illus¬
trious master, and imbibed his feelings^ as a colourist.
Northcote had now attained the zenith of his fame; and
he received the reward of his abilities by being elected anNort^.# ^
associate of the Royal Academy on the 6th of November^, I ‘
1786, and a royal academician on the 13th of February P*
1787.
From this period Northcote divided his professional la¬
bours between historical compositions, fancy subjects, and
portraiture. The dramatic style, however, attracted his
attention for a time, and he painted a series of moral sub¬
jects, illustrative of virtue and vice, in the progress of
two young women. This was trenching upon the ground
of Hogarth, and the attempt proved a failure; for al¬
though the main points of this graphic drama bore direct¬
ly upon the subject, the characters were deficient in ex¬
pression and individuality. In painting, Northcote kept the
colouring of Sir Joshua Reynolds steadily in his eye; and
so little change in his style had his contemplation of the
crreat masters in Italy wrought, that no one could discover
the least approach to that severity of manner which is
peculiar to the Roman and other Italian masters. His
pictures are distinguished for their breadth of light and
shade; and most of his historical works display a com¬
prehensive and accurate knowledge of the subject, much
study, and considerable force of conception, tor a period
of above thirty years his productions may be said to have
borne a conspicuous part in the exhibitions at Somerset
House; and, to the last year of his life, a season seldom elaps¬
ed without his presenting one or more efforts of his pencil
at the British Institution or the Gallery of the British Ar¬
tists. , . . , . i
That Northcote was an enthusiast in his art may be ga¬
thered from many anecdotes related of him whilst expa¬
tiating upon the merits of the great masters. A favou¬
rite pursuit of his was the painting of wild animals; and
one day, whilst making a study from nature of a vulture,
he laid down his palette, and clasping his hands, exclaim-
ed “ I lately beheld an eagle painted by Titian, and if
heaven would give me the power to achieve such a work,!
would then be content to die.” His conversational powers
have been extolled by all who had an opportunity of know-
in- him ; but he never allowed the fascinations of society
to interfere with his professional avocations. It was his
custom for many years to take an early morning walk, on
his return from which he breakfasted, and then went to
his studio. About eleven in the forenoon, unless he had
an engagement with a sitter, his levee commenced,
seldom happened that he remained alone ; one visitor suc¬
ceeding another, and occasionally three or four at a tun ,
holding him in conversation until the hour for dinner. A
the while he was proceeding with whatever picture he had
on hand, working and talking at the same time. His con¬
versation was distinguished by sagacity, acuteness,
great extent of information, as may be seen from a vo-
Fume published by Mr Hazlitt, entitled Conversations
the late Janies Northcote, R. A He had, however, jch
of that cynical spirit too prevalent amongst artists, o «
preciating the works and characters of their rivals, b
was benevolent withal, and whatever he might say in H
paragement of those who crossed his path, he wM ever
ready to befriend those who applied to him for assistant:
or advice. To young artists he was kind and condescend-
tag and dways^asify accessible Such traits m die
tures or drawings which they submitted to im
pened to display originality and talent, gave him dehgbj
for he felt a patriotic pride in the arts ot his coul‘J’ ,
a nersonal interest in their advancement. In wba
company Northcote might be, he always maintained J
opinions, which were often singular with a manlyn*
pendence, which secured him general respect. Oa »
a royal duke, whilst attending at a sitting ot Waste
the young Roscius, whom Northcote, with h.s usud ^
city, thoroughly despised, used some liberties with
NOR
NOR
253
fl, list’s gray locks, observing, “ You do not devote much time
to the toilet, I perceive?” Northcote instantly replied,
d “ Sir, I never allow any one to take personal liberties with
U me; you are the first who ever presumed to do so, and I
beg your royal highness to recollect that I am in my own
house.” He then resumed his painting, and the royal per¬
sonage, feeling the rebuke, shortly afterwards took his de¬
parture. Next day, however, the artist was surprised by
a visit from his royal highness, who, in returning something
of which he had obtained the loan, handsomely apologised
to him for the liberty which had been thoughtlessly taken.
Northcote was naturally just, temperate, careful, and in
the strictest sense of the word a philosopher. The system
of life which he early prescribed for himself was founded
on wisdom, and maintained with constancy. The frugal
manner in which his table was served from principle might
lead to the idea that he was parsimonious; but this is ren¬
dered nugatory by the facts, that he lent money freely
without asking for interest, and sometimes not even for
the principal, by which means he frequently lost it; that
he was the most patient and long-sutfering of creditors,
not only feeling a horror at asking for what was justly due
him for his works, but often having whole-lengths, half-
lengths, and bust portraits thrown upon his hands without
his ever attempting to enforce payment. His prudence and
foresight, however, enabled him to secure an independence
for the evening of life, which so often overtakes artists in
destitution and misery. The last years of Northcote’s life
were spent in preparing for the press a volume of fables
and a Life of Titian. He died on the 13th of July 1831,
and his remains were deposited in the church of St Mary-
le-Bone on the 20th of the same month.
Northcote was an author as well as a painter. His ear¬
liest productions were some papers inserted in a periodi¬
cal work called The Artist. The subjects of these papers
were, Originality in Painting, Imitators and Collectors, Dis¬
appointed Genius, a Character of John Opie, Letter from
a Disappointed Genius, and the Imitation of the Stage in
Painting. In the second volume of the same work, the His¬
tory of the Slighted Beauty, an allegory, was also by him.
He further contributed to the fine arts of the English
school the biography of Sir Joshua Reynolds, which he
afterwards expanded into a quarto volume, entitled Me¬
moirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds, comprising anecdotes of many
j hstinguished persons, his contemporaries, and a brief ana¬
lysis of his Discourses ; to which are added, Varieties on
Art, 1813. A supplement to the work appeared in 1815;
and an octavo edition, with considerable additions, came
aut in 1819. In 1828 he published, in octavo, One Hun-
Ired Fables, original and selected, embellished with two
aundred and eighty engravings on wood from his own de¬
signs. He likewise left materials for a second series, which
ay directions given in his will was to be published after the
leath of his sister. His last work, which appeared at the
?fthe.year 1830, in two volumes octavo, is the Life
>1 Titian, with anecdotes of the distinguished persons of
ns time; a work containing a vast mass of useful informa-
lon and reflection on the art of painting. (r. r. r.)
NORTHERN LIGHTS, the same with the Aurora
joreahs. See Aurora Borealis.
NORTHFLEET, a town of the county of Kent, in the
aundred of Toltingtrough, and lathe of Aylesford, twenty
mles from London, on the road to Dover. It is situated
>n a chalk hill rising from the south bank of the Thames,
|n con™anding an extensive view of the river, and of the
•ounty of Essex beyond it. Great quantities of lime are
na e rom chalk, and the flints collected are prepared for
ire arms. Noithfleet has now no market. The popula-
0?QaRrUTd in 1801 t0 19l0> in 1811 to 2031, in 1821
a 1964, and m 1831 to 2124.
ORTHLEACH; a town of the county of Gloucester,
in the hundred of Bradley, eighty-one miles from London. Northum-
It is situated in the centre of the range of the Cotswold berland.
Hills, on the river Leach, and was once a clothing town of
some consideration, but that trade is lost. There is here a
bridewell for the county, and a free grammar-school. It
is a corporate town, and has a market which is held on
Wednesday. The population amounted in 1801 to 664, in
1811 to 647, in 1821 to 773, and in 1831 to 795.
NOR THUMBERLAND, an extensive county in Eng¬
land, situated on its northern extremity, upon the borders
of Scotland, from which it is separated partly by the river
Tweed, which, during the latter part of its course, flows be¬
tween this county and Berwickshire, and partly by a line sup¬
posed to be drawn over the mountainous region on the west
and north-west, where it meets with Roxburghshire. The
other boundaries are the German Ocean on the east, Dur¬
ham on the south, Cumbexdand on the west, and on the
north two small districts called Norhamshire and Island-
shire, which, though belonging by their situation to North¬
umberland, form a part ot the county of Durham, along
with another tract called Bedlingtonshire, on the south¬
east. But in a general description it is unnecessary to at¬
tend to these distinctions. I he Tweed may, therefore, be
considered as the northern boundary of the county, and in.
this case it will include the towns of Berwick and Norham.
Lindisfarne or Holy Island, on the north-east coast, which
in like manner belongs to Durham, is situated about two
miles from the mainland, opposite to the mouth of the brook
Lindis, and accessible to all kinds of conveyance at low
water. Although about nine miles ‘in circuit, it contains
little more than 1000 acres, the half of which is sand-banks.
1 hese several portions may extend to something more than
100 square miles, or about one twentieth part of the whole.
In this view, Northumberland is situated between 54. 51.
and 55. 48. north latitude, and between 1. and 2. 27. west
longitude from London. Its greatest extent from north to
south is sixty-four miles, and from east to west it varies
from about forty-six miles, which is its usual breadth be¬
tween the river lyne on the south and the Coquet on the
north, till it terminates at the town of Berwick on the
north, in a breadth of only five or six miles. According
to Mr Rickman s Report of 1831, the area of the county is
1871 square miles, or 1,197,000 acres; but the actual re¬
turns from the parishes give only 1,165,430 acres, a differ¬
ence which is supposed to arise from the inaccurate mea¬
surement of the mountainous and uncultivated part of the
western division of the county. Nearly one third of the
county is scarcely capable of beneficial cultivation.
It is divided into six wards, namely, Tindale, Coquetdale,
Glendale, Bamborough, Morpeth, and Castle, the first three
comprising the western and mountainous district, and the
second three the coast lands on the east. These last, though
extending over only one fourth of the county, are by far
the most wealthy and populous, owing chiefly to the great
coal-works in Castle ward, near the town of Newcastle,
and along the banks of the Tyne. It contains five deane¬
ries and seventy-three parishes, all of which are in the
aichdeaconry of Northumberland and diocese of Durham.
All the western side of this county is mountainous, from
the common boundary with Durham on the south, almost
to the valley of the Tweed on the north ; but this extensive
tract, comprising more than a third of the whole area, is
not all of the same character; the northern, or Cheviot
Hills, extending to about 90,000 acres, being mostly all
green nearly to their summits, comprehending many nar¬
row but feitile glens, and affording excellent pastures for
the breed of sheep to which they have given their name ;
whilst those to the west and south are, in general, open so¬
litary wastes, covered with heath, and of very little value.
On the coast, from the mouth of the Tyne to that of the
I weed, and also on the north, throughout its whole breadth
254
NOR
NOR
Northuin- from Belford to Mindrum, the country is, with few ex cep
berland. tions, ]evel and rich, with a soil which in some places is a
'strono- clay, and in others a dry loam, but almost every¬
where very productive, under the enlightened sy®^ern 0
cultivation which prevails so generally throughout IS or i-
umberland. „
The principal rivers of the county are the lyne, ,
Wansbeck, Coquet, Ain, and the Tweed, all ot which fall
into the sea, carrying with them the tribute of many smalk
streams. The Till, which empties itself into the I weed,
is aL a considerable rivulet. The Tyne and T weed are
by far the most important, the tide flowing up the fora.er
sixteen miles, and up the latter eight or ten miles; wh st
the navigation of the other rivers is confined to a ^11 dis¬
tance from their mouths. Both of these have long been
celebrated for their salmon fisheries, which yield great
rents, and afford a valuable article of trade with Lon¬
don, to which the fish are sent packed in pounded ice, by
which means they are presented in the market in ne y
as fresh a state as if they had been newly taken horn the
"^Northumberland has been long distinguished for As sub¬
terranean treasures, which are the main source of its wealth
and population. Of these, coal, which abounds m ™ost
narts of it, is by far the most important. It is of the best
quality in the south-eastern quarter, on the banks of the
Tyne,Y whence those vast quantities are exported which
supply the great consumption of the metropolis, as well as
the coasting and foreign trade. In some year3 1 e exp “
tation from the port of Newcastle has amounted to upwards
of 600,000 chaldrons of fifty-three cwt. each, and proba y,
as much more has been sent from Sunderland and con¬
sumed in Northumberland and Durham, the same coal-field
extending across the Tyne to the latter county. U s coa
is all of fhe kind called “ caking coal, which melts and
runs together in the fire, and, when of the best quality,
leaves very few ashes. Calculations have been made as
tothe extent of this tract, the quantity of coal which it
may contain, and the period when it must be exhausted,
but upon this last point there is a great difference of opi¬
nion, Psome estimating that the supplies must cease in
three hundred years, some not in less than eight hundred,
whilst bv others it is held to be almost inexhaustible. Of
the coal'found in Bamborough, Islandshire, and Glendale
ward, the seams are in general thin, and the quality inte¬
rior not caking nor burning to a cinder, but yielding
great quantity of ashes, ij This is used only tor home con-
sumption and for burning limestone, a purpose for which
it isPwell adapted; and through all this district coal ai
lime are generally found together. Ihe south-eastern
quarter, which is so rich in coal, is destitute of limestone.
I ead ore abounds in the mountains on the south- west, par¬
ticularly towards the head of that branch of Sou h lyne
called Allendale, where it has long been wrought to a con¬
siderable extent. Iron ore is found in many parts ; stone
marl near bedside, shell marl in Glendale ward, and
various sorts of sandstone or freestone are obtained in
Xost every quarter, some of it afford,ng tolerable slates
for roofing, and flags for floors. Excellent grindstones are
raised in the sandstone quarries, ot which a great many
are exported from Camus and Warkworth.
The agriculture of Northumberland is an object which is
only second in interest and importance to its coal works.
Almost all those branches of rural economy for one or more
of which other districts are celebrated, may here be found
combined into one system, and conducted upon the same
farms. One finds here the Leicester sheep and the short¬
horned cattle of Durham and Yorkshire, both in great per-
‘tinn • the turnips of Norfolk cultivated upon the drill
’of ScoZS ; .fie well-dressed fallows of East Lo-
thian and Berwickshire; and that regular alternation of
tillage and grazing which is, of all other courses of cropping,
the one best adapted to sustain and even to improve the
productiveness ot the soil. These remaiks apply in an
especial manner to the northern part of the county, where
the farms are in general large, and the occupiers men of
education and liberal acquirements. This quarter has
been long distinguished as a school of agriculture, to which
pupils are sent, some of them gentlemen of fortune, from
various parts ; a character for which it is eminently in¬
debted, as well as for other distinctions, to the late Messrs
Gulley, who were amongst the most extensive and success¬
ful farmers in the kingdom. The common period of leases,
at least in the northern district, is twenty-one years, al¬
though many are shorter, and upon a few estates no leases
are granted. By the account taken for the purpose of
levying the property-tax in the year 1815, it was found
that the annual value of the real property amounted to
L 1 9i0 59L It may be worthy of remark here, that at
the’seat of the Earl of Tankerville, called Chillingham
Castle, there still exists in the forest the remains ot the
herds of wild cattle which are supposed to have formerly
abounded in this island, and to have been the origin of
our races of cows.
Northumberland is not eminently a manufacturing coun¬
ty. Some wool-combing is carried on at Hexham, and
some thread is spun in the villages; but the chief branches
of manufacturing industry are those depending upon the
cheapness of iron and coal, and are chiefly carried on with¬
in and around the town of Newcastle, to which head in
this work the reader is referred.
The population of the county at the four decennial enu¬
merations has been as follows :-In 1801 it amounted to
157,101, in 1811 to 172,161, in 1821 to 198,9bo, and in
1831 to 223,000. The burials, including both the regis¬
tered and unregistered, in the ten years from 1821 to 1W1,
appear to have been one in fifty-two of the whole number
of inhabitants then living. The illegitimate births were
one in fifteen of the whole number born.
The occupations of the people, according to the returns
arranged by Mr Rickman, were in 1831 as follows:
Occupiers of land employing labourers  >
Occupiers of land not employing labourers 
Employed in retail trade and handicraft 
Capitalists, bankers, and professional men 
Labourers not agricultural    2
Employed in manufactures or machinery L-
Other males under twenty years of age ^
Male servants of all ages   263
Female servants    
Agricultural labourers i’ *oq i qiW
The number of inhabited houses was in J831y
In these there were 48,364 families, of wbom 10,127 were
chiefly employed in agriculture, 14,246 in trade or ma
factures, and 23,091 belonged to neither of these clause..
This county is included in the northern circuit. Ihe a.
sizes are held at Newcastle, and the quarter-sessions sue-
cessively at Newcastle, Morpeth, Hexham, and Abw cL
The title of duke of this county belongs to the ami y o
Percy though now in the female line. The Ear
fisle derives bis second tide from the town of Motpe*-
For the purposes of election two d. visions are to™ed> ea
returnino two members. The elections for the northern
division are held at Alnwick ; and the polling | ’
besides that town, Berwick Elsdon Morpeth, and Wo*
for the southern they are held at Hexham, and the ot
polling places are Bellingham, Haltwhistle, Hexhan,
castlef and Stamford!,am. There are two boroughs ^
in the county ; Newcastle, which returns two
the House of Commons; and Morpeth, which aU ^
ed two before the reform bill, but at presen
Berwick, which, though for some purposes a county
Norfy
1
#•
ff'
■tj'
NOR
hi ■ may be considered as in Northumberland, returns two
members.
The towns containing more than 1500 inhabitants, with
their population in 1831, were the following, viz.
Morpeth 4797
Haltwhistle 4119
Ford 2110
Wooler 1926
Lowick 1864
Hartley 1850
Blyth 1769
NOR
255
.Newcastle 42,760
in Tynemouth 24,778
Jy/Berwick 8,920
Alnwick 6,788
North Shields 6,744
Long Benton 6,613
Hexham 6,042
Walls-end   5,510
The most remarkable of the noblemen and gentlemen’s
seats are, Alnwick Castle, the Duke of Northumberland ;
Chiyingham Castle, the Earl of Tankerville; Haggerstone
Castle, Sir Carneby Haggerstone ; Howick House, Earl
Grey; Falloden House, General Grey; BamboroughCastle,
Lord Crewe; and Barmour Castle, F. Sitwell, Esq.
Northumberland Islands, a chain of islands in the
South Pacific Ocean, near the north-eastern coast of New
Holland, which runs parallel to the mainland at the distance
of from five to eight miles. The largest is about thirteen
miles in circumference. Long. 149. 47. to 150. 37. E
Lat. 21. 32. to 22. S.
Northumberland Straits, a narrow channel of the
Eastern Seas, between the islands of Calamianes and the
shoals of Apo.
North-East Passage, a passage to theEastlndies along
the northern coast of Asia, which, like the North-West
Passage, has frequently been attempted, but hitherto with¬
out success. See Polar Seas.
North-West Passage, a supposed passage to the Pa¬
cific Ocean through Hudson’s Bay or Davis’ Straits, and
which has frequently been attempted, as yet with only par¬
tial success. See the article Polar Seas.
North-West Territory, a vast tract of country in
North America, situated between 42. 30. and 49. north
latitude, and 87. 30. and 95. 30. west longitude. It is
bounded on the north by the British possessions and Lake
Superior, on the east by Lake Michigan, on the south by
Illinois, and on the west by the Mississippi, and a line
drawn from the source of that river to the northern boun¬
dary. In length it extends about 500 miles, and in breadth
about 400 miles. In some of its physical features this
ten itory resembles that of Missouri; but a greater propor¬
tion of it is covered with wood. It is, generally speak¬
ing, a hilly country, with the exception of extensive levels
or prairie land. At the western extremity of Lake Supe¬
rior are the Cabotian Mountains; and near the mineral dis¬
trict are the Smoky Mountains. The chief rivers, with the
exception of the Mississippi (see the article Mississippi),
are the Ouisconsin, Fox, Chippeway, St Croix, Rum, St
Trancis, and Savannah of the Mississippi. Grand Portage,
Ontonagon, Montreal, Mauvaise, Boisbrule, St Louis, and
near y fifty, smaller streams, discharge themselves into
Lake Superior Riviere la Pluie falls into the Lake of
ie Woods. None of the lake rivers have a course of
more than a hundred and fifty miles, and few of them more
^ n?1 e.s*. Ouisconsin, the largest tributary of
Mississippi in this territory, rises in the northern inte-
ior°t ihe country, and interlocks with the Montreal of
h.._ j '?Pe.rior* B has a course of between three and four
Itnvi/p!6 mi eS’ a shallow and rapid current, which is,
the genfr.ally navigable by boats in good states of
i nnrt-Q ^ /S yards wide at its mouth. There is
It PYtP&ei ° °n ^ lalt a m^e between this and Fox River,
ivpr tl1 ^ °-Ver a 6Ve^ Pra*r*e» across which, from river to
states nfTi? 18 a water c°mmunication for periogues in high
'fates of the water. Fox River has a course of 260 miles.
flowing through Winnebago Lake, and into the Green Bay North-
of Lake Superior. The country on its banks is very fine, West Tei
and the climate is salubrious. Another considerable tribu-v r^or^'
tary of the Mississippi is the Chippeway, which enters it
immediately below Lake Pepin. It is half a mile wide at
its mouth, and has communication, by a short portage, wdth
Lake Superior. This is one of the very best regions for
hunters. In the upper part of the country, buffaloes, elks,
bears, and deer, are common. Beavers, otters, and musk¬
rats, are taken for their furs. The trappers, and also the
Indian tribes, pursue their prey over an immense extent of
prairie. The soil is fertile in some parts, and no doubt the
enterprise and industry of civilized men wdll ere long bring
a great portion of it under cultivation. White and yellow
pine and white birch are common amongst the forest trees.
All the water courses, ponds, and marshes, are covered with
wild rice, which the inhabitants use as one of their chief
articles of food. The elevation of the head waters of the
Mississippi is estimated at 1330 feet above the level of the
sea.
This country abounds in minerals, and rich veins of va¬
luable ore have been discovered and wrought to consider¬
able advantage. Great quantities of terre verte or green
earth, lead, iron, and copper, are also found in it. The lead-
mine district is situated in the lower part of the country,
between Rock River and the Ouisconsin. The chief esta¬
blishments of the present miners are on Fever River, and
the mines are reckoned as rich and productive as any in
the world. The following are the quantities produced in
each year from 1823 to 1832.
Years. Pounds.
1823  335,130
1824  175,220
1825  664,530
1826    958,842
1827  5,181,180
Years. Pounds.
1828  11,105,810
1829  13,343,150
1830  8,323,998
1831  6,381,901
1832  4,281,876
Total in ten years 50,752,626 lbs.
The great increase in the years 1828 and 1829 reduced
the price so low as to render the working of the mines in
a great measure unprofitable. For upwards of half a cen¬
tury it has been confidently asserted that great quantities
of native copper may be found along the northern shore
of Lake Superior. On the Outogon there is a vast abun¬
dance of pure copper in detached masses. One of these
masses is estimated to weigh 3000 lbs. The common re¬
ports, however, of the existence of large veins of copper,
have not been confirmed by recent travellers; but there
are nevertheless sufficient indications that mines of this
metal are to be met with in this territory. Besides lead,
iron is found in various places, and in great abundance.
In the southern portion of this large territory the cli¬
mate is comparatively mild, and not unlike that of the
northern belt of Missouri. At the falls of St Anthony, on
the Mississippi, the summers are temperate, whilst the
winters are extremely cold. The sources of the Missis¬
sippi are in a region extremely inclement. At St Peters,
in 1820, the mean temperature of January was zero, a de¬
gree of cold which is never experienced in any part of the
United States that has been extensively settled. The sum¬
mer, however, was temperate, and the atmosphere beau¬
tifully serene. Even at Prairie du Chien, although much
more temperate, the winters are extremely severe. At
the Falls of Packagama, on the Mississippi, about 1200 feet
above the level of the sea, water has been known to freeze
to a considerable extent in the middle of July. The fol¬
lowing table, extracted from the work of an American wri¬
ter, will convey the best idea of the nature of the climate
in different parts of the North-west Territory:
256
NOR
NOR
’North-
West Ter¬
ritory.
Place.
Detroit   
River St Clair 
Lake Huron 
Mackinack 
Ditto to Lake Superior 
Lake Superior 
Ontonagon River 
Water of Lake Superior ■
Ontonagon River to Fond du Lac........
Between Fond du Lac and Sandy Lake.
At Sandy Lake 
From Sandy Lake to St Peters 
Chicago 
Ditto 
Ditto.
Date.
May 15 to 24.
... 24 to 27.
... 28 to June 6.
June 7 to 13.
... 13 to 18.
... 19 to 27.
... 28 to 30.
Average Tempe¬
rature.
July
1 to 5.
6 to 16.
... 17 to 24.
... 25 to Aug. 1.
January.
February
March 15.
Air.
60°
51
51
55
66
66
80
64
67
73
69
15
32
29
Water.
Prevailing A\ inds.
0°
52
51
0
0
58
73
66
61
The North-west Territory is divided, or rather marked
off into four counties, which have been named and partial y
sealed by whites ; but there are still a number of Indians
in it. Prairie du Chien, Cassville, and Green Bay, are the
largest villages; and the whole population has been esti
mated at 16,000. Green Bay settlement is situated a11 e
outlet of Fox River, and contains 952 inhabitants. A few
miles up Fox River, in a most romantic position, there is
an Interesting Episcopal missionary settlement Pra.ne
du Chien is of importance as a place of outfit fiom t e
Lower Mississippi1 to the upper waters. It ^tuated
near a beautiful prairie, and there are flour-mills in its vi
cinity. Most of the permanent settlers here are a mixed
race of Indians and whites. Frequent voyages are made
from St Louis to Prairie du Linen in kee.l-boats. ihe
richest copper mines, and the largest masses of pure cop-
ner aresaid to be found here. One third of the land ,s ca¬
pable of being farmed, and about one sixth is well timbered.
North-east.
North-west.
South-east.
South-west.
North-west.
South-west.
North-west.
South-west.
North-west and south-west.
South-west.
North-east.
Noni;,
wicli.
'S“Y''
after begin the prairies, which run, with scarcely any tim¬
ber, to the Mississippi. In the whole distance, near 100
miles, passed by the writer, the land seems to be ot the
kind and aspect just described, namely, rich prairie, with
occasional growths of fine timber, equally indicative of fer-
tilitv- A road from the mouth of Fond du Lac River to
Galena would be of great advantage to the mines, and a
direct route for one might be followed at a trifling expense.
It would facilitate the transportation of property from JNenr
York by the canal and the lakes." „ .
NORTHWICH, a town of the county ot Chester, in
the hundred of the same name, being a part of the parish
of Badworth, twelves miles from Chester and L4 from
London. It is an old-fashioned and insignificant place,
standing on the river Wever, which is navigable to Liver¬
pool, and therefore of great importance to the produce in
the vicinity of that town. There is an old well-endowed
grammar school, and a weekly market held on briday. The
population, partly employed in f S, t0
The whole of this vast region has been for some t.me ^Pu“Pn"’i;“e‘p^paTat'io'n"of salt, amounted in 1801 to
politically connected with Michigan for the sake of co - igii ;n 18.2, t0 1490, and in 1831 to
venienccf but it must ultimately “r b^ythe' 148L Near the town, on the south side, are those pits
self Most of the lands are owned by Indians, 01 by , : are foun(i the vast masses of salt which have sup-
United States; the latter havinglrecently made a pure ia h ^ condtoent ,0 the extent of several hundred thoii-
from the former of a very considerable t act of <10 y- bushe,s for a very l„ng period of t.me. The p™;
Flin/s G'eograph'y^'u'The'tract re^erved1^ thehndians, pa. pit in the Northwich saH-mines is now called the Mar.
reserved to the inoiaos, known under the name of
of 500,000 acr^(^Sp^deam^a^0^^along^ the'Fox^liven the Burns’s Pit. It consists of two levels, the lower 0
very extensive anu lerme luca^v,*- _ hich is one hundred and twelve yards below the surface
with woodlands of good timber, in which there’s «« un'le J ^ nd> and the other just half way down the shaft,
brush. The writer proceeded thirty-eight miles fro lo^er ievei \s the most extensive excavation, as wel
Bay, up the Fox River, to Winnebago Lake, passing p d has been worked about sixty
whose whole descent is about 100 feet. The nver is nine y as the °^st ^ent ig j’nt0 a magnificent chamber, appa-
yards wide, its bed a limestone rock the banks from fifty yeais the flat roofof which presents
to 150 feet high. The water is of course adequate to J^ that astonishment is felt by the spectator at
move any machinery. Doty s Rland, in the ^et of tl^ g hav ^ since iven way. There is, howeve j
lake contains 400 acres heavily timbered. Ihe bank or us want sec&uritv, it being as sound and durable as it
the lake itself is covered with trees °f a b^ght and c .ame- ^ adamant, and is supported by pillars, iu f^' e
ter indicating the nature of the soil, which is a black loa , f , j k ■ brick-field ; the extent of the aie
rich and deep. The Cliff, so called, is a mountain 300 feet c^ump^ot bricks i a ^ & ^ to Grosvenor SqUa
above the level of the lake, presenting a FCturesque pro ; appea^to^ ^^y^ The bPuty of the glistening parg
pect. The main roads leading from Green Bay to U i t llized sait upon the walls, which are as hard as fre
ca-o, Ouisconsin, Portage, the Lead Mines, and Galena « crf extrelme regularity of the concentric curved
wifi probably pass this point. Beyond this the mountau ’ d b tbe workman’s tools, are very ren^lka kj
recedes three or four miles from the shore forming a val- lines, trac y ^ ^ a d k
r u “uni^ s"at’ i' .  TWW fnm. me who,.*
flrv'nrairie’caUeil Casf Pl^ns.^Tliese plains contain 25,000 [une is a mass
dry prairie calleu t,ass i iams. ^ ^ 17““-— '
acres of rich land, which are already cleared by nature
the plough, and they extend to the Manitoovoc Rivei.
Tf the jumper chisel are visible. Under foot ^ wt>o -
face is a mass of rock-salt covered with a layer 0* tl g
for terial crushed and crumbled to a state exactly segkaterSi
Soon the powdered ice on a pond that has been cu y
NOR
Experiments have been made by boring to a depth of se¬
venteen yards, but they have neither perforated the rock
salt, nor do they at present know the thickness of the stra¬
tum. The height of this excavation is about fifteen feet,
within which space the salt is estimated as being of the best
quality; but above, it is somewhat inferior. Thirty-five
thousand tons of salt were annually dug out of the differ¬
ent levels, and the area of the whole together amounts to
forty-eight statute acres. At one part there is a vista of
two hundred yards in length, which has been dignified by
the name of Regent Street. The salt, after being pre¬
pared by the solution of the rock and evaporation, is form¬
ed by wooden moulds, with holes at the bottom, to allow
the remaining water to pass through into cubical blocks,
and in this state it is shipped, either by the river Weaver
and the canal to Weston Point, and thence into the Mer¬
sey, or by the canal southward. A considerable quantity
of this salt is exported to Prussia. Much salt is prepared
from the brine springs, some of which are so strongly sa¬
turated as to hold in solution the greatest quantity of salt.
To the water of some of these springs rock-salt is added
whilst boiling in the pans. From these springs the water,
or brine, is raised by a sunk shaft, and a pump worked by
an ordinary machine.
NOR 257
NORTON, in Cheshire, a good modern alms-house, Norton
erected on the site of a priory of canons regular of St Augus- II
tin, founded in the year 1135, by William, son of Nigellus. Norway-
But the latter did not live to complete his design; for Y -
Eustace de Burgaville granted to Hugh de Catharine
pasture for a hundred sheep, on condition that he finished
the church in all respects conformably to the intentions of
the founders.
NORTON’S SOUND, on the north-west coast of Ame¬
rica, was discovered in Captain Cook’s last voyage, and was
so named in honour of Sir Fletcher Norton, afterwards
Lord Grantley, a near relation of Mr, afterwards Dr Kin".
It extends as far as north latitude GL 55. There is no
good station for ships, nor even a tolerable harbour, in all
the sound. Mr King, on his landing here, discerned many
spacious valleys, with rivers flowing through them, well
wooded, and bounded with hills of a moderate height. One
of the rivers towards the north-west seemed to be consi¬
derable ; and he was inclined to suppose, from its direc¬
tion, that it discharged itself into the sea from the head
of the bay. Some of his people, penetrating beyond this
into the country, found the trees to be of a larger size
the farther they proceeded. Long. 197. 13. E. Lat. 64.
NORWAY.
Norway is an extensive country in the north of Europe,
and, along with Sweden, forming one kingdom. All the
countries which now comprise Norway, Sweden, and Den¬
mark, were designated Scandia by the ancients. Pliny
calls it Scania insula, an appellation which derives its ori¬
gin from the circumstance of the Romans, in the time of
their great naturalist, being only acquainted with that part
of the country called Skanen or Skonen, the little informa¬
tion which they possessed being obtained from some Ger¬
mans. This is the ancient province of Schonen or Scania,
the most southerly of Sweden. The name was afterwards
changed to Scandinavia, which has been called the “ store¬
house of nations but without any just title to such a dis¬
tinction. It seems now pretty certain that Scandinavia
was not the native country of the Scythians or Goths, but
that they migrated from Asia to Europe. The fact of
Pliny having designated Scandinavia as an island of con¬
siderable although uncertain magnitude, has also given rise
to some discussion. To the imperfect knowledge of geo¬
graphy which the ancients possessed, may reasonably be
ittributed their mistaken notion as to the insular position
)f these countries ; but the difficulty may be got rid of in
mother manner. It is well known that the Baltic Sea has
liminished in height to a considerable extent, or, in the
anguage of geologists, the coast on its shores has been
derated. In the course of about a century, this elevation
s proved to have been considerable by the high-water
narks left upon the rocks on the sea coast at different pe-
mds. If the sinking of the water or the rising of the land
n this quarter has continued at the same rate from a very
ar y period, then, at the time when Pliny wrote, Scandi¬
navia, penetrated in every direction by gigantic arms of
e sea, may have had the appearance of a number of islands
a difrerent forms and dimensions.1
uof But our present purpose is with Norway, which in Swe-
e‘ 18118 cahed Norrige, and in Danish, Norge, pronounced
Norre. “ In spite of the vague ideas which the ancients en¬
tertained of the northern countries of Europe,” says Malte-
Brun, “ it cannot be doubted that the country which Pliny2
calls Nerigou is Norway. Many geographers3 have asserted
that the name signifies the ‘ Way of the North ;’4 but its
true etymology seems to be Nor-Rige, Kingdom of the
North, or rather, perhaps, assuming the word Nor as signi¬
fy11^ 9utfi Kingdom of Gulfs, because in effect its coasts
are much more indented than those of Sweden. We thus
see that the name of Nerigou has much more analogy with
that of Norrige than with that of Norweg, which at the
first glance appears to be the origin of the modern name.”5
The early history of Norway is interwoven with the annals
of Sweden and Denmark, and consists in legends contain¬
ed in the Heimskringla or Saga, a collection of ancient
manuscripts, which is to Norway what the Edda is to Ice¬
land. The petty sovereigns who held sway in Norway
in remote ages were independent, but appear to have ac¬
knowledged a kind of supremacy in the kings of Sweden
and Denmark, probably more nominal than real; but until
the ninth or tenth century little is known of the annals of
the country. The Norwegians, of course, constituted no
inconsiderable proportion of those daring adventurers who,
under the general name of Normans on the continent, and
Danes in Britain, became at one time the terror of all the
maritime parts of Europe.6
I he Royal Northern Antiquarian Society of Copenha-History,
gen has published a series of the Saga, comprehending the
historical account of events which belong to European his¬
tory, and also to that of Scandinavia, during the eleventh
and twelfth centuries. It includes a period of about one
hundred and seventy years, beginning with the Saga of St
Olaf, the contemporary of Canute the Great of England,
who assumed the crown of Norway in 1013, and continu¬
ing the series until the death of Magnus Erlingson in a
sea-fight with Sverrer I. in 1184. This is one of the most
he n!16 opim°n hazarded by Gibbon on a subject, which admits of much curious speculation. The extraordinary elevation of
2 Lib iv , ese.nort lern regions has been fully confirmed by recent investigations.
4 FromV?vw !l’a v7 . 3 See thc article Norwege, in the Dictionaire Giographique de VEncyclopedic.
« * ’ ,and^ (way) Norweg. 5 Maite-Brun’s Geography, vol viii. p. 517-
bee the articles Denmark, France, and England. 1
VOL. XVI. „
2 K
258
NORWAY.
Norway, curious and minute pictures of an age long past, which the
' literature of Europe is possessed of. It is not only valu¬
able as an historical document, confirming or adding to our
stock of facts relative to a dark period of English history,
but as a record of the social condition of the country at
that time, and of the influence of the Thing, or assembly
of the people; a reference of all matters to this popular
convocation being one of the most striking facts recorded
in the Saga. From these rude annals we learn, that at a
period immediately preceding the first traces of free insti¬
tutions in our own country, similar institutions existed in
great activity amongst these northern people. It seems a
fair inference from these facts, therefore, that we owe the
political institutions which we enjoy to the Danes and Nor¬
mans, who were more likely to impose their own peculiar
institutions upon those whom they subdued, than to receive
institutions from the conquered. - ,
From other Sagas preceding that of St Olafi we learn,
that about the middle of the ninth century, Halfden the
Black divided Norway into five districts, with fixed head
places for holding Things in each. At these assemblies,
laws were framed suitable to the local circumstances of
each district, which gave its name to the code. 1 ins
potentate was succeeded by the celebrated Harold Har-
faor, or the Fair-Haired, who ascended the throne at ten
years of age, and reigned from 863 to 936. This warlike
monarch, after long fighting, reduced all the independent
nobles or petty kings to the condition of subjects, and
consolidated the various principalities of Norway into one
kingdom. Thus was consummated in a single reign, and
that too in the ninth century, a work which afterwards
cost the other nations of Europe several centuries of blood¬
shed and contention. But this was more easily accom¬
plished in Norway than elsewhere; for in that country the
crreat nobility never had feudal powers, and consequently
those who were under them as servants were bound by
no such ties of vassalage as the retainers of a Highland
chieftain or a Norman baron. They were not taught pas¬
sive and unconditional submission to a superior, a though
he might bear the title of king; for before a small sove¬
reign could make war, he was under the necessity of as¬
sembling the Thing, and obtaining its sanction. The equal
division of property amongst children, which extended to
the crown itself, prevented the accumulation of power m
the hands of individuals; and the circumstance of the total
want of fortresses, castles, or strongholds in the country,
owing to the division of estates, effectually prevented a
nobility from attaining the same power with the nobles ot
feudal countries, and setting the royal authority at deh-
ance. Some of these nobility or small kings colonized
Iceland; and Normandy was conquered by Rolf Uangr,
one of those whom Harold Harfagr expelled from Norway.
In this king’s reign Christianity was introduced into the
country, and from this period the events recorded in the his¬
torical Saga may claim some degree of confidence. ihe
length of this reign was no doubt favourable to the lower
orders, by consolidating their institutions, which, as they
weakened the authority of the petty kings, were favoured
by Harold. Eric, his son and successor, whom he had as¬
sociated with himself in the royal authority, was deposed
by the Thing on account of his cruelty, and a younger
brother succeeded him. Hakon, which was the name ot
this son of Harfagr, was brought up from his childhood at
the court of Athelstane, king of England. He reigned
nineteen years, during which period there was frequent
reference to the Things, both for amending the laws, and Non,
for the dissemination of Christianity. It appears, that inv*y«
attempting to establish the religion of the Cross in his do-
minions, Hakon had recourse to what were considered as
unconstitutional means ; for we find that at a meeting of
the Thin", held in the year 956, a husbandman named
Asbiorn, of Medalhuus, stood up and declared, on the part
of his neighbours and of himself, “ that they had elected
Hakon to be their king, upon the condition that freedom
of relimon and freedom of conscience should be warranted
to every man ; and if the king persisted in attempting to
suppress their ancient faith, they would elect another king;”
adding, “ and now, king, make thy choice. This is cer¬
tainly one of the most striking instances of parliamentary
patriotism to be met with in the history of Europe; and
we must descend six or seven centuries nearer to the pre¬
sent time before we can match it in the annals of our own
country. Hakon was not only compelled to give way, but
also to take part in the heathen ceremonies of the meeting.
This king was slain in 963, in a battle with the sons of Ins
elder brother Eric, upon whom Athelstane of England had
conferred the kingdom of Northumberland.
It appears that, after the death of Harfagr, the small kings
ao-ain had risen to some degree of power, and that each in
his own assembly, called also a Thing, had exercised a
limited authority. Olaf the saint, before he assumed the
name of king, consulted one of these assemblies of the no¬
bility as to the way of proposing his claim as heir of Har¬
fagr to the general Things of the people; and proceeded
in such a manner as to show that their voice alone was
insufficient to constitute him supreme chief m the land,
without the sanction of the general Ihing. These insti¬
tutions appear to have always conferred or confirmed the
royal prerogative, and to have been of great importance in
that age amongst the whole Scandinavian people. In cases
where the good of the community was at stake, they set
the royal authority at defiance, and obliged the sovereign
to accept of such international contracts as the Things of
both countries conceived was for their mutual benefit. Ihe
Thin" of Sweden compelled the sovereign of that country
to conclude a peace with Norway, and to bestow his
daughter in marriage on King Olaf, towards whom he che¬
rished implacable enmity. Olaf had the title of saint con¬
ferred on him from the exertions which he made to intro¬
duce Christianity amongst his subjects; but m prosecu¬
tion of this object he exercised the most atrocious cruel¬
ties, and completely alienated the affections ot his people.
He attempted to govern without the intervention ot tie
Things, which became the cause of bis ruin ; for ^a*
nute the Great, who conquered Norway, invaded his do¬
minions, the people literally “ stopped the supplies; and,
unable to collect a force sufficient to oppose the king
England, he was compelled to seek refuge in Russia, ro
the purpose of recovering his crown, he landed in bwede
with a few followers, and, having received an accession to
his force from the king of that country, who was his brotlie
in-law, marched from the Gulf of Finland across the pe
ninsula to the Fiord or Gulf ot Drontheim. n he mea
time the Thing of Norway raised an army of twelve tno
sand bonder, and placed it under the command of We
of Egge. At the debouche of the valley of ^ ®rda '
met Olaf at the head of about four thousand advent
The conflict could not be doubtful where there was su
an inequality of numbers, and where the superion y ay ^
the side of those who were fighting in defence
St OlaPs father was Harold Gr$ndsfce,
i Harold Harfagr was born in the year 853 ; he began to reign in 863’ f" ,ea[e!rran(lfather H arol d Harfagr, and St Olaf was born
his grandfather Gudrod, his great-grandfather Biorn Staerke, and great-g g ^ 'jj Q of St Qlaf was therefore acre^
anno 995, only fifty-nine years after the death of his great progenitor ! f f Normalldy by Rolf Gangr, the colonization
ble source of information for all the events of Harfagr’s re gn, such as the conquest ot iXormanuy Dj *ou g
Iceland, &c. (Laing’s Journal of a Residence in Norway.)
£
I ^
c
. I
1
: V
1
tl
i
NORWAY.
259
rway.
berties. King Olaf was defeated and slain, without even
''showing the prudence and courage which had distinguish¬
ed his early career. This battle was fought on the 31st of
August 1030, and not on the 29th of June or July 1033, as is
commonly stated.1 The body of the fallen monarch was
transported to Saint Clement’s Church, in Drontheim,
which had been erected by himself. In return for the ser¬
vices which he had rendered the church, the clergy soon
afterwards canonized him; and even at Constantinople
temples were erected to his memory. His tomb was re-
o-arded as a consecrated spot, to which pilgrimages were
performed, not only by ardent devotees from the north,
but also from the south of Europe.
Canute the Great did not long remain in Norway; and
from the period of Olaf’s death the country was ruled by
native monarchs, who even for a time governed Denmark.
It may be gathered from the ancient chronicles before re¬
ferred to, that at this period society was composed of four
distinct orders. The first was the nobility, wdm were de¬
scendants of royal families; and, without regard to priori¬
ty of birth, those who were descended both on the mother’s
side and father’s side from Harfagr were eligible to the
supreme monarchy. They appear to have had no civil
power or privilege as nobles, but merely this odelsbaarn-ret
to the crown. The odelsbaarnmen, bondermen, or hus¬
bandmen, were the proprietors of lands held neither from
the king nor from any feudal superior. These were the peo¬
ple who had a voice at the Things. A third order consist¬
ed of the unfree men, holding land for services as vassals
or as labourers in cottages, but w’ho had no voice in the
Things in respect of their land. A fourth order was com¬
posed of the traelle or domestic slaves, who were private
property, and in a lower state than the former class. This
condition of society, which was equivalent to slavery, was
abolished by Magnus VII., who reigned from 1319 to 1344).
The most important event in the history of Norway,
Sweden, and Denmark, in the middle ages, was the union
of the three kingdoms under one sovereign, Margaret,
daughter of Waldemar, king of Denmark, which was ef¬
fected by the league of Calmar, in the year 1397. The cir¬
cumstances which led to this remarkable occurrence will
be found narrated in the article Denmark. Had this prin¬
cess been as capable of conquering national prejudices as
she was of defeating armies, her dominions would have
constituted a great and powerful monarchy. But the pas¬
sions of her people were more than a match for her policy;
and it was no doubt better that the three nations which she
governed should each remain in quiet possession of its own
freedom, as enjoyed under its own form of government and
laws, than that they should lay aside all differences, and,
heartily uniting as one kingdom and people, become the
terror and scourge of Southern Europe. Margaret died
without issue ; but during her lifetime she appointed her
grand-nephew', whom some historians call her cousin, Eric,
a descendant of the Dukes of Pomerania, as her successor;
and he acceded to the triple crown of Scandinavia in 1412.
The union, however, was far from being cordial, and for
rather more than a century local insurrections from time
to time broke out and distracted the country. The Swedes,
m particular, felt great reluctance to submit to a foreign
dynasty ; and after various attempts on their part to shake
themselves free from the compact of Calmar, the oppres- Norway,
sion and cruelty of Christian II. led to the final separation
of Sweden in 1520, under the celebrated Gustavus Erick¬
son or Vasa. Norway and Denmark, however, remained
under one sceptre till, at the adjustment of European
affairs after the fall of Napoleon, Norway was separated
from Denmark, and united to the crown of Sweden. This
took place in the year 1814.
The circumstances which led to the forcible separation
of two countries that had for centuries been united by the
closest relations, and the union of one of them with another
country which had for as many ages been regarded as a
natural enemy, may be shortly stated. The grand object
of the leading powers was to induce every state to join in
the league against Napoleon; and Sweden, in consideration
of an ample bribe, acceded to the general confederacy.
One of the foulest stains on the escutcheon of Great Bri¬
tain is the treaty which she entered into with Sweden, dated
3d March 1813. By this notorious compact against the
liberties of a whole people, England gave to the king of
Sweden the kingdom of Norway (which was no more hers
than Rome or Pekin), together with Guadaloupe, and a
million of pounds sterling, as a remuneration to his Swe¬
dish majesty for joining the allied powers against France.2
After the battle of Leipsic, fought in October 1813, the
Crown Prince of Sweden entered Denmark with his army,
and, after some bloody scenes in Holstein, peace was
concluded at Kiel on the 14th of January 1814. By this
treaty Denmark gave up all right to Norway, considering
it as quite hopeless to enter into a contest with Sweden
and England. Although the king of Denmark might re¬
linquish his claim to the sovereignty of Norway, this was
no reason for the people of that country making an uncon¬
ditional surrender of themselves to a foreign potentate.
They declared themselves an independent nation, framed
a constitution of their own, and proclaimed Prince Chris¬
tian, son of their former sovereign, and governor of Nor¬
way, as their lawful king. Not a little blood was shed
in the contention between Sweden and Norway ; and Eng¬
land actively interfered, by blockading the ports of Nor¬
way, for the purpose of starving the inhabitants of the
country into subjection. But a speedy settlement of the
question became necessary to all parties. The constitu¬
tion which the Norwegians had prepared in April 1814,
and which they were in arms to maintain, was guaranteed
to them, upon condition of their accepting along with it
the Swedish monarch as king, and the Crown Prince of
Denmark abdicating the throne. Matters were arranged
on this footing; and on the 17th of May 1814, both par¬
ties, the king of Sweden and the Norwegian nation, so¬
lemnly entered into a compact to the effect stated, under
the sanction and guarantee of the allied powers, and of
Great Britain amongst the rest.3 By the treaty, the en¬
tire independence of Norway as a kingdom was secured,
the crowns alone being united, as in the case of Hanover
and England. She had a constitution of her own framing,
a legislature of her own electing, without being interfered
with by any foreign authority in the exercise of her right,
and laws of her own making and administering; in short,
Norway remained a pure democracy in all but the name.
Since this union of Norway and Sweden under one so-
This ia put beyond a doubt by a circumstance which all accounts of the battle mention, namely, that a total eclipse of the sun
occurred on the same day. Professor Hansteen of Christiania has calculated that such a celestial phenomenon could only have taken
P a^e on the 31st of August 1030.
j11 fi\e article containing the accession of England to the treaty, after various mutual stipulations, there is a provision containing
ie following words: “ And his majesty the king of Sweden engages that this union shall take place with every possible regard and
consideration for the happiness and liberty of the people of Norway.”
sat VS c ^aC*' worthy °f being recorded, that the committee which drew up this constitution, and laid it before the national assembly,
in °7 *°Ur V1?‘ ^rom *''ie to the 16th of ApriL That so perfect a model of a free constitution should have been framed
in alEtd ^ 18 truty marvellous ; especially as it was not a rough, unfinished outline, but a system of government complete
260
Norway.
NORWAY.
vereign, there have occurred only two events of any import¬
ance in the history of the former. rlhe first was the aboli¬
tion of hereditary nobility by the Storthing; and the se¬
cond was an attempt of the Swedish cabinet in 1824 to
force on the Norwegian people an entire amalgamation of
their country with Sweden. But the firmness of the Stor¬
thing or parliament, the honourable feelings of the sove¬
reign, and, it is said, the interference of Russia on the part
of the allied powers, prevented such an infamous attempt
to violate the faith of treaties, and bring disgrace upon
those who had guaranteed them. Great Britain, as a party
to the treaty of 1813, and as having inflicted some injury
on the country by her ships of war, was especially bound
to protect the liberties and national independence of Nor¬
way, and to preserve her from becoming a mere province o
Sweden, as Poland is now of Russia.
The facts relative to the abolition of hereditary nobility
may be shortly stated. It is fixed that the executive power
has not a final veto, but only a suspensive negative, till the
law is passed by three successive Storthings. In the year
1815, both chambers of the Storthing proposed and passed
a motion to abolish nobility for ever in Norway. The slen¬
der remains of this class were of foreign, and almost in every
instance of recent origin ; besides, few of them had enough
of property to enable them to hold a dignified station in
society. By the law of succession land is equally divided
amongst all the children, so that large estates could not be
entailed on the possessor of the family title ; and hence, to
maintain his rank and respectability, a nobleman must have
become a placeman or a pensioner, or engaged in opera¬
tions which would bring nobility into contempt. The ex¬
istence of an hereditary nobility, in a country where the
\aw of primogeniture was unknown in the succession to
real property, seemed, therefore, an anomaly, which, in any
circumstances, could not long be tolerated, and which was
altogether unsuitable to the state of things which had long
obtained in Norway. The royal assent, however, was re¬
fused to the proposed enactment in 1815, and again in the
year 1818, after it had passed through a second Storthing.
To prevent it from passing a third time became the grand
obiect of government; for then it would necessarily hav e be¬
come the law of the land, with or without the royal consent.
In 1821, the year when the measure was to be again brought
forward, the king in person repaired to Christiania, and
used every means to induce the Storthing to abandon it;
but in vain. Six thousand soldiers were marched to the
neighbourhood of that city, to overawe both the legislature
and the people, and extreme irritation prevailed. At this
critical moment, when the flames of civil war were about
to be kindled, both the Russian and American ministers
interfered. What arguments or remonstrances they em¬
ployed is unknown; but the fact is, that government low¬
ered its tone, the troops were withdrawn, and the Swedish
cabinet gave way. The Storthing having passed the mea¬
sure abolishing hereditary nobility for the third time, it con¬
sequently became law. Norway, therefore, remains a pure
democracy, federally united with the monarchy of Sweden.
Its constitution has“ outlived two dangerous attacks upon
it; and as the principles upon which it is based have been
developed by practice, it has gained additional strength,
and been further secured by the love and veneration of the
people. The sudden disjunction of Denmark and Norway,
left, of course, much business to be adjusted between indi¬
viduals of the two countries. It thus occasioned much dis¬
tress and loss to persons having connections and property
in both ; and it still produces a constant intercourse. Few, Non,. W?'
we believe, will admire the manner in which the union be-^-v
tween Sweden and Norway was effected; but as few will
doubt the benefits which must result to both from the ex¬
change of mutual hostility for mutual cordiality, and to a
certain extent an identity of interests.
If the reader turn to the map of Europe, he will find Physic
that Norway extends from the fifty-eighth to the seventy-aspec;, '
first degree of north latitude, and at the broadest from the
fifth to'about the thirteenth degree of longitude east from
Greenwich. On the east it is bounded by Sweden, on the
west and south by the North Sea, and on the north by the
Arctic Ocean. At the broadest part it is scarcely three
hundred miles across, and north of the sixty-third degree
of latitude the breadth is very inconsiderable, the country
narrowing to a mere belt. Its shape is very peculiar, and,
in the main, it strikingly resembles that of a Florence flask,
the rounded bottom being presented to the south, and the
long narrow neck stretching to the north. Norway thus
begins about the point where Scotland ends, that is, the
Naze. The most southerly headland in the former is
nearly in the same parallel as the Pentland Frith, which
divides the latter country from the Orkney Islands. These
facts will serve to convey a somewhat precise idea of the
position of Norway. T-he sea-coast presents features simi¬
lar to those which characterise Iceland, the North of Scot¬
land, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Labrador, and other
islands and continental tracts of country exposed to the
storms, the currents, and the perpetual buffetings of the
Northern Ocean. The action of the sea alone, however,
could not have formed such immense fissures as are found
in the solid primary rock on the Norwegian coast. The
theory of the elevation of the land by volcanic impulse
from below seems alone sufficient to account for such phe¬
nomena.1 .
The greater part of Norway may be said to have an outer
and an inner coast, the former being a succession of rocky
islands of all dimensions, from a mere point to more than a
mile in length, and lying within about a mile of the main¬
land, thus circling all the coast as with a girdle. Boats
and small vessels make their coasting voyages within the
rocks ; for, even when the ocean is strongly agitated, the
outer barrier acts as a sort of break-water, preventing the
channel within from being thrown into violent commotion.
Those immense arms of the sea which penetrate deep
into the country are called fiords in Norway ; a name in geo¬
graphical nomenclature identifying them with the friths ot
Scotland, to which they bear a general resemblance, and
also to the maritime lochs so numerous on the west coast ot
that country. To enumerate these were only to present a
catalogue of names designating the same object in ditterent
situations and of different sizes. They vary from sixty to
two hundred miles in length, and from being several miles
to less than a gunshot in breadth; and altogether they con¬
stitute one of the most remarkable physical features ot tne
country. The inland streams generally empty themselves
into these fiords ; and, as in the case of the Frijs of Forti),
Clyde, and others, in Scotland, it is often difficu t to s)
where the river ends and the ocean begins. All along tne
rock-bound coast these arms of the sea succeed each other
with melancholy sameness ; but in penetrating within the
sombre and sometimes dangerous mouths, the scene is a
at once changed, presenting, at the bottom of these bay,
creeks, and other indentations, towns of a pleasant an
cheerful aspect, and banks finely wooued with all the
. Indeed, the large rounded boulder stone, found on the top,
at one time Norway had been submerged beneath the Northern It, present level, may readily.«
(and consequently in every other), eight thousand feet ( raifed by some mighty power; and we know of none which
n every other), eight thousand teet (the heignt or me ' .r d know 0f none .
is sir,h^ fOTvent’",he sol“ ,m,eBe“"
the globe which lay above them, and thus broke it up into innumerable fiagments.
NORWAY.
• rieties of those forest trees which we are accustomed to
"'meet in more temperate latitudes, and studded with cot¬
tages, farm-houses, and country residences, indicating taste
and comfort, if not luxury and wealth. The tide rushes
into many of these fiords with great violence, especially on
the north-westerly quarter of the peninsula. This is readi¬
ly accounted for from the fact, that the interior basins are
often very capacious, whilst the mouths by which the wa¬
ter flows in to fill them are frequently very confined. Op¬
posite to Folden Fiord is the Maelstrom, or Moskoestrom,
long celebrated as the most appalling whirlpool in Europe ;
but it owes much of its reputation to the exaggerated ac¬
counts of travellers. It is situated nearly at the extremity
of the range of the Lofoden Islands, beginning between
Moskoenaes and Moskoe, and exhausting itself between
Varoe and Rost, the last of which is the most westerly of
the Lofodens. The whirlpool is simply caused by the rush¬
ing of the ocean, as the tide rises and falls, between this
chain of islands, which impedes its course like the narrow
mouths of the fiords. The relative position of the sur¬
rounding islands causes the Maelstrom to form a large cir¬
cle; and the great inequalities of its bottom, whicht from
a few fathoms, deepens suddenly in many parts to 200, in¬
crease the violence of the current.
The interior of Norway is traversed by a succession of
mountain ranges, called Fjeldes, whence the Cumberland
term Fell, designating an elevated tract of ground. Some
geographers have divided the Scandinavian Alps into
groups, a classification which appears to be more fanciful
than real. I hose which intersect Norway, extending from
the southern extremity of the country to Cape North, the
most northerly point in Europe, are called the Dofrines; and
the most considerable of these ranges is the Dovre Fielde,
lying between the sixty-second and sixty-third parallels
of north latitude. Iravellers are proverbially prone to
give exaggerated descriptions of the physical features of
the countries which they traverse; and from this cause our
meas of the height of the Norwegian mountains, and the
sublimity of the scenery which they present, have hitherto
been pitched rather above the truth. Mr Laing, in his
excellent account of the country, thus describes this great
natural feature of Norway. “ The Dovre Fjelde here (at
Jerkin, on the northern verge of the range) may be from
twenty-four to twenty-eight miles across. When we give
nngs their real names, we take away much of their imagin¬
ed grandeur. The Dovre Fjelde sounds well, and we fancy it
3 d sllbhme natur<d feature. It really is no more than
W like those of Yorkshire or Cumberland; an elevated
;n , ot. ground, whence run waters in opposite directions,
a d which forms the base of a number of detached hills of
moderate elevation. In fact, as a scene impressing the
fromthp Wlt!1 f V£St and ionely grandeur> the tract
m the waters of the Tay to those of the Spey, by Dal-
nacardoc i, Dalwhinny, and Pitmain, greatly surpasses it
You are , deed 3000 feet above the level of the sea; but
matinn no seen; It is a matter of reflection and infor-
look nn « i °l! ?°m d^Wn Upon n°thing below you, and
alonp P y ° h* * °f moderate elevation. Schneehcette
ibove thTl UPit0 c n?ountain in magnitude : it is 7300 feet
'arm-hn /t6 ,0f the Sea; but this fel1 is 3000 at this
use (Jerkin, where Mr Laing resided), which is
261
about twelve miles from the base of Schneehcette. The ac- Norway,
tual height of this mountain, therefore, for the eye, is about''-
the same as that of Ben Nevis, about 4300 feet, with the
disadvantage of gaining its apparent height by a slow rise
from the fell. I here is a considerable mass of snow in
a hollow on the bosom of Schneehcette, but not more than
remains for great part of the summer on hills in Aberdeen¬
shire, and nothing like a glacier.1 The head and shoulder
are clear of snow. The most remarkable feature of this
mountain tract is, that the surface of the fell, and of
Schneehcette to its summit, is covered with, or more pro¬
perly composed of, rounded masses of gneiss and granite
from the size of a man’s head to that of the hull of a ship’,
ihese loose rolled masses are covered with soil in some
places, but in others they are bare, just as they were left
by the torrent which must have rounded them, and de¬
posited them in this region.”2 Mr Laing was informed
by one of the officers employed in the trigonometrical sur-
vey of Norway, that Schneehoette is not the most elevated
of the Norwegian mountains, and that, in all probability,
xiurunger bjelde exceeds it by about 700 feet. The names
of the other elevations to the south and west of Dovre
hjelde, are Lang Fjelde, Stagen Fjelde, Sogne Fjelde, Ska-
gen rjelde, Fille Fjelde, Hardanger Fjelde, and some others
which need not be named. The Hurunger, the Fille, and
the Hardanger Mountains, running into the sea at the Naze
o Norway, “ form, with the Dovre Mountains, one vast
triangular range, with its apex at Lessoe, and its base over¬
flowed by the ocean in the height called the Shagerrak.”3
Ihere are a number of lakes in Norway, the largest of Lakes,
w ic i is t ie 1 lyosen, a splendid sheet of water, about rivers, and
eighty miles in length and from one to ten in breadth. Itscataract3'
scenery has been classed with the pastoral or beautiful,
lather than with the sublime. Its shores are well culti¬
vated, and, with the exception of a few rough promontories
dippmg into the lake, the slopes are easy, and yield fine
crops of oats, bear, flax, pease, and potatoes. Its direction,
like that of a great many of the lakes and rivers in Nor¬
way, is from north-west to south-east, crossing the sixty-
first parallel of north latitude. The depth of the Myosen
varies greatly ; but it is considered as shallower than most
of the other Norwegian lakes. The depth in the lower
parts is not more than forty fathoms, often it is much less ;
but in the upper part it has been found to exceed a hun¬
dred. Yet even this is nothing in comparison with the
depth of the other lakes, particularly of the Famund Soe,
which is reputed to be unfathomable*; a distinction always
allotted to the deepest lake in every mountainous country.
A laige stream, called the Vormen Elv, issues from the
southern limit of Lake Myosen; and at Sunde, which is
its northern extremity, it forms a communication with
Lake Losness, or Losness Soe, by the Lossen Elv or River
which derives its name from the lake. Into this lake flows
a river which rises in the Dovre Fjelde range of mountains,
and appears to be the one alluded to by Mr Laing in the
following passage. “ The stream which runs through Gul-
brandsdal and the Myosen, and reaches the sea at Fre-
denckstad, being the same I left at Lien, comes down
from the hills at or near Lessoe, and is there divided into
two branches, one of which, as above stated, runs into the
Myosen, and the other into the North Sea at the fiord in
3 ^-aing s Residence in Norway, p. 52-3.
U!
262
NORWAY.
Norway. Romsdal amt, in which the town of Molde is situated,
thus including in its delta between four and five degrees
of latitude, and all the west and south of Norway. 1 he
course of this little river from Lessee to the sea is very
important, as it gives precision to our ideas of the shape
and direction of the Dovre Fjelde, and its connection with
the Hurunger, the Fille, and the Hardanger Mountains.
This river must therefore have a course of probably one
hundred miles in a north-westerly, and above two hundred
and fifty in a south-easterly direction. It is in several paits
of its course of considerable breadth, and at more than one
hundred miles from its embouchure is described as a large
dark-coloured and rapid river. A still larger stream is he
Glommen, called by way of distinction Stor Liven, or tne
Great River, from its being the largest m Norway. It rises
iu the government of Drontheim, not far from Ovesund
Lake, through which it runs ; and it afterwards traverses
the extensive government of Christiania, flowing through
Osterdaelen and Hedemarken, passing Kongsvinger, and
finally foiling into the sea at Fredenckstad, after a cou
of not less than three hundred miles, all in Norway. From
the heart of this continent it opens an easy communication
with the ocean, and through its means the produce of the
interior is brought down to the coast. At about two nun
dred mi es from the sea it is described as a fine majestic
stream, two hundred yards in breadth. Nav.gat.on how
ever, is obstructed by numerous falls, one of which, not far
from its mouth, is called the cataract of Sarpen, the roar
of which is heard at a great distance. Ihere are other
foils on the same river; but the most stupendous natural
phenomenon of this description is situated upon the oppo¬
site side of the mountain range, onlstref[1Sr>w[1hlC^T^A^‘
to the North Sea. Mr Lloyd1 describes the falls of Rinkan-
fos and Voringfos as particularly grand, the first having a
perpendicular descent of 450 feet, and the second of 900
feet! the body of water in both cases being very consider¬
able. Mr Forsell, in giving some statistical information re¬
garding Norway, mentions other falls even more stupen¬
dous than these. There are many other lakes and rivers
in Norway besides those which we have described, among
which we may mention the Toms Elv, called the Odderen
Elv during part of its upper course, a large stream, which
“iJsea a. ChrisSmsand; the TopdaU, which fa U
into the sea ne^r the same place ; the Louven EL, whict
rises in the Hardanger Fjelde, traverses several long, nar¬
row lakes, passes through Kongsberg, and enters the sea
near Nauvig, in latitude 59° ; and between this stream and
the Lessen, which lies considerably to the north-east, there
is more than one large river. A multitude of streams a
run into the North Sea. I he most important ot these is
the Namsen, which, from its exit out of the lakes that give
rise to it, has a course of about ninety miles. From the
ground sloping with more rapidity upon this side ot the
mountain chain than on the other, the water-courses must
be considerably steeper. “ Few countries in the world,
says the traveller just mentioned, “ present such sublime
natural scenery ; its numerous lakes and rivers, its magni¬
ficent cataracts, its boundless forests and solitary wilds,
where silence seems to brood eternally, its terrific preci¬
pices, its smiling valleys, and its towering alps covered
with everlasting snows, impress the mind of the travelle
always with admiration, and often with awe. I he forests
of Norway, as is well known, are large and numerous ; but
they do not appear to be so extensive as those of Sweden.
In the southern parts of Norway, indeed, and up as far as
Drontheim, the supplies of timber are very considerable ,
but to the north of the latter place, and along the sea-coast, Nor»,f s
as well as on the mountain ranges, wood is not plentiful, v-y, ^.
many parts of the country being perfectly destitute of it.
Norway, however, from the district of Drontheim south¬
wards, may be considered as a country abundantly supplied
will, gigantic forests of magnificent trees, amongst wh.ch
the pine, birch, and aspen, are the most celebrated and the
most valuable to the inhabitants. .
The prevailing rocks found in Norway belong to the pri-Geolo»
mitive and transition series. The west coast is wholly
composed of primitive rocks, gneiss and mica slate greatly
predominating. Secondary rocks occur but rarely, and
alluvial deposits are not so abundant as in many other less
extensive regions. Contrary to the general belief of geo-
legists, granite is but a rare rock. When it appears, it is
frequently in veins traversing the primitive stratified rocks,
or running parallel with beds or strata ; and sometimes it
is found spread over the surface of mica slate, as at Forvig ;
or irregularly associated with clay slate and diallage rock,
as in the island of Mageroe. But by far the most abundant
rock in Norway is gneiss, all the others of the primitive
series appearing to be subordinate to it. Extensive tracts
of county, and long mountain ranges, seem to consist al¬
most entirely of gneiss. In some parts it abounds m veins
of rose and milk quartz, in iron ores, in garnets, sometimes
the precious, but most frequently the common garnet, and
other minerals. Mica slate, however, which rests upon
and alternates with the gneiss, is far from being so gene¬
rally distributed, as is also the case with the clay slate. In
some places steatite occurs in beds, and is quarried in slabs
to be used for different purposes. Quartz rock, various
hornblende rocks, and limestone, occur in beds subordi¬
nate to the gneiss and mica slate. One side ot the valky
of Shalheim, situated between Bergen and Sognefiord, b
bounded by hills of snow-white quartz, which are almost
bare, and present mural precipices, having a very singula
appearance at a distance, from their shining-white colour.
Gabbro or diallage rock occurs in great quantities, con¬
nected with clay slate, in the island of Mageroe, and
other parts of Norway. The class of transition rocks con-
tains besides graywacke, alum, slate, limestone (combine
with^me tremohte), and other rocks well known to min,
raloMsts as belonging to the following seriesL Lran>te>
which sometimes contains hornblende; 2. syemte, whic
contains a beautiful Labrador variety of common felspar,
and numerous crystals of the gem named zircon; 3 pi*
phyry, and associated with it various trap-rocks allied o .
basalt and amygdaloid.’ All the mounta.ns, and espem^
those of the south, contam a great numbe. of ■n.nera
sought after in collections, and of metals valuable to man,
amongst which may be mentioned gold, sdyer, iron,cop
ner cobalt, and others. The mines of silver in Norway are
situated at Kongsberg, but although they once
rich returns, they now scarcely repay the labour best d
on them. Large masses of native silver have been toun
here, one of them, now in the Museum of CoPenhage -
weighing upwards of five hundred pounds. The Kong
berg mines abound with mineralogical curiosities, of whd
the most remarkable is native electrum, a "atur^ al^yth
gold and silver.4 There is a gold mine at Edswold, in t
district of Rommarge, and mines of lead and silver i ^
of Jarlsberg; but they have not been wrought to a y
tent. The copper mines of Norway are chiefly sfo
in the northern division of the kingdom. The tnost c ^
siderable are those of Raeraas, which were discovered
1644, at the base of the Dovre Fjelde Mountains.
i Field Sports of the North of Europe, vol. ii. p. 295. Forbes,
s Professor Jameson in Murray's Geography, p. 768 ; and a communication f
4 Elliot’s Letters from the North of Europe, p. 103.
a Ibid. p. 293.
m
*1
NORWAY.
m other copper mines are from fifteen to twenty leagues from
j , Drontheim, atQuikne, Laekken, Selboe, and in the district
of Christiania at Fredericksgave or Foledel. The princi¬
pal iron mines are situated in Southern Norway; and of
these the most distinguished are those of Arundal and
Kra^eroe. The mines of Arundal are celebrated for the
richness of their mineralogical treasures. Many of these
are rare, such as botryolite, datholite, wernerite, scapolite,
and moroxite; besides abundance of epidote, actinolite,
cocolite, and colophonite. The ore (magnetic iron ore)
is found in beds of gneiss, of which the country is chiefly
formed. The mine of Laurwig, in the vicinity of the
town of that name, affords annually 26,000 quintals of bar
iron, and 6000 quintals of cast iron. The establishment of
the same kind at Moss affords annually 10,000 quintals of
bar and cast iron. Other mines, situated in various parts
of the country, likewise yield large quantities of this valu¬
able metal; and the whole produce of the Norwegian mines
has been estimated at about 150,000 quintals annually.
The mines of cobalt, which are worked at Modum and
Fossum, are extensive, but not very deep. There is a mine
of plumbago and black lead at Engledal. The mines of
alum, which are worked in the mountain of Egeberg,
near to Christiania, afford not only a sufficiency for the con¬
sumption of the Danish states, but some for exportation.
Norway possesses quarries of granite, marble, millstone,
whetstone, slate, and clay. Granite is exported to Hol¬
land, and marble and other minerals to Denmark.
Norway possesses an island called Berend Island, situ¬
ated between Spitzbergen and North Cape, which pre¬
sents some interesting features to the geologist. It is
about thirty English miles in circumference, and is com¬
posed of a formation totally different from the primary
rocks of which the Norwegian peninsula, and, it is under¬
stood, Spitzbergen, and other polar islands, consist. The
whole island appears to be one entire mass of coal. It is
not the fossil-wood brown coal, or surturbrand, found in
Iceland, Germany, and some parts of the west of England,
but mineral coal. Quantities of it have been brought to
the mainland by vessels sent to hunt the white bear and
the walrus, which abound in the icy region where Berend
Island is situated.
j lent Some valleys in Norway give abundant indications of their
1 s,&c. having been lakes of fresh water, which were either gra¬
dually drained as the land became elevated, or, bursting the
barriers that confined them, suddenly laid their basins dry.
Mr Laing describes one of these in the following passage.
“On ascending the steeps which bound the flat alluvial
bottom of the valley on each side, and which consists ge¬
nerally of banks of gravelly soil, one is surprised to find a
kind of upper terrace of excellent land, cultivated and in¬
habited like the bottom, and consisting of the same soil, a
friable loam. This terrace rests against the primary rocks
of the Fjelde, which are here limestone, marble, and gneiss,
or rock of the micaceous family, of which the laminae
are singularly twisted and contorted ; and the terrace has
evidently been the bottom of an ancient lake which has
been bounded by these Fjelde ridges.” The same travel¬
ler gives an account of one of these ancient sea-beaches,
which, in other countries besides Norway, are calculated
to arrest the attention and excite the wonder of the ob¬
server of nature. He is speaking of the Snaasen Vand,
a lake some sixty or seventy miles north from Drontheim.
“ About seven miles inland from the present sea strand,
at the head of the fiord, and about sixty feet above the
present high-water level, there is an ancient sea-beach of a
very remarkable character. Above the house of Fossum,
and forty feet higher than the lake of that name, the
^ea-shells are so abundant that they might be applied to
igricultural purposes, and they lie close to the surface.”
At another place in the neighbourhood there is a large
263
bed of shells, which have been used in mending the road Norway.
for a considerable distance towards Snaasen Vand. “They^^r^'
are entire ; the upper and under ones of the mussel, cockle,
and clam are united, and the mussels grouped together,
as in the living state ; so that this bed has clearly been the
spot upon which the animals lived.” From these and other
indications, it is concluded, that a shore in a direction
nearly parallel to that of the present one of the Drontheim
Gulf, and on a level at least sixty feet higher, has existed
at a recent geological period. These beds are not covered
with any thickness of decayed vegetable soil, and the shells
retain in part their natural hue and enamel. The land,
therefore, has been elevated at no very distant period ; at
what rate per century has not been determined as to this
side ; but the Swedish philosophers assert, that the change
of level in the Gulf of Finland is at the rate of four feet
and a half in a hundred years. Such could not have
been the case on the shores of Norway washed by the
North Sea ; for the relative position of known points upon
the line of the sea-shore, to the present level of the sea,
are by historical evidence ascertained to have changed
little if any during a thousand years. The change of level
may have been local, or it may have gone on more rapidly
at one time than at another.
Earthquakes have been repeatedly experienced in Nor¬
way, at least seven having occurred within the last forty
years. History records one which occurred at Drontheim
on the 18th of July 1686, and another on the 1st of April
1692. On the 14th of September 1344, the river Guul
disappeared in the earth; and on its bursting out again,
destroyed forty-eight farms, and 250 human beings. About
the same time a great earthquake took place in Iceland.
Indeed the whole aspect of this country bears evidence to
the fact, that at some period, or more probably at differ¬
ent periods, its surface has been elevated, depressed, and
shattered by great convulsions.
It would occupy too much space to enumerate in detail Botany,
the characteristic plants of Norway. The vegetation of the
w'est coast is very similar to that of Britain, but in the south
and east there is found a completely different Flora, ap¬
proximating to that of Denmark and Germany. The cause
of the remarkable difference between the Flora, and also
the Fauna, of the two coasts, is probably to be referred to
the absence of tides on the south coast. This circumstance
seems to exercise an important influence on the character
of the natural productions of the country ; and we the more
especially refer to it, as it seems to have been hitherto en¬
tirely overlooked by naturalists. At Bergen the tide falls
six or eight feet, but on the south coast it does not fall six
inches.
The animal kingdom of Norway requires some notice. Zoology.
As population has increased, the wild animals have of course
gradually disappeared, and the bear and the wolf are no
longer the terror of the traveller, as they were wont to be.
In winter, indeed, they may sometimes be found in dis¬
agreeable proximity to a stranger who intrudes within their
range ; but they are in general timid, and only formidable
in herds. In Norway the bear retires to his den, which is
generally some sheltered hole in the rocks of the Fjelde,
in November, and remains in a state of inactivity, without
food, it is said, until April. Indeed many of the smaller
animals, the field-mice, the lemmings, and, Mr Laing con¬
jectures, many of the birds, pass the winter in this climate
in a state of occasional torpidity. The wolves are not so
dangerous animals as those of the south of Europe. They
rarely attack a man, but they will carry off a dog at his
side; and they often commit serious havoc amongst the
domestic animals. The loss of sheep, calves, cows, and
foals, in certain parishes, during the season when they are at
pasture, is sometimes immense. Bears also commit depre¬
dations of the same kind, but not nearly to the same ex-
264
Norway.
NORWAY.
tent, as the wolf, which, when he gets into a herd, bites
'and tears all that he can overtake. The elk is now very
rarely to be met with, and in all likelihood will soon disap¬
pear from this part of Europe. It is described as a mag¬
nificent animal, being often seventeen hands m heig >
and sometimes exceeding in size the largest horse, im
such splendid specimens are now seldom or never seen.
During winter it resides chiefly in hilly woods ; but in sum¬
mer it frequents swamps and the borders ot lakes, otten
going deep into the water to escape the stings of gnats an
other insects, and to feed without stooping. With its en -
mous horns it turns down with great dexterity branches of
trees, in order to feed upon the bark; and these are also
used as shovels to get at pasture when it is covered wit
snow The glutton or wolverine, so called in America,
reckoned a Norwegian animal. Its total length is not more
than two feet and a half, and it flies from the faceof man
It feeds chiefly upon beasts which have been accidental y
killed; but it will hunt small animals, such as meadow-
mice, marmots, and the like, and occasionally attack dis¬
abled animals of a large size. Although not ^ 11
industrious, and does great injury to the small fui trade i
the northern parts of Europe. The rein-deer, which
found in considerable numbers on the Hardanger Fjelde
and the Sogne Fjelde, and the diversified qua hues of which
are so beautifully adapted to the bleak and inhospitable
regions in the north of Norway, will be found described in
the article Lapland. The beaver, although not extinct, is
rare, and lives solitary, not, like the American beaver, i
society. A particular kind of dog, with a remarkably fine
soft, and glossv fur, is bred for its skin, which is maue into
pelisses for winter wear. Besides the wild arid tame rein¬
deer, red deer are pretty numerous in some districts. 1 he
fox and the lemming are abundant in some parts, particu
larly in the north. A multitude ot birds inhabit the coasts
of the ocean, and Norway furnishes a considerable part of
the eider-down, so well known to the luxurious in couches.
Game is plentiful; the principal birds being called the tyd-
deTroeu ryper, and jerper. The tydder is the bird known
of old in Scotland by the name ot capercailzie, but now
extinct. The cock is a noble bird, of the size of a turkey-
cock, with a bill and claws of great strength. I he loer is
the female, and in size, plumage, and appearance so dif¬
ferent from the male, that it has received a different name
in the language. The ryper is the same as the Scottish
ptarmiganfbut larger am/better clothed ts davou^, how¬
ever is inferior to the game ot the Scottish hills. But the
ierper is a more delicate bird for the table than any of our
iame. It is of the grouse species, and about the size o
a full-orown pigeon. The silence of the forest solitudes
is occasionally broken by the sweep of the eagle s or the
heron? wing; but the traveller in Norway is generally
struck witlAhe limited number of small birds which he
meets in the course of his ramblings. Magpies the Roys-
ton crow, and swallows, are common ; but the ^fk, linnet
thrush, blackbird, robin, and some others common to Great
Britain, are little known here. Hares and squirrels are
considerable abundance ; and there are some ^^ quadru¬
peds and birds no strangers to the country, but they at
of too little importance to require any particular mention.
Amongst domestic animals may be mentioned the horse,
goat, sheep, and cow ; the goose, the duck, and the tu-
key, which are also found wild. Of horses there is a sma
breed very general in Norway, and another of a larger size,
which is much esteemed for its swiftness and sureness of
foot. “ These Norwegian horse are beyond all praise, says
Mr Laing- “ they scamper down hills as steep as a house
roof, and^in going^^up hill actually scramble. 1 hey have no
obiection whatever, if you have none, to any path or any Nor*,,,
nace • they are the bravest of horse kind. They are fed^
entirely upon hay, which, although merely withered grass,
appears to be more substantial than ours, from the wind
and powers of the horses which live upon nothing else.
The sheep are shaped like deer, having long legs and small
muzzles Numbers of goats and cows are kept, the milk
which they yield being very rich, and highly esteemed.
Fish abound in the seas, lakes, and rivers ot Norway ; and
the inhabitants not only derive a considerable portion of
their subsistence from fishing, but it also forms an import-
ant article of export. Amongst the insects of Norway,
the o-nat, or rather mosquito, is found exceedingly annoy¬
ing & They are in greatest abundance and most venomous
in the north. The furia infernalis, so called from the dread-
ful effects which follow from its bite, frequents the marshes
or boggy grounds. The acute pain and inflammatory swell-
ing which its bite produces are removed by a curd poul-
tice, which is said to be an infallible cure. The entomo-
loo-v of the south of Norway is very similar to that of the
south of England, whilst that of the west resembles the en-
tomologv ot Scotland,
From the general elevation of the land, the climate isCta
of course rendered more severe than would naturally be-and»L
lono- to a country under the same parallel the general eleva¬
tion of which was more nearly on a level with the ocean.
The winters are long and very cold; but, as in all north-
ern climates, their length and severity are in some measure
compensated by the great heat and consequently rapid
vegetation, in summer, lowards the east, and in the in¬
terior, the winter is longest, the cold, generally speaking
always increasing towards the north. The effects of the
sea-breezes upon the general temperature of the coasts
of all countries are well known. Winter, however, is very
pleasant and salubrious ; for although the air is cold, it is
dry and bracing, not damp and raw. But the western
part especially about Bergen and along the coast, is pro-
verbiafly6 rainy, owing probably to the high m„un«
which attract the clouds wafted from the ocean. Bu the
country behind this barrier is on that account particular y
dry, perhaps somewhat too much so. In Norway
weather is in general more steady than m Bntam, iUs
either good or bad for considerable periods. Ihe su
mer season is delightful, and very warm. In narrow
glens it is too hot during the middle ot the day, but the
mornins evening, and midnight hours are charming, and
peculiar*u^this country. The sun is below the homos
for so short a time that the sky retams the glow and th
air the warmth and dryness, winch are as grateful to tbe
eye as they are pleasing to the feelings. Summer hngm
tong in this country; and, in general, it is an u
senes of beautiful days. The disagreeable season is^
,nrin„ April and May, when, in the transition from winter
to summer, the snows are suddenly melted, and the groun
is rendered uncomfortable for travelling. Damage is som
times done by the rapid swelling of the torrents and rivers.
When the white covering of winter disappears, vege
bursts forth at once, and advances with astonishmg rapid tj-
The following account of the climate of Norway,
ed into several districts, is abridged from a popular boo ^
of travels.1 From latitude 58° to 5.) the aver g
perature is about 45° of Fahrenheit, and there is noco
slant snow region ; between 59° a"d on*
nerature is 44° ; and between 60 and 61 it is *0
La-coast and 41° in the interior. The mountains0
Hardanger Fjelde and Fille hjelde he '£lthinfit1o1St0 62°
sion, and also the great Lake Myosen.
the average temperature is 40 ; a degree
i .Tmirnev throuch Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, by H. D. Inglis, p
NORWAY.
the heat is about a degree less; and of course it continues
to decrease as we proceed towards the North Cape.
The luxuriance of vegetation being abridged by the
length and severity of the winter, the soil is thus indirect¬
ly rendered comparatively sterile. In America the im¬
mense forests are continually enriching the mould with
their decaying foliage ; but in Norway the paucity of
alluvial tracts, the prevalence of rock, seldom far beneath,
and often forming the surface, together with the want of
vegetable decomposition, materially detract from the quan¬
tity as well as the quality of the soil. In some parts it is
very rich ; and the valleys, in particular, are celebrated for
their luxuriant fertility. But much of the soil is thin, and
obstructed by rocky knobs rising above its surface, and in¬
terfering with the labours of the husbandman. “ I have
not, indeed,” says Mr Laing, “ seen in Norway twenty
acres of arable land in one field, without some obstruction
from knobs of stone.” Excepting in the extreme northerly
divisions of the country, agriculture is prosecuted with
considerable spirit and success.
“ In Norway,” says Mr Laing, “ the trees of the pine
tribe are called furu and gran. Furu is our pine (pinus
silvestris), and gran is our fir (pinus abies) ; the one is the
red wood and the other the white wood of our carpenters.
There are whole districts which produce only furu, others
only gran; and this seems not exactly regulated by lati¬
tude or elevation. The zones at which different trees
cease to grow appear to be a theory to which the excep¬
tions are as numerous as the examples. In Romsdal amt,
at Fanne Fiord, near Molde, in latitude 62° 47' north, and
with a medium temperature of only 4° of Reaumur (41° of
Fahrenheit), pears, the bergamot, gravenstein, and impe¬
rial, and also plums, come to perfection; and the walnut-
tree often bears ripe fruit. Hazel and elm in the same
amt form continuous woods, as at Egerdal. Yet the
gran disappears altogether, although in the same degree
of latitude it grows at an elevation of 1000 feet above the
sea in the interior of Norway, and even in latitude 69° in
Lapmark. It has been found a vain attempt to raise it in
Romsdal amt, a locality in which the following trees and
bushes grow readily; Canadian poplar, balsam poplar,
borse-chestnut, larch, elder, yew, roses of various sorts,
avender, box, laburnum, white thorn, and ivy. Larch
arought from Scotland appears to thrive. There must be
something in the nature of the plants not connected with
devation or latitude that determines the growth of the
?ran and furu.” Mr Laing mentions instances sufficient-
y striking to prove that the “ theory of the zones of
I deration at which different species of trees will or will not
. ^row must be taken with caution, as it does not satisfac-
orily cover all the facts observable in this country.” In
I mother place he observes, that “ wood of considerable size
?rows as far north as the valley of the Namsen, the largest
' the Norwegian rivers, about 120 miles from Drontheim.
t grows in sheltered situations in Nordland and Finmark,
is tar north as Alien Fiord (latitude 70°), but of'diminu-
ive size, and in such limited quantity that it is thought
iccessary to preserve it for the use of the inhabitants, and
fs exportation is prohibited.” Trees in the valley of the
vamsen are large enough for building material and the
aasts of ships. In another place Mr Laing says, “ 1 did not
xpect certainly to be charmed with the crops in the sixty-
1 egree of north latitude ; but the vegetative power,
latever be the cause, is more vigorous here than in the
ort of Scotland. Some of the largest establishments of
w mi s in Norway are supplied with trees from the fo-
“ S arou^d the Snaasen Vand. Of ordinary productions, as
j > oats, beai, flax, hops, there appeared to be great crops.
is may well be in a soil and climate which raises such
iipre t*rests‘ Bddnd the house I inhabited is a standard
vnT 66 bearinS riPe fruit- ^ would be a rarity in
VOL. XVI. 1
265
Scotland to raise them unless against a wall, even eight Norway.
degrees of latitude south of this.” Here Mr Laing found " y—
hops cultivated as a crop, wLilst flax ripened so as to be fit
for seed, ihe mountain and common ash are here scarce;
the aspen, wild cherry, birch, and the pine tribes, being
the trees, and the juniper, wild raspberry, and wild rose,
the bushes, which generally prevail.
faking the river Namsen as a boundary line separat¬
ing the productive from the unproductive part of Norway,
the country lying to the south of it may be considered as
capable of producing, in favourable situations, the grains
and fruits of England, and these, too, often in the highest
degree of perfection. Most kinds of fruit are abundant,
but the greatest favourite is the cherry. The crop of
cherries is scarcely ever knowm to fail; and in proof of the
abundance of this fruit, it may be mentioned, that the Nor¬
wegians preserve it in great quantities, and use it in many
culinary operations. Amongst the fruits growing wild are
strawberries, raspberries, cloudberries, cranberries, and
various other kinds of berries. The three first mentioned
are considered as delicious, and they are eaten both when
freshly gathered, like cultivated strawberries, and after
being preserved.
Ihe principal products of the Norwegian farm are oats, Agricultu-
rye, wheat, bear, hops, flax, a kind of bearded spring grain, ral P™-
with potatoes ; and a large portion of every farm is set apartducts'
to grow grass for the cattle and horses. The grass for
the most part is natural, sown grasses for hay being very
little cultivated. The land, after a bear crop following
potatoes, is left to sward itself w ith natural grasses for four
years, and to form the hay land, so that the proportion of
grass to arable land is much greater than in our farms.
The natural grasses do not attain any length, and they are
shaven as close to the ground as a bowling-green. The
fields are not wdiat is called top-dressed, as with us. The
scythe in use is much shorter in the blade than that of
Great Britain, and it answers the purpose much better.
Potatoes, w hich appear to occupy the place of turnips with
us, have been much cultivated since 1812 and 1814, when
bad crops, together with the war then raging, reduced
many to the use of bark-bread. Large quantities of spirits,
called Norwegian brandy, are distilled from potatoes. A
small enclosure for hops is attached to every farm-house;
but carrots, onions, cabbage, and all garden vegetables, are
little used. Probably the short interval between winter and
summer allows little time for attending to any but the es¬
sential crops. The hop flourishes with little attention un¬
der the sixty-fourth parallel; a striking fact, when we con¬
sider that this plant is delicate and precarious in the south
of England. But there are doubtless families of plants, as
there are races of animals, more hardy, or at least more
exempt from disease, than others of the same species, and
thus enabled to endure the rigours of a stern climate. In
farming operations, ditching, draining, and clearing land of
vegetable and other obstructions, are prosecuted with great
spirit and success. Agriculturists are continually adding
to the quantity of arable land in the country by thus re¬
deeming the soil from its original wild state. However,
from causes already mentioned, Norway is not capable of
furnishing the means of subsistence to any considerable po¬
pulation. Generally speaking, only the glens of the coun¬
try are inhabited. On the dividing ridges there is little
or no cultivation, and indeed no soil to cultivate, but
only rounded masses of gneiss and micaceous rocks, with
juniper, fir, aspen, birch, and beech, growing where they
can amongst the stones.
Mr Laing gives a very minute account of a Norwegian
farm rented by a Scotchman; and as he considers it “ fit¬
ted to be the representative of a large portion of the es¬
tates into which this country is divided,” we shall abridge
his description, retaining all the essential parts. Land in
2 L
266
NORWAY.
Norway. Norway is measured by the mseling, which contains forty-
" "ne square ells, the ell containing two feet, and the Norwe-
Plan foot being three per cent, longer than ours. 1 bus the
English acre of 43,560 square feet contains four maelmgs
and four tenths. Each farm may be considered as consist¬
ing of three divisions. The first is the infiek , or w
should call the mains, or home acres, enclosed for the cr
and the best hay. The next is the mark or outfield also en
closed, and affording the out-pasture for the cattle. 1 a
of it are occasionally fenced off, and broken |rm ^
and, when exhausted, are left to sward '’™se',e*|^r0
that when the cattle are sent to the je sti|i
some hay is got from the mark. There is often a still
rougher piece of ground divided from the ■nark, as »
range for goats and young cattle, called the out mark.
The third division is the seater. This is a pasture or gra.
firm ofen at the distance of thirty or forty miles up in
the Fjelde, to which the whole of the cattle and da y
maids are sent for three or four months in summer; T
huts on these sealers are substantia budding , V
accommodation necessary for the da,ry ; a"drn
erind^markire mTt included
^rsrysMiEng u consists of 1276 mailings, or 290
i-i^o= Hut this does not include the seater, which
English “cresi bnt tins does no te behind the
irTco^whli fine trees, and is of a defined houn-
d ’ extending about a Norwegian mile (seven English
So ,n circuit. On the measured land 148 acres are
] It hut bein^ farmed in the Norwegian style, one
“ly b ’arTa-Sps of corn and potatoes. The remain¬
der is always in grass or hay, for the winter support of the
cattle.8 Ills natural grass, not top-dressed with manure
and is mown when not above the length of ones finger,
so that the proportion of arable land that must be given
80 t U i .hi rvmtip in winter is enormous. It is the
up to keep ‘ .. quarter; 142 acres outside of
gf HS inS ^ ia;; cCed, being fenced off and
ploughed in patches. It bears good grass, but is encum¬
bered in some places with brushwood and stones.
« This farm supports twenty cows, seven horses, and
a score or two of sheep and goats. 1 he accommodation
foi cattle is excellent. They stand in a single row n the
middle of a wide house, with partitions between each, and
room before and behind greater tha"
animal itself. The itanfon a w^enfloor,
&0SV.d™».J into which «He JrgA»
housed tn°Nor way^re1 constructed on this large and con¬
venient scale; and neither cows nor horses requne litter,
which is a great saving of fodder. Besides, they are kept
perfectly clean, with comparatively little t^ou >1^1
annual lent of this farm was two hundred ^Wars, or
T 10s sterling, and the amount of taxes paid was L.6.
U 5s! nearly one sixth of the rental, which appears very
heavy. ’ Hut this is nearly all that is paid in any shape,
. “ indirect taxes, such as our excise and custom-house du¬
des being inconsiderable. It includes tithe, and all charges
connected with the church establishment, poor rate, and
c ti Such a property as that now desenbed is con-
“dlred worth abo„Pt MOti dollars. From 2500 to 4500
dollars include, it appears, the prices of all ordinary es
tales, and any thing very much ab°ve or be J°“ bnt.
an exception to a general rule. As to the dwemnto
houses on such estates, the material for building is so easi¬
ly obtained that there is really no difference between t e
residence of a public functionary, of a clergyman, or of a
gentleman of large property, and that of a bonde or pea¬
sant proprietor. The Norwegians are the best lodged Nor,,
people in Europe, Mr Laing says; but there is little
show, and no magnificence which can well be dispensed
with n such a country. The division of property among
children prevents the erection of splendid mansions, or
any thing more expensive than is proportioned to the pro-
pertV upon which they stand. The harvest work in this
district,” continues our traveller, “ and I believe all over
Norway, is well done; and parts of their management
might be adopted with advantage in our late districts,
where so much grain is lost or damaged almost every au¬
tumn by wind or rain. For every ten sheaves, a pole of
Ut strong wood, about the thickness of the handle o a
garden rake, and about nine feet in length, is fixed ^ the
ground by an iron-shod borer; it costs here almost no-
fhing. A man sets two sheaves on the ground against
the stem, and impales all the rest upon the po e, one above
the other, with the heads hanging downwards. Hus is
certainly a mode very superior to ours; and hey have
likewise^ better way of cutting it, by which little of the
grain is lost. But for an account of this process, and
other farming operations, we must refer to ilr aings
W°ThePbreed of cattle in Norway is fine boned, thin skin-
ned and kindly looking; the colour is generally white,
sometimes mixed with red, hut seldom entirely black.
The head and muzzle are as fine as in our Devonshire
breed. There is so little coarseness about the head or
neck of the bull, that the difference bet^ee" a"d ^
ox is less observable than in our breeds. 1 he cattle are
all very carefully attended to, and form an important
branch of the Imsbandry, as dairy produce enters much
into the food of every family, and is more certain in t
dimate than that of grain. The cows, sheep, and goats
are more tame and docile than they are m Britain, from
the constant care and attendance bestowed on them dur-
ins the long period which they must stand within doors
ami the Norwegians are remarkably kind to their domes¬
tic animals. Goats are a favourite stock, and on every
farm appear to be much more numerous than sheep. The
goat will eat and thrive on the shoots of the dwarf birch,
beech and young fir ; but the sheep will not, and m win¬
ter it requi/es some hay. The goat then gets a bund
of dried leaves and shoots of the beech, which only c^t
the trouble of collecting and drying them. E^ry h
house at this season is surrounded with bundles of these
withered branches and leaves of beech tied togetheJ’a.)k
rtiick upon poles to dry. The goat, too, gives "ft
in winter, when that of cows is scarce ; and from the u
common richness of milk in Norway, this small quant y
can bear to be increased with water, without materia y
^Irrigation is carried on in many parts to an ext^n^a1^
unknown in this country. Hay being the PrinC'P
support of live stock, and both it and corn, as well a P
tatoes, being liable, from the shallow sod and powerfnl ^
flection of sunshine from the rocks, to be burned
withered up, the greatest exertions are ^vel as
water from the head of each glen, along such ^ of
will give the command of it to each farmer a
his fields This is done by conducting water in .
made of the half of a tree roughly scooped out, fra ^
highest perennial stream amongst the MM1'™ « dic„te
across ravines, along the rocky an p i ^
sides of the glens; and from tb'® ”“”^U|strib«te>
branches shoot off to each farm, le i,:s fields, waler‘
this supply by moveable troughs ^
ing each rig successively. I he quantity of
bv" these artificial water-courses is very great.
_ . i.  «frnT’Qi nnprat.ions 3X6
by these artificial water-courses is very grem.
In winter, when agricultural operations are s P_
the Norwegian employs himself in making a
iy. merits, furniture, and clothing, which his family may re-
'm,;™. thrashing out tiie crop, attending to the cattle.
NORWAY.
267
'quire; nirusuuig uut me crop, atrenaing to tlie cattle,
distilling his potatoes, brewing, driving about to fairs, or
paying visits. The heaviest of his occupations is driv¬
ing wood out of the forests, or bog-hay from the Fjelde,
where it is made in summer by those who attend the cat¬
tle. The distillation of spirits from potatoes is general
throughout Norway, grain not being in such abundance as
to allow of its consumption in this way. By far the great¬
er part of the spirits used in the country is made in fa¬
milies, not in regular distilleries; every common bonde, or
peasant proprietor, distilling his own few barrels. It is
part of the women’s work, like cheese making or brewing,
and is carried on once a week or once a fortnight, on every
gaard, for the sake of the wash and refuse to the cattle, as
well as for the spirits. The most profitable way of distil¬
ling potatoes,” says Mr Laing, “ is with a mixture of
crushed wheat and malt, or, instead of wheat, rye or any
other kind of grain. I he best proportions are these
To six heaped barrels of potatoes, weighing seventy-ei'Hit
stones of sixteen pounds each, nine and a half stones of
wheat or other corn, and five of malt from bear or bio-.
If more of any of the parts be taken, the wort or liquor to
be distilled is too heavy, and is apt to burn or singe in
the still. By this proportion the smallest distilling, as a
barrel 01 half a barrel at a time, is regulated. The crush¬
ed grain and malt are first mixed in about a hundred and
twenty quarts of water, heated to 50° of Reaumur, or
of Fahrenheit, and no higher. The potatoes being per¬
fectly steamed (brought to such a state as to be fit for eat¬
ing), are crushed between two rollers, and, as they leave
the rollers, are shovelled into the vat in which the fermen¬
tation is to take place.” “ Boiling water to the extent of
about four hundred and fifty quarts is then poured into
tbe vat, and is cooled down with cold water to 20° Reau-
mur, or 77° Fahrenheit, at which the mash of wheat and
malt is added to it; the vat is then immediately covered
up as tightly as possible, and left to ferment.’' After fer¬
mentation has ceased, distillation immediately commences
iue„fL0CeSS1bein^ conducted in the usual way. Some
ten at the end of twelve months, or at that rate for what- Norway,
ever .me he may have the loan This is, in fact, a sav¬
ings bank for corn, and is probably the most ancient of
ese institutions. I here being no corn-merchants is decid-
f !r f? rnaftIenal che{* ul)on ttie prosperity of agriculture ;
for, from the want of a ready market where he might dis-
° ]1S ^10 ^le consequent comparatively
small inducement winch he has to store it up in these
magazines, the farmer naturally wastes it, or does what is
probably worse, distils it into ardent spirits. But these
institutions are exceedingly useful to the Norwegians as
they are circumstanced ; and were it not for them, many
might be placed in great difficulties, for want of seed or
biead when a bad season disappointed their hopes of a
supply from their own fields. The small profit which oc¬
curs upon these transactions defrays the necessary ex¬
penses of building and keeping up the magazines, which
are entirely under the management of the bonder or pea¬
sant proprietors. However, under such a system, hus¬
bandry can never become what it is in Great Britain, a
manufacture of corn, beef, and other provisions, carried on
by a class of individuals who pay a very high rent for the
premises on which they work, and embark large capitals
in the business. In Norway the bulk of the farmers have
no rent to pay, the property being their own ; the articles
winch their farms produce constitute nearly the whole of
the food or raiment which they and their people require •
an there are not, as in other countries, considerable’
masses of population in towns and villages, who, not be¬
ing producers of food themselves, must obtain it from
those who.are; so that the former is less dependent upon
money-bringing crops than is the case with us. If he
raise what is sufficient for his own household consump¬
tion, with a little surplus for sale to pay the taxes, and for
the purchase of a few luxuries, all the purposes of form-
ing are served with him. This is partly owing to the
state of property in Norway.
Property in Norway is held by what is called the udal state of
or ode system of rights not from any superior, not even propertv.
fiorn the king, but, as the possessors proudly express it * *
by the same rnrht bv whfoh L > ’
what morethan eighteen quarts EnffIishSUof « [r0ml ,he ki"»' b'“- ^ posseasor/prjud 7 «s, i
frit, destitute 0^ d^g”e,bltte or smTfs „r7 * “‘TT ^ the -own’Lit'fs
dticed front the barrel of potatoes. Of its exact Jtreneth f ’o dot ,'' . “’"i !“ T ackn°*lf dgment, real or nominal, as
Mr Laing was unable to form a,tv judgment ^ 5“^“? u red.^nd“' Pa,d-,ln country all lands are
In Norway there is „„ restrict,g„n mdls, every man S si, Sayr?r V° be ^ d fr°m ^ < a"d- according
who chooses having a rufot to erect one wbhnm ■> ? r 1 ^ Ftlward Coke, we have no allodial lands. In No£
upon himself any feudafburden snrb e ln£ estates are a^0ll,al> the absolute property of the owner’
feu, for he is the^su er or of Sol la, d iT’ tl,eyare ‘^ore possessed without dtarter. and are subjeci
are very numerous in the county be “ not ^'iv nec ‘ ? dT,°‘the l!"rde,‘S a"d Ci,sualties alfccting land held by
sary to almost every farm, but S’ sawS ,i nb"Hot ex Sr v 'r0m ^ S°VereiS"’ or snpe-
portation, as well as for home consumption ‘ ,,, 1 If® ' V" “'fa total "cgation of the feu-
Tlte thrashing machines in general use amonnst anrien! H* p ."f'1’e ’ ll|cre is neither superior nor vassal, so that
tunsts are similar in construction ,o tl,o“ of S„T“d tothtarv servtce whtch the latter paid to the former in
some have grinding machinery attached to them' ThS consideration ol the land which was granted appears never
!S an institution of a very peculiar nature u lY h • • 6 exited ui Norway; and as this constituted the foun-
common all over Pr. • ’ w,?ich 18 qu'te dation of the law of primogeniture, so, where such service
was entirely unknnurn fl-io^c ^    c ,
In *his    
any weekly ma ket^J m T" c1orn-(,ealers» "or are there
are nn rw-3 kets be d for t{le sale of grain. There
and any ^ ^rowerand the consumer,
UP in what mav h n ^ the farrner may have is stored
large warehouses 6 cajlef .corn-magazines, which are just
as foe'necessities Various ^ the country,
grain the former think6/" re(luire them’ What
sledges to these nk, § ^ jW/- n0t require ,le conveys in
he dW.s £ ‘7. b“sl“'le which
. . r ou, wutre sucn service
was entirely unknown, there was no necessity for that law
which consequently remained equally unknown. In all
feudal countries the eldest male heir has to pay an acknow¬
ledgment to the feudal superior on bis entering as vassal
in the land. But udal, or noble land, as the word signifies,
not being held for military service to a superior, no delectus
persona as to who should inherit it was competent to any
authority, and consequently no preference of the eldest
!>e ^sdCirrSesmt10/, S dtf f 'T* "'f ^^0^'equaTly^Sd’amo^
>n short, he lays it out at interest and ^ 7 surviv,ng children, male and female. There appears
fghth per annum. If howeverI IUCrea.se ot however, to be a species of email connected with tl eP uda
' « ^ ^ bushel. Which l«Ke“S rLK »?l\C£a
268
NORWAY.
Norway, are what is called Odelsbaarn to his land, or, in other
' words, have a certain right in the order of consanguinity.
By recent enactments, this right of redemption has been
limited in its exercise to a period of five years; and it is
provided that all improvements, as well as the original
price, must be paid for.
The equal partition of property amongst children by the
udal tenure has prevented the accumulation of property in
large masses; but, as might have been expected by theo¬
rists, it has not led to subdivisions of estates to an injurious
extent. “ The division of the land appears not,’ says Mr
Laing, “ during the thousand years it has been in opera¬
tion, to have had the effect of reducing the landed proper¬
ties to the minimum size that will barely support human
existence. I have counted from five and twenty to forty
cows upon farms, and that in a country in which the farmer
must, for at least seven months in the year, have winter-
houses and provender provided for all the cattle. It is
evident that some cause or other, operating on aggrega¬
tion of landed property, counteracts the dividing effects of
partition among children.” In another place Mr Laing says,
“ The estates of individuals are generally small; and the
houses, furniture, food, comfort, ways and means of living,
among all classes, appear to me to approach more nearly
to an equality to one standard than in any country in
Europe. This standard is far removed from any want or
discomfort on one hand, or any luxury or display on the
other. The actual partition of the land itself seems, in
practice, not to go below such a portion of land as will sup¬
port a family comfortably, according to the habits and no¬
tions of the country ; and it is indeed evident that a piece
of ground without houses upon it, and too small to keep a
family according to the national estimation of what is re ¬
quisite, would be of no value as a separate propeity. Hie
heirs accordingly either sell to each other, or sell the whole
to a stranger, and divide the proceeds. The duty of the
Sorenskriver, or district judge, consists chiefly in arrang¬
ing this kind of chancery business, and all debts and deeds
affecting property are registered with him.”
The cause which, according to Mr Laing, has prevented
excessive subdivision, is, “ that in a country where land
is held, not in tenantry merely, as in Ireland, but in full
ownership, its aggregation by the deaths of co-heirs and
by the marriages of female heirs among the body of land-
owners, will balance its subdivision by the equal succession
of children ” This is undoubtedly true, and, when taken
in connection with other facts, may sufficiently explain the
case. Mr Laing informs us that the standard of living is
high in Norway ; or that the population is much better
clothed, lodged, fed, and generally provided for, than our
labouring and middling classes in the south of Scotland.
The dwelling-houses of the meanest labourers are divided
into several apartments, and have wooden floors and a suf¬
ficient number of good windows, with some kind of out¬
house for cattle and lumber. Their food and clothing are
equally good and substantial. Now it seems quite clear
that a people habituated to such a standard of subsistence
and comfort will not only not suffer their condition to
sink indefinitely below it, but, by prudence and foresight
in the contraction of marriage and the raising of a family,
will keep down their numbers considerably within their
means of subsistence. In Norway that condition which
secures respectability to a common man, is one in which
he commands not only all the comforts, but most of the
luxuries of life, common to the country ; and the natural
desire of all mankind to keep up caste, to maintain them¬
selves in that station in which they were born, not to
decline from it, and fall, as it were, out of the ranks, will
operate as a most powerful check upon the minute subdi¬
vision of land. There are other causes in operation to
which our circumscribed limits will only admit of our ad¬
verting. These are the ancient and confirmed habits of Ktk
the people, which may be taken into account as a corol-s—i
lary of the preceding proposition; and the absence of
impediments, such as fines on alienation, or imposts of any
kind, in the way of sale or conveyance. Where such fines
exist, the difficulties of re-uniting land which has been
subdivided are great and annoying. But in Norway, when
an udalman dies, the co-heirs do not break up the estate
left to them into six or eight, or any other number of
estates, corresponding to the number of children ; which
would at once reduce the standard of living of the whole
of them below that to which they were accustomed. They
appear either to sell to each other, which is easily effected
in the absence of fines and other burdens on conveyance
of property ; or they make a joint-stock business of it, till
circumstances permit some of the members to dispose of
their shares to those who may remain, and employ the
capital in such an advantageous manner as will secure them
in that comparative independence and affluence to which
they were all their lives accustomed. The diffusion of pro¬
perty in Norway is no doubt very great, compared with its
diffusion in this country, but not as compared with Canada.
The following table will facilitate comparison:
Country.
Scotland 
Norway 
Lower Canada.
Population.
2,093,456
910,000
512,000
Proprietors.
8,961
41,656
57,891
Proportion of
Proprietors to
Population.
1 to 222
1 to 22
1 to 9
These small estates are scattered on the sides of glens,
lakes, and fiords, over a vast extent of country, and, gene¬
rally speaking, are situated at great distances from towns.
There are two classes of landholders in Norway; those
who have farms larger than they themselves can cultivate,
and those who exclusively farm their own estates. These
constitute the bulk of the population. The first are called
proprietors, a sort of conventional term, equivalent to our
esquire; the smaller landholders who work upon their own
estates are called bonder, a term, as appears, neatly equi¬
valent to feuar in Scotland. The incomes of the for-
mer seldom exceed eight hundred or nine hundred dollars,
although there are some who possess as much as three or
four thousand pounds sterling per annum. The Norwe¬
gian valleys are crov/ded with bonder farms, which are
very numerous throughout the country, and, with their
look of plenty and completeness, may compete with the
richest and most beautiful in Scotland. Mr Laing draws
a very pleasing and interesting picture of this class of peo¬
ple, whose comfort and happiness may indeed be inferred
from a short statement of facts. They are owners of their
own little estates, which produce all the necessaries of hie,
and afford a surplus for the payment of taxes and the pur¬
chase of luxuries. They have no feu-duty nor other incum¬
brance on their property, except the scot or land-tax, whicti,
although heavy, renders every thing used by a family so
much cheaper, the indirect taxes being little or nothing.
They are exceedingly well lodged, and the families hv
abundantly ; the manner of living, indeed, is pretty muc i
the same amongst all classes. Ihese, and the com or
assurance, that in case of death the udalman leaves h
wife and family provided for, are certainly calculated m
terially to promote human happiness. “ lhls tJass; ®
Mr Laing, “are the kernel of the nation. They
general fine athletic men, as their properties are no ^
large as to exempt them from work ; but large eno gh ^
afford them and their households abundance, and e
superfluity, of the best food. ,
NORWAY.
269
Besides the bonder or agricultural class, properly so
' called, who occupy all the most fertile lands in the coun¬
try “ from the shore-side to the hill foot,” whereon corn
will growr, there is another class called Fjelde bonder, who
form a connecting link, as it were, between the class above
described and the wandering Laplander. They also pos¬
sess land, and have houses, which, although small, are com¬
fortable ; but being above the level of the corn growing
country, their situation is not so favourable, nor is their con¬
dition equal to that of the other small proprietors. The
Fjelde bonder are “ the hewrers of wood and drawers of
water” in Norway; but they still possess property in cattle
as well as in land, and they are described as extremely
hardy and active, and as having more robust frames than
the agricultural bonder. There is yet another class of
the population, which is altogether distinct from any of
the preceding, consisting entirely of fishermen, whose so¬
cial condition must be considerably inferior to that of the
others.
In the provinces of Nordland and Finmark, which occupy
the northern part of Norway, beyond the river Namsen,
agriculture is but a secondary business, and fishing may
be said to occupy most of the attention of the inhabitants.
The crops of grain are too inconsiderable and precarious
to afford them the means of subsistence, and the riches of
the deep are brought in as a compensation for the poverty
of the land. The wdnter fishery in the Lofoden Islands,
from the middle of February to the middle of April, and
the summer fishery over all the coast, which in some branch
or other gives employment for the remainder of the year,
furnish the inhabitants with the means of purchasing the
necessaries which they require. The fish trade is a very
curious monopoly. It does not belong to Noway as a
whole, but is in the possession of Bergen, Drontheim, Chris-
tiansand, and one or two other towns of minor note. Those
who manage the business as merchants or shop-keepers,
are licensed burgesses of these towns ; and each has a cer¬
tain tract of coast or circle belonging to his shop or fac¬
tory, within which no other person is entitled to buy or
sell. These privileged traders pay a certain tax, and are
besides obliged to receive and entertain travellers; and
their exclusive privilege has become hereditary, attached
to the house or factory in which it may be exercised by a
duly privileged trader. The average value of the winter
fishery has been estimated at L.86,500 sterling; and as the
number of inhabitants in the two provinces is only about
80,000, the trade of Nordland and Finmark with the rest
of Norway is at the rate of little more than twenty shillings
a head. The merchants send out vessels furnished with
articles required in the country, and receive the produce
of their eight weeks’ fishery in payment. In fact, these
distant provinces are connected with the rest of the coun¬
try for just two months in the year, and that only through
a few merchants in two or three towns. During the
other ten months the trade is left entirely in the hands
0 the Russians, who feed the population, and receive in
return all that their industry produces in the fishing. The
privileged Norwegians take no more brandy, colonial pro-
uce, or such other articles as are wanted, than what is
Su £ient to pay the persons who fish for them for eight
s; their further supplies the inhabitants obtain from
ussia. Were the trade free to all the natives of Norway,
s1 is in every country where trade has flourished, there
on have been a body of Norwegian traders to and from
these
provinces, carrying on every branch in which em-
i * -—> —- * j *“5 vij cvciy ui ctiiuii in vv
ymentand profit could be found and realized. Instead
„ 1S’business is almost entirely in the hands of stran-
>an No™;ay receives little or no benefit from her own
be.r?8- £ ^le absurdity of such a monopoly it would
restriction t0 3 Para^e^ *n t^le history of commercial
The fishing business itself is conducted in a peculiar Norway,
manner. Every twenty or thirty of the fishing companies
have a yacht, or large tender, which conveys the provisions,
nets, lines, and other articles, to the Lofoden Islands, the
great scene of the Norwegian fishery, and brings back the
pioduce. I he stations are all correctly defined by marks
on the coast, and by judicious regulations confining line-
fishers to the inside, and net-fishers to the outside. In
1827, which was a medium year, there were 2916 boats
fishing in eighty-three different stations, accompanied by
124 yachts or tenders, the number of men employed being
15,324 in all. The produce was 16,456,620 fish, which
would amount to about 8800 tons dried ; there were also
21,530 barrels of cod oil, and 6000 of cod roe. When
this fishing ends, the seafaring peasantry of this part of the
country, as we have already said, are employed by the Rus¬
sians; the others return to their homes, and catch sethe
(gadus virens) or herrings. The herring fishery is very
judiciously managed; so much so, indeed, that the Nor¬
wegians have beaten the Scotch herring curers out of the
markets of the Baltic, as they deliver fish better assorted,
and of superior quality. Besides these important general
fisheries, there is in every creek of the fiords, even at a
hundred miles up from the ocean, abundance of cod, whit¬
ings, haddocks, flounders, sea-bream, and herrings, caught
for daily use and for sale by the seafaring peasantry. The
rivers and lakes are likewise well supplied with fish, which
may indeed be said to constitute the basis of a Norwe¬
gian repast.
The manufactures of Norway are too unimportant to de¬
tain us long. Wood and fish are the chief produce of theTrade and
country; and these find their way to every part of Europe, ™anufac'
chiefly in Norwegian vessels, which in return bring home ures‘
whatever foreign articles are required, at the cheapest pos¬
sible rate of freight. Ihe import duties are very moderate.
Articles which have been in use, and are not intended for
sale, as furniture, books, clothes, or household goods, are
not subject to duty. Before the importer pays his duties,
he is allowed to take his goods to his own warehouse and
shop, upon giving security for the amount of the duties as¬
certained by the custom-house officers at landing; he also
keeps an account of his sales, and pays the duty every three
months upon the quantity which appears to have been sold.
1 his must be of great advantage to the dealer in a country'
so poor as Norway, since it leaves his capital entirely free
for active employment. Coffee, sugar, tea, a little French
brandy, and French and Spanish wines, a little tobacco,
(for the Norwegians smoke less than any other continental
people), and a limited quantity of spiceries, are the princi¬
pal articles for which the house-keeper has to disburse
money. Ihe other necessaries of life are produced by
themselves. Shoes, furniture, cloths, and the like, are all
made at home. Looms are at work in every house in the
country ; carding, spinning, and weaving forming constant
occupations of the female part of the household. Wool¬
len cloth, substantial but coarse, excellent bed and table
linen, and checked or striped cotton or linen for female
apparel, are the ordinary fabrics produced. These home¬
made stuffs, including boots, gloves, and in bad weather
great-coats, clothe the greater part of the inhabitants, and
more comfortably than is the case with the lower and mid¬
dling classes of people in most other countries. The upper
ranks, or the people of condition, dress as in other parts
of Europe ; and as living and lodging are nearly on a level
amongst all the respectable classes, the peasant proprietor,
and those more wealthy than he is, this wearing of foreign
articles by the latter, and home-made stuffs by the former,
would seem to constitute a kind of conventional distinction
between them. This is not the place to speculate on the
general economy of these family manufactures; it seems,
however, to be extremely well adapted to the Norwegians,
270
NORWAY.
Norway, as they are circumstanced, both in regard to climate and
~y~—^ social relationship.
The principal articles of export are timber, bark, iron,
copper, fish, and some others. The principal articles of
import are corn, colonial produce, woollen, linen, and cot¬
ton goods, wine, brandy, &c. Salted and pickled fish, one
of the staple products of Norway, is principally exported
from Bergen. In the year 1833, there were exported from
this place, of dried fish or stock fish, 22,620,992 pounds,
and of salted and dried fish 4,802,000 pounds, ihe deals
of Christiania have always been held in the highest esti¬
mation ; a consequence of the excellence of the timber,
and of the care with which the sap-wood and other defec¬
tive parts are cut away. Like many other branches of the
trade of Norway, that of preparing wood was formerly fet¬
tered by pernicious restrictions; the saw-mills being li¬
censed to cut a certain quantity only, and the proprietors
bound to make oath that it was not exceeded. But this
absurd regulation no longer exists. British manufactured
goods are admitted into Norway on moderate duties, and
are very generally made use of. The imports from Nor¬
way were,
With regard to money, the principal silver coin in circu- N
In 1831. In 1835.
Bark for tanning and dveing... 48,131 cwts 20,04.1 cwts.
Iron    377 tons  4 tons.
Goat-skins  18,210 number.... 7,837 number.
Smalts 200,840 lbs 00,503 lbs.
Battens and batten ends  8,430 grt. hurd .. 5,415 grt. bund.
Deal and deal ends  10,457 do. do  4, > 04 do. do.
Masts, yards, and the like,.... \ 4 826 do  6?842 tl0. do.
under twelve inches )
Timber  23,527 loads 30,446 loads.
These are the principal articles; but there were some
lation (for there are none of gold) is called a species dol
lar, which is divided into one hundred and twenty skil¬
lings. There are also half species, one fifth species, one
fifteenth species, and what is denominated skillemynt or
small change, that is, four and two skilling pieces of silver,
and also one and two skilling pieces of copper. The dol¬
lar is worth three shillings and tenpence sterling at the
present rate of exchange (1837). There are, besides, notes
of one dollar, half a dollar, and twenty-four skillings, all
printed on white paper. The notes of five dollars value are
on blue paper, those of ten dollars on yellow paper, and
those of fifty on green paper. This is, we think, a very
wise and convenient arrangement.
The Norwegian finances are in a flourishing condition,Re- e.
the revenue having latterly increased considerably. The
Bank of Norway, which was founded in 1816, has its
head office in Drontheim, with branches in the princi¬
pal towns, and is under the direction of five stockholders,
with a council of fifteen representatives of the other pro¬
prietors. The transactions of this bank are conducted
upon a principle totally opposite to that of the Scotch and
other banking establishments. It is there considered as a
first principle that the bank should hold only available
securities, as bills or bonds at a short date, or payable
at a short notice, for its issues or advances. The national
bank of Norway is therefore a bank for landed property,
and discounts mercantile bills and personal securities
only as a secondary branch. Its chief business is ad¬
vancing its own notes, upon first securities over land, any
sum not exceeding two thirds of the value of the property,
according to a general valuation made in the year 1812.
The borrower pays four per cent, for what he draws, and
others, amongst which may be reckoned one million of is bound to pay also five per cent, of the principal yearly,
lobsters. The exports to Norway were,
Coffee...
Indigo...
Pepper..
Pimento.
Rum 
In 1831. In 1835.
.535,491 lbs 310,459 lbs.
 7,765 lbs 8,631 lbs.
....8,189 lbs 1,920 lbs.
....4,981 lbs 4,348 lbs.
.4,585 galls 6,248 galls.
Muscovado sugar 3,169 cwts 1,298 cwts.
Tobacco 366,024 lbs 4/5,338 lbs.
Cotton wool 83,566 lbs 39,227 lbs.
Coal 3,774 tons 5,602 tons.
Cotton cloth 434,744 yards 691,320 yards.
Earthenware L.3,402  L4,502
Cutlery L.2,648  L.3,646
Soap and candles L.2,938  L.3,302
Woollens L.13.000  L.17,229
Salt 92,150 bushels 147,057 bush.
Wheat L283 qrs.
Barley 24,471 qrs.
In some articles our trade with Norway has declined, but
the amount of British and Irish produce and manufacture
This kind of bank is exceedingly well adapted for the
wants of the country ; and their paper can scarcely be con¬
sidered as less secure than their silver. Since it com¬
menced business, discussions have more than once taken
place regarding the return of the bank to cash payments,
as it was originally agreed that after the lapse of a certain
period it should begin to pay its notes in cash. This has
not been found practicable, although the maximum has
been reduced to 125 paper dollars for 100 of silver; but
the paper dollar has for a considerable time been at 112
for 100 silver on the exchange of Hamburg. The bank
is able to provide for all its notes in silver; and the ques¬
tion recently agitated in the Storthing was, whether its
course of 125 paper for 100 silver dollars should not now
be reduced to par, 100 paper for 100 silver, which has not
been agreed upon.
The Norwegian army consists of some twelve thousand An
troops of all arms, besides which there are thirty thousand
militia enrolled. Two companies belonging to each regi¬
ment in the Norwegian service are trained to the use of
This corps, called the skielobere,
the skidor or skate. Tins corps,
Uie amount O, m.u » — ,   —      move with singular agility and speed, and, whilst skating
exported to that country has steadily increased, as the fol- along with the greatest velocity, perform their m y
lowing statement will show. Our exports were, in 1827, evolutions with uncommon precision. . Ihe army 18 a ,
L.39,129; in 1828, L.53,582 ; in 1829, L.64,234; in 1830, disposal of the king, as far as its services can be renaere
L.63,926 ; in 1831, L.58,580 ; in 1832, L.34,528; in 1833, available in Scandinavia ; it cannot, however, be sent
L.55,038 ; in 1834, L.61,998; and in 1835, L.79,278. yond the limits of the peninsula without the special pe -
Were the discriminating duty on Norwegian and Baltic mission of the Storthing. The king has the nomina^
were ine UlscriiimiauiJg uuty uli muiwegiau cum uanu; miooiwn wi  n p few
timber repealed, our commercial relations with the whole of the superior officers of the army, as well as o s0"? oj-
of the first civil officers under the government;
others rests with the Storthing. Norway is governe /
a viceroy, appointed by the king of Sweden; Christiania,
the capital of the country, being the seat of governmen •
She contributes nothing towards the expense of the
To these should be added L.27,436 received on account ish government beyond a trifling annual a^0.vv®nce
of tonnage duties, lights, and sundries. The weights and royal family; but she supports all her own civil an
measures of Norway are the same as those of Denmark, tary institutions.
north of Europe would be greatly extended. Compared
with the Swedish customs-duties, those of Norway are mo¬
derate, the import duties seldom exceeding two per cent.
ad valorem. In 1831 they amounted to L.161,840 in¬
wards, and to L.47,381 outwards, making in all L.209,221.
NORWAY. 271
j.r, In the year 1825 the population of Norway amounted to ters in counties. The elective franchise is not connected Norway.
1“-^ 967,959. According to the census of 1835, it was 1,098,291, with the place, but with the number of electors ; and ex-
being an increase of 130,332 in ten years. The town pands or contracts as they increase or diminish. Ifnum-
population of 1825 was 112,7/8, and in 1835, 125,139, bers change, the power of choosing electing men changes
being an increase of 12,361 in the same period ; and that also; and as the Storthing bears a proportion to the num-
of the country amounted in 1825 to 855,181, and in 1835 ber of electing men, the number composing the Storthing
to 973,152, being an increase in ten years of 117,971. It is likewise varies; but the variation cannot be great, indeed
quite clear, therefore, that the great bulk of the population seldom more than two or three. By this self-acting sys-
is engaged in agricultural pursuits; trade, manufactures, tern of parliamentary reform, places which increase ob-
and the other occupations employing but a very limited tain a direct voice in the making of laws, whilst such
number. The town population is confined to thirty-eight as decrease below fifty electors must join another district,
places, only nine of which have more than 3000 inhabi- The electing men, on a day fixed by law, choose their repre-
tants, and only two reach 20,000. Besides, in the whole sentatives, and the body thus elected forms the Storthing,
of these, with the single exception of Bergen, a consider- The proportions of members chosen is founded on the prin-
able proportion of the inhabitants are partially engaged in ciple, that the towns in Norway should as nearly as pos-
agriculture. During these ten years, no manufacture has sible return one third, and the country two thirds, of the
been produced fit to be exchanged for the commodities whole body, which must not consist of less than seventy-
of other countries. The staple trade in wood, which for- five, nor of more than one hundred members. Each district
merly gave employment to a large portion of the inhabi- elects as many substitutes as it elects representatives, to
tants, has latterly been in a very depressed state, from provide against death and other casualties. The Storthing
the restrictive duty already referred to. The increase of is chosen every three years, and is assembled only once in
population, therefore, has chiefly taken place amongst the three years, when it sits for three months, or until the
agricultural classes ; and the additional food raised for their business be despatched. The 1st of February is the day of
support, together with the admitted advance of the people meeting fixed by law. An extraordinary Storthing may
during these ten years, is to be attributed partly to addi- be convened by the king, but its acts must be confirmed
tional tracts of land having been taken in, and partly to by the next regular Storthing. After some preliminary busi-
improved methods of cultivating the old soil. The coun- ness, such as electing a president, speaker, and secretary,
try has unquestionably made great progress under its own the Storthing divides itself into two chambers. One fourth
peculiar legislation; and taxes have gradually been re- of its whole number is formed into a second chamber,
duced. called a Lagthing, or division, in which the deliberative
;1 The kingdom of Norway is divided into four sees or functions of the legislative body are vested. This chamber
1 3- stifts, each of which is divided into a certain number of appears to be equivalent to a house of peers, but its
districts, corresponding to its size and importance, and powers are much more confined. No bill can be introduced
these again into parishes, of which there are 336 in the there; it must come from the other house, which is called
country. The dioceses are Aggershuus, containing Christi- the Odelsthing, or house of commons. The Lagthing can
ania, the capital; Christiansand, the largest town in which only deliberate upon what is sent to it, and approve, reject,
bears the same name; Bergen, containing the large and or send back the bill with proposed amendments. It is also
important city of the same name ; and Drontheim, which the court before which, aided by the Hoieste Ret Court, an
contains the city of Drontheim, situated on the south shore independent branch of the state, the lower house may im-
of a great fiord ofjhe same name ; the northern territories peach ministers of state. As the Storthingof 1836 consisted
of ninety-six individuals, the Lagthing comprised twenty-
four members, and the Odelsthing seventy-two. Mr Laing
thus speaks of the Norwegian parliament. “ The Storthing
consists, in fact, of three houses, the Lagthing of twenty-
four members, the Odelsthing of seventy-two, and the en¬
tire Storthing consisting of the whole ninety-six united in
one house. In this latter all motions are made and dis¬
cussed ; and, if entertained, are referred to committees
to report upon to the Storthing. The report, when re¬
ceived back from a committee, is debated and voted upon ;
and if approved, a bill in terms of the report is ordered
to be brought into the Odelsthing. This house entertains
or rejects the proposed bill, frames and discusses the en¬
actments if it is not rejected in toto, and sends it up to
the Lagthing or upper house, to be deliberated upon, ap¬
proved, rejected, or amended/’ In regard to the passage
of bills through these two houses, the practice of the Nor¬
wegian parliament does not differ materially from that of
our own, except in the more limited functions of the Lag¬
thing, the king having only a suspensive veto. But if a
bill pass through three successive Storthings, it becomes
the law of the land without the royal assent. This was
exemplified in the case of the bill, already mentioned, for
the abolition of hereditary nobility. The duties of the
Storthing need not be minutely specified; they may easily
be inferred. The members are paid for their services;
and no executive officer of government can sit in either
house.
For legal purposes, the whole country is divided into jlirj:Spru.
four stifts or provinces ; and these are farther subdivideddence.
into sixty-four judicial districts, each of which last compre-
of Nordland and binmark, which goes also by the name of
Drontheim, being presumed to be in the same see. The
stifts are thus distributed. Christiansand occupies the
southern extremity of the country; Bergen and Aggers¬
huus occupy, the former the western, and the latter the
eastern sideof Norway, where it is widest, extending over
its whole breadth in that quarter, and being separated by
the great mountain chain; still farther north lies Dron¬
theim, which is succeeded by Nordland and Finmark, the
most northerly region of Norway, and of which the reader
will find some account in the article Lapland. Each
district, called a fogderie or bailiwick, is under a foged,
who has charge of the collection of taxes, police, and all
executive functions in his district. Besides this public
functionary, there are military officers, who have official re¬
sidences in the district; and the amtman, and sorenskriver
or judge ordinary. Christiania, Bergen, Drontheim, and
the other large towns in Norway, will be found described
each under its own respective head in this work.
The Norwegians enjoy more political liberty than any
other European nation. The parliament, called the Stor¬
thing, is chosen by the owners or life-renters of the land
who have attained the age of twenty-five years complete,
fhe minimum value which gives a vote is a hundred and
. ty dollars, or L.30, a value which, from the large diffu¬
sion of property, renders the suffrage nearly universal. To
render the elector himself eligible as a representative, it
is only necessary that he should be thirty years of age, have
resided ten years in Norway, and be altogether unconnect-
e vvith the state. The voters choose electing men, one to
eveiy fifty voters in towns, and one to every hundred vo-
272
NORWAY.
Norway, hends several prestigilds or parishes. To each of these di¬
visions there is a distinct tribunal, with a supreme court
of ultimate appeal for the whole kingdom, established at
Christiania. The lowest court, which is strictly one of
equity, not cf law, is the court of mutual reconcilement or
agreement held in every parish, and over which presides
a commissioner, who is elected every three years by the
householders, and holds his court once a month, receiving
a small fee. Every case or law-suit whatsoever must pass
through this preliminary court, where no lawyer or attorney
is permitted to practise. Each party states his own case ;
and if by the judgment or advice of the commissioner
the parties are brought to agree, his opinion is duly re¬
gistered in another court held in the parish, and it has all
the validity of a final decision. If, however, the litigants
are not satisfied, they carry their case to the lowest legal
court, that of the sorenskriver, or sworn writer, which is
held in every parish of every district once in every quar¬
ter. The sorenskriver’s court is ot great importance. Be¬
sides judging civil and criminal matters, it is the court ot
registration affecting property in the district, and also for
ascertaining the value of and succession to the property of
deceased persons. The court next above is the stift-amt
court, or that of the province, and is thus constituted. It
consists of three judges with assessors, is stationary in the
chief town of each province, and is the court of appeal
from all the low'er tribunals of the province, having at the
same time the revision of their administration. It must
likewise sanction their decision in criminal matters be¬
fore sentence can be pronounced. T.here is, lastly, the
Hoieste Ret Court of final appeal. It consists of seven
judges, and, by the ground law, is one of the three estates
of the constitution, being independent of the executive
and legislative branches. To this court appeals are carried
in the last resort, from the stift-amt courts, in ciiminal as
well as civil cases.
The Norwegian system of jurisprudence presents some
remarkable features, not the least important of which is
that the judge is responsible for his legal decision; and
in a case of appeal to a higher court, he must there de¬
fend his judgment, being liable in damages for a wrong de¬
cision. This principle involves a high responsibility, and
must occasion some individual annoyance, as well as ex¬
pense ; but it does not prevent able lawyers from becom¬
ing candidates for judicial functions ; and beyond all doubt
it is of great advantage to the public in giving certainty
to the law, and in preventing as well as remedying erro¬
neous decisions. The punishment of death was abolished
by the Danish government about the latter end of the
last century, a measure of questionable expediency in
this country, at least where the secondary punishments are
by no means perfect. But the punishment which is found
the most effective, and which forms one of the most dis¬
tinguishing characteristics of the country, is that of the
“ loss of honour.” From the earliest times this has been
a specific punishment in the criminal law of Norway,
standing next in degree to the loss of life. “ The pos¬
session of property,” says Mr Laing, “ naturally diffuses
through all classes the self-respect, regard for character
and public opinion, circumspection of conduct, and consi¬
deration for others, which flow from and are connected
with the possession of property, and render these influen¬
tial on the morals, manners, and mode of thinking of the
whole body of the people.” There is and has always been
much more of the real business of the country in the hands
of the people of Norway, and transacted by themselves,
than is possessed by the inhabitants of any other European
nation. Now, as the “ loss of honour” involves exclusion
from all the functions which naturally devolve upon them,
the punishment is very severely felt, and looked upon, even
by the humblest peasant, with the greatest dread. Imprison¬
ment is regarded by the great bulk of the population as E
li°"ht compared with the sentence of dishonour; and the^
prevalence of such a high tone of feeling regarding a check
to crime, which in other countries is altogether ineffectual,
is a phenomenon in social polity highly to the credit of
the Norwegians. .
The Norwegian church is in principle and doctrine Lu-C;,]
theran, and remains as it was originally moulded after the
subversion of the ancient faith, unaltered by the spirit of in¬
novation, and unviolated by the hand of power. It is essen¬
tially ceremonial, almost as much so as the Roman Catho¬
lic. The altar is decorated with crosses and images, and
the priest, arrayed in embroidered robes of velvet, celebrates
high mass under that name. Io maintain the ceremonial
with decent splendour, as well as to support the clergy¬
man in a respectable manner, it is necessary that the pa¬
rishes should be of considerable size. Iheie are in Nor¬
way 336 prestigilds or parishes; and many of these are
exceedingly large, extending in some parts from the sea-
coast to the Swedish frontier, and containing from 5000 to
10,000 inhabitants. This is certainly a low provision for
religious instruction; but the people, generally speaking,
are scattered all over the country, not clustered in towns
and villages; and although individually they are not af¬
fluent, they are at least respectable, notwithstanding that
as a whole they' are poor. Under such circumstances, pa¬
rishes must necessarily be large. There are five bishoprics
in Norway, each of which has in it a suitable number of in¬
ferior clergymen. The patronage is in the hands of the five
bishops and the Norwegian council of state, acommittee of
which has charge of all the affairs of the church. By ju¬
dicious arrangements the abuse of patronage is prev ented.
Amongst the regular clergy there is one who has the su¬
perintendence over the concerns of four or five of the ad¬
joining parishes; and the state of the church-property
buildings, and the manner in which clerical duties are dis¬
charged, come under his cognizance. He communicates
with the bishop of the diocese, and has a small allowance
for performing these services, as dean or probst. Ihis ap¬
pears to be the only dignity in the church, with the ex¬
ception of that of bishop. The incomes of the clergy are
derived from tithes, commuted into a payment of grain,
glebe farms, one of which the widow has for her life, of¬
ferings, and dues. These incomes in country parishes vary
from 800 to 1600 dollars; but in large towns, or thickly
settled parishes, they are higher. The bishops, says Mr
Laing, have about four thousand dollars each. In propor¬
tion to the other professional classes in the country, the
clergy are well paid, and the church has always been the
first profession to which talent is naturally directed. Ihe
clergy are laborious and zealous in the discharge of their
duty, the church service forming the smallest part of it.
They have school examinations, Sunday schools, and other
institutions for the promulgation of Christian knowledge.
Mr Laing’s impression is, that the Norwegian clergy are a
highly educated body of men, being all acquainted witn
the literature of Europe, and some of them celebrated tor
their classical attainments. It is a peculiar characteristic
of the Norwegian church, that there is no dissent from it;
there are no sectarians in the country. This arises party
from the church having no temporal power, no polltica ex¬
istence as a part of the state, no interests jarring with thos
of the other members of the community. In political rig
and privileges the clergy are on a footing with the res o
the inhabitants, and are represented in the Storthing, i
other citizens. The Lutheran religion is part of the s >
but not the ministers who teach it. One chief cause o
influence of the ministers of religion, and the absence
dissent, is the high consideration in which the rig
confirmation is held. The person who has passed th
deal is regarded as having received a moral as wen
NORWAY.
273
or
r. religious diploma, which capacitates him for an office of
trust and responsibility. In connection with religion, we
may mention the singular fact, that Bibles are remarkably
scarce. Mr Laing could not obtain a copy of the Old or
New Testament from the only bookseller in Drontheim,
which contains 12,000 inhabitants, nor from the book-
dealers at the fair of Levangor. The reason assigned for
this remarkable deficiency in the sacred writings in a
country attentive to religion, and sufficiently supplied with
the catechism and the book of common prayer as used in
the Norwegian church, is, that the Bible Society of Lon¬
don at one time sent over a great supply, and drove the
regular dealers from the market by underselling them.
In consequence of this they are now afraid to speculate
in such a precarious stock.
Education is very generally diffused ; but the standard
of excellence is rather low, reading and writing constitut¬
ing nearly the whole. It is provided for in the country
parishes by an arrangement similar to that of Scotland.
There are parochial schoolmasters, of whom some have
fixed residences, and others live for one half of the year in
one place, and for the other half in another. A small tax is
levied from each householder, and every adult pays a small
personal fee. There is a considerable degree of intelligence
evinced in some of these communities; but the schools
are too widely scattered over a thinly peopled country to
be equally beneficial to all. It may be mentioned, that
the clergy pay particular attention to the diffusion of edu¬
cation. The higher department of university education at
Christiania is exceedingly expensive ; and, besides, there
is not such a demand for educated men in the medical,
legal, and commercial professions, as in more densely-peo¬
pled and commercial countries, the tendency of which un¬
doubtedly is to raise the standard of intellectual proficien¬
cy amongst all classes of the community. Those belong¬
ing to the learned professions are not numerous, because
the demand is not great, and the supply is adjusted ac ¬
cordingly. The restrictions on the free exercise of trade
and industry also operate with great force in depressing
general education. Before a person can enter upon any
medical or legal employment, before he can manufacture,
buy, or sell as a merchant, he must obtain peculiar privi¬
leges from a corporate body. “ As the expense of prepa¬
ration,” says Mr Laing, “ and the small number of prizes
to be obtained, place the higher and learned professions
out of the reach of the main body of the people, as objects
of rational ambition, for which they might endeavour to
bestow superior education upon their children, so the re¬
strictions and monopoly system shut them out from vari¬
ous paths and employments for which ingenuity, with or¬
dinary useful education, might qualify them.’’ With such
a legislature as Norway possesses, it is to be hoped that
these fetters upon the industry and intelligence of the
country will not be allowed to remain much longer unre¬
moved.
is. From the general diffusion of periodical publications, Mr
Eaing is Jed to infer that the Norwegians are a reading peo¬
ple. What is of great importance to the community is, that
the press is by law perfectly free. There is no duty on news¬
papers, of which upwards of twenty are published ; seven or
eight in Christiania alone, and all in extensive circulation.
very little town has its local newspaper; and from the
importance attached to local subjects there discussed, the
u k of the community are the purchasers, not the educat-
e ew. In type and paper they are superior to the French
or erman papers, and much ability is shown in conducting
Rq^ivr newsPapers as the American people read,”
Ys r Laing, “ would not find readers in this country.”
ere is no scurrility nor personal abuse displayed by those
sinn Wr.lte in t^em ; yet the most entire freedom of discus-
exists, public men and public measures being handled
VOL. XVI. °
freely but decorously, and with a strict eye to the general Norway,
good. There is no tax upon advertisements ; and a mea- v-*l,'
sure to allow all periodical publications to be transmitted
free of postage was lately negatived, only because the re¬
venue of the post-office had been appropriated to certain
specific purposes for the three years next ensuing. Some
newspapers which are supposed to be particularly favour¬
able to government are allowed by royal favour to pass free
of postage at present, and no doubt is entertained that ere
long all will be placed upon the same footing. A number
of periodical and occasional works besides newspapers are
published. There are two weekly magazines in great cir¬
culation ; several monthly journals devoted to literature,
antiquarian, agricultural, and military subjects ; and in al¬
most every newspaper there is the announcement of some
new work or translation. Yet the literature which ought
strictly to be considered as Norwegian is not yet of a very
high order compared with that of other countries. But
the mind of the country is advancing, and literature, which
is young in Norway, will advance along with it.
The inhabitants of Norway are very polite in their man- Manners
ners, as well to each other as to strangers. They are and cus-
partial to theatrical representations, so that the drama holdstoms*
a high place in their estimation ; and, besides the public
theatres, there are societies of amateur performers in all
the larger towns, and even in some of the villages. In
music, dancing, and dress, the Norwegian females are by no
means deficient. They have pleasing voices, and in every
family of every station singing and dancing are constantly
practised in the long winter evenings. Music is taught in
the country by the organist attached to each parish. In
the winter regular fairs are held, at which Swedes and
Laplanders attend for disposing of goods. Christmas is
kept in great style, and there are other festivals and vari¬
ous amusements which serve to relieve the tedium of winter
and spring. The 17th of May, also, being the anniversary
of their independence, is celebrated both at home and
abroad by every Norwegian, and with marked propriety.
Mr Laing gives a favourable account of the state of mo¬
rals in Norway ; but, without impugning so high an autho¬
rity, if we are to take bastardy as a test, the statement is
not borne out by the facts. The proportion of illegitimate
to legitimate children is as one to five, which is as high as
in London or Paris. But the evils entailed upon society by
illegitimacy are partially alleviated by the state of the law
in respect to this. Children are not only rendered legiti¬
mate by the subsequent marriage of the parents, as in
Scotland, but the father, previously to his contracting a
marriage with another party, may, by a particular act, le¬
gitimize them. The Norwegians are at all events a very
hospitable, honest, industrious, and peaceable people.
The government of Norway, aware of the value and im- pubiic im_
portance of steam navigation, is making great and judici- prove-
ous exertions to promote it. This is a country where it is menta.
calculated to produce its greatest benefits, from the man¬
ner in which the peninsula is traversed by long arms of
the sea, penetrating sometimes to its very centre. Steam-
vessels are now seen plying on these fiords; they are com¬
manded by naval officers; the fares are moderate ; and in
all that regards thecomfort of passengers they rival ourown.
Roads and bridges are kept in a state of excellent order;
a circumstance likely to happen in a country of proprie¬
tors, whose common interest it is to keep them in repair.
There are no tolls in Norway ; the principle of the farm¬
ers and others is to work in concert, and to keep up esta¬
blishments for the common benefit.
The worst feature, perhaps the only thoroughly bad one,
in the institutions of Norway, is, that the trade is not free.
Each trade is monopolized by a sort of guild or fraternity,
by which even country dealers are licensed. The perni¬
cious eftects of such a system we have sufficiently shown
2 M
274
NOR
NOR
Norwich, when treating of the fisheries; and we shall close our ac¬
count of this interesting country with the following observa¬
tions, extracted from a work of great authority on such
subjects:
“ The principle of equal partition of land among all the
children, retained in Norway from the earliest period, pre¬
vailed also in England before the conquest. A relic of it
remains in the law of gavelkind, still existing in Kent.
The different effects produced on society by the retention
of that law in the one country, and its general disuse in
the other, are remarkable. In Norway, chiefly by its ope¬
ration, a high standard of sufficiency has been preserved
among the middle and labouring classes. Population has
been prevented from increasing too rapidly by the fear
which people have of falling below the general standard.
There has, therefore, been a continual prevalence and dif¬
fusion of ease and well-being. But, on account of the ab¬
sence of great inequalities of condition, and therefore of
many of the usual stimulants to exertion, society has been
kept at a low level. Great social freedom has indeed al¬
ways existed, in consequence of the land being in the
hands of the mass of the people ; but there has been a
want of ability, until a very recent period, to combine for
the preservation of their political independence. During
their earlier history, their political liberties were often
variable and uncertain. After the union of their crown
with that of Denmark in 1380, it appears that the Danish
nobility gradually encroached upon their privileges; for >?j
when, in 1660, the crown and the people combined against ^
the nobility, and abolished the states in Denmark, a simi¬
lar revolution also took place in Norway ; and that coun¬
try continued under absolute government until the estab¬
lishment of its constitution in 1814. Their udal laws
trained them in the management of their own affairs, and
produced that feeling of self-respect which the possession
of property, and of land in particular, is calculated to give.
These, together with the civil institutions preserved or in¬
troduced whilst they were under the Danish crown, pre¬
pared them for the large measure of freedom to which they
have now attained. The evil of their udal system is its
tendency to obstruct the development of intellect, and to
keep society stationary. But since 1814 they have made
great progress. Stimulants to mental activity are now no
longer wanting. Their continual collision with Sweden,
the problem of their internal restrictions on trade and com¬
merce, the routine of their government, and the wholesome
struggles always arising in a free state, will supply them.
Their land will become more productive, by the applica¬
tion of science to its cultivation ; their trade will also be
expanded. If we open our ports to their timber, which we
may one day see accomplished, their wealth will increase.
And, according to the experience of the last twenty years,
wealth will not materially disturb the peculiarities of their
social system.”1 B* R< R*
r NORWICH, a city of England, the capital of the coun¬
ty of Norfolk. No historical notices of the place are to be
found during the period of the Roman government in this
island. Its origin was during the Saxon heptarchy, when’
in 446, a castle was first erected, on an elevation surrounded
by water and marshes, which having become drained by na¬
tural, aided by some artificial means, gradually served as the
site of the present city ; its progress was slow, till Una, one
of the kings of the East Angles, built a more solid castle
in 575; and, the habitations having increased, it became
the capital of the kingdom of the East Angles, which then
comprehended the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, and Gam-
It was captured by the Danes about an hundred yeais
afterwards, and during the two succeeding centuries was
often lost and won by that people, till Alfred the Gieat, in
872, had subdued those erratic conquerors, when he greatly
improved the fortifications of the castle, which, having been
originally of earth, he rebuilt with brick. In the reign of
Ethelred, the Danes, under their king Swayne, again seiz¬
ed upon Norwich in 1003 ; but being expelled by Ethel-
red the next year, the city was left in a most desolate
condition till 1011, when Swayne again returned, captur¬
ed the castle, rebuilt the fortifications of the town, and
conferred the government of it on one of his commanders,
named Turkel or Turketel, who seems to have maintained
himself in that post many years, and, notwithstanding
occasional hostilities between the Danes and the Angles,
to have contributed greatly to the advancement of the
place, which was then constituted a borough. After the
final expulsion of the Danes, in the latter part of the tenth
century, the town increased with rapidity; much of the
marshy ground was drained and built upon ; and the first
churches of stone were erected, some of which exist at the
present time. Norwich had been created an earldom by
Edward the Confessor in 1049; and in the reign of Wil¬
liam Rufus the episcopal see was removed from Thetford,
in 1094, when it became a city, but only received a char¬
ndti
ter of incorporation in the reign of Henry L, in the year
1100. The chief officer was then denominated propositus
or provost; but in 1152, by another charter, extended still
further in 1189, the title of mayor was given, and the right
of the citizens to elect that officer was conferred upon
them.
This city was the residence of several of our monarchs
at some periods during the reigns of John, of Henry III.,
and of Edward I.; and the cathedral having been finished
in the year 1278, the latter sovereign assisted at the so¬
lemn ceremony of its consecration.
In the year 1336 the foundation of manufactures was
laid in Norwich by a colony of Dutch and tlemish weavers,
who had been driven from their own country by a great in¬
undation. The goods they made were from woollen yarn,
the best spinning of which was executed first at the town
of Worsted in this county, and by the name of which
thread made of wool has ever since been distinguished.
By this manufacture the city rapidly attained a degree of
opulence before unknown, and the traces of which have
continued to the present day.
King Henry III., with his Queen, Philippa, visited the
city, when a grand tournament was exhibited; and they
repeated their visit two years afterwards, when a new char¬
ter was granted, which extended the powers and privileges
of the citizens. In 1348 the city was afflicted with that
dreadful visitation known as the plague, from which, it is
said, more than 57,000 persons were carried off in seven
months. Before that calamity the city is said to have con¬
tained 70,000 inhabitants, having sixty-nine parish churches,
and eight religious houses. But it must soon have reco¬
vered from this visitation, as it is related that, two years
afterwards, a grand tournament was held, at which Edwar
the Black Prince was present, for whose entertainment t e
citizens provided a magnificent banquet, at the expense o
thirty-seven pounds four shillings and sixpence. _
In the year 1422 the doctrines of the reformation mane
their appearance in Norwich, and several persons were
s
1 Edinburgh Review, No. cxxxi. p. 60.
■PIP ...
NORWICH.
P
i. executed as Wickliffites, or, as they were then called, Lol¬
lards ; and during the early part of the reign of Henry
VII., between 1422 and 1448, many suffered severe whip¬
ping and other punishments, upon suspicion of entertaining
the new opinions. These persecutions were continued at
intervals till the reign of Edward VI., when, in the year
1538, the Protestant system being established by law, all the
images in the cathedral and the parish churches were de¬
stroyed, and the different orders of friars and nuns in the
religious houses were suppressed. On Trinity Sunday in
that year the prior and monks in the cathedral changed
their dresses for the habits of deans, prebends, and canons,
and the Protestant worship was celebrated in it, and in all
the parish churches within the city.
In 1549 this city was the theatre of a tumultuous insurrec¬
tion, resembling that of the Jacquerie in France, and the
peasants’ war in Germany. It was at first an insurrection of
the rural population, on complaints respecting the enclo¬
sure of common fields. As soon as numbers had been col¬
lected, they chose as their leaders two brothers of the
name of Kett, one a tanner, the other a butcher; and on
the 7th of July their numbers amounted to 16,000 men.
They surrounded the city, and from thence increased their
numbers to more than 20,000. Having established them¬
selves near the city, the Kelts proclaimed themselves the
king’s deputies, and established a pretended court of judi¬
cature under a spreading tree, which they called the Oak
of Reformation. Many gentlemen and clergymen were
made prisoners by this rabble, and treated with the most
barbarous cruelty. They made several attempts to force
their way into the city, and succeeded in making some pro¬
gress towards its reduction ; but being repulsed, they, on
their retreat, set fire to the houses in several places, so that
some streets were consumed, and the whole city would
probably have been rendered a heap of ruins, if an unusual¬
ly heavy fall of rain had not checked the farther exten¬
sion of the conflagration.
Whilst the insurgents still continued the siege, they were
quarrelling amongst themselves, and committing the most
atrocious acts of violence on the surrounding country, as
well as on the persons of the gentry who were so unfortunate
as to fall into their hands. They at length became masters
of the city, though a small body of forces under the Mar¬
quis of Northampton had been sent to defend it. At length
a more powerful body, commanded by the Earl of War¬
wick, made its appearance before Norwich. The first ef¬
forts of the royal troops were unsuccessful, and the rebels
obtained possession of the artillery and ammunition of the
Earl of Warwick, but were too ignorant of their use to im¬
prove the advantage they had gained. New troops were
brought to the royal army, w hen a bloody attack, in which
3500 of the rebels were killed, decided the contest. A ge¬
neral pardon was proclaimed to all but the leaders, who
were soon seized, and tried for rebellion ; some were exe¬
cuted on the spot, but the Ketts were conveyed to Lon¬
don, and there convicted, but at length sent back to the
place where their guilt had been incurred, and executed
with great cruelty.
From the extinction of this rebellion, which, as before
stated, commenced on the 7th of July, and was terminated
on the 29th of August, the history of this city has nothing
so peculiar as to make it an object of attention distinct from
the general history of England.
Norwich is partly built upon a plain on the banks of the
Wensum, a branch of the river Yare, which has been from
time immemorial navigable for barges to its entrance into
he sea at Yarmouth. Of late years a project has been
executed for rendering this city accessible to vessels of
considerable burden direct from the sea. This has been
done by forming a canal ending in the lake, or, as it is
provincially called, the Broad of Loathing, whence, by some
275
excellently-constructed flood-gates, an opening into the sea Norwich,
at Lowestoft has been completed.
1 he city, built on the very gentle acclivity of a hill, is
distinguished by one peculiarly striking feature ; a large
sugar-loaf hill of considerable elevation, which (whether
formed by nature or by art, has been frequently a subject
of dispute) stands in its centre. On the summit of that
hill, towards the south-west, stood the ancient castle, of
very remote but doubtful origin, though tradition, as be¬
fore stated, has ascribed it to a king of the East Angles,
who reigned about the year 575. It long continued strong¬
ly fortified, and, till more peaceful times have made such
objects of less importance, served as the means of either
protecting or overawing the city. Great alterations have
been made on the level at the top of the castle hill at va¬
rious periods; and, finally, since the year 1793, it is occupied
with a pile of buildings as nearly resembling the architec¬
ture of the old castle as could be adapted to the purposes
for which it is now used. Though the outside has a heavy
and indeed gloomy appearance, the interior is appropriated
with great judgment and taste as a county jail, a county
hall, and an apartment for holding general county meet¬
ings.
_ As this castle hill covers a large space, and as the streets
either converge from or wind round it, those in the vici¬
nity, which are the scenes of the greatest activity, are both
narrow and crooked, and have rather a gloomy appearance.
This is indeed in some measure relieved by an extensive
market-place, a large open oblong square, said to be the
finest in England. Ihis market is most abundantly sup¬
plied with provisions of all kinds, and of the best descrip¬
tion, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The spots for the dif¬
ferent articles are kept separated into those for meat, for
fish, for vegetables, and for poultry, butter, eggs, &c. The
houses which surround the market-place are lofty and ele¬
gant, many of them have been recently new-fronted, and
some rebuilt, and most of them are occupied by well-em¬
bellished shops. In the front of these shops, what is called
the Gentleman’s Walk was the first part of the city paved
with flag-stones, and was long the chief promenade in the
city.
At the northern corner of the market stands the guild¬
hall, an ancient and large building constructed of black
flint, with cornices, window-frames, and battlements of
Portland stone. The assizes for the city and the county
of the city are held in an appropriate apartment of this
edifice, as well as the elections of members of parliament
and other elective functionaries. The upper part of the
building is a room supported by fluted pillars of the Co¬
rinthian order, designed for the justices of the peace of the
city, having the mayor’s council-chamber within it, with a
large and two small windows of beautiful stained glass. It
is adorned with portraits of former distinguished members
of the corporation, and more especially by a naval trophy
presented by Lord Nelson, containing, in a glass case, the
sword of the Spanish admiral, delivered up to that hero at
the great victory gained near Cape St Vincent on the 14th
of February 1797.
St Andrew s Hall, a public building, chiefly used for the
social meetings of the corporation, or other public bodies,
is an ancient foundation ; but in its present state it is a re¬
gular and beautiful structure, consisting of a nave and two
side aisles, more than fifty yards in length and thirty in
breadth. It is adorned with some portraits of former ma¬
gistrates by eminent artists, set in elegant frames, carved
with great labour, and highly gilded. Under the gallery,
at the west end, is suspended the ensign of the French
ship Genereux, presented by Sir Edward Berry, the brave
captain of the Foudroyant, in the year 1800. Amongst the
paintings in the edifice is a fine full-length of Lord Nelson,
and two historical pictures by Martin, a native of the city ;
276
NORWICH.
Norwich, one representing the story of Edward and Elenora, the
' other the execution of Lady Jane Grey. The Dutch con¬
gregation have the right of assembling here on Sunday for
public worship.
The most prominent public edifices in this city are those
for ecclesiastical purposes. The first of them is the cathedral,
a venerable pile, one of the finest remains of Saxon architec¬
ture in this country. This building was originally erected
under a Bishop Herbert, in the year 1069; and it has un¬
dergone various alterations and improvements at subsequent
periods up to the present time. It is 400 feet in length, from
the entrance door at the west to the east end. Ihe west
front is handsome and uniform ; and the upper part is orna¬
mented with four turrets of stone-work, and one large and
twm small doors. Over the centre door is a large Gothic
window, extending the whole breadth and depth of the
nave. The two transepts extend in length about 180 feet
from north to south. The north front is ornamented with
two pinnacles of stone, and over the middle door is a
carved figure of Bishop Herbert, the founder. The south
front has likewise two pinnacles of stone, between which,
in the pediment of the roof, is a handsome dial. The in¬
terior, on entering the west front, exhibits a very pleasing
appearance, arising from the uniformity and the neatness
of the building, having a space of 204 feet to the entrance
of the choir, which is fifty-four feet wide and seventy in
height. The roof is of stone, supported by two rows of
massive pillars, and is curiously arched, and carved full of
small figures representing many passages of history from the
Old and the New Testament. These figures are in a state
of good preservation, although they have existed ever since
the year 1463. The roofs of the north and south tran¬
septs also exhibit the same kind of curious workmanship.
The whole of the roofs are highly esteemed by the curious,
and it is said they are the only carvings of this kind that
have existed so long, and been so perfectly preserved. The
roof of the chancel is eighty-four feet high, and the arch'is
and carved figures in it are very curious. The choir is spa¬
cious and beautiful; the stalls of the dean, of the vice¬
dean, archdeacons, prebendaries, and canons, as well as the
bishop’s throne and the chancellor’s seat, are of Gothic
carved work; and near them a temporary pulpit is placed for
the weekly preacher. At the east end of the choir are four
painted windows, the lowest representing the transfigura¬
tion, and the other some of the apostles, evangelists, and
prophets. In the body of the cathedral are a number of
monuments to the memory of distinguished ecclesiastics
who have filled the different offices connected with this
church. The tower rises in the centre of the building, at
the meeting of the four roofs. The ceiling is there 100
feet in height, and the tower rises 140 feet above that.
The outside is adorned with curious Gothic carved work,
and is crowned with a battlement and four small spires.
From the battlement a spire rises sixty-four feet, thus
making the cross and weathercock at the apex 306 feet
from the ground. From the low spot upon which it stands,
it is not, however, a conspicuous object at a distance.
The cloisters adjoining to the cathedral excite much at¬
tention. It consists of the largest and most beautiful
quadrangle in England, and was built in the year 1279. It
is about 174 feet square, each of the four sides being
twelve feet wide ; the arches are Gothic, and the windows
were once furnished with painted glass. The roof is full
of historical figures, the subjects being taken from the
gospel, the Revelations, and ecclesiastical history ; and it is
upwards of fifteen feet in height. At the south-west cor¬
ner are two lavatories, ornamented with curiously carved
work, representing the inveterate antipathy borne by the
monks towards the secular clergy. The roofs contain no
less than 418 historical figures.
The bishop’s palace is a vast pile of building, very an¬
tique, but modernised in some degree at subsequent, and
in the greatest degree in comparatively modern times.'
The principal entrance is through a large and ancient
gateway, with an ornamented Gothic arch. The only ob¬
ject within deserving of notice is the chapel, a neat an'
spacious edifice of white stone, most neatly fitted up. Tho
whole precinct of the cathedral is surrounded with a lofty
stone wall, except on the eastern side, where it is bounded
by the river.
The parish churches are more numerous here than in any
other place in England, excepting the metropolis. Few
of them deserve notice ; some of them are small, and se¬
veral of them but a few years ago were covered with
thatch. The whole number is thirty-eight. One of the
oldest, and by far the largest, is that of St Peter’s Mancroft.
It is a fine building, 180 feet in length and sixty feet in
height, with north and south aisles each 120 feet long. The
inside is much admired for the lightness of its construction,
the slenderness of its pillars, and the number and size of
its windows. It contains many, and some remarkably fine,
monuments. In the tower is a ring of twelve musical
bells put up by a voluntary subscription of the parishioners
in 1775. They vary regularly in weight from six hundred¬
weights three quarters five pounds, to forty-one hundred¬
weights one quarter four pounds, weighing together nine
tons four hundredweights twenty-four pounds. They are
highly harmonious, and are commonly rung on festivals and
holidays.
Besides these numerous churches, there are places of
worship for two foreign congregations of Protestants, two
Roman Catholic chapels, two Quakers’ meeting-houses,
and chapels for each grade of dissenters from the Socinians
to the Huntingtonians.
The city is well supplied with benevolent institutions
for the relief of distress. Bethel Hospital, for lunatics, is
endowed; St Giles Hospital, an ancient establishment,pro¬
vides for a hundred poor, equally divided between males
and females; Doughty’s Hospital, from the name of the
founder, supports twenty-four aged men and eight women;
the Girls’ Hospital, united with the Boys’ Hospital, and with
an altered establishment, providesfora large number of both
sexes, both in clothing and in maintenance ; the Infirmary
is supported chiefly by parochial assessments; the Asylum
for Indigent Blind was opened in 1805, by the beneficence
of an individual, and the aid of voluntary contributions;
Cook’s Hospital provides for ten aged females; and the Nor¬
wich Dispensary, founded in 1804, provides the poor with
medicine and medical advice gratis. The voluntary asso¬
ciations for purposes of beneficence are the following, be¬
sides some of a private nature, viz. the Humane Society, for
recovering persons apparently drowned ; the Friendly So¬
ciety, for the benefit of women in old age or sickness, ad¬
ministered by ladies, who distribute a large sum annually;
the Friars’ Society, w'hich dispenses to the industrious poor
the charity for clergymen’s widows ; the Benevolent Asso
ciation, which has for its object the relief of decayed trades¬
men ; the Norfolk Benevolent Medical Society, and the
Amicable Society of Attorneys, which relieve the distress¬
ed members and families of their respective professions;
and the Society of Good-Will, which aids those who are
not entitled to any parochial relief. ,
Amongst charities for educating the poor, the St Georges
Company, an old institution of the year 1700, must be
noticed. It is chiefly supported by voluntary contribu¬
tions, and educates some hundred boys and girls, who at¬
tend public worship in six parish churches. Almost every
one of the various dissenting congregations has either Sun¬
day or daily schools attached to their respective places o
divine service. ,
One establishment, although supported by and extenue
to the whole county of Norfolk, is the County Hospital, wit
NOR
| ch. out St Stephen’s gate, erected in 1772, but enlarged at a
subsequent period. A great number of patients are con¬
tinually admitted and relieved by this excellent institution.
The most eminent medical men attend daily, and the hos¬
pital is at all times open for accidental cases.
For objects of amusement, Norwich has an assembly-
room, a neat building, erected in 1756 ; and a theatre, con¬
sidered as one of the most complete in the kingdom out of
London, in which a company perform a few months in every
NOS
year.
The population of Norwich in 1801 amounted to 35,252,
in 1811 to 35,338, in 1821 to 50,190, and in 1831 to
61,110. But there are portions of some of the parishes be¬
yond the boundaries of the city, though forming part of the
suburbs. Ihus, in 1831, the parish of Hellesdon contained
sixty-one inhabitants beyond the city boundaries, St James’
had 1669, and Thorpe had 940; thus making the popula¬
tion at that period amount to 63,770. As the increase up to
the present time lias been as great as in the preceding ten
years, the population at the present time, 1837, must ex¬
ceed 70,000 persons.
Norwich has been the seat of manufacturing industry
from a very early period, the commencement of which has
been remarked in the historical notices of this article. The
long disturbances in the Netherlands, and the persecutions
under the Duke of Alva in particular, produced immigra¬
tions from thence in greater number, and much more im¬
portant, than those which had preceded that period; and
the immigrants received the greatest protection from the
government of Queen Elizabeth. The goods fabricated by
these people were chiefly of wool; but some were made
from flax and from hemp. The woollens received appro¬
priate names, the exact significations of which are now
nearly lost. Soon afterwards a peculiar fabric was pro-
duced, from a mixture of silk or of mohair with the wool.
Inis gave a great impulse to the trade, and produced a con¬
siderable demand for the great markets of Frankfort, Leip¬
zig, and others in the north, and for Spain, Portugal, and
Italy in the south. At the beginning of the eighteenth
century, about the year 1720, this trade was at its zenith.
Almost the whole female population of Norfolk and Suffolk
was employed at the spinning wheel; and though 50,000
tons of wool were used, it was found necessary to draw
supplies of yarn from other districts. The establishment
| of manufactures in Yorkshire, where coals, provisions, and
labour were cheaper than in Norfolk, gave a heavy blow to
the trade of the city; which would have been more se¬
verely felt, but for the fluctuations of fashion having creat¬
ed a greater demand for bombazines, an article which had
been early made there, but had at first languished. The
lorkslure workmen, and the substitution of machinery for
emale hands, reduced the making of the ancient kinds of
goods to a low point; and that was chiefly maintained by
^d’a 9®mpany purchasing annually a very large
quantity of camblets for the China market. During the
cbnpH /m"1 1700 t0 1800’ the P°Pulation of Norwich de-
man, f. f t0Wardj t,le end of tlie century, when some new
manuiactu ^ a great revivaI in the bombazine trad
incrp^1 !™PuIse» t^le effect of which has continued with
the S f°rce ,t0 the Presenf day- The introduction of
sent V manufact°ry> one of the chief causes of the pre-
turv ProsPer‘ty> took pJace about the end of the last cen-
mnst’e.i r i abric has gradually improved till it has al-
nishinff m ^v! r'110.16 trade of the kingdom, besides fur-
the makh,UC1/°i!' f°ueign markets- Besides this trade, and
produced °i bo"!bazines’ there are some of silk goods
finer, Ju d Ta er manufactures of cotton and hempen
market fr^fu1'"8 18 a considerable trade; and the corn
Yarmouth O' r easy c?nnection with London through
the kingdomr r^810 F’ 1SK onf of’J;he most extensive in
b tom. It appears by the official returns of 1831,
that there were in the city 3752 males above twenty years
of age employed in manufactures. According to the re¬
turns of the same year, the whole number of the families
within the city was 15,572, of whom 9174 were chiefly em¬
ployed in trade, manufactures, and handicraft; 509 in
agriculture; and 4889 not comprised in either of the two
preceding classes.
I he relative extent of trade in different towns may be in
some measure determined by the amount of the postage of
letters collected in them. In this view, Norfolk stands
the ninth m the list of English towns, being next after
London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham,
Leeds, Hull, and Sheffield ; and the sum collected having
amounted in the year 1836 to L.9557. 10s. 3d.
I he corporation of Norwich, before the municipal reform
aw was enacted, consisted of a mayor, a recorder, two she¬
riffs, twenty-four aldermen, and sixty common-council men;
j at ^aW- *nstead P°ur wards, as formerly, it is now
divided into eight, and has sixteen aldermen and forty-
eight common-council men, chosen by the inhabitants,
and justices of the peace and a recorder nominated by
the crown. This city, as before, returns two members to
the House of Commons, chosen by a very numerous body
ot resident electors, comprising, besides the ten-pounds
householders, many hundreds of freemen. The title of
Earl of Norwich was conferred upon the Scotch Duke of
Cordon; but that title, as well as the dukedom, is now ex¬
tinct.
NOSE, the organ of smell. See Anatomy. The uses
of the nose are, exciting in us the sense of smelling and
serving in the great office of respiration, as well as m mo¬
delling the voice, receiving the abundant humours from the
eyes, and adding to the beauty of the face. The nose was
by the augurs particularly attended to in forming coniec-
tures concerning future good or ill success. The tingling of
the right or left nostril, for instance, was thought to indicate
ifferent things, as it happened to different sexes, or to per¬
sons in different conditions. *
NOSOLOGY is a Greek word signifying a discourse
oi treatise of diseases, otherwise called pathology. The
importance of a comprehensive and accurate nosology has
been long and generally allowed. Baglivi, Boerhaave,
Corter, Gaubius, and Sydenham, have expressed their de¬
sire for a work of this kind, the great object of which should
be to bx the pathognomonics of every disease, or to dispose
af diseases into certain classes, orders, and genera, found¬
ed on distinctions taken from the symptoms only, without
regard to remote or proximate causes.
NOSIOCH, Shot Stars; tremella nost.ee (Lin. Spec.
Plant.; Dillenms, de Muscis, tab. 10, fig. 14; Flor. Danica
tab. 885, fig. 1); tremella intestinulis vel mesenterica (Lin’
Spec. Plant.; Dillen. de Mas. tab. 10, fig. 16 ; Flor. Panic
tab. 885, fig. 2). The substance in question is not un-
frequent in Lngiand, and in other parts of Europe, after
rains, both in spring and autumn. Very large spots of it are
seen m gravelly soils, and particularly on the tops of hills
and on open downs, and it is often found on gravel walks.
It is met with m some of the old authors, under the name
of nostoch, as in Paracelsus and others; and the alchemists
fancied there was something wonderful in it, and that it
would afford a menstruum for gold. Nostoch is said to be
a word synonymous with Jaculum alicujus stellce, vel po-
tius ejus repurgatione dejectum quid in terram, flos aens,
fragmentum. nimbi; as this substance was believed to fall
from the sky, along with the meteors which we often see,
and call falling-stars. Hence the country people in Swe¬
den have called it sky fall; and in England it is known by
the name of witches butter, in common with some of the
gelatinous liver-worts.
Paracelsus, Helmont, and others, however, ranked it with
the termabin, or manna, and thought it dropped, as the lat-
277
Nose
II
Nostoch.
278
NOS
NOS
Nostrada- ter did, from heaven. It is described, and the chemical
mu8' analysis of it given, by M. Geoffroy, in the Memoirs ot the
Academy of Sciences for 1708, and is there said to yield,
besides an acid phlegm, a portion of concrete volatile salt
and some fixed salt. The distilled water from it was be¬
lieved by some to possess singular virtues in allaying pains
of the joints; but there is certainly no ground for attribut¬
ing to it any extraordinary qualities. Since the days o
Paracelsus it has been considered as a vegetable produc¬
tion ; but the botanists have had difficulty in assigning to
it its place or genus in their several systems.
Naturalists had, however, for some years begun to doubt
whether the substance in question was of a vegetable or
animal nature, when at length the latter .°Pinion rece*) e
a strong corroboration from the observations ot ^ a
of Oxford, in a letter printed in the Gentleman s Maga¬
zine for 1776. . .
“ From a child,” says he, “ I remember seeing the me¬
teors shooting in the air, which appearance, by my com¬
rades, was called star-shooting, believing the stars no lar¬
ger than their apparent magnitude. This jelly-like sub¬
stance, mentioned in your magazine, was believed to be
the dross of these meteors, and took the name ot star-shot,
which passed for certain with me till I had arrived at the
aae of twenty-four, when I was engaged in business that
required my frequently passing over both meadows and
pasture-grounds, where in spring and autumn I saw many
portions of this supposed alga or nostoch, but never more
than one or two contiguous, mostly near the water, when
the meadows were or had been just before flooded. y
conjectures were various, until I saw a crow pecking o
something in a field, which I heard to cry; when turning
my horse to the place, I found a frog of the common size,
which the crow (of the carrion kind) would soon have
killed and gorged, had I not disturbed her, and chased her
away.
“ About this time I found in a meadow the bowels of a
frog indigested, and compact as the chitterlings ot a calt
or pig, but white as the paper I write upon, though not
translucid. I took it up and placed it in a paper exposed
to the air, leaving it in some grass where I found it, till
my return that way in three days’ time, when I saw it
changed to that tremulous jelly-like substance, the alga
or star-shot. I was much pleased with this discovery,
and took it home in my pocket wrapped in a paper, where
I showed it to a society of young persons of which I was
a member, who agreed with my sentiments of its being
the indigestible part of a frog disgorged by some bird ot
prey.
« To corroborate my sentiments of this alga being the
bowels of a frog, I luckily saw some of it lying by the side
of a brook, where I lighted and took it up, and to my
great surprise found attached to the jelly the head, heart,
liver, and one leg of the frog, which had been, I presume,
disgorged by some carrion crow, who frequented the flood¬
ed grounds to pick up worms and other vermine. There
was also some of it found on an apple-tree at Wyston Mag¬
na, near Leicester, where I then lived, which, no doubt,
was disgorged by some owl.”
Dr Darwin, in his Poem on the Loves of the Plants, is
of the same opinion with Mr Platt, that these gelatinous
substances are of an animal nature ; and that the diflerent
appearances they put on are owing to various circumstan¬
ces, viz. the different birds who feed on frogs, the quantity
they devour at a time, and the state of digestion before
they are voided. . . .
NOSTRADAMUS, Michael, an able physician and a
celebrated astrologer, was descended of a noble ^Provem^al
family, and born on the 14th of December 1503, at St
Remy, in the diocese of Avignon. By his grandfather he
was initiated in the study of the mathematics* and he at-
terwards completed his courses of humanity and philosophy No
at the college of Avignon. Having repaired to Montpellier, J
he there applied himself to physic, till being forced away ^
by the plague in 1525, he took his route towards Toulouse,
and passed on till he reached Bordeaux. This course
occupied him five years, during which he undertook the
cure of all such patients as were willing to put themselves
under his care. After this he returned to Montpellier, and,
having been created doctor of his faculty in 1529, levisit-
ed the places where he had before practised physic. At
Agen he contracted an acquaintance with Julius Ciesar
Scaliger, which induced him to make some stay in that
town, where he married ; but having buried his wife, and
two children which she had brought him, he quitted Agen
after a residence of about four years. On his return to Pro¬
vence, he established himself first at Marseilles ; but his
friends having provided an advantageous match for him at
Salon, he, in 1544, transported himself thither. In 1516,
Aix being afflicted with the plague, he went thither at the
solicitation of the inhabitants, and proved of great service;
so that the town gave him a considerable pension for se¬
veral years after the contagion ceased. Returning after¬
wards to Salon, he became a recluse, and employed his
leisure in applying to his studies. He had for a long time
occasionally followed the trade of a conjurer, and now he
began to think himself inspired, nay, miraculously illuminat-
ed with a prospect into futurity. As fast as these illumi*
nations had discovered to him any future event, he enter¬
ed it in writing, in enigmatical prose sentences; but re¬
vising them afterwards, he thought the sentences would
appear more respectable, and would savour more of a pro¬
phetic spirit, if they were expressed in verse. This opi-
nion determined him to throw them all into quatrains, and
he afterwards ranged them into Conturiest \Vhen this was
done, he hesitated about making them public, till reflect¬
ing that the time of many events which he had foretold
was very near at hand, he determined to print them. This
he did with a dedication addressed to his son Caesar, an
infant only some months old, in the form of a letter or pre¬
face, dated the 1st of March 1555. This edition, which
includes seven Centuries, was printed by Rigault at Lyons.
He prefixed his name in Latin, but gave to his son Caesar
the name as it is pronounced, Ndtradame.
The public were divided in their sentiments respecting
this work. Many looked upon the author as a simple vn
sionary or a fool; whilst by others he was accused of the
black art, or magic, and treated as an impious person, who
held a commerce with the devil. But there were not want¬
ing persons who believed him to be really and truly en-
dowed with the supernatural gift of prophecy. A few re¬
mained in suspense, and refrained from giving any judg¬
ment at all respecting his pretensions. But Henry II. and
Catherine of Medicis his mother, having resolved to see
the prophet, he received orders to that effect, and imme¬
diately repaired to Paris. He was very graciously received
at court, treated with extraordinary respect, and gratified
with a present of two hundred crowns. He was after¬
wards sent to Blois to visit his majesty’s children there,
and report what he should be able to discover concerning
their destinies. No doubt he exerted himself to the ut¬
most on this occasion, but the precise nature of his prog¬
nostications is not known ; it is certain, however, that ne
returned to Salon loaded with honours and presents. Ani¬
mated with his success, he augmented his work from™,
hundred quatrains to a complete milhad, and poh113"
in 1558, with a dedication to the king. But that pr
having died the next year, of a wound which he receiv
at a tournament, the book of the prophet wasimmediat y
consulted; and in the 35th quatrain of the first cent y
this unfortunate event was found predicted m t
4.;
1112 verse:
NOT
Le lion jeune le vieux surmontera,
»/ En champ bellique par singulier duel,
Dans cage d’or les yeux lui crevera,
Deux classes une puis mourir, mort cruelle.
So remarkable a prediction added new wings to bis fame,
and he was shortly afterwards honoured with a visit from
Emanuel duke of Savoy, and the Princess Margaret of
France his consort. From this time Nostradamus found
himself overburdened with visitors, and his fame daily in¬
creased. Charles IX. on visiting Salon, was eager to see
him. Nostradamus, who then waited as one of the reti¬
nue of the magistrates, being instantly presented to his
majesty, complained of the little esteem his countrymen
had for him ; upon which the monarch publicly declared,
that he should hold the enemies of Nostradamus as his
own, and further desired to see his children. Nor did that
prince’s favour stop here. Not long afterwards, in pass¬
ing through the city of Arles, he sent for Nostradamus, and
presented him with a purse of two hundred crowns, to¬
gether with a brevet, constituting him his physician in or¬
dinary, with the same appointments as the rest. But the
prophet enjoyed these honours only for the space of six¬
teen months, having died at Salon on the 2d of July 1566.
Besides his Centuries, we have the following compositions
of Nostradamus : A treatise de Fardemens et de Senteurs,
1552; a Book of singular Receipts, joowr Entretenir la Sante
du Corps, 1556; a piece des Confitures, 1557 ; and a French
Translation of the Latin of Galen’s Paraphrase, exhorting
Menedolas to apply himself to study, especially to that of
physic, 1552. Some years before his death, he published
a small instruction for husbandmen, showing the best sea¬
sons for their several labours, which he entitled The Al¬
manac of Nostradamus. Lastly, after his death there came
out the eleventh and twelfth Centuries of his Quatrains.
It is to these productions that the following pungent dis¬
tich was applied:
NOT
279
Nothus.
Nostra damns cum falsa damns, nam fallere nostrum est,
Et cum falsa damns, nil nisi Nostra damns.
NOTiE, signs used in writing, which have the force of
many letters. This contrivance for expedition is of great
antiquity. It was known to the Greeks, and from them
passed to the Romans. By whom the invention was brought
to Rome has not been precisely ascertained ; but the most
general opinion is, that in matters of importance Tully first
made use of notes or short-hand writing when Cato deliv¬
ered an oration in opposition to Julius Caesar relative to the
conspiracy of Catiline. Cicero, who was at that time con¬
sul, placed notarii, or expert short-hand writers, in differ¬
ent parts of the senate-house, to take down the speech ;
1 and this was the first public occasion which we find re¬
corded of employing short-hand writers amongst the Ro¬
mans. It is unnecessary to observe, that the name of no-
ary, still in use, was derived from this practice. There
K’ere three kinds of notes for short-hand writing used by
ne ancients, either for despatch or secrecy. The first
in most ancient was that of hieroglyphics, which are
ather images or representations of things than of words.
ine ?econd species were called singidarice, from their ex-
iressing words by single letters. Sertorius Ursatus has
fb Pli5 j iV-ery coPious collection of such abbreviations,
i ne third kind were called notoe Tironiance, from Tiro
e reedman of Cicero, who was particularly skilled in
ZV ; r'} is t0 him that we are indebted for the pre-
ation of Cicero’s letters, of which a great part still re-
elf"* 006 entire k00^ having been addressed to Tiro him-
It appear notes were in frequent use amongst the
, 3nd C0.ntInued to be employed till the tenth and
S 1 C,ent1unes’ We have indeed but few books re-
irnriXr11^1 are 'v1ntten in short-hand; but this is not
g> when such was the unhappy situation of early
times, that either superstition condemned them to the Notarii
names as the works of impious magicians, or they were
left, through ignorance and stupidity, to be devoured by
vermin. It is probable, how’ever, that there are still ex¬
tant writings of this sort, which might contribute to en¬
rich the republic ofletters.
. There are several manuscripts and instruments written
in these kinds of notce in the royal library of Paris. In the
yeai the learned and ingenious M. Charpentier en¬
graved and published at Paris a capitulary, and fifty-four
charters of Louis the Pious, emperor and king of France,
written in the notce Tironiance. To this work the learned
editor has prefixed an Alphabetum Tironianum, together
wnh a great number and variety of notes or marks for the
diffeient parts ol speech, and rules for acquiring the art of
writing in this kind of notes. Valerius Probus, in his book
iJe Littens Antiquis, explains many of the characters used
by the short-hand writers; and there is a dictionary of
them published by Gruterus.
NOTARII, persons employed by the Romans to take,
by means of notce, trials and pleadings in their courts of
judicature, or to write as amanuenses from the mouth of
an author. These notarii were of servile condition. Un¬
der the reign of Justinian they were formed into a college
or corporate body. Notarii were also appointed to attend
the prefects, in order to transcribe for them. There were
likewise notarii domestici, who were employed in keeping
the accounts of the Roman nobility; and when the empire
became Christian, there wrere notaries for ecclesiastical af¬
fairs, who attested the acts of archbishops, bishops, and
other spiritual dignitaries. We find ecclesiastical notaries
at Rome under Pope Julius IV. and also in the church of
Antioch about the year 370. From these notaries was de¬
rived the office of chancellor to the bishops ; and afterwards
almost every advocate was admitted a notary.
NOTARY (Notarius) signifies a person who takes
notes, or frames short draughts of contracts, obligations,
charter-parties, or such other writings. At present we call
him a notary public, because he publicly attests deeds or
writings, in order to make them authentic.
NOTATION, in Arithmetic and Algebra, the method
of expressing numbers or quantities by signs or characters
appropriated for that purpose. See Arithmetic and Al¬
gebra.
ES, in music, characters which are used, in writ¬
ing or printing, to mark the pitch and the duration of the
sounds of any musical composition. These characters or
signs of notation have varied much at different times.
Many alterations of those now generally received have
been proposed, but not adopted. Numerical and literal me¬
thods of expressing musical sounds have been repeatedly
proposed ; but it seems that these are even more compli¬
cated than the signs in common use. A musical short¬
hand, constructed of alphabetical letters, was proposed
many years ago in France, but rejected; although in nu¬
merous cases of simple melody and harmony it might be
very useful in saving space to publishers of books. As to
the notation of music in ancient and modern times, see
Padre Martini, Hawkins, and Burney, and especially Mer-
senne regarding the entablature of some musical instru¬
ments now disused. See Music.
Note is likewise used to signify a mark made in a book
or writing, where there occurs something remarkable and
worthy of particular notice; as also an observation or ex¬
plication of some passage in an author, added in the mar¬
gin, at the bottom of the page, or elsewhere. In this sense
it stands contradistinguished to text.
Note is also a minute, or short writing, containing some
article of business. In this sense we say, promissory note,
note of hand, bank-note, and the like.
NOTHUS signifies spurious or bastard; and hence it is
280
NOT
NOT
Notion
Notting¬
ham.
figuratively applied by physicians to diseases which, though
in respect of a similitude of symptoms they have the same
denomination as some others, yet are of a different origin
,from them.
NOTION, a word which in common language is consi¬
dered as of the same import writh idea. See Metaphysics.
NOTITIA, in literary history, a book which gives an
account of a particular country, city, or other place. Such
are the Notitia Imperii Romani, the Notitia Romce Anh-
quce, and other similar works.
NOTO, a city of the island of Sicily, in the kingdom or
Naples, the capital of the province of the same name, 149
miles from Palermo. It stands on a rocky hill, in a fine
but unhealthy situation. It has elegant streets, with noble
ehurches and convents, and forms one of the most respect¬
able places on the island; whilst the surrounding soil, though
much of it is neglected, is of abundant fertility. Its port
is Avola, about seven miles distant. It contains 1958
houses, and 13,300 inhabitants.
Noto, Val di, one of the three valleys or provinces into
which Sicily is divided, and which lies between the sea,
the Val di Demona, and the Val di Mazara. Noto is the
capital town. . ,
NOTTINGHAM, a large market-town of England, the
capital of the county of the same name, in the centre of
England. It is a place of great antiquity, deriving its
name from the Saxon w ord Snottingaham, w’hich is descrip¬
tive of its position as a retreat in rocks, since there were
formerly many, and are still a few, caverns, cut on the soft
rock on which its castle was built. It is by some anti¬
quaries asserted that it wras once a Roman station , but
that is a subject of controversy. The earliest records no¬
tice some incursions of the Danes about 866; but they
appear to have received a check from the town, and a de¬
feat near it from King Alfred, who afterwards made it
the winter-quarters of his army. William the Conqueror
erected a castle, and constructed fortifications so strong
as to render the place impregnable against any of the me¬
thods of attack wrhich were then known. King Richard
Cceur de Lion assembled a parliament in this place pre¬
viously to his departure for the Holy Land, and ano¬
ther soon after his return from Palestine. It was from
Nottingham that Richard III. marched forth to his fa¬
tal battle of Bosworth Field. There Charles I. erect¬
ed his royal standard at the commencement of the civil
war, at the spot which is now covered by St James’
Church. The Castle of Nottingham, defended by the roy¬
alists, was besieged by the parliamentary forces under
the command of Colonel Hutchinson, to wrhom, after a
brave defence, it at length surrendered, the particulars ot
which are related in a most interesting manner by the
wife of that officer. When Cromwell had attained su¬
preme power, he ordered the fortifications to be destroyed
and the castle to be dismantled. At the beginning of the
present century, this towrn and neighbourhood were dis¬
tinguished by the riotous disposition manifested amongst
the lowrer orders, who acquired the denomination of Lud¬
dites, and were excited to destroy much of that machin¬
ery bv the aid of which the town subsequently attained to
its present high degree of affluence. These disturbances
were quelled by the power of the law, and some wholesome
severities ; but it caused the removal of many of the capi¬
talists, and a large portion of the trade, to distant and more
tranquil districts. During the excitement respecting par¬
liamentary reform in 1832, a very violent spirit was mani¬
fested, which led to the destruction of a silk-mill in the
neighbourhood, the burning of the ancient castle belong¬
ing to the Duke of Newcastle, and outrages upon private
hocuses. These disturbances led to a few exemplary pu¬
nishments, and some heavy burdens on the town, to indem¬
nify those whose property had suffered by the riots.
Nottingham is finely situated upon the side of a hill over- N ,
looking the valley of the Trent, and near to the south- lj
western extremity of what was formerly the forest of''"'
Sherwood, once famous as the resort of the celebrated Ro¬
bin Hood, but now a well-cultivated district. The envi¬
rons of the town are picturesque and beautiful; and there
is a delightful walk on the bank of the river Leen, having
a fine view of the south front of the castle, and of the gar¬
dens, which were formerly the fish-ponds belonging to that
edifice. The windings of the river Trent have also a great
effect on the whole scenery.
Some of the old streets are narrow, but in the great ex¬
tension of the place of late years some new and spacious
avenues have been built, and much improvement has been
judiciously effected. The market-place is one of the finest
'in England. It is spacious, occupying an area of 27,515
square yards, or rather more than five acres and a half.
It is well paved, and admirably adapted for the purpose of
the three weekly markets held in it on Wednesday, Fri¬
day, and Saturday, the last of which is the principal one.
At the east of the market-place stands the Exchange Hall,
which is a noble-looking building. The pediment is crown¬
ed with a well-proportioned pedestal, on which stands the
figure of Justice. On the pediment are the town arms,
with an oak branch on one side, and an olive branch on
the other; and underneath it, with a clock intervening, is
a handsome Venetian window, ornamented with two ele¬
gant Ionic columns, which lights the spacious room within
it. That apartment, when the temporary doors which di¬
vide it are thrown open, is 123 feet long, thirty wide, and
thirty high, with an arched ceiling. It is used for public
dinners, at which more than 400 persons can be commo-
diously seated, and also for public meetings. This room
was nearly destroyed by an accidental fire in 1836, but has
been restored and further beautified. One part ot the
building is appropriated to magisterial business, and another
is occupied by the Artisan’s Library ; an institution possess¬
ing some thousand volumes, which are lent out to mem¬
bers, who pay seven shillings and sixpence on admission,
and one shilling and sixpence quarterly. Underneath the
Exchange there are a few shops in front, but the principal
part of the ground-floor is appropriated to shambles. In
another part of the market-place is the Subscription Lib¬
rary, containing a large collection of valuable books; and a
news-room ; a cabinet of mineralogy, with sculpture, maps,
and portraits of eminent individuals connected with the
town, amongst whom are Colonel Hutchinson, Lord Byron,
Sir Richard Arkwright, and others.
The other civic buildings are the county jail and hall,
a commodious but not elegant structure ; the house ot
correction, which stands on the site of a convent of the
hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem; the town hall and
town jail, where the borough assizes and sessions, and the
mayor’s and sheriff’s courts, are held ; the assembly-room,
a very elegant building, just erected and fitted up witi
much taste; and the free grammar school, in which abou
a hundred boys are gratuitously instructed in Greek am
The edifices for religious worship are in about the same
proportion to the number of the inhabitants as is seen m
other places which have increased with similar rapi !)•
St Mary’s is usually denominated the mother church o
town, from its priority of erection. It resembles a ca '
dral more than a parish church in its extent, its arc1
ture, and its decorations, and is the most striking o J
in the place, when viewed from what is called tne
pavement. It stands on an elevated spot, and is sai ^
nearly seventy feet above the level of the meaJ0''; i(i
the town. The date of the erection is unknown, bu
to have been in the fifteenth century. It is in th,e Le
of a cross, and has a handsome square tower, in win
vs
,tll
I
NOT
is a musical peal of ten bells. The length of the structure
in the inside is 216 feet, the breadth in the centre ninety-
seven, at the west end or principal entrance sixty-seven,
and in the chancel twenty-nine feet. The height of the
tower is 126 feet, and that of the side aisles sixty feet. The
porch on the south side is a very ancient piece of work¬
manship, on the fluting of the pediment of which were
sculptured red and white roses, some traces of which may
even yet be discovered. In the west gallery there is an ex¬
cellent organ of great power, supported by two Tuscan
columns, over which is a picture of David playing on his
harp. There are in this church many monumental in¬
scriptions on tombs of the family of the Earls of Clare, and
one of an Earl of Meath, and the mausoleum of the fami¬
ly of the Wrights.
Besides the mother church, there are provided for the
adherents of the established worship the following edifices,
all of them capacious, and appropriately finished, viz. St
James’, St Nicholas’, St Paul’s, and St Peter’s. The cha¬
pels of various sects are numerous, amounting to twenty,
but some of them are very small. They are classed thus :
Independents ; Baptists, two subdivisions ; Wesleyan Me¬
thodists, three subdivisions ; and one each for Unitarians,
Homan Catholics, Quakers, Huntingtonians, and Ingham-
ites or Sabellians.
The charitable institutions depending on endowed foun¬
dations or on voluntary contributions are numerous. The
General Hospital, built in 1781, contains about two acres
of land, given partly by the Duke of Newcastle, and part¬
ly by the corporation. It is supported chiefly by subscrip¬
tions, and usually contains about 120 patients; whilst be¬
tween five and six hundred are out-patients, receiving me¬
dical advice and assistance. 1 he General Lunatic Asylum
is a modern and spacious brick building, erected in 1810, at
an expense of nearly L.20,000. There are extensive courts,
gardens, and places for recreation, and the whole economy
of the place is constructed in such a manner as may best
contribute to the recovery or the welfare of the miserable
inhabitants. Labray s and Lambley’s Hospitals are small
asylums for aged widows; and Collins’ Hospital is a splen¬
did charity, founded by one of the Smith family of the
town, of which Lord Carrington is the present head. It
consists of twenty-four small but convenient dwellings for
is many poor widows, each of whom receives four shillings
weekly, and two tons and a half of coal every year. From
die same endowment Carrington Street Hospital has lately
ieen built, where twenty poor persons are comfortably ac¬
commodated. Plumtree Hospital, founded by a family of
mat name, since transplanted into Kent, in the year 1392,
cut twice repaired since, viz. in 1650 and 1751, has been
ebuilt under an act of parliament passed in 1823. Thir-
een aged widows are provided with comfortable dwellings
'u in the house, and allowed six shillings weekly, whilst
uny others, called out-pensioners, receive ten pounds a
ar. Willoughby’s Hospital contains nineteen tenements,
ue inhamtants of which receive a small pension. Woo-
Un! i 8 a^e dvv'eIlings for six poor persons; and Bilby’s
msnouses for eight persons, who have each a loaf weekly,
two tons of coal at Christmas. Warser’s Gate Hos-
*ta Slves apartments to six, and Hanley’s to twelve poor
iarra6) otli1er, poblic edifices that deserve notice are the
P; ,C s’ Ul t ln 1 f 92, a handsome building, with well-con-
ble Sfa/rrtmrents/or °fficers and for the privates, and suit-
srJll !!?g f°r three trooPs of horse’ the Riding School;
lewnt0theat^e’ •neVer ,0ng °Pened nor much attended;
id ,ia!TTkS’m tW° parts of the town 5 the gas-works ;
4 alt f6 river Trent after that stream has
ent S ented by the waters of the Dove and the Der-
vot xPv0pulation of this town in 1801 amounted to
NOT
28,861, in 1811 to 34,253, in 1821 to 40,415, and in 1831
to 50,680. This great increase, arising from the progres¬
sive extension of its manufacturing industry, is not, how¬
ever, confined within the limits of the town, but is exhi¬
bited in the villages either contiguous to it and forming its
suburbs, or at a few miles distance. Thus Snenton, which
conjoins the town, contained in 1801 but 558, and in 1831
it had 3605 inhabitants ; Radford, a parish within a mile
of Nottingham, had in 1801 but 2269, and in 1831, 9806
persons; Lenton, another parish, in 1801 had 893 inhabi¬
tants, and in 1831, 3077. There are other parishes near to
it, in which a similar progress has been making, so that
Nottingham, with its dependencies, may be estimated, sup¬
posing that the increase since 1831 has been at the same
rate as in the previous periods, to have more than 70,000
individuals. According to the account of Mr Rickman,
the males above twenty years of age employed in the stock¬
ing and lace trade are, in Nottingham 4740, in Radford
1300, in Lenton 300, at Snenton 430, and at Beeston 300.
The 1 lent, which is navigable up to the town, and
the various canals which branch from that river, afford the
means of easy communication with every part of the king-
The chief accumulation of capital in the town and its
vicinity has been from its manufactures. The most an¬
cient, and still the most extensive, is that of stockings.
T he earliest introduction of that neat piece of machinery,'
the stocking-frame, at nearly the same period into Leices¬
ter and Nottingham, gave to those towns a superiority in
fabrication, which has subsequently been maintained, and
which has nearly superseded the domestic manufacture
of knitting stockings. The stockings of the two towns,
made either from wool, thread, cotton, or silk, are to be
seen in every part of the world, and far excel in beauty
and cheapness any that are made elsewhere in imitation
of them.
Ihe prosperity of Nottingham has, however, been ad¬
vanced in a prodigious degree by a new manufacture
executed by machinery, analogous to that of the stocking-
frame, but contrived with a greater portion of mechani-
cal ingenuity. I his article of commerce is known by the
name of bobbin net. It generally resembles lace, and has
in a gi eat degree supplanted that pillow lace for which Flan¬
ders, Trance, and some counties of England were once high¬
ly celebrated. °
Although this trade originated at Nottingham, yet the
riotous disposition of the workmen called Luddites (which
has been already noticed), who opposed all those improve¬
ments in machinery to which the extension of this trade
has been indebted, caused many of the capitalists to re¬
move their establishments to other and some very distant
counties. Yet, notwithstanding such removals, and the ri¬
vals thereby created, the trade here has gone on increasing,
and is still most extensive in and around Nottingham. Our
limits do not admit of tracing the various steps of improve¬
ment with great minuteness. At first, only plain nets were
made, then quillings were introduced, and afterwards fi¬
gured or fancy patterns were produced. The two last are
the highest priced, and the chief object of the manufac¬
turers here. The number and description of the machines
in January 1836 were thus dispersed:—In Nottingham¬
shire, 372 for plain nets, 1006 for quillings, and 784 for
fancic8 , in Leicestershire 207 for plain, thirty-seven for
quillings, ninety-nine for fancies; in Derbyshire J92 for
plain, forty-nine for quilling, fourteen for fancies ; in De¬
vonshire, Somersetshire, and the Isle of Wight, 654 for
plain, thirty for quilling, 103 for fancies. Total for plain
1425, for quillings 1122, for fancies 1000. The improve¬
ment made by the introduction of the quilling and fancy
nets has caused additional capital to be invested in machi¬
nery, and the employment of from 1500 to 2000 additional
2 N
281
Netting-
ham.
282
NOT
NOT
Notting- workmen ; and the above statement shows that this benefit
hamshire. principally fallen to the share ot Nottingham.
v — — ^ The following calculation, made by Mr W. Felkin, will
show, in a national point of view, the great value of this
apparently minute branch of industry. That gentleman
estimates that, in the year 1835, there were used in this
trade 1,850,000 lbs. of sea-island cotton wool, valued at
L. 185,000, and 25,000 lbs. of silk, valued at L.40,000.
The produce of these raw materials, and their disposal,
are stated by the same person thus: Home consumption
for nets, L.320,000 ; for quillings, L.210,000 ; for fancies,
L.580,000 ; total, L.l,110,000. Foreign trade, for nets,
L.340,000 : for quillings, 282,000 ; for fancies, L.480,000 ;
total, L.l, 102,000. , ,. ,
The plain nets made in the other parts of the kingdom
are mostly sent to Nottingham in the rough state, where
they receive the finishing operations of gassing, bleach¬
ing, and dressing. The amount of these was, in the jear
1835, L.328,000; so that this town, besides the profit
upon the goods manufactured in and near it, gains a con¬
siderable share of the profit upon the goods made by their
rivals.
The net wages earned by men vary from twelve to
thirty-five shillings a week, according to the kind, the
width, and the speed of the machines at which they are
emploved. Sixteen shillings is about the average. Wages
to women vary from three to twelve shillings, as they may
be occupied, but average about six shillings a week. Chil¬
dren are paid from one to four shillings, and can be useful
as embroiderers, or in mending and winding. Mr Felkin
says it is difficult to estimate how many persons altoge¬
ther are employed in the various departments of this flou¬
rishing trade.
Besides the staple trades, there are, in and around the
town, several large factories for spinning and weaving cot¬
ton goods.
Nottingham has been celebrated for its ale, the quali¬
ties of which have been the theme of song. It is still good,
and very potent. Its excellence has been attributed by
some to the good quality of the barley grown in the neigh¬
bourhood, by others to the purity of the water, and by
many to the excellent cellars scooped out ot the rock with
which most of the good houses are furnished.
This town returns two members to the House of Com¬
mons. The freemen, who were formerly the sole electors,
are still numerous, but are exceeded in number by the ten-
pound voters.
By the municipal corporation reform law passed in 183o,
this town is to continue a corporation, is divided into
seven wards, and has a mayor, fourteen aldermen, and for¬
ty-two councillors, with twelve justices of the peace ap¬
pointed by the crown.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, an inland county of England,
bounded on the north by Yorkshire and a part of Lincoln¬
shire, on the east by Lincolnshire, on the south by Lei¬
cestershire, and on the west by Derbyshire. It is of an
oval figure, with its narrowest end towards the north. Its
greatest length is about fifty miles, and its greatest breadth
twenty-seven. Its circumference is estimated at 140 miles.
According to the statement of Mr Rickman, the extent is
837 square miles, or 535,680 acres.
The county is divided into six hundreds, or, as they
are usually denominated, wapentakes ; three of which are
to the north and three to the south of the river Trent. It
contains nine market-towns, and 207 parishes. The an¬
nual value of all the real property of the county, as taken
in the year 1815, for the purposes of the property-tax, was
found to be L.737,220. The number of inhabitants at each
of the four decennial enumerations amounted, in 1801 to
140,350, in 1811 to 162,000, in 1821 to 186,873, and in
1831 to 225,400. The burials in the ten years from 1821
to 1831 appear to have been one in fifty-four of the inha¬
bitants then living. The illegitimate births were one in
twenty of the whole births.
The occupations of the inhabitants in 1831, according
to the arranged returns of Mr Rickman, were as follow:
Occupiers of land employing labourers  2,643
Occupiers of land not employing labourers  2,414
Agricultural labourers 11,799
Employed in retail trades and handicraft 14,683
Capitalists, bankers, and professional men  2,093
Labourers not agricultural  5,628
Employed in manufactures and machinery 14,260
Other males under twenty years of age 56,582
Male servants of all ages  1,132
Female servants  L886
The number of inhabited houses was 44,936, occupied
by 47,117 families. Of these, 13,351 were employed
chiefly in agriculture, 25,578 in trade, manufactures, and
handicraft, and 8188 belonged to neither of the foregoing
classes
The towns and villages containing more than 1500 in¬
habitants, and the numbers in each, were, in 1831,
Lenton  3,077
Bulwell  2,611
Retford  2,491
Hucknal-Torkard  2,200
Clareborough  2,106
Kirby Ashtield  2,032
Carleton  1,784
Bingham  1,738
Stapelford  1,5
Nottingham 50,680
Newark  9,557
Mansfield  9,426
Basford  6,325
Worksop  5,566
Sutton Ashfield  4,805
Greasley  4,583
Arnold  4,054
Southwell  3,386 ^
The face of the country is generally level, with moderate
undulations ; and its beauties are of a mild description,
somewhat picturesque in the vicinity of Sherwood forest,
but displaying neither the striking features of the adjoin¬
ing county of Derby on its western side, nor the flat insi¬
pidity of the plains of Lincolnshire on its eastern side.
From its position between these two descriptions of coun¬
try, and from its moderate elevation, it enjoys a milder
climate than either, partaking neither of the raw air of the
one nor the moist atmosphere of the other. The dryness
of the climate is favourable to early vegetation, and is sup¬
posed to be the cause of the seed-time and harvest in Not¬
tinghamshire commencing at the same period as in the
more southern counties.
The soil of this county is very various. On the bor¬
ders of Derbyshire there is a stripe of land with coal and
limestone, partly in wood, but mostly under arable culture.
Parallel to it is a broader tract, including Sherwood Forest,
the soil of which is chiefly sandy and gravelly ; but though
naturally sterile, it has in some degree been brought into
a productive state by the extensive cultivation of tumps,
and the maintenance of considerable flocks of sheep. Ihe
tract which adjoins is a clayey soil, extending to the banks
of the river Trent. It is chiefly arable land, but varieu
with woods and meadows, and highly productive of wheat,
oats, beans, and, in some parts, of hops. The lands on the
banks of the Trent are very fertile, being mostly devoteu
to pasture, on which many oxen are fattened; and som
of the dairies are extensive. The arable land of this 's
trict is celebrated both for the quantity and the quality o
the oats which it produces. The beautiful vale of belvoi,
in the south-easternmost part of the county, enjoys som
of the best soils, both for pasture and arable husbandry,
any part of this island. The farms are in general small,
and commonly held by tenants at will, the rents taken r
whom are generally moderate ; and a very great pro
tion of the land is free from the burden ot the m ‘
The spirit of agricultural improvement has not Proce
so far as in many other counties, though it has maC^, f
siderable progress of late years. Neither the bre
NOT
. cows and sheep, nor the modes of cultivation, differ so
i • much from those of the adjoining counties as to deserve
/any especial notice.
There are no mines except those of coal, which are ex¬
clusively confined to a narrow district bordering on Derby¬
shire ; the coal is of good quality, very abundant, and, by
means of internal navigation, diffused throughout the whole
county. Excellent stone for building is raised in many
parts, some ol which has the peculiarly valuable quality of
improving by exposure to the weather. Many parts of
the county abound in veins of gypsum. In the parish of
Gotham it is found in strata of the thickness of three feet.
At Beaconhill, near Newark, there are large quarries of this
substance. Although it has been much praised as a manure,
the trials of it that have been made in its vicinity have not
been attended with such beneficial results as to induce the
continued use of it for that purpose.
The Forest of Sherwood, formerly celebrated as the
scene of the exploits of Robin Flood, whose deeds amused
our nursery days, is mostly an open heathy plain, border¬
ed with recent plantations, and upon which the plough
has made very extensive encroachments. The boundaries
of the forest are extensive, it being twenty-five miles in
length, and from seven to nine in breadth; but a great
portion of it has become the property of private indivi¬
duals, and is enclosed in farms and parks ; in the latter of
which is to be found the deer with which this forest was
once most abundantly stocked. The trees of most ancient
date are those now remaining on the estates of the Duke
of Newcastle and Lord Manvers.
-Nottinghamshire is, for its population, one of the great¬
est manufacturing counties. The frames for making ho¬
siery were the discovery of a clergyman of this county
named Lee, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who, find¬
ing but little encouragement in England, repaired to Pa¬
ris, and commenced his work under the auspices of Henry
IV. The murder of that monarch having deprived him
of a patron, he died of chagrin in France, and the work¬
men returned home, when, after many fluctuations, the
machinery was introduced into this county. The making
of stockings, caps, pantaloon-pieces, and other similar arti¬
cles, has long given employment to the great mass of the
labouring population ; and of late years the making of lace
upon a similar principle has been introduced, and created
additional employment. Although the riotous conduct of
the workmen, under the denomination of Luddites, has
driven some of the large capitalists to other parts of the
kingdom, yet the hosiery business is by far the most im¬
portant means of employment throughout the whole coun¬
ty. The spinning of cotton-yarn, from its natural connec¬
tion with hosiery, has been introduced and very widely
extended ; and the establishments at Nottingham, at Mans-
freld, at Newark, at Southwell, and several other places,
me upon an extensive scale. There are also several large
manufactories for spinning worsted yarn. Malting and
brewing are carried on to a considerable extent; and the
beer of Nottingham and of Newark rivals that of Burton-
upon-lrent. There are potteries at Sutton Ashfield; starch
is made near Southwell; and sailcloth and candlewick at
lietford.
ihe foreign trade of this county is mostly conducted by
ie mercantile houses of London and Liverpool; but some
o the larger manufacturers export their own goods, both
o the continent of Europe and to the more distant parts of
the world.
The river Trent, the fourth in magnitude of the Eng¬
's i streams, passes across the county, and is navigable for
arges throughout the whole of it; but its deficiencies of
j , a (jr and its shoals are such great impediments that a canal
e. e ‘b fen miles in length, is found of great use
ie intercourse. The other rivers are not navigable,
NOV
283
but are beneficial for the purposes of irrigation. They are Novaia
the Erwash, the Soar, the Maun, the Meden, the Wollen, t II
the Worksop, the Idle, the Lene, and the Dover or Dare. vIsTovara*
These all discharge their waters into the Trent. The ca¬
nals are, the Nottingham, the Grantham, the Idle, and the
Chesterfield. The last of these is about forty miles in
length ; the others about ten each. By means of these and
the Trent, the intercourse by internal navigation is extend¬
ed to almost every district of the county.
The titles derived from this county are those of Marquis
of Granby, Earl of Mansfield, Viscount Newark, and Barons
Pierrepoint and Carrington. For election purposes, the
county has been divided into two districts, the northern
and the southern. Each of them returns two members.
The election for the northern division is held at Mansfield,
and the polling places are, that town, East Retford, and Not¬
tingham. The election for the southern division is held at
Newark, and the other polling places are Bingham and
Southwell. The three boroughs, Nottingham, Newark, and
Retford, return each two members, as before the passing
of the reform bill. The whole of the county is in the diocese
of York, and it is on the midland circuit of the judges.
The remains of Roman and Saxon antiquities are nu¬
merous. Amongst the former are the camps at Barton
Hill, at Combes Farm, at Gringley, at Hexgrave, and at
Wenny Hill, and a Roman villa near Mansfield. Amongst
the latter are the Castle of Newark, the abbeys of New-
stead, Rufford, and Welbeck; the priories of Mattersey
and Worksop; and the churches of Bingham, Blythe,
Southwell, and Balderton.
The most distinguished natives of this county have been,
Archbishop Cranmer, Dr Erasmus Darwin, Sir Martin
Frobisher, Denzil Lord Holies, Ireton the son-in-law of
Cromwell, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Paul Sandby,
Archbishop Seeker, Gilbert Wakefield, and Bishop War-
burton.
The seats of noblemen and gentlemen of the first class
are as numerous as in any county of England. Of these,
the most remarkable are the following, viz. Annesley Hall,
J. W. Chaworth, Esq.; Babvvorth Hall, Honourable J. B.
Simpson ; Bunney Park, Lord Rancliffe ; Clifton Grove,
Sir Gervas Clifton ; Clipstone Park, Duke of Portland;
Clumber Park, Duke of Newcastle; Colwich Hall, John
Musters, Esq.; Grave, A. H. Eyre, Esq.; Holme Pierre¬
point, Earl Manvers ; Hurgarton Hall, G. D. L. Gregory,
Esq.; Kelham House, J. M. Sutton, Esq.; Langold, H.
Gaily Knight, Esq.; Lenton Priory, William Stretton,
Esq.; Muskham, J. Pocklington, Esq.; Newstead Abbey,
late Lord Byron (now the property of Major Wildman) ;
Norwood Park, Sir Richard Sutton, Bart.; Osberton, F. F.
Foljambe, Esq.; Ossington Hall, J. Denison, Esq.; Rufford
Abbey, Honourable J. L. Saville; Stanford Hall, C. V.
Dashwood, Esq.; Stappleford, Sir John Borlase Warren ;
Thoresby Park, Earl Manvers; Welbeck Abbey, Duke of
Portland ; Wollaton Hall, Lord Middleton ; Worksop Ma¬
nor, Duke of Norfolk.
NOVAIA, a small town of Tobolsk, in Asiatic Russia,
situated on the Irtysch, one hundred miles east-south-east
of Tobolsk.
NOVARA, a province of the duchy of Piedmont, in
the continental dominions of Sardinia. It extends over
610 square miles, and comprehends one city, 117 mar¬
ket-towns and villages, and about 100,000 inhabitants. It
is a level district, watered by the rivers Ticino, Sesia,
and Agnona, the streams of which are spread by numerous
small canals, so as to irrigate the whole of the surface; but
as the water is not stagnant, the air is not generally insalu¬
brious, excepting near the extensive rice-grounds. Much
corn is raised, and some of the best silk, with hemp, flax,
and fruits.
The capital is the city of the same name, situated on a
284
NOV
NOV
Nova Sco-hill at the foot of which flows the river Agnona; it is forti- both in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, those immense Nov;: J
tia.
fled, is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral. It con¬
tains several parish churches, seventeen convents for the
two sexes, and two thousand houses, with 14,662 inhabi¬
tants. The city has two colleges and a theological semi¬
nary. The chief occupations of the inhabitants consist in
weaving silk and linen, and some smaller trades. Long.
8. 32. 25. E. Lat. 45. 26. 58. N.
NOVA SCOTIA, a British province of North Ameri¬
ca, situated between the parallels of 43. 25. and 46. 0. north
latitude, and the meridians 61. 0. and 66.30. of west longi¬
tude, and connected with the south-east part of the con¬
tinent by an isthmus of only eight miles in width. It is
bounded on the north by the Strait of Northumberland,
which divides it from Prince Edward Island ; on the north¬
east by the Gut of Canseau, which interposes between it
and the island of Cape Breton ; on the south and south-
coal fields which are supposed to rival in extent the mines
of the mother country. Varieties of copper, iron, and lead
ores are also abundant; and different other minerals of less
importance are found. Salt springs, some of them strong¬
ly impregnated with saline matters, are met with near
Pictou, at River Philip, and some other parts. The soil
of Nova Scotia is of many different qualities, and various
degrees of fertility. The alluvial, or intervale lands, of
which there are extensive tracts, are rich, and produce
plentiful returns of wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, pota¬
toes, turnips, with all the vegetables and fruits common in
England. Some of the uplands, lying between the hilly
country and the rivers, are light and poor, whilst the high
lands are rich and very productive. The lands on the
southern coast are generally so rocky as to admit of cul¬
tivation only at much expense and labour ; but after the
east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Bay of stones are removed, the soil is by no means barren.
Fundy ; and on the north-west by New Brunswick. Its The interior of Nova Scotia is intersected and watered
extreme length from Cape Canseau on the east to Cape St by numerous rivers, lakes, and streams, which beautify
Mary’s on the west is about 280 miles; but its breadth and enrich the country. The two largest rivers are the An-
varies from fifty to about 100 miles, and it contains a su- napolis and the Shubneccadie. The former takes its rise
perficies of about 16,000 square miles, or upwards of nine in King’s county, and, running parallel with the bay of
millions of acres. From this, however, nearly one third Fundy, after a long and serpentine course, m which it
may be deducted for lakes, arms of the sea, and rivers, receives the Moose and Bear Rivers, discharges itself
leaving about seven millions of acres of land, five millions into Annapolis Bay. It is navigable to a considerable ex-
of which may be considered as adapted for cultivation, tent, and its banks present a rich and pleasing landscape,
and the remainder as affording tolerable pasturage. It is The Shubneccadie, issuing from the Grand Lake in the
estimated that above three millions of acres of these lands county of Halifax, divides that county from Hants, and,
still remain vacant, and in the hands of the crown ; but the after a rapid and circuitous course, the length of which
largest unoccupied tracts do not in one place exceed forty has not yet been accurately ascertained, discharges itself
thousand acres. into tl)e ^ay of' Minas- 11 receives the waters of ten other
The most remarkable physical characteristic of this pe- rivers, is navigable for large vessels a long way into the
ninsula of the North American continent is the numerous interior, and contains on its banks inexhaustible quan-
indentations along the coast. The shores are lined with titles of gypsum and lime, together with extensive groves
rocks and studded with thousands of small islands; and of fine timber. At Pictou, three rivers, navigable for
close’to these, and in the harbours, almost without excep- large vessels, empty themselves into the harbour; the
- - All along the East, West, and Middle Rivers. Besides these, there
tion, there is a considerable depth of water.  D— - - .
southern shore there is a succession of noble harbours ; and are the Avon, navigable for a considerable distance ; the
coasting vessels sail amongst and within the myriads of La Have, which issues from a chain of interior lakes, and
islands which line the coast during the most blustering wea- has a course of about sixty miles ; the Mersey, which
ther thus enioying comparatively smooth water, whilst the winds from Lake Rosignol through the Queen s c°uaty>
main ocean heaves in violent agitation. The interior of the and discharges itsel f into L.verpoo Harbour; the Med-
country is very agreeably diversified with hill and dale, river way, the Shelburn, the Clyde, the lusket, the bt Mary,
and lake, forest and grassy plain. The surface, although and others, all of which owe their origin to lakes m he
undulating, is not mountainous, the highest land, Ardoise interior. Ihe most extensive still sheet of water is
Hill or Arthur’s Seat, being only 810 feet above the level Rosignol, situated partly in each of the three counties of
of the sea nearly the same height as Arthur’s Seat at Edin- Queen, Shelburn, and Annapolis. It is said to be thirty
burgh. The highlands generally run north and south, miles in length, but is little known. Lake George is a so
branching off in all directions, and in some instances ter- of considerable size; and there are innumerable o er>
minating in bold cliffs on the coast, the most remarkable of which it is unnecessary to mention. Ihe forests o i
which is Aspotagoen, between Mahon and Margaret’s Bay, Scotia still constitute a prominent feature of the country,
which is about 500 feet in height. The Horton Mountains The trees are the same as those common to America and
run nearly north and south; and the north mountains, which the timber is generally large and lofty. Amongs
are washed by the Minas Basin, terminate in Cape Blomi- tural curiosities of this country is a huge granite stone,
don. The Blue Mountains, which lie in the interior of the supposed to weigh about a hundred and sixty-four
counties of Annapolis, Shelburn, and Queen’s, are said to stands on the margin of a small lake, encircled wi >
retain traces of volcanic eruption. There is a great va- near Halifax, and ,s so nicely poised on a flinty base oi
riety of rocks in Nova Scotia, but granite, trap, and clay- twelve inches, that the strength of one hand wi [
slate predominate. The most abundant variety is the gray motion, but that of several hundreds con « ,
granite, which prevails along the shore, and is well adapted from its place. I here are several remai kab e
for mill-stones. Trap rocks, sometimes interstratified with grottoes, one of which, at St Peter s Poin , .
clay-slate, protrude in various places in immense parallel of the Bay of Fundy, displays m the interior a sp
ridges above the surface, and frequently in piles of loose hall, the roof of winch is fretted with stalacti es ,
masses heaped confusedly together, traversed frequently by hant gems are observed sparkling at t1^ monie ^
veins of quartz. Clay-slate of a very fine quality, and used light of a torch or a candle approaches. 1 he • i re(j
as a building stone, prevails in the eastern section of the co- va Scotia was for many years after its discovery gn
lony ; and graywacke and graywacke-slate extend along as an insuperable barrier to agricultural in the
both shores of Chedabucto Bay, in which are found beds
of limestone and numerous species of specular iron ore.
In connection with carboniferous limestone are found,
idea long prevailed in England that it was peculiarly
region of snow and fog. The temperature is indeed co-
er in winter in this peninsula than it is in Great Bn
NOVA SCOTIA.
285
lia
V
but when the weather is cold it is usually dry, and alto¬
gether the winter is milder, and the summer less intense¬
ly hot, than at Quebec. The summer heat is moderate
and regular; the autumn is a delightful season ; and there
is seldom any severe winter weather until the end of
December. Frost continues generally from Christmas to
April, only interrupted by a thaw, which almost invariably
takes place in January. The heaviest snow-storms occur
in February. Rain falls in greatest abundance in spring
and autumn ; and a fog prevails on the south shore near
the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, but does not extend far
inland.
The wild animals are the moose, carriboo, bear, loup-
cervier, tiger-cat, fox, marten, otter, mink, beaver, musk¬
rat, porcupine, racoon, wood-chuck, fisher, weasel, squir¬
rel, hare, and the like, all of which, excepting the two
last, have rapidly decreased in number. Nearly all the
birds common to North America frequent Nova Scotia;
and there are but very few kinds of fish which are found
in the American seas that do not frequent the shores of
this colony in vast sw'arms.
Nova Scotia is divided into ten counties, including Cape
Breton ; and the counties are subdivided into districts and
townships as follows, viz. Halifax, divided into the dis¬
tricts of Halifax, Colchester, and Pictou, and containing
the townships of Halifax, Dartmouth, Preston, Lawrence
Town, Truro, Onslow, Londonderry, Pictou, Egerton, and
Maxwelton ; Lunenburg, containing the townships of Ches¬
ter, Lunenburg, and Dublin ; Queen’s county, containing
the township of Liverpool; Shelburn, containing the town¬
ships of Shelburn, Yarmouth, Barrington, Argyle, and Pub-
nico ; Annapolis, containing the townships of Digby, Cle¬
ments, Clare, Annapolis, Granville, and Wilmot; King’s
county, containing the townships of Aylesworth, Cornwal¬
lis, Horton, and Sherbrooke ; Cumberland, containing the
townships of Wallace, Amherst, and Pamborough ; Hants,
containing the townships of Falmouth, Windsor, Rawdon,
Kempt, Douglas, and Newport; Sydney, divided into the
Upper and Lower Districts, and containing the townships
of St Mary’s, Guysborough, Manchester, Wilmot, and Dor¬
chester, or Antigonish ; and Cape Breton, divided into the
north-western, north-eastern, and southern districts. The
townships are not all of equal extent, nor are there, as will
be seen, the same number in each county. The inhabi¬
tants meet, like an English parish, in vestry, and assess
themselves for the support of the poor. This regular sub¬
division affords facilities for the administration of justice;
and the principal townships send representatives to the
House of Assembly.
Halifax is the largest county in the province, stretching
quite across it from the Atlantic Ocean to Cumberland
Straits. It is bounded on the east by the county of Syd¬
ney, on the west by the counties of Hants and Lunenburg,
and on the north by the county of Cumberland. The whole
southern shore is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, and a
part of the northern shore by Northumberland Straits,
^ith the exception of the township of Halifax itself, the
general appearance of the three districts into which t-he
county is divided corresponds with that of the province as
a whole; its surface being everywhere diversified by hill
and dale, and well irrigated by rivers and brooks. All the
southern part which lies upon the Atlantic is high, broken,
rocky land, interspersed here and there with some good
cits of soil, but in general it is barren and uncultivated.
ie extensive tract of country surrounding the Great Lake
hears the same character, as does that which extends se-
veial miles along the eastern and western sides of the Shub-
flcccadte River. Halifax, the capital city of the province,
is situated on the south-east coast, in latitude 44. 40. north,
aJ onghude 63. 40. west. It is built on the eastern side
0 a sma ^ Peninsula, upon the declivity of a hill, which rises
gradually from the water’s edge ; its length being about Nova Sco-
two miles, and its breadth about half a mile, with wide t^a-
streets crossing each other at right angles, and containing
nearly 2000 houses, and a population, including strangers,
of about 20,000. It has been very much improved within
the last ten years. The front of the town is lined with
wharfs, alongside of which vessels of all sizes are conti¬
nually discharging or taking on board their cargoes. The
harbour of Halifax has perhaps not a superior in any part
of the world, affording safe anchorage for a thousand ships
at once ; and it is accordingly the chief naval station of
Great Britain in North America. It is accessible at all
seasons of the year, being scarcely ever ice-bound, as Que¬
bec annually is. It lies nearly north and south, extending
in this direction about sixteen miles, and terminating in a
beautiful sheet of water called Bedford Basin, within which
are ten square miles of excellent anchorage. The bay from
which the entrance of the harbour leads is formed between
Sambro Head and Devil’s Island, on the former of which a
lighthouse was very early erected. There are four islands
still farther in, upon the smallest of which, opposite the
town, there are batteries strongly mounted, whilst several
other fortifications command the harbour. A second light¬
house has been established on M‘Nab’s Island, situated
near the mouth of the harbour. This island forms two en¬
trances to the harbour; the eastern passage being for small
vessels only, the other having depth of water for ships of
all sizes. Above the wharfs already mentioned are nume¬
rous warehouses; and on the acclivity are the houses of
the citizens, public buildings, and other structures. The
houses are very irregular in height, but many of them are
handsome stone and brick buildings, whilst those of wood
are neatly faced with plaster or stucco. The public edi¬
fices are substantial, the Province Building in particular
being one of the finest in our American colonies. It con¬
tains chambers for the council and legislative assembly,
the supreme court, and all the provincial offices. The go¬
vernment-house, at the south end of the capital, is an an¬
tique baronial-looking edifice ; and the military hospital,
and other structures, are elegant and substantial. The
dock-yard is one of the finest establishments out of Bri¬
tain. There are a number of churches, and other places
for public worship; and several markets, which are ex¬
tremely well supplied with necessaries. Amongst the be¬
nevolent institutions of this city may be mentioned a col¬
lege, which was established in 1820; and seven or eight
newspapers, and a monthly magazine, are published. The
intercourse between Halifax and Europe, America, the
West Indies, &c. is regular and certain ; and ever since its
first settlement in 1749, it has continued to be of consi¬
derable importance, not only as a rendezvous for his ma¬
jesty’s ships, and as the head-quarters of the troops on the
establishment of the lower American provinces, but also as
the centre of a profitable fishery and trade. The manufac¬
tures carried on consist chiefly of sugar-refining, distilla¬
tion of spirits, porter and ale brewing, and the making of
soap, candles, leather, flour, and cordage, and a few other
minor articles. Halifax is a free warehousing port, and
its trade is very considerable.
Opposite to Halifax, on the eastern side of the harbour,
stands the little town of Dartmouth. It was laid out
about the time that the capital was founded, but in 1756
it was destroyed by the Indians, together with most of the
inhabitants. It was subsequently resettled, and has slow¬
ly increased in population, and extended in size. The
lands on the Dartmouth side of the harbour are much less
stubborn than those on the opposite shore; and the indus¬
trious descendants of the original German settlers have
long subjected them to a fair and profitable cultivation.
Hie various other townships or settlements in the county
of Halifax it is unnecessary to particularize individually*
286
NOVA SCOTIA.
Nova Sco-They all contain a considerable quantity of excellent soil,
lia- and a small town or hamlet where the settlers reside. Truro,
'"■“"‘v'-"-"1 situated on the southern side of Cobequid Bay, near its head,
contains about one hundred houses, and a number of pub¬
lic buildings. The district of Pictou, which contains three
townships, has a very good soil, and, besides a great coal¬
field, abounds with iron ore, copper, freestone, and lime.
It has a number of excellent harbours, the principal port
being called Pictou. It is admirably situated on the Straits
of Northumberland, opposite Prince Edward Island, on
the route from Halifax to Quebec, between which places
there is not a safer or better shelter for ships. The town
of Pictou, situated about two miles from the entrance, is
well built, and contains four churches, with other public
edifices, and about 3000 inhabitants. It is a free port, and
its trade in lumber, coal, and the fishery, is considerable.
An excellent newspaper is published at this place.
The county of Lunenburg is bounded on the north by
King’s county and that of Annapolis, on the south by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Halifax, and on the west
by Queen’s county. It extends forty miles from east to
west, and its extreme width is thirty-five miles, exclu¬
sive of nearly three hundred islands scattered along its
shores. The land is in general covered with spruce and
fir timber, well watered, and capable of cultivation. The
principal harbour is Mahon Bay, which is very extensive,
and affords secure anchorage inside its numerous islands
to vessels of the greatest magnitude. Chester town is si¬
tuated on the north side of the bay, about nine miles from
its mouth, upon a snug and commodious harbour. It is a
thriving place, and carries on a very considerable lumber
trade and fishery. It was first settled by people from New
England, who afterwards abandoned the place. They
were succeeded by Germans, who, being industrious, soon
secured their own independence and the prosperity of the
settlement. The population of the bay amounts to about
2000, who are chiefly employed in agriculture, preparing
lumber for exportation at the saw-mills, and in fishery.
Near the entrance of Mahon Bay, upon the western side,
lies the harbour of Lunenburg, the county town. It is regu¬
larly constructed, and contains the county buildings, above
140 dwelling-houses, besides stores, and about 1400 inha¬
bitants of Dutch and German origin. A few miles to the
westward is La Have, one of the largest rivers in Nova
Scotia, and settled principally by Germans, who own a
number of saw-mills and grist-mills. Ihe harbour is very
spacious, consisting of an outer and an inner place of an¬
chorage. Considerable quantities of fish are taken here,
and several vessels are annually freighted with lumber
and timber for Great Britain. Several islands well cal¬
culated for drying fish lie at the entrance, and they also
form a protection to the shipping. Most of the islands
in this county remain in their natural state; but one, call¬
ed the Great Tancook, is settled, and contains thirty fa¬
milies. c
Queen’s county is bounded on the east by the county of
Lunenburg, on the west by the county of Shelburn, on
the north by the county of Annapolis, and on the south by
the Atlantic Ocean. The interior of this county is stony,
and generally incapable of cultivation. On the sea-board,
however, it is better, and there are here several tracts of
respectable soil, and some thriving settlements. Liverpool,
the county town, and the second place in the province, is
situated upon a harbour of the same name, about eighty
miles west from Halifax. It is regularly laid out and well
built, containing a court-house, jail, several places of pub¬
lic worship, a fort, above twm hundred dwelling-houses, and
a great many wharfs, stores, and other buildings. There
is a good lighthouse at the entrance of the harbour, which
never freezes over. The trade of the place is very flou¬
rishing, consisting chiefly in lumber and fish ; but a con¬
siderable trade in timber is also carried on. Port Med-1/
way, into which the river Medway runs, is a very fine har¬
bour, capacious, and safe. There are some other smallv
settlements in this county, but none requiring special no¬
tice.
Shelburn county is bounded on the north by Annapolis
county, on the sooth and west by the Atlantic Ocean, and
on the east by Queen’s county. It contains four townships,
one of which, Yarmouth, comprises 100,000 acres of land,
exclusive of lakes, of which Lake George is one. In the
interior, this county remains, with few exceptions, in the
state of a wilderness ; but some parts are agreeably diver¬
sified, and in point of scenery it is one of the most beau¬
tiful portions of Nova Scotia. Shelburn, the shire-town,
is built upon a harbour of the same name, which is es¬
teemed one of the best in America. It has a lighthouse
at the entrance, and is twelve miles in length, easy of ac¬
cess, and perfectly secure, affording anchorage for the
largest vessels. This town was at one time of considera¬
ble importance, containing, it is said, about 12,000 inha¬
bitants ; but the population does not now exceed 500. A
few miles westward of Shelburn is Cape Negro Harbour,
sheltered by a high island of the same name. It forms the
embouchure of the river Clyde, which winds forty miles
through the county, has finely wooded banks, and, next
to Annapolis, the most beautiful stream in the province.
Within Cape Sable Island, the most northern point in Nova
Scotia, is Barrington Harbour, where fishing to a consi¬
derable extent is carried on. Yarmouth or Cape Fourche
Harbour is the principal and most thriving place in this
part of the province. Its harbour is large, well sheltered,
safe, and navigable for ships up to Yarmouth village.
Yarmouth and" its neighbourhood contain an industrious
population oi about 4500 inhabitants, who possess about
seventy vessels and large stocks ot cattle. It has always
gone on steadily improving, and promises, from its nume¬
rous local advantages, to become a place of considerable
importance. Shebogue River, in this part ol the piovince,
is navigable for seven miles from the sea, and at its mouth
expands into a good harbour.
Annapolis county is bounded on the north and west by
the Bay of Fundy, on the south by Shelburn, Queen’s, and
Lunenburg counties, and on the east by King’s county.
The first European settlements in Nova Scotia were esta¬
blished in this county by the French, who made some very
extensive improvements. They founded Annapolis, the
county town, and gave it the name of Port Royal. It is
built upon a peninsula, which, projecting into the river ni
the same designation, forms two beautiful basins, one above
and another below t-he town. Although once the metropolis
of Nova Scotia, it is not now more than a thriving village,
containing about sixty dwelling-houses, with the govern¬
ment buildings, several places of public worship, and some
stores. The trade is comparatively insignificant, and arises
principally from the fishery. Digby, which has sprung up
into a town within the last fifty or sixty years, is a much
larger place, containing about two hundred houses. _ Ije
inhabitants here and in the neighbourhood are principally
engaged in the cod and mackerel fishery along the coas.
Bridgetown, another thriving village, is situated at the
head of the navigation of the river, and from this place
produce of the inland districts is shipped for exporta¬
tion. Fish of various kinds, such as shad, bass, salmon,
and particularly herring frequent Annapolis basin. A ou
seven miles from Annapolis, on a stream called ivi
River, an iron foundery has been established by a com
pany under the protection of a legislative charter,
buildings are extensive and substantial, and the iron
is excellent; but a similar work at Pictou possesses
great advantage of a coal mine in the immediate vicm )•
The basin of Minas, in this county, is one of the two g
NOVA SCOTIA.
I o- branches of the Bay of Fundy. Its entrance is through a
strait about three miles in width, with bohi, abrupt shores,
within which it widens from eight to sixteen miles, and, re¬
ceiving the waters of upwards of twenty rivers and streams,
extends about fifty miles to the head of Cobequid Bay.
The tide rises sometimes so high as seventy feet in the
bay, and flows with great rapidity, particularly when under
the influence of high winds. The other townships of this
county are thriving places, containing from 1000 to be¬
tween 3000 and 4000 inhabitants.
King’s county is bounded on the south by the counties
of Lunenburg and Hants, on the north by the Bay of Fundy,
on the east by Cumberland county, and on the west by
that of Annapolis. The township of Horton, in this coun¬
ty, contains about 4000 acres of diked land, besides inter¬
vale and salt marshes; and the upland, which is hilly and
broken, consists mostly of good tillage land. The principal
town is Kentville, on the borders of Cornwallis, containing
several good private houses, a court-house, a jail, and a
grammar school. The township of Cornwallis is well wa¬
tered by several rivers, and the land throughout is of the
very best quality, being so fertile as to have obtained the
name of the garden of the province. The township of
Aylesford is similar to it in soil and productions ; but that
of Parrsburgh is much broken and hilly, although in many
parts the soil is excellent.
Cumberland county is bounded on the north-west by
the Chignecto Channel, the Missiguash River, and part of
New Brunswick; on the east by the straits of Northum¬
berland ; on the south-east by the county of Halifax ; and
on the south-west by King’s county. The soil of this
county is various, containing a considerable portion of ex¬
cellent land, with some that is not so productive. On the
shore of the Chignecto Channel and Cumberland Basin
there are considerable tracts of valuable marsh land. The
upland is in general of very superior quality, and there
are several thousand acres of dike land of the most pro¬
ductive description. Coal, lime, and gypsum, are found
almost everywhere; and iron and copper ores have been
discovered at several places. Rivers and streams traverse
the county in almost every direction, and it has several
fine harbours on both its shores. It contains a number of
thriving settlements, particularly those of Fort Lawrence,
Amherst, Wallace, and West Chester; but none of the
towns requires particular notice.
Hants county is bounded upon the north by the Minas
Basin, on the east by Shubneccadie River, which separates
it from Halifax, on the south by parts of the counties of
Halifax and Lunenburg, and on the west by King’s county.
This county contains a considerable quantity of the very
finest soil, and is well settled throughout. Windsor, the
shire-town, is situated at the confluence of the Avon,
Windsor, and St Croix Rivers, and is a neat, well-built
place, containing about one hundred and thirty dwelling-
houses, and a number of public buildings, particularly an
university, King’s College, an academy called the Colle¬
giate School, and several places of worship. This is the
only town in the county, the other settlements being small
lamlets planted in positions favourable for agriculture or
fishing.
Sydney county, forming the most easterly part of the pro¬
vince, is bounded on the west by the county of Halifax ; on
ie south by the Atlantic Ocean ; on the east by Chedabuc-
o ay, the Gut of Canseau, and St George’s Bay'; and on
ie north by Northumberland Straits. It is divided into an
jTpei and a lower district, the former being, in an agricul-
ural point of view, far superior to the latter; and, not-
1 standing the numerous and beautiful harbours on the
287
bays and coasts, and the valuable fisheries, it is much more Nova Sco-
populous. The village of Dorchester, situated about a mile ^a-
above the navigation on Antigonish River, is the principal ^ v'~—^
trading place in the district. The lower district of Syd¬
ney extends on its interior or northern boundary about forty
miles, and on its western side (on the sea coast) about one
hundred and twenty miles. No part of Nova Scotia, and
perhaps few countries in the world, can boast of so many
excellent harbours in the same extent of coast. Many of
them are navigable for the largest vessels, and numbers af¬
fording safe and extensive anchorage-ground for ships of
moderate size occur at intervals of only a few miles. The
soil along the shore being stubborn, the agricultural re¬
sources of this part of the county are inferior to those of
the upper district; but it possesses much greater facilities
for commerce and navigation, and its fisheries are the best
in the province.
For a general description and history of Cape Breton,
the reader is referred to the article Breton, Cape. In
many respects it bears so close a resemblance to Nova Sco¬
tia as to supersede any further description. The staple pro¬
ducts of the island are fish, coal, gypsum, and timber. In
1832 the exports were, timber, 9500 loads ; coals, 22,911
chaldrons; pickled fish, 21,000 barrels d dried fish, 44,000
quintals ; oil, 2500 barrels; live stock, 820 head; oats, 6000
bushels ; potatoes, 13,000 ditto ; total value, L.780,000.
The imports, consisting chiefly of British manufactures,
amount to nearly the same sum. The revenue, amount¬
ing to about L.4000 a year, is expended in salaries to a
few public functionaries, in improving roads, and for other
purposes. This island is incorporated with Nova Scotia,
and contains about 30,000 inhabitants, who send two mem¬
bers to the Provincial Assembly.
Sable Island, although distant about eighty-five miles
from Nova Scotia, is considered as belonging to that pro¬
vince. It lies directly in the track of vessels bound to or
from Europe, and has been the scene of numerous and me¬
lancholy shipwrecks. Within a few years forty vessels have
been wrecked on it; and in one year two hundred people
perished on its shores. It is thirty miles in length by about
one and a half in breadth, the west end being in latitude
43. 56. 42. north, and longitude 60. 71. 15. west; and the
eastern end in latitude 43. 59. 5. north, and longitude 59.
42. west. It is a barren desert throughout, the soil consist¬
ing chiefly of sand, and the only vegetable productions
being a coarse grass and some wild berries. A sum of
L.800 is devoted to keeping on the island a superintendent
from Nova Scotia, with a party of men provided with pro¬
visions and other necessaries, for the purpose of affording
assistance to any shipwrecked mariners, of whatsoever na¬
tion, who may be driven upon its inhospitable shores. There
is a small stock of cattle on the island, but the chief sup¬
plies of food are obtained from Nova Scotia.
Agriculture was long almost entirely neglected in Nova
Scotia, as other pursuits afforded a more immediate return
for labour and capital. In fact, the cultivation of the soil was
looked upon as rather a degrading employment, and ranked
far below that of the petty shop-keeper or itinerant pedlar.
In 1817, however, a board of agriculture was formed, the ob¬
jects of which were, the encouragement of agriculture on the
most approved system; the improving of the breed of horses,
and of all kinds of live stock; the importing of the best kinds
of seeds, and the awarding of prizes to those who should
excel in these various departments. Under the auspices
of this society and its numerous branches, agriculture has
made greater advances than could have been anticipated
from the contempt in which it had previously been held ;
but still farming operations are rather clumsily conducted.
A great part of the fish taken here is transported directly to Halifax, and therefore does not appear in the Cape Breton returns.
288
NOVA SCOTIA.
Nova Sco-The soil will produce, and the climate ripen, all the agri-
tia* cultural productions of England in great perfection, so that
it is unnecessary to specify individual crops. The province
is well stocked with horses, horned cattle, sheep, and swine ;
and the last species of stock has more than doubled within
the last twenty-five years. There are few manufactures,
properly so called, carried on in Nova Scotia ; but the pre¬
paration of lumber and ship-building are sometimes so de¬
nominated. Saw-mills abound in every district, and the
quantity of lumber prepared and exported is immense.
Ship-building is carried on to a great extent. The average
quantity has been estimated at 10,000 tons per annum, prin- No
cipally sloops, schooners, and vessels for the fisheries. The
total quantity of timber shipped from the colony in 1833^"
was valued at L.62,447. The total value of the produce
of the mines exported was L.105,329, and of the fisheries
L.127,455. There were exported besides, beef, pork, flour,
grindstones, gypsum, and other articles, to the value of
L.592,136, making the total amount of exports L.887,367.
The following parliamentary return presents a tabular view
of the exports from Nova Scotia, exclusive of Cape Breton,
for several years ending 5th January.
Seal skins 
Oil 
Fish, dry  
Ditto, pickled 
Ditto, ditto 
Timber, &c 
Gypsum 
Boards and planks.
Vegetables 
Spars 
Staves 
Grindstones 
1830.
14,913
618
158,289
45,741
3,416
25,182
28,059
12,450,250
68,213
976
4,068
1831.
3,365
715
151,807
45,433
2,999
26,182
44,253
9,876
63,503
1,322
3,051
1832.
1833.
49,412
694
161,174
52,063
3,200
33,261
47,857
8,833
58,691
689
2,386
51,918
704
160,640
36,070
2,168
38,192
45,058
9,984
64,712
1,689
2,714
2,192
1834.
22,229
596
232,269
53,128
1,470
36,386
93,962
14,774
75,592
2,366
3,133
36,386
number.
tons.
quintals.
barrels.
half ditto.
tons.
ditto.
feet.
bushels.
number.
thousands.
tons.
The fish is thus the staple article of the trade of this
province. The fishery is carried on principally on the east¬
ern shore, in and about Chednbucto Bay i on the southern
shore, at Lunenburg, Liverpool, and Shelburn; on the west¬
ern shore, at Yarmouth, Clare, Argyle, and Barrington ;
and at Annapolis, in the Bay of Fundy. Ihe fish princi¬
pally taken are cod, herrings, mackerel, shad, alewives, and
salmon. The British fishermen complain much of the in¬
juries which they receive from the French and Americans,
who are permitted to fish upon the coasts of our North
American colonies.
The imports of Nova Scotia consist chiefly of British
manufactures and spirits, sugar, wines, and other articles
from our colonies. The following is an abstract of goods
imported between the 31st of December 1832, and the
31st of December 1833, for which duties were paid or se¬
cured at the excise office, including the island of Cape
BretonWine, 113,671 gallons; rum, brandy, and gin,
887,352 gallons ; sugar, 41,990 cwts.; beef and pork, 6016
pounds; flour, 32,263 pounds ; tobacco, 186,690 pounds.
The amount of goods imported, paying ad valorem duties,
was L.347,388, and the amount of duties levied was
L. 105,386. The total value of the importations for that
year was L.1,035,660.
With regard to the shipping of the colony, the total
number of vessels inwards in 1833 was 1950, of 163,385
tons ; and in 1834, 3068, of 253,921 tons. The total num¬
ber outwards in 1833 was 2330, of 179,956; and in 1834,
3116, of 250,239 tons. They belonged chiefly to Great
Britain and the British colonies. To show the increase of
trade, it may be stated, that in 1807 the shipping entering
Nova Scotia was not more than 25,000 tons.
The revenue of Nova Scotia is chiefly derived from the
custom and excise duties above mentioned, to which are
added other items of small amount derived from the sale
of crown lands, which in 1831 realized L.645, and in 1832,
L.1063 ; from the rent of the coal-mines, which is upwards
ofL.4000 per annum; and from the lighthouse dues, which
amount to an annual average of L.2000. According to a
document first printed in Mr Montgomery Martin’s work
on the British colonies, the revenues for a series of years
were as follow:—
Years.
Colonial Gross
Revenue.
Parliamentary
Grants.
Total.
1821
1822
1825
1826
1827
1829
1830
1831
£
31.430
32,097
37,004
38,360
59.886
81.887
52,030
85,018
9,395
11.245
13,998
16.245
13,125
£
31,430
32.097
46,399
49,605
59,886
95,885
68,275
98,143
The colony of Nova Scotia is quite adequate to defray
all its civil expenditure, and the parliamentary grants, much
of which had been applied to clerical purposes, were near¬
ly all withdrawn in 1833, with the exception of that given
to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In 1831
the civil and military expenditure amounted to L.94,876,
which was less than the revenue. Besides the salaries of
the different functionaries, a considerable sum has been
laid out annually in making and repairing roads and bridges,
keeping up lighthouses, and for the purposes o! religion
and education. The established church is Episcopalian,
and under the management of a bishop, archdeacon, and
thirty-two clergymen, who by the last census bad under
their charge 28,659 people. Of the church of Scotland
there are twelve ministers, having 37,227 hearers. Of
the Roman Catholic church there are a bishop and four¬
teen priests, with 20,401 members. There are, besides,
19,790 Baptists, 9408 Methodists, 2968 Lutherans, 4417
dissenters from the church of England, 405 from the
church of Scotland, 153 Quakers, and some few other
persuasions. About 50,000 acres of land have been grant¬
ed for the support of religion and schools. For the year
ending November 1832 there were in the province 42
schools, at which 11,771 scholars attended; and independ¬
ently of these there wTere twenty-four grammar-schoo s.
Dalhousie College, at Halifax, is in constitution similar to
the University of Edinburgh. There is a fine institution,
called King’s College, at Windsor, with regularly educated
NOV
id- professors and others; and Pictou College is likewise an
excellent institution.
Nova Scotia is governed by a lieutenant-governor, coun¬
cil, and house of assembly. The president of the council
is the chief justice of the province; the next in station is
the bishop, and there are ten other members. The house
of assembly contains forty-two members, each of the ten
counties returning two, except the county of Halifax, which
returns four, and the town of Halifax two; seventeen other
towns return each a member, and the island of Cape Bre¬
ton sends two. The house of assembly act, and the laws
are administered, as in Canada. There is a strong body of
militia for the defence of the province, the name of every
male from sixteen to sixty being enrolled. The king’s troops
consist of artillery and engineer detachments, and two re¬
giments of infantry. Halifax is the chief naval station for
the West Indies and North America, the commander-in¬
chief being a vice-admiral, with a suitable fleet. The forts
protecting Halifax town and harbour are strong, and the
interior of the country is well guarded by the militia.
By the last census, which was taken in the year 1827, the
population, exclusive of Cape Breton, was 123,848. In 1837
it cannot be estimated under 145,000 ; for during the last
ten years a great quantity of land has been sold, and
a number of settlers have gone out, whilst the revenue
has also greatly increased. The inhabitants consist of
natives, the descendants of Europeans, English, Scotch,
Irish, Americans, loyalists, Germans, Acadian French,
Indians, and freed negroes. They mingle and live toge¬
ther in much harmony, and, generally, the social state of
this province is rapidly improving. Its prosperity has
greatly increased; and, instead of importing, it now ex¬
ports provisions. Its fisheries, to which proper attention
is at length paid, its rich and prolific soil, and its mines of
coal and iron, are sources of wealth which were too long
neglected by Great Britain.
Our limits will only admit of a brief abstract of the history
of Nova Scotia. Ancient authorities state that it wms dis¬
covered by the Cabots in 1497 ; but it was not until 1604
that the French attempted to form settlements. They
were, however, expelled from it by the English colonists
of Virginia, who claimed the country in right of the dis¬
covery of Sebastian Cabot. In 1621, Sir William Alex¬
ander obtained a grant of the whole peninsula, and it was
named in the patent Nova Scotia, instead of Acadia, as the
country was called by the French. In the mean time,
the latter obtained a footing in it a second time; and it
was not until 1654, when a strong force was despatched
by Cromwell, that the French settlers were brought un-
uer subjection. In 1667, Nova Scotia was ceded to France
y the treaty of Breda ; but, after suffering during the war
which broke out in 1701, as well as previously, it was final¬
ly ceded to England by treaty in the year 1711. From this
period till 1749 it was neglected by Great Britain ; but the
esigns of the French called the attention of government to
t ie province. Encouragements were held out to settlers,
L;I/“Save a larSe grant, and about 4000 adventurers
t;eir am'hes embarked for the colony. Halifax was
nan,1 rte “v foun(Jed ’ 15111 the French settlers, under the
airl !c1neUTtr"Is’ Were sti11 very numerous; and, with the
thp n v ^ Indians, they inflicted repeated injuries upon
In 17cqIS1’ Untl- they were forcibly expelled by the latter,
thn pp t3 con®tlTtution "as granted to Nova Scotia; and
dUrinC!PiUre ° Louisburg, in the island of Cape Breton,
lonv ^ i ?e,same fear, gave additional security to the co-
Paris 'll nil1 c uWv began t0 imProve» By the treaty of
claims n 1 ° ^bruary 1762, France resigned all further
rica a nr/' any- °* per former possessions in North Ame-
currpd 11 iF °* an.y naaterial importance has since oc-
into twn rli ^ lunswiclc and Cape Breton were separated
m. xvi governments in 1784, and the latter was
NOV
289
re-annexed to Nova Scotia in 1819. This the colonists Novatian
strongly protested against, and applied to government to jj
allow them to remain as a separate province ; but, as might Novation,
have been expected, their application proved unsuccess-
fob R< R ^
NOVATIAN, a priest of Rome, but originally a pagan
philosopher. He was baptized in bed when dangerously
ill; having recovered, he was afterwards ordained priest
through the favour of his bishop, although the clergy and
the people were far from being disposed to grant it. He
does not appear to have had the good of the church much
at heart; for, with his wit, knowledge, and eloquence, he
might have been peculiarly serviceable to her, had he not
meanly shrunk from his duty when he dreaded persecution.
His ambition to be a bishop likewise misled him ; and the
circumstance which occasioned the apostacy of most of the
first heresiarchs also occasioned his. On the death of Fabian,
bishop of Rome, Novatian, after writing a letter to St Cy¬
prian, remained quiet whilst the see was vacant; but the
promotion of Cornelius excited his envy and jealousy to
the highest pitch. The consequence was a separation
f rom the new bishop, and from those who professed to be¬
lieve, what Novatian strenuously denied, that the church
could receive those again who had been guilty of idola¬
try. He soon got together a number of followers amongst
the laity, and some even amongst the clergy. Novatus, a
priest of Carthage, was one of his party, and having been
opposed to St Cyprian, brought his adherents with him.
In an infamous and clandestine manner he got himself con¬
secrated bishop of Rome, by three weak men, whom he had
grossly imposed upon ; and one of them afterwards did pe¬
nance for having been concerned in what was so contrary
to order, decency, and the rules of the church. His de*-
signs, however, in this disgraceful affair did not succeed;
for he was not acknowledged as bishop of that diocese,5
Cornelius being confirmed in it, whilst he was condemned
and excommunicated. He still, however, taught his doc¬
trine, and at length became the head of the party which
bears his name. St Jerome says he wrote on the Passover,
on the Sabbath, on Circumcision, on the high priests, on
prayer, on Jewish meals, and on firmness of mind, besides
a large treatise on the Trinity. But none of these works
appears under his own name, and some are thought not
to be his.
NOVATIANS, Novatiani, a sect of ancient heretics,
who arose towards the close of the third century, and were
so called from Novatian, a priest of Rome. They were also
denominated Carficcri or Puritans. Novatian first separated
from the communion of Pope Cornelius, on pretence of his
being too easy in admitting to repentance those who had
fallen off in times of persecution. Novatus coming to
Rome, joined himself to the faction of Novatian, and both
maintained that there was no other admission into the
church but by the repentance in baptism, grounding their
opinion on the words of St Paul : “ It is impossible for
those once enlightened, and who have tasted the heavenly
gift, if they fall away, to renew themselves by repentance.”
Not that they denied but a person who had fallen into any
sin, however grievous, might obtain pardon by repentance ;
for the Novatians themselves recommended repentance in
the strongest terms. But their doctrine was, that the church
had not the power to receive sinners into its communion,
as having no way of remitting sins but by baptism, which,
once received, could not be repeated. In process of time
the Novatians softened and moderated the rigour of their
master s doctrine, and only refused absolution to very
great sinners. Ihe two leaders were proscribed, and de¬
clared heretics, not for excluding penitents from commu¬
nion, but for denying that the church had a power of re¬
mitting sins.
NOVATION, or Innovation, in the Civil Law, de-
2 o
290
NOV
Novatus notes the change of one kind of obligation for another;
II as when a promise is accepted instead of a written ob-
Novel
^NOVATUS, a priest of Carthage in the third century,
who, to avoid being punished for a crime, joined with the
deacon named Felicissimus against St Cyprian. In Lol
he went to Rome, and there found Novatian, who had ac¬
quired great reputation' by his eloquence, but who mur¬
mured at his not being raised to the see of Rome m pre¬
ference to Cornelius. Novatus soon contracted a friendship
with him, and afterwards promoted the consecration of
Novatian. This irregular proceeding produced a very
great schism. Novatus also maintained that the churc i
had not the power to receive those into communion who
had fallen into idolatry.
NOVEL, a fictitious narrative in prose, which protesses
to exhibit the natural workings of the human heart, the
happiness and misery of private life, and, above all, the
nature of the affection called love, and the consequences of
indulging it in certain circumstances. A critic, by no
means too indulgent to works of fancy, and amongst w hose
failings laxity of morals has never been numbered, thus
expresses himself on the subject of novel-writing. “ Ihese
familiar histories,” says Dr Johnson, “ may perhaps be
, ^ade of greater use than the solemnities of professed mo¬
rality, and convey the knowledge of vice and virtue with
more efficacy than axioms and definitions. But if the
power of example is so great as to take possession of the
memory by a kind of violence, and produce effects almost
without the intervention of the will, care ought to be ta¬
ken, that, when the choice is unrestrained, the best exam¬
ples only should be exhibited; and that what is likely to
operate so strongly, should not be mischievous or uncertain
in its effects.” n .i ■ „
We have said that the novel professes above all things
to exhibit the nature of love, and its consequences. Whe¬
ther this be essential to such performances, may perhaps
be reasonably questioned; but it has been made an im¬
portant part of the drama in most novels, and, we thinK,
with great propriety. It is the object of the novelhst to
give a true picture of life, diversified only by accidents
that daily happen in the world, and influenced by passions
and qualities which are really to be found in conversing
with mankind. To accomplish this object, he conceives
a hero or heroine, whom he places in a certain rank of
life, endows with certain qualities of body and mind, and
conducts, through many vicissitudes of fortune, either to
the summit of happiness or to the abyss of misery, accord¬
ing to the passion which he wishes to excite in his read¬
ers. In the modern novel, this hero or heroine is never
placed on a throne or buried in a cottage ; because to the
monarch and the cottager no difficulties occur which can
deeply interest the majority of readers. But amongst the
virtuous part of the intermediate orders of society, that
affection which we call love seldom fails, at some period of
life, to take possession of the hearts of both sexesand
wherever it has place, it must be productive of happiness
or of misery. In the proper management of this passion
consists much of the difficulty of the novel writer. He
must exhibit his hero as feeling all the pangs and plea¬
sures of love, as sometimes animated with hope, and some¬
times ready to sink into despair, but always exerting him¬
self to obtain the gratification of his wishes. In doing this,
care should be taken, either that he never transgress the
laws of virtue, or that at least he never transgress them
with impunity.
“ It is justly considered,” says the writer above quoted,
a as the greatest excellency of art to imitate nature; but
it is necessary to distinguish those parts of nature which
are most proper for imitation: greater care is still requir¬
ed in representing life, which is so often discolouied by
NOV
passion or deformed by wickedness. If the world be pro- N
miscuously described, I cannot perceive of what use it^-
can be to read the account; or why it may not be as safe
to turn the eye immediately upon mankind, as upon a
mirror which shows all that presents itself without discri¬
mination. It is therefore not a sufficient vindication of a
character, that it is drawn as it appears; for many cha¬
racters ought never to be drawn : nor of a narrative, that
the train of events is agreeable to observation; for that
observation which is called knowledge of the world will
be found much more frequently to make men cunning
than good. The purpose of these writings is surely not
only to show mankind, but to provide that they may be
seen hereafter with less hazard; to teach the means of
avoiding the snares which are laid by treachery for inno¬
cence, without insuring any wish for that superiority with
which the betrayer flatters his vanity ; to give the power
of counteracting fraud, without the temptation to practise
it; to initiate youth, by mock encounters, in the art of ne¬
cessary defence; and to increase prudence without im¬
pairing virtue.
« Many writers, for the sake of following nature, so
mingle good and bad qualities in their principal person¬
ages, that they are both equally conspicuous; and as we
accompany them through their adventures with delight,
and are led by degrees to interest ourselves in their fa¬
vour, we lose the abhorrence of their faults, because they
do not hinder our pleasures, or perhaps regard them with
some kindness for being united with so much merit. There
have been men indeed splendidly wicked, whose endow¬
ments threw a brightness on their crimes, and whom
scarce any villany made perfectly detestable, because
they never could be wholly divested of their excellencies:
but such have been in all ages the great corrupters of the
world ; and their resemblance ought no more to be pre¬
served than the art of murdering without pain.
“ In narratives, where historical veracity has no place,
there should be exhibited the most perfect idea of virtue;
of virtue not angelical, nor above probability (for what we
cannot credit we shall never imitate), but the highest
and purest that humanity can reach, which, exercised in
such trials as the various revolutions of things shall bring
upon it, may, by conquering some calamities and endur¬
ing others, teach us what we may hope, and what we can
perform. Vice (for vice is necessary to be shown) should
always disgust; nor should the graces of gaiety, or the
dignity of courage, be so united with it as to reconcde it
to the mind. Wherever it appears, it should raise hatred
by the malignity of its practices, and contempt by the
meanness of its stratagems ; for while it is supported by
either parts or spirit, it will seldom be heartily abhoi-
" It is farther observed by Johnson, that the task of the
novel writer “ requires, together with that learning whicn
is to be gained from books, that experience which can
never be attained by solitary diligence, but must aiise
from general converse and accurate observation of ^
living world. Their performances have, as Horace ex
presses it, plus oneris quantum variai minus, little in 11
gence, and therefore more difficulty. They are engage
in portraits of which every one knows the orlgina ’
can detect any deviation from exactness of resem •
Other writings are safe, except from the malice of ea
ing, but these are in danger from every common rea ’
tho slinner ill executed was censured by a shoe
as the slipper ill executed was censured by - -
who happened to stop in his way at the Venus of AP ^
« But the fear of not being approved as a just c i ^
human manners, is not the most important conceri ^
an author of this class ought to have before him. * e>
are written chiefly to the young, the ignorant, an 1 ...
to whom they serve as lectures of conduct an
N O V
’• tion into life. In every such work, it should therefore he
^carefully inculcated, that virtue is the highest proof of un¬
derstanding, and the only solid basis of greatness ; and
that vice is the natural consequence of narrow thoughts;
that it begins in mistake, and ends in ignominy ; and since
love must be introduced, it should be represented as lead¬
ing to wretchedness whenever it is separated from duty
or from prudence.’’
For some striking and profound observations on the
effects of novel-reading, the reader is referred to what Mr
Stewart has written upon that subject in his Elements of
the Philosophy of the Mind. See the article Romances.
Novel, in the civil law, a term applied to the constitu¬
tions of several emperors (novella; constitutiones), more par¬
ticularly those of Justinian. See Civil Law.
NOVEL fY, or Newness. Of all the circumstances
which raise emotions, not excepting beauty, nor even great¬
ness, says Lord Karnes, novelty has the most powerful in¬
fluence. A new object produces instantaneously an emo¬
tion termed wonder, which totally occupies the mind, and
for a time excludes all other objects. Conversation amoncst
the vulgar never is more interesting than when it turns
upon strange objects and extraordinary events. Men
tear themselves from their native country in search of
tilings rare and new ; and novelty converts into a pleasure
the fatigues and even perils of travelling. To what cause
shall we ascribe these singular appearances ? To curiosity,
undoubtedly ; a principle implanted in human nature for
a purpose extremely beneficial, that of acquiring know-
ledge; and the emotion of wonder raised by new and
strange objects inflames our curiosity to know more of
such objects. This emotion is different from admiration.
Novelty, wherever found, whether in a quality or action,
is the cause of wonder; admiration is directed to the per¬
son who performs any thing wonderful.
The pleasure of novelty is easily distinguishable from
that of variety. To produce the latter, a plurality of ob¬
jects is necessary; the former arises from a circumstance
found in a single object. Again, where objects, whether
co-existent or successive, are sufficiently diversified, the
pleasure of variety is complete, though every single object
of the train be familiar; but the pleasure of novelty, direct¬
ly opposite to familiarity, requires no diversification.
However natural novelty may be, it is matter of expe¬
rience, that those who relish it the most are careful to
concea its influence. Love of novelty, it is true, prevails
c icren, in idlers, and in men of shallow understand¬
ing ; and yet, after all, why should one be ashamed of in¬
dulging a natural propensity ? A distinction will afford a
ausfactory answer. No man is- ashamed of curiosity when
t is indulged to acquire knowledge. But to prefer any
mg merely because it is new, shows a mean taste, which
bottom^1 u°,befsh,amed of- Vanity is commonly at the
f . ’ and eads tllose wh° are deficient in taste to pre-
er t mgs odd, rare, or singular, in the hope of distinguish-
in| themselves from others. In fact, this appetite reigns
of re^edmXCr;ie0Lurr” taste’who are ign0rant
Wf ^av,e some mem°rable instances in men
of Pfnipg an,d.tbe best education. Lucian tells a story
nourate u h 38 disgraceful to as it is ho^
world for t 118 SubJec.ts- rhls prince had ransacked the
black all ov° cur'osltles 5 °ne was a camel from Bactria,
These ji n ’ he, other a man halr black half white,
blinking pe°P,e in a.Public theatre,
N 0 W
291
Nowogo-
rod.
tli nkino. fiA ,, . in a puunc meatre,
didhimg bu/thih d L1Ve them a- mUCh satisf'action as they
affrighted tlm b ^ ™onster, instead of delighting them,
contSofso 5 ^ ^ P^oloured man rais'd the
hnding the p°me..and the abhorrence of others. Ptolemy,
the most astn!FT-IanS PrefeiTed symmetry and beauty to
nishing productions of art or nature without
them, wisely removed his two anomalous trifles out ofNovemviri
sight; the neglected camel died in a little time, and the 11
maa be gave for a song to the musician Thespis.
JNO VEMVTRI, nine magistrates of Athens, whose go¬
vernment lasted but for one year. The first of them was
called archo?i, or prince ; the second basileus, or king ; the
third polemarchus, or general of the army; the other six
were called thesmotheUe, or lawgivers. They took an oath
^observe the laws, and, in case of failure, obliged them¬
selves to bestow upon the commonwealth a statue of cmld
as large as themselves. Those who discharged their office
with honour were received into the number of the sena¬
tors of Areopagus.
NOVI, a city of the duchy of Genoa, in Italy, now be¬
longing to Sardinia. It is situated on the great road to
1 ledmont, has a strong castle, several churches, and 5572
inhabitants, who prepare some of the best silk in the dis¬
trict, in w hich they have a brisk trade, as well as in colo¬
nial productions.
NO\IGE, a person not yet skilled or experienced in an
art or profession. In the ancient Roman militia, novicii
or novitn xveve the young raw soldiers, distinguished by
this appellation from the veterans. In the ancient orders
of knighthood, there were novices or clerks in arms, who
went through a kind of apprenticeship ere they were ad¬
mitted knights.
Novice is more particularly used in monasteries for a
religious person still in his or her year of probation, and
who has not made the vows. In some convents the sub-
prior has the direction of the novices. In nunneries the no¬
vices wear a vyhite veil, the rest a black one.
t NOViCIATE, a year of probation appointed for the
trial of religious, whether or not they have a vocation, and
the necessary qualities for living up to the rule, the obser¬
vance of which they are to bind themselves to by vow. The
noviciate lasts a year at least, in some houses more. It is
esteemed the bed of civil death to a novice, who expires
to the world by profession.
NOYOGOROD. See Nowogorod.
NOWADAH, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Bahar, fifty-four miles south-south-east from Patna. Near
it there is a pass through the mountains. Loner. 85. 40 E
Lat. 24. 54. N.
_ NOWAGUR, a town of Hindustan, in tne province of
Gundwana, situated on the north-west bank of the Maha-
nuddy River. It belongs to the Nagpore Mahrattas, and is
thirty miles south-south-east from Ruttunpoor. Lon°-
55. E. Lat. 21.55. N. °
NOYVED, in Heraldry, signifies knotted, from the La¬
tin nodatus ; being applied to the tails of such creatures as
are very long, and sometimes represented in coat-armour
as tied up in a knot.
NOWOGOROD, a province of Great Russia, which
takes its name from the city which is now its capital, but
was formerly that of the whole of Russia. The governments
of Olonez, Pf kow, Twer, and a part of that of St Peters-
buig, were included in it, till the recent divisions of the
empire were established. It now extends between 57. 18.
and 61. 8. north latitude, and between 20. 4. and y9 41
east longitude, over 56,616 square miles. It contains’ ten
cities, and 7932 villages, which are formed into 690 pa¬
rishes, having each a church. The inhabitants are 964,500,
and almost exclusively adhere to the Greek worship. The
face of the country is level, though it includes the Waldai
Hills; but none of these is more than 300 feet above the
level of the sea. Ihe soil in the northern part is marshy,
and chiefly covered with moss; but in the south there is
some dry and good land, the cultivation of which rewards
the labourer, and the province produces more corn, chiefly
rye, than it consumes. It also yields flax, hemp, and muen
w ood. Jhe climate is severe, being nearly similar to that
292
N U A
Nowogo. of St Petersburg. The fisheries on the rivers and lakes
rod yield much subsistence. There is but little commerce, and
II none but domestic manufactures.
Nuayhas., NoWOGOROd, a city of Russia, the capital of a pro¬
vince, and of one of the thirteen circles of the same name
into which that province is divided. It is situated in lati¬
tude 58. 32. 31. north, and longitude 31. 14. 16. east. It
n .1 * 1 * a    ^ ^ ^ T\*ror QC WPll
NUB
its flowers only once in its life ; that it lives sixty years be¬
fore the flowers make their appearance ; and that, when
they begin to show themselves, it withers away in about av
month afterwards, that is, as soon as it has ripened the seed.
There appears to be something of fiction in the account
given of this tree in the Hortus Malabaricus ; but it seems
certain, that the length of the stalk, or trunk, must be
tude OO. 3*. or. noun, t».u ^“5— n n vprv „reat in tiie eallerv of Leyden there is preserved a
is the seat of the military government of Twer, as we ,, nuayhas twenty-eight feet long ; and another not
both the military and civil governments of t e provin j shorter and more than eight inches in diameter,
which it stands. The site is on^e backs „ the^ ^ow, Ashtcolean ^useutn a, Oxford. , .
where the water of the Ilmen is received into that stream,
forming a river of more than a mile in breadth. 1 he an¬
tiquities of the city are more striking than its beauties. I e
cathedral, with its brazen gates, is an object of curiosity tor
its venerable age, as is the tomb of St John of Isowogo-
rod, a saint to whose shrine numerous pilgrims resort. It
contains fifty-eight stone and four wiooci1eni thr
monasteries, and 1550 houses, with 10,100 inhabitants.
may be seen in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford.
NUBA, a race of black Pagans, in the neighbourhood of
Sennaar, of whom we know nothing, except what has been
stated by Bruce. That traveller passed a day or two
amongst them in his way from Abyssinia; and he tells us
that they are all soldiers of the Tnslsk or king of Stnnaar,
cantoned in villages, which surround the capital to the dis¬
tance of four or five miles. Phey are not the aboiigines
monasteries, and 1550 houses, with 10, /TT, 'jfw of that part of Africa; but are either purchased or taken
Though ill built, and with irref “ ” f t’he l u. by forcePfrom Fazuclo, and the provinces to the south upon
an imposing appearance at “ d‘s sX’ed The cMef the mountains Dyre and Tegla.
merous spires and cupolas which are displayed. 1 he c xhe ido)atry i the Nuba is ’ -
merous spues uuu   
occupations of the people are making sail-cloth and tanning
leather. . , ^ , t. •
Nowogorod Sewersk, a circle of the Russian pro¬
vince Tschernigow, extending in north latitude from 51.
51. to 52. 24. and in east longitude from 31. 51. to 84i. lit.
The caoital is a city of the same name, situated on the river
Desna,* 751 miles from St Petersburg. It is surrounded
U 111UUI1LU111S
The idolatry of the Nuba is described as a mixture of
Tsabaism and statue worship ; but what is very uncom¬
mon, their worship is chiefly addressed to the moon, whilst
they pay no attention to the sun either using or setting,
advancing to the meridian or receding from it. _ It is an old
observation, that the worship of every people is tinctured
by their natural dispositions; and this is veiified in the
Desna, 751 miles from St Petersburg. 1 1S SU7°!!.?pCnf case of the Nuba. “ That their worship is performed with
with^ walls, and has a castle but nc.t mr ,n a goodw.;^^ ^ satirfaction, is obvious,” says Bruce, “ every
repair. It contains 1600 ill-built houses, with 8300 inha¬
bitants, who carry on no manufactures, and subsist by trad¬
ing in the productions of the surrounding soil. Long.
48. E. Lat. 52. 50. N. .
NO WOS1LL, a circle of the Russian province ot 1 ula,
extending from north latitude 52. 53. to 53. 36. and from
east longitude 37. 10. to 37. 25. and containing 94,600 in¬
habitants. The capital is a town of the same name, si¬
tuated on the river Narutsha, 736 miles from St Petersburg,
and containing 200 houses, with 1560 inhabitants. Long.
36. 55. E. Lat. 52. 55. N.
NOWPOORAH, a town of Hindustan, in the Malirat-
ta territories of the province of Khandesh, forty-six miles
east from Surat. Long. 73. 45. E. Lat. 21. 6. N.
NOX, in fabulous history, one of the most ancient dei¬
ties amongst the heathens. She w^as daughter of Chaos,
and from her union with her brother Erebus she gave
birth to the Day and the Light. She was also the mother
of the Parcae, Hesperides, Dreams; ot Discord, Deatii,
Momus, Fraud, &c. Nox is called by some of the poets
pleasure and satisfaction, is obvious, says Bruce, every
night that the moon shines. Coming out trom the dark¬
ness of their huts, they say a few words upon seeing her
brightness, and testify great joy, by motions ot their feet
and hands, at the first appearance of the new moon. Ihis
is just what we should have expected from their gentle¬
ness and hospitality. They likewise worship a tree and a
stone, but our author could never discover what tree or
what stone; he only learned that neither of them exists
in Sennaar, but in the country where the Nuba are born.
Such of them as are natives of the villages where he saw
them, become, like their masters, nominal Mahommedans.
NUBIA, an extensive country of Africa, bounded on^'
the north by Egypt, on the south by Abyssinia, on theeast^
by the Red Sea, and on the west by the great Libyan de¬
sert. It is difficult to fix the precise limits and extent ot
this vast region, which will be variously estimated, accord¬
ing as we confine Nubia to the mere valley of the Nile
between the first cataract and Meroe, or take into the ac¬
count, as ought certainly to be done, the adjacent desert.
There is, in fact, no principle of unity according to which
•11 1. VQt-hPr tO t ie
the mother of all things, of gods as well as of men l she tuete—^“^7 bi'Cloo'king rather to the
was worshipped with great solemnity by the ancients, a lt [f than t0 any arbitrary definition or limitation,
had a famous statue in the temple of Diana at Ephesus “^;eVa5yinclude/between the thirteenth
It was usual to offer her a black sheep, as she was the "“‘ba t^e„tv.f0urth degrees of north latitude, and the thirty-
of the Furies; and a cock was also presented to her, as that and wenty tounn a l0„gitude, and con-
bird proclaims the approach of day during the darkness of thlrd “f ff^Tcial area of not less than
thp nifrht She is represented as mounted on a chariot, sequentiy as uaving a ^
and covered with a veil bespangled with stars. The con- 360,000 square miles^ ^ ^ immediate banks of the Nile, Gem
stellations generally went before her as her constant mes" " } rendered partially productive by laborious
sengers. Sometimes she is seen holding under her arms which a^e iefer^ ^rt ^oystPe°tirel of /ocky and sandy
twtf children, one of which is black, representing Death N“h "soutem boSy of Eg/pt to Dett,'1
and the other white, representing bleep, kmne of thp ranital of Lower Nubia, the mountains press so closely
moderns have described her as a woman veiled in mourn- , I that there is but litt]e groUnd upon either
ing, crowned with poppies, and carried upon a c ano | ^ ^ ^ ^ of agriculture ; and the small por-
drawn by owls and bats. . . T ,. of t- n which -S caDable of being cultivated appears to be
NUAYHAS, or Ague Tbee, a name given bythelndians tion which s c p „radual encroachment of the sands,
to a sort of bamboo cane, the leaves of which falling into: the stream,
the water, are said to impregnate it with such virtue t at w i structure of the valley through which the
NUBIA.
. parallel of Wady Haifa, there is ample space for the power-
-^ful nations which are said to have flourished here in ancient
times. At the second cataract immense plains stretch out
from either margin of the stream, exhibiting, it is said, even
in their present neglected condition, unequivocal indications
of fertility ; and as there seems to be little doubt that, in
former ages, the annual inundation extended considerably
beyond the limits of modern cultivation, so it may reason¬
ably be presumed that, anciently, the country was much
more productive and populous than in modern times,
when the decrease of the inundation, and the continual
encroachment of the moving sands on the side both of the
Nubian and the Libyan deserts, have combined to produce
the desolation which now prevails. At present the Nile
seldom or never overflows its banks in this part of Nubia;
and the portion of the soil cultivated is irrigated by means
of sakkeas or Persian wheels, constructed for raising the
water of the river to the level of the adjacent ground. The
eastern bank of the Nile is much better adapted for culti¬
vation than the western, being more easily irrigated by ar¬
tificial means. But it is not a little remarkable, that all
the splendid ruins for which this region is distinguished,
and which exhibit so great labour, ingenuity, and skill, are
found upon the opposite bank; a circumstance which seems
to strengthen the presumption that Nubia was formerly
much more fertile and populous than in the present day.
of The country on the banks of the Nile is divided into a
number of little independent principalities, each governed
by its own melek or chief. But, taken as a whole, it is com¬
posed of two parts ; Wady Kenous, and Wady Nouba. The
former extends from the confines of Egypt on the south to
Wady Seboua; and the latter, from which the general name
ol the country appears to have been derived, stretches as
far as the frontier of Dongola. The chief distinction
between these two parts consists in the circumstance, that
the languages spoken in each are entirely different. The
governors of the various districts are described as ferocious
and arbitrary in their proceedings ; rude in their treatment
of strangers, whom they regard with suspicion; and ad¬
dicted to most of the vices which are common amongst bar¬
barians. They acknowledge a nominal subjection to the
viceroy of Egypt, but seldom neglect any opportunity that
offers of setting his authority at nought. Still, under the
safeguard of his firman, Europeans may travel as far as Ibrim
(the ancient Primmis) in perfect safety ; but, beyond that
point, they must lay their account with being exposed to
the vexations and dangers usually incurred in visiting bar¬
barous countries, especially in Africa. In the marauding,
slave-hunting expedition of Ismael Pasha in 1821, the treat-
ment which the natives everywhere experienced has had
the effect of exasperating and confirming the hostility of all
he tnbes who iqhabit the upper parts of Nubia ; nor is it
1 e y that the remembrance of the wanton aggression which
was then made upon them will soon be effaced from their
niemones. Each of the Nubian sheicks pays an annual tri-
t e ,°t le vlceroy of Egypt; or rather a certain sum is ex¬
ported as an acknowledgment of subjection, and the price
n unmunity from a visit by the viceroy’s troops.
Brai? ^!lich forms the principal object of Nubian
tani !atl°T 1.S dhourra, the holcus arundinacem of the bo-
meanfnf ft18 Up°n th? Patches of soil irrigated by
fmm • 16 sakkeas or Persian wheels, of which there are
tarao^sf to ,sev<rn hundred between the first and second ca-
what J anC!,,when ground, it is formed into a cake some-
have no S T th1 Abyssinian But as the people
allv efferTpi k°f a.ny h1"11, wherewith to grind it, this is usu-
larue strmo . ^ P aciag the grain in small quantities upon a
duced tn a’ ailfd rabbing a smaller one over it until it is re-
of a simo •S°r ^our' ff it be intended to produce bread
then dried Tn t?,Ua lty’ tbe dhourra is well washed, and
in tlie sun. But in general the people do not
293
take this trouble; and the meal produced by their rude Nubia,
mode of grinding resembles a paste of the coarsest kind,
mixed with chaff, sand, and dirt. It is usually placed in
an earthen jar, and there left to ferment during twenty-
four or thirty hours, after which time it acquires a subacid
taste. No leaven is formed. A portion of the fermented
pulp is merely poured upon an iron plate or stone placed
over a fire, and in a few minutes it is baked into a cake;
and this is repeated till the whole be baked. Cakes are
usually brought hot to table, in a wooden bowl, with onion
sauce, broth, milk, or butter poured on them ; but some of
a thinner kind, and well toasted, are prepared for the use
of the caravans, and may be kept without being spoiled for
several months. After the dhourra, the Nubians raise a
crop of barley, French beans, lentils, and sometimes also
of wrater-melons. Tobacco is everywhere cultivated, and
constitutes the principal luxury of all classes, being either
smoked, or sucked in a peculiar manner between the gums
and the lip. Animal food is scarce, and seldom eaten,
even by the chief's or sheicks. I he liquors used are palm
wine, a spirit distilled from dates, and a sort of beer called
bouza, which is made from dhourra. Excessive indulgence
in these liquors is general throughout the whole country.
The only fruit trees cultivated in Nubia are palms, but the
soil is adapted for several others. Great sameness prevails
in the vegetation of the desert, the trees being mostly aca¬
cias, tamarix, date, and domm palms.
Ihe climate of Nubia, though intensely hot in summer, Climate,
is nevertheless remarkably healthy. This is no doubt a
consequence of the extreme dryness of the atmosphere,
occasioned by the absence of rain, and the absorbent qua¬
lities of the soil. The plague has seldom or never reached
Wady Haifa, and beyond the second cataract it is entirely
unknown. The small-pox, however, is a fearful scourge,
and, owing to the ignorance and filthiness of the people, oc¬
casionally commits dreadful ravages. 'The houses of the
Nubians are constructed of mud or of loose stones. The
mud huts are roofed with dhourra stems or palm leaves,
which in this climate are found to be a sufficient covering.
The houses which are built of stones, being for the accom¬
modation of the better class of inhabitants, commonly con¬
sist of two compartments, one for the male and the other
for the female members of the family. The utensils of a
Nubian household are few and wretched; half a dozen
coarse earthen jars, some earthen plates, two stones for
grinding dhourra, and a few round sticks, usually consti¬
tuting their whole stock. From this an idea may be formed
of the miserable condition of the inhabitants, as compared
with those of any other country, Egypt only excepted.
Still the Nubians are generally well made, strong, and Popula-
musculai, and have tolerably good features. The women tion.
are not handsome, but perfectly well formed, and in general
remarkable for agreeable countenances and pleasing man¬
ners. They are also modest and reserved, and strictly ob¬
servant of theii conjugal duties. The domestic employ¬
ments of the women consist chiefly' in weaving coarse wool¬
len mantles, cotton cloth for shirts, and mats of the date
leaves; they also make drinking-bowls, and plates for con¬
taining the dhourra bread. A linen cap and a woollen
cloth or mantle constitute the dress of the rich. The women
usually wrap themselves in black woollen gowns ; but chil¬
dren of both sexes run about quite naked. In ascending the
Nile to Sukkat and Mahas, the dress becomes more and
more scanty, and at length almost entirely disappears. The
Nubians are seldom seen unarmed ; indeed the first pur¬
chase made by a boy is that of a short crooked knife, which
being fastened at the left elbow, is ready to be drawn on
the slightest quarrel, tire-arms are not common, and am¬
munition is very scarce. The inhabitants of the two divi¬
sions of Nubia, Wady Kenous and Wady Nouba, are al¬
most constantly engaged in sanguinary quarrels; and when
294
N U B I A.
Nubia.
death ensues, as is not unguent,y the case the family ^
' Of the deceased may either demand the price ofblood,orre- are noted for treachery and diS-
tain the right of retaliation, which may be en orce ag i10neStv • in°the pursuit of gain they are restrained by no
the brother, son, or first cousin of the mui e , princip{e’breaking without scruple the most solemn engage-
option of the avenger. The consequence of this i,, that F^e^Drea ^arJngst themSelves they com-
when a death has occurred in any of these quarre s, monlv terminate every dispute by the law of the strongest,
family is often obliged to leave the country. "u as nuarrels are frequent and violent at drinking parties, and
of the Nubians repair to Cairo, where t iey ^ J y^ ^ mo end in bloodshed either with the knife or the sword.
The principal scenes of these disorders are the bouza huts,
which are kept by women of infamous character, by whom
the liquor is also manufactured. Indeed no one ventures
to enter one of these without his sword, and several persons
of distinction have been killed in them. In a word, it is mar¬
vellous that a people so completely abandoned to the do¬
minion of the most brutal passions have not long since been
porters, and are esteemed for their honesty; but they al¬
ways return to their native villages with the little property
which they have saved in plying their humble vocation.
The inhabitants of Derr-el-Mahas and the more southerly
districts differ considerably from the other Nubian tubes.
Their houses are constructed only of palm leaves, fastened
to high poles, the extremities of which rise considerably
above the roofs. The countenances of the people are much
above the roofs. The countenances ot tne people are mu,. ——— ^own v[ces. Another part of this terri
less expressive of good nature than in the ower p ig the djstrjct Gf Taka, inhabited by the Bishareen
number of the men, and even girls who have attained wo¬
manhood, go about quite naked. Burckhardt has described
the king of the Mahas as a mean vulgar-looking black, at¬
tended bv some half dozen naked slaves, armed with shields
11 passes L11C  . rrV i J
first who made us acquainted with Taka.
The government of Nubia, like that of Egypt, is essen-Govr
tially military. The officers, all of whom are Turks, de-M,
cide every question connected with the revenues, and fie-
and lances.
M 1" h~^ quently interfere, in other affairs, with the decisions of the
Mahas is the nearest place  y 1 T Uidees. The system of the government is to
cadis or civil judges. The system ot the government is to
extort from the peasant the utmost possible amount in the
shape of taxes, leaving him only what is considered a suffi¬
cient subsistence, which, as might be expected, is usually a
most miserable one. In some places, indeed, if the peasants
did not actually steal from their own fields, they could not
exist; and although they bury their grain under ground,
and by various other methods deceive their oppressors, yet
anu lances. -n-i-cu.cio   ; r . n •
the blacks, from which slave traders proceed to Cairo, a
distance of about a thousand miles.
Tract be- There is another part of Nubia which is well deserving
tween the af particular notice ; we mean the vast tract of country ex-
Nile and ten)jjn(r from the Nile to the Red Sea, between the paral-
the lied lelg of&23o anci 150 0f north latitude. Modern travellers
Sea‘ have penetrated this extensive region only by one line,
namely, that which is followed by the Nubian caravans pro- ^ the w”ant of sufficient sustenance and
ceeding from Egypt to Sennaar. It isde.cnbed as t g PA vast proportion of the peasants subsist on food
out a complete desert, without even a sing e fixed habita- clo h.n^. A vast propo F bei ^
tion, but interspersed with vadys or valleys, producing rarely enough. The pa-
some trees, shrubs, or grass, and usually containing a ew ’ enou'di to keep them in subjection, and by
wells or rills, which are resorted to by the wandering Arabs has power enou 1 p J ^ ^
and also by the caravans, for a supply of water The wan, ^ exertions ^
of this important article forms the chief danger atten l g tQ cukivate whatever he chooses, and to take the price
the journey; but if d“ can „ever which he offers for the produce. He is the only purchaser
ter-bags be properly filled at the wells, travellers can ne tton, and indigo, the gum of Kordofan, os-
be reduced to a state of great suffering, as many ays s . t rich feathers and other articles. Slaves are almost the
elapsewithout the means of obtaining a supply. Burckhardt, ti c a > . rchants are allowed to take
after having passed through the deserts of Sue* and Sum,, manuf^ carry to Kor-
did not consider this tract as quite so dreary, althoug am^Sennaar • and even the wild animals of the de¬
aspect is much more rugged, being m general hi ly. At t ie ‘ K ff ’ government monopoly. The pa-
southern extremity of this desert through which roam the orSproprietor of this immense re-
Bishareen tribes, is the district of Berber, consisting of four shaus-also the iandiora or^p ^ revenues are de-
large villages, the inhabitants of which are chiefly emp oy- g » c .1 reo-ular tax^s but likewise from his
edgin carrying on the trade of Egypt and Arab,a w,th the nved nc,, ^ ‘^ou , owing to the low
interior of Africa. The people are a very handsome race, Prohts a« a .Tuf ""l km “asants for their produce, com-
of a reddish-brown colour ; which, if the mother be a slave which he afterwards sells it to
from Abyssinia, becomes a light brown but if from the however, is greatly di;
negro countries, extremely dark, indeed almost black. 1 ie P , . , erv of the different officers through
men are somewhat taller than the Egyptians, and also better m n,she^ ^st f h - J commodities pass. From the
limbed,and more muscular. Their features bear no resem- in this respect;
blance to those of the negro; the face being oval, the nose highest to the lowest there 1 ^ raalluras 0r
often perfectly Grecian, and the cheek-bones by no means malimours, nayrs, kiac . , . hi th am0Unt,
rominent They consider themselves as Arabs, not ne- Coptic accountants, a 1 concur in diminishing tne The
groes, and are very careful in maintaining the purity of their sharmgAhe ? \"{0lnl cheJt the ig-
race. A free-born Meyrefab never marries a slave, whe- Copts employe rannnt read their accounts,
ther Abyssinianor negro, but always an Arab girl belonging m0^ey of the treasury, and some-
to his own or to some neighbouring tribe. Few men have but often tiaue \ moi-.u p00d • on which
more than one wife; but every one who can afford it keeps time. .be ,*•
a female slave or mistress, either in his own or in a sepa- account numbers ot the } ^
rate house; and traders passing through Berber usually sons of the viceroy ^ ^ free from these^J
take a mistress during the period of their stay in the dis- But the peasants in ujp , . DV> It is no lej p-
trict. Drunkenness is the constant companion of this de- exactions, and there ote c01nP^ ;/money, two pieceSper.'
bauchery • and these dissolute habits produce the most per- doubt true, that, mstead of one dollar m mone),
NUBIA.
r
of linen cloth, and a sheep, which was all they paid their
r*1 ancient meleks, they are now obliged to pay fifteen dollars
in cash and five in grain, being in all three hundred pias¬
tres, or ten times the amount of their former contributions ;
and they are likewise obliged to work instead of sleeping
during the greater part of the day, as was formerly their
custom when under their own chiefs. But the man who
is at all industrious may nevertheless earn what is amply
sufficient to afford him food, and such dress as he has been
accustomed to. Each sakkea or Persian wheel is sufficient
to water three quarters of a feddan of land, planted with
indigo; and each feddan, when carefully irrigated, produces
a hundred cantars of the herb, and sometimes more, being
about seventy-five cantars for the extent of land which
one wheel will wrater. The government pay the peasant
12| Egyptian piastres for each quintal, or 937 piastres for
the whole ; which, at the current rate of the dollar in this
country (fifteen piastres), is equal to 62^ dollars. If from
this we deduct twenty dollars for the duty, there remains
for the persons to whom the wheel belongs 42i dollars, or
637 piastres ; but as the calculation here made is at the
lowest rate, two piastres a day may fairly be estimated as
the clear gain of the peasantry by each water-wheel. This
sum, small as it may appear, is sufficient for the support of
one family, provided it contain five persons capable of put¬
ting their shoulders to the wheel; if it do not, however,
two families must unite to make up this number. The im¬
mense expense of the wrater-wheel forms a great deduction
from the gain of the peasant in Egypt; but in Nubia they
are so much more simple that they cost only a trifling sum,
as oxen may be obtained for thirty piastres each, whilst
their “ keep” is next to nothing. Two piastres, or seven-
pence sterling, may appear a very small sum to a Euro¬
pean ; but in this country, where every necessary is so
cheap, it is amply sufficient for the support of a family.
In both divisions of Egypt, where bread is much dearer,
and meat and milk are double the price, the fixed remu¬
neration of a labourer amounts to only half a piastre per
day, with which he has to sustain himself and perhaps a
family. But in Nubia most of the peasants have slips of
land watered by the partial inundation of the river, and
gain considerably by their date trees, although they pay
a tax of a piastre for each. They also rear flocks; cul¬
tivate vegetables, particularly bamia-and malakhia; and
make linen, spirit, bouza, and other articles. The con¬
dition of the peasants of Upper Nubia is therefore happy,
compared with that of the Fellaheen of Egypt, the most
oppressed and degraded population in the world.
The Arabs of the desert have still more reason to be
satisfied with the government. They pay tribute only for
the land they cultivate, which is in general very little,
and in many cases none at all; and otherwise they gain a
sufficient livelihood by transporting to Egypt on their ca¬
mels the grain collected as revenue, or purchased by the
government, and by aiding the passage of troops and mer¬
chants, which is now unintermitted. As far as regards
taxes, and the means of subsistence, therefore, the Arabs
^ ^esert Upper Nubia, as well as the peasants on
ie Nile, are in a much better condition than the Fella-
men of Egypt. But in all other respects they are equally
ga led and insulted by their Turkish rulers. In Egypt,
je officers only are oppressive, and the soldiers, who
I °\t . e <?nS t0 class of Fellaheen, are not insolent,
n x ubia, however, it is far otherwise. The comparative-
y w ite complexion of the troops, their character as con-
queiors, and their pride nsaskaria (soldiers), induce them
espise the natives, and exercise oppressions which the
o vernment by no means authorizes. When the chief go-
295
vernor of a province is a man possessed of talent, energy, Nubia,
and firmness of character, the officers and soldiers are pre- s ““
vented from committing many excesses. But when the
country has the misfortune to be governed by an indivi-
dual destitute of the qualities we have mentioned, and too
timid to redress the grievances occasioned by the disor¬
derly conduct of the troops, its state may easily be ima¬
gined. Every evil is then aggravated by impunity. Men
whose ancestors have been meleks or chiefs in the coun¬
try for ages, are obliged to submit to the insolence and
tyranny of a lawless soldiery. Taxes oppressive in them¬
selves are rendered tenfold more so by the mode in which
they are levied. Every collection is a species of military
execution. No proper notice is almost ever given. “Pay
to-morrow, or the bastinado,” is the usual intimation con¬
veyed to the peasant, who, not being allowed sufficient
time to raise the money, is subjected to this cruel and de¬
grading punishment, and sometimes nailed by the ear to
a board. I he revolt of the Mahas, described by Mr Hos¬
kins, was occasioned by this summary mode of collecting
some arrears of taxes.
Nubia, under proper management, might become a far General
greater source of wealth to the ruler of Egypt than it now remarks,
is, or seems likely to be, under his sway. His system is one
which is not only calculated to defeat its own objects in a
fiscal point of view, but to exasperate the natives, whom
good policy would try to conciliate, and also to sow the
seeds of future anarchy and convulsion. At the same time,
notwithstanding the galling conduct of the Egyptian autho¬
rities, the natives are sensible of the advantage of a firm
and settled government; and the peasants of the Nile, in
particular, are glad to be released from the tyranny and
spoliation which accompanied the feuds and petty wars
by which the country was formerly distracted. “ Did the
Turks,” says Mr Hoskins, “ but treat them as men, and
not disgust them by their insulting manners, and by in¬
flicting on them such degrading and infamous punish¬
ments ; had their rulers but a few ideas of common policy
and legislation ; the resources [of the country] might be
greatly augmented, the revenue increased, and the people
the most happy and contented under the sun. The su¬
periority which fire-arms afforded to their haughty conque¬
rors taught them to despise the strength of the Arabs; and,
with that insolence which is ever united with ignorance,
they do not, in the slightest degree, endeavour to attach
them to the government, or, in fact, condescend to treat,
otherwise than as a vastly inferior race, the people wdiom it
cost them so much, with all their advantages, to conquer.”1
The chief trade of Nubia, as already mentioned, consists Trade,
in slaves imported from the interior of Africa, and either
conveyed northwards to Egypt, or sent across the lied Sea
from Souakin to Jidda. The annual import is estimated at
about 5000, of whom 2500 are for Arabia, 1500 for Egypt,
and 1000 for Dongola and the Bedouins of the mountains.
Few of the slaves are above the age of fifteen ; but the most
valued are those between eleven and fifteen, who, if males,
sell for fifteen or sixteen dollars, and if females, for twen¬
ty-five or twenty-six. In the East, slaves are chiefly em¬
ployed as domestics, and people are seldom fond of any
who have not been in the family from an early age. These
children, as long as they remain within the negro territo-
u’es, are treated with great indulgence; but when they
once enter the desert, and have no longer any chance of
escape, this treatment is entirely changed, and the lash un¬
sparingly applied. I he health of the slave, however, is al¬
ways attended to; he is regularly fed, and receives a share
of water with his master. Dates, gums, and ostrich feathers
are also exported; as are senna leaves, ebony, sandal-wood,
1 Hoskins, Travels in Ethiopia, pp. 230, 23G.
1
296
NUBIA.
Nubia.
and some other articles, though in small quantities. Gold
'is found in mines, and amongst the river sands, but not in
such abundance as to form any considerable article ot ex¬
change. „ ...
Monumen- One of the most remarkable features of this region con-
tal remains gjgts in the magnificent monumental remains with which it
of Nubia. jg covere(j al0ng the line of the stream, and which conti¬
nue to perpetuate the genius and power of the ancient po¬
pulation of the country situated on the Upper Nile, lhat
Egypt was indebted to Ethiopia (which included Nubia)
for the rudiments, and perhaps even tor the finished pat¬
terns, of architectural skill, is no longer questioned by any
writer whose pursuits have qualified him to form a ju g-
ment of the subject. Gau, in his splendid work on Nubia,
maintains it as a first principle, that this country was t e
cradle of Egyptian architecture; and its monuments em¬
brace the whole period during which the art flourished in
the valley of the Lower Nile. He conceives that all the
architecture of Egypt, from the first rude effort to cut a
temple in the rock, to the construction of those detached
edifices which were afterwards erected m the times ot the
there is an open alley, which is hewn in the rock. The pro-
naos, eighteen yards square, is entered from the portico,^—
and contains two rows of immense columns without capi¬
tals, in front of each of which there is a colossal figure,
more than twenty feet in height, with the hands crossed on
the breast, and holding the flagellum in one, and the hand¬
led cross, or emblem of life, in the other. On the side
walls are four recesses or niches, in each of which are three
statues of the natural size, representing the different figures,
male and female, which are observed upon the walls of the
temples of Egypt. A door leads from the pronaos into
the cella, in the middle of which there are two massive
pillars, and, upon either side, a small apartment. Very
little is now discernible of the sculpture and hieroglyphics
with which the walls wTere covered j but enough remains
to show that they were very rudely executed. Phe ruin¬
ed structure at Seboua has before it a propylon similar to
that of Gourneh at Thebes. The pronaos on each of its
longest sides has five columns without capitals, and in
front of each is a colossal figure, sixteen feet in height,
with the arms crossed on the breast, and the usual em-
edifices which were afterwards ere^e“ in,^e 1 f b]ems in the hands. Before the entrance there lies on the
Greeks and Romans, has its type .n the structures o D Etatue, lhe head and bust of which are
Nubia. Hence, in the architectural history of that coun¬
try, he distinguishes three great epochs ; the first compre¬
hending the temples cut in the sides of the hills or rocks,
which are evidently the most ancient; the second, those
which are detached from the chambers cut in the rock,
but still retain the colossal masses of the primitive type ;
and the third, the small edifices of Maharraga, Gartaas,
and Dondour, with several analogous structures in Egypt.
This classification appears to be perfectly natural and we
founded, inasmuch as the only test of the relative anti¬
quity of such monuments is a reference to the comparative
simplicity of their structure or formation. It is upon this
principle, therefore, that we shall now proceed to describe
very shortly, some of the principal temples and other edi¬
fices in Nubia
ground a huge statue, the head and bust of which are
buried in the sand; and in front of the propylon are two
statues, ten feet in height, with their faces towards the river,
and attached by the backs to stone pillars of equal eleva¬
tion. An avenue of sphinxes leads from the bank ol
the Nile to the temple, but the greater part of them are
now buried in the sand, four only remaining visible. The
whole fabric appears to be of the remotest antiquity, and
has been imitated by the more modern architects ot Egypt.
But of all the rock temples of Nubia, that of Ebsambouller: of
or Ipsamboul,3 about a day and a half’s journey below the£k
second cataract, is incomparably the most remarkable. In JL
the course of centuries the sand ot the desert had so com¬
pletely overwhelmed it, that nothing appeared to the eye
of the traveller except the bust of one of the colossal
:es in rMuuia. fijmres which were placed at the front of the entrance.
Temples of At Gibel-d-Birke], Waddington ^covered two temples «g ( ^ dime!lgions ,hu stauie were so great as to ex-
Gibd-el- excavated in the solid rock, and havin& o y cite tbe curi0sity of all who examined it; and the counte-
Bnkel, &c. chambers formed of masonry ; circumstances in w ■ ance when seen at a proper distance, appeared strikingly
resemble those of Girshe, Seboua, and Derr. The smaller «f7enASnimated with a desire to explore the buried
of the two has six halls or apartments, five of^ichare of which this statue formed an exterior orna-
cut in the body of the mountain ; the Urger, consEtuting & consisting of Mr Belzoni and Captains li¬
the entrance, stands on an artificial foun which by and Mangles, with some attendants, undertook to re-
by means of which it is raised as high as the rock in " J th sall[1 s0 far at least as to ascertain whether there
the other is excavated. Near the adytum t^re are f gure, or any other access to the interior. At
of Ammon and of Horus; and vestiges o 1 • hrst they relied upon the assistance of the natives, who
may be discerned in all the chambers. rom P veadily entered into terms with them ; but the increasing
ness of the masonry, the rudeness and decay of thesculp y ^ an evident disinclination to the work, induced
tures, and the decomposition of the walls, it has been c t]ie°Nubians t0 break their engagement, and the travellers
eluded that this is older than any of the temples o gTP > resource but to complete the labour with their own
or even of Nubia. The temple of Girshe also be ongs to had no resource ^ P^. ^ ^ and with a scanty
the more simple order of structures, and mdica supply of necessaries, they worked day by day in the sand,
state of the arts connected with architecture. 1 hepotc P ^ at ]engtb, after more than three
consists of five square columns on each side, cut out of continued exertion, each performing the labour
rock, with a row of circular pillars m front, constructed of ^eek* ot comma ^ the door_ffay be-
several blocks, and originally surmounted with an entabla- visibie. and an entrance having been effected, the
ture, though only two of them now remain. Before every j j explored, probably for the first time during
of the square columns stands a colossal statue of sandstone, ”*
eighteen feet in height holding a lash or flail m one hand themsand^ . ^ ^ ^ convinced Belzoni and
anmak! whh the hi^ ^
hSCl dn botfd": ponico one of the most magnificent of temple^nche^
This is
the same place which by other travellers is called Guerfeh Hassan, or Gwersh Hassan, and is
. * . i / ci n   : E .w. "VT /-vMr n tv I :i A. )
described with much mi¬
nuteness in several of their works.' (See Henniker, N°^s’ 1 eh^near Thebes ; the two statues in advance of the propyk® are
corruptions of Abou-Sambul, which appears to be the genuine name.
< 5.
NUBIA.
beautiful intaglios, paintings, and colossal figures. The
^pronaos, fifty-seven feet in length, and fifty in breadth, is
supported by two rows of square pillars in a straight line
from the front door to that of the sekos; and each pillar has
attached to it a figure finely executed, and very little injur¬
ed by time, the top of the head-dress reaching the ceiling,
which is about thirty feet in height. Both the pillars and
the walls are covered with representations of battles, storm¬
ing of castles, triumphs, and sacrifices, in a style, if not su¬
perior to, at least bolder than, that of almost any in Egypt,
both in regard to the design and the workmanship. The se¬
cond hall, which is of less dimensions, contains four pillars
about four feet square, and the walls are covered with hie¬
roglyphics in tolerable preservation. Beyond this there is
a chamber of the same width, but shorter, in which is the
entrance to the sanctuary; and at each end is a door lead¬
ing into smaller apartments in the same direction with the
adytum. The sanctuary itself is twenty-three feet in length
by twelve in breadth, and contains a pedestal in the centre,
with four colossal figures in a sitting posture at the end,
all in good order, and uninjured. On the right side of the
great hall there are two doors at a short distance from
each other, and which lead into two separate apartments of
considerable dimensions, at the end of which are several
unfinished hieroglyphics, sketched so as to give an idea of
the manner of drawing. At the lateral corners of the en¬
trance from the first into the second chamber are doors,
each of which leads into a chamber twenty feet by ten ;
and these again open into other apartments, forty-three
feet in length by eleven in breadth. The most remark¬
able subjects in this temple are a group of captive Ethio¬
pians in the western corner; a hero killing a man with his
spear, and another lying dead at his feet; and the storm¬
ing of a castle, which forms part of the representation.
The outside or external front of this temple is truly mag¬
nificent, being a hundred and seventeen feet in width, and
eighty-six feet in height, whilst the space from the top of
the cornice to that of the door is sixty-six feet and a half,
■ and the height of the door itself twenty feet. There are
four enormous sitting figures, the largest in Nubia, or even
in Egypt, excepting only the great sphinx at the Pyra¬
mids, to which they approach in the proportion of nearly
two thirds. On the top of the door 1s a statue of Osiris,
twenty feet in height, with a colossal figure on each side
! looking towards it. The cornice of the temple is adorn¬
ed with hieroglyphics, and under it are a torus and frize,
the one six and the other four feet in breadth. Above the
cornice is a row of squatted monkeys, twenty in number,
and each eight feet and a half across the shoulders. This
temple was nearly two thirds buried in the sand, of which
thirty-one feet were removed before reaching the upper
part of the door. It is excavated in the solid rock, which
here rises about a hundred feet above the Nile, and, ex¬
cepting one of the tombs at Biban-el-Molouk, is the largest
of the kind either in Egypt or Nubia.1
At a subsequent period, Mr Bankes visited Ebsamboul,
and succeeded in uncovering down to the feet one of the
our colossal sitting figures, upon the limbs of which he dis¬
covered and copied an inscription in Greek relating to
| ”S£™meticus. He next cleared the head of the fourth co-
, ossal figure, which had not before emerged above the sur-
ace, so as to be able to make a drawing of the whole;
an t ie approach being thus disencumbered, the interior of
>e temple was lighted up with wax candles fixed on up-
rih11 poles, to enable Mr Bankes and bis assistant draughts-
“en to copy all the paintings in detail. It is much to be
297
regretted that the labour in opening this temple has not Nubia,
been attended with any permanent effect; the winds of the s ■*** v~—^
desert and the natural lubricity of the sand having soon
rendered the approach nearly as difficult as before. In
about two years the door-way was again covered up, and by
this time the interior must be quite as inaccessible as ever.
All travellers agree in the accounts they give of Ebsam¬
boul, which is described as the ne plus ultra of Egyptian
labour. According to Sir Frederick Henniker, there is no
temple at Denderah, Thebes, or Philae, that can be put
in comparison with it; and the traveller just named re¬
joices in “having seen the noblest monument of antiquity
that is to be found on the banks of the Nile.” This is not
the place to enter into details respecting the hieroglyphi-
cal emblems and inscriptions with which different parts of
this wonderful structure are covered. The larger chamber
i^distinguished as the temple of Osiris, and the smaller as
that of Isis, to whom it is dedicated. The former is re¬
presented in a sitting posture, attended by the hawk-headed
deity ; whilst the latter holds in her hand the lotus-headed
sceptre, surrounded with numerous inscriptions and em¬
blems. Much interesting sculpture is also lavished upon
the second and third apartments; and in a niche at the up¬
per end of the latter is a small statue of Nephthe, the wife
of Typhon, seated. In several places of the square border
which encircles the front of the temple, and also on the but¬
tresses between the colossal figures, are a number of ovals
or rings, containing the name and praenomen of Harnesses
the Great, the same Pharaoh whom the Greeks indicate by
the name of Sesostris or Sethosis. We may here add, that
a striking resemblance has been observed between the
rock temples oflndia, particularly that in the island of Ele-
phanta, and those of Nubia, especially that of Ebsamboul;
indeed the similarity is so great as to have suggested the
notion of a common origin, as well in regard to the mytho¬
logy as the architecture of both countries.2
The temple of Samneh, situated on the western bank of'Temples
the river, between the twenty-first and twenty-second de-of Samneh,
gree of north latitude, affords a specimen of a more per- Donilour-
feet class of structures ; intermediate, it would seem, be-&c*
tween such excavations as that of Ebsamboul and the
magnificent edifices of Karnak and Luxor. It is built of
sandstone, and differs in shape from other edifices of a si¬
milar kmd, though in its plan it somewhat resembles the
small chapel at Elephantina in Egypt. The principal build¬
ing is about thirty-six feet in length and nine in breadth.
On either hand there stood originally four small pillars, of
which two remain on the one side, and three on the other,
all covered with sculptures. The inner walls are adorned
with hieroglyphics and mystic representations, amongst
which may be mentioned the ship of Osiris; and upon the
outer wall Burckhardt’s distinguished figures of Mendes.
The sculptures are rather coarsely executed, and the lines
dividing the columns of hieroglyphics, some of which have
been left unfinished, are not straight. The temple of
Dondour or Tangour is likewise deserving of attention,
from the peculiarities of its style, having been classed by
Gau amongst those structures which belong to the last of
the epochs of Nubian art already mentioned. It is in form
a parallelogram, having the proportions observed in some
Grecian structures; and in the pillars may be recognised
the mixed Greek and Egyptian style. Between the second
and third cataract, in latitude twenty-one degrees north, is
the temple of Soleb or Solib. An elevated stone foundation
extends in front of the temple, and the remains of two
sphinxes are seen at either side of the approach. The first
perspiration fru!'aS so Kieat in the interior of the temple,” says Belzoni, “ that it scarcely permitted us to take any drawings, as the
may set ahmit i,1 iaiu 3 soon rendered the paper quite wet. Accordingly, we left this operation to succeeding travellers, who
2 See Er l-' C,Wlt l more convenience than we could, as the place will become cooler.” (Narrative, p. 214.)
210, 249. 111 e s Account ol the Lave-leinple of Elephanta, in the Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay, vol. i. pp.
VOL. xvi.
2 p
298
NUB
N U E
Nubia, chamber is more than a hundred feet in breadth, and about
ninety feet in depth, having round three of its sides a single
row of pillars, and on the fourth indications oi a double
row. They have all been executed from the same model,
and are inscribed with hieroglyphics. In the second cham¬
ber may be traced a row of pillars, resembling those of the
first; but they are all broken, and the fragments scattered
about in every direction. The dimensions ot the adytum
cannot now be ascertained, the side walls having been com¬
pletely destroyed. The temple of Soleb affords the lightest
specimen anywhere to be seen of Ethiopian architecture,
and, for elegance of proportion, has been compared to that
of Minerva Sunias at Cape Colonna. At Gibel-el-Birkel
there are the remains of two temples, partly excavated in
the rock, and partly constructed, like those of Girshe and
Seboua. The principal temple is of vast dimensions, and
contains no less than six chambers. It is supposed to have
been the work of different and distant periods; and, even
in the construction of those parts which belonged to the
original building, many stones were employed which had
formed parts of some more ancient edifice. I be vicinity of
Gibel-el-Birkel is remarkable for pyramids, which, though
much inferior to those of Egypt, probably originated in the
same views of vanity or superstition, not to say tyianny.
For further information on the subject of Nubian rock ex¬
cavations and architecture, the reader is referred to the
works of Burckhardt, Light, Legh, Richardson, Henniker,
Caillaud, Waddington, and Hoskins, in which will be tound
ample descriptions of the remains on either side ot the
Nile, from Assouan to Meroe, accompanied occasionally
with drawings and plans. The reader is also referred to
the articles Ethiopia, Ethiopian Nations, and Meroe.
General On the whole, it appears that, by a more accurate clas-
deductions. sjficat;on 0f the monuments, and the aid of inscriptions,
which to former travellers were altogether unintelligible,
we are now enabled to rectify misconceptions, correct mis¬
takes, discard mere conjectures, and, in tact, make a real
and valuable addition to the history of civilized Egypt.
Between the temples excavated in the rock, such as those
of Derr and Ebsamboul, and the buildings of a later date,
there was an intermediate stage in the art, which it is im¬
portant to distinguish. The first architectural attempt in
Nubia probably consisted in the improvement of some hole
or cave in the rock; or, even if the country possessed no
natural caves for imitation by a people possessing the tro¬
glodyte habits natural to the inhabitants of a burning cli¬
mate, the mountains themselves would afford facilities tor
constructing durable habitations. After having got pos
session of a hole or cave, the next step of these primitive
architects would probably be to extend the excavation, to
form several chambers separated by the native rock, and
when a compartment of larger dimensions was designed,
to have square pillars for the support of the roof. In the
course of time the outer front, with the inner walls and
pillars, would receive decorations derived from imitations
of the natural forms of the country, and subjects connected
with the historical remembrances or religious creed of the
nation. We see abundant evidence in the rock temples ot
Nubia to convince us, that the order of progression and
improvement here indicated was that actually followed in
their gradual enlargement and decoration ; yet a prodigi¬
ous period must have elapsed between the rudest excava¬
tion in the rock, such as Derr appears to have been in its
primitive state, and the highly-finished sculptures ot the
great temple of Ebsamboul. In fact, “ antiquity appears
to have begun” long after these primeval architects had
commenced their troglodyte labours. But, in surveying
the wonders which crowd the banks of the Nile from Me¬
roe to Memphis, our minds become insensibly impressed
with the reflection, that the wealth, power, and genius
which produced them have entirely passed away ; that, if
the new worlds have risen, and new races been discovered, Ni
<< vyg have lost old nations and that, in the lapse of ages, h
empires themselves vanish, like the baseless fabric of a
vision, leaving scarcely a wreck or trace behind them. Sel
Throughout many parts of this extensive tract, a race little de
superior to savages pass a rude and precarious life, igno-'w
rant of the arts which once flourished in their country, and
insensible to the beauty and magnificence of the ruins
which they desecrate. They have long ceased to claim
any connection with the people who constructed the mo¬
numents of Ebsamboul, Karnak, Luxor, and Gourneh; and
having relapsed into that low condition where cuiiositybe-
comesTdormant or extinct, they are only moved with won-
der when they observe the natives of civilized regions ex-
ploring their temples, or taking the dimensions of their
obelisks and pyramids. The contrast between what now
is, and what once must have been in Ethiopia and in
Egypt, is indeed most striking; nor is it easy to pass, even
in thought, through the various scenes of conquest and
desolation which must have conspired to produce the ef¬
fects we contemplate. History sheds no light on events
and characters which the lapse of three thousand years
has covered with impenetrable obscurity ; and whilst grop-
iniT our way amidst temples dedicated to gods, and struc¬
tures raised in honour of heroes, whose very names sound
like voices from the dead, we content ourselves with the
conclusion, which all the monuments impress on us, that,
long before the dawn of history, there had existed in that
singular region a great people, whose architectuial monu¬
ments have outlasted their learning, their philosophy, and
almost even their very name.
(See Buckhardt’s Travel sin Nubia; Waddington your-
nal of a Visit to some parts of Ethiopia; Richardson’s Tra¬
vels in the East; Henniker’s Notes of a Visit to Egypt and
Nubia; Hoskins’ Travels in Ethiopia ; Belzoni’s JSarratm
of Operations and Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia ; Gau s
Nubia ; Life and Adventures of Giovanni Finuti; Russell s
Nubia and Abyssinia; the work entitled British Museum;
and Heeren’s Historical Researches) 0-)
NUBIAN Desert, a vast tract of barren rocks and
burning sands, extending from Syene in Upper Egypt, to
Geon, the capital of Berber in Nubia. As Syene is in
latitude 24. 0. 45. north, and Geon in latitude 17. 57.
the length of this desert from north to south is b. o. is.,
or upwards of 420 English miles. Its breadth from east to
west has not, as far as we know, been precisely ascertained.
NUCKERGAUT, a town of Northern Hindustan, in
the province of Serinagur. Long. 78. 5. E. Lat. 31U. i •
NUCLEUS, in general, denotes the kernel ot a nut, or
any seed enclosed within a husk. The term nucleus is also
used for the body of a comet, otherwise called ns head.
NUCTA, a dew, which, falling in Egypt about St Jolins
day, is, by the superstitious natives of the country, con
sidered as miraculous, and the peculiar gift of t]iat sallV
NUDDEA, a town of Bengal, and capital of a chstr
of the same name. It is situated on an island at t e co
fluence of the Jelinghy and Cossimbazar Rivers wi
Hooghly, sixty miles north from Calcutta. Itw&s t ie •
pital of a Hindu principality anterior to the M^ul d
quest of Hindustan, and was taken and entirely destro)
in the year 1204. In modern times it has ten
of a Brahmin seminary of learning ; anterior, howe >
that in Benares. Long. 88. 24. E. Lat. 23. 2o. N
district is situated between the twenty-second an
fourth degrees of north latitude. It is of a sandy >
is considered as the healthiest and driest par jt jg
though it is not equally productive with some ot • of
computed to contain 704,000 inhabitants, about a tm
whom are Mahommedans. The principal towns
nagur, Nuddea, and Santipore. . Pacific
NUESTRA Senhora de Luz, an island in the
N U M
h Ocean, discovered by Quiros in 1506. It appears to be the
same island which was called Pic de 1’Etoile by Bougain-
u ville. Lat. 14 30. S.
^ NULDINGAH, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Bengal, seventy-four miles north east by north from
Calcutta. Long. 89. 7. E. Eat. 23. 25. N.
NUJENGODE, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Mysore, which stands on the south bank of the Cubany
River, and is inhabited by Brahmins, who derive their
support from a celebrated pagoda or temple, to which im¬
mense numbers of Hindus resort. Long. 76. 50. E. Lat.
12. l.N.
NUMA PoMPiLius, tbe fourth son of Pompilius Pompo,
an illustrious Sabine. Having married Tatia, the daugh¬
ter of King Tatius, he remained with her in his native
country, preferring the tranquillity of a private life to the
splendour of a court. Upon the death of his wife, with
whom he had lived thirteen years, he gave himself up en¬
tirely to the study of wisdom ; and, leaving the city of Cu¬
res, confined himself to the country, wandering from soli¬
tude to solitude, in search only of those woods and foun¬
tains which religion had consecrated. His recluse life gave
rise to the fable, which was very early received amongst
the Sabines, that Numa lived in familiarity with the nymph
Egeria. Upon the death of Romulus, both the senate and
people strongly solicited him to become their king. They
despatched Julius Proculus and Valerius Volesus, two se¬
nators of distinction, to acquaint Numa with their resolu¬
tion, and make him an offer of the kingdom. The Sabine
philosopher at first rejected their proposal; but being at
last prevailed upon by the arguments and entreaties of the
deputies, joined with those of his father, and of Martins his
near relation, he at length yielded, and having offered sa¬
crifices to the gods, set out for Rome, where he was re¬
ceived by all ranks of people with loud shouts of joy.
After a reign of forty-two years, during which he had
given every possible encouragement to the useful arts, and
in which he had cultivated peace, Numa died in the year of
Rome 82. Not only the Romans, but also the neighbour¬
ing nations, were eager to pay respect to the memory of a
monarch whom they revered for his abilities, moderation,
and humanity. He forbade his body to be burned, accord¬
ing to the custom of the Romans, and ordered it to be bu¬
ried near Mount Janiculum, along with many of the books
which he had written. These books were accidentally
found by one of the Romans, about four hundred years
after his death ; and as they contained nothing new or in¬
teresting, but merely the reasons why he had made inno¬
vations in the form of worship and in the religion of the
Romans, they were burned by order of the senate.
NUMAN 1IA, a very noble city, the ornament of the
ither Spain, and celebrated for the long war of twenty
yeais which it maintained against the Romans. The base¬
ness and injustice of the Romans during this war were
tru y disgraceful to them, and altogether unworthy of a
great and powerful people. The inhabitants obtained some
advantages over the Roman forces, till Scipio Africanus
was empowered to finish the war, and to effect the destruc-
lon of Numantia. He began the siege with an army of
y jbousand men, and was bravely opposed by the be-
legec, who were no more than four thousand men able to
ear arms. Both armies behaved with uncommon valour,
to tl ^ courage the Numantines was soon changed in-
tlip 'r iU1^ 0i c*esPa'r> Their provisions began to fail, and
tint ^ l^)l?n ^le flesh of their horses, and afterw’ards upon
)• ,0(t th.eir dead companions; but at last they were ob-
i mP\Vl , W lotS t0 kil1 and devour one another. The
rendoiM10 J S1ltuat'0n their affairs obliged them to sur-
liver t'h ° .1Ci ^oman general. Scipio required them to de-
whpn ves. UP on the morrow; but they refused, and
onger time had been granted to their petitions,
N U M
299
they retired, and having set fire to their houses, destroyed Number,
themselves, so that not even one remained to adorn the
ti uimph of the conqueror. Some historians, however, deny
this, asserting that a number of Numantinesdelivered them¬
selves into Scipio s hands, and that fifty of them were
diawn in triumph at Rome, the rest being sold as slaves.
The fall of Numantia was more glorious than that of Car¬
thage or Corinth, though the place was much inferior to
either. It wms taken by the Romans 629 a. u. c. ; and the
conqueror obtained the surname oi Numanticus. ’
NUMBER, an assemblage of several units, or things of
the same kind. Number is either abstract or applicate ;
abstract, when referred to things in general, without at¬
tending to their particular properties ; and applicate, when
considered as the number of a particular sort of things, as
yards, trees, or the like. When particular things are men¬
tioned, there is alwmys something more considered than
barely their numbers; so that what is true of numbers in
the abstract, or when nothing but the number of things is
considered, will not be true when the question is limited
to particular things. lor instance, the number two is less
than three, yet two yards is a greater quantity than three
inches; and the reason is, because regard must be had to
their different natures as well as number, whenever things
of a different species are considered; for although we can
compare the number of such things abstractedly, yet we
cannot compare them in any applicate sense. And this dif¬
ference is necessary to be considered, because upon it the
true sense, and the possibility or impossibility, of some
questions depend. Number is unlimited in respect of in¬
crease ; because we can never conceive a number so great
but there is still a greater. However, in respect of de-
ciease, it is limited ; unity being the first and least num¬
ber, below which, therefore, it cannot descend.
Mathematicians, considering number under a great many
relations, have established the following distinctions. Bro¬
ken numbeis are the same with fractions. Cardinal num¬
bers are those which express the quantity of units, as 1,
2, 3, 4, &c.; whereas ordinal numbers are those which ex¬
press order, as 1st, 2d, 3d, &c. Compound number is one
divisible by some other number besides unity; as 12, which
is divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. Numbers, as 12 and 15,
which have some common measure besides unity, are said
to be compound numbers amongst themselves. Cubic
number is the product of a square number by its root; as
27, which is the product of the square number 9 by its
root 3. All cubic numbers, the root of which is less than
6, being divided by 6, the remainder is the root itself.
Thus 27 -L- 6 leaves the remainders, its root; 216, the
cube of 6, being divided by 6, leaves no remainder; 343,
the cube of 7, leaves a remainder 1, which, added to 6,
is the cube root: and 512, the cube of 8, divided by 6,
leaves a remainder 2, which, added to 6, is the cube root.
Hence the remainders of the divisions of the cubes above
216, divided by 6, being added to 6, always give the root
of the cube so divided till that remainder be 5, and con¬
sequently 11, the cube root of the number divided. But
the cubic numbers above this being divided by 6, there
remains nothing, the cube root being 12. Thus the re¬
mainders of the higher cubes are to be added to 12, and
not to 6, till you come to 18, when the remainder of the
division^ must be added to 18 ; and so on in infinitum.
Determinate number is that referred to some given unit,
as a ternary or three; whereas an indeterminate one is
that referred to unity in general, and is called quantity.
Homogeneal numbers are those referred to the same unit;
as those referred to different units are termed heterogeneal.
\\ hole numbers are otherwise called integers. Rational
number is one commensurable with unity; as a number
incommensurable with unity is termed irrational, ox & surd.
In the same manner, a rational whole number is that of
1
300
N U M
N U M
Number, which unity is an aliquot part; a rational broken number,
that equal to some aliquot part of unity; and a rational
mixed number, that consisting of a whole number and a
broken one. Even number is that which may be divided
into two equal parts without any fraction, as 6, 12, &c.
The sum, difference, and product, of any number of even
numbers, is always an even number. An evenly even
number is that which may be measured, or divided, with¬
out any remainder, by another even number, as 4 by 2 ,
an unevenly even number, when a number may be equally
divided by an uneven number, as 20 by 5 ; uneven num¬
ber, that which exceeds an even number, at least by unity,
or which cannot be divided into two equal parts, as 3, o,
&c. The sum or difference of two uneven numbers makes
an even number ; but the factum of two uneven ones makes
an uneven number. If an even number be added to an un¬
even one, or if the one be subtracted from the other, in
the former case the sum, in the latter the difference, is an
uneven number; but the factum of an even and uneven
number is even. The sum of any even number of uneven
numbers is an even number ; and the sum of any uneven
number of uneven numbers is an uneven number.
Primitive or prime numbers are those divisible only by
unity, as 5, 7, &c.; and prime numbers amongst them¬
selves are those which have no common measure besides
unity, as 12 and 19. Perfect number is that the aliquot
parts of which added together make the whole number, as
6, 28; the aliquot parts of 6 being 3, 2, and 1, _ 6 ; and
those of 28, being 14, 7, 4, 2, 1, = 28. Imperfect num¬
bers are those the aliquot parts of which added together
make either more or less than the whole, and these are
distinguished into abundant and defective. An instance
in the former case is 12, the aliquot parts of which, 6, ,
3, 2, 1, make 16; and in the latter case 16, the aliquot
parts of which 8, 4, 2, and 1, make but 15. Plane num¬
ber is that arising from the multiplication of two numbers,
as 6, which is the product of 3 by 2; and these numbers
are called the sides of the plane. Square number is the
product of any number multiplied by itself; thus 4, which is
the factum of 2 by 2, is a square number. An even square
number added to its root makes an even number.
Figurate numbers are such as represent some geome¬
trical figure, in relation to which they are always consi¬
dered ; as triangular, pentagonal, and pyramidal numbeis.
Figurate numbers are distinguished into orders, according
to their place in the scale of their generation, being all
, produced one from another, viz. by adding continually the
terms of any one, the successive sums are the terms of the
next order, beginning from the first order, which is that ot
equal units, 1, 1,1,1, &c.; then the second order consists ot
the successive sums of those of the first order, forming the
arithmetical progression 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. ; those of the third
order are the successive sums of those of the second, and
are the triangular numbers 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, &c.; those of
the fourth order are the successive sums of those ot the
third, and are the pyramidal numbers 1, 4, 10, 20, 35, &c.;
and so on, as below :
gular numbers, being formed from an arithmetical progres- Nun^
sion the common difference of which is 1. But if thatv>“,Y
common difference be 2, the successive sums will be the
series of square numbers ; if it be 3, the sei ies will be pen¬
tagonal numbers, or pentagons; if it be 4, the series will
be^hexagonal numbers, or hexagons ; and so on. Thus:
| „ -r, , Second Sums, or
Arithmetical, h irst Sums, or Fo1ygons- jsecon(] Polygons.
1,2,3, 4
1,3,5, 7
1, 4, 7, 10
1, 5, 9, 13
&c.
Tri. 1, 3, 6, 10
Sqrs. 1,4, 9, 16
Pent. 1, 5, 12, 22
Hex. 1, 6, 15, 28
1, 4, 10, 20
1, 5, 14, 30
1, 6, 18, 40
1, 7, 22, 50
The reason of the names, triangles, squares, pentagons,
hexagons, and the like, is, that those numbers may be
placed in the form of these regular figures or polygons.
But the figurate numbers of any order may also be found
without computing those of the preceding orders; which
is done by taking the successive products of as many of
the terms of the arithmeticals, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, drc. in their
natural order, as there are units in the number which de¬
nominates the order of figurates required, and dividing
these products always by the first product. Ihus trie tri¬
angular numbers are found by dividing the products 1X2,
2 X 3, 3 X 4, 4 X 5, &c. each by the first product 1 X 2;
the first pyramids by dividing the products 1 X 2 X 3, 2X3
X 4, 3 X 4 X 5, &c. by the first 1X2X3. And, in ge¬
neral, the figurate numbers of any order rc, are found by
substituting successively 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. instead of x
x' x + 1 • a: + 2 • a- + 3 • &c.
in this general expression y-;—^
&c.’
where the factors in the numerator and denominator are
supposed to be multiplied together, and to be continued till
the number in each be less by 1 than that which expresses
the order of the figurates required.1 .
Polygonal or polygonous numbers are the sumsot arith¬
metical progressions beginning with unity, and these, where
the common difference is 1, are called triangular numbers;
where it is 2, square numbers ; where it is 3, pentagona
numbers ; where it is 4, hexagonal numbers ; where it is 5,
heptaqonal numbers, &c. Pyramidal numbers, the sums
of polygonous numbers, collected after the same manner as
the polygons themselves, and not gathered out of arithme¬
tical progressions, are called/rvrtpyramidal numbers; and
the sums of the first pyramidals are called secondpyrami-
dais, &c. If they arise out of triangular numbers, they are
called triangular pyramidal numbers; and if out of penta¬
gons, first pentagonal pyramidals. From the manner ot
summing up polygonal numbers, it is easy to conceive iovv
the prime pyramidal numbers are found, ihe tormina
(a — 2) rc3 + 3 n3 — (a — 5^ expresses an the prime
Order.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Names.
Equals,
Arithmeticals,
Triangulars,
Pyramidals,
Second Pyramidals,
Third Pyramidals,
Fourth Pyramidals,
Numbers.
1, 1, 1, 1,
1,2, 3, 4,
1, 3, 6, 10,
1, 4, 10, 20,
1, 5, 15, 35,
1, 6, 21, 56, 126, &c.
1, 7, 28, 84, 210, &c.
1, &c.
5, &c.
15, &c.
35, &c.
70, &c.
The above are all considered as different sorts ot trian-
pyramidals. . ,
" The number 9 has a very curious property, its proctuc
always composing either 9 or some lesser producttheiet’'
If our limits permitted us, we could instance in a va . ^
of other numbers properties both curious and sVrPris, ^
Such speculations are indeed by some men consider
trifling and useless. But perhaps they judge too hast
for few employments are more innocent, none more g
ous, nor, to those who have a taste for them, more am g
Numbers were by the Jews, as well as the ancient b
fen
r
« • onfi where
J See Maclaurin’s Fluxions, art. 351, in the notes ; also Simpson’s Algebra, “ also be con-
subject of figurates is treated in a very extensive and perspicuous manner. Hutton s iMatliemaucai ^
suited.
N U M
N U M
301
mltrs
I!
m
tt
and Romans, expressed by means of letters of the alphabet.
Hence we may conceive how imperfect and limited their
arithmetic was ; because the letters could not be arranged
in a series, or in different lines, conveniently enough for
the purposes of ready calculation. The invention of the
ciphers, or arithmetical figures, which we now make use
of, has given us in this respect a very great advantage over
the ancients ; to say nothing of that which is derived from
these figures having a value in position. See Arithmetic.
The letters chiefly employed by the Romans to express
numbers were, M for 1000, D for 500, C for 100, L for
50, V for 5, X for 10, and I for one. M probably signi¬
fies 1000, because it is the initial of milk; D stands for
500, because it is dimidium milk ; C signifies 100, as be¬
ing the first letter of the word centum; L stands for 50,
because it is the half of C, having formerly been written
thus, L ; V signifies 5, because V is the half of X, which
stands for 10 ; I stands for one, because it is the first let¬
ter of initium. These, however, are fanciful derivations,
and an explanation more accordant with philosophical prin¬
ciples has been given in the article Arithmetic. See also
Numeral Letters.
The Jewish cabbalists, the Grecian conjurors, and the
Roman augurs, had a great veneration for particular num¬
bers, and the result of particular combinations of numbers.
Thus three, four, six, seven, nine, ten, were full of divine
mysteries, and of great efficacy.
Numbers, \n Poetry and Oratory, are certain measures,
proportions, or cadences, which render a verse, period, or
song agreeable to the ear.
Poetical numbers consist in a certain harmony in the or¬
der, quantities, and adjustment of the feet and syllables
which render the piece musical to the ear, and capable of
being sung, for which all the verses of the ancients were
intended. It is of these numbers Virgil speaks in his ninth
Eclogue, when he makes Lycidas say, Numeros memini,
si verba tenerem ; meaning, that although he had forgotten
the words of the verses, yet he remembered the feet and
measure of which they were composed.
Rhetorical or prosaic numbers are a sort of simple unaf¬
fected harmony, less glaring than that of verse, but such
as is perceived and affects the mind with pleasure.
Booh of Numbers, the fourth book of the Pentateuch,
taking its denomination from the numbering of the fami¬
lies ot Israel. A part of this book is historical, relating to
several remarkable passages in the march of the Israelites
through the wilderness. It contains a distinct relation of
their several movements from one place to another, or their
forty-two stages through the wilderness, and many other
things, by which we are instructed and confirmed in some
of the most weighty truths which have immediate refer¬
ence to God and his providence in the vcorld. But the
greater part of this book is occupied in enumerating those
laws and ordinances, w’hether civil or ceremonial, which
were given by God, but not mentioned before in the pre¬
ceding books.
NUMERAL Letters are those letters of the alpha¬
bet which are generally used for figures, as I, one ; V, five ;
V, ten; L, fifty; C, a hundred; D, five hundred ; M, a
thousand; and soon. It is not agreed how the Roman nu¬
merals originally received their value. It has been sup-
Flo’ 38 We ^ave ^served in the article Number, that
tie Romans used M to denote 1000, because it is the first
tetter of milk, which is the Latin word for 1000 ; and C
o t enote 100, because it is the first letter of centum, which
m atm means 100. It has also been supposed that D,
emg ormed by dividing the old M in the middle, was
asT M aPPointed t0 stand for 500, that is, half as much
h ifp1 s^°od for when it was whole ; and that L being
to F ’ ?n£PnaPy written C, was for the same reason used
enommate fifty. But what reason is there to suppose that
1000 and 100 were the numbers which letters were first Numera-
used to express ? And what reason can be assigned why D, Boo¬
the first letter in the Latin word decern, ten, should not ra-s^~v-^'
ther have been chosen to stand for that number than for
500, because it had a rude resemblance to half an M ? But
if these questions could be satisfactorily answered, there
are other numeral letters which have never yet been ac¬
counted for at all. Ihese considerations render it proba¬
ble that the Romans did not, in their original intention,
employ letters to express numbers at all. The most natu¬
ral account of the matter seems to be this: The Romans
probably put down a single stroke, I, for one, as is still the
practice of those who score upon a slate or with chalk.
This stroke, I, they doubled, trebled, and quadrupled, to
express 2, 3, and 4; thus, II., III., IIII. So far they could
easily number the strokes with a glance of the eye. But
they presently found that if more were added it would soon
be necessary to tell the strokes one by one. For this reason,
then, when they came to 5, they expressed it by joining
two strokes together in an acute angle, thus, V ; which will
appear the more probable, if it be considered that the pro¬
gression of the Roman numbers is from 5 to 5, that is, from
the fingers on one hand to the fingers on the other. Ovid
has touched upon the original of this in his Fasti (lib. iii.),
and Vitruvius has made a similar remark.
After they had made this acute angle V for five, they
added the single strokes to it to the number of four, thus
VI., V1L, VIII., VIIIL, and then, as the strokes could not
be further multiplied without confusion, they doubled their
acute angle by prolonging the two lines beyond their in¬
tersection, thus, X, to denote two fives, or ten. After this
they doubled, trebled, and quadrupled this double acute
angle thus, XX., XXX., XXXX.; they then, for the same
reason which induced them first to make a single and then
to double it, joined two single strokes in another form,
and instead of an acute angle, made a right angle, L, to de¬
note fifty. When this fifty was doubled, they then dou¬
bled the right angle thus, E, to denote 100; and having
numbered this double right angle four times, thus, CC, LLL,
CCCC, when they came to the fifth number, as before, they
reverted it, and put a single stroke before it thus ID, to
denote 500; and when this 500 was doubled, then they
also doubled their double right angle, setting two double
right angles opposite to each other, with a single stroke
between them, thus, r.n, to denote 1000. When this note
for 1000 had been four times repeated, then they put down
IDD for 5000, CCIdd for 10,000, and ODD for 50,000, and
CCLIDDD for 100,000, IDDDD for 500,000, and CCCOdddd
for one million.
That the Romans did not originally write M for 1000,
and C for 100, but square characters, as they are repre¬
sented above, we are expressly informed by Paulus Ma-
nutius ; but the corners of the angles being cut off by the
transcribers for despatch, these figures were gradually
brought into what are now numeral letters. When the
corners of Eli were made round, it stood thus CI3, which
is so near the Gothic at, that it soon deviated into that
letter; so ID having the corners rounded, stood thus, ID,
and then easily deviated into D. L also became a plain
C by the same means ; the single rectangle which denot¬
ed fifty was, without alteration, a capital L; the double
acute angle was an X ; the single acute angle a V conso¬
nant ; and a plain single stroke the letter I; and thus these
seven letters, M, D, C, L, X, V, I, became numerals.
Numeral Characters of the Arabs are those figures
which are now used in all the operations of arithmetic in
every nation in Europe. See the article Arithmetic.
NUMERAllON, or Notation, in Arithmetic, the art
of expressing in characters any number proposed in words,
or of expressing in words any number proposed in charac¬
ters. See Arithmetic.
302
N U M
Numerical NUMERICAL, Numerous, or Numeral, somethingre-
II lating to numbers ; thus Numerical Algebra is that which
Unild 1 *1 * * 1   - 4. „ ^ £ 1 /-i♦ rw+c* r~\U O 1 tl Mp* t".
latino lu iiuiuucio 9     o- iiii.
makes use of numbers instead of letters of the alphabet.
Numerical difference is also that by which one man is dis¬
tinguished from another. Hence a thing is said to be nu¬
merically the same, when it is so in the strictest sense ot
the word. „ . „. , . .
NUMIDIA, an ancient kingdom of Africa, bounded on
the north by the Mediterranean Sea; on the south by Gse-
tulia, or part of Libya Interior; on the west by the Mu-
lucha, a river which separated it from Mauritania ; and on
the east by the Tusca, another river which formed its con¬
terminous boundary with Africa Propria. .
This country included two divisions, one inhabited by
the Massuli, and the other by the Masseesyli; the country
of the latter being also called in after times Mauritania Cce-
sariensis, and that of the former Numidia Propria. The
country of the Massyli, or, as some call it, 7erra Metago¬
nitis, was separated from the territory of Carthage by its
eastern boundary the river Tusca, and from the kingdom
of the Masssesyli, or Mauritania Csesanensis, by the river
Amnsaga; and it seems to have corresponded with that
part of the province of Constantina lying between the Za.ne
and the Wed al Kebeer, which is above 130 miles in length,
and more than 100 in breadth. The sea-coast of this pio-
vince is for the most part mountainous and rocky, answer¬
ing to the appellation given to it by Abulfeda, who calls
it El Edwaa, the high or lofty. It is far from being equa
in extent to the ancient country of the Massaesyh, which,
however, Strabo informs us, was inferior to the country o
the Massyli. Its capital was Cirta, a place of very consi¬
derable note amongst the ancients. ,
Several learned writers have supposed that the tract ex¬
tending from the isthmus of Suez to the lake Tntonis was
chiefly peopled by the descendants ot Mizraim, and that
the posterity of his brother Put, or Phut, spread them¬
selves all over the country between that lake and the
Atlantic Ocean. And to this notion Herodotus gives some
countenance ; for he tells us that the pbyan Nomades,
whose territories to the west were bounded by the 1 nton,
agreed in their customs and manners with the Egyptia is,
but that the Africans, from that river to the Atlantic
Ocean, differed from them in almost all points. It0 fcmy
mentions a city called Putea, near Adrametum, and Pliny
a river of Mauritania Tingitana, known by the name ot
Put, or Phut; and the district adjacent to this river was
called Regio Phutensis, which plainly involves in it the name
of Phut. That word signifies scattered or dispersed , a
this agrees very well with what Mela and Strabo iclate
of the ancient Numidians; so that we may, without any
scruple, admit the aborigines of this country to have been
the descendants of Phut.
The history of Numidia, during many of the early ages,
is buried in oblivion. It is probable, however, that as the
Phoenicians were masters of a great part of the country,
their transactions had been recorded and were generally
known to the Carthaginians. King Jarbas probably reignt
here as well as in Africa Propria, it not in Mauritania and
other parts of Libya, when Dido began to build Byrsa It
appears from Justin, that about the age of Herodotus the
people of this country were called both Africans or Lib¬
yans, and Numidians. Justin likewise intimates, that about
this time the Carthaginians vanquished both the Moors or
Mauritanians and the Numidians; in consequence of which
they were excused from paying the tribute which had hi¬
therto been demanded of them. , . „.
After the conclusion of the first Punic war, the African
troops carried on a sanguinary contest against their mas¬
ters the Carthaginians ; and the most active in this rebel¬
lion, according to Diodorus Siculus, were a part of the
Numidian nation named Micatanians. ibis so incensed
N U M
the Carthaginians, that after Hamilcar had either killed or Numi;
taken prisoners all the mercenaries, he sent a large de-
tachment to ravage the country of those Numidians; and
the commandant of that detachment executed his orders
with the utmost cruelty, plundering the district in a ter¬
rible manner, and crucifying, without distinction, all the
prisoners who fell into his hands. This filled the rest with
such indignation and resentment, that both they and their
posterity ever afterwards cherished an implacable hatred
to the Carthaginians.
In the time of the second Punic war, Syphax, king of
the Masssesyli, having entered into an alliance with the
Romans, gave the Carthaginians a considerable defeat.
This induced Gala, king of the Massyli, to conclude a
treaty with the Carthaginians, in consequence ot which his
son Masinissa marched at the head of a powerful army to
give Syphax battle. The contest ended in favour of Mask
nissa; thirty thousand of the Massaesyli were put to the
sword, and Syphax driven into Mauritania; and a similar
reverse attended Syphax in another engagement, where
his troops were entirely defeated and dispersed.
Gala having died whilst his son Masinissa was acting at
the head of the Numidian troops sent to the assistance of
the Carthaginians in Spain, his brother Desalces, accord¬
ing to the established rules of succession in Numidia, took
possession of the Massylian throne. That prince, however,
died soon after his succession, and Capusa his eldest son
succeeded him. But he did not long enjoy his high dig¬
nity ; for one Mezetulus, a person of the royal blood, but
an enemy to the family of Gala, found means to excite a
great part of his subjects to revolt. A battle soon took
place between him and Capusa, in which the latter was
slain with many of the nobility, and his army entirely de¬
feated. But though Mezetulus thus became possessed ot
the sovereignty, he did not think proper to assume the title
of kino-, and only styled himself guardian to Lacumaces,
the surviving son of Desalces, whom he graced with the
royal title. To support himself in his usurpation, he mar¬
ried the widow of Desalces, who was Hannibal’s niece, and
consequently of the most powerful family in Carthage; and
in order to attain the same end, he sent ambassadors to
Syphax, to conclude a treaty of alliance with him In
the mean time, Masinissa, having received advice of his
uncle’s death, of his cousin’s slaughter, and of Mezetuluss
usurpation, immediately passed over to Africa, and went
to the court of Bocchar king of Mauritania to sohat suc¬
cours. Bocchar, sensible of the great injustice which had
been done Masinissa, gave him a body of four thousand
Moors to escort him to his dominions; and his subjects,
being apprised of his approach, joined him upon the fron¬
tiers with a party of five hundred men. I he Moors, n
pursuance of their orders, returned home as soon as Mas -
Lsa reached the contiaes of his kingdom; notmths. n -
ing winch, and the small body that declared for him,
ini accidentally met Lacumaces at Thapsus, with an escort
going to implore the assistance of Syphax he ^ hm
into the town, which he carried by assault after fa«
resistance. Lacumaces, however, with many of his mm
found means to escape to Syphax. _ 1 he fame <5
ploit gained Masinissa great credit, insomuch that the -
midians flocked to him from all parts, and among ^
rest many of his father Gala’s veterans, who Pie *
to make a speedy and vigorous effort to .^cover lus^
ditary dominions. Lacumaces having jm x hadcre*
with a reinforcement of Massaesylians, which he 1
vailed upon Syphax to send to the assistance o s ^
the usurper advanced at the head of a numero
offer Masinissa battle, which that pm.ce, a‘t''° / tac.
inferior in numbers, did not decline. Arieng^el^|| J'f
cordingly ensued, and, notwithstanding the ine(l
numbers, it ended in the defeat of Lacumaces. ^
N U M I D I A.
303
Nu
ilia.
mediate consequence of this victory of Masinissa was the
quiet and peaceable possession of his kingdom ; Mezetulus
and Lacumaces, with a few that attended them, having
fled into the territories of Carthage. However, being ap¬
prehensive that he should be obliged to sustain a war
against Syphax, he offered to treat Lacumaces with as
many marks of distinction as his father Galahad Desalces,
provided that prince would put himself under his protec¬
tion. He also promised Mezetulus pardon, and the restitu¬
tion of all the property forfeited by his treasonable con¬
duct, if he would make his submission to him. Both of
them readily complied with the proposal, and immedi¬
ately returned home; so that the tranquillity and repose
of Numidia would have been settled upon a solid and
lasting foundation, had not this been prevented by Asdru-
bal, who was then at the court of Syphax. He insinuated
to that prince, who was disposed to live amicably with his
neighbours, “ that he was greatly mistaken if he imagined
Masinissa would be satisfied with his hereditary dominions ;
that he was a prince of much greater capacity and ambi¬
tion than either his father Gala, his uncle Desalces, or
any of his family ; that he had discovered in Spain marks
of rare and uncommon merit; and that, in fine, unless this
rising flame was extinguished before it came to too great a
head, both the Massaesylian and Carthaginian states would
infallibly be consumed by it.” Syphax, alarmed by these
suggestions, advanced with a numerous body offerees into
a district which had long been a subject of dispute be¬
tween him and Gala, but was then in possession of Masi¬
nissa. Ihis brought on a general action between these
two princes, wherein the latter was totally defeated, his
army dispersed, and he himself obliged to fly to the top of
Mount Balbus, attended by only a few of his horse. Such
a decisive battle, before Masinissa had been firmly seated
on his throne, could not fail to put Syphax into posses¬
sion of the kingdom of the Massyli. Masinissa, in the
mean time, made nocturnal incursions from his post upon
Mount Balbus, and plundered all the adjacent country,
particularly that part of the Carthaginian territory conti¬
guous to Numidia. This district he not only thoroughly
pillaged, but likewise laid waste with fire and sword, car¬
rying off from thence an immense booty', which was pur¬
chased of him by some merchants, who had put into one
of the Carthaginian ports for that purpose. In fine, he did
the Carthaginians more damage, not only by committing
such dreadful devastations, but by massacring and carry¬
ing into captivity vast numbers of their subjects on this
occasion, than they could have sustained in a* pitched bat¬
tle, or a whole campaign of a regular war. Syphax, at the
pressing and reiterated instances of the Carthaginians, sent
Bocchar, one of his most active commanders, with a de¬
tachment of four thousand foot and two thousand horse, to
reduce this pestilent gang of robbers; promising him a great
reward if he would bring Masinissa either alive or dead.
Bocchar, having watched an opportunity, surprised theMas-
syhans as they were straggling about the country without
any order or discipline ; so that he took many prisoners,
dispersed the rest, and pursued Masinissa himself, with a
ew o his men, to the top of the mountain where he had
before taken post. Considering the expedition as ended,
If n°t ®n}y sent many head of cattle, and the other booty
iat had fallen into his hands, to Syphax, but likewise all
Wr^if’ excePt five hundred foot and two hundred horse.
.* } .ls detachment he drove Masinissa from the sum-
1 o tie hill, and pursued him through several narrow
passes and defiles as far as the plains of Clupea, w here he
o comp etely surrounded him, that all the Massylians ex-
p our were put to the sword, and Masinissa himself, after
a dangerous w'ound, escaped with the ut-
rivpr • * was effected by crossing a rapid
i in w inch attempt tw o of his four attendants perished
in the sight of the detachment that pursued him, it was ru¬
moured all over Africa that Masinissa also was drowned ;
news which gave inexpressible pleasure to Syphax and the
Carthaginians. For some time he lived undiscovered in a
cave, where he was supported by the robberies of the two
horsemen who had made their escape with him. But hav¬
ing cured his wound by the application of some medicinal
herbs, he began to advance boldly towards his own fron¬
tiers, giving out publicly that he intended once more to
take possession of his kingdom. In his march he wasjoin-
ed by about forty horse, and, soon after his arrival amongst
the Massyli, so many people flocked to him from all parts,
that out of them he formed an army of six thousand foot
and four thousand horse. At the head of these forces he
not only reinstated himself in possession of his dominions,
but likewise laid waste the borders of the Massaesyli. This
so irritated Syphax, that he immediately assembled a nu¬
merous body of troops, and encamped very commodiously
upon a ridge of mountains between Cirta and Hippo. His
army he commanded in person, and detached his son Ver-
mina, with a considerable force, to make a detour, and at¬
tack the enemy in the rear. In pursuance of his orders,
Vermina set out in the beginning of the night, and took post
in the place appointed, without having been discovered by
the enemy. In the mean time Syphax decamped, and ad¬
vanced towards the Massyli, in order to give them battle.
When he had possessed himself of a rising ground which
led to their camp, and concluded that his son Vermina must
have formed the ambuscade behind them, he began the
fight. Masinissa being advantageously posted, and his sol¬
diers distinguishing themselves in an extraordinary manner,
the dispute proved long and bloody. But Vermina having
unexpectedly fallen upon their rear, and by this means
obliged them to divide their forces, which were scarcely
able before to oppose the main body under Syphax, they
were soon thrown into confusion, and forced to betake
themselves to a precipitate flight. All the avenues being
blocked up, partly by Syphax, and partly by his son, such
a dreadful slaughter was made of the unhappy Massylians,
that only Masinissa himself, and sixty horse, escaped to the
Lesser Syrtis. Here he remained, between the confines
of the Carthaginians and the Garamantes, till the arrival of
Laelius and the Homan fleet on the coast of Africa.
By the assistance of Laelius, Masinissa at last reduced Sy-
phax’s kingdom. According to Zonaras, Masinissa and Sci-
pio, before the memorable battle of Zama, deprived Hanni¬
bal, by a stratagem, of some advantageous posts; which, with
a solar eclipse that happened during the heat of the action,
and not a little intimidated the Carthaginian troops, great¬
ly contributed to the victory obtained by the Romans. At
the conclusion, therefore, of the second Punic war, he was
amply rewarded by the Romans for the important services
he had rendered them. As for Syphax, after the loss of his
dominions, he was kept in confinement for some time at
Alba; but being removed thence in order to grace Sci-
pio’s triumph, he died at Tibur, in his way to Rome. Zo¬
naras adds, that his corpse was decently interred; that all
the Numidian prisoners were released; and that Vermina,
by the assistance of the Romans, took peaceable possession
of his father’s throne. However, part of the Massaesylian
kingdom had before been annexed to Masinissa’s domi¬
nions, in order to reward that prince for his singular fide¬
lity and firm attachment to the Romans.
Nothing further is requisite to complete the history of
this famous prince, than to exhibit some points of his con¬
duct towards the decline and at the close of life; the wise
dispositions made after his death by iEmilianus for the re¬
gulation of his domestic affairs; and some particulars re¬
lating to his character, genius, and habit of body, drawn
from the most celebrated Greek and Roman authors.
By drawing a line of circumvallation around the Cartha-
Numidia.
304
N U M I D I A.
i a ? i i Tirvrm an pminpiirp IVIastJinBb&U tliG younfrGstj b&d allotted him the admini- Nuwi
Numidia. ginian army under Asdrubal, poste p • ’ stration Qf justice, an employment suitable to his education.''-vl
 v ' Masinissa cut off all manner of supplies, and thus uitro- straUon ^
duced both the plague and famine into their camp. As
the body of Numidian troops employed in this blockade
was not” nearly so numerous as the Carthaginian forces,
it is evident, that the line here mentioned must have been
extremely strong, and consequently the effect of great
labour and art. The Carthaginians, finding themselves
reduced to the last extremity, concluded a peace upon the
terms which Masinissa himself dictated to them, viz. 1 hat
they should deliver up all deserters ; that they should recall
their exiles, who had taken refuge in his dominions; that
they should pay him five thousand talents of silver with¬
in the space of fifty years; and that their soldiers should
pass under the yoke, each of them carrying off only a single
Larment. As Masinissa himself, though between eighty
and ninety years of age, conducted the whole enterprise,
he must have been extremely well versed in fortification,
and other branches of the military art; and he must like¬
wise have retained his understanding to the last, llns
happened a short time before the commencement of the
third Punic war. . AJ7.
Soon afterwards, the consuls landed an army in Africa,
in order to lay siege to Carthage, without imparting their
design to Masinissa. This not a little chagrined him, as it
was "contrary to the former practice of the Romans, who,
in the preceding war, had communicated their intentions
to him, and consulted him on all occasions. When, there¬
fore, the consuls applied to him for a body of his troops to
act in concert with their forces, he answered, “ That they
should have a reinforcement from him when they stood
in need of it.” The reflection, that after he had extremely
weakened the Carthaginians, and even brought them to the
brink of ruin, his pretended friends should come to leap
the fruits of his victory, without giving him the least in¬
telligence of their design, must have been sufficiently gall¬
ing to an old and faithful ally, who had done and suffered
so much in their cause. . , i u-
However, his mind soon returned to its natural bias,
which was in favour of the Romans. Finding his end ap¬
proaching, he sent to fEmilianus, then a tribune m the
Roman army, to desire a visit from him. VV hat he pro¬
posed by this visit, was to invest him with full powers to
dispose of his kingdom and estate as he should think pro¬
per, for the benefit of his children. The high idea he had
entertained of that young hero’s abilities and integrity, to¬
gether with his gratitude and affection for the family into
which he was adopted, induced him to take this step. But
believing that death would not permit him to have a per¬
sonal conference with Aimilianus upon this subject, he in¬
formed his wife and children, in his last moments, that he
had empowered him to dispose, in an absolute manner, of all
his possessions, and divide his kingdom amongst his sons;
to which he subjoined, “ I require, that whatever Mm\-
lianus may decree, shall be executed as punctually as i
myself had appointed it by my will.” Having uttered these
words, he expired, at a very advanced age.
Masinissa, before his death, gave his ring to his eldest
son Micipsa, but left the distribution of all his other effects
and possessions amongst his children entirely to Ahnihanus.
Of fifty-four sons who survived him, only three were legi¬
timate, to wit, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal. ^.mi-
lianus arrived at Cirta after he had expired, and divided his
kingdom, or rather the government of it, amongst these
three though to the others he gave considerable posses¬
sions.’ To Micipsa, who was a prince of a pacific disposi¬
tion, and the eldest son, he assigned Cirta, the metropolis,
for the place of his residence, in exclusion of the others.
Gulussa, the next to him, being a prince of military genius,
had the command of the army, and the transacting of all
affairs relating to peace or war, committed to his care. And
sirauuu ui y' at • •
They enjoyed in common the immense treasures Masinissa
had amassed, and were all of them dignified by fEmilianus
with the royal title. After he had made these various dis¬
positions, he departed from Cirta, taking with him a body
of Numidian troops, under the conduct of Gulussa, to re¬
inforce the Roman army which was then acting against the
Carthaginians. , . . .
Mastanabal and Gulussa died soon after their father, as
appears from the express testimony of Sallust; and we
find nothing remarkable of these princes, besides what has
been already related, except that the latter continued to
assist the Romans in the third Punic war, and that the
former was pretty well versed in the Gieek language. Mi¬
cipsa, therefore, became sole possessor of the kingdom of
Numidia. In his reign, and under the consulate of M.
piatius Hypsseus and M. fulvius Flaccus, according to
Orosius, a great part of Africa was covered with locusts,
which destroyed all the produce of the earth, and even de¬
voured dry wood. But at last they were all carried by the
wind into the African Sea, out of which being thrown in
vast heaps upon the shore, a plague ensued, which swept
away an infinite number of animals of all kinds. In rsu-
midia alone eight hundred thousand men perished, and in
Africa Propria two hundred thousand, including thirty
thousand Roman soldiers quartered in and about Utica
for the defence of the province. At Utica, in particular,
the mortality raged to such a degree, that fifteen hundred
dead bodies were carried out at one gate in a day. Mi¬
cipsa had two sons, Adherbal and Hiempsal, whom he edu¬
cated in his palace, together with his nephew Jugurtha.
That young prince was the son of Mastanabal; but his
mother having been only a concubine, Masinissa had taken
no oreat notice of him. However, Micipsa considering him
as a prince of the blood, took as much care of him as he
did of his own children. .
Jugurtha possessed several eminentquahties, which gain¬
ed him universal esteem. He was very handsome, endowed
with great strength of body, and adorned with the finest
intellectual endowments. He did not devote himself, as
young men commonly do, to a life of luxury and pleasure.
He used to exercise himself, with persons of his own age, m
running, riding, hurling the javelin, and other manly exer¬
cises, suited to the martial genius of the Numidians; and
although he surpassed all his fellow sportsmen, there was
not one of them but loved him. The chase was his only
delight; but it was that of lions and other savage beasts.
Sallust, to finish the picture of his character, tel s us, that
he excelled in all things, and spoke very little of himself.
So conspicuous an assemblage of fine talents and per¬
fections at first charmed Micipsa, who thought them mi
ornament to his kingdom. However, he soon began o
reflect that he was considerably advanced in years, and
his children in their infancy; that mankind naturally tlnnt-
ed after power, and that nothing was capable of making
men run greater lengths than a vicious and unlimited am¬
bition. These reflections soon excited his jealousy,
determined him to expose Jugurtha to a variety of dai-
gers, some of which, he hoped might prove fatal to the
aspiring youth. With this view he gave J ugurtha the com
mand of a body of forces which he sent to assist the
mans, who were at that time besieging Numant.a in bp
But Jugurtha, by his admirable conduct, not only
all thos? dangers, but likewise won the esteem ol the »h*
army, and the friendship of Scipio, who sent a ^‘g ‘ j
racter of him to his uncle Micipsa. However, that g
gave him some prudent advice in relation to his bi.
duct; observing in him, no doubt, certain spar ht
tion, which, if lighted into a flame, he apprehende g
one day be productive of the most fatal consequen
fumi
W
N U M I D I A.
Before this last expedition, Micipsa had endeavoured to
’'find out some method of taking him off privately ; but the
popularity of Jugurtha amongst the Numidians obliged that
prince to lay aside all thoughts of this kind. After his re¬
turn from Spain the whole nation almost adored him. The
heroic bravery he had shown there; his undaunted courage,
joined to the utmost calmness of mind, which enabled him
to preserve a just medium between a timorous foresight
and an impetuous rashness, a circumstance rarely to be met
with in persons of his age ; and, above all, the advantage¬
ous testimonials of his conduct given by Scipio, attracted
universal esteem. Nay, Micipsa himself, charmed with the
high opinion which the Roman general had entertained of
his merit, changed his behaviour towards him ; resolving,
if possible, to win his affection by kindness. He therefore
adopted him, and declared him joint heir with his two
sons to the crown. Some few years afterwards, finding
that his end approached, he sent for all the three to his
bed side, where, in the presence of the whole court, he
desired Jugurtha to recollect with what extreme tender¬
ness he had treated him, and consequently to consider
how well he had deserved at his hands. He then entreat¬
ed him to protect on all occasions his children, who, being
before related to him by the ties of blood, were now by
their father’s bounty become his brethren. In order to
fix him the more firmly in their interest, he likewise com¬
plimented him upon his bravery, address, and consummate
prudence. He further insinuated, that neither arms nor
treasures constitute the strength of a kingdom ; but friends,
who are neither won by arms nor gold, but by real ser¬
vices and an inviolable fidelity. “ Now,” continued he,
“ where can we find better friends than in brothers ? And
how can that man who becomes an enemy to his relations
repose any confidence in or place dependence on strangers?”
Then addressing himself to Adherbal and Hiempsal, “ And
you,’ said he, “ I enjoin to pay always the highest reve¬
rence to Jugurtha. Endeavour to imitate, and if possible
surpass, his exalted merit, that the world may not here¬
after observe Micipsa s adopted son to have reflected
greater glory upon his memory than his own children.”
boon afterwards, Micipsa, who, according to Diodorus, was
a prince of an amiable character, expired. Though Jugur-
I tha did not believe that the king spoke his real sentiments
in regard to him, yet he seemed extremely pleased with so
gracious a speech, and made him an answer suitable to the
occasion. However, that prince at the same time deter¬
mined within himself to put in execution the scheme he
ad formed at the siege of Numantia, and which had been
suggested to him by some factious and abandoned Roman
omcers, with whom he there contracted an acquaintance,
ine purport of this scheme was, that he should extort the
crown by force from his two cousins, as soon as their fa¬
ther s eyes were closed; which, they insinuated, might easi-
y be effected by means of his own valour, and the venality
ot the Romans. Accordingly, a short time after the old
"ig» death, he found means to assassinate Hiempsal in
e city of Ihirmida, where his treasures were deposited,
• 0 nve-^herbal out of his dominions. That unhappy
P ce ound himself obliged to fly to Rome, where he en-
nn!rlTe u t0 enga?e the conscriPt fathers to espouse his
notwithstanding the evident justice of his
i. not virtue enough effectually to support him.
ipv Q aS airi^assa^ors> by distributing vast sums of mo-
i n-le senators> brought them so far over that
^ ri y palliated his inhuman proceedings. This en-
agcd the usurper’s ministers to declare that Hiempsal
neen ki pf hv rlio   . /-i • r
305
nr) 1 :11 , . ^ uuuisiers ro cieciare tnat liiempsaf
live ‘ by the Numidians on account of his exces-
rouhlp-6. ^ ’i i at Adherbal was the aggressor in the late
mt mnU3,? i 1 ^e,'vas only chagrined because he could
voulrl wiir ^ lavock amongst his countrymen which he
vol. xv? ^ 13Ve done’ -^ey therefore entreated the
senate to form a judgment of Jugurtha’s behaviour in Af- Numidia.
rica from his conduct at Numantia, rather than from the
sug?estions of his enemies; upon which, by far the greater
part of the senate discovered that they were prejudiced in
his favour. A few, however, who were not lost to honour
nor abandoned to corruption, insisted upon bringing him to
condign punishment. But as they could not prevail, Ju¬
gurtha had the best part of Numidia allotted him, and Ad¬
herbal was forced to rest satisfied with the other.
Jugurtha, finding now by experience that every thing
was venal at Rome, as his friends at Numantia had before
informed him, thought he might pursue his towering pro¬
jects without meeting any obstruction from that quarter.
He, therefore, immediately after the final division of Mi-
cipsa’s dominions, threw off the mask, and attacked his
cousin by open force. As Adherbal was a prince of a pa¬
cific disposition, and almost in all respects the reverse of
Jugurtha, he was by no means a match for him. The latter
therefore pillaged the territories of the former, stormed se¬
veral of his fortresses, and overran a good part of his king¬
dom, without opposition. Adherbal, depending upon the
friendship of the Romans, which his father in his last mo¬
ments had assured him would be a stronger support to him
than all the troops and treasures in the universe, despatched
deputies to Rome to complain of these hostilities. But
whilst he lost valuable time in sending thither fruitless de¬
putations, Jugurtha overthrew him in a pitched battle, and
soon afterwards shut him up in Cirta. During the siege of
this city, a Roman commission arrived there, in order to per¬
suade both parties to come to an accommodation; but find¬
ing Jugurtha untractable, the commissioners returned home
without so much as conferring with Adherbal. A second
deputation, composed of senators of the highest distinc¬
tion, with iEmilius Scaurus, president of the senate, at
their head, landed some time afterwards at Utica, and
summoned Jugurtha to appear before them. That prince
at first seemed to be under dreadful apprehensions, espe¬
cially as Scaurus reproached him with his enormous crimes,
and threatened him with the resentment of the Romans if
he did not immediately raise the siege of Cirta. However,
the Numidian, by his address, and the irresistible power
of gold, as was afterwards suspected at Rome, so mollified
Scaurus that he left Adherbal at his mercy. In fine, Ju¬
gurtha had Cirta at last surrendered to him, upon the con¬
dition only that he should spare the life of Adherbal. But
the merciless tyrant, in violation of the laws of nature and
humanity as well as the capitulation, when he had got pos¬
session of the town, ordered him to be put to a most cruel
death. The merchants, likewise, and all the Numidians in
the place capable of bearing arms, he caused to be put to
the sword without distinction.
Every person at Rome inspired with any sentiment of
humanity was stricken with horror at the news of this tra¬
gical event. However, all the venal senators still concur¬
red with Jugurtha’s ministers in palliating his enormous
crimes ; notwithstanding which, the people, excited there¬
to by Caius Memmius their tribune, who bitterly inveigh¬
ed against the venality of the senate, resolved not to let
so flagrant an instance of villany go unpunished. This dis¬
position in them induced the conscript fathers likewise to
declare their intention to chastise Jugurtha. For this pur¬
pose, an army was levied to invade Numidia, and the com¬
mand of it given to the consul Calpurnius Bestia, a person
of good abilities, but rendered unfit for the expedition he
was to be employed on by his insatiable avarice. Jugurtha
being informed of the great preparations making at Rome
to attack his dominions, sent his son thither in hopes of
averting the impending storm. The young prince was plen¬
tifully supplied with money, which he had orders to distri¬
bute liberally amongst the leading men. But Bestia, pro¬
posing to himself great advantages from an invasion of Nu-
2 Q
306
N U M I D I A.
and occasioned a prosecution of the gudty senators, which
was carried on, for some time, with the utmost heat and
violence. Lucius Metellus, the consul, during these trans¬
actions, had Numidia assigned him as his province, and
consequently was appointed general of the army des¬
tined to act against Jugurtha. As he perfectly disregard¬
ed wealth, the Numidian found him superior to all his
temptations; and to this contempt of money he joined
all the other virtues which constitute the great captain,
so that Jugurtha found him in all respects inaccessible.
That prince, therefore, was now forced to regulate his
conduct with the greatest caution, according to the mo-
tions of Metellus ; and to exert his utmost bravery, in
order to compensate for that expedient, hitherto so fa¬
vourable, which now began to fail him. Marius, Metellus s
lieutenant, being likewise a person of uncommon merit, the
'ordering him and his attendants to leave Italy in ten days,
unless they were come to deliver up the king himself, and
all his territories, to the republic, by way of surrender ;
which decree being notified to them, they returned without
so much as having entered the gates of Rome, and the con¬
sul soon afterwards landed with a powerful army in Africa.
For some time he carried on the war there very briskly, and
having reduced several strongholds, took many Numidians
prisoners. But upon the arrival of Scaurus, a peace was
granted to Jugurtha upon advantageous terms. I hat prince
having come from Vacca, the place of his residence, to the
Roman camp, in order to confer with Bestia and Scaurus,
the preliminaries of the treaty were immediately after set¬
tled between them in private conferences ; and every bo y
at Rome was convinced that the prince of the senate and
the consul had sacriliced the republic to their avarice. V&i'.na opulent city, ud d»
The indignation of the people, therefore, displayed itself ”rC“ Nu” lidia. ^hey also defeated
in the strongest manner. Memnnus also Bred them wuh . overthrew Bomilcar, one of
his speeches ; and it was oonsoquentij ieso-.e ^ sp ^ ^ era|Sj u‘ ,|ie ban|iS 0f the Mutlmllus; and, in
the praetor Cassius, a person they cou ’ , fine forced the Nuinidian monarch to take shelter in a
midia, to prevail upon Jugurtha 10 “ "" ’ , ’ rendered almost inaccessible by the rocks and woods
they might learn from the king himself which ot tlieir gene piace reuucicci a j IT ^
raL and senators had been seduced by the pestilent influ¬
ence of corruption. Upon his arrival there, Jugurtha found
means to bribe one Baebius Salca, a man of great authority
amongst the plebeians, but of insatiable avarice, by whose
assistance he escaped with impunity. Nay, by the em-
cacy of gold, he not only eluded all the endeavours oi the
people of Rome to bring him to justice, but likewise en¬
abled Bomilcar, one of his attendants, to get Massiva an u- ^-‘-“‘^“Xhismost opulent cities plunder-
illegitimate son of Micipsa, assassinated in les r s ^ }i fortresses reduced, his towns burned, and vast num-
Rome. That young prince was advised by many Romans Ins fortiesses^e ^ ^ ^ ^ taken pri80ner8(
of probity, wellwishers to the family of Masimssa, PP y j . k e fousiy 0f coming to an accommodation
for the kingdom of Numidia; winch having come to the began to ^^f ni/faveurife, Bomilcar, in whom he
concluded with him by Bestia and Scaurus. Soon after¬
wards, the consul Albinus transported a Roman army into
Numidia, flattering himself with the hopes of reducing Ju-
gurtha to reason before the evpirationoflns consulate. In .dqraftW
this, however, he found himself deceived, for that c y g ^ receive farther directions, Jugurtha refused to
prince, by various artifices, so amused and impose up mnlv with that order and hostilities were renewed with
Sinus, that nothing of moment happened in that campaign comp y with that order, ami flosfl ^ ^
This rendered him strongly suspected of having betrayed p J t tj ho ret00k Vacca, and massacred
his country, after the example of his predecessors, His
brother Aulns, who succeeded him in the command of ^
the army, was still more unsuccessful; for after raising t ’ . the inhabitants with the utmost severity.
siege of Suthul, where the king’s treasures were deposited, and treated the intiauitanis wu -.
he marched his forces into a defile, out of which he found
it impossible to extricate himself. He was therefore ob¬
liged to submit to the ignominious ceremony ot passing
under the yoke, with all his men, and to quit Numidia en¬
tirely in ten days’ time, in order to deliver his troops from
immediate destruction. The avaricious disposition ot the
Roman commander had prompted him to besiege Suthul,
the possession of which place, he imagined, would make
with which it was covered. However, Jugurtha signalized
himself in a surprising manner, exhibiting all that could
be expected from the courage, abilities, and attention ot a
consummate general, to whom despair administers, fresh
Strength, and suggests new resources. But his troops
could not make head against the Romans, and were again
worsted by Marius, though they obliged Metellus to raise
the siege of Zama. Jugurtha, therefore, finding his conn-
nis eiepnanis, niuney, anno, ~  — >
the main strength of his army consisted, into the hands
of the Romans. Some of these last, in order to avoid the
punishment due to their crime, retired to Bocchus, king
of Mauritania, and enlisted into his service. But Metellus,
ana ireaieu the inhabitants with the utmost seventy.
About this time, one of Mastanabal’s sons, named Lauda,
whom Micipsa in his will had appointed to succeed t
the crown in case his two legitimate sons and Jugurt a
died without issue, wrote to the senate in [avour ot j '
rius, who was then endeavouring to supplant Meteuus.
That prince having his understanding impaired y
dining state of health, fell a mote easy prey to e b
and infamous adulation of Marius, i he Roman, soothing
the possession of which place, he imagined, would make ana imamous ;as the next heirto
him master of all the wealth of Jugurtha, and consequent- his vanity, assured ’ ‘ . fi d pon the
ly paved the way to the scandalous convention just men- the crown he Sr killed or
tioned. However, this was declared void as soon as known Numidian tin one a . f5 , t t- happen, when
at Rome, from being concluded without the authority of taken ; and with an
the people. The Roman troops retired into Africa 1 ropna, once he apptare f . Bomilcar and Nab"
lcPh they hat, now reduced Lo the forut of a Routan pro- " s"a”e Ju^ha! at the »;
"rt^t^^S&s.a tribune ^il°n ot^etellu?; hut this heutg Bet-d^ -
of [he people, excited the plebeians to inquire Into the and most ot Ins accomplices suffered cleath; ^ ^
conduct of those persons by whose assistance Jugurtha however, had such an e e^ P ° He
had found means to elude all the decrees of the senate, terwards enjoyed no tranquillity o. tepose. He r
S'umii
N U M I D I A.
persons of all denominations, Numidians as well as fo¬
reigners, of some black designs against him ; and perpetual
terror sat brooding over his mind, insomuch that he ne¬
ver slept except by stealth, and often changed his bed in
a low plebeian manner. Starting from his sleep, he would
frequently snatch his sword, and break out into the most
doleful cries; so strongly was he haunted by a spirit of
fear, jealousy, and distraction.
Jugurtha having destroyed great numbers of his friends
on suspicion of their having been concerned in this con¬
spiracy, and many more of them having deserted to the
Romans and Bocchus king of Mauritania, he found himself,
in a manner, destitute of counsellors, generals, and all per¬
sons capable of assisting him in carrying on the war. This
threw him into a deep melancholy, which rendered him
dissatisfied with every thing, and made him fatigue his
troops with a variety of contradictory movements. Some¬
times he would advance with great rapidity against the ene¬
my, and at others retreat from them with no small celerity.
Then he resumed his former courage, but soon afterwards
despaired either of the valour or fidelity of the forces under
his command. All his movements, therefore, proved un¬
successful, and at last he was forced by Metellus to accept
battle. That part of the Numidian army which Jugurtha
commanded behaved with some resolution, but the other
fled at the first onset. The Romans, therefore, entirely
defeated them, took all their standards, and made some
prisoners. But few of them were slain in the action, since,
as Sallust observes, the Numidians trusted more to their
heels than to their arms for safety in this engagement.
Metellus pursued Jugurtha and his fugitives to Thala.
His march to this place being through vast deserts, was
extremely tedious and difficult; but being supplied with
leathern bottles and wooden vessels of all sizes taken from
the huts of the Numidians, which were filled with water
brought by the natives who had submitted to him, he ad¬
vanced towards the city. He had no sooner begun his
march, than a most copious shower of rain, a thing very
uncommon in these deserts, proved a great and seasonable
refreshment to his troops ; and this so animated them, that
upon their arrival before Thala, they attacked the town
with such vigour, that Jugurtha, with his family, and the
treasures deposited therein, thought proper to abandon the
place. After a brave defence, it was reduced ; the gar¬
rison, consisting of Roman deserters, setting fire to the
king’s palace, and consuming themselves, together with
every thing valuable to them, in the flames. Jugurtha,
being now reduced to great extremities, retired into Gae-
tulia, whence, having formed a considerable corps, he
advanced to the confines of Mauritania, and engaged Boc¬
chus, king of that country, w'ho had married his daugh-
tei, to enter into an alliance with him; and having rein--
forced his Gaetulian troops with a powerful body of Mau¬
ritanians, he turned the tables upon Metellus, and obliged
mm to keep close within his intrenchments. Sallust in-
orms us, that Jugurtha bribed Bocchus’s ministers, in
order to influence that prince in his favour; and having
obtained an audience, he insinuated that, should Numidia
e subdued, Mauritania must be involved in its ruin, espe-
fia y as fke Romans seemed to have vowed the destruc-
um o all the thrones in the universe. In support of what
o advanced, he produced several instances very apposite
o e point in view. However, the same author seems
intimate, that Bocchus was determined to assist Jugur-
laagamst his enemies by the slight which the Romans
i °™f.r y s*lown him. That prince, at the first break-
11 0 the war, had sent ambassadors to Rome, to pro-
L- ian.<?ffensllve and defensive alliance to the republic,
ture nf10U • 1°^ t^le utmost consequence at that junc-
w ’ nKev\°* , most vcnal and infamous senators, who
andoned to corruption, prevented from taking
307
effect. This undoubtedly wrought more powerfully upon Numidia.
Bocchus in favour of Jugurtha than the relation in which
he stood to him; for both the Moors and Numidians
adapted the number of their wives to their circumstances,
so that some of them had ten, twenty, or more. Their
kings, therefore, were unlimited in this particular, and of
course all degrees of affinity resulting from marriage had
but little force. It is observable, that amongst the poste¬
rity of those ancient nations the same custom prevails at
this day.
Such was the situation of affairs in Numidia, when Me¬
tellus received advice of the promotion of Marius to the
consulate. But, notwithstanding this injurious treatment,
he generously endeavoured to draw off Bocchus from Ju¬
gurtha, although this would facilitate the reduction of Nu¬
midia for his rival. To this end ambassadors were de¬
spatched to the Mauritanian court, who intimated to Boc¬
chus, “ that it would be highly imprudent to come to a
rupture with the Romans without any cause at all; and
that he had now a fine opportunity of concluding a most
advantageous treaty with them, which was much preferable
to a war. ’ J o this they added, “ that whatever dependence
he might place upon his riches, he ought not to run the ha¬
zard of losing his dominions by embroiling himself with
other states, vyhen he could easily avoid doing so; that it
was much easier to begin a war than to end it, which it was
in the power of the victor alone to do ; that, in fine, he
would by no means consult the interest of his subjects if
he followed the desperate fortunes of Jugurtha.” To this
Bocchus replied, “ that for his part there was nothing he
wished for more than peace, but that he could not help
pitying the deplorable condition of Jugurtha ; that if the
Romans, therefore, would grant to that unfortunate prince
the same terms which they had offered him, he would bring
about an accommodation.” Metellus let the Mauritanian
monarch know, that it was not in his power to comply
with what he desired; but he nevertheless took care to
keep up a private negotiation with him till the arrival of the
new consul Marius. By this conduct he gained two im¬
portant objects. First, he prevented Bocchus from com
ing to a general action with his troops; which was the
very thing Jugurtha desired, hoping that this, whatever the
event might be, would render a reconciliation between
him and the Romans impracticable. Secondly, this inac¬
tion enabled him to discover something of the genius and
disposition of the Moors, a nation of whom the Romans, till
then, had scarcely formed any idea; and this, he imagined,
might be of no small service, either to himself or his suc¬
cessors, in the future prosecution of the war.
Jugurtha, being informed that Marius, with a numerous
army, had landed at Utica, advised Bocchus to retire, with
part of the troops, to some place of difficult access, whilst
he himself took post upon another inaccessible spot with
the remaining corps. By this measure, he hoped the Ro¬
mans would be obliged to divide their forces, and conse¬
quently be more exposed to his efforts and attacks. He
likewise imagined, that seeing no formidable body appear,
they would believe that the enemy were not in a condi¬
tion to make head against them ; which might occasion a
relaxation of discipline, the usual attendant of too great
security, and consequently produce some good effect. How¬
ever, he was disappointed in both these views. For Ma¬
rius, so far from suffering a relaxation of discipline to take
place, trained up his troops, which consisted chiefly of new
levies, in so perfect a manner, that they were soon equal
in efficiency to any consular army that ever appeared in the
field. He also cut off great numbers of the Gaetulian ma¬
rauders, defeated many of Jugurtha’s parties, and had well
nigh captured that prince himself near the city of Cirta.
These advantages, though not of any great importance, in¬
timidated Bocchus, who now made overtures for an accom-
308
N U M I D I A.
iu Uc i cuiivcu it/o        
into the consul’s hands Jugurtha, the inveterate enemy of
the Roman name. The Mauritanian monarch, having en¬
tertained a high idea of an alliance with that state, resolved
to satisfy it in this particular ; and was confirmed in his re¬
solution by one Dabar, a Numidian prince, the son of Mas-
sugrada, and descended by his mother’s side from Masinissa.
Numidia. modation • but the Romans, not being sufficiently satisfied now looking upon Jugurtha’s condition as desperate, and not Nuny
— 'of his sincerity, paid no great attention to them. In the being willing to run the risk of losing his dominions, showed ^
mean time Marims pushed on his conquests, and having re- a disposition to conclude a peace with Rome. owever, the
duced several places of less note, at last resolved to besiege republic gave him to understand, that he n™s ot expect
Capsa. That this enterprise might be conducted with the to be ranked amongst itsjriends, until he had delivered up
greater secrecy, he suffered not the least hint of his design
to transpire, even amongst any of his officers. On the con¬
trary, in order to blind them, he detached A. Manlius, one
of his lieutenants, with some light-armed cohorts, to the
city of Lares, where he had fixed his principal magazine,
Bein^cioseTfattachecTto^lieRomans,andextremelyagree-
ZZZ “S,.a'S arrival at the Ruritanian court, the afair
banks of that river’ Here he pitched his tents for a short there seemed to be entirely settled. However, Bocclius,
W in order to rResh his troops; after which he advan- who was continually projecting new designs, and, like the
rins levelled it with the ground after it had been delivered contrariety of sentiments, ihe sudden enanges wmen ms
0^10 the so Rrs to be plundered. The citizens, likewise, played themselves in h,s countenance, h,s air, and hts whole
bRg morestinngly’ attached to that prince than any of the person,^evidently showed how ^ronglyjtts mmd wa^,-
other Numidians, on account of the extraordinary privi¬
leges he indulged them with, and of course bearing a more
implacable hatred to the Romans, he put to the sword or
sold for slaves. The true motive of the consul’s conduct
on this occasion seems to have been that assigned ; though
ESP:=aSS'ES iHSgSSaSS
s-Ss@s!S»j»s'!»
SUSSES sS
a castle which seemed impregnable, betng situated not far service A'.cord 8 y, those hium dm
from Mulucha, where Jugurtha kept part of Ins treasures. ‘ ’.epXf n o desert b^companles; l circumstance
In the mean time, Jugurtha not being able to prevat upon *a" with all his
Bocchus, by his repeated solicitations, to advance in 01 u ~ .ml send them back into Africa. Some
midia, where he found himself greatly pressed, was obliged Numidian bjet‘ ‘d Cneius Domi-
to ha e recourse to his usual method of bribing the Mau- few years after kings of Numi-
itanian ministers, in order to put that prince in motion, tins A^nobarbus and H ^as o„e of k,„p
tated. But at last he returned to his first design, to which
the bias of his mind seemed naturally to lead him. He
therefore delivered up Jugurtha into the hands of Sylla, to
be conducted to Marius, who, by that important event, hap¬
pily terminated this dangerous war. I he kingdom of Nu¬
midia was now reduced to a new form. Bocchus, for his
He’ako protniseH’hhn’a tfiir’d pR of his kingdom, provid- W«.
ed they fould either drive the Romans out of Africa, or 77 > a7’“ f “Th iln. which he soon forced,
ed they could either drive the Romans out of Africa, or ot battle ; anu, , • which he soon forced,
ge, all the Numidian domt^ns confirmed to him by treaty “fhemitius to the »JU tookHiarbas 0tU.»-
hrmed to him by treaty, pursueu u.c iugitivv.c cw   r, , json.
S-o considerah.e a cession coufd —-
ffuish the Roman name in Numidia. But their want of Hiempsal and one Masmtha, anoble iNunoiu ’ ^ when
caution and too great security, enabled Marius to inflict on probable, he bad in some respect inJ ’ , 1(1. The
“totol detlatt which was followed four days after-
words bv so complete an overthrow', that their numerous same author adds, that Laesar w.a J f , Hieinpsals
armv consistingofninety thousand men, by the accession of of Masintha, and even gross y _ his father’s conduct
a powerful corps of Moors, commanded by Bocchus’s son son, when ^ ^ by the beard, than which
Volux, was entirely ruined. Sylla, the lieutenant of Manus, °n not be offered t.
Vlarius, on this occasion. iae puucu mut u, — — ed tQ an
mo*st’’eminenUy distinguished himself - the last a^ ^X"e s^eenedMasimha from the **
musi    DU
which laid the foundation of his future greatness. Bocchus,
N U M
NUN
309
i. and violence of his enemies; and from this cause a reason
may be assigned for Juba’s adhering so closely afterwards
to the Pompeian faction.
In consequence of the indignity Caesar had offered Juba,
and the disposition it had occasioned, that prince did Caesar
great damage in the civil wars between him and Pompey.
By a stratagem he drew Curio, one of his lieutenants, into
a general action, which it was his interest at that time to
have avoided. He caused it to be given out over all Africa
Propria and Numidia, that he had retired into some re¬
mote country at a great distance from the Roman territo¬
ries. This coming to Curio’s ears, who was then besieg¬
ing Utica, hindered him from taking the necessary precau¬
tions against a surprise. Soon afterwards, the Roman gene¬
ral receiving intelligence that a small body of Numidians
was approaching his camp, put himself at the head of his
forces in order to attack them, and, for fear they should es¬
cape, began his march in the night, looking upon himself
as certain of victory. Some of their advanced posts he
surprised asleep, and cut them to pieces, which still farther
animated him. In short, about daybreak he came up with
the Numidians, whom he attacked with great bravery,
though his men were then fasting, and greatly fatigued by
their forced and precipitate march. In the mean time,
Juba, who immediately after the propagation of the rumour
above mentioned had taken care to march privately, with
the main body of the Numidian army, to support the de¬
tachment sent before to decoy Curio, advanced to the re¬
lief of his men. The Romans had met with a vigorous re¬
sistance before he appeared, so that he easily broke them ;
killed Curio, with a great part of his troops, upon the spot;
pursued the rest to their camp, which he plundered; and
took many of them prisoners. Most of the fugitives, who
endeavoured to make their escape on board the ships in
the port of Utica, were either slain by the pursuers, or
drowned in the attempt. The remainder fell into the hands
of Varus, who would have saved them ; but Juba, who ar¬
rogated to himself the honour of this victory, ordered most
of them to be put to the sword.
This victory infused new life and vigour into the Pom¬
peian faction, who thereupon conferred great honours upon
Juba, and gave him the title of king of all Numidia. But
Caesar and his adherents declared him an enemy tu the
state of Rome, adjudging to Bocchus and Bogud, two
African princes entirely in their interest, the sovereignty
of his dominions. Juba afterwards, uniting his forces with
those of Scipio, reduced Caesar to great extremities, and
would, in all probability, have totally ruined him, had he
not been relieved by Publius Sittius. That general, having
formed a considerable corps, consisting of Roman exiles,
and Mauritanian troops sent him by Bocchus, according to
Dio, or, as Caesar will have it, Bogud, made an irruption
into Gaetulia and Numidia, whilst Juba was employed in
Africa Propria. As he ravaged these countries in a dread¬
ful manner, Juba immediately returned with the best part
of his army, in order to preserve them from utter destruc¬
tion. However, Caesar knowing that his horse were afraid
of the enemy’s elephants, did not think proper to attack
Scipio in the absence of the Numidian, till his own ele¬
phants, and a fresh reinforcement of troops, hourly expect¬
ed, arrived from Italy. With this accession of strength, he
imagined himself able to give a good account, both of the
oman forces with which he was to cope, and of the barba¬
rians. In the mean time Scipio despatched reiterated ex-
]n esses to Juba to hasten to his assistance, but could not pre-
y?1 uPon him to move out of Numidia, till he had promised
im t e possession of all the Roman dominions in Africa if
ley could expel Caesar from thence. This immediately put
11m in motion ; so that, having sent a large detachment to
. a e lead against Sittius, he marched with the rest of his
roops to assist Scipio. However, Caesar at last overthrew
Scipio, Juba, and Labienus, near the town of Thapsus, and Numisma-
forced all their camps. As Scipio was the first surprised tographia
and defeated, Juba fled into Numidia without waiting for N
Caesar’s approach ; but the body of the Numidians detach- , _
ed against Sittius having been broken and dispersed by
that general, none of his subjects there would receive him.
Abandoned to despair, he sought death in a single combat
with Petreius, and having killed him, caused himself to be
despatched by one of his slaves.
After this decisive action, and the reduction of all Africa
Propria, Caesar made himself master of Numidia, which he
reduced to a Roman province, appointing Crispus Sallus-
tius to govern it in quality of proconsul, with private in¬
structions to pillage and plunder the inhabitants, and by
these means put it out of their power ever to shake off the
Roman yoke. However, Bocchus and Bogud still preserved
a sort of sovereignty in the country of the Massaesyli and
Mauritania; since the former of these princes, having de¬
serted Caesar, sent an army into Spain to assist the Pom¬
peians ; and the latter, with his forces, determined victory
in favour of Caesar at the memorable battle of Munda. Bo¬
gud, afterwards siding with Antony against Octavius, sent
a body of forces to assist him in Spain; but at this time
the Tingitanians having revolted from him, Bocchus, with
an army composed of Romans in the interest of Octavius,
who passed over from Spain into Africa, and his own sub¬
jects, possessed himself of Mauritania Tingitana. Bogud
fled to Antony ; and Octavius, after the conclusion of the
war, honoured the inhabitants of Tingi with all the privi¬
leges of Roman citizens. He likewise confirmed Bocchus
king of Mauritania Caesariensis, or the country of the Mas¬
saesyli, in the possession of Tingitana, which he had con¬
quered, as a reward for his important services. In this he
imitated the example of his great predecessor Julius Ctesar,
who divided some of the fruitful plains of Numidia amongst
the soldiers of Sittius, who had conquered the greater part
of that country, and appointed Sittius himself sovereign
of that district. Sittius, as has been intimated above, hav¬
ing taken Cirta, killed Sabura, Juba’s general, entirely dis¬
persed his forces, and either cut off’ or taken prisoners most
of the Pompeian fugitives who escaped from the battle of
Thapsus, highly deserved to be distinguished in so emi¬
nent a manner. After the death of Bocchus, Mauritania
and the Massaesylian Numidia were in all respects consi¬
dered as Roman provinces.
NUMISMATOGRAPHIA, a term applied to the de¬
scription and knowledge of ancient coins and medals, whe¬
ther of gold, silver, or brass.
NUN, the son of Elishamah, and father of Joshua, of
the tribe of Ephraim. The Greeks gave him the name of
Nane instead of Nun. This person is only known in sacred
history by having been the father of Joshua.
Nun, a woman, in several Christian countries, who de¬
votes herself, in a cloister or nunnery, to a religious life.
There were women, in the ancient Christian church, who
made public profession of virginity, before the monastic
life was known in the world, as appears from the writings
of Cyprian and lertullian. These, for distinction’s sake,
are sometimes called “ ecclesiastical virgins,” and were
commonly enrolled in the canon or matricula of the church.
They differed from the monastic virgins chiefly in this,
that they lived privately in their fathers’ houses, whereas
the others lived in communities; but their profession of
virginity was not so strict as to make it criminal for them
afterwards to marry, if they thought fit. As to the con¬
secration of virgins, it had some things peculiar in it, and
was usually performed publicly in the church by the bishop.
I he virgin made a public profession of her resolution, and
then the bishop put upon her the accustomed habit of sa¬
cred virgins. One part of this habit was a veil called the
sacrum velamen; and another was a kind of mitre or coronet
310
NUN
N U R
Nuncio worn upon the head. At present, when a woman is to be
II made a nun, the habit, veil, and ring of the candidate are
Nunia‘ carried to the altar; and she herself, accompanied by her
nearest relations, is conducted to the bishop, who, after
mass and an anthem, pronounces the benediction ; upon
which she rises up, and the bishop consecrates the new
habit, sprinkling it with holy water. When the candidate
has put on her religious habit, she presents herseli before
the bishop, and sings, on her knees, Ancilla Christi sum ;
then she receives the veil, and afterwards the ring, by
which she is married to Christ; and, lastly, the crown of
virginity. When she is crowned, an anathema is denoun¬
ced against all who shall attempt to induce her to break
her vows.
NUNCIO, or Nuntio, an ambassador from the pope to
some Catholic prince or state, or a person who attends on
behalf of the pope at a congress, or an assembly of several
ambassadors. .
NUNCUPATIVE, in the schools, means something that
is only nominal, or has no existence but in name.
Nuncupative Will or Icstumcnt^ a will made vcibally,
and not put in writing. . „
NUNDAB All, a town of Hindustan, in the province ot
Khandesh, belonging to the Mahrattas, seventy-six miles
east from Surat. Long. 74. 15. E. Lat. 21. 17. N.
NUNDAPOIIAM, a town of Hindustan, in the North¬
ern Circars, and district of Cicacole, eighty-two miles west
from Cicacole. Long. 82. 40. E. Lat. 18. 23. N.
N UNDIN A, a goddess amongst the ancient heathens,
supposed to have had the care of the purification of infants.
Because male infants were purified nine days after their
birth, her name is derived from norms, or the ninth; al¬
though female infants were also purified on the eighth day,
which purification was by the Romans called lustration.
NUNDINAL, Nundinalis, a name which the Romans
gave to the first eight letters of the alphabet, which were
used in their calendar. This series ofletters, A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, H, is placed and repeated successively from the first to
the last day of the year ; and one of these always expressed
the market-days or the assemblies called nundinrz (quasi
novendinae), because they returned every nine days. The
country people, after working eight days successively, re-
paired to town on the ninth to sell their several commodi¬
ties, and to inform themselves ot all that related to religion
and government. T bus the nundinal day being under A^
on the first, ninth, seventeenth, and twenty-fifth days of
January, &c. the letter D will be the nundinal letter ot
the year following. These nundinals bear a very great
resemblance to the dominical letters, which return every
eight days, as the nundinals did every nine.
NUNDYDROOG, a celebrated and strong hill fortress
of Hindustan, in the province of Mysore. Ihe mountain
on which it is built is 1700 feet high, and it is inaccessible
on three sides. This fortress, always considered as impreg¬
nable, was stormed by the British in 1791, after a siege of
three weeks. 1 he neighbouring country is fertile, being
studded with hills, in which there is much fertile land. It
was long ruled by one of those independent chiefs called
poligars in Southern India. He was compelled to pay
tribute to Hyder Aly, who ravaged his territories and laid
waste the country. Long. /7. 53. L. Lat. 13. 22. N.
NUNEATON, a town of the county of Warwick, in the
hundred of Hemlingford, ninety-nine miles from London,
and eight from Coventry. It stands on the river Anker,
and had formerly a nunnery, to which it owes its name. It
partakes of the trade of Coventry, like that place making
many ribbons, and, besides, some woollen goods. There is
a market on Saturday. The population amounted in 1801
to 4796, in 1811 to 4947, in 1821 to 6610, and in 1831 to
7799. . ,
NUNIA, a village of Irak Arabi, about three quarters
of a mile from the Tigris, opposite to Mosul. It is sup- Nu
posed to be the site of the ancient Nineveh. The history It;,
of this metropolis is lost in succeeding ages, and it ap-l
ot tins meirujnma ... °7. ~ , ‘ i
pears to have fallen into decay after the building of Baby-:
Ion ; indeed in the reign of Hadrian it was so completely _
destroyed, that even the place where it stood was unknown.
A city erected afterwards near the spot was called Ninus;
and Mr Kinneir is of opinion that it is the ruins of the
latter, and not those of old Nineveh, that are still visible.
He mentions that he examined these remains in IblO,
and that they consisted of a rampart and fosse, forming an
oblong square four miles in compass. The wall is on an
average twenty feet in height, and is coveied with grass,
like the Roman intrenchments in England.
NUPTIAL Rites, the ceremonies attending the solem¬
nization of marriage, which are different in different ages
and countries. We cannot omit here a custom which was
practised by the Romans on these occasions. Immediately
after the principal ceremonies were ended, the new mar¬
ried man threw nuts about the room for the boys to scram¬
ble for. Various reasons have been assigned for this;
but that which most generally prevails, and seems to be the
most probable, is, that by this act the bridegroom signified
his resolution to abandon trifles, and commence a serious
course of life. Hence nucibus relictis became in this
sense a proverb. The nuts might also be an emblem of
fertility. The ancient Greeks had a person to conduct the
bride from her own to the bridegroom s house, and hence
he was called by the Greeks Nymphagogus, which term
was afterwards used both by the Romans and the Jews.
NUREMBURG, or Nurnberg, a city of Bavaria, in the
circle of the Rezat, and the bailiwick of the same name, of
which it is the capital. It is situated on the river Peg-
nitz, which divides it into two parts. The walls are now
kept in a state which renders them indefensible. It is an
extensive but thinly peopled city, having much declined
from the prosperity it enjoyed in the middle ages, when it
was a free imperial city, and the place where the emperors
occasionally resided. The city now contains 4500 houses,
and 28,200 inhabitants, with eight Lutheran churches, one
for the Catholics, and a chapel for the Calvinists. It has
also many Jews. It is still a place of considerable manu¬
factures, but they are chiefly on a small scale, furnishing
the turnery wares called by its name, cutlery, brazierj,
looking-glasses, spectacles, needles, mathematical, musi¬
cal, and surgical instruments, watches, leaf goM and sil¬
ver, paper, maps, and other articles. It is celebrated as
the birthplace of Albert Durer the painter, and the resi¬
dence of Rudolph the inventor of wire, ot Peter Plele the
inventor of watches, of Denner the inventor of the cla¬
rionet, of Ebner the first cutler, and of Behairn who first
constructed globes. Long. 11. 1. 4. E. Lat. 4J. 8- •
NURPOOR, a town of Hindustan, in the province ot La¬
hore, and capital of a district of the same name. It is situ¬
ated on the top of a hill, which is ascended by stone steps,
and has all the appearance of opulence and industry, it is
the residence of a Sikh chief, whose revenue amounts to
L.50,000 a year. The district is situated between t
thirty-second and thirty-third degrees of north latitude, it
belongs to the Sikhs. The city is seventy-five miles east-
north-east from the city of Lahore. #
NURRAH, a town of Hindustan, in the Province ,
Gundwana, tributary to the Nagpoor rajah, and possesseu
by native Goand chiefs. It is seventy-eight mdes south y
east from Ruttunpoor. Long. 82. 45. E. Lat. 21-•
NURSERY, in Gardening, is a piece of land set ap
for raising and propagating all sorts of trees and plants
supply the garden and other plantations. _
NURSING of Children. The following o^serva
and directions were published in the Annual 1 e§T,
(vol. vi. p. 130), as the results of long experience.
Nusi
N U S
child should be laid, the first month, upon a thin mattress,
'rather longer than itself, which the nurse should keep upon
her lap, that the child may always lie straight, and only sit
up as the nurse slants the mattress. To set a child quite
upright before the end of the first month, would hurt the
eyes, by making the white part of the eye appear below
the upper eyelid. Afterwards the nurse will begin to set
it up and dance it by degrees. The child must be kept as
dry as possible.
The clothing should be very light, and not much longer
than the child, that the legs may be got at with ease, in
order to have them often rubbed in the day with a warm
hand or flannel, and in particular the inside of them.
Rubbing a child all over takes off scurf, and causes the
blood to circulate. The one breast should be rubbed with
the hands one way, and the other the other way, night and
morning at least.
The ankle bones and the inside of the knees should be
rubbed twice a day ; this will strengthen those parts, and
make the child stretch its knees and keep them flat, which
is the foundation of an erect and graceful person.
A nurse ought to keep a child as little in her arms as
possible, lest the legs should be cramped, and the toes turn¬
ed inwards. Further, she should always keep the child’s
legs loose. The oftener the posture is changed the better.
Tossing a child about, and exercising it in the open air in
fine weather, is of the greatest service. In cities, children
are not to be kept in hot rooms, but to have as much air
as possible. Want of exercise is the cause oflarge heads,
weak and knotted joints, a contracted breast, which occa¬
sions coughs and stuffed lungs, an ill-shaped person, and
waddling gait, besides a numerous train of other ills.
The child s flesh is to be kept perfectly clean, by con¬
stantly washing its limbs, and likewise its neck and ears,
beginning with warm water, till by degrees it will not only
bear, but like to be washed with cold water.
Rising early in the morning is good for all children, pro¬
vided they awake of themselves, which they generally do;
but they are never to be waked out of their sleep, and as
soon as possible to be brought to regular sleeps in the day.
When laid in bed or in cradle, their legs are always to be
laid straight.
Children, till they are two or three years old, must ngver
be suffered to walk long enough at a time to be weary.
Girls might easily be trained to the proper management
of children, if a premium were given in free schools, work-
houses, and other places, to those that brought up the
nnest child to one year old.
If the mother cannot suckle the child, get a wholesome
cheerful woman with young milk, who has been used to
attend young children. After the first six months, small
roths, and innocent foods of any kind, may do as well as
living wholly upon milk. A principal thing to be always
attended to is, to give young children constant exercise,
ajJ-0 ^lem *n a Proper posture.
With regard to the child’s dress in the day, let it be a
Pe^,c^at ^ne flarmel two or three inches longer
an the child s feet, with a dimity top, commonly called
J? coat’ t0 tie behind ; and over that a surcingle
sat- 6 ° c ne ^uc^ram> two inches broad, covered over with
in or fme ticken, with a ribbon fastened to it to tie it
, wtuch answers every purpose of stays, and has none
and f" uOCOnveLniences. Over this put a robe, or a slip
tennd S’ °ir whftever y°u Ake best, provided it is fas-
tlnt fh • lnd’ an(1 not 11111011 longer than the child’s feet,
are tn niotlonf may be strictly observed. Two caps
teeth TkUt T-i j»ie llea(1,1:111 tlle child has got most of its
blanket chlld s *essufor the night may be a shirt, a
Nils 4 Mpt?011’ avtd a thin S?1™ to tie over the blanket,
annovanpo pP 0ri Nuis^n?e> in Law, a thing done to the
y f another. Nuisances are either public or pri-
N U T
311
yate. A public nuisance is an offence against the public Nussera-
in general, either by doing what tends to the annoyance bad
of all the king s subjects, or by neglecting to do what the ^ i .
common good requires ; in which case, all annoyances and 1 ulrillon*
injuries to streets, highways, bridges, and large rivers, as
also disorderly ale-houses, gaming-houses, and the like,
are held to be common nuisances. A private nuisance is,
when only one person or family is annoyed by the doing
of any thing; as where a person stops up the light of
another s house, or builds in such a manner that the rain
falls from his house upon his neighbour’s.
NUSSERABAD, a town of Hindustan, in the Mahratta
dominions, and province of Berar, forty-two miles south¬
west from Burhampoor. Long. 75. 51. E. Lat. 20. 56. N.
NUSSERITABAD, or Sackur, a town of Hindustan,
in the province of Bejapore, belonging to the nizam.
NUSSERPOOR, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Sinde, and the capital of a district of the same name, si"
tuated near the banks of the Indus. Long. 69. 10. E. Lat.
25. 28. N. I he district is situated principally between the
twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh degrees of north latitude,
and is intersected by the river Indus.
N U 1, among botanists, denotes a pericarpium of an ex¬
traordinary hardness, enclosing a kernel or seed.
NU1AIION, in Astronomy, a kind of tremulous mo¬
tion of the axis of the earth, by which, in each annual re¬
volution, it is twice inclined to the ecliptic, and as often
returns to its former position.
NUTHUIRS, a village of Persia, in the province of
Irak, situated on a small plain surrounded with mountains,
on the road from Ispahan to Sultania, and sixty-three miles
north from Ispahan.
NUTMEG, the fruit of a tree, and a well-known spice.
See Myristica.
NU 1 RITION, in the animal economy, is the repairing
the continual loss which the different parts of the body un¬
dergo. The motion of the parts of the body, the friction
of these parts against each other, and especially the action
of the air, would destroy the body entirely, if the loss was
not repaired by a proper diet containing nutritive juices,
which being digested in the stomach, and afterwards con¬
verted into chyle, mix with the blood, and are distributed
throughout the whole body for its nutrition.
Butfon, in order to account for nutrition, supposes the
body of an animal or vegetable to be a kind of mould, in
which the matter necessary to its nutrition is modelled and
assimilated to the whole. But of what nature is this mat¬
ter which an animal or a vegetable assimilates to its own
substance ? What power is it that communicates to this
matter the activity and motion necessary to penetrate this
mould ? and, if such a force exist, would it not be by a si¬
milar force that the internal mould itself might be repro¬
duced ?
As to the first question, he supposes that there exists
in nature an infinite number of living organical parts, and
that all organized bodies consist of such organical parts ;
that their production costs nature nothing, since their ex¬
istence is constant and invariable; so that the matter which
the animal or vegetable assimilates to its substance is
an organical matter of the same nature with that of the
animal or vegetable, which consequently may augment its
volume without changing its form or altering the quality
of the substance in the mould.
As to the second, there exist in nature certain powers,
as that of gravity, which have no affinity with the external
qualities of the body, but act upon the most intimate parts,
and penetrate them throughout, and which can never fall
under the observation of our senses.
And as to the third, he conceives that the internal mould
itself is reproduced, not only by a similar power, but by the
very same power which causes the unfolding and reproduc-
312
Nux
Vomica
II
Nuyts.
N U Y
tion thereof. For it is sufficient, he thinks, that, in an or¬
ganized body which unfolds itself, there should be some
part similar to the whole, in order that this part may one
day become itself an organized body, altogether like that of
which it is actually a part.
NUX Vomica, a flat, compressed, round fruit, about the
breadth of a shilling, brought from the East Indies. It is
found to be a certain poison for dogs, cats, and other ani¬
mals, and it is not to be doubted that it would also prove
fatal to man. Its surface is not much corrugated, and its
texture is firm like horn, and of a pale grayish-brown co
^ i i i _  :c. „ ~ *■ o m f a n
N Y K
death, where he was, rather than to be sent to Japan. Nu?r
Thither, however, he was sent in 1634, when he was sub- Ref;
mitted to the mercy or discretion of the emperor ; and the |
consequence was, that, though imprisoned, he was well Nyko-
used, and could go anywhere, provided his guards were ^
with him, which was more than he could possibly have
expected. He now looked for nothing but the continuance
of his confinement for life. On a particular occasion, how¬
ever, namely, the funeral of the emperor’s father, he was,
at the request of the Dutch, set free, and returned again
to Batavia, to the surprise of the people of that settle-
of Cape Nuyts, 132. 18. E. Eat. 32. 2. S.
NUZZER, or Muzzeranah, a present or ottering from
an inferior to a superior. In Hindustan no man ever ap¬
proaches his superior for the first time on business with¬
out an offering of at least a gold or silver rupee in his right
hand; and if this be not taken, it is a mark of disfavour.
Nuzzeranah is also used to signify the sum paid to the
a specific ^nsfthe bite of ^ent, ^
a species of water-snake. It is considerably bitter and de- ^Tlarge ’reefs of rocks which lie
leterious ; but has been used in doses of from five to ten . U ^ of New Hollandj at Cape Nuyts. These
grains twice a day or so, in intermittents, par ^u ar y - ^ about eight miies distant from the coast, and are
stinate quartans, and in contagious dysente y. X, • , t m;ies ;n length. In some places the rocks rise above
tta’water^and irTothers they are^wholly concealed. Loa,
tius’s beans. These, as also the woods or roots of some
such trees, called lignum colubrinum, or snakewood, are
very narcotic bitters, like the nux vomica.
NUYTS, Peter, a native of Holland, and a leading
character in that extraordinary transaction which happen¬
ed between the Japanese and the Dutch about the year
LTwa/fn g=t as ^c^gSnt tbr a grant ofland. or
hTipiSothare^prst^ ZNSibRd^;grnd*dih^^^
haughty disposition, and extremely vain, he believed it pra t f h s or fwenty-fo^ir equal parts. This way
ticable to pass upon the natives for an ambassador from the ^ dav was particularly adopted by the
king of Holland. Upon his assuming this tit e an ran , ems to have owed its origin to the expression
to'return to had introduced “the Greek ^g-ge into then discos,
Batavia with all the circumstances of disgrace imaginable ;
notwithstanding which, his interest was so great, that, in¬
stead of being punished as he deserved, he was imme¬
diately afterwards promoted to the government of the
island of Formosa, of which he took possession in the fol¬
lowing year. He entered upon the administration of affairs
in that island with the same disposition that he had shown
whilst ambassador, and with the most implacable resent¬
ment against the Japanese; neither was it long before an
opportunity offered, as he thought, of revenging himself on
them to the full. Two large Japanese ships, with upwards
of five hundred men on board, came into the port, upon
which he took it into his head to disarm and unrig them,
in the same manner as the Dutch vessels are treated at
Japan. The Japanese did all they could to defend them¬
selves from this ill usage ; but at last, for want of water,
they were forced to submit. Governor Nuyts went still
farther. When they had finished their affairs at Formosa,
and were desirous of proceeding, according to their in¬
structions, to China, he put them off with fair words and
fine promises, till the monsoon was over. They then be-
san to be very impatient, and desired to have their can-
Son and sails Ltored, that they might return home, but a and 8066
the governor had recourse to new artifices, and, by a se- church, a public grammar sc 1 ’ . . thevine,an(l
ries of false promises, endeavoured to prevent them from inhabitants, w o are emP Lat 47 56.45.N.
making use of the season most proper for that voyage. The m several trades. ^ wf/st of Svveden, which
Japanese, however, soon perceived his design, and at length,
by a bold attempt, accomplished what, by fair means and
humble entreaty, they could not obtain ; for, by a daring
and well concerted effort, they took him prisoner, and com¬
pelled him and one of the council to sign a treaty for se¬
curing their liberty, free departure, and indemnity, which
was afterwards ratified by the whole council. Nuyts was
first confined in Batavia, and afterwards delivered up to scanty popu.at,on. sue "X™"'“'fhe"capital is »
,h™ t° ' „c notwithstanding the most earnest entrea- per and iron mines, and in the fishery, li e cap
Ues o„Tu ^t to be tried, anl even to suffer any kind of city of the same name, situated on a bay in the Haiti
had mirouuceu me vjicctv ~ , ■
they were accustomed to indicate this space ot time by the
simple expression of a night and a day.
It is proper here to observe, that in all the eastern
countries any part of a day of twenty-four hours was reck¬
oned for a whole day ; and that a thing which was done on
the third or seventh day from that last mentioned, was said
to be done after three or seven days. The Hebrews, hav-
ing no word which exactly answered to the Greek Nu^wi*
fiioov, signifying a natural day of twenty-four hours, used
night and day, or day and night, instead of it; so that to
say a thing happened after three days and three nights,
was, with them, the same as to say that it happened alter
three days, or on the third day. This being remembered,
will explain what is meant by “ the Son of Mans being
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
NYCTASTRATEGI, amongst the ancients, were of¬
ficers appointed to prevent fires in the night, or to give
alarm and call assistance when a fire broke out. At Rome
they had the command of the watch, and were called noc-
turni triumviri, from their office and number. .
NYIREGYHAZA, a town of the circle ot Szaboles, m
the province of Farther Theiss, in Hungary. It contains
a Catholic, a Lutheran, a Calvinist, and an Unitar _
1 several traaes. Long. a*, jo. w. --- - - - ,. ,
NYKOPING, a province of the west of Sweden, wi
extends in north latitude from 58. 36. to 59. 30., an
east longitude from 15. 28. to 17. 33., and contains
square miles. It comprises seven cities or towns,
3327 detached settlements, with 98,500 inhabitant
is a district of mountains and lakes, intermingled vn ^
tensive woods, but barely produces corn sufficien
scanty population. The chief occupationconsists m ^
Nylac
II
Nym]
N Y L
It is a well-built town, and has a market-place, surrounded
with houses of stone, but most of the others are of wood.
It contains two churches, and 520 dwellings, witli 2490
inhabitants, who make cutlery and bar iron, and export
large quantities of deals and other wood. Long. 16. 57.
10. E. Lat. 58. 45. 30. N.
NYLACKY, one of the Banda Islands, in the Eastern
Seas. Long. 130. 33. E. Lat. 4. 11. S.
NYMPH, in Mythology, an appellation given to certain
inferior goddesses, inhabiting the mountains, woods, and
waters, and said to have been the daughters of Oceanus
and Tethys. All the universe was represented as full of
these nymphs, who were distinguished into several ranks
or classes. The general division of them was into celes¬
tial and terrestrial. The former were called Uranite, and
were supposed to be intelligences which governed the
heavenly bodies or spheres. The terrestrial nymphs, call¬
ed EpigeicB, were believed to preside over the several
parts of the inferior world, and were divided into those of
the water and those of the earth. The nymphs of the
water were the Oceanitides, or nymphs of the ocean ; the
Nereids, or the nymphs of the sea; the Naiads and Ephy-
driades, or the nymphs of the fountains; and the Lim-
niades, or the nymphs of the lakes. The nymphs of the
earth were the Oreades, or nymphs of the mountains; the
Napaxe, or nymphs of the meadows; and the Dryads and
Hamadryads, who were nymphs of the forests and groves.
Besides these, we meet with nymphs who took their names
from particular countries, rivers, and places.
“ The nymphs,” says Dr Chandler, “ were supposed to
enjoy longevity, but not to be immortal. They were be¬
lieved to delight in springs and fountains. They are de¬
scribed as sleepless, and as dreaded by the country people.
They were susceptible of passion. The Argonauts, it is
related, landing on the shore of the Propontis to dine, in
their way to Colchis, sent Hylas, a boy, for water, who
discovered a lonely fountain, in which the nymphs Eunica,
Malis, and Nycheia, were preparing to dance; and these
seeing him were enamoured, and, seizing him by the hand
as he was filling his vase, pulled him in. The deities,
their copartners in the cave, are such as presided with them
over rural and pastoral affairs.
“ The old Athenians were ever ready to cry out, a god,
or a goddess. I he tyrant Pisistratus entered the city in
a chariot with a tall woman dressed in armour to resemble
ihnerva, and regained the Acropolis, which he had been
forced to abandon, by this stratagem ; the people worship¬
ping, and believing her to be the deity whom she repre-
sente . The nymphs, it was the popular persuasion, oc¬
casionally appeared; and nympholepsy is characterised as
a frenzy which arose from having beheld them. Super¬
stition disposed the mind to adopt delusion for reality, and
gave to a fancied vision the efficacy of full conviction. The
oundation was perhaps no more than an indirect, partial,
ar obscure view of some harmless girl, who had approach-
tlie fountain on a like errand with Hylas, or was retir-
ng a ter she had filled her earthen pitcher.
Me, • n°ngSt the sacred caves on record, one on Mount
JL!n- o 6 Was the ProPerty of Jupiter, and one by Le-
. j f,ln. ceotla’°f Hophonius. Both these were oracular,
iG U-uer, b rre sonie resemblance to that which we
described, It was formed by art, and the mouth sur-
ounded «,,, a wall. The descent to the landing place
emn/ i 1 anC^ ”arrow ladder, occasionally applied and
md iff f ^ WaS s*tuated on a mountain above a grove ;
lercnr,6! ^ 01,y S°?s’ ^lat a swarm of bees conducted the
>wner< J-Whom 11 Was first discovered. But the common
imes lnpl|CaVAS Tvrf the n.ymPhs> and these were some-
int8 Wprp.°n C;t)l*eron>111 Eceotia, many of the inhabit-
vol. xvi)ossessed by nymphs vaMod Sphragitides, whose
N Y S
313
cave, once also oracular, was upon a summit of the moun- Nymph
tain. 1 heir dwellings had generally a well or spring of II
water, the former being often a collection of moisture con- Nysa.
densed or exuding from the roof and sides; and this,in'“^“
many instances, being pregnant with stony particles, con¬
creted and marked its passage by incrustation, the ground¬
work, in all ages and countries, of idle tales framed or
adopted by superstitious and credulous people.
. “ 4 cave in Papblagonia was sacred to the nymphs who
inhabited the mountains about Heraclea. It was long and
wide, and pervaded by cold water clear as crystal. There
also were seen bowls of stone, and nymphs and their webs
and distaffs, and curious work, exciting admiration. The
poet who has described this grotto does not deserve to be
legaided as servilely copying Homer; he may justly lay
claim to rank as an original topographer.
I he piety of Archidamus furnished a retreat for the
nymphs, where they might find shelter and provision, if
distressed ; whether the sun parched up their trees, or Ju¬
piter, enthroned in clouds upon the mountain top, scared
them with his red lightning and terrible thunder, pouring
down a deluge of rain, or brightening the summits with
his snow.”
Nymph, amongst naturalists, that state of winged in¬
sects betw’een their living in the form of a worm and their
appearing in the winged or more perfect state. See En¬
tomology.
NYMPHJHA, amongst the ancients, certain structures,
although it is doubtful of what kind they were. Some take
them to have been grottoes, deriving their name from the
statues of the nymphs with which they were adorned ;
but that they were considerable works, appears from their
having been executed by the emperors, or by the city pre¬
fects. In an inscription, the term is written nymftum.
None of all these nymphcea has remained till our time. A
number of years ago, indeed, a square building of marble
was discovered between Naples and Vesuvius, with only
one entrance, and some steps leading down to it. On the
right hand as you enter, towards the head, there is a foun¬
tain of the purest water, along which, by way of guardian,
is placed a naked Arethusa of the whitest marble. The
bottom or ground is of variegated marble, and encompass¬
ed with a canal fed by the water from the fountain. The
walls are set round with shells and pebbles of various co¬
lours, by which are expressed the twelve months of the
year, and the four political virtues, as also the rape of Pror
serpine; Pan playing on his reed, and soothing his flock ;
and the representations of nymphs swimming, sailing, and
wantoning on fishes. It seems pretty evident that the
mjmphcea were public baths; for at the same time that they
were furnished with pleasing grottoes, they were also sup¬
plied with cooling streams, by which they were rendered
exceedingly delightful, and drew great numbers of people
to frequent them. Silence seems to have been a particu-
lai lequisite in these retreats, as appears by this inscrip¬
tion, Nymphis loci, bibe, lava, tace. The building between
Naples and Vesuvius, mentioned above, was certainly one
of these nymphcea.
NYSA, or Nyssa, in Ancient Geography, a town of
Ethiopia, to the south of Egypt. Some place it in Arabia.
This city, with another of the same name in India, was
sacred to the god Bacchus, who was supposed to have
been educated there by the nymphs of the place, and who
received the name of Dionysus, w'hich seems to be com¬
pounded of A/of and Nuffa, the name of his father, and that
of the place of his education. The god is believed to
have made this place the seat of his empire, and the capital
of the conquered nations of the East. According to some
geographers, there were no less than ten places of this
name.
2 R
314
Oak.
OAK
OAK
THE fourteenth letter and fourth vowel of our al¬
phabet, being pronounced as in the words nose,
rose, hose. The sound of this letter is often so soft as to
' require it double, and that chiefly in the middle of vvords,
as goose, reproof, woof; and in some words this double oo
is pronounced like u short, as in blood, flood. As a nu¬
meral, O was sometimes used for 11 amongst the ancients,
and with a dash over it, thus, O, it stood tor 11,000. in
the notes of the ancients, O. CON. is read opus conductum ;
O. C. Q,. opera consilioque ; O. D. M. operce donum munus ;
and O. LO. opus locatum. The Greeks bad two O s, name¬
ly, the omikron, o, and the omega, w; the one being pio-
nounced on the tip of the lips with a sharper sound, and
the other in the middle of the mouth, with a fuller sound,
equal to oo in our language. The long and short pronun¬
ciations of our O are equivalent to the two Greek ones.
O is usually denoted as long by a servile a subjoined, as
moan ; or by e at the end of the syllable, as bone; but
when these vowels are not used it is generally shor .
Amongst the Irish, the letter O, at the beginning of the
name of a family, is a character of dignity annexed to great
houses. Thus, in the history of Ireland, we frequently
meet with the O'Neals, O'Carrols, and O Connells, con¬
siderable personages in that island. Indeed Campden ob¬
serves, that it is the custom of the lords of Ireland to pre¬
fix an O to their names, to distinguish them from the com¬
monalty. The ancients used O as a mark of triple time,
from a notion that the ternary, or number 3, was the most
perfect of numbers, and therefore properly expressed by
a circle, which is the most perfect of figures. It is not,
strictly speaking, the letter O, but the figure of a circle O,
or double C3, by which the early moderns used to ex¬
press in music what they called tempo perfecto, or triple
time; and hence the Italians call it circolo. I he seven
antiphones, or alternate hymns of seven verses, sung by
the choir in the time of Advent, were formerly called O,
from their beginning with such an exclamation.
O, or Oh, is an adverb of calling, or interjection of sor¬
row or wishing. . f
OAK. The oak has long been known by the title ot
“monarch of the woods,” and, we may add, justly.
The ancient Druids had a profound veneration for oak
trees. Pliny says that “ the Druids, as the Gauls call
their magicians or wise men, held nothing so sacred as the
misletoe, and the tree on which it grows, provided it bean
oak. They make choice of oak groves in preference to all
others, and perform no rites without oak leaves; so that
they seem to have the name of Druids from thence, it we
derive their name from the Greek.”
This useful tree grows to such surprising magnitude,
that were there not many well-authenticated instances in
our own country, it would certainly appear difficult to be¬
lieve that it could attain such size. In the eighteenth
volume of the Gentleman’s Magazine we have the di¬
mensions of a leaf twelve inches in length and seven m
breadth ; and all the leaves of the same tree were equally
jar<re. On the estate of Woodhall, purchased in 1/75
by Sir Thomas Itumbold, an oak was felled which sold for
L 43, and measured twenty-four feet in circumference.
We are also told of one in Millwood Forest, near Chad-
desley, which was in full verdure in winter, getting its
leaves again, after the autumnal ones fell off. In Eve¬
lyn’s Sylva, we have an account of a very remarkable
oak at Greendale, which Gough, in his edition of Campden, .,
thus minutely describes : “ The Greendale oak, with a road
cut through it, still bears one green branch. Such branches j
as have been cut or broken off are guarded from wet by lead.
The diameter of this tree at the top, whence the branches -
issue, is fourteen feet two inches; at the surface of the
ground eleven feet and a half, circumference there thirty- |
five feet; height of the trunk fifty-three ; height of the
arch ten, width six. Mr Evelyn mentions several more
oaks of extraordinary size in Worksop Park.”
M. Hamel du Monqeau, a member of the Loyal Acade¬
my of Sciences at Paris, gave an account, in the year 1749,
of an oak which he had kept in water eight years, and
which yielded fine leaves every spring. The tree, he says,
had four or five branches ; the largest nineteen or twenty
lines round, and more than eighteen inches in length. It
throve more in the first two years than it would have done
in the best earth ; but it afterwards lost its vigour, and
rather decayed, which he attributed more to a defect in
the roots than to a want of aliment.
Buffon made some experiments upon oak trees, the re¬
sult of which is recorded in the Gentleman’s Magazine,
1754). He had compared barked with unbarked trees,
and concluded, from a variety of trials, that timber barked
and dried standing, is always heavier and considerably
stronger than timber kept in its bark. i .
The use of oak bark in tanning, and in hot-beds, is ge¬
nerally known. For the latter of these purposes, however,
oak leaves are now found to answer equally well, or rather
better. In the notes to Dr Hunter’s edition of Evelyns
Treatise on Forest Trees, we find certain directions for
their use, by Mr Speedily. The leaves are to be raked
up as soon as possible after they fall from the trees. When,
raked into heaps, they should immediately be carried in o
some place near the hot-houses, where they may lie to
couch. It is the custom of some to fence them round
with charcoal hurdles, or any thing to keep them from
being blown about the garden in windy weather. Ihey
are then trodden well, and watered in case they happen
to have been brought in dry. The heap is made six or
seven feet thick, and covered over with old mats, ora y
thing else, to prevent the upper leaves from being off
away. In a few days the heap will attain a strong beat.
For the first year or two in which he used these leaves,
Mr Speedily did not continue them in the heap longer
than ten days or a fortnight; but by this raetho
management they settle so much when brought to we
hot-house, that a supply was very soon required ; an
afterwards found, that it was proper to let them rem
five or six weeks in the heaps before they were brought
the hot-house. In getting them into the pine pots, d W J
appear dry, they are to be watered, and again trodden
down exceedingly well, in layers, till the pits are q
full. The whole is then covered with tan bark, to
thickness of two inches, and well trodden dovv’n’ 11
surface becomes smooth and even. I he pine Pots are
to be placed in the manner in which they are to sta >
ginning with the middle row first, and filling up the P
between the pots with tan. In this manner wearewp^
ceed to the next row, till the whole be finished, ^
operation is performed in the same manner as
only is used. The leaves require no further trouble th g
the whole season, as they will retain a constant and 0
OAK
Jar heat during twelve months without stirring or turning ;
and Mr Speechly informs us, that if he might judge from
their appearances when taken out, being always entire and
■ perfect, it was probable they would continue their heat
through a second year; but, as an annual supply of leaves
is easily obtained, the experiment is hardly worth making.
.After this, the pines will have no occasion to be moved
except at stated times of their management, as at the
■shifting them in their pots, when at each time a little fresh
I itan should be added to make up the deficiency arising from
I ithe settling of the beds ; but this will be inconsiderable,
as the leaves do not settle much after their long couching.
During the first two years of our author’s practice he did
not use any tan, but plunged the pine pots into the leaves,
and merely covered the surface of the beds, when finished,
with a little saw-dust, to give it a neatness. This method,
however, was attended with one inconvenience; for, by
the caking of the leaves, they shrunk from the sides of the
pots, by which they became exposed to the air, and at the
same time the heat of the beds was permitted to escape.
See Planting. 1
OAK-Leaf Galls. These are of several kinds. The re¬
markable species called the mushroom gall is never found
on any other vegetable substance than these leaves ; and,
besides this, there is a great number of other kinds.
The double gall of these leaves is very singular, because
the generality of productions of this kind affect only one
side of a leaf or branch, and grow all one way ; whereas
this kind of gall extends itself both ways, and is seen upon
sach side of the leaf, in the form of two protuberances, the
me opposite to the other. Ihese are of differently irre¬
gular shapes ; but their natural figure seems that of two
:ones, with broad bases and very obtuse points, though
hey are sometimes round, or very nearly so.
Ihese make their first appearance on the leaf in April,
, remain on it till June, or even longer. They are at
ist gieen, but afterwards yellowish, and are softer to the
ouch than many other of the productions of this kind.
; lef are usually about the size of a large pea, but some-
imes they grow to the size of a nut. When opened, they
re found to be of that kind which is inhabited each by
ne insect only, and contains but one cavity. The cavi-
y in this, however, is larger than in any other gall of the
ize, or even in many others of three times its size ; the
ides of it being very little thicker than the substance of
He leaf.
OAKA, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Guierat,
!• capital of a district of the same name. It was long the
psidence of a gang of pirates, who preyed upon the trade
nd shipping that frequented those seas. They at length
iceived a severe chastisement from the East India Com-
ny s marine, and afterwards agreed to respect the Bri-
r . a?’ yhese rude people were accustomed to rely for
A" their l)iratical adventures upon an idol at the
ip id i Dwaraca’ to.which they vowed a large share of
e plunder provided they were successful; and they were
■cordingly instigated to piracy by the priests of the tem-
sirltnf n eiIarge "h1arers in the bo°ty acquired. The
t of Oaka or Oakamundal is situated on the Gulf of
tn, and separated from the mainland by the swamp
it Krp *1 ^Unn; ^,le quiet inhabitants who reside
owincp6 3 nu.mber camels, which browse on the shrubs
onlol • the iWamp 5 but tbe grater number of the
Pt are pirates. Long, of the town 69. 36. E. Eat. 22.
OAT
. N.
untA^onV^'1'0'^’ f borougb an(* market town in the
wdon amft00’ anC buncire<d Lifton, 195 miles from
Je in thU Tent3Te from Exeter* There is very little
e Years manufacture of serges having of
•yor, bur-eST^' ?he c°rPoration consisted of a
g • > a recorder, and eight aldqrmen. It re-
turned two members to parliament till 1832, but it is now
disfranchised. Ihe population amounted in 1801 to 1430,
111 A a 1440, in 1821 to 1907, and in 1831 to 2055.
OAKINGHAM, or W okingham, a market-town of the,
hundred of Sonning, in the county of Berks, but with the
singularity, that a part of the town, including tbe church,
is in the hundred of Amesbury, and the county of Wilts.
It is thirty-two miles from London, and seven from Read¬
ing, and is situated on the border, within tbe boundary of
the royal forest of W indsor. It consists of four streets
meeting in the market-place, where is the town-hall. The
church is an extensive structure, supported by handsome
pillars, and adorned by many monuments. It has a good
free school, and some charities, particularly one endowed
by Archbishop Laud for female servants. A well-furnish¬
ed market is held every Tuesday. The number of inha¬
bitants, including tbe parts of both counties, amounted in
1831 fo 2M2 ^ 18U t0 2°85’ in 1821 t0 249°’ and b
CANNES, a being in Chaldaic mythology, represented
as half a man and half a fish. According to Berosus and
other fabulous writers, this monster was the civilizer of the
Ghaldaeans, to whom he is said to have taught a system of
jurisprudence so perfect as to be incapable of further im¬
provement. In discharging the duties of his office, he is
said to have spent the day on dry land, but to have retired
every night into the ocean or the river.
OAR, a long piece of timber, flat at one end and round
or square at the other, and which being applied to the side
of a floating vessel, serves to propel, or cause it to advance
upon the water.
That part of the oar which is out of the vessel, and
which enters into the water, is called the blade or wash-
p at; and that which is within board is termed the loom,
the extremity of which, being small enough to be grasped
lihndle r°HerS °r Persons managing the oars, is called the
OARISTUS, or Oaristys, a term in Greek poetry,
signifying a dialogue between a husband and his wife • as
that in the sixth book of the Iliad, between Hector and
Andromache. Scaliger observes, that the oaristus is not
properly any particular little poem, or entire piece of poe¬
try, but always a part of a great one ; and that the passage
in Homer here referred to is the only proper oaristus ex¬
tant in ancient poetry.
OASIS, the name of a fertile spot in the midst of a
sandy desert. Many of these spots, or oases, in the Afri¬
can deserts, are remarkable for their fertility.
OAIH, an affirmation or promise, accompanied with an
invocation of God to witness what we say, and with an
imprecation of his vengeance, or a renunciation of his grace,
if what we affirm be false, or what we promise be not per¬
formed I he word is a corruption of the Saxon eoth , and
in England it is often called a corporal oath, because, in
the days of Catholicism, the person was sworn upon the host
or corpus Chmsti. 1
The laws of all civilized states have required the secu¬
rity of an oath for evidence given in a court of justice, and
on other occasions of high importance; but the Quakers
andesome other sects refuse to swear on any occasion,
even at the requisition of a magistrate, and in a court of
justice. Ihe text of Scripture upon which the Quakers
principally rest their argument for the unlawfulness of all
swearing, is our Saviour’s prohibition, “ I say unto you,
swear not at all.” But it is only in ordinary conversation
and by no means in courts of justice, that Christ prohibits
his followers from swearing at all. There is no evidence
whatever, that swearing by heaven, by the earth, by Jeru¬
salem, or by their own heads, was the form of a judicial
toatt!\m Auf. amongst the Jews. On the contrary, we are
told by Maimomdes, that “ if any man swear by heaven or
315
Oaking-
ham
Oath.
316
Oath.
OAT
OAT
bv earth, yet this is not an oath which, surely, he could
not have said had such been the forms of judicial swear-
Indeed the Jews could not have admitted such forms
into their courts without expressly violating the law of
Moses, who commands them to “ Fear Jehovah their God,
to serve him, and to swear by his name.” But the Jews,
as every one knows, had such a reverence for the name ot
Jehovah, that they would not pronounce it on slight occa¬
sions, and therefore could not swear by that name in com¬
mon conversation. Hence, to gratify their propensity to
common swearing, they invented such oaths as, by heaven,
by earth, by Jerusalem, by the life of thy head, and sue i
like, and by this contrivance they thought to avoid the
guilt of profaning the name of Jehovah. These, however,
being appeals to insensible objects, either had no meaning,
or were in fact, as our Saviour justly argues, oaths by that
God whose creatures they were; so that the Jew w 10
swore them was still guilty of profaneness towards the very
Jehovah whose name his superstition would not permit
him to pronounce. But what puts it beyond all doubt
that the use of judicial oaths is not wholly prohibited in
the gospel, is the conduct of our Saviour himself, as well as
that of his apostle St Paul. When Jesus was simply asked
by the high priests, what it was which certain false witnesses
testified against him, we are told by the evangelists, that
“ he held his peace but being adjured by the living God
to declare whether he was the Christ, the Son of God, or
not, he immediately answered the high priest, without ob¬
jecting to the oath (for such it was) upon which he was
examined. St Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, says,
« God is my witness, that, without ceasing, I make mention
of you in my prayers and to the Corinthians, still moie
strongly, “ I call God for a record vpon my soul, that, to
spare you, I came not as yet to Corinth.” Both these ex¬
pressions are of the nature of oaths ; and the author ot the
Epistle to the Hebrews speaks ot the custom of swearing
judicially without any mark of censure or disapprobation :
“ Men verily swear by the greater ; and an oath, for con¬
firmation, is to them an end of all strife.
But although a nation has an undoubted right to require
the security of an oath upon occasions of real importance, it
is something worse than bad policy to multiply oaths, and
to hold out to the people temptations to perjure themselves.
The security which an oath affords depends entirely upon
the reverence which attaches to it in the mind of him by
whom it is given ; but that reverence is much weakened
by the frequency of oaths, and by the careless manner in
which they are too often administered. Paley observes,
with truth, that “the levity and frequency with which
oaths are administered, has brought about a general inad¬
vertency to the obligation of them, which, both in a leli-
gious and political view, is much to be lamented; and it
merits,” continues he, “ public consideration, whether the
requiring of oaths on so many frivolous occasions, especi¬
ally in the customs, and in the qualification tor petty of¬
fices, has any other effect than to make them cheap in the
minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel
larly from the ship to the consumer without costing halt a
dozen oaths at least; and the same security for the due
discharge of his office, namely, that of an oath, is requuted
from a churchwarden and an archbishop, from a petty
constable and the chief justice of England. Let the law
continue its own sanctions if they be thought requisite,
but let it spare the solemnity of an oath; and where it is
necessary, from the want of something better to depend
upon, to accept a mans bwn word or own account, let it
annex to prevarication penalties proportioned to the pub¬
lic consequence of the offence.
Besides the frequency of oaths, we have mentioned the
irreverent manner in which they are too often administered
as one of the causes which make them cheap in the esti¬
mation of the people. In this view, the form of the oath, !
and the ceremonies with which it is required to be taken, are
of considerable importance. “ The forms of oaths in Chris- ^'
tian countries,” says Paley, “ are very different; but in none, v
I believe, worse contrived, either to convey the meaning
or to impress the obligation of an oath, than in England.
Oaths are either assertory or promissory. Assertory
oaths are required both to confirm our veracity in evidence,
and to give security to the public, that we believe certain
propositions conceived to be of public importance. An oath
in evidence binds the juror to declare what he knows to be
true, and nothing but what he knows to be true. An oath
required to assure the public of our belief in the truth of
any proposition cannot, without the guilt of perjury, be
taken by any man, who, at the time of swearing, has the
slightest doubt in his mind whether the proposition be
really true. Such an oath, however, though it unques¬
tionably requires the sincerity ot the juror s belief at the
time when it is given, cannot oblige him to continue in
that belief as long as he may live ; for belief is not in any
man’s power, being the necessary consequence of evidence,
which compels the assent of the mind, according as it ap¬
pears to preponderate on the one side or on the other. No
man, therefore, can be justly accused of peijury for hold¬
ing opinions contrary to those which he may formerly have
sworn to believe; because his belief at the time of emit¬
ting his oath may have been the necessary result of the
evidence which then appeared before him, and his change
of opinion may have resulted with the same necessity from
superior evidence which had been since then thrown into
the opposite scale, and made it preponderate. On this ac¬
count we cannot help thinking that all assertory oaths, ex-
ceptino- Such as are necessary to confirm testimony respect¬
ing facts, ought either to be abolished, or expressed with
great caution. Of truths intuitively certain, or capable of
rigid demonstration, no man of common sense can enter¬
tain a doubt; and therefore the public never requires from
individuals the solemnity of an oath as an assurance of
their believing such truths. But with respect to the truth
of propositions which admit of nothing superior to moral
evidence upon either side, a man of the most steady virtue
may think differently at different periods of his life; and
in such cases, the effect of an oath, if it have any effect,
can only be either to shut the man’s eyes against the light,
or to make his integrity be causelessly questioned by those
who may observe his change of belief. .
Promissory oaths cannot, without the guilt of perjury
be given by him who, at the time of swearing, knows that
it will not be in his power to fulfil the promise, or who
does not seriously intend to fulfil it. A promissory oa i
cannot, without great guilt, be given by any man, who a
the time of swearing believes the object oi the ■
be in itself unlawful; for if he seriously mean ni
oath, he calls upon Almighty God to witness his mten i
to commit a crime. Promissory oaths give to the puoi
p or
w
LU —   j , -
greater security than a simple promise ; because the jur
? . .i a \ ry~A .a rwl ✓vT t’olinrirm mnrfi UDOn fllo
having the thoughts of God and of religion more upon
mind at the one time than .at the other, offends with
minu at mu unc miic      .livine
higher hand, and in more open contempt ot the a
power, knowledge, and justice, when he violates an
than when he breaks a simple promise, let it is ce
that promissory oaths, though more solemn and sac '
cannot be binding when the promise without an oath w
not be so, though in an inferior degree. ,
OAXACA, one of the states of the republican c
deracy of Mexico. See the article Mexico.
Oaxaca, the capital city of a state of the same «
the republic of Mexico. It is built on the site of the
cient Huaxyacac, and bore the name of An^e<}ue,raful val-
time of the conquest. Its situation is in a de ig ^
ley, forty miles in length by twenty in breadth, an
O B A
O B E
317
, 230 miles south of the city of Mexico. Oaxaca is built in
the form of an oblong square, being nearly two miles by
one and a quarter in extent, including the suburbs, which
' are principally occupied by gardens. It is one of the neat¬
est, cleanest, and most regularly built towns in Mexico.
The streets are wide and well paved ; and there are a num¬
ber of squares, the beauty of which is enhanced by the
presence in all of them of handsome public fountains. The
edifices are constructed of a green stone, which, preserv¬
ing its colour to perpetuity, gives the city a singular ap¬
pearance of freshness. The convent of San Francisco, si¬
tuated in the great square, was erected above two hun¬
dred years ago, yet it still retains the appearance of a new
building. There are a number of public edifices in Oaxaca,
including several churches, which are solidly built, and
richly decorated. The climate is considered as unsur¬
passed for salubrity and equability by any in the republic,
the thermometer rarely tailing below 63°, nor ranging
higher than 78°. The markets are supplied with fruits
both of the temperate and torrid zones, raised in the vici¬
nity ; and it is no uncommon thing to see trees loaded with
oranges on one side of the road, and fields of wheat ex¬
tending on the other. Oaxaca was formerly more popu¬
lous than it is at present, having suffered a good deal du¬
ring the revolutionary struggle; but the inhabitants still
amount to about 20,000.
OBA, a town of Persia, in the province of Azerbijan, at
the head of a small gulf on the western coast of the Cas¬
pian, and on one of the mouths of the Kur, about 150
miles north-east of Tabreez.
OBADIAH, or the Prophecy of Obadiah, a canonical
book of the Old Testament, contained in a single chapter.
It is partly an invective against the cruelty of the Edom¬
ites, who mocked and derided the children of Israel as they
passed into captivity, and, with their confederates, invaded
and oppressed these strangers, dividing the spoil amongst
themselves; and partly a prediction of the deliverance of
Israel, and of the victory and triumph which the church
would gain over her enemies.
OBAN, a neat and small modern town in the parish of
Kilbride, lordship of Lorn, and county of Argyle, ninety-
two miles from Glasgow, and 136 from Edinburgh. The
situation of the town is wrell chosen, both as regards the
picturesque scenery amidst which it is placed, the conve-
| nient station which its bay affords for national purposes,
as the depot for the trade of the Hebrides and the western
coast of the Highlands, and as being admirably designed for
a fishing station. The bay of Oban, at the head of which
the town lies, is semicircular, being formed by the island
ot Kerrera in front, and, backed by the huge ranges of the
Argyllshire mountains ; it is well sheltered from the west¬
ern winds by the island of Kerrera, varies from twelve to
twenty-four fathoms in depth, and is capable of contain¬
ing from three to five hundred sail of merchantmen. The
steamers from Glasgow and Liverpool, which visit the west¬
ern coast and Inverness by the Crinan and Caledonian Ca¬
nals, generally stop at Oban ; and, from the salubrity of the
air, and moderate rate of the markets, it is much resorted
to as bathing quarters duringthe summermonths, and many
^ respectable families have now made it their permanent place
o lesidence. I he territory of the burgh consists of the
ands of Oban and Glenshellich, with the ferry-house, nail¬
ers croft, and loch, and the lands of Glencrutten. This
territory, however, extends considerably beyond the par-
jamentary bounds assigned to the town by the burgh re-
orm act. I he town is divided by a small river into two
ivisions, called the eastern and western. In the eastern
a andsome church was erected in the year 1821 as a cha-
pe o ease to the parish church, which is at a distance of
our miles from the town. It was constituted a port of cus-
0ms year 1763 j and the custom-house is pleasantly
placed upon a rising situation, so as to command a view of Obdorsk
the bay. I he superiors and proprietors of the burgh are II
the Duke of Argyll and Mr Campbell of Combie. These v ^erna^‘
proprietors and their predecessors, as soon as they observed v ~1'—'
that some trade had begun to be carried on, granted build¬
ing leases of portions of their lands upon the most libe¬
ral terms, and under this system it rapidly increased. Oban
was first erected into a burgh of barony in 1811 by the
Duke of Argyll, with the consent of Mr Campbell. This
charter was, however, laid aside, on grounds arising out of
the titles of the Argyll estates; and Mr Campbell having
in the mean time acquired the superiority of his lands, a
new charter was granted in the year 1820. There are no
public buildings belonging to the burgh, nor public insti¬
tutions of any kind ; neither is it possessed of any property
or annual revenue, nor encumbered with any amount of
debt. The magistrates and council have no power to tax
or assess the inhabitants, and no taxes have been imposed ;
neither have they the right of appointment to any office,
civil or ecclesiastical. The exports to Glasgow and Liver¬
pool are cattle, wool, fish, pig iron, and slates brought from
the district of Easdale. A weekly market is held in the
town, and two annual fairs. The municipal government
of the burgh is vested in two bailies and four councillors;
and by its charter the burgesses annually elect a dean of
guild, a nominal treasurer, and the different officers con¬
nected with a burgh court. The burgh returns, with Ayr,
Irvine, Campbelton, and Inverary, a member to parlia¬
ment. The population of Oban amounted in 1831 to
1480.
OBDORSK, a name which is given to that part of Asi¬
atic Russia which extends along the northern part of the
course of the Obi to the Frozen Ocean. It is also the
name of a small palisadoed fort, the most northerly of any
maintained by Russia, being garrisoned by an officer, with
twenty-five Cossacks, w ho exercise a species of sovereign
control over the scattered tribes of Ostiaks and Samoyedes.
OBELISK, in Architecture, a truncated, quadrangular,
and slender pyramid, raised as an ornament, and frequent¬
ly charged with inscriptions or hieroglyphics.
Obelisks appear to have been of very great antiquity,
and first raised to transmit to posterity certain precepts,
which were cut in hieroglyphical characters ; but they were
afterwards used to immortalize the great actions of heroes,
and the memory of persons who were beloved. The first
obelisk mentioned in history was that of Harnesses king of
Egypt, which was forty cubits high. Phius, another king of
Egypt, raised one of fifty-five cubits; and Ptolemy Phila-
delphus, another of eighty-eight cubits, in memory of Ar-
sinoe. Augustus erected one at Rome in the Campus Mar-
tius, which served to mark the hours on a horizontal dial,
drawn upon the pavement. They were called by the Egyp¬
tian priests the “ fingers of the sun,” because they were
made in Egypt to serve also as styles or gnomons for mark¬
ing the hours on the ground. The Arabs still call them
“ Pharaoh’s needles.” All the learning on the subject of
obeliks will be found accumulated in the elaborate work of
Zoega (Zte Origine et Usu Oheliscorum) printed at Rome,
and illustrated with very beautiful and accurate plates, in
which the hieroglyphics are represented with great dis¬
tinctness and accuracy.
OBERGLEICHEN, a city of the grand duchy of Saxe-
Gotha, in Germany, in the circle of Volkerode, the capital
of a bailiwick of the same name. It is situated on the
river Ohre, in the Thuringen Forest, and is the property
of Prince Hohenlohe of Neuenstein, now mediatized. It
contains four churches, two hospitals, 860 houses, and 3640
inhabitants, who carry on various manufactures, especially
those of woollen, iron, and copper. Lat. 50. 50. 33. N.
OBERNAl, or Oberehinheim, a town of the depart¬
ment of the Lower Rhine, and the arrondissement of Schlet-
318
O B L
Oblati.
Obernik stadt, in France. It stands on the river Ergers, upon the
11 side of the mountain Odilienberg, and contains 4480 inha¬
bitants, who carry on a great trade as coppersmiths and
bell-founders.
OBERNIK, a town of the Prussian government of Po¬
sen, the capital of a circle of the same name, which con¬
tains four towns and 109 villages, with 32,200 inhabitants.
It stands on the river Wartlie, at its junction with the
Welna, and contains 1200 inhabitants, of whom more than
one third are Jews. It has some linen weaving.
OBERZO, a city of Austrian Italy, in the province of
Milan and delegation of Treviso. It was the Opitergum of
Strabo, and formerly stood on the sea, but is now some
miles from it. It is fortified, and contains 730 houses,
with 4560 inhabitants. Long. 12. 24. 49. E. Lat. 45. 46.
23. N.
OBI, a great river of Asiatic Russia, which is said to
rise in fifty-two degrees of north latitude, on the southern
side of the Altai Mountains, from a lake called by the Tar¬
tars Altyn Noor. It is now denominated By, and was for¬
merly known by the name of the Great River, as being the
longest which flows through Asiatic Russia. It receives
the waters of the Irtysch, after which it becomes very
broad, and sometimes extends several miles across. It
also spreads out into branches, which again re-unite and
form numerous islands. It flows through the governments
of Kolivan, Tobolsk, Tomsk, and Narym. The entire
length of its stream is two thousand miles ; yet, from the
northerly course which it takes into the barren and inhos¬
pitable regions of Northern Asia, it is comparatively of
much less benefit in facilitating the internal communica¬
tions of the country than if it flowed east and west, as it
only gives access to countries cold, unproductive, and
barbarous, which mankind would rather desire to fly from
than to visit. It abounds, however, in fish, which might
become a lucrative object of trade, as during the sum¬
mer season they might be sent along the Northern Ocean
to Archangel. , . , . .
OBIDOS, a town of Portugal, in the province of Lstre-
madura, and the corregimento of Alenquer. It is situated
near the sea coast, on an inlet which forms a small lake call¬
ed the Lago de Obidos, and contains 1090 houses, but not
much more than 3500 inhabitants. On a hill adjoining
are the ruins of an ancient castle. A battle was fought at
this place by a part of the Duke of Wellington s army, pre¬
vious to the conflict of Vimiera, in August 1808. It is about
forty-five miles north of Lisbon.
OBJECT, in Philosophy, is something apprehended or
presented to the mind by sensation or imagination. See
Metaphysics.
OBJECTIVE, is a term used in the schools, in speak¬
ing of a thing which exists no otherwise than as an object
known. The existence of such a thing is said to be ob¬
jective.
OBIT signifies a funeral solemnity, or office for the
dead, most commonly performed when the corpse lies in the
church uninterred; and also the anniversary office. The
anniversary of any person’s death was called the obit; and
to observe such day with prayers and alms, or other com¬
memoration, was the keeping of the obit. In religious
houses they had a register, in which they entered the obits
or obitual days of their founders and benefactors, and which
was thence termed the obituary. The tenure of obit or
chantry lands was taken away and extinguished by 1 Edw.
VI. c. 14, and 15 Car. II. c. 9.
OBLATE, flattened or shortened, as an oblate spheroid,
having its axis shorter than its middle diameter, and be¬
ing formed by the rotation of an ellipse about its shorter
axis. The earth, the polar diameter of which is shorter
than the equatorial, is an oblate spheroid.
OBLATI, in church history, were secular persons, who
O B S
devoted themselves and their estates to some monastery, Obi
into which they were admitted as a kind of lay-brothers.
The form of their admission was putting the bell-ropes Ub:
of the church round their necks, as a mark of servitude.
They wore a religious habit, which, however, was different
from that of the monks.
OBLIGATION, in general, denotes any act by which
a person becomes bound to another to do something, as to
pay a sum of money, be surety, or the like. Obligations
are of three kinds ; natural, civil, and mixed. Natural ob¬
ligations are entirely founded on natural equity ; civil obli¬
gations rest on civil authority alone, without any necessary
foundation in natural equity; and mixed obligations are
those which, being founded on natural equity, are besides
enforced by civil authority.
In a legal sense, obligation signifies a bond, in which is
contained a penalty, with a condition annexed, for the pay¬
ment of money, or the performance of some act. The dif¬
ference between it and a bill is, that the latter is generally
without a penalty or condition, though it may be made ob¬
ligatory ; and obligations are sometimes incurred by mat¬
ter of record, as statutes and recognizances.
OBLIQUE, in Geometry, something aslant, or which
deviates from the perpendicular. Thus an oblique angle
is either an acute or obtuse one, that is, any angle except
a right one.
Oblique Cases, in Grammar, are all the cases of nouns
except the nominative.
Oblique Ascension is that point of the equinoctial which
rises with the centre of the sun, or star, or any other point
of the heavens, in an oblique sphere.
Oblique Circle, in the stereographic projection, is any
circle which is oblique to the plane of projection.
Oblique Descension, that point of the equinoctial which
sets with the centre of the sun, or star, or any other point
of the heavens, in an oblique sphere.
Oblique Line, that which, falling on another line, makes
oblique angles with it; that is, the one acute, and the other
obtuse.
Oblique Planes, in Dialling, are those which decline
from the zenith, or incline towards the horizon.
Oblique Sailing, in Navigation, is when a ship sails
upon some rhumb between the four cardinal points, mak¬
ing an oblique angle with the meridian ; in which case she
continually changes both latitude and longitude.
OBLIQUES, in Anatomy, a name given to several mus¬
cles, particularly in the head, eyes, and abdomen.
OBLONG, in general, denotes a figure the length of
which exceeds the breadth ; as, for example, a parallelo-
gram. . .
OBOLUS, an ancient silver money of Athens, the sixth
part of a drachma, and worth somewhat more than a pen¬
ny farthing sterling.
‘ Obolus, in Medicine, is used to signify a weight of ten
grains, or half a scruple.
OBOJAN, a city of Russia, in the government of Kursk,
the capital of a circle of the same name. It stands at the
mouth of the Obojanta, where that river falls into the Psol,
and contains 430 dwelling-houses, with 5500 inhabitants,
all trading in the products of the vicinity. It is 756 miles
from St Petersburg. Long. 35. 45. E. Lat. 51. 12. i •
OBREPTITIOUS, an appellation given to letters pa¬
tent, or other instruments, obtained of a superior by sur
prise, or by concealing from him the truth.
OBSCAIA, a gulf of the Frozen Ocean, on the soutn-
ern coast of Asiatic Russia, and forming the estuary o
the great river Obi. It extends from lat. 66. 40. to < •
15. N. and from long. 72. to 76. E. ,
OBSCURE, something that is dark, and reflects utw
light on material objects, or that is not clear and inte
gible in the objects of the intellect.
Obw
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ti
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ill
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OCC
it- OBSECRATION, in Rhetoric, a figure by which the
orator implores the assistance of God or man.
OBSERVATION Island, a small island on the north
^ coast of New Holland, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, on the
west shore, and one of Sir Edward Pellew’s group.
OBSERVATORY, a place destined for observing the
heavenly bodies, being generally a building erected upon
some eminence, covered with a terrace for making astro¬
nomical observations. There are many such buildings ;
but the more celebrated are, the Greenwich observatory,
built in 1676, by order of Charles II. at the solicitation of
Sir Jonas Moore and Sir Christopher Wren, and furnished
with accurate instruments; the Paris observatory, built by
the order of Louis XIV. in the fauxbourg St Jacques ; and
Tycho Brahe’s observatory, which was situated in the little
island of Ween, between the coasts of Schonen and Zea¬
land, in the Baltic. This last was erected and furnished
with instruments at the expense of Tycho, and called by him
Uraniburg. Here he spent twenty years in observing the
stars, the result of which was his catalogue. Pekin obser¬
vatory Le Compte describes as a magnificent establishment,
having been erected and furnished at the intercession of
some Jesuit missionaries, principally Verbeist. Of the ob¬
servatory at Benares, Sir Robert Barker gives a very full ac¬
count in the Philosophical Transactions (vol. Ixvii. p. 598).
OBSERVATORY Island, or Padevoua, a small
island in the South Pacific Ocean, near the north-east
coast of New Caledonia. Long. 165. 41. E. Lat. 20. 18. S.
OBSIDIONALIS, an epithet applied by the Romans
to a sort of crown, conferred on those who had distinguish¬
ed themselves in the attack of fortified places.
OBY, or Ouby, a small island in the Eastern Seas, fifty
miles long, and from twelve to twenty broad. The so¬
vereignty of this island is claimed by the sultan of Bachian,
who has a pearl fishery on its coasts. On this island live
many runaway slaves, wdio cultivate cloves, which they sell
to the Buggesses. The Dutch have a small fort on the
western side of the island. Long. 124.56. E. Lat. 1. 36. S.
Little Oby is a small island near the wrest coast of the above
island. Long. 127. 12. E. Lat. 1. 26. S.
OCANA, a town of Spain, in the province of Toledo,
the capital of a partida of the same name, about'thirty
miles to the south-east of Madrid. It stands on a fertile
plain, and is surrounded with an ancient and now a dilapi¬
dated wall, the buildings bearing more marks of antiquity
than ot beauty. It has four churches and eleven religious
houses, and is adorned with two fountains, one of them of
great beauty. The actual population does not much ex¬
ceed 5000 persons, and the only occupations, besides that
of cultivating the surrounding land, consist in making soap,
tanning leather, and making a few silk goods. This place
has been rendered remarkable by the great battle fought
there in November 1809, when the Spanish army of 50,000
was defeated and dispersed by a French force of consider¬
ably less than half that number.
OCCIDENT, in Geography, the westward quarter of
tie horizon, or that part of the horizon where the ecliptic,
or the sun therein, descends into the lower hemisphere.
1111 used in contradistinction to orient. Hence the word
occidental signifies any thing belonging to the west; as oc-
uuental bezoar, occidental pearl, and the like.
ccident that point of the horizon where the
sun sets at midwinter, when entering the sign Capricorn.
Occident Equinoctial, that point of the horizon where
•le su” ®ets when ile crosses the equinoctial, or enters the
sign of Aries or of Libra.
OCdPITAL, in Anatomy, a term applied to the parts
cclPct, or posterior part of the skull,
jcp H • T’ something hidden, secret, or invisible. The
Opp , Sclei?c.es a.re magic, necromancy, and some others,
cun qualities, in philosophy, were those qualities of bo-
O C H
dy or spirit which baffled the investigation of philosophers,
and for which they were unable to give any reason. Un¬
willing, however, to acknowledge their ignorance, they de¬
ceived themselves and the vulgar by an empty title, call¬
ing what they did not know occult.
Occult, in Geometry, is used to signify a line that'is
scarcely perceptible, drawn with the point of the compasses
or a leaden pencil. These lines are used in several opera¬
tions, as the raising of plans, designs of building, and pieces
of perspective ; and they are to be effaced when the work is
finished.
OCCULTATION, \n Astronomy, the time during which
a star or planet is hid from our sight, by the interposition
of the body of the moon or some other planet.
OCCUPANCY, in Law, is the taking possession of those
things which before belonged to nobody. This, accord¬
ing to Blackstone, is the true ground and foundation of all
property, or of holding those things in severalty, which by
the law’ of nature, unqualified by that of society, were com¬
mon to all mankind.
OCEAN, the vast mass of salt water which encompasses
all pai ts of the globe, and by means of which, in the present
improved state of navigation, an easy intercourse subsists
between places the most distant. The ocean is distinguish¬
ed into three grand divisions; the Atlantic Ocean, which
divides Europe and Africa from America, and is generally
about three thousand miles wide; the Pacific Ocean, or
South Sea, which divides America from Asia, and is gene¬
rally about ten thousand miles over; and the Indian Ocean,
which separates the East Indies from Africa, and is three
thousand miles across. The other seas wdiich are called
oceans are only parts or branches of these, and usually re¬
ceive their names from the countries which they border on.
See Physical Geography.
OCEANIDES, in fabulous history, sea-nymphs, daugh¬
ters of Ocean us, from wdiom they received their names,
and of the goddess Tethys or Thetis.
OCEANUS, in pagan mythology, the son ofCcelusand
Terra, the husband of Thetis, and the father of the rivers
and fountains. The ancients called him the “ father of all
things,” imagining that he was produced by Humidity,
which, according to I hales, was the first principle whence
every thing was produced. Homer describes Juno as visit¬
ing him at the remotest limits of the earth, and acknow¬
ledging him and Thetis as the parents of the gods. He
was represented with a bull’s head, as an emblem of the
rage and bellowing of the ocean when agitated by storms
or tempests.
OCELLUS the Lucanian, an ancient Greek philoso¬
pher of tlie school of Pythagoras, who lived before Plato.
His work mp rou Uat/ros, or the Universe, is the only pro¬
duction of his which has come down entire to us ; it was
written originally in the Doric dialect, but has been trans¬
lated by another hand into the Attic. William Christian,
and after him Louis Nogarola, translated this work into
Latin; and there are several editions of it, both in Greek
and in Latin.
OCHLOCRACY, that form of government in which
the populace have the chief administration of affairs.
OCHRIDA, a town of Greece, in the province of Alba¬
nia, the capital of a district of the same name, which it
has derived from a lake near it, known to the ancients as
the Lychnidus. It is situated on the declivity of Mount
Maniana Petrin, on the great road formerly leading from
Pella to Dyracchium; and near to it runs the river Drino.
The inhabitants are descended from a Bulgarian colony,
and they adhere to the Greek church, of which religion
there is an archbishop in this place. In the vicinity there
are mines of sulphur and of silver, the working of which
f orms the chief occupation of the population, which amounts
to about 4500 persons.
319
Occult
II.
Ochrida.
OCT
OCT
OCHUS, a king of Persia, and son of Artaxerxes. He
was cruel and avaricious, and, in order to strengthen him¬
self on his throne, murdered all his brothers and sisters.
His subjects revolted ; but he reduced them to obedience,
and added Egypt to his other dominions. Bagoas, his ta-
OCTAHEDRON, or Octaedron, \n Geometry, one Oct
of the five regular bodies, consisting of eight equal and dir
equilateral triangles. (JJ
OCTANT, the eighth part of a circle.
OCTAPLA, in matters of sacred literature, denotes aw
vourite Sfpoisoned him for the insults winch he had Polyglot Bible, columns, and as man,
offered to Apis, the god of the Egyptians gave his flesh ^Xtion given to the first eight
to be eaten by cats, and caused handles for kntves to be ^OC 8 S
made with his bones. . j r nrTAVF in Music. See Interval.
OCKLEY, Simon, an eminent orienta ist, an e OCTAVIA, the daughter of Cains Octavius, and sister of
of Arabic in Cambridge, was born at Exetci in • Augustus Caesar. She was one of the most illustrious la-
was educated at Cambridge, and distinguis ie , ^ ^ies of ancient Rome, being equally conspicuous for virtue
uncommon skill in the oriental ^ and beauty> The death of Marcellus, her son by her first
a degree in divinity, he was, m EOo, p ^ was husband Claudius Marcellus, constantly preyed upon her
Si;lbifprofeSogreo? .heTnivSi.,. He had a large mind, and she died of grief or melancholy, about eleven ,ear,
family, and his latter days were rendered unhappy by pe¬
cuniary embarrassments. He died in the year 1^-°; 1 e
principal works of Ockley are, 1. Introductio ad Linguas
Orientales, a small volume; 2. The History of the Jews
throughout the World, from the Italian of Leo Modena;
3. The Improvement of Human Reason, from the Arabic ;
4. The History of the Saracens, in 2 vols. 8vo. This last
work is justly valued for its accuracy and erudition. _
OCKZAKOFF, or Oczakow, a city, once of great im¬
portance and much historical interest, in European Rus¬
sia, belonging to the government of Cherson. It stood on
the Black Sea, and, from its commanding the navigation
of the rivers Bug and Dnieper, it was strongly fortified by
before the Christian era. Her brother paid great ho¬
nours to her memory, and pronounced her funeral oration.
The Roman people also showed their respect for her vir¬
tues, by wishing to pay her divine honours.
OCTAVIANUS, or Octavius Caesar, was the nephew
of Julius Caesar the dictator, being the son of Accia, his
sister, by Octavius, a senator; and he afterwards became
emperor of Rome. He was born in the yrear of tne city 691,
during the consulship of Cicero. His uncle Julius Caesar
adopted him, and left him the greater part of his fortune.
When he was about twenty years of age he was raised to
the consulship. His youth and inexperience were ridi¬
culed bv his enemies ; but notwithstanding this obstacle,
r , • i j ii „u:—
ui me uve.o   - y * • v>;s nrndpnce and valour soon silenced all objections. He
the Turks, and considered as an important barrier g^ ^ mJ[e war ainst his opponents on pretence of avenging
the advancing progress of the Russians in that p assassination of his uncle, and engaged in five civil
their territory. The citadel connected w.th the ‘'“"clas, namely,’ the wanfot Marina, Peru-
of prodigious strength, and sui rounded wit . pj jj- • s;ciiy and Actium; the first and last of which
ty-five i'eet in height. It was, however unable to res, , ^Fh^j.., bjet y, ^^ ^ ^ agai|)st L AnMJ,
the military force w ith winch the Russians attacked . , ° f , tn |nvir ; t|le third against Brutus andCas-
1737. Th/siege was obstinate, but at length ,t was taken brother^ the tnumvir^e m of Pm.
by assault, after a bloody contest, m u nc f j pey Jhe Great. He united bis forces with those of Antony
Russians lost more than 18,000 men. in e » Lr the battle of Philippi; and had he not been supported
year, the Turks, eager to retake the place, advanced with his colleague, he would
an army of 70,000 men ; but they weie repu se wi doubtless have been totally ruined in that engagement,
loss of more than 20,000 of their number. Having acco - triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus, he obtained
plished and secured the conquest the Jbe^Vstern pam of the Rou'ian empire ; and, like hi.
fortifications, and abandoned the sP°t* ^ ?e 1 d in. other colleagues, the more firmly to establish his power, he
constructed once more the works of defence, and n a ib d ^ enemies and cut them off. The triumvirate
tained a powerful garrison within it till the year 1788, C He had given his sister Octavia in
when the Russians again attacked it. The latter, c marr-ia„e t0 Antony, to render their alliance more lasting;
manded by Suwaroff, besieged it for a long time, a butwhen Cleopatra had charmed this unfortunate man,0c-
timately carried it by storm, with a tremendous loss of Me but when Ueopa^ a Augugtus immediately took up anas
to both armies. By the peace of 1/91, the v o tbe wr0ngs of his sister, but perhaps more from
trict was ceded to Russia, upon which desire^to remove a man whose power and consequence
were demolished. The establl*bment of Odessa w' kept him in continual fear and constant dependence. Both
thirty miles of Ockzakoff has reduced the place to ins g - P Actium to decide the fate of Rome. An-
ficance; though, from its position on the two navigable alVthe power of the East, and Au-
rivers, it is favourably situated for commerce, having goo ^ of ItaL Cleopatra fled from the battle
anchorage within the bar of the river Bug. Lo g. - y . and her flight ruined the interestof An-
39. 10. E. Eat. 46. o9. 0. In. . J' fbiiovved her into Egypt. The conqueror soon
OCRA, a viscous vegetable substance well known m t0 Egypt) vvbere he besieged Alexan-
the West Indies, where it is used to thicken soup, parti- ^ ^ h^noured with a magnificent funeral his unfortu-
cularly pepper pot, as well as for other purposes. ’ colieague and the celebrated queen, whom the fear
OCRISIA, in fabulous history, the wife of Cormculu , “fte the victor’s triumph Rome had driven to
and one of the attendants of ianaqml, the wife of larqu - commif suicide> After he had established peace all over
nius Priscus. „ . . . „,nrid bp shut the nates of the temple of Janus in tne
OCTAETERIS, a cycle or term of eight years in the J10™’ “ SHe twice determined to lay <k»
Grecian chronology, at the conclusion ot which three e„- ^rs°‘ ywer, first in,mediately after the victory ob-
tire lunar months were added. 1 he cycle was in use t • , over Antony, and again on account of his ill health.
Melon’s invention of the golden number or cycle ol nine- ^ h.g two friends Mecsenas and Agrippa dissoail-
teOCTAGON, or Octooo* in Gconie^, is a figure of ed Km,?* »
eight sides and angles. When ad the sides and angles aie ” ^ dangers. He died at Nola in the seventy-
equal, it is called a regular octagon, or one that ma, be in- *'8'^« after he had heM the sovereign power
scribed in a circle. J
H-f
ODE
during fifty-seven years. He married four times, but he
was unhappy in all these connexions; and his only daugh¬
ter Julia disgraced herself and her father by the debauchery
and licentiousness of her manners. At his death he recom¬
mended his adopted son Tiberius as his successor. He left
his fortune partly to him and to Drusus, and made dona¬
tions to the army and Roman people. The title of Augus-
i tus was conferred upon him by the senate after the battle
of Actium and the final destruction of the Roman republic.
The title continued afterwards, being given to his succes¬
sors in the empire. Virgil is said to have written his AEneid
at the desire of Augustus, whom he represents under the
amiable and perfect character of iRneas.
OCTOBER, in Chronology, the eighth month of Ro¬
mulus’s year, as the name implies ; but the tenth in the ca¬
lendar of Numa, Julius Caesar, &c. The senate gave this
month the name of Faustinus, in compliment to Faustina,
the wife of the Emperor Antoninus; Commodus wished it
to be called/mn'ctas ; and Domitian named it Domitinnus ;
but in spite of all these attempts it still retains its original
name. This month was sacred to Mars, and under his pro¬
tection.
October Equus, a horse annually sacrificed to Mars in
the month of October, either because the horse is a war¬
like animal, or in order to punish him for the taking of Troy.
A race was run with chariots, drawn by two horses, previ¬
ously to the sacrifices, and he that ran fastest was adjudged
to be the victim.
OC TOSTYLE, in the ancient architecture, is the face
of an edifice adorned with eight columns.
ODDLY Odd. A number is said to be oddly odd when
an odd number measures it by an odd number. Thus 15
is a number oddly odd, because the odd number 3 mea¬
sures it by the odd number 5.
ODE, in Poetry, is a song or composition oroper to be
sung.
ODENATUS, a celebrated prince of Palmyra, who
very early inured himself to bear fatigues, and, by hunting
leopards and wild beasts, accustomed himself to the labours
of a military life. He was a faithful friend to the Ro¬
mans; and when Aurelian had been taken prisoner by Sa¬
por king of Persia, Odenatus warmly interested himself in
his cause, and solicited his release, by writing to the con¬
queror, and by sending him presents. The king of Persia
was offended at this liberty of Odenatus ; he tore the let¬
ter, and ordered the presents which were offered to be
thrown into a river; and to punish Odenatus, who had the
impudence, as he called it, to pay homage to so great a
nonarch as himself, he commanded him to appear before
um, on pam of being devoted to instant destruction with
. hls “^ily if he dared to refuse. But Odenatus des¬
pised the haughty summons of Sapor, and opposing force
Py orce, obtained some considerable advantages over the
roops of the Persian king, took his wife prisoner, and, be-
'des, obtained a great and rich booty. These services were
served with gratitude by the Romans ; and Gallienus,
n emperor, named Odenatus his colleague on the throne,
vifnofVe w6 t*t^e Augustus to his children, and to his
16 Ce ?eno^'a- Odenatus, invested with new
er, reso ved to signalize himself more conspicuously, by
iv 3!T]ng 116 ^ar^ar‘ans of the north ; but he perished
Lht]v a§g6j °f one of his own relations, whom he had
. P y ohended at a domestic entertainment. He died
I iobia *nSa’ a^° 11 the 267th ?ear of the Christian era. Ze-
odfnS^ t0 h,s titles and hom)urs-
f Funon i. ’■3 'Clty Denmark, the capital of the island
lak-P * j • 18 Slluatcd on a canal connecting it with
i ilea J,, mT Caf,n€ction with the sea in the Gulf of
;as&a rathpri \ lS j^'^hly built, with good streets, and
W 800 I1™ aTld- SeVen 0ther ehurches. It contains
°USeS’ Wlth 6500 habitants, who are chiefly
ODE
321
engaged in internal trade. Long. 11. 20. 4. E. Lat. 55. Oder
23. 35. IV.
ODER, a river of Germany, which has its source near °de”a.
a town of the same name in Silesia, and upon the confines ^
of Moravia. It runs northward through that province, and
then into the marche of Brandenburg and Pomerania, where
it forms a large lake, and afterwards falls into the Baltic
Sea by three mouths, between which lie the islands of Use-
dom and Wolin. It passes by several towns, as Ratibor,
Oppeln, Breslau, Glogau, and Grossen, in Silesia; Franc-
fort, Lebus, and Custrin, in Brandenburg; and Gartz,
Stettin, Cammin, Wallin, Usedom, and Wolgast, in Pome¬
rania.
ODESSA, a city of Russia in Europe, within the circle
of Tiraspol, in the government of Cherson. It owes its
present state, and the rapid advance it has made, to its po¬
sition on the north-western shore of the Black Sea, be¬
tween the mouths of two great rivers, the Dniester and
the Dnieper, and being not more than twenty-four miles
from the Bug, which is navigable from Poland.
From the reign of Peter the Great, Russia had been stea¬
dily looking forward to a maritime preponderance, both mi¬
litary and commercial, on the Black Sea ; and soon after the
peace of Oczakow, by which the province of Cherson was
ceded to Catharine, that princess selected as the place for
a commercial emporium a village called Kodschabey, then
inhabited only by a few fishermen. At first several regi¬
ments were marched to the spot, and the erections of piTb-
lic buildings commenced. The first civil settlers were a
number of Greek families, who were induced to remove
thither from other portions of the country which had been
recently given up by the Turks. WThen the Emperor
Alexander ascended the throne, he entered with zeal into
the project which Catharine had formed. The French
emigrant Duke of Richelieu, who had entered the Russian
service, was appointed governor, and displayed great zeal
and judgment. By an imperial ukase, all taxes were sus¬
pended for sixty years ; in consequence of which a consi¬
derable number of persons were induced to fix themselves
in Odessa, so that by the year 1804 the inhabitants had in¬
creased to 15,000. WTth the progress of population that
of public buildings kept pace. A fortress, a lighthouse,
and a lazaretto, were constructed, as well as a mole to
secure 300 sail of vessels from the south-west winds, which
sometimes blow with prodigious force. The war between
Russia and Turkey, which was terminated by the general
European peace on the capture of Paris, had impeded till
that event the growth of the city; but soon afterwards
the port of Odessa was declared to be an open one. All
goods of every kind could be imported without duty for
the consumption of the city, or for re-exportation, but
were chargeable wfith duty on passing into the surround¬
ing country. This gave a great impetus to its advance¬
ment, which still operates, till the population has increased
to nearly 50,000 persons. The inhabitants, as is natural
in new settlements, are of very mixed races. The chief
part of them consists of Russians, Greeks, and Jews; but
German handicraftsmen are found amongst them in consi¬
derable numbers, whilst the more extensive mercantile
houses are composed of Italians, English, French, or Ar¬
menians. In no spot perhaps in Europe are there so great
a number of languages spoken as on the exchange of
Odessa. The admixture of oriental dresses, manners, and
languages, presents a very novel and lively picture. A
stranger might imagine himself translated into one of the
trading towns of the Levant; for the bazaars contain all
the productions of the East, from Persian shawls down to
rose-pastilles; and the Italian language is universally un¬
derstood.
ihe prosperity of Odessa has risen in a great measure
from its maritime accessibility. It has a spacious bay,
2 s
322
Odessa.
ODE
Which, though open to the easterly winds, is tolerably se-
'cure - it is very extensive, and the anchorage ground is
cood! There is a kind of harbour formed by two moles,
about two thirds of a mile in length, and a handsome quay
capable of receiving vessels of 500 tons burden. Ihe situ¬
ation of the town on the shore, the land rising very gradu¬
ally, gives it a good appearance on approaching it from t le
sea. Like most new places, it is regularly built; the streets
are wide and straight, crossing each other at right ang es ;
and the houses are for the most part built of stone, and two
stories in height. The streets are however unpaved, and
consequently in rainy weather present a mass of mu
dirt; and, on the other hand, when the weather is dry, the
clouds of sand which arise prove a terrible annoyance.
The place is defended by a strong citadel on the nort -
east, which has a double ditch, and also several outworks.
The walls that surround the city are of more use in a fi¬
nancial than a military point of view. Amongst the public
edifices, the most conspicuous is the cathedral, a large a
elegant pile. There are eight other churches for the
Greek worship, some belonging to the orthodox faith, a
others to schismatics. The Jews, Roman Catholics, and
German Lutherans, have their respective places of worship.
A college has been established, with a museum and ootamc
warden. There is a large hospital, an assembly room, and
a theatre, where plays are performed alternately in the
Russian and Greek language, and which is sometimes used
for the performance of Italian operas. There are several
institutions for educating the poorer classes of both sexes;
those for females being under the superintendence of the
wife of the governor of the province, who resides here.
Most of the water is brackish, and to provide that neces¬
sary element in purity, an aqueduct has been constructed,
at an expense of more than a million roubles, which con¬
veys it from a distance of nearly twenty miles. All the a -
solute necessaries of life are remarkably cheap, as must be
the case where a single town draws its supplies from a vast
and fruitful plain like that which surrounds this city on the
land side. , , . ....
As the rapid growth of Odessa, and the prospect of its
continued and increasing extent, depend wholly upon its
commerce, it is desirable to take a view of the sources o
that commerce. These are to be found in the fertility of
its surrounding soil, and that of the more distant districts,
to which there is easy access. Ihe steppes, which form
a semicircle around Odessa, being \he Sors Deserta of the
ancients, extend to nearly 100 miles from the city. Ibis
district is destitute of trees and of water, but the soil is
said to be favourable to the growth of corn, especially of
wheat. From February to May the growth of grass is
most luxuriant, so that it is said to become so high as to
hide the cattle; but in the latter month it begins to wither,
and in the summer the land is so totally deprived of all
verdure, as to present the picture of a dry sand-bank on
the sea-shore. The first rains of autumn cause vegeta¬
tion to shoot forth again with rapidity, till it is checked by
the sharp frosts, sometimes of November, but more com¬
monly of December. The slight attempts which have been
made to cultivate this portion of land have for the most
part been abandoned, and the labour of the residents has
been chiefly applied to the feeding and propagating of
sheep, and that more for the sake of the wool than of the
It is from districts bordering upon the northern side of
the steppes that the land is to be found, the soil of which,
even with the negligent husbandry it receives, is the most
abundantly productive of wheat. Whether from the cli¬
mate or the soil, or from the combination of both, or from
other causes of which we are ignorant, there is no part
of the world known in which, in propitious seasons, the
increase of that grain is so great It is, however, liable to
ODE
great variations in its growth, and sometimes years occur Oi
when the increase is very insignificant. V<
There tire two kinds of whest cultivated in the districtj
distinguished by the properties of the hardness or the soft-
ness of the grain. They are both white. The hard wheat
is most proper for the countries bordered by the Mediter-
ranean Sea, where it is not ground in mills, but is pounded
in mortars, and used as food under the names of macaroni,
vermicelli, and other similar preparations, which are eaten
in those countries as a substitute for bread. Ihe soft wheat
comes from the most distant parts. It is the same as that
grown in Poland, and brought to England sometimes by
wav of Dantzic, and occasionally by way of Odessa, and
is by grinding, converted into excellent flour, ihe hard
wheat is sown in the spring of the year, and ripens al¬
most as speedily as barley. The soft wheat is sown in
October or November, before the frost sets in, and both
ripen nearly together. The extent sown is in some mea¬
sure regulated by the intelligence received of the produc¬
tiveness of the preceding harvest in the several countries
of Europe. If an extensive failure in the west of Europe
is known to have occurred, the intelligence must arrive
too late for any great extent of additional land being
sown with winter or soft wheat; but as soon as the frost
ceases, great activity in the labours of the held is applied
to the preparation of the land, for the reception of the
seed of spring or hard wheat. Thus the proportion which
the two kinds of wheat bear to each other varies with the
state of the annual product in those remote countries which
draw their supplies from the Black Sea.
The greater portion of the wheat comes from a distance
of 200 miles, some of it 250 miles ; and in years when the
demand is very great, a portion is brought even a distance
of 400. A part of it is sent by the growei s, oi by mer
chants who have purchased of them, to be sold by the com¬
mission-houses in Odessa; but in some seasons large con¬
tracts are entered into for the wheat by Odessa merchants
at a fair, to which sellers and buyers resort in great num¬
bers and which is held at the city of Kiew,from the 15th
to the 25th of January in each year. ^he contra^S ^
made for the corn to be delivered on shipboard by t
sellers at their own expense, and the money to be pa
delivery ; but it has occurred, in seasons when a very gr
demand was expected, as in 1817, that money has been
advanced beforehand on the credit of the luJure dehveJF
The wheat is brought in small waggons, draw y
bullocks, and the number arriving in Odessa in one da)
has sometimes amounted to 500 or 600, and in severa
instances to 1000. Each of these waggons conveys eig
“ wheat, and the wl,ole load is three quarters and J
half, weighing about 1700 pounds. Ihey are “ ^
along at the rate of about ten miles a day. »
cattle are grazed free of expense, on die ^ture-land^
the way, except over the steppes, where, !
from May to July, the greatest periods 0/fce
are no vestiges of vegetation, the expense ^
derable, that it has been often found to amoun , ^
prices have been low, to as much, and in some i ^
even more, than the load would sell for at Odess ,
too6, although the value of a day’s j"ra
bullocks is only sixpence in Podoha, the p
which most of the wheat is brought. as js
The wheat is not dried before shipping at Ode ^ ^
done at Dantzic, and is, lheref«re’not spoil^
a long sea voyage, when, from heating, ^ becom
This has been the case with cargoes ; as to
This has been tne case witu h as to
where, on its arrival, the grain has so run togetn
be utterly unfit for food, and has bee" u”rinci ai portion
axes and thrown into the Thames. 1 P onsuntinople>
of the wheat from Odessa is sent thence to 6ts in
Malta, and the ports of Italy, trance, and
ODE
the Mediterranean. It is there often a substitute for wheat
^grown near them ; and when this grain is scarce in Eng¬
land, and other distant markets, the produce of their own
harvests is exported. The following table will show the
fluctuations in the exports.
An Account of the Quantities of Wheat exported from Odessa
in each Year from 1814 to 1836,/row consular returns.
1814  187,685 quarters.
1815  372,309 ...
1816  801,591 ...
1817  870,893 ...
1818  538,513 ...
1819  627,926 ...
1820  534,199 ...
1821  435,305 ...
1822  342,752 ...
1823  443,035 ...
1824  427,767 ...
1825  170,370 ...
1826  Little or no demand, freights high, and no ships
to be had.
1827  No trade in corn ; all affairs suspended, from the
state of public matters in Constantinople.
1828  Trade suspended by the war with Turkey.
1829  No trade in corn this year.
1830  149,209 quarters. All exported in the last three
months of the year, when peace was concluded.
1831  No returns.
1832  401,981 quarters.
1833  101,000 quarters. All exported in the first three
months of the year.
1834   45,000 quarters. Crops partially failed.
1835  283,575 ...
1836  452,714 ...
The variations in price during this series of years were
excessive. Thus the average price of the year 1825,
which was the lowest, was only 13s. 6d. the English quar¬
ter; and the average price of the year 1817, which was the
highest, was 49s. 1 Id., being fluctuations to the extent of
37o per cent. The excessive fluctuations in the price* as
well as the quantity of the exports, have had a great in-
uence on the prosperity of the city, the chief export con¬
sisting of a single article. In the year 1817, the wheat
shipped at Odessa was 870,893, at an average of 50s. the
quarter, and thus amounting to L.2,177,232. The quantity
shipped in 1825 was 170,370, at 13s. 6d. the quarter, thus
amounting to no more than L. 115,100. It is natural to sup¬
pose that a declension in the amount of a single article of
exportable produce, to the extent of more than nineteen
paits in twenty of its value, must have caused a great con¬
vulsion amongst the mercantile establishments at Odessa;
and accordingly, in the eight years from 1817 to 1825,
almost the whole of them were reduced to a state of-insol¬
vency As regards the producers of the article in ques-
irAlfUfi t,°0i^ffered severely* The high prices obtained
• , ,a, 1817 gave an impulse to agriculture, which
TOV,UfCe tle ProPr^etors °f land to apply to its cultivation
rr a-!Ver ^aPIta* they could obtain, either by their own
crecut, or by mortgaging their estates. The latter was ef-
vprp! ,W!t e Sref facility, and to an extent which was se-
nftv,2 6 t or atong period by the larger proprietors. Many
rrnwn8 1 CU t!vat°rs’ who occupied land belonging to the
for tt,’ °n^ eases’ with neither rent nor taxes to pay
nrinp^ ,.Ist twerAy-five years, were induced, by the low
to tlio °\W 1:0 ahandon their holdings, and to repair
commpC1 ,w. '^re they could obtain employment in the
tivatinn^ i |mid 0CJah°u_r* with a better reward than cul-
the vpru^ff . Experience has taught the inhabitants
at lentriti Uctuatlng state of the commerce of wheat, and
g many of them have applied their capital and
O D I
323
Odin.
their industry to the cultivation of other articles. The Odeum
soil is found to be highly favourable to the growth of flax,
but more especially to hemp ; and large quantities of both,
are now raised. I he breeding of black cattle has also been
much extended, and creates a large export of hides and
tallow. I he tallow shipped increased between the years
1816 and 1831, from the value of 100,000 roubles to that
of 2,000,000. Large flocks of sheep have also been reared,
and the ancient breeds in many cases have been so effec¬
tually crossed by sheep of the Merino race, that much
wool of an improved and still improving quality is despatch¬
ed to Italy, France, England, and Germany. The old
commercial houses, who had been ruined by the great de¬
preciation in the price of wheat subsequently to 1817, have
been replaced by new firms from Russia, Italy, Germany,
France, and England, furnished with ample capital and
credit. Some manufactures have been established, which
yield a surplus of sail-cloth, cordage, and soap. The value
of the exports, since the decline in the wheat trade, has
more than doubled during the last ten years. The imports
consist for the most part of coffee, sugar, olive-oil, cotton
wool, wine, cotton, silk, and woollen goods, timber, coals,
fruit, dye-stuffs, tea, and hardware. Odessa has also be¬
come a depot for an increasing trade with the ports of
Asia on the Black Sea.
The number of vessels, and the flags they bore, that en¬
tered Odessa in the course of six years, were—
Austrian 953 French 17
Swedish II
Spanish  8
Dutch  7
Tuscan  3
American  2
Russian 732
Sardinian 675
British 598
Greek  81
Turkish  32
Neapolitan  25
The tonnage of these is not known ; but as the Austrian
and Russian vessels must have chiefly consisted of coasters
from the ports of these nations within the Black Sea, it is
probable they were of much lighter burden than the ves¬
sels of the other nations which had come through the
Bosphorus. The vessels under the British flag belonged
mostly to Malta and the Ionian Islands. The situation of
Odessa is in latitude 46. 28. 54. north, and longitude 30.
43. 22. east. The climate is healthy, and the winter,
though short, is severe, the sea being more or less frozen
for about two months. The summer is intensely hot, but
it is deemed salubrious.
ODEUM, in Grecian antiquity, a theatre for music
built by Pericles, the inside of which w-as filled with seats
and ranges of pillars, and on the outside the roof descended
shelving downwards from a point in the centre, with many
bendings, in imitation of the king of Persia’s pavilion.
Here the musical prizes were contended for; and here,
also, according to Aristophanes, there was a tribunal.
ODIIIAM, a market-town of the county of Hants,
in the hundred of its own name, forty-two miles from Lon¬
don, and twenty-four from Winchester. It has a market,
which is held on Saturday, and but little trade except what
arises from its wharf on the Basingstoke Canal. A mile
from it are the remains of an ancient castle, in which Da¬
vid king of Scotland is said to have been kept a prisoner..
The population amounted in 1801 to 1058, in 1811 to
1104, in 1821 to 2423, and in 1831 to 2647.
ODIN, in Mythology, called also, in the dialect of the
Anglo-Saxons, Woden or Wodan, a name given by the an¬
cient Scythians to their supreme god, and assumed, about
seventy years before the Christian era, by Sigge, a Scy¬
thian prince, who conquered the northern nations, made
great changes in their government, manners, religion, and
had even divine honours paid him. According to the ac¬
count given of this conqueror by Snorro, the ancient his¬
torian of Norway, and his commentator Torfseus, Odin was
others m ms iram, ii ui.i- & ,, . „„ „ teries, and the like, is termed cbcomowjms.
QLCUMENICAL signifies the same with general or
universal i as, oecumenical council, bishop, and the like.
OEDENBURG, a city of the Austrian kingdom of
tflS
der the conduct of Pompey ; and having ofticiated as a
priest in his own country, he assumed the direction of the
religious worship as well as the civil government of the na¬
tions which he had conquered. Having subdued Denmark,
Sweden, and Norway, he retired to Sweden, where he died.
There is nothing certain in this account; but it is probable
that the god whose prophet or priest this Scythian pie-
tended to be, was named Odin, and that the ignorance o
succeeding ages confounded the deity wit^isPr^St’^‘f ^"the “riverTkvarand' is" a well-built town, with one Lu-
K'ofbef the charaeter'oT the northern conqueror. He the™ and two Catholic churches, a monastery and a ».
deluded the people by his enchantments and his skill in
Having cut off the head of one Mimer, who in his
. • <■» • 1    1-v * 1 £3 n/-! 1 4"
Hungary, in the province of the Farther Danube. It is the
capital of a circle of the same name (called also Soprony-
Barmegye in Hungarian), which extends over 1269 square
miles, and comprehends three cities, forty-one market-
towns, and 200 villages, with 185,700 inhabitants. It stands
magic. Having v-at, v/..     - - , •
lifetime enjoyed great reputation for wisdom, he caused it
to be embalmed, and persuaded the Scandinavians that
he had restored it to the use of speech, and caused it to
pronounce whatever oracles he wanted, ihe Icelandic
chronicles or sagas represent Odin as the most eloquent
and persuasive of men ; they ascribe to him the introduc¬
tion of the art of poetry amongst the Scandinavians, and
likewise the invention of the Runic characters. He had
also the address to persuade his followers that he could
run over the world in the twinkling of an eye; that he
had the direction of the air and the tempests; that he
could transform himself into all sorts of shapes, raise the
dead, foretell things to come, deprive his enemies by en¬
chantment of health and vigour, and discover all the trea¬
sures which were concealed in the earth. I hey add, that
bv his tender and melodious airs he could make the plains
^ . . 1  1 -4.K #1 1rrliF . onrl that the
theran and two Catholic churches, a monastery and a nun¬
nery, 820 houses, and 12,650 inhabitants, of whom about
5000 are Protestants. It is an industrious place, with ma¬
nufactures of cotton, woollen, silk, and linen goods, besides
glass-houses, sugar refineries, and iron forges; and the
neighbourhood yields some good wine. Long. 17. 28.11. E.
Lat. 47. 40. 36. N.
CEDIPUS, an unfortunate king of Thebes, whose his¬
tory is partly fabulous. He flourished about 1266 before
Christ. It is said he was given by his father to a shepherd,
who was ordered to put him to death, in order to prevent
the misfortunes with which he was threatened by an oracle.
But the shepherd, being unwilling to kill him with his own
hands, tied him by the feet to a tree, that he might be
devoured by wild beasts. The infant was however found
in this situation by another shepherd named Phorbas. who
carried him to Polybus king of Corinth, whose queen, hav-
in«- no children, educated him with as much care as if he
had been her own son. When he had grown up, he was
uy ms icuuv.1 ui.va • » .loiiaVit- • and that the informed that he was not the son of Polybus; upon which,
and mountams open and exP“"f^ Jbv order of the oracle, he went to seek for his father is
ghosts, thus attracted, would leave t , . p{ :s . w scarcely had he arrived in that country when
and stand motionless about him., fhape of he met’ hi" Ser on tL road, and killed him withoat
and furious |n battle , changing enemies knowing him. A short time afterwards, having delivered
anODOACEH,e according to Ennodius, was ^i^t^^d tii^^l^lS
and only a private man m he purds of die f uof ^.s me'sh ^ \ghu put out his eves. Eteocles and Pm
Basilicas a^d Armatus/the barbarians chose him for their lynices, both celebrated amongst the Greeks, were then-
leader. The barbarians thought that, as they often defend- sut0'!'*“'“n" Gold Coast of Africa, situated
cd Italy, they had a right ^13 upo” ^^^0° emLnee, wS rises by’a gentle
demanding th^ th^y were rel^ised, and - uncom- alcent to a considerable height, and is defended by rocks,
rnVaTts! capaUe Se S commanding an army or of go- agai^t^^e waves bea.^A *e mrnos^lenee
verning a state. Having left his own country when he was
very young, to serve in Italy, he was admitted amongst
the emperor’s guards, and toll the river Ohm, is the
above year; when, putting hX ^So^h of diffeSnt na- residence of the prfnce, and contains, besides the palace,
banans m the Roman pay, who, a ! „ houses, with 3327 inhabitants, who are occupied m
r^d aiToSttand' S „beAugurs.ultrwh„ making Jewellery and goid and silver articles, also ,n the
SiH reteJ to sLVe any of the lands in Italy. The Ro- cotton manufacture, and m growing wine,
mans were inferior both in numbers and in valoui, and
were, therefore, easily conquered. Orestes was ordered to
be slain; but the Emperor Augustulus was spared, and,
although stripped of bis dignity, was treated with humanity,
and allowed a liberal sum for his own support and for that
of his relations. Odoacer was proclaimed king of Italy, but
ramst WHICH UIC wavco   \ T.
OEHRINGEN, a city of the kingdom of Wirtemberg,
in the circle of the Jaxt, the capital of a bailiwick of the
same name, in the territories of the mediatized Prince ot
IsL'Uii iiic**• j »-** ^^■'7 o o i • o ort
OELAND, or Oland, an island in the Baltic bea, apart
of the province of Calmar, in Sweden. It is about seven¬
ty miles in length from north to south, and about seven
miles in breadth from east to west. The western side is
flat, and the eastern rather hilly; but the centre is a ev^
of his relation.. Odoacer was proclaimed king of Italy, but
h^wAs tzzTkJ et; ^ .ha, »„
Theodoric the Ostrogoth.
ODOMETER, an instrument used for measuring the
distance passed over in travelling.
ODOROUS, or Odoriferous, appellations given to
whatever smells strongly, whether they be fetid or agree¬
able, but chiefly to things the smell of which is brisk and
PleGECONOMICS, the art of managing the affairs of a
It has some good pastures, which furnish dairies; a
considerable fishery is carried on upon the coast, it c
tains no market-town, but has eight parishes, and ^
inhabitants. ^ ■ „c tsilpsia,
OELS, a circle of the Prussian province of »
which has become remarkable on account of i s> , ,
been bestowed on the Duke of Brunswick when exp
from his hereditary dominions by Bonaparte. A w
OFF
merly a sovereignty, but is now mediatized; and the an¬
cient race of its dukes has become extinct. It extends
^over 814 square miles, and contains nine cities and towns,
344 villages, and 164 hamlets, inhabited by about 95,000
persons. The chief place is the city of the same name
situated on the river Oelse, which runs to the Weyda in its
course to the Oder. It is surrounded with walls, and con¬
tains one Catholic and five Lutheran churches, 480 houses,
and about 5000 inhabitants. In the ancient castle of the
dukes is a numerous library and a cabinet of natural his¬
tory. The chief employment of the inhabitants is in the
linen trade.
CENOPTiE, in Grecian antiquity, a kind of censors at
Athens, who regulated entertainments, and took care that
none drank too much or too little.
CEREBRO, one of the provinces of the kingdom of
Sweden, being the westernmost part of Westmanland. It
extends in north latitude from 58. 40. to 60. 6. and in
east longitude from 14. 6. to 15. 42., and contains a super¬
ficies of 3784 square miles. It is divided into four districts
or bailiwicks, viz. Osterwick, Westrericke, Nora cum Linne,
and Leke cum Carlscrona, and contains 110,000 inhabi¬
tants. It is surrounded with mountains, but none of them
higher than 2000 feet, and the interior is flat or undulat¬
ing. It is an internal province, but connected with Stock¬
holm by means of the river Heilmaren. It contains a great
number of fresh-water lakes. The climate is raw and cold,
but in the short summer vegetation is surprisingly rapid.
The best agriculture is in the southern part, but there the
seed rarely produces more than four-fold. The chief grains
are rye, oats, and barley; and of late potatoes and turnips
have been introduced. The chief production is timber,
and the cutting and preparing of it for market is the princi¬
pal occupation. There are some mines of iron and of cop¬
per worked. The capital is the city of the same name, si¬
tuated at the entrance of the river Svartelf into the Heil-
maren. It is chiefly built of wood, has a good market, a
church, and an hospital, and contains 750 dwellings, with
3240 inhabitants, a few of whom are employed in making
cloths, hosiery, and ironmongery articles. Long-. 15. 4. 5.
E. Lat. 59. 15. 14. N.
CETA, in Ancient Geography, a mountain of Thessaly,
extending from Thermopylae westward to the Sinus Am-
bracicus, and in some measure cutting at right angles the
mountainous country stretching between Parnassus to the
south and Pindus to the north.
OETTINGEN, a city of the kingdom of Bavaria, in
the circle of the Rezat, which, with a district around it
of seventy square miles and 12,500 inhabitants, forms a
bailiwick belonging to the mediatized Prince of Oettingen-
Oettingen. The city is the residence of the prince. It
stands on the river Wernitz, is well built, and contains a
Lathohc and a Lutheran church, 460 houses, with 3480 in¬
habitants, who are chiefly employed in making linen and
cotton goods. Long. 10. 31. 5. E. Lat. 48. 57. 27. N.
OFFENBACH, a city of the grand duchy of Hesse, in
Germany, in the province of Darmstadt, and the capital
or a bailiwick of the same name. It stands on the river
awe, and is well built, being on one side surrounded with
a wall, and on the other with a ditch. It contains 530
'ouses, with 6950 inhabitants, who are chiefly occupied in
tna ing hon and hardware, and a variety of ornamental ar-
t‘c^s of steel, silver, and gold.
r 1 Amongst the Hebrews there were seve-
aunuds °f offerings, which they presented at the temple.
offerings, and others were offerings of
‘on- 1 ll^ fruits, the tenths, and the sin-offerings,
winp 0,<?1Sa1tlOn ’ ^le Peace-offerings, vows, offerings of
thp t£>°1 ’i reaC^ Sa^’ an(^ other things, which were made to
ol'rlo, ^ 6 01"riM0 ^le ni‘n’sters of the Lord, were offerings
o ion. ihe Hebrews called offerings in general cor-
O H I
ban. But the offerings of bread, salt, fruits, and liquors,
as wine and oil, which were presented at the temple, they
termed mincha. The sacrifices are not properly offerings,
nor are they commonly included under that name.
OFFICIAL, in the canon law, an ecclesiastical judge,
appointed by a bishop, chapter, or abbot, with charge of
the spiritual jurisdiction of the diocese.
Official is also a deputy appointed by an archdeacon
as his assistant, and who sits as judge in the archdeacon’s
court.
OFFICINAL, in Pharmacy, an appellation given to
such medicines, whether simple or compound, as are re¬
quired to be constantly kept in the apothecaries’ shops.
OFFING, or Offin, in nautical language, that part of
the sea a good distance from shore, where there is deep
water, and no need of a pilot to conduct the ship. Thus, if
a ship from shore be seen sailing out to seaward, they say,
“ she stands for the offingand if a ship, having the shore
near her, have another a good way without or beyond her,
towards the sea, they say, “ that ship is in the offing.”
OGHAMS, a particular kind of stenography, or writing
in cipher, which was practised by the Irish. Of these there
were three kinds. The first was composed of certain lines
and marks, which derived their power from their situation
and position, as they stood in relation to one principal
line, over or under which they were placed, or through
which they were drawn. The principal line was horizontal,
and served for a rule or guide, the upper part of which was
called the left, and the under side the right; above, under,
and through which line, the characters or marks were drawn,
that stood in the place of vowels, consonants, diphthongs,
and triphthongs.
OGIVE, in Architecture, an arch or branch of a Gothic
vault, wdnch, instead of being circular, passes diagonally
from one angle to another, and forms a cross with the other
arches, ihe middle, where the ogives cross each other,
is called the key, being cut in the form of a rose, or a culde
lampe. The members or mouldings of the ogives are call¬
ed nerves, branches, or reins; and the arches which sepa¬
rate the ogives, double arches.
OGYGES, king of the Thebans, or, according to others,
of Ogygia and Acta?, afterwards called Bceotiaand Attica.
He is recorded to have been the first founder of Thebes
and Ffieusis. The famous deluge happened in his time,
in which some say he perished, along with all his subjects,
1796 before our era.
OHANG Java, a cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean,
discovered by Tasman. Most of them are little better than
large rocks. Lat. 4. 36. N.
OHETEROA, an island about twelve miles in circum¬
ference, in the South Pacific Ocean, without either harbour
or anchorage, and only a foul and rocky bay on the west
coast. The inhabitants are active, well made, and of a
dark complexion. They form circles round their arms
and legs, but have no figures on the other parts of their
body. Their clothing is made of the bark of a tree, and
is curiously coloured; and some of them wear bonnets,
adorned with feathers, whilst others wear white stuff in
the form of a turban. Their arms are lances made of
very hard wood, and long pikes. This island was first dis¬
covered by Captain Cook in the year 1769. It is well in¬
habited, though it is not twenty miles in circumference.
It has not, like the Society Islands, any coral reef sur¬
rounding it. Long. 150. 47. W. Lat. 22. 27. S.
OHEVAHOA, a steep and craggy island in the South¬
ern Pacific Ocean, about fifteen leagues in circumference.
Its deep valleys, and the sides of its hills, are clothed with
trees and with verdure. It is situated in long. 139. 2. W.
and lat. 9. 42. S.
OHIO, one of the principal states in the North Ameri¬
can union, is situated between 38.30. and 42.0. of north la-
325
Official
U
Ohio.
326
OHIO.
Ohio.
Rivers.
titude, and between 80.28. and 84. 42. longitude west from
Greenwich. On the north it is bounded by Michigan and
Lake Erie; on the east by Pennsylvania and the river Ohio;
on the south by the Ohio River, which separates it irom
Virginia and Kentucky; and on the west by Indiana. Ohio
may extend about 220 miles from north to south, and as
much from east to west; but as Lake Erie projects consi¬
derably into the northern borders, and the Ohio cuts on
much of its southern quarter, the area of the state cannot be
computed at more than 200 miles square. Ohio occupies
about one third of the plane which declines from Pennsyl¬
vania to the Mississippi, and may be considered generally as
a surface of table-land, sloping in one direction towards the
Ohio, and in the other towards Lake Erie. The state is di¬
vided by nature into four grand divisions, which are named
after the principal waters on which they are situated. Ihese
are the Miami country, the Scioto country, the Muskingum
country, and the Lake country. The interior and northern
parts of Ohio are generally level, but the northern belt has
large tracts of wet and marshy soil. They are however
placed in such positions as render them easily drained;
and when they are cleared of the forests which cover them,
they will form not the least valuable parts of the state, in
its primitive condition, Ohio was, with the exception of some
central prairies, overspread with a dense forest, to which the
o-reat fertility of the soil gave a stupendous development;
fndeed the size, majesty, and variety of the trees of the Ohio
basin has been a theme of just admiration. There are still
extensive tracts of land heavily timbered, and which are
as level as prairies. The forest-trees are the same as those
of Kentucky and Indiana, excepting that the peccan tree,
which is common on the waters of the Wabash, is seldom
found here. The forests are deep, and some of them aie
in the richest soils, where, however, the trees are less re¬
markable for their size than for their straightness. On the
head waters of the two Miamis, the Muskingum, and the
Scioto, there are rich and extensive prairies, some of which
are low and marshy, and others are elevated and dry, the
latter being by no means so fertile as the former. Imme¬
diately on the borders of the Ohio, there are numerous
tracts of intervale or meadow-land of exuberant fertility.
In the interior parts, bordering on both sides of the Scioto,
and on the two Miamis, are the most extensive tracts of
rich and level land. About one quarter of the eastern and
south-eastern divisions of Ohio is hilly, in some places too
broken, and precipitous to admit of cultivation ; but in no
parts are the hills very large or high, and nine tenths of
the surface of the state are susceptible of cultivation. “ On
its whole wide surface,” says Mr Flint, “ there is scarcely
any land so hilly, sterile, or marshy, as, with moderate la¬
bour, may not be subdued, drained, or cultivated, ihe
whole region seems to have invited a hardy and numeious
body of freeholders to select themselves moderate and
nearly equal-sized farms, and to intersperse them over its
surface. In respect to the smallness of the farms, the
number, equality, and compactness of the population, not
confined, as farther west, to the water-courses, but diffus¬
ed over the whole state, it compares very accurately with
New England.”
The principal river of Ohio is the noble and beautiful
stream to which it owes its name; but this will demand a
separate notice. The next largest and most interesting rivei
in this state is the Great Miami, which rises between 40 and
41 degrees of north latitude, and interlocks with the Massis-
sineway of the Wabash, and the St Mary’s and Au Glaize,
branches of the Maumee and Scioto. It has a south-wes¬
terly course of above fifty miles, flowing in a strong but
generally smooth and unbroken current, through a valley
of uncommon width and fertility, receiving several tribu¬
taries in its course. The Little Miami rises in the south¬
west corner of Madison county, and, after traversing several
counties, joins the Ohio seven miles above Cincinnati. It
is of little importance as a navigable stream; but it is va-'
luable in a manufacturing point of view', there being up¬
wards of sixty mills upon it. It has a number of branches;
and about one hundred miles from its mouth it forms sin¬
gular rapids, the stream being compressed to ten yards in
width, and falling two hundred feet within no great dis¬
tance. The country between the Great and Little Miami
is in general finely watered, healthy, pleasant, and fertile,
and may be characterised as the garden of the state. The
Scioto is a considerable river of Ohio, and has the whole
of its course in the state, being little short of two hundred
miles, one hundred and thirty of which are navigable. It
rises in a morass north of Logan county, in the southern
division of the state, and has generally a south-easterly
course. The banks of the Scioto now rank amongst the
most fertile, eligible, and pleasant parts of the state. Be¬
tween this river and the Muskingum is situated the great
Hockhocking and its waters. It has a deep and still but
narrow channel, and is navigable for boats forty miles above
its mouth, having also a number of mills erected on it. The
Muskingum rises near the sources of the Cuyahoga of Lake
Erie, in the southern part of Connecticut Reserve. Its
course is remarkably sinuous, but its general direction is to
the southward. It has a long course, traversing a number
of counties, is boatable in good stages of the water one hun¬
dred miles by the course of the river, and enters the Ohio at
Marietta by a mouth two hundred and fifty yards wide.
The Mahoning is also a large stream, which, with those al¬
ready described, may be considered as belonging to the
southern division of the state. In the north there is the
Maumee, which rises in the north-eastern angle of the state
of Indiana, and flows in a north-eastern direction, across the
north-western borders of the state of Ohio, into the western
extremity of Lake Erie. I his important rivei has u course
of one hundred miles, and is a broad, deep, navigable
stream. It has a valuable fishery, and its banks in the
season of vegetation are remarkable for the luxuriance of
their verdure. The St Joseph, the St Mary s, and the
Great and Little Au Glaize, are considerable tributary
streams of the Maumee. The Sandusky rises in the wes¬
tern limits of Richland county, and runs in a general north-
w'est direction ninety miles to the lake. It is more rapid
than the other lake streams, but yet affords good naviga¬
tion. Cuyahoga rises in the central parts of Geauga county,
and falls into the lake at Cleveland, after a course of sixty
miles, for the greater part of which distance it is boatable.
Chagrin, Grand, Ashtabula, and Coneaught, are consider¬
able streams, which rise near the lake, run in a norther¬
ly direction, and discharge their waters into it. _
Ohio possesses an extensive and rich coal region in itSMii
eastern and north-eastern divisions, on the Muskingum, the
II tinvA uw*       ~ i ■
Hockhocking, and the Scioto. The mineral is not only in
great abundance, but of the best quality ; and m the same
region vast quantities of iron ore are found. Limestone,
marble, and freestone abound ; they are easily accessible,
and are admirably adapted to building and public works.
The useful earths and fossils are also in abundance. Spe¬
cimens of gypsum are procured from Sandusky Bay. halt
springs are common, and some of them contain as mud
saline matter as the waters of the ocean. Nearly halt a no -
lion bushels of salt are annually manufactured in the state.
Those springs the waters of which are drank for medicma
purposes are most of them more or less impregnated wi
muriate of soda. The Yellow Springs, the most celebrated
watering-place after Harrodsburgh Springs in the wes
countryf are situated near the tails of the Miami, sixty-
three miles from Cincinnati. The antiquities wine
long to this state are somewhat similar to those desc
in the article New York ; mounds of earth, in which
been found domestic utensils, pottery, vases, and tnn
OHIO.
327
Instruments of warfare have likewise been dug up, amongst
^ which Mr Flint mentions a curious sword and an iron horse¬
shoe of a diminutive size.
Except along the deep vales of the Ohio, and those of the
other streams near their influx into that great recipient, the
climate is as uniform as the surface, and considerably more
severe in the winter season than in corresponding latitudes
on the Atlantic. But the other seasons are warmer, and
the nature and luxuriance of the vegetation indicates a
temperature of greater mildness in general. The summers
are warm, and pretty regular, although to a certain extent
subject to tornadoes. The central parts of the state are
in the same latitude with Philadelphia. The mean tem¬
perature of the year at this city was found to be 53°; but
during the same year that of Ohio was two degrees higher.
As we recede from the Ohio, the temperature diminishes
in a greater ratio than the latitude would indicate; but
in general throughout the state there is a striking cor¬
respondence between the two. Whilst the summers are
warm, the winters are very severe, and the river Ohio has
occasionally been crossed at Cincinnati for nine consecu¬
tive weeks. At other times this season of the year is mild ;
but during the winter months the transitions from heat
to cold and the reverse are frequent and violent. In that
part of the state which slopes to the south, the snow sel¬
dom falls deep or lies long; but in Connecticut Reserve,
and in the points which slope towards the lakes, they have
deep and durable snows. Autumn is almost uniformly tem¬
perate, dry, and beautiful; and spring is also a pleasant
season. Ihe winds of Ohio, whether high or low, gene¬
rally blow from the west and south-west at all times. In
some parts, near marshes and stagnant waters, fevers and
agues frequently prevail; but the climate in general is de¬
cidedly healthy.
The soil and the climate of Ohio together are admirably
adapted to the most valuable vegetable productions which
grow in such a latitude. The soil is very productive, with¬
out, however, being so remarkable in this respect as some
parts ot Illinois and Missouri. After the severity of win¬
ter abates, which is early in February, vegetation begins
to put forth its powers ; and as the heat of spring and sum¬
mer takes effect upon the soil, it advances with astonishing
rapidity. Ohio, generally, has a soil admirably adapted to
wheat. Indian corn is the staple grain, and it is nowhere
raised more easily, or in greater abundance. On rich allu-
'ial soils 110 bushels have been produced from an acre;
but fifty may be considered as about the average crop.
Rye, barley, oats, spelts, buckwheat, and all other grains,
are raised in great abundance and perfection. Melons,
squashes, pumpkins, the pulses, garden vegetables both
bulbous and others, as potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, pars¬
nips, asparagus of the best description, and various culi¬
nary products of the soil, attain the highest development.
From its stiff, clayey nature, the soil retains moisture well,
an is better fitted for gardens than the soils farther west.
Fruits of all kinds are raised in the greatest profusion;
and apples in particular are very plentiful. Pears, plums,
peaches, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and what not, are
cu tivated to such an extent as amply to supply the mar-
ets. “ In a few years,” says Mr Flint, “ this state will
a e place of any in the Union, in the abundance and ex-
ce ence of its fruits of all kinds. From the fulness and
nc ness of the clusters of cultivated grapes, it is clear that
ns oug it to be a country of vineyards. The Germans
iave already made a few establishments of the kind with
an ,ir(!.success\ Apricots, nectarines, and quinces succeed;
, 18 state is the appropriate empire of Pomona. Re-
FI ^ .acco ^a.s been added to the articles cultivated,
stilt Lm4 ls.an article of cultivation in some parts of the
slow' ^ Sncultural improvement, however, proceeds with
pace. Ihe people generally are not at all given to ex¬
periment, and continue to farm in the old and beaten rou- Ohio,
tine....Besides trees, shrubs, and vines, this state produces
a great abundance of indigenous productions that are use¬
ful in medicine. We may mention actea racemosa, squaw
root, Virginia snake root, Indian turnip, ginseng, which is
dug in considerable quantities as an article of commerce,
Colombo, labelia, valerian, blood root or sanguinaria, cana¬
densis, and various other herbaceous medicinal plants.”
This state, being more populous than any other in the Commerce,
west, and possessing in many respects manufacturing capa¬
bilities, has taken precedence of all the rest in manufactures.
Cotton yarn, cloth, and woollen goods, are already manu¬
factured to a considerable extent, as are also flour and spi¬
rits ; and family manufactures are likewise industriously
prosecuted. The principal domestic articles of trade are
horses, cattle, swine, whisky, flour, and tobacco. Those
articles which are exported from the northern and some
interior counties are frequently sent to Montreal and New
York markets, by way of Lake Erie. From the southern
parts of the state they are transported down the Ohio and
Mississippi to New Orleans. Foreign goods are received
from the same place by the steam-boats, and from Phila¬
delphia and Baltimore across the Alleghany Mountains.
“ The surplus produce of the state of Ohio,” says Mr Pit¬
kin, in his Statistical View of the Commerce of the United
States, “ it is believed, may be calculated at about ten mil¬
lions. The exports of Cincinnati alone, in 1833, were va¬
lued at five millions of dollars. This amount does not pro¬
bably exceed the truth, when it is considered that the
number of hogs slaughtered in that city in 1833 was
123,859, which would make as many, and probably more,
barrels of pork, and, in the same year, 21,880 barrels of
pork came to that city by the Miami Canal, making about
150,000 barrels in the whole, and which, at nine dollars
per barrel, would be 1,359,000 dollars; and that in 1834,
the number slaughtered was 150,000. And we cannot but
here remark, that the whole quantity of pork exported
from the United States in 1833 was only 105,870 barrels,
leaving in favour of Cincinnati 45,000 barrels.” It is of
course taken for granted, that of the 150,000 barrels of
pork said to be made at this city, all above the 45,000 en¬
tered as having been exported was reserved for home
consumption. Mr Pitkin continues, “ the exports of Cleve¬
land on Lake Erie, in the same year, was 1,794,000 dol¬
lars coastwise, and 250,000 to foreign places, and from
Huron 274,840 dollars; and from the country of Muskin¬
gum, on the river of that name, and from the flourishing
village of Zanesville, with her numerous flourishing mills,
as ascertained by those well acquainted with the facts,
was 500,000 dollars. The value of the exports from these
places alone make about seven millions and three quar¬
ters ; and when it is considered that the quantity of to¬
bacco raised in Ohio in 1833 was 10,000 hogsheads, only
3000 of which is included in the above exports from Mus¬
kingum, and when to these are added the exports from the
Sciota valley, and from many other places on the Ohio
River, and on the lake, we apprehend that the surplus pro¬
duce of Ohio cannot be less than ten millions of dollars.”
The following account of the statistics of Ohio for 1836 Statistics,
is taken from the American Almanac for 1837.
Value of Taxable Property.
Dollars.
Lands (17,819,631 acres), including buildings.58,166,821
Town lots, including houses, mills, &c 15,762,594
Horses (262,291, valued at forty dollars each).10,491,640
Cattle (455,487, valued at eight dollars each)...4,043,896
Merchants’ capital and money at interest 7,262,927
Pleasure-carriages, 2603, valued at 199,518
Total 95,927,396
328
0 II I O.
Ohio.
Taxes Levied.
, Dollars.
State and canal tax inr ro
County and school tax 
Township tax l^7’97r rq
Corporation, jail, and bridge tax , j t ?q
Physicians’ and lawyers’ tax    Iqq.dI
School-house tax io’Sl.q?
Delinquencies of former years °
Total 777,782-05
Foreign debt, 4,400,000 dollars
Domestic do 579,287 dollars
-legal interest...260,000
-ditto 34,757
294,757
Railroads.
the Miami university, at Oxford, with eight instructors, 0hiM
eighty al umni, seventeen ministers, one hundred and twenty- R—y.,
six students, and 1200 and 2500 volumes respectively in
the college and students’ libraries; the Franklin university,
at New Athens; the Western Reserve university, at Hud¬
son ; the Kenyon university, at Gambier; the Granville
university, at Granville; the Marietta university, at Ma¬
rietta ; the Oberlin institution, at New Illyria; and the
Willoughby university, at Chagrin ; all of which are smal¬
ler than the first two, but have from fifty to one hundred
students. There are five theological seminaries, a pres-
byterian college at Cincinnati, and another at Hudson, a
Protestant episcopal college at Gambier, a Lutheran the¬
ological school at Columbus, and a Fnptist institution of
the” same kind at Granville. There are two medical
schools; one at Cincinnati, having six professors, and an¬
other at Northing, with four professors. There is a law
college at Cincinnati, which has three professors. Amongst
institutions of a public character may be mentioned an
asylum for the deaf and dumb, which has been established
at Columbus. Literature is making considerable progress
in Ohio. In 1810 there were only fourteen newspapers
in the state, and in 1834 their number amounted to 140.
There are, besides, several other periodicals of a literary
and scientific nature. _ ,
Almost every religious denomination is found in thisRelig®
state, but the Presbyterians and Methodists predominate.
In 1831, which is the latest complete return that we have
obtained, the numbers were, of Presbyterians, 22,150 com¬
municants, having 346 churches; of Baptists, 8801 com¬
municants, having 240 churches ; of Methodists, 36,064
members; of Lutherans, 8706 communicants; of Associate
Presbyterians, sixty-five congregations; of German Re¬
formed, eighty-two congregations. The Episcopalians had
also sixteen ministers, and the New Jerusalem church four
societies; and there were, besides, a number of Friends
Total...4,979,287
Canal tolls for 1835, and receipts from the sale
of Ohio canal lands 306,906
Amount of school funds on loan to the state,
15th November 1835 803,432
Although the first permanent settlement was made in
Ohio not more than fifty years ago, and although it was ad¬
mitted into the Union as a state as recently as 180~, yet it
has now become one of the most considerable states in the
union, has entered largely into the system of internal im¬
provement, and has constructed one of the longest canals
in the world. The state canals are under the direction of
a board of canal commissioners ; and the Ohio and Miami
Canals, which, together with their branches, are more
than four hundred miles in extent, have been constructed at
the expense of the state. For an account of the canals of
Ohio, see the article Navigation, Inland.
Railroads have likewise been constructed on the same
extensive scale, and numbers of them are in course of being
Ohio Canal,'the length being 180 miles. There are some
others of smaller size; and some idea may be formed o
the extent to which these works are carried, from the fact
that no less than twenty-eight companies were incorporat¬
ed in the year 1836. In connection with trade and internal
improvement may be mentioned the banks of Ohio. In
the year 1835 there were thirty-one banks in this state;
and the condition of twenty-nine of these, from which re¬
turns were received, was, that they had of specie 1,906,/ io,
and of capital 6,390,741; and that their circulation was
5,654,048. The legal interest in Ohio is six per cent.; but
there is no law against usury, so that in some parts it is
seldom less, and often more, than ten per cent.
Education A laudable zeal has been shown to diffuse education
and iitera-throughout this state. In the year 1825 the New England
ture. system of tuition was introduced into Ohio, and by various
' emendatory enactments it has now acquired a degree of
form and consistency. By an act of the state the trustees
of every incorporated township are required to divide it
into a suitable number of school districts, the prudential
concerns of which are managed by three school directors,
a clerk, and a treasurer. The funds for maintaining this
vast system arise from various sources besides the easy tax
of one mill upon a dollar, constituting a large and growing
revenue. By this act it is provided that the youth of
every class, without distinction, shall be instructed in read¬
ing, writing, and arithmetic, as well as in other necessary
branches of education. There are no less than nine col¬
leges or universities, viz. the university of Ohio, at Athens,
with five instructors, seventy-two alumni, twenty-six minis¬
ters, forty-five students, and about a thousand volumes in
the’college library, and as many in that of the students ;
of this state, that there is a greater number of professors
of religion, in proportion to the whole number of the peo¬
ple, than in any state in the Union. There are a vast
number of religious societies; but there is not a great
number that have regularly established pastors. 1 he cus¬
tom of itinerating preaching, as a supply, is very preva¬
lent. The people are generally a quiet, orderly, peaceable,
moral, and industrious race. Suicide, excesses, murders
in affray, and instances of deliberate and atrocious cruelty,
are rare ; and the general moral character of the people
is highly respectable.”
From the census of 1830 we learn that there were at
that time in Ohio the remains of Indian tribes, amounting
to 2350 persons. They then owned 390,846 acres of land,
besides 16,200 acres which were secured to individuals
belonging to the several tribes. These lands are securet
bv treaty to the Wyandotes, Shawnees, Senecas, Dela¬
wares, and Ottawas; the other remnants of tribes being
classed with these. Some of them have sold their shares,
but to those which still hold them, considerable annul
ties are paid by the national government. The numb
of individuals belonging to these tribes is grac uu y
nishing, and they must soon entirely disappear in the tin
of white population which is fast overspreading their n
tive territories. There are not many negroes m Ohio, a
none are held as slaves. Few descr puons of ,he h*
tants are exempted from military duty. rhe.m *
this state is principally composed of hardy agnmil ^
and exceeds one hundred and fifty thousand nj6?- ^ P
tion of the land in Ohio still belongs to the Untt^e.
In the north-east part of the state there is a tract con
ing 3,300,000 acres, called New Connecticut, or
Ohio
O H I O.
ticut Western Reserve. The fee of these lands is in the acres, called the Virginia military lands, which are situ-
'state of Connecticut, but Ohi has the jurisdiction. The ated between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers. The'
state of Virginia also owns a tract of above four millions of following table exhibits the
Population of the Counties and County Towns of the State of Ohio in 1830.
329
Ohio.
Counties.
Adams 
Allen 
Ashtabula 
Athens 
Belmont 
Brown 
Butler  
Champaign 
Clark 
Clermont 
Clinton  
Columbiana 
Coschocton  
Crawford 
Cuyahoga 
Dark 
Delaware 
Fairfield 
Fayette 
Franklin 
Gallia 
Geauga 
Green 
Guernsey 
Hardin 
Hamilton 
Hancock 
Harrison 
Henry 
Highland 
Hocking 
Holmes  
Huron  
Jackson 
Jefferson 
Knox 
Lawrence 
Licking 
Lorain 
Logan 
Madison 
Marion 
Medina 
Meigs 
Mercer 
Miami 
Monroe 
Montgomery 
Morgan 
Muskingum 
Paulding 
Perry 
Pickaway...
Pike....' 
Portage 
Preble 
Putnam 
Kichland 
Carry forward.
vol. xvi.
Population
in 1830.
12,278
578
14,584
9,763
28.412
17,867
27,044
12,130
13,074
20,466
12,292
35,508
11,162
4,778
10,360
6,203
11,523
24,788
8,180
14,766
9,733
15,813
15,084
18,036
52,321
813
20,920
260
16,347
4,008
9,133
13,345
5,974
22,489
17,124
5,366
20,864
5,696
6,442
6,190
6,558
7,560
6,159
1,110
12,806
8,770
24,252
11,796
29,325
160
14,018
15,935
6,024
18,827
16,255
230
24,007
764,727
Square
Miles.
550
542
705
744
536
492
486
417
412
515
400
865
562
584
475
660
610
540
415
520
495
600
416
621
500
400
575
450
474
555
432
400
840
492
400
610
426
666
555
425
448
527
473
405
570
444
563
450
500
664
432
402
495
414
752
432
576
900
31,032
County Towns.
Popula-
tion.
West Union 
Wapaghkonetta 
Jefferson  
Athens  
St Clairsville 
Georgetown  
Hamilton 
Urbana 
Springfield 
Batavia   
Wilmington 
New Lisbon 
Coschocton 
Bucyrus 
Cleveland 
Greenville 
Delaware 
Lancaster 
Washington 
Columbus 
Gallipoli's 
Chardon (township).
Xenia 
Cambridge 
Hardy 
Cincinnati 
Findlay  
Cadiz  
Damascus 
Hillsborough 
Logan 
Millersburg 
Norw'alk 
Jackson 
Steubenville 
Mount Vernon 
Burlington 
Newark 
Illyria. 
Belle Fontaine 
London  
Marion 
Medina (township)....
Chester 
St Mary’s 
Troy 
Woodsfield 
Dayton  
M‘Connesville  
Zanesville  
Somerset 
Circleville  
Piketon.  
Ravenna (township)
Eaton 
Sugar Grove  
Mansfield 
429
2*70
729
789
325
1,097
1,102
1,080
426
607
1,138
333
298
1,076
160
532
1,530
300
2,437
755
881
919
518
24,8*31
52
820
*5*64
97
319
310
329
2,937
1,021
149
999
668
266
249
287
622
164
92
504
157
2,965
267
3,094
576
1,136
271
806
511
8*40
Distance from
Cincinnati. Washington
101
110
191
73
124
104
101
50
43
109
67
152
84
69
138
103
23
28
45
108
157
57
83
66
112
114
124
161
74
47
80
113
74
149
45
135
34
130
62
27
47
111
94
111
78
140
66
70
59
46
26
65
127
92
148
71
460
507
325
344
275
480
488
447
437
476
444
282
336
409
354
501
419
372
422
396
362
332
453
314
436
497
502
278
485
441
370
341
399
387
260
375
405
362
377
458
423
416
357
343
508
474
294
462
340
336
354
394
409
320
488
538
380
2 T
O H I 0=
Counties.
Brought forward
Ross 
Sandusky 
Scioto 
Seneca 
Shelby 
Stark 
Trumbull 
Tuscarawas# 
Union 
Van Wert 
Warren 
Washington 
Wayne 
Williams '
Wood 
Population
in 1830.
Square
Miles.
764,727
24,053
2,851
8,730
5,148
3,671
26,784
26,154
14,298
3,192
49
21,493
11,731
23,344
377
1,095
31,032
672
656
581
546
418
780
875
654
430
432
400
670
660
600
744
County Towns.
Popula¬
tion.
Distance from
Cincinnati.! Washington.
Total  937,679 40,150
Chillicothe 
Lower Sandusky 
Portsmouth 
Tiffin 
Sydney  
Canton  
Warren 
New Philadelphia 
Marysville 
Wiltshire !
Lebanon |
Marietta 
Woosterj 
Defiance 
Perry sburgh 
2,846
351
1,064
248
240
1,257
510
410
142
1,207
977
52
182
45
103
91
85
86
116
157
107
37
146
83
106
86
175
135
404
428
421
431
482
319
297
314
433
533
468
304
347
511
460
01;
The increase of population in the state of Ohio has been
rapid almost beyond example. In the year was
only about 3000; in 1800, 45,365; in 1810, 230,/60; in
1820, 581,434 ; and in 1830, 937,679. .
For an account of Cincinnati, the principal city ol Ohio,
see the article Cincinnati. Columbus, the political me¬
tropolis, is situated near the centre of the state, upon the
east bank of the Scioto River. The beautiful slope on
which it stands, just below the confluence of the Whet¬
stone River with the Scioto, was a compact forest m 181 —
It is now cleared and well cultivated, and the city con¬
tains some excellent public buildings, including a peniten¬
tiary an asylum for the deaf and dumb, and above three
thousand inhabitants. Steubenville, the seat of justice
for Jefferson county, is situated on the western bank of the
Ohio, near the Pennsylvania boundary. It was laid out
with great regularity in 1798, and is situated in the centre
of a rich and populous country. It has the usual number
of public buildings found in towns of the same size, and it
possesses cotton, woollen, and other manufactures. Cml-
licothe is finely situated upon a level alluvial plain on the
west bank of the Scioto, forty-five miles in a right line from
its entrance into the Ohio. It was laid out with great re¬
gularity in 1796, and contains some handsome buildings.
It possesses several cotton factories, and a number of flour
and other mills. Marietta, the oldest town in the state, is
situated on the Ohio, a little above the mouth of the Mus¬
kingum River. Ships were formerly built here, but this
busmess has been discontinued, and the town, although very
advantageously placed, has not prospered like many others
in the state less favourably situated. Sixty miles north of
Marietta, on the Muskingum, is the town of Zanesville,
principally distinguished for its manufactures of iron. Here
there are likewise a number of flour and other mills, diiven
by the waters of the Muskingum; and two or three glass¬
houses. Cleveland, situated upon the southern shore of
Lake Erie, at the mouth of Cuyahoga River, is destined,
from its position, to become an important town. It is one
of the principal points for embarkation on the lake, and
durin0- the last American war was a provision depot, and a
place where many boats and other lake craft were built.
Cleveland is intermediate between Buffalo and Cincinnati,
and is the depot of that vast quantity of merchandise which
is destined for the east and west. One of the most im¬
portant places on Lake Erie is Sandusky, situated on the
southern shore of a bay of the same name. Although it
is comparatively a young settlement, it has a great number
of stores, and is one of the chief points of landing and em¬
barkation between the Mississippi Valley and New York,
Buffalo, and Detroit. The other ports or harbours on
Lake Erie are Put*in Bay, Maumee Bay, Fair Port, and
Ashtabula Creek. The relative importance of these, as
well as the other towns belonging to Ohio, will be seen
from our tabular view of the counties and county towns.
The first permanent settlement in the state of Ohio was
made at Marietta, on the 7th of April 1788, by forty-seven
persons from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connect!
cut. In the year following a settlement was made at Co
lumbia, six miles above Cincinnati, by a company princi
pally from Pennsylvania. In September 1799, the first ter
ritorial legislature assembled at Cincinnati, under the ordi
nance of congress of the 13th July 1786, for the government
of the territory of the United States north-west of the river
Ohio. On the 30th of April 1802, congress passed an act
authorizing the calling of a convention to form a state con¬
stitution for that part of the North-west Territory which
now constitutes the state of Ohio. On the 1st of Novem¬
ber following the convention met at Chillicothe, and loraiea
the present constitution, by which Ohio was admitted into
the union. The following is an outline of the constitution
of Ohio. The legislative power is vested in a senate amt
house of representatives, which together are styled the
General Assembly of the State of Ohio. The represen¬
tatives are elected annually on the second luesday m Oc¬
tober ; and they are apportioned amongst the counties ac¬
cording to the number of white male inhabitants ab
twenty-one years of age. Their numbers cannot e es
than thirty-six, nor more than seventy-two. The senate
are chosen biennially, and are apportioned according
the number of white male inhabitants of twenty one y
of age. Their number cannot be less than one thir , n
more than one half of the number of representatives, i
executive power is vested in a governor, who is e
by the people for two years, on the second Iuestla.y ,
tober ; and his term of service commences on
Monday in December. The general assembly me t
nually at Columbus, on the first Monday in Decem
The right of suffrage is granted to all white ma ^
tants above the age of twenty-one years, wio ^
sided in the state one year next preceding the
and who have paid or are charged with a state J
tax. The judicial power is vested in a “the,
courts of common pleas for each county, an ^
courts as the legislature may from time to tim
Ohi
O H I
The judges are elected by a joint ballot of both houses of
'the general assembly, for the term of seven years, (r. r. r.)
Ohio, a great river of the valley of the Mississippi, in
North America, formed by the confluence of the Alleghany
and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, in the western part
of Pennsylvania. The highest sources of the Alleghany are
in Potter county, Pennsylvania, twelve miles to the east¬
ward of Condersport, where they interlock with the head
waters of the Genessee River, and the eastern and western
branches of the Susquehannah. During its course through
Pennsylvania, which is exceedingly irregular, it is joined
by several streams, the most considerable of which are, To¬
by’s Creek, extending one hundred miles into the interior
of Pennsylvania, and the Kiskiminitas, formed by the junc¬
tion of the Conemaugh and Loyalhanna, which rise near
the Alleghany Mountains, one hundred miles distant. This
branch of the Ohio, although its volume is not apparently
wider than the other, is by far the most important tribu¬
tary. It has a swift, sweeping, and rapid current, and
often a rocky bottom, whence huge blocks rise to the sur¬
face of the water. In the spring time, when it is full, flat
and keel boats descend it rapidly, without any danger.
It has been navigated by steam-boats, but has been found
one of the most difficult currents to stem ever attempted
by these vessels. Monongahela River, the other fork of
the Ohio, rises in Virginia, about seventy miles north-west
of Morgantown. It traverses a rich and well-settled coun¬
try, celebrated for its whisky, flour, and iron manufac¬
tures. The banks are often bold and high bluffs, and in
some places the country is hilly. In good stages of the
water, it is boatable by large boats for about one hundred
miles from its mouth. During its course it receives the
waters of a number of tributary streams, the most important
of which is the Youghiogeny River, or, as it is commonly
called, the Yough, which rises near the upper waters of the
Potomac, the rivers being only separated by a spur of the
mountains. From the western declivity of these moun¬
tains, both this and the main river receive a great acces¬
sion of mountain streams. The united current, which
has now become broad and majestic, flows in a north-west
course to Pittsburgh, and where it unites with the Alle¬
ghany it is more than four hundred yards in breadth. At
the confluence of the two great branches, the Ohio is
somewhat more than six hundred yards wide, and it im¬
mediately assumes that broad, placid, and beautiful aspect
which it maintains to its junction with the Mississippi, in
latitude 37. 0. north, and longitude 88. 52. west. Its length
from Pittsburgh to its mouth is about nine hundred miles,
including the windings of the river; but the direct dis¬
tance is only six hundred and fourteen miles. Its breadth
varies exceedingly, being in some parts fourteen hundred
yards, whilst in others it is only four hundred yards across.
At Cincinnati it is about eight hundred yards wide, and
this is nearly its average breadth. For thirty miles below
Pittsburgh its course is north-west. It then turns slowly
to the west-south-west, and pursues that general direction
or some five hundred miles. It flows south-west for
a)ove one hundred and fifty miles, then westward above
two hundred and fifty miles, and finally south-west about
I one hundred and seventy miles through that low and
swampy country in which it joins the “ Father of waters.”
etween Pittsburgh and its mouth it is diversified with
a out one hundred considerable islands, besides a great
number of tow-heads and sand-bars, which in lowr stages
o tie water greatly impede navigation. Some of these
is anas are of exquisite beauty, and afford most lovely si-
uations for retired farms. The passages between them
uac t e sand-bars at their head are amongst the difficulties
0 ie navigation of the river. Notwithstanding these ob-
suic cs, however, it is well adapted for boat navigation, the
rnnent being remarkably smooth and gentle, excepting
O I A
331
at Louisville in Kentucky, where it is broken by falls, theOhittahoo
. cu:
water running for several miles with great rapidity, al¬
though not so much so as to be insurmountable by boats.,
A canal round these falls, a work of great magnitude and
utility, has been completed. The annual range of the
Ohio, from low to high water, is about fifty feet; the ex-
tieme lange is ten feet more. When lowest it may be
folded at several places above Louisville. It is generally^
lowest in August, September, and October, and highest
in December,' March, May, and June. Throughout the
year it is subject to sudden and very considerable eleva¬
tions and depressions. Near Pittsburgh it is frequently
frozen over for several weeks during the winter, and this
has sometimes been the case four hundred miles lower
down. Generally, the navigation upward is suspended by
floating ice for eight or ten weeks in winter. When the
river is at its mean height, its current is about three miles
an hour; when higher and rising it is more, and when
very low it does not exceed two miles an hour. Above
two hundred steam-boats ply on the Ohio, a great part of
which are employed in the commerce of the states bor¬
dering on the river; but they also connect with it the
commerce of the states on the Mississippi. The produce
of the contiguous states is readily transported to this chan¬
nel by the numerous navigable rivers which it receives,
and is thence conveyed to New Orleans, the grand com¬
mercial emporium of the valley of the Mississippi. The
Ohio and all its tributaries cannot, it is believed, have less
than five thousand miles of boatable waters ; and, taking all
circumstances into account, few rivers in the world can vie
with it, either in utility or beauty. From its very com¬
mencement it affords most delightful prospects. Rivers
of a romantic and beautiful character flow into it almost
at equal distances, like lateral canals. Its valleys are of
extraordinary depth and fertility ; generally high and dry,
and for the most part healthy ; whilst the configuration
of the country on the banks has much grandeur, softness,
and variety. Of the rivers and creeks which join the Ohio,
the number is very great. The following are all navigable,
in moderate or high stages of the water, by steam-boats, for
considerable distances, viz. the Muskingum, Great Kenhawa,
Big Sandy, Scioto, Great Miami, Kentucky, Green, Wa¬
bash, Cumberland, and Tennessee. The last is by far the
largest and most important tributary of the Ohio, watering
considerable portions ofAlabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Of creeks and smaller rivers there are probably nearly tvvo
hundred which enter the Ohio; but a list of them would
only be a dry catalogue of uncouth names. (r. r, r.)
OHITTAHOO, one of the Marquis of Mendoza’s
Islands, in the Southern Pacific Ocean. It is about nine
miles in length and twenty-one in circumference, and is in¬
tersected by a narrow ridge of hills, which are divided by
deep, narrow, and fertile valleys, well watered, and adorn¬
ed with trees. This, with other three islands which lie
near it, was discovered in July 1595, by Alvaro Mendana,
who gave them then name, in honour of the viceroy of
Peru. A cove in which the European vessels usually an¬
chored is situated in long. 139, 8. W. and lat. 9. 55. S.
OHRDRUFF, a city of the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Al-
tenburg, in Germany, the capital of a bailiwick of the
same name, which, besides the city, contains six villages,
1700 houses, and 7000 inhabitants. It belongs to Prince
FIohenlohe-Neuenstein. The city stands near the borders
of the 1 huringian Mountains, on the small river Ohre. It
is surrounded with walls, and has a palace for the prince,
four churches, a lyceum, an hospital, 840 dwellings, and
3480 inhabitants, who are industrious in making wood
waie, in tanning leather, and in producing paper, copper
utensils, and several smaller articles.
OIA, a river of Asiatic Russia, which falls into the Gulf
of Obskaia. Long. 72. 24. E. Lat. 68. N.
Oia.
332
Oil
Okhotzk.
O K H
OLD
OIL. an unctuous and inflammable substance, obtained
from several natural bodies, as animal and vegetable sub-
stances.
OISE, a department of the north of France, formed out
of the ancient Isle of France, and the districts of Beauvaisis
and Valois. It extends in north latitude from 49. 7. to 49.
38. and in east longitude from 1. 28. to 3. 4. It is bounded
on the north by the Somme, on the east by the Aisne, on
the south by the Seine and Marne and the Seine and Oise,
and on the west by the Eure ; and it is divided into four
arrondissements, which are subdivided into thirty-five can¬
tons and 738 communes. It extends over 2428 square
miles, and, according to the census of 1836, contains 398,641
inhabitants, and elects three deputies to the national re¬
presentative body. The face of the country is plain or un¬
dulating, with a chain of calcareous hills of moderate height,
of which Mount Csesar on the eastern part is the highest.
The soil is various, being in some parts clayey and in others
sandy with marl, and generally a calcareous subsoil, except
in the marshy portions near the streams. The Oise runs
through it till it falls into the Seine, and it is navigable for
barges. The Aisne, another navigable river, passes through
a part of this department before it joins the Oise, ihere
are a great number of smaller streams, some with and
some without a name, all of which reach the sea ultimately
through the Seine. The climate is dry and healthy, ex¬
cept in the marshy parts and near the woods, which cover
about one seventh part of the whole surface. The agri¬
culture is tolerably conducted ; but the paucity of manure
causes a great part of the land to be left fallow; yet it yields
more corn than is required for the consumption, and m
average years can spare one fourth of its growth for the
supply of the surrounding departments. Besides corn, it
yields a vast quantity of fruit, especially cherries, which
can be conveyed by the rivers to Paris and other large
cities. A great quantity of apples is converted into cider.
The vines in general produce only a weak wine, not capa¬
ble of being long preserved, except some of Ancerville
and of Villars-Saint-Sepulcre, which are preferred to all
the others of Picardy, ihe breeding of horses is careful¬
ly attended to, and some excellent ones are reared, ihe
stock of oxen and sheep is low for the extent of country ,
but the races of the latter have been recently improved
by the crossings with Merinos, and some fine wool is now
furnished to the manufacturers. There are fabrics of
linen, woollen, and cotton goods in several places; a con¬
siderable quantity of thread lace is made by the females;
and there are also many tanneries and potteries. Ihere is
a considerable transit trade on the rivers, and they, as
well as the rivulets, afford much fish.
OKEHAM, or OkhaxM, a market-town, the capital of
the county of Rutland, and situated in a rich valley called
the vale of Cadmus. It is ninety-five miles from London,
and has a good market on Saturday. It has an ancient
castle, now converted into an assize-hall and a county
jail. The parish church, dedicated to All-Saints, is a fine
old structure, with a lofty spire, which is visible a great
way around it. It has no corporation ; but whatever power
of a municipal nature is exercised is derived from the Earl
of Winchelsea or the Dean of Westminster, who are lords
of the two manors into which the town is divided. Near
to it is Burleigh-on-the-Hill, a noble mansion of the Earl of
Winchelsea. The population amounted in 1801 to 1613,
in 1811 to 1719, in 1821 to 2160, and in 1831 to 2440.
OKHOTZK, one of the four circles of Asiatic Rus¬
sia, in the government of Irkoutsk. It extends along the
gulfs of the Eastern Ocean, called the Seas of Okhotzk, of
Kamtschatka, and of Anadir. The climate is damp and
unhealthy, being exposed to thick mists, from so great an
extent of ocean; and the country is not only barren, but un¬
wholesome. This damp and poisonous atmosphere conti¬
nues for ten miles inland, when the sea air is arrested by a Oh;
ridge of moderately-elevated hills. Beyond this boundary |
the&country is more fertile, as trees are found to grow well,
and rich meadows are seen. r*
The town of Okhotzk is built upon a long and narrow
rido’e, enclosed between the sea and the river Okhota, and
formed chiefly from an accumulation of marine debris.
This town consists of 130 houses, extending in a line of
about two thirds of a mile, though it is not more than from
100 to 300 feet broad. It has a church, some magazines,
and a double row of shops. Okhotzk is the channel of
trade between Irkoutsk and Kamtschatka. The goods are
conveyed chiefly by water, there being a very short inter¬
val of land carriage. But it is a tedious and difficult voy-
ao-e, and even dangerous from the barbarous nature of the
people who inhabit the banks of the rivers. The land jour¬
ney is likewise dangerous. So difficult is the country, that
the goods can be carried only on pack-horses, or on men’s
backs, as there are no waggons of any description; and,
on account of the danger of sinking in morasses, it can be
performed only in the spring. The inhabitants of the town
consist chiefly of mariners and Cossacks. Besides the offi¬
cers of the court of justice, there are two priests. Long, of
the town 142. 44. E. Lat. 59. 20. N. The Sea of Okhotzk
is a large gulf of the Eastern Ocean, enclosed between
Kamtschatka, the circle of Okhotzk, part of Chinese Tar¬
tary, and Saghalien. At its mouth are the Kurile Islands
and part of Jesso. .
OKIRAH, a town of Bengal, in the district of Burdwan,
105 miles north-west from Calcutta. Long. 87.15. E. Lat.
23. 38. N.
OLANGO, a small island amongst the Philippines, near
the eastern coast of Siba. Long. 123.51. E. Lat. 10.33. N.
OLCHANSKAIA, a fortress of Asiatic Russia, in the
government of Orenburg, and situated on the small river
Olchanka. It contains a church and several streets, and
forms part of the military line of Samara. The inhabitants
consist chiefly of veteran soldiers. It is L7 miles south¬
east of Orenburg. , r ,
OLDCASTLE, Sir John, commonly called the Good
Lord Cobham, was born in the reign of Edward HI. He
obtained his peerage by marrying the heiress of that Lord
Cobham who had strenuously opposed the tyranny ot
Richard II.; and, with the estate and title of his father-in-
law, he seems to have acquired the patriotic and independ¬
ent spirit for which that nobleman was distinguished, by
his means, the statute against provisors was revived, and
guarded with more severe penalties than ever; and he was
also one of the leaders of the party who, having drawn up a
number of articles against the corruptions which then pre¬
vailed amongst ecclesiastics, presented them in the form
of a remonstrance to the Commons. He was at great pains
in collecting and transcribing the works of Wickhfte, whicn
he dispersed amongst the people; and he sent a number
of his disciples as itinerant preachers into various parts o
the country. In the reign of Henry IV. he comnian f
an English army in France, at that time distracted y
contentions of the two factions of Orleans and Burgun y.
and, in this capacity, he compelled the Duke of Orlean
raise the siege of Paris. In the reign of Henry •
accused of heresy, the growth and extension ot whic
mainly attributed to his influence. 'Hie kinS having t
vour for Lord Cobham, who held a domestic office a >
delayed the prosecution, and kindly undertook, by re
J i     — ... Rim frnm his errors, nw
ing and expostulation, to reclaim him from his errors.
the attempt piuvcuauwiw.^..   r - „ .up soi-
ship, “ I profess obedience to my king; but as to P
, C • p .i  r npvpr see upon wnai
ritual dominion of the pope, I could never see e.-
foundation it is claimed, nor can I pay him any ob ^ ,g
and he added, “ It is as sure as God s word is , ^
the great Antichrist foretold in holy writ. lh
r<
OLD
L s0 different from what had been expected, deeply offended
"the king, who, turning away in visible displeasure, with¬
drew his favour from Cobham, and left him to the censures
of the church, which speedily overtook him. Being sum¬
moned to appear before the archbishop, he disobeyed the
citation, and was excommunicated on the ground of contu¬
macy- Reckless in exposing himself to danger, he seems
to have wanted the courage to confront it boldly when it
appeared in a definite shape. Hoping to avoid the im¬
pending storm, he waited upon the king with a confession
of his faith in writing; but whilst he was in the royal pre¬
sence, an officer of the ecclesiastical court entered, and
cited him to appear before the archbishop, upon which he
was immediately conveyed a prisoner to the Tower. When
brought before the proper tribunal, he read his opinion of
the several articles in regard to which he supposed that
he had been called in question, particularly the eucharist,
images, penance, and pilgrimages; but he was informed,
that in some things he had not been sufficiently explicit
in stating his particular views ; that on all these points the
church had already decided, and by her determinations all
Christians ought to abide ; that these determinations would
be given him as a direction of his faith ; and that, in a few
days, he must appear again and state his opinions. The
second examination, however, ended like the first. Cobham
declared that “ he knew none holier than Christ and his
apostles; and that these determinations were surely none
of theirs, as they were against Scripture.” He was accord¬
ingly condemned as a heretic, and remanded to the Tower;
but he contrived to effect his escape from prison, and lay
concealed in Wales, until information reached the king at
Eltham that about twenty thousand Lollards had assem¬
bled for his destruction at St Giles, with Lord Cobham at
their head. A bill of attainder then passed against him,
a price was set upon his head, and a perpetual exemption
from taxes promised to any town which should secure him.
After having spent four years in Wales, he was at length
seized, carried to London, and executed in St Giles’s
Fields, in December 1417, with circumstances of cruelty
OLD
333
Oldham.
ket-towns, and 776 villages and hamlets, with 233,400 Oldenburg
inhabitants, of whom 161,420 adhere to the Lutheran
church, 68,000 are Catholics, and the remainder, excepting
900 Jews, are Calvinists. The population of the principa¬
lity of Lubeck is 19,070, that of Birkenfeld is 21,180, and
the remainder is found in Oldenburg proper. The reve¬
nues of the state amount to about L. 130,000 annually, aris¬
ing partly from tolls on the Weser, and partly from taxes
on foreign goods, but chiefly from domains. The state
has no debt. The army consists of 16o0 men ; but the
state is bound to contribute to the force of the German
confederacy a contingent of 2177 men. The principal river
is the Weser, into which the smaller streams flow, and it
is the ordinary channel of marine commerce. The soil is
in general poor and sandy, but near to the rivers there are
some rich marshes, obtained by draining and embankments,
which fatten cattle, and afford the productions of the dairy.
The cultivation is badly conducted in the large division.
There are a great number of small proprietors, who culti¬
vate their own fields, and thereby procure a bare subsist¬
ence. The climate is raw, cold, and exceedingly variable.
Oldenburg, a city, the capital of the duchy of the same
name in the north-east of Germany. It is situated on the
river Hunte, which is navigable to the Weser, and is sur¬
rounded with walls planted with lime trees, being well built
and clean, but in an antique style. The duke has a large
and old, but not an elegant palace, on the grand parade,
adjoining to the city. The city contains two churches,
two hospitals, and 660 houses, with 5420 inhabitants, who
subsist chiefly from the expenditure of the court, of the
tribunals, and of the civil officers of the government. It
has little trade excepting at its two great fairs. Long. 8.
6.1. E. Lat. 53. 8. 33. N.
Oldenburg, Henry, was born in the duchy of Bremen,
in Lower Saxony. During the long parliament, he was ap¬
pointed consul for his countrymen, at London, after the
usurpation of Cromwell; but being discharged of that em¬
ployment, he was appointed tutor to the Lord Henry
O’Bryan, an Irish nobleman, whom he attended to the
characteristic of the times. university of Oxford, where he was admitted to study in
As a writer, Lord Cobham is only known by a piece en- the Bodleian Library in the beginning of the vear 1656.
titled “ Twelve Conclusions, addressed to the Parliament He was afterwards tutor to William Lord Cavendish, and
was acquainted with Milton the poet
of England,” at the end of the first book of which are some
monkish rhymes in Latin, which Bale has preserved. “ A
Brefe Chronycle concerning the Examynacyon and Death
of the blessed martyr of Christ, Syr Johan Oldecastell, the
Lorde Cobham,” was also published by Bale, and reprinted
under the care of a Mr Lewis of Margate in 1729. Since
that time the life of Lord Cobham has been written by
Mr Gilpin, who describes him as a person of uncommon
parts and varied talents, well qualified either for the cabinet
or the field; as possessing acquirements equal to his parts ;
and, besides, as remarkable for his ready and poignant wit
in conversation. “ It was "his thirst of knowledge,” adds
his biographer, “ which first brought him acquainted with
the opinions of Wickliffe. The novelty of them engaged
his curiosity. He examined them as a philosopher, and in
the course of his examination became a Christian.” (a.)
OLDENBURG, a sovereign duchy in the north-east of
Germany, but consisting also of two other portions sepa-
iated from it, though both of them are of small extent. One
of these smaller divisions in the north is called the princi¬
pality of Lubeck, consisting of a small territory surround¬
ed by the Danish territory of Holstein, and some small
spots on the banks of the Trave, and near Schwartau, ad¬
joining to the territory of the republic of Lubeck. The
ot ei of these small divisions is on the western side of the
une; it is called the principality of Birkenfeld, and is
w oily surrounded by the Prussian province of the Lower
nne. The whole of these three divisions extend over
2791    CiAVlOlUliO UVCJL
~ square miles, and comprehend nine cities, ten mar-
During his resi¬
dence at Oxford he became acquainted with the members
of that body, which there gave birth to the Royal Society,
upon the foundation of which he was elected a fellow ; and
when the society had found it necessary to have two secre¬
taries, he was chosen as assistant secretary to Dr Wilkins.
He applied himself with extraordinary diligence to the
business of his office, and in the year 1664 began the pub¬
lication of the Philosophical Transactions, which he con¬
tinued to publish to No. xxxvi. 25th June 1677. After
this the publication was discontinued till the January fol¬
lowing, when it was again resumed by his successor in the
office of secretary, Mr Nehemiah Grew, who carried it on
till the end of February 1678. Mr Oldenburg died at his
house at Charleton, near Greenwich, in Kent, in August
1678.
OLDHAM, one of those towns which, within the pre¬
sent generation, have grown up with rapidity since the es¬
tablishment of the cotton manufacture. It is situated in
the hundred of Salford, in the county of Lancaster, eight
miles from Manchester, and 186 from London. It stands
on the river Medlock, very near the source of that and of
another stream called the Irk, in a district abounding in
coal. Oldham had been created into a market-town ; and
was by the reform act constituted a borough, with the power
ot returning two members to the House of Commons. It
is parochially united with Prestwick, and these places com¬
prehend ten townships, extending over 21,160 acres, with
a population, in 1831, of 67,579 persons. The whole is a
334
OLE
O L L
Oldham manufacturing district, making fustians ami spinning cotton Lower Pyrenees, in France, being 972 square miles in ex- Oh,
li yarn, and also having a great trade in making hats. Ihe tent, ltd
Oleron. J ^ . -C —Oirrhtv.nn
yai'xi, — o -- o „
town of Oldham is, for the most part, of very recent erec¬
tion, containing many large piles of buildings destined for
manufacturing purposes, and a proportional number of small
dwellings for the workmen; but all are discoloured by the
smoke which issues from numerous steam-engines, tew of
the proprietors of which reside within the town. It has a
fine large parish church, and, as is usual with such a po¬
pulation, a very great variety of places of worship for the
several discordant and dissenting sects. At the first elec¬
tion for this borough, it was distinguished by its selection
of Mr Cobbett as one of its representatives. The popula¬
tion of the township of Oldham amounted in the year
1801 to 12,024, in 1811 to 16,690, in 1821 to 21,66~, and
in 1831 to 32,381. „ t
Oldham, John, an eminent English poet of the seven¬
teenth century, was educated under his father, a noncon¬
formist minister, and then sent to Edmund Hall in Oxford.
He afterwards became usher to the free school at Croydon
in Surrey, where he received a visit from the Eails of 1 o-
icnt. comprehends eight cantons, which are divided into „
eighty-one communes, and it contains 71,400 inhabitants. vJe;t
The capital is the city of the same name, situated between
the two rivers Gaves d’Aspe and Gaves d’Ossau. It con¬
tains 900 houses, and6400 inhabitants, who are employed
in making thin woollen hosiery and leather. Long. 0. 17.
W. Eat. 43. 10. N.
Oleron, an island situated on the coast of France, in
the department of the Lower Charente. It is about ninety
square miles in extent, and is opposite the mouths of the
rivers Charente and Seudre. It is separated from the
mainland by the strait called the Pertuis de Maubuisson.
Oleron is a fertile spot, especially on the east and south
parts, and yields good corn, wine, and brandy. There are
also extensive marshes, from which salt is collected. It
contains about 13,000 inhabitants, who are expert seamen
and fishermen. .
OLIGARCHY, a form of government in which the ad¬
ministration of affairs is confined to a few hands.
OLIO, or Oglio, a savoury dish, or food, composed of
in KnrrPV WilGTC 110 rCCClvcU. <x visit num ^ • r* • i*
Chester and Dorset, Sir Charles Sedlej and other persons o a
' I. 14. ». W.  O 
OLIVAREZ, Don Gaspar de Guzman Conde de, the
favourite and minister of Philip IV. of Spain, a man of
great parts and boundless ambition. After a restless and
unprincipled career, he was banished to loro, where he
died about the year 1645.
OLIVE’S Island, a small island lying off the south
coast of New Holland, and belonging to the Nuyts Archi¬
pelago. Long. 133. 53. E. Lat. 32. 46. S.
OLIVET, or Mount of Olives, w-as situated to the
east of the city of Jerusalem, and separated from the city
only by the brook Kedron, and by the valley of Jehosha-
phat, which stretches out from the north to the south.
OLIVETAN, Robert, a son of John Calvin. He print¬
ed, at Neufchatel, in 1535, folio, a version of the Bible
into French, which had been translated from the original
Hebrew and Greek. It is written in an uncouth and bar¬
barous style, and is very far from being faithful. The cha¬
racters in which it is printed are Gothic, and the language
i t. •  i i —Yit ic rare.
ciiesier cum  i . i
distinction, merely on account of some verses of his which
they had seen in manuscript. He was successively tutoi
to the sons of several gentlemen ; and having saved a small
sum of money, he came to London, where, being an agree¬
able companion, he became a perfect votary to the bottle.
He was quickly found out by the noblemen who had visited
him at Croydon, and who made him acquainted with Dry-
den. He lived mostly with the Earl of Kingston, at Holme
Pierr-point. in Nottinghamshire, where he died of the small¬
pox in 1683, in the thirtieth year of his age. His acquain¬
tance with learned authors appears, by his satires against
the Jesuits, to have beenconsiderable; and Dryden esteem¬
ed him highly. His works, which are printed in two vols.
12mo, consist chiefly of satires, odes, translations, para¬
phrases of Horace and other authors, elegiac verses, imita¬
tions, parodies, and familiar epistles. _
OLDM1XON, John, a violent party-writer and ill-ma¬
tured critic, who would scarcely have been remembered ; —^ "" ‘It is valued on]y because it is rare,
if Pope, in resentment of Ids abuse, h^d cJvi‘n Relieved to have had a considerable share in this
him to immortality in the Dunciad. \ Pc ^ ” translation Olivetan survived his publication only a short
procured him a place m the L'verpool^whe.e “'^"died aXmJ the year aftHr, having, it ia alleged,
he died at an advanced age, in Lie yec • . f b poisoned on account of his translation. Ohvetans
fugitive pieces, he wrote a History of the Stuarts, in folio, b 1 w d Malinger was reprinted at
a Critical History of England, in two vols. Svo ; a volume B.ble, ^revised by Calvin and^ ^ ^ I ^ ^
of Poems ; and some dramatic pieces.
OLEKMA, a river of Asiatic Russia, in the government
of Irkoutsk, and a tributary of the Lena. Its course is
from south to north, and is in length nearly 600 miles. J he
animal which produced the sable fur formerly haunted its
banks, but it has now disappeared. „ * . . •
OLEKMINSK, a fort and small town of Asiatic Kussia,
in the government of Irkoutsk. It was originally erected
a station for collecting the tribute of furs from the Ya- t„ “nable Wm to speak and write, even upon
koutes, who wander in the neighbouring districts. It .. / s i;ut his works commonly bore marls ol
some twenty houses and a church, and is P p t Addicted to excess in everything, he would
nine miles from the mouth of the Olckma. It is 63- miles g i ^ fortnight ln studying the Code and the Diges.
”SSk ,i... .1 ,1. government of .. 1. »• f iToSiSS»
Olivetan’s
nu wco .^printed at
Geneva, in 1540, in 4to. This edition is still rarer than
the former. It is called the Bible de lEpee, because the
printer had adopted the figure of a sword as his ensign.
OLIVIER, Claude Matthieu, advocate of the parlia¬
ment of Aix, w^as born at Marseilles, in 1701. He a a
principal share in the establishment of the academy of Mar¬
seilles, and was one of its original members. He practiseu
at the bar with considerable success ; and a few houis
of Olensk is situated near the mouth of the Olenek.
OLENUS, a Greek poet, older than Orpheus, who was a
native of Xanthe, a city of Lycia. He composed several
hymns, which were sung in the island of Delos upon festi¬
val days. Olenus is said to have been one of the founders
of the oracle at Delphi; to have been the first who at that
place filled the office of priest of Apollo; and to have given
reS()LERON, an arrondissement of the department of the
a life of frivolity and dissipation, xxc -; - ' •
age of thirty-five. Olivier published, 1. L Histoire de
lippe Roi de Macedoine, et Pere d’Alexandre le G a ^
vols. 12mo; 2. Memoire sur les Secours donn®? ‘ pu.
mains par les Marseillois pendant la Seconde Gu ^
nique ; 3. Memoire sur les Secours donnes aux
par les Marseillois durant la Guerre contre les Gau •
OLLERTON, a small market-town of the coun rish
tingham, in the hundred of Bassetlaw, a part of tne p
Olm
o I. o O L Y 335
of Edwinston, of which it is a chapelry. It is 133 miles corduroys, as well as coarser woollens; some mills for spin- Olpar
from London, and thirteen from Nottingham, and has a ning cotton, several tanneries, some printed cotton wmrks, II
market, which is held on Friday. The population amount- several soap-making manufactories, and a large manufac- 01ymPia-
"'ed in 1801 to 439, in 1811 to 462, in 1821 to 576, and in tory of cards. It also has a considerable trade in cork and''^v,^/
1831 to 658. in wool. Notwithstanding it has suffered severely by the
OLMUTZ, a city of the Austrian province of Moravia, loss of the trade to South America, and by the internal po-
the capital of a circle of the same name, which extends litical dissensions, it has made considerable progress in all
over 2090 square miles, and comprehends twenty-seven branches of industry.
cities, twenty market-towns, and 795 villages, with 410,000 OLPAR, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Gu-
inhabitants. It is for the most part a mountainous country, jerat, and district of Broach, seven miles north from Surat,
and the principal rivers of the province have their sources in Long. 73. 1. E. Lat. 21. 18. N. It is also a small district
it. The southern part is the least hilly, and is a very fertile which was settled as a private estate on the peishwa, by the
and well-cultivated district. The city, which stands on the Mahratta treaty of 1803, but was afterwards taken from him
river March, is fortified, and defended by a citadel, in which on account of his treacherous conduct.
Lafayette was long a prisoner. It is a well-built place, be- OLUTORA, a river of Asiatic Russia, which falls into
ing the see of an archbishop, and the seat of the admini- the Eastern Ocean near the peninsula of Kamtschatka. A
stration of the province ; and it has a lyceum, with a good fort has been constructed by the Russians on its bank, but
library, twenty-six professors, and about 800 students, who this has been twice destroyed bv the Koriaks, a singular
are admitted to graduate in the four faculties of law, phi- race, who take the whale in nets formed of thick ropes,
losophy, medicine, and theology. It contains 680 houses, OLYMPIA, in Ancient Geography, was surnamed Pisa-
and, besides the military, about 12,000 inhabitants. It has tis, and so called from the territory of Pisa, in Elis. Ac-
little trade, and none but small manufactories. Long. 14. cording to Strabo, there was here the temple of Jupiter
4. 45. E. Lat. 49. 32. 43. N. Olympius, before which stood a grove of wild olive trees,
OLNEY, a market-town in the hundred of Newport, in in which was the stadium or foot-course, so called because
the county of Buckingham, fifty-six miles from London, it was the eighth part of a mile; and by it runs the Alpheus,
It is built on the river Ouse, and consists chiefly of one which comes down from Arcadia. Olympia, however, was
long street. The only distinguished object is the parish famous not merely for the temple of Jupiter, but also for a
church, a spacious building, with a spire 185 feet in height, temple of Juno, sixty-three feet in length, with columns
being the most lofty of any in the county. There was for- of the Doric order round it; and a metroum, or temple of
merly considerable occupation here for females in making the mother of the gods, a large Doric edifice, with holy
bone lace; but it has nearly ceased, and been feebly re- treasuries. These, and the porticoes, gymnasium, pryta-
placed by making straw-plaiting for hats. Ihis place was neum, and many more buildings, chiefly in the enclosure,
the residence of the poet Cowper, who drew much of his with the houses of the priests and other inhabitants, ren-
descriptions from the scenery around the town. There dered Olympia a place of no inconsiderable importance,
is a market on Monday, but it has much declined. The The stadium was in the grove of wild olive trees, before
population amounted in 1801 to 2075, in 1811 to 2268, in the great temple; and near it was the hippodrome, or course
1821 to 2339, and in 1831 to 2418. for the races of horses and chariots. The Alpheus flowed
OLONEZ, a government or stadtholderate of Russia, so by from Arcadia, in a copious and pleasant stream, which
called from the city of the same name, and also the river was received on the coast by the Sicilian Sea.
which empties itself into the Lake of Ladoga. It extends , The temple of Jupiter was of the Doric order, sixty-eight
in north latitude from 60. 29. to 66. 30., and in east longi- feet in height to the pediment, ninety-five in width, and two
tude from 29. 45. to 41. 37., and has a superficies of 83,314 hundred and thirty in length ; the cell being encompassed
square miles. It is very thinly peopled, containing not more with columns. It was erected with the stone of the coun-
than 350,000 inhabitants. The southern part of the pro- try ; but the roof was of Pentelican marble, the slabs bein<>-
yince is level, and abounds in lakes and morasses, includ- disposed as tiles, and the access to it was by a winding
mg m the former the large Lake of Ladoga. In the north- staircase. The two pediments were enriched with sculp-
ern part a portion of the Scandinavian range of mountains ture, one having over the centre a statue of Victory gilded,
enters from Sweden and Norway. The soil is generally and underneath a votive buckler of gold. At each corner
sterne, and the climate ungenial; but the former produces there was a gilded vase. Above the columns were fixed
some rye, barley, and oats, though the harvests rarely af- twenty-one gilded bucklers, offered at the conclusion of
ora tour times the quantity of seed that is sown. The most the Achaean war by the Roman general Mummius. The
important products, besides grain, are derived from the gates in the two fronts were of brass, and over them were
orests, which are extensive, and, besides fuel, supply tim- carved the labours of Hercules. Within the cell were
er tor building, as well as tar and pitch. There are some double colonnades, between which was the approach to the
ew mines of iron worked, and the quarries yield marble and image.
o'npS °f ^one, enormous blocks of which are convey- The Jupiter of Olympia was accounted alone sufficient
• . ^etersburg for building. The province is divided to immortalize its sculptor Phidias. It was of ivory and
fishes 1 CirC eS> wlllcl1 contain eight cities and 227 pa- gold, and the head was crowned with olive. In the right
OT OT i • hand was a statue of Victory; and in the left a flowered
nrovinr* Pr? t(?Wn m . e north-east of Spain, in the sceptre, composed of various metals, and on which was an
on the ri 0t V., .oma and Strict of Vique. It is situated eagle. The sandals were of gold, and the vestment was
of the pJrr Vm’ ab°Ut twenty miles t0 the north-west of the same material, being curiously embossed with lilies
against \\ V, berj)na’ so.celebrated for its gallant defence and animals. The throne was gold inlaid with ebony and
fablv welTh u6"0 N ^ surrounded with walls, is tole- ivory, and studded with jewels, intermixed with paintings
Parochial it Wltl several scIuares> and contains three and exquisite figures in relief The pillars between the
pital In tl tW° canventual churches, besides a large hos- feet contributed to its support. Before it were walls, serv-
inhabitant*;16 ^lere a1^ ^000 houses, and about 15,000 ing as a fence, and decorated principally with the exploits
thekinedn’ t/* 18 on.e of’the l?ost industrious places in of Hercules; the portion opposite to the door was of a
fectures off’ll/118 fartl jUlarly distinguished by its manu- blue colour. A family descended from Phidias, and called
11 has too 1 krS°, ’ and °i cotton and woollen stockings, 'phadruntce, or the polishers, had the charge of keeping the
> > several establishments for making serges and wmrk bright and clean. The veil or curtain was of cloth rich
336
O L Y
Olympiad with the purple dye of Phoenicia, and worked with Assyrian
II embroidery; an offering of King Antiochus, and which
Olympic wag ]et down fr0m above by loosening the strings, ine
Games. ima(Te impressed the spectator with an opinion that it was
wider and higher than it actually measured. Its magni¬
tude was such, that, though the temple was very large, the
artist seemed to have erred in the proportions. Ihe got,
sitting, nearly touched the ceiling with his head, and thus
suggested an idea that, if he were to rise up, he would de¬
stroy the roof. A part of the pavement before it was ot
black marble, enclosed in a rim of Parian or white maibie,
within which they poured oil to preserve the ivory.
The altar of Jupiter Olympius was of great antiquity,
and composed of the ashes of the thighs of the victims,
which were carried up and consumed on the top ot it, alon0
with wood of the white poplar tree. The ashes also of the
prytaneum, in which a perpetual tire was kept burning o
a hearth, were removed annually on a fixed day, and sprea
upon it, being first mingled with water from the Alp eus.
The cement, it was affirmed, could be made of that H
only, and therefore this river was much respected, and es¬
teemed the most friendly of any to the god. On each side
of the altar there were stone steps, and its height was about
twenty-two feet. Women and girls, when allowed to vi¬
sit Olympia, were suffered to ascend the basement, which
was an hundred and twenty-five feet in circumference.
The people of Elis sacrificed daily, and private persons as
often as they chose. Olympia was situated upon an emi¬
nence, between two mountains called Ossa and Olympus.
OLYMPIAD, the space of four years, by which tne
Greeks reckoned time. According to the most accurate
and learned computation of the moderns, the first Olym¬
piad fell exactly 776 years before the first year ot Christ,
or 775 years anterior to his birth, in the year ot the Ju¬
lian period 3938, and twenty-two years before the build¬
ing of the city of Rome. The games were exhibited at
the time of the full moon next after the summer solstice;
therefore the Olvmpiads w ere of unequal length, because
the time of the full moon differs eleven days every year;
for which reason they sometimes began the next day alter
the solstice, and at other times four weeks afterwards. Ihe
computation by Olympiads ceased, as some suppose, after
the 304th, in the year 440 of the Christian era. It was
universally adopted, not only by the Greeks, but by many
of the neighbouring countries ; though the Pythian games
still served as an epoch to the people of Delphi and to the
Boeotians, the Nemsean games to the Argives and Arcadians,
and the Isthmian to the Corinthians and the inhabitants
of the isthmus. To the Olympiads history has been greatly
indebted. They have served to fix the time of many mo¬
mentous events; and indeed before this method ot com¬
puting time wras observed, every page ot history is mostly
fabulous, being filled with such obscurity and contradiction,
that no true chronological account can be properly esta¬
blished or maintained with certainty.
OLYMPIC Games w ere solemn games amongst the an¬
cient Greeks, and so called from Olympian Jupiter, to whom
they were dedicated. By some they are said to have been fn st
instituted by him after his victory over the sons of litan ;
whilst others ascribe their institution to Hercules (not the
son of Alcmena, but one of much greater antiquity), others
to Pelops, and others to Plercules the son of Alcmena.
The festival, which lasted five days, began and ended with
a sacrifice to Olympian Jupiter. The intermediate time was
chiefly filled up by the gymnastic exercises, in which a t
freemen of Grecian extraction were invited to contend,
provided they had been born in lawful wedlock, and had
lived untainted by any infamous or immoral conduct. 1 he
preparation for this part of the entertainment was made
n the gymnasium of Elis, a spacious edifice surrounded
by a double range of pillars, with an open area in the
O M A
middle. Adjoining were various apartments, containing (
baths, and other conveniences for the combatants. The
neighbouring country was gradually adorned with porti-u™‘ bo
coes, shady walks, and groves, interspeised with seats and ^
benches ; the whole being originally destined to relieve the^
fatigues and anxiety of the candidates for Olympic fame,
and frequented in later times by sophists and philosophers,
who were fond to contemplate wisdom and communicate
knowledge in those delightful retreats. The order of the
athletic exercises, or combats, wras established by Lycur-
<>•03, and corresponded almost exactly to that described by
Homer in the twenty-third book of the Iliad, and the eighth
of the Odyssey. Iphitus, we are told, appointed the other
ceremonies and entertainments ; settled the regular return
of the festival at the end of every fourth year, in the month
of July; and gave to the whole solemnity that form and
arrangement which it preserved with but little variation for
more than a thousand years ; a period exceeding the du-
ration of the most famous kingdoms and republics ot anti¬
quity. Amongst the benefactors of Olympia at a much
later period was reckoned Herod, afterwards king of Ju¬
daea. On his way to Rome, seeing the games neglected or
dwindling into insignificance, from the poverty ot theEleans,
be displayed great munificence as president, and provided
an ample revenue for their future support and digniu.
Such an institution, even in its least perfect torm, must
have been attended with advantages to society. It is suf¬
ficient to mention the suspension of hostilities which took
place, not only during the celebration ot the festival, but
for a considerable time both before and after it. Consi¬
dered as a religious ceremony, to which the whole Giecian
race was invited, and even enjoined to assist in its celebra¬
tion, it was well adapted to facilitate intercourse, to pro¬
mote knowledge, to soften prejudice, and to accelerate the
progress of civilization. Greece, particularly Peloponnesus,
was the centre from which the adventurous spirit of its in¬
habitants had diffused innumerable colonies throughout the
surrounding nations. To these widely-separated commu¬
nities, which, notwithstanding their common origin, seem¬
ed to have lost all connection and correspondence, the
Olympiad served as a common bond of alliance and a pom
of re-union. The celebrity of this festival continually a -
traded to it the characters most distinguished for genius
and enterprise, whose fame would have otherwise been un¬
known and lost in the extent of the Grecian territory. The
remote inhabitants, not only of European Greece, but o
Asia and Africa, being assembled at the worship of th
common gods, were thus trained to the sense of a general
interest, and excited to the pursuit of nat.onal honoured
nrosneritv. Strangers of similar dispositions might con
firm in Efis the sacred and indissoluble ties of hospitah y.
If their communities were endangered byany a G
power, they might there solicit assistance from their G
cian brethren ; and, upon other occasions, they mighty
plain the benefits which, in peace or war, then P ^
countries were best qualified to communicate. t
the Olympic festival might serve the purpose o
ambassadors, and of other institutions alike unknown
qOM, a considerable river of Tobolsk, in Asiatic »
whTch rises in a lake, and, after a western course of about
500 miles, falls into the Irtysch. n;ne miles in
OMA, one of the Molucca Islands, about n .
length and six in width, containing about 5000 mh ^^^
OMAR Ebn al KHATTAB,the succeS!;or ^^verted
We are informed that Omar was miraculously
to the Mahommedan faith. Before this e ;0ient
to have been truly respectable, and in particu'a ^
opposer of the Arabian prophet. .Mal]'om?refore, with
felt this opposition, and regretted it ; e, ss0f
all the fervour, and, as it happened, with all the succ
l
OMB
y a true prophet, as his followers pretend, prayed for the
conversion of his dangerous antagonist. Omar is said to
have no sooner read the twentieth chapter of the Koran
“""than he was convinced ; upon which he instantly repaired
to Mahommed and his followers, and declared his conver¬
sion. On the death of Abu-Bekr, who had succeeded the
impostor himself, he was promoted to the regal and ponti¬
fical dignity. The title first assigned him was the “ caliph
of the caliph of the apostle of God or in other words,
“ the successor of the successor of Mohammed but the
Arabs, considering that this title, by the addition to be an¬
nexed to it at the accession of every future caliph, would
be too long, they, by universal consent, saluted him “ the
emperor of the believers which illustrious title, conferred
at this juncture upon Omar, descended afterwards to all
the successors of that prince. He was assassinated by a
Persian slave, who stabbed him in the mosque at Medina.
This event took place in the twenty-third year of the He¬
gira, which began in the year of Christ 643. His exten¬
sive conquests rendered the Moslem empire one of the
most powerful and formidable monarchies in the world.
OMBAY, an island in the Eastern Seas, forty-five miles
in length and about thirteen in breadth. Its inhabitants
are fierce and treacherous in their habits, so that it is dan¬
gerous for strangers to approach it. It is twenty miles
west of Timor.
OMBRE, a well-known game at cards, borrowed from
the Spaniards, and played by two, by three, or by five per¬
sons, but generally by three. When three play at this
game, nine cards are dealt to each party ; the whole ombre
pack being only forty, because the eights, nines, and tens
are thrown out of the pack. There are two sorts of coun¬
ters for stakes, the greater and the lesser. The last has
the same proportion to the other as a penny has to a shil¬
ling. Of the greater counters each man stakes one for
the game ; and one of the lesser for passing for the hand,
when eldest, and for every card taken in. As to the order
and value of the cards, the ace of spades, called spadillo,
is always the highest trump, in whatsoever suite the trump
be; the manille, or black deuce, is the second ; and the
bctsfo, or ace of clubs, is always the third. The next in
order is the king, the queen, the knave, the seven, the six,
the five, four, and three. Of the black there are eleven
trumps, and of the red, twelve. The least small cards of
the red are always the best, and the most of the black, ex¬
cept the deuce and red seven, both of which are called the
mnilles, and are always second when the red is a trump,
the red ace, when a trump, enters into the fourth place,
and is called punto ; otherwise it is only called an ace.
the three principal cards are called matadores, and have
this privilege, that they are not obliged to attend an infe¬
rior tiump when it leads ; but, for want of a small trump,
ie person may renounce small trumps, and play any other
card; and when these are all in the same hand, the others
pay three of the greatest counters a piece. With these
ree tor a foundation, the player may count as many ma-
aaores as he has cards in an uninterrupted series of trumps;
or a 1 these the others are to pay one counter a piece.
pL <Va,s '"f16 ^rst hand is called ombre, and has his
tal-in6 -0 ^ ayinS ^le game> of naming the trump, and of
him u 111 38 ma1n^ or as few cards as he pleases ; and after
befm-p V6?01^’ &C* But Ile does not name tlie trump
other 16 °oks on Ble card w,1ich he has taken in, any
Hp prevent him, by naming what trump he pleases,
unless I, ^ 116 hand should neither take in nor play,
as he laSi at east tkree .sure trfeks in his hand ; for,
win five1'1!- game who wins niost tricks> he that can
case if )i0° • 1 p nine kas a sure game* This is also the
Person m Wln. our’ an(1 can so divide the tricks that one
If q a^ Win ^vvo> and the other three.
vol. xv^011 w*Blout discarding or changing any
O M E
337
of the cards, this is called playing sans prendre ; and ifOmbrome-
another win more tricks than he, he is said to win coddle.
1 he oversights in the course of the game are called beasts ;
and if the ombre wins all the nine tricks, it is called win¬
ning the vole.
In ombre by five, which many, on account of its not re¬
quiring so close an attention, prefer to that by three, only
eight cards a piece are dealt; and five tricks must be won,
otherwise the ombre is beasted. Here the person who un¬
dertakes the game, after naming the trump, calls a kino-
to his assistance; upon which the person in whose hand
the king is, without discovering himself, is to assist him
as a partner, and to share his fate. If, between both, they
can make five tricks, the ombre wins two counters, and
the auxiliary king only one; but when the counters are
even, they divide them equally. If the ombre venture the
game without calling in any king, this too is called playing
sans prendre ; in which case the other four are all against
him, and he must win five tricks alone, or be beasted.
The rest is much the same as by three.
OMBROMETER, an instrument to measure the quan¬
tity of rain that falls. It consists of a tin funnel, the sur¬
face of which is an inch square, with a flat board, and a
glass tube set into the middle of it in a groove. The rise
of the water in the tube, the capacity of which at differ¬
ent times must be measured and marked, shows the quan-
tity' of rain that has fallen.
OMEERSEER, a village of Hindustan, in the province
of Cutch, about four miles south from Luckput Bunder
Eat. 23. 43. N.
OMELET, or Omelette, a kind of pancake or fricassee
of eggs, with other ingredients, very common in Spain and
in France.
OMEN is a word which, in its proper sense, signifies a
sign or indication of some future event, taken from the lan¬
guage of a person speaking without any intention to pro¬
phecy. Hence Tully says that the Pythagoreans attend
to the discourse, not only of gods, but also of men, which
they call omens. This sort of omen was supposed to de¬
pend much upon the will of the person concerned in the
event; and hence the phrases, accepitomen, arripuit omen.
Such w ere the original omens : but they were afterwards
derived from things as well as from words. Thus Pater¬
culus, speaking of the head of Sulpicius on the rostrum,
says it was velut omen imminentis proscriptionis, the omen
of an impending proscription. Suetonius observes of Au¬
gustus, that he believed implicitly in certain omens; and
that if his shoes were improperly put on in the morning,
especially if the left shoe was put upon his right foot, he
considered it as a bad omen. Omen was used, in a still
larger sense, to signify an augury, as in the following line
of Tully : “ Sic aquilae clarum firmavit Jupiter omen,v thus
Jove confirmed the bright omen of the eagle. Lastly, it
was used, in the most generic sense of all, for a portent or
prodigy ; as in the third book of the iEneid, where a myrtle
torn up by iEneas dropped blood.
I he portentous or supernatural omens w ere either ex¬
ternal or internal. Of the former kind were those showers
of blood so frequently occurring in the Roman history,
which were much of the same nature with this adventure
of iEneas, which he calls monstra deum. Of the latter
kind were those sudden consternations, which, seizing upon
men without any visible cause, were imputed to the agency
of the god Pan, and hence called panic terrors. But in¬
deed there was hardly any thing, however trivial, from
which the ancients did not draw omens. That it should
have been thought a direful omen when any thing befell
the temples, altars, or statues of the gods, need therefore
excite no wonder; but that the meeting of an eunuch, a
negro, a bitch with whelps, or a snake lying on the road,
should have been looked upon as portending bad fortune,
2 u
ter
Omen.
338
O M M
Omer, St is a deplorable instance of human weakness, and of the
II pernicious influence of superstition on the mind.
Omni on. 1 •   fV»of nrnrtice
rniClOUS llliiucn^c — -
It is more than probable that this practice or making
ordinary events ominous of good or bad fortune took Us
rise in Egypt, the parent land of almost every superstition ,
but wherever it may have arisen, it spread itself over t le
whole inhabited globe, and at this day prevails in a greater
or less degree amongst the vulgar ot all nations, inelo -
lowing may be cited as examples.
To break a looking-glass is extremely unlucky ; the par¬
ty to whom it belongs will lose his best friend. It, going
a iourney on business, a sow cross the road, you will pro¬
bably meet with a disappointment, if not a bodily acciden ,
before you return home. To avert this you must endea¬
vour to prevent her crossing you ; and it that canno
done, you must ride round on fresh ground. It the sow
be attended with her litter of pigs, it is lucky, and denotes
a successful journey. It is unlucky to see first one mag
pie, and then more ; but to see two denotes marriage or
merriment; three, a successful journey ; tour, an unex¬
pected piece of good news; and five, that you will shortly
be in a great company. To kill a magpie will certain y
punished with some terrible misfortune. If ^ a famdythe
vouno-est daughter should be married before her elder sis¬
ters, they must all dance at her wedding without shoes.
This will counteract their ill luck, and procure them iu -
bands. If you meet a funeral procession, or if one pass
by you, always take off your hat. This keeps all the evil
spirits attending the body in good humour. It, m eatl
you miss your mouth, and the victuals fall, it is very -
lucky, and denotes approaching sickness. It is lucky
put on a stocking the wrong side outwards; changin0
alters the luck. When a person goes out to transact any
important business, it is lucky to throw an old shoe after
him. It is unlucky to present a knife, scissors, razor, 01 any
sharp or cutting instrument, to one’s mistress or friend, as
theyare apt to cut love and friendship. To avoid the evil
effects of this, a pin, a farthing, or some trifling recom¬
pense, must be taken. To find a knife or razor denotes
ill luck and disappointment to the party that finds i •
OMER, St, an arrondissement of the department of the
Pas de Calais, in France. It extends over 450 square
miles, and comprises seven cantons and 136 communes,
with 105,020 inhabitants. The capital is the city of the
Tame name, situated on the river Aa. It has walls, broad
streets, and well-built houses, a cathedral, six churches, a
college, 2100 houses, and 19,032 inhabitants. It is a place
of considerable manufactures of woollens, and wheie, y
means of a canal connecting it with the city of Calals’tl^re
is a great internal trade in agricultural products. Long.
2. 9. 52. E. Eat. 50. 44. 52. N. ,
OMERCUNTUC, a district and town ot Hindustan,
in the province of Gundwana. It is a celebrated resort of
Hindu pilgrimage. In the neighbourhood are found the
sources of the three great rivers, the Soane, Nerbudda ,
and the Mahanuddv, which adds to the sanctity of the
place ; the Hindus always evincing a great regard for the
sources and the confluence of rivers. Long, of the town
82. 15. E. Lat. 22.53. N. . , . , .
OMERPOOR, a town of Hindustan, in the nizam s ter-
ritories, in the province of Berer, eighty-two miles north-
east from Julnapoor. Long. 77. 10. E. Lat. 20. 2d. JN.
OMMON, a district of Arabia, which comprises a poi-
tion of the southern coast extending from its eastern ex¬
tremity of Rasalgate to the entrance ot the Persian Gulf.
In the interior it is one of the wildest parts of the country,
and is little known, but is generally supposed to consist ot
sandy deserts. Along the coast the country is more fer¬
tile and the inhabitants are an industrious and active race,
pursuing with ardour both commerce and navigation. 1 he
soil is well watered by the rivers which flow from the
O M M
ranges of mountains along the coast. Its produce is con- Or,
fined almost exclusively to dates and a little wheat, which'"-',
appears to be scarcely sufficient for its own consumption,
as according to Frazer (see Narrative of a Journey into
Khorassan, p. 17), large quantities of the latter article are
imported from Bushire and Bassora. On the other hand,
lar^e quantities of dates are also exported ; those of Om-
mon enjoying, it is said, a preference over the produce
of other places, particularly in Sinde, to which they are
exported. Dates are the great staple of these countries,
being the staff of life; and they are the standard by which
the value of landed estates is estimated. Landed proper-
ty, although it usually descends by inheritance, may be
disposed of in any way the proprietor pleases. The sove¬
reign’s claim is confined to the tenth of the produce, and
he&can in no way interfere with the proprietor’s rights, al-
though he may divest him of any command which he pos-
sesses, or expel him from the district if he pleases. Lands
are usually let out in lease, oLannual rent payable in a por¬
tion of the produce. Slaves are made use ot here, as
throughout Arabia, in the labours of agriculture ; but they
are treated with kindness and indulgence. The property
of the Arabs which they possess independently ot land,
consists for the most part in live stock, sheep, goats, camels,
asses, a few horses, and cows ; camels being in value from
thirty to three hundred dollars a-piece, according to blood
and quality. The asses of Orngion are celebrated as the
finest of Arabia ; and individuals of the best breed sell for
very extravagant sums. The value ot the common kind
varies from one to forty dollars ; goats from four to six dol¬
lars ; sheep from one and a half to six dollars. _ !\o mules
are reared, nor are horses abundant in the province. The
cows have humps, and resemble those of India. Milk,
butter, and ghee are very abundant, and good of their
kinds; which is the more remarkable, as the cattle have
little or no pasture in the neighbourhood, and are fed upon
dried fish a little salted, of which they become very fond.
Ommon is by no means celebrated for its manufactures,
which consist of turbans and waistbands, or girdles of
cotton and silk, striped or checked with blue, an<{ hJvinS
the ends ornamented with red, green, or yellow border ,
cloaks, called abbas, made of sheep s wool or camel s hai,
and of various degrees of fin?ness ; rcotton ^X/brs
powder, and arms of no superior quality ; and eaithenja s
for the market of Zanguebar. They also prepare a sueet-
meat in high esteem, called hulwak, from ho‘ieyors_u=^
the gluten of wheat and ghee, with a few almonds, and
sharks’ fins and dried sallfish for the eastern mark t .
Frazer states, that the provinces of Arabia, of which
cat is the first, are too poor to consume much fpreig P
duce or to afford any considerable quantity of their
?n exchalve! Still, he adds, there is a certain deman to
many Indian productions and other articles, as sj’
spices, cotton cloths, silk, indigo, ship timber, and c*
from Mocha, cowries, ivory, Joarree gram, gu
oil for burning, cocoa-nuts, wood for buildinB,
from Zanguebar and other African ports ; dates’
See. from Bushire and Bassora. A considerab ^ q a J
of these articles is sent to this country mere y d
as it is a great entrepot of the comm,%ce ^ Africa; but
on between India, Arabia, Persia, an as COUntry, and
no inconsiderable portion is consume _ ^ at a joss
paid for chiefly in dollars and cownes ; and ^
to understand where this quantity ot spec*e P it by
But it is obvious that the country can o )\
But it is obvious that tne counuy ^ y A/nther source
the sale of its own produce. There is "0 1 travel-
from which it can be obtained ; nor need alnCe all
ler be surprised that he cannot comprehend at a
the resources which an extensive distnc ^ untry find
carrying on foreign trade Where ^ “"“ice
equivalents to exchange with foreigners for then i
Om
U
O M P
but within itself? The fact stated by Mr Frazer, of the
abundance of specie given in exchange for foreign articles,
Omp1 ^speaks for itself. It is an index of the state of wealth ; nor
' ~ need it excite the smallest incredulity or surprise. The
climate of Osnmon is extremely unfavoui'able for Euro¬
pean constitutions ; scarcely any native of Europe ever re¬
sides here without experiencing its fatal effects. The heat
is always great. Frazer mentions, that during his abode
there, which was in July, the heat varied from 90° to 102°
of Fahrenheit; the greatest inconvenience experienced was
from the suffocating heat of the nights, as a parching wind
blew from the rocks, preventing that cool freshness which
the dewy morning brings in most countries, and keep¬
ing the frame so continually relaxed and unrefreshed by
sleep, as to render it predisposed to the attacks of disease.
The natives are the most expert navigators in these seas,
and use a very singular species of craft, which are broad
in proportion to their length, and are constructed of planks
fastened together by nails, and tied and sewed together
with cords. This country was early invaded by the Por¬
tuguese, who acquired possession of Muscat, its principal
port, which they retained for nearly two centuries. Om-
mon was invaded and conquered, iii the course of the last
century, by Nadir Shah. But the native princes, when his
armies were engaged in other quarters, took the opportu¬
nity of re-conquering their dominions, which thev have
ever since retained. The chief towns are Rostak, the re¬
sidence of the imaum ; Muscat, which is chiefly known to
Europeans ; and Kalhat and Sohar.
The country is ruled by a supreme chief or imaum,
who, besides, holds in possession the islands of Keshmee
and Ormuz in the gulf, and rents from the court of Persia
Gomberoon, and Binderabbassee and its dependencies, in¬
cluding the district of Juroom, which extends from Mee-
nab, on the south-east, to Khumeer, on the north-west, in¬
cluding about eighty miles of sea-coast. Elis revenues are
derived from various sources. He receives a tenth part of
the produce of the territories of Ommon, which is trifling ;
a duty of a half per cent, on all merchandise passing up
the gulf on Arab bottoms, amounting, according to Frazer’s
estimate, to 160,000 dollars a year; the rents of valuable
sulphur mines, which he holds of the Persian government;
and considerable landed property in the country of Ommon,’
which brings him in only some thousands of dollars in the
! year. Commerce is perhaps the chief source of his in¬
come. He possesses five fine ships, his private property,
wo of them mounting fifty and forty guns respectively,
oesides four other vessels such as are used on the Arabian
coast. His vessels trade to all parts of India and the East,
o ie coasts of Arabia and Africa, to Madagascar and the
OmS besides.the Ports °f the Persian Gulf.
HOA, a Spanish town and fortification on the south-
l^SON the ^ °f Honduras- Long- 89- 50- W- Lat.
1W an ancient Gireek festival in honour of
Thic fus’.su[named Omophagos, or the eater of raw flesh.
f wa® observed in the same manner with the
tprfJit eftlVaiS ^accbus’ wbich the celebrants coun-
wnrck-6 madnes®* What was peculiar to it was, that the
i blnnrlv^er-S eat *be entrabs of goats, raw and
donp tLm imitat.10n °f tbe god, who was supposed to have
oone the same thing.
^bolous history, a queen of Lydia, the
death lpfY°i daidanus* She married Tmolus, who at his
been inf lerJm*stress °f his kingdom. Omphale having
to see <;n01'lTe ^ &reat exploits of Hercules, wished
fied Af/ rious a hero; and her wish was soon grati-
was‘0rdere^\mUrtj'°f Eu7tUS’ Hercules fel1 sick, and
I his health i ^ as a s^ave’ that he might recover
commissionp f USe of his senses- Mercury was
to sell him, but Omphale bought him, and
O N
339
On.
restored him to liberty. The hero became enamoured of Omrattee
his mistress, and the queen having favoured his passion,
had a son by him, whom some call Agelaus, and others.
Lamon. From the son in question were descended Gy-
ges and Croesus; but this opinion is different from the ac¬
count which represents these Lydian monarchs as having
sprung from Alcaeus, a son of Hercules by one of the fe¬
male servants of Omphale. Hercules is represented by the
poets as so desperately enamoured of the queen, that, to
conciliate her esteem, he span by her side amongst her
women, whilst she covered herself with the lion^s skin,
seized the club of the hero, and often struck him with
her sandals for the uncouth manner in which he held the
distaff.
OMRATTEE, a large, fortified, and trading town of
Hindustan, in the province of Berar. It carries on an ex¬
tensive trade in cotton, which is sent to Mirzapore by
land carriage, a distance of 500 miles, and is sold in this
celebrated mart for quadruple its original cost. Lono-. 78.
20. E. Lat. 20. 59. N.
OMREE, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Be¬
rar, belonging to the nizam. Long. 77. 64. E. Lat. 21. 7. N.
OMSK, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the government of
Tomsk, situated at the junction of the river Om with the
Irtysch. It is intended as a barrier against the incursions
of the Kirghises. It is an agreeable town, and the gene¬
ral’s house, the church, and the military school, are hand¬
some edifices. It has always a garrison, and the inhabi¬
tants amount to 800. It is deficient in a supply of wood,
which the coldness of the climate renders almost a neces¬
sary of life. The original fort was built in 1716, but was
transferred to its present site in 1766. Long. 74. 54 E
Lat. 55. 4. N.
OMUDWARA, a district of Hindustan, in the Mah-
latta teriitories, and province of Malwah. It is a wild and
uncultivated country, much covered with jungle; but where
cultivated it is of great fertility, being intersected by the
Sopra and Gilligsind Rivers.
ON, in Ancient Geography, a city of ancient Egypt, sa¬
bred to the sun, and on that account called by the Greeks
Heliopolis* It was remarkable for the wisdom and learning
of its priesthood, and for the spacious building in which they
cultivated the studies of philosophy and astronomy. The
priests of On were esteemed more noble than all the other
priests of Egypt. They were always privy councillors
and mimsteis of state; and therefore, when Rharaoh re¬
solved to make Joseph his prime minister, he very wisely
gave him in marriage a daughter of the priest of On, there¬
by incorporating him into the most venerable caste in
Egypt. Bishop Warburton thinks that the superior nobi¬
lity of the priests of On was chiefly owing to their high
antiquity and great learning. That they were much ad¬
dicted to the study of astronomy, we know from the testi¬
mony of Strabo ; and indeed nothing is more probable than
that they should have been attached to the study of that
system over which their god, the Sun, presided, not only
in his moral, but also in his natural capacity. The learned
prelate affirms, that whether they received the doctrine
fiom original tradition, or invented it at hazard, which last
supposition he thinks more probable, it is certain they
taught that the Sun is in the centre of its system, and
that all the other bodies move round it in perpetual revo¬
lutions. “ This noble theory,” he continues, “ came with
the rest of the Egyptian learning into Greece (being
brought thither by Pythagoras, who received it from
GLnuphis a priest of On) ; and after having given the
most distinguished lustre to his school, it sunk into obscu¬
rity, and suffered a total eclipse throughout a long succes¬
sion of learned and unlearned ages, till these times re¬
stored its ancient splendour, and immoveably fixed it on
the unerring principles of science,”
340
Onateya
II
Oneirocri.
tics.
ONE
O N K
ONATEYA, or Onatiayo, one of the Marquis of
Mendoza’s Islands, about five leagues to the east of Ohit-
tahoo. It is three leagues in circumference, and of mode¬
rate elevation, with extensive woods and plantations.
Long. 138. 55. E. Lat. 9. 55. S. , ,
ONEEHOW, one of the Sandwich Islands, in the North
Pacific Ocean, about forty miles in circumference. It con¬
tains abundance of yams, and a sw'eet root used by the in¬
habitants. The population is estimated at about 10,000.
ONEGA, a city of European Russia, in the province of
Archangel. It is the capital of a circle of the same name,
both so called from the river which waters a great part of the
district, and at the mouth of which the city has been built.
It is a small but well-built town, containing less than ^OUU
inhabitants, who subsist by trading in timber, pitch, and
tar, and by exporting oats in some seasons to Norway. It
has some trade in ship-building. It is about eighty miles
from Archangel, and 916 from St Petersburg. Long. 38.
7. 40. E. Lat. 63. 53. 36. N. . T .
Onega, a river and lake of the Russian empire. It is a
hundred miles in length and forty in breadth, having a
communication with the lake Ladoga, and consequently
with St Petersburg. The river, which has its source in
Cargapol, and gives its name to a country full of woods,
falls into the White Sea. „ XT-
ONEGLIA, a district of the province of Nice, in tne
kingdom of Sardinia, bounded on the south-east by the
Gulf of Genoa, and on the other sides by the territory
forming a part of that ancient republic. It is about ninety
square miles in extent, and is almost covered with olive
trees, which yield abundance of oil; besides which, wine,
figs, silk, flax, and some corn, are produced. It was for¬
merly considered as a principality, and gave the title of
prince to the family of Doria. The principality was divided
into three valleys ; Oneglia, Maro, and Prela. The capital,
bearino- the name of the district, is about one mile to the
eastward of Port Maurice, and a mile and three quarters
from Cape Verde. It stands upon a plain on the sea-shore,
and the river Impero falls into the Mediterranean Sea on
its western side. It is surrounded with walls, and de¬
fended by three forts; one in the centre, and one at each
end The anchorage-ground is good, but open to the pre¬
vailing winds. There are several religious houses for
both sexes, a gymnasium, and a governor’s palace. It
contains about 4000 inhabitants. Long. 8. 2. E. Lat. 43.
53 N
ONEIROCRITICA, the art of interpreting dreams, or
a method of foretelling future events by means of dreams.
The word is formed from the Greek migog, a dream, and
xwm?), from xg/ff/;, judgment. Some call it oneirocratica,
and derive it from bmpg, a dream, and xgarsw, I possess,
or / command. It appears from several passages of Scrip¬
ture, that, under the Jewish dispensation, there was such
a thing as foretelling future events by dreams; but then
a particular gift or revelation was expressly required tor
that purpose. Hence it has been inferred, that dreams are
really significative, and forebode something to come ; and
all that is wanting amongst us is the oneirocntica, or the
art of knowing what they foreshow. Yet it is the opinion
of many that dreams are mere chimeras, bearing indeed
some relation to what has passed, but none at all to what
is to come. As to the case of Joseph, it was possible for
God who knew all things, to discover to him what still
remained hidden in the womb of fate ; and to introduce
that disclosure, he might take the occasion of a dream.
ONEIROCRITICS, a title given to the interpreters of
dreams, or those who judged of events from the circum¬
stances of dreams. No great regard is to be paid to those
Greek books called oneirocritics ; nor do we know why the
patriarch of Constantinople, and others, should have amused
themselves with writing on so pitiful a subject. Rigault has
given us a collection of the Greek and Latin works of this 0:
i • _i   tn Aetrnmnsinhus. and another tn
On;,
given us a collection ui me vjiccn. uuo
kind; one attributed to Astrampsichus, and another to
Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople ; and to these are ^
added the treatises of Artemidorus and Achmet. But the
books themselves are little else than reveries; a kind of
waking dreams, to explain and account for sleeping ones.
According to them, all the secrets of oneirocnticism con¬
sists in the relation supposed to exist between the dream
and the thing signified; but they are far from keeping to
the relations of agreement and similitude, and frequently
have recourse to others of dissimilitude and contianety.
Concerning oneirocritics and oneiiociitica, the unlearned
reader will find much information in Warburton’s Divine
Legation of Moses, and in the works to which he refers.
ONEVY, one of the Friendly Islands, in the Southern
Pacific Ocean, near the north coast of Tongataboo.
ONGOLE, a district and town of Hindustan, in the
province of the Carnatic, situated between the 15th and
16th decrees of north latitude. It was formerly dependent
upon the principality of Cuddapah, and was afterwards
incorporated with the Carnatic below the Ghauts, and
in consequence came under the dominion of the nabob
of Arcot, by whom it was transferred to the British in
1781. The principal rivers are the Mussy and the Gon-
degamma; and the chief towns are Ongole, Courchier,
and Sintalsheroo. Ongole was formerly a fortified town;
but the fortifications, owing to the tranquil state of the
country, have now been allowed to go to decay. It is 1/3
miles north by west from Madras. Long. 81. 1. E. Lat.
I5* 31* N‘ _ TT * J 1 I
ONGOLOGUR, a town of Hindustan, possessed by
independent zemindars, in the province of Orissa, fifty-
five miles west from Cuttack. Long. 85. 20. E. Lat. 20.
36'oNKELOS, surnamed the Proselyte, a famous rabbi of
the first century, and author of the Chaldaic Targumon the
Pentateuch. He flourished in the time of Jesus Christ,
according to the Jewish writers, who all agree that he
was, at least in some part of his life, contemporary with
Jonathan Ben Uzziel, author of the second Targum upon
the prophets. Prideaux thinks that he was the elder o
the two, for several reasons, the chief of which is the pu¬
rity of the style of his Targum, in which it comes nearest
to that part of Daniel and Ezra which is in the Ghaldaic,
and being the truest standard of that language, is conse¬
quently the most ancient, since that language, as well as
others, was in a constant fluctuation, and in every age con¬
tinued deviating from the original. Nor does there appea
to be any reason why Jonathan Ben Uzziel, when h .
dertook his Targum, should pass over the law, and beg
with the prophets, except it be that he found Onkelo
done this work before him, and with a success which he
C° Azarins,etheeaduthor of a book entitled Meor ^
the “ light of the eyes,” tells us, that 9nkel0rWai\nP<,ee
selyte in the time of Hillel and Samnai, and lived to e
Jonathan Ben Uzziel, one of the prime scholars of Hi ej-
These three doctors flourished twelve years before >
according to the chronology of Gauz, who adds, that u g
kelos was contemporary with Gamaliel the eWer^ P ^
master, who was the grandson of Hillel. H»we«e ,
same Gauz, by his calculation, places Onkelos a
years after Christ, and, in order to adjust his °Pinlon " t
that of Azarias, extends the life of Onkelos o a gieat
length. The Talmudists tell us that he assisted
funeral of Gamaliel, and was at a prodigious expe ^
render it magnificent. Prideaux observes, that t ^
gum of Onkelos is rather a version than a pa^phra ^ ^
it renders the Hebrew text word for word, and ^ ^
most part accurately and exact y, and is y amongSt
of the kind; wherefore it has always been h
IOC
On
O N O
O N T
^ x'* a 341
ithe Jews in much greater esteem than the other Targums • ing shins nf wnr i .
=f ■?=•“ a«r. -s.“ir„nb=.'j
earned on in rice, betel-nut, pepper, cocoa-nuts, and salt
nsn. I his tranp wnc ,* i . i i
i   —   v^^LVx^iivuv^Y
and accuracy oi the largum of Onkelos, Prideaux also
concludes that he must have been a native Jew, since
without having been bred up from his birth in the Jewish
religion and learning, long exercised in all the rites and
doctrines of both, and being also thoroughly skilled in
both the Hebrew and Chaldaic languages, as far as a na¬
tive Jew could be, he could scarcely have been thorough¬
ly adequate to the work which he executed. The same au¬
thor also thinks, that the representing him as a proselyte
may have proceeded from the error of supposing him" to
have been the same with Akilas or Aquila of Pontus, au¬
thor of the Greek Targum or version of the prophets’ and
Hagiographia, and who was indeed a Jewish proselyte.
ONOMANCIA, or rather Onomanxia, a branch of di¬
vination, which foretells the good or bad fortune of a man
from the letters in his name. Upon much the same prin¬
ciple the young Romans were accustomed to toast their
mistresses as often as there were letters in their names.
Hence Martial says,
Nsevia sex cyathis, septem Justina bibatur.
ONOMATOPOEIA, in grammar and rhetoric, a figure
where words are formed to resemble the sound emitted
by the things signified ; as the buzz of bees, the cacklino-
ofhens, oi the note of the cuckoo. Resemblances of this
kind are often fancied when they are not real; though, no
doubt, there are in every language some words of which
the sound is very like to that which those words are em¬
ployed to express. Yet, to the mortification of gramma¬
rians and rhetoricians, conjunctions, which have been pro¬
nounced to be no parts of speech at all, are the only sounds
uttered by men which are wholly natural, and these are
fewer than is commonly supposed.
. a ,arge river of Asiatic Russia, upon the fron¬
tier of Chinese 1 artary, which has its rise amongst the in-
terior mountains, and flows north-east till it forms the
Chilka, which afterwards discharges itself into the Amour.
, e rude tribes of the Bannats and Tungusses wander
along its banks.
ONONDAGA, a post township and capital of Ononda¬
ga county, New York, a hundred and thirty miles west-
north-west of Albany, and fifty miles west of Utica. It is
ten miles m length by nine in breadth. Through the east-
ern part a broad valley extends north and soufh, bounded
rite ™* valley, which
^ i , —ici Limy, is watereu dv vJn-
in tlifiCreek,c^hrh flcWS northward to Onondaga Lake,
the «eJ0TIii0f 83 ma' The p0St borough of Onondaga,
eminence T]C°Unty b™}dinSs> is situated on a delightful
about nn!‘ -i™6 P0S5 VlHage of 0nondaga Hollow stands
belonnZ 6381 thf court-houso- It has an arsenal
Onnmt s lnth1 St-ate’and many mechanical establishments.
Onnndpga F? 6 chief town of the remnant of the
been apter wdiom the township has
W of O a 6 1fIS11fuated three miles south of the vil-
houses Id0 0W’ and contains about fifty Indian
| SelLThACiare built of logs* There are about a bun-
£ i r,^. . . 3 ; v,^ua-uut», ana salt
fish. I his trade was carried on in boats, which were much
harassed by pirates from the Mahratta coast; an evil that
has always existed more or less on the shores of India,
but has now nearly ceased, owing to the vigilance of the
British marine. No manufactures ever existed to any ex¬
tent, the trade having been destroyed by Tippoo. On the
first arrival of the Portuguese in India, Onore was the
capital of an independent rajah, who was subdued by them
It was subsequently taken from the Portuguese by the
Dutch, who appear to have relinquished it; for, in 1763
when it came into the possession of Hyder Ali, it was con¬
sidered as the property of the ranee of Bednore. In 1768
it was taken by the British, and was shortly afterwards re¬
gained by Hyder. It was taken in 1783 by General Mat¬
thews, and was restored to Tippoo at the conclusion of the
year. It came under the dominion of the British, with the
F0;-- °f CanaraJ when Tippoo’s empire was overthrown,
in 1199. Long. 74. 25. E. Lat. 14. 18. N.
ONOSANDER, a Greek author and Platonic philoso¬
pher, who wrote Commentaries on Plato’s Politics, which
are now lost. But his name is particularly famous for a
treatise entitled Aoyeg Zrgarriyixos, a discourse on the duties
and qualities of the general of an army, which has been
translated into Latin, Italian, Spanish, and French. The
time when he lived is not precisely known, but he is ima-
dius t0 haVC been contemPorai7 witb the Emperor Clau-
ONRUST, a small island in the Eastern Ocean, on the
coast of Java, and Bay of Batavia. It is nearly of a circu¬
lar form, about 4800 feet in circumference. Here the
Dutch had formerly fortifications and extensive works
which were destroyed by a British armament under Sir
Edward Pellew, and the island is now desolate. Onrust
formerly contained about 3000 inhabitants. It is nine miles
north-west from Batavia.
ONTAREE, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Gundwana, belonging to an independent chief in the dis¬
trict of Billounjah. Long. 83. 40. E. Lat. 24. 13. N.
ONTARIO, one of the five great lakes which separate
Canada from the United States, and which are the wonder
and admiration of the world. It is situated between the
parallels of 43. 10. and 44. 11. of north latitude, and the
meridians of 76. 25. and 79. 56. of west longitude, being
the most easterly of these vast inland seas. It lies nearly
is Of rich alluvion and exuS. Stv O ^ ““f °f tl,ese ^ Tt Fes’neariy
!?fe.C:!ek'"h!ch n°rthward to OnondLa Lke! aTd aTvenT^T 1^/ a hundred
   ueuig a Hundred
and seventy-two miles in length by fifty-nine and a quar¬
ter in extreme breadth, and having a circumference of
about four hundred and sixty-seven miles. The depth of
water varies exceedingly, from a few feet up to several
hundreds. I owards the middle, attempts have been made
to reach the bottom with three hundred fathoms, without
striking soundings. If this be correct, the bottom must be
very considerably below the level of the Atlantic Ocean;
for its surface is only two hundred and thirty-one feet
above tide-water at Three Rivers on the St Lawrence and
ONORE, formerly a seaport of Hindustan and a nlnce ^ ^ • Ut subside again °n the south to a very mode-
of great commerce, in the province of North’ c/ P r! i elevatl0n; Bordering the lake, the country is every-
ls situated at the mouth • uT1 Canara* Ifc where covered with woods, through the numerous openings
«‘1> a fine euZZ—nZTTT °f ""il011 (re,iUent ™ topa«“ug a“E
east as the foot of the mountains In ^ 16 efteCt’ W llch is greatly enhanced by the white cliffs of
“ l> =“ ssjts st Jisnxs ssSKt&stMt
342
O N T
O O J
Onttai- south is well relieved by a back Br0"f ^
ente. frirmin0, the pi'ecipice of the cataiact, stietch a Y
easTwa^d The e!-owning object of the prospect m this di¬
rection is a conical eminence towering above the chain of
heights, called Fifty-Mile Hill, as denoting its d.stance from
the town of Niagara. Along the southern border ot the
lake is the celebrated ridge road, or alluvml way, extending
from Rochester on the Genessee, to Lewlston,onrt
Niagara eighty-seven miles. It is composed o co
beech sand, and gravel-stones worn smooth, and these are
ir :
"andST rS “it U ttn^dTedCaTw^ty
IndyaUhund™d and thirty feet above Lake Ontario, whence
11 A<great*n!jniber*of rivers'flo^into Lake Outano Tc-
wards the w^cK’stnr the
^nr^ofaibeiinedividiugCa^a^
the United States is in the m.ddle ofthe lake, so that nea y
one half of it is in the state of New York. From h. state
it receives the Genessee, Oswego, and Black R»ers,
sides a number of smaller streams, all of which have a sa
bar across the entrance. There are some fine bays and
.lets, where vessels of every description may find P™’
tection in bad weather. The largest of these are Chan-
mont, Sodas, Little Sodas, Toronto, a"d Braddocks, o
the United States’ side of the lakes and Qm . ' S_
ton, and many other large ones, on the Canada side. B
lington Bay is both spacious and s^e; J^r have
■vantages of a narrow entrance and shallow water nave
been obviated by a canal cut across the breach^b^^ ^
opened an access to the bay for lake
an important and interesting harbour. Hungry y Y
conspicuous, affording good anchorage and safe she ter
amongst the islands to ships of the largest size at a
sons York and Kingston harbours belonging to Great
Britain, and Sacket’s harbour to the Americans, possess
every natural advantage, and are considered as the best
unnn the lake. The two latter are strongly fortified, being
the arsenals where ships of war, even of the first rate, have
been constructed by both powers, and where were h ted
out those powerful'hostile squadrons which confened so
much consequence on the naval operations m th-s quater.
Lake Ontario is navigated by sloops, schooners, and stea
hoots ■ and the sea is frequently so rough, and swept ny
such heavy squalls of wind, thal steam-boats of common
size were at first not considered as fit to traverse i 8 wa
with comfort and safety. Of the many islands situated at
the eastern end of the lake, Wolt or Grand Is'a"d’B
abreast of Kingston, is the most extensive, and, by
ing placed at the commencement of the Cataraqui Kivei,
forais two channels leading into it, which bear ^ names
of the North or Kingston Channel and the South or Ca
ton Island Channel. Stony and Grenadiei Islands are
tuated at the eastern end, and there are some at Quinte
Bay in Canada. Lake Ontario abounds with excellent fis
of various kinds, the most celebrated of which are the O -
wego bass, the salmon, trout, and salmon-trout. (R-R-R*r>
ONTINIENTE, a large town of Spain, in the province
of Valencia, in the department of San hehpe.
open town, in the vicinity of the mountains, but, stands in
a fruitful spot, and is remarkable for the salubrity of its
climate. Figs are cultivated near it ot good quality, of
which about 7000 quintals are annually collected and sent
to other districts. The hilly parts in the vicinity produce
excellent pears and apples,^nd near them - -sed the
best wheat in Spain. The inhabitants amount to 11,700,
who besides cultivation, have some employment m making
linen and woollen goods, paper, and copper wares. Being
0 k
inland, and out of any great road, it is a place very rarely
visited by foreign travellers. .
ONTONG Java, a group of islands m the Pacific
Ocean, called by Mendana, Baxos de la Candelaria. They
are twenty two in number, and are now called New Ire-
land. Long. 156. E. Lat. 6. In. ».
ONYCOMANCY, or, as some persons write it, Omr-
mangy, a kind of divination by means of the nails of the
The word is formed from the Greek e.»|, a mi ,
and wamia, divination. The ancient practice was to rub
the nails of a youth with oil and soot, or wax, and to hold
un the nails thus smeared against the sun, when certain
figures or characters, showing the thing required, were sup.
ON YX^tT mineral Stance usually ranked amongst
gems, and which derives its name from the colour resen,.
hlino- that of the nail of the finger.
OOCHASEEK, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Cntch, and district of Neyer, about twenty-five miles
south-we t from Theraud, which belongs to the chief o
Morwara. It is surrounded by a thorn hedge instead of
fortifications, and has a tank of bad water, with some ex¬
cellent wells. Its inhabitants are low classes of Hindus.
OOCHINADROOG, a celebrated hill-fort of Hindus¬
tan in the district of Harpoonelly. It is ot great natural
strength, having an abrupt ascent of very great height,
particularly to the north and west, where u
nendicular. It was besieged in G93, and taken a e
sfe" e of three months, by Tippoo, who, with the cruelty of
a tyrant, mutilated all the boys and youths m the fortress
most of whom died in consequence. Long. 7d. 5o. b. Lat.
14OODEADARG AM a 1
te year'lSOO^and^now belongs to .the rajah of Mysore
It gives name to a celebrated pass in the mountains,
is thirtv-one miles south-east of Bangalore.
GO JAIN, a celebrated city and district of Hindustan,
in the province of Malwah. The district is situated be-
the sun it cracks in all directions, and the tissu
wide and deep as to render tmvelhng dangerous B s.des
the city of Oojain, this district contains 175 ™g •
produces the mango, guava, plantain, me on,
varieties of the orange and hme tre<\s* . • aisonamed
The capital ofthe above mentioned ^tnct is also
Oojain, and is the principal resldencenpotjTedmosfancient
ated on the Sipperah River, and is one Ilennel),the
cities of Hindustan, being, aecording to Majo ^ ^ of
city which was known to the Greeks un tedin
Ozene. It is called in the Sanscrit ^Bick-
authentic records to have been the capital ot t ch is.
erma b a abort time after the eomn-encement 0 ^
tian era. The aneient m“e t„ th‘8nor,h of
the modern town, or it stood aim <■ , ke at atirae
it. It was overwhelmed by a violent ear q c ^
when it was the seat of empire, as well a 0^
of learning. Its site is easily known; for» other
depth of fifteen feet, brick walls, Plllais . ’ anruins
ruins, are discovered. Adjoining these subterraRea
there is a remarkable cavern, which consmts of
lery, supported by pillars, with chambe d ^ the mlb.
and containing a number o & qncient coins are
which are of granite. Amongst the ™ns ancient c ^
frequently found. The modern c 7 of and snr.
oblong form, about six miles in This space
rounded by a stone wall with round towe .
Ooj
OOJ
includes some waste ground, but the inhabited part occu-
r'pies the greater portion, and is much crowded with build¬
ings and population. The houses are built of brick, and
covered with tiles. The principal bazaar is a spacious
and regular street, paved with stone, and having houses of
two stories in height on each side. The whole of the
lower story is laid out in shops, the ascent to which is by
five or six steps from the street; the upper stories are the
dwellings of the owners. The most remarkable buildings
in the town are the mosques and temples; Scindia’s tem¬
ple is but a poor building, and is so surrounded by other
buildings as to be scarcely observable. The southern
quarter of the city is called Jeysingpoor ; it contains an
observatory, erected ;by rajah Jyesing of Jyenagur in the
early part oflast centurj'. An extensive fort and citadel
were founded by Mahdajee Scindia, at the distance of
about two miles from the city, containing a palace. But
these works were stopped at his death, and Gwalior was
preferred by the reigning chief as his stronghold and place
of refuge. Oojain carries on a considerable trade. From
Surat are imported various kinds of European and Chinese
goods, which are frequently sold here at a very low price.
From Marwar are brought pearls, and quantities of assa-
foetida, the production of Sinde. Diamonds from Bundel-
cund also pass through this city on their way to Surat.
The city is well supplied with provisions; and fruits, vege¬
tables, and grain abound in all the public markets.
Oojain is a very ancient city ; the rajahs who governed
it are mentioned by Ferishta as early as a. d. 1008 ; and it
was conquered by the Mahommedans about 1230. The
first of the princes who reigned here was named Jyapa
Scindia, who was a servant of Bajerow the peishwa", by
whom, in reward for his services, the city and district of
Oojain were made over to him. He was succeeded by
his son Junkojee, who was murdered after the battle of
Paniput, and his uncle Ranojee obtained possession of his
territories. This chief left two sons, Kedjaree and Mah¬
dajee. The latter being the more aspiring of the two, ac¬
quired possession of the sovereignty. He w-as a brave and
active officer, and commanded a division of troops in the
memorable battle of Paniput, in which he was severely
wounded in the thigh. He rose .afterwards to high copi-
[ mand, and to extensive dominion. He introduced Euro-
| pean discipline amongst his troops, by whose aid he not
only rivalled in power the greatest Mahratta chiefs, but
conquered a large tract of Hindustan proper, and gained
possession of the capital, Delhi, with its fallen monarch,
the representative of the Great Mogul. He died in 1794,
without issue, leaving the whole of his possessions to his
adopted son and grand nephew Dowlut Row Scindia. In
the year 1803, Scindia ventured to try his strength with
the British, and a war ensued, which was soon terminated
by a series of signal victories gained over his imperfectly
disciplined troops, by Lord Lake and General Wellesley.
He was in consequence soon compelled to sue for peace,
which was concluded on the 30th of December 1803, on
-ondition that he should cede all the territory situated be¬
tween the Ganges and the Jumna, and all his possessions
l every description in the country to the northward of
hose belonging to the rajahs of Jyenagur and Joudpoor,
md the ranah of Gohud. He also relinquished to the
British government the fort and territory of Broach, and
I .e ort and territory of Ahmednuggur, and all his posses¬
ions to the south ot the Aguntee Hills, including the fort
district of Gondapoor, and all the other districts be-
ween that range of hills and the Godavery. Several forts,
,Wns’ .and districts, were restored to Scindia. Two of
e articles in the treaty, namely, the cession of the strong
ess ot Gwalior, and a subsidiary force of 6000 men to
nrCft01ptant^ stati°ned with Scindia, were relinquished by
a Uriwallis, on his return to India. On the 23d of
o o s
March 1804, a treaty offensive and defensive was conclud¬
ed with Scindia by Colonel, afterwards Sir John Malcolm,
on the part of the British government, by which Scin¬
dia agreed to receive a British subsidiary force of 6000
men, to be stationed near his frontier; and, in the event of
a war, engaged to join the Company’s forces with 6000 in¬
fantry and 10,000 cavalry. He also agreed to submit all
the differences he might have with the peishwa to British
arbitration. It was agreed that the Chumbul should hence¬
forth be the boundary between the two states. When the
war broke out with the Pindarrees, the policy of Scindia
excited strong suspicions against him; in consequence of
which a new treaty was concluded in 1817, in which it was
agreed that he should use his utmost exertions against the
Pindarees, and that he should admit British garrisons into
the foi tresses- of llindia and Aseerghur during the war.
The territories possessed by Scindia are; still very consi¬
derable, and are supposed to yield him nearly a million
per annum. For further particulars respecting this prince,
see the article Hindustan.
OON, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Guje-
rat, and district of Werrear, fifteen miles north of Rahdun-
poor. The town contains about 2000 tolerably well-built
houses, and the palace of the rajah. It is an open town,
with one long street, which is a bazaar. The chief of this
town is a Hindu of a low tribe, who derives his income of
12,000 rupees a year chiefly from the plunder of his neigh¬
bours. Long. 71. 45. E. Lat. 24. 15. N.
OONAE, a small village of Hindustan, in the province
of Gujerat, belonging to the Mahrattas. It has in its vi¬
cinity a remarkable hot spring, which, like all the other
extraordinary phenomena of nature, is held sacred by the
Hindus, and a great resort of pilgrims, who ascribe to it
the most wonderful qualities.
OONARANG, a small European town and fort of Java,
on the south coast, where the Dutch governor Janssens
made his last stand when the island was attacked by the
British general. It is eleven miles south from Samarang.
OONIARA, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Ajraeer. It is strongly fortified with a wall and round
towers; the houses are mostly built of stone, and the pa¬
lace is neatly constructed with a stone enclosure, surround¬
ed by a ditch. Long. 75. 58. E. Lat. 25. 51. N.
OONOMAFOU, an island in the South Pacific Ocean,
about six miles in length, and covered with verdure. It
was discovered in 1616 by Schouten and Le Maire. Lon»-
175. 51. W. Lat. 15. 53. S.
OOREECHA, a populous town of Hindustan, belong¬
ing to the rajah of Jyenagur, in the province of Ajmeer.
OOREY, a town of Flindustan, in the province of Agra,
fifteen miles west of the river Jumna. Lone-. 79. 35 E*
Lat. 25.58. N. & '
OOSCAT, a considerable town of Anatolia, in Asia Mi¬
nor, situated in a hollow, surrounded on all sides by naked
and barren hills. The houses are neatly constructed of brick
and wood, painted like those in theother Turkish towns. The
palace is a very extensive building of brick and wood, but
only two stories high; and a handsome mosque has lately
been erected, of hewn stone, in imitation of St Sophia. It is
sun ounded Dy a slight wall, built of sun-dried brick and
mud. i he inhabitants amount to 16,000, of whom the
greater number are Turks, and the remainder Greeks,
Armenians, and Jews. It is 110 miles east of Angora.
Lat. 39. 42. N.
OOSCOTTA, a fortress of the south of India, in the
province of Mysore. It was occupied by the Mahrattas in
the year 1688, but was taken from them by the nabob of
Cuddapah, and retaken by the Mahrattas. In 1761 it was
besieged and taken by Hyder Ali; and seven years after¬
wards it was taken by the British, but recovered by Hy¬
der in 1773. It fell under the power of the British in
343
Oon
II
Ooscotta.
344
O P H
O P I
Oossoor
Ophio-
mancv*
1779, and was made over to the new rajah of Mysore along
with the province. It is fifteen miles north-east of Ban-
^ 00*8 SO Oil, or Ousoon, a fortress of Hindustan, in the
southern province of Mysore. It was first taken by tie
British in 1768, and again in 1791. After the death °
Tippoo, this town, with the province, was made over to the
new rajah of Mysore. It is twenty miles south-south-east
from Bangalore. Long. 72. 52. E. L^t. 1 • • •
OOSTERHOUT, a market-town of the Netherlands, m
the province of North Brabant, and the arrondissement ot
BreL It is a considerable place for making pottery wa e
and tiles, and has large markets three bmes a year for the
sale of linen cloth. It is five miles to the north of Bred ,
and contains 6950 inhabitants. ,, r
GOTAPALLIUM, a town and district of the south of
India, in the district of Dmdigul. Long. / 7. 30. E. La.
^OOTATATOOR, a town of the south of India’ in the
district of Tanjore. Long. 70. 58. E. Lat. 1L 7. N.
OOTRADOORG, one of the numerous fortresses with
which the country of Mysore is covered. Il was by
the British in 1792. Long. 77. 17. E. Lat-12' ^
OOTRIMALOOR, a town ot the south of India,
iirovince of the Carnatic. Long. 79. 50. E. Lat. 12. 3d. . .
OPALIA, in Antiquity, feasts celebrated at Rome in
honour of the goddess Ops. Varro says they were held on
the 19th of December, which was one of the days of the
Saturnalia. These two feasts were celebrated in the same
month, because Saturn and Ops were husband and wife ;
but the vows offered to the goddess were made sitting on
^ OPARO, an island in the Pacific Ocean, discovered by
Captain Vancouver in 1791. L consists of a cluster of big
craggy mountains. The natives are estimated at 1500, who
appeared to be well fed, and to have open and cheerful
countenances. Long. 215. 58. E. Lat. • • ;
OPERA, a lyrical drama set to music in recitations, airs,
duetts, trios, quartetts, choruses, and/««fe; preceded by
an instrumental overture, and accompanied by an oiches
tra • and, when performed, enforced and embellished by ac¬
tion and declamation, and aPP[°Pnate cost,;m,eS^np1®rCee^
rv The opera appears to have originated at tlore
about the end of the sixteenth century. (See Dorns works,
vassim ) The Italians divide their operas into four kinds ,
fhe sacred opera, the serious opera, the ^
and the opera buffa, or comic opera. The brench have
their grand’opera, in which the whole lyrical drama is sung ,
and the opera comique, in which the singing is intermingled
with spoken dialogue. The Germans have a greater va¬
riety of such distinctions of operas; as the grand opera, the
serious opera, the tragic opera, the heroic opera, the roman-
tic opera, the allegorical opera, the military melodrama, the
comic overa, and some others. , , .
Much amusing and interesting matter ^ative to the rise
and progress of the opera may be found in Dr Burney s
Tours, and History, in the Baron de Grimm s Correspon¬
dence, and in various German periodicals conducted by
musicians. See also Arteaga, Manfredim, Signorelli, &c.
For some technicalities relative to operatic music, see the
31 'oPHICLEIDE, or Keyed-Serpent. See Music.
OPHIOLOGY is composed of two Greek words, name¬
ly 60/s, a serpent, and Xoyog, « discourse, and consequently
denotes that branch of zoology which treats of serpents.
^OPHIOMANCY, in Antiquity, the art of predicting
future events from the motions or habits of serpents. I bus
Calchas, on seeing a serpent devour eight sparrows, with
their dam, foretold the duration of the siege of Troy; and
the seven coils of a serpent which was seen on the tomb
of Anchises were interpreted to mean the seven years du¬
ring which iEneas wandered from place to place before he
arrived at Latium. v
OPHIR, a country mentioned in Scripture, from whence
Solomon received great quantities of gold in ships which
he sent out for that purpose. The difficulty, however, is,
where to fix its situation. Some have gone in search of
it to the West, others to the East Indies, and a few to the
eastern coast of Africa. Mr Bruce places it in the king¬
dom of Sofala, on the coast of Mozambique ; and he sup¬
ports this hypothesis with great learning and ingenuity.
It was, on the other hand, strenuously maintained by Dr
Doig, a learned contributor to the third edition of this
Encyclopedia, that it was situated somewhere on the west¬
ern coast of Africa, and that the Tarshish of Solomon was
the ancient Betica in Spain. Whether the one hypo¬
thesis or the other be the true one, it is not for us to de¬
cide. Both are plausible, and both supported by much
ingenuity and erudition ; but we do not think that the ar¬
guments of either writer furnish a complete confutation of
those employed by the other.
OPHITES, in Ecclesiastical History, Christian heretics,
so called both from the veneration they had for the ser¬
pent which tempted Eve, and the worship they paid to a
real serpent. They pretended that the serpent was Jesus
Christ, and that he taught men the knowledge of good and
evil. They distinguished between Jesus and Christ. Je¬
sus, they said, was born of the Virgin Mary, but Christ
came down from heaven to be united with him; Jesus was
crucified, but Christ had left him to return to heaven.
They likewise distinguished the God of the Jews, whom
they termed Jaldabaoth, from the supreme God; ascribing
to the former the body, and to the latter the soul of man.
They had a live serpent, which they kept in a kindot cage;
and at certain times they opened the cage door, and called
to the reptile. The animal came out, and mounting upon
the table, twined itself about some loaves of bread, which
they broke and distributed to the company, all of whom
kissed the serpent. And this, by a horrid blasphemy, they
called their Eucharist. „ . .
OPHTHALMOSCOPY, a branch, of physiognomy,
which deduces the knowledge of a man’s temper and cha¬
racter from the appearance of his eyes. _ |
OPIATES, medicines which are administered to pro¬
cure sleep, whether in the form of electuaries, drops, or
^OPINION is that judgment which the mind forms of
any proposition, for the truth or falsehood of which there
is not sufficient evidence to produce science or absolu e
belief. That the three angles of a plane triangle a
equal to two right angles, is not a matter of opinion nor
can it with propriety be called an object of the mathema
tician’s belief; he does more than believe it, he tow
to be true. When two or three men, under no temptatio
to deceive, declare that they were witnesses of an unc
mon though not preternatural event, their testimony-s
complete evidence, and produces absolute belief i
minds of those to whom it is given ; but ^ doJS “°JsPnot
duce science like rigid demonstration. ^ he fact is^ ^
doubted, but those who have it on report do not
to be true, as they know the truth ot ProPoslt|0 e-
lively or demonstrably certain. When one or two
late a story including many circumstances to a tmr
son, and another comes who positively contradicts
in whole or in part, he to whom these Ja™nS 1 mind,
m WllOie U1 ill ^ — . \ J nwn mil
are given weighs all the circumstances m lus a ^
balances the one against the other, and evidence
more or less wavering, to that side on which t ^
appears to preponderate. assent.18 ! ...Jdiffered
specting the facts of which he has received such d
accounts.
I
O P o
O P o
345
;ura
oblaLd from the poppyrutfpaJtly has1boer??oS’,/lThy H'hr'lf'1 'he Moora: *'1“ which it Oporto.
of the resinous and partly of the gum^Tn’d, ancT pS ^",1,0‘restive u^,hr'SHanS’ and f°ll<>Wed the for-"-^
sesses also a narcotic principle. Onm-tr, ..
OPOCALPASUM, Opocarbascm, or Apocalpasum, on Ute r'°ht bank from which k°rk thehn’OU*h “f tl,e rirer'
a gummy, resinous substance, which has a strong resem- in some parts attained bv a flilhr f Y ^ai}ascent’
blance to liquid myrrh, and which in the time of Galen TLnl at ained 7 ® 140 steps. It occu-
a poiso”ous nature’an5 atfhc ^
OPORTO or Porto n ritv nf i u • many niagmficent and spacious streets, well paved for
dered as the northern capital If U.SkSSdoT'S^f Sn'^hr^h ’ iT'11 some,(i"e chllrches- “"vents, anti
the most important commercial places rf tW peninsula m.mlr^ 1° b,U'ldmf ! “nd ‘''“t "re interspersed with
It is situated in the province Entre Douro and Minho nt 1 l l P7 e.ns’ a ouoding with flowers and beautiful
the mouth of the latter riven The YaTneartfe mouth nkee ’ The *'? "" Tuf g?iT ^ t0 the who!e
of the river is generally low, but the city beino' situated * fl m0S, remar^able edihces, as in most Catholic
on an elevation on the northern bank, may be descried at convonT ..Im1,, eVOtf ■t° rel*'ous purposes, as churches,
the distance of four or five leagues, hv a remarkabTv hkok ’ ,? monastene?- Sle most strik>ng "re very
steeple, called Los Cierigos, 4ich risesT„ the ra dd^i nf “af",fic,in lr ornamented. The cathedral is a superb
it. On approaching the bir, the town and L™ e of if ^ng, vvhtch was constructed in 1112, by Count Hen-
John de Foz are seen upon low land near the month of h d C iT °’ t^e afnLnt t0 116 c^°‘r a fine
the river, with a lighthouse, lighted every fight On tie fch^ 11“ sfta,rcaf' . rhe “Hegiate church of Cedo-
northern point of the castk of st jlltnle foz a ledge of rt re h. t "^ t1' ‘S a PO^y Gothic struc-
rocks extends towards the south-west, some of them above Mr!^ } 4 • thu year 5,59, an? Jas left untouched by the
water; and without these, on the opposEHide t a similar IT redee™d from destruction by a no-
ledge. This formation renders the entrance difficult with, rtbute £ “its lresCT™tion ^Thf “ll "''h 'Tlr yearl3,
Kt^teTS ^ti>the year f“°p™esToc;;
in along the coast. The bar of the Douro is ,Ae to al- SOWsiclIml^lSS^d
friends cannot afford to do so. The church of the Cieri¬
gos, built in 1748, stands at the top of a fine wide street
called Calcada de Natividade. It is a superb building,
most beautifully ornamented, and has a tower, before no¬
ticed, the most lofty in the kingdom, if not in Europe,
which may be seen from the sea at the distance of seve¬
ral leagues. The other parochial churches are St Nicolao
said to be the richest, St Victoria, St Ildefonso, Santa
O # #   V,A xsvuiu llciUie lO ai-
terations of its position from gales of wind, which makes
it tlie more necessary to take a pilot, a matter not diffi¬
cult, as there are plenty of fishermen perfectly competent,
who are ready to act in that capacity. When vessels
have passed the bar they are in a state of security, ex¬
cept at periods when, after a heavy fall of rain, such tor¬
rents rush down the Douro as to raise the water from
thirty to forty feet in a few hours. These fres/ies, as they
forces of Viriato. When the Goths, Vandals,”1]^ and
^uev! had overrun krance and Spain, and attained the end
their career, the Alans entered Lusitania, and establish-
their capital in this city, which they adorned and forti-
MZnha' " Sa“ ^«^ayeaw ecS
Vef t?„m
ufo^r'Ltd c^mf^h^tkSrL0hSiC" "“apetZefe
name cLo nr ^ f Y 160’ under the no less than 380 monks ; but some of them were destroy
the rim- aid dn& /\ Tf8 °n the °Pp0site banl1 of ed duri"S ,he sia«e "f' OP"v» by Dom Migud and o hers
f!l" I’va"f..de‘e?^d_tbe P^?se over ,, against the suffered severely There were^five convents, wUchTo”
tained about 340 nuns of different orders, besides nume¬
rous females who resided in them under the tuition of the
nuns.
fied, giving it the name of Castrum Novu nwnrl U • ^ier.e are Pew ctttes in Europe in which the charitable
from Gale or Ctvd tl.n •' „ " J U ’t0 filstlngUIsfr it institutions are more numerous than in Oporto. The nub-
the river, called’ CastruTAnlioumT bank fic hospitals especially are extensive estabHshments. The
sitania was seized upon^dbout thenar 540 hv^l 1 PnnC1‘Dal 1 f'16™ i§ the H°SPital Rea1’ which ^ built of
Goths, under their King Leovosrikb who .mt thn AnaiI g^nUe’ and hasrthe appearance of a palace, and is remark-
all who refused to i • g • h P f 1 tbe sword able not more f°r its extent and grandeur than for the
said, amongst others Ids own s^TheVoth^8 ^ beerl great nUn?bf °f patientS which are rel,eved in it; they
their dominion till the invasion of the M0 * ™aintained are attended by the best physicians and surgeons, both
Abdulhassan overran all PilivL * 1Y ^ u- 6’ Enghsh and Portuguese, and are supplied with the best
^ whole counlrTup to tYe i "’r r8'1' ^ ?SpenSed n0t 0nly to the s^k in the house, but
the hands of the Ch/Li-m* i Douro' 11 tf11 again into also to out-door patients at half price. Of a less extent
fain Abderralunan, attS Z&Zlic KklTlf f T" 'i'" f0UndlinS bosPital- t"'» unfortunate and poor
w 820. A desecrate Wtl Catholic King Alfonso L females, one for beggars, one for poor old women, one for
!*!> the Moors «re defeaZZd ml3' in ‘I’" En«lish’ ,and thr,ie UP»" a scale distinguished by
“b“ai“y whZefz c'zr68 of st Sylva’San crispi"’ a-d S““ F~da
Batalha. AnotheJ VInnr.TI61 retamS ,the Dame °f This city suffered severely during the long siege which
d« city, ad! eZed irZeV „S|hrqrif y,n«o'1,'e;ed ia December 1833, aid cominued An
s«« Gascon knights under The comT, IT D ’aT, ?" 183*' 'va8 a period of severe misery to the inha-
v°i" xvi. G ’ omman o on Alfon- bitants, as well from the constant fire kept up against the
O P o
town, as from the scarcity of food, fuel, and other n^ce®'
saries. The army of Dorn Miguel had surrounded the
city with works, which extended in a circuit of nearly four¬
teen miles, and from the forts on those lines kept up a can¬
nonade and bombardment. The effect of the former was to
make an impression upon the works of Dorn Pedro, ana
that of the latter to destroy whatever was destructible in
the houses of the inhabitants, and in the public buildings.
The churches were spared by the assailants as far as their
position did not interfere with the military operations.
Both the public and the private buildings are constructet
of massy blocks of stone, and have little combustible mat¬
ter in their composition. Thus, though the windows, the
decorations, and the furniture of many buildings, were
O P P
Of the number of pipes, 49,575, sent to other countries Opp,-
than Great Britain in these ten years, Brazil took 28,261, II
the other parts of South America 8944, whilst North Arne- ^
rica, the whole of Europe, India, and Africa, took only
12,370 pipes, of which Hamburg alone received 5573.
This statement shows to what an extent the north of Por¬
tugal is dependent uoon the consumption of Great Britain
for the chief product of its soil. A duty is collected from
the wine, both on its transport from the interior, and on
its exportation to foreign countries. The amount varies
with the kind and quality of the wine, and is often subject
to considerable fluctuation.
The other exports from Oporto consist of oil, oranges,
ficrs, and various fruits, wool, refined sugar, cream of tar¬
tar, shumac, leather, and cork. The imported articles are,
uecorduuiifc, cmim*.**** ^ # ■» *    i
much injured or destroyed, and more than sateen iou- provisions; sugar and coffee from Bra
sand of the civic inhabitants kdlcd, there was but ^ d ^ ^ goodS) hardware, tin plates butter,
mage done to the interior appearance ot the place, cheese from Great Britain and Ireland ; and hemp,
far as that was concerned, a very short P«'°d » 'S and” her timber, from Norway or the Baltic.
the restoration of the city to its former beauty. i i It is said that a large portion of the British cottons and
years after the termination of tlie siege the inhabitants im tedgat tPhis place ore for the purpose of be-
in a great degree returned “ P"8"1* " g carried into Spain through Braganza and other from
and habits which have long distinguished the y. towns, by means of the contraband trade.
Oporto, in a national view is a co^rcml p a th ^ mamJactures of the city suffered exceedingly by
greatest importance, being the channel by which t si but are now reviving. The sugar refineries are
valuable produce of the soil ot Portugal is is n considerable ; gold and silver lace is made, and also some
other countries. That soil is Pe- Tosfery Cott’on and linen weaving gives some occupation,
growth of a strong red wine, highly relished * ’ ag do Jhe making of glass and paper. Though the popu-
and not much esteemed in a.ny other part o . • was reduced by the siege, it is now rapidly recover-
is produced from a grape originally transported fro former state, and, by the latest calculation, amounts
gundy to the banks of the Douro, whence it has spread Though somewhat cold in the winter,
throughout the P™»ince o^Tra^o^Mon^^tho rn^e- m,fch visitecl by invalids as Lisboa,
rior and higher grounds of the province En.re Douro and
Minho. From the growers the wines are collected by mer
chants of Oporto, and preserved in large quantities till they
are shipped for the markets of consumption. 1 he best or
the wines formed the subject of a monopoly to a privileged
company, who possessed the right of pre-emption of a li¬
mited number of pipes before the general buyers were al¬
lowed to make their contracts. That monopoly has been
abolished, a circumstance which has given a new direction
to the internal trade ; but the sufferings occasioned by the
siege are still felt, and this, with the change of sys^e™’ ^ is 5230 square miles, comprehending fifty-four cities and
r„titid“:rsin *i;X‘monebih^ ^ i«* i. ^ ^ ^
tain, however, that as long as the taste for port wine con¬
tinues in Great Britain as it has hitherto done, the trade ot
Oporto must be of the greatest importance to the kingdom
of Portugal.
Oporto is generally considered as a more healthy city. The
latitude, by accurate observation, is 41. 11. 15. N. the lon¬
gitude 8. 8. 22. west from London. ^
OPPELN forms one of three provincial governments ot
Prussia, into which the province of Silesia is d'V'ded. It
is bounded on the north by the government ot Breslau,
on the east by the kingdom of Poland and the republic of
Cracow, on the south-east by Gallicia, on the south and
south-west by Moravia, or rather Austrian Silesia, and on
the west by the province of Reichenbach. In extent it
An Account of the number of Pipes of Wine shipped at
Oporto from 1824 to 1833, distinguishing those to the
British dominions from those to all other countries.
Years.
1824..
1825..
1826..
1827..
1828..
1829..
1830..
1831.,
1832.,
1833.
Pipes sent
to Great
Britain.
Pipes sent
to all other
Countries.
19,968
40,277
18,310
24,207
27,932
17,832
19,333
20,171
13,575
19,432
6,049
170
287
10,003
13,295
7,533
4,832
3,268
2,975
1,063
231,037
Average annual
export  23,103
49,575
4,957
Total.
26,117
40,447
18,597
34,237
41,227
25,371
24,165
23,439
16,550
20,495
270,645
27,064
towns, and 1492 villages; and it is divided into «been cir¬
cles. The population, according to the census ot IHW,
amounted to 529,964 individuals, and, according to that
of 1826, had increased to 660,756. Of these inhabitants,
about nine tenths are Catholics, and the remainder is divid¬
ed into various sects. It is drained by the river Oder, in¬
to which all the streams run. The soil is not very fertile,
and its most valuable produce is derived from its extensive
forests. The chief industry is applied to spinning and to
making wooden ware. The city ot Oppeln, the capita o
the province, as well as ot the circle of the sairle
stands on the Oder, and contains 380 houses, with
inhabitants. It is surrounded \vith walls, and defende y
a castle; and it has some trade in linen, in timber, an
ironmongery. . .
OPPIAN, a Greek poet, was born at Corycia or An
zarba, in Cilicia, towards the close of the reign of A aom
Aurelius. His father, Agesilas, held a distinguished ran
in the senate of his native place, not so much on acc
of his birth or his riches, as the credit he obtained to
extent of his knowledge and his love of philosophy,
was the object of all his studies, and the guide of a
actions. To his son he was careful to give an educ ^
conformable to his own principles, causing him
structed in music, geometry, and particularly the
lettres. The young Oppian, however, had scar^ ^
pleted his studies, when an unlooked-for reverse P
his ardour, and destroyed all his hopes. Septimiu
O P p
0 rus, having mounted the throne, to which he had succeeded
m hewing out a way with his sword, arrived at Anazarba
and immediately the senate of the place threw themselves
at the feet of the conqueror. Agesilas alone, conceiving
himself bound to withhold from an usurper the homage
which was due only to the legitimate sovereign, stood
aloof upon this occasion ; a circumstance which so irritated
Severus, that he deprived the philosopher of all his pro-
perty, and banished him to the island of Melitus, now
Meleda situated in the Adriatic. Thither Oppian followed
his father, and it was in this compulsory retreat that he
conceived and executed his two poems on the Chase and
on Fihsing entit ed Cynegetica and Halieutica. When
they were finished, he went to Rome, and presented them
to the son of Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, who relished
them so much that he permitted the author to demand of
him whatever recompense he pleased. Oppian asked only
for the release of his father, with permission to the latter
to return to his own country ; and the emperor, as much
touched with the filial affection of the son as he had been
delighted with the verses of the poet, not only granted the
favour he had asked, but added the gift of a gold statera
(about T.l 4s. of our money) for each one of the verses
wh.ch he had just heard recited. If, as Suidas pretends,
these verses amounted to twenty thousand, never did poet
receive so splendid a recompense. But Oppian did not
long enjoy his good fortune. Scarcely had he returned to
a^ofthirtvT 'fM6 SU?k int° tHe graVe> Nearly
age of thirty, having fallen the victim of a contagious ma-
ady which then desolated the city of Anazarba. His fel-
low-dtizens erected to his memory a magnificent tomb
whereon was engraved an inscription in Greek verse, which
Lorenzo Lippi has rendered as follows :
Oppianus vatum decus immortale fuissem,
Invida m gelidum rapuisset Parca sub Orcum
SHiinr^n"1 pl*c!dse clarum splendore Carnal,
bi hvor longas violasset tempora vitce,
Won mihi laude parem quemquam terra alma tulisset.
rSVSf1I-that,WLe.Iefrn of °PPian from the anonymous
G eek historian of his life, whom all the succeeding bio
cent thpS|kaVe j3 t^fr^y copied. We must, howevel ex-
“rack with ^!d/ t0r0f Jis";0l'ks’ ®ckneUer, who, being
struck with the disparity of style which he remarked in tbS
sZich °nnFishi"*’ conceded tha;nle
works, Which, according to him, were so different in me
same amhn01 Posslbl{. ha,ve been the productions of the
two Oppians’ tlmfirsfo^ h’ hG SUpposed that there "'ere
thornfth! ^ ^ f whorn’ a natlve of Cilicia, and au-
In th/ th(:Halleurtlca’ preceded the second by several years
ifb e&fr Ch"eider’ “ is to tiK
»r<ling to ha^Sfod’,"1 whicl'the au,hor ^
inferioritv i’ atteaiPted to reproduce, but with great
»ftheSl “,;n"er "nc, s™e ”r image,T
pletely refined1 this hol'i 1° 111 If IlaS) honever, cotn-
I Greek e£„'f n ^ h!Pothes,s, in the preface to his
W86. Hw indeed PuWisM at Strasburg in
"in-ousclce’rto, i1*, bf .rec™dl«l w^h the una-
liave lavished noon ,!,■ " llc • crITtlas’ ancient and modern,
aodel of ““7 ‘h'| 7‘? J"1'" Seizes calls him a
taint of number, t. t’callger .compares him to Virgil, in
Barth, Conrad r tlam“’n>:and "k'8ance "f «)de; Gaspar
Kept t„ coupI 77an< m?7 °;hers> "over cite Inn,
P < a name with laudatory epithets. It is
OPT
347
oifthronetT61*’ \° re,co"cile 80 niuch Praise bestowed Oppido
of O mian nn H ^ regard evin°ed for the T
ot Oppian on the other ; nor can we help feeling some as- ^Axis.
tomshment, when we consider that, from the dfte of the  
eClfdheZ8’ frnted 31 Florence in 1515> two centuries
e apsed before the appearance of the first really critical
edition, published by Schneider in the year 1777 ^ During
th., long period, it is true, there appeared several edition?
at cousiderable mtervaJs, particularly that of Aldus, Venice,
lo 17, which Schneider considers as very defective and re
gards as the source of all the faults which, till his time had
disfigured the text; that ofVascosan, Paris, 1549; and that
of Rittershusius, Leyden, 1597. No edition appeared in
the yrarm? ’ T T'm^hce^teenth century, until
y a 17/7, when that of Schneider was published at
Strasburg, containing the Greek text, accompanied with a
Latin translation, and followed by the paraphrase in prose
ich the sophist Eutechnius had made of the Ixeutica
r&r attr‘buted t0Oppian, but which, unfortunate-
y, Has not come down to our time. This was followed bv
178b b!r ° Belin d,e ^allu’ publisbed at Stl'asburg in
published a? ring° y 116 Cynl9etica'ofwhich editor
published, at the same place, the following year, a good
1 rench translation, enriched with critical notes, and a cu
nous extract from El Domal’s history of anima , translat
ed from the Arabic by Baron SilvesJe de Saey, who! hol
e er, for some reason, withheld his name. Prior to this
there were two French translations, one by Florent Chris-
tien, preceptor to Henry IV. when prince of Bearn • and
another by Fermat, a counsellor of Toulouse, who, in 1690
published a prose version of the books on Hunting by Ar-
^oEtl hPPban-- The rm 0nFisbi"S -as transited
g ? ber0IC "erse hy Jones and others, belonging to
St John s College, Oxford, and printed there in 1722 8vo
with a life of the author prefixed. The Latin translad’on of
Lorenzo Lippi, printed in 1478, preceded by thirty-seven
^ nppfn^0 PrincePs of the Greek text. ^ iA.)
TT]f • IDr0’.a c!ly ot ItaIy> in the province of Calabria
tenore I., in the kingdom of Naples. It stands on a hill
ween The rivers Modena and Trecosio, is the see of a
rite/®’ ',l,en near^one h“if °f the pop^-
StonrbnILA?iION’ in Medicine> the act of obstructing or
canPt hnS UP he PrfSage °f the body> hy redundant or pec¬
cant humours. Phis word is used chiefly to denote ob¬
structions in the lower intestines.
OPOUN, the most easterly of the Navigators’ Islands
or!atIvk t0cean- P"*-I69-7- W t
IA 1IVL Mood, in Grammar, that which serves
to express a desire or wish for something. In most lan
guages, except the Greek, the optative is expressed bv
prefixing to the subjunctive a conjunction, which, wUh the
verb, expresses the thing wished for, leaving the mind to
supply‘1,0 mb indicative of desire’; as utinan Zti
you were wire!™ WISe’ 0r’other words> “-l wM that
eye/JJke wire™’ ‘he a^,enh^h ‘l>e optic axes of both
&™kbefore t°hneeeyr1,er> “ the>' te"d tomaa'
348
OPTICS.
History. Ottcs, from tire Greek word oirropat, which signifies to
y 'see, is the name given to that branch of natutal ohdosophy
which treats of the nature and properties of light, ot
changes which it suffers either in its qualities or in its
course when transmitted through bodies, when reflectt
from their surfaces, or when passing near th(.‘ny ot e
structure of the eye, and the laws of vision ; and of the con
struction of those instruments in which light is the chief agent.
histoky.
Aristo¬
phanes.
B.C. 424.
Lactantius.
A.D. 303.
The early history of optics, like that of all the sciences
cultivated in ancient times is involved in ntuoh obsc'm^.
After the art of glass-making was discovered, lenses and
spheres of glass seem to have been used as burning-glasses.
In Aristophanes’s comedy of The Clouds a burning sp ere is
distinctly described. Pliny speaks of globes of glass whmh
produced combustion when held to the sun. Lactantiu
informs us that a globe of glass full of water could, when
exposed to the sun, kindle a fire even in the coldest weatlier.
And it appears that globes of glass were used by the \ es-
tal Virgins to kindle the sacred fire, and by surgeons to
burn the flesh of sick persons that required to be cauter-
^ v. '^ Among the earliest speculators on vision were Py^ago-
Pythagoras ^ ^ piato ; the former held that bodies became visible
by means of particles projected from their surfaces and en¬
tering the eye, while the latter, in order to give the eye
some share in the matter, supposed that something emitted
from the eye met with something emitted from the object,
and was again returned into the organ of vision. The fol¬
lowers of Plato, however, though they had deteriorated
rather than improved the conclusion of Pythagoras, were
acquainted with two important facts in the saence. T y
taught that light moved in straight lines, and that when it
wa^ reflected regularly from the surfaces of polished bodies
the angle of incidence was equal to the £jngle,of re^eJ10"',
The earliest writer on optics was Euclid, the celebrate
geometer, whose treatise on the subject is still extant,
consists of two books on optics and catoptrics, and proceed^
on the Platonic theory, that the visual rays pass from the
eve to the object, forming a cone whose apex is in the ey
and whose base is the objU He shews that the angles of
incidence and reflexion are equal, and that the incident and
reflected rays lie in a plane at right angles to the reflecting
surface; and he discusses the apparent magnitude and form
of objects, and the apparent place of the images formed by
reflexion from plane, convex, and concave mirrors. The
book on optics contains sixty-one, and that on catoptncs
thirty-one theorems.2 . ,. . , ,
As a naturalist Aristotle made some valuable optical ob¬
servations. He described, with tolerable correctness, the
phenomena of rainbows, halos, and parhelia. He considered
the rainbow as produced by the reflexion of the suns rays
from the drops of rain which gave an imperfect image of the
sun; and he ascribes the light which appears in the sun s
absence to the reflective power of the atmosphere.
Plato.
Eiwl'd-
B.C. 300.
Aristotlp.
B.C. 410.
The speculations of Seneca and Cleomedes derive any Hist,
interest they may possess from their absurdity. Seneca no-^ [,
ticed the magnifying power of a bottle of glass in enlarg- gene
ins small letters, and he observed that an angular piece of A.D.}
glass produced all the colours of the rainbow. Cleomedes, <W
in his cyclical theory of motion, has given an elaborate ex-A. I
planation of the manner in which rays proceeding from the
eye render the objects which they meet visible, but it is
too stupid to demand the slightest attention.
The science of optics may be justly considered as owing Ptok
its origin to the celebrated Claudius Ptolemy, the astrono-Bom. ■
mer of Alexandria, who flourished at the end of the first
century. His work entitled Ptolemai Opticorum Sernoms
quinque ex Arabico-Latine versi, was known in the time of
Roger Bacon to have treated on astronomical refractions,
but it had escaped the notice of philosophers, and its valu¬
able contents were unknown until 1816, when Delambre
published an analysis of it from the manuscript m the Roy¬
al Library at Paris. Montucla had, long before the discovery
of the French manuscript, mentioned that a manuscript
copy of Ptolemy’s Optics was in the catalogue of the Bodlei¬
an Library of Oxford. This interesting manuscript, which
Professor Rigaud was so kind as to examine at our request,
belongs to the Savilian Library, and had been the property
of Sir Henry Savile himself. As in the 1 ansian manu¬
script the first book is wanting, but it has no blank spaces
like the Parisian one, and it is accompanied with a preface
by the translator, containing an abstract of the work, and
stating that the fifth book is imperfect. The translator
mentions that the second book had been previously tran -
lated from Arabic into Latin by Amiratus Eugemus, a Sici¬
lian, from the latest of two copies of which, the new tons-
lation was made. The following abstract of this mterestog
work is taken from Delambre’s Analysis, and from the
translator’s abstract as communicated to us by Protesso
Rl“aThe Optics of Ptolemy consists of five books. The
first book is wanting, but from the recapitulation ofit at the
beginning of the second, it appears to have contained a di
sertation on the relations between light and v»n,founW
on the idea that the visual rays issue from the eye. the
second book he shews that we see better with t
than with one, and that the object is not seen m the je
place with one eye as with two. Vision, he says, is sing e,
jf the two axes of the pyramids of the visual rays a ^
ed in the same manner on the object, but beCon^ l ifthe
if the axes are not directed in a similar manner, and
distance is a little less than the distance between th^
He next proceeds to find, geometrically, the circum ^
ces which produce single or double images. H ^
imperfection of sight in old men to a want of t
virtue, which, like the other faculties, decays with tM
proach of age ; and he states thatthose " not suCh
eyes see at a less distance than those w ^ c0}.
eyes. Rapidity of motion, he asserts, conf"f‘a radiuS
ours on a wheel. If the colour is in the dn e ^different
the wheel will appear entirely of thts odour,and,
colours are at different distances from the centre,
15f Dr Smith is of opinion that this treatise was not written by Euclid the geometer; an opinion which he rests on
which the author has committed. Smith’s OpOcs, vol. n. Rem. p. 16. § 93.
Hi
OPTICS.
y. appear on the wheel as so many concentric circles different¬
ly coloured. When, after looking long at a coloured ob¬
ject, we direct the eye to another, we attribute to it the
colour of the first.
“ In the third book, which treats of reflexion from plane
and concave mirrors, he shews, that in a plane mirror the
object is seen in the perpendicular, drawn from the object
to the plane of the mirror and continued behind it. He
mentions that objects appear smaller towards the zenith
and larger towards the horizon, because in the former case
we see them in a position to which w'e are less accustomed.
“In concave mirrors the objects appear concave, and in
convex ones they appear convex, and the image is seen at
the point of intersection of the reflected ray, and the line
drawn from the object to the centre of the sphere.
“ The fourth book treats of concave and compound mir¬
rors, and of the effects of two or more mirrors. In these
mirrors an object may be reflected and rendered visible by
all the parts of the mirror, or by three, or two, or even one
point. The image may be either on the surface of the
mirror, or before the surface, or behind the eye, or behind
the mirror. When the image is behind the mirror, the
distance of the object from the mirror is less than that of
the image. When the image is between the eye and the
mirror the distance of the object from the eye will be some¬
times greater than the distance of the image from the mir¬
ror, and sometimes it will be equal to it, and sometimes less.
When the object is between the mirror and the eye it will
be seen in a part different from that where it really is ; and
if we give it a motion in one direction it will appear to move
in the opposite direction.
“ rhejtf/^book is the most curious and valuable of the whole
vor . Ptolemy begins by explaining the experiment with
the piece of money, which, when concealed behind the
side of a vessel, becomes visible by filling it with water.
Ihe refraction of the visual ray in penetrating the water
makes us see the piece of money out of its place, and in
the prolongation of the primitive direction of the rav emit¬
ted from the eye. In order to measure this refraction at
fferent angles, Ptolemy employs a circle divided into 360°,
the inferior half of which is plunged in the water, so that the
refracting surface covers one of the diameters of the circle.
Ihe centre of the circle is marked by a small coloured
body, and a second similar body is fitted to one of the quad¬
rants out of the water, and at a given distance from the ver-
ical diameter; a third coloured body slides on the lower
Par!> 7ldYs immersed in the water. This last body is then
reetafl Th^ib ^ ^ ^ -T pIaCed °n the body in the air
he ,pI hf haeeu-nAStljaight line- The two distances of
hus meef an|d thlld body from the vertical diameter are
tnus measured on the graduated circle.
lovd™ S maiLne[ Ptolemy obtained the results in the fol-
air togJ!/ eVWhlC?nC°ntamS the angles of refracti<m from
r t0 water from 10° up to 80° of incidence.
349
correct one, viz. 0-7486 ; and it is interesting to remark, that History.
an inci ence of 40° and 50, where the angle of refraction
can be measured most accurately, the results of Ptolemy
approach very near to the truth. *
“ In order to measure the angles of refraction from air
mto glass, Ptolemy adopted the ingenious idea of procuring
a semi-cylinder of pure glass, and adjusting the diameter of
it so as to coincide with the horizontal diameter of the gra¬
duated circle already described. By performing the very
same experiments which he made with water, he found that
there was no refraction at a perpendicular incidence ; but
that for every other position the angle in the air was always
greater than the angle in the glass, and the refraction greater
t lan m water. When the three bodies were placed in ap¬
pearance in the same straight line they always remained
there, whether the eye was placed above the glass or below
1 , following are the refractions from air to glass
which he obtained in this manner;—.
Angles Angles Ratio of the sines
of incidence. of refraction. . op ^ angles of
incidence and refraction,
  0° O'
  7 0 0-70179
 fS 30  0-68255
 20 302 0-70041
 25 0   0-65748
 30 0  0-65270
 34 30  0-65403
 38 30  0-66247
 42 0  0-67946
™an °f these ratios is 0-67386, whereas the true
ratio is 0-64516; but at the angles of incidence of 40®, 50®,
an^ the ratio is very near the true one.
When the semi-cylinder of glass was placed on the sur¬
face of water, Ptolemy observed that the refractions from
water into glass were less than any he had observed, be¬
cause the difference of density between water and glass
was less than between water and air. The following were
the results which he obtained
0°
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Angles
of incidence.
Angles
of refraction
0®.
10 .
20 .
30 .
40 .
50 .
60 .
70 .
80 .,
Ratio of the sines
of the angles of
incidence and refraction.
. 0° O'
• 9 30  0-95044
■18 30  0-92774
■27 0  0-90778
■35 0  0-89233
42 30  0-88192
49 30  0-87804
56 0  0-88422
62 0  0-89657
Angles
of incidence.
0®.
10 .
20 .
40
50
60
70
80
Angles
of refraction.
Ratio of the sines
of the angles of
incidence and refraction.
. 0® O'
• 8 0  ..1 to 0-80143
on -J5 30  l_ o-78136
^  22 30  i__ 0-76537
•28 0  1—0-73037
•35 0  i_ 0-74875
30 0-76992
•45 01 l_ 0-75249
•50 0  1—0-77786
Themean of these ratios is 0-76736, differing little fromthe
n. °[ theS„e ratios is 0,9()’ tbe true ratio being
0 8/60, the index of refraction for water being 1.336,
50® 6n® °f fi ^Ao1'5!25 5 but at the angles of incidence of
50 , 60 , and 70®, the ratio is very near the true one.
Ptolemy now discusses the important subject of astrono¬
mical refraction, which he ascribes to the difference of den¬
sity between ether and air. If the visual ray, he remarks,
is stopped by an impenetrable body, it could not shew us a
body which is hid behind the first; and if the second be¬
comes visible, it can only be on account of the flexion of
e visua ray. This flexion takes place at its passage into
a medium of different density; and the possibility of this
flexion, he asserts, may be proved by the following pheno¬
mena. By observations on the stars, it was found that the
parallels drawn through the apparent place of those which
rise or set, are those nearer the north pole than the paral-
ThlS :0ffo,rlina„n.uscriPt-
Professor Rigaud supposes the real number to have been 190
2 In the Oxford MS. this is 18° SO'.
30'
Angles
of incidence.
0°....
10 ....
20 ....
30 ....
40 ....
50 ....
60 ....
70 ....
80 ....
Angles
of refraction.
... 0° 0'
Ratio
of the sines.
. 7
.15
.22
.29
.35
.40
.45
.50
45  0-77658
30  0-78135
30  0-76537
0  0-75423
0  0 74875
50  0-/4992
30  0-75904
6  0-77787
350 OPTICS.
History, lels which pass through their apparent place when they are first published at Nuremberg in 153o.2 He made a series His?
in the meridian; and the nearer the stars are to the horizon, of experiments on the angles of refraction oi water and^ v
the greater is the approach of their parallels to the pole, glass, which apparently exceeded those of Ptolemy in cor-
By observing a circumpolar star, Ptolemy found that it was rectness, the mean ratio of the sines being ea. er the truth,
nearer the pole in its lower passage across the meridian ; and the ratio tor each angle of incidence wmciding more
but when it was near the zenith, its parallel became greater accurately with the mean ratio. The o & a e the re¬
in appearance, whereas in the first case it became smaller, suits he obtained with water:
Hence it follows that retraction raises the stars towards the
zenith. In order to explain the manner in which refrac¬
tions operate, Ptolemy makes use of the same figure upon
which Cassini has since founded his theory. He em¬
ploys almost the same reasoning in order to determine the
quantity of the refraction. He remarks, that the more a
star is elevated, the less will be the difference between its
true and its apparent place, and that this difference will be
nothing in the zenith, because a perpendicular ray experi¬
ences no flexion. He demonstrates by a figure, that in
every case the refraction carries the star towards the zenith,
but thaufnm'rL'i'u^^ The mean of these ratios is 0-6414, whereas that ob-
this general accoun? of the fifth biok of the Optics of Pto- tained b, Ptolemy w as <>76736, and the true rat,o ^the m.
lemy, it will be seen that he gives a theory ot astronomical dex of refraction being 1 3358), 0 7486. Ihe results for
refractions much more complete than that of any astronomer 30° and 60“ are exactly the same as Ptol.emy
before the time of Cassini.* . The following were the measures obtained by Vttello fa
These important results, which, without any other assist- glass:—
ance, would have enabled the optician totiace the progress
of the rays of light through lenses of all forms, were not ap¬
plied as they might have been, to extend the boundaries of
the science. Banished from Europe, optics, along with the
other sciences, found shelter in Arabia; and after a period
of a thousand years, it was destined to receive fresh acces¬
sions in that favoured country.
}iazeu. Alhazen, who flourished about the end of the eleventh
. D. 1100. was the individual wrho gave this fresh impulse to
optical science.1 He establishes the opinion of I ythagoras,
that vision is performed by rays which proceed from the ob¬
ject to the eye; and he states that vision is not completed
Angles
of incidence.
0° 
10 
20  
30 
40  
50 ....
60 ....
70 ....
80 ....
Angles Ratio
of refraction. of the sines.
... 0° 0'
... 7 0  0-70179
...13 30  0-68255
...19 30  0-66761
...25 0  0-65748
...30 0  0-65270
...34 30  0-65403
...38 30  0-66247
,...42 0  0-67946
till the ideas of external objects are conveyed by the optic The mean of these ratios is 0-669, 6, whereas thatobtain-
nerves to the brain ; and after a description of the eye and ed by Ptolemy is 0-68736, and the true ratio 0-64516.
its parts, he assigns to each of them the function which it In comparing this last table with the similar one given by
performs in vision. He maintains that we see objects singly Ptolemy, we cannot tail to be struck with their entire sinu-
with two eyes, because we must perceive only one image larity, with the single exception of the angle of refraction
when it is formed on corresponding parts of the retina. ThP nf JnccWc. which Vitello makes 19 30 , and Fto-
instniment employed by Alhazeri for measuring the angle Ferny, in the Paris copy, 20° 306 Now in the Oxford ma-
of lefraction, iLore complex than that used by Ptolemy nuseript, the numbers are 18“ 30'; and Protar
and his knowledge of the refraction of the atmosphere and conjectures that the real number has been 19 30 , the sarne
of fluids, is obviously inferior to that of the Alexandrian as Vitello’s. Hence we cannot on any just grounds rega
philosopher. Alhazen ascribes to refraction the twinkling the measures of refraction given by the Polish phfiosop
of the stars, and the contraction of the diameters and dis- as any thing else than those of 1 tolemy, from whom he
tances of the heavenly bodies ; and it follows from his me- have borrowed them. r
thod of reasoning, that refraction elevated the stars towards By comparing the two tables for water, wearei
the pole and not towards the zenith, as had been sagaciously to make the same unfavourable supposition. Ihe jeM
ascertained by Ptolemy. Alhazen has described seven spe- for 20“, 30°, and 50“ of mcdence are exi^y *he
cies of mirrors, and he was the first person who determined both; and Vitello s measure for / 0 , viz. 45 30, is t
the focus of rays after reflexion, when the place ot the ob- as Ptolemy’s in the Oxford manuscript. , r, _.p
ject is known. He has treated largely of optical illusions. But this opinion is converted into certain y w
whether produced in direct or in refracted and reflected mine Vitello’s table of the refractions from wa g
vision ; and he ascribes the size of the horizontal moon to in which all the measures are identically the sam
the apparent form of the concavity of the sky, winch is of Ptolemy. , , , . v.
imagined to be more remote in the horizon than any wdiere In the course of his experiments, i e o w , ,
else. Alhazen likewise observed that objects were magni- serve that whenever light was reflected or re ^
fied when held close to the plane wall of the larger seg- transparent bodies, a certain portion ot it was I >
ments of a glass sphere; and he has given rules, which are does not estimate the quantity, contenting lin\ when
far from being correct, for determining the apparent size of observation that bodies always appear less u 0£ the
objects when seen through such spheres. seen by refracted and reflected hg i . n g
Vitello. The next cultivator of optics was Vitello, whose work was cause of the rainbow, he shews that refract
A.D.1270.                ^
1 Montucla has very incorrectly charged Alhazen with borrowing the greater part of Ins optics from
this opinion, and rendered it probable that the Arabian philosopher never saw the woik ol Ptolemy. What assista
his predecessors who flourished after Ptolemy cannot now be ascertained. See Connaissance des Jems tor iolo.
2 This work has been very erroneously regarded as little more than a translation of Alhazen’s treatise.
OPTICS.
H ry. sary to its production as reflexion, but he of course does not
1 — ''ascribe the colours to refraction, regarding it merely as a
means of giving strength or condensation to the solar rays.
He imitated the colours of the rainbow, (which, like Seneca,
he considers as having their origin in a mixture of the sun’s
rays with the blackness of the cloud), by placing a white
piece of paper beneath a circular vessel of glass containing
water; but he says that they are not the same colours with
those of the rainbow, because they are not in the same num¬
ber, and do not reach the eye after reflexion. He shews
that in those countries where the meridian altitude of the
sun exceeds the semi-diameter of the rainbow, a rainbow
cannot be seen at noon. His observations on the foci of
glass spheres, on the twinkling of the stars, and on other
optical phenomena, are of no value, and rather tend to con¬
firm the severe censures which Baptista Porta has pronounced
upon his scientific character.
Passing over archbishop Peckham’s treatise on optics, en¬
titled Perspectiva Communis, as containing nothing either
Kog Ba-new or important, we come to consider the claims of Roger
con. Sorn Bacon to the invention of the microscope and the telescope.
Ip- In his Opus Majus, which embraces his Perspectiva and
Specula Mathematica, he has given an account of his spe¬
culations and inventions in optics. Dr. Plott, Dr. Friend,
Dr. Henry, Wood, Muschenbroek, Jebb, and Wftlliam and
Samuel Molyneux have agreed in regarding Bacon as the
inventor of the telescope, while Dr. Smith of Cambridge is
of opinion that he wrote only hypothetically, and had never
made any experiments with real lenses. As this is not the
place to discuss this subject in a critical manner,1 we shall
content ourselves with giving a single extract respecting the
telescope and microscope.
“ Greater things than these may be performed by refract¬
ed vision. For it is easy to understand by the causes above
mentioned, that the greatest things may appear exceeding
small, and on the contrary; also that the most remote ob¬
jects may appear just at hand, and on the contrary. For we
can give such figures to transparent bodies, and dispose
them in such order with respect to the eye and the objects,
that the rays shall be refracted and bent towards any place
we please; so that we shall see the object near at hand, or
at a distance, under any angle we please. And thus from
an incredible distance we may read the smallest letters, and
may number the smallest particles of dust and sand, by rea-
son of the greatness of the angle under which we may see
them; and on the contrary, we may not be able to see the
greatest bodies just by us, by reason of the smallness of the
angles under which they may appear; for distance does not
attect this kind of vision, excepting by accident, but the
quantity of the angle. And thus a boy may appear to be a
giant, and a man as big as a mountain, forasmuch as we may
see the man under as great an angle as the mountain, and
as near as we please; and thus a small army may appear a
very great one, and, though very far off, yet very near us,
and on the contrary. Thus also the sun, moon, and stars
may be made to descend hither in appearance, and to ap¬
pear over the heads of our enemies; and many things of the
^sort, which would astonish unskilful persons.”
Whether these remarks were the result of speculation or
o actual experiment, it is not easy at this distance of time
o etermine; but in opposition to the opinion of Dr. Smith,
we may adduce a passage from Recorde’s Path way to Know-
edge, printed in 1551, in which he distinctly speaks of a
giasse used by friar Bacon. “ Great talke there is of a glasse
wp ^ i at ^>x^or^’ which men might see things that
snPt6 on’anci that was iudged to be don by power of euill
P 1 es. .But I know the reason of it to be good and natu-
Sol
ral, and to be arright by geometry (with perspective as a History,
part of it), and to stand as well with reason as to see your
face in a common glass.”
On the authority of various passages in the writings of Invention
friar Bacon, Mr. Molyneux is of opinion that he was ac-°t'Speetu-
quamted with the use of spectacles, and when Bacon sayscks-
that this instrument (a plano-convex glass, or large seg¬
ment of a sphere), is useful to old men, and to those that
have weak eyes ; for they may see the smallest letters suf¬
ficiently magnified,” we are at least entitled to conclude that
the particular way of assisting decayed sight which he de¬
scribes was known to him, though he may not have used
his segment of a glass sphere in looking at objects separated
by an interval from its plane side. But whether spectacles
were in use or not in Bacon’s time, it is quite certain that
they were known and used about the time of his death,
which happened in 1292. Alexander de Spina, a native of
Pisa, who died in that city in 1313, having seen a pair of
spectacles made by some other person, who was unwilling
to communicate the secret of their construction, got a pan-
made for himself, and found them so useful, that lie cheer¬
fully made the invention public. M. Spoon,* to whom we
are indebted for this fact, fixes the date of the invention be¬
tween 1280 and 1311. Signior Redi, from whom Spoon
quotes the preceding fact, states that he possesses a manu¬
script written in 1299, Pi Governo della Familia de Sean-
dro di Pissozzo, in which the author says, “ I find myself
so pressed by age, that I can neither read nor write without
those glasses they call spectacles, lately invented, to the
great advantage of poor old men, when their sight grows
weak.” It is stated also in the Italian Dictionary Della
Crusca, under the head of Occhiale or Spectacles, that friar
Jordan de Rivalto, who died at Pisa in 1311, tells his audi¬
ence, in one of his sermons, which were published in 1305,
“that ^ is not twenty years since the art of making spec¬
tacles was found out, and is indeed one of the best and most
necessary inventions in the world.” Bernard Gordon, too,
a celebrated physician of Montpellier, in his Lilium Medi-
emee, published about 1305, recommends an eye salve as
capable of making the patient read the smallest letters
without spectacles ; and Muschenbroek informs us that it is
insciibed on the tomb of Salvinus Armatus, a Florentine
nobleman, who died in 1317, that he was the inventor of
spectacles.
Before we quit the period of Friar Bacon we must notice Leonard
a claim to the invention of the telescope which has been Digges.
made in favour of Leonard Digges, an Englishman, because Dkd 1574.
this claim, whatever be its amount, supports undeniably the
prior claim of Bacon. The claim of Digges is founded on
passages in his Pantometria and Stratiotikos. The first of
these works appeared at London in 1571, and a second edi¬
tion of it, edited by his son Thomas Digges, Esq., was pub¬
lished in 1591. The Stratiotikos was published in 1579
and also in 1590. In the preface to the second edition of
the Pantometria, Thomas Digges remarks: “ My father, by
his continuell painfull practices, assisted by demonstrations
mathematical, was able, and sundrie times hath, by propor-
tionall glasses, duely situate in conuenient angles, not onely
discouered things farre off, read letters, numbred peeces of
money, with the verye coyne and superscription thereof
cast by some of his freends of purpose upon downes in the
open fields, but also seuen miles off declared what hath beene
doone in priuate places.”
In tnetwenty-first chapter of the first book, Leonard Digges
himself says, “ But marvellous are the conclusions that may
be performed by glasses (mirrors) concave and convex, of
circular and parabolic forms, using for multiplications of
18, R6 mUSt refer °Ur readerS t0 a series of able anonymous letters upon this subject, published in the Philosophical Magazine, vols.
lecherches Curieuses d'Antiquite, dissert. 16.
352
OPTICS.
History, beams, sometimes the aid of glasses transposed which, by larWained the ^^“hjlten “tlte6™ ^
practice, should unite or dissipate the images or figures pro anorture of anv form, the figure of the
sented by the reflection of others. By these kind of glasses f’0"'*7^“pTa“rrolreXP when the sun ™
or rather frames of them placed in due angles, yee may not aperture y _ PP annoarance of a crescent. He
only set out the proportion of an whole region, yea, repre- J each poi^t of the Tperture is the apex of two op-
sent before your eye the lively image of every house, village, shews P ^ of hag the S1U\ for its basle,
&c, and that in as little or great space or plan as ye will P08^ c ^ wh’en cut b a ]ane at r;ght angies to its
presente ; but also augment or dilate any parcel! thereof, while a biminous circle, whose diameter will be
so that, whereas, at the first appearance a whole toun shall axis, w p^ ^ ^ d{stance of the plane from the aperture,
present itself so small and compact together that ye sna p P nt, tbege images be taken at a considerable
discover any difference of streets, yee may, by application o qf Ytb aperture, and therefore be pretty large
glasses in due proportion, cause any peculiar house or room asmall; since the whole image
thereof dilate and shew itself in as ample form as the whole images, ill of which are circular,
touns at first appeared, so that yee shall discern any , im.icre Gf the sun formed by the aperture, of whatever
or read an, letter lying there mem ^Peciaj form it be, must be circular also ; and it will approach the
beams may come into it, as plainly as it >ou we c \ neriect circle the smaller is the aperture and the
ally pressent, although it be distant from you as ^r as y distanf the image.” It may be easily shewn, indeed,
ran discrie. But of these conclusions I mind not * * , n a. KTo a Ipnt: in formins? an inverted
iorm I mind not neremuie ihulc ^ • r • • *. i
to introduce, baring at large, in a vobmte by,itself, opened ^smaU^^acts Itke a lens m
the miraculous effects f gj” es expressly then pictures become morTdistinct in their outline as the
Now it is a curious fact that ihomas Tngges I y p bpromes smaller. Hence the sun’s image is
says that his father’s knowledge of optics part Y gr^ 3 ^i crescent, according as the sun’s disc is entire
the aid he had by one old written book Bakon s Ex r“u“: “7cr““"Ti th“benomenaofvisionMauro-
periments, that by strange aduenture, or rat ei s, , j ^ v(, succeSsfuL He shews that the crystalline
came to his hands. _ , . . o a iens which collects the rays which enter the l
In support of the opinion that teleseope wa k g and con es them to foci on the retina; but he does
in England more than forty years before lb ) ’ J , „ d tbat these foci depict an exact im-
when it was supposed to have b-n mvented m HoHand, we “ ct upon the ’etina. Limited,
may quote a passage or two from the celebrated Jo i ‘ tbis discovery was, it enabled him to ascertain
mathematical preface to Euclid, written at Matlolte on *6 ^ (he ,ls in tll(
9th of Febrnary 1570, the year in which it was published, ‘he ^use ot a ^ ^ focJbefore they entered the re.
“ Is it not,” says he, “ greatly against the soverei0n y |a|cr at points beyond the retina. Hence,
man’s nature to be so overshot and abused with thing - ” tbege caseSj vision is‘'indistinct either from a
fore his eyes ? things far off to seem neer, and neer to s convergence of the rays, he concluded
far off'; small things to seem great and great to seemsma ghies of sutable focus would relieve the
rfSS^Ud convex glasses the ,„ng-si8«
^ Mi-^ rainbow tdso
back by reason of an image appearing in the air betwee of the inner from 530 to 56° ; but according to the
you and the glass, with like hand, sword, or dagger, a , b h be adopted, namely that part of the sun’s rays
with like quickness foyning at your eye, likewise ms you do the elterio/of die drop, wi*
green, blue, ana purpie. xd.M.ig ^ — — - " , n t-t
temaAabre“paSge Sft^in'whteh hi speaks of the means enumeration in leaving out the yellowy asD.
_/• rmmliprs of an enemy s army \ Ine
ess foyning at your eye, likewise as you uo y rpflprtpd from the exterior of the drop, wimeis
at the glasse.” He then mentions that such a g ass was^in en>tered tbe drop and circulated within it by reflex-
the possession of a gentleman famous and honourab 1 tbe sides Gf an octagon ; the diameters of the bow
good service done to his country. Dee likewise speaks ,d ^ve bcen 450 and 56°. Maurolycus supposed the
having seen once or twice in company with Orontm y f p i bow t0 be four, namely, orange, (crocus),
TLghis^t-^hIS
jt , ,c rrho mnrp rpcentlv shew much accuracy of observation. Miui
of ascertaining the numbers of an enemys army, 1 attempted to discover the law of refraction but
herald, pursuivant, sergiant royall, captain, or w losoeye ro ) success. He supposed that the angle of refraction
careful to come near the truth herein; besides tie ju g- ■ • i tbs 0f the angle of incidence, which is
ment of his expert eye, his skill of ordering taefrea^, the was alw 8 ^ Lse of glass, but quite ,
help of his geometrical instrument; ring or staffe astrono- boditeg of ]ow and high refractive powers. '
mical, commodiously framed for carriage and use. J Maurolvcus may be considered as the first discoverer of
wonderfully help himself by perspective glasses, m which I , f ^ in s0 tar as he observed that the rays
trust our posterity will prove more skilful and expert, and the aberration ot ^ure,nso h isofatransparent .
to’greater1purposes thi in these days can be credited to be hjS^" ^ than those^
1,0 When polite learning began to revive in Europe some of " ere fomed
the more abstract sciences began to be cultivated with sue- the e whi J be ;ustiy described as arising from ,
eu.rr A'i). rpaS^t^ by hT^opSTesearcS S ^^X^cmTp^ new and i
SaHsSSSES: stsar^Jasssass: -
1 !Layt "ifr s,Slrt:a;fuo"Xnt”sa», rnys are rcflvc.vd to .1, sky or frou, cloud.
1 a
OPTICS. 353
which held its sittings in his own house, and which number- read the most minute letters from a distance. It is an in- History
ed among its members all the virtuosi in Naples. Each vention of great utility, and grounded on optical principles,'
member was bound to contribute to the common stock some- nor is it at all difficult of execution ; but it must be so di-
thing not commonly known, and in this way he obtained vulged as not to be understood by the vulgar and vet be
the materials for his Magia Naturalis which appeared in clear to the sharp-sighted.” The description which follows
the year 1560,1 when he was only about fifteen years of age. seems far enough removed from the apprehended danger
This work was speedily translated into French, Hebrew, of being too clear; and indeed every writer who has hither-
Spanish, and Arabic, and went through numerous editions in to quoted it, has merely given the passage in its original
different parts of Europe. The Papal court viewed with Latin, apparently despairing of an intelligible translation
jealousy the proceedings of a society which devoted so much With some alterations in the punctuation, which appear
energy to the spread of knowledge, and, though Baptista necessary to bring it into any grammatical construction
Porta was a Roman Catholic, the meetings of the academy it may be supposed to bear something like the following
were prohibited by the ecclesiastical power. Although Bap- meaning :—“ Let a view be contrived in the centre of a
tista Porta was well acquainted with the writings of his pre¬
decessors, yet the principal invention recorded in his Natural
Magic is that of the camera obscura, which he seems to have
brought to great perfection. He remarks, in the 17th chap¬
ter of this work, that if a small aperture is made in the shut¬
ter of a dark room, distinct images of all external objects
will be depicted on the opposite wall in their true colours ;
and he further adds that if a convex lens be fixed in the
opening, so that the images are received on a surface at the
distance of its focal length, the pictures will be rendered so
much more distinct that the features of a person standing
on the outside of the window may be readily recognised
in his inverted image. Various attempts seem to have been
made to obtain an erect image of objects in the camera ob¬
scura, but the contrivances for this purpose had the effect,
as Baptista Porta assures us, of making the pictures so obscure
that there was no pleasure in viewing them. He observes,
however, that the image may be best rendered erect by re¬
ceiving it “ upon a concave mirror properly adapted to the
convex lens and held at a great distance from the hole.”
f he effect of this expedient, he says, cannot be sufficiently
admired. Baptista Porta applied his instrument to the re¬
presentation of eclipses of the sun, and of hunting scenes,
battles, and other events produced by moveable pictures
and drawings. In this w ay he magnified small objects and
draw ings, and produced the effects of the magic lantern by
the light of the sun in place of that of a lamp. He consid¬
ered the eye as a camera obscura, the pupil as the hole in
the window contracting and dilating with different lights,
and the crystalline lens as the principal organ of vision,
though he seems to have regarded it not as his convex lens
but as the tablet on which the images of external objects
were formed, the cornea being, no doubt, in his estimation,
the part of the eye which formed the picture. Baptista
rorta was doubtless acquainted with what may be called
the simplest form of the refracting telescope, namely, that
in which a convex lens is the object-glass, and the eye
placed six inches behind its focus, the eye-glass. He found
that when his eye was thus placed behind a convex lens, he
could read a letter which he could not read with his naked
c\e. His lens must have exceeded in focal length, the dis-
ce at which his eye sawr distinctly, for the magnifying
power of such a telescope is equal to the focal length of the
object-glass divided by that distance.
In another place Porta, after mentioning the effects
m u a concave ancl a convex lens separately, re-
^ ^ ^0U knew how to combine one of each sort
mirror, where it is most effective. All the solar rays are
exceedingly dispersed, and do not in the least come to¬
gether (in the true centre) ; but there is a concourse of all
the rays in the central part of the said mirror, half way to¬
wards the other centre, where the cross diameters meet.
This view is contrived in the following manner: A con¬
cave cylindrical mirror placed directly in front, but with its
axis inclined, must be adapted to the focus; and let obtuse
angled, or right angled triangles be cut out with two cross
lines on each side drawn from the centre, and a glass (spe-
cillum) will be completely fit for the purposes we men¬
tioned.” If it were not for the word specillum, which, in
the passage immediately preceding this, Porta contrasts
with speculum, and which he afterwards explains to mean
a glass lens, it would be very clear that the foregoing pas-
sage, supposing it to have any meaning, must be referred
to a reflecting telescope; and it is a little singular, that
whilst this obscure passage has attracted universal atten¬
tion, no one, so far as wre are aware, has taken any notice
of the following unequivocal description of the principal
part of Newtons construction of the same instrument. It
is in the fifth chapter of the seventeenth book, wyhere Porta
explains by what device exceedingly minute letters may be
read without difficulty. “Place a concave mirror so that the
back of it may lie against your breast; opposite to it and
within the burning point, place the writing; put a plane
mirror behind it, that may be under your eyes. Then the
images of the letters which are in the concave mirror, and
which the concave has magnified, will be reflected in the
plane mirror, so that you may read without difficulty.”2
On these grounds Porta claimed for himself the inven¬
tion of the telescope ; and his death which took place in
1615, at the age of eighty, is said to have been hastened by
the exhaustion of writing a work on that instrument.
At a more advanced age, Baptista Porta composed an¬
other work entitled, De Refractions Optices parte, libri
novem, which appeared in 1593, but contains nothing that
is deserving of particular notice.
The subject of the rainbow, which had hitherto been a
questio vexata among philosophers, now began to excite
notice, as much from the absurdity of the theories which
were advanced to explain it, as from the native interest of
the subject. Clichtoveus, whom Dr. Priestley supposes to Clichto-
be the person who distinguished himself by his opposition veus. Died
to Luther, had maintained that the second rainbowr was a 1543.
reflected image of the first, not only from the faintness of
its light, but from the inversion of its colours ; an opinion
right]v vrm „ ,T V , 7 une oi eacn sort us ngnt, out trom tne inversion of its colours ; an opinioi
more clearlv ” I b0t» ^ ^ objects krg<f and which our celebrated countryman, Dr. Gilbert has justly ridi
• i _ y* At Forta, - SaVS ]VTr. 1 y ri n Ic Wfj t pr q 11 orrl n m tViof f XV. — „x> _ i  i^ i
in irt CjCar y; “ ^ Porta,” says Mr. Drink water Bethune,
18 a mirab e 0* Galileo, “ had stopped here, he might
hut I, Se<?nre 7 bave enjoyed the reputation of the invention,
imtr G en P!'0fcsses to describe the construction of his
remark16”1^ Cb baS no re'abon whatever to his previous
ner w S" ^ shall now endeavour to shew in what man-
tannotJ1^" co*vtrive t0 recognise our friends at the dis-
culed, alleging, that the whole form of the bow ought to be
inverted as well as its colours, and that it ought to have its
convex side downwards.
A more correct theory of the rainbow was about this
time proposed by J. Fleschier of Breslau, in his treatise en- Fleschier.
titled, Re Indibus doctrma Aristotelis et Vitellionis, which A.D. 157
was published in 1571. He supposes the rays to suffer two
tance of seven 1 ‘l ou^mse our mentis at tne dis- was published m 1571. He supposes the rays to suffer two
  miles’ and how those of weak sight may refractions, one on entering, and the other on emerging
VOL. xvj^ ai'^ greatly en^arSe(l edition was published about thirty years afterwards.
Life of Galileo, Libr. Useful Knowledge, p. 21.
2 r
354
OPTICS.
History, from the drop, but after one ray had thus been separated
s v ' into a coloured beam by these refractions, he supposed that
this beam was reflected to the eye from another drop.
These views, imperfect as they are, paved the way for
De Domi- the true theory of the rainbow. Antonio de Dominis, arch-
nis. Born bishop of Spalatro, first broached this theory in his treatise
1561. Dieting Hadiis Visus et Lucis, which was published in 1611.
ICliJ. pje justly asserts that two refractions in a drop of water, and
one intermediate reflection, wrere sufficient to bring back to
the eye of the spectator the rays of light by which the bow
was formed. An experiment with a globe of glass enclos¬
ing water, either suggested to him or confirmed this opin¬
ion. In following out this experiment, however, our author
committed several mistakes. He explained the exterior
bow by the same number of refractions and one reflexion,
but he supposed that the rays which formed it were return¬
ed to the eye by a part of the drop lower than that which
transmitted the red of the interior bow. In addition to this
mistake, he supposed that the rays which went to form one
of the bows, came from the upper part, and that which went
to form the other bow from the under part of the sun s disc.
Notwithstanding these mistakes, De Dominis is entitled to
be regarded as the true discoverer of the cause of the prim¬
ary rainbow. . ,
The treatise containing these discoveries was not pub¬
lished till after the use of the telescope by Galileo, but Bar-
tolo, who published it, informs us in the preface, to use the
words of the author of the Life of Galileo, “ that the
manuscripts was communicated to him from a collection
of papers written twenty years before, on his enquiring
the archbishop’s opinions with respect to the new y dis¬
covered instrument, and that he got leave to pubhs i it,
< with the addition of one or two chapters.’ The treatise
contains a complete description of a telescope, wlnci,
however, is proposed merely to be an improvement on
spectacles; and if the author’s intention had been to in¬
terpolate an after-written account in order to secure to
himself the undeserved honour of the invention, it seems
improbable that he would have suffered an acknowledg¬
ment of additions, previous to publication, to be inserted in
the preface. Besides, the whole tone of the work is that
of a candid and truth-seeking philosopher, very far indeed,
removed from being, as Montucla calls him, conspicuous for
ignorance even among the ignorant men of his age. He
gives a drawing of a convex and concave lens, and traces
the passage of the rays through them ; to which he sub¬
joins, that he has not satisfied himself with any determina¬
tion of the precise distance to which the glasses should be
separated according to their convexity and concavity, but
recommends the proper distance to be found by actual ex¬
periment, and tells us that the effect of the instrument will
be to prevent the confusion arising from the interfeience ot
the direct and refracted rays, and to magnify the object by
increasing the visible angle under which it is viewed.
From the great liberality of his sentiments, and his con¬
version to the protestant faith, this eminent ecclesiastic was
obliged to leave Italy, and to take refuge in London, in
1616, where he lived some years. Having been induced
to return to Italv, his imprudence exposed him to new per¬
secutions, and having been imprisoned by Urban VIII. he
died of poison in the prison of the Inquisition. Sentence
was passed upon him after his death, and his body, with ail
his books and papers were publicly burnt in the Campo de
Fero, in the year 1624.
Invention We now approach the time when the telescope was un-
of the tele- questionably invented. We have no doubt thatthis mvalua-
scope. ble instrument was invented by Roger Bacon or Baptista
Porta, in the form of an experiment, though it perhaps had
not in their hands assumed the maturity of an instrument
made for sale, and applied to useful purposes both terres- 11)
trial and celestial. If a telescope is an instrument by ^ A
means of which things at a distance can be seen better
than by the naked eye, then Baptista Porta’s concave lens
with his eye looking at the image which it formed, and
reading a letter too remote to be otherwise legible, was a
real telescope ; but if we give the name to a tube having a
convex object glass at one end, and a convex or a concave
lens at the other, placed at the distance of the sum or the
difference of their focal lengths, then we have no distinct evi¬
dence that such an instrument was used before the begin¬
ning of the seventeenth century.
In his Treatise on Dioptrics, Descartes has ascribed the I,
invention of the telescope to James Metius, a citizen of
Alkmaer in Holland ; but Huygens in mentioning this
claim2 says, that “to his certain knowledge telescopes were
made before this, at Middleburg in Zealand, about the year
1609, either by John Lippersheim, whom Sirturus men¬
tions, or by Zacharias (Jansen), whom Borellus makes the
first inventor of them in his book de Vero Telescopii inven-
tore. The telescope which they made did not exceed a
foot and a half long. But much earlier than both, Joannes
Baptista Porta a Neapolitan, had delivered the rudiments
of this art in his book on dioptrics and natural magic, pub¬
lished fifteen years before telescopes appeared in our Bel¬
gium. In these books he speaks of his specilla as shewing
things placed at a distance as if they were nigh, and also
of the construction of concave and convex lenses. But
that he made no great progress in this art is hence evident,
that in all that time it did not become famous ; and that he
did not discover any of those things in the heavens that
were observed afterwards. And this shews that his in¬
vention w as not owing to his skill, but to some accidental
experiments. For though he had some degree of know¬
ledge in mathematicks, yet he did not understand those fun¬
damental principles and abstruse theorems in dioptricks,
that are necessary to invent a telescope by reason ; and by
much less did those illiterate mechanicks that I mentioned
before. But no wonder that good luck and casual experi¬
ments should produce this effect; after spectacles and con- |
cave glasses, for defective eyes of both sorts, had been
commonly used for above three hundred years, it is rather
surprizing that so obvious a thing should be so long un¬
known.”
In this passage Huygens leaves the claims ot his two
Dutch friends on the same level; but though Borellus
adopts the conclusion that Jansen was the inventor, yet it
has been ingeniously suggested, that Jansen’s claim as the
inventor of the microscope, has been mixed up with the
invention of the telescope, on the evidence adduced by
Borellus. On this hypothesis Lippersheim is supposed to
have invented the telescope by accident in 1609, and that
Jansen possessing an instrument so like it, had been able,
after hearing of Lippersheim’s contrivance, to make a simi¬
lar instrument without having seen the telescope of his
Much light has recently been thrown on the history off *
the telescope by Professor Moll, who has discussed t e
claims of the various competitors with much sagacity ant
fairness. It appears from the official acts and journals o
the States General of Holland, still existing aI™"f . j
archives at the Hague, that on the 2d of October 1608 tha
body took into consideration a petition from Hans (Jonn
Lippershey, a native ofWesell, and spectacle ma er a
Middleburg, praying, that an instrument which 16 .liaCt '
vented for seeing at a distance, might be rewarded, either )
granting an exclusive privilege of making it for thirty ye >
or an annual pension to enable him to make these in
ments for Holland alone. It was resolved, that a com
£,/. 0/ GalUeo, Libr. Useful Knowledge, p. 22. > «»p<ricS, p. 163-4. Galileo, Libr. Useful Knowledge, P-
24.
OPTICS.
T. tee should communicate with the petitioner, and enquire if
'‘•"''he could not so improve the instrument so as to enable one
to look through it with both eyes. Lippershey offered to
make three telescopes of rock crystal for one thousand florins
each, (about L.83 each) but the committee was instructed
to get him to moderate his charge, and promise never to
transmit his invention to any body. On the 6th of October
a bargain was made that Lippershey should construct one
instrument of rock crystal for the State, at the price of 900
florins, (L.75) 300 florins to be paid down, and 600 when
the telescope was completed and approved of. On the
16th December the committee report, “ that they examin¬
ed the instrument invented by Lippershey to see at a dis¬
tance with tiuo eyes, and that they approved of it.” But,
in reference to the exclusive privilege, they “resolved that,
whereas it appears that many other persons have a hnoiv-
ledge of this new invention to see at a distance, it is ex¬
pedient to refuse the prayer of the petitioner for an exclu¬
sive privilege, but that he will be commanded to make,
within a certain time, two other instruments of his inven¬
tion for seeing with two eyes, at the same price.” These
two new instruments were delivered before the 13th Feb¬
ruary 1609*
While these transactions were going on, Jacob Adri-
aansz, sometimes called Metius of Alkmaer petitioned the
States-General on the 17th of October 1608, for an exclu¬
sive privilege for a similar instrument. He was the third
son of Adriaan Anthonisz, or Metius, who discovered the
approximate ratio of the diameter of a circle to its circum¬
ference. His petition still exists among the manuscripts
of Huygens, in the library at Leyden. He alleges, that he
began his researches as far back as 1606 ; that the inven¬
tion was accidental, and when he was making other experi¬
ments ; and that, in 1608, when he sent in his petition, his
instrument was made of bad materials. He at the same
time readily admits, that a spectacle maker of Middleburg
had offered before him a similar instrument to the States,
which had been tried by Prince Maurice, and other persons.
With regard to the claims of Zacharias Jansen, or rather
Tansz or Zansz, they cannot be supported by any evidence,
and there is reason to believe, as vve shall afterwards see,
that his invention of the microscope was mistaken for the
invention of the telescope1 The following is Professor
Moll’s summary of the facts which he has established by au¬
thentic documents.
“That on the 21st of October 1608, John, or Hans
Lippershey, a native of Wezel, a spectacle maker of Middle-
burg, in Zeeland, was actually in possession of the inven¬
tion of telescopes.
That, on the 17th of October, of the same year 1608,
Jacob Adriaansz, sometimes called Metius of Alkmaer in
Holland, also was in possession of the art of making tele¬
scopes, and that he actually made those instruments ; but
that either from disgust or some other reason, he after¬
wards concealed his invention, and thus actually gave up
every claim attached to the honour of it.
“That there is little reason to believe that either Hans,
or his son Zacharias Zansz, were also inventors of the tele¬
scope ; but there is every probability that this Hans, or
onn, or his son Zacharias Zansz, invented a compound
microscope about 1590.
355
lhat this Lippershey used rock or mountain crystal in History,
the construction of telescopes, and that he is the inventor
of the Binoculus.”
When Galileo was at Venice in 1609, he heard rumours Galileo’s
that an instrument which represented distant objects as ifconstruc-
they were near, had been invented by a Dutch spectacle bon of the
maker. This rumour was confirmed by a letter which he telescope,
received from James Badorere at Paris, and Galileo, whoA,D'1609,
asset ts that he had never seen one of the instruments, set
himself to discover the principle of their construction,’and
to make one for his own use. It has become a question,
though one of no interest, and affecting the veracity more
than the reputation of Galileo, whether the Italian philoso¬
pher had actually seen one of the new instruments. We
cannot hesitate for a moment in believing Galileo’s asser¬
tion ; and even if we confide in the statement made by
1 ucaiius, that he had himself seen one of the Dutch tele¬
scopes, which at that time had been brought to Venice, it by
no means follows that Galileo saw itJ It is quite certain,
indeed, that previous to the 31st August 1609, one of the
new perspective glasses had been sent from Flanders to the
Cardinal Borghese,3 and Lorenzo Pignoria, on the authority
of whose letter of the above date this fact rests,4 adds, “we
have seen some here, and truly they succeed well.”
I he following is Galileo’s account of the matter, from a
letter which he wrote in March 1610 : “It is about ten
months ago that it came to our ears, that a glass had been
worked by a Belgian, by the help of which, visible objects,
though at a great distance from the eye of the observer,
may be seen distinctly. (In the Italian of the Saggiatore
it is added, ne pia aggiunto, no more was added, or this
wcis all.) And some experiments w ere related of the ad-
mil able effects of this instrument, w'hich some believed, and
others not. A few days afterwards the same was confirmed
bY letters of a noble Frenchman, Jacob de Badorere, from
1 aris ; all w hich occasioned me to apply myself wholly to
enquire into the cause of this, and to think on the means
by which the invention of a similar instrument might be
brought about; in which I succeeded in a short time, assist-
ed by the- doctrine of refraction : and I first procured a
leaden tube, (an organ pipe) at the end of which I adapted
spectacle glasses, both plane on one side, the one convex
on the other side, the second concave. Bringing the eye
near the concave glass, I saw the objects large, and near
enough : they appeared three times nearer, and nine times
larger, than if seen with the naked eye.
“ Afterwards I made another instrument, which made
objects appear sixty times larger.
“ Finally, sparing neither industry nor expence, I suc¬
ceeded so far as to make an instrument of such excellence,
as to make the objects seen through it appear a thousand
times larger, and more than thirty times nearer, than if
seen with the natural power of the eye.”5
Galileo’s first telescope must have been made in May or
June 1610. Viviani6 says, that it was in April or May
1609, that the rumour of the invention of the telescope
reached \ enice, when Galileo wras there, and that, with
this information only, Galileo returned to Padua and suc-
ceeded in finding out the principle in the following night.
I he new instrument long went by the names of Gali¬
leo’s tube, the perspective, and the double eye-glass, the
ISaifvolTp' m09!’483t.ereSting ReSearches 0,1 the Hist0T of the telescope, will be found in the Journal of the Royal Institution, Lond.
3 £rsd0es Say tlmt Galile° Saw it Gali’*a0 ma>7 have seen many Dutch telescopes after he had reinvented the instrument.
a-nongwhomTgnijr GdileThTcont^TJuOOO^ IT HiShnes8’ and the selection of the lecturers,
was sent from Handers to Cardinal BorvhesP g VV° h fl ^ ^ ,1S Sf,d t0 be on account of an eye-glass like the one which
‘ Moll, Journal 0,1 n i x ^orPese- , M e have seen some here, and truly they succeed well.”
’ J°Urnal °f the R°yal Institution, vol. i. p. 488. 6 Viviani vita del Galileo, n. 69.
356
OPTICS.
History. move appropriate names of telescope and microscope having S^ofthe ^ W
 Jbeen afterwards given to these instruments by Demisiano. In his 8bth proposmon ne e: y ^ ^
Telescopes Telescopes were early and eagerly imported into Eng-
in England, land, and known by the name of trunks and cylinders;
A.D. 1609. anci s0 soon as July 1609, we find that our countryman
Harriot. Harriot was directing them to the lunar disc, and had
begun two full drawings of that luminary, which he after¬
wards completed.1 Harriot’s earliest observations on Ju¬
piter’s satellites were made on the 1st October 1610, nine
months after their discovery by Galileo. The earliest teles¬
cope in England must therefore have been obtained xrom
Holland ; and in a letter from Sir William Lower to Har¬
riot, dated the longest day o/1610, from fraventi in Caer-
marthenshire, he says, “ we are here so on fire with these
things, that I must render my request and your promise, to
send more of all sorts of these cylinders. My man shall de¬
liver you monie for anie charge requisite, and contente your
man for his paines and skill. Send me so many as you
think needful unto these observations: in requital I will send
you store of observations. Send me also one ot Gahleus
bookes, if anie yet be come over, if you can get them. In
a letter dated July 6, 1610, Sir Christopher Hey den writes
to his friend Camden, “ I have read Gahleus, and to be
short, do concur with him in opinion, for his reasons are de¬
monstrative ; and of my own experience with one ofcmr or¬
dinary trunks, I have told eleven stars in the Pleiades,
whereas no age ever remembers above seven, and one ot
these, as Virgil testifieth, not always to be seen. from
this and other facts, Professor Rigaud infers “ that it is per¬
fectly clear that Harriot and his friend had been in the habit
of using telescopes before the discoveries of Galileo were
known to them ; and it appears likewise that in 1610,° they
were manufactured in England.” The magnifying P^wer
of some of the telescopes used by Harriot weie t ’ r ’ T ’
52 so jn a letter from Sir William Lower to Harriot, dated
Traventi, 6th July 1610, he says, “I have received the per¬
spective cylinder that you promised me, and am some that
my man gave you not more warning, that I might have had
also the two or three more that you mentioned to chuse lor
me. Henceforward he shall have orders to attend you bet¬
ter, and to defray the charge of this an others, for he con-
fesseth to me that he forgot to pay the worke man.
46 According as you wished, I have observed the moone m
Jan::
in ins oulu —i  , • il j
cope, and has shewn how an instrument which produces the
same effects might be made, by substituting for the usual
concave eye-glass one or more convex eye-glasses. Kepler,
however, does not seem to have constructed such a teles¬
cope, and father Schemer1 seems to have been the first per¬
son who embodied the plan in an actual instiument, which
has ever since been known by the name of the astronomi¬
cal telescope, in consequence of the inversion of the images
not being disagreeable in astronomical observations.
The real inventor of the compound microscope is as little Inver:
known as the inventor of the telescope. It would be in vain of the,
to inquire into the history of the single microscope, for the™N
magnifying power of globes was known to the ancients;
and no individual ambition or national partiality has endea¬
voured to assign the honour of inventing it to any person
whatever. We agree with Professor Moll, that Zacharias
Zansz, or Jansen, has the best claims to be considered as the
inventor and constructor of the compound microscope. He
seems to have made one so early as 1590, and to have pre¬
sented one to the Archduke Albert of Austria, who gave it
to Cornelius Drebell, who lived, as mathematician to the
king, at the court of our James the First. William Boreel,
the envoy to England from the States of Holland, saw in
England, in 1619, and in the hands of Cornelius Drebell, the
very microscope which Tansz had given to the archduke.
This account of its history was given by Drebell himself.
The microscope in question was eighteen inches long, con¬
sisting of a tube of gilt copper two inches in diameter, sup¬
ported by two sculptured dolphins, resting on a base o.
ebony, upon which the objects were placed. M. Fontana, Font
a Neapolitan, first described the compound microscope, con¬
sisting of two convex lenses, in his work entitled lYoi’tf ier-
restrium et Celestium Observationes, which appeared in 1Mb,
but claims to have made the discovery so early as lb 18,
though he does not adduce any evidence whatever ot this
fact. Huygens, on the contrary, says, “ It does not appear
that these microscopes were made in the year 1618, because
Sirturus, who published a book that year about the ongme
and construction of telescopes, would hardly have been silent
upon so remarkable an invention, if it had been thus known.
Fontana, indeed, lays claim to it from the year 1618, m his
x uuLd _ , J flic tochmnnv
all his changes. In the new I
earthshine a little before the dichotomic ; that spot which
represents unto me the man in the moone (but without a
head) is first to be scene. A little after, neare the brimme
of the gibbous parts, towards the upper corner, appeare lu¬
minous parts like starres, much brighter than the rest ; and
the whole brimme along lookes like unto the description ol
coasts in the Dutch bookes of voyages. In the full she ap¬
pears like a tarte that my cooke made me the last weeke.
Here a vaine of bright stuffe, and there of darke, and so
confusedlie al over. I must confesse I can see none of this
without my cylinder; yet an ingenious younge man that
accompanies me here often, and loves you and these studies
much, sees manie of these things, even without the helpe ot
the instrument, but with it sees them most plainlie, I mean
ve observed the moone in ronuuici, iuucw , j j m i Kni the testimony
discover manifestlie the book «f ■» >“ )
of Lyrsalis, there printed, goes no higher than the year
1625. But that my countryman Drebehus made theseco -
pound microscopes at London in the year 1621,1 have often
been informed by several eye-witnesses^ and that he was
then reckoned the first inventor of them.”
This testimony of Huygens in favour of Drebell, is m
direct contradiction to the statement said by Borelh to ha
been made to the Dutch envoy in 1619-
In consequence of this confl.ctmg evidence,
be regarded as having the best claim to the invenUon |
the compound microscope. Viviaui drstmctly m onus
the compounu nueiuseupc. J . f.i.p
his Life of Galileo, that he was led to the invenUo
then:
scopt
Astvono
microscope by thi of the telescope, and that in .heW
the instrument, out w.m u sees mem ...os. ^    King'ofPoW. “ HavfngT*" dissatisfied with the
, ^l^^at^efirstD^^es^
the first Dutch telescopes nact peiio.mo..ee .....   ---> ,..imnrnvement; andin
micaDeles- their eye-gWconcave, like Galileo’s, though this supposi- himse t ^igt&si,! slys that he had delayed
’ ' ional story of a large and in- a letter to r. rreuengu v,c , hedeScribes,
cope in- tion is opposed by the traditional story ^
vented by verted image of a weathercock having been seen through
Kepler, tpe earliest of them, in which case the eye-glass must have
A.D. 1611. been convex. Even so late as the period when Descartes
UCC1I v    L ~ ^ 1 1
published his Dioptrics, which was in 1637, no other teles¬
cope but a Galilean one had been described, excepting in
a letter to r. rreuengo ^esi, i.c ,VV: , i^bes,
to send him the microscope, the use of which ^ the
as he had only then brought it to perfection, owi ^
difficulty he experienced in making the glasses.
Magic of Nature, Schottus mentions a su^. opes.
which took place with one of the newly invented microscop
1 Rigaud’s Supplement to Bradley's Miscellaneous Works, p. 20, 21.
* Camden, Epistoke, p. 129, quoted by Professor Rigaud.
S Life of Galileo, Libr. Usef. Knowledge, p. 25.
3 Before February.
* Rosa Ursina. 1650.
OPTICS.
ory. A Bavarian philosopher, when travelling in the Tyrol, was
taken ill on the road and died. The village authorities found
a little glass instrument in his pocket, which happened to
contain a flea fixed in the focus of the microscope. Upon
looking into the eye-glass, they were struck with terror at
the sight of the gigantic animal, and the remains of the poor
philosopher, who was then proved to be a sorcerer, were
pronounced unworthy of Christian burial. Some bold scep¬
tic, however, explored the mystery, and produced the giant
which had alarmed them.1
p veries The name of Kepler, though associated principally with
of ;pler. astronomical discovery, will ever be venerated by the culti-
B< 1571, vators of optical science. His researches, which relate prin-
di( 630. cjpa,lly to vision and refraction, are contained in his Para-
lipomena ad Vitellionem, published at Frankfort in 1604,
and in his Dioptrica, already referred to. His discoveries
respecting vision, though founded to a certain degree on the
views of Maurolycus and Baptista, are nevertheless to a great
extent original. He was the first person who actually
shewed that distinct and inverted images of external objects
are formed upon the retina, as in the camera obscura, by
the foci of pencils emanating from every point of the object.
He explained all the phenomena of distinct and indistinct
vision, and shewed how that indistinctness could be removed
by the use of convex and concave glasses. Although D’Al¬
embert2 has asserted that all optical writers before him had
assumed it as an axiom that every visual point is seen in the
direction of its visual ray, yet, as Dr. Wells has observed,
this assertion is not well founded, for Kepler had long ago
maintained that objects are perceived not along the visual
rays, but along lines which pass from their pictures on the
retina through the centre of the eye; an opinion in which he
has been followed by Dechales and Dr. Porterfield, to the
last of whom Dr. Reid has by mistake ascribed the discovery
of this law. Hence Kepler was led at once to the true
theory of erect objects being seen from inverted images,
which he considered as the business of the mind, which,
when it judges of an impression made on the lower part of
an inverted image on the retina, considers it as made by
rays proceeding from the higher parts of an erect object, a
necessary consequence of his opinion that objects are per¬
ceived in lines passing through the centre of the retina.
Kepler has wisely declared his ignorance of the manner in
whmh the mind perceives images on the retina, and he
blames V itellio for attempting the solution of a question
which does not belong to optics. In order to explain the
adaptation of the eye to different distances, Kepler supposed
that the ciliary processes draw the sides of the eye towards
the crystalline lens, by which change the globe of the eye
is e ongated, and the retina placed at a greater distance
om the crystalline, so as to accommodate the eve to the
distinct vision of near objects.
The refraction of light in its passage through different
media, is treated at great length, but very unsatisfactorily,
} ep er. Although he failed in his attempts to discover
me law of refraction, yet he arrived at certain rules of re-
rac ion or glass, which enabled him to discover many of
fnC Principles °f convex and concave lenses. He
OT example> thaf below 30° of incidence, the angle
twf nno" 7as nearly two-thirds of the angle of incidence;
S at °f incidence the angle of refraction was 42°; and
. infracted ray fell at a greater obliquity than 42°,
Ji, , intenor surface of glass, it would be totally reflect-
cidpnC !nt<) ^le glass at an angle equal to that of in-
nlann nn He i en shews’ by applying these principles, that
from °f SlaSS have their foci at a distance
thpir r. enS ecl).ia t0 tb0 diameter of the sphere of which
onvex surface is a portion, and that equi-convex lenses
357
have their focal length equal to the radius of the sphere of History,
which their convexities are a portion. When the lens has
its surface unequally convex, he makes the focal length equal
to a mean of the radii of the two spheres. The same pro¬
pel ties being proved in reference to concave lenses, Kepler
proceeds to find the focus of refracted rays, when they ra¬
diate from points at different distances from the lens. He
proved also that rays issuing from the focus of a lens will
emerge on the other side ot it parallel; that if they issue
from a point between the focus of the lens, they will diverge
after refraction, while those which issue from a point be¬
yond the focus will converge; and, finally, that when the
distance of the radiant point is equal to twice the focal length
of the lens, the distance of the image will be equal to the
distance of the object.
In treating of the refraction of the atmosphere, Kepler
remarked that the quantity of refraction would alter if the
atmosphere varied in weight, and that it would be different
at different temperatures. In one of his letters to Bregger,
dated in 1605, on the colours of the rainbow, he makes the
following observation :—“ The sun’s rays are not coloured
except with a definite quantity of refraction. Whether you
are in the optical chamber, or standing opposite glass globes,
or walking in the morning dew, every where it is obvious
that a certain and definite angle is observed, under which,
when seen in dew, in glass, in water, the sun’s splendour
appears coloured, and under no other angle. There is no
colouring by mere reflexion, without the refraction of a
clearer medium.”3
Although Tycho and Kepler made many ineffectual at- Snellius
tempts to discover the law of refraction, yet the honour of discovers
that great discovery was reserved for Willebrord Snellius, the law of
Professor of Mathematics at Leyden, who died at the age refractior,>
of thirty-five, leaving behind him a manuscript work on the A I)-1621
subject. The doctrine of refraction having become more
important after the invention of the telescope, Snellius de¬
voted himself to its investigation, and “ after many trouble¬
some experiments and attempts,” succeeded in his research.
Supposing AB to be the refract¬
ing surface of water, an object
under the water at D appeared
as if it were raised and seen in
the line RC. He then pro¬
duced RC till it intersected at
E a line DK drawn parallel to
the perpendicular MN, and he
asserted that at every angle at
which the object D was viewed,
it would appear at E, and that
CD was to CE in a given ratio,
such as 4 to 3, when the re¬
fracting body was water. Now
this is a true geometrical ex¬
pression of the law of refraction,
though the same truth may be better enunciated in other
two ways. If we continue the lines CE CD, till they meet
Ad, a line perpendicular to AD, in the points/and d, then
on account of the parallels Ad, KD ; CD is to CE as Cd is
Q/"> but ACd is the complement of the angle of re¬
fraction, and AC/ the complement of the angle of inci¬
dence, and Ad, A/’are their secants. Hence it follows from
Snellius result, that the cosecants of the angles of incidence
and refraction are in a constant ratio, which is a correct
mathematical expression of the law of refraction. Again,
in the triangle CDE, the sides CD CE are to one another
as the Sines of the opposite angles, that is, as the Sines of the
angles DEC or KEC, or ECN or RCM, and of CDE orDCN;
that is the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction are.
1 'rLihr- Usef. Knowledge, p. 27.
tfe of Kepler, Libr. Usef. Knowledge, p. 17.
2 Opuscules Mathematiques, tom. i. p. 265.
358
OPTICS.
History, in a constant ratio, which is the usual and most distinct ex-
s-^-wpression of the law of refraction. In giving this law ot bnel-
lius’ Huygens has in our opinion forgotten hisusual courtesy,
when he states that WillebrordSnellius did not “ thoroughly
comprehend his own invention,” and “ never imagines that
the ratio was the ratio of the Sines.” Now we cannot con¬
ceive it possible that a man like Snellius, who was a good
geometer, was ignorant of the two simple trigonometrica
expressions of his geometrical law; and we do not doubt
that he preferred his own for two distinct reasons. In the
first place, it connects itself with the leading physical phe¬
nomena of the apparent rise of the refi'acted object nom
to E, and by substituting CF for CD it furnishes us with a
much more simple and accurate method of obtaining by
projection the refracted ray from the incident one.
RF for example, is the incident ray, we have only to divide
CF into two parts, CE, EF, so that CF is to CE in the
constant ratio belonging to the refracting body.
But whether we are right in this conjecture or not, it is
an unquestionable truth that Snellius discovered the true
law of refraction, though he did not express it in trigono¬
metrical language. . , o
Descartes. In the year 1637, about eleven years after the death ot
Born 1596, Snellius, Descartes published his Dioptrics, in which, wit i-
died 1650. 0ut ever mentioning the name, or alluding to the labours
of Snellius, he announces the true law of refraction express¬
ed in term of the Sines, as the result of his own enquiries.
As Snellius’s work existed only in manuscript, it was quite
possible that Descartes knew nothing of its contents, but
Vossius, in his work De Natura Lucis, states, that the
heirs of Hortensius had communicated freely to Descartes
the manuscripts of that professor, among which was that ot
Snellius’s work, and Huygens confirms this allegation when
he states in his Dioptrics that he had himself seen the
whole manuscript volume of Snellius, and had heard that
Descartes had also seen it,1 and that it was perhaps from
hence that he deduced (elicuerit) that measure which con¬
sists in the Sines. We should not have entered so minutely
into this subject, had not M. Biot* thrown into entire obli¬
vion the labours of Snellius, and ascribed to Descartes the
undoubted discovery of what he calls “ this great property
of light.” The same eminent philosopher likewise ascribes
to Descartes the discovery that the incident and refracted
rays are always in the same plane, a truth which was well
known to Ptolemy, and which is clearly included in Snel¬
lius’s expression of the law of refraction. In opposition to
the opinion of M. Biot, we must place those ot Huygens,
Montucla, Bossut, Priestley, David Gregory, Smith, Hutton,
Robison, Young, and Playfair ; and we shall dismiss the
subject after giving the admirable reasons which induced
Professor Playfair to decide against Descartes. “ I here is
no doubt, therefore,” says he,3 “ that the discovery was first
made by Snellius ; but whether Descartes derived it from
him, or was himself the second discoverer, remains^ unde¬
cided. The question is one of those, where a man’s con¬
duct in a particular situation can only be rightly interpreted
from his general character and behaviour.
“ If Descartes had been uniformly fair and candid in his
intercourse with others, one would have rejected with dis-
connected with his own ; and, in treating of the rainbow, History
he has made no mention of Antonio de Dominis. It is im-'^V'i
possible that this should not produce a favourable impres¬
sion ; and hence it is that the warmest admirers of Des¬
cartes do not pretend that his conduct towards Snellius can
be completely justified. .
“ Descartes would have conceived his philosophy to be
disgraced if it had borrowed any general principle from ex¬
perience, and he therefore derived, or affected to ^derive
the law of refraction from reasoning or from theory.”
Even if Descartes had liberally taken from his optical
wreath the law of the Sines, and generously placed the hal¬
lowed branch on the brow of the accomplished Snellius, he
would have added to his reputation as a man, without
shortening his immortality as a philosopher. His Dioptrics
consists of ten chapters. The first treats of light, the se¬
cond of refraction, the third of the eye, the fourth on
lenses in general, the fifth on the images formed on the
bottom of the eye, the sixth on vision, the seventh on the
mode of perfecting vision, the eighth on the figures which
transparent bodies require to turn the rajs by refraction,
suited to all modes of vision, the ninth on microscopes, and
the tenth on the mode of polishing glasses. The inability
of spherical surfaces to converge rays to one point or focus,
had been long known to opticians, and Kepler, though he
conjectured that surfaces generated by the revolutions of
the conic sections, might have such a property, left the
subject just as he found it. Descartes, however, has
discussed it in a most ingenious manner, in the eighth
chapter of his Dioptrics. He has shewn how parallel, and
converging, and diverging rays may be brought to accurate
foci by means of ellipsoidal and hyperboloidal surfaces, so
that if such surfaces, could be executed by opticians, all op¬
tical instruments would receive the highest degree of per¬
fection which they could attain from the removal of sphe¬
rical aberration. In order to carry this system into effect,
he contrived machines for grinding elliptical and hyper¬
bolical lenses, and in the tenth chapter of his Dioptrics he
has given perspective drawings and descriptions ot them.
In the years 1627 and 1628, when he was residing at Fans,
M. Mydorgius, with whom he lived on the most intimate
habits, urged him to undertake the grinding of hyperbolical
and elliptical lenses, and he soon became a great master ot
the art of glass grinding. He found it necessary, how¬
ever, to associate with himself in this undertaking an emin¬
ent artist, M. Ferrier, who, as an optical instrument maker,
was well acquainted both with the theory and the practice
of his art. After many failures, a tolerably good hyper¬
bolic convex lens was completed ; but the concaves were
found to be more difficult; and in consequence of M. terrier
refusing to accompany Descartes to Franeker, and having
occasioned him much needless expence in the erection ot
his laboratory, a quarrel took place, and the grea P™ ,
object which they had in view was for a while abandon -
Descartes, however, was sanguine in his expectations, ana
not aware that there was another aberration more difficult
to overcome than that of spherical figure, he expected
be able to make the greatest discoveries in the heavens DY
means of his new lenses. With the assistance of M.
means ot Ins new lenses, w m.
gens, the father of the celebrated philosopher, he mduce
® t'v , i tUo aH-omnts nf Ferrier, uUl
dain a suspicion of the kind just mentioned But the truth gens «- h attempts' of Ferrier
is, that he appears throughout a jealous and imperious man, some Dutch artists o ^struct suchlenses
always inched to depress and conceal the merit of others ™dJ‘X„rw "cannot idlow ourselves to think that
In sneaking of the invention of the telescope, he has told have faded, tnougn we cannot a
minutely“fl that l due to accident, hut has passed care- the attempt is a hopeless one. . .
fully over all that proceeded from design, and has incurred
the reproach of relating the origin of that instrument with¬
out mentioning the name of Galileo. In the same manner,
he omits to speak of the discoveries of Kepler, so nearly
e attempt is a nopeiess one.
Descartes made some interesting fibservations pon ^
sion, particularly on the method by which we jud^e o
distances and magnitude of objects ; but hl* rain-
covery in physical optics relates to the theory 
i Bossut is incorrect in saying that Huygens assures us that Descartes saw the manuscript volume of Hortensius.
Cartesium quoque vidisse accepimus." (Dtqptri'ca, p. 3.) 3 p 0ress0r Playfair’s Dissertation in this Work, vol. ii. P-
S Trade de Physique, tom. m. p. 204, ‘205. rro.ess 3
OPTICS.
try.
Chri »-
bow. He discovered the true cause of the exterior rain¬
bow, and in his Traite des Meteores, proves that it was pro¬
duced by two refractions, and two intermediate reflections
within the drop, thus explaining most satisfactorily the
faintness of its illumination, and the inversion of its colours.
He has clearly shewn also, why the interior bow is 42° in
diameter, while the exterior one is 52° ; though he did not
understand the true origin of the colours. We repret to
add, that Descartes gives his explanations of both The in¬
terior and exterior bows without ever mentioning the name
of Antonio de Dominis, who was the real discoverer of the
cause of the rainbow'; and our regret is increased, when
we are compelled to add, that M. Biot has, contrary to the
opinion of all philosophers, given his aid to Descartes in de¬
priving the Italian philosopher of the only discovery which
has immortalised his name.1
The science ^of optics is under considerable obligations
pherAei-to Christopher Scheiner, a Jesuit, and professor of mathe-
ner. dornmatics at Ingolstadt. He completed the theory of vision
hi, ued in so far as ]ie proved by direct experiment that the pictures
J of external objects were distinctly delineated on the retina.
By paring away the coats from the back of the eyes of
sheep and oxen, and also the human eye, he made the in¬
verted pictures distinctly visible, and exhibited the experi¬
ment publicly at Rome in 1625. In his work entitled Oculus,
published in 1652, he speaks of the great resemblance of the
eye to the camera obscura, and gives various contrivances
for erecting the images. He adopts the theory of Kepler
respecting the visible direction of objects, and he observed
the interesting fact that the pupil of the eye is dilated in
viewing distant, and contracted in viewing near objects. In
measuring the refractive powers of the humours of the eye, he
makes that of the aqueous humour differ little from that of
water, and that of the crystalline humour differ little from that
of glass, ascribing to the vitreous humour an intermediate re¬
fractive power. By tracing the progress of the visual rays
through all the humours of the eye, he demonstrates that the
retina, and not the crystalline lens, is the seat of vision; and
he describes some interesting experiments respecting vision
through one or more small apertures. We owe also to
bchemer the interesting experiment of exhibiting on the
wall of a darkened room the disc of the sun with all its spots
by means of a telescope. When Kircher afterwards de¬
scribes this appearance he represents the spectator as “ fix¬
ed with the utmost astonishment.”
e- A new and very interesting branch of optics had begun
o excite the attention of philosophers, namely that of the
double refraction of light. Erasmus Bartholinus, a physici-
. an at Copenhagen, and the author of several excellent works
on geometry, received from some Danish merchants that
frequented Iceland, “ a crystal stone like a rhombic prism,
winch, when broken into small pieces, kept the same figure.”
With this substance, which was called Iseland spar, from
i s ocahty, Bartholinus made a number of experiments both
ciemica and optical, and he has published an account of
,e. ®Ptlcal resillts which he obtained in a small volume
wuch appeared at Copenhagen in 1669, under the title of
umsm Bartholmi Experimenta Crystalli Islandici, Dis-
• a^lci quibus mira et insohta Ref radio detcqitur, and
s dedicated to Frederick III. king of Denmark. In seven-
en experiments and tivelve propositions this able and sa-
mar°Uf Iv,1 0S0P^er has presented us with an excellent sum-
Y ot the more prominent phenomena of double refraction.
rpr S leTn that IceHnd spar has the property of double
thr,.,,'i°n’ 1 1SJ °P giving two images of all objects seen
thnso^ e ^ ^Iietller its faces are parallel or inclined, like
0 a prism; that the incident light is equally divided
359
Doubl
tractio
light c
vered
Bartht
us, A,
1669.
between these two pencils ; that one of these refractions is History,
performed according to the law of Snellius, the ratio of the^-^v-^*^
omes being as 1 to T667, but that the other is performed
according to an extraordinary law which had not previously
been observed by philosophers. He observed also a posi¬
tion in which the object appears six-fold, but he did not dis¬
cover that this took place only in some specimens which
were composite or irregular crystals.
These discoveries of Bartholinus having been communi-Disc0veries
cated to the Royal Society of London, and printed in No. of Huy-
67 of their Transadions, they attracted the notice of gens. Born
Christian Huygens, a celebrated Dutch philosopher of the ‘^9, died
finest genius and the highest attainments. Havin«- mven a l695-
new theory of refraction, he wanted to repeat Bartholinus’s
experiments principally with the view of ascertaining if they
opposed any difficulties to that theory. His work on this
subject, entitled .De Vestrange Refraction du Cristal rfls-
lande, which forms the 5th chapter of his Traite de la Lu-
miere, was written in 1678, and was read to Cassini, Roemer,
and De la Hire, and to several other members of the Royal
Academy of Sciences, which he had been invited to join
by the liberality of the French king ; but it was not pub¬
lished till 1690, when he was resident at the Hague. After
giving Bartholinus the credit of having discovered some of
the principal phenomena of double refraction, he describes
the general properties of Iceland spar in forming two images
of objects, and he shews that all the phenomena are related
to the axis, or that diagonal of the rhomb, in the direction
of which the crystal has no double refraction. He proves
that the double refraction, or separation of the two images,
gradually increases as the inclination of the refracted ray to
the axis increases, and becomes a maximum in a plane at
right angles to the axis. In the few preceding chapters of
his Trade de la Lumiere he had explained all the pheno¬
mena of reflexion and refraction upon a new theory, in which
he supposes light to be produced in the same manner as sound,
by means of undulations propagated in an elastic ethereal
medium, an hypothesis revived by Euler and extended by
Di. 1 oung, and now almost universally embraced under the
name of the undulatory theory. In applying the same the¬
ory to explain the phenomena of double refraction, he sup¬
poses the ray produced by the ordinary reifaction of the
medium to be produced by undulations propagated
through the crystal, while the ray formed by the extraor¬
dinary refraction is produced by undulations, the
ratio of the two refractions, determining the form of the
generating ellipse. Huygens then proceeds to shew that this
theory affords, by calculation, results agreeing very exactly
with those which he had obtained by direct experiment.
This discovery is perhaps the most splendid which has oc¬
curred in the history of optical science.
When Huygens had finished his researches on double n-
refiaction, he discovered what he calls a “wonderful phe- 1^oveiT
nomenon, 2 and, though he acknowledges that we cannot arisation of
find the cause of it, yet he thinks it proper to indicate the light,
phenomenon that others may inquire into it. This discovery
is that of the polarisation of the light, which forms the two
pencils of Iceland spar, and he confesses that he must add
to his theory other suppositions in order to explain it, though
he thinks that a theory confirmed by so many proofs will
still preserve its plausibility (vraisemblance). Huygens
had natuially supposed that the light which composed the
two pencils was like all other light, but upon transmitting
the two rays formed by one rhomb of calcareous spar through
another rhomb, he was astonished to perceive that when the
two rhombs were similarly placed as if they had formed one
larger one, neither of the rays suffered double refraction in
“ same e^pltadlirD^anes ^the WJ°le °f exPlanation of rainbow to De Dominis. He says,
2 “ Une nhprtnmiinn ,, hath Pursued in his Meteors, and mended that of the exterior bow." *
P merveilleux, que j’ay decouvert apres avoir ecrit tout ce que dessus.” ( Traite de la Lumiere, p. 88.)
360
OPTICS.
History, passing through the second rhomb the ordinary ray from the
first being only ordinarily refracted by the second rhomb, and
the extraordinary ray only extraordinarily refracted. I he
same thing took place when one of the rhombs, the seco '
for example, was turned round 90°, with this difference, t
the ordinaryray of the first rhomb suffered only extraordinary
refraction, and the extraordinary ray only ordinary refraction
from the second rhomb. But in all other positions of the
second rhomb, excepting these tw-o rectangular wes, the
ordinary and extraordinary rays of the first rhomb w^e ea
divided' into two by the second rhomb, so that there were
now four rays sometimes of equal but generally of unecl
brightness, and such that the light of all the ^ nev^ eX-
ceeded that of the single ray incident on the rhomb.
Huygens discovered also the double refraction of quartz,
or rock crystal, but he committed a great mistake msuppos-
ing that its double refraction was regulated by an entirHy
different law, the light being in te case pr°PJaJ*?tk™’%*
it in two spherical waves, one of wh,eh was a
than the other} This result he mentions in '' s Pe, ^
having been obtained after he had read his work to ms co
le^ues in the Academy of Sciences. It is, however, found¬
ed on an incorrect observation, as the extraordinary refrac¬
tion of rock crystal is produced by spheroidal undulations
like that of Iceland spar, with this difference only, as after¬
wards discoveredby M. Biot, that the ^eroid ^ prolateone^
Even if Huygens had not immortalised his name by these
rreat discoveries, his treatises on dioptrics and on halos,
and his construction of refracting telescopes of immense
size, would have given him the highest reputation. H
treatise on dioptrics, which was not published till 1703,
among his posthumous works, and which he had begun to
prepare at an early period of his life, was particularly ad¬
mired by Sir Isaac Newton. It contains a copious explan¬
ation of the properties of lenses of all forms; and their sp e i-
cal aberration is treated with much perspicuity, having pr -
ously, in the 6th chapter of his Traite de la Lumiere, pub¬
lished an interesting discussion respecting the fij^es °f
transparent bodies for refracting and reflecting light to a
single focus. The subject of vision, and the method of as¬
sisting long and short-sighted persons by lenses, is ably dis¬
cussed, and nearly the latter half of the work is devoted to
the theory of telescopes, telescopic eye-pieces and micro-
^ Many of these theoretical views Huygens submitted to the
test of experiment. Having acquired great expertness m
the art of grinding lenses, he executed refracting telescopes
12 and 24 feet in focal length, and afterwards °^e °
and another of 123 feet, with which he discovered Saturn s
ring, and the fourth ofhis satellites. These two last object-
glasses he presented to the Royal Society ; but as it was
impracticable to use tubes of such enormous length, Huy¬
gens contrived a method of mounting them without tubes
fit the top of a long pole. The practical knowledge which
he had thus acquired, was published along with his Diop¬
trics in a work entitled, Commentarn de formandis pohen-
disque vitris ad Telescopia, a considerable part of which
was published by Dr. Smith in his optics. Among his
posthumous works appeared his Dissertatio de C°™ul° et
Parheliis, a work of great merit, m which he ascribes the e
phenomena generally to crystals of ice m the upper atmos¬
phere, and a translation of the whole of which Dr. Smith
has published in the first volume of his optics.
T.imes Among the eminent men who gave an impulse to optical
Gregory, discovery, we must assign a considerable place to our coun-
Born 1638. tryman James Gregory. This eminent mathematician m
Died 1675. c0”nfirrning the experiments of Vitello and Kircher on tue
ancles of refraction, discovered the true law which hadpre- Histo-
viously been found by Snellius. He made the refractive^
power of water 1*3347, which coincides with that of
the middle ray between the lines D and E of Fraunhofer.
Having discovered before the publication of his work that
Descartes’ dioptrics contained the law of refraction, he men¬
tions the circumstance, and ascribes his being unacquainted
with that work to the “ want of new mathematical books,”
in the library of the college of Aberdeen. Although Bap-
tista Porta appears from the extract which we have already
given from his Natural Magic, to have made the nearest
possible approach to the invention of the Newtonian reflect-
ing telescope, or rather microscope, yet his experiment ex-™I
cited no notice, and no instrument could be said to have been flectin,
invented. James Gregory, however, has described what is teiescc .|
now known by the name of the Gregorian Reflecting Tele-Grego:
scope, at the end ofhis Optica Pranata, published in 1663. telescos
It consisted of a parabolic concave mirror perforated at the
centre, and having in front of it a small concave elliptic
speculum, at a distance a little greater than the sum of
their focal lengths. The parallel rays emitted by a remote
obiect formed an image of that object in front of the great
mirror, and in its focus; and in the conjugate focus of the
small speculum, behind the great speculum, there was
formed another image of the object, which was magnified
by an eye glass. In 1664, Messrs Rives and Co. English
opticians, attempted to construct a six foot Gregorian te e-
scope, under the superintendence of its inventor, but, alter
a rough trial of it, Mr. Gregory, not aware of the nice ad¬
justments which it required, conceived that the figure of
the speculum was defective, and, being on the eve of going
abroad, he never even made a tube for the mirrors. Stimulated
abroad, he never even made a ruue iut me
by the failure ofhis friend, Newton, “altered, ” as he says, “the
design of the instrument,” and “placed the eye glass at
the end of the tube rather than at the middle ; and, there¬
fore, he was obliged to reflect the rays to a side by an oval
plane speculum. Sir Isaac act^ly constructed one of
instruments with his own hands, and described it in a letter
“"nl dated the 23d February 1668-9. The
ture of the speculum was one inch, its focal length tele,
inches the eye glass, which was a plano-convex lens, about
» ths of an inch in focal length, and the magnifying power
39 times. He considered it as equal to a three or lour fee
and it shewed distinctly the four satellites of
Jupiter, and the phases of Venus.* Encouraged by to
success, he completed another telescope in 1671, which™
better than the first, and which is preserved in the hbmy
of the Royal Society. The next Newtonian reflecting tele¬
scope of any importance, was executed by Mr. John Ha
lev m 1719 or 1720, with a speculum six inches in duinie ,
Sd five feet in focll length1; but for a long time the Gte-
gorian form was the most popular in Englai . gmaji
M. Cassegrain substituted a convex specu um , ,
concave one of Gregory, which had the advantage ofshorten^
ing the tube of the telescope without diminishing thep
0t Other^Timants have arisen for the honour °f inventing
the reflecting telescope. Father Mersennc m a 1 «
Descartes in 1637, suggested the idea of using co^
mirrors in reflecting telescopes ; but Descarte en
to convince him that his views were not likely , ,
At a later period Fontenelle, in dte »/
of Sciences, for 1700, has very recklessly asenbed^h^
tion of this instrument to Father Zucchi, a , fQpti-
who published, at Lyons in 1652, a volu^e’^ethought of
ca Philosophical In this work he says, that , h ^
substituting concave specula for object glasses,^^
w e 9.0 a <■ Cette double refraction .eml.loi. dem.nder u"7 double enuui.tion d’ondes de lumtere, toutes fl-
(c: S^rL^'-wont^P e, u™ seulement u„ peu ^ lent, q„e tea -res.
^ * Brewster’s Life of Sir Isaac Neivton, p. 26, -7
OPTICS.
Grill: Ji
disci ji's
the ''x-
ight
Bon #19.
Pied 63
Dr. I
Born
Died
found a concave metallic mirror in a cabinet of curiosities,
he applied to it a concave eye glass, and observed with it
celestial and terrestrial objects. As no small speculum was
used in this combination, it was neither a Newtonian, Gre¬
gorian, nor Cassegrainian telescope ; and if Zucchi conceiv¬
ed himself the inventor of a reflecting telescope, why did
he conceal it till 1652, and why did he not get a real spe¬
culum made to give his idea a fair trial.
Among the discoveries of the 17th century, that of the
inflexion of light ranks among the most important. This
addition to physical optics was made by Francis Maria Grimal¬
di, an Italian Jesuit, who published an account of it in a work
entitled, Physico-mathesis de Lumine, Coloribm et Iride,
aliisque annexis, which was published at Bologna in 1665,
two years after his death. Introducing a ray of the sun’s
light into a dark room, and through a very small aperture,
he remarked, that it formed a cone of light in which all
bodies had their shadows larger than if the rays passed in
straight lines by their edges. Round these shadows he
noticed three coloured fringes becoming narrower as they
were farther from the body, and in strong light he observed
similar coloured fringes, varying from two to four, accord¬
ing to the distance of the shadow from the body. Hence
our author concluded that light is bent from its rectilineal
path in passing by the edges of bodies.
When he admitted the light through two small apertures,
so near each other that the one luminous cone did not
penetrate the other till at a considerable distance from the
apertures, he observed that the rays so interfered with one
another, as to render the spot illuminated by their united
light more obscure than ivhen it was illuminated by either of
them singly. This extraordinary result is announced in
the following proposition: “ That a body actually illumi¬
nated, may become more obscure by adding a new light to
that, which it already receives,” and may be regarded as the
first discovery of the interference of light.
■ Dr. Robert Hooke, one of the most ingenious and able
■men of the century which he adorned, not knownng of the
'discovery of Grimaldi, communicated to the Royal Society
in 1672, an account of “ the discovery of a new property
ot light not mentioned by any optical writers before him.”
In a subsequent communication in 1675, he draws the fol¬
lowing conclusions from his experiments:—1. There is a
deflection of light, differing both from reflexion and refrac¬
tion, and seeming to depend on the unequal density of the
constituent parts of the ray, whereby the light is dispersed
from the place of condensation, and rarified, or gradually
diverged into a quadrant. 2. This deflection is made to¬
wards the superficies of the opaque body perpendicularly.
3. Those parts of the diverged radiations, which are deflect¬
ed by the greatest angle from the straight or direct radia¬
tion, are the faintest, and those that are deflected by the
least angles are the strongest. 4. Rays cutting each other
in one common foramen, do not make the angles at the
vertex equal. 5. Colours may be made without refraction.
he diameter of the sun cannot be taken with common
sights. 7. The same rays of light, falling upon the same
point of an object, will turn into all sorts of colours by the
various inclination of the object. 8. Colours begin to ap¬
pear when two pulses of light are blended so well, and so
--together, that the sense takes them for one.”
eowe, also, to Dr. Hooke the first accurate experiments
a were made on the subject of thin plates, which, we be-
ieve, adbeenfirstobserved by Mr. Boyle.1 He investigated
6 Kuiu’ P^enomena as exhibited in the colours of the
ap bubble, and between tw o plates of glass pressed to-
p ' .. e discovered that the colours depended upon
certain thicknesses of the thin plates, but he failed in de¬
mining the relation between given thicknesses and given
SGI
colours. He succeeded in splitting mica into plates of ex- Histor
treme tenuity, as to give the most brilliant colours, one'Srf
giving a yellow, another a blue, and the two together a
deep purple. In his Micrographia, printed about seven
years before any of Newton’s experiments were made on
the same subject, Dr. Hooke has published the following
remarkable explanation of these phenomena, which coin¬
cides in a singular manner, with that which is now uni¬
versally received: “ It is most evident, says he, that the
reflection from the under or further side of the body, is the
principal cause of the production of these colours. ‘Let the
ray fall obliquely on the thin plate, part thereofis reflected
back by the first superficies,—part refracted to the second
surface, whence it is reflected and refracted again. So
that, after two refractions and one reflection, there is pro¬
pagated a kind of fainter ray, and by reason of the time
spent in passing and repassing, this fainter pulse comes be¬
hind the former reflected pulse; so that hereby, (the
surfaces being so near together that the eye cannot discri¬
minate them from one) this confused or duplicated pulse,
whose strongest part precedes, and whose weakest follows,
does produce on the retina the sensation of a yellow. If
these surfaces are further removed asunder, the weaker pulse
may become coincident with the reflection of the second,
or next following pulse, from the first surface, and lagg
behind that also, and be coincident with the third, fourth,
fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth ; so that, if there be a thin
transparent body, that from the greatest thinness requisite
to produce colours, does by degrees grow to the greatest
thickness,—the colours shall be so often repeated, as the
weaker pulse does lose paces w ith its primary or first pulse,
and is coincident with a subsequent pulse. And this, as
it is coincident, or follows from the first hypothesis I took
of colours, so upon experiment have I found it in multi¬
tudes of instances that seem to prove it.”
Galileo, and the philosophers of the Accademia del Cimento,
had proposed to measure the velocity of light by means of a
base on the surface of the globe ; but such an attempt w as
utterly hopeless, and it was only in a wdder range that this
problem could be solved. Baffled in finding an explana¬
tion of some irregularity in the emersion of the first satel¬
lite of Jupiter, Cassini and Roemer had concluded that it R0emrr.
depended on the distance of Jupiter from the earth, and Bom 1644.
that in order to explain it it was necessary to suppose, that the Died 1710
light of the satellite required ten or eleven minutes to move
across the earth’s orbit. This happy idea seems to have
first occurred to Cassini, but he speedily abandoned it, while ■
Roemer pertinaciously cherished the hypothesis, and at last
immortalised himself by demonstrating in the most rigor¬
ous manner that light moves through the diameter of the
earth’s orbit, a distance of 190 millions of miles, in eleven
minutes.
Passing over the valuable researches of Tschirnhausen,
a Saxon nobleman, on caustic curves, which had been pre¬
viously discovered, and the discoveries of Mariotte and de la
Hire, respecting the seat of vision, which have not termi¬
nated in any satisfactory conclusions, we are brought to one
of the most brilliant periods of optical discovery.
In the year 1665, Sir Isaac Newton, when only 23 years Discoveries
of age, bought three prisms, but he does not seem to have of Newton,
made any particular experiments with them. In 1666,Born T4--
however, he bought another, with which he proposed to re-^e<*
peat Grimaldi’s experiment, on the elongation of the sun’s
image produced by the prism. In the course of this and
the tw o or three subsequent years, he made and perfected
his great discovery of the different refrangibility of light,
which he communicated to the Royal Society on the 6th
of February 1672, having, on the 18th of January, announc¬
ed it as “ the oddest if not the most considerable detection
VOL. xvi.
Experiments and Observations upon Colours, 1GG3.
2 z
3G2
History, which hath hitherto been made in the operations of nature.”
—Having found that refraction could not be produced with¬
out colour, he was led to direct his attention to the perfec¬
tion of the reflecting telescope, and produced the instru¬
ments which we have already mentioned. Another result
of this discovery was the completion ot the theory of the
rainbow, the origin of the colours of which had hitherto
perplexed philosophers.
The next optical discovery made by Sir Isaac Newton,
related to the colours of thin plates, or of thin transparent
bodies, such as the soap bubble. We have already seen that
Dr. Hooke had made some progress, both in observing the
phenomena and in investigating the cause of such colours ,
but it is to Newton that we owre an elaborate analysis of the
subject. In a letter from Sir Isaac to Dr. Hooke, dated 5th
February 1676, he acknowledges that the latter had pre¬
viously observed “ the dilatation of the coloured rays by the
obliquation of the eye, and the opposition of a black spot at
the contact of two convex glasses, and at the top of a water
bubble,” (soap bubble). In the course of his experiments on
thin plates, Newton was led to the discovery of the colouns
of thick plates, and he devised a theory for explaining both
classes of phenomena, known by the name of the theory of
fits of easy reflexion and transmission. This theory, re¬
markable for its ingenuity, is now no longer an expression
of the phenomena, and has given way to the theory ot un¬
dulations, which Hooke had the sagacity to anticipate as
affording the true cause of the colours of thin plates.
Early in 1676, Newton communicated to the Royal So¬
ciety his Theory of the Colours of Natural Bodies, in which
he ascribes all the varieties of colour exhibited in nature to
the circumstance “that the transparent parts of bodies, ac¬
cording to their several sizes, reflect rays of one colour and
transmit those of another, on the same grounds that thin
plates or bubbles do reflect or transmit those rays. I his
theory, perhaps the finest of all Newton s optical specula¬
tions,’has met with much opposition. It was controvert¬
ed by Mr. Delaval, Sir John Herschel, and others, m its
leading propositions: but some recent discoveries affoid us
reason°for believing that the principal objections to it are
groundless, and that with some modifications it may yet be
placed among the finest generalizations in science.
Sir Isaac Newton’s experiments on the inflexion ot light
were never finished by their author. His observations were
limited, and his theory incorrect; and indeed it was only
from the hands of those who adopted the undulating sys¬
tem that a true explanation of the phenomena could be ex-
The experiments of our author on the refractive powers
of bodies, from which he anticipated that the diamond “was
probably an unctuous substance coagulated, have on this
account been regarded with high favour, while his mw ob-
servations on the double refraction and polarisation of light
have almost disappeared from the history of optics.1
The next great step in the history of optical discovery is
the invention of t\\e achromatic telescope, or telescopes which
are free from colour. When Sir Isaac Newton found that
he could not produce refraction without colour, he aban¬
doned the improvement of the refracting telecide as hope¬
less, and devoted himself to the construction of reflectors.
:r"!'
Achroma¬
tic tele¬
scope.
OPTICS.
The opinion at which he had arrived respecting the imprac-
ticability of refracting light without colouring it, was, how-
ever, an erroneous one, which he had deduced from an in¬
correct observation of the relative length of the prismatic
spectra formed by different bodies, when the mean refraction
was the same. In less than two years after Newton’s death,
namely, in 1729, Mr. Chester More Hall, of More Hall in Es- M; iot(
sex, was led by the study of the human eye, which he erroneous-H
ly conceived to be achromatic, to consider the possibility of
constructing a telescope by an analogous combination oi me¬
dia. After many experiments, he found two kinds of glass capa¬
ble of producing, by their combination, refraction without co¬
lour.2 About 1733 he completed several such object-glasses,
which, with a focal length ot twenty inches, bore an aperture of
more than two-and-a-half inches, one of which was long
afterwards in the possession of the Rev. Mr. Smith of Char¬
lotte Street, Rathbone Place, and was found to be achro¬
matic. Another of Mr. Hall’s telescopes was in the pos¬
session of Mr. Ayscough, optician in Ludgate Hill, in 1754.
Mr. Hall, however, kept his invention a secret; none ot his
instruments were either sold or exhibited for sale, and those
into whose hands they fell do not seem to have discovered
either their principle or their value. _
Without calling in question the merits of Mr. Hall, we Co
must do justice to those of Mr. John Dollond, an undoubted
inventor of the achromatic telescope, who, unacquainted with
the instruments of Mr. Hall, proceeded step by step, in a
scientific progression, till he invented and constructed the
achromatic telescope in 1757. To this eminent individual,
and the other members of his family, we owe the construc¬
tion of many of the finest instruments by which the science
of astronomy has been so much promoted. Mr. Peter Uol-
lond, the son of John Dollond, first suggested and used the
triple object-glass, in which a better correction of the sphe¬
rical aberration was effected, by placing the concave flint
glass between two convex lenses ot crown glass.
The mathematical world owe many obligations to Euler,
Clairaut, D’Alembert, and Boscovich, for their able inves¬
tigations of the theory of achromatism, but their investiga¬
tions did not prove of any practical value ; and it has been
justly stated by Sir John Herschel, “ that from all the ab¬
struse researches of Clairaut, Euler, and D Alembert, and
other celebrated geometers, nothing hitherto has resulted
beyond a mass of complicated formulas, which, though con¬
fessedly exact in theory, have never yet been made the basi
of construction for a single good instrument, and remains
therefore totally inapplicable, or at least unapplied in prac-
tice.”3 t, •
No attempt had hitherto been made to measure the in¬
tensity of different lights emanating either directly from 1
minous bodies, or when transmitted through or reflected
from different bodies. This subject, to which the name ot
Photometry has been given, was begun by Huygens ana ;
F. Marie, who describes an instrument called a luci >
but it is to M. Bouguer and M.Lambert that vve owe the most
scientific and complete investigation of this class of facts. ^ ,
Bouguer’s earliest experiments were published 1 "V eft
in his Optical Essay on the Gradation of Light, * ' 7*
republished in 1760, much augmented and .mproveiunto
the title of TrailedOptique sur la Gradationde la L
}e s®® d01'® jn^'win^with the aqu^aU^
of ,beV Gresory's" w
LicjM. Dr. Brown’s translation of the preceding passage is very incorrect.
’ Phil. Trans. 1821, p. 222.
OPTICS.
363
111'I
'51 Sir11-
\ liam i.er-
Kheij
Boru'38
® Diec:322.
I;'
Bouguer was followed in this inquiry by M Lambert, an
/able German mathematician, who published an account of
his researches at Augsburg in 1760, in a duodecimo volume
■of 547 pages, entitled Photometriaseu de Mensura et Gra-
• dibus Luminis, colorum et umbrce. It is divided into seven
parts : 1. On the modifications and degrees of direct light,
and of its brightness and illuminating power; 2. Experi¬
ments and calculations on the modifications of light depend¬
ing on transparent bodies, but chiefly glass; 3. Experiments
and calculations respecting the modifications of light de¬
pending on the opacity of bodies; 4. Calculations and expe¬
riments on the sense of light, and its apparent brightness ;
5. On the dispersion of light passing through diaphanous me¬
dia, chiefly the earth’s atmosphere ; 6. Calculations respect¬
ing the illumination of the planetary system ; and, 7. On
the modifications and degrees of heterogenous and relative
light, or the light of colours and shadow.
Passing over the minor labours of Porterfield, Turner,
Mazeas, Dutour, Buffon, Scheiffer, Darwin, Melville, Mit¬
chell, and others we come to the period of Sir William
Herschel. Since the discovery of the belts and nearest sa¬
tellites of Saturn, no discovery of any importance had been
made respecting the natural history of the heavens. At the
age of 36, when Sir William was residing at Bath, he devoted
much of his time to the construction of telescopes; and the
following account of his progress is too interesting to be given
in any other language than his own,—“ When I resided,”
says he, “ at Bath, I had long been acquainted with the
theory of optics and mechanism, and wanted only that ex¬
perience which is so necessary in the practical part of these
sciences. This I acquired by degrees at that place, where,
in my leisure hours, by way of amusement, I made for my¬
selfseveral two feet, five feet, seven feet, ten feet, and twenty
feet Newtonian telescopes, besides others of the Gregorian
form, of eight inches, twelve inches, two feet, three feet,
five feet, and ten feet, focal length. My way of doing these
instruments at that time, when the direct method of giving
the figure of any one of the conic sections to specula was
still unknown to me, was to have many mirrors of each sort
cast, and to finish them all as well as I could, then to select
by trial the best of them, which I preserved; the rest, were
put by to be re-polished. In this manner, I made no less
than two hundred seven-feet, one hundred and fifty ten-feet,
and about eighty twenty-feet, not to mention those of the
Gregorian form, or of the construction of Dr. Smith’s re¬
fecting microscope, of which I also made a great number.
My mechanical amusements went hand in hand with the
optical ones. The number of stands I invented for these
telescopes it would not be easy to assign. I contrived and
delineated them of different forms, and executed the most
promising of the designs. To these labours we owe my
seven-feet Newtonian telescope stand, which was brought
t< its present convenient construction about 1778.”
By means of these instruments, with which he surveyed the
heavens with unwearied diligence, he discovered the Georgi¬
an Sidus, with six satellites, two new satellites circulating
round Saturn, the quintuple belt and double ring of the same
planet, and various other astronomical phenomena of the high¬
est interest. In 1783 he finished a twenty-feet reflector, with
an aperture of 18T7S inches, and formed the design of con-
S a st’B larger instrument. On the recommendation
o Sir Joseph Banks, his Majesty George III. agreed to de-
ray the expense of a large telescope, and under his munifi-
cent patronage, which has never since been imitated by his
successors, Sir William began in 1785, and completed on
f56 l i ^ '^u^us^ 1789, a reflecting telescope forty feet in
oca ength, having its great speculum four feet in breadth
thick, and weighing, when newly
. ’ . 18 pounds. On the 28th of August, the day after
18 g!gantic instrument was erected, Sir William discovered
new satellite of Saturn, and in the same year another sa¬
tellite, both of which were nearer the body of the planet History,
than the other five discovered by Huygens and Cassini. In'
this manner the telescope, which was a toy in the hands of
Galileo, became with Sir W illiam Herschel a vast machine,
carrying the observer himself, and directed and moved by
appropriate mechanism.
An improvement in the achromatic telescope, of great Dr. Blair,
value, though not yet brought into practical use, was made A.D. 1787.
by Dr. Robert Blair. Although in the achromatic telescope Died
composed of crown and flint glass, the colour was as com¬
pletely corrected as it was possible to do with such lenses,
yet it had long been observed that there were residual
colours, which formed what are called a secondary spectrum,
and which arise from the coloured spaces in the spectrum,
produced by crown glass not having the same size as those
in a spectrum of equal length produced by flint glass. Va¬
rious attempts had been made in vain to obtain other sub¬
stances, in which this irrationality, as it was called, of the
coloured spaces did not exist; and Dr. Blair was hence led
to attempt the removal of the secondary spectrum by other
means. The plan which he adopted was the following. He
made each lens of his compound object-glass achromatic,
but in such a way that the secondary spectrum produced by
the one should be corrected by the secondary spectrum pro¬
duced by the other. Such an object-glass required two fluid
media and three lenses of glass, and Dr. Blair succeeded in
constructing them so as to be perfectly free from all second¬
ary colour. In the course of his experiments, however, he
was fortunate enough to discover that the muriatic acid
mixed in proper proportions with metallic antimony, or but¬
ter of antimony, as it was called, gave a spectrum, in
which the colours had exactly the same proportion as crown
glass ; and hence, by enclosing this fluid between two lenses
of crown glass, the one next the object being plano-convex
and the other a meniscus, he obtained an object-glass in
which the rays of different colours were bent from their rec¬
tilineal course with the same equality and regularity as in
reflexions. To such an object-glass he proposed to give
the name of aplanatic, to indicate the entire removal of all
aberration.- Dr. Robison informs us that one of these teles¬
copes, which did not exceed fifteen inches in length, equalled
in all respects, if it did not surpass, the best of Dollond’s
achromatic telescopes forty-two inches long. After the death
of Dr. Blair, his son, Mr. Archibald Blair, attempted in vain
to produce instruments of the same perfection. Had this
young man lived, he might have executed something bet¬
ter, but he wras cut off at an early age, and has left to the
Royal Society of Edinburgh an account of his father’s me¬
thods, which we hope may prove useful to science.
Hitherto the undulatory theory of light as proposed by Dr. Tho-
Huygens and supported by Hooke and Euler, had met with mas Young,
few adherents; and the reputation of Newton had given to Born 1773.
the theory of emission an adventitious authority to which itDied l829-
was not entitled. Dr. Young, however, boldly threw down
the gauntlet and maintained the theory of Huygens with the
greatest ingenuity and talent. In his paper of 1800, entitl¬
ed Outlines of Experiments and Observations on Sound and
Light, he shews that light has a strong analogy with sound,
and that it is produced by the undulation of a highly elas¬
tic etherial medium which pervades all nature. In another
paper, which he published in 1801, On the Theory of Light
and Colours, he applies the theory of undulations to the ex¬
planation of natural phenomena; and lays down the follow-
ing hypotheses : 1. That a luminiferous ether pervades the
universe, rare and elastic in a high degree. 2. That undu¬
lations are excited in this ether whenever a body becomes
luminous. 3. That the sensation of different colours depends
on the different frequency of vibrations excited by light in
the retina ; and, 4th, that all material bodies are to be con¬
sidered, with respect to the phenomena of light, as consist¬
ing of particles so remote from each other as to allow the
364
OPTICS.
History, etherial medium to pervade them with perfect freedom, and
'either to retain it in a state of greater density and of equal
elasticity, or to constitute together with the medium an ag¬
gregate which may be considered as denser but not more
elastic. He then proceeds to demonstrate in nine propositions,
some of the leading truths in the theory, applying them in
corollaries to the colour of striated surfaces, the colours of
thin plates, the colours of thick plates, and the colours pro¬
duced by inflexion. In 1802, Dr. Young published An ac¬
count of some causes oj the Production of Colours not hitherto
observed. The cases described in this paper are the colours
of delicate fibres and of mixed plates. The first he explains
by the interference of two portions of light, one reflected
from the fibre and the other bending round its opposite side,
and at last coinciding nearly in direction with the former
portion. The colours of mixed plates are those produced
when moisture, butter, or tallow, are placed between tv-o
plates of glass, so that portions of air are intermixed with
these substances. A candle seen through such a medium
is surrounded with a sort of halo, and Dr. Young considers
the colours as produced by the light which passes through
one of the media, moving with greater velocity so as to anti¬
cipate the light which comes more slowly through the other.
In 1803, Dr. Young published what may be considered
as his principal paper, entitled Experiments and Calcula¬
tions relating to Physical Optics, in which he has given
an experimental demonstration of the general law of inter¬
ference. By intercepting the rays which passed on one
side of a body which formed fringes by reflexion, the fringes
disappeared whether the interception was made on one side
or the other of the body. This admirable experiment es¬
tablished the truth of his law of interference, and paved the
way for those splendid generalizations respecting the undu-
latory theory which have so widely enlarged tne boundaries
°* In April 1814, in a review of Malus, Biot, and Brews¬
ter’s Experiments on Light, which he contributed to the
Quarterly Review, he first published his explanation of the
colours of crystallised plates produced by polarised light by
the law of interference, an explanation which is now uni¬
versally admitted. In the article on Chromatics,-which Dr.
Young contributed to this work, the reader will find a full
account of the discoveries to which the law of interference
lias been so successfully applied. One of the most impor¬
tant applications of the undulatory theory was published in
that article for the first time. Dr. Young has there given
an expression of the velocity of reflected light at a perpen¬
dicular incidence from bodies of various refractive powers,
which is a simple function of the index of refraction.
In giving an account of Sir William Herschel s discover¬
ies, we have not mentioned his discovery of invisible heat-
ing rays beyond the red extremity of the spectrum, because
we have ourselves succeeded in discovering the luminous rays
at that part of the spectrum. In repeating Sir W. Hersch-
Ritter el’s experiments, M. Ritter of Jena placed muriate of silver
A.D. i 801. in different parts of the spectrum, and found that it soon be¬
came black beyond the violet extremity, less black in the
violet rays, becoming still less black in the blue and green,
and so on till the blackness vanished. When he used mu¬
riate of silver, slightly blackened or disoxygenated, its white
or original colour was partly retained by the red, and still
more by the supposed invisible rays beyond it. In these ex¬
periments of Ritter’s, as well as in those of Sir W. Herschel,
the solar spectrum, when seen by the eye, as thrown upon
paper, is extremely short. A great part of the violet extremity
as well as the red extremity is invisible, so that when the
thermometer and the muriate of silver seemed to be wholly
out of the spectrum, they were completely within the violet
and the red spaces, as we have placed beyond a doubt by
comparing the length of a spectrum on paper with that which Hist,
can be rendered visible by directly looking through a teles-V—y
cope at a highly magnified one.
Without knowing of the experiments of Ritter, Dr. Wol- Dr. \
laston discovered the chemical effects which exist at thehston.
violet end of the spectrum ; but the merit of this expert-I
ment decidedly belongs to Scheele, who discovered that mu- led 1
riate of silver was more blackened in the violet rays than in
any other part of the spectrum. The principal discovery
in "optics, which we owe to Dr. Wollaston is his method of
observing the spectrum, and his discovery id five fixed lines
in it. The following is his own description of it: “I can¬
not conclude these observations on dispersion without re¬
marking that the colours into which a beam of white light
is separable by refraction, appear to me to be neither seven,
as they usually are seen in the rainbow, nor reducible by
any means (that I can find) to three, as some persons have
conceived ; but that, by employing a very narrow pencil of
light, four primary divisions of the prismatic spectrum may
be seen with a degree of distinctness that, I believe, has
not been described nor observed before.
“ If a beam of day-light be admitted into a dark room by
a crevice -io of an inch broad, and received by tne eye at a
distance of ten or twelve feet, through a prism of flint glass
free from veins, held near the eye, the beam is seen to be
separated into the four following colours only, red, yellow¬
ish green, blue, and violet; in the proportion represented
in the figure.
“ Xhe line A that bounds the red side of the spectrum is
somewhat confused, which seems, in part owing to the want
of power in the eye to converge red light. The line B,
between red and green, in a certain position of the prism,
is perfectly distinct; so also are D and hi, the two limits of
violet. But C, the limit of green and blue, is not so clear¬
ly marked as the red; and there are also, on each side ot
this limit, other distinct dark lines,/and g, either of which
in an imperfect experiment, might be mistaken for the
boundary of these colours.
“ The position of the prism in which the colours are most
clearly divided is when the incident light makes about equal
angles with two of its sides. I thus found that the spaces
AB, BC, CD, DE, occupied by them, were nearly as the
numbers 16, 23, 36, 25. ,
“ Since the proportions of these colours to eaca otiiei
have been supposed by Dr. Blair to vary according to the
medium by which they are produced. I have compared
with this appearance the coloured images caused by pris¬
matic vessels, containing substances supposed by him to
differ most in this respect, such as strong but colourless nit¬
ric acid, rectified oil of turpentine, very pale oil of sassatras,
and Canada balsam also nearly colourless, \\ ith eaclio
these I have found the same arrangement of the four col¬
ours, and, in similar positions of the prisms, as nearly as
could judge, the same proportions of them.1 _
“ But, when the inclination of any prism is altered s
to increase the dispersion of the colours, the proportions o
them to each other are thus also changed, so that the space
AC and CE, instead of being as before 39 and 61, may
found altered as far as 42 and 58.” These interesting
1UU11U. clILClClA cto xiXL a —< — * ' in
observations are appended to his Method of efaff!- n
Re fractive and Dispersive Powers by Prismatic Refiec
A ,  i.i- 1.. .1 u... ZJ/,,7 fnr 1802.
which was published in the Phil. Lrans. for 1 — , .
In the year 1800, Dr. Wollaston published in the r
losophical Transactions some interesting expenmen
observations On Double Images caused by _
rival Refraction, and in the same work for 1802, ne
municated a series of measures On the Oblique R j
of Iceland Crystal in different planes, which he
as the measures taken by Huygens had done
1 The observations in this paragraph are quite inconect.
reach of doubt.
Dr. Blair’s results to which they stand opposed have been placed beyond t
H ry.
Sort
Diec
OPTICS.
to agree in a remarkable manner with the beautiful law es-
''tablished by the Dutch philosopher.
These researches of Dr. Wollaston, but particularly the
discoveries of Dr. Young, had about this time drawn the at¬
tention of the philosophers of France to the subject of double
refraction. Laplace had considered the deviation of the extra¬
ordinary ray, as due to the action of the attractive and re¬
pulsive forces by which Newton and his successors had
endeavoured to explain the ordinary refraction and reflexion
of light; and the Institute of France were thus led in 1808
to propose the double refraction of light as the subject of a
prize to be adjudged in 1810. Among the few memoirs which
were sent in competition for this prize, that of E. L. Malus,
colonel of the imperial corps of engineers was the success
ful one.
and fishes, shells, and the whiskers of a whale. Malus in-
v.C!Uir° P1 osecute this subject to a greater extent, but'
his brilliant career of discovery terminated by his death on
the 7th February 1812.
The loss of Malus, great as it was felt to be, was imme-Discoveries
diately supplied by his distinguished colleague in the Insti-of M. Ara-
u e, M. Arago, who has added to this and other depart-g°- Horn
ments of science so many brilliant discoveries. On the1786-
11th of August 1811, before the death of Malus, M. Ara<m
communicated to the Institute a memoir “ On a particular
modification which the luminous rays experience in their
passage through certain transparent bodies.”1 Upon ex¬
posing thin plates of sulphate of lime, mica, and rock-
crystal, to polarised light, and subsequently analyzing the
After his return from the fatal expedition to Egypt li^, whldf«hey
omposed his Traite d’Ontiaue, a work of Preat M. A™™  . ..... A. ! calcareous spar,
he had composed his Traite d’Optique, a work of great
merit; but as soon as the subject of double refraction was
announced, he devoted himself to the inquiry with equal ar¬
dour and success. Residing in the Rue des Enters, in
Paris, he happened to view, through a doubly refracting
prism, the windows of the palace of the Luxembourg, which
were then reflecting to his eye the rays of the setting sun,
M. Arago observed the most splendid complementary colours
changing with every variation in the inclination of the plate.
M hen the light was incident perpendicularly, and the plate
turned round in its own plane, the colours were in all positions
the same, though they varied in intensity. He found two
positions at right angles to each other, in which the crystal
gave no colour, and these positions were those in which the
and, on happening to torn round the prism, he was surprised principal section of the crystal was perpendic“lai to or cdn
to perceive that one of the two .mages ofeach window van- cident with the plane of primitive l olaris, ion. Setting
.shed m every quadrant of the rotation of the prism. In out from these positions, the intensity of the ray graduaUv
pursuing his remarkable experiment he was conducted to increased, and became a maximum It an InSe rf 45° to
the splendid discovery which forms an epoch in the history that plane. When the rrvstnlli^ ? i ,
of optics that ,hen a pencil of light ^reflected hy a sul analyLg^t^ ^
a7tJ TJei°f^ 35 ’ °r °fwfcrfan an9le of the plane of reflexion from it, to that of the fixed plate
o/o- 45, the reflected light possesses all the characters of which polarised the light primitively, the chantre in the
one of the pencils formed by double refraction. Hence the colours was most beautifhh M. Arago observed thlt the
pencd was said o be polarised by reflexion. When a colour reflected in any one position of the anllysint plate
pencil thus reflected was made to fall on another surface of was complementary to the colour reflected in the pernen
the same kind at the same angle, but so that the plane of dicular position. He also found that the power of depolar
i0nd refleXi0n,WaS at n3h} anMes t0 the P^ne of the ising the different colours diminished with the thickness of
the plate, and he reduced mica to such a degree of thin¬
ness that it depolarised no colours at all. In studying the
same phenomena in sulphate of lime and rock crystal, M. Arago
w as led to the conclusion that the colours depended on some
first, then not a single ray of the light suffered reflexion,
the whole pencil suffering refraction only. When the light
fell upon a plate of glass the light reflected from the second
surface acquired the same property.
I f6,,11* ,of March !8>1, Malus announced to the
reflexion ° ^ht WaS thus P°larised by likewise discovered the depolarising property in a piece of
frli A V h?ht Whlch- Waf althe Same time transmitted flint glass, about three quarters of an inch in thickness
ough the surface consisted of a portion of light polarised We owe also to M. Arago the discovery of circular p0l-
^ section, and proportional to that which was arisation in quartz, which he made in 1811. By transmit
spfvp* P ’ and °f anothfPortloln n04 modified, which pre- ting polarised light along the axis of the prism he observed
omS Llanlf eK°ftdireCt^ht Jhi8 laSt P°rti0n be- the bnts to be different in their nature £m the ordi^
W !c f^ !eSS by transm»ttmg the ray through a num- tints of the mineral, although they increased and diminished
wfith the thickness of the plate. When analysed with a
prism of Iceland spar, he observed that the true images had
complementary colours as in the ordinary tints, and that
the colours changed, descending in Newton’s scale as the
prism was turned round, so that if the colour of the extra¬
ordinary image was red, it became in succession orange
~~LicuiomiLuiig me ray rnrougn a num¬
ber of plates in succession till the transmitted pencil is
wholly polarised in one direction.
Malus likewise made several experiments on the polaris-
ation of light by metals, and he was led to the conclusion,
that the difference between transparent and metallic bodies
was, that the former refract all the light polarised in one
direction and rPtWiVl w \ . 8. 1*™^ m one orumary image was red, it became in succession orange
metallic bodies reflect it bLflw'f “ rd“”fe' ..a"d *»*!» itoportaut
metallic bodies reflect what they polarise in both directions.
m a series of experiments on crystals and organised
substances, communicated to the Institute on the 19th
ugust 1811, Malus found that they all depolarised a, pen-
Ji-0, Poarised light; that is, a pencil of polarised light
1C ,re uset^ be reflected by another surface properly
inference that the differently coloured rays had been polaris-
ed in different planes in passing along the axis of the crys¬
tal. M. Arago s duties in the Observatory prevented him
from pursuing these valuable discoveries with that contin¬
uity of labour which they demanded.
Placed, recoveredIts nnwpr^nf0u TTo ProPerly A very Important discovery was made by M. Arago re¬
transmitted Ihroithrr31 being reflected after being specting the colours of thin plated When the rings of thin
crystals which did^ot iS i ll ^01'?^01?'1 substances; AH plates were examined through a rhomb of Iceland spar,
the regular wtohedrl f 'a 6 u 6 CUbe °r ¥' Ara^0 ^vered that when the principal section of the
ofdep1larTsafion 2? 7h ? PT688 the rh°mb WaS Parallel and Perpendicular to the plane of inci-
found to possess the tm! °rganifd substafces which he dence, the intensity of the light in one of the images varied
and fibrous nortion* ni l Pr°Perty’ £ere the vtransparent with the incidence, and that this image vanished altogether
which cover Pthe bLf ^ mV,fS’ Se l)el]fCS when the pencil of light was inclined 35° to the surfhce, or
hairs, scales horn ivnrJ f' .f0 wo°. en bbres, white when it was incident at the maximum polarising angle.
—  ’ > y. ea rers, the skins of quadrupeds I his result was the same, whether he examined the reflect-
Memoires de ITnstitut 1811, part i. p. 93-134.
Memoires d’Ai’cuel, tom. iii. Sur les Couleurs des Lames Minces.
366
0 P T 1 C S,
History, ed or the transmitted rings. Hence he inferred that the
* lio-ht of both the systems of rings was polarised in the plane
of incidence, at the polarising angle for glass. M. Arago
has likewise shewn that the colours ot the reflected and
transmitted rays are complementary, and that their inten¬
sities are exactly equal, completely neutralising each other
~ i .. t  i-i Thp most
of the plate of air which gave the same tint in Newton’s J torj,
^ m, .i • i     A frk xrowitVt tl'io _
scale. ' These thicknesses were found to vary with the na- •
ture of the crystal, and were always much greater than the
thicknesses of thin plates which gave the same tints. He
had at first supposed that at oblique incidences the changes
of colour followed the same law as in thin plates, but he
sities are exactly equal, completely neutralising eac o^^r found that the tint depended on the thickness
or forming white light when they are superposed. ofthe tal traversed by the refracted my and as the
interesting experiment, however, made by M. Arago, is that
in which he examined the rings when a convex lens was
pressed upon a metallic reflector. When viewed with a
prism of Iceland spar, as before, one of the two images
vanished at the maximum polarising angle ot the glass,
but the phenomena were ditt’erent above and below is
angle. At less angles, the dimensions and the colours ot
the rings were the same in both unag^, w ic iffere ^emTof il/ot'eai/e Polarisation.
ticles^of a poised my ate tu
the one beginning from a white centre, and the other trom
a black one. _ _ , „
We have already seen that Dr. Young first apphea the
principle of interference to explain the colours ot crystal¬
lised plates; but he did not explain why these colours are
not produced excepting with polarised light. MM. Arago
and Fresnel entered upon this inquiry, and obtained a satis
. . ^.1 y • cp 1... tliat two rav
atterwarus iuuiiu ^  — -
of the crystal traversed by the refracted ray, and as the
square of the sine of the angle which the direction ot the
ray forme*! with the optic axis. In these experiments M.
Biot considered arragonite, sulphate ot lime, topaz, and
mica, as all having one axis of double refraction like calcar¬
eous spar. . 1 Ti/r re .
In order to explain these various phenomena, M. biot
communicated to the Institute in 1812* his ingenious
theory of Moveable Polarisation. In this theory the par¬
ticles of a polarised ray are supposed to preserve their
primitive polarisation till they reach a certain depth in the
crystal, when a succession of isochronous oscillations round
their centre of gravity take place, the axes of polarisation
being carried alternately to each side ot the axis of the
crystal. The depth through which the particle is car¬
ried during each of these oscillations, is assumed to be
twice the depth through which it has passed before the
i 'txTi ~ ■Tvnm flip r'rx’U.
factory'solution of the (iifficulty. "Theyimindrii^iw^rays
of light polarised in the same plane, fixed polarisatim, (in which the axes ofthe
their interference as in common light, that no narticles are arranged in two rectangular directions) as if the
ence at all takes place when these planes are at rig g P osciiiation had been completed when it quitted the plate.
to each other: and that at an intermediate inclination, the in- las^o^Honn discovered by M. Arago along
terference is diminished and the hinges decrease mrMen- colo ^ J ^ ^ J
sity. In following out these interesting results, they . „ J , i i—^riiconvortvl
that two oppositely polarised pencils will not interfere even
when their planes are made to coincide, unless they belong
to a pencil which had been wholly polarised in one plane.
We owe also to M. Arago the beautiful discovery that on m fQm “igl;t t0 leftj and the two last
the quantity of polarised light in the reflected and tra - p ^ 1^ ^ In a memoir laid before the Institute in
mitted pencils of common plates are exactly equal. _ ^ h lar votation of the plane
We he indebted likewise to M. Arago for *°me .mport- Erectly proportional to the thickness of
ant results respecting the interference of ligi. | 1 . ,in(i inversely to the square of the length of the
already seen that the interior fringes formed by diffraction t p , — ur„ thai- thisnro-
disappear when the light which passes by one side of the
inflecting body is stopped. M. Arago observed that these
fringes were displaced by making the same light pass
through a thin plate of some transparent substance, and that
the bands were always shifted to the side on which the plate
was placed. The amount of this displacement determines
the velocity of light in the interposed medium, and conse¬
quently gives us a measure of the refractive power of that ^ ^ ^  A
body with the highest degree of accuiacy. tprtino- the constituents of particular vegetable substances
In conjunction with M. Biot, M. Arago published a va - , gchetnical analySis had partly or wholly failed. He
able series of experiments on the density and refractive ^h ^ ^ s^nb[e portion 0f plants, or the farina-
power of nine gaseous bodies measured m relation to matter of grain and roots, to which he has given the
mospheric air taken as unity. Hydrogen stood at the hea dextrine, and which M. Itaspail had considered to
ofthe table, with a refractive index equal to 6-61436, (or name of turns the pianes of polarisation
7-0335 if we use the density given by Berzelius) whnst oxy- D0Werfully to the right (hence the name dextrine)^
gen stood at the foot of the table with a refractive index o P ^ sugar; and that all the gums, and the
0.8616. . . . . cvrmw of the suoar of grapes, turn the planes of polarisation
M. Biot. Among the most successful cultivators of physical optics, y u9Bio{has also applied the same method ot
Bom 1774-M. Biot holds a distinguished place. His attention was ,^ taining the changes which take place mthe
first directed to the colours of crystalline plates discovered anflysing the processes of vegetation
by M. Arago, and by nice instruments and indefatigable sap o c^ncerned in the growth of wheat and rye. Hi
labour he determined the general laws of the phenomenon ^ g are of at practical value in an agricultural point
in reference to the thickness ot the plates, and t e c°mP ‘ p • and 0Ught to impress on those whom it most coi
sition of the tints as observed in sulphate ot hme and roc ’ important truth, that the most recondite djscove *
crystal, calcareous spar, and arragonite. He observed that cerns, 1 or later find an ugeful application-
at a perpendicular incidence the two colours correspond to ies^n sc^e most important discoveries made by M. B o
those seen by reflexion and transmission in thin plates of nature of the double refraction and po ansati^
air, and he concluded that the thicknesses at wnc ies which Huygens had been unable to develope-
colours were developed, were proportional to the thickness m quartz, wmen n yg    -
—    “ 7 T- ' 77) ] 7 7 T iimirrp e-nrouvent en traversant certains cristaux.
i Sur un nouveau yenre d'Oscillation que les Molecules de la Lumure eprom
the axis oi quartz, weie -j
he and M. Seebeck, nearly about the same time discovered
the existence of the very same colours in several essential
oils and solutions, such as oil of turpentine, oil of laurel,
oil of lemons, syrup of sugar, the two first turning the
tlic  
fits as o-iven by Newton. He then concludes that this pro
perty of turning the particles of light round their centres
of gravity resides in the ultimate particles of solid or fluid
bodies, that it is necessary to their very existence, and that
it is entirely independent of their mutual distances and
mode of aggregation. _ , ,
M. Biot" afterwards resumed this subject, and extend¬
ed his researches to a great variety of substances ; and e
has still more recently employed circular polarisation in de-
-• 1*1.  /-mlr»v \rorrc*t5iVi]p substances.
OPTICS.
•i H 7-
Sir. id
Bret :r.
Biot found that it differed from that of calcareous spar, in
having the phenomena regulated by a prolate in place of an
oblate spheroid, the least refracted image being the ordinary
ray in quartz, and the extraordinary one in Iceland spar.
Whilst these valuable researches were carrying on in
, France, Sir David Brewster was occupied with the same
subject in Scotland. In his Treatise on New Philosophical
Instruments, published in the beginning of 1813, he has
shewn that chromate of lead and realgar exceed the diamond1
in refractive power; that diamond, phosphorus, and sul¬
phur have their high refractive powers in the order of their
inflammabilities; that fluor spar and cryolite have their re¬
fractive powers below all solid substances, (excepting ta-
basheer), and lower dispersive powers than all other bodies;
and that all doubly refracting crystals have a double disper¬
sive power. He shewed that oil of cassia had the least, and
sulphuric acid the greatest action upon green light; that a
tertiary spectrum is formed, when prisms of the same sub¬
stance but different angles are made to correct the disper¬
sion, by the inclination of one of them; and that achroma¬
tic combinations may be effected by prisms and lenses of the
same kind of glass.
In the year 1812, he began to study the subject of the
polarisation of light, in consequence of having become ac¬
quainted with Malus’s celebrated discovery of the polarisa¬
tion of light by reflexion. He discovered the remarkable
property of the agate, by which it gives only a single dis¬
tinct image polarised in one plane ; the property of depo¬
larisation possessed by almost all minerals, and by many
animal and vegetable substances ;2 the polarised colours
produced by thin plates of mica and topaz ; the partial po¬
larisation of light by polished metals ;3 and the complete
polarisation of the exterior and interior rainbows.
In the course of these inquiries our author discovered the
two beautiful systems of elliptical coloured rings, which we
see by transmitting polarised light along the two optical
axes of topaz; and in consequence of his using a conical in
place of a parallel beam of light in these experiments, he was
led to observe the same system of rings, under different
modifications, in various other bodies. W hile examining
the depolarising effect of a plate of mica at an oblique inci¬
dence, he was led to the discovery of the polarisation of
light by oblique transmission through bundles of crystallised
or uncrystallised plates; and though Mains had anticipated
mm in this discovery, yet he had determined the law of the
phenomena, which had escaped the notice of that skilful
observer.
Hitherto no idea had been formed of the mechanical con-
ition of bodies in which the polarising and doubly refract-
ing structure were exhibited; but in the years 1814 and
o 15, a new light was thrown upon the subject, by three
iscoyenes made by Sir David Brewster, namely, that the
polarising structure could be produced in glass by heat, and
f S° J,raPic*. co°ling that Prince Rupert’s glass drops,
orme y rapid cooling, possessed that structure;° and that
y of simple pressure, that species of crystallisation
com be communicated to soft and indurated jellies, which
jorm two apparently polarised images, and exhibits the
complementary colours by polarised light.6
e ave already seen that Malus considered the property
mr^0 ailSatl0n ^ ^flexion as independent of the other
es ° action which bodies exercise upon light. In order
investigate this subject, Sir David Brewster made an ex¬
tensive series of experiments to determine the angles of
maximum polarisation by reflexion, from the surfaces of bo-'
dies, and from the separating surfaces of different media.
After encountering many difficulties, he was led to the dis¬
covery of the very simple law that the index of refraction is
the tangent of the angle of polarisation, which is rigorously
ti ue for all separating surfaces, and for rays of all refrangi-
bihties; and hence we obtain an immediate explanation of
the perplexing fact, that at the maximum polarising angle the
polarisation of the ray is never complete. When this law is ex¬
pressed geometrically, it informs us that when a ray of light is
polarised by reflexion, the reflected ray forms a right angle
with the refracted ray ; that the sum of the angles of re¬
flexion and refraction is a right angle, or counting from the
surface, that the angles of reflexion and refraction are equal.
In the same paper, our author has shewn that light may be
completely polarised by two, three, or more reflexions, at
angles all above or all below, or partly above and partly be¬
low the angle of complete polarisation, a greater number of
reflexions being required, as the incident ray approaches
either to the refracting surface, or to a line perpendicular
to it. In the same paper, it is shewn that every ray of light
polarised by reflexion has been acted upon by the refract¬
ing force ; and that total reflexion exercises an analogous
action upon light with metallic surfaces.
The influence of heat in producing a transient polarising
structure in glass, led our author to an elaborate examina¬
tion of the subject in 1815.7 WThen the edge of a thick
plate of glass is laid on a bar of hot iron, the heat gradu¬
ally propagates itself along the plate, and its path is marked
by the most beautiful fringes of polarised light; but no
sooner has the heat entered the plate of glass, than similar
fringes appear on its upper edge, where there is no heat at
all. After a certain period, the whole surface of the glass
is covered with coloured fringes, which are arranged in two
similar polarising structures at the edges, separated by two
dark lines or axes from an opposite structure in the middle.
When the glass is removed from the iron, the fringes gra¬
dually disappear, and are extinguished when the heat is
uniformly djifused over the glass. If the plate of glass is
made very hot in boiling oil, and is then allowed to cool
with its edges against a plate of cold iron, it will exhibit in
a fainter degree the fringes above described ; but they are
now all reversed, the middle structure having the same cha¬
racter as the external structures had formerly, and vice
versa. If, when a plate of glass is covered over with the
polarised tints, it is suddenly cut in two by a diamond in
the direction of its length, the whole structure is instantly
changed, and each piece has the same properties and struc¬
ture as the whole, exactly like a portion detached from the
end of a magnet. The same properties he found in muri¬
ate of soda, fluor spar, obsidian, semi-opal, horn, tortoise¬
shell, and various animal and vegetable bodies. The tints
thus developed by heat exhibit, by their being made to
cross one another and by other modifications, a series of
the most brilliant phenomena within the whole range of
optics.
In continuing these experiments, our author found that
when the plate of glass, after being brought to a red hejt,
was allowed to cool quickly, it exhibited permanently the
same coloured fringes, a discovery which had likewise been
made by Dr. Seebeck of Nuremberg.
T-his paper is followed by another, published in the same
ever, p'laced vfno,?! InSf'V6 povvvers\of soli(]s and fluids’ diamond stood at the head, and water and ice at the bottom. Our author, how-
2 Pi.7 V b tanees ab°ve diamond, and tabasheer far below ice.
3 Th irans' 5’ P ^7-
and England neither iliIe-refV,0mmUn'Cate<^-t(i t^le S°c'ety of Edinburgh, and owing to the state of communication between France
colours of crystalline nlat dU °r ° eHf meml)ers Society w'ere acquainted with the previous discovery of M. Arago of the
4 T/„7/r^ o]f teS,0r wlththoseofMalusondePolarisatioriaad metallic polarisation. b 1 «
7 Phi Trans IRlfi n , r7. 7 _ * ld‘ Id 6 Id. 1815, p. 60.
om, p. 40, and Edinburgh Transactions, vol. vin. p. 383, where the phenomena are represented by formula.
367
History.
368
OPTICS.
History, volume of the Transactions} on the communication of the
'structure of doubly refracting crystals, to glass, muriate of
soda, ftuor spar, and other substances, by mechanica!, com¬
pression and dilatation; and on the 17th November 1816,
our author communicated to the Royal Society ot Edin¬
burgh another paper, on the effects of compression and dila¬
tation in altering the polarising structure of doubly refract-
inq crystals? _ , „ . ^
In 1816 he communicated to the Royal Society his ex-
periments on mother-of-pearl, explaining the oriS1^ (
fine superficial colours, and shewing that they could be com¬
municated to wax, isinglass, the fusible metals, and even to
lead, by hard pressure. In 1815 he published a paper on
the multiplication of images, and the colours which accom¬
pany them, in some specimens of calcareous spar, a su ijec
which had exercised the sagacity of Huygens Benjamin
Martin, Brougham, Robison, and Mams. The last of t e
philosophers ascribed the multiplication of the images t
the interception of the pencils by fissures within the cry -
tal, and the colours to the thin plate of air which it enclos¬
ed • but Sir David Brewster discovered the true cause of
the phenomena, and proved that there were no fissures nor
plates of air; that the multiplication of the ^ages
from one or more veins of calcareous spar, which di ided
the rhomb into prisms, so as to form composite crystals,
having the axes of crystallization and of double refraction of
the two contiguous crystals turned round 180 , so that each
of the two pencils formed by double refraction are subdi¬
vided in passing from the one crystal to the other. He ha
shewn also that the colours are the polarised tints producer
by thin plates crystallized, these plates giving the regular
system of coloured rings seen along the axis of calcareous
spar, the light being polarised by the first pnsm of spar, and
analysed by the last. Hence it follows that the Pola*lff
tints of crystals were seen and studied by Huygens and his
successors, without having any idea of what they were.
The crystalline lenses of animals had hitherto been sup¬
posed to increase regularly in density, from the circum er-
ence to the centre, for the purpose of correcting the spheri¬
cal aberration. Sir David Brewster, however, shewed, in
1816 4 that there were often three structures in such lenses,
a structure increasing in density from the centre, being ac¬
companied with another diminishing in density, and that
these structures displayed themselves m circular rings o
polarised tints, traversedbyarectangularblackcross, the tints
themselves sometimes rising to a bright yellow of the his
order. About the same time he discovered the remai kable
property of the diamond, of exhibiting irregular patches o
doubly refracting structures, as if it had been m the sta e
of gum, subject to irregular pressure, or induration ; and
having afterwards discovered gaseous cavities m the same
gum, in which the expansive pressure of the included gas
had communicated to the surrounding parts a regular doubly
refracting structure, he corroborated Ins supposition that it
had a vegetable origin,6 which he has more recently con¬
firmed by discovering that many diamonds consist of strata
of different refractive powers, a property not possessed by
any mineral body.7 . . .,
In the beginning of February 1815, when examining the
action of metals upon polarised light, our author discovered
that complementary colours were produced by one or more
reflexions from plates of gold, silver, and other metals; that
analogous colours were produced by total reflexion ; that
common light was wholly polarised in the plane of incidence
by a number of metallic reflexions, this number being greater
in silver and gold than in the other metals. Though ex¬
amined with much care both by our author and M. Biot,8 Hist
the nature and law of these phenomena were still veiled in ;
obscurity. „
Hitherto all crystals were believed to have one axis of
double refraction, like Iceland spar or quartz ; but in the
year 1817,9 Sir David Brewster discovered that the greater
number of crystals, and among these arragonite, sulphate
of iron, sulphate of barytes, sulphate of strontian, topaz, fel¬
spar, and nitre, had two axes of double refraction, which he
called resultant axes, and which were more or less inclined
to each other, as the intensity of the real axes more or less
approached to equality. By measuring the deviation of the
two pencils in different planes, he found that the double
refraction was the same in every part of the same ring, dis¬
appearing along the resultant axis, and increasing with the
value of the tints; and by projecting the coloured rings, and
measuring the angular distances from the axis at which the
same tints were produced, he was led to the true physical
law of the tints, and of the deviation of the extraordinary
rav. This general law, when applied to the polarised tints,
is thus expressed: The tint produced at any point of the
sphere, by the joint action of two axes, is equal to the dia¬
gonal of a parallelogram whose sides represent tne tints
produced by each axis separately, and ichose angle is double
of the angle formed by two planes passing through that
point of the sphere and the respective axis. When the law
is applied to the phenomena of double refraction, it may be
thus expressed : The increment of the square of the velo¬
city of the extraordinary ray produced by the action of two
axes of double refraction, is equal to the diagonal of a pa¬
rallelogram whose sides are the increments of the square of
the velocity produced by each axis separately, and calcu¬
lated by the law of Huygens, and whose angle is double oj
the angle formed by two planes passing through the rag
and the respective axis. When the two rectangular axes
are of equal intensity and of the same character, the preced-
in<r law gives the very same results as the law of Huygens
does for one axis placed at right angles with the other two.
When the crystal has three equal rectangular axes, their
forces are in equilibrio in every part of the sphere, and there
is neither double refraction nor polarisation. W hen the tin
of these laws is applied to the mysterious actions ot sulphate
of lime, with the origin and classification ot which M. mi
had been so much perplexed, and which he has representec
by complicated and empirical formulae, the whole mystery
disappears, and all the diversified and capricious variations
of tint which he had ascribed to secondary forces, become
the legitimate and calculable results of two axes of double
refraction. . i„j
During these laborious researches, our author was lea
the law- by which the primitive forms of minerals are con¬
nected with the number of their axes of double re raC 109>
and to point out the connexion between the optical s
ture and chemical composition of crystals.
The absorption of common light, m virtue of which c)
exhibit different colours, or shades of colour, in di
directions, had been long observed by \\ ol]‘lst011’ ’
Bournon, De Dree, and others; but S.r D.vtd B ewster
discovered that in a great number of coloured crys ,
with one and two axes of double refraction, polans e
was absorbed, according to regular laws gening on the
inclination of the ray to the axis or axes ^c ’ ntiv
that in such crystals the two pencils are d^direC.
coloured, the difference of colour disappeann| i th ^ ^
tion of the axis, and rising to a maximum at ng ot-
it. These phenomena are finely seen m super- ——.
156.
1 Edinburgh Transactions, vol. vin. p.
2 Id vol vdi. p. 2^1. „ . i
3 Phil. Trans. 1815, p. 270, and Edinburgh Transactions, vol.
viii. p- 16a- nl.
4 Phil. Trans. 1816, p. 311.
a Edin. Trans. 1816, vol. via. p- 167
e Geological Trans 1816
- See our art. Microscope, vol. xv. p- 30.
« 77 aite de Phys que, tom. iv. p. 579.
9 Phil. Trans. 1818, p. 199.
1
Hi*
OPTICS.
. copper, dichroite, Brazilian topaz, and augite. These pro-
t-'perries are shewn by our author to be singularly modified
by heat, and even communicated to crystals which do not
naturally possess it. Absorbing crystals have been called
dichroitic, and the property itself dichroism.
The subject of circular polarisation was likewise examined
by our author in quartz and amethyst.1 He found that heat
entirely removed from quartz the power of producing cir¬
cular polarisation, when the substance was reduced to fusion;
he discovered it near the resultant axis of chrysoberyl, and
in certain specimens of unannealed glass.2 In examining
the proportions of the amethyst, he found that this interest¬
ing mineral combines the opposite structures of the two
kinds of quartz, being composed of alternate strata of right
and left-handed quartz, these two opposite actions destroy¬
ing each other at their junction, where the colouring mat¬
ter of the amethyst is principally apparent.
In all the experiments on the polarisation of light by re¬
flexion from crystallised surfaces, their action was supposed
to be the same as that of common solids and fluids, and
Malus had distinctly stated it as the result of experiment,
that Iceland spar had the same polarising angle on all its
surfaces and in every azimuth, its action being <£ independ¬
ent of the position of the principal sections,” “ that its
reflecting power extends beyond the limit of the polarisin0-
forces of the crystal, and that as light is only polarised by
penetiating the surface, the force wTiich produces ex¬
traordinary refraction begins to act only at this limit.”3
Doubting the accuracy of these results, Sir David Brews¬
ter instituted a series of experiments on the action of crys¬
tallised surfaces upon light, by which he has established the
remarkable fact that the angle of complete polarisation
varies from 57° 14' to 59° 32', on the surfhce of the rhomb
of calcareous spar, being a minimum in the plane of the
principal section, and a maximum in a plane perpendicular
to it. But it is not merely the polarising angle that is
changed. W hen the ordinary reflecting force is weakened
by causing the reflexion to be made from the refracting
surface of oil of cassia and Iceland spar, he found that the
light was no longer polarised in the plane of reflexion, and
that the deviation from this plane depended on the inclina¬
tion of the ray to the axis of the crystal, the deviation becom¬
ing less and less as the refractive power of the fluid was dimi¬
nished. In the same paper he has shewn that by altering
ie mechanical condition of the surfaces of crystals, and
making the ray enter this surface from fluids of different
retractive powers, the ordinary or the extraordinary image
may be weakened or extinguished at pleasure.4
m ? Vf ^ear 1^6, Sir David Brewster discovered a re-
larTrble fs}'steni of coloured rings in apophyllite, a singu-
Y constituted erysta!, one part of which has one axis,
Wn heJ ?art haS two axes of doubIe refraction. Dif-
erent parts of this crystal possess different degrees of double
efraetion, with the same thickness, and at the same incli-
at on to the axis; and the beautiful and symmetrical figure
atpd inaffer eCt CTtal exhibits by polarised light, deline-
whi a hemost SP endid colours, is perhaps the finest sight
of rT kingdorn can Prcsent to us.3 By the aid
stn rh r d lght-’ °Ur author discovered also a singular
reSZm ccjrtaio crystals of chabasie, in which the double
vanisbPQ11 ^adually d™imshes in successive strata, then
refractS^K-reappearS withan 0PP0site sign> the one double
mostrpm i£1i'ig POsltlve and the other negative; but the
—____omarkable of all these structures was that of analcime,
s TronsTvoi. ix. p. 139.  '
3 Th 'T pffcs' Gardner’s Cabinet Cyclopaedia, n. 128.
’ m r la J0uhle Refraction, p. 240. P ’P
>v*T'ans- 1819>P- 145.
369
in which he discovered a new species of double refraction, History,
in which the phenomena are related to planes in place oD
axes, in which the double refraction disappears.6
In the year 1829, our author communicated to the Royal
Society of London six papers. The first of these was on
the refection and decomposition of light at the separating
surfaces of media of the same and of different refractive
powers? The second, entitled, on periodical colours pro-
TV J. p.
6 Id vol. x^p'^lgy^’ V°P k P" b anci Trans, vol. ix. p. 317.
p.204^’ TranS' 1829>P- 187, or Edin, Jour, of Science, N.S-, vol. i.
VOL. XVI.
duced by the grooved surfaces of metallic and transparent
bodies? contains an account of a new series of periodical
colours exhibited by grooved surfaces, which succeed each
other in a plane at right angles to that in which the usual
spectra are seen, and producing a singular modification of
these spectra ; phenomena not yet brought within the pale
of the undulatory theory. In the third paper, on the double
refraction produced by pressure in the molecules of bodies?
he has shewn that the axis of pressure is a regular axis of
double lefraction, and that the doubly refracting properties,
which are not inherent in the molecules themselves, are
produced by the pressure caused by the forces of aggrega¬
tion, which generally differ in intensity in the direction5of
the three rectangular axes. The same author has more
recently succeeded in producing regular double refraction
by the expansive presence of heat. The other three papers
ticat of the laws of the polarisation of light by reflexion16 and
refraction,11 and on the action of the second surfaces of
transparent plates12 upon light. In these papers he has
given formulae for computing the quantities oflight polaris¬
ed at all incidences, both by reflexion and transmission;
and has explained all the phenomena of partial polarisation,
and those produced by any number of successive reflexions
and transmissions. In the last of these three papers our
author shews that the quantity of polarised light in the
light reflected and transmitted by a transparent plate is not
equal at all angles of incidence, and that the proposition is
true when applied to surfaces alone, the apparent equality
in the first case being produced by unexcluded light polar¬
ised perpendicular to the plane of reflexion.
We have already seen that Malus, Biot, and Sir David
Brewster had been baffled in their attempts to unravel the
complex phefiomena of metallic polarisation. The last of
these authors had at various times resumed the investiga¬
tion ; but it was not till February 1830, that he communi¬
cated the result to the Royal Society, in a paper entitled,
on the phenomena and laws of elliptic polarisation, as exhi¬
bited in the action of metals upon light.1'3 All the pheno¬
mena of metallic polarisation are shewn to be those of ellip¬
tical polarisation, connecting the phenomena of circularly
polarised light with those of plane polarised light, the action
of silver approaching nearest to that of totally reflecting
surfaces by which circular polarisation is produced, and that of
galcena to transparent bodies or those not metallic, by which
plane polarisation is produced. The colours accompanying
these phenomena have no relation to those of crystallised
plates, and in the case of silver and gold are extremely
beautiful and splendid.
Hitherto the analysis of solar light by Sir Isaac Newton
had been regarded as complete, and incapable of any far¬
ther development. From this analysis he himself deduced
the conclusion, that to the same degree ofrefrangibility ever
belonged the same colour, and to the same colour ever be¬
longed the same degree ofrefrangibility. So early as 1822,
in a paper, on the monochromatic lamp, &c., 14 Sir David
Brewster shewed that some of the colours of the spectrum
8 Id. p. 301, or Edin. Jour, of Science, vol. ii. p. 46.
9 Id. 1830, p. 87, or Edin. Jour, of Science, vol. iii. p. 28.
19 Id. 1830, p. 69, or Edin. Jour, of Science, IS'. S., vol. iii, p. 160.
11 Id. Id. p. 135, or Id. Id v. 2\8.
12 Id. Id. p. 143, or Id. Id. p. 230.
13 Id Id. p. 287, cr Id. Id. No. 5, vo). iv- p. 136, 247.
14 Edin. Trans, vol. ix. p. 433.
370
OPTICS.
History, were compound, capable of being analysed by absorbing
media, and that different colours had the same refrangibi-
Hty. This result stood in direct opposition to the Newton¬
ian doctrine, and our author, in order to support it, under¬
took an elaborate series of experiments the results of which
were communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in
1831, in a paper entitled, on a neiv analysis of solar light,
indicating three primary colours forming coincident spectra
of equal lengths.1 In these three overlapping spectra the
intensity of each colour is a maximum at that point where
the same colour is most intense in the compound spectrum.
Hence it follows that all the colours in the solar spectrum
are compound, consisting of red, yellow, and blue light in
different proportions, so that if at any point we separate as
many rays of each colour as is necessary to produce white
light, by absorbing the excess at that point, we should ex¬
hibit the strange phenomenon of white light incapable of being
decomposed by the prism. This has actually been done by
Sir David Brewster, by means of absorbing media. But in
a very recent communication made to the Royal Society,
(in June 1837), he has explained a new method of effect¬
ing this by perfectly transparent media, which he calls ana¬
lysis by dissection, and of wdiich we shall give some account
in another part of this article. This paper was followed, in
1833, by another, on the colours of natural bodies,2 in which
our author shewrs that they have not the same composition
as those of thin plates, and demonstrates the truth ol this
opinion by a special analysis ot the green colour of plants,
the most prevalent tint in nature, and the one which New¬
ton had pronounced to be of the third order. In the same
year our author published his Observations on the Lines of
the Solar Spectrum, and on those produced by the earth's at¬
mosphere, and by theaclion cf nitrous acid gas,3 but wre must
reserve our notice of this paper till we come to describe the
discoveries of Fraunhofer.
Hr. See- The late Dr. Thomas John Seebeck of Nuremberg, was
beck. an active and successful cultivator of the science of Optics.
Born 1770 jjis first expexnments on this subject were published in
D.ed 1831-gcilweigger’s Journal for April 1813 and December 1814.
In 1811 M.Arago observed the polarising structure in thick
pieces of flint, and in 1812 Sir David Brewster had noticed
the same property in some pieces of plate glass.4 In Dr.
Seebeck’s paper of 1813, he observed the regular figure
produced by polarised light, when the glass had the regular
form of cubes and cylinders. In cubes of an inch in dia¬
meter, he found them to be indistinct, and not produced by
fluor spar or rock salt. In his second paper of December
1814, he shews that a plate of glass made red hot, and set
upon its edges to cool, exhibits at the part which cools first
a series of coloured fringes, which spread over the whole
plate, the structure which produces them remaining perma¬
nently fixed in the glass. These experiments are posterior
to those made in Scotland on the effects of heat upon glass,
and on the polarising structure of glass cooled in wrater.
Early in 1816, Dr. Seebeck discovered the property of
certain essential oils in producing the polarised tints, the pro¬
perty of single refraction possessed by tourmaline, and the sys¬
tem of coloured rings produced by Iceland spar; but in these
discoveries he was anticipated, as we have seen, by others,
though he is entitled to all the merit of a second discoverer.
In 1809 Dr. Seebeck communicated to the Academy of
Sciences at Berlin, an interesting memoir on the unequal
production of heat in the prismatic spectrum,b in which he
shewed that the place of maximum heat varied with the sub¬
stance of which the prism was made, being in the yellow rays
in the spectra formed by water, (and according to Wunsch, in
alcohol and oil of turpentine); in the orange in concentrated Hi
sulphuric acid, and solution of sal ammoniac and corrosive^
sublimate ; in the middle of the red in crown and plate
glass, and beyond the red in flint glass. Dr. Turner6 ascrib¬
ed these results to the different powers of these media to
refract the rays of solar heat; but Sir David Brewster ex¬
plained them by supposing that colourless transparent bodies
exercise the same variety of absorptive action upon heat
tliat coloured bodies do upon light, the body in the last case
becoming coloured in consequence of that action. Hence
the maximum ordinate of heat will shift its position with
the nature of the body, and we shall no doubt find media,
several maxima and minima, and points of no heat at all,
according as we increase the size of the prism or the thick¬
ness which the heat traverses.7 The best way to carry such
researches is to use a prism of glass whose curve of heat is
well ascertained, and then to determine the changes which
take place in the curve by interposing thick plates of trans¬
parent solids and fluids.
This eminent philosopher would have done still more for
the science of optics, had he not been attracted to the study
of thermo-electricity, in the creation and extension of which
he has immortalised his name.
We are indebted to Dr. A. Seebeck for a series of instructive Dr.
and accurate experiments on the polarising angle of different Seen
substances, which confirm the accuracy of the law of the
tangents,8 and another on the polarising angle of calcareous
spar in different azimuths.
We come now to that a uspicious period in the history of presJ
optics, when this science was destined to receive the grand- Dorm
est accessions from the genius of M. A. Fresnel, engineer Diet
of roads and bridges. What Newton did for astronomy,
Fresnel did for physical optics; and all Europe will, we are
persuaded, confirm the decision which places him pre-emi¬
nently above all the other cultivators of this branch of science.
The discoveries of Fresnel, however, are so connected with
theoretical considerations, that it is impossible, in a histori¬
cal sketch, to give any thing like an idea of their magnitude
and importance. The phenomena of rotatory polarisation
in quartz, which had so much perplexed philosophers, have
been completely explained by Fresnel. He found that they
arise from the interference of two circularly polarised pencils,
propagated with different velocities along the axis of quartz,
the one revolving from right to left, and the other from left
to right, and that a plane polarised ray is equivalent to two
circularly polarised rays of half the intensity. These facts
he verified experimentally, by an achromatic combination
of right and left-handed prisms of quartz, so disposed as to
double the refraction of the images.
M. Fresnel had also found that light was circularly po¬
larised by two total reflexions from glass at an angle ot
about 54° 37', and by placing between two rhombs of glass,
each of which polarised the light circularly and had their
planes of reflexion at right angles to each other, a crystal¬
lised plate, he observed the light transmitted through this
system exhibited phenomena analogous to those seen along
the axis of rock crystal. The rhomb of glass so cut, that
when the incident rays enter and leave it perpendicularly,
they have suffered two reflexions at an angle of 54° 37 , is
well known by the name of Fresnel’s rhomb. .
Fresnel’s theory of double refraction and polarisation,
one of the finest efforts of genius, conducted its author
to many important results which had escaped the no ice
of the most diligent observers. Hitherto it had been ta en
for granted by all, and appeared to be proved by Biots c:'‘
periments on topaz, that in biaxal crystals one of the ra^
f 1
1 Edin. Trans, vol. xii. p. 123, or Edin- Journal of Science, new
series, vol. v. p. 197.
2 Id. Id.
3 Id Id.
4 Treatise on New Phil. Inst-; p. 335.
5 Berlin Memoirs, 1818-1819, p. 305, or Edin. Jour, of Science,
vol. i. p. 358, No. 2, Oct. 1824.
6 Chemistri/, 3d edit, p 84 _ .
r Second Report of the British Association, 1832, p. -94.
8 Edin. Jour, of Sco nce, N. S. vol. v. p. 99.
OPTICS.
-,ry. followed the ordinary law of the sines ; but it followed
^from Fresnel’s theory that it did not, and by a series of the
nicest and most difficult experiments he determined, that
neither of the two rays have a constant velocity, both being
performed according to a new law. What had been called
the extraordinary ray, he found by his theory to be regu¬
lated by the law discovered by Sir David Brewster, and
simplified in its mathematical expression by M. Biot, and he
shewed that all the phenomena of double refraction could
be accurately calculated. The axes of elasticity in Fresnel’s
theory are the same as the axes of double refraction in Sir
David Brewster’s, and the laws of the composition and re¬
solution of such axes in uniaxal, biaxal, and tessular crystals,
which have no double refraction previously given by the
latter, are all necessary results of the same theory.
But the most remarkable part of Fresnel’s theory is his
explanation of the polarisation of light. The hypothesis of
transversal vibrations first presented itself to Dr. Young
while considering the law of extraordinary refraction in
biaxal crystals, as communicated to him by Sir David
Brewster. M. Fresnel, however, shewed that it was a ne¬
cessary consequence of the laws of interference, and that
the vibrations of a polarised ray are on the surface of the
wave, and perpendicular to the plane of polarisation. In un¬
polarised light they are also only on the surface of the wave,
and this species of light is conceived to l£ consist of a rapid
succession of systems of waves polarised in every possible
plane, passing through the normal to the front of the wave.”
Hence light is polarised by resolving the vibrations into
two sets in two rectangular directions.1
We have already slightly noticed the fine discoveries of
MM. Arago and Fresnel on the interference of polarised
light, and we can now only refer with admiration to the
beautiful series of experiments by which the phenomena of
moveable polarisation were properly explained, and brought
under the dominion of the undulatory theory. When a
polarised ray proceeding from a luminous point was trans¬
mitted through two rhomboids of Iceland spar of equal
thickness, whose principal sections were inclined 45° to the
plane of primitive polarisation, the emergent light will di¬
verge as if from two near points, and the two portions will
be oppositely polarised. MM. Arago and Fresnel found that
the light formed by the union of these pencils was plane,
circularly, or elliptically polarised, according to the difference
of the paths traversed when they met. Following out this
principle, MM. Arago and Fresnel were led to an experi-
mentum crucis, to determine the accuracy of the theory of
moveable polarisation. A homogeneous ray of polarised
fight was transmitted through a plate of sulphate of lime,
having its principal section inclined 45° to the plane of pri¬
mitive polarisation, and of such a thickness that it should
be circularly polarised according to the undulatory theory,
and plane polarised according to the other; and the result
was decisive against the theory of moveable polarisation.
6 a^S0 ^ -Fresnel the true theory of the inflex¬
ion or diffraction of light. The Institute of France made
i® the subject of their physical prize for 1818, and the
memoir of our author was the successful one. He had at
mst adopted and extended the theory of Dr. Young, that
me fringes arise from the interference of the direct and in-
ected light; but he was afterwards obliged to admit, that
} s passing at a sensible distance from the reflecting body,
tlilm6 °!n1their primitive direction, and interfere with
n , irect„ This interesting effect he ascribes to a
or of elementary waves sent from each portion of the
371
surface of the principal wave when it reaches the reflecting History,
body, and he determines the resultant of all the elemen-
tary waves sent by these portions to a given point. Upon
applying this theory to various cases of inflexion, he found
it to agree so well with observation, that, with the exception
of the case of diffraction by narrow apertures, the theory
did not err more than the 2500th part of an inch.
Among the many important discoveries of Fresnel we
must enumerate the theory of the reflexion of light. Dr.
Young had shewn on the undulatory theory, that at a per¬
pendicular incidence the intensity of the reflected light
was a very simple function of the index of refraction.2 ^M.
Poisson had arrived by another process at the same result,
without knowing, we believe, what had been done by Dr.
Young ;3 * and he afterwards extended his inquiries to dif¬
ferent incidences.4 The conclusions, however, at which
this distinguished mathematician arrived, were inconsistent
with observation ; and Fresnel had the good fortune to give
a complete solution of the problem, by combining the doc¬
trine of transversal vibrations with the theory of waves. He
assumes, that the elasticity of the ether in the twro media
are equal, but their density different, though he also solved
the problem on the more general assumption, that the elas¬
ticity was different in the twyo media. He thus obtained
formulae for all incidences and all refractive powers, and the
law of the tangents, as well as that of the equality of pen¬
cils, polarised by reflexion and transmission, became the con¬
sequences of these formulae. At a perpendicular incidence
the formula coincides with that of Young and Poisson, and
at 90° the whole light is reflected, a result which has been
verified by observation.5
Contemporary with the discoveries of Fresnel were those Fraunhofer
of the late M. Fraunhofer of Munich, who made several im- Born 1787.
portant observations on the solar spectrum, on the diffraction Died 182<).
ot light, on refractive and dispersive pow ers, and on the re-
fiangibility of the light of the fixed stars. By using fine
prisms entirely free of veins, he discovered that the solar
spectrum was crossed by about 590 black lines, and he ex¬
ecuted a beautiful drawing of the spectrum, in which the
most important ot these are projected. Fraunhofer was
not aware that Dr.Wollaston had previously discovered
seven of these lines ; but this slight anticipation does not
in the least degree diminish the singularity of this splendid
discovery. He discovered similar lines in electric light,
and in the spectra of the Moon, Venus, Mars, Castor, Pol¬
lux, Sirius, Capella, Betalgeus, and Procyon ;6 but none
whatever in artificial white flames. These lines he found
to have a fixed position in relation to the coloured spaces,
and, by measuring accurately the distance of prominent
lines in the different coloured spaces, he obtained measures
of the refractive and dispersive powders of bodies with a de¬
gree of accuracy hitherto unknown. Fraunhofer consider¬
ed these lines as having their origin in the nature of the
sun s light; but Sir David Brewster, who by particular
methods has discovered more than twice the number of
lines reckoned by Fraunhofer, has established the curious fact,
that many ot them are produced also by the action of the
earth s atmosphere. In his researches on this subject Sir
David Brewster discovered the remarkable property pos¬
sessed by nitrous gas of producing analogous lines in great
numbers, increasing in width with the thickness of the gas,
or with an augmentation of its temperature. “ The power of
heat alone,” says this author, “ to render a gas, which is
almost colourless, as red as blood, without decomposing it, is
in itself a most singular result; and my surprise was greatly
2 Spp ^ ^°C' Pbilomathique, 1824, and Mem. de l'Institute, tom. xvii.
4 Id torn ^1C 6 ^HR0MATICS> written by Dr. Young, vol. vi. p. 650.
3 Mem de lInst. tom. ii.
Edin. Jnvrnnl c< • -vr 5 See Ann. de Chim-, 1821.
five lines in their sfipnir. Ce’- ‘k xv’ P* 1’ .^ir David Brewster asserts, that all the coloured stars derive their colours from defec-
tneir spectra, having found these lines in those most strongly coloured.
History, increased, when I afterwards succeeded in rendering the
■^'“Y'^same pale nitrous acid gas so absolutely black by heat, that
not a ray of the brightest summer sun was capable of pene¬
trating it.”1 Professors Miller and Daniel afterwards dis¬
covered numerous fixed lines disposed at equal distances,
in the vapour of bromine and iodine, and Sir David Brew¬
ster has very recently discovered hundreds of lines under
very singular circumstances, in the spectrum of an artifi¬
cial substance, resembling mother-of-pearl ;2 but what is
most interesting, these lines are moveable, shifting their
place in the spectrum by varying the incidence, and are pro¬
duced by the periodical action of thin plates enclosed in the
substance. He has also discovered, that broad dark bands
like those produced by absorbing media, but entirely dif¬
ferent from the nearly equidistant bands formed by single
thin plates, are produced by a number of thin plates in a
state of combination.3 *
Considering the lines of the spectrum as produced by in¬
terference, Fraunhofer was induced to make a complete
series of experiments on the inflexion of light, particularly
on the splendid colours produced by gratings of wires, and
grooved surfaces, which were published in the year 1822,
in the Memoirs of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sci¬
ences.^ He afterwards repeated these experiments with a
finer apparatus, and communicated an account of them to
the Academy of Sciences at Munich, on the 14th June
1823.5 The science of optics owes also to Fraunhofer the
art of making the finest glass for achromatic telescopes and
prisms, and such was the perfection at which he arrived,
that, in a letter to the author of this article, he expresses
his willingness to undertake an achromatic object glass
teen inches in diameter. Our author wrote also a treatise on
halos, parhelia, &c., in which he ascribes the small solar and
lunar halos to the inflexion of light, by particles of vapour
in the atmosphere, and the great halos of 45° to the refrac¬
tion of hexagonal prisms of ice.6 7
Sir John Among the most distinguished contributors to optical dis-
Herschel. covery, Sir John Herschel occupies a high place. The
deviations of the polarised tints from the colours of thin
plates, or those of Newton’s scale, had been discovered by
Sir David Brewster in acetate of lead, tartrate of potash
and soda, apophyllite, topaz, and various other minerals.
He had divided these crystals into two classes, viz. those
that had the red ends of the rings inwards, and the blue
ends outwards ; and those that had the blue ends of the rings
inwards, and the red ends outwards? In his paper of 1818,
he states, that “ in almost all crystals with two axes, the
tints in the neighbourhood of the resultant axes, when the
plate has a considerable thickness, lose their resemblance to
those of Newton’s scale, as will be more minutely described
in another paper.” Conceiving that these deviated tints
arose from the superposition of systems of rings of different
colours, Sir John Herschel examined the coloured rings by
homogeneous light, and established the important fact that
the inclination of the resultant axes varied in the different
colours of the spectrum, the poles or centres of the rings
approaching to each other in red, and receding in violet
light, in some crystals ; while in others they receded from
each other in red, and approached in violet light. In tar¬
trate of potash and soda, for example, the inclination of the
axes was 75° 42' in red, and only 55° 14' in violet light.8
These various axes all lie in the same plane, excepting in
borax. In the paper containing this discovery, and in other
two,9 communicated to the Cambridge Philosophical Society, His
he has described various interesting phenomena which he^ j
discovered in different specimens of apophyllite and in hy-
posulphate of lime,10 and which led him to some interesting
conclusions respecting the law of proportional action of these
crystals on the different colours of the spectrum.
We have already seen that the force which produces cir¬
cular polarisation had been deemed a property of the ulti¬
mate particles of bodies, and totally unconnected with their
mode of aggregation. In 1820 Sir John Herschel made the
beautiful discovery, that the direction of the circular polar¬
isation in quartz was invariably the same with that of the
plagiedral planes round the summit, the direction of the
polarisation being retrograde or direct, according as these
planes leant forward or backward round this summit.
We owe also to Sir John Herschel an interesting inquiry
into the aberrations of compound lenses and object-glasses,n a
series of curious experiments on the phenomena produced
by diaphragens or apertures of various shapes, variously ap¬
plied to mirrors and object-glasses,12 and a great number of
original views and valuable experiments, which are con¬
tained in his Treatise on Light, one of the most valuable
and original works on science which has appeared during
the last century.
M. Fresnel was, we believe, the first person who ob-M.Jil
served the change produced by heat on the tints of sulphatecherk
of lime. It is to M. Mitscherlich, however, that we owe the
most complete investigation of this subject. He found that
heat expands crystals differently in different directions.
Iceland spar is expanded by it in the direction of its axis,
while it is in a slight degree contracted in directions per¬
pendicular to the axis. The rhomb thus approaches to the
cube, and the double refraction is diminished, hi. Mitscher¬
lich also found that the inclination of the optical or result¬
ant axes, which is about 60°, diminishes with heat till they
actually form one axis, when by a farther increase of heat
they again separate, and open out, as it were, in a plane at
right angles to that of the laminae. We have repeated this
experiment, and enjoyed the remarkable sight of observing
the one system of rings marching towards the other in the
plane of "the laminae, and changing their form and size as
they advanced.13 An analogous, and even a more remark¬
able property, was discovered by Sir David Brewster in
glauberite. At the freezing point glauberite has two optical
axes for all the colours of the spectrum, the inclination of
the axes being greatest in red, and least in violet light.
When heat is applied, the two axes approach, and those of
different colours unite successively, the crystal possessing
the remarkable property of being a umaxal one for red, and
a biaxal one for violet light. By increasing the temperature,
the optical axes open out in the same order, but in a plane
at right angles to that in which they formerly lay, and long
before the temperature has reached that of boiling water
the planes of the axes in all the prismatic colours are per¬
pendicular to their first position.14 Such a crystal would
form a delicate chromatic thermometer.15 M. Marx has dis¬
covered an analogous property in topaz, in which the two
axes separate with heat, the variation being greater m the
coloured than in the colourless varieties.16 Sir David Brews¬
ter has discovered that regular double refraction is produced
in some soft substances by the application of heat.
Some very excellent and interesting results have bee
obtained by M. Rudberg, on the effect of heat upon doublyb -
1 Edin. Trans, vol. xii.
2 Phil Trans. 1837.
3 hi Id.
* Vol. viii. 1822.
5 Edin. Journal of Science, No- xiii p. 101, 251.
6 See Phil. Trans. 1814, p. 204, 205, and 1820, p. 95.
7 Edin Jour, of Science, No. xii. p. 348.
8 Phil Trans. 1820, p. 45.
2 Cambridge Trans, vols. i. and ii.
10 Sir John discovered similar deviations in vesuvian or idocrase.
— Treatise on Light, art. 1125.
71 Phil Trans. 1821, p. 222.
12 Treatise on Lijit, § 767, 768, Jkc. _
is Land, and Edin. Phil. Mag. 3d series, vol. i- p- 4l/' ,,
14 Edin. Trans, vol. xi. p. 273, and Land, and Edin. Phi - . o
3d series, vol. i. p. 417.
J5 Phil. Trans. 1818, p. 108.
16 Jahrbuch der Chimie, vol. ix.
OPTICS.
m. m-
jji y. refracting crystals. He found that the extraordinary ray
^ Win calcareous spar (the line F was used) had its deviation
increased 2' 34", as the refractive index increased 0-00043,
by a rise of temperature equal to 64°, the refracting angle
of the prism being 59° 55' 9", whereas the refractive power
for the ordinary ray either does not change at all, or de¬
creases with the temperature by a quantity extremely small.
In rock crystal he found the deviation to be 42", or 0-00027,
both on the ordinary and extraordinary ray, the angle of the
prism being 45° 20' 5". In arragonite he found that the
double refraction decreased a little with the temperature.1
We owe also to M. Rudberg a series of valuable experi¬
ments on the refractive actions of the differently coloured
rays in crystals with one and two axes of double refraction.
His measures were taken in reference to the fixed lines in
the spectrum, and the minerals he employed were rock crys¬
tal, calcareous spar, arragonite, and colourless topaz. He
confirmed the existence of two dispersive powers in doubly
refracting crystals, announced long before by Sir David
Brewster; and the variation of the inclination of the optic
axes with the different colours of the spectrum, which had
also been previously discovered by Sir John Herschel.2 * M.
Rudberg was no doubt unacquainted with the previous la¬
bours of these authors, otherwise he would not have passed
them over without notice.
Like every other branch of physical science, optics owes
much to the profound researches of M. Poisson, which are in
Bom j3l. general of too recondite a nature to find a place in a popular
treatise. The theory of the colours of thin plates was left
incomplete by Dr. Young. The two interfering portions
from the upper and under surface of the plate were obviously
unequal, and therefore could not destroy one another wholly
by interference, as they are found to do. M. Poisson re¬
medied this defect by shewing that there must be an infinite
number of partial reflexions within the plate, at each of which
a very small portion of light was reflected, so that the sum of
all these portions of light makes up for the defect of one of the
pencils, and makes the interfering pencils equal. Hence
M. Poisson has shewn that at a perpendicular incidence, and
at points where the effective thickness of the plate is an
exact multiple of the length of half an undulation, the in¬
tensity of the reflected and transmitted light will be the
same as if the plate were suppressed altogether, and' the
bounding media in absolute contact, so that when these me¬
dia have the same refractive power, no light will be reflected
and the whole transmitted. By the aid of the property dis¬
covered by M. Arago, that the light is reflected in the same
proportion at the first and second surfaces of a plate, M.
riesnel extended M. Poisson’s conclusions to all incidences.
In treating of the subject of diffraction, M. Poisson was
led to the curious result that the centre of the shadow of a
small opaque circular disc, exposed to light diverging from
a single point, is as much illuminated by the diffracted light
as it would be by the direct light, if the opaque disc were
removed. By cementing a small metallic disc upon a plate
ot Pure and homogeneous glass, M. Arago verified this re¬
markable deduction of theory.
M. Poisson’s researches on the propagation of motion in
e astic fluids, and their application to light, are too profound
o admit of a brief and intelligible analysis.
rea(^ to t^ie Academy of Sciences in
>• p p ’ M. Ampere has made a valuable addition to the theory
M pesne ' ^7 an indirect and not very rigorous process,
’ lla^ been led to the equation of the w ave sur-
it^H a • ^mPere obtained a direct demonstration of
’ e. UC1"F ^le ecluation in the manner which Fresnel had
re y ln(Lcated, and he derived from this equation the ele-
37
fin per
lorn 1
gant geometrical construction obtained indirectly by Fres- History.
The undulatory theory of light has been greatly advanced M. Cauchy,
bj the researches of M. Cauchy, a French mathematician
of distinguished eminence. In determining the law of pro¬
pagation of a plane wave, he shews that a disturbance ori¬
ginally limited to a given plane will give rise to three pairs
of plane waves with uniform velocities, and parallel to the
original plane, the two waves of each pair moving in oppo¬
site directions, but w ith equal velocities. He shews that
the separate pairs will move with velocities represented by
the reciprocals of the axes of an ellipsoid, the form of which
is regulated by the position of the plane wave, and the na¬
ture of the system, the absolute displacement of the mole¬
cules being parallel to the direction of these axes. Hence
a system of plane w aves superposed at the point of original
disturbance, will be divided into three corresponding sys¬
tems, and these will generate by their superposition a curved
surface of three sheets, each sheet being touched by all the
plane wraves of the system. If these principles are estab¬
lished, it will follow as a necessary consequence that a single
ray c!f tight will be divided into three polarised rays, one of
wdiich will in all cases have little intensity. M. Cauchy, as
Professor Lloyd5 remarks, has not pointed out the method
or discovering this ray, or stated the precise physical condi¬
tion on which its existence depends ; but it “ would seem
to arise from the circumstance that the vibration normal to
the wave is not absolutely insensible, so that the actual vibra¬
tions are not accurately in the plane of the wave.”6’ “The Triple re¬
results of M. Cauchy’s general theory,” continues Professor fractio*»-
Lloyd, “embrace and confirm those of Fresnel; and the ma¬
thematical laws of the propagation of light are shewn to be
particular cases of the more general laws of the propagation
of vibratory motion in any elastic medium composed of at¬
tracting and repelling molecules. Considered, however,
simply with reference to the theory of light, the solution
given by M. Cauchy cannot, I conceive, be considered as a
complete physical solution. In other w ords, the phenome¬
na of light are not connected directly with any given physi-
cal hypothesis; but are shewn to be comprehended in the
results of the general theory, in virtue ot certain assumed
relations among the constants which that theory involves.
If, indeed, we were able to assign the precise physical mean¬
ing of these equations of condition, we should have nothing
more to desire in the general theory of light; for these equa¬
tions must necessarily express the characteristic properties
of the vibrating medium. In this point of view, their dis¬
cussion becomes a subject of the highest interest; and it is
probable that the important conclusions of which we have
yet to speak, may in this manner be confirmed and ex¬
tended.”
Before quitting this subject, however, we ought to men¬
tion that there is an essential difference between the theories
of Fresnel and Cauchy. In the former a ray is said to be
polarised in or parallel to any plane, when the vibrations of
the molecules of ether are perpendicular to that line or
plane; whereas, in Cauchy’s theory, a ray is said to be po¬
larised in or parallel to any plane, when the vibrations of
the ether are performed in a parallel to that plane.
The inability of the undulatory theory to explain the dis- Dispeisbn
persion of light,was long one of the few exceptions to its uni- of light,
versal application. Dr. \ oung supposed that the material par¬
ticles of bodies are incapable of permanent vibrations; that
these vibrations will retard those of the ether; and that this
retardation will be proportional to their frequency. The
Rev. Mr. Challis, adopting Dr. Young’s idea, has endea¬
voured to explain the manner in which the undulations of
1 Lond. and Edin. Phil. Mag. vol. i. p. 409.
3 Id‘ Id- vol. i- p. I, 89, 136, 146.
■dnn. de Chemie, tom. xxxix.
4 British Association, 4th report, p. 391.
5 British Association, 4th report, p. 391, 2.
6 See p.375, (note).
374
OPTICS.
History-
Mr. Airy
the ether within bodies are modified by their material atoms.
He supposes that a sensible reflexion takes place at every
interruption of continuity in the medium ; and he infers
that the mean effect produced by a retarding cause propor¬
tional to the reflective power of the atoms, will be to make
the condensation corresponding to a given velocity greater
in a certain proportion than in free space, and to diminish
the velocity of propagation in the same proportion. Mr.
Airy has more recently endeavoured to remove this diffi¬
culty, by supposing that in refracting media there may. be
something depending on time which alters their elasticity,
in the same manner as in air the elasticity is greater with a
quick than with a slow vibration of particles.
An anonymous writer in a very recent number oi 1 he
Philosophical Magazine,has proposed another hypothesis for
obtaining a difference of elasticity. He supposes that the
ether accumulates itself round the particles of tiansparent
media, and forms spheres of a density increasing towards
their centres; and he infers that a succession of vibrations
communicated through a medium thus constituted will give
rise to new vibrations propagated with various velocities
corresponding to those of the different rays in the spectium.
The complete removal of this difficulty iiom tne undula-
tory theory has been effected by the skill or M. Cauchy.
Regarding tire sphere of action of the ethereal molecules as
indefinitely small, in comparison with the length of an un¬
dulation, it had been inferred that the velocity of the undu¬
lations must be constant in the same medium; but this
restriction being removed as a groundless one, M. Cauchy
has considered the problem in a more general manner, and
has arrived at the result, that there exists a general relation
between the length of the undulations and the velocity with
which they are propagated, or the index of refraction;
and consequently that rays of different colours will have
different degrees of refrangibility. This relation is express¬
ed by an equation involving two arbitrary constants, de¬
pending on the nature of the medium, and determinable by
two values of the index of refraction for two waves of a
known length. The refractive index for waves of other
lengths may then be computed. Professor Powell has done
this for several media,1 whose refractive indices lor the fixed
lines in the spectrum have been determined by Fraunhofer,
Rudberg, and himself; but though there is a general coinci¬
dence with the theory, the difterences are in some cases
rather inauspicious.
M. Cauchy has more recently deduced from his general
theory the remarkable fact, that in a particular case of re¬
flexion the reflected pencil exceeds the incident one in in¬
tensity, a result which has been confirmed by direct expe¬
riment.
In examining the two rays produced by the double re¬
fraction of quartz, Mr. Airy was led to a discovery which
we consider as one of the most important in its results, and
one of the most beautiful in its phenomena, that has yet
been made in this branch of optics. The circular polarisa¬
tion of the two rays along the axis of quartz had been studied
by different philosophers, and had been explained by Fres¬
nel with singular ingenuity, on the principles of the undu-
latory theory. No attempt, however, had been made to
account for the existence of this property only in the rays
which pass near the axis of the crystal, or to define the limit
where the circular polarisation ended, and the plane polar¬
isation commenced. Fresnel, and all who have written on
the subject, seem to have shrunk from this difficulty; but
Mr. Airy thought that the two kinds of polarisation must
have some connecting link, and by the aid of theor-1 and
experiment he succeeded in discovering it. In place of the
two rays in quartz consisting of plane polarised light, as was
1 Phil. Trans. 1835-37.
2 Cambridge Trans. 1832.
3 Treatise on the Microscope, p.19.
universally believed, Mr. Airy has shewn that they both Hist*
consist of elliptically polarised light, the greater axis of the ,,
ellipse for the one ray being in the principal plane of the
crystal, and the greater axis of the other perpendicular to
that plane. One of the rays he found to be right-handed
elliptically polarised, and the other left-handed elliptically
polarised. The proportion of the axes of the ordinary ray
is more nearly one of equality than the proportion of the
axes of the extraordinary ray, each proportion being one of
equality when the direction of the ray coincides with the
axis, and becoming more unequal with the inclination, ac¬
cording to a law not yet discovered. The results calculated
from the theory are in perfect accordance with those which
Mr. Airy has obtained from very nice and difficult experi¬
ments ; so that we may regard this beautiful and singular
property of the two rays of quartz as perfectly established.
Without knowing of the beautiful experiments of M.
Arago, already referred to, Mr. Airy was led to make the
same experiment on the coloured rings formed between a
lens and a metallic reflector, and to draw the same conclusion
from it in favour of the undulatory theory. From a consi¬
deration of the formulae of Fresnel, Mr. Airy was led to
expect that if the rings were formed between two substances
of different refractive powers, such as plate glass and dia¬
mond, the light being polarised perpendicular to the plane
of incidence, they should have a black centre at incidences
less than the polarising angle of the glass, and greater than
the polarising angle of the diamond; wdiile they should have
a white centre at all intermediate angles. These anticipa¬
tions Mr. Airy confirmed by experiment; and in the course
of his observations he observed certain peculiarities in the
phenomena, from which he has drawn the following conclu¬
sions, viz. _ .
1. When the angle of incidence is less than the maximum
polarising angle of the diamond, the nature of its reflexion
is similar to that of metallic reflexion ; the phase of vibra¬
tion in the plane of reflexion being more retarded than that
of vibrations perpendicular to the plane of reflexion, but
perhaps by a smaller quantity than in reflexion from metals.
2. In the neighbourhood of the polarising angle, the na¬
ture of the reflexion is different from any that has hitherto
been described. The vibrations in the plane of reflexion
do not vanish, but on increasing the angle of incidence by
three or four degrees, the phase of vibration is gradually
retarded by about 180°. In the reflexion of light whose
vibrations are perpendicular to the plane of reflexion, there
is no striking difference between the effects of diamond and
those of glass. ,
3. For angles of incidence greater than the polarising
angle, there is no sensible difference between the effects o
diamond and those of glass.2 ,,
It would be desirable to ascertain if the diamond used by
Professor Airy consisted of strata of different reflective and
refractive powers, a structure lately discovered in some spe¬
cimens by Sir David Brewster ;3 or if it was a heterogeneous
crystal, containing particles of different degrees of density and
double refraction, a structure very common in this gem.
Hitherto the mathematical theory of light owed almos^
all its development to the distinguished members of the in¬
stitute of France—to Malus, Arago, Fresnel, Poisson, Am¬
pere, and Cauchy; but it was now destined to receive
powerful impetus from those eminent members ot 1 y
College, Dublin, who have nobly sustained the j10”0^
their country by their genius and discoveries, in 111
say on the Theory of Systems of Rays, Sir Wdham &rW
ton has given an elegant analytical form to tha p ,, ,
theory of Fresnel which relates to the determination
velocity and polarisation of a plane wrave ; and he   ( ^
4 See the Art. Microscope, vol. xv. p. 30, and Edin, Trans, vol
via. p. 157.
Profc
Lloyi
V. duced the velocity and direction of the ray from that of the
"'•''wave, and consequently the form of the wave surface.1 In
these researches Sir W. Hamilton was conducted to the dis¬
covery of some new geometrical properties of the wave sur¬
face. He found that this surface has four conoidal cusps at
the extremities of the resultant or optical axes, at each of
which the wave is touched by an infinite number of tangent
planes, forming a tangent cone of the second degree, while
at the extremities of the lines of single wave velocity, there
are four circles of plane contact, in every part of each of
which the wave surface is touched by a single plane. These
cusps and circles, the existence of which does not seem to
have been suspected by Fresnel, have led Sir W. Hamilton
to some remarkable theoretical conclusions respecting the
laws of refraction in biaxal crystals. To this new pro¬
perty he has given the name of conical refraction, because
a single ray is refracted into an infinite number, forming
a kind of cone. Ihis conical refraction is of two kinds,
external and internal. In external conical refraction, one
internal cusp ray corresponds to an external cone of
rays; and in internal conical refraction, an external ray
incident at an angle corresponding to the line of single
wave velocity within, is connected with an internal cone of
rays.2
,r Sir W- Hamilton requested Professor Lloyd, of Trinity
College, Dublin, to inquire experimentally into the exist¬
ence of these two kinds of conical refraction. For this pur¬
pose he selected arragonite, a crystal of great biaxal energy,
and having its optic axes inclined about 20°. It was cut
with parallel faces perpendicular to the line bisecting the
two optic axes. Upon looking at the light of a distantlamp
through the crystal, and m the direction of one of the opti¬
cal axes, Professor Lloyd saw a point more luminous than
the space immediately about it, and surrounded by some¬
thing resembling a stellar radiation. Hence the direction
of the optical axes may be determined by this modification
of common light. When the adjustment was perfected, and
the light transmitted in the exact direction of the cusp ray,
there appeared at first a luminous circle, with a small dark
space in the centre, and in this dark central space were two
bright points, separated by a narrow and well-defined dark
hne. these appearances rapidly changed in shifting the
minute aperture next the eye. On examining the emer¬
gent cone with a plate of tourmaline, Professor Lloyd was
surprised to observe that only one radius of the circular sec-
ion vanished in a given position of the tourmaline, and that
he vanished ray ranged through 360°, while the tourma-
me was turned through 180°. Hence it follows that all
ie rays of the cone are polarised in different planes. On
a more attentive examination of this phenomenon, Professor
f»Z rco,verei1 ‘fe gmarkable law, « that the angles be-
k i„if! p anf °f polarisation of any two rays of the cone
he angles between the plane containing the rays
fectTr Zl a,Kl th\axLs” Ire found tobe in pei!
tect accordance with the theory. 1
PrrfeZff Zc" second kind of conical refraction
otessor Lloyd found to be more difficult. The angle of the
crvshfwf WhlCh thrry indicated> s^uld be seen within the
refracted! & SmSle. e5fe™al ray corresponding with a ray
exterm] nS an optical axis, was 1 °55/ inarragonite. The
c£e wm ^ d,iVld!d int° tW°’ butwhen critical in-
Professor T lrwT?f 11a^ter much care in the adjustment,
tinuous Hr 1yC ifaSti-SaW the two ra>7S sPread into a con-
SCrtfeZ6 ^ aPparentl>'
o P T I C S.
I his phenomenon was exceedingly striking. It looked
hke a small ring of gold viewed upon a dark ground; and’
the sudden and almost magical change of the appearance
lorn two luminous points to a perfect luminous ring, con-
tnbuted not a little to enhance the interest.
tn light’in this exPeriment, being too faint
lith tl >d i T a S3Creen’ 1 rePeated the experiment
with the suns light, and received the emergent cylinder
upon a small piece of silver paper. I could detect no sen-
siWe difference in the magnitude of the circular sections at
uitterent distances from the crystal.
“ When the adjustment was perfect, the light of the entire
annulus was white, and of equal intensity throughout. But
when there was a very slight deviation from the exact posi¬
tion, two opposite quadrants of the circle appeared more
faint than the other two, and the two pairs were of comple¬
mentary colours. The light of the circle was polarised,
according to the law which I had before observed in the
other case of conical refraction. In this instance, however
the law was anticipated from theory by Professor Hamilton.”
In addition to these interesting results, Professor Lloyd
has published an account of a new case of interference, in
which the experimental exhibition of the fact is much more
manageable than in the experiment of two slightly inclined
mirrors given by Fresnel. Professor Lloyd causes the light
reflected at an angle of 90° from the surface of a single
piece of plate glass or a metallic reflector, to interfere with
ic c nect ight that passes parallel to the reflecting surface
and near it. A screen placed on the other side of the mir¬
ror receives the direct and the reflected pencils, which,
meeting under a small angle, after having traversed paths
differing by a small amount, interfere. Professor Lloyd
also received the two pencils upon an eye-piece placed at
a short distance from the reflector, and saw a very beauti¬
ful system of bands, in every respect similar to one half of
the system formed by the two mirrors in Fresnel’s experi¬
ment. 1
Professor Lloyd has more recently, in 1836 and 1837
communicated to the Royal Irish Academy the results of
his researches, On the propagation of light in uncrystallised
media His object was to simplify and develope that part
of M. Cauchy s theory, which relates to the propagation of
light m an ethereal medium of uniform density, and to ex¬
tend the same theory to the case of the ether enclosed in
uncrystailised substances, taking into account the action of
the internal molecules. In the first part of his memoir,
Professor Lloyd has given good reason for concluding that
the theory in its present form is insufficient to explafn the
phenomena of light in bodies, and that it becomes neces¬
sary to take into account the action of the material mole¬
cules. In doing this he limits himself to the comparatively
simple case, m which the molecules of the ether and the
body are uniformly diffused. In the expression for the
velocity of propagation, each term consists of two parts, one
of which is due to the action of the ether, and the other to
that of the body. “ It is not improbable,” says Professor
Lloyd, “ that there may be bodies for which the first or
principal term is nearly nothing, the two parts of which it
is composed being of opposite signs, and nearly equal. In
tms case the principal part of the expression for the velo¬
city will be that derived from the second term ; and, if that
term be taken as an approximate value, it will follow, that
the refractive index of the substance must be in the sub¬
duplicate ratio of the length of the wave nearly. Now it
is remarkable that this law of dispersion, so unlike any
i 'pjjg _ ■        
spherical iTa^ngfy employed to determine the direction and the velocity of reflected and refracted rays It is
ST’ the sup%ysition Srre ra\Hn1rilSUf lCe n Z™ f tW° Rheet8 « *>»*>* Acting medium • and a Sace"of three
‘ d-cd- represent tVe SS of ^ *nd ^
375
History-
4 r - erent directions c lms alvYays a centre roiI"d which it is symmetrical ; and the radii c
Msfi Trans, vol. xvii „ laa 'P * tbe velocities of rap to which they are parallel—Maccullagh's Irish Trans- vol. xvii.
1 nil. Trans. 1830, p. 325, or Tdin. Journal of Science, N. S., No. viii-p
259.
1
OPTICS.
History.
Professor
Maccul-
lagh.
thing observed in transparent media, agrees pretty closely
with the results obtained by Sir David Brewster in some of
the metals. In all these bodies the refractive index (inferr¬
ed from the angle of maximum polarization) increases with
the length of the wave. Its value for the red, mean and blue
rays, in silver, are 3’866, 3*271, 2,824, the ratios of the se¬
cond and third to the first, being *85 and -73. According
to the law above given, these ratios should be *88 and’79.
We are indebted also to Professor Lloyd for an admira¬
ble history Of the progress and present state of physical
optics, published in the Fourth Report of the meeting of the
British Association, held in Edinburgh ; a history not less
characterised by its candour and truth, and absence of all na¬
tional partiality, than by the profound and accurate know¬
ledge of the subject which it everywhere displays. The
only cultivator of physical optics to whom Professor Lloyd
has done injustice is himself; and we are glad of the op¬
portunity which we here enjoy, of giving a brief and imper¬
fect account of his original and valuable researches.
It is with no less pleasure that we proceed to give an
account of the optical discoveries of another Irish philoso¬
pher, who, at an early period of life, has placed himself in a
distinguished position both as a mathematician and a natural
philosopher. We have already seen that M. Ampere gave
a direct demonstration of Fresnel’s construction for finding
the surface of the wave. His solution, however, was ex¬
tremely difficult and complicated. Mr. James Maccullagh
was led in 1829 to believe, from the simplicity and elegance
of the results, that there must be some simpler method of
arriving at them, and, upon considering the subject with
attention, he was led to a concise demonstration of the same
theorem, and of some of the other leading points of Fres¬
nel’s theory. He has demonstrated a geometrical construc¬
tion for finding the magnitude and direction of the elastic
force arising from a displacement in any direction, and by
his construction, with the aid of a few lemmas, he is im¬
mediately led to all the conclusions established by M. Fres¬
nel. The magnitude and direction of this force are repre¬
sented by means of an ellipsoid, having for its semiaxes the
three principal indices of the medium, these axes coinciding
in direction with, and being inversely proportional to, the
axes of Fresnel’s generating ellipsoid.
The properties of the wave surface and its use in deter¬
mining the directions and velocities of reflected and re¬
fracted rays, seem to have been discovered independently
by Sir W. Hamilton, M. Cauchy, and Mr. Maccullagh, and
in a paper entitled, Geometrical propositions applied to the
wave theory of light, he has applied the properties of that
surface to the geometrical development of the theory of dou¬
ble refraction.
Hitherto the remarkable laws of the double refraction of
quartz, developed by the successive labours of Arago, Biot,
Fresnel, and Airy, were merely a set of independent facts
unconnected by any theory ; but Mr. Maccullagh in a paper
On the laws of the double refraction of quartz, sent to the
Royal Irish Academy, in February 1836, has shewn how
they may be explained hypothetically, by introducing dif¬
ferential coefficients of the third order into the equations of
vibratory motion.
The theory of the action of the metals upon light having
been long among the desiderata of physical optics, Mr.
Maccullagh thought that it would be important to repre¬
sent the phenomena of elliptic polarisation, discovered by
Sir David Brewster, by means of empirical formulae, in a
manner analogous to that employed by Fresnel in the case
of total reflexion. Mr. Maccullagh has applied his formulae
to steel, and in computing from it the intensity of light re¬
flected when common light is used, he obtained the re- Hist
markable result, that the intensity decreases very slowly up
to a large angle of incidence (less that 75°), and then in¬
creases up to 90°, wLere there is total reflexion. This re¬
sult entirely accords with the remarkable fact discovered
by Mr. Potter,2 that the intensity decreases with the angle
of incidence as far as 70°. Mr. Maccullagh conceives that
experiments alone can decide whether the subsequent in¬
crease indicates a real phenomenon, or arises from an error
in the empirical formulae.
Mr. Maccullagh deduces also from his formulae the phe¬
nomenon observed by Mr. Airy in the diamond; and he
has applied it successfully to the phenomena discovered by
M. Arago, respecting the rings formed between a transpar¬
ent and a metallic surface. In this experiment Mr. Mac¬
cullagh and Prof. Lloyd have both discovered a curious ap¬
pearance unnoticed by any other author. Through the last
twenty or thirty degrees of incidence, the first dark ring
surrounding the central spot, which is comparatively bright,
remains constantly of the same magnitude, though the
other rings dilate greatly by an increase of incidence.
Hitherto the undulatory theory had been unable to give
any explanation of the variation of the polarising angle,
when the light was reflected in different azimuths from cal¬
careous spar, and other doubly refracting surfaces. Mr.
Maccullagh, however, was induced to exercise his mathe¬
matical skill on this interesting subject; and so early as 1834,
he communicated to Professor Lloyd an expression for the
angle of polarisation at the surface of crystallised media,
when the plane of reflexion coincides with the principal sec¬
tion of Fresnel’s ellipsoid; and he found that the law, which
he extended by analogy to all cases, represented with much
exactness the observations of Sir David Brewster.3 In a
subsequent paper, on the laws of reflexion from crystallised
surfaces,* he has explained the principles upon which his
formula is founded. He was obliged to adopt the view of
Cauchy, that the vibrations of polarised light are parallel to
its plane of polarisation, and being embarrassed by his third
ray, he altered Cauchy’s six equations of pressure, so as to
make them afford only two rays, and give a law of refrac¬
tion exactly the same as Fresnel’s. ^
It appears, from a subsequent paper of Mr. Maccullagh s,
that M. Seebeck6 had solved the same problem long before,
namely, in the case where the plane of incidence coincides
with the principal section of the crystal, and had confirmed
its accuracy by experiment. M. Seebeck had also pointed
out a defect in Mr. Maccullagh’s formulae, No. 2 and 3,
which induced the latter to resume the subject; and in
a new paper read to the Irish Academy on the 9th Janu¬
ary 1837, a solution of the following problem is given for
the first time :—“ Supposing a ray of light, polarised in a
given plane, to fall on a doubly refracting crystal, it is re¬
quired to find the plane of polarisation of the reflected ray,
and the proportion between the amplitudes of vibration m
the incident, the reflected, and the two refracted rays. Ine
hypotheses employed by our author are these, viz.
" 1. The density of the ether is the same in all media.
2. The vibrations are parallel to the plane of polarisa¬
tion.
3. The vis viva is preserved. ,
4. The vibrations are preserved; that is, the resultan 0
the incident and reflected vibrations are the same as e
resultant of the refracted vibrations. “ This theory, say-
the author, “ represents very accurately the expenmen s
Sir David Brewster and M. Seebeck, on the light re ec
in air from a surface of Iceland spar.” . .
We owe also to Mr. Maccullagh some interesting vie »
* Irish Transactions, vol. xvii. 2 Edin. Journal of Science, N. S. No. 4.
s Professor Lloyd’s Report on Physical Optics, in the Fourth Report of the British Association, 1834, p. •174, (note;.
* Land, and Edin, Phil. Mag. vol. viii. p. 103. * Id. vol. x. p. 42. 6 Poggendorffs Annakn, 183b, no. .
M. Le i
y- respecting the nature of the light transmitted by the dia-
‘^mond and by gold le^if. He conceives that there is a change
of phase produced by refraction, as well as by reflexion, from
these bodies, the change being different according as the
light is polarised in the plane of incidence, or perpendicular
to it. If the incident ray, therefore, is polarised in any in¬
termediate plane, the refracted ray should be elliptically
polarised, which was found to be the case in gold leaf. He
conceived that the same remark explains the appearance of
double refraction in specimens of the diamond which give
only a single image, and that other precious stones are likely
to have similar properties. Our author has obtained a ge¬
neral formula for the difference of phase between the two
component portions of the refracted light, one polarised in
the plane of incidence, and the other perpendicular to it.
He finds from this formula, that the difference of phase,
which is nothing at a perpendicular incidence, increases un¬
til it becomes ecjual to the characteristic, at an incidence of
90°; and when the light emerges into air, the difference of
phase is doubled. In submitting this formula to the test of
experiment, which Mr. Maccullagh has not yet done, it will
be requisite to ascertain that the diamond is not composed
of strata of different refractive powers.1
M. Lame, an eminent professor in the Polytechnic School,
has recently endeavoured to determine the laws according
to which the molecules of ether and of bodies act upon each
other. He arrives at the conclusion that “ the action of
ponderable matter upon the ether varies in the inverse ratio
of the square of the distance, and that the elasticity of the
ether itself is proportional to its density.” He concludes
that the retardation of the vibratory motion, in penetrating
into a dense body, will be greater the less the length of an
undulation; so that the refraction will be greater for the
shorter undulations, a result which he regards as the true
explanation of dispersion.
M. Lame, says Professor Lloyd, “ has endeavoured to
connect the phenomena of double refraction with an assum¬
ed constitution of the ethereal fluid. He takes the case in
which the ether is supposed to be distributed round the
molecules of the body in confocal ellipsoidal shells; and he
concludes that a vibratory movement, propagated from a
vacuum into a body so constituted, will be separated, at its
entrance, into two component movements, which will ad¬
vance with different velocities.
“ The two component vibrations, he finds, will be at right
angles, and parallel to the lines of greatest and least curva¬
ture of the elementary ellipsoids. Thus, the bifurcation of
a ray of light on entering a crystallised medium, and the
opposite polarisation of the two pencils, are found to be con-
Mstmt with a molecular constitution such as that described,
i , ese ,resu^ts are °f the highest interest, and will, no
u , recen c an early examination from those engaged in
raT/rrt1raent of analysis- Their author seems to be
persuaded that his methods will lead him to the mathema-
cal laws of other phenomena, which he conceives to depend,
ike manner, on the motions of the ethereal fluid.”2
in a memoir more recently communicated to the Aca-
? °p Sciences, M. Lame has sought to determine the
node ofv1^ ofthe ethereal partides which surround
. -IT1 molec,llTes in concentric spherical shells of de-
loflipa ^ eiisity* _ He considers transparent homogeneous
rib„fJS consisting of a multitude of such molecules, dis-
•reatprtlUni sPace’ anc* at distances incomparably
ron uli Tf heirCl‘ameter; and he conceives that the waves
m rLted fr°m thf molecules adjoining to the surface of
up- tlp fi ’^1-pr0duCe by mterferencephenomena resemb-
ver kinXed ine- m .the spcctrum.s This opinion, how-
lena of fixed lineTn’ inC0mPatible with the actual pheno-
OPTICS.
377
in The narrowness of our limits will not permit us to record Introduc
in this histoi ical sketch many other discoveries which have tion
!’f‘?.rf.(;e"tly fve" to, ^e world, though many of them will
e detailed under the heads to which they respectively be-
/fop Jhcse discoveries have been made principally by Mr.
.L. Talbot, Mr. Potter, Mr. Dove, and other philosophers.
Having thus given a condensed sketch of the history of
optical discovery from the earliest to the present times; we
shall now proceed to the proper subject of this article. As
the nature of this work requires that the subject be treated
in a very popular manner, we shall pass briefly over those
branches of Optics which are generally treated mathemati¬
cally, and which occupy a prominent part in all ordinary
treatises, and occupy our limited space with the more in¬
teresting departments of Chromatics, Physical Optics, the
Double Refraction and Polarisation of Light, the Explana¬
tion of Natural Phenomena, the Laws of Vision, and the
Construction of Optical Instruments.
INTRODUCTION.
T HE ancients confounded the phenomena of vision with
those of light, by supposing that when we see external ob¬
jects something passes from the eye to the object. The
phenomena of light, however, are totally independent of
those of vision, and have a real existence in nature, whe¬
ther we suppose them to be objects of vision or not.
1. Light is the element by means of which we see ex-Light,
ternal bodies. These bodies may be divided, in reference
to light, into two classes, self-luminous and non-luminous,
or dark bodies. The first class include the sun, the stars,
flames of all kinds, and bodies which become luminous by
friction, heat, and electrical and magnetical action. Such
bodies become visible by the light which they themselves
emit, and we then obtain a knowledge of their apparent
form. I he sun, for example, is seen to be round, and the
flame of a candle to be of a conical shape. The second
class of bodies*,however, are never visible but when placed
in l!le light of self-luminous bodies. It includes the moon
and all the primary and secondary planets, of which we see
only those portions upon which the sun’s light directly falls,
and all the other objects upon our own globe. When we
bring a lighted candle into a room its light falls upon all
the objects in the apartment, and they become visible.
Ihese bodies reflect or throw back the light ofthe candle
and they scatter it mall directions, because they are, gene¬
rally speaking, visible, wherever we place our eye. b But
objects also become visible by the light thrown oft’ by non-
luminous. When the moon has the form of a sharp crescent
we see the obscure part of its circular disc by the light
thrown upon it from the earth, which is at that time almost
u ly illuminated by the sun. In like manner in the room
lighted with a candle, objects are seen in corners and places
upon which the light of the candle does not fall. These
objects, however are illuminated by the light ofthe candle
thrown bacK by the white ceiling and walls of the apart¬
ment ; and hence the reason why the ceilings and apart¬
ments should always be white, and why the walls should
be white if we wish to obtain the greatest quantity of light
from a given flame. G
2. The light thrown off from all bodies whether self-
luminous or non-luminous, is of the same colour as them-
Si- ^es" ^ lcc^ hot body, or a stick of red sealing wax, will
make a sheet of white paper appear red if held near them.
d. But though coloured bodies throw off light of the
same colour with themselves, bodies do not appear of the
same colour as that of the light which falls upon them. All
Id. Id. (note), and Ann. de Chimie, torn. Ivii.
3 u
See page 27.
VOL. XVI.
2 See Professor Lloyd’s Report, p. 303.
378
OPTICS.
t f , bodies which are white in white light, appear of the same from the nearest fixed star to the earth, and probably many Cator,
“ colon I that S the 1 gh which talk uponlhem ; but other thousand years from the most remote star seen by the tele-
bodTes, such as red wax, appear red elen in white light, a scope. Hence d a remote visible star had been created at
property which they derive from a peculiar structure act- the time of the creation of man, it may not yet have be-
in upon the different colours of which white light is com- come visible to our system.
posed. Bodies of this kind when illuminated with lights 9- When light falls upon any body, whet er rough nr
r colours always appear brightest in light of the smooth, coloured or uncoloured, a part of the incident
tme colour which they exhibit m white light. Thus a light enters the body, and .s either lost wtthm .t, or trans¬
stick of yellow wax is more luminous than a stick of red mitted through it; and part of it is reflected from its sur-
-t. uAhe yellow wax will be less h.minous than the red face, ^^“^“en^ bZ
MesTtheh relation0to Tight, are divided into two and is lost, the light which is transmitted through the
classesonatme and Iraneparmt. An opaque body is one body, and the light which is reflected from it, suffer cer-
SltopTthTlight that fells upon it, sudi as a piece of tain changes in its direction and m its physical proper ,es.
cod o? riate of silver , and a transparent body is one It belongs to the geometrical or mathematical part ofophcs,
which transmits the light through it, such as glass, water, to assign the laws which regulate the change of direcbon
1c air The most Spaque body, however, may be made which light experiences when it is transmitted through, or
transparent b^ making^ it sufficiently thin, and the most reflected from bodies, whose density » uniform, and whose
SnsnSlnt one may become opaque by making it suffi- surfaces have a geometrical form; and to yi/iysico/optics, o
transparent one may oe i 4 J & explain the changes in the physical properties which light
C1£5 The opacity of bodies, or their power of intercepting acquires in passing through bodies, in passing near them, or
li„ht gives rise to what is called the shadows of bodies, in being reflected from their surfaces.
As the shadows of bodies are of the same size as the bodies, The laws or rules which regulate the reflexion of light,
we thence deduce the fundamental optical fact, that light constitute that branch of optics which is called catoptrws,
moves in straight lines. The same fact may be proved in and the laws which regulate the changes ot deviation which
a thousand ways, but most simply by placing three small light experiences when transmitted through bodies, is called
holes in a straight line. In this case the light will pass dioptrics.
through them, but if any one of them deviates from the
straight line, the light will be stopped. The same thing is paht i. catoptkics, ok the kepeexion op light.
finely seen without any experiment, by admitting light into qqie wor(j catoptrics, derived from the Greek words Kara Catos
a dark room through an aperture of an inch wide. Its „ , and 6nTOfJLah to see, signifies that department of optics
path, marked out by the floating dust which it illuminates, \vh[ch treats of the reflexion of light from the polished and
w ill be seen to be a straight line. regularly formed surfaces of bodies, such as water, glass,
6. Light issues or radiates in every direction and from and the metals
every point in the surface of luminous and visible bodies.
and the metals.
The name of speculum or mirror, has commonly been given
. i ■■ i i c J rrVilxr nnlichpn
This fact is proved by the circumstance, that we see suen ^ bodies that have regularly formed and highly polished
bodies wherever we place our eye. However much we surfaces- rPhe word speculum is generally applied to
may magnify the bright part of the sun s disc through a p0bshed metals, and mirrors to reflectors made of glass
telescope, or a sheet of white paper through a microscope, and coverej wjth an amalgam of tin and mercury, to in-
w e shall never see any points destitute of light. crease their power of reflecting light.
7. Light consists of separate and independent parts, There are four kinds of Specuia used in optics, namely,
which, when reduced to the smallest magnitude, are called piane, convex, concave, and cylindrical, and when lig t
rays of light. A beam of light transmitted into a dark fallg n any of these specula, which we shall always con-
room may be actually divided into smaller portions in a gjder j-0 be formed of polished metal, it is reflected accor
variety of ways. The smallest portion that we can allow big to the same lawr.
to pass may be called a ray of light, and possesses the same General Law of Reflexion.
properties^asjhejarger beam.^igs ooo ^ ^ a Let AD be a ray of light which Fig. L
This extraordinary property of light has been deduced by falls upon a plane speculwnM. ,
direct calculation from the immersions and emersions, in and strikes it at the point U, this
eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites, which become visible to us ray will be driven back m the di-
nearly a quarter of an hour earlier when the earth is nearest rection DB, so inclined to the ongi-
Jupiter, than when it is farthest from that planet. The nal ray AD that if we raise from
exact velocity of light obtained in this manner, is 192,500 the point D a line , th ansqe ADE.
miles in a second ; whereas, Dr. Brinkley and M. Struve lar to MN, the ang e BDE will be equal to the aj ^
have found it to be 191,515 miles in a second, from the The ray AD is called the the Jgk of
phenomena of aberrationJ This last determination is un- ray, ADE the angle of and BDE
doubtedlythe most correct. The mean, however,of 192,000 reflexion. 1 he two rays A ’ ’ Thisnlane is some-
is most easily remembered. , DE. all be m the same plane AEBD. 1 “s plan ^ ^
The velocity with which light travels is so inconceivable, times called the plane of incidence, , , Mthe
that we require to make it intelligible by some illustrations, plane of reflexion,, and it is always at ngm a g
It moves from the sun to the earth in minutes, reflecting surface MN. _ - -
w hereas a cannon ball fired from the earth, would require When the reflecting surface is con-
seventeen years to reach the sun. cave as MN in fig. 2, and is part of a
Light moves through a space equal to the circumference sphere, whose centre is C, a ray ot
of the earth, or about 25,000 miles in about the 8th part of light AD falling upon any point D,
a second The swiftest bird would require three weeks to will be reflected in a direction D B, M
perform this journey. so as to form the same angle BDC
Light would demonstrably require five years to move with a line LD drawn from tfie cen-
Fig. 2.
1 See Aberration, vol. i. p. 31.
Fig. 3.
OPT
■ics. tre of the sphere to the point of incidence D, that the in-
^cident ray AD does, viz. the angle ADC. In this case
the line DC is perpendicular to the reflecting surface at D.
When the speculum is convex as in fig.
3, and C the centre of its spherical sur¬
face, then if we draw CE, passing through
any point D, of the spherical surface MN,
any ray of light AD, incident at D,
will, after reflection, take a direction DB,
having the same inclination BDE to DE, 4
that the incident ray AD has. In this
case, also, the prolonged radius of curva¬
ture CE, is perpendicular to the surface
MN at D.
When the surface is cylindrical, the form of the reflect¬
ing line, or the line lying in the plane of reflexion, is a
circle in one direction, a straight line in another, and an
ellipse in all intermediate ones, but in every case the re¬
flected ray will take such a direction that the angle which
it forms with a line perpendicular to a plane touching
the cylinder at the point where the ray strikes it, will be
equal to the angle which the incident ray forms with the
same perpendicular. This is true of all curved surfaces
whatever.
The results now stated have been established by direct
experiment for all inclinations of the incident ray, so that it
is a law universally true, that in the reflexion of light the
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflexion. Hence
it follows, that when the incident ray is perpendicular to
any surface, it is reflected back in the direction in which it
came, and when the incident ray is parallel to the reflect¬
ing surface, (when plane) or is inclined 90° to it, it will
pass on without suffering any change in its direction.
The equality of the angles of incidence and reflexion is
finely seen in the game of Billiards, in the reflexion of a
hand-ball from a wall, and in the reflexion of sound.
.By means of the law of reflection we can easily deter¬
mine, even without any calculation, the effects produced
upon light by specula and mirrors, and the shape, and mag¬
nitude, and position of the images of all objects seen by
reflexion from them. These effects we shall now proceed
to consider in their order.
Definitions. Parallel rays are those which are paral¬
lel or equidistant, as AD, A'D', fig. 4.
Diverging rays, are those which issue or diverge from
a point, and separate from each other, forming an angle as
AD, AD', AD'', fig. 5. 58
Converging rays, are those which converge to a point,
or approach to one another, as AD, A'D', A"D", fig. 6.
Sect. I—On the Reflexion of rays from Plane Mirrors.
Reflexion of parallel
rays. When parallel rays Fig. 4.
AD, A'D' fall upon a
plane speculum MN at
the points D, D' they
will preserve their paral¬
lelism after reflexion.
Drawing the perpen- - ~
dicuWs DE, D'E, make the angles of reflexion EDB,
> D,rVequal t0 the anSles of incidence ADE, A'D'E', and
Jt will be found that DB is parallel to D'B'. If the space
e ween AD, A'D' be supposed to be filled up with other
rays parallel to AD, the space between DB and D'B' will
aso e filled up with parallel rays. Hence a beam of
para e rays ADD'A', will be reflected into the parallel
earn B D'B', the latter being the same as the former
u inverted. If the inverted beam suffers another re¬
flexion from another mirror, parallel to MN, it will be re¬
ared to a position exactly parallel to AA'DD', and no
longer inverted.
I c s.
379
Reflexion of diverging rays. When diverging rays, Catoptrics.
AD, A'D', A"D", fall & '
upon a speculum MN,
they will be reflected
in directions DB,
D'B', D"B" found by
making the angles
BDE, B'D'E,B"D"E"
respectively equal to
ADE, A'D'E', A"D"
E", and the reflected
rays being continued
back till they meet,
they will be found to meet at a point A' so that the line
A A' is at right angles to MN, and AN equal to A'N.
Hence the rays will have the same divergency after re¬
flexion, as before it, and as if they came from A', the re¬
flected beam being inverted, as in the preceding case.
Reflexion of converging rays. When converging rays
AD, A'D', A''D", fall
upon a speculum MN, Fig. 6.
they will converge
after reflexion to a
point B', so situated,
that if BB' is at right
angles to MN, B'M
will be equal to BM.
The reflected raysDB,
D'B, D"B", will be
found by making the
angles EDB' E'D'B',
E"D"B", respectively, equal to the angles of incidence,
ADE, A'D'E,' A"D"E".
nasKSiiM-
On the Reflexion of Rays from Concave Mirrors.
Reflexion of parallel rays. Let MN be a concave mir¬
ror whose centre of
concavity is C, and let Fig. 7.
parallel rays AD, AD',
A"D", fall upon the
mirror, the central ray
AD passing through
the centre C. From
C draw the lines CD',
CD". Then since
CD' is perpendicular
to the mirror at D', the ray AD' w ill be reflected in the same
direction D'F, so that the angle of reflexion CD'F is equal
to the angle of incidence AD'F. In like manner, the ray
AD will be reflected to E, and the central ray AD will be
reflected back to F also ; all intermediate rays being like¬
wise reflected to F.
If the curvature of MN is not deep, and if the points
D',D" are taken near D, it will be found by making the
angles of reflexion equal to the angles of incidence, that
the rays all meet accurately at F, which is called the focus
of the mirror for parallel rays, or its principal focus. This
focus is in all mirrors exactly half-way between the centre
C, and the surface of the mirror.
The point F derives its name of focus from its being the
burning point of a mirror, or the point wdiere the parallel
rays, issuing from the sun are most condensed, and there¬
fore occasion the most powerful heat.
Reflexion of diverging rays. Let AD, AD' AD", be
diverging rays issuing from A and falling upon the mirror
MN, whose centre is C, and principal focus O. Then it
we make the angles of reflexion equal to the angles of in¬
cidence, as in the last case, we shall find that the rays will
be reflected to a point F, between the centre C of the mir¬
ror, and its principal focus O. If the radiant point A is
removed from the mirror, and the rays fall on the same
380
O P T I C S.
Catoptrics, points of it, it is manifest that the incident rays will be
'removed farther from the perpendiculars CD', CD",
Fiff. 8.
»\>v
and consequently the reflected rays which meet at F,
will also be removed farther from them. Hence F will
approach to O, and when A is infinitely distant, and the
rays parallel, F will coincide with O. But if A approaches
to the mirror, the incident rays will approach to the perpen¬
diculars, and as the reflected rays will do the same, their
point of concourse F will approach to C. When A reaches
C, the focus F will also reach C, and the reflected ray will
coincide with the incident ray.
If A still advances towards the mirror, the incident rays
will get within the perpendicular, and therefore the reflect¬
ed rays will be without it, and their point of concourse F
will advance from C outwards, in proportion as the radiant
point advances from C inwards. When A reaches the
principal focus O, the reflected rays will be parallel, as seen
in fig. 7, and when A comes still nearer the mirror, the re¬
flected rays will diverge as if they proceeded from some
point behind the mirror, this point being called the virtual
or imaginary focus of such rays.
In all the preceding cases, the points A, from which the
rays issue, and the point F where they are collected by re¬
flection, are called conjugate foci, because if we make A
the radiant point, F will be the focus, if we make F the
radiant point, A will be the focus.
The conjugate foci of a concave mirror may be easily
found by projection. The following rule will give the focus
more accurately when the rays AD', AD" are not far from
the central one AD. Multiply the distance of the radiant
point from the mirror, or AD, by the radius CD, and di¬
vide this product by the difference between double the dis¬
tance AD, and the radius CD, and the quotient will be the
conjugate focal distance required, or FD. If twice AD is
less than CD, the conjugate focal point will not be before
the mirror, but behind it, the focus being in that case a vir¬
tual one.
Reflexion of converging rays. Let AD, AD' AD" be
Fig. 9-
and the radius CD, and the quotient will be the conjugate Catof
focal distance required, namely, /D, the focus f being in
front of the mirror.
On the Reflexion of Rays from Convex Mirrors.
Let parallel rays AD, AD',
Fig. 10.
rays converging to a point a behind the mirror MN, whose
centre is C. Having drawn CD' and CD", make the
angles of reflection CY)f CD"/ respectively equal to the
angles of incidence AD'C, AD" C; and D/ D'/will be the
reflected rays having their focus at f between the mirror
and its principal focus F. If the point of convergence a of
the rays, or the conjugate focus, approaches to the mirror,
the other conjugate focus/will also approach to it, and if
it recedes from the mirror, the focus f will also recede,
reaching F when a is infinitely distant, in which case AD',
AD" are parallel, as in Fig. 7. The following is the rule
for finding the conjugate foci when one of them is given:
Multiply the distance of the point of convergence from
the mirror, or aD by the radius of the mirror or CD, and
divide this product by the sum of double the distance oD
Reflexion of parallel rays
AD" be incident
upon the convex
mirror MN, whose
centre is C. Draw
the perpendicular
CE, CE passing
through D' and D",
and making the
anarles of reflection
EDB, ED"B equal
to the angles of in¬
cidence, AD'E, AD"E, the reflected rays will be D'B’
D"B, whose virtual focus F is behind the mirror, and so
situated that FD is equal to FC.
Reflexion of diverging rays. If we suppose the rays
AAA to diverge from any point in the line or axis AD,
they will recede from CE, CE, consequently the reflected
rays D'B, D"B will recede also ; that is, will become more
divergent, as if they came from a focus between F and D,
the virtual focus approaching to D as the radiant point A
approaches to D.
Reflexion of converging rays. In like manner, if the
rays AAA widen at A, that is, converge to some point be¬
hind the mirror MN, they will approach to CE and CE, so
that the reflected rays D'B, D' B will also approach to
CE, and consequently diverge less, or have their virtual
focus between F and C. When the converging rays coin¬
cide with CE, CE, they will be reflected back in the di¬
rection in which they came, having C for their virtual
focus. When the converging rays pass CE, the reflected
rays will also pass to the opposite side, and converge less
after reflexion, having their virtual focus beyond C.
When they converge to F, the reflected rays will be paral¬
lel as in fig. 10, where we may suppose BD' BD' the inci¬
dent, and D'A, D"A the reflected rays. When the rays
converge to a point between F and D, the reflected rays
will converge to a point in the axis, and as the point of con-
vergency of the incident rays approaches to it on the one
side, the point of convergency of the reflected rays will
approach to it on the other.
It would have been easy by the simplest elements of geo¬
metry, to have demonstrated the preceding truths; but the
demonstration would have been rigorous only when the
rays fell upon the mirror at points infinitely near D in the
axis AD. By finding from projection the foci of rays ot
all kinds, and falling upon the mirror at all degrees of ob¬
liquity, the reader will acquire more substantial knowledge
of the subject, than he can do either from geometrical or
algebraic demonstrations. The same observation is appli¬
cable to the results obtained in the following section.
Sect. II On the Formation of Images by Plane,
Concave, and Convex Mirrors.
Formation of Images by Apertures—In optics an image
is a luminous resemblance or picture of any object w
ever, formed either on a white ground, such as a slice
paper, or suspended in the air.
In order to understand how images are formed, ie
suppose that a soldier is standing on the outside of an °pe
window', with a red coat and blue troivsers, strongly i
nated by the sun. The white wall opposite the wmdow isium
minated by all the light which enters the window, the mu
light of the sky, the green foliage,_ the red coat, an
blue trousers, so that it has no distinct colour, bu
ture of all these. If we close the shutters, so as to alio
OPTICS.
381
•ics. light to fall upon the wall but the red light of the coat, and
■^the blue light of the trowsers, it will be illuminated only
by a mixture of red and blue light. But if we close all the
shutters SS, and leave only a small hole A, about half an
Fig. 11.
inch in diameter, then it is obvious that the red rays at and
below R, passing through the hole A, will illuminate the
opposite wall at and above r with red light, and the blue
rays the opposite point at and below b with blue light; and
that no red light can fall upon b, and no blue light upon r.
Hence we shall have the red body of the soldier rudely
shadowed out at and above r, and his blue legs at and be¬
low b, this small image being inverted, because the rays
from the upper part of his body fall upon the lower part
of the wall, and the rays from the lower part of his body
upon the upper part of the wall. If we make the hole A
smaller and smaller, the inverted image of the soldier will
become more and more distinct, the colours will be better
separated, and the picture may be made so distinct, that
the features of the individual could be recognised. Now
this separation of the various lights that at first fell upon the
wall is effected solely by diminishing the aperture through
which they pass, for if the aperture is exceedingly small,
then as no two rays can proceed from the same point, they
cannot fall upon or illuminate the same point, and hence each
point of the object is represented on the wall by the colour
of the light w hich it throws out.
As the coloured rays from the soldier are thrown off in
all directions, an inverted image of that soldier may be
formed in any part of space, by excluding all the other rays
except those which pass through a small aperture. It is
manifest, from a simple inspection of fig. 11, that the size of
the inverted image will diminish not only with the distance
of the aperture from the soldier, but also with the distance
of the ground WW from the aperture.
Formation of Images by Concave Mirrors.—The effect
of a concave mirror in forming an image is the same as that
o an aperture ; but it produces a finer effect, and acts upon
a different principle.
Fig. 12.
Let AB, fig. 12, be a concave mirror, C its centre, and Catoptrics.
MN an object placed before it. Of all the rays which flow
from every part of this object in every direction, we shall
consider only those which issue from its extremities MN.
The rays from M radiate in every direction, but those which
fall upon the mirror, namely, the pencil or cone MAB, are
the only ones which require our notice. This pencil of di¬
verging rays will have its focus at a points farther from the
mirror than its principal focus, and in like manner the pen¬
cil NAB will have its focus at some point n, pencils inter¬
mediate between M and N having their foci at points inter¬
mediate between m and n. These points may be found by
projection, as already described, or by the rule given for
diverging rays.
The image mn is obviously an inverted picture of the ob¬
ject MN, and its size is to that of the object as the distance
of the image from the mirror is to the distance of the object
from it, that is, as n\ is to NA, as may be found from pro¬
jection, or from an experimental measurement of the dis¬
tance, when a mirror is actually used.
From the doctrine of reflected diverging rays it fdllows,
and may be proved by projection, that as the object MN
approaches to the mirror, the image mn wall recede from
the mirror, till the object and image meet one another at
the centre C, where they will have the same size. If MN
still moves towards the mirror within C, the image mn will
move outwards beyond C, and the image will now be larger
than the object. If the object comes to the place mn, and
is of the same size as mn, the image of it will be formed at
MN, and will have the same size as MN. If the object goes
still nearer the mirror the image will go still farther off than
MN, increasing in size. When the object reaches the
principal focus half way between C and D, the image will
be infinitely distant; and when the object goes still nearer
the mirror, as in fig. 13, where it is placed at MN, between
the principal focus
Fig. 13.
F and the mirror AB, the rays will diverge in front of the
mirror, and form an inverted virtual image, mn, behind
the mirror. As the image MN approaches the mirror, the
virtual image mn also approaches to it.
If we take a concave mirror of some size, and place before
it any highly luminous or strongly illuminated object, such
as a plaster of Paris cast, we may obtain an interesting ex¬
perimental proof of the preceding results. When the image
is formed in front of the mirror, it will appear suspended in
the air, and the effect of this wfill be greatly heightened n
it is received on a cloud of thin blue smoke raised from a
chafing dish below the place of the image. By considering
that as the object moves from MN to C, fig. 12, the image
mn advances to C, we obtain an explanation of the celebrat¬
ed experiment with the dagger mentioned by John Dee,
in our history of the science, in which a person with a drawn
dagger striking at the mirror is met by another person, viz.,
his own image, returning the stroke.
382
Catoptrics.
OPTICS.
If the object MN is the sun, a small image of his disc will
be formed at mn, in which are collected all the rays of light
which fall upon the surface of the mirror. It will therefore
have such a degree of heat as to melt even the hardest gems
and metals. Such a mirror is called a burning mirror, from
its effects.
Formation of Images by Convex Mirrors.—As convex
mirrors often form a part of household furniture, we are more
familiar with their properties. They always form erect
images of objects, which appear at a distance behind them.
Fig. 14.
If AB is a convex mirror whose centre is C, and principal
focus F, and MN an object placed before it, it is obvious,
from our description of fig. 10, that the diverging pencils
MAB, NBA, will diverge more after reflexion, as if they
came from virtual foci mn behind the mirror, so that our
eye receiving such diverging rays will see an erect image mn
of the object MN placed behind the mirror, and between
its principal focus F and D. If MN approaches to AB, mn
will approach it also, and if MN recedes from the mirror,
mn will also recede from it, their relative sizes varying as
their distances. When the object touches the mirror, the
image also touches it, and they are then exactly of the same
Fig. 15.
Formation of Images by Plane Mirrors—Every person
is familiar with the effects of a plane mirror, or looking-
glass. The image of any object
placed before it is seen behind it
of the same size, in the same po¬
sition, and at the same distance
from the mirror. In order to un¬
derstand this, let AB be the mir¬
ror, MN the object, and Ethe eye
of the observer, situated in any
given position. Rays from M and
N fall upon every part of the mir¬
ror, but MC, MD are the only
ones from M which can reach the
eye E, as all the rest are reflected
either above or below the eye E. In like manner, the rays
NF, NGare the only ones from N which can enter the eye.
The extremity M of the object will therefore be seen in the
direction Em, and the concourse or virtual focus of the re¬
flected rays will, as shewn in fig. 6, be at a point m, so situ¬
ated, that if M Am is at right angles to the mirror, Am will
eye situated so as to receive the reflected
rays, will see a series ofimagesof MN all
arranged symmetrically. Behind AC, for
example, an image mn will be formed,
and behind BC another image M'N'. But
as the rays which form these images again
fall upon the mirrors, we shall see images
of mn and M'N' formed by AC and BC,
thus mV will be the image of mn formed
by BC, and M"N" an image of M'N',
formed by A C. In like manner, m"n" will be the image
of mV formed by AC, and the image of M"N" formed by
BC will also lie upon m"«", so that we shall havetwo images
at m"n!' overlapping each other, and forming one exactly,
if the angle ACB is exactly one-sixth part of 360°, or 60°;
but if it is not, the compound image m!'n" will be seen
double and imperfect. The five images above described,
reckoning the double one at m"n" as only one, will, toge¬
ther with the object MN, to which all the images are equal
and similar, constitute a perfect equilateral triangle, so that
if MN is a coloured and an irregular object, the symmetri¬
cal figure composed by it, and all its images, will be highly
beautiful and agreeable to the eye. If MN, in place of being
perpendicular to the mirror BC, had been inclined to it, no
pair of images would have formed a straight line, as in the
figure, and the combination would have been more beauti¬
ful. This is the principle of the Kaleidoscope, in as far as
the multiplication and arrangement of the images is con¬
cerned; but this instrument has already been so admirably de¬
scribed by an eminent writer, in our article Kaleidoscope,
that we must refer the reader to it for farther information.
Formation of Images by Cylindrical Mirrors.—It is not
easy, in a diagram, to represent the progress of rays in the
formation of an image by a cylindrical mirror. As a cy¬
linder is in one direction a plane mirror, in another a convex
mirror, and in all others an elliptical one, the eccentricity of
the ellipse passing through all degrees, from a circle to a
straight line, different parts of a regular figure presented to
such a mirror will appear of different sizes, and at different
distances behind it. Part of the figure will have the same
form and position as in a plane mirror, part as in a convex
mirror, and the other parts of the image will have interme¬
diate sizes and positions. Hence the image will be com¬
pletely distorted. If the mirror is placed horizontally, the
human face wall appear of the right size from ear to ear, but
contracted, as in a convex speculum, from brow to chin.
Hence, if a distorted picture is properly drawn, and properly
presented to the mirror, that is, if the cylinder is placed
vertically before the picture, the image of the distorted pic¬
ture will be rectified ; the length between the ears will be
contracted into the same proportional size as the shortness
between the brow and the chin, and their shortness will re¬
main unaffected. Such a distorted picture will be after¬
wards represented in the part of this article on Optical In¬
struments.
PART n. DIOPTRICS, OR THE REFRACTION OF LIGHT.
Dioptrics, from fita, through, and onropai, to see, is that
branch of optics which treats of the passage of light throng
transparent bodies, and, consequently, of the changes whic i
it experiences in entering and quitting such bodies.
Sect. I.—On the Refraction of Light.
If we hold a drop of pure water or an irregular piece of clear
cL\,\Z\JL} LIlclL II I.VJ.ZX//I- lO ClL cill^lUo Lv7 1II111 L/i j XX//C’ Yr 111 XI >» t/ llvJlVA. t* vax v. T’ c*^ 1 - VlrP
be equal to AM. For the same reason, the point N will be glass in the sun’s rays, each will have a sort of shadow i ^
seen at n, as far behind the mirror as N is before it; and it opaque bodies. Hence it follows, that light has not P3-88^
is obvious, from the parallelism of Mm and N«, and the
equality of the distance of M, m, and N, n from AB, that mn
is equal to MN.
If two plane mirrors are inclined to each other, as AC,
B, fig. 16, and an object MN placed between them, an
freely through them, and must, therefore, have suffered some
change in its direction, either while entering these
or passing through them, or emerging from them,
change which it has suffered is called refraction, an
nature of this change will be discovered by observing
OPTICS.
383
Fig. 17.
cs. effects produced upon light by transparent bodies, whose
^surface is flat and regular.
For this purpose let AB, fig. 17,
be the surface of water in a ves¬
sel, and RC a ray or pencil of
light proceeding from a candle or
from the sun, through a small
hole, and falling upon the water
at C. Part of this light will be
reflected in the direction Cr, so
that the angle rCP, is equal to
RCP, PQ being a line perpendi¬
cular to the water at C ; but the
greater part of the light will enter
the water at C, and in place of
going straight on to e, it will be bent or refracted at C, or the
ray Rc will be broken bark at C, and proceed in a straight line
to E. Drawing a circle PAQB round C as a centre, and
from the point E, where the refracted ray cuts it, drawing EK
parallel to PQ, it was found by Snellius that CD was to
CE or Ce as 3 to 4, and we have shewn in the history of op¬
tics, that if R/and EF are drawn perpendicular to PQ, CD is
to Ce as EF is to R/l But R/'is the sine of the angle of
incidence RCP, and EF is the sine of the angle EC(4,
which is called the angle of refraction. Now, Snellius dis¬
covered by numerous experiments, that whatever was the
magnitude of the angle of incidence RCP, the magnitude
of the angle of refraction was such that CD was to Ce as 3
to 4, or in a constant ratio. Hence it follows, that the sines
of the angles of incidence and refraction R/and EF, are
in the case of water in the constant ratio of 4 to 3.
Snellius in his manuscripts did not mention the constant
ratio of the sines, but merely the constant ratio of CD and
Ce, which is the same. The ratio of the sines was first
mentioned by Descartes, but there can be no doubt that
Snellius knew it perfectly, and that he preferred the use of
the ratio of CD to Ce, for the following reason : When a
luminous body is placed at E below water, and its light
passes through a small aperture at C, it is found to be re¬
fracted or bent into the direction CR, so as to be seen by
an eye at R, in the direction Re. It will, therefore, be
seen, as it were, elevated from E to D. Hence Snellius
preferred giving the law of this elevation, to any other law
not connected with the phenomena.
As the incident ray RC approaches to the perpendicular
PQ, the refracted ray CE approaches also to the perpendi¬
cular, and CD becomes less and less, and when RC coin¬
cides with PC, or when the ray is incident perpendicularly,
the refracted ray CE will coincide with CQ,, or the inci¬
dent ray will suffer no refraction at C. When the angle of
incidence RCP increases, and RC approaches to the sur¬
face of the water CB, the angle of refraction ECQ, will also
increase, the line CD will increase, and the refracted ray
approach also to the surface CA, and when RC coincides
with BC, Ce will coincide with CA, and no light whatever
will enter the water but it will all be reflected. When Ce
coincides with CA, CD will be 3, and D will coincide with K.
Such are the phenomena and
law of refraction when light passes
from a rare medium such as air,
into a dense medium such as
water, the ray being always re¬
fracted from the perpendicular,
according to the fixed law' already
described. Let us now suppose,
that the ray of light passes from
a dense medium, such as wmter
p aced above AB, into a rare
medium, such as air placed be- ~ ^
ow AB, and let PQ, be a perpendicular to the surface of
e Water at C. It is found by experiment that the ray
Fig. 18.
neither goes straight on to e, nor is refracted towrards the per- Dioptrics,
pendicular as before, but is refracted from the perpendicular
into the direction CE, so that if the line KED is drawn through
E, parallel to PQ, and cutting the original direction of the
ray Re prolonged, in the point D, CD w ill be to CE or Ce as
4 to 3, and in a constant ratio, or R/the sine of the angle of
incidence will be to EF the sine of the angle of refraction in
the constant ratio of 4 to 3. When the ray RC coincides
with PC, so that the angle of incidence is nothing, the
angle of refraction will also be nothing, and the refracted
ray CE will coincide with CQ, the incident ray having
gone straight on without experiencing any refraction ; but
when the angle of incidence increases, and RC approaches
towards BC, the refracted ray CE will approach to CA,
which it will reach long before R reaches B. When CE
reaches CA, the ray RC will no longer emerge from the
water into the air, but will suffer what is called total re¬
flexion at C, and at every angle of incidence beyond that
at which this total reflexion commences, the light will con¬
tinue to be totally reflected till RC coincides with RB.
If we repeat all the above experiments with plate or
crown glass, in place of water, we shall find the very same
phenomena reproduced, with this difference only, that the
constant ratio of CD to Ce, or of the sines R/ to EF, in
place of being as 3 to 4 in one case, (see fig. 17,) and 4 to
3 in the other (see fig. 18,) will be as 2 to 3, and as 3 to 2,
or in the case of water the ratio will be as 1 to 1*333, and
in glass as 1 to 1*500. The number 1*333 is called the
Fig. 19.
index of refraction fox water,
and 1*500 the index of re¬
fraction for glass. In like
manner it is found that the
index of refraction for taba- ^
sheer is 1*111, being less
than that for water; for flint a
glass 1*600, for diamond
2*500, and for chromate of
lead about 3*00. Hence
it follows, that bodies refract
light in different degrees,
measured by "their indices
of refraction. In order to
have an ocular representa¬
tion of the different degrees
of refraction, we have drawn
in fig. 19, the different refracted rays, corresponding to a
given incident ray RC, supposing the surface AB to be
first air, (the medium above it being a vacuum), then
tabasheer, then flint glass, then diamond, and, lastly, chro¬
mate of lead.
When the index of refraction of any body is knowm, we
can easily ascertain the progress of a ray of light which falls
upon such a body, and its direction after quitting the body.
The following example of this we shall give for plate glass.
Let AB be the surface of a piece
of plate glass wrhose index or ratio
of refraction is as 2 to 3, or as l
to 1*50, and let a ray of light RC
fall upon it at C. Prolong RC
to e, and upon a scale of equal
parts take in the compasses CD,
equal to 10 of these parts, and
Ce equal to 15, or CD equal to 2,
and Ce to 3 parts. Upon C as
a centre w ith the radius Ce describe
the semicircle AeB, and through D
draw KDE, perpendicular to AB,
and meeting the semicircle in E, join CE, and CEwdllbe the
refracted ray. When the ray passes from a denser to a rarer
medium, as in fig. 18, Ce is made equal to 10, and CD to
15, and DK being drawn perpendicular to AB, and a line
Fig. 20.
S84
OPTICS.
Dioptrics, drawn from C to the point E, where DK cuts the circle,
' CE will be the refracted ray. This method, which is ob¬
viously much more simple and elegant than when we use
the sines of the angles, is, so far as we know, new, and we
shall use it in future for determining the place of the re¬
fracted ray. It is obvious, that when D and K coincide
with A, fig. 18, DK becomes a tangent to the circle at A,
and the light suffers total reflexion.
If the preceding experiments are repeated with various DicpJ
solids and fluids, it will be found, that the same law of re-^
fraction takes place with all of them, the index of refraction r
varying more or less in each, the refractive power being least
in the gases, and less in fluids, generally speaking, than in
solids, as will be seen in the following table of refractive
powers, collected from various authors, and determined by
methods possessing various degrees of accuracy.
Table of the Refractive Powers of Gases, Fluids, Solids, and Metallic Bodies.
A vacuum.
Index of Refraction.
..1-0000
Hydrogen  1-000138
Oxygen  1-000-272
Atmospheric air  1-000294
Azote 1 *000300
Nitrous gas  1 -000303
Carbonic oxide  1 -000340
Ammonia  1-000385
Carburetted hydrogen  1 -000443
Carbonic acid 1 -000449
Muriatic acid 1-000449
Hydrocyanic acid  1-000451
Nitrous oxide I 000503
Sulphuretted hydrogen 1 000644
Sulphurous acid 1 -000665
Olefiant gas  1 000678
Chlorine 1 -000779
Protophosphuretted hydro¬
gen 1B     .1 *000789
Cyanogen  1 000834
Muriatic ether  1-001095
Phosgene  1001159
Vapour of sulphuret of car¬
bon ••• 1 *001 oOO
Vapour of sulphuric ether,
(boiling point at .35° cen-
tig.)  1-001530
All the preceding observations were made
by M. Dulong, excepting that on atmosphe¬
ric air, which we owe to M. Biot.
FLUIDS AND SOFT SOLIDS.
Ether expanded by heat to
thrice its volume  1-0570 Br.
Volatile new fluid discovered
by Sir D. Brewster in ca¬
vities in topaz   1-1311 Br.
Volatile new fluid discovered
by Sir D. Brewster in ame¬
thyst, at 834° Fahr 1-2106 Br.
Second new fluid discovered
by Sir D Brewsterin topaz 1.2047 Br.
Nitrous oxide, liquified f much less ) p
by pressure  ( than water f
Muriatic acid 1 ) 1
gas, do f nearly l much less / ^
Carbonic acid f equal f than water f
gas, do J 3 3
r J rather less
Chlorine ) liquified by\ than water /
Cyanogen i pressure f perhaps less f
(. ( than water 3
Ho. do. do 1-316 Br.
Sulphurous acid, liquified | same as )
r /
F.
N.
Index of Refraction.
f 1 -336 W.
Vitreous humour of eye ... •< 1 -3394 Br.
U-340
lamb  1-345
pigeon 1 353
by pressure  \ water
Water 1-336 ) W.
C Br.
 fixed line E* 1-33585Fr.
Aqueous humour of the eye 1 -3366 Br.
of haddock 1-341 Br. Y.
Saliva  1 ‘339
Expectorated mucus  1 -339
Salt water 1 ‘343
C 1 -344
Vinegar, distilled •) 1-372
( 1 -347
Acetic acid 1-396
Jelly fish (medusa sequorea)... 1 -345
White of an egg 1-351
, , , 11 -359
— a hens do ji.36i
Port wine 1 '351
Human blood 1-354
Saturated solution of alum
and water 1 '356
Oil of boxwood 1 '356
^ , f 1 358
Ether   \ 1-374
Albumen   ...1-36
Brandy 1-360
Rum 1 '360
, , • S 1 '368
Oil of ambergris  j j .379
Alcohol 1-37
   sp. gr. 0 866 j } |7,
f 1 372
   rectified spirits... -< 1-374
C 1 377
Saturated solution of salt 1'375
Muriatic acid 1-376
i 104 5 1 392
 sp.gr. 1-131 jj.gg!
strong 1-401
highly concen-
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Eul.
H.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br.
Eul.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
He.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
W.
Br Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
N.
C.
He.
Br.
Br. Y.
C.
Br
He.
Br Y.
Br.
trated   1-4098 Bi.
Br.
He.
Index of Refraction.
Solution of potash, sp. gr.
1-416; fixed line E l’40563Fr.
O’410 Br. Y.
Nitric acid, sp. gr. 1-48....
Oil of wine  1-379
Sweet spirit of nitre 1-384
Cornea of a lamb 1 ’386
Malic acid 1-395 Br.
pus  1-404 Br. Y,
_ j. ., j 1-396 Br.
Nitrous acid  ^ j .4Qq Br. y.
Nitric acid 1-406 Br.
Crystalline lens of man, outer
coat  1-3767 Br.
middle coat 1-3786 Br.
centre 1-3970 Br.
lamb’s eye,
outer coat 1 "386 Br. Y.
middle coat 1 428 Br. Y.
centre 1-436 Br. Y.
pigeon 1-406 Br. Y.
.haddock’s eye,
outer coat 1-410 Br. Y.
centre 1-439 Br. Y.
(1 3801 w.
of the ox < l -447 j
( 1 -463 Eu.
Juice of orange peel 1-403 Br. Y.
11-410
1-412
Hydrate of soda, melted by
heat  1-411
Hydrophosphoric acid, do 1-423
Phosphoric acid fluid 1-426
Yolk of a fresh egg 1-428
f 1 -429
1 430
1-435
(. I -440
j 1 -433
• ( 1-449
 1-437
Hydrophosphoric acid, cold | j.442
Spermaceti, melted  j
Oil of wax 1-452
Oil of wormwood 1-453
Sulphuric acid, sp. gr. 1-7
Oil of rhue 
Phosphorous acid..
W.
C.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
N.
He.
W.
Br.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
C.
Br.
boiling 1-4416 M.
Bees’ wax, melted  1 -453
 melting 14503
boiling 1-542
f 1-457
\ 1 -476
( 1 -457
] 1 -467
(1-475
Tallow, melted 1-460
White wax, melted T462
, j 1-467
Oil of poppy \ 1-483
) 1-468
l 1-473
rv. f J 1,469 Br-
Oil of rosemary  ■< j pr_ y.
rvi c ! 1-470 Br.
Oil of spermaceti < j. jyg pri y,
( 1 469) w>
rvi r 1 J T470)
Oil 01 almonds -< j
Cl-483 Br. Y.
Oil of turpentine, rectified ...1-470
Spirit of turpentine, sp. gr.
0-876.. 1-471
1-475
Oil of camomile.
Oil of lavender.
Oil of peppermint.
Br. Y.
M.
W.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
N.
Br.
Br. Y.
C.
w.
He-
f 1 "47^
Oil of turpentine ^ 1 476
Cl-482
f 1-476
common -!
   sp. gr.
0-885, fixed line E 1 -47835Fr-
f 1-467 N-
| 1-469 W-
Oil of olives, sp. gr. 0-913 -{ 1-4-70 Br.
| 1-4705 He.
1 1-476 Br. Y.
f 1-471
Oil of bergamot   ] .473
Oil of birch, distilled from I T470
spermaceti.
1-471
Br.
Br. Y-
Br- Y.
Br.
1 Taken when the temperature was 32° Fahr., and the barometer at 29-922.
* The fixed line E is given in this Table for several substances, as it is in the green space, and nearly the mean ray.
Index of Refraction,
^ Oil of beech? 1*471 Br.
"Oil of juniper  1*473
Butter, cold 1 *474
Palm oil 1 ‘480
„ , f1-475
Oil of rape seed  j (.475
Naphtha 1'475
Essence of lemon 1 *476
„ . f 1477
Oil of dill seed | j >487
i 1477
Oil of thyme j
Oil of cajeput 1478
Naples soap 1 *483
Oil of mace, melted 1479
Oil of spearmint { 1481
1490
\ 1*4
Oil of lemon j j .481
of pennyroyal | j.4
Oil
Linseed oil, sp. gr. 0-932.
•489
482
1485
1-482
. 1485
Oil of savine 1 487
. 1 1482
Train oil 1 491
Oil of wormwood  j |
Castoro11 {l485j
Florence oil 1490
Oil of fenugreek   | J >4gg
Oil of hyssop j J
Windsor soap 1 •487
r 1490
Nut oil, perhaps impure.... ■< 1 491
( 1 507
Tallow, cold | J
Oil of caraway seeds  | j
m r ■ ( 1490
Uil ot marjoram -j j
! Oil of nutmeg j j
Oil of angelica j J
Bees’ wax 1-507 )
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
N.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
. Br. Y.
cold 1492 j
~~— white wax, cold 1 '535
Balsam of sulphur j j _4jj7
Honey 1495
Grass oil 1496
freacle 1-500
Oil of beech nut 1-500
( 1 *50° )
Oil of rhodium  ^ 1-505 J
( 1 -503 )
1-503 y
Br.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
He.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br.
Br. Y.
spermaceti, cold  4
( i 'UOO w .
_ C 1.503 7^ v
Ju of pimento -] l -510 } -tsr* x*
C 1-507 Br.
Oil of amber. f 1-505 W.
birdlime...... 1*506 | ®r'
Oil of sweet fennel seeds... { } f ^r*
( 1-507 Br. Y.
lalsam of capivi. ^ l-oO/ W.
P    l 1-515 Br. Y.
t j ( 1 *528 W.
"dna(la balsam 0 i -532 Br. Y.
C1-549 Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Eu.
Br. Y.
Eu.
W.
Br. Y.
Br. Y.
Eu.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Eu.
Oil of cinnamon.
OPTICS.
Index of Refraction.
Oil of cinnamon 1 -508 Br.
Oil of mace 1 -519 )
f 1 -522 j
Oil of sassafras  -) j
C 1-544
Balsam of Gilead 1 -5-29
f 1 514
Oil of tloves 2 1 -535
C 1 *539
Oil of cashew nut 1-536
( 1*519
Oil of anise seed  1-536
C 1-601
Petroleum 1-544
Oil of tobacco 1-547 )
Balsam of styrax 1 -584 j
f 1 -534
) 1-589 )
 ) 1 -604 C Br. Y.
L 1 -632 )
Balsam of Peru, mean 1-600 ) ^
Essentialoilof bitter almonds 1-603 } “r*
{ ^ G26 ) g y
Oil of cassia   ■< J '
(l 647 f-Br.
Sulphuret of carbon I -678 j
Muriate of antimony, vari¬
able, about 1 8 W.
SOLIDS.
Tabasheer from Vellore 1-1111 Br.
Nagpore 1-1454 Br.
ditto 1 1503 Br.
whitest kind 1-1825 Br.
f 1-3085 Br.
 (1*310 W.
Cr),oli,e ----I US!
Carbonate of potash, lowest
refr 1 -379
Gluten of wheat, dried 1-426
 {S
Alum 1-457
 sp. gr. 1-714  ^
Ice
Br.
1 -488
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br.
W.
W.
Br. Y.
Sulphate of magnesia | J*^ j Br.,
Borax,sp.gr. 1-7149 { ^C*
Pluellite 1-47 W.
Gum Arabic, sp. gr. 1-375... 1467 N.
Gmelinite 1-474 J R
Opal, partly hydrophanous ...1479 | "r*
Arseniate of soda, least  1479 ( „
   greatest ...1481 f a*
Sulphate of ammonia and
magnesia 1483
Ca,"phor j 1*196 Br. Y.
   sp. gr. 1-0996  1-500 C. N.
Obsidian 1488 Br.
Iceland spar, ext 1-488 W.
 ditto  14833 M.
fixed line E, do. 1-4887 Ru.
ord 1-657 W.
ord 1-6543 M.
fixed line E, ord 1 -6636 Ru.
  ord 1-667 N.
  ord 1-665
Sulphate of iron, greatest 1-494
Sulphate of potash j J
Rochelle salt, mean, green... 1-4985 He.
   red 1-4929 He.
  tartrate of potash
and soda 1 *515 Br.
Br.
Br.
W.
Br.
385
V n r 1 index of Refraction. Dioptrics-
Yolk of an egg, dry J -500 Br. Y. \ P
Triple oxalate of chromium
and potash, least 1-506 ) ^
> Br.
greatest ...1-605
W.
Glass plate, English 1-500 »
  — French 1-50 f
   English, ext. ) 1-5133 He.
redray / 1-514 Bose.
 Dutch  1.517 )
 crown  1-525J W*
~~— crown, prism Dollond,
ext. red ray 1.526 He.
 crown, prism Dollond, 1-5109 Br.
 crown, Fraunhofer, No.
13, sp. gr. 2-535, fixed line
E> 1-5314 Fr.
 do., No. 9, fixed line,
sp. gr. 2-535 1 -5330 Fr.
  Fraunhofer, sp. gr.
2-756, fixed line E,  1-5631 Fr.
bottle 1-582
Starch, dry 1 504
Stilbite 1-508
Gum scammony 1-510
Gum Arabic 1-512
•— not quite dry {
Human cuticle 
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
{!'!!?}
Nitre, least index 1-335 Br.
 greatest 1-514 Br.
—™ sp.gr. 1-9  1 -524 N.
Dantzic vitriol, sulphate iron 1.515 N.
Nadelstein from Faroe 1-5153 Br.
Mesotype, least 1-516 )
   greatest 1-522 4 Br.
Sulphate of zinc, ordin. refr. T517 3
Myrrh gum  j Br' Y'
Tartaric acid, least 1 -518 C Br.
 greatest 1 -575 3
Wavellite 1-52
Gum dragon, (tragacantb), | |.gg°
Glass—borax, 1 ; silex, 2 T528
j 1-521
Gum or shell lac  ' 1 -525 1
(. 1 528 j
C 1-524
Caoutchouc  -] 1 -534
C 1 -557
Selenite, sulphate of lime 1 -525
W.
Br.
W.1
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
W.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
greatest
refraction  1-536
A selenites, sp. gr. 2 252 1-488
Citric acid 1-527
Leucite l -527
Crystalline of ox and fish,
dried I -530
f 1-531
Pitch  J 1*581
 ) 1-586
C 1-58
Sulphate of copper, least f 1-531 1
refraction    j 1.552 J
Br.
N.
Br.
Br.
W.
W.
Br.
Br.
Br.
Br. Y-
Br.
Olibanum gum i ^
^ 1 *54?4
Glass of phosphorus, phos¬
phoric acid fused 1-532 )
Solid phosphoric acid 1 -544 C Br.
Glass of borax, fused borax... 1 532 3
Manna 1-533 Br. Y.
Arragonite, ext. index I 5348 M.
   ord 1-6931 M.
 1st axis of elasticity 1-5326 Ru.
 2d ditto 1-6863 Ru.
 3d ditto 1-6908 Ru.
Arseniate of potash 1-535 W.
3 c
VOL. XVI.
Dr. Wollaston informed us that he had mistaken Dragon’s Blood for Gum Dragon.
386
Dioptrics.
Fahl unite .1-535
1-535
Elemi gum  1 547
' 550
1-535
549
568
35
546
1 535
549
■553
536
1 541
Mastic gum ,
Anime gum
Copal gum.
Index of Refraction.
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
Br. Y-
W.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br. Y.
W.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
Br. Y
Br. Y.
Br.
f 1-5
( It
fl-S
Jl-i
[l-l
5 1-53
’ l 1-54
li:
(V
Sugar, white.
   melted 1-548
Felspar   1 536
Mellite, least 1 '538 }
 greatest 1 '556 ^
T . | 1-538
Jumper gum j j 541
Carbonate of barytes, least...1 540
Boxwood  1 -542
Colophony 1 543
Apophyllite, 1 -5431
Carbonate of strontian, least 1 -543 4
        greatestl-700 > Br.
Dichroite, lolite  1-544 )
Rock salt, sp. gr. 2-143....
Chio turpentine, mean 1-551
Sagapenum gum 1-545
Turpentine  1-545
Burgundy pitch, mean 1-558
Gum thus, mean 1-550
Rock crystal, ord 1 -547
   ext 1 -562
  — ditto 1 -563
Amethyst 1-562
Quartz, ord. ray 1-5484 M.
 ext 1-5582 M.
ord., line E 1-5471 R.
ext. ditto 1 -5563 R.
Amber 1-547
 sp. gr. 1 -04 1 -556
Resin, mean 1 554
Glue, nearly hard I -553
Chalcedony 1 -553
Comptonite 1-553
^ i 1-559
Hyposulphate of lime, mean
red ray 1-561
   mean green 1 -566
Dragon’s blood 1 562
TT f 1 -565
Horn—  i 158
Wernerite, ext 1 563~]
   ord D594 j
Baryto-calcite, least 1-565 |> Br.
  greatest 1-701 |
Glass, pink coloured 1-570J
Assafcetida D575
m 1-576
Flint glass, var. specimens
Br.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
W.
He.
Br.
Br.
' Br. Y.
Br.
W.
Br.
W.
W.
W.
N.
Br.
Br. Y.
Br.
Br.
Br. Y.
W.
He.
He.
Br. Y.
Br.
W.
OPTICS.
Index of Refraction.
Prussiate of potash 1-586 Br.
Anhydrite, ord 1-5772 Bi.
™.™.™™„ext 1-6219 Bi.
Gum ammoniac 1 "585
Hyposulphite of lime, least... 1-583
     greatest 1 -628
Emerald 1-585
Benzoic gum, mean D591
Tortoise shell 1*591
f 1 -596
Guiacum gum   1-600
(1-619
Beryl 1 '598
Balsam of Tolu D60
    mean 1 618
Siliceo-carbonate ot zinc and
iron, least  D6005 Br.
   greatest 1-8477 Br.
Hopeite, ord DOOl'l
Glass, ruby red 1601 |
Meionite 1 -606 Br.
Iron sinter ...1-606 |
Glass, purple coloured  1-608 J
Resin of jalap 1-608 Br. Y.
Hyposulphite of strontian,
least ‘SI Re.
   greatest 1-651 J
Topaz, colourless 1-6102 Bi.
. 1st axis of elasticity... 1-6145 Ru.
   2d ditto ditto 1-6167 Ru.
 3d ditto ditto 1 -6241 Ru.
 bluish, from Cairngorm 1-624 Br.
 Brazil, ord 1-6323 Bi.
  ext T6401 Bi.
 blue Aberdeen 1 -636 ^
 yellow 1-638 V Br.
    red 1 -652 )
Siliceo-carbonate of zinc from
Aachen, least 1-6173 Br.
   — greatest 1 -6395 Br.
, rr,rr from Bohemia, least 1-600
greatest I -848
t 1-5
]!•£
( 1-5
Br. Y.
Br.
He.
W.
He.
Bose.
Br.
He.
578
583
f 1-584
j 1-594
extreme red <( 1-596
| 1-601
L1 -604Br. Bose
  Fraunhofer, No. 3,
line E 1.6145 Fr.
No. .30, line E, 1 -6374 Fr.
No. 23, ditto 1-6405 Fr.
No. 13, ditto 1-6420 Fr.
Glass, bright green,  ]-6l5\ t>
Castor,  1 -623 j
Sulphate of barytes, ord T6352 M.
ext  1 -6468 M.
ord 1-6201 Bi.
ord. yel¬
low, green rays 1-6460 He.
  — another
specimen, redrays   1 6459 He.
yellow, green rays 1 6491
do-topazus, sp. gr. 4-27....T643 N.
    do. do...1 646 W-
Muriate of ammonia 1-625 Br.
Aloes 1-634 Br. 1
Glass, opal coloured 1 635 Br.
Euclase, ord D6429 Bi.
    ext 1-6630 Bi.
Sulphate of strontian ,...1-649
Glass, hyacinth red 1647
Mother-of-pearl  1-653
Spargelstein T657
Epidote, least 1-661 }■ Br.
  greatest 1-703
Tourmaline 1 -668
Chrysolite, least 1 660
 greatest 1 -685
Chioruret of sulphur 1-67 p
Nitrate of bismuth, least T67 C He.
   greatest 1’89 )
Glass, orange coloured I -695 1 t>
Boracite D701 J r’
Index of Refraction.
Glass, tinged red with gold...1 •715']
 deep red 1 729 |
Euchroite, least T709 }- Br.
Nitrate of silver, least 1-729 |
  greatest....!-788J
Hyposulphite of soda and
silver, least 1 -735 He.
     greatest 1 -785 He.
Axinite 1-735-1
Nitrate of lead T758 / «
Cinnamon stone 1-759 C r’
Chrysoberyl 1-760 J
C 1-756 He.
Spinelle K 1-761 Br.
(1-812 W.
Felspar, greatest refr D764 Br.
Sapphire, white P768 W.
   — blue 1-794 Br.
u . i 1-768 He.
Kubellite    y
Ruby 1-779 Br.
Zircon, orange coloured 1-782 Br.
Glass lead, (flint) 1 "787 Ze.
Pyrope 1-792 Br.
Labrador hornblende 1"80 He.
Arsenic 1 "84 W.
Carbonate of lead, least 1-813 Br.
greatest...!-084 Br.
Garnet  1-815 Br.
Borate of lead, fused, extreme
red ray 1-866 He.
Sulphate of lead 1 ■925 Br.
Withamite, least 1931 Br.
greatest 1-960 Br.
Glass, lead 2—sand 1  1-987 W.
Zircon 1-95 W.
least refraction 1-961 Br.
greatest ditto 2-015 Br.
f 1 958 Hair
c , , J 2-008 Br. 1
Sulphur, native < 2.04 w.
(.2-115 Br.
   melted 2-148 Br.
Calomel 1-970
Tungstate of lime, least 1 '970 > Br.
  greatest....2-129)
Glass, lead 3—flint 1  2-028 Ze.
Scaly oxide of iron 2-1 Y.
‘1-889 N.
Diop.
Glass of antimony.
Silicate of lead, atom to
atom, extreme red 2-123
f 2-125
Phosphorus, -j 2.204
Blende 2-260
Nitrite of lead, biaxal, in six-
sided prisms, ord. ray 2-322
(2-439
Diamond, sp. gr. 34 -j 2-470
  brown coloured... ^2-775
5 from 2'04
Plumbago | t0 2-44 .
Chromate of lead 2-479]
 another kind, j
least refraction  2'503 |
 another kind, do.2-508 Br.
   another kind,
greatest refraction 2-97l
another kind, do..2'926j
W.
Octohedrite 2"500i
Realgar, artificial 2"549 J-
Br.
Red silver ore.
2-564 )
H, Hauks-
calculated the indices from Sir David Brewster’s observations.
Deduced from its polarising angle, which was 65°.
OPTICS.
387
i ’s. If light is regarded as consisting of material particles, it
must move with greater velocity in bodies than in vacuo,
in the proportion of the sines to which the refraction of
these bodies is proportional. The power of bodies, there¬
fore, to refract and reflect light, must be inversely propor¬
tional to their specific gravities ; for if a body of small spe¬
cific gravity has the same index of refraction as a body of
great specific gravity, the former must have exercised a
greater absolute force upon light than the latter.
On the hypothesis of emission, it has been shewn by Sir
Isaac Newton, that the absolute refractive power of bodies
is proportional directly to the square of the cosine of their Dioptrics,
maximum angle of refraction, and inversely to their specific
gravity; that is, calling R the absolute refractive power, m
the index of refraction, and D the density of the body, we
m 2 1
shall have R=——, a formula by which the following
table of absolute refractive powers has been computed. The
numbers marked Dulong, were, we believe, computed by
Sir John Herschel, from the refractive indices given by
Dulong in the preceding table.
Table of Absolute Refractive Powers.
Index of Refraction.
Tabasheer 0-0976 ^
Cryolite 0-2742 C Brewster.
Fluor spar 0-3426 )
Index of Refraction.
Dulong.
Dulong.
Newton.
Dulong.
Biot.
Newton.
Oxygen 0-3799
Sulphate of barytes.... | Q.ggy^
Sulphurous acid gas 0-44.55 '
Nitrous gas   0-4491 j
( 0-4528
Air ] 0-4530
( 0-5208
Carbonic acid gas 0-4537 |
Azote 0-4734 > Dulong.
Chlorine 0-4813 J
Glass of antimony 0-4864 Newton.
Nitrous oxide 0-5078 4 ^ ,
Phosgen  0 5188/Dulon£-
Selenite 0-5386 Newton.
Carbonic oxide 0-5387 Dulong.
Quartz  0-5415 Mains.
Common glass 0 5436 \ Newton-
Muriatic acid gas 0-5514 Dulong.
Sulphuric acid 0-6124 Newton.
cx,Qr 5 0 6424 Malus.
Calcareous spar j 0-6536 Newton.
IVUro j 0 6440 Brewster.
 * »™I!0 Newton.
Muriate of soda f 07100 Brewster.
Alum 0-6570 Newton.
Nitric acid 0-6676 Brewster.
Borax 0-6716 Newton.
Hydrocyanic acid 0-7366 Dulong.
Ruby 0-7389 Brewster.
Sulphate ofiron  0-7551 Newton.
Muriatic ether vapour. ...0 7552 Dulong.
Brazilian topaz 0 7586 Brewster.
Rain water 0-7845 Newton.
Flint glass, mean .0-7986 Brewster.
Cyanogen ,..0 8021 7 n ,
Sulphuretted hydrogen...0-8419 } u ong.
Gum Arabic 0 8574 Newton.
Sulphuret of carbon va- 'j
pour  0-8743 |
Sulphuric ether vapour...0-9138 |> Dulong.
Protosulphuretted hydro¬
gen 0-9680J
Index of Refraction.
Ammonia 1 -0032 )
Alcohol, rectified 1-0121 | Uulong-
Carbonate of potash 1-0227
Chromate of lead 1 0436
Olefiant gas 1 0654
Muriate of ammonia 1-0788
Carburetted hydrogen.... 1-2204
Camphor 1-2551
Oil of olives 1-2607
Oil of linseed 1-2819
Spirit of turpentine 1-3222 3
Bees’ wax 1 -3308
Amber  ...1 3654
Octohedrite  1-38161
Bi sulphuret of carbon...1-4-294 J
Diamond  1 4566
Oil of cinnamon 1-4944'}
Oil of cassia1 1 6184 1
Realgar 1 -6666
Ambergris 1-7000
Sulphur 2-2000
Phosphorus 2 8857J
Hydrogen 3-0953 Dulong.
| Brewster.
Dulong.
Brewster.
Dulong.
> Newton.
Malus.
Newton.
Brewster.
Newton.
Brewster.
The results given in the preceding tables are susceptible
of increased accuracy, not only by taking accurate mea¬
sures of the indices of refraction of the bodies, in relation
to the fixed line E of the spectrum, but also by obtaining
more accurate measures of their specific gravities.
Sect. II.—On the Refraction of Rays by bodies with plane
and spherical surfaces.
Having shewn how to find the refracted ray, when the
incident ray is given, and the constant ratio of refraction
which belongs to any transparent body, we may trace the
progress of rays through bodies of any form whatever, pro¬
vided we have the lines given which are perpendicular to
the surface of the body at the points where the rays fall
upon it. In all spherical surfaces this perpendicular is a
line drawn through the point of incidence and the centre
of the spherical surface; and in all other cases it is a line
perpendicular to a line touching the surface at the point of
incidence.
The names of prisms and lenses have been given to those
transparent bodies which are most useful in optical experi¬
ments, and in the construction of optical instruments. Sec¬
tions of these different refracting bodies are shewn in the
annexed diagram.
Fig. 21.
B O DEPGHI
1. A prism, represented in the figure at A, is a solid
piece of glass, having three plane surfaces, AR, AS, RS,
which are called its refracting faces, the light passing
through any two of them.
2. A plane lens, B, is a lens, the centre of whose surfaces
are infinitely distant. Its sides are therefore parallel like a
piece of plane glass.
3. A spherical lens, C, is a lens whose surfaces have the
same centre, and is consequently a sphere or a part of one.
4. A double convex lens, D, has two convex spherical
surfaces, whose centres are on opposite sides of the lens. It
is said to be equaily convex when the radii of its two sur¬
faces are equal ; and unequally convex when the radii are
unequal.
5. A plano-convex lens, E, is a lens which has one of its
surfaces flat or plane, and the other convex.
6. A double concave lens, shewn at F, is a solid bounded
by two concave spherical surfaces. It is equally concave
when its surfaces have the same radius, and unequally con¬
cave when they have different radii.
7. A piano concave lens, G, has one of its surfaces con¬
cave and the other plane.
8. A meniscus lens, H, has one of its surfaces concave
and the other convex, the two surfaces meeting if continued.
The convexity predominates, and it acts as a convex lens.
9. A concavo-convex lens, I, differs from the meniscus
only in the circumstance that the two surfaces do not meet
if continued. Hence the concavity predominates, and the
lens acts as a concave one.
1 Assuming the specific gravity to be 1-044, the same as oil of cinnamon.
388
OPTICS.
Dioptrics. 10. A cylindrical lens is shewn
'at M; it is merely a cylinder of
glass, or any other transparent
body.
11. A •piano-cylindrical lens,
shewn at N, has one of its surfaces
plane and the other cylindrical.
12. A transverse cylindrical
lens, shewn at O, resembles two
piano-cylindrical lenses, plane
transversely, or with their lengths
at right angles to each other, and
joined together by their plane sur¬
faces ai a b c d.
Refraction through Prisms.
Fig. 22.
As prisms are essential parts of optical instruments, and
are of peculiar value in experiments on light, it is necessary
to have a correct idea of the phenomena which they exhibit,
in refracting rays of light.
Let ABE be a prism of two equal sides BA, BE, and
made of glass whose index of refraction is 1-500, or whose
ratio of refraction is
as 1-500 to 1, or as
3 to 2, and let IIC
be a ray incident on
its first surface at
C. It is required
to determine the
path of this ray after
it has suffered re¬
fraction at both its
surfaces AB, BE.
From any scale set
off CG equal to 10
divisions, and CR equal to 15, and through G draw GD per¬
pendicular to AC. From the point C, and on the line CD, set
off CD equal toCR, and through DandCdrawDCc,—Cc will
be the refracted ray. From a scale on which Cc is 10, set off
CcGequal to 15 parts, and drawing gd perpendicular to BE,
make coequal to cC, and draw through d and c the line dcr,—
cr will be the path of the ray refracted by the second sur¬
face BE of the prism. When the radius Cc will not reach
the perpendicular gd, the ray Cc will not be refracted at all,
but will suffer total reflexion. When total reflexion com¬
mences, the point d will fall in the line EB, and the per¬
pendicular gd will touch the circle described with the radius
cC round c, at the point d. At all greater angles of inci¬
dence the ray Cc will be totally reflected.
The sine of the angle of incidence at c, when the ray
Cc is not able to emerge from the prism, but suffers total
reflexion, will be found in the case of plate glass (whose
Fig. 23.
index of refraction is
1-500), to be equal to or -, or
1-500 3
0-666 ; the angle corresponding to which is 41° 48'.
The total reflexion which thus takes place within trans¬
parent bodies, is a very remarkable and highly interesting
phenomenon. The light is far more brilliant than what is
obtained from the brightest silver, which gives more reflect¬
ed light than any other metal; and it possesses curious phy¬
sical properties, which will be explained in a subsequent
part of the article. The phenomenon of total reflexion may
be finely seen by filling a tumbler-glass with water, and
placing it above the head so as to see the image of a candle
reflected from the lower side of its surface when at rest.
The brilliancy of the image surpasses that of every other
species of reflexion. Diamonds, precious stones, and the
glass ornaments of chandeliers, &c. &c., are often cut so as
to send to the eye light that has suffered total reflexion. Di0»,
The brilliant white lustre of dew-drops arises from totally
reflected light.
To a person under perfectly still water, the vision of ob¬
jects either out of the water or on the bottom, must be very
singular. The whole visible heavens, in place of being a
hemisphere, will appear like a cone, with an angle of 97°.
“ All objects,” says Sir John Herschel, “ down to the hori¬
zon, will be visible in this space, and those near the horizon
much distorted and contracted in dimensions, especially in
height. Beyond the limits of this circle will be seen the
bottom of the water and all subaqueous objects, reflected,
and as vividly depicted, as by direct vision. In addition to
these peculiarities, the circular space above mentioned will
appear surrounded with a perpetual rainbow of faint but
delicate colours.” In order to understand this, let MN be
the surface of the water, and E an eye at the bottom. Let
DE be the direction in which
a horizontal ray ND, would be Fig. 24.
refracted at D, and CE the ^ ^
direction in which MC would
be refracted at C. Then it is
clear that all objects on the
horizon will be seen in the di¬
rections ED, EC, and as the
same is true in every azi¬
muth, ACEDB will be a section of the cone, which will
comprehend within it all objects in the visible horizon.
The sun and moon will appear to rise at A and set at B.
They will have the appearance of ovals, with their smaller
diameters vertical. They will quit the horizon, and descend
to it again very slowly, as the angle of refraction varies very
slowly from 90° of incidence downwards. If a man fishing
near N stands up to his knees in water, his knees will just
be seen above the water, in the direction EB, and his body
standing within the cone BE A, while his legs will be seen
bright, and inverted in the direction of about EN, by the
total reflexion of the lower surface MN, of the water. If we
draw Cc and De?, making the angles cCE, JDE, equal to
CED, then all objects in the water, to the right hand of d, and
to the left hand of c, will be seen by total reflexion from the
inner surface MN of the water, in the space surrounding the
cone AEB. An object at c will be seen by reflexion from
the point C, in the direction EC, and an object at d by reflex¬
ion fi’om D; but none of the objects between c and d will
be seen by reflexion to the eye at E. Hence we see the
reason why the fisherman’s legs, like other objects under
water, will be seen by total reflexion in a direction near to
EN. The circular rainbow, or rather fringe of colours,
which separates the objects out of the water from those
which are beneath it, and seen by total reflexion, is that
band of colour which always bounds light that is totally re¬
flected.
It frequently happens, both in optical experiments and in
optical instruments, that light is refracted at the surfaces of
two media placed in contact, such as water and glass, and in
compound lenses of flint and crown glass, either touching one
another or united by a cement. In all such cases, it is necessary
to determine the refraction which light experiences at their
refracting surface. It is found by experiment, and may be
proved theoretically, that the index of refraction for the sepa¬
rating surfaces of media is equal to
refractive, divided by the least re¬
fractive medium. Thus, the in¬
dex of refraction for the separat¬
ing surface of water and plate glass
will be or 1'122, which is
r33b
nearly the same as that of tabasheer.
In ord r, therefore, to find the re¬
fracted ray in this case, let MN be
Dio
OPTICS.
cs. a parallel stratum of water resting upon a piece of parallel
glass OP. A ray RC, will be refracted in the direction
Cc', and may be found by the method formerly given. In
order to find the change produced in the direction of the
ray at d, take a point/, in the line cT, so that if c'C is
H22, c'ff' shall be 1-000, then drawing y'd' perpendicular
to the refracting surface, make c'd' equal to c'C ; and hav¬
ing drawn through the points d', c' the line d'cY, c'c will
be the refracted ray. This ray being incident on the second
surface of the glass plate at c, will be refracted in a direc¬
tion cr, which may be found by the method formerly de¬
scribed. It will be found both by projection and by ex¬
periment, namely, by looking through the compound plate
MNOP, and observing any distant object, that the finally
refracted ray cr is parallel to the incident ray RC.
If the angle RCA, fig. 23, the complement of the angle of
incidence, is increased, the point c, where the refracted ray
emerges from the side BE of the prism, approaches to E,
and the angle rcE diminishes, till at a particular inclination
of the incident ray, the angle RCA will become equal to
the angle rcE. When this happens, the refracted ray Cc,
will be equally inclined to the refracting faces of the prism
BA, BE, and will be parallel to the base AB. This will be
obvious by considering Cc as an internal ray incident on
both sides of the prism, and at equal angles to each, in
which case it will suffer equal degrees of refraction, and
therefore be equally inclined to the refracting faces.
If the eye is placed at v to receive the refracted ray cr,
it will see the luminous body, such as a candle, from which
the ray RC proceeds^ in the direction rc, and the angle
which this ray rc forms with RC, will be the deviation of
the ray produced by the refraction of the prism. Let us
now suppose the candle to be fixed, and the prism turned
icund, so that the angle RCA may be increased, it will be
found experimentally, and may be easily proved by projec¬
tion, that the deviation of the ray rc is least when the angle
KCA is equal to rcE, or when Cc is parallel to AE, and in¬
creases when Cc deviates on either side from this mean po¬
sition. Now this position may be easily ascertained by
p acing the eye behind the face BE, and turning the prism
till the refracted image of the candle, or other object, be-
comes stationary. When this takes place, Cc is parallel to
Ah or CcA is an equilateral triangle; and it may easily
be shewn, by similarity of triangles, or by projection, that
IIP finer p ~ ^
389
which the image of the candle becomes stationary, the in-Dioptrics
dex of refraction will be found as before.
Refraction through Plane Glasses.
Every person is acquainted with the fact that light which
passes through plane glasses, or glasses which have their
two surfaces flat and parallel, like MN, in the annexed
figure, does not suffer any very perceptible change, either
Fig. 27.
in its general direction, or in the parallelism, convergency,
or divergency of its rays. If AB, A'B', for example, be
two parallel rays incident on the plate of glass MN, they will
suffer equal refractions at B, B', because they are incident at
the same angles, and the refracted rays BC, B'C', will there¬
fore be parallel. These parallel rays again falling upon the
second surface at C, C' will suffer equal refractions there,
and will emerge parallel in the lines CD, C'D'. Hence we
conclude that parallel rays after transmission, at any obli¬
quity, through a plane glass, will emerge parallel. But as
the rays DC, D C , will, to an eye at D and D', be seen in
the directions DCa, D/C/a', their absolute directions in space
are altered, and the difference between the real and the visible
direction will increase with the obliquity of the rays AB,
A'B', and with the thickness of the plate of glass. If we
suppose MN to be part of a looking-glass, silvered on its
lower side CC', then the refracted rays BC, B'C', will, after
i eflexion at C,^C', in the directions Cc, C'c', be refracted at
c, c', into the parallel directions c<7, c'd. But the rays AB,
A'B', will be reflected, though in a much fainter degree, in
the directions A&, A. b, so that an eye placed so as to receive
these rays, will see the bright image reflected from the sil-
fj,p C "y piujeuuun, uiHi vered surface, in the direction dc, and the faint ima«-e re-
L m k {/the mil “ r ^ABE "Sf"* “ '“f fected/rom fost «■*&<*, to the direction 6B, at a dis-
ft,,. T J tne prism, oi 2 ABE. Hence we obtain the tance from each other depending on the obliauitv of the
l aviml meT15 G/U ul01 findmg the index of refraction, after reflexion, and on the thickness of the plate. A candle for
ofl- f, easured>w Ah a goniometer or otherwise, the angle example, will be seen double at a short distance from’the
£Sne S° 'iCT1?'emfnt0< ,thersleRCA- Dh*fe mlrrOT; a larger object, in order to bl seen donble!
uwle of th > * g 6 0i, by the sine of half the must be viewed at a greater distance. At great obliquities
•efraction PriSm’ ^ ^ qUOtient wdl be the index of and when the objects are very luminous, such as gas-burn-
F , • . . ers, &c., other images will be seen
. . PurPOse of measuring indices of refraction, we do by reflexions at c, c', and subse-
arps ,qT regu fr PJ^ms of considerable size. Two small quent reflexions from the other
'e S^aiHilaial tolerably polished, are sufficient for this side of the plate. If the two
'111 D0S(\ I „ 0 n.i tL
Fig. 28,
>urpose. They need never be
arger than the pupil of the eye, and
nil answer well enough if they are
*1 tne size of a pin’s head. If we wish
0 measure the index of refraction
fluids, we have only to place a
mp of the fluid at the angular point £
, of twopieces of parallel glass fixed
aWle by a Piece of wood or
ax Enough of the fluid for
*e purpose will be retained, by
faces of the plate are not exactly
parallel, the bright and faint ima¬
ges above described, will change
their distance, sometimes over¬
lapping each other, and some¬
times separating, according to
the part of the plate on which
they fall, though the angle of in¬
cidence may remain the same.1
When diverging and converg¬
ing rays pass through a plane
miliary nH,.o . m9 rays pass through a plane
ioan-leBAF Til -e p0mJ and after measuring glass, their degree of divergency
» AE of the prism, and the angle of incidence at and convergency is altered by it,
' rtie!6 ^differed frolTaufcel ^ t0 US * Semleman> who valued it on account of its remarkable pro-
m uuui au tne rest m nis possession, only in its being the worst. 1
390
OPTICS.
Dioptrirs. and also the position of the points of divergency and conver- Hence we have for different refractive bodies the follow-Dhp;
      t a RR' ho ci npnril nf ravs diverffinsr from A, and mg results .—
'gency. Let ABB' be a pencil of rays diverging from A, and
incident upon the plane glass MN. The emergent rays
CD, C'D', will, after their second refraction at C, C', proceed
as if they had come from the point 6, and their angle of di¬
vergency will now be 6BBr. Hence a plane glass biings
the divergent point of diverging rays nearer to it, and in¬
creases the angle of divergency. For the same reason, if
D&D' is a converging beam of light, its point of convergency
b, will be removed to A by the plane glass, or its angle of
convergency will be diminished.
When there is only one refraction, as in the case of stand¬
ing water, whose surface is BB', and bottom GC', then the
very reverse will be the result. A diverging beam ABB
will have its divergent point removed to a, and a converging
beam would have it brought nearer the surface.
Refraction of Rays by Spheres.
When a ray of light falls upon a curved surface of any
kind, the infinitely small part of the surface which it occu¬
pies may be considered as coinciding with the tangent to
the surface, or with a plane surface touching the curve at
the point of incidence. When the surface is spherical, tins
tangent plane is perpendicular to the radius, or the line
drawn from the centre of the sphere to the point of inci¬
dence. Hence it is always given when the centre is given.
Let MN be the section of a sphere of glass, whose index
of refraction is 1*500, as before, RS/ a ray passing through
Feet.
...301
...153
...141
... 36
... 0
Inches.
11
Fig. 29-
ins results
Index of refraction.
Tabasheer, FSisto ES as 1*111 is to 0*222
Water, FS is to ES as T336 is to 0*672
Glass, FS is to ES as 1*500 is to 1*000
Zircon, FS is to ES as 2*000 is to 2*000
Hence it appears that in the case of zircon, and all
other bodies whose index of refraction is 2*00, the focus
F falls exactly on the posterior surface of the sphere at E,
and it therefore follows that in diamond, phosphorus, &c.,
and all bodies whose refractive power exceeds 2*000, the
principal focus falls within the sphere, the focus advancing
from E towards S, as the index of refraction increases, and
reaching the centre of the sphere S, when the index of re¬
fraction becomes infinite.
It may be interesting to trace the distances E of the prin¬
cipal focus F from the sphere, in bodies of various refractive
powers, supposing the radius of sphere to be one inch, and
placed in vacuo.
Distances E F.
Hydrogen, 3623 inches 
Oxygen, 1838 —  
Atmospheric air, ...1701 —   
Phosgen,  432 —-  
Tabasheer,  4  
Water,  0*98—  
Glass,  0*50 —  
Zircon,  0*00 —  
Diamond, within the sphere.
In spheres of diamond and other substances of high re¬
fractive power, a refracted ray Cc may fall so obliquely
upon the inner surface of the sphere, that it would he totally
reflected, and would therefore be carried round the surface
of the sphere, without the possibility of making its exit. It
the length of the refracted ray Cc should cut off an arch
which is an aliquot part of a circle, the ray would describe
a regular polygon, being always reflected from the same
points; but if it was not an aliquot part of a circle, the points
of reflexion would vary in every revolution of the ray.
The following is the rule for finding the principal locus
ui a sphere, or its focus for parallel rays:—Divide the index
of refraction by twice its excess above unity, and the quo¬
tient is the distance of the principal focus from the centre
of the sphere. , , „
When the rays RC, RC, in place of falling on the sphere
i .   rvrnPPPn
2
9
0
4
1 nearly,
•^an inch.
0
its centre S, and therefore unrefracted, because it is inci-   ;o -
dent perpendicularly on both surfaces, and RC, RC, other of a sphere, orits focus for parallel rays,
rays parallel to, and equidistant from, RS/ it is required to nf refraction bv twice its excess above i
find the path of one of these RC, through the sphere. Join
SC which will be perpendicular to the surface at C. From a
scale on which RC is three parts, set off RC equal to 1, vvnen tne rays ‘“P— iher nroceed
i i cd parallel to CS, (which is the same as drawing in directions parallel to the axis, or to one anot > P
“pernenafcukr to the Sementary surface, or tangent to the from a near object, anti always from a pomt m the ax,S K E,
sphere at C) Make Cl) equal to CR, and through D and their focus may be found by the very
C draw the line DC£ meeting the posterior surface of the we have already given When the point vv;nbea
sphere at c, and the axis of the sphere at/. The point/would rays diverge is very distant, the focus of sue my
have been the focus, had there been no second surface to re- little farther from the sphere than I, and a P
fact the my Cc a second time. On a scale in which Cc is approaches to the sphere, the locus F",1' "i
two parts, set off Cg equal to 1 part, and having joined Sc, will be more fully explained when we t ea P
draw gd parallel to Sc, and make cd equal to cC. Through
c draw dcF, meeting the axis of the sphere in F. As the
ray RC, below RS/ falls in the very same manner on the
sphere MN, it will have its refracted ray in a similar direc¬
tion, and the two rays will meet at F, which is called the
focus of the sphere for parallel rays, or the principal focus
of the sphere. . „ ,
If we determine the path of the ray RC, and find the
foci f and F for both surfaces; by using different indices
of refraction, we shall find that in every case the distance
EF of the nrincipal focus of the sphere is exactly one-     
half of the ^distance E/ of the focus for the first surface, falls upon the second surface,
and that FS is to ES as the sine of incidence or the index at a different point, and at a
of refaction U to the difference between twice the sine of different angle, the effect of
incidence and twice the sine of refaction; that is, in glass which is to produce a change
nS is to 3*000—2*000, or as 1*500 to 1*000. in the position of the focus.
of rays through lenses
Refraction of Rays by Convex Lenses.
The action of an equally convex lens in refracting theParal
rays of light, is exactly the
■ 1 rig. 3U.
same as that of a sphere,
with this difference only, that
the two surfaces are brought
nearer each other, and in
consequence of this the ray
refracted by the first surface
OPTICS.
391
;s. Let LL be a double and equally convex lens of glass, a
’^line A/passing through the centre C, or middle point of
its greatest thickness, is called its axis. Let parallel rays
AB, A'B', fall upon the first surface, at the points B, B ;
these will be refracted in directions BD, B'D', which will
be determined by the method shewn in fig. 28. Had
there been no second surface, these rays would have con¬
verged to a focus at f but as they meet the second sur¬
face of the lens at D and D', they will there be refracted,
as shewn in fig. 28, for the sphere, so as take the directions
DF, D'F', and have their principal focus at F.
The following is the rule for finding the principal focus
of a glass lens unequally convex :—Multiply the radius of
the one surface by the radius of the other, and divide twice
this product by the sum of the same radii.
If the glass lens is equally convex, and has its index of
refraction 1*500, the distance CF, or its principal focal dis¬
tance, will be equal to the radius of any of its surfaces.
The following is the rule for finding the principal focal
distance of a plano-convex lens of glass. When the convex
side is exposed to parallel rays, the focal distance, reckoned
from the plane side, will be equal to double the radius of
the convex surface, diminished by two-thirds of the thick¬
ness of the lens. When the plane side of the lens is ex¬
posed to parallel rays, the distance of the focus from the
convex side w ill be equal to twice the radius.
When the rays AB, AB are oblique to the axis, the mid¬
dle ray AC passing through
the centre C, will obvious- Fig. 31.
ly suffer refraction at B,
but as it falls upon the se¬
cond surface at the same
angle, it will be refracted
a second time in an oppo¬
site direction, so that it will
proceed in a direction df
parallel to AB. The rays
AB, AB will suffer refrac¬
tion at the points B, B',
and also at the points D and D/, and it will be found by
projection that they meet in a focus F in the axis d f.
•g In the preceding case the parallel rays are supposed to
issue from some very distant object; but if the object from
which the rays proceed is near or not very distant from the
lens, its focus will recede from the lens, in proportion as the
object or point of divergence approaches to it. This fact
scarcely requires to be proved, for it is manifest that as the
radiant point approaches to the lens, the rays fall more and
more obliquely on the first surface, and less and lessobliquely
on the second, so that the deviation produced by refraction
is not sufficient to bring them to a focus so near the lens as
the point F, in fig. 30. This will be better understood from
fig. 32, where LL is a convex lens, whose focus for parallel
rays is F. Let RL, RL be rays diverging from a candle
or other body, at
then, if we Fig. 32.
trace the refract¬
ed rays by the
method already
given in fig. 27,
we shall find that
they will meet at
a pointy farther from the lens than F, and that if the point
R advance to R', the focus f will advance to f, and so on,
^he focus/' receding from the lens as R approaches to it.
When the distance RC is equal to tw ice CF, or twice the
principal focal distance, the distance of the focus/' from the
ens will be equal to the distance of the radiant point from
lh or Q// be equal to CR'. When R comes nearer C,
/ goes rapidly away from it, and when R comes to F', which
is called the anterior focus, CF' being equal to CF, the rays
will be parallel, or what is the same thing, the focus/will Dioptrics,
have retired to an infinite distance. When R comes nearerv y '
to C than F', the rays will diverge, after passing through
the lens, as if they came from some point in front of the lens,
and this point, or virtual focm, as it is called, will approach
to the lens as R approaches it, in moving from F' towards
C. The points R and / and R' and f, are called conju¬
gate foci, because it may be shewn that rays diverging from
/will be refracted to R, and rays diverging from f to R'.
It is indeed a general truth in all the phenomena of refrac¬
tion and reflexion, that if the refracted rays are supposed to
be the incident ones, the incident rays will be the refracted
ones; for the ray experiences the very same action in an in¬
verse order, by retracing its path.
The following is the rule for finding the focus/ or the
conjugate focal length of a convex lens of glass for diverg¬
ing rays : Multiply twice the product of the radii of the two
surfaces of the lens, by the distance of the radiant point or
RC, for a dividend. Multiply the sum of the two radii by
the same distance RC, and from this product subtract tw ice
the product of the radii for a divisor. The quotient of the
dividend divided by the divisor will be the focal distance
C/ required.
When the lens is equally-convex, multiply the distance
of the radiant point RC, by the radius of the surfaces, and
divide that product by the difference between the same
distance and the radius, and the quotient will be the focal dis •
tance C/ required.
If the lens is plano-convex, divide twice the product of
the distance of the radiant point RC, multiplied by the
radius of the convex surface, by the difference between
that distance and twice the radius, and the quotient will be
the distance of the focus from the centre of the lens.
When converging rays fall upon a convex lens, they are Converging
always refracted to a point between the lens and their point ^y8-
of convergence. Let
RL, RL, be rays Fig. 33
converging to any
point r, behind the
lens LL, it ffs very
evident that refrac¬
tion must always
make them cross the
axis RCr of the lens somewhere between r and the lens, and
always between the principal focus F and the lens. The
exact point may be found by the methods already given.
As the point of convergence r recedes from the lens, the
focus / will approach to the principal focus F, and when r
is infinitely distant, the rays RL, RL, become parallel, and
/ will coincide with F. When r approaches to C, / will also
approach to it.
The focus of a double convex glass lens, when its thick¬
ness is small, for converging rays may be found by the fol¬
lowing rule : Multiply twice the product of the radii of the
two surfaces by the distance rC of the point of conver¬
gence for a dividend. Multiply the sum of the two radii
by the same distance rC, and add to this product twice the
product of the radii for a divisor. The quotient obtained
by dividing the above dividend by this divisor, will be the
focal distance fC required.
When the lens is equally-convex, multiply the distance
rC by the radius of the surfaces, and divide that product
by the sum of the same distance and the radius, and the
quotient will give the focal distance/C required.
In plano-convex lenses we must divide twice the product
of the distance rC multiplied by the radius of the convex
surface, by the sum of that distance and twice the radius,
and the quotient will give the focal distance required.
Refraction of Rays by Concave Glasses.
In order to shew how to find the refracted ray when the
392
OPTICS.
Dioptrics, light is incident on a con-
care surface, let LL be a
double and equally concave
lens of glass, and RB, R'B'
two rays parallel and equi¬
distant from the axis RC
of the lens. From a scale
on which RB is 1*5, take
BG equal to 1, and from
G draw GD parallel to SB,
the radius, and consequent¬
ly perpendicular to the first concave
Fig. 34.
^       surface of the lens.
Make^D equal to BR, and through D and B draw IM,
which will be the ray refracted by the first surface. On a
scale where 5B is 1, make b¥>g equal to 1"5. From <7 draw
gd parallel to bs, the radius of the second surface, and con¬
sequently perpendicular to that surface at b. Make bd
equal to 6B, and through b draw dbr, br will he the ray re¬
fracted by the second surface. In like manner the other
ray RB will be refracted by the first surface in the direc¬
tion Wb', and the two refracted rays br, b'r' will diverge
as if they had proceeded from a point F, found by continu¬
ing br, b'r' backwards, which is called the virtual focus of
the concave lens, LL.
If we trace oblique parallel rays through a doiible con¬
cave lens in the same manner as we have done for a con¬
vex one in fig. 31, we shall find that they will be refracted
as if they diverged from a focus in the axis 01 ray which
passes through the centre of the lens. The rules for find¬
ing the virtual focus of paralell rays refracted by a double
or&plano-concave lens, are the same as for convex lenses.
When diverging rays RB, RB, fall upon a concave lens
LL, they will be re-
- - ’• * Fig. 35.
fracted in lines br, b'r',
more divergent than
parallel rays, as if they
proceeded from a vir¬
tual focus/ nearer the w
lens than its principal
focus F. As the radi¬
ant point R approach¬
es to C, / w ill approach to C.
The following are the rules for finding the virtual focus
of a concave lens of glass for diverging rays. Multiply
twfice the product of the radii by the distance RC of the
radiant point R for a dividend. Multiply the sum of
the radii by the distance RC, and add to this twice the
product of the radii for a divisor. Divide the dividend by
the divisor, and the quotient will be the virtual conjugate
focal distance/C. If the lens is equally-concave, multiply
the distance of the radiant point R by the radius, and di¬
vide the product by the sum and the same distance and
the radius, and the quotient will be the virtual focal dis¬
tance required.
If the lens is a plano-concave one, multiply twice the
radius by the distance of the radiant point, and divide this
product by the sum of the same distance and twice the ra¬
dius, and the quotient will be the virtual focal distance.
When converging rays fall upon a concave lens, their
virtual focus will be without the principal focus on one
side, if the point of convergence is without the principal
focus on the other side. This case is shewn in fig. 36,
where the rays
RB, R'B', con- Fig- 36.
verging to/with¬
out the principal
focus F, will be r —-  ^
refracted in the ^
direction br, b'r',
if they had
When/C is equal to twice the principal focal distance CF, If ^
the virtual focus of divergence /will be at the same dis- ^ ■x.
tance on the left hand of C as the point of convergence
/' is distant on the right hand. When / approaches the
lens on the right hand, the virtual focus /will recede from
it on the left. When / reaches F, the virtual focus will
be infinitely distant, or the refracted rays will be parallel;
and when /advances from F to the lens, the refracted rays
will converge on the right hand ot the lens, and the focus
will advance towards the lens, as the point ol convergence
advances towards it.
The rule for finding the conjugate focus of a converging
beam, for a doubly concave lens, is the same as that for
diverging rays in a doubly convex lens. It the lens is
plano-concave, the rule is the same as for diverging rays
falling upon a plano-convex lens.
Refraction of Rays through ]\Ieniscuses, and Concavo-
Convex Lenses.
It would be quite unprofitable to trace the progress ol
different rays through these various forms of glasses, both
because they are but little used, and because the very same
methods which are applicable to convex and concave sur¬
faces, are applicable also to them. When used by them¬
selves and for ordinary purposes, these lenses are inferior
to the common convex and concave lenses, and therefore
are seldom met with. We shall therefore content our¬
selves with giving the rules for finding their foci.
In a meniscus the focus for parallel rays is obtained by
dividing twice the product of the two radii by their dif¬
ference, and the quotient will give the focal distance.
In the same kind of lens the focus for diverging rays
will be thus found: Multiply twice the distance of the ra¬
diant point, by the product of the radii of the two surfaces,
for a dividend. Multiply the same distance by the differ¬
ence between the two radii, and to their product add twice
the product of the two radii for a divisor. The quotient
arising from dividing the dividend by the divisor, wall be
the focal distance of the meniscus. This rule will answer
also for converging rays.
In concavo-convex lenses the very same rules will apply,
but the rays have a virtual focus in front ol the lens, as in
concave lenses.
as
diverged from a focus at f on the other side of the lens
In treating of the passage of oblique rays through a
double convex glass, as shewn in fig. 31, we have stated
that there is a point C, called the centre of the lens, through
which the ray that passes suffers the same refraction at
both surfaces, or emerges parallel to its original direction.
In equally double convex lenses, this centre C is accurately
in the middle part of the thickness of the lens; but in
other forms of lenses it is not. Hence it is necessary to
point out the method of finding this centre. In double
convex or concave len- Fig. 37.
ses, the centre C, see
fig. 31, 37, and 38,
lies within the two
surfaces of the lens.
In plano-convex and r-
plano-concave lenses,
it is coincident wdth
the vertex of the con-
\q
vex or concave sur¬
faces, and in menis-
cuses and concavo-con¬
vex lenses it lies with¬
out the thickness of
the lens, and nearest
to the surface which 1
has the greatest cur¬
vature. Let R, r, figs.
37—40, be the centres
93
OPTICS.
ics. ofthe convex and concave surfaces of the lenses, and HE?’ thpir fnm« t
^ oo _ t!5’ *-*r> tfieir locus at h. Every intermediate portion ofthe lens Dioptrics.
will have a similar focus somewhere in the line FF', and i
Fig. 39.
we suppose all the rays to proceed from a distant object,
such as the sun, there will be an image of the sun, or a
luminous focus in every point of the line EE', and FF' will
be a brilliant line of light.
This property of a cylindrical lens to form a bright line
of light has been ingeniously applied by Captain Kater in
the construction of his azimuth compass, which we have
described in our article Magnetism, vol. xiii. p. 765.
In cylindrical lenses diverging and converging rays will
have the same foci as in common and concave lenses of
the same curvature; and therefore the rules for finding
their foci are applicable also to them.
Cylindrical lenses have been recently applied by Sir
David Brewster for improving the vision of objects that
are rectilineal, such as the defective lines in the solar
spectrum. When these lines are not visible, or are very
impertectly visible, on account of the imperfections ofthe
telescope, the application of a cylindrical lens, either solid
or tiuid, renders them more visible when the axis of the
lefrac
1 eyli
iT
'fig. 37,38, or RrE, fig.
39, 40 are their axes.
Taking any point A in
one surface, draw RA,
and parallel to this
draw res, which will
cut the other surface
of the lens in a. Join
Aa, and continue it
till it meets the axis
RER in same point E ;
this point E is called
the centre of the lens,
because every ray that
passes through it will
have its incident and
emergent parts par¬
allel, such as QA, and
qa. From the simi¬
larity of the triangles
REA, rEo, and the composition and division of rata, cvhndel oTZTJrlZ ,T ^ When ,«he axis °f the
we have RAz+=m : m=RE=j=rE (or Rr): rE hence rV J r cy1{ndnLal surface is accurately perpendicular
must be invariable like the other lines and on whatever * t ^ fin-68’ ^ Pris.ra ^as a similar effect. Both of them
point the parallel radii RA! rTare drawn, the tne L bv " g UP ^ irreSulai;ities of the edges of the line
must cut the axis Rr in the same point E If we sun Innb accession °i images of other parts of the line. If we
pose the ray Aa to pass out of the lens in both directions, rope, throuXl' nri^Vor cvf T^’ °T a T - ^ ^
it wall suffer the same quantity of refraction in onnosite di i . a Prism or cylmder, whose length is perpen-
rections, because .he angles of indde.me " AR C are s‘‘0 ^uSCre'v or rT: "i6 ed8es of both "m
equal. Hence the incident and emergent parts AQ Z f^ poshed cylinders.
will be parallel. ° ,. P tent wa& tuken out several years ago by a Parisian
When the lens is small in diameter, or of a great focal in fio- 5[ansv^s^ c>'Jindri(:aI lens similar to that shewn
length, or its thickness inconsiderable from other causes the fio- in dT ’ dlfferS ?°m the cylmdrical lens in
path of the rayQAag,may be taken ina straight lineTai ng flis of he cvlinder ^ vT?. C,'indriCal SUr,aCC haS t,K
t rough the centre E ofthe lenses. This if evident from fte axis of Se cvHnta T’ P^endicular to
the circumstance that the perpendicular distance between The effort f ^ylinder of whmh the first surface is a part,
the lines AQ, aq diminishes both with the obliquity of the So convex iS equiValent t0 a
incident ray, and the thickness of the lens. ‘ therefore it dnf«Tt° 10 Same ra<iu °f curvature’ and
On ,ke Refraction of Rays by Cylindrical Lenses. behevfd by tlvenfoT™ ^ SUPen°r P1'0pertieS’88 ^
n Cjhndncal lenses may have all the forms of the lenses Tfu-e r-moo t r i • i i
i. which we have already described. A nerfeet evlinffrir-ol * • i f C f tvv ° cylmdncal lenses, such as that in fig. 41,
■ lens corresponds with a sphere whose* section is the same" • ve\T 1 angif s’ we s,lad llave aH the effect of a double con-
a pl»„„.conPvex cylinder hPaS%^"mV^7am„eo: Ser or any XTlwIn^, T* ** ^ '“li.'f
convex lens ofthe same dimensions • and a menisena rvlin ^ ” d’ ~ 1 e same manner, we shall also
der has one of the cylindrical surfaces convex and another wMch mly answeffoTthe ^ °f R sPherical.lens’
concave. 1 inay ans'ver t°r the common purposes of a micros-
T i, , cope.
that is, circukr^oL^freSfandfecBlineM S another j the^pSseofremedv-0-•ndr°rfPher-^ ^ by iAIr‘ Airy t0 Mr- Airy’s
but we may combine a spherical surface either ennvev nr oo pUfP , yin§ miperfect vision in his own eye de-sphero cy-
concave, with a cylindrical surface either convex nr mn ^ves o be more particularly noticed. He found that his eye lindrical
cave, and thus plodu^e cySffspterSalTS “T „ IT T/0,8 nefrcr «*», in a vertical than-Pectarfe,.
genious appUcatfon „fwh4 7X^ 3? by Mr! L 5^1 hf T’T‘7 WaS ““r'^lyuse-
At^, for the purpose ofremedying a defect in ht owneye: wTs'greater1„ a verb7dln“
This class of lenses, therefore whethnr nni;v«l-tr crim • • i F m a vertlcaI than in a horizontal plane, and he
ST TT eye
^esofcons„>--™^^
doubly concave, one of the surfaces being spherically con¬
cave, and the other cylindrically concave, and of such a
curvature as to bring to the same point the vertical and
horizontal foci of the cornea. An artist of the name of
buffer, at Ipswich, constructed for Mr. Airy lenses of the
proper dimensions, which enabled him to read the small¬
est print at a considerable distance with his defective eye,
as well as he could do with the other. He found that vi¬
sion was most distinct when the cylindrical surface was
turned from the eye, and he placed the lens as near the eye
i m, e " fS P08,., There is another application of cylindrical
portion of the lens will have lenses which we believe has not hitherto been made. In
/ ^ x-/ v/J. * I~IvyII« 11>
ryrn consequence to give a general account of their
properties.
Let LLL'L' be a double convex
cylindrical lens, composed of two cy- Fig. 41
bndne surfaces, one of which is^
ninV Then if Mm be three“-
fftr U a,nd horizontal rays passing
ough the thinnest portion of the
tfftrPart the kns, it is obvious^L
at they will be refracted to a focus-5
lens * ^ • 6 same distance from the
R'R'R'Stog^Sw'S, In.like-manner the-ra>s
VoJxlr5 ““ alS0 in 0r- Tho,,'as Yom,e’5 but “ “ injure his vision. El Eat. Phil. vol. ii. pp. 578, 9.
3 D
394
OPTICS
Dioptrics, all preparations of natural history, objects which are gene-
' — — ''rally preserved in cylindrical bottles or vessels^ containing
fluids, the objects are always seen distorted, being magni¬
fied to the greatest extent in a plane perpendicular to the
length or axis of the cylinder, while in a rectangular dnec-
tion, the object is not magnified at all. In order to see t le
obiects of their true shape, and have them equally magni¬
fied in all directions, a cylindrical lens of a suitable locus
should be employed, so that the axis of the cylinder may
be at right angles to the cylindrical axis ol the vessel.
SECT. m On the Formation of Images by Lenses, and
on the vision of objects through them.
In the preceding section we have treated of the formation
of images by rays transmitted through small aperture ,
hav^consid Jred the formation ofimagesby reflecting surfeces.
In order to explain the formation of images by convex
lenses, whether double, or plano-convex, or memscuses, let
LL be a convex lens, MN an object farther from it than
its principal focus. Let MLL be a cone of divergent rays Diop: ;
'ceding from M, and having their focus at m behind theW ,
lens • and NLL another similar cone from the other ex¬
tremity N of the object, and having their focus at n. Every
other part of the object will send out rays in all directions;
but only those which fall upon the circular surface of the
lens LL, will be refracted by it, and they will all have their
focus between m and n. These refracted pencils, how¬
ever, cannot be shewn in the figure without crossing one
another. As every part of the object MN, will therefore
send to corresponding points of the image wm rays ot their
own colour, an image of MN resembling it in all respects will
be formed at mn, and as the rays from the upper part M of
the object to m, and from the lower part to n, this image
will be an inverted one, and if we draw lines through the
centre of the lens from M to m, and N to rc, it will be evi¬
dent from the similarity of triangles that the size ot the
image will be to the size of the object, as the distance of
the image from the lens is to the distance of the object.
Fig. 42.
If we place the eye behind this image mn, we do not see
it suspended in the air at mn, but it appears as it it were
in front of the lens. That the image, however, xs formed
at mn may be proved by viewing it on smoke raised at that
place, or on a piece of ground glass, or semi-transparent
naner • or if we bring the eye in front, we shall see it dis¬
tinctly painted on any white ground, such as a piece oi
white” paper. We shall suppose it, however, to be seen o
smoke by the eye placed behind it at A or B. It wil
seen exactly at mn, as if it were a real object; and in orde
to see it distinctly, the eye must view it at the same i -
tance as it views other objects, and it may be viewed a
any other object is, through a pair of spectacles or a mag-
“Sfeays from M, N cross each other at the points
m n of the image, the very same rays radiate from those
points that radioed from M, N, and consequently the ve^
same effect must be produced m the eye as if these ra\
proceeded from a real object at Hence by Pacing an¬
other convex lens at a proper distance behind mn, a dis
tance greater than its principal focus, we
image of this image, in the conjugate focus of the secon
1UIf we wish to form a magnified image of an object by
any lens, we have only to place the object nearer the lens
and it follows from the rules for conjugate foci that the
finale will increase. If MN, for example, is brought
nearer LL, the image mn will recede from the lens, a
increase in size. When ML is equal to twice the princi-
nal focal distance of the lens, the distance of the image
\u L and the size of the image will be the same as that o
the object MN. If MN comes still nearer the lens, mn
will recede still farther, and continue to increase m size
till it becomes infinitely large and infinitely distant. W he
this barmens the rays which form it will have become pa-
ralleh PIf during all these changes the eye is withdrawn
from the lens so as to be at least six inches behind the
place where the image is formed, it will observe the image
distinctly before it. But when the rays become paraM
the eye may then be placed immediately behind the lens,
and ft wilWee the object distinctly in the anterior princi¬
pal focus of the lens, and magnified m proportion to
Sl1 In^he* precedir^g^aragraphsfwe hav^described the prin-
ciples of the camera obfcnra
ciples of the camera ooscura, ue w, the image
and the operation of the single microscope. When the im^
mn is distinctly formed on paper, the lens LL ^
camera obscura, painting all objects their
tural colours, in their just proportions, and mth^thar
movements, on a white ground placed behind it. e
image mn has become greater than the object
advance of the latter to the lens, the eye view^ ^
fied picture, and the effect is the same as in the ,
microscope, whose object-glass is LL,and whose eye-g^
a focal distance equal to that of tbe eye- ^ ^n the ^ ^
is infinitely distant, and the rays enter t J P fth lens
object being then in the anterior
LL, and the eye behind it, the lens is then acting
r/&When obfects are within our reach, su^h ^“^obsSa,
objects, or near objects presented beforeaca
it is always in our power to illuminate them s;but
light, and thus make dark objects give xg ^ objects
when this cannot be done, m consequ bri„iltness of
being out of our reach, we can increase the the iens.
the image by increasing the area or supe ^ doubled, it
If the area of the lens LL, for e^P^aXw from every
would collect twice the quantity of ray t tbe correspond-
point of an object, and concentrate them at the
ing points of the image mn. . , tbp telescope and
L order to understand the principle of the W ^ u
single microscope, we must be acquainted witi
Dio
lPi':
OPTICS.
If we hold a
Fig. 43.
Fig. 44.
Jawi¬
ng pc T
xplaiil.
called the apparent magnitudes of objects,
sixpence A at the distance of six or
eight inches from the eye E, then it
' will exactly cover or appear equal to - 
a shilling placed at B, a half-crown
placed at C, and a crown at D. If ‘ -
we remove the sixpence A, the shilling will just cover the
half-crown. If we remove the shilling, the half-crpwn will
just cover the crown. Hence all these coins placed as they
are in the figure, are said to have to an eye placed at E the
same apparent magnitude, because they are all seen under
the same angle DEF, and would all cover the same portion
of the sky, or of any distant object.
If the sixpence A is brought thrice
as near the eye E as in fig. 44, its angle
of apparent magnitude wall now he GEF
thrice as great as DEF, fig. 43, and it
will appear thrice as large as DF. The
sixpence has therefore been magnified;
and if we interpose a lens between it
and the eye, so as to make the rays refracted by the lens
parallel, it will appear distinctly and the lens which
we interpose will be a single microscope.
Objects within our reach, and capable of being placed
where we please, may be therefore magnified to any extent,
by placing them very near the eye, and in the anterior fo¬
cus of a small convex glass, which, by making the diverg¬
ing rays parallel, render the object as distinctly seen under
a great angle, as if it were a large object placed at a dis¬
tance, and subtending the same angle at the eye.
But when objects are at a distance, and beyond our reach,
such as remote terrestrial objects, and the planets and stars,
we can magnify them, or represent them to our eye under
a greater angle of apparent magnitude, by a different princi¬
ple. If the object is the dial-plate of a clock, at the distance of
12,000 feet, we place a lens whose focal distance is six feet,
in the end of a tube about six feet long, and having direct¬
ed it to the dial-plate, a distinct inverted image of the dial-
plate will be formed in the focus of the lens, at a distance
of six feet from it, and if we view this image with our eye
placed six inches behind it, we shall see the image of the
dial-plate distinct and magnified. Now, as the distance of
the dial-plate is 12,000 feet, and that of the image only six
feet from the lens, the image will be —or 2000 times
o
smaller in diameter than the object, not in apparent magni¬
tude, but by real measurement; and if we were to take the
image and place it beside the dial-plate, and view them both
at the distance of 12,000 feet, their apparent magnitudes
would, like their real magnitudes, be in the proportion of
2000 to 1. But the image is fortunately within our reach,
and we can ao with it what we choose. Let us first view
it with the naked eye, which, generally speaking, sees ob¬
jects most distinctly at a distance of six inches, and as we
see it at tlm distance of six inches, it will appear as much
greater as it would have done at the distance of 12,000
eet, as 12,000 feet is to six inches, or as 24,000 is to 1.
ence it follows, that though the image is diminished in the
ocus of the lens 2000 times, yet it is magnified from its
proximity to the eye 24,000 times, that is, it is magnified
nn i, i 24,000
me wnole or twelve times. Now, this magnify¬
ing efect will be found under all circumstances to be equal
to the focal length of the lens employed, divided by the focal
istance of the eye, or the distance at which it sees small
objects most distinctly, which is six inches, that is, in the
72 inches
395
Dioptrics.
present case
six feet
72 inches
or twelve times. A
six inches’ 6 inches
s ort-sighted person, whose eyes have a focus of only three
inc es, would be able to see the same image of the dial-
P ate at the distance of three inches, and in his case the
magnified effect would be ' 7—s, or 24 times, and an
3 inches
old person, or one whose eyes were long-sighted, so as not
to be able to see objects distinctly, nearer than 12 inches,
would see the dial-plate magnified only six times. But
both these persons could put on highly magnifying specta¬
cles, so as to see the image at very short distances, or what
is the same thing, to look at the image of the dial-plate
through a magnifying glass, which would enable them to
see it at the distance of one inch. In this case the magni¬
fying effect would be or 72 times.
But the instrument which we have now fitted up is pre- Teleaoopes
cisely a telescope, the large lens being its object-glass, and
the small one used by the observer its eye-glass, and hence
the magnifying power of such an instrument is always equal
to the focal length of the object-glass divided by the focal
length of the eye-glass. The image formed by such a teles¬
cope is inverted, which is of no consequence when we look
at the heavenly bodies, and it is therefore called an astrono¬
mical telescope ; but in looking at the dial-plate, and at ter¬
restrial objects, the inversion would be disagreeable, and it
is therefore usual to make the image erect, by using either a
concave eye-glass, or three or more convex eye-glasses. In
the former case it is called the Galilean telescope, and in the
latter a terrestrial telescope.
When the distance of the object is not very great, or
when the focal length of the lens bears a considerable
proportion to the distance of the object, the magnifying
power of a lens, w hen the eye views the image formed by
the lens at the distance of six inches, is the following. Sub¬
tract the focal distance of the lens in feet from the dis¬
tance between the image and the object, and divide the
remainder by the same focal distance. By this quotient
divide twice the distance of the object in feet, and the
quotient will express the magnifying power, or the num¬
ber of times that the object has been increased in apparent
magnitude by the lens.
The very same observations apply to images formed by
concave mirrors, and hence a single concave mirror be¬
comes the simplest form of the reflecting telescope, the eye
viewing the image which it forms. In the case of such
images the body or the head of the observer must be placed
between the object and the image, so that in order to use a
single concave mirror, we must either make the mirror so
large that the observer’s head will not obstruct all the light,
or we must make the reflexion a little obliquely, or, what
is done in practice, we must by means of a small plane
mirror or a prism reflect or refract the rays to one side, so
as to allow the observer to look at the image formed by
the concave mirror, without obstructing the rays in their pas¬
sage from the object to the mirror, the quantity obstructed
by the plane mirror or prism being too small to do any in¬
jury. If we view the image through a convex lens, so as
to magnify it still more, the mirror and the lens will consti¬
tute a reflecting telescope.
PART III. ON SPHERICAL ABERRATION AND CAUSTIC CURVES.
The rules which we have already given for finding the Spherical
foci of lenses and mirrors, are strictly applicable only to rays aberration,
that pass near the axis of the lenses and mirrors ; and this
may be readily proved by the method of finding the refract¬
ed and reflecting ray which we have explained and used.
Sect I.—On Spherical Aberration of Lenses.
In order to prove and illustrate the preceding truth, we
shall suppose parallel rays to be incident on a mass of glass
MNOP, in which there is only refraction at its first surface,,
and we do this both to avoid the confusion of lines, and be¬
cause it is perfectly sufficient for the purpose of explanation.
Let RS be the axis of the spherical surface MN, passing
396
OPTICS.
Spherical through S, its centre
aberration. Df curvature; and if
we consider it a ray,
also, it will go on to F
without any refraction.
Let RB be a ray fall¬
ing on the refracting
surface at a distance
from the axis RS, and
parallel to it. From
the point of incidence
draw BS, which will
Fig. 45.
be perpendicular to the surface at B, and take BG three
fourths of BR, BG being to BR as 1 is to 1-500, the
index of refraction. From G draw GD parallel to Bb,
and making BD equal to BR, through the points D and B,
draw B/C for the refracted ray. Do the very same thing
for the ray RB' falling on the point B', and parallel to Rfe,
and equidistant from it, and B/A will be the refracted ray
If we now take two rays rb, r'b' near the axis, and parallel
to and equidistant from it, and apply the same method ot
projection to them, we shall find the refracted rays to be
6F, b'F crossing the axis, and converging at a point £, more
remote from the refracting surface than/. Ifwe diaw
through F a line AEG, perpendicular to the axis, then A
and C being the points where the marginal or most remote
rays which fall on the surface MN, and F being the locus
of those nearest the axis, the distance/F is called the
longitudinal spherical aberration, and AC the lateral sphe¬
rical aberration of the lens.
These results may be obtained experimentally by cover¬
ing up with a circle of black paper, all the central parts ot
the spherical surface, leaving a clear marginal ring corres-
ponding with BB'. If the surface thus limited is exposed
to the solar rays, we shall find a pretty distinct picture or
image of the sun formed at/ which, from a cause which
we shall soon explain, will be highly coloured at the edges.
If we now remove the black circle from the surface MJN,
and cover the outside surface with black paper, excepting
a small opening in the vertex of the lens, where the axis
RS cuts it, and expose the lens to the sun s rays, we shall
find the image of the sun distinct at F, and it will be less
coloured than the image formed at/from another cause.
If we now expose successive rings of the surface MJN to
the sun’s light, shutting up all the rest of the lens, we shah
find that the ring nearest the axis will have its focus near/,
between/and F ; the second ring, its focus still nearer ;
the third, its focus still nearer F ; and so on,^ till the last
ring will give its image of the sun close to F. Hence it
follows, that there will be distinct images of the sun formed
by each ring, and occupying the whole space / t ; and,
therefore, if' we expose the whole surface MN to the
rays, the image of the sun must be extremely confused
and indistinct; and if received upon a sheet of white paper
placed at AC, it will consist of a bright disc at F, surround¬
ed with a broad halo of light, becoming fainter and fainter
towards A and C.1
As this is true of every spherical surface whatever, it
follows, that every ‘image formed by a spherical surface or
lens, and every object seen through it, must be indistinct,
from the confusion of rays produced by spherical aber¬
ration. As this indistinctness increases with the aperture Spherics
of the lens, or the distance of the marginal rays from the&berrati:
axis, we may remove it to a certain degree by limiting the^Vr
aperture, or using smaller lenses; but excepting in the
case of the sun or any highly luminous body, this dimi¬
nution of the aperture would injure vision, from the
want of light, especially in microscopes and telescopes;
and hence it becomes an object of the highest importance
in optics, and it is one which has occupied much attention,
to discover methods of diminishing or correcting the sphe¬
rical aberration of lenses.
Philosophers have, therefore, been led to calculate with
accuracy the amount of spherical aberration in lenses of
different forms, and having different sides exposed to the
incident rays. The following are the results which they
have obtained, and they may be readily verified either by
experiment, or by tracing the refracted rays through large
diagrams of lenses of different shapes.
1. In a plano-convex lens, (such as that shewn at E, fig. Forms:
21 )’ whose plane side is turned to parallel rays, or to lenses
distant objects, if it is intended to form an image of them ^
in its focus ; or with its plane side turned to the eye, if it^^
is to be employed as a single microscope or magnifier,
the spherical aberration is 4^ times its thickness, or the
greatest that can be obtained from it. This is called its
worst position. .
2. In a plano-convex lens, whose convex side is turned
to parallel rays, the spherical aberration is only l-J^thsof
its thickness, or the least that can be obtained from it.
This is called its best position. . .
3. In double convex lenses with equal convexities, the
spherical aberration is lTfi5sths of their thickness, greater
than that of a plano-convex lens in its best position.
4. In double convex lenses, having their radii as 2 to 5,
the spherical aberration will be the same as in & plano-con¬
vex lens in its worst position, if the flattest side, or that
which has its radius 5, is turned towards parallel rays ; and
it will be the same as that of a plano-convex lens m its bed
position, if the surface whose radius is 2 is turned to paralle
rays
5. The lens of least spherical aberration is a double
convex one, the radii of whose surfaces are as 1 to b, hav¬
ing the surface whose radius is 1 turned towards pa¬
rallel rays. In this, which is its best position, the aber-
ration is only lj35th> of its thickness. But .f the s.Je
with the radius b is turned towards parallel rays, the aoer
ration will be S/^ths of its thickness. , i
If we determine the virtual focus of the central an
marginal rays for a concave surface, as in fig- > ^
shall find that the spherical aberration is exactly
same for concave as for convex lenses ; and hence, a
preceding results are equally applicable to them.
1 If we suppose that the lens of least spherical aberr >
as in art. 5, has an aberration expressed by unity, the com
parative aberrations of other lenses will be as follows.
Double convex or concave with radii as 1 to 6, j pQOO
in best position   • •;   •: * 1.0gi
Plano-convex or concave in best position 
Double equi-convex or equi-concave....  g
Plano-convex or concave in worst position  
« The effect of aberration,” says Sir John Herschel, “may be very prettily exhibited by cownngj a largenConveXe paper behind the
c n   i r-orr.ilorlw aisnnspfl. rtnd exnosinir it to the sun, receiving the co g ) fnrm spots
1, "may oe very pieuuy — - o - ° Daner bemn<u«e
lens, which should be first placed very near it, and then gradually withdrawn. A he ^ls^ father removed; those a
Treatise on Light, § 317-
:pht
iber
on v
.fferf
icdis
OPTICS.
id As a general rule for all lenses already made, and whose
berr] 11 • focus it is inconvenient to alter, the most convex surface
should always be placed towards parallel rays when the lenses
are used singly.
The preceding results are calculated on the supposition,
that the lens is made of glass, whose index of refraction is
HOO ; but the numerical results vary greatly when we use
transparent media of higher and lower refractive powers.
When the index of refraction, for example, is TGSfil, which
is nearly that of some of the metallic glasses, and of several
precious stones, and of sulphuret of carbon nearly, the lens
of least spherical aberration, is not one which has its radii
as 1 to 6, but one which is plano-convex ; and when we
come to higher refractive powers, such as those of sapphire,
ruby, garnet and diamond, of which lenses are now made for
microscopes, and ought to be made for the eye-glasses of
powerful telescopes, one of the surfaces of the lens of least
spherical aberration must be concave. This will be seen from
the following results which we have calculated from Sir
R" 2/is—g—4
397
John Herschel’s Formula,1 viz.
where R"
’R' 2pa+fi
and IF are the radii of the surfaces of the lens of least sphe¬
rical aberration, and g the index of refraction.2
Index of Refraction. Ratio.
Vacuum 1 '000... 1 to 1 '00 equi-convex.
Tabasheer 1T00...1 to T31
New fluid in amethyst...IT 11...1 to 1'35
Second do. in topaz T200...1 to T76
Ice T300...1 to 2T3
 Water T3368..1 to 2'77
Cryolite T350...1 to 2'93
Fluorspar 1*400...1 to 3-60
Plate glass T500...1 to 6'00
Quartz, Topaz T600...1 to 14'00
Chrysolite T686...1 to infinity, plano-convex.
Sulphuret of carbon 1'700...1 to—93 meniscus.
Garnet, Ruby T800...1 to—12
Glass—lead 2^, flint 1....T900... 1 to—7
Zircon 2-000... 1 to—5
Diamond, Octohedrite....2-500...1 to—2-5
Chromate of lead. 3-000...1 to—2-1
3- 500... 1 to —1-6
4- 000...1 to—1-5 equal radii.'
infinite 1 to —1
But it is not merely the curvature of the lens of least
aberration that changes its character and its magnitude, 
the aberration itself suffers a very great variation. This
will appear from the table already referred to in our article
Micboscope ; but we shall repeat that part of it which shews
the amount of this change of the aberration, as the index
of refraction changes from 1-4 to 2-0.
Index of refraction.
Fluor spar
Glass  
Quartz 
Epidote...,
Sapphire
 1-4..
 1-5..
 1-6..
 1-7..
.1-8.
Spherical aberration when
least in parts of the thick¬
ness of the lens, which is
supposed 1.3
 1-096
...1-071
Sulphate of Lead 1-9...
Zircon 2-0..
....0-933
....0-666
....0.357
...0-166
....0-062
case of diamond the aberration must be next to
nothing; but in order to obtain this great advantage, its
second surface must be very concave, which diminishes
greatly its magnifying power. We have no doubt that arti-
cial glasses or other solids will yet be made by art, and
at mineral bodies will be discovered which will have such
a high refractive power, as to enable opticians to remove Spherical
almost wholly the spherical aberration of single lenses. aberration.
Hitherto we have spoken only of the aberration of parallel^ v
rays, the effect of which is invariably to shorten the focus Aberration
of the marginal or exterior rays; but when the incidentof rays not
rays converge or diverge, the aberration diminishes, and thePara^e^
focus of the marginal rays continues to be nearer the sur¬
face than that of central rays, till the focus of convergence
or divergence comes up to two particular points in the axis,
at the first of which, as will be presently seen, the aberra¬
tion disappears, and at the second of which, namely, the fo¬
cus of parallel rays in the convex side, it is infinite. When
the focus of convergence or divergence is situated between
these points, the effect of aberrafron is to lengthen the focus
of marginal rays, and shorten that of central rays, the focal
distance of the latter being now shorter than that of the
former. These results are true for all curvatures and all
indices of refraction.4
bir John Herschel has given the following general rule
for all double convex or concave lenses, and for all menis-
cuses and concavo-convex lenses in which the sum of the
curvatures of their surfaces is greater than v/2p + 3/i - times
their difference, (p being their index of refraction.) The
effect of aberration will be to throw the focus of marginal
rays more towards the incident light than that of central
ones, when the letis is of a positive character, or makes pa¬
rallel rays converge; but more from the incident light if of
a negative character, or if it cause parallel rays to diverge.5
We have mentioned above, that there is a point in the
axis, at which rays which diverge from it, and fall upon a
concave surface, will have no spherical aberration. This will
be understood from
fig. 46, where BB' Fig. 46.
is the first concave
surface of a medium,
C its centre, BCD
its axis, and A a
point in the spheri¬
cal surface, where
it meets the axis
beyond the centre
C. If we take two
points R, F, such
that RC is equal to
the radius AC of the surface multiplied by the index of re¬
fraction, or RA to AF as the index of refraction is to unity,
then all rays diverging from R, whether marginal or central,
and falling upon the concave surface BDB', will be refract¬
ed at BB' in directions Br, BV, which will proceed from the
virtual focus F without any spherical aberration. This
may be readily proved by the projection of the rays. Hence
if upon F as a centre with any radius FE greater than FD,
we describe a circle MEN, we shall have the second surface
of a concavo-convex lens, which will be entirely free of
spherical aberration. This is evident, as the rays refracted
by the first surface BDB' fall perpendicularly on the second
surface, and suffer therefore no refraction.
As there is a concavo-convex lens without aberration, for
rays diverging from one point of its axis r, so there is a me¬
niscus without aberration for rays converging to a particu¬
lar point in its axis. Let RB, R'B' be rays converging to
a point fin the axis RCf of a convex refracting surface
BDB', whose centre is C. If we take fc, so that it is to the
radius CD as the index of refraction is to unity, then it may
be shewn by projection or calculation that the refracted
rays RB, rb, whether marginal or central, will be refracted
in lines BF, 5/*having the same focus F without any sphe¬
rical aberration. Hence if with F as a centre we describe
Phil. Trans.
See
ee our article Michoscope for a table of the results obtained by Mr. Coddington, from indices of refraction from I -4 up to 2-0.
ese aberrations are computed by Mr. Coddington. 4 Sir John Hprsfhpl’e Trontisa nr, T.inht s oss. 3 Id. 299.
4 Sir John Herschel’s Treatise on Light, § 288.
398
Spherical
aberration.
OPTICS.
any circle* having its radius FcZ less than FD* we shall have
the second or con-
^ cave surface of a me- hig* 47.
niscus, which will
have no aberration,
because the rays
BF, b~F will pass
through that surface
perpendicularly, and
suffer no refraction.
Owing to the in¬
jurious effect of sphe¬
rical aberration on ,     
the performance of telescopes and compoun mic P >
philosophers have sought to correct t ic sp e i
tion of convex lcnSeS, by the opposite aberration of con¬
cave ones. We have already given drawings of three
doublets without spherical aberration, according to the ca
culations of Sir John Herschel; and we shall now give an
account of the method used by Dr. Blair of coirectmg the
spherical aberration in his compound
they possess some historical interest, we shall give the same
diagrams which he employed. Let
AB, fig. 48, represent a convex lens
receiving a pencil of diverging rays
from the object S, and let D be the
focus of marginal and F that of rays in¬
cident near the axis, such as ST. The
greatest longitudinal aberration will
therefore in this case be DF. Let
GH, fig. 49, be now a concave lens,
upon which are incident parallel rays
SHRK. Let P be the virtual focus
of marginal rays, such as SH, and N
the focus of rays near the centre, such
as UK, so thatPN will be in this case
the longitudinal aberration. 1 he con¬
vex lens in fig. 48 is in the position
which gives the least spherical aber¬
ration, and the concave lens in fig. 49
is in the position which gives the
greatest aberration. Hence in order
to make the aberrations equal, we
must make the focal distance of the
convex glass much shorter than that
of the concave one, and if it is requi¬
site to have the distance of the points
F and N from the convex and con¬
cave lenses the same as it is shewn
in the figures, the object must then
be placed much nearer the convex
lens. Hence the image of the near
object S is placed at the same dis¬
tance from the convex lens in fig.
48, or the virtual focus of the con¬
cave lens in fig. 49, where it is shewn
as refracting parallel or infinitely dis¬
tant rays.
When the focal distance KIN,
therefore, for parallel rays is equal
to the distance TF for rays diverging
from S, and when the aberration DF
and PN are equal, then if the two QXJ ^ „
lenses are combined, as in fig. 50, parallel rays SH, KK tail¬
ing upon them, will be refracted to the focus S, without any
spherical aberration. For if we suppose all the rays from S,
which the convexlens, fig. 48, converges to D and F, to be re¬
turned back from these points to the lens, they would be re¬
fracted accurately to S. But the parallel rays SH, KK,
after refraction by the concave lens, ng. 49,
in the directions HX, KV, are exactly in the
same relative situation as the rays which v-e
have supposed to be returned directly back
from F and D are in at their incidence on
the convex lens. Hence when these lenses
are combined, as in fig. 50, parallel rays
falling on the concave lens, and after refrac¬
tion incident upon the convex lens, will
be refracted accurately to S without any
snherical aberration.2
1 The difficulty of getting rid of the aber¬
ration of spherical surfaces, induced opti¬
cians at a very early period to propose the
construction of lenses that were not spheri¬
cal, and that had such forms as to be en¬
tirely free of spherical aberration. As the
marginal parts of spherical lenses refract the
rays which fall upon them too much, the
spherical aberration would obviously be re¬
moved or diminished, by giving the surface
Fig. 50.
Sphere |
aberrat
Lensei)
spherij
Fig. 49
any curvature, in which the marginal parts become less con-
vex. Now, this is the character of two well known curves,
viz." the ellipse and the hyperbola, which, as Descartes disco¬
vered, may be employed in the formation of lenses in the
following manner:—
If a lens
LL, fig. 51,
has the form
of a meniscus
in which the
convex sur¬
face LAL is
part of a pro¬
late spheroid
formedbythe . .
revolution of an ellipse, whose greater^ axis AD is to its ec¬
centricity or distance between its foci F, f as the index o
refraction is to unity, and if the other surface LaL is concave,
and part of a sphere whose centre is F, the remoter locus
of the spheroid, then rays RB, RA, RB parallel to the axis
RF of the spheroid or the ellipse will be refracted by the
convex spheroidal surface alone to the remoter focus T, and
as these rays fall perpendicularly upon the second surface
LaL, they will suffer no change whatever by its action,
and continue their progress to the focus F.
The same property belongs to a concavo-convex \ensLL,
whose anterior or concave surface is part of a prolate sp ie
roid of the same dimensions as for the meniscus, and having
its convex side of any radius. In this case, al rays >
RA parallel to the axis and incident at b, b, will be made
to diverge from the same virtual focus F, and will suffer
change of direction in passing out of the second or convex
surface, as they all fall upon it perpendicularly.
These truths may be proved by the most elementary P
ciples of the conic section, or by drawing a tangen
the elliptical surfaces at B, b, and determining the refracted
rays by the method already described.
Upon the same prin-
ciples a plano-convex Fig. 52.
lens may be construct¬
ed without spherical
aberration, as shewn in
fig. 52, provided its pos¬
terior surface LaL is
part of a hyperboloid
formed by the revolu- . . . fi;stance
tion of a hyperbola LaL, whose greater axis is ^ pa.
between the foci as the index of refraction is to un )•
Art. Microscope, vol. xv. pp. 34, 35.
2 See Edinburgh Transactions, vol. iii. p- 27.
OPTICS.
ipht J rail el rays RB, RA, R'B', will suffer no refraction at the
jerr; '• plane surface BAB', but at the points of the convex surface
^ l' will be refracted accurately to F, the further focus of
the hyperboloid.
In like manner, a.plano-concave lens having its concave sur¬
face part of a hyperboloid will diverge all rays so as to have
their virtual focus in one of the foci of the hyperboloid.1
The following elegant method of determining the figure of
a refracting surface which shall refract marginal and central
rays to the same focus is due to Huygens. Let R be the focus
of diverging rays, and F
Fig. 53.
399
the focus to which it is
required to refract them
with accuracy. Take
any point A as the ver¬
tex of the refracting
surface required; the
surface must be such
that the incident and re¬
fracted rays RB, BF
have such a ratio to
each other, that the ex-
errati
roirro
cess of RB above RA shall be to that of FA above FB, as
the index of refraction is to unity. In order to find the
curve BAB which possesses this property, take in the axis
RF any point D, and let DA be divided at the point C in
such a manner that AC is to AD as unity is to the index
of refraction, and from R and F as centres, describe the
arches of circles BOB', BCB', with the radii RD, FC,
their points of intersection B, B' will be in the required
curve. In like manner, any other points in the curve may
be found, and in order to convert it into a lens, we have
only to describe a spherical surface LaL, round the focus F
as a centre, so that the refracted rays BF, B'F may suffer
no change by passing through it perpendicularly. The
curve BAB gradually approaches to an ellipsoid as the radiant
point R becomes more distant from the lens, and when it
is infinitely distant, the curve is the section of an ellipsoid,
whose further focus is in F.2
Various attempts have been made to execute lenses of
other forms than spherical, but without decided success.
Descartes has described machines for this purpose in the
tenth chapter of his Dioptrics, but though he succeeded to
a certain degree in his experiments, yet the art has never
been acquired of producing figures sufficiently accurate for
nne telescopes and microscopes.
Sect. II—Spherical Aberration of Mirrors.
It has aiready been stated under Catoptrics in this article,
that in all reflexions from spherical surfaces it is only for the
ray near the axis that the rules for finding their foci are cor¬
rect, those which fall farther and farther from the axis hav-
ing their foci nearer the reflecting surface. Hence all the
images which are formed by spherical surfaces are indistinct
£TeriCal ?ben;ation’ like those formed by lenses, with
ns difference, that the images are not confused with the differ-
alwayS acc°mpany the refraction of lenses.
it will obviously become greater as the diameter of the mir- Spherical
lor is increased, its focal length or its curvature remaining;aberration,
the same, and with its curvature when its diameter or aper¬
ture remains the same.
In all cases but om>, the marginal rays have a shorter
focus than the central ones, or what is the same, have their
focus nearest the reflecting surface. This case takes place
when the radiant point issituated between the surface and the
principal focus on the concave side of the mirror, in which
case the focus of marginal rays is farther from the mirror
than that of central rays.
There are only two cases in which spherical reflecting
surfaces have no spherical aberration, namely, when divem-
mg rays radiate from the centre of a concave mirror or
spherical surface, in which case they are reflected back with¬
out aberration to the point from which they came, without
any aberration, and when they converge to the centre of
a convex mirror or spherical surface, in which case they
Will be reflected back in lines diverging from the centre or
virtual locus behind it without any aberration.
• ^tbese p3568* namely, the first, is not an ideal one, but
is actually applicable to practical purposes. For example, if
rays diverging from F
Fig. 55.
the centre of curvature,
(not the focus) of the
reflecting mirror MN,
fall upon the mirror,
they will be reflected
to F, and pass through
F towards a lens LL,
which will refract them
into a parallel beam
If MN, fig. 54, is
a concave
mirror, by which parallel rays
RR are reflected from its mar¬
gin and r,r, from near its axis, it
. be found from a simple
projection of the reflected rays
hat R, R will invariably be re¬
acted to a focus F nearer the
Fig. 54.
“ tbe focus/ of the central rays. The space F/
tne longitudinal or linear spherical aberration, and
LLRR; it FL is the focal length of the lens, or into a con¬
verging beam, so as to illuminate strongly any near object,
if FL is greater than the focal length of the lens. This
contrivance has been proposed for light-house illumination,
where, in addition to the beam FLL radiating directly from
F the lens LL, receives also the other beam FMN, both of
which it unites in one parallel beam LLRR. In the accu¬
rate illumination of objects for the microscope, this contriv¬
ance is also applicable; and hence for this purpose a spheri¬
cal mirror is better than a mirror of any other form.
As we cannot in the case of reflectors diminish their
spherical aberration as we did in lenses, by giving a diffe¬
rent shape to the two surfaces, it becomes of great import¬
ance to form the reflecting surface in such a manner as to
remove the spherical aberration altogether. It is evident
from the inspection of fig. 54, where CB is a perpendicular
to the mirror at B, RMC the angle of incidence, and CBF
the angle of reflexion, that if the reflecting surface should
be such that the line BF drawn to a fixed point, F should
always form equal angles with a line CB perpendicular to
the mirror at the point of incidence, the parallel rays
would all converge to the point F. Now the parabola is a
curve which possesses this property as shewn in fio-. 56. Let
AEB be a parabola which form a re¬
flecting surface by its revolution
round its axis RFE, and let R, R, R
be parallel rays incident upon the
paraboloidal surface at the points
A, E, B. 1 hen if F is the focus of
the parabola, and GH a line
touching the curve at A, it is a pro¬
perty of the parabola,3 that the angle
GAR is equal to HAF, but GAR is
the complement of the angle of incidence, and therefore
HAF will be the complement of the angle of reflexion, and
Fig. 56.
2 ®ee Descartes’ Dioptrica, cap. viii.
• <£ f'p1 « "oorH3.ye'n’S ^ P' 11 ^ &C'
400
OPTICS.
Spherical consequently AF the reflected ray. As this is true for every
aberration. ray parallel to the axis RFE, it follows that all parallel rays
'—-v—' incident upon the surface of a paraboloidal mirror will be
reflected accurately to the focus of the paraboloid.
It may be shewn, in like manner, that convex parabolo¬
idal reflectors will reflect parallel rays, so as to make them
diverse from the virtual focus ot the paraboloid. If,
56, we continue the line RA to R, and also F A to r , i
follows, from the above reasoning, that R AH is equal to
raC, and that the reflected ray is Ar, diverging accurately
from the focus F. -a.
When we wish to reflect diverging rays to a focus, with¬
out aberration, we must have recourse to another solid ot
revolution, namely, a prolate spheroidal surface formed by
the revolution of an ellipse round its greater axis. In this
case, rays diverging from one of its loci will be reflected
accurately, without aberration, to the focus F. fhis wi
be understood from fig. 57, where R, F are the foci of an
ellipsoid, AEB a section °f t“e
ellipsoidal surface, and HH a
line touching the ellipse at A,
then if rays diverging from one
of its foci R, fall upon the re¬
flecting surface at A, E, and R,
they will be reflected accurately
to the focus F, or if they radiate
FAt i! if" propertyofthe ellipse,'that the angle
GAR is equal to HAF^ then since GAR is the complement
of the angle of incidence, HAF mist be *e compleme^ ^
the angle ot reflection, and AE * tll;llsoidal surface,
Srr^rlfS^pon
b^^gnlirf"^;%ucingRA?
R^ and RB to R' that
, dal mirror, and converging to o focus# ^hat
as if they diverged accurately from -jj b reflected in
“tifnsTR'fBR',diverged ftom R as their
"If fhfconcave surface of a mirror is a portion of a hjper-
ioS a soild generated by the revolution of a hyperbola
about its axis, rays converging to
one focus will be reflected to the
other focus. Let AEB be ^
tion of the hyperboloid, and RAR,
RBR', rays converging to its lo¬
cus ; these rays w ill be reflected to
its other focus F. Let G.H be a
tangent to the hyperbola at A, then
by a well-known property of the
hyperbola,i 2 the angle GAR is equa
to HAF; but the former being the
complement to the angle ol incidence, and the latter the
complement to the angle of reflection, AF will be the re
fleeted ray. For the same reason, if the rays (to^ from
the focus F, they will, after reflexion diverge m the direc¬
tions AR, BR, as if they came from the other locus R •
In a similar manner, it may be shewn, that in a convex
hvperboloidal mirror AEB, rays diverging from one locus
R', w ill be reflected in directions Ar, Br, as if they diverged
from the other focus F. ... .-i „
The preceding truths are of great practical "ac m the
construction of optical instruments. In all reflecting tele-
single focus, it is necessary that the figure of the reflecting Cat,
"surface should be that of a paraboloid ; and as in the spe- ^
cula of such telescopes the portion of the paraboloid which is
requisite, does not differ much from the same portion of a sphe¬
rical surface that has the same focal length, artists have con¬
trived particular methods by which the marginal parts of the
spherical surface shall be worn down in the act of polishing,
so as to convert the spherical into a paraboloidal surface.
In the reflectors of light-houses, where a large surface is
required to be used, a copper plate thickly plated with sil¬
ver is hammered by means of a gauge to as correct a para¬
boloidal figure as possible, and a lamp being placed in its
focus, the light which it radiates is reflected in a beam of
considerable brilliancy.
In the construction of reflecting microscopes, where the
image of a small object placed in one spot has a magnified
image of it formed in another point, an ellipsoidal speculum
is used; and Mr. Cuthbert, an eminent London artist, has
succeeded in giving to such small specula an accurate ellip¬
soidal form. Mr. Potter has also succeeded, as we have
mentioned elsewhere,3 in giving specula a true ellipsoidal
form, and has published an account of the method by which
he was able to effect this important object.4
Sect. III. On Caustic Curves formed by Spherical.lk-
Jlecting and Refracting Surfaces.
When two or more rays of light cross one another at any Cse
point, they illuminate any reflecting substance placed in cun
that point with their united light. Flence it follows, that
when spherical surfaces converge the rays which tall upon
them to different foci, these different foci must form so many
illuminated points, if they are received on smoke, on white
paper, or on water with any reflecting particles suspended
in it. The lines which pass through these luminous foci, or
rather the lines formed by the union of a great number ot
them, are called caustics, or caustic curves. As these curves
are in reality a visible representation of the phenomena ot
spherical aberration, they possess considerable interest, as
experimental illustrations of that class of facts.
When diverging rays fall upon a spherical mirror, whose
surface exceeds a hemisphere, the caustics formed by re¬
flexion are exceedingly beautiful. Let ACB be the sectio
of such a spherical surface, whose centre is C, and whose
Fig. 59.
scopes^ where parallel rays are required to be reflected to a
principal focus for parallel and central rays is at / M *
beam of light RAC, diverging from R, be ■n™en ^
upper part AC of this mirror, the beam . jJ’ t]ie re.
individual rays Rl, R2, R3, &c., up to » making the
fleeted rays 1,1; 2, 2; 3, 3, &c., be fomi - jiculars
angle of reflexion which they form with the peri
i See Conic Sections, vol. vii. p. 229, prop. y. cor. 4.
* Id. Id. p. 241, prop, v-
Art. Microscope, vol. xv. p. 42.
Edin. Jour, of Science, N. S., bo. 12, p.
i a
C*
OPTICS.
:s. drawn from 1, 2, 3, See., to C, equal to the angles of inci-
^dence which they form with the same perpendiculars. We
shall then have the directions, and also the foci and inter¬
sections of all the rays. The ray 10,10 does not meet the
axis RC at all, but falling on the mirror at the point 3, will
there suffer a second reflexion. The ray 9, 9 has its focus
exactly at C, the vertex of the mirror, where it will suffer a
second reflexion, and so on with all the rest, up to 14, which
is the last which will suffer a second reflexion. All the re¬
flected rays, after 9, 9, cross the axis, or have their foci at
points gradually approaching to f, which is the focus of the
central ray Rl. As all the rays proceeding from R, but
not drawn in the figure, which fall upon the other half CB
of the mirror, at points corresponding to R 1, R2, &c., will
have their foci in the same points between C and/ there
will be along that line a series of foci constituting a line of
light becoming more intense towards/
Rut the rays RlO, R9, R8, cross each other after reflex¬
ion, and before they reach the axis, as shewn in the figure,
and hence there will be a beautiful curve of light Af, called
a caustic, formed by the intersection of these rays. The
other half of the mirror CB will form a similar caustic, and
the projecting points/are called the cusps of these caustics,
and Cf their tangent.
If a small pencil of light, consisting of two contiguous
rays, moves from R A towards the position RB, being incident
successively at 9, 8, 7, 6, &c., the conjugate focus of this pen¬
cil, or that formed by the intersection of the two rays of
which it consists, wall move along the caustic curve Af, while
the points where it crosses the axis RC, or its focus formed
by its union with a similar pencil similarly incident on the
other half of the mirror, will advance from C to/
If we now consider ACB as a convex spherical surface,
and place the radiant point R as far to the right of the ver¬
tex C as it is to the left of it in the figure, and if we project
the reflected rays, we shall find that when traced backwards,
they will intersect the axis and each other, in the very same
manner as they do in the figure, forming an imaginary or
virtual caustic, in place of a real one, the two being in every
respect the same. 17
If, while the radiant point R remains as in the figure, we
suppose the convex surface ASB to receive the incident
rays, it will then be found, by projecting the reflected rays,
that they will form an imaginary caustic ApB, less than
A/B, and joining it at the points A, B. This difference in
size arises from the radiant point being in this case much
nearer the convex surface than before.
Let us now suppose that the radiant point R recedes from
the corecaw mirror ACB, the point/of the cusps will gra¬
dually approach to F, the tangent C/diminishing at the
same time; and when R is infinitely distant, or the rays
parallel the point/ will coincide with F, the focus of parallel
Jr S' Ann Sarae .wiI1 ta!<;e PIace in the case °f the convex
irror ACB; but in the case of the convex mirror ASB, the
point? o, the cusps will approach to F', and will coincide
’Vith !t when R is infinitely distant.
n • I p the case of the concave mirror ACB, the radiant
* K no^ approaches to the mirror, the cusps f will ap-
i ac i to the centre E of the mirror, the caustic curve Af
thprT'ufkflatter an<? flatter’ anci when R reaches C,
hpinn-" ^ bC T,Ca,IStlc at ah> in consequence of all the rays
scc/jLreueC*ed back t0 the centre, all their foci and inter-
sectnm having united in that point.
proaches6 f *m in}a3inary caustic A<pB, when R ap-
proximaf * S’ ? W1 a 80 aPProach to S, the caustic ap-
P oximating ln form to the circular arch AS; and when R
401
reaches S, <p will also reach S, the caustic disappearing when Caustics,
it has reached that limiting form. ' — — J
All that we have said is obviously applicable only to one
section of the spherical mirror; but as the same is true of
every section whatever, the caustic will not be a curve, but a
surtax formed by the revolution of the curves A/B round its
axis/L, all the reflected rays being tangents to this surface.
We shall now consider the change in the appearance
oi the caustic, when the radiant point comes within the
sphere of which the reflecting surface is a part, and when
the mirror becomes a concave polished sphere. The effect
thus produced is shewn in fig. 60, RE being less than RS'.
In this case a remarkable double caustic will be formed, com-
Ficr. 60.
posed of a short one of the kind shewn in fig. 59, and ano¬
ther with two long branches, one of which is shewn at 1,2,
3, 4, 5, the dotted line below the axis SE shewing the other
halves of the caustic, the long branches converging- behind
the mirror. Had R been placed nearer S than E, the branches
1, 2, 3, &c., would have diverged behind the mirror, having
their virtual foci within the mirror. When R is half-way
between S and E, the curved branches become parallel
lines. When R comes nearer E the branches 1, 2, 3, &c.,
shorten; the smaller caustics also shorten; they both ap¬
proach to the centre E, the long branches moving quickest
till at E, as we have already seen, all the rays from R are
reflected back to the same point, and the caustics all dis¬
appear.
M. A. Delarive, in his ingenious dissertation on caustic
curves,1 has shewn that caustics generated by parallel rays
are epicycloids, formed by one circle rolling upon a fixed
circle concentric with that of the mirror, and having a radius
equal to halt of its own. Dr. Smith has shewn that when
the radiant point is at S, the caustic is an epicycloid, whose
generating circle is two-thirds of the radius of the mirror,
and the fixed circle one-third of that radius.2
When the radiant point passes the centre E, the caustics
shift their place to the opposite side of E, and present the
same phenomena as before.
There is a curious property, however, involved in these phe¬
nomena, which we have represented in fig. 61, where the ra¬
diant point is supposed to be at F, a very little within the prin¬
cipal focusof a spherical mirror ACB. We have supposed the
lays to diverge from a point a little within the principal focus,
because it is only in this case that the rays F 1, F 1, at a little
distance from the axis, may be reflected in directions 1,1,1,1,
exactly parallel. The rays F 2, F 2, falling at a greater distance
from the axis, will be made to converge to a focus at/2,
tos an account of the kbours of ^ C°UrheS- P- 84. Geneve, 1823. This interesting dissertation con-
Prosecute the subject mathematicaflv g mathematlclans’ ^eluding Malus and Gergonne, and merits the attention of those who wish to
VOL. xvi. y' 2 Complete System of Optics, vol. i. p. 174.
3e
402
Caustics, and rays F3, F3, to a focus/3, still nearer the mirror. If
we now conceive rays flowing from F to tall on the mirror
OPTICS.
Caustics formed by Refracting Surfaces. Cauj
It is evident, from what has been said of caustics formed^'
by reflexion or Catacaustics, that analogous curves must
also be formed by spherical refracting surfaces, which has
been called Diacaustics. In order to explain these curves,
we shall take the case of diverging rays falling upon a sphe¬
rical surface, as shewn in fig. 63. where DBDF is the sphe¬
rical surface, C its centre, R the radiant point, RD, RD
Fig. 63.
between the rays Fl, Fl, and the axis FC, these rays will
diverge, because they radiate from a point a little within
the principal focus, and hence we have one spherical mir¬
ror which has, under these circumstances, the paradoxical
property of rendering a faint cone of diverging rays parallel,
converging, and diverging, after reflexion.
Caustics All that we have said of the caustics formed by the sec-
from cylin-tions of spherical surfaces, are true of cylindrical surfaces,
dricalsur- and by means of surfaces of this kind, the phenomena of
faces. caustic curves may be beautifully exhibited. They are in¬
deed often presented to the eye at the bottom of china ves¬
sels of a cylindrical form, when exposed to the rays of the
sun or to the light of a candle. Owing to the depths of
such vessels, the obliquity of the rays prevents the effect
from being well seen, but we may take shallow cylindrical
vessels, or make deep ones shallow by an artificial bottom o
paper or pasteboard, or by filling them nearly with milk, or
any other fluid with a white opacity, or with a fine white
powder pressed into a smooth surface. In order to shew the
caustics, when the radiant point is placed within the cylin¬
drical surface, a piece of card should be made to float upon
oil in the cylindrical vessel, and a very minute wick inserted
in the card at the points of the axis where we wish the ra¬
diant point to be placed. This wick, when lighted, will be
the radiant point R in fig. 60, and the caustics will be beauti¬
fully formed on the surface of the white card.
The following method, however, of exhibiting caustic
curves, we have found very convenient and instructive, and
it has the advantage of allowing the radiant point to come
within the cylinder. A piece of steel-spring highly po¬
lished, such as a watch-spring, is bent into a concaveform, like
AB, fig. 62, and is placed vertically with itk lower edge rest
ing upon a piece of card or white paper.
It is then exposed to the solar rays, or
those of any artificial light, so that the
plane of the card MN passes through the
luminous body, and the caustic curves will
be seen finely displayed, varying with the
distance of the radiant point, and with the
reflecting arch AB. By altering too the
curvature of the arch and bending it into
different known curves, either by apply¬
ing a portion of its breadth to the requir¬
ed curves delineated upon a piece of wood,
and either cut or burned sufficiently deep
in the wood to allow the edge of the thin ^
strip of metal to be inserted in it, a great variety of inter
esting phenomena may be observed. The brightest re
fleeter is a thin strip of polished silver or plated copper.
Gold and silver foil will also answer, or a strip of mica. A
cylindrical section of a wide glass tube or a bottle, espe¬
cially if a piece is cut out of them to allow the incident
rays to pass to the reflecting surface in the plane nearly of
the base of the cylinder, will produce the caustic curves in
great perfection. The caustic curves produced by a high¬
ly gilt or polished metallic ring, such as the ring of a bell han¬
dle, are exceedingly beautiful, the phenomena of a convex
and a concave surface being here united.
two extreme rays touching the sphere, and refracted in the
directions D/; T>f and RB, RB other rays nearer the
axis, and refracted in the directions BF, BF. If we join
CD, CD, and drawing the semicircles DFC, DLL make
the lines DE, CE' in the same proportion to CD as unity is
to the index of refraction, the caustic will begin at EE and
extending in the directions E, F', F will approach to the
axis RC till it meets it at the principal focus F.
The caustics formed by the two refractions of a sphere,
or of a cylinder (in a plane perpendicular to its axis) are
shewn in fig. 64, where ACB is the spherical section, E its
Fig. 64.
Fig. 62.
centre, R the radiant point, and RC the ray which touches
the spherical surface. This ray will be refracted by the
first Surface in the direction 6,6, and by the second sur¬
face of the sphere at 6, the other rays Ro, R4, &c. will be
all refracted in the directions indicated by the nume^s
5, 4, &c. and their various intersections will form the caus c
6 4, 3, 2, 1, ( each ray crossing the next ray before it
the axis,/being the focus or the point where the ray
nearest the axis cut it. The luminous figure bounded
the intersection of the successive rays is compo^d of
two bright caustic curves. Within these caustics there is
also much light arising from the intersections be
caustics and the axis; but as thfr,\are,
without the caustics they are bounded by abso ute darkno|
When parallel rays fall upon the spherical section AC ,
the caustic commences at the extremity of a diamete p
pendicular to the axis of the section, because Ae extt
ray suffers refraction at that point, and will intersect 1
nearest a little within it, and they extend, as ™ \
the principal focus of the sphere for rays ne^thejs
The real caustic will be the surface forme by t ^
tionofthe curves round the axis E/the section
curve will be a luminous Pomt f A on the
surface it will be a luminous circle vmdiy dep 1 d. ^
sphere. M. Delarive has Pointed/^/XrS or ofhoh
mining the index of refraction of solid fPhe ’ the
low spheres containing different fluids, b) ™ luids
diameter of this luminous circle, which is sn 11 ,
of high than in those of low refractive power.
nomena of caustics formed by refraction, m > ^ a strong
exhibited by exposing to the rays of the s ^ g s0.
artificial light, a globe of glas/bUf wl hnfa"yrofluUi;d glass de¬
lid transparent sphere, or the widest par luminous
canter. With all these bodies ^e whole of the^u
figure will be clearly seen. If we use a cyhnd
jroi ics ter, such as a tumbler or a cylindrical bottle, we shall see
** '■''the caustic curves formed upon a white surface held paral¬
lel to the surface of the fluid, the light falling upon the cy¬
lindrical surface in the same plane.
PART H. OX THE REFRACTIOX OF COMPOUND LIGHT, OR
THE DOCTRINE OF COLOURS AND THE PRISMATIC SPEC¬
TRUM.
OPTICS.
403
1 ics
L\ the preceding pages we have considered white light,
whether emanating directly from the sun or from artificial
flames, or consisting of the same rays reflected and modified
by other bodies, as a simple element all the particles of
which had the same index of refraction, or suffered the
same change of direction when refracted by any transpa¬
rent body. This, however, is not the nature of light.
White light as emitted by the sun or other luminous bodies, is"
a very compound element, all the parts of which possess very
different properties, and these properties are of a very re¬
markable and interesting kind. The power which causes
the reflexion of light from polished metallic bodies is not
capable of decomposing it, unless when it enters the sub¬
stance of the metal, but the power which produces refrac¬
tion is peculiarly influential in separating compound white
light into its elements. The same decomposition may be
effected by the interference of rays of light by absorption, and
by another principle of analysis, which has been called dis¬
section. The two first of these processes of analysis de¬
compose compound light of different degrees of refrangibi-
lity; while the two last decompose compound light whose
rays have the same refrangibility.
Sect. I—On the decomposition of light, and the different
refrangibility of its rays.
i The constituent parts or colours which compose white
light, are seven in number, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, in¬
digo, and violet. These colours have been long observed
and studied in the rainbow, and in the refractions produced
by lenses and prisms, but till the time of Sir Isaac New¬
ton, no satisfactory explanation had been given of their
origin and properties. Descartes had found that colours
similar to those of the rainbow were produced by prisms,
and he endeavoured to explain them by saying, that the
- particles of the medium, or matter which transmits light,
endeavour to revolve with so great force, that they cannot
1 move m a straight line, whence comes refraction ; "and that
those particles which endeavour to revolve more strongly
produce a red colour, those that endeavour to move a little
i more strongly, produce yelloiu, and so on with the other
colours. Now this explanation, as Mr. Whewell1 has justly
remarked, though it contains a gratuitous hypothesis respect-
l mg the cause of refraction, yet it proves that Descartes con-
i ’ihered the different colours as produced by different de-
?rees of refraction. In like manner Grimaldi, as the same
mtnor has. observed, explains colours by saying, “that
iLC°T 18 brighter where the light is dense;'and the
ght is denser on the side from which the refraction turns
e ray, because the increments of refraction are greater
r he rays that are more inclined that is, that the blue
ays are more refracted than the red rays. We cannot agree,
iatinTrf nth ^:,Whewe11 in the opinion, that this expia¬
tion of Grimaldis might give an explanation of most of
Inpnf cr?1* 0ne much more erroneous than a develop-
ent of Descartes’s views would have been.” It appears
o us quite manifest, that both Descartes and Grimaldi had
gue sentiment that the different colours were produced
ios Herfnt1egrees of refraction> and that Grimaldi’s is the
is met y expressed of the two ; but we cannot for a
“aXswaffed veiteaalh°r ab°Ve <Iuoted’“ Des-Chron,,,^
TEo ! . 1 7 near the same point with Newton.”
merp nn ^en ufEPreSSedby Descartes and Grimaldi, were
wfrhmT1 ™omer\t’ which authors often throw out
without much thought, and which are employed in future
times to pervert the history of science. If these two au!
thors really thought that colours were produced by differ
ent degrees of refraction, why did they not, as they did
other opinions, submit them to the test of an experiment,
which required neither thought nor labour, and the means
of making which were in their hands. Sir Isaac Newton
much t thX11146? ^ith the °f Descartes, and so
much with Descartes s notions about colours, that the exa¬
mination of them was the object which he had in view in
purchasing his prisms. He never refers to them as anticipa¬
tory of his own discoveries, and we must therefore continue
to give Sir Isaac the undivided merit of the discovery of the
2i'ilmtm’8,bilUy °f ligh*’ “ Wdl aS itS Rental
We shall now proceed to give our readers some account
of this great discovery, and we shall make no apology in
doing this in Sir Isaac Newton’s own words, abridginghis
descriptions where they are redundant, or have becLfun-
necessary. We are induced to do this also, because they
?a"6? m°del °f exPerimental research, and
should be studied by every person who is desirous of inves-
tigating truth with diligence and patience.
1. ihe light of the sun consists of rays which differ in
rol“dS? a viy /ark chamblf It"
round hole F, fig. 65, about one-third of an inch broad,
Fig. 65.
white
made in the shutter of a window, I placed a glass prism
. Iw it7 thebeam of the ^n’s light, SF, which came
in at that hole, might be refracted upwards, toward the op¬
posite wall of the chamber, and there form a coloured image
of he sun represented at FT. The axis of the prism, wls,
in this and the following experiments, perpendicular to the
incident rays. About this axis I turned the prism slowly,
and saw the refracted or coloured image of the sun, first to
descend, and then to ascend. Between the descent and
ascent, when the image seemed stationary, I stopped the
pnsm, and fixed it m that posture, for in that posture the
reft actions of the light at the two sides of the refracting
a. J 0!’ that 1S’. at the entrance of the rays into the prism,
and at their going out of it, are equal to one another.
ien I let the refracted light fall perpendicularly upon
a sheet of white paper, MN, placed at the opposite wall of
le chamber, and observed the figure and dimensions of
the solar image, FT, formed on the paper by that light,
his image was oblong, and not oval, but terminated by
w o rectilinear and parallel sides, and two semicircular ends.
Un its side it was bounded pretty distinctly ; but on its ends
very indistinctly, the light there vanishing by degrees. At
1 Hist, of Inductive Sciences, vol. ii. p. 350.
* Id. Id. p. 352.
404
OPTICS.
Chromatics the distance of 18l feet from the prism the breadth ot the
imaKe was about 2^ inches, but its length was about 10^
inches, and the length of its rectilinear sides about 8 inches;
and ACB, the refracting angle of the prism, by which so
great a length was made, was 64 degrees. With a less an¬
gle the length of the image was less, the breadth remaining
the same. ^ It is also to be observed, that the rays went on
in straight lines from the prism to the image, and therefore
at their going out of the prism had all that inclination to
one another from which the length of the image proceeded.
This image PT was coloured, and the more eminent co¬
lours lay in this order from the bottom at T to the top at
P ; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet ; to¬
gether with all their intermediate degrees in a continual
succession perpetually varying.” . „ . r
Hence “ the light of the sun consists of a mixture ot se¬
veral sorts of coloured rays, some ot which at equal inciden¬
ces are more refracted than others, and therefore are called
more refrangible. The red at T, being nearest to the place
Y where the rays of the sun would go directly it the prism
was taken away, is the least refracted of all the rays ; and
the orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, are conti¬
nually more and more refracted, as they are more and more
diverted from the course of the direct light. For, when the
prism is fixed in the posture above mentioned, so that the
place of the image shall be the lowest possible, the hgure
of the image ought to be round, like the spot at Y, it all
the rays that tended to it were equally refracted, .there¬
fore, since it is found that this image is not round, but about
five times longer than it is broad, it follows, that all the
rays are not equally refracted. This conclusion is farther
confirmed by the following experiments.
In the sunbeam SF, fig. 66, which was propagated into
the room through the hole F in the window-shutter LCj, at
Fig. 66.
Having discovered this fundamental property of light, he Ck
contrived the following experiment to prove it by ocular^
demonstration. _ _ T
“ In the middle of two thin boards DF, de, fig. b7,1 made
a round hole in each, at G and g, a third part of an inch in
Fig. 67.
the distance of some feet from the hole, I held the prism
ABC in such a posture, that its axis might be perpendicu¬
lar to that beam: then I looked through the prism upon
the hole F, and turning the prism to and fro about its axis
to make the image pt of the hole ascend and descend, when
between its two contrary motions it seemed stationary, I
stopped the prism ; in this situation of the prism, viewing
through it the said hole F, I observed the length of its re¬
fracted image pt to be many times greater than its breadth ;
and that the most refracted part thereof appeared violet at
p ; the least refracted appeared red at t; and the middle
parts indigo, blue, green, yellow, and orange, in order. The
same thing happened when I removed the prism out of the
sun’s light, and looked through it upon the hole shining by
the light of the clouds beyond it. And yet if the refrac¬
tions of all the rays were equal according to one certain
proportion of the sines of incidence and refraction, as is com¬
monly supposed, the refracted image ought to have appear¬
ed round. So then by these two experiments, it appears
that in equal incidences there is a considerable inequality
of refractions.”
diameter i and in the window-shutter a much larger hole
beino- made at F, to let into my darkened chamber a large
beam of the sun’s light, I placed a prism, ABC, behind the
shutter in that beam, to refract it towards the opposite wall;
and close behind this prism I fixed one of the boards DE,
in such a manner that the middle ot the refracted light might
pass through the hole made in it at G, and the rest be in¬
tercepted by the board. Then, at the distance of about
twelve feet from the first board, I fixed the other board de,
so that the middle of the refracted light, which came through,
the hole in the first board, and fell upon the opposite wall,
mbdit pass through the hole g in this other board de, and
the rest being intercepted by the board, might paint upon
it the coloured spectrum of the sun. And close behind this
board I fixed another prism abc, to refract the light which
came through the hole g. Then I returned speedily to the
first prism ABC, and by turning it slowly to and fro about
its axis, I caused the image which fell upon the second
board de to move up and down upon that board, that all its
parts might pass successively through the hole in that board,
and fall upon the prism behind it. And in the mean time
I noted the places M, N, on the opposite wall, to which that
light after its refraction in the second prism did pass; and
by the difference of the places at M and N, I found that the
light, which, being most refracted in the first prism Abb,
did go to the blue end of the image, was again more retract¬
ed by the second prism abc, than the light which went to
the red end of that image. For when the lower part ot the
light which fell upon the second board de, was cast througn
the hole g, it went to a lower place M on the wall; and
when the higher part of that light was cast through tne
same hole g, it went to a higher place N on the wall; and
when any intermediate part of the light was cast throug
that hole, it went to some place in the wall between Hand
N. The unchanged position of the holes in the boara
made the incidence of the rays upon the second prism to De
the same in all cases. And yet in that common incidence
some of the rays were more refracted and others less,
those were more refracted in this prism, ’''hichby agrea
refraction in the first prism were more turned out ot
way ; and therefore, for their constancy of being more
fracted, are deservedly called more refrangible.
2. The light of the shy, or the light of the
from the first surface of bodies, and also the wh e Ji
of all combustibles, whether direct or rcfleftedlf$
colour and refrangibility, like the direct light °J e ,
The truth stated in this proposition was establish >
Newton, by examining all those lights with a pnsm
they were faint, or transmitting them through the p
in section 1, when they were sufficiently intense. ^ ^
3. The light of the sun consists of rays differing
flexibility ; and those rays that are more refrangible
others are also more rcflexible. pfi
. •  A nr' liQ +H7r> oncrlPS at its Ddsc
A prism ABC, fig. 6*8, whose two angles at its base
1 - ■' 11 Tright ones, and the u
were equal to one another and half i
I
Fig. 68.
wticsat A a right one, I placed in
a beam FM of the sun’s light,
let into a dark chamber
through a hole F, one-third
part of an inch broad; and
turning theprismslowly about
its axis until the light which
went through one of its an¬
gles ACB, and was refracted
by it to G and H, began to
be reflected into the line MN
by its base BC, at which till
then it went out of the glass ;
I observed that those rays as MH, which had suffered the
greatest refraction, were sooner reflected than the rest. To
make it evident that the rays which vanished at H were
reflected into the beam MN, I made this beam pass through
another prism VXY, and being refracted by it to fall after¬
wards upon a sheet of white paper pt placed at some dis¬
tance behind it, and there by that refraction to paint the
usual colours at pt. Then causing the first prism to be
turned about its axis according to the order of the letters:
ABC, I observed that when those rays MH, which in this
prism had suffered the greatest refraction, and appeared
blue and violet, began to be totally reflected, the blue and
violet light on the paper which was most refracted in the
second prism received a sensible increase at p, above that
of the red and yellow at t: and afterwards, when the rest
of the light, which was green, yellow, and red, began to be
totally reflected, and vanished at G, the light of those co-
ours at t, on the paper y, received as great an increase as
the violet and blue had received before. Which puts it
past dispute, that those rays became first of all totally re¬
flected at the base BC, which before at equal incidences with
.. e res “Pon the base BC had suffered the greatest refrac-
‘“f 1 ,d° nothere take any notice of any refractions made
n the sides AC, AB, of the first prism, because the light en¬
ters almost perpendicularly at the first side, and goes out al¬
most perpendicularly at the second; and therefore suffers none,
or so little, that the angles of incidence at the base BC are not
Ltltf by u ;,esPecially if the ^gles of the prism at
he base BC be each about 40°. For the rays FM begin to be
otal ymfleeted when the angle CMF is about 50°,and there-
ore they will then make a right angle of 90° with AC.
MN Jfau S°ifrT exPeriments, that the beam of light
fim’bvfrp Cd by thr base°f the Prism, being augmented
less reft nt-m°re refranglb]e 'ays, and afterwards by the
ess refrangibJe is composed of rays differently refrangible.
Wh°Se ra,ys are a11 alike refrangible, I call sim-
some aT s^m^ar > and that whose rays are
JitSL others’1 csl1 camp,mxd’/ W
of homogeneous Ughts I call prmary, homo-
V neous, and simple; and those of heterogeneous lights
pS«Uf7 antl ““ Fof these Je dTys S
pounaecl of homogeneous lights.
rathermK^?* bght and rays which aPPear red> ™
which mat ft?eCtS aPPear so, I call red-making; those
1 calhS, a^6ar yellow’ 9reen, blue> and violet,
oftherest A^T blue-makind> vioiet-making; and so
as coloured nr a at/ny time 1 sPeak of hght and rays
stood to sneak nni ° CoIours’ 1 would be under-
properly are norVl U OS"Phlcally- For the rays, to speak
else than a rertn- ° oured’ and m them there is nothing
sation of this or that0cmlour"” disp°sition to Produce a sen-
°fcompound>Ugh/'r0m ^ anotber the heterogeneous rays
1 rirdetnsweS 7^2 are,e(lualIy refrangible fall upon
experiment by lid by™ * wdl be,Pr^ed
U I 1 C So
405
Fig. 69.
apiS
Let AG, fig. 69, represent the circle which all the mn<u rn™ .•
refranpble rays, propagated from the whole ^ of '
Will illuminate and paint upon the op- ’
Posite wall if they were alone ; EL the
circle, which all the least refrangible
rays would in like manner illuminate
if they were alone ; BH, Cl, DK, the
circles which so many intermediate rays
would paint upon the wall, if they were B
singly propagated from the sun in sue-
cessive order, the rest being intercept¬
ed ; and conceive that there are other
circles without number, which innume- n
rable other intermediate sorts of rays
would successively paint upon the wall, B |
if the sun should successively emit
every sort apart. And seeing the sun
emits all these sorts at once, they must
nil together illuminate and paint innumerable equal circles :
of all which being, according to their degrees of refrangi-
nty, placed in order in a continual series, that oblono-
spectrum P i is composed, which was described in the first
experiment.
Now, if these circles, whilst their centres keep their dis¬
tances and positions, could be made less in diameter, their
interfering one with another, and consequently the mixture
?\ 7 hT tT°fene07 rays’ would be proportionably dimin-
mdett L 6tAG, BH’ CI’ &c remain as before;
d let ag, bh, ci, &c. be so many less circles lying in a like
contmual senes, between two parallel right lines ae, and gl,
with the same distance between their centres, and illumi¬
nated with the same sorts of rays: that is, the circle ag with
the same sort by which the corresponding circle AG was
i uminated; and the rest of the circles bh, ci, dk, el, re¬
spectively with the same sorts of rays by which the corre¬
sponding circles BH, CI, DK, EL, were illuminated. In
A r RH6 pr ’ comPosed of the great circles, three of those,
7 T1’ L ’ fre 80 exPanded into each other, that three
sorts of rays, by which those circles are illuminated, to¬
gether with innumerable other sorts of intermediate rays,
are mixed at QR m the middle of the circle BH. And the
rm*ture baPPens throughout almost the whole length
of the figure Pf But in the figure pt, composed of die
less cn-cles, the three less circles ag, bh, ci, which answer
to those three greater, do not extend to one another; nor
are there anyvyhere mingled so much as any two of the three
sorts of rays by which those circles are illuminated, and
which in the figure P T are all of them intermingled at QR.
bo then, if we would diminish the mixture of the rays, we
are to dimmish the diameters of the circles. Now these
would be diminished if the sun’s diameter, to which they
answer, could be made less than it is, or (which comes to
the same purpose) if without doors, at great distance from
the prism towards the sun, some opaque body were placed
with a round hole in the middle of it to intercept all the sun’s
light, except so much as coming from the middle of his
body could pass through that hole to the prism. For so
the circles AG, BH, and the rest, would not any longer
answer to the whole disk of the sun, but only to that part
it winch could be seen from the prism through that hole ;
that is, to the apparent magnitude of that hole viewed from
d7i;nT\, ?lat dlese circles may answer more dis-
y o ia ole, a lens is to be placed by the prism to
cast the image of the hole (that is, every one of the circles
A<J, mi, ice.) distinctly upon the paper at PT ; after such
a manner, as by a lens placed at a window the pictures of
o.ijec s a road are cast distinctly upon a paper within the
room. this be done, it will not be necessary to place
that hole very far off, no, not beyond the window. And
erefore, instead of that hole, I used the hole in the win¬
dow-shutter as follows.
406
OPTICS.
Chromatics In tlie sun’s light let into my darkened chamber through
'a small round hole, fig. 70, in my window-shutter, at about
Fig. 70.
ten or twelve feet from the window, I placed a lens MN,
by which the image of the hole F might be distmct^ ^
upon a sheet of white paper placed at I. Then immediately
behind the lens I placed a prism ABC, by which the tra-
iected light might be refracted either upwards or sidewise,
and thereby the round image which the lens alone did cas
upon the paper at I, might be drawn out into a long one
with parallel sides, as represented at/tf. This oblong image
I let fall upon another at about the same distance from the
prism as the image at I, moving the paper either towards
the prism or from it, until I found the just distance where
the rectilinear sides of the images ^ become most distinct.
For in this case the circular images of the hole, which com¬
pose that image, after the manner that the circles
&c. do the figure pt, were terminated most distinctly, and
therefore extended into one another the least that they could,
and by consequence the mixture of the heterogeneous rays
was now the least of all. The circles ag, bh ci, &c. which
compose the image pt, are each equal t0 the circle at I
and therefore, by diminishing the hole F, or by remo\i g
the lens farther from it, may be diminished at pleasure,
whilst their centres keep the same distances from each other.
Thus, by diminishing the breadth of the image pt, the cir¬
cles of heterogeneal rays that compose it may be separate
from each other as much as you please. Yet instead of the
circular hole F, it is better to substitute an hole shaped like
a parallelogram, with its length parallel to the length of the
prism For if this hole be an inch or two long, and but a
tenth or twentieth part of an inch broad, or narrower, the
light of the image pt will be as simple as before, or simpler ;
and the image being much broader, is therefore fitter to
have experiments tried in its light than before.
5. Homogeneal light is refracted regularly without any
dilatation, splitting or shattering of the rays ; and the con¬
fused vision of objects seen through refracting bodies by
heterogeneous light, arises from the different refrangibihty
of several sorts of rays. . , ,
In the middle of a black paper I made a round hole,
about a fifth or a sixth part of an inch in diameter. Upon
this part I caused the spectrum of homogeneous light, de¬
scribed in the former proposition, so to fall that some part
of the light might pass through the hole in the paper. I ins
transmitted part of the light I refracted with a prism placed
behind the paper : and letting the refracted light fall per¬
pendicularly upon a white paper, two or three feet distant
from the prism, I found that the spectrum formed on the
paper by this light was not oblong, as when it is made in
the first experiment, by refracting the sun’s compound
light, but was, so far as I could judge by my eye, perfectly
circular, the length being nowhere greater than the breadth ;
which shews that this light is refracted regularly without
any dilatation of the rays, and is an ocular demonstration
of the mathematical proposition mentioned above.
In the homogeneous light I placed a paper circle of a
quarter of an inch in diameter ; and in the sun’s unrefract¬
ed, heterogeneous, white light, I placed another paper circle
of the same bigness; and going from these papers to the
distance of some feet, I viewed both circles through a prism.
The circle illuminated by the sun’s heterogeneous light
appeared very oblong, as in the second experiment, the
length being many times greater than the breadth. But the
other circle, illuminated with homogeneous light, appeared Chro;
circular, and distinctly defined, as when it is viewed by the ^
naked eye ; which proves the whole proposition mentioned
above.
In the homogeneous light I placed flies and other minute
objects, and viewing them through a prism I saw their parts
as distinctly defined as if I had viewed them with the naked
eye. The same objects placed in the sun’s unrefracted
heterogeneous light, which was white, I viewed also through
a prism, and saw them most confusedly defined, so that I
could not distinguish their smaller parts from one another.
I placed also the letters of a small print one while in the
homogeneous light, and then in the heterogeneous; and
viewing them through a prism, they appeared in the latter
case so confused and indistinct that I could not read them;
but in the former, they appeared so distinct that I could
read readily, and thought I saw them as distinct as when 1
viewed them with my naked eye: in both cases, I viewed
the same object through the same prism, at the same dis¬
tance from me, and in the same situation. 1 here was no
difference but in the lights by which the objects were il¬
luminated, and which in one case was simple, in the other
compound ; and therefore the distinct vision in the former
case, and confused in the latter, could arise from nothing
else than from that difference in the lights. Which proves
the whole proposition.
In these three experiments, it is farther very remark¬
able, that the colour of homogeneous light was never
changed by the refraction. And as these colours w ere not
changed by refraction, so neither were they by reflexions.
For all white, grey, red, yellow, green, blue, violet bodies,
as paper, ashes, red lead, orpiment, indigo, bice, gold, sil¬
ver, copper, grass, blue flowers, violets, bubbles of water
tinged with various colours, peacock feathers, the tincture
of lignum nephriticum, and such like, in red homogeneous
light appeared totally red, in blue light totally blue, in
green light totally green, and so of other colours. In the
homogeneous light of any colour they all appeared totally
of that same colour; with this only difference, that some
of them reflected that light more strongly, others more
faintly. I never yet found any body which by reflecting
homogeneous light could sensibly change its colour.
From all which it is manifest, that if the sun s light con¬
sisted of but one sort of rays, there would be but one co¬
lour in the world, nor would it be possible to produce any
new colour by reflexions and refractions; and, by conse¬
quence, that the variety of colours depends upon the com¬
position of light.
6. Every homogeneous ray considered apart is refracted,
according to one and the same rule ; so that its sine oj in¬
cidence is to its sine of refraction in a given ratio ;
is, every differently coloured ray has a different ratio
longing to it. . .
Sir Isaac Newton has proved this by expenmntl *
in other experiments he has determined by what numb
these given ratios are expressed. For instance, if a
ogeneous white ray of the
sun emerges out of glass
into air ; or, which is the
same thing, if rays of all
colours be supposed to suc¬
ceed one another in the
same line AC, fig. 71 • ami
AD their common sine of
incidence in glass be divid¬
ed into fifty equal parts,
then EF and GH, the sines
of refraction into air, oi the
least and most refrangible
rays, will be 77 and 78 of
such parts respectively.
Fig. 71.
OPTICS.
cs And since every colour has several decrees, the sines of f; wW,,
V refraction of all the degrees of red will have all intermedi- be changed hv™88' 1.Neither wil1 the red UP0« the paper Chromatics
ate degrees ofmagnitude^from^T to 77^ ; of all the degrees violet which Jossethlt?™^ St°Pping’ and letting Pass thev^r-w
of orange from 77£ to 77^ ; of yellow from 77± to 771; 0f
green from 77^- to 77£ ; of blue from 77^ to 77# ; of indi¬
go from 77§ to 77^; and of violet from 77$ to 78.
7. Whiteness, and all grey colours between white andblack,
may be compounded of colours ; and the whiteness of the
sun’s light is compounded of all the primary colours, mixed
in a due proportion.
“ Let the spectrum or solar image PT, in fig. 72, fall
upon the lens MN, above four inches broad, and^about six
Fig. 72.
feet distant from the prism ABC, and so figured that it may
cause the coloured light which divergeth from the prism to
converge and meet again at its focus G, about six or eight
feet distant from the lens, and there to fall perpendicularly
upon a white paper DE. And if you move this paper to
and fro, you will perceive that near the lens, as at d e, the
whole solar image (suppose at p t) will appear upon it in¬
tensely coloured after the manner above explained, and
that by receding from the lens those colours will perpetu¬
ally come towards one another, and by mixing more and
more, dilute one another continually, until at length the
paper come to the focus G, where, by a perfect mixture,
they will wholly vanish and be converted into whiteness,
the whole light appearing now upon the paper like a little
white circle. And afterwards by receding farther from the
lens, the rays which before converged will now cross one
another in the focus G, and diverge from thence, and there¬
by make the colours to appear again, but yet in a contrary
order; suppose at 8 e, where the red t is now above which
before was below, and the violet p is below which before
was above.
Let us now stop the paper at the focus G, where the
light appears totally white and circular, and let us consider
its whiteness. I say, that this is composed of the conver¬
ging colours. For if any of those colours be intercepted
it the lens, the whiteness will cease and degenerate into
fiat colour which arises from the composition of the other
colours which are not intercepted. And then if the inter-
epted colours be let pass and fall upon that compound
:olour, they mix with it, and by their mixture restore the
And if the paper be placed at the focus G, and the white
InTbvdu?6 t (-be V'Td thr°ugh the Prism at LIIK,
nlaeeVf n °f t lat Prism be translated to the
Lmelv / T? aPP1ar tJnged With Various Cdours,
amTthpn tl f a, ” and ued, at r’ and others between,
let I ^ Cl°Ur atJthe ,enS be °ften st°PPed and
let pass by turns, the red at r will accordingly disappear
and return as often, but the violet at v will not therebv suf-
fer any change. And so by stopping and letting pass al¬
ternately the blue at the lens, the blue at r will accordingly
disappear and return, without any change made in the red
at r. Ihe red therefore depends on one sort of rays, and
the blue on another sort, which in the focus G, where they
are commixed, do not act on one another. And there is
the same reason of the other colours.
I considered farther, that when the most refrangible rays
and the least refrangible ones, Tt, are by convermns
inclined to one another, the paper, if held very oblique to
11086 rays in the focus G, might reflect one sort of them
more copiously than the other sort, and by that means the
reflected light would be tinged in that focus with the colour
of the predominant rays, provided those rays severally re¬
tained their colours or colorific qualities in the composition
of white made by them in that focus. But if they did not
retain them in that white, but became all of them severally
endued there with a disposition to strike the sense with
the perception of white, then they could never lose their
whiteness by such reflexions. I inclined therefore the
paper to the rays very obliquely, as in the second experi¬
ment of this book, that the most refrangible rays might be
more copiously reflected than the rest, and the whiteness
at length changed successively into blue, indigo, and violet,
i hen I inclined it the contrary way, that the most refran¬
gible rays might be more copious in the reflected light than
the rest, and the whiteness turned successively to yellow
orange, and red. ’
Lastly, I made an instrument XY, in fashion of a comb,
whose teeth were about an inch and an half broad, and the
intervals of the teeth about two inches wide. Then by
interposing successively the teeth of this instrument near
the lens, I intercepted part of the colours by the interposed
tooth, whilst the rest of them went on through the interval
of the teeth to the paper DE, and there painted a round
solar image. But the paper I had first placed so, that the
image might appear white as often as the comb was taken
away; and then the comb being, as was said, interposed,
that whiteness by reason of the intercepted part of the
colours at the lens did always change into the colour com¬
pounded of those colours which were not intercepted, and
d^thp688’ So lf the violet, blue, and green be intercept- that colour was by the motion of the° comb^perpetuallv
raon /emamm£ yeIlow’ orarip’ and red> wil1 compound varied, so that in the passing of every tooth over the lens
- i1 these colours, red, yellow?green, Le, znd puX Z
always succeed one another. I caused therefore all the
teeth to pass successively over the lens, and when the mo¬
tion was slow, there appeared a perpetual succession of the
colours upon the paper : But if I so much accelerated the
motion, that the colours by reason of their quick succession
could not be distinguished from one another, the appear¬
ance of the single colours ceased- There was no red, no
yellow, no green, no blue, nor purple, to be seen any long¬
er, but from a confusion of them all there arose one uni¬
form white colour. Of the light which now by the mixture
of all the colours appeared white, there was no part really
white. One part was red, another yellow, a third green,
'Pted, and lot-^ /C11B Uf aiLeriiaifc;iy inier~ a fourth blue, a fifth purple, and every part retains its pro-
ill not suffer anv gam’C vf0 * colour on the paper per colour till it strike the sensorium. If the impressions
I ;veral sorts of rave & w? ^reby, as it ought to do if the follow one another slowly, so that they may be severally
jb ac e upon one another in the focus perceived, there is made a distinct sensation of all the co-
i an uiaugc, aim men u me intercepted co-
9u,rs e Pass they will fall upon this compounded orange,
M together with it decompound a white. So also if the
M and violet be intercepted, the remaining yellow, green,
I ™ blue, will compound a green upon the paper, and then
red and violet being let pass, will fall upon this green,
together with it decompound a white. And that in
n1S ““Position of white the several rays do not suffer
an£e iu their colorific qualities by acting upon one
I ler’ j are only mixed, and by a mixture of their
ientsS pr°duce w^tei may farther appear by these argu-
wiPape^ be P^aced beyond the focus G, suppose at
’ . , lc'n die red colour at the lens be alternatelyinter-
-Pted, and Ipi *i .• / . i J
408 OPT
Chromaticslours, one after another, in a continual succession. But if
'the impressions follow one another so quickly that they can¬
not be severally perceived, there ariseth out of them all
one common sensation, which is neither of this colour alone
nor of that alone, but hath itself indifferently to them all,
and this is a sensation of whiteness.” .
Such is the account which Newton himself has given ot
the great discovery of the different refrangibility ot light.
In examining the prismatic spectrum it is difficult to dis¬
cover the terminations or boundaries of the different co¬
lours. They pass into one another by insensible shades,
and if any person were to lay down their apparent limits
by the nicest observations, he would find, what has been
very recently discovered, that these limits vary with the
state of the atmosphere, and with the altitude of the sun.
Sir Isaac Newton, however, did make the attempt, and the
following are the results which he obtained, we believe with
crown or plate glass. We have added the results obtained long
afterwards by Dr. Wollaston1 and Mr. Fraunhofer2 with flint
glass, which shews the difficulty of this class of observations.
Newton in Fraunhofer in
Crown Glass. Flint Glass.
Red 45 ^
Orange 2/ 
Yellow ”40 
Green hO 
Blue 60 
Indigo 48 
Violet 80 
..27
..27
..46.
..48.
..47
,.109.
Wollaston in
Flint Glass.
 57*6
...82-8
.129-6
..90
360
360
360
Imperfec¬
tion of re
Fig. 73.
The influence of these discoveries on the progress of op¬
tion of re- tical science was very remarkable. They led Sir Isaac to
fracting te* discover that the cause of the imperfections ot the retract-
lescopes. jng telescopes
was the differ¬
ent refrangibi- x.-
lity of the rays
of light. IfLL,
for example, is
a lens without
spherical aber¬
ration, upon
which parallel
ICS.
towards a and b, and very intense in the centre c, so thatChro,
there is formed at c a sort of general focus indistinct and^
coloured. Every part of an object, therefore, will have its
ima-e formed in the foci of such a lens similarly indistinct
and'similarly coloured, and hence we see the reason why
refracting telescopes had such great imperfections, that it
was necessary to make them of enormous lengths, in order
to obtain a sufficient magnifying power.
From these causes, Sir Isaac Newton despaired of the
improvement of refracting telescopes, and set himself at an
early period of his life to execute reflecting telescopes.
His successors, however, Mr. Hall and Mr. Dollond, studied
the object of refraction as produced by prisms made of dif¬
ferent substances, and found, as we have already folly
stated in our history of Optics, that Sir Isaac Newton was
mistaken in supposing that all refracting media gave spec¬
tra, or separated the colours of white light m the same
proportion as their refractive powers, and that different
bodies had different dispersive powers, as well as different
refractive ones.3 This grand discovery we shall now pro¬
ceed to explain.
Sect. II.—On the different Dispersive Powers of Bodies.
The term dispersion has been employed to denote theDisJir
separation of the different rays of white light into that di-o v
vergent beam which constitutes the prismatic spectrum, the
differently coloured rays having been dispersed or scattered
by their different refrangibihty. Sir Isaac New ton believed
that all bodies whatever, whether water, or erovm, or plate,
or dint glass, dispersed light in an equal degree, provided
the mean refraction, that is, the refraction of the mean or
middle ray of the spectrum (the green ray, viz.), of these bo¬
dies was equal, or, in other words, that the dispersion, or the
angle formed by the extreme red and the extreme violet ray
was in different bodies proportional to the mean refraction.
As Sir Isaac Newton submitted to experiment a numbe
of fluid substances, in the form of prisms, it is perhaps one
of the most remarkable oversights'in the history o scie“ ’
that he did not think of comparing the length of the specU
which they formed ; and it is equally strange that for mw
than a century he and all his successors should never have
thought of forming the spectrum from any other lun—
body less in diameter than the sun, or even from any bmi
nous line of small breadth.'1 The consequence of these ove
sights was, that the most important discoveries retov
light, and to optical instruments, were reserved for anotlie
a° In our History of Optics, •ml ™ the article Achbomaxic
Glasses, we have given a detailed history i {j
labours of Hall, Dollond, Euler, and others, by finch the
achromatic telescope was invented and perfected.
If we perform the experiment shewn m fig. 65, with t
prisms, the one of/«, and the other of J
measure in each the length of the spec ^ FT,^
wmcn parallel ->* x.
ravs R. R, R of white light are incident, then it is obvious
that the violet, or most refrangible rays will be most refracted
in directions Lr, U’, crossing the axis at v, and there giving
a violet focus of light. In like manner the red, or the least
refrangible rays, will be refracted in directions Lr, Lr,
crossing the axis at r, and there giving a red focus of light.
In like manner all the other rays will have toci of their
own colour between r and r. If we draw the line ab,
meeting the intersection of the extreme violet rays after
the lateral aberration of refrangibihty, or the diameter o orm mean refraction of the prism, and the^
the circle of diffusion, all the coloured rays being diffused angle wi w s]iaq then find, that while
over the circlefof which ab is the diameter. The space the angular hiding the greater
Ta r b is called the sphere of diffusion ; and the section crown glass the quotient obfo ^ ^ refraction to
of it shewn in the figure may be regarded as a parallelo-
o-ram, on account of the smallness of the angles rhv, rLv,
which are greatly magnified in the figure. Hence it may
be easily shewn, that the longitudinal aberration nr, is to
the lateral aberration as the focal distance of the lens
is to its radius or half its aperture
_ - . -i (* V /T*__ ’ 
crown glass the quotient obtained by on in g ^
by the lesser angle, or the part of the mea” r.
'S,A
renumber varying with the nature of the g s.
is number varying witn tnc 0
This result may be exhibited to the eYe, bJ {’ p 0fsuCh
ie lateral aberration a«, as me ^ — -   m of cr^vn glass C, another of flint gla^s fo oi ^
to its radius or half its aperture. ? ~ tn nroduce any deviation by refract > .
Tn the circle of diffusion ui, the light becomes very famt - nngl^n^produce^e^^^^
3 See our Article Achromatic Glasses,
See page 406, col. 1.
Cgp tjrijg 414, col*
These results are taken from his coloured figure of the spectrum.
OPTICS.
green ray produced by the
Fig. 74.
•s angle of deviation of the
^crown glass prism
C, being compen¬
sated by an equal
and opposite de¬
viation produced
by the flint glass
prism F; that is,
the green ray B/y
will emerge paral¬
lel to the incident ray R A. When this has been effected it will
be seen that there is still a spectrum rv, which will colour
the edges of any object which is viewed through the prism,
and in which will have the same position as if they had been
produced by a small flint glass prism placed in the same man¬
ner as the flint glass prism F.
If we now take two prisms, one of crown, and the other
offlint glass, of such angles, that all objects seen through
them are colourless, or that a ray of light ¥>g, when refracted
by them, as in fig. 74, shall be white, it will be found that
tlie white pencil ?no will be refracted towards the base of
the crown glass prism, the flint glass having corrected the
colour produced by the crown glass one, but still left a con¬
siderable balance of refraction produced by the latter.
Hence it is manifest that the colours produced by a con¬
vex lens of crown glass, as shewn in fig. 73, may be cor¬
rected by a concave lens of flint glass, while the rays pro¬
duced by the unbalanced refraction of the convex glass are
still converged to a focus. Such a combination of lenses is
called an achromatic object-glass, and a telescope in which
such an object-glass is used is called an achromatic tele¬
scope.
Nothing is easier than to determine by experiment, wdten
we have obtained good glass for the construction of these
lenses, the proper radii to which they should be ground, in
order to correct the aberration of colour; but it may be
readily shewn, and the reader may easily prove it by the
methods already described, that the aberration of colour pro-
duced by a convex lens of croicn glass will be corrected by
a concave lens of flint glass, provided the focal lengths of
the two lenses are proportional to their dispersive power.
Thus, in fig. 75, if LL is a convex lens of crown glass, whose
locus for green rays is at f, and for violet and red rays at
409
» and r, and if F is the virtual focus of a concave lens ll of Chromatics
flint glass, for
the mean green Rig. 75.
ray, then paral¬
lel rays AAA
w ill be refract¬
ed to a single
focus at RV,
where the vio¬
let and red rays will be united, provided the focal length of//,
viz., EF, is to E/J the focal length of LL as 0-068, the dis¬
persive power oiflint glass, is to 0-033, the dispersive power
of crotvn glass.
The dispersive powers of various glasses, and of some fluids, Dispersive
had been measured with considerable care, in reference to powers of
the improvement of the telescope, but no attempt was made bodies,
to investigate it as a branch of physics, exhibiting new and
interesting properties of transparent bodies. Dr. Wollaston
set the example of beginning this inquiry, and he deter¬
mined in a very general manner the dispersive qualities of
thirty-three substances, which he arranged in the order of
their dispersive powers, without giving any numerical esti¬
mate of their value. In this state of the subject, Sir David
Brew ster, by a new method of measuring dispersive powers,
which presented considerable facility of observation, made
a very extensive series of experiments on the subject, which,
in a physical point of view, presented several curious results.
In laying the following table of his observations before our
readers, we must warn them that they were made, often w ith
the most imperfect specimens of the minerals and fluid sub¬
stances, from the difficulty of getting any other, and that they
were intended only to indicate the general properties of bo¬
dies in dispersing light. The want of fixed points in the
spectrum, in reference to which the measures could be taken,
rendered it necessary to use the extreme points, which va¬
ried w ith the intensity of the light employed, and with the
absorbing action of the bodies themselves, when they hap¬
pened to be coloured or imperfectly transparent. The dis¬
covery of the fixed lines, and their use in measuring disper¬
sive powers, introduced by Fraunhofer, has given a new
impetus to this subject, and wnen it is practicable to obtain
good prisms of the substance under examination, no other
method will or should be adopted.
^able of the Dispersive Powers of various Solid and Fluid Bodies.
Part of the
whole re-
XT fraction to
Names of substances. which the
dispersion
is equal.
Chromate of lead (great¬
est refraction), estimat¬
ed at 0-770
Chromate of lead (great¬
est refraction), must
exceed   0-570
Kealgar, a different kind,
meited 0-394
Chromate of lead (least
refraction) 0-388
Kealgar, melted 0-374
Oil of cassia 0-089
jhilphur, after fusion 0-149
Phosphorus 0-156
sulphuret of carbon 0-077
Balsam of Tolu 0-065
oaisam of Peru 0-058
“-aibonate of lead (great¬
est refraction) +0 091
•jarbadoes aloes 0*058
Essential oil of bitter al-
®0rds". 0-048
j ot anise seeds 0-044
wetate of lead, melted...0 040
jalsam of styrax 0-039
VOL. XVI.
Dispersive
power.
0-400
0-296
0-267
0-262
0-255
0-139
0-130
0-128
0-115
0-103
0-093
+0-091
0-085
0-079
0 077
0-069
0-067
Part of the
whole re¬
fraction to Dispersive
Names of the Substances, which the power.
dispersion is
equal.
Guiacum 0 041 0-066
Carbonate of lead (least
refraction) 0-056 0 066
Oil of cummin 0 033 0-065
Essential oil of tobacco...0-035 0-064
Gum ammoniac 0-037 0-063
Oil of Barbadoes tar 0-032 0-062
Oil of cloves 0 033 0 062
Green coloured glass 0-037 0-061
Sulphate of lead 0-056 0-060
Deep red glass 0-044 0-060
Oil of sassafras 0-832 0-060
Opal-coloured glass 0-038 0-060
Muriate of antimony (refr.
pr. 1-598)  0-036 0-059
Rosin 0-032 0-057
Oil of sweet fennel seeds 0-028 0-055
Oil of spearmint 0-026 0 054
Orange-coloured glass....0-042 0-053
Rock salt 0-029 0-053
Flint glass, Boscovich’s,
highest  0-0527
Caoutchouc 0-028 0-052
Oil of pimento 0 026 0 052
Flint glass 0-032 0-052
Names of substances.
Part of the
whole re¬
fraction to
which the
dispersion
is equal.
....0-031
Deep purple glass
Oil of angelica 0-025
Oil of thyme 0-024
Oil of fenugreek 0 024
Oil of wormwood 0-022
Oil of pennyroyal 0-024
Oil of carraway seeds ....0-024
Oil of dill seeds 0-023
Oil of bergamot 0.023
Flint glass 0-029
Chio turpentine 0-028
Gum thus 0-028
Oil of lemon 0 023
Flint glass 0 028
Oil of juniper 0 022
Oil of chamomyle 0-021
Gum juniper 0-025
Carbonate of strontites,
(greatest refraction)...0-032
Oil of brick 0-021
Flint glass, Boscovich’s,
lowest 
Nitric acid 0-019
Oil of lavender 0-021
Balsam of sulphur 0 023
Dispersivg
power.
0-051
0-051
0-050
0-050
0-049
0-049
0-049
0-049
0-049
0048
0-048
0-048
0-048
0-048
0-047
0-046
0-046
0-046
0-046
0-0457
0-045
0-045
0-045
3 F
410
OPTICS.
Chromatics
Names of Substances.
Part of the
whole re¬
fraction to
which the
dispersion
is equal.
Tortoise shell 0'027
Horn   
Canada balsam  0-024
Oil of marjoram 0-022
Gum olibanum 0-024
Nitrous acid 0-018
Cajeput oil 0-021
Oil of hyssop 0 022
Oil of rhodium 0 022
Pink-coloured glass 0-025
Oil of savine 0-021
Oil of poppy 0-020
Zircon (greatest reft-.)...0-045
Muriatic acid 0-016
Gum copal 0-024
Nut oil   O'022
Burgundy pitch 0*024
Oil of turpentine 0 020
Oil of rosemary 0-020
Feldspar 0022
Glue   0-022
Balsam of Capivi 0-021
Amber  0 023
Oil of nutmeg 0-021
Stilbite    0-021
Oil of peppermint 0-019
Spinelle ruby 0-031
Calcareous spar (greatest
refraction) 0-027
Oil of rapeseed 0"019
Bottle glass 0.023
Tartrate of potash and
soda 0-020
Carbonate of potash (great¬
est refraction)  0-013
Gum elemi 0 021
Sulphate of iron 0-019
Diamond  
Dispersive
power.
Names of Substances.
0-045
0-045
0-045
0 045
0-045
0-044
0-044
0-044
0-044
0-044
0-044
0-044
0-044
0 043
0-043
0-043
0043
0-042
0-042
0-042
0-041
0-041
0-041
0041
0-041
0-040
0-040
Part of the
whole re¬
fraction to
which the
dispersion
is equal.
Dispersive
power.
0.040
0-040
0040
0-039
0-039
0-039
0-039
0 038
Oil of olives 0-018
Gum mastich 0-022
White of an egg 0-013
Oil of rhue 0-016
Gum myrrh..... 0 020
Beryl 0-022
Obsidian  
Ether 0-012
Selenite  
Alum 0-017
Castor oil  
Sulphate of copper 0-019
Crown glass, very green 0-020
Gum Arabic 0-018
Sugar, after being melted
and cooled 0-020
Jelly fish, body of, {me¬
dusa cequorea) 0-013
Water 0‘012
Aqueous humour of a
haddock’s eye 0-012
Vitreous humour of
ditto ^
Citric acid 0-019
Rubellite 0-027
Leucite 
Epidote 0-024
Common glass, Bosco-
vich’s, highest 
Glass of borax 0-018
Garnet ...0*027
Pyrope; J-026
Chrysolite 
Common glass, Bosco-
vich’s, lowest 
Oil of ambergris 0 , o
Oil of wine 0 012
0-038
0-038
0-037
0-037
0-037
0-037
0-037
0-037
0-037
0-036
0-036
0 036
0-036
0-036
0 036
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-035
0-0346
0-034
0-033
0-033
0-033
0 033
0-033
0-032
0-032
Part of the
whole re¬
fraction to
Names of Substances. which the
dispersion
is equal.
Phosphoric acid, solid
prism, yellow 0-017
Glass of phosphorus,
white 0-017
Plate glass 0-017
Sulphuric acid 0-014
Tartaric acid 0'016
Nitre, least refraction ....0-009
Borax 0-014
Axinite 0 022
Alcohol 0-011
Sulphate of barytes 0-011
Tourmaline 0-019
Phosphoric acid, fluid.... 0-012
Carbonate of barytes,
least refraction1 0-015
Malic acid 0-011
Carbonate of strontites,
least refraction 0-015
Crown glass, Leith, Ro¬
bison 
Rock crystal  0-014
Emerald   0-015
Borax glass, 1 bor. 2silex 0-014
Calcareous spar, least re¬
fraction  0 016
Blue sapphire 0-021
Bluish topaz from Cairn¬
gorm  0-016
Chrysoberyl 0-019
Blue topaz, from Aber¬
deenshire  0-016
Sulphate of strontites....0-015
Carbonate of potash,2 least
refraction  0-0088
Prussic acid 0"008
Fluor spar 0-010
Cryolite   0-007
Gw ja
Dispersive^*' ^
0-032
0-032
0-032
0-031
0-030
0-0304
0-030
0-030
0-029
00-29
0-028
0-0283
0-0285
0-0282
0.027
0-033
0-026
0-026
0-026
0-026
0-0-26
0-025
0-025
0-024
0-024
0-0233
00227
0-022
0-022
The following measures of the dispersive powers of several
varieties of glass were taken by Sir John Herschel, by a me¬
thod which gave him nearly the extreme rays of the spec¬
trum, namely, by viewing the spectrum through a dark blue
glass, which stops the green, yellow, and most refrangio
red ravs, and therefore allows the extreme rays of the spec¬
trum to be seen,—rays which the eye does not recognise in
any of the ordinary lights which are used m optical instru¬
ments. If we condense the sun’s light, as we have done, m
order to render visible rays at the extremities of the spec¬
trum, that have not been recognised, we should obtain tlis-
persive powers still higher than those given by ir o n
Herschel. By determining, however, the extremities of1 ie
spectrum seen by the ordinary light of the sky, it would be
easy to accommodate all measures of dispersive power taken
in such a light to those taken in the light used by Sir John
Herschel, or in the more condensed and consequently elon¬
gated spectrum to which we have referred. In order that
the measures in the following tables may be correct, it is
necessary that they should all have been taken when the sun
had the same altitude, because it is quite certain that the
violet part of the spectrum diminishes in length very rapidly
as the sun approaches the horizon, and some change also
takes place at the red extremity.
Flint glass,
Part of the whole
refraction to which the
dispersion is equal.
 0-03734 0-06386
Dispersive
power.
Ditto, heavy, 0-03951  0-06555
Ditto   0-03747 0-06409
Crown glass, 0-02139 0-04063
Ditto, a different kind,....0-02494  
Plate glass, 0-02616 0-05090
Sir John Herschel justly remarks, that it ought not to ex¬
cite surprise that the dispersions deduced by this method
should considerably exceed all former estimates.
In the preceding table of dispersive powers we ha™£ t(
two columns of numerical results, the first column co ^
the part of the whole refraction, or angie of deviat
which the angle of dispersion is equal, and ^ , ,
dispersive power itself. The first column is o vi y ^
a measure of the dispersive power, because if the
. U,,.. 1th nart of a low refraction in one body,
in that column is 2’oth Part of>alow re^r.actl0n T hndvof
and the 20th part of a high refraction in anofhcr b )
great refractive power, the dispersive power ot the
must be smaller than that of the former, m the inverse r
of the index of refraction of the two bodies minus
Hence the numbers in the second column, the .n_
Dispersive Poiuers of different kinds of Glass.
Part of the whole Dispersive
refraction to which the power,
dispersion is equal.
Flint glass 0-03849 0-06404
Ditto, 0-03705 0-06409
pott ers, are obtained by dividing the first column by tte111
dex of refraction minus one. _ , 7 . j^nersiveAbs
If we wish to have the intrinsic 0^. a^f^eifufUmatediSp ’
powers of bodies, in reference to the action o th^ ^ition)Po*
molecules on the theory of emission, and on ^ supPJsolute
as Sir John Herschel has remarked, in reference  
See Edin. Trans, vol. vii. p.
The least refractive index of this salt,'which is not inserted in our table, p. 384, is 1-379.
The dispersive power of the other image is considerably greater than this.
289-
■5 Edin. Trans, vol. ix. p. 458.
OPTICS.
irom s refractive powers, of the ultimate atoms of all bodies being
rv * equally heavy, we must divide the numbers in the second
column of the preceding table by the specific gravities or
densities of the bodies. In this way we have computed the
results in the following table, containing the substances
principally that exercise an extreme action in the dispersion
of light.
Table of Absolute Dispersive Powers.
Specific Absolute
gravities used. dispersive power.
Sulphate of barytes, 4’48 0-00602
 strontites, 3-95 0-00607
Carbonate of barytes, 3-70 0-0063
Sapphire, 3*50 0-0066
Chryso-beryl, 3-93 0-00675
ToPaz> 3-50 0-00685
Fluorspar, 3-17 0-0069
Cryolite, 2-95 00074
Diamond, 3-50 0-0109
Plate glass,  2-76 0-0112
Rock salt, 2-143 0-0250
Water, 1-00 0-.035
Amber, 1-04 0-0400
Oil of olives, 0-913 0-0415
Oil of turpentine, 0-87 0-0483
Sulphur, fused, 2-00 0-065
Realgar,   3.50 0-0728
Phosphorus, 1-75 0.0731
Oil of anise seeds, 0*987 0-078
Bi-sulphuret of carbon, 1-27 0-081
Oil of cassia, 1.044 0-131
411
Sect. III.- On the Irrationality of the Coloured Spaces?™?™*!**
m the Spectrum, and the existence of a secondary Spec-
Li Hill*
W e are indebted, we believe, to M. Clairaut for the dis- Secondary
veiy o ie irrationality of the coloured spaces in the spectrum,
spectrum. He found that when the flint-glass of an ach- Qairaut
romatic object glass had its aberration of colour as com¬
pletely corrected as possible, that is, when the extreme red
and violet rays were accurately united in the same focus, still
there remained a portion of incorrected colour, which was of a
purple or claret colour on one side of the focus, and of a
green colour on the other. If prisms had been used in
place of lenses, and the sun’s light transmitted through them
in the usual manner, there would have been a small reci-
dual spectrum, or secondary spectrum as it has been called
consisting of purple and green light. The Abbe Boscovich Boscovich.
afterwards observed the same fact, but considered it so ex¬
traordinary that he suspected some latent cause of error,
and submitted his experiments to the most rigid scrutiny.
He at last admitted the irrationality of the coloured spaces
in the spectrum as a demonstrated truth, and has shewn
how three of the colours of the spectrum may be corrected
or united in the same focus in achromatic telescopes. The
late Professor Robison obtained similar results, and gave Robison,
the name of outstandimy colours to those which were not
united, and form the secondary spectrum.
This subject was more fully investigated by Dr. Blair, Blair,
m his interesting paper on the unequal refrangibility of
light, and he has shewn that the proportions of the coloured
spaces vary with the substance of the opposing prisms,
that a complete correction of colour cannot possibly be ef¬
fected by two media of different dispersive powers.
_ _   »-»vy\_.xo* Hence
Dr. Blair w as led to examine the nature of the dispersive ac-
heir density, the least dispersive5 power of all bodies and ^ te'e-
iledis-
re
- the gents, including ^
* table of absoluti
lies, with the ex
the table, oil q
: dispersive powe:
owing to the hy
mmmmmmmmr
ton in the Phil. Trans, for 1803,
of these colours have been suppo _    ^ ^
eprived a portion of this oil of nf 'T ^ccordinS to ^ medium by which they are produced, I
mking a stream of chlorine pass through it till it- rT ^ m 0 comPar^d Wldl tlus appearance, the coloured images
Wollaston.
by him to differ most in this respect, such as strong but
linishpfl rmp -i nT ^ colourless nitric acid, rectified oil of turpentine, verv nale
•feed anv cW. ^Th- ^‘T p0wer ha? hartlly od of sassairas, Canada balsam, also nearlTcolourless WUh
e lowest refractive power ^ 1 ent which has nearly as I could mdtre, the same urrmnrtinnc
judge, the same proportions of them.” Dr. Blair
was surprised that Dr. Wollaston should have used such a
>ral Table'nfVT^ m^resting results exhibited in the ge- coarse method of determining a point that required delicate
■wmTdollyTSinHX^^^rr6 °*?servap/,ns’ especiaHy with the substences above mention-
d measured the dispersiveg nmVer of the ^ ° a w he renla5ked to the of this article, that if Dr.
Icareous spar so fer at Wt^Tt ? 0rd‘nar>: ray ^ Wollaston would only make use of lenses, he would see his
vms »par, so tar at least as to ascertain that it stood m stake after Q  ? ^ « OCc iu&
ove water and elof a i asccrknnthat it stood mistake after a single observation,
hadbto^ to ^lCS£ln jSaVidfBreT ^ iS,n° d°ubt’ h0Wever> tbesecondary spectrum
7 ray, and found “to be much A fe™a°r, T u 6 ga<Ie Very visib,e ^ Prisms- “r1 if " a ^ “ Pria"‘
Whence induced toexTm W?hedisner h °f Water- of1od ofcassia to correct the colour produced by another of
er doubly refracting crv^k and waft? Td f°TS Su¥mnc «hall have a striking ocular proof of the
t which we have stated 1 ? i ^ ^ re' exii,tence of a large secondary spectrum
r re recentW nht • ?'m!lar results have been The phenomena of a secon '
v l>out knowing thafthe s ?u?£erg and .Mr- CooPer’ stood fr°m fig. 76, where RR
t ited. g h the Subject had been P^viously inves- aperture in the window-shutter SS, and refracted by a prism
| ~   , m tbe direction PM, so as to form the spectrum AB on the
_ O ^a-vw. y 0^7V_.1,1 Lilli•
The phenomena of a secojndary spectrum will be under-
is a ray passing through an
Trans. 1813, p. 107, where this result was first published.’
2 Edin. Trans, vol. iff. p, 3.
412
Chromatics wall, PA beino the extreme violet ray, PM the mean ray,
    - 1 I . J --   —-11 rn •« n 4- S\(- tVvii V*
OPTICS.
lower side, and with a claret-coloured fringe on its upper Chi:
side. . ^
When a horizontal window-bar, therefore, is seen through
any two prisms which correct each other’s dispersion, with¬
out uniting all the colours, the green fringe will always be
on the same side of the bar with the vertex of the prism
which has the least action upon the green light, or which
contracts the red and green rays, and expands the blue and
violet ones ; that is, if the vertex of the flint glass prism is
pointing downwards, the uncorrected green fringe will be
on the lower side of the bar. By observing, therefore, the
position of the green fringe, we can immediately ascertain
which of the two prisms has the greatest action upon the
green light.
These theoretical deductions from the assumed inequality
of the coloured spaces are completely established by obser¬
vation.
The following Table contains the result of a numerous
series of observations made by Sir David Brewster on the se¬
condary spectra of different bodies, the substances being ar¬
ranged inversely according to their action upon green light.
The bodies at the top of the Table form spectra, in which
the red and green spaces are most contracted, and the blue
and violet ones most expanded. The relative position of
5 uui' —  o  —r   7
it will be seen whether or not the relative action of any two
bodies has been determined.
Table of Transparent Bodies, arranged inversely according
to their Action upon Green Light.
10
palpable colours, red, green, blue, and violet, and if the prism
is one otcrown-glass, the mean ray PMN which bisects the
spectrum will be at the boundary of the blue and green
spaces. If we were to take a prism of flint-glass with a
much less refracting angle, and form a spectrum CD ot the
same length as AB, and at the same distance from the prism,
the line nm which marks the boundary of the blue and green
spaces will no longer be the mean ray of the spectrum, but
will be decidedly nearer the red extremity D. Ihe least
refrangible half of the spectrum has therefore been more con¬
tracted, and the most refrangible half more ^ all g0me of'the substances, particularly the essential oils, is quite
in the crown-glass spectrum. It we £ow P , empirical; but by a reference to the original experiments,
sulphate of barytes or fluor spar, capable of forming a third . if,, . / i-*-   
spectrum EF of the same length as the other two, the boun¬
dary of the blue and green spaces will now be at /xv nearer
the violet than the red extremity of the spectrum, and the
least refrangible half of this spectrum will be more expand¬
ed, and the most refrangible half more contracted, than in
the crown-glass spectrum.
“ If a spectrum,” says Sir David Brewster, formed by
flint-glass, had its coloured spaces exactly of the same di¬
mensions with those of an equal spectrum formed by crown-
glass, any ob,ect such as a window-bar lying parallel to the
common section of the refracting planes of the two prisms
should appear perfectly colourless when seen through the
combined prisms. But if the coloured spaces in the two
spectra are not proportional, as shewn in fig. /b, but are
irrational, then the window-bar cannot be wholly free from
colour, for though the extreme red and violet rays of both
the spectra are united, yet the intermediate colours are not
rendered coincident. In the spectrum AB, formed by the
crown-glass, the first green ray MN, which is here the mean
ray, is Obviously more refracted than the first green ray
in the spectrum CD formed by the flint-glass, and therefore
the flint-glass will not be able to refract the green ray, so
as to unite it with the red and violet. Hence the green ray
will, as it were, be left behind, while the red and violet rays
are rendered coincident. Thus, in fig. 76, if a prism ^ of
flint glass is placed behind a crown-glass prismF, so as ex¬
actly'to correct its dispersion, the spectrum AB will be re¬
duced to a secondary spectrum ah, the upper half of which
is qreen, which is left behind, and the lower half is of a cla-
ret colour, formed by the union of the red and violet rays.
If the bar of a window had been examined through the com¬
bined prisms V,p, the upper side of it would have been
tinged with green, and the lower side of it with a claret-co¬
loured fringe.
Bv comparing, in a similar manner, the spectrum Jih,
formed by fluor spar, with the spectrum AB, formed by
crown glass, it will be found, that the fluor spar having a
greater action than the crown glass upon the green ray, will
carry it beyond the place of the united red and violet, and
will form a secondary spectrum ef, the lower half of which
is qreen, and the upper half of a cW colour, arising from
the union of the red and violet light. If the bar of a win¬
dow w ere viewed through the combined prisms oi crown-
glass and rock crystal, it would be tinged with green on its
  i Treatise on New Philosophical Instruments, 1813, p. 316.
65
Oil of Cassia.
Sulphur.
Sulphuret of Carbon.
Balsam of Tolu.
Carbonate of lead. 50
Essential oil of bitter almonds.
Oil of anise seeds.
Oil of cummin.
Oil of sassafras.
Oil of amber.
Acetate of lead melted.
Opal-coloured glass.
Orange-coloured glass.
Bed-coloured glass.
15 Oil of sweet fennel seeds.
Oil of cloves.
Muriate of antimony.
Oil of lavender.
Canada balsam.
20 Oil of Turpentine.
Oil of sage.
Oil of pennyroyal.
Oil of poppy.
Oil of hyssop.
25 Oil of spearmint.
Amber.
Oil of lemon.
Oil of caraway-seeds
Oil of nutmegs.
30 Oil of thyme.
Oil of peppermint.
Oil of bergamot.
Oil of marjoram.
Oil of wormwood.
Oil of dill seeds.
Oil of chamomyle.
Castor-oil.
Gum copal.
Rosin.
40 Diamond.
Nitrate of potash.
Oil of beech-nut.
Oil of rue-
Oil of Savine.
45 Nut-oil.
70
35
Balsam of capivi.
Oil of fenugreek.
Oil of rosemary.
Oil of rhodium.
Flint Glass.
Zircon.
Oil of olives.
Oil of rape seed.
Oil of spermaceti.
55 Oil of Juniper.
Oil of ambergris.
Calcareous spar.
Rock-salt.
Gum juniper.
60 Tartrate of potash and soda.
Oil of almonds.
Crown Glass.
Gum-Arabic.
Alcohol.
Ether.
Borax, glass of.
Borax.
Tourmaline.
Leucite.
Selenite.
Beryl.
Topaz blue.
Fluor spar.
Citric Acid.
75 Malic Acid.
Ascetic acid.
Nitrous acid.
Muriatic acid.
Prussic acid.
80 Nitric acid.
Rock crystal.
White of an egg.
Ice.
85 Super-sulphuretted hydrogen*
Phosphorous acid.
Sulphurous acid.
Phosphoric acid.
89 Sulphuric Acid.
OPTICS
Fig. 77
tics Finding it impossible to obtain any highly dispersing me-
wdium which should refract the rays of the spectrum in the
jr>s same manner as crown glass, Dr. Blair thought of employ-
. ing this very imperfection in obtaining a perfect correction
,;s. of colour. As the green rays removed the outstanding
ones, or were not united in the same focus with the red and
violet, he considered that if an achromatic concave lens should
refract the outstanding green more strongly than the united
red and violet, while an achromatic convex lens should also
refract the outstanding green more strongly than the united
red and violet, then two such achromatic lenses combined
might unite the outstanding green with the red and violet, and
thus effect a perfect union of all the colours. Hence he took
the combination shewn in fig. 77,
for a concave lens, composed of a
concave lens ab, of crown glass,
and a convex lens cd of a fluid
which had its dispersive power
of such a character as to unite
the red and violet rays as stated
in the figures, and leave the
green outstanding and most re¬
fracted. He then made an achro¬
matic convex lens, fig. 78, com¬
posed of a convex lens hg of an
essential oil, the same as that in
cbd, which disperses the rays in
a lesser degree, and of a concave
lens fehg of an essential oil w hich
disperses the rays in a much
greater degree. This compound
lens has its convexity such as to
unite at a convenient distance,
rays which diverge from the vio¬
let focus of the compound con¬
cave lens shewn in fig. 77, and
therefore its focal length must
be much shorter than the other,
like the flint lens in a common
achromatic. But though the
focal lengths of the two com¬
pound lenses are thus different,
\et, the distance or deviation of
the outstanding green, from the
united red and violet, is equal in
both.
When these two compound
lenses are placed in contact, as
shewn in fig. 79, it is manifest
that the equal and opposite de¬
viations of the green ray will
balance each other, and that this
ray will therefore be united with
the red and violet, and thus form
a pencil exempt from secondary
colours. The plates of glass
shewn by dotted lines at ef, cd,
lough necessary when the two
compound Jenses are separate, as
11 are course re¬
moved, since the two fluids which
they separate, as fig. 78, are the
T36- Hence the compound
eject-glass, consists of a con¬
cave lens of crown glass ab, of a
exm8lUSe/ufafluid’andacon-
dosJ ^ °f an0ther fluid’ en-
in t^'0 glasses like watch-
SS;- Dr* ®Uir found it best
11 practice to make all the glasses
413
Fig. 80.
Fig. 79.
concave meniscuses in place of having all the concavity Chromatics
in one lens ab. \ - •
1 continuing his experiments, Dr. Blair happened to try
the muriatic acid mixed with a metallic solution ; he found
it best to make his compound convex lens, as shewn in fig.
/ 8, of crow n glass, and that fluid which enabled him to cor¬
rect the colour of the compound concave in fig. 77, and like¬
wise to correct the aberration of figure by a concave which
lengthens only by one-third the focal distance of the convex.
v\ hen he was trying a compound concave
formed only of crown glass and muriatic acid,
he observed that this fluid produced an in¬
verted secondary spectrum, and gave a primary
spectrum, in which the green rays were among
the most refrangible, and hence he was con¬
ducted to the idea of forming a compound lens
consisting merely of a single concave lens of j
muriatic acid placed between a plano-convex and
a meniscus of crown glass. In this lens, which
he actually constructed and used, he observes that
the rays of different colours were bent from their
rectilineal course with the same equality and
regularity as in reflexion^
In such telescopes, Dr. Blair found that when
the focal length of the object-glass was nine
inches, the aperture might be increased as far
as three inches; and in order to distinguish
such instruments where the aberration is re¬
moved from achromatic ones in which it is only partially re¬
moved, he proposes the use of the term aplanatic?
Sect. IV.—On the tertiary spectrum, and the method of
j correcting the aberration of colour by prisms and lenses
oj the same hind of glass.
The existence of the tertiary spectrum w^as discovered Tertiary
experimentally by Sir David Brewster, who deduced it also spectrum,
from the constant ratio of the sines. It is produced when the
dispersion of a prism of any substance is corrected by an¬
other prism of the same substance with a different refract¬
ing angle. An irrationality takes place in the coloured
spaces, which prevents the correction of colour from being
complete. The residuary spectrum was therefore called
the tertiary spectrum merely to distinguish it from the se-
condary one, which is produced by the specific quality in the
refracting media, which act in opposition to each other.
In examining the phenomena of this new spectrum, Sir
David Brewster was led to a very paradoxical method of
exhibiting it.
Having form- Fig. 81.
ed a prism of gt—  
oil of cassia, —
with a large ^ _   
refracting angle, and viewing through it the broad^Thod-
zontal bar of a window, so that the edges of the bar were
ree of a.11 colours, he inclined the prism so as to make the
bar exhibit at its edges the prismatic colours, as shewn in
bg. 81, where the edges and eN had spectra baM, efN,
the usual red and yellow rays, while the edges
cM, oi\ had spectra edM, bcN composed of the usual blue and
Violet rays. These spectra increased from b and e towards
JV1 and N, and at the nodes b, e, where the spectra would
lave v anished, had each face of the prism received the rays
symmetrically, the tertiary spectrum was clearly displayed
in the form of a green and purple fringe.
In order to produce refraction without colour by two
prisms of the same kind of glass, they may be combined, as
T o vvdlere a ray °f light R incident on the first prism
AL is refracted to the axis MF at F. The prism AB has a
smaller refracting angle than CD, and is placed in an oblique
position, so that its dispersion is increased in a greater ratio
1 Edin, Trans, vol. iii, p. 53.
2 Id. Id.
414
OPTICS.
Chromatics than its refraction, for the purpose of correcting the dis-
* persion of CD with-
out balancing its re- Fig- »2.
fraction; the prism
CD having a posi
tion in which its re¬
fraction and disper¬
sion are a minimum.
sionareamumuuin. » " ,
The ray R will therefore converge colourless, and meet the
£ixis F.
If the prisms have the same refracting angle, and are
placed in the position shewn in fig. 83, the ray R will emerge
colourless in
Fig. 83.
correcting the colour with a second prism. For solar obser- Pns<
vations, the two prisms will constitute a telescope, a dark- Sper[ <
ening glass being used as in other instruments. It will be »
thus equally useful for viewing the lines in the spectrum,
where homogeneous light is necessarily used; and by placing
two, three, or four instruments in the same tube, we may
obtain any magnifying power we desire. The writer of this
article is at present occupied with the construction of one
of these instruments with rock salt prisms. The length of
the instrument which we have drawn is only two inches and
three quarters.
Sect. V. On the Optical Phenomena of the Spectrum.
the direction
r. This com¬
bination of
prisms,as well
as that in fig-
82, has the
property of
expanding all
Although the discovery of the principle, and the actual
objects viewed through them, in a vertical plane passing
through their sections BACD, that is, of magnifying them in
one plane. Hence, if we place another similar pair of
prisms horizontally, this pair also will magnify objects m a
horizontal plane, and by combining these two pair of prisms,
we obtain an instrument which will expand or magnify ob¬
jects in all directions. C1. „ .,
This instrument was first constructed by Sir David
Brewster in 1812, under the name of a teinoscope, for alter¬
ing the proportions of objects in plans and drawings, by ex¬
panding them differently in rectangular directions d and
there is reason to think that Dr. Blair was early acquainted
with this method of magnifying objects by prisms. Mr.
Archibald Blair a few years ago put into Sir David Brew¬
ster’s hands an instrument of this kind, composed of four
prisms which had been executed by his father, but the date
of its construction he had no means of discovering. There
cannot, therefore, be the shadow of a doubt that both the
principles and the invention of an instrument for magnify¬
ing objects by means of prisms, were known and published
in Scotland long before the celebrated M. Amici of Modena
brought forward a contrivance of the same kind. I hat M.
Amici’s invention was an independent one will not be ques-
t!0Asdwe conceive that a telescope of this kind may have
many useful applications, we have given m the annexed
figure a sketch of the instrument as actually fitted up for use.
It consists of
Fig. 84.
xvitiiougii uic ui3v,v/tv.. j ^ i r > — mer-i
construction of achromatic and telescopes had di-na di¬
rected the attention of many observers to the nature ofthespectri
prismatic spectrum, yet, with the exception of its \arying
length in different bodies, and the continuity of its coloured
spaces, no attempt was made to question the general ac¬
count of its phenomena given by Sir Isaac Newton.
Owing to his having used the diameter of the sun as the
body from which his spectrum was formed, and to the diffi¬
culty of procuring in his day good prisms of glass, Sir Isaac
never obtained any thing like pure homogeneous light, and
was therefore unable to determine the exact boundaries of
the coloured spaces. Had the spectrum been observed in
the same manner on the planet Mercury and on Saturn, the
spectrum produced by the same prism would have been very
different. On Mercury the rays would have been less pure and
homogeneous than that observed on our earth, and the mean
refrangible rays of a different colour 5 u hile on Saturn the
colour would have been more pure and homogeneous.
1. Discoveries of Dr. Wollaston.
The first person, in so far as we know, who proposed top,^,
form the spectrum by using a very narrow pencil of light ^ 1
in place of the sun, was Dr. Wollaston, to whom we owe last*
many most valuable observations on the subject.
“ I cannot,” says he, “ conclude these observations on
dispersion, without remarking, that the colours into which a
beam of white light is separable by refraction, appears to me
Fig. 85.
prisms,
AC of
two
AB,
the same
kind of glass,
and having a
small refrac¬
ting angle.
Their common line of junction at A is horizontal, and their
planes of refraction vertical. Other two similar prisms DF,
EF, are placed transversely, their common line of junction
at E being vertical, and their planes of refraction horizontal.
\n object M, therefore, seen through the prisms in the di¬
rection OM, by an eye placed at O, will be magnified three,
four, or five times, or more according to the inclination and
angles of the prisms. It is expanded or stretched out in a
horizontal plane by the two first prisms ED, EF, and then
expanded and stretched out in a vertical plane by the other
two prisms, AB, CD. . . ., •
If we use homogeneous light, we may construct the 1 -
strument with only two prisms, as there is no necessity for
to be neither seven, as they usually are seen in the rain^’ ^
reducible by any means (that I can find) to three, as^mF
sons have conceived; butthatby employing a very m
cil of light,2 four primary divisions of the Pri.smal, ye ha,
mav be seen with a degree of distinctness, that I b h(;
not been described nor observedbefore. If a beam ^
be admitted into a dark room by a crevice .2o °
broad, and received by the eye at the d^tance of ten^
twelve feet through a prism of flint glass, f f
held near the eye, the beam is seen to be separated ^
four following colours only, red, yellfmsh.g/'re
violet, in the proportions represented m. *e ff p trurn ^
« The line A that bounds the red side of the
somewhat confused, which seems in part ovunc gj
of power in the eye to converge red light.
Edinburgh Thil Journal, vol. vi. p- 334, April 1822.
* See p. 4C6-
i j
OPTICS.
•ngj;X between red and green in a certain position of the nrism k   j u . 415
|Sj. perfectly distinct; so also are D, an^ eX° tlo C’of d^fbeen ob^d^th™6 ^
violet But C, the limit of green and blue, is not so clear- tions of the oblimiitv nf^ proP°„rtloTnT’ to accidental varia- Spectrum.
ly marked as the rest; and there are also, on each side of led L sup^ th^Bie W/! T* He!!Ce ^ YoUnZ  
this limit, other distinct dark lines,/and g, either of which, of the extremity of rh^'w lT ^ the accidental ^on
in an imperfect experiment, might be mistaken for the yellow as a mixtnrpnf ^ ^ spaces’—to regard
boundan- of these colours. X™ °f red and Vreen %ht> and to sup-
“ The position of the prism in which the colours are most Seen without^TmkT* C°nsis1t.ed only of homogeneous
clearly divided, is when the incident light makes about fays he “ of Dr ^wTllI ^ ’°f yelloHr* “Inconsequence,”
equal angles with two of its sides. I then found that the Tf^he prisldc sn^ 8 Correctj™ the description
spaces AB.BC,CD,DE, occupied bv them, were nearly as tions it bprump rf frUm comPajed ^th these observa-
he numbers 16, 23, 36, 25.” Dr. Wollaston adds, that I advanced in the la? R L° the ^PP^hion that
,hen the inclination of the prism is altered so as to in LlZ? Ie^e ^specting the
the
^ —“—. . ’ . ’ ’ ** unasion aaas, tnat
when the inclination of the prism is altered so as to in¬
crease the dispersion of the colours, the proportions of them
to each other are then also changed, so that the spaces 4.C
and CE, instead of being as before 39 and 61, may be found
altered as far as 42 and 58.
The lines which Dr. Wollaston has described in the pre¬
ceding obsenations, are calledtheJixed lines in the spectrum,
and may be considered, as we shall presently have reason
proportions of the sympathetic fibres of the reti^??^
B??”BET>n t^EX’ and VIOI^T> for BED, yellow, and
/ hlS mfnner the yellow sPace was ^ck out of
vations<frUm °n ^ authority of Dr* Wollaston’s obser-
2. Discoveries of Fraunhofer.
to see, as one of the mit val^ble^obsen'ations^Wch'haye in tSlk^liSt 1?D °f discove^'of fixed lines jy. .
been made on this subject. He owed the di«coven solely ed nr!?- ^ Woll^ton, M. Fraunhofer, a celebrat-B1?0^"68
to his having used a narrower line of light, and had he series of theTn??11?.(lnfdictbaiern near Munich, madeahoftr.
employed a still narrower and brighter line, he would have tn,™ h ^ 1 dlscovenes respecting the spec-
seen many more lines. & e, ne would Pave trum which he published in 1814 and 1815. By maW
In considering Dr Wollaston’s observations, and comnar- and hv1??? unj{orrn density, and entirely free of vein!
ingthe results with those of Sir Isaac Newton, we must which^n™!?*? ^ ^Xtra^eous %ht’ and stopping the rays
carefully attend to the circumstance, that he u^d a S ^ ?l0Ured SpaCeS which he ^ not exa-
of daylight not one of sun-light, and as this beam ema- SS^fove^d ^ the so^r^ ™
natedfrom the blue sky, and was light which had been greatly ofdiffrrp??'?^ h u fCat number of black lines the spec-
modihed by the action of the atmosphere, as we sha^ ^on lukr? th 1 t0 each 0ther’ ^ perpen-trum.
show, his pstimsito  U S "u siiau soon oicular to the length of the spectrum.
vl!?adSi0fprisms’duid or ^i^ provided they wereeood
fxhl?ed th^ ^ Iines> and Fraunhofer foimd, thatfhS
Imes had a fixed position m the spectrum, and that they
rton^1^ °f the spectrum’the distance between
an? two affording a precise measure of the action of the
pnsm on the rays in which these two lines were placed.
ZiTnfTh8 ^ ^ ^ than the reSt of the ^Pectrum, and
some of them appear entirely black. The largest lines
^^finS?6 ST ^ the apertUre CXCeeded «
and the finest Imes also disappeared entirely when the aper-
ture was 40" The aperture used by Fraunhofer was
fL ?g :Land 15 Wide’ that ^ at a distance of 24
, —   U1amltr ulan naa been done before • widp onH 9^5QPert]ire'L-WaT^ear^ 0ne_d^^etb °f30 in^
vlooking through a prism, at a narrow line oflWit he glass! ^ P,rism Mas made ^Int¬
roduces a more effectual separation of the colour’ th? kT Tl feting angle of nearly 60°, and was placed
an be obtained bv the com^ rmethcxl of thro??^? of 0re?e °bJe?-^s of the telescope, so that the Lgles
I an’s image on a w all. The spectmm forced in g J ^^idence and emergence were eqi£d, or the angle of re-
0,Ve;f0Ur,^> and tl’e bIue than one-third of teleaco^. ,UmS “ ^ the
^ anron^Frr,r, tUmned « « <» ~
greatest intensity of hglit being in that part of the green place when th? ? 'eJine^ dlsaPPeared, and the same took
nch is nearest to the red. A narrow lino of „ f aCe h tbe ^n?le °f incidence was diminished. But the
"T? Tisib,e at tbe limit of the red and green? buHts ine' reapPeared at a greater incidence bv shortening, and
eadth scarcely exceeds that of the ape^fbTwhich tie by len^heni^ the telescope. "
^t&d,hDr,' "'olIast»n "tributes it to ,h: rep^n^iH^of Kt““ccTSxr "
^“intthTrpeSrn Jt^thT^ ^ "
S°nt?d m its "eighbourhood! in which the continuity aT!)?^’ bjen ob,1ged to leave them out of his map.
;;rtK|mm*Drw„llLto!,etaPfoi,dthe^ewLf .^m th'^’ did fei!
^ acting substance mny have been enrploved for its teUater^ “dfat^U o^Xtl^ G°
.vv. u, orc dGiiun ui me aimospnere, as we shall sooi
show, his estimate of the number and nature of the colour¬
ed spaces, does not in the least affect or invalidate the ob¬
servations of preceding authors. The sun’s light used by
Newton had lost many of its rays, by the absorptive actioA
of the atmosphere, before it fell upon Dr. Wollaston’s prism.
Inconsequence of taking it for granted that Dr. Wollaston
l38 the same kind of light that Sir lasac New-
on analysed, both he and Dr Young were misled in the
nterpretation of the phenomena. Speaking of the obser-
ations of Newton and his followers, Dr. Young says,
•the observations were however imperfect, and the ana-
rPfh?/h°Uy 1?a?inary- Dr Wollaston has determin-
inrh mn1TIS10n °f the coloured image or spectrum, in a
auch more accurate manner than had been done before :
416 OPT
Prismatic and H. At A there is a distinct and well defined line, the
Spectrum, boundary of the red space being a little beyond it. “At
a there "is a mass of lines, forming together a band dark¬
er than the adjacent parts. The line at B is very dis¬
tinct, and of a considerable thickness. From B to C may
be reckoned nine very delicate and well defined lines. The
line at C is broad, and black like D. Between C and D are
found nearly 30 very fine lines, which, however, with the
exception of two, cannot be perceived but with a high mag-
nifving power, and with prisms of great dispersion; they
are besides well defined. The same is the case with the
lines between B and C. The line D consists of two strong
lines separated by a bright one. Between D and E we re¬
cognise about 84 lines of different sizes. That at E con¬
sists of several lines, of which the middle one is the strong¬
est. From E to 6 there are nearly 24 lines. At b there
are three very strong ones, two of which are separated by
a fine and clear line. They are among the strongest in the
spectrum. The space bF contains nearly 52 lines, of which
F is very strong. Between F and G there are about 185
lines of different sizes. At G many lines are accumulated,
several of which are remarkable for their size. From G to H
there are nearly 190 different lines. The two bands at H are
of a very singular nature. They are both nearly equal, and
are formed of several lines, in the middle of which there is
one very7 strong and deep. From FI to I they likewise oc¬
cur in great numbers, Hence it follows that, in the space
BH, there are 574 lines. The relative distances of the
strongest lines were measured with the theodolite, and pla¬
ced in the figure from observation. The faintest lines
I c s.
only were inserted from estimation by the eye.” The lines Prir !.jc f
in the solar spectrum which we have thus minutely descri-Spt |j
bed after Fraunhofer, are not seen in the spectra formed^
by any white flame, or white light, whether it is generated ,
by ordinary combustion, or produced by the application of
intense heat to a solid body. In the flame of a lamp, how¬
ever, Fraunhofer discovered that there is a double yellow
line occupying exactly the same place as the double line D,
the two black lines of D corresponding with the two lumi¬
nous ones of the double yellow line in lamp light. Hence
it follows that ordinary white light, produced in the manner
already mentioned, has 590 rays of a definite refrangibility
which do not exist in solar light, and hence the black lines
have been called defective rays or lines.
“ Various experiments,” says Fraunhofer, “ and changes to
which I have submitted these lines, convince me that they
have their origin in the nature of the light of the sun, and
that they cannot be attributed to illusive observations, or
any other secondary cause.”
By means of the apparatus shewn in fig.l, Plate CCCLXXXI,
Fraunhofer determined in a very accurate manner the dis¬
tances between the principal fixed lines1 B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, taking those which divided the spectrum most conve¬
niently. The line b for example, would have been better
than E for its magnitude and distinctness, but it does not
divide the space DF so equally. He repeated these obser¬
vations with different kinds of flint and crown glass of seve-
ral fluids, and obtained the results given in the following
table.
Table, shewing the Distances of the Principal Fixed Lines in the Spectrum, in various Media, according to
Fraunhofer.
Different combinations
of Refracting Media.
jr-n
£ =3
Flint glass, No. 13,..
Crown glass, No. 9) •
Water, 
Water, 
Sol. of potash in water.
Oil of turpentine, 
Flint glass, No. 3,....
Flint glass, No. 30,...
Crown glass, No. 13,.
Crown glass, 
Flint glass, No. 23,..
Flint glass, No. 23,..
65|
631
65£
651
521
3-723
2- 535
1-000
1-000
1- 416
0-885
3- 512
3-695
2- 535
2- 756
3- 724
3-724
Angle of
the prism.
26 24
39 20
58 5
58 5
58 5
58 5
27 41
21 42
43 27
42 56
60 15
45 23
Angle of
deviation.
17 27
22 38
22 36
22 36
127 45
30
35
40
40
40
40133
35 17
20
35
3
26
26 39
49 55
32 45
8
19
40
40
56
12
16-6
9
35-4
13
13-2
12-2
BC
16
44-5
24
12-4
2
56
8
35-6
5
32-8
12-6
6 26
CD
DE
EF
FG
9 4-2
7 23-5
8 10
8 10-6
10 26
13 52
8 22
6 56-8
8 14-4
9 37-6
31 14-8
17 47-8
11 50
i 9 14
j 9 38
i 9 57-5
jl2 54
118 46-1
ilO 46
| 9 12-6
10 28-2
12 29-8
41 21-4
23 31-8
10 33-9
8 14
8 38
8 30-5
11 12
16 14
9 50
8 19
10
1-6
14-8
23-8
20 23-9
15 10
15 16
15 15-6
20 36
31 8
19 10
16 15-6
17 14-8
20 53-6
14 45-2
41 33-4
GH
18 18
13 18
12 41*9
12 46-2
17 24
27 28
17 10
14 32-2
14 48-4
18 1?4
8 3-6
37 28-8
These valuable data were deduced from measures taken of deviation g, arising from the distance 4-25 inches of the
times for each substance; but as the theodolite was centre of the prism from the axis ^ f feet,
only twenty-four feet distant from the window of his dark con-ection would have been veryjreat > whiCh
room, it became necessary to apply a correction to the angle and therefore Fraunhofer, to avoid the uncertain y
i The reader will be desirous of knowing, which of these principal lines were discovered by Dr" ^ . ^^Q^ion^vol. i- P-
to do this is given by Sir David Brewster in his Report on Optics ’ P^bli wd,,in the/j°Ceedingw ^L^rbl^disTovered ^
320, note 2. In the spectrum formed by a narrow beam of day-light, Dr. 4V ollaston had previous y o extreaie boun-
fines which he has designated by the letters A, B, /, C, g, D, E, the first line A being, according to his observations, the extr ^ ^
dary'of the red rays, and the last line E the extreme boundary of the violet rays. Ihe correspondence o t ese
holer. I have with some difficulty ascertained to be as follows—
’ A, B, /, C, p, D, E Wollaston.
B, D, b, F, G, H. Fraunhofer. in, the line C of
There is no single line in Fraunhofer’s drawing in the spectrum, (nor is there any in the real sp^trum) coincident witM ^ c
Wollaston; and indeed he himself describes it as not being “ so clearly marked as the rest.” I have found, nslb]e m
corresponds to a number of lines half way between 6 and F, which, owing to the ^yion o^ P Wollaston’s
the light of the sky near the horizon. In order to have seen the lines B and H of Fraunhofer, especiauy tne ,
“ beam of day-Ught” must have come from a part of the sky very near the sun’s disc.
matic arises from a great correction, determined the angle /x for
:trura. the yellow ray of the light of a lamp which has the same
V^refrangibility as D. When the lamp was placed at the dis¬
tance of 692 feet, the correction of /x for crown glass and
water was only 40". Hence for the smaller arcs, which were
really measured, the corrections were very small, beintr onlv
2"-o for BC, 6"-5 for CD, and S''for DE. All the angular-
distances, therefore, in the preceding table have had° this
correction applied to them.
M. Fraunhofer then proceeded to determine the index of
refraction m for the different fixed lines, and calling o- the
angle of incidence, p the angle of emergence, the anfde
of the prism, and m the index of refraction he obtained, °
m= /{(gin, p -f cos. sin, a-)2 -f (sin. ^ sin. <r)2\
^ \ sin7^^ )
When the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
emergence, or the angle of deviation a minimum, and if M is
the angle of deviation, or that which the emergent rav forms
with the incident ray, we have
1
OPTICS.
417
m-.
sin. 4 f
When the dispersive power of the body under examina- Prismatic
i n is \ er\ great, the value ofthe index of refraction m given Spectrum
by this last formula will not be rigorously correct, £ the'  
equality 0i the angles of incidence and emergence can only
ta^e place for one ray. Fraunhofer, therefore, measured the
istances BC, CD, or when the distance ofthe two lines B
?hp nrTd D sma-ne^ which takes place when
the ray or line which bisects these spaces has its angle of
incidence and emergence equal. When the substances have
a less dispersive power, or the prisms a smaller angle, the
BVp tT6 15 n%neTSarV00btainthisdegreeofacc^cy.
have t lGn Ca tbe index refraction for the ray E, we
E/»=: (^-FV' + DE)
sin. ^ \j/
and for the ray F,
j?m sin. ^ DE-f-EF)
sin. i f
In this way Fraunhofer obtained the following indices of
refraction for the different solids and fluids formerly used:—
Table, shewing the Indices of Refraction corresponding to the Principal Fixed Lines of tht
Media, according to Fraunhofer.
um, lit various
Refracting Media.
Flint glass, No. 13, 
Crown glass, No. 9, !.!
Water, 
Water, 
Solution of potash in water, 
Oil of turpentine, 
Flint glass, No. 3, 
Flint glass, No. 30, 
Crown glass, No. 13, 
Crown glass, [
Flint glass, No. 23, prism of 60°,..
Flint glass, No. 23, prism of 45°,..
•627749
•525832
•330935
•330977
•399629
■470496
•602042
•623570
524312
554774
626596
626564
D m
1-629681
1-526849
1-331712
1-331709
1-400515
1-471530
1-603800
1-625477
1-525299
1-555933
1-628469
1-628451
1-635036
1-529587
1-3335771
1-333577
1-402805
1-4744341
1-6084941
1-630585
1-527982
1-559075
1-633667
1-633666
E m
1-642024
1-533005
1-335851
1-335849
1-405632
1-478353
1 614532
1-637356
1-531372
1-563150
1-640495!
1-640544!
1-648260
1-536052
1-337818
1-337788;
1-408082
1*481736
1-620042
1-643466
1-534337
1-566741
1-646756
1-646780
1-660285
1-541657
1-341293
1-341261
1-412579
1-488198
1-630772
1-655406
1-539908
1-573535
1-658848
1-658849
1-671062
1-546566
1-344177
1-344162
1-416368
1-493874
1-640373
1-666072
1-544684
1-579470
1-669686
1-669680
ter
pec.
JfZ: 7 P^eded to employ these results to the con-
oT,el “1 °matlC telescopes, Fraunhofer endeavoured
ofthe = ^ yexaP„measurement the illuminating power
constrIeTUm at dlfferent P0intS' In order t0 ^ this, he
CCCT YY Y?n *Pparatus ^presented in figs. 3 and 4, Plate
[. lesconcnf their, o aneye-giassE, made onpurposeforthete-
rora Am pH eodohte, he applied a small plane metallicmir-
telescone h,g^h°fVV hl?mbeingWeI1 defined’ cut the field of the
nlacprl at ae middle, as shewn in the figure. It was
and in its fn ang45° t0 the axis of the object-glass A,
°f the smallCUb' eye'glass ^ Pubed out till the edge
the eve ah, Spec’IlIurn «.1S distinctly seen. At the side of
ofthesnPPl’ and m a dir1eCtl0n at riSht angles to the edge
a tube tcB pU? ^ t0 the fxis of the telescope, he fixed
and in thi ’nr11 at tbif P°imt tbe direction of its length,
MN whosp )eamg be Placed a narrow and a shorter tube
at right antlt! ^ 18 Se^n/t crossing the larger tube cB
external vef- l * A s?lah dame, supplied with oil from an
the t7hS ^ tube MN’ 80 as to be in
bor MN wherp -fbe CB’ ^ tbe Point of the narrow tube
«maU roiarn^WaS,CUt ^ the axi* of the tube cB, was a
fall upon the Li m ^ ^ all<^'ing the light of the flame to
E 'vilf see in iJlf of i f11,01106 xt follows that the eye at
the flame and in ft t l?1be (? the sPeculum a illuminated by
formed bv a m-i otbjr half the colours of the spectrum
vol. Lr ^ aCed5 as f°rmerly described, before the
object-glass A. By making the tube MN and the flame ap¬
proach the speculum, we increase its degree of illumination,
and can therefore make it equal to the illumination of the
part of the spectrum which we wish to determine. In this
way he obtained for each coloured space in the spectrum a
certain distance ofthe flame from the speculum, which af¬
forded a measure of the intensity of illumination, the squares
of the distances being inversely as the intensities.
“ Tb°ugh at first sight,” says Fraunhofer, “it appears
difficult to compare the light of two different colours, vet it
becomes easy by a little practice. The intensity of the light
of the mirror approaches more to that of any colour in the
spectnim, if at the same position of the eye-glass its vertical
margin is less distinct. If the mirror is adjacent to a part
of the spectrum more or less illuminated, the edge of the
mirror becomes, in both cases, more distinct; because, in
the first case, the mirror appears to be placed in the sha-
dow, and in the second case, it is the colour of the spectrum
that is found there. The experiment with the mirror is a
little difficult and uncertain, if we perceive clearly the lines
of the spectrum, because the brightest and the darkest lines
touch one another almost in every colour. On this account
the aperture in the window-shutter is made so broad, that
only the strongest lines are just visible, and the fine ones
not at all. In place of the mirror outside of the shutter by
which the light entered, I put a white plane surface illumi-
3 G
1
418
OPTIC
Prismatic „ated by the sun, because by any imperfection of the mn-
Spectrum. ror the light is irregularly dispersed, w Inch renders t e
~ ' servations more dubious.
«In order to vary the experiments, I at one time en¬
larged the round aperture before the flame, and at other
times I contracted it. I placed also at the end c of the wide
tube a piece of ground glass, through which the mirror re¬
ceived its light. In this case I measured the distances ot
the flame from the ground glass. To avoid aU iUusion^the
aperture before the eye-glass ought to be ^talh “d to
ravs coming from the edge of the field, cut the axis of the
telescope. With the prism of fimt glass, No. 13, havmgan^
angle of 26° 24' 5, I obtained the following results. Though ’
the experiments were made in clear weather, and at noon,
I sometimes perceived, in the course ot the observations, a
slight change in the density of the light which the prism
received. The differences in the four sets of expenments
mav have been partly owing to this change, and the flame
may also have changed its intensity in the course of the ob¬
servations. If we call the intensity of the light at the
aperture before the eye-glass ought to be and to^e .e - . ^ ^ we shall then have,”-
at the place where the principal rays, or the axe, ot the , bngntor p i
Table, shewing the Intensity of Illumination at djffereMpmnU oftlw Spectrum.
Points of the Spectrum where the
illumination was measured.
I Mean Intensity,
by four
experiments.
ft ~ D  I 0-6100
At 2-7ths of DE from E, I
At.
At
At
At
F, 1 0-4400
F,  I 0-0840
G,   0-0100
H,  I 0-00110
0-044
0-096
0-590
1-000
0-38
0-14
0-029
0-0072
0-053
0-15
0-72
1-00
0-61
0-25
0-053
0-009
0-020
0-084
0-62
1-00
0-49
0-19
0-032
0-005
F.vp.l. Exp. 2. 1 Exp. 3. Exp. 4.
0-032
0-094
0640
1-000
0-480
0-170
0-031
0*0056
Plate
ccclxxxi.
Fraunhofer found the brightest part of the spectrum at
the distance of nearly one-third or one-fourth oi DE from
D'The results of the preceding experiments are expressed
in the curve, fig.5, which accompanies the spectrumA
the preceding values in thelast column of the table being dm
ordinates of the curve, and the angular distances BC, CD
the table in page 416, for flint glass, Jso. 13, being the
in
^IfNv^suppose that the fiuantity^of the ligbt^in^the differ-
entlv coloured spaces is represented by the areas of the cun
BC,'CD, we shall obtain the following results, the area ot
the space DE being made equal to unity.
Quantity of light
in, or area of,
BC 0-021
CD 0-300
DE 1-000
EF 0-328
FG 0-185
GH 0*035 .
M. Fraunhofer next proceeds to apply these interesting
results to the construction of achromatic combmattons fa ■
telescopes. From the results in the table m p. 416, he ob¬
tains the following ratios of the different dispersive power,
of the differently coloured rays in the different combinations
mentioned in the first column.
each combination of Media.
Table,
Flint glass, No. 13, and water,
Flint glass, No. 13, and crown glass,1
No.   
Crown glass, No. 9, and water,
Oil of turpentine and water,...
Flint glass, No. 13, and oil of turpen-
Refracting Media.
Cn'—Br/ Dn'—Cn'
Cn—Bn I Dn—Cn
E,V—Dn' Fn'—En' 1 Gn'—IV
En—Dn
Fn—En
Gn—Fn
Hn—Gn
2-562
tme,   
Flint glass, No. 13, and kali, 
Kali and water,   
Oil of turpentine and kali, 
Flint glass, No. 3, and crown glass,
No.   
Crown glass, No. 13, and water,..
Crown glass and water, 
Crown glass, No. 2, and crown glass,
No. 13, 
Flint glass, No. 13, and crown glass,
Flint glass, No. 3, and crown glass,..
Flint glass, No. 30, and crown glass
No. 13,  
Flint glass, No. 23, and crown glass,
No.   
1-729
1-309
1-537
1-174
1-667
1-517
1-932
1-904
3-193 3-460 3-726
2-195
1-697
1-963
1- 843
2- 545
1-254
1-381
1-861
2-674
1-294
1-437
1-808
1-518
1-839
1-914
1-604
1-956
1-956
1- 651
2- 052
1-220
1-770
1-579
1-243
1-816
1-618
OPTICS.
ismatic The important results embodied in the preceding table,
?ctrum. completely overturn the opinion of Dr. Wollaston respect-
■"'^’ing the proportionality of the different colours, and establish
beyond all question the irrationality of the coloured spa¬
ces. In the very first combination, for example, tfjlintglass
and water, the ratio of the dispersion of the rays in the red
space BC, is as 1 to 2*56, whereas in the violet space GH,
it is as high as one to 3-726. In the combination of Hint
glass and oil of turpentine, we have a case where the irra¬
tionality is very trifling, and what Fraunhofer has not ob¬
served, the irrationality is nothing between the orange and
blue spaces, and almost nothing between the red and indigo,
but very considerable between the green and all the other
spaces, and a maximum between the green and the violet.
The differences of the ratios, too, are negative or diminish¬
ing in the two first or least refrangible spaces, 2lW<\. positive
in all the rest, the negative differences nearly balancing
the positive ones ; whereas, with very trifling exceptions,
the ratios increase towards the most refrangible extremity
of the spectrum.
It is obvious that in the construction of achromatic ob¬
ject-glasses ot flint and crown glass, there must always
be a considerable portion of outstanding colours or aber¬
rations, as Fraunhofer calls it. Hence in place of mak¬
ing the focal lengths of the two lenses in the exact ratio
of their dispersive powers, we must alter the ratio so as to
make the outstanding colours a minimum for the distinct
vision of objects. But in order to do this, we must take
into account the intensity of illumination in the coloured
spaces; for it is obvious that a given irrationality in the
yellow spaces, will, from the intensity of its illumination, be
much more regarded than a similar irrationality in the violet
space. As the outstanding rays, therefore, will be injuri¬
ous to distinct vision in proportion to their intensity, the
distinctness will be a maximum, as Fraunhofer has shewn,
when the ratio of dispersion x is taken, such that
T_fy3+cr+^+ec f-ft+gji
£+y+s+e+£+’7
in which case we have
[x-b) P -f (x-c)y -f (x-d)8 -f (x-e)f -j- (x-f)£-f- (x-g(rj—.0
where ft y, 5, e, &c. express the quantity of light in the
spaces BC, CD, DE, &c. and b, c, d, e, &c. the quotients
, ■ c i- . Cm'—Bm' Dm'—Dm'
or ratios of dispersion — —  — &c.
Cm—13m Dm—Bm
This ratio, or the value of x calculated for flint glass, No.
30, and crown glass, No. 13, is as 1 to 2-012 ; but Fraun¬
hofer found that in an object-glass, consisting of these two
kinds of glass, the distinctness was a maximum when the
ratio M as as 1 to 1-98.
li^ht c J° Chevalier Fraunhofer we owe also the discovery
, 0 ■ ot fixed lines in the light of the planets and fixed stars. As
the light of our sun is defective in so many rays, it was to
e expected that the light of all the planets w hich he illu-
xninates, would be equally defective in the same rays. In
the brighter colours of the Moon’s spectrum, we find the
same fixed lines as in the sun’s light, and in the same place.
e spectra from the light of Mars and Venus contained the
nes , E, b, and F, of solar light, and precisely in the same
fi aCfn- 11 .^le sPectrum of Sirius he was unable to perceive
xed lines in the orange SLndyellow colours, but in the green
saw a very strong streak, and in the blue other two very
rong ones> having no resemblance to any of the lines in
sPec^rurn- Castor gives a spectrum resembling
not ° filriuf- The streak in the green was so intense, that
otivitlistanding the weakness of the light, yet he ascer-
419
tamed by measurement that it occupied the same place as Prismatic
le green streak in Sirius. He distinguished also the two Spectrum,
streaks in the blue, but he could not ascertain their place.
In the spectrum of Pollux he found many weak and fixed
fines, which resembled those of Venus. The line D he saw
distinctly, and occupying the same place as in the pure
light. In the spectrum of Capella, he saw the lines D and
b, as m solar light. The spectrum of BetaUgeus contains
numerous fixed lines, which in a favourable atmosphere are
sharply defined. There were lines like the solar ones D
and b. In the spectrum from Procyon, some lines were
perceived with difficulty, but they were not sufficiently dis¬
tinct to be measured. In the orange space, however he
saw a line at D.
Sect. \ I—On the Physical Properties of the Spectrum.
The physical properties of the spectrum, which have Physical
been the subject of experimental investigation, are its heat- properties
tng power, and the chemical and apparently maqnetical in- of the
fluence of its rays. spectrum.
Heating power of the spectrum. That the heat of the Heating
coloured rays should be most intense where their light was power,
strongest, was long the general belief of philosophers ; and
Landriani Rochon,* and SenncbiGr, found by direct experi-
ment that the^ highest temperature existed” in the yellow
space. Sir W . Herschel, however, found that the heating Sir T
power increased from the violet to the red space, and that Herschel.
the thermometer continued to rise when placed beyond the
visible red extremity of the spectrum. He therefore drew
the conclusion that there were invisible rays in the light of
the sun which had the power of producing heat, and which
had a less degree of refrangibility than red light. Sir W.
Herschel attempted, in vain, to determine the index of re¬
fraction of the extreme invisible ray which possesses the
power of heating ; but he ascertained that at a point one-
and-a-half inches distant from the extreme red ray, the in¬
visible rays exerted a considerable heating power, even
though the thermometer was placed at the distance of fifty
two inches from the prism.
In lt>01, Sir Henry Englefield repeated these experi-Sir Hem-v
ments ; but he does not acquaint us with the kind of glass Englefield.
of which his prism was made. He obtained the followin°-
results, which confirm those of Sir W illiam Herschel.
Colours cf the Temperature,
Spectrum. lahr.
Blue 56
Green 
Yellow   62
Red 72
Beyond Red 79
From our author’s own account of the method of makin°-
these experiments, we place no confidence in the principal
result respecting the invisible rays. “ As I had nothing to
do with light,” says he, “ it was not necessary to darken
the room ; and as I wished to accumulate as large a por¬
tion ot solar heat as possible, 1 placed the prism in an open
window. As the whole interest of these experiments was
concentrated in the determination of invisible heating rays,
Sir Henry had a great deal to do with light, as the whole
question turned upon an exact appreciation of the termina¬
tion of the spectrum. In a dark room the spectrum is
much longer than in open day, and we have reason to be¬
lieve from experiment, that Sir Henry Englefield’s spec¬
trum did not visibly extend beyond the line C of Fraun-
in the yellow orange rays ^See ^'opsi/cu/c? ^178"33 t*iermometer containing spirits of wine, and he found the maximum temperature
power of givin^ risK)!, °f Ifyht and Heat, Edin. 1794, p. 38- remarks that, “ the compound light which is white, has a greater
C1fing heat is great in nronnrrinn ‘Un.*0 Us P0"’6!’ of exciting heat; whereas in the red species, it is the opposite, for here the power of ex-
S'cau in proportion to its power of giving vision.”
420
Prismatic
Spectrum
Recent ex
periments.
OPTICS,
, , 7QO wo<; nrhr- bv Sir David Brewster, accounts in a very satisfactory man. Prism t
hofer, so that Ins maximum tempe 9 ner for all the phenomena. He conceives that transparent spect:.
ally found in the red rays. . c:r bodies have the same power of absorbing or stopping cer-N^V •>
With the view of throwing light upon subject, S^r bodies na ^ ther4metric spectru^ as Dr. Robison
David Brewster has endeavoured to ascer ai called it, in the same manner as coloured bodies have the
extent of the spectrum by various metno s o ^ S er 0f st0pping certain rays of the luminous spectrum,
the light, and absorbing by coloured met ia, * These last bodies necessarily became coloured by stopping
parts of the spectrum By these means ^ ^ ^ced he ^ but as the eye is not sensible to heat in thesam!
visible spectrum, and the hxed hues in it as manner as to light, the absorptive powerof transparent bodies
line A as the distance of thegroupof hnesais ro^ u,c^A A Por j)eat can 011]y be proved by the thermometer. He con¬
siders water as the type of bodies which are uniformly trans¬
parent for heat, as its maximum of heat coincides with its
maximum of light. A prism of crown glass, on the contrary,
is less uniformly transparent for heat; and its maximum of
heat is in the red space, because it has absorbed much of the
heat in the yellow space. In like manner flint glass has ab¬
sorbed more of the heating rays in the red than the crown
glass, and hence its maximum is about the extremity of the
seen it indistinctly to a distance as great as AB beyond A
Hence there cannot be the least doubt that the experiments
beyond the visible red were actually made when the ther¬
mometer was placed in the red space. He does not, how¬
ever, conclude from this that there are no invisible rays be¬
yond the red ; but merely that the experiments of Her-
schel and Englefield were made in a part of the spectrum
where rays of light actually exist. On the contrary, our ^  
author concludes that there are rays of hea.t o a egrees & ’ , n(j tpe ent[ 0f the spectrum as commonly seen
of refrangibility, and consequently consisring o w aves c0i0ured media the maximum ordinate of their luminous
all degrees of breadth and velocity. When producext ny
a siigist vibratory movement, the waves of heat are broad
and slow; as the temperature rises they become narrower
and quicker in their motion. When their velocity is such
as to equal that of the extreme red ray, they become faintly
visible, and the other colours are successively produced by
quicker motion, till white light is radiated. This seems to
be the process by which incombustible bodies are gradually
. T ___  fVlO IvrioTltPSt ! aild if
111 CUIUUICU llicuid Lilt V,* ^—— — —  
spectrum, shifts along the whole prismatic spectrum; some¬
times there are two or more maxima of light, and some¬
times narrow and wide spaces entirely defective in light.
Hence Sir David Brewster4 supposes that there are defec¬
tive spaces, and lines in the thermometric spectrum.
This view of the subject suggests a new mode of in¬
vestigating the phenomena of the heating rays. If we
be the process by which incombustible bodies ai e g take a prism of coloured glass to investigate the dark
raised from the deepest red to the bnghtes^w nne , ^ spaces and lines produced by absorbing media, we shall
we examine, by means of a prism, the c anges ^ ^ 1 o, jiaye a very imperfect approximation to the true re¬
place in the gradually increasing light, we shall m > . t] t is we never could have absolutely dark spaces
the different rays of the spectrum are successively added a§ long as all the rays that went to the
to the red light.1 He conceives, therefore, that the su format4n of the spectrum, passed through all the different
emits rays of all degrees of refrangibility, extending p - thicknesses 0rtjie prism. The thinnest parts of the prism
bably far beyond the visible extremity of the violet, an aP the t0 SSj anq consequently illuminate the
though not capable of being rendered sensible, yet exei- g truni; So that the actions of various thicknesses
cising powerful influences in the economy of nature. media are confounded, and the real absorptive action
Berard. M? Berard, and Sir Humphry Davy obtemed results “ “e . thickness concealed. Jn like manner in the
analogous to those of Sir W. Herschel; h • erar n spectrurn 0f heat, the heating rays which pass through the
the maximum heat at the very extremity of the reel ray, ^ g ^ the prism> wiU "throw heat into every part of
and Sir H. Davy beyond it. _ , . , . the spectrum ; and hence the experiments should be made
The most valuable series of experiments on this subject, ^ ^ fmstums 0f prisms, where the difference of thickness
ivere made by Professor Wunsch, and Dr. See beck ot tier- p an(j the want of area made up by an increased
Wunsch. lin. So early as 1807, Professor WunclB had made^ex- - - • ’
lin. So early as 1807, Rrolessor vvunen- nau inauc c^- p • ptofthe prism. The best way, however, of making
periments with prisms of various substances, and obtained tpebexperimentS) would be to use a compound prism con-
the following results: stmeted as in the an-
Fig. 86.
Place of maximum
heat.
following
Substances of which the
Prisms were made.
Alcohol Yellow space.
Oil of turpentine Yellow space.
Water Yellow space.
Green glass Red.
Yellow glass Extreme red.
Seeheck- These results were confirmed by Dr. Seebeck, who ob¬
tained the following new results :
Substances of Place of
which the prisms maximum
are made. * heat.
Sulphuric acid concentrated Orange.
Solution of sal-ammoniac Orange.
Solution of corrosive sublimate.-Orange.
Crown glass Middle of red.
Plate glass. Middle of the red.
Flint glass, English Beyond the red
k n
>? >c
structed as in the an¬
nexed figure, where
AB, MN, is the sec¬
tion of a compound
prism consisting of
four frusta of prisms,
AB, ab, a'b', &c. the
frustum AB, being
part of a prism ABC.
the frustum ab, part
of a prism abc, &c. or
this compound prism,
grouncTmit of tbtf nfass, which would be dfflcul. ^
practicable, might be composed of asmgle pnsm ABt,rt
parallel plates of the same glass “^ed by cement
compose the notched parallelogram A - • - formed
ing results might also be obtained by using SP , ike
by interferences in the manner we shall afterwards d«™
' In all experiments with fluid P™”s>^
Flint glass, English ceyoim me mu. In all experiments with rnuci prisms, ^ irh the
Flint glass, Bohemian Beyond but nearer the red {)]exed with the effects of the plates of glass bY ™isturb
The explanation which was given of these results, (which P™ms
had been ascribed to different prisms ot refracting caloric,3) and indeed nullify the results e.j &  ,
  —   —    " . . oo” 2 Afnnnzine dcT GcScUsch*
1 See Professor Powell', valuable flepor. on BM* Heat, British vob ^ ^9^
s Turner’s Chemistry, 3d Edit. p. 84.
smatic by coloured fluids, were we to confine them in hollow prisms
:trum. made of coloured glass. The only method of remedying
Y^'this defect in
Fig. 87.
OPTICS.
421
exper
would
the
ment,
be to form the
spectrum by a
prismatic ves¬
sel of the fluid,
whose upper
surface AC,
is formed by
gravity, and its
lower surface
BC, by a plate
of highly po¬
lished silver, which reflects back the spectra throuo-h the
first surface.
According to Berard’s experiments, the calorific rays of
the spectrum are capable of being doubly refracted and
polarised like those of light, and he obtained the same re¬
sult with culinary heatthe heat of a dark body below
redness, being substituted for solar heat.1
On the chemical effects of the spectrum. It was lono- ao-0
observed by Scheele that muriate of silver was rendered
much blacker in the violet rays of the spectrum, than in
any other part of it.2 In the year 1801, Professor Ritter
of Jena exposed muriate of silver in various parts of the
spectrum, and also beyond its apparent limits. He found
that the action was least of all in the red rays, greater in
S?°f t jr“Jhf bl“e greatest
C| aical
eft is of
thuec-
tru
Gun
turn
of all beyond the visible violet rays. Dr. Wollaston°anTM.
Beckman obtained a similar result,apparently without know¬
ing what had been done by Ritter. In repeating the experi¬
ments or Scheele with white muriate of silver, “he found
that the blackness extended not only through the space
occupied by the violet, but to an equal degree, and to about
an equal distance, beyond the visible spectrum ; and that
by narrowing the pencil of light the discoloration may he
made to fall almost entirely beyond the violet. It
ivould appear, that this and other effects usually attributed
to fight, are not in fact owing to any of the rays usually
perceived, but to invisible rays that accompany them ; and
that if we include two kinds that are invisible, we may
distinguish upon the whole six species of rays into which a
sunbeam is divided by refraction.”3
1 he phrase almost entirely beyond the violet, used by
r. Wollaston, cannot be considered as indicating the ex¬
istence of invisible rays, even if w e did not know from the
experiments of Fraunhofer and others, that the visible vio-
R tt?raCe fw uds gre*tly beyond the Place where both
Bitter and \\ ollaston found the muriate of silver to be
blackened. The existence of invisible rays, therefore
owever probable, cannot be regarded as a scientific fact. ’
’gum lLhemiCalaCtr°f theleast refrangible rays upon
Sr™1*,™8! dlsc°yered by Dr. Wollaston. Having
Sd th^i ltha/0luti°n0f this gum in aIcohol> he
ed vinlf iat lafquired a 9reen colour from the concentrat¬
ed bv tT w6 ChangG °f C°l0ur Was effect-
qreel^A ' but m ,the red rays the tinged card lost its
gedcardd/eCTre(! 0riginal C°loUr- When the tin-
could tl Z f aced m carbonic acid gas. the violet rays
fore it ,i-qq la e1?1t green ; but when made green as be-
bv the red rSpeedlAy TSt0red t0 its original yellow colour
a h atedll yS* As Dr- Wollaston foond that the back of
_^^ilver^poon restored the green colour as well as
experiments! ^ Cann0t attaCh any definite meaning to these Prismatic
MM. Gay Lussac and Thenard discovered a very energe-^C^
t^ chemical action of the solar rays. On exposing tf a
pencil of so ar light, a mixture of hydrogen gas and calo-andchiorine
nc, m equal volumes, a detonation of the^nixfd gases took
P Me’Rpr hJdr0Ch °T'1and (omriatic acid) was formed.
M. Berard repeated the experiments with muriate of sil- tvt u t
ver and with the preceding mixture of gases which he pla- e
ced in the different coloured spaces of the spectrum and
he found that the chemical action was in every case ’more
powerful towards the violet extremity and a little beyond
\rAJ-Berard bkewise concentrated the least refrangible
hah of the spectrum by means of a lens, and then the most
refran^ble haJf. I he latter, though the most intense, pro-
tu t n0/ueC1UP°\the muriate of silver’ but the former
blackened it in less than ten minutes.'1
Mis. Somerville,5 found that the chemical rays passed as \Trc <?
freely through blue glass coloured with cobalt, as through mervilk!'
colourless glass. Having dipped a piece of paper in a solu¬
tion of muriate of silver, and cut it into two parts, one of
them was placed under a blue glass, and the other under a
white glass at the same instant. The one did not become
black more than the other, and there was no difference in
the intensity of their colour.
wiStbJh0macT(!Ung made.P Very interesting experiment Dr. Young
with the view of determining if the invisible chemical rays in-
terfered with the luminous ones. He produced the Newtonian
offhVrnt! a thln pat,e ?f air’ and having formed an image
them by means of the solar microscope, he threw this
image upon paper dipped in a solution of nitrate of silver, and
placed it at the distance of about nine inches from the mi-
croscope. the course of an hour,” says he, “portions of
thiee dark rings were very distinctly visible, much smaller
than the brightest rings of the coloured image, and coin-
eidmg very nearly, in their dimensions, with the rings of
violet light that appeared upon the interposition of violet
glass. I thought the dark rings were a little smaller than
the violet rings, but the difference was not sufficiently great
to be accurately ascertained. It might be as much as one-
tmrtieth, or one-fortieth of the diameter, but not greater.”6
A more decisive experiment was afterwards performed by
M. Arago, who formed a set of fringes, by the interference M. Arago
of two solar pencils, proceeding from a common origin, and
having kept them very steadily for a long time upon the
same part of a piece of paper rubbed with muriate of silver,
a series of black lines were traced upon leaving their inter¬
vals, smaller than those of the dark and bright fringes form¬
ed by violet light. b
In the summer of 1831, we had the satisfaction of being Sir John
s ewn y a John Herschel a very interesting experiment Herschel.
on the chemical action of the violet rays. When a solu¬
tion of platinum in nitro-muriatic acid7 is mixed with lime
water, no precipitation to any considerable extent takes
place in the dark, a slight flocky sediment only being form¬
ed after long standing. But if a fresh mixture, or an old
one cleared by subsidence of this sediment, is exposed to
the sun s rays, it instantly becomes milky, and a white preci¬
pitate is copiously formed. If the solution of platina is in
excess, the precipitate is of a pale yellow colour. In the
common light of a cloudy day, the same effect is produced
more slowly. When tubes containing the mixture are ex¬
posed within red fluids, or even yellow ones which absorb
the violet rays, no precipitation takes place.
The following remarkable facts were published in the
Journal de Pharmacie for March 1832, but the abstract
be founG in toT.' ivl'p. COo"11 aCC°Unt ^11)636 experiments’ occupying a whole chapter of eighteen pages, wifi
4 //A drh l Alr et du Few, § 66.
7 rp.10 s Traiti de Physique, tom. iv. p. 673 674 5 Pint Tm-n* .. ^ Phil. Trans. 1802-
’e excess of acid must be neutralised by' the addition nf lin 7 .1 P?rt P; 136- c Elements of Nat. Phil vol. ii. p. 647
See Land, and Edin. Phil No 1, July 1832 p 58. 80lUtl01, Weil deared ^ flltration-
422
OPTICS.
rays.
Prismatic from which we quote them, does not mention the name of
Spectrum, the author.1 II A solution of peroxalate of iron, when kept
jn the dark or exposed to the heat of boiling water, suffers
no change; but if it is exposed to the sun’s rays, an infi¬
nite number of bubbles of carbonic acid are disengaged, and
the solution is like a syrup undergoing strong fermentation.
A solution of muriate of platinum is decomposed by the
oxalic acid, and the oxalates by the sun’s light, with alrnost
as energetic a disengagement of gas as the solution above
mentioned. ., . ,
Muriate of gold, when reduced by oxalic acid througn
the agency of light, covers the interior surface of the vessel
with an uniform brilliant gilding, which is of a pure green
colour by reflected light.
Oxalate of silver under water, is partially decomposed
by solar heat (not by culinary heat) into metallic silver and
carbonic acid. If the reddish brown solution of muriate
of iridium in water, mixed with oxalic acid and heated to
ebullition, is exposed to the sun, total discoloration promptly
takes place, carbonic acid is disengaged, and grey metallic
iridium precipitated.
Magnetic Magnetic influence of the solar rays.—T hough many m-
influence of^erest]ng and apparently accurate experiments have con-
the solar curred to indicate the existence of this property of light,
yet recent inquiries have thrown a considerable doubt up¬
on the conclusions which have been drawn from them. Dr.
Morichini, a Homan physician, first succeeded in 1813, in
magnetising small needles, by making a focus of the violet
rays, collected by a lens, pass repeatedly from the middle to
one end of a needle, without touching the other half. Isy
continuing this process for an hour, the needle had acquir¬
ed distinct polarity. This experiment was repeated suc¬
cessfully by the Marquis of Ridolfi and M. Carpa; and
Sir H. Davy and Professor Playfair, and other English phi¬
losophers, witnessed the successful performance of this ex¬
periment. Professor Configliachi at Rome, with the bene¬
fit of an Italian sun, M. Berard of Montpellier, and M.
Dhombre Firmas at Alais, failed in obtaining similar ef¬
fects from the violet rays, and hence the doctrine of the
magnetic efficacy of blue light was exploded both by the
French and Italian philosophers.
In 1825 Mrs. Somerville repeated, in a different way, the
experiments of Morichini. She took a slender sewing needle
an inch long, quite devoid of magnetism, and having co¬
vered half of it with paper, she fixed it to the pannel of the
wall with wax, so that its uncovered half should receive the
violet rays of a spectrum formed by an equianglar prism of
flint glass, whose refracting faces were each P4 by IT
inches, and which was placed about five feet from the wall.
The needle was placed in a vertical plane nearly perpen¬
dicular to the magnetic meridian, and inclined to the hori¬
zon, and as the sun advanced to the meridian, the needle
was moved parallel to itself to keep it in the sun’s rays. In
less than two hours, when the sun had just passed the me¬
ridian, the exposed half of the needle attracted the south
and repelled the north pole of the magnetic needle. A
second experiment on the same day confirmed this result,
and similar effects were obtained by varying the circum¬
stances of the experiment.
In the blue and green rays, the needles were magnet-
tised but less frequently, and always after a longer ex¬
posure, but the magnetism was always as strong as in the
violet. The indigo rays were nearly as efficacious as the
violet. Pieces of clock and watch spring were also mag¬
netised after longer exposure, and magnetic needles had
their magnetism increased by the same means. When the
violet rays wTere concentrated with a lens, the magnetism
wras sooner conveyed to the needle. M hen the halves of
Mrs. So¬
merville.
the needles and the pieces of spring were enveloped in violet Prism-
and green silk, they became magnetic also. Mrs. Somer- Specte
ville does not seem to have tried as a check upon these re-' i*
suits, the action of the red rays of the spectrum. The blue
glass, we are persuaded, transmitted many of the red rays,
and this experiment should have been made by using the
common sulphate of copper, which does not transmit, with
a proper thickness, any of the less refrangible rays.a
In the same year, Professor Christie of Woolwich, made Profess)
a series of elaborate experiments on the action of the com- Chriso
pound rays of the sun on a magnetised needle, and also on
needles of copper and glass. The needles were caused to
vibrate by the force of torsion in the whit e light of the sun,
and he invariably found that the arc of vibration w as more
rapidly diminished in the sun’s light than in the shade. Pro¬
fessor Christie regards these facts as proving incontestibly
the existence of a magnetic influence in the solar rays, and
tending to restore the credit of Morichini s experiments.
He intended to make his needles vibrate under the separat¬
ed rays of the sun, and had an apparatus prepared for the
purpose ; but we are not aware of his having either made
these experiments or published any account of them.3 . j
M. Baumgartner of Vienna,4 while repeating the experi- Baunr .
ments of Mrs. Somerville, found that a steel wire, somener'
parts of which were polished, while the rest were rough or
without lustre, wTere magnetised by the action of the white
light of the sun, each polished part exhibiting a north, and
each unpolished part a south pole. ^By concentrating the
sun’s rays, the effect was produced more rapidly. On a
wire eight inches long, he thus obtained eight poles, ''hen
the needles were perfectly oxidated or perfectly polished,
or had polished lines in the direction of their lengths, he
could not succeed in magnetising them.
A less equivocal method of proving the magnetic in- Barioc
fluence of white light presented itself to Professor Barlocci.
An armed natural loadstone capable of carrying a weight of
U Roman pounds (a Roman lb. is equal to 339-179 gram¬
mes) after three hours exposure to the strong light of the
sun, was able to carry 2 oz. or one-sixth of a lb. more, and
after an exposure of 24 hours its force was almost doubled. A
second loadstone of nearly the same power was put into a
dark place of the same temperature as that of the solar
rays, but acquired no additional strength. A stronger mag¬
net, which carried 5 lbs. 5 oz. and 2 deniers, was exposed
to the light of a cloudy and humid atmosphere, and where
it snowed ; but it acquired no additional power ; while, dur¬
ing the two subsequent days under a clear sky, its energy
was more than doubled. The effect was not increased by
a lengthened exposure. f
Among the most active labourers in this department of Za^
science, we must rank M. Zantedeschi of Pavia. He had
early obtained results similar to those of Morichim,and aDou
the end of 1825, he had remarked, that suspended wire
needles, devoid of all magnetism, and having one ot tneir
ends exposed to the white light of the sun under a g as*r('
ceiver, turned that extremity to the north in the plane o
magnetic meridian. In repeating the experiment of ^r-
locci with artificial magnets, M. Zantedeschi found tlmt a
horse-shoe magnet, carrying 13| ounces, carried 3? oz.
after three days exposure to the sun, and by cotltin’^ ,
posure, was able to cany 31 oz. He found «l»o h“ “
strength of oxidated magnets was increased by solar hg >
that it diminished in those that were not oxidated. Aioaa
stone, for example, not oxidated, lost oz. o i s
by three hours exposure to solar light, whilst anot _
dated and similarly exposed, gained as much and even m ^
strength. When the first was polished like a muro ,
strength suffered no change by a prolonged exposu
I Id. Id. June 1832, p. 466. 2 Phil. Trans. 1826. p. ii. p.
II Edinburgh Journal of Science, No. V. N-S. 1830, p. 76.
132.
3.Id- Id. p.
219—239. 4 Zeitscrift, tom. 1. P- 263,
OPTICS.
423
iiatic sun. He likewise found that when a loadstone, whether Spot VI7 -ti- • .■ in
»». oxidated or not, had its nortkpok exposed to the sun. It"*«*»!> th‘ **»«*
quired strength, but lost strength when its south pole was le ^nalysis of white or compound light by the prism,,
exposed. In more than sixty experiments, the increase of v!as made and perfected by Sir Isaac Newton ; but though NewLalT
strength varied from 1 to 2, and to 3^ oz. whereas the cor- Jhe prism could not decompose them, he committed a mis- sis of the
responding diminution was from 3;} to 5, and to 5| oz. In a,^e in concluding that the colours of the spectrum were sPectrum*
these experiments our author confesses that he often en- ®.imP ev and homogeneous; “ that to the same degree of re¬
countered anomalies of which he could not detect the cause. , ^bihty ever belonged the same colour, and to the same
In repeating the experiments of Professor Christie, M. S?lour ever belonged the same degree of refrangibility ”
Zantedeschi obtained analogous results. Having placed a ^ow’ ^ough it is quite true that the green and orange co-
magnetic needle a foot long in the shade, he drew its :ours of the spectrum cannot be decomposed by the prism
place of rest through an arch of 90°, and it performed in ln*0 m.ore simPle ones, the one into blue and yellow, and the
30" four oscillations, the last of which had a semi-amplitude ot ler lnto yellow and red, yet they can be decomposed by
of 70°. When exposed to the solar rays, it performed in 0[.,r means- This opinion respecting the compound nature
the same time, and under the very same circumstances, four ot the colours of the spectrum, and the inability of the prism
oscillations, the last of which had only a semi-amplitude of to aaalyse them, was first maintained by Sir David Brew-
60°. steiV who, with the view of placing it beyond a doubt, un-
A great degree of doubt has been cast upon the conclu- dJrtook a series of experiments, in which he examined the
siveness of all these researches, by a series of well-managed edects produced on the solar spectrum by viewing it through
and experiments made recently by MM. Riess and Moser. The f great number of coloured media, and reflecting it from co-
. following experiments were made after the manner of Mori- loured- % these experiments, he not only established the
chini. The needles were made of soft steel; their mass accuracy of bis first opinion, that the green and orange co-
was very small, and they presented a considerable surface 7°/urs of.the sPectrum were compound, the one consisting of
to the action of the light. The prism was placed in the po- blue *™ yellow, and the other of red and yellow, but was led
sition of minimum deviation, which corresponds to the to the more general resalt, that the whole spectrum was com-
greatest intensity of the light of the spectrum, the needles P0^nd’ consisting of three equal and superposed spectra of
were placed on a graduated circle, three or four feet from red> yeUowg and blue light.3 The following are the general
the prism. The lens used had an aperture of 1-2 inches, resubs which he obtained:—
and a focal length of 2-3 inches, and by it the focus of the 7 “ L White light consists of three simple colours, red, yel-
violet rays was made to traverse one-half of the needle 200 ai?d hlue' by the mixture of which all other colours are
times, excepting on the 10th July and the 12th August, tor™ed*
when it was done only 100 times, and on the 23th July, “ 2‘ The S(dar spectrum, whether formed by prisms of
when it was done 525 times. The following were the re- tiansparent bodies, or by gratings or grooves in metallic and
suits which they obtained, shewing no change in the number tnmsparent surfaces, consists of three spectra o?equal length
of oscillations. beginning and terminating at the same points, viz. a red spec-
Dates.
Duration of Oscillations.
Names of the Before ex- After ex-
Needles. periment. periment.
April 3,.,
 27,.,
May 6,.
June 14, e 15 -2 15 .7
Time of Ob¬
servation.
-10:}
■ 9}
9}
trum, a yellow spectrum, and a blue spectrum. ^
3. All the colours in the solar spectrum are compound co-
Jours, each of them consisting of red, yellow, and blue light
in different proportions.
“ 4. A certain quantity of white light, incapable of being
decomposed by the prism, in consequence of all its compo¬
nent rays having the same refrangibility, exists at every
Red.
hs, reflected light was not used in Morichini’s experiments,
w ich our author wished to verify, they employed the direct
°11,0*the sun- In the experiments, however, with the
,ee es®’c> Ibey fixed the spectrum by means of a helio-
ho e' uy refnark that the needle had been exposed 17}
- to action of the sun without becoming magnetic,
frnmcc ^0rickini succeeded in magnetising his needles in
from fifteen to thirty minutes.
exnpr--686 gende}aen repeated also in a similar manner the
to do/'u^i18 ®aumRartner, but it would be unprofitable
rocnlt-f1 , ?etn here, as they could not reproduce any of the
of onl W \ k.e kad obtained. They tried also the action
P ised light, but without any better success.1
Yellow.
Fig. 90.
Blue.
* Edinburgh Transactions, vol. ix. p. 48.
3 Id- Id. vol. x. p. 123.
424
OPTICS.
Prismatic point of the spectrum, and may, at some points be exhibit-
Spectrum. ed in an insulated state.
' “ This remarkable structure of the spectrum will he better
understood from figs. 88, 89, 90, which represent the three
separate spectra, which are shewn m their combined state
in fig. 91-
Fig. 91.
“In all these figures, the point M corresponds with the red,
or least refrangible extremity of the spectrum, and N with
the violet or most refrangible extremity; and the ordinates
ax, bx, cx, of the different curves MRN, MYN, MEN, re¬
present the intensity of the red, yellow, and blue ray at any
point x of the spectrum.
“ If the distance Mx in all these spectra be equal, then, in
the combination of them shewn in fig. 91, the ordinates ax,
bx, cx, will indicate the nature and intensity of the colour
at any point x of the red spectrum. Thus, let
“ The ordinate for red light ax=30,
yellow bx=\G,
blue cx= 2,
ax-\-bx-\-cx=A& rays,
then the point x will be illuminated with 48 rays of light,
viz., 30 of red, 16 of yellow, and 2 of blue light.
“ Now, as there must be certain quantities of red and yel¬
low light which will form white, when combined with two
blue rays, let us assume these, and suppose that white light,
whose intensity is 10, will be formed by 3 red, 5 yellow,
and 2 blue rays ; hence it follows that the point x is illumi-
nated by
“ Red rays, 2/
Yellow rays, 11
White light, 10
48 rays,
or, what is the same thing, the light at will be orange,
rendered brighter by a mixture of white light. The two
blue rays, therefore, which enter into the composition of
the licht at x, will not communicate any blue tinge to the
1 Kftects Similar to tuese may uc  ; ; , f
pre“ If "lie point x is taken nearer M, and if, at that point, the media, such as chemical s(,hi,1ons, or lhi' roiour« juices
blue rays are more numerous in proportion to the yellow plants ; and by such means Sir David Brewster ms^
- that is, if they are as 3 to 5, then there will be
than 2 to 5,   ,
one blue ray more than what is necessary to make white
light with the two yellow and the three red rays, and this
blue ray will give a blue tinge to that part of the spectrum,
or will modify the peculiar colour of pure red light. In
like manner, the blue extremity of the spectrum may have
its peculiar colour modified by an excess of red rays, so as
to convert it into violet light.”
It would occupy too much space to bring forward the body
of evidence which supports these views, and we must there¬
fore refer our readers to the original memoir. We shall
endeavour, however, in a few words, to prove the general
principle of the compound character of the prismatic colours,
by facts stated by persons who observed them, without any
reference to this opinion. Sir Isaac Newton and Fraunho¬
fer and many persons besides, have, from long observation Prist#«
of the solar spectrum, concluded that there is a homogeneous Vet
unmixed yellow, and a homogeneous unmixed orange spaced
in the spectrum. Newton makes the yellow space 40, and
the orange 27, or 67 in all; while Fraunhofer makes the ?/<?/-
low space 27, and the orange space 27, or 54 parts ot a spec¬
trum whose length is 360 parts. Now, Dr. Wollaston de¬
clares that a beam of daylight is refracted by the prism into
five colours only, red, yellowish green, blue, and violet, and
he defines their limits with his usual accuracy. Dr. Young,
who repeated the same experiments with that exactness
which was peculiar to him, declares that the spectrum formed
in Dr. Wollaston’s manner, consists of/our colours only, red,
qreen, blue, and violet, “ the colours differing scarcely at all
in quality within their respective limits.” Now both these
accurate observers have rejected the yellow and orange
spaces almost entirely, with the exception of the narrow
line of yellow light formerly mentioned, thus running coun¬
ter to all the observations ot Newton and hraunhofer. The
cause of such a difference is this: The lightanalysed by Wol¬
laston was the blue light of the sky, which had been deprived
bv absorption of many of its rays, having the same refrangi-
bility as those which fell upon the prism. Dr. Young s
qreen space was Sir Isaac Newton’s yellow space, deprived
of most of its yellow rays, and the red space adjoining the
sreen was Newton’s orange space, deprived by the absorp¬
tion of the atmosphere, of almost all its yellow rays; and the
sharp yellow line noticed by Dr. Young, and regarded by
Dr. Wollaston as a mixture of red and green light, as if
these spaces had overlapped a little, is part of the orange
space of Fraunhofer and Newton, deprived of its red rays.
This yellow band can be produced artificially upon all kinds
of white light, and by the absorption of various media.
Hence it is obvious, that by comparing the light reflected
and modified by the blue sky with the direct light of the sun,
we may obtain irrefragable proof of the compound nature of
the yellow and orange spaces. That red light exists at the
most refrangible extremity, is obvious from its violet colour;
and that blue light exists at the red extremity, may be
proved by the following observation of Sir W. Herschel.
He had occasion to view the prismatic spectrum, when re¬
flected from clear turned brass, and he observes, “ ihe co¬
lour of the brass makes the red rays appear like orange,
the orange colour is likewise different from what it ought to
be? Here then, yellow light was seen at the very red end
of this spectrum, and it was seen in consequence of
light having been absorbed by the brass, because light
mixed with the orange, observed by Sir \\ .Herschel, would
alone recompose the original red. Here, then, thereis apro
that blue light, and yellow light, and red light, all exist in he
same place, at the least refrangible end of the spectrum.
Effects similar to these ^ay be produced by various colow d
plants; and Dy sucn means on xyaviu —- — . ,,
ceeded in insulating white light in the spectrum, ^capable
of being decomposed by the prism. In a more rece“ “ ‘
moir, “ On the connexion between the phenomena
absorption of light and those of thin plates, - ho has sh
that a separation of rays of different colours but equal re
frangibility, is effected by the continued producfaon o pen
odical colours by a number of thin plates acting successively
upon the same pencil. t
The existence of fixed lines m the spectrum, as chso
vered by Fraunhofer, was a fact unexampled in science.
Variouscoloured bodies were known to absorb part, uhr
parts of the spectrum, and their peculiar colour was t
cessary consequence of this absorption. Some of them,
as smalt blue glass* produced at a certain thickness s^eral
dark bands in the spectrum, but these bands shai  
J Phil Trans. 1800, vol. xc. p. 255.
^ Id. Id. 1857.
ismatic imperceptible degrees, and had no definite boundary 1 In
*trum. examining the action of all the coloured solid and fluid bo-
^^dies which he could command, Sir David Brewster was led
ion of to observe the action of nitrous acid gas on the snertrnm 2
OUS acid With a fine prism of rock salt, having" the larges? posSL
on the refracting angle, he formed a spectrum with the light of a
lamp transmitted through a small thickness of the gas whose
colour was a very pale straw yellow, and he was surprised
to observe the spectrum crossed with hundreds of lines or
bands, much more distinctly pronounced than those of the
solar spectrum. In the violet and blue spaces the lines
were sharpest and darkest; they were fainter in the m-een
and almost imperceptible in the yellow and red spaces? By
an increase in the thickness of the gas, the lines were better
developed in the ye low and red spaces, and became broader
in the blue and violet, a general absorption or extinction of
the light advancing from the violet extremity, while a sne-
cific absorption was going on, on each scale of the lines or
bands. It was not easy to obtain a sufficient thickness of
gas to bring out the hues at the red extremity, but our au-
horfound thatheatproducedthe same effect as an increase of
thickness, and by greatly heating a tube half an inch wide,
and full of gas, he was able to exhibit the lines and bands
to the very extremity of the red space.
“ The power of heat alone,” says our author, “ to render
a gas which is. almost colourless as red as blood, without de¬
composing it, is in itself a most singular result, and my sur-
Y inCrTed When 1 afterwards succeeded in
rendering the same pale nitrous acid gas so absolutely black
by eat, that not a ray of the brightest summer’s sun was
capable of penetrating it. In making this experiment The
tubes frequency expired, but by using a mask of mica and
thick gloves, and placing the tubes in cylinders of tinned
iron, wiLi narrow s its to admit the light, there is little danger
of any serious accident.” &
It is a remarkable fact that the liquified gas in the very
same tube, produces none of the fixed lines, and exercisel
no other action on the spectrum than any ordinary fluid of
the same orange colour. ^ y num 01
As the points of maximum absorption in coloured bodies
"T TCt,y C°inCident with s»“e of the principal lines
milht be to,?*0-',?1'”’ ““I aUth°r susPcct«i that the same
might be tiue with regard to the nitrous gas lines, and he
-erefore formed the solar and the gaseous spectrum with
SeTne « ir°Ug the Same aPerture> s° that the lines
»i chenceT 0PP°S,te t0 th“Se “ the “'her, and their
E™” b Tu a matter of simP,e observation. He
Hhthe tr.spectn’when both " ore formed by
and bands* at *e two series of lines
nhpnn S’W .th a11 their coincidences and deviations. This
“IheTnemre°f “i’6 ““-f ia 1%^! opli “!
coffnizahlp l ?! coincidence, continues our author, “thus
plained5 tT t eye’ re^uires to be more particularly ex-
Sum cT Uf ST6 °f the krger lines in gaseous
spec£l v^rin? T1 SOme °/the larger ones in the solar
one coinciderlVuTT7 cases’faint and narrow lines in the
there were so^rn ^ ^ Iines in the other5 and
to which I roiilrl13 r »afeeous bnes> and even broad bands,
ttap of the snTldlSCOVie-rin0 ctounterPart m Fraunhofer’s
tile standard t t1*11? V 'l!cl at tbls stage of my inquiry was
embayed 1 ^ 1 This d^creTancy at first
trum where Fr ’ ®b®erved lfc in parts of the spec-
seen with hil fiTesT1-6"^ eV6ry line which
being able to est-i?]- 1lnsauinents>I abandoned all hopes of
I was therefore SS1 Jhe Seneral Prmciple of their identity.
-  hhged either to renounce this nrinninle
OPTICS.
425
rcon^defSiV^V^ confirmed by observation, or Prismatic
unon tht Her^h0fe? " dell"eatl10ns as in fault, and to enter Spectrum,
spectrmm. HerCulean task of makin§ a better map of the
“ f~iter j bttIe practice in the observation of the solar
spectrum, I discovered most of the lines which I had in vain
sought for in Fraunhofer’s map, as the counterpart of thoS
m the gaseous spectrum. I saw well marked groups of
which he had only given one of the lines, and shaded binds1
and well defined lines, which his method of observation had
not permitted him to discover. a
spectrum^ I ^ a” the P?inciPal features in the New maps
spectrum, I was able to examine the two classes of lines of the solar
part passu. Ine action of the gas upon invisible lines in sp^trum.
the spectrum rendered them visible by slightly enlarTw
them, and this enlargement of a solar line indicated the^x?
^tence of a corresponding line in the gaseous spectrum.
wFloW K Process’ and by methods of observation
hich I believe have never before been used in optical re¬
searches, I have been able to execute three different maps
of the spectrum : frst, a map of the lines in the solar spec-
rum ; secondly, a map of the same spectrum, exhibiting at
the same time the action of nitrous acid gas upon solar light,
previous^ deprived of a number of its definite rays ; fnd
thirdly, a map shewing the action of the gas upon a contin¬
uous and uninterrupted spectrum of artificial white light.
tha? h??rnfST? 6 0 wese delineations four times greater
t lan that of Fraunhofer, but some portions of them are
draw n on a scale twelve times greater, which became neces¬
sary from the impossibility of representing in narrower limits
the numerous hues and bands which I have discovered.
on16 IT" °f Fraunh?fer’s spectrum is 151 inches ; mine,
upon the same scale, is nearly 17 inches. * The length of
the general spectrum, which I have delineated, is about five
ee eight inches, and the length of a spectrum, correspond-
ng to the scale on which I have delineated parts o/it, is
seventeen feet. r 4 s
“ Fraunhofer has laid down in his map 354 lines, but in
the delineations which Ihave executed, the spectrum is divid-
Rpn than 2d0° visible and easily recognised portions,
separated fiom each other by lines more or less marked, ac¬
cording as we use the simple solar spectrum, or the solar and
gaseous spectra combined, or the gaseous spectrum itself, in
which any breadth can be given to the dark spaces.”
I?,inU'ie examination of the spectrum, our author
was led to the discovery of a system of lines and bands, par-
teularly m the red and green spaces, which at other times
wholly disappeared; but by a diligent comparison of these
observations, he found that these lines and bands depended
i le proximity of the sun to the horizon, and were pro-
duced by the absorptive action of the earth's atmosphere.
feir David Brewster is about to publish his map of the lines
° 5 le sPectrum; as produced by the light of the sun itself,
and another map of the spectrum, as modified by the action
of the earths atmosphere. He has, however, made the
t.VtiT'fT era 0?s£fvations on the subject, in reference
to the fixed lines of Fraunhofer “ The atmosphere,” he
remarks, acts very powerfully round the line D, and in the
space immediately on the least refrangible side of it. It
developes a beautiful line in the middle of the double line
JJ, and by enlarging a group of small lines on the red side
; r; ltTcreatics a band almost as dark as the triple line D
itsell. It widens generally all the lines, but especially the
darkest one, which I call m, between C and D. It deve-
opes a and on the least refrangible side of m, and it acts
especial y upon several lines, and developes a separate band
J
1
cn 'n v oa A "R fmrl r darkness produced at the overlapping part of the two cones; Per cl
Periodical on the most refrangible sale of C. I he lines a, ^ aim i remarkable as it was, seems to have excited Co rs.
Colours, are greatly widened, and lines and bands are particidarly ^ttms^ ^ nearly a century and a half, till Dr.^'V
—' -^developed between A and B, and generally throughout ai who was unacquainted with the experiment of Gri-Dry ^
the red space. . , . . r nrp maldi, obtained the same result in a different manner, andexpe;
« Most of the lines thus widened by the atmosphere are ^ ^ foundation 0f the most interesting department
faint lines previously existing in the spectrum, ana 1 nave , ical optics. The following is the experiment which
no doubt that they would be seen in the spectrum ot the I } i „ ^—. /Zu, 7«-
lime ball light condensed by a polyzonal lens, and acted
upon by thirty miles of atmosphere.
“ The absorptive action of the atmosphere shew,
a less precise manner in the production of dark bands, whose
limits ^are not distinctly defined. A very remaAaUe nar¬
row one, conespondingtoone produced by the narous aad
gas, is situated on the most refrangible side of C. Ano to
very broad one lies on the most re rarigi ’ p which were several muc   
to a sharp and broad band of yellow hght, dtsplayed by the ^ sunbeam a s|ip „f card about ,>5* “ '"ch
general absorption of the corresponding part of the s„pernn and observed its shadow e.ther on the wall or oa
posed blue spectrum. There is also an iniperfecdy defined ^ ^ ^ ^ different distances Beside the fringe
atmospheric action, corresponding to a group ot lines wnerc ^ each side of the shadow, the shadow itself was
Dr. Wollaston placed his line C. . while divided by similar parallel fringes of smaller dimensions,
“ This general description of the atmospheric lines, while ber according to the distance at which the
it indicates the remarkable fact, that the same absorptive ^enng^ ^ lefying the middle f the sh
elements which exist in nitrous acid gas, exist also m tne . . _   ^
atmospheres of the sun and of the earth, leads us to anticipate
very interesting results from the examination of the spectra
of the planets. Fraunhofer had observed in the spectra of
Venus and Mars some of the principal lines o t e so ar
spectrum. This, indeed, is a necessary consequence of their gnaaow on uie uiaiglll  
being illuminated by the sun, for no change w 1C A own margin the extremity of the shadow of the card, all
of that luminary can undergo is capable of replacing t e ^ }iad before been observed in the shadow
rays which it has lost. But while we must find m the spec ^ immediately disappeared, although the light
tr \ nf the nlanets and their satellites, all the defective lines _ n A a ^ was allowed to retain its course,
in the sokr spectrum, we may confidently look for others
arising from the double transit of the sun’s light through the
atmospheres which surround them.
OPTICS.
ent.
of physical optics. The tollowing is tne expeinncm mucn
he gave as “ An Experimental Demonstration of the In¬
terference of Light:" “ I made a small hole in a window
shutter, and covered it with a piece of thick paper, which
I perforated with a fine needle. For greater convenience
of observation I placed a small looking-glass without the win¬
dow shutter in such a position as to reflect the suns light
in a direction nearly horizontal upon the opposite wall, and
to cause the cone of diverging light to pass over a table on
which were several little screens ot card paper. 1 brought
a, nut leaving me ...... ......
dow always white. Now these fringes were the joint ef¬
fects of the portions of light passing on each side of the slip
of card, and inflected or rather diffracted into the shadow.
For a little screen being placed either before the card, or
a few inches behind it, so as either to throw the edge of its
shadow on the margin of the card or to receive on its
. t  4-V.nr tno f*Am. l
PART V. ON PERIODIC AI. COLOURS.
Periodical
colours.
The phenomena of periodical, or recurrent colours, as
Dr Young has very appropriately called them, are among
the most fnteresti/g in optics, and
him with great ability, under our article on Chromatics,
hough not in that popular and descriptive manner, which
is required in a work like this. We shall therefore endea¬
vour ^o give as perspicuous an account as we can of this in¬
teresting portion of physical optics.
Sect. I On the Interference of Light.  
veigmg p j  i„^ ihp rones intersected
on the wail, immeuiauuy   —o-. o
inflected on the other side was allowed to retain its course,
and although this light must have undergone any modifica¬
tion that the proximity of the other edge of the slip of card
might have been capable of occasioning. . • • Norwas
it for want of a sufficient intensity of light that one of the
two portions was incapable of producing the fringes alone ;
for when they were both uninterrupted the lines appeared,
even if the intensity was reduced to one-tenth or one-twen-
Although this experiment is a very decisive one, yet
Fresnel made one still more instructive and general, and
free from any of the objections that might have been urge
against that of Dr.
Young. He took
two plane mirrors
M, N, which were
inclined at a very
Fig. 92.
vergingUght were thus formed, and by receiving them on M P^ee Jig ^ ^ focus ofa small lens.
eachTther, two overlapping luminous circles were seen on
the screen. A partially illuminated penumbra sui rounded
each of these cones, and at the place where the rays from
each aperture met, the screen was, generally speaking, more
strongly illuminated by the union of the two lights ; but the
boundaries of the penumbral portions which overlap are much
darker than the corresponding portions of the penumbra
which do not overlap, as if the one light had at this par
put out the other. Upon intercepting the Jight from one
from a luminous point rt smu uo T,1Qnpr PQ.
he received the reflected rays on a piece of PaP^r
the light was homogeneous, there was seen upo tl
a succession of bright and dark band alternating ^ ^
bands are parallel to the line of inte^ectl0," h sideSOfa
mirrors, and they are placed symmetrica y on ^
plane passing through the line ot intersect ^
Imdthroughapoint Abisectingthedistanceof thepm ^
the virtual points of divergence "fi th^fV^. produced by
cils «G, 4G. . That ‘hese para lei bauds
put out the other. Upon intercepting the light from one cus 0“;u‘'":iit(;rfeI.ence of‘thc tw„ beams.is at once prov».
of the apertures, this dark part became ng -‘'b, "1 "Pf" b intercepting one of them, by covering 0 alscl
restoring the light >t__agam becameji^er The resul,, ^ the whole series disappear, I. s fo®rf
restoringlhe'light Tt^gain became^ darker. The tesidt, X,e‘S It
therefore, was here unambiguous, and justitied t e . measuring: distances of the same bands fiom tl .
vation of Grimaldi, “ that,an mummated surface may be byrne^”^ mirrorSj and when the paper Fft ^
vation of Grimaldi, “ tnat an mum , tersection of the mirrors, and wnen tne P-F- — di‘fferent
rendered darker by the addition of hg • , , d;flperent distances from the mirrors, th n  —
r>v TTnnke made a similar experiment, and observed tneji^        
   ——    ' Vfll. 11. D. DoU*
Phil. Trans. 1804 ; or Elements of Nat. Phil. vol. u. P- 639.
iodical points lie in hyperbolas whose foci are D, E, and common
lours, centre A.
A still more simple and elegant method of exhibiting the
essor phenomena of interference, has been given by Professor
d’s ex-Lloyd of Dublin, which any person may repeat with a sin-
nent. gjg piece of plate
optics.
427
Fig- 93.
glass. Having pla¬
ced horizontally a
piece of black glass
QP, with his eye
behind it at QM, he
viewed by very ob¬
lique reflexion, when
the angle of incidence was nearly 90°, a horizontal narrow
aperture placed at A, a distance of three feet from the re
flector QP. The proper degree of obliquity was easily
found by bringing the reflected image of the aperture A
to coincide very nearly with the direct image, in which
case the direction of the reflected plane BPQ, bisected the
distance A A'. When the ray AM, which fell directly
upon the eye at M, interfered with the reflected rays CM
which reached it by a longer path, they produced a system
ot fringes or bands, which were distinctly visible when re¬
ceived upon an eye-piece placed at a short distance from
tne reflector. This system of bands was exactly similar to
one-half of the system seen in Fresnel’s experiment.
With compound white light the first band was a ZrwAt one
and coWm. This was followed by a very sharply de¬
fined black band; then came a coloured, and so on alter-
nately seven alternations being easily counted, and the
breadth of the bands being, as near as the eye could iudg-e
the same throughout the series, and increasing with the
obliquity of the reflected beam. “ The first dark band was
of gntewe blackness, but the darkness of the succeeding:
bands were less intense, as they were of higher orders, and
after three or four orders they were completely obliterated
by the closing in of the bright bands. At the same time
the coloration of the bright bands increased with the order
of the band, until after six or seven alternations, the colours
t different orders became superimposed, and the bands
Iv”! h«STuSt m,a “ Iight of nearly uniform inten-
}• Ihese bands, continues Professor Lloyd, “are
rXmrfeCTb iW,hen t!'e e>e-Piece is cl°se to the
U breadth and coloration increased with
the distance of the eye-piece, but remained of a finite and
ery sensible magnitude, when the latter was brought into
S Tith ^ edge’ a circu™tance whiclfdisfrn-
gm hed ihem altogether from the diffracted fringes formed
on the boundary of the shadow.” *
Mt*Tritr°gjTTligllti8 USed’ the bands are a,l«-
reWihf, a;K,ldlTk’,"" vaTng 111 ““gnitude with the
erangibility ofthe light, as will be afterwards more fully
If the hght the sun is used, the bands may be
are nroA ^ SCreen PIaced atMa That they
are produced by interference may be easily proved, either
thenThX l6 direCt ray^M’ or the "ejected ones CM,
ien the whole system of bands disappears.
exhibLrUC mF Phen.°mena 1°f interference may be likewise
n fnbited by transmitting the light emanating^ from a lu-
us,)o;nt throi h the two faces ofa isg th inc]in_
180°n The Pen-r - ray passing
ray passina X tCeS’ ^ be sll^htl>’ inclined to the
interfere withfr'm 0th•er, a SmaI1 angle’ and wil1
the usual frino-11 5jf.irpoint of concourse, and produce
ed bv Sir T 86 xt 1 118 torm of the experiment is describ-
duced by inEiS^011’ Wh° C°nsidered the fringes
suing from tlipr<fCeding-experirnents two pencils of light is-
the same pointer luminous origin, are made again
by T^ifferenfand’jTl^’ arrived at the point of concourse Periodic!
; and.a longer podi. Now it is obvious from Colours,
the experiments, that when the two portions of light thus'
exactly11 eouaPth ‘'f Sp0t 4 Pa‘ba
exactly equal, they form a bright fringe, having the in¬
tensity of its light greater than that of either portion It
is a so evident that other bright fringes are produced when
their paths differ in length ;\nd ifle suppXrf to’bl the
erence of paths by which the second bright fringe is
produced, similar bright fringes will be produced when the
diffei ences in the lengths of the paths are 2d, 3d Ad 5d
6d,&c But it is manifest from the preceding exptiment^
that if the two portions of light interfere at intermediate
fsX8: ojxr teiSrxe iniihe iength °f their p^hs
is d+±d; 2d+±d; 3d+\d; Ad+^d, &c. the two
interfering portions destrot/ each other and produce black-
ness as appears from the dark fringes lying between the
bright ones Here, then, we have a remarkable property
o light established by direct experiment, and well fitted to
guide us in our inquiries into the physical cause of the va¬
rious phenomena of light. We shall find the same beau¬
tiful property shewing itself under various aspects in a sue-
ceSTo IS!'"8 phenomena' whl<:h ™ sl>a|l now pro-
Sect. II—On the Colours of Thin Plates.
1 Tran,aCtions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. xvii.
The colours of thin plates were first observed by Mr.
Boyle, who remarks that all chemical essential oils, as also <folours of
good spirits of wine, by shaking till they rise in bubbles thln plates"
fPpeai,f vanous col°urs> which immediately vanish when
ebubles burst, so that a colourless liquor may be imme¬
diately made to exhibit a variety of colours, and lose them
Mr1 S!?Tenit’ wlthout a?y change in its essential principles.
- - Boyle also noticed these colours in soap bubbles and in „ ,
turpentine and he succeeded in blowing glass sufficiently B°yle-
thm to exhibit them. In 1666 Lord Brereton observed
similar colours produced by the thin plates which are form-
Tn tZ :hG Sli1fi7oeTv°f ^laSf by the action of the weather.
In the year 16/2 Dr. Hooke exhibited to the Royal So- ,,
ciety a soap bubble with all its colours, in fulfilment of a 0°ke'
promise which he had made at a previous meeting, “ to ex¬
hibit something which had neither refraction nor reflexion,
and yet was diaphanous.” “ By means of a glass pipe he
blew several small bubbles out of a mixture of soap and
water, when it was observable that at first they appeared
white and clear, but that after some time the film growing
thinner, there appeared upon it all the colours of the rain¬
bow, first a pale yellow, then orange, red, purple, blue,
gieen, with the same series of colours repeated.” Dr.
Hooke made considerable progress in the investigation of
this class of phenomena, and made experiments with thin
plates of Muscovy glass, (Mica). He found that a faint
)C low plate of this substance laid upon a blue one consti¬
tuted a very dark purple; and Sir Isaac Newton, in a pri¬
vate letter to Dr. Hooke, a copy of which is now before us,2
acknowledges that Hooke had observed previous to him,
the dilatation of the coloured rings by the obliquation of
the eye, and the apparition of a black spot at the contact
0 two convex lenses, and at the top of a water bubble.”
. . Isffc -Newton, whose investigations we shall presently
give in his own words, made great progress in discovering Newt
the law of the phenomena, and it is a curious fact not to
be overlooked by physical inquirers, that his theory of the
pienomena, elaborated with the utmost care and gener¬
alising an extensi ve series of facts, is now exploded, while
ie theoretical views of Dr. Hooke are almost universally
admitted. J
Mi. Melville of Edinburgh proposed to make a perman¬
ent soap bubble by freezing, but we believe the experiment
rton.
Dated Cambridge, February 5, 1675-6.
428
J J Tk lino Vmwpvpr times circular, consisting only of the first tint above black- Periodic
Periodical has never yet succeeded. Dr. Josep i, , ness viz the white of the first order, sometimes two, three, Colour:
Colours. been more fortunate in making what may be ca ^ colours according to their size, while at other times^^
manent soap bubble, for illustrating . f thp rino-s or frinees are extremely numerous and often irre-
Dr Reade’s plates, which we saw him exhibit at t e moe 'og o & These colours are all produced by thin plates of air
permanent physical Section of the British Associa ion a , 1 P ^ * vacuity in these fissile minerals, and the colours may
*oaP bubble 1837. The following is his own account of the metho l o or otv>d by admitting water or fluids of different
making it: Having put two ounces ^ ^ ^^Iwers.7 In someS specimens of Labrador fel-
an eight-ounce phial, and having added ah a“gauce_ ^ Sir David Brewster has found crystallised cavities so
large pea of Castile soap, I Placed *he 1 ‘speedily thin or with so little depth, as to give the most splendid
pan of boiling water on the fire , the bo 1 ? coiours 0f thin plates, and to afford one of the finest subjects
filled with a dense volume of vapour which expelled all the flours o^tn p ^ the microscope>1 The colours pro.
air. I now corked it, and after cooling and t m (ln!vd bv heat on “highly polished steel, are all the colours
sing the vapour, had perhaps as perfect a vacuum s , f id and they are often beautifully
be formed, even by the best air-pump. I now held the of a thin ^plate ot^ ^ Jg Qf
bottle laterally between my hands, and bY \ y exposed to the action of the weather, its
cular and brisk motion formed a surface acluires a thin film, which atfirstcan only be rendered
resting the bottle on an inchned plane, e . visible bv examining the faint light reflected from itwhemtis
a short time, all the parallel bands or series of colours in visible by examim^^ samR refractive DOwer.
the following order : 1. a white or silvery segment at top ,
2. a snuff-coloured brown, inclined at bottom to a deep
red; 3. blue; 4. yellow; 5. red; 6. blue; 7. green; 8. red;
9. green; 10. red; 11. green. (As in fig. A.)
OPTICS.
visioie uy cAa-unuwig   
in contact with a fluid of nearly the same refractive power.
It forms most rapidly on the panes of glass in stable win¬
dows, but it is seen in the highest perfection in the speci¬
mens of decomposed glass found among the remains of Ro¬
man buildings. The- glass is to a certain depth entirely
decomposed into thin films of extreme beauty, reflecting
the most brilliant colours to the eye, and transmitting tints of
the most exquisite brilliancy, and far surpassing any of the
colours produced by art.2 Coloured films of the richest
tints are also seen upon both the faces of cleavage of a sort
of artificial mother of pearl, which has been called nacnte,
and described by Mr. Horner in the Phil. Trans? These
films are all thin plates of extreme tenuity.
^^ ^^ When we breathe upon glass at a proper temperature,
“ After some time a black segment was seen to form at "£ne^
the top "h,te, and^ 'Jifferent LatileMds, we shall perceive many interesting
Black.
White.
Green.
Ked,
wmie evaporating,  . - *
different volatile fluids, we shall perceive many interesting
examples of the colour of thin plates..
One of the finest exhibitions of this kind with which we
are acquainted, is that which is produced by the ammonio-
sulphate of copper, and which was observed by Sir David
Brewster. A solution of the ammomo-sulphate of copper
in water, is spread upon a clear plate of glass or any other
surface. In the course of an hour or two, a similarly co¬
loured film is formed upon its surface, exhibiting the co¬
lours of thin plates from the white of the first orderup-
a me wmtc, miu. . v..
fio-. B.) After a few minutes the parallel bands increased in
breadth, and running into one another, only three or four
distinct bands were seen. Nothing can exceed the beauty
of these colours, equal to those of the rainbow, or the plu-
mare of the tropics : whilst writing this description, 1 have
these bands in a bottle before me, feasting my eyes on their
beauty. In a few minutes more this black segment or aque¬
ous film occupies, perhaps, half the circular film, and t.ie
Wpr half becomes white tinged with orange, (see ng. c -J
l0" if we m,w incline the boftle towards the experimenter’s '“"'I “‘““fthe sZL Is £Z, or *e simium of fold
breast, the saponaceous atoms producing-these co ouis, aie was. f ^ q]m increases, and the colours
seen to float In the region of the black or aqueous ; when ^ * beautiful green and pink colour,
placed again on the inclined plane, they fall ^ the bottom ns t g ag we would wish t0 preserve,
of the film. In some time more the entire film becomes When tne colours a , . _ -j v..
black, and all the colours disappear.
“ Having now placed the bottle m a basin of b01b"g
water, the evaporation was increased, and the black mm
Tel became Ithed with saponaceous atoms, which bang shape of the mass
variously condensed, produced all the colours of the clouds porated. r“ ™«?S whose surfare is covered
when the sun is setting on a summer’s evening. On again of fluid, or ot the piece g
placing the bottle on the inchned plane, the parallel bands with t. extraordinary examples of the colours
were again formed by the attraction of cohesion, and t rather of the blackness that immediately
cxfloursfafterwards gave place to the black film. I held the ofthl" and one wS almost requires the
bottle laterally between my hands, and by means ot a cir- Pre<^^ ocular demonstration to credit, is the existence
cular motion washed it, and thus clothed it with saponace- e'A, f a down 0fqUartz so exceedingly minute as
ous atoms, which went through the same process on placing of bla ’ reflecting light. The very remarkable
exhibited in of mossy water, and especially m the proximity of springs msm p purposes of his profession, bu
   —— rm: * ia n. 4
rise to higher oraers, oi a ueautnui r‘ r
When the colours are such as we would wish to pre >
an aperture must be made in the film, and by inclin!^
nlate the fluid must be allowed to run out slowly, g
£ film on the surface ofthe glass. This film wdl become
hard and permanent after the aqueous part of it has been
a i rru~ nolmir tatp the shape ot tne
i Edin. Trans, vol. xi. p. 322.
yfBrroas. 1837, part 1L 3 Id. Id. 1836, p. ^.nd 1837, part n.
OPTICS.
■nodical “ At first sight, the absolute blackness of the separated
429
lolours
surfaces seemed to me as it did to every one, to be owing
to a thin film of opaque and minutely divided matter that
had insinuated itself into a fissure of the crystal; but this
opinion was immediately overturned when I observed that
both surfaces were equally and uniformly black, and that
they were also perfectly transparent by transmitted light.
“ Although I had now no doubt that the phenomenon was
entirely of an optical nature, and that the blackness of the
surfaces arose from their being composed of short and slen¬
der filaments of quartz, whose diameter was so exceedingly
small that they were incapable of reflecting a single ray of
the strongest light, yet it became desirable to establish this
curious fact by experimental evidence.
“ Having found that no detergent substances either re¬
moved or diminished the superficial blackness, I subjected
the fragment to the action of cold and hot acids ; but the
surface continued unaltered by these operations. I now
immersed the fragment in oil of anise seed, which approaches
to quartz in its refractive power, and upon examining the
light reflected at the separating surfaces of the oil and the
quartz, I found that the blackness disappeared, and that the
fragment, whether seen by reflected or transmitted light,
comported itself like any other piece of quartz of the same
translucency. Upon removing the oil from the surfaces, it
resumed its original blackness, and the filamentous or vel¬
vety nature of the surface was rendered evident to the eye
by the slight change oi tint which was produced by press¬
ing the filaments to one side.
“ As the preceding experiments are sufficient to prove
that the size of the minute filaments was less than the thick¬
ness of a thin plate of quartz which lost the power of reflect¬
ing light, it became interesting to obtain an approximate
measure of their magnitude. The thinnest substance ever
observed, is the aqueous films of the soap bubble previous
to its bursting. Newton, however, remarked that the films
still reflected a faint image of the candle or of the sun.
Hence its thickness must have corresponded nearly with
what Newton calls the beginning of black, which appears in
water at a thickness of the 750,000th part of an inch. The
tint, however, of the quartz surface is of a much deeper
character, and cannot exceed the venj black of Newton’s
scale which corresponds in quartz to one-third of the one-
millionth part of an inch, or to one-fourth of the thinnest
part of the soap bubble.
“ ^two surfaces of quartz had separated by filaments
of a larger size, the colour of the filamentous surface might
have been red, or blue, or yellow, or green ; but though such
a structure would have been more dazzling to the eye, it
yet would have been less wonderful than the one which has
now been described.”
The colours of thin plates may also be exhibited by press¬
ing together two glass prisms that have moderate refracting
angles. Various coloured fringes or portions of coloured
nngs will be seen by viewing the light reflected from the
surfaces in contact, and in a much fainter degree, by exa¬
mining the transmitted light. The same phenomena may
, seen ^[h unusual brilliancy, by taking a thick piece of
g ass, and having made a scratch on one side of it with a
me, apply a heated wire to the scratch, so as to produce a
crack m the glass, which may be extended at pleasure by a
second and third application of the hot wire. If we now
examine the surface of this crack in different directions, we
snail see it covered with coloured fringes, which may be
a e to vary in breadth and position, by opening or closing
theemek with the force of the hand. “ S
rlnn. e.n, vve wish to examine and measure the coloured
c^e’ fl*6 method used first by Hooke, and subse-
of vpr ^ i ^ ^ewt°n> should be adopted. Two convex lenses
ftn ao 7 ,onS ‘ocai length are placed the one above the other,
o ouch at their vertex; or a plano-convex lens may
have its plane side AB laid upon the convex side CD, fig. Periodical
7, or another lens. Sir Isaac Newton used for the upper- Colours,
most lens a plano-convex one, whose focal length was four-'
teen feet, and for the lowermost a double convex lens, whose
focal length was fifty feet. These lenses must then be held
toget rer, and pressed if necessary by three clamp screws, as
shewn m fig. 95. The following
Fig. 95.
is the general account of the phe¬
nomenon given by Sir Isaac New¬
ton, though somewhat abridged:—
“ Next to the pellucid central
spot made by the contact of the
glasses, succeeded blue, white, yel¬
low, and red. The blue was so little
in quantity, that I could not distin¬
guish any violet in it, but the yellow and red were as copious
as the white, though four or five times more than the blue.
1 he next order of colours round those in the second, was
violet, blue, green, yellow, and red, all of them copious and
vivid except the green. The third order was purple, blue,
green, yellow, and red, the green being more vivid than in
the last order. The fourth order was only green and red,
the green being copious and lively, being bluish on one side,
and yellowish on the other. The red was very imperfect:
the succeeding rings or orders of colours were very faint;
and after three or four orders, they ended in perfect white¬
ness. The form of the whole system of rings, when the lenses
were most compressed, so as to produce the black spot in the
centre, as shewn in fig. 96, where a, b, c, d, e ; f g, h, i, k ;
Fig. 96.
syxutsrqpanm Ikih rjfc A c
fj A itslmnopjrstuxyz
1, m, n, o, p ; q, r ; s, t;v,x ; y, z, indicate the different co¬
lours beginning a* the centre, viz. 1. black, blue, white, yel¬
low, red ; 2. violet, blue, green, yellow, red; 3.purple, blue,
green, yellow, red ; 4. green, red; b. greenish blue, red;
6. greenish blue, pale red ; 7. greenish blue, reddish white.
In order to find the interval between the glasses, or the
thickness of the plate of included air (or space) at which
each colour was produced, Sir Isaac measured the diameter
of the first six rings at their brightest part, and found their
squares to be in the arithmetical progression of the odd
numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c., and the intervals between the
glasses are obviously in the same progression, one of the
surfaces being plane, and the other spherical. He then
measured the diameter of the rings at their darkest points,
and found their squares to be in the arithmetical progres¬
sion of the even numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, &c.
In order to find the absolute thickness of the plate of air
or space at which these different rings were produced, he
measured the diameter of the fifth ring at its darkest point
as produced by the different object-glasses.
Diameter of Sphericity of the
object-glass. Diameter of fifth dark ring.
182 inches
1774784
184 inches
88850
and dividing these diameters by 5, we obtain the diameter
430
OPTICS.
Periodical . , ,..i—^but as these
Colours. ot tlie ftrst rinS ne ouiamt u,ggygg ggggy >
W^V-'W measurements were taken at an angle of’ incidence of 4°,
the results must be diminished in the ratio of the seccant of
Angle of Inci- j Angle of Refrac-
dence on the Air.jtion into the Air.
4°, or 10029, so that we have gg^g and 890^3
of which,
1
8900
the mean
nearly expresses in parts of an inch, the thick
ness of the air at the darkest part of the first dark ring at
a perpendicular incidence.
By multiplying this interval by the series of odd and even
numbers, 1, 3, 5, 7, &c., and 2, 4, 6, and 8, &c., we obtain
the following measures of all the rings :—•
First Ring,
Second Ring,
Third Ring,
Fourth Ring,
Thickness of the air at the
brightest part.
1
17 8000
3
Thickness of the air at the
darkest part.
2 1
Degr. Min.
00 00
06 26
12 45
18 49
24 30
29 37
33 58
35 47
37 19
38 33
39 27
40 00
40 11
178000
5
178000
7
17800
178000
4
17800
_6_
17800
or
00 00
10 00
20 00
30 00
40 00
50 00
60 00
65 00
70 00
75 00
80 00
85 00
90 00
Diameter of
the Ring.
Thickness of
the Air.
10
10*
101
10f
1*
14
15h
164
19i
OO 6
29
35
10
10*
I0f
13“
15*
20"'
234
28*
37
52*
84*
122*
Period:
Colour.
1
89000
2
89000
3
89000
8 4
17800 89000
Fflferts of After measuring the diameters of the rings at different
oblique in- angles of incidence, Sir Isaac obtained the following results :
From the results given in the preceding table, Sir Isaac
Newton has deduced the following rule :—“ That the thick¬
ness of the air is proportional to the secant of an angle,
whose sine is a certain mean proportional between the sines
of incidence and refraction ; and that mean proportional, so
far as, by these measures, I can determine it, is the first of
an 106 arithmetical mean proportionals between these sines
counted from the higher sine, that is, from the sine of re¬
fraction when the refraction is made out of the glass into the
plate of air, or from the sine of incidence when the refrac¬
tion is made out of the plate of air into the glass.”
cidence.
Sir Isaac next proceeds to describe the rings formed by the of he eight lengths of a cord which sound the notes in an
light transmitted through the two glasses. In this system eighth, so/, la, fa, sol’la’fl^’^° \ ^ V * 2 ,91
of transmitted rings, the order of the colours ^ yellowish roots of the squares of the numbers 1, 9, 5,
r/yrl • hlnrk violet blue white, 'iiellow, red; violet, blue, or 1 ; 0*924 ; 0*885 ; 0 825 , 0 1 63 , 0/11,0 , « ,
qreen, yellow, red. ’ The colours in these rings are very faint that is, if 1 be the interior diameter of any sue 1
It a perpendicular incidence, but become brighter as the formed by the extreme red rays, the cube roo of
incidence increases. the mterior diameter of a ring at the boundary ot tne reu
In fie;. 97 Sir Isaac has represented the different colours and orange, and so on.1 , .rp not
reflected and transmitted, AB and CD being the surfaces The colours of thin plates of A^d or so 1 of
of the glasses which touch at E, and the lines uniting them so easily studied as those of air, fiom the difhc y P
representing their distances in arithmetical progression. The curing, and working with, such evanesce •
words above the straight line AB are the colours of the rc- Newton, however, studied ^
fleeted rings, and those below the circular arch CD those soon as they were blown, he covered with a dear glas^
nf thp transmitted rinffs. this way he observed the colours to emerge like so many
When water was introduced between the lenses, the co- concentric rings surrounding eVap0ra-
lours became fainter, and the rings less, and Sir Isaac found the bubble became thinner,and the s ... } cof ered
that tile intervals were inversely as tire indices of refraction «»” “^^tSta^order J’the liot.L of it,
““pwe're always larger in the homogeneous lofwh^e they viished ^ely. After
light of the spectrum than in the violet light, in the ratio of were emerged at the top, there gi ev m oe c itself till
ifi to 9, ancFhe concluded from more detailed observations a small round black spot, ^of
that the thicknesses of the air between the glasses when the it became sometimes more than a-h^ g1^ light
roVa wore successively formed by the limits of the seven an inch in breadth before the bubble o
different colours, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, was still reflected fr°“ ^ blacker and
and violet, are to one another as the cube roots of the squares saw within it seveial smaller roun p   __
1 It has been noticed by M. Le Blanc, that if the two extreme terms of the nreceding numbers, or any other two equ.dista
extremes be multiplied together, their product will always be equal to {
eriodieal darker than the rest, but still capable, like the lamer one
Jolours. of reflecting faintly an image of the sun & ’
Bl trng .hT much,tlle at'the same places of
the bj.bble or at divers places of equal thicknesses, were
vaned by the several obliquities of the rings, Sir Isaac ob¬
tained the following thicknesses of the water requisite to
exhibit one and the same colour at several obliquities
Incidence on the Refraction into the Thickness of the
OPTICS.
431
water.
0°.
15 .
30 .
45 .
60 .
75 .
90 .
water.
. 0° O'.
.11 11.
.22 1.
..32 2.
..40 30.
water.
.10
•10#
•11#
.13
..46 25  14i
•48 35 ;i5f
17shrrise entirely with the raie airea‘iy
When the system of rings seen by reflection was examin¬
ed by a prism and perhaps only eight rings visible, Sir Isaac
counted sometimes more than forty on the side of the sys¬
tem to which the refraction was made, though he reckoned bv
estimation more than a hundred. Soap bubbles also! before
they exhibited any colours to the naked eye, have appeared
through a prism girded about with many parallel aid hori
thpta ring8’ t° Produce which effect it was necessary to hold
the pnsm parallel, or very nearly parallel to the horizon
wa!d ° dlSP°Se ^ S° t lat the ringS rnight be refracted up-
fofthe subtciTamerto1'0^^- imPortant Part of the
ursof ofthin nktPs • Pcam the comPosition of the colours
, plates. 0t‘hin P aJes’ atoPlc of great interest and extensive appli¬
cation : - Let there be taken,” says he, “ on any righUine
om the point Y, fig. 98, the lengths YA, YB, YC, YD,
Fig. 98.
« /?v S
s&s'VmsSstom' thH n.Tbers’ 6300’ 6814> 7114>
G frr ia4. ’i00 ’ and at the points A, B, C, D, E, F,
whose*interCulars A“, Bft by, &c. be’er’ect^d by
neath against th 6 .eXten.t of the severaI colours set under-
line Aa h s 18 be rePresented* Then divide the
Aa in such proportions as the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c
viLnsfrim^Ydr^C!iViSlTTden?te’ and throu?h thesO di- Periodical
visions from L draw lines 1 L, 2 K, 3 L, 5 M, 6 N. Colours.
anv thi^tmnc 06 SlTP°jed to represent the thickness of
y thin transparent body, of which the internal violet is
most copiously reflected on the first ring, then HKwill re¬
present its thickness, at which the outermost red iT most
copiously reflected in the same series. Also A 6 and mi
W,ll denote the thicknesses at which A„sfeX,™me ool„™
aid HQ flm^thi k refleCted ^ tbe Second series’ and A10
ieflecLd i thP ^T868 W JCh tbey are most ^piously
reflected in the third senes, and so on. And the thickness
at which any of the intermediate colours are reflected mSt
copiously, will be defined by the distance of the line AH
from the intermediate parts of the lines 2 K, 6 N, 10 Q, &c
against which the names of those colours are written below!
ut, farther, to define the latitude of these colours in
each ring or series, let A 1 be the least thickness and A 3
the greatest thickness, at which the extreme violet in the
first series is reflected, and let HI, and HL, be the like li-
l u red’ andlet the intermediate colours
be limited by the intermediate parts of the lines 1 I, 3 L
Son R11^ ^ «S of those colours are written, and
so on. But yet with this caution, that the reflections he
10O0T TfSt af, the mtermediate spaces, 2 K, 6 N,
lOQ &c. and from thence to decrease gradually towards
these limits, 11, 3 L, 5 M, 7 O, &c. on either sidl; whSre
you must not conceive them to be precisely limited, but to
decay mdeamtdj. And whereas I have assigned the ™
latitnde to every series ; I did it, because although the co-
*e first g»es seem to be a little broader than the
rest, by reason of a stronger reflexion there, yet that ine-
servatlon ^ mSenSlble as scarcely to be determined by ob-
Now, a.ccording to this description, conceiving that the
rays, originally of several colours, are by turns reflected at
the spaces 1 I L 3, 5 M O 7, 9 P R 11, &c. and transmitted
at the spaces AHI1, 3 LM 5, 7 OP 9, &c. it is easy to
tbicknWhaVC0 ?Ur must in ,he °l,en air be exhibited a/any
thickness of a transparent thin body. For, if a ruler hr
apphed paraflel to AH, at that distance from it by which
the Jhjchness of the body is represented, the alternate spa-
ces 1 IL 3, 5 MO 7, &c. which it crosseth, will denote the
reflected original colours, of which the colour exhibited in
the open air is compounded. Thus, if the constitution of
green in the third series of colours be desired, apply the
nf It, aSm°U 866 at V ^ & and byits Passing through some
of the blue at and yellow at <r, as well 1 through the
green at p, you may conclude that the green exhibited at
“ckne?? f b^y - principally eonsitutedof orl-
yeflot^ ’ bUt n0t Wlthout a mixture of some blue and
By tins means you may know how the colours from the
centre of the outward rings ought to succeed in order as
ey were described. For, if you move the ruler gradual-
y om AH through all distances, having passed over the
firs space which denotes little or no reflexion to be made
h the tbmnest substances, it will first arrive at 1 the vio-
geC w1ihnZ7 qT7y at ,he b!ue and P6™. wbich, to-
gether with that violet compound blue, and then at the
yellow and red, by whose farther addition that blue is con¬
verted into whiteness, which whiteness continues durino-
thZ hTth °f 116 edge °f the ruler from 1 t0 3> aad after
tos fir f mSUCCeSS1Ve de^iency of its component colours,
! wL v I comPound ydlow, and then to red, and last of
all the red ceaseth at L. Then begin the colours of the
second series, which succeed in order during the transit
thnn h ^ ^ ^ tbe rU er Prom d to and are more lively
than before, because more expanded and severed. And
for the same reason, instead of the former white there in¬
tercedes between the blue and yellow a mixture of orange
yellow, green, blue, and indigo, all which together ought
1
432
OPTICS
Periodical to exhibit a dilute and imperfect green. So the colours of
Colours, the third series all succeed in order ; first, the violet, *hich
a little interferes with the red of the second order, and is
thereby inclined to a reddish purple; then the blue and
m-een, which are less mixed with other colours, and conse¬
quently more lively than before, especially the green : then
follows the yellow, some of which towards the green is is-
tinct and good, but that part of it towards the succeeding
red, as also that red, is mixed with the violet and blue o
the fourth series, whereby various degrees oi red, very mu
inclining to purple, are compounded. Tins violet andb u ,
which should succeed this red, being mixed with, and hid
den in it, there succeeds a green. And this at first is mu
inclined to blue, but soon becomes a good green, the only
unmixed and lively colour in this fourth series. For as it
verges towards the yellow, it begins to interfere with the
colours of the fifth series, by whose mixture the succeed¬
ing yellow and red are very much diluted and made dirty,
especially the yellow, which, being the weaker colour, _ is
. scarce able to shew itself. After this the several series in¬
terfere more and more, and their colours become more and
more intermixed, till, after three or
(in which the red and blue predominate by turns) all sorts
of colours are in all places pretty equally blended, and
compound an even whiteness. ..
And since the rays endued with one colour are transmi -
ted, where those of another colour are reflected, the reason
of the colours made by the transmitted light is irom hence
If not only the order and species of these colours, but
also the precise thickness of the plate, or thin body at
which they are exhibited, be desired in parts of an inch,
that may be also obtained by the assistance of the pre¬
ceding observations. For according to these observa¬
tions, the thickness of the thinned air, which between
two glasses exhibited the most luminous parts of the fiis
b 13 5 7 9
six rings wrere
The Thickness of Coloured Plates and Particles of Air, Peri«(ai
Water, and Glass. Colt, 5.
Transmitted
Tints.
'Very black
Black | White
Beginning of
black
Blue
Air. Water. Glass.
White
Yellow
Orange
.Red
Yellowish
red
Black
Violet
'Violet
Indigo
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Bright red
Scarlet
Blue
White
Yellow
Red
Violet
Blue
92
'U
71
8
9
If
31
5i
6|
‘Purple
Indigo
I _ 7. , Blue
[Of the third \ Green
I nrrlpr. xt n
m
14
15^
I6f
1 2
18?
191
Green
Yellow
Red
178000’178000’ 178000’ 178000’ 178000’
parts of an inch. Suppose the light reflected most
11
copiously at these thicknesses be the bright citrine yellow
or confine of yellow and orange, and these thicknesses will
, v . F F £ F o, F t. And this being known, it is
easy to’ determine what thickness of air is represented by
G cb or bv any other distance of the ruler from AH.
But farther, since the thickness of air was t0 ^ dnck-
ness of water, which between the same glasses exhibited the
same colour as 4 to 3, and the colours of thin bodies are
not varied by varying the ambient medium ; the thmkness
of a bubble of water, exhibiting any colour, will be 4 oft..e
thickness of air producing the same colour. And so accord¬
ing to the same observations, the thickness of a plate of
dass, whose refraction of the mean refrangible ray, is mea¬
sured by the proportion of the sines 31 to 20, may be
— of the thickness of air producing the same colours ; and
the like of other mediums. I do not affirm that this pro¬
portion of 20 to 31 holds in all the rays ; for the sines of
other sorts of rays have other proportions. But the differ¬
ences of these proportions are so little that I do not here
consider them. On these grounds I have composed the
following table, wherein the thickness of air, water, and
dass, at which each colour is most intense and specific, is
expressed in parts of an inch divided into ten hundred thou¬
sand equal parts.
Yellow
Red Bluish green
. Bluish red
‘ Bluish green
Green Red
Yellowdsh
green
.Red Bluish green
L „ , ( Greenish
Of the fifth 3 blue Red
order> (Red
, • ,7 I Greenish
Of the sixth 3 blue
order> (Red
, „ , (Greenish
!°f die f'3 blue
venth ordei ^ Ruddy white
21
224V
23#
25£
27 y
29
32
3t
9|
10i
nt
12?
13
13f
14|
3#
4!
56
9f
10#
14
14
12§
15f
I6f
174
18tGo
30i
21f
24
24
35f
36
401
46
521
13ii
14?
15 A
I6i
Hi
18
20|
251
26i
27
301
22
22f
23#
26
341
39§
58f 44
65 48f
29f
34
71
71
53^
57f
45#
49|
Although these experiments of Newton were P ,
by many of his successors, particularly by Manode’ d 0’n
and Dutour,2 their observations were generally
the colours of thin plates as exhibited by a plate of a
between two plane glasses. Mazeas observed tha a m
minution of the breadth, and a change m ^ P 1 a.
the coloured rings, were produced by aninCr^s 0(luCed in
ture;3 and that the same system of rings was p
vacuo. He made a great number of expermenBw h t,
vapour, wax, and rosm pressed between the P
but he was perplexed with the phenomena,
that he was actually making experiments v i ^P M<
in which the colours follow an entirely differe
1 Mem. Acad. Berlin, 17S2, and Memoires Presentees, t0™* d 0f iron' he'saw the rings’produced as before,
s He made the lenses almost red hot, and by pressing them with a rod ot non, ne s c
Mr
OPT!
•iodical Dutour and Sir William Herschel observed the reflected
•lours. and the transmitted tints at the same time, the last series
being reflected to the eye by the lower surface of the glass,
and M. Dutour observed these reflected ones more distinct¬
ly by making the shadow of an opaque body pass over the
upper surface. Sir W. Herschel observed additional sets
of rings by increasing the number of reflecting faces ; and
in producing the primary reflected system by a lens press¬
ed against a metallic reflector, he remarks that the trans¬
mitted system must in this case be conceived to have been
absorbed by the metallic surface.1
Arago. In an interesting paper on the colours of thin plates
published in the Memoires D’Arcueil,2 M. Arago has given
an account of some important discoveries on this subject.
In viewing the reflected rings through a rhomb of Iceland
spar, having its principal section parallel or perpendicular
to the plane of incidence, he observed, that the intensity
of light in one of the images, varied with the angle of in¬
cidence, and that this image vanished at an incidence of
35° the maximum polarising angle for glass. He disco¬
vered the very same property in the transmitted rings. This
eminent philosopher has also shewn, that when the reflect¬
ed and the transmitted systems of rings are superposed, they
completely neutralise each other, forming white light; and
hence he concluded, that their colours were complemen¬
tary, and the intensities of their illumination exactly the
same.
M. Arago next examined the system of rings when form¬
ed between a lens and a metallic reflector. When he ob¬
served them with the rhomb of spar above mentioned, one
of the images vanished as formerly at 35° of incidence, the
angle of maximum ■polarisation of glass; but above and
beloiv that angle M. Arago observed the most singular phe¬
nomena. At incidences below 35°, the two images formed by
the doubly refracting rhomb differed only in intensity, the
colours and the diameters of the rings being exactly the
same in both. Above the polarising angle, however, the
rings in the two images were of complementary colours, the
orders of colours in the one beginning from a black centre,
and in the other from a white centre. M. Arago also ob¬
served that the rings of the same order of colours in the
two images had different sizes. When a plate of any
substance of intermediate density between the two substan¬
ces between which it was contained was used, similar phe¬
nomena were produced. When the surface of the metallic
reflector was slightly tarnished, M. Arago observed a se¬
cond system of rings with complementary colours, arising
irom the light irregularly scattered at the metallic surface,
aS ur ^ cou^ k0 seen i*1 every position of the eye.
without knowing of these discoveries of M. Arago, Mr.
Airy,'1 about twenty years afterwards, published similar re¬
sults respecting the modification of the rings above and be-
ow the maximum polarising angle ; and Professor Lloyd
ias ingeniously observed, that an analogous result “may be ob-
ained by combining (as in Fresnel’s experiment, fig. 92,) a
metallic reflector with one of glass. The light being polarised
perpendicularly to the plane of reflexion, the central band
A. 433
will be white, when the angle of incidence is below the po- Periodical
arising angle of the glass; at the polarising angle, the Colours,
interference bars will vanish altogether; and beyond that
incidence they wifi reappear with a dark centre in place
o a w life one. I his method of observation would seem
to be peculiarly adapted to the investigation of the change
of phase produced by metallic reflexion at various inciden¬
ces. 1
^ 'p()n®11^erafi°n °f Fresnel’s expressions, which had led
Mr. Au-y to make his experiments with a metallic surface,
led him also to expect that when the rings were formed be¬
tween two transparent surfaces of different refractive powers
and when the light was polarised perpendicularly to the
plane of incidence, the rings should be black centred at
incidences below the maximum polarising angle of the
least refractive surface, or greater than that of the highest
refractive surface, and should be ?cfoVe-centred, when the
angle of incidence was between these angles. By formino-
the rings between plate glass and diamond, Mr. Airy found
ins anticipations correct. In the course of these experi¬
ments Mr. Airy observed that the rings-did not disappear at
che polarising angle of diamond, but that the first black ring
contracted as the incidence was gradually increased, and at '
last took the place of the central white spot. Hence he
concluded that there is still some light reflected at the maxi¬
mum polarising angle of diamond, and that this body has no
angle of complete polarisation. See page 376, col. 2.
Sect. lll.^-0n the Diffraction or Inflexion of Light.
M. Grimaldi, to whom we owe the discovery of the inter- Diffraction
lerence of light, likewise made some important experiments light,
on what is called the diffraction or inflexion of light. Hav¬
ing admitted a ray of solar light into a dark room, through
a small hole AB, he placed in the conical beam ABCD an
Fig. 99-
iry,
opaque body EF. The shadow of this body was not bound- Fringes
ed by the straight lines AEH, BFG, nor by the penumbra without the
J *orme(l by the lines BEI, AFL, but was enlarged to shadow.
MN, and was much greater than it should have been if
formed by rays passing in straight lines past the edges of
the body. Without the shadow of the body there were three
fringes of coloured light, the broadest and most luminous of
which, next to the shadow X, fig. 100, was MNO. There
wf ™lour in7the middle at M, but it was blue at the
side AN, and red at the other side 00. The second fringe
5 /-i , rr . 1 PM. Trails. 1807, 1809, 1810. 2 Tom iii
verified,” "w‘^hifa^tTo^ SfiTs oursel’ve8 ™able to understand, “ I have carefully
that it leads to important theoretical conclusions. If polarJationVere^ modification offleht^ ^ after r^flexion) because I think
t might be conceived that polarisation before incidence might destroy its nf 1 a g ( -S Dr' Brewster and others have supposed,)
tints; but when the reflexion is performed, and the rings art actually7visible in a certal.n anSle» or might change the
“at any modification or physical chanae. in the hVhr ^1™ ,v.L L„.  , ..ye vXl.th a dark centre, it seems quite inconceivable
-any modification or physical c'lanqe in the light should make that centre nrme ■ & ^ark centre> ’t seems quite inconceivable
18 aresolution of the vibrations into two sets at right angles to each other ne^f ^ "u * e' r.'6 satlidact°ry exPlanation is, that polarisation
separately exhibited, and that in this nst^ ln a mani.‘er that the two sets can in general be
s- Y°"ng, Biot, Herschel, and we believe MW Ara^o a^d F esnel «enne1u0 ^ authors cnt'™ed in the preceding extract, viz. Ma-
l* modification certainly & physicalchanqe without any reference to theory T. ev red,Polarl*atI°n as a modification of common light, arid
eeptionable. Ifpolarisatiof is a resTZnX Z Zry lrZ of HWin™ * indeed> the term is philosophical and unex-
'f ’ "’h'ch we do not question, thisiscertainly a pretty considerable modification*”1 l,fmte 7tumber cf planes, into two sets at right angles to each
.£»«h theories it, describing ^ ^ T ^ '»"**
VOL. Xyi IieP°rt Un °ptiCS' Blitish Association Reports, 4, ISaXp. 3C6. ^ “ appr°priate by °Ur COntem'
’ 31
434
OPTICS.
Periodical QPR was naiTOwer than MNO.
Colours. 10<)>
It was colourless in the
Fig. 101.
Hoairr r
Noapa: tt
Fig. 102.
middle at P, faintly blue at QQ, and faintly red at RR.
The third fringe STY resembled the other two, but was the
narrowest and the faintest in its colours. They were bent
round the edges of the body, as shewn in fig. 101.
Fringes Grimaldi likewise discovered fringes within the shadow,
within the which were best seen when the body was long, the light
shadow. m-eat, and its distance from the aperture considerable. 1 hese
internal fringes increased with the breadth of the body, and
they became narrower when they increased in number.
They were bent round
the angles of the body,
as shewn in fig. 102,where
ADBC is the shadow,
and a, b, c, d the internal
fringes. Short lucid
streaks were seen pro¬
ceeding, as it were, from
the angle D, and return¬
ing to it, as shewn in the
figure.
What Dr. Young has
called the crested fringes
of Grimaldi, are shewn
in figure 103. These
fringes are formed by
any body that has a
rectangular termination.
At the line which bisects
the right angle there is
a white central fringe,
bounded by hyperbolic
curves, whose asymp¬
totes are the diagonal
line, and on each side ot
this are two or three
other bands, disposed in
hyperbolic curves, which
are convex to the diago¬
nal, and converging in
some degree, as they re¬
cede from the angular point
their intervals to be in the same progression. Hence the Peri« ^
fringes and their intervals together was as the number 1, Colt
444**
When the hair was surrounded with water, the very same
phenomena were seen, and metals, stones, glass, wood, horn,
ice, &c., produced the very same fringes. The following
was the order of the colours, reckoning from the shadow:—
First fringe,... .Violet, indigo, pale blue, green, yellow, red.
Second fringe,.ddhue, yellow, red.
Third fringe,...Idblue, pale yellow, red.
When homogeneous light wras used, Sir Isaac found that pnng,
the fringes were largest iwred light, least wx violet light, and of homq
an intermediate size in green light. In one case, the dis-ousl
tance between the middle of the first fringe on each side of
the shadow was
of an inch in red light, and — in vio-
37-5 4()
Fig. 103.
let light.
From experiments made by Sir Isaac Newton on the j[nifa
light which passed by the edge of a knife, and on that which edge:..'
passed between two knife edges parallel to each other, he
concluded that the light of the first fringe passed by the
edo-e of the knife at a distance greater than the 100th part
of an inch; the light of the second at a greater distance than
that of the first; and the light of the third fringe at a greater
distance than that of the second. _
Sir Isaac then stuck into a board the points of two knives
with straight edges, so that their edges formed an angle ol
1° 47' 26", and from the observations which he made on
the light which passed between them, he concluded that the
light ivhich forms the fringes is not the same light at all dis¬
tances of the paper from the knives, obviously considering
each fringe as produced like caustic curves, by the intersec¬
tion of the inflected rays. When the fringes formed by
these inclined knife edges were received on paper held at a
great distance, the fringes formed by the one knife edge
were bent into the shadow of the other knife, and formed
cubical hyperbolas, whose asymptotes were for one set the
knife edge which produced the fringes, and a line perpen¬
dicular to the line bisecting the angle formed by the knives.
Although many attempts were made during the last cen-Dr T
tury to complete the unfinished labours of Newton on tliiSy0UIi
subject, yet no decided discovery was made till the time ot
Dr. Thomas Young. This distinguished natural pj,™"
pher, in endeavouring to explain the origin of the tring
which surrounded the shadow of the margin of a small cir¬
cular aperture, conceived that the light nearest ^ centre
was least inflected, and that nearest its edges most, an
that another portion of light reflected from the marg ^
the aperture, and coinciding either exactly or neay t
the direct light, after a circuitous path, would mterfe
that light, and produce colour. In November ^ he c ^
firmed this supposition to a certain extent, in so far a
Sir Isaac
Newton.
:ede from the angular point. ,T xt , firmed this supposition to a certain extent, in so k
In repeating the experiments of Grimaldi, Sir Isaac New- duction 0f the colours by interference was concer > 7
ton admitted the sun’s light through a small hole in apiece j\g digcovery 0f the interference of light, as alrea y
1 A 4-1-.^ nf an inch in di^IHGlGr >
of lead the forty-second part of an inch in diameter ; he
found the breadth of the shadow of a human hair, which was
the 280th of an inch in diameter, to be as follows:-—
Distance of Distance of the Breadth
the hair from paper receiving the ot the
the aperture. shadow from the hair. shadow.
i o fret   4 inches 0 01666 inches.
Jo _ ”  24 —  0-03572 _
12   128 —  0-125 —
Upon comparing the breadths of the fringes without the
shadow, and their intervals at different distances, he found
them to be nearly in the same proportion, the breadths of
SCThefringesformed by inflexion, asobserved by D'-Yoimg,
are shewn fn fig. 104, where ABCD is the shadow of the
104.
inflecting body with its internal fringes, which he
     - . ■ _ _ dercdasVoduced by the light pass,ng on eaa eide^
/I ho a inflecting body, and bent into the shadow, so a to
the fringes being as the numbers 1, V rf J &c-> ^d inthe n^nncY already described. This he clear y p
odical be the case; but he was less successful in explainino- the
ours, external fringes between AC and GH, and between BD and
EF. He ascribed them to the interference of rays reflected
from the margin of the inflecting body, with rays which
passed by it directly.
Dr. Young examined the crested fringes of Grimaldi in
the same manner as he did the internal fringes ABCD. He
found that when a screen was placed within a few inches of
the inflecting angle of the body, so as to receive only one of
the edges of the shadow, all the crested fringes disappeared •
but if the rectangular point of the screen was opposed to
the point of the shadow, so as barely to receive the angle
of the shadow, or its extremity, the fringes were in no wav
affected. 3
\ resnel M. Fresnel in France, and M. Fraunhofer at Munich were
simultaneously occupied in studying the inflexion of light, and
each of them published the results of their labours, without
any knowledge apparently that the other had been similarly
occupied, We shall begin by giving an account of Fresnel’s
experiments.
In place of a small hole, M. Fresnel adopted the ingeni¬
ous idea of substituting a lens of short focal length, which
collected the solar rays into its focus, from which they di¬
verged as from a small luminous aperture. When bodies
were placed in this bright light, they gave distinct fringes,
t ip macrnitnno ~ , P *
OPTICS.
435
* , • P ; ^ Sclvc wauncL iringes,
the magnitude of which he was able to measure at various
of the i,n9ectins ^iind ^
in cases where the margin was made extremely narrow or Colours,
sharp, the small quantity of light which it could reflect would
rb-TarIe °i! P^cmg, by its interference with the di-
rect light, such bright fringes as are actually observed. To
assure himself of this, he took two plates of steel, the edge
or each of which was rounded in one half of its length, and
sharp in the remaining half; he placed the rounded portion
of one edge opposite the sharp portion of the other, and vice
versa Hence, if the position of the fringes depended on
VrV°f t le surface’ the effect would thus be doubled,
and the fringes appear broken in the middle. They were
rn^beiC0MrvyPer?Ctly throughout their whole
length.1 M. Fresnel was therefore obliged to suppose, and
the supposition he found to be perfectly conformable to the
undulatory theory, that rays that pass at a sensible distance
deviate from their primitive direction, and interfere with
those which pass directly by the edge of the body.
In order to settle this question, M. Fresnel compared the
results of Dr. Youngs hypothesis with those of his own, and
ie ound that the breadth of any fringe of homogeneous
light should be on the two hypotheses as 2 to 1-8726, and
having measured the diameter of such a fringe, he found his
own hypothesis more consistent with observation than Dr
i oung s.
distances behind the inflecting body, and at various dis¬
tances of the inflecting body from the lens, simply by view¬
ing the fringes with an eye-glass furnished with a microme¬
ter, instead of rendering them dull by receiving them upon
paper. In this manner he measured' their breadths within
the one or two-hundredth part of a millimeter. He traced
the external fringes up to their very origin, and by the aid
of a lens of a short focus, he saw the third fringe at the dis-
tance of less than the one-hundredth part of a millimeter
from the edge of the inflecting body. M. Fresnel made
also the important discovery that the phenomena varied with
the distance of the inflecting body from the radiating or
sures10118 P°mt’ aS be seen from the following mea-
Disfane6 of the Distance behind Angular inflexion
inflecting body the body where of the red rays
iro?1 focus the inflexion of the
of the lens. was measured. first fringe.
0 feet 4 inches 3.281 feet  12' 6"
19--48 __  3.28I _ 3 55
from which it appears that the rays experience a less degree
or inflexion in proportion to the distance of the inflecting
body from the radiant point. 6
frnmuenithe ^ctinS body was kept at a fixed distance
1-Zthc; M- Fresnel measured the inflexion of the same
m^e at different distances behind the inflecting body, and
J. resu‘t 0/ these measurements was, that the successive po-
ZTy' t ,e same fringe did not lie in a straight line, but
fff.f nenrve, whose concavity is turned towards the in-
in oil u 0( f -lhe successive positions of the same fringe
ino' tho 0 °rders co^ours be f°un<i to be hyperbolas, hav-
fo?tl • radiatlng hoint and the edge of the inflecting body
m e,ir 9°I![imo? ^ocb some of these curves the maxi-
ofAn • Ttl0n fr°7 a straight line was the twenty-fifth part
servatio^’ ^ near y fifty times greater than the error of ob-
I^Iri explammg the exterior fringes, M. Fresnel agreed with
ein’nfTg m/Hp.p0Sing that rays ^fleeted from the mar-
bm hat le lndecting body interfered with the direct rays;
to renn^^ a .terwards ledJ both by theory and experiment,
w renounce this opinion.
e found that the fringes were absolutely independent of
Fig. 105.
In order to exhibit to the eye the
hyperbolic form of the fringes, we
have given a representation of them
in fig. A, where LL is a lens ofshort
focus, by which the rays of the sun
entering a dark chamber, are re¬
fracted to a focus F, from which
they again diverge, forming the cone
i-'mn. Or the lens may be fixed
in a large diaphragm DD', which
may stand on the table before the
window at which the sun’s light
enters. By means of a coloured
glass VV' placed on either side of
the diaphragm, or on either side of
F, the light may be rendered ho¬
mogeneous. If we now place a
screen of any kind, EC, at some
distance from F, having its edge
somewhat smaller, and free °of
dust, and receive its shadow GT'upon a sheet of paper,
or any white ground, TT', or on a glass plate roughened
with emery, we shall obtain the section of the fringes form¬
ed by diffraction The line FEG, which is the geometrical
shadow, is not the real shadow. On the side of it towards
. ’. *he paper wdl ,not aPPear black, but illuminated with
a visible shade, which goes on decreasing nearly uniformly
for a considerable distance. On the other side of EG there
are several fringes or alternations of light and darkness.
i-he first fringe B parallel to the shadow is bright, then a
band S almost entirely black, which is the black fringe of the
first order, then a second bright fringe B', which is followed
y the second black fringe S'. These alternations continue to
a great distance from G, so that even the sixteenth or se¬
venteenth order may be observed, the bright fringes be¬
coming less coloured, and the black ones more luminous, till
tney are no longer visible.
Ily varying the distance of the paper TT' from the screen
, or o the screen from the focus F, the same fringes are
prot uce with certain variations depending on their dis-
• TV C rin7^,S be‘nS propagated in hyperbolas, as shewn
in the figure. Fhe fringes are largest in red R, smallest in
violet V, and of an intermediate size in green light G, as re-
1 Memoire sur la Diffraction, p. 370. Prof. Lloyd’s Report, ut antea.
436
OPTICS.
Periodical presented in fig. 106, where they are shewn as on each side
Colours. 0f the shadow of a human hair HH.
Fig. 106.
The following table shews the angular distances of the
seven first fringes from the inflecting body EC, and the geo¬
metrical shadow:—
For Red Light.
Angles, Angles, Angles,
FE = 1000 FE = 100 FE = 10
millimetres. millimetres. millimetres.
First order 3' 35" IF 20" 35' 51"
Second order 5 15 16 35 52 25
Third order 6 30 20 32 1° 4 56
Fourth order 7 32 23 50 1 15 21
Fifth order 8 27 26 44 1 24 31
Sixth order 9 17 29 20 1 32 44
Seventh order 10 3 31 45 1 41 21
For Violet Light.
First order 2' 58"   9' 22" 29' 36"
Second order 4 20 13 42 43 18
Third order 5 21 16 55 53 36
Fourth order 6 13 19 40 1° 2 15
Fifth order 6 59 22 5 1 9 48
Sixth order 7 40 24 15 1 16 38
Seventh order 8 18 26 14 1 22 53
Sir John When the diverging light passes through a small circular
Herscbel. aperture, very beautiful phenomena are observed, which
were studied about the same time by M. bresnel and Sir
John Herschel.1 M. Fresnel had deduced the phenomena
from theory, and subsequently confirmed his deductions by
experiment. The following is Sir John Herschel’s2 account
of the phenomena:—“Suppose,” says he, “we place a
sheet of lead, having a small pin-hole pierced through it, in
the diverging cone of rays from the image of the sun, formed
by a lens of short focus, and in the line joining the centres
of the hole and focus prolonged, place a convex lens or eye¬
glass, behind which the eye is applied. The image of the
hole will be seen through the lens as a brilliant spot, en¬
circled by rings of colours of great vividness, which con¬
tract and dilate, and undergo a singular and beautiful alter¬
nation of tints, as the distance of the hole from the lumi¬
nous point, on the one hand, or on the eye-glass, on the
other, is changed. WThen the latter distance is considerable,
the central spot is white, and the rings follow nearly the
order of the colours of thin plates. Thus, when the diame¬
ter of the hole was about l-30th of an inch, its distance {a)
from the luminous point about six feet six inches, and its
distance (b) from the eye-lens twenty-four inches, the series
of colours was observed to be,
“1st order. White, pale yellow, yellow, orange, dull red.
“ 2d order. Violet, blue (broad and pure), whitish, green¬
ish yellow, fine yellow, orange red, very full and brilliant.
“ 3d order. Purple, indigo blue, greenish blue, pure bril¬
liant green, yellow green, red.
♦ “ 4th order. Good green, but rather sombre and bluish,
bluish white, red.
“ 5th order. Dull green, faint bluish white, faint red. Perk
“ 6th order. Very faint green, very faint red. Cok
“ 7th order. A trace of green and red.
“ When the eye-lens and hole are brought nearer toge-Sir h
ther, the central white spot contracts into a point and van-
ishes, and the rings gradually close in upon it in succession,
so that the centre assumes in succession the most surpris¬
ingly vivid and intense hues. Meanwhile the rings sur¬
rounding it undergo great and abrupt changes in their tints.
The following were the tints observed in an experiment
made some years ago, (July 12, 1819), the distance between
the eye-glass and luminous point (a-f 5) remaining constant,
and the hole being gradually brought nearer to the for¬
mer :—
i=
24-00
18-00
13-50
10-00
9-25
9-10
8-75
8-36
8-00
7-75
7-00
6-63
6-00
5-85
5-50
5-00
4-75
4-50
4-00
3-85
3-50
Colour of the central
Spot.
White.
White.
Yellow.
Very intense orange.
Deep orange red.
Brilliant blood red.
Deep crimson red.
Deep purple.
Very sombre violet.
Intense indigo blue.
Pure deep blue.
Sky blue.
Bluish white.
Very pale blue.
Greenish white.
Yellow.
Orange yellow.
Scarlet.
Red.
Blue.
Dark blue.
Surrounded by
J Rings as in the foregoing
{ description.
( The two first rings con-
j fused, the red of the 3d.
A and green of the 4th or-
I ders splendid.
'Interior rings much di
luted, the 4th and 5th
greens, and 3d, 4th, and
5 th reds, the purest co-
_ lours.
All the rings are now
much diluted.
The rings all very dilute.
The rings all very dilute.
The rings all very dilute.
The rings all very dilute.
A broad yellow ring.
A pale yellow ring.
A rich yellow,
f A ring of orange, from
which it is separated by a
l narrow sombre space.
{ Orange red, then abroad
) space of pale yellow, after
S which the other rings are
^scarcely visible.
A crimson red ring.
J Purple, beyond which
| yellow, verging to orange
Blue, orange,
f Bright blue, orange red
[pale yellow, white.
J Pale yellow, violet, pale
| yellow, white.
J White, indigo, dull o
| range, white.
/ White, yellow, blue, dull
| red. ,
j Orange, light blue, violet
[ dull orange.
“ The series of tints exhibited by the central spot is evi¬
dently, so far as it goes, that of the reflected rings in the
colours of thin plates; the surrounding colours are very ca¬
pricious, and appear subject to no law.” „ . ,
We owe also to Sir John Herschel the following beauti¬
ful experiment with two equal apertures placed near each
other. The rings are formed about each as in the case o
Sir John Herschel’s experiment was made on the 12th July 1819, but was not published till 18"25.
Treatise on Light, sect. 729, 730.
OPTICS.
periodical one aperture, buttheseare accompanied with a set of straight the heliostate to the tl.cn,lnl;t„ .„,l„-.i .1 • . ,
Colo.^. parallel fringes, bisecting the interval between their centres, could al“ va% at fH ”«>?rat;ls ,he
-^^and perpendicular to the line joining their centres. Two The on™i, of , ^ . • mtenslt>; °,f '.he s»l!lr ‘'R1''-
J sets of similar fringes appear if the form of a St. A™ 1^^^ cofnmof W frfm'tt SOthtoS S T “’f
drptlCTcSrTSrT^rgl^with!hefiretset’asshewn ^
l3te in Plate CCCLXXXI. fig. 5. When the apertures are un- times, Fraunhofer measured the aperture in di/mS-il i
iclxxxi. equal, as in fig. 6, these fringes assume the form of hyperbo- screen, which he did to the fiftv 1,0 , 0, f metallic
* S- ^ 'f’ '-7the ure totto common focus. By Hying to the hundredfthoZrd* part o? T fch “moTidelT
thenumber and shape of the apertures, the phenomena be- body was very fine at its edL ’ pr0Vlded the
1 D • Cai\fe pXCee inf A beaw-lfu ' i . , Fraunhofer’s first observations were made with a sine-le
3. Poisson M. Poisson deduced from theory that the Centre of the slit, which was placed before the objectXs of the teles
shadow of a small circular opaque disc, exposed to light ema- cope, which had been previously dirictL^ t^tt ^erture
nating from a single luminous point would be precisely as m the heliostate, so that (he aper^
much illuminated by the diffracted light as it would be by of the micrometer. He then saw the fringes shewn nfiT?
the direct light, if the disc were removed. By using a small Plate CCCLXXXI. The middle fringe or band L11' bisected
disc of metal cemented to a clear and homogeneous plate by the micrometrical wire K, was 4^, becoming vellow
of glass, M. Arago confirmed this very remarkable result. towards L1 and L11 where it was rpd Tn th , g Z r n
1. Arago. We owe to M. Arago a series of beautiful discoveries re- ^ W“ere lfc ^ the space L1 L11
specting the influence of transparent screens in the pheno¬
mena of inflexion. When a thick piece of glass was used
as a screen on one side of the inflecting body, the rings
wholly disappear, as if the screen were opaque. If the
screen is very thin, like a film of sulphate of lime or mica,
437
Periodical
Colours.
t iere is a spectrum with very lively colours, viz, indigo near
L , then blue, green, yelloiv, and red, near L11. The spec¬
trum in L11 L111 is much less intense, viz. blue near L11, and
yMow, green, and red near LUI. The spectrum in the space
L , L , is still fainter, being green on the side LIH, and
red on the side LIV. A great number of spectra follow
the fringes still remain visible but shift their places, and are these, becoming fafrter andfaintTand losing6 themselveT
moved from the stde where the screen is interposed. in a band of light, w hich is spread over a great space All
If we mate this experiment on the fringes produced by these spectra on both sides of K are periectlv equal and
two apertures, we have only to cover one of the apertures conseouentlv svmm^rinal nZ P, ctiy equal, and
with the screen. The sanle effect, however, „i,.Pbe pH rrarfcS 'r
duced, if we cover both apertures with screens of different table contains the average of the distances L1 L« l'” and
flucknesses. In this case the fringes will shift their places LIV, from the central line, all of them beTng equal’the mea
ThI'h if1,P ate’ w.lth1out suffenng any other change, sures being taken from the red extremity of each spectrum
Ihuub™1APr0perty1 taS be^n most ingeniously em- so that if we wish to have the angle of delation of L« from
ployed by MM. Arago and Fresnel, in measuring the re¬
fractive powers ot different gases. For as the displacement
of the coloured fringes depends on the refractive power, as
well as thickness ol the plate, its refractive power may be
computed fiom the displacement. In the same manner, if
one ol the interfering rays are made to pass through tubes
filled with different gases, while the other does not, the dis¬
placement produced by the gas will give a measure of the
refractive power ol the gaseous medium,
ranhofer We come now to give some account of the experiments
of Joseph Fraunhofer, made with instruments of extreme
accuiacy, and furnishing data of the highest importance in
physical optics.1
The apparatus employed by Fraunhofer was a repeating
theodolite, whose vernier read off to 4". In the centre of
the circle, but above it, this instrument carries a flat circu¬
lar plate six inches in diameter, having its axis coincident
with that of the theodolite, and graduated separately to 10".
In the middle of this disc is placed a metallic screen, in which
the necessary apertures are made, and which is in the axis
ot the theodolite. The divisions of this disc serve to mea¬
sure if necessary the angle of incidence of the rays. A
telescope, having an object-glass of twenty lines in aper-
ture, and 16-9 inches in focal length, is placed three-and-a
nail inches from the centre of this disc,  
KKwe have only to multiply the value of L in the table
by 2, and so on.
Width of the Breadth of each Product of the
aperture in parts spectrum or values aperture by the
0fn1Pla,n^l,lch- of KLr, ELn, &c. deviation L.
nllnna  —37"*66 (>0000210
  1—11 -17 0*0000210
0*03690  l—50 *6  0*0000209
0-02346  3-4 *43 0*0000210
0*01237  5 48
0*01210  6—1
0*01020  6—57
0*00671 11_6
'7  0*0000209
'84 0*0000212
3  0*0000206
4  0*0000217
0'00642 11—12 *2  0*0000209
0.00337 21—10 *3
0*00308 23—32 *7  
0*00218 33—40  
0-00215 35—17  
0-00114 1 4—53  
From these observations, M. Fraunhofer
following conclusions:
\. That the angles of deviation of the luminous rays
which pass through a single aperture, are in the inverse
ratio of the width oj that aperture.
2. That when a ray is diffracted in passing through a
0*0000207
.0.0000211
.0-0000213
.0.0000220
.0-0000215
deduces the
half inches from the centre of this disc. This telescope is 2‘ J,Lat when a rad is diffracted in passing through a
Pjaced firmly on the alidade of the divided circle, whose nffrrow aperture, the distance of similar rays from the mid-
oiameter is twelve inches, and the whole is counterpoised. d e m . several spectra, form in each case an arithmetical
he axis of the telescope is exactly parallel to the horizon, l)rogres.sion, whose difference is equal to the first term.
as Well as to the nlnne nf tbic V.;vv.lv, T'V.w   •  3. That if-v is the anerturp T i T II 
The magnifying 7 1-flat if y is the aperture, the arches L1, L11, or the
deviation of the inflected rays, are in general for the radius
of a circle equal to 1, L1—
Lm:=3 Q’0000211
0*0000211
LII=2.
0*0000211
as well as to the plane of this circle.
power which he employed was from thirty to fifty times,
the instrument did not communicate with the floor of the
room, from which it was wholly insulated. The heliostate
was placed in the prolongation of the optical axis, at a dis-
litpCe r ^ fee^ ^ inches from the centre of the theodo-
hourly mo°tiConr tLTbserve^ Sfmi ^7 ^ ^ f 7 r By observing whetber the micrometer were appeared or
I at. -u 7777—-—    — : :*— —^ ncmesi IVIV, are not composed c
in Munchen Without a (fate “ ^tU^Einwirkung umTBemjung der Strahlen, und Gesetze derselben. Von Jos^
AUNHOfEll
338
OPTICS.
Periodical geneous light, but that it becomes more and more homo-
Colours. aeneous at greater distances from the axis.
— — Our author next proceeds to describe the phenomena
observed when the two edges which form the narrow aper¬
ture, are at different distances from the object glass. When
the effective width of the aperture thus formed, is from the
25th to the 50th of an inch, the spectra are the same as
those before described; but when the opening becomes
less, the spectra on one side of the axis become wider,
horizontally than those on the other side. When the ap¬
parent aperture was extremely narrow, the spectra on one
was two or three times wider than those on the other. By
continuing to close the distant edges, the longest spectra
begin to disappear successively, so that the fifth spectrum
for example, fills almost suddenly the whole field of the
telescope, till it ceases to be visible, then the fourth spec¬
trum presents the same phenomena, then the third, and so
on. During these changes the spectra on the other side
remain unchanged, but when all the former have vanished,
they also disappear in their turn, not successively, but all
at once, which happens when no light passes between the
edges. The large spectra are always on the side of the
screen, which is nearest the object-glass. _
When the apertures, both in the heliostate, and m front
of the object-glass, were small circular ones, a system of
rino-s are produced, absolutely the same as those of thin
plates, with this difference only, that the centre is white m
place of black. The rays increase in size as the apertures
diminish. By varying the apertures he obtained the fol¬
lowing results: . , .
1. That the diameter of the coloured rings are in the in¬
verse ratio of the diameter of the apertures.
2. That the distances of the extreme rings (of any given
refrangibility) from the centre form an arithmetical pro¬
gression, whose difference is smaller than the first term.
3. That if y is the diameter of the aperture in 1 arts
inches, we shall have
L__0-0000214 _T n T t—T in—T n. &c.
Water
Spectrum.
23
5
39
37
12
3"-3
41
16
47
57
14
L'=
0-0000257
Ln=
0-0000257
+ L, and so on.
Spectra
produced
The most important and interesting of Fraunhofer’s re-
piuuuwcu searches, are those which relate to the spectra produced by
by gratings „ratings, consisting of a number of parallel wires placed
andgrooves parallel ajso to the narrow linear aperture in the heliostate.
He formed these gratings of fine wires stretched across a
rectangular frame; the two shorter ends of the frame con¬
sisted of two fine screws made with the same die, and hav¬
ing 260 threads in an inch. By placing a wire in each
thread he ensured their exact parallelism. The diameter
of each wire was 0-002021 of a French inch, and the edge
of each wire was distant from the adjacent edge 0-003862
of an inch. The aperture of the heliostate was two inches
long, and the 100th of an inch wide, and the frame of wires
was placed before the object-glass, so that no other light
could be admitted but through them. Fraunhofer was as¬
tonished at the phenomena which he saw. He saw the
Plate colourless line of light A, Plate CCCLXXXI, fig. 8, in the
ccclxxxi. aperture of the heliostate, exactly as if no wires had been
Fig. 8. interposed, and at some distance from it on both sides a
great number of coloured spectra exactly similar to those
produced by a good prism. They were larger in propor¬
tion to their distance from the central bright line, and
they diminished in intensity in the same proportion. A
part of these spectra are shewn in figure 8, where A
is the aperture of the heliostate, absolutely ^ ithout co¬
lours. On each side of A the spectra are perfectly sym¬
metrical. When the apparatus is well made, the space
Total length from B1 to H1 • 19 1 0 19 1 '3
The diffracted spectrum is therefore a very extraordinary
one. The green space from E to F, is almost exactly the
same in both, but all the less refrangible spaces are greatly
expanded in the diffracted spectrum, and the more refran¬
gible spaces greatly contracted, the red space CD in the
diffracted spectrum being twice as great as in the water
spectrum ; and the violet space in the water spectrum twice
as small.
M. Fraunhofer repeated the above experiments with ten
different gratings; in which the breadth of the wires and
the spaces between them were varied, and he deduces from
them the following laws:
1. For two diff erent gratings in which the parallel wires
are of the same size and placed at equal distances, the
magnitude of the spectra which arise from the reciprocal
influence of a great number of rays diffracted by narrow
apertures, and their distances from the axis are in the in¬
verse ratio of the intervals y + 8, that is the space from the
middle of one of the openings to the middle of the otffr'
2. In all the perfect mean spectra, or those in which, the
■fixed lines are seen, the distances between the coloured rays
of the same nature in the different spectra, or between the
same fixed lines in them, form an arithmetical progression,
whose distance is equal to the first term. . ,
3. In gratings in which the diameter S of the wires and
the distance y between them is expressed m Pam
the first term of the progression for the fixed lines B, E > ’
or those rays which have the corresponding degrees oj
frangibility is represented by the following
_ J 0.00002541 0.00002425. -p^ a00002l7_.
B= — 5 1 —  Xs ’ y + 8
0.00001943 F_ 0.00001789 . G= 0^21^;
F=—^+ar-!i-
TT 0.00001451
n=-7+r"
y + 8
AH1 is absolutely black. The first spectrum occupies the Perioih
space H\ C1 ; H1 being the usual limit of the violet, and Colo
C1 that of the red. Between H11 and Cn, there is a second✓
spectrum twice as long as the first; the order of the co¬
lours being the same, but their intensity a little less. The
third spectrum occupies the space between C11 and F^, but
a part of its violet rays are mixed with the red of the se¬
cond spectrum, and also a part of the red rays of the third
with the blue rays of the fourth spectrum. The fourth
spectrum is seen between FIV and DIV, its blue extremity
losing itself in the third, and its red extremity in the fifth
spectrum. Many other spectra succeed these, and when
the apparatus is good, thirteen may be easily reckoned on
each side of A.
But what is the most interesting fact, when the appar¬
atus is good, and the adjustments correct,—the fixed dark
lines in the prismatic spectrum are seen at C1, D1, these
lines being the same as those similarly marked in Plate
CCCLXXXI, fis. 1. It is remarkable, however, that A is
not seen, a fact which M. Fraunhofer neither notices nor
explains. The lines both great and small, are absolutely
the same, both in this and the prismatic spectrum, though
their distances are widely different.
In a grating in which y, the distance between the wires
is 0-000628, and 8, or the diameter of the wires 0-001324,
the following are the distances :
Diffracted
Spectrum,
Distance betw-een the lines B1 and C1..^' 2"-6
   C1 — Dh..4
    D1 — E\.A
   E1 — FI...2
 F1 — Gh-.S
   G1 — HI...2
OPT
. ,.caj If we represent the numerator of each of these expres-
Zil sions by a, the angle of deviation of one of the same colour-
^^,/ed rays in the Jirst spectrum by B", in the second by 3", in
the third by 3'", we have generally
3'=
$,/=^ &c-
y+o
If r stands for the number of the spectrum, » being =0
for the axis, r= 1 for the first spectrum, 2 for the second
spectrum, and if we put Ezry-|-2 we shall have in general,
3(>)=-.
S
1 he preceding results having been obtained with angles
so small that the arcs and their sines and tangents are nearly
in the same proportion, M. Fraunhofer began a new series
of experiments with the view of obtaining spectra, in which
the angles should be larger and by which he might deter¬
mine whether it was the arcs or their sines or tangents
which had the proportions assigned by the experiments.
This inquiry rendered it necessary to obtain much finer
gratings than those he had used. He therefore coated a
plate of glass with two or three folds of gold leaf in order
to have the interstices filled up, and by a peculiar arrange¬
ment he traced upon the glass parallel lines in which e was
rrO.OOl 14 of an inch. When the lines were drawn closer,
no gold remained upon the glass. With this system the
spectra were larger, and the fixed lines distinctly seen, but
they did not answer his purpose. He therefore thought of
spun glass which answered as well as wires ; and having
covered a plate of glass with a thin coat of fat, so thin that
it could scarcely be seen, he traced .parallel lines upon it,
the intervals of which were only half the size of those on
the gold leaf. The spectra produced by this system of lines
gave the fixed lines very distinctly, so that their distances
from the axis could be accurately measured; but he could
not succeed in tracing either upon a layer of fat Or black var¬
nish lines closer than this. He at last succeeded in his object
of tracing a finer system of lines by using a diamond, with
which, by the aid of a machine, he traced lines so fine upon
the surface of glass, that they could not be seen by the most
powerful compound microscope. In this way he obtained
a set of several thousand lines in which £=0.0001223 of
an inch, and which are at distances so very equal, that the
fixed lines in the first and second spectrum are clearly seen.1
With the system when £=0.0001223, and the number
of lines 3601, the fixed line D is seen double in the first
spectrum.
When the light fell vertically on this grating, Fraunhofer
obtained the following measures :
ICS.
With this grating, the third, fourth, and following spec-
tra were well seen, but the fixed lines could not be seen
VV1 1 sufficient distinctness for accurate measurement
those beyond the first and second.
He therefore used another grating in which £=0.005919
of an inch; and when the light fell upon it vertically, he
obtamed the following results for the first five spectra,
with the lines D,E, and F, for the first four, with E, for the
first three with F and G, and the first two for H.
Names of fixed
lines.
C1  2° 20 57
D1  2 6 30
Du  4 13 7
D111 6 20 7
DIV 8 27 43
Dv  10 35 53
Ei  1 53 7
En  3 46 17
Em 5 39 50
Eiv 7 33 41
Names of fixed
lines.
That is with rays falling vertically, the sines of the angle
of deviation of any fixed line or ray of definite refrangibi-
lity from the axis in the different spectra which succeed
others, are as the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The last of these systems of lines has the remarkable
property of having all the spectra on one side of the axis
twice as luminous as those on the other. Fraunhofer sup¬
posed that one of the sides of each line had been sharper
than the other, and confirmed this opinion by tracing lines
on a layer of fat, so that one line was less sharp than the
other, and it produced the same inequality in the inten¬
sity of the light of the spectra on each side of the axis.
If the ray does not fall vertically upon the system of
grooves oi lines, but is inclined to it in a plane which in¬
tersects the parallel lines vertically, the same effect is pro¬
duced as if the distance between the middle of the lines or
e were diminished in the ratio of the radius to the cosine
of the angle of incidence. Hence the distance of the spec¬
tra from the axis increases as the cosine of the angle of in¬
cidence. If <r therefore is the angle of incidence, then we
have sin 3^ 5=   This, however, is only true
Distance of lines in
first spectrum.
C1 .
C11.
Dv.
D11.
E1.
E“.
F1 .
F11.
G1 .
GW
Hi.
Distance of fixed lines
from the axis A.
Fig. 8, Plate 1.
•..11° 25' 20" C1 from D1
...23 19 42  1° 10' 49"
•••10 14 31  D1 from E1
...20 49 44   l 5 31
••9 9 0  E1 from F1
••18 32 34   0 32 54
.. 8 26 6  F1 from G‘
-17 3 34   o 58 47
• •7 27 19  G1 from H1
•HS 3 9   0 34 43
.. 6 52 36
e COS. a-
when the system of lines is coarse and o- not very large-
But in fine systems of lines it is otherwise, the spectra ^on
both sides of the axis are no longer symmetrical, and in
the system where £=0.0001223, when o- is = 55° we have
the deviation of D' on one side of the axis is = 15916', and
on the other side of the same axis 30° 33'.
Hitherto we have treated of spectra formed by the light
transmitted through the gratings, or through plates of glass
vvith systems of lines etched upon one of its surfaces. But
M. Fiaunhofer examined also the spectra produced by re¬
flexion from the etched surfaces of the glass plates. For
this purpose, he coated the surface of the glass with a
Inack resinous varnish of the same refractive power as
the glass. Ihen when light reflected from the system
'W^foTsucfl^ Tth i=a0°01-23 t0 fir,d a diamond point which shall trace several
mond point can be obtaTned H ’ ' had suc/eeded ordy m obtaining one system. It is only by trial that an useful dia-
Haunhofer has drawn lines so elnsp 'flf re4uir^s o e rawn singly with great care, the labour of drawing two thousand is enormous,
what stronger than he rest 0Ur author h "6 ^ ’000 °f them m a inch- ^ etchinS ^st and last line of the system some-
’Mf reading the lines6 ^Fh^ aUth°r’ a microscoPIC apparatus, measured the dUtanpa i:„„„  i •
he obtained ‘11168 W 16 are etc^ed>
439
Periodical
Colours.
Distance of fixed Names of fixed Distance of
lines from axis. fines. fixed lines
from axis.
Ev  9 28 3
F1  1 44 19
Fn 3 28 45
Fm 5 13 23
FIV 6 58 18
G1  1 32 22
Gn 3 4 57
Gin 4 37 30
Hi  1 27 0
Hu 2 50 11
all the observations made with both the systems of lines
are represented by the expression
Sin3W=!W
or the distance between the middle of any two lines.
a microscopic apparatus, measured the distance between these two lines, the etching machine
■nm 18 fVa^ 'riow!ng t le number of lines, viz. 3601, and the distance between the first and last,
nidale or anv two hnpc.
440
OPTICS.
Periodical of lines fell on the object-glass of the -telescope, the very sity that they are not easily observed, whilst the succeeding Peri, ,j
C; ou f same phenomena appeared as when the light paked through ones again become very intense. Owing to this cause, the C* t
- — he same“rtem of lines at the same angle of inclination, fixed lines in these spectra may bP obse^ed n the usual
me same ^    » nf thfi svstems consisting of equal spaces £, the lines C , F 1 or the
spectra not synametrical being seen. rIhe intensity of the
spectra was still such that the distances of the various lines
can be determined with great accuracy.
M. Fraunhofer has noticed it as very remarkable that
under a certain angle of incidence a 'portion of a spectrum
produced by reflexion, consists of entirely polarised light.
This angle of incidence varies greatly for the different
spectra, and even still very perceptibly for the different
colours of one and the same spectrum. Thus with the glass
system of lines where e=0.0001223, the ray E1 in the
green part of the first spectrum is polarised when a=49°,
but the same green part of the second spectrum on the same
side of the axis is only polarised when tr=40°, and the
systems consisting of equal spaces £, the lines CXI1, FXIIor the
fixedlinesC, F, in the twelfth spectrum can be seen; butwitha
regularly unequal system of lines, where every division con¬
sists of three shades s different among themselves, and are
as 25: 33: 42, the lines Cxu, Dxn, Exn, and Fxn are seen
with such distinctness that their distances from the axis can
be accurately measured. The reason of this is, that with
such systems of lines, the tenth and the eleventh spectra
are almost wholly wanting. With this system of lines, in¬
deed, Fraunhofer saw EXXIV or the line E in the 24th spec¬
trum so distinctly that its distance could he measured.
M. Fraunhofer, by means of concentric circular lines
etched upon glass at equal distances, and by making the
side of the axis is onty polarise . w o- , . rp in the heliostate circular, has produced circular
green part of the first spectrum lying on the opposite side aperture . i 1; Their distances from the
of the axis, is not polarised till «r=69°. In this last case spectra with circular fixed lines. 1 heir distances homthe
the remaining colours of the spectrum are impel fectly po¬
larised. This was less the case in the second spectrum
above mentioned where the colour still remained polarised
when the angle of incidence was perceptibly altered. In
the spectrum where the green light was polarised at 69°,
the light was at no angle of incidence so completely polar¬
ised as in the first spectrum at 49°. With a system of
lines in which e is larger than the one above mentioned,
the green rays in the spectra already referred to, are polar¬
ised at totally different angles of incidence.
A very singular consequence arises from the formula de¬
duced from theory by M. Fraunhofer, and representing his
experiments. If the distance e between the lines is less
axis are in the same proportion as in the spectra produ¬
ced by parallel lines.
When the gratings and systems of lines are immersed in
fluids, the same phenomena are produced, but the distances
of all the spectra from the axis are diminished in the in¬
verse ratio of the indices of refraction.
Fraunhofer has given also some fine drawings of a beau¬
tiful class of phenomena produced by the diffraction of light
passing through round and quadrangular apertures either
singly or arranged regularly. When a plate of brass per¬
forated with two equal apertures 0-02227 of an inch in dia¬
meter, and 0-03831 distant, is placed in front of the object
glass, and the aperture of the heliostate round, the extraordi-
experiments. If the distance e between tne lines is itss gx<is.,a.n j • r q TUotprrrT XXXII wasseen Platt
*4 the length of an undulation, and the light falls ver- in cot—
tically on the grating, so that a—o, it follows that no col¬
oured ray remains visible, however the light may fall, and
only the white light becomes visible in the axis. Hence
all scratches or inequalities on polished surfaces can pro¬
duce no spectra, or no disturbance in the light which the
surface refracts or reflects, and consequently no imperfec¬
tion in the images which they form. M. Fraunhofer like¬
wise draws the conclusion “ that it would be impossible by
any means to render such inequalities (those less than w)
It consisted of 65 elliptical spectra distributed in concen-cccdp
trie rings, the outermost of which contains 28 spectra, '
the next 20, the next 12, and the central one five. When
the circular apertures are arranged so as to correspond with
the four angles of a square, the effect produced is similar
to fig- 10. g'
One of the most splendid figures of this kind is pro¬
duced by crossing two gratings with the wires at right an¬
gles to each other, a circular image is covered with narrow
any means to render such inequalities (those less man aj gits tu c , hnt orcunvine only parts
visible,” and thatamicroscopic object, the diameterofwhA ‘"J ke rectankLrf about a
visiuie, aim uiat u 'mj—> —   o v r<1fm The snectra are rectangular of about a
is =ai, and consists of two parts, cannot be recognised as of diftcrent radii, me spectra a & T1 j
pnnsfctimr nf twn narts. « This.” he adds, “shews us the li- line wide, and from five lines to five inches long.
consisting of two parts. “ This,” he adds, “ shews us the li
mits which are set to vision through microscopes.” This re¬
sult, if clearly established, would be a very remarkable one.
It is very obvious, that if the distances of the etched lines
or the wires in gratings are unequal, the larger distances
e will give smaller spectra, and the smaller distances e
larger spectra, which will be mixed with each other.
let end of each is towards the centre. In some places the
spectra touch and overlap each other, but the greater num¬
ber are insulated. .
Our limits will not permit us to pursue tins most curious
subject any farther, and we must refer our readers to
Fraunhofer’s own work,1 and to another recently pub is
larger spectra, which will be mixed with each other, rraunnoiei & uwii nw- — ^ „ has^endraw-
Fraunhofer, however, conceived it would be interesting to by Se iner 1 _ . c Keautiful phenomena, all of
know what would happen if the intervals .were ^ «f an “j11 f lained L the undulatory
unequal, that is, if the unequality in the distances were re¬
gularly repeated in equal parts. With this view he etched
parallel lines in various ways, regularly unequal upon plates
of glass covered with gold leal. It the distances between
the lines are expressed by d, e", d" and if one of the equal
parts, which consists of unequal e’s is expressed by d -\-
d'+d" + en then the distances of the various
spectra were found by experiment to be
Sin. 3=0-
incrs oi an iiiniiciioc vcinw^j     r , , ,
which are capable of being explained by the undulato y
theory.
_ _j_ e  Y(n
The phenomena of spectra thus produced are chiefly
remarkable on account of their different intensity. With newseries^ capablein its present
some systems of lines of this kind, several spectra or parts of which undulatory > and we ffiUst there-
of them may be wholly wanting, or have so slight an inten- form of giving the least exp.
As the various phenomena of diffraction observed by
Arago, Fresnel, Young, Fraunhofer, and Schwerd, ar
susceptible of being explained by the undulatory he J,
even facts of the same class, and having a similar _
gin, cannot possess much interest in our mqm
the physical causes to which they must be ultimately
We shall now proceed, however, to give an account of ate f
scries of facts discovered by S.r Dav.d B.ewsttr,®
1 See Edin. Journal of Science, N. S. No. xiii. p. 101, and No. xiv. p. 2ol- _ . . . und in Bieldern dargesteUt, Von
2 Hie Beugungs- ersheinungen, aus dem Fundamental-gaetz dem unaulatwns theone anahjtische entwickelt un
F. M. Schwerd, Manheim, 1835.
OPTICS.
eriodical fore consider such facts as peculiarly calculated to throw
flours, light on the physical cause of the phenomena.
In all the phenomena of gratings and systems of lines ob¬
served by Fraunhofer, the central image of the luminous
aperture in the heliostate is white, a result that might have
been expected, as that light is reflected from the original
surface of the glass, and cannot interfere with any other
light. “ If the lines,” says Fraunhofer, “ were so thick that
one touched another, and consequently had no space be¬
tween them, no light could be regularly reflected from the
etched surface, and would, as from every other polished
surface, be dispersed. Were the intermediate spaces equal¬
ly wide as the lines, the etched surface could only regular¬
ly reflect half as much light as an equal surface of glass that
was not etched, therefore the quantity of regularly reflect¬
ed light from an etched surface of glass, is in proportion to
the quantity of light which is reflected from a surface of
glass of the same size not etched, or as the width of the spa¬
ces between any two neighbouring lines is to the width of
these lines.”1
These conclusions however irresistible they seem to be, are
very far from having any foundation. For upon examining
a series of several systems of lines or grooves cut on steel
for him by the late Sir John Barton, Sir David Brewster
observed, that in several of them the central image hitherto
described as white or colourless, had a distinct colour which
was the same in every part of the system. In one of the
systems on which there were 1000 lines in an inch, the
central image had its tint a greenish blue at a perpendicular
incidence, which suffered no change by turning round the
plate, nor by reflecting the light from different parts of the
system. Fie found the same colours on various other sys¬
tems of lines, and upon examining them at different angles
of incidence, he found that the tints varied with' the inci¬
dence, being a maximum at a vertical incidence, diminish¬
ing as the incidence increased, and disappearing at an angle
of 90°. The following were the general results with the
grooves on steel:—
irmnvp«r fn Orders and portions of orders of colours from
S” “h. 0® to 90° of incidence.
500 Citron yellow of the first order shading to white.
625 One complete order of colours, together with the
reddish yellow of the second order. The colours
very faint.
1000 Four complete orders of colours.
1000 One complete order, with blue, green, and yel¬
lowish green of the second order.
1250 One complete order, with blue and bluish green
of the second order. The colours very faint.
2000 One complete order, together with blue, green,
and greenish yellow" of the second order.
2500 One complete order, together with the full blue
of the second order.
3333 Gamboge yellow of the first order.
5000 One complete order, together with bluish white
of the second order.
10,000 One complete order with blue and fainter blue
of the second order.
In the third specimen, with 1000 grooves, mentioned in
this table, the following were the four orders of colours:—
Colours. Angles of incidence.
White 90° O'
Yellow 80 1
Reddish orange 77 <j
pink.. 76 20
Junction of Pink and blue 75 40
30
15
15
Colours. Angles of incidence.
Brilliant blue   74o30/
Whitish  
Yellow 64 45
Pink...   45
Junction of pink and blue ..58 10
Pine  
Bluish green   54
Yellowish green 53
Whitish green  
Whitish yellow 49
Yellow 47
Pinkish yellow 41
Pink red 35
Whitish pink 31
Green   24
Yellow".. 10
Reddish    Q
These colours are obviously analogous to those of the re¬
flected rings in thin plates, though with a white centre,
but they have not the same composition. By turning the
system of lines round in azimuth, the same colours are seen
at the same angles of incidence, and they suffer no change
either by varying the distance of the luminous aperture, or
the distance of the eye of the observer.
Desirous of seeing what effect would be produced, when
the original surface of the steel was almost wholly removed,
Sir John Barton executed for our author a specimen with
2000 grooves in an inch, in which this was nearly effected.
Unfortunately, however, the diamond point which he used
broke before he had executed any considerable space, and
the experiments, therefore, with so small a portion, were
less complete than could have been desired.
The specimen, however, gave four orders of colours, which
were developed at greater angles of incidence than in the
preceding table. The following were the results : 
Colours. Angles of incidence.
White 90° 0'
Straw yellow 
Faint red 
Pink 
First limit of pink and blue 80 00
Blue 
Green 
Yellow 
Red 
Pink 
Second limit of pink and blue 69 40
Blue   
Green 
Yellowish green 
Yellow 
Orange 
Scarlet  
Purple 
Third limit of pink and blue 48 0
Blue 
Brilliant green   
Yellowish green   
Yellow " 
Reddish     jq 0
The property established by the preceding experiment is
certainly one of a very remarkable kind. That a pure and
highly polished metallic surface, which reflects light per¬
fectly white, should actually decompose it when the surface
is reduced to narrow lines, is inconsistent with every doc¬
trine respecting light. Here there are no rays to interfere,
441
Periodical
Colours.
3 K
VOli. XVI.
1 Fraunhofer, Edin. Journal of Science, No. xiii. p.I09.
442
OPTICS.
Periodical no doubly refracted pencils, and in short, none of the ordi-
Colours. nary conditions on which the decomposition of light depends.
That the colour does not arise from light that has entered a
certain way into the body interfering with that which is
regularly reflected, is obvious from the fact, that in two spe¬
cimens of 2000 grooves in an inch, impressed on black wax,
the new colours were very distinct, the vertical tint being
a greenish yellow of the second order, in one specimen, and
a gamboge yellow in the other, in addition to one complete Perioc d
order of colours at greater incidences. Colot
The following experiments, intended to shew the effect*
of a variable refracting power in the reflecting surface, are
calculated to give us some insight into the nature of this
new property of light. In the following table Sir David
Brewster has described the changes produced upon the co¬
lours, by placing different fluids on the reflecting surface:—
No. of grooves
in an inch.
312|
500
625
1,000
1,250
2,000
2,500
3,333
5,000
10,000
Maximum vertical tint
without a fluid.
No colour..
Citron yellow of first order 
Reddish yellow of second order..
Yellowish green of second order.
Bluish green, faint 
Greenish yellow, second order.
Blue, second order.
Gamboge yellow, first order.
Bluish white, second order.
Fine blue, second order.
Maximum tint with
three different fluids.
Water ; tinge of yellow.
Alcohol; tinge of yellow.
Oil of cassia; faint reddish yellow.
Water ; tinge of red.
Alcohol; diluted pink.
Oil of cassia; a bluer pink.
Water ; faint pink of second order
Alcohol; ditto more pink.
Oil of cassia; bluish pink of second order.
Water ; pinkish red, second order.
Alcohol; brilliant pink, ditto.
, Oil of cassia ; greenish blue, third order.
, Water; yellow, second order.
, Alcohol; yellower.
. Oil of cassia; yellowish pink.
. Water ; brownish red, second order.
. Alcohol; pinkish red, ditto.
. Oil of cassia; greenish blue.
. Water ; dilute green.
. Alcohol; greenish white, second order.
. Oil of cassia; bright gamboge, yellow.
. Water ; pinkish red, first order.
. Alcohol; reddish pink.
. Oil of cassia; bright blue, second order.
. Water ; pale yellow.
!. Alcohol; yellow, with tinge of orange.
I. Oil of cassia; yellowish pink, second order.
. Water ; greenish white, second order.
!. Alcohol; yellowish white.
Oil of cassia ; brilliant gamboge yellow.
Similar results were obtained with grooves impressed upon
wax, so that it follows that more orders of colours, and high¬
er tints, at a given incidence, are developed by diminishing
the refractive power of the grooved surface. But one ot
the most interesting results in this table is the part in which
the colours are entirely developed by the fluids applied to
the surface; and hence if we had transparent fluids of much
higher refractive powers, the colours would be produced
when the intervals were much larger.
Similar phenomena were developed when the grooves
were impressed on the fusible metal, on tin, and on isin¬
glass. In those on isinglass, the new colours were seen also
in the transmitted central image, and were extremely bril¬
liant; but they were not decidedly complementary to those
in the reflected image. The following were the colours of
the reflected and transmitted image in isinglass, beginning
from 90° of incidence :—
Colour of the Colour of the
reflected same image, seen
central image. by transmission.
Yellow   Deep blue.
Orange Paler blue.
Pink Blue.
First limit of pink and blue Blue.
Blue Pink.
Green Orange pink.
Yellow Orange.
Orange Yellow.
Pink Yellow.
SecondYixmX. of pink and blue....Yellow.
Blue Yellow.
Our author was now desirous of observing what took
place in the prismatic images, when the colours appeared in
the principal or central image.
Let AB, fig. 107, be the reflected image of a long rect¬
angular aperture from the spaces between the grooves, and
ab, a'U, a"b", a'"b'", the pjg. 107.
prismatic images of it, vv,
v'v', &c. being the violet
sides, and rr, rV, &c. the
red sides of these spectra.
Then in the
First spectrum ab, the
violet rays are obliterated at
m at an incidence of 74°,
and the red rays at n at an
incidence of 66°, the inter¬
mediate colours, blue, green,
being obliterated at inter¬
mediate points between m
and n, and at angles of in¬
cidence intermediate be¬
tween 74° and 66°. In the
Second spectrum «7/, the
violet rays are obliterated at
m' at an incidence of 66°
20', and the red at n' at
54° 45'. In the r ¥ 0 b - >> y ; v t
Third spectrum a!’b", the violet rays are obliterated
m" at 57°, and the red at n" at 41° 35'. And 111 , t
Fourth spectrum a"'b"', the violet rays are obhtera
m"' at 48°, and the red rays at n"f at 23° 30 .
OPTICS.
iodical Another similar succession of obliterated tints takes place
lours, on all the prismatic images at a lesser incidence, as shown
at nv, n'vf, the violet being obliterated at g, and the red at
v, and the intermediate colours at intermediate points. In
this second succession the line /jlv begins and ends at the
same angle of incidence, as the line m"n" in the third pris¬
matic image a"b'; and the line /iV on the second prisma¬
tic image corresponds with m"V" on the fourth prismatic
image.
443
Fig. 109.
Fig. 110.
A.
Tl
fifteen shaded rectangles, which are the minima of the Periodical
new series of periodical colours which Colours,
cross both the ordinary and the pris¬
matic images. The centres p, r, t,
n, v, &c. of these rectangles corre¬
spond with the points marked with
the same letters in fig. 107; and if
we had drawn the same figure for vio¬
let light, the centres of the rectangles
would have corresponded with o, q, s,
&c. in fig. 107. The rectangles
should have been shaded off to re¬
present the phenomena accurately,
but the only object of the figure is
to shew to the eye the position and
relations of the minima of the pe¬
riods.
If it should be practicable to re¬
move a still greater portion of the
faces n, the first minimum p, fig. 110,
would commence at a greater angle
of incidence; and other two rows of
minima, namely, rows of five and six,
would be found extending to the fifth
and sixth prismatic images. The arrangement and succes-
sion of these is easily deducible from fig. 110, where the law
ot the phenomenon is obvious to the eye.
The following table contains the angles of incidence
reckoned from the perpendicular at which these minima
occur m the extreme rays.
This singular obliteration of the colours is shown more
clearly in fig. 108, where rmvn is a part of one of the pris¬
matic images, rr the red space, gg the green space, bb the
blue, and vv the violet space. The line of obliteration mn
begins at m, the extreme violet being obliterated there, so
that the curve of illumination fig. 109, is just affected
at one extremity m. 1 he line advances into the spectrum,
and at the point corresponding to d, fig. 109, a portion of
the blue and violet is obliterated, as shown by the notch
in the curve; at e a portion of the green and blue ; at A a
portion of the red and green, and at n the extreme red.
A similar obliteration of tints takes place on the ordinary
image AB. 1
The first obliteration, viz. that of the violet, takes place
a o, g. 107, and that of the red at p ; while the interme-
mate colours disappear at intermediate points. This first
space of obliteration has no corresponding one at the same
mcigence any of the prismatic images.
I he second obliteration of the violet in AB takes place
a q, and that of the red at r, and this corresponds in inci-
aence with the obliterations m'ri, m'n' on the second pris¬
matic image. 1
lb t!uicl obliteration of the violet takes place at s, and
a of the red at t, and this corresponds in incidence with
e our obliterations on the second and fourth prismatic
images, viz. fxv, MV,
In all these phenomena the points m, n, p, v, &c. are only
tinner* S i minimum intensity, or of maximum oblitera-
]it ’ ^ t le b,111® never entirely disappear, and those ob-
irur 'ifu at e^C1 bne inn form an oblique spectrum contain-
mg ali the prismatic colours.
nhpn«e analysis ot these curious and apparently complicated
undpr T61 1 )ecomes very simple when they are examined
r'n homogeneous illumination. The effect produced in
of th? ^ rePr,esented in hg-ilO, where AB is the image
thesLl6 ug^ ar,ape.rture refleoted from the faces n of
with th ’ aat t ^ ?ur ^nges on each side of it correspond
Consist '“ P,nsrnatlc images. All these nine images, however,
ist of homogeneous red light, which is obliterated at the
Position of the minima in red light.
Orl. Im.
First minima/>...76° 0'
Second minima t-55 45
Third minima....23 30
1st Prism
Im.
2d Prism
Im.
66° O'
41 35
3d Prism 4th Prism
Im. Im.
55°
23
45'
30
41° 35' 23° 30'
Position of the minima in violet light.
First minima 81c
Second minima...66
Third minima...48
Im. 1st Prism
Im.
2d Prism
Im.
3d Prism
Im.
4th Prism
Im.
30'
20
74°
57
66c
48
20' 57° 48°
W hen the steel with 1000 grooves is exposed to common
ight, ami the incident ray is very near the perpendicular,
the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th prismatic images are combined
into a mass of whitish light, terminated externally by a
black space. As the angle of incidence increases, the 6th,
7th, 8th, and 9th images are combined into this mass, then
the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th images, and so on; the black
space which terminates this mass receding from the axis or
image AB, fig. 107, as the obliquity of the incident ray in¬
creases.
Having covered the steel plate with water and oil of cas¬
sia in succession, I found the angular distances of the black
space to be as follows at the same incidence : 
Air 12° 23'
Water  
Oil of cassia 21 22
the sines of which are inversely as the indices of refraction
of the fluids.
Phenomena analogous to those above described take place
on the grooved surfaces of gold, silver, and calcareous spar,
In order to study this subject under a more general as¬
pect, I was desirous of examining the phenomena exhibited
by grooved surfaces of different refractive powers. It was
444
OPTICS.
Periodical obviously impossible to procure systems of lines upon trans-
Colours. parent bodies in which the grooves should have exactly the
— — '’same distance and magnitude; but I conceived it practic¬
able to impress upon different substances the very grooves
which produced the preceding phenomena, and I succeeded
in impressing the system of 1000 grooves upon tin, realgar,
and isinglass.
The following results were obtained with tin, the colours
being those upon AB, fig. 107 :—
White 9°° °'
Yellow.
Pink.
First junction of pink and blue 76 20
Greenish blue.
Yellow.
Pink.
Second junction of pink and blue ..57 40
Bluish green.
Yellow.
Orange.
Pink.
Third junction of pink and blue.
First minimum of red 76°
Second      61
The following results were obtained with realgar:—
0'
30
10
15
The
White 9°°
Yellow 8°
Pink 75
First junction of pink and blue 73
Blue 72
Bluish green 70
Yellow 63
Bright pink 54
/S'mmdjunction of pink and blue ...47
Bluish green 44
Yellow 69
Pink 32
More and more pink.
First minimum of red...72° 0'
Second      ...61 15
The following results were obtained with isinglass.
colours were generally the same as in the steel:—
The first limit of pink and blue was at.. ..75° 45'
The blue of second order 73 45
The second limit of pink and blue was at 54 30
In these experiments the tin gave nearly the same residts
as the steel; but in the realgar and the isinglass similar tints
were produced at a less angle ot incidence than in the stet .
The minima of the periods were exhibited very finely on
the isinglass, and were produced at smaller angles ot inci-
dence*
In a specimen with 1000 grooves upon isinglass, the third
pink, or that seen upon steel at 36°, was the highest; but
after drying, the pink descended to yellow, and subsequently
to green. .....
If the isinglass is removed from the steel when it is still
soft, the edges of the grooves get rounded and lose their
sharpness, and only one prismatic image is seen on each side
of the ordinary image, as in mother-oi-pearl.
The mass of white light is finely seen in the impressions
taken upon tin, but never appears upon isinglass.
The prismatic colours seen on mother-of-pearl are ex¬
actly of the same kind as the prismatic images of grooved
surfaces, with this difference, that a single prismatic image
only is seen on each side of the common colourless image. Perioi d
The following account of these colours has been given Col*,
by Sir David Brewster, who first analysed them, and dis- S-PY»
covered their communicability to wax, the tusible metals,
&c. , . ....
Mother-of-pearl, which constitutes the interior lining ofPrope- s
the shell of the pearl oyster, and of various other shells, has mot .
been long employed in the arts for the purposes of use and of ot'Pea;
ornament. Every one must have observed the play of pris¬
matic tints, from which this substance derives much of its
value as an ornament; but the nature and origin of these
tints were never made the subject of investigation, till Sir
David Brewster took up the subject, and published the re¬
sults of his observations in the Phil. Trans, for 1814.
In order to study well the properties of this substance,
we must select a regularly formed piece or plate of mother-
of-pearl, which is known by the uniformity of its colour in
day-light, and scarcely exhibits in that light any of the pris¬
matic tints. Let this plate be now ground flat dn both sides,
(but not polished), upon a hone or a piece ot slate, or upon
a bit of glass, with the powder of schistus, or with fine
emery. When this is done, hold the plate close to the eye,
and view in it by reflexion the flame of a candle, or of an
argand lamp, or the flame of two or thrise candles, so placed
as to appear like one, and we shall see a dull and reddish
image, free from all prismatic colours, its dulness arising
from the imperfect polish of the surface. On one side of,
or above or below, this image, will be seen a brighter image
with the colours of the spectrum, nearly as if it had been
formed by a prism. .
When the plate of mother-of-pearl is turned round in its
own plane, the prismatic image will follow the motion ot
the plate, and revolve round the common image, the Mm
rays being nearest the common image, and the red rays far¬
thest from it. If the plate is so placed that the prismatic
ima°-e is in the plane of reflexion, and between the common
image and the observer, it will be found that the distance
between the two images increases with the angle ot inci¬
dence, being about 2° 7' at an incidence not far from the
perpendicular, and 9° 14' at a very great obliquity. I his
distance between the images varies more rapidly when the
plate is turned round 180° in azimuth, so that the common
image is between the prismatic image and the observer;
but in this case we cannot measure the angle accurately
much beyond 60°, when it is nearly 4° 30'.
Beyond the prismatic image, and in the same line witn
it and the common image, will be observed a mass of co¬
loured light, nearly as far beyond the prismatic image as
the prismatic image is from the common image. | he dis¬
tance of this patch of coloured light varies according to a
different law from that of the prismatic image, as the rays
which form it have previously suffered retraction, ins
mass of light has a beautiful crimson colour at great ang es
of obliquity. At 37° of incidence it is green, and at les
angles it has a yellow hue, approaching to white, and becom
very luminous. These colours become more brdhant when
the plate is polished, and have an origin quite different tr
those of the prismatic image.1 ,
Hitherto we have considered the phenomena on y
the surface has that degree of polish which accornp
smooth grinding. If a greater degree of P°lish’’
is communicated to the plate, the common linage
more brilliant, and a new prismatic image starts up,
metrically opposite to the first prismatic ^ ^ is_
same distance from the common image, ihis secuimp
matic image resembles in every respect the firs • is
liancy increases with the polish, and when this po!
very high, the second prismatic image is nearly as D D
1 See Phil. Trans. 1836, p. 55.
OPTICS.
dical the first, which has its brilliancy a little impaired by po-
mrs. fishing. This second image is never accompanied, like the
v first, by a mass of coloured light. If the polish of the sur¬
face is removed by grinding, the second prismatic image
vanishes, and the first resumes its primitive brilliancy.
When the preceding experiments are repeated on the op¬
posite surface of the plate of mother-of-pearl, the same phe¬
nomena are observed, but in a reverse order, the first pris¬
matic image and the mass of coloured light being now seen
on the opposite side of the plate.
In examining the light transmitted through the mother-
of-pearl, we shall perceive analogous phenomena. A co¬
loured image will be seen on each side of the common
image, having the same angular distance from it as those
seen by reflexion, and resembling them in every particu¬
lar; the blue light being nearest the common image, and
the red fight farthest from it. These two images, however,
are generally fainter than those seen by reflexion. When
die second prismatic image is extinguished by removing the
polish, it is then the most brilliant when seen by transmis¬
sion; and, in general, the image which is brightest by re¬
flexion is faintest by transmission, and vice versa.
In measuring the angular distances of the prismatic image
from the common image seen by reflexion, Sir David Brews¬
ter had occasion to fix the mother-of-pearl to a goniometer
by means of a cement made of rosin and bees’ wax. Upon
removing it from the cement, by insinuating the edge of a
knife, and making it spring off, the plate of mother-of-pearl
left a clean impression of its owrn surface ; and he wTas sur¬
prised to observe, that the cement had actually received the
property of producing the colours which were exhibited by
the mother-of-pearl. 1 his was at first attributed by our
author,^ and others who saw the experiments, to a very thin
film of mother-of-pearl detached from the plate, and left
upon the cement; but subsequent experiments convinced
him that the mother-of-pearl communicated to the cement
its own properties.
In order to shew this remarkable property to advantage,
the plate of mother-of-pearl should be fixed to a handle like
a seal, and its surface carefully cleaned. The sealing-wax
should be black, and the impression taken by an impulse of
the plate against the black sealing-wax, when rendered as
fluid as possible by heat.
The properties of mother-of-pearl may also be communi¬
cated m this way to balsam of tolu, gum-arabic, gold leaf
placed upon wax, tinfoil, the fusible metal composed of bis¬
muth and mercury, and to lead, by hard pressure, or the
blow of a hammer. When the impression is first made upon
fusible metal, the play of colours is singularly fine ; but
the metallic surface soon loses its polish, and the colours
gradually decay.
If dissolved isinglass or gum-arabic, &c., are placed upon
e plate of mother-of-pearl, and allowed to harden upon it,
ey will exhibit in the most splendid manner the colours
o the substance ; or if we indurate these gums between two
pMes of mother-of-pearl, we shall have transparent films,
T 1°n S^es fhe Phay of the prismatic tints.
tlm*1 °/C tr ^°.S110W that in these cases no part of the mo-
nlunw /)ear *S on Surfiace> Sir David Brewster
L.fd a P1.6?6 of wax, with the impression, into nitric acid,
of wl ,• 0\l instantly have destroyed the carbonate of lime,
no Pffif the 1inothfr-of-Pearl is chiefly composed, but it had
cemPntCt °n ?6 ^lonfic P^perty. of the surface. In soft
n s m^0^^, wax and rosiri) the siightest c}egree
coW-T8 H10 suPerficial configuration, by which the
and w Pr°duced; In sealing-wax, isinglass, gum-arabic,
but in / greater heat is necessary to destroy it;
by Pin and ead’ itS destruction can only be effected
® temperature at which they cease to become solid,
the wav 11T- examine the prismatic images reflected from
Mhich has received the impression from an unpo-
445
lished piece of mother-of-pearl, we shall find that the single Periodical
prismatic image which is thus produced is on the right hand Colours,
of the common image, whereas it is on the left hand of the """
common image in the mother-of-pearl itself.
At different angles of incidence, the two coloured images
ormed by the wax, follow the same laws as those produced
by the mother-of-pearl; but the piass of green and crimson
tints never appears in the impressions taken from mother-
of-pearl, because they are produced by light which has pe¬
netrated the mother-of-pearl, and has after refraction been
reflected from one or more thin plates which lie between the
strata of which the mother-of-pearl is composed.
In communicating to isinglass or gum-arabic the super¬
ficial structure of mother-of-pearl, their transparency en¬
ables us to observe the phenomena of the transmitted colours.
The two prismatic images ^were both visible—the primary
one being remarkably brilliant, and the second one scarce¬
ly perceptible ; but when the light was transmitted through
the gum, the primary image was nearly extinct, while the
secondary one was unusually brilliant and highly coloured,
far surpassing in splendour those which are formed by trans¬
mission through the mother-of-pearl itself. When both the
surfaces of isinglass or gum-arabic have received the su¬
perficial structure of mother-of-pearl, four images are seen.
1 he transmitted colours are more brilliant in gum-arabic
than in balsam of tolu, as the latter reflects more light; but
the prismatic images have the same degree of colour or dis¬
persion when formed by isinglass or gum-arabic, as when
they are formed upon metallic surfaces.
brom tnese facts it is obvious that the principal pheno¬
mena of mother-of-pearl have their origin in a particular
configuration of its surface. By the use of the microscope
Sir David Brewster discovered in every specimen of mo¬
ther-of-pearl that gave the prismatic images, a grooved
structure upon its surface, resembling the delicate texture
of the skin at the tip of an infant’s finger, or the lines which
mark out islands and coasts upon a map.
In many specimens of mother-of-pearl, the grooves are pa¬
rallel, but they are often arranged in all possible directions
like the veins of agate, and in this case the common reflect¬
ed image is surrounded with a number of prismatic images
sometimes arranged in a circular or oval form, more or less
regular. Sometimes the spaces between the grooves, or
lather the edges of the strata of the shell, can be seen by
the naked eje, or by a magnifying power of six or eight
times, in which case the prismatic images are less highly
coloured, having whitish light in their centre, and are placed
close to the common image. At other parts of the same
plate, more than 3000 grooves may be counted in an inch,
and in some places they cannot be detected by ordinary
magnifying powers. When the spaces between the grooves
are wide, a new groove often begins, and there is often a
sudden change from a series of wide grooves to a series of
close ones. When the mother-of-pearl is scratched, the
bottom and sides of the scratches are grooved exactly like
the parts that are polished.
The direction of the grooves is always at right angles to
the hue joining the common image and the prismatic image.
Had the grooved structure appeared only upon its external
surface, the phenomena and the communicable colours
would have disappeared when the surface was ground
down ; but the surprising part of the phenomenon is, that
if we grind down the external surface with the finest pow¬
ders, and polish it to the utmost degree, we never can grind
out the grooved structure, and replace it by a flat surface.
I he edges of the shell break off by the action of the finest
powders, so that the termination of one stratum cannot
pass into the subjacent stratum without being separated
by a distinct line or edge, formed by the fracture of its thin
marginal parts. As all the strata have thus a prismatic
termination, the mass of green and crimson light is reflect-
446
OPTICS.
Periodical ed from near the edge of the surface upon which the super-
Colours. incumbent stratum lies.
, Sir John Herschel discovered in very thin plates of mo-
-ther-of-pearl a pair of nebulous prismatic images more dis¬
tant from the central image than the two prismatic ones
above described, and also a pair of fainter nebulous images,
the line joining which is perpendicular to the line joining
the first pair. He saw them by looking through thin pieces
between the 70th and 300th of an inch thick. They are
produced by a veined structure, in which there were 3700
veins in an inch. They cross the common grooves at all
angles, and are parallel to the plane passing through the
centres of the two systems of the coloured rings.
The spurious discs of stars first noticed by Sir William
Herschel, have been justly considered as arising from dit-
fraction, and have been described as supplementary facts
to those discovered by Fraunhofer, in Sir John Hersche s
Treatise on Light ; <and we believe every thing distinctly
known on the subjeqf, is due to the latter. A good tele¬
scope with a small power, shews fixed stars as a bright mass
of light with some extraneous rays. A magnifying power
of from 200 to 400, in favourable weather, exhibits the star
as a well defined disc surrounded by several alternately
dark and bright equidistant rings slightly coloured at their
margin These rings are best seen in refracting telescopes,
with which the central disc is larger than in reflectors.
In applying apertures of various figures to the mirrors
and object-glasses of telescopes, Sir John Herschel obtain¬
ed the following results:
Fffectspro- With the largest circular diaphragm, either near to, or
dueed by distant from the spectrum or object-glass, the disc and i mgs
apertures of increase inversely as the diameter of the apei tm e.
various t}ie aperture was only one inch in a telescope of seven feet
shapes. in focal length? the disc of the star was well defined anti
When three circular apertures are placed at the angles Ft
of an equilateral triangle, the effect shewn in fig. 20, is (- urg.
produced.
When three equal and similar annular apertures were ar- Re; )-22.
ranged in the same manner, the effect was as in fig. 12.
When this was thrown out of focus, it had the appearance
in fig. 21 ; when brought better into focus, it changed into
fig. 22 ; and when in focus, into fig. 12.1
Sect. IV On the Colours of concave Mirrors or thick
Plates.
surrounded with one ring only faintly tinged with white,
faint red, black, very faint blue, white, extremely feint r^,
and black, reckoning from the centre. With a ha f inch
aperture, the rings were invisible, the disc greatly enlarge ,
the light shading off to the circumference hke some comets.
This is shewn in fig. H, Plate CCCLXXXII.
22
Plate j.ms is sucwii in 115. --7  i-ii
cccLxxxn. With annular apertures the phenomena were highly beau-
Figs. If.—tiful. When the outside of the annulus was three inches
and the inside one and a quarter, Capeila appeared as m
fig. 12, and the double star Castors ^ fig. 13. When the
breadth of the annular aperture is diminished, the disc and
the breadth of the rings also diminish, while the number 0
visible rings increases. The appearance of Capella with
annular apertures of 5-5 inches exterior, 5-5 interior of 0/
exterior, of 0-2 interior, and of 2-2 exterior, of 2-0 intenor
is represented in figs. 14, 15, and 16. In the last hgu
the disc was reduced to a point, and the rings were so nu¬
merous and close that they could scarcely be counted
When the breadth of this annulus was reduced one-half,
the rings were invisible.
When two annuli, as shewm in the
annexed figure,were used, large halos
or rings were seen by Sir John Her¬
schel, as in fig. 17, plate CCCLXXXI.
With an aperture of the shape of
an equilateral triangle, or the open¬
ing between two concentric equila¬
teral triangles, the figure was that
shewn in fig. 18, in which the small
central disc was extremely bright,
and the field of the telescope black.
When the preceding figure is seen with the telescope
out of focus, it changes into fig. 19-
The colours produced by thick plates were discovered by Cokr9 0f
Sir Isaac Newton, who has given the following account ofthajibsej
them.1 “ There is no glass or speculum however well so
ever polished but besides the light which it refracts or re¬
flects regularly, scatters every way irregularly a faint light
by means of which the polished surface, when illuminated
in a dark room by a beam of the sun’s light, may be easily
seen in all positions of the eye. There are certain pheno¬
mena of this scattered light, which, when I first observed
them, seemed very strange and surprising to me. The sun
shining into my darkened chamber through a hole in the
shutter AB, one-third of an inch wide, I let the intromitted
beam of light HR fall perpendicularly upon a glass specu¬
lum M, ground concave on one side, and convex on the
other, to a sphere of five feet and eleven inches radius, and
quick-silvered over on the convex side. And holding a
white opake chart, or a quire of paper, at the centre of the
sphere to which the speculum was ground, that is, at the
distance of about five feet and eleven inches from the spe¬
culum, in such a manner that the beam of light might pass
through a little hole made in the middle of the chart to the
speculum, and thence be reflected back to the same hole.
I observed upon the chart four or five concentric irises or
rings of colours like rainbows, after the manner that those
in The fourth and following observations of the first part
of this third book encompassed the black spot, but yet lar¬
ger and fainter than those. If the distance of the chart
from the speculum was much greater or much less than
that of six feet, the rings became dilute and vanished,
Fig. 112.
f\\
IjGfijj-
Fig. 111.
Fig. 17
The colours of these rainbows succeeded one another
from the centre outerwards, in the same form and order
with those transmitted through the two object g*-215368, T
Measuring the diameters of these rings upon the ciia ’
found them also in the same proportion to one anothe
the rings between the two object glasses. For t 'e durn
ters of the four first of the bright rings measured between
the brightest parts of their orbits at ttedtstanreof
from the speculum, were 1 j^, 2f, 212, d8 . 2
squares are in arithmetical progression °f mimbe ,
3, 4. If the white circular spot in the mddle b
ed amongst the rings, and its central hgh , w ) jjt.
to be most luminous, be put equipollent to an m
tie ring; the squares of o^nngswtll be
meters^of^th^'dark^circles^between’the^e lurainousones.
1 Sir John Herschel’s Treatise on Light, § 769, &c- in which the reader will find the subject more fully
2 This account is abridged from Newton’s Optics, book ii. part iv. p- -b1*.
treated.
nodical and found their squares in the progression of the numbers
)lours i l¥, %, &c, lhe diameters of the first four at the dis-
--^'tance of six feet from the speculum, hems' 1JL 2J 92 A ,
inches. If the distance of the chart from theipeculiim
was increased or diminished, the diameters of the circles
were increased or diminished proportionally
“When the beam of the sun’s light was reflected back
from the speculum, not directly to the hole in the window
but to a place a little distant from it, the common centre
of that spot, and of all the rings of colours fell in the mid¬
dle way between the beam of the incident light, and the
beam of the reflected light, and by consequence in the cen!
treofthe spherical concavity of the speculum, whenever
the chart on which the rings of colours fell was placed at
that centre. And as the beam of reflected light, by in¬
clining the speculum, receded more and more from the
beam of incident light, and from the common centre of
die coloured rings between them these rings grew bigger
and bigger and so also did the white round spot, and new
rings of colours emerged successively out of their common
centre, and the white spot became a white ring encompai-
mg them; and the incident and reflected beams of lio-ht
always fell upon the opposite parts of this white rino- iflu_
minating its perimeter like two mock suns in the oppose
parts of an iris. * * * vusue
“ ^colours of the new rings were in a contrary order to
those of the former, and arose after this manner. The white
round spot of light in the middle of the rings continued
fl en;rc’, ,the distance of incident and
fleeted beams at the chart was about J parts of an inch
and then it began to grow dark in the middle. And when
tat distance was about I f of an inch, the white snot
d,?S™g,enC?mpaS.si,ng!ldark seco"<l spot which
the middle inclined to violet and indigo. * *
“When the distance between the incident and reflected
beams of light became a little bigger, there emer-ed om
of the middle of the dark spot after the indigo a blue and
tan™, of that blue apale green, and soon W
visible i S and ,0ne or twoon each si(fe of it, continued
ta^be-am^ni^pTS^^^tf-r666^
r X;f‘are^l^
Z r htbe
than convef "nw" 6 I>lateS are more or le8s concave
all tbeon ’ or Piano‘convex, or double convex. For in
P'aK8 “aka of colours, but^ after
those ofthfn (le ^'lau|nesl observed colours analogous to
ver w tt th ffil’ Whr ^esu/faceof a mirror gwas co-
^eenofgLt of",!”111! aftf ^ was ^ or with a
i front of the mirror Sir W P aTjtl ati a, SmaI1 distance in
count of an interesting^ ^m.’ H^chefr has given an ac-
hair-powder in tbo a- ^Pcri™ent m which, by dispersing
a J l™ the air bef°re a metallic snernh,™
OPTICS.
447
WM hefmsBZnf,r, haS remarked’4 that the method Periodical
colours is to nlare tl le m0S-t simPJe fr)r exhibiting these Colours
colours, is to place the eye immediately behind a small^—
can eeii0LathTUte fed »itI‘ °' wax, so ftat we^^
cohuws of ,b' £ ^ fve" at a PerPenthcuIar incidence. The
colours or thick plates may be seen pvph writn
candle held before the e/at the 2Zce of en „“wTve
feet from a common pane of crown in Q i
that has accumulated aPli„,e fine dus?ufon its surS „T
that has on its surface a deposition of fine moisture Un
der these circumstances they are so very bright that thev
may be seen even when the pane of glass is clean Y
Sect. V.—On the Colours produced by Double Plates of
Lrlass of equal thickness.
In 1815, Sir David Brewster published in the Edinburgh Colours of
Transactions5 “ An account of a new species of colourfd double
fringes produced by the reflection of light between two PIatesof
plates of parallel glass of equal thickness.” equal thick-
J " I™ foments he cut the plates of glass AB, CD, ness‘
litem a bitUof°i„ftehSam>e PleCet.’ and havi"f; Plac«l between
nem a bit of soft bees wax, he pressed them together till
icy were at the distance of nearly the tenth of an inch and
slightly inclined to each other ’ and
as in the figure, till one or Fim 1 ] a
more of the reflected images
of a circular luminous disc
seen in the direction VR by
an eye at V, were reflected
from the bright and direct
image formed by transmitted
light. When this was done
thereflected image was cros¬
sed with about fifteen or
sixteen beautiful parallel
fringes. The three central
fringes consist of blackish
and whitish stripes, and the
’air-powder in fhplv n 7 ent !nwluch’ bY dispersing
1 beam of light is W ? ^ a metalllc speculum on which
beam on a screen finpr-6”’ and rece*vmg the reflected
analogous phenomf na , gl°f COl°l,r are Pr°duced ; or an
der on the face of a p Ina^ ^ Se,e-n scattering hair-pow-
Iace ot a common looking-glass. 3
5 our Article CHaoMATms^oL Tp. 639. ^ ^ ii
g. JSS are turned round in a plane at right angles to the in
Z^nZme m^Paralklto the
, ■ •l / . reflecting surfaces, which exercise an
action upon the incident light. exercise an
mc&ofThe0 " bef°T’- ’et "le
distance of the bright and the reflected iLa-e be* Wdt?
°ne °f tl,e plates> ^ flouredfrtfl
will be found to increase in breadth as the inclination of
of the plates is^Z'reased^ ^ diminish as the inclination
q nties, so that the plane ot incidence is at riaht anales to
the commo7i sect?nr? nf ,',ync U'/tgies to
across anv of Hip im ' 6 plates, no fringes are visible
mrallenn tl ^ But if the Planc of incidence is
fma“efi„crSU T**” °f the the reflected
feme and Z S brf ? eSS*ith tl,e obliquity of inci-
aence, and the coloured fringes become more vivid. When
4 Treatise on Optics, Lardner’s Cyclop. S 77
Vol. vu. p. 435. s
448
Periodical the angle of incidence increases from 0« to 90° the images
Colours, that have suffered the greatest number of reflections .ire
— ' crossed by other fringes, inclined to them at a small angle.
At an angle of about 44°, the image formed by four re¬
flexions is covered with interfering fringes; but it is not
till the angle of incidence is greater, that this is distinctly
seen on the image formed by two reflexions.
Hitherto he had observed no fringes upon the first or
bright image, which is composed of light that has not suf¬
fered reflexion from the second plate of glass, by con¬
cealing, however, the bright light of the first image, so as
to perceive the image formed by a second reflexion, within
the first plate, and by viewing this image through a small
aperture, which he found of great service in giving dis¬
tinctness to all the phenomena, he observed fringes across
the first image, far surpassing in precision of outline, am
in richness of colouring, every analogous phenomenon
which he had seen. When these fringes were concealed,
he also observed other fringes on the image immediately
behind them, and formed by z third reflexion, from the in¬
terior of the first plate. He concealed the second image,
upon which the fringes were extremely bright, and very
faint stripes were seen upon the one immediately behmc it.
In examining these phenomena a little more attentively,
he observed that the size of the fringes in the first image
varied with the distance of the eye from the plates, while
those on the second and fourth image diminished with that
distance.
In pursuing this inquiry, our author found that ^ pro¬
duction of the fringes depends upon the action of all the
four surfaces of the two plates of parallel glass ; and that
the magnitudes of the fringes are inversely as the thickness
of the plates that produce them at a given inclination.
When the eye is placed between the plates and the lu¬
minous object, so as to see the first, third, fifth, seventh,
&c. reflected images, the coloured fringes are also seen,
and have the same character as those already described.
All these phenomena are seen without any variation w hen
polarised light is used in place of common light.
In order to explain the changes which the bght under¬
goes in its passage through the plates of glass, let A13, LD,
fig. 113, be a section of two plates at right angles to the
common section of their surfaces, and let RS be a ray o
light incident nearly in a vertical direction. This ray, af¬
ter passing through the first plate AB, will suffer a small
refraction at P and Q, and emerge in the direction QV
parallel to RS. At the point P, in the second plate CD,
the ray TP will be reflected to a, again reflected to b, and,
after suffering a refraction at b and c, will emerge in the
direction cd, forming with RV an angle equal to twice the
inclination of the plates. A portion of the reflected ray
Pa, will enter the first plate at a, and having suffered re¬
flexion and refraction at /3, the reflected portion will
reach the eye at 6. The ray P a 6 c will likewise suffer a
reflection at c and e, and will reach the eye at g. In like
manner, a part of the ray.PQ will be reflected at Q,
and move in the direction Q,rstuv, and another part of it
in the direction swxyz, and these rays will suffer several
other reflexions ; but the images which they form will be
so faint, that the eye will not be capable of perceiving
them. When the observer, therefore, looks at a luminous
body, in the direction SR, through the glass plates, he will
perceive two images, one of which is a bright image, seen
by the transmitted light QV, and the other is a faint image,
seen principally by the reflected light V ab c d and com¬
posed of several images, formed by the pencils e d, u v, e 0,
z fy, and e g. The bright image is not crossed by coloured
OPTICS.
fringes, but the fringes appear distinctly upon the other Peridw
image ; and the light by which these fringes are formed fok;.
has suffered two reflexions from the exterior surfaces, and
two refractions at the interior surfaces of the plates.
Dr. Thomas Young, in the article Chromatics m this
work,1 has given an explanation of these phenomena upon
the principles of interference, and Sir John Herschel has
shewn by an interesting analysis of them, that they are
well fitted for illustrating the laws of this class of pheno¬
mena, and may be readily explained by interference.
When two or three plates are combined, as m the form of Fnn -
concave and convex lenses, and are combined as in the double ackm
and triple achromatic object-glass, a series of beautiful sys-0Je^
terns of rings are developed. The method of observing these 1=
rings, and by which Sir David Brewster discovered them, is
shewn m fig. 114, where ABCD is the section oftheobject-
ic
Fig. 114.
glass, including a meniscus of air. A small flame S, is placed
about four or five inches from the object-glass, and a small
screen G, is interposed between the flame and the eye atb,
which is kept as close to S as possible. Ihe distance of the
object-glass is then varied, till the inverted greenish coloured
flame reflected interiorly from the concave surface A 1 13,
seems to cover the whole area of the object-glass. When
this takes place, the rings may, by a slight change in the
position of the object-glass, or by screening the image
formed by the reflection from A and B, be seen in the dis-
tinctest manner over the expanded but enfeebled image
formed by a second reflexion from the same surface.
When the flame is small, and the eye sees it projected
against the centre of the object-glass, the nogs form acwi'p,.
centric system, as shetyn in fig. 23, Plate CCCLXXS ,
centric system, as snewn m ng- —> - —%  , .^ccctpi
approaching closer and closer to each other, towards the Fig j,
t1 ^ ° l  iTioop rinfrs miYlYfini. W,
approacmiig liu&ci cwn-i ^ -
circumference of the lens. Two of these rings mrnmm, n, ,)
n, n, n, were distinguished from the rest by their darkness,
and by the whiteness of the light between them; and they
are the bounding lines of four systems of fringes, into which
the general system subdivides itself by oblique reflection,
in order to see this change, incline the object-g^ss sotha
the point A is farther from the eye than B, and so that the
eye may receive the obliquely reflected rays from eve y
point of the surface A and B. At a slight deviation from
the perpendicular, the rings become smaller and closer o
the side A, and larger and more “ B
_ 1C OCIJCAAMiVV/*-* ~
At greater incidences the inner ring aa, fig. 23, conj'r^, pjg 4.
■ b • ’    fig. 24. The second ana
into an irregular crescent aa,   -
third rings bbcc, fig. 23, do the same, as shewn atbbcc,
24; and at a greater incidence the dark ring nn, fig- >
sumes a similar form nnnn, fig. 24, and forms the bounfaj
of the remote central system, ncbaabcn. in like u
the lower part of the ring nn, fig. 23, has enclosed a
but similar system of rings, which are shewn at w
and may be called the near central system, while t ^
changes are going on, the rings without nn, tig. z ^
undergoing analogous, though opposite, inflexion -
outermost,& ddd, fi|. 23, divides itself into two unequal^
tions, which run out into the circumference at the p
1 Vol- vi. p. 6138, sect. vi.
* Treatise on Light, § 688—696. See also Biot’s Traiti de Physique, tom. iv. p- 246-
OPTICS.
eriodical ddcttf, fig- 24. Then the next ring, viz. the dark one, m,
lolours. m, m, forming the boundary of the remote external sys-
sry^tem, m, m, m, A, and of the near central system m', m', m',
B. The four groups of rings thus developed, assume at
ate greater incidences the character shewn in fig. 25, but they
are not seen all at once ; and in tracing their form it is ne-
’’ J cessary to cause the image on which they are produced to
’ ’ be reflected successively from different parts of the lens.
The rings are so closely packed together, at a distance from
the white centres x’x, to which they are all related, that it
is extremely difficult to perceive them in the present ob¬
ject-glass. At a still greater angle of incidence, the rays
close in upon the centres x'x, and become exceedingly close
and nearer as the points x'x approach to the circumference
of the lens, and the rays become brighter from the increase
of the light at greater obliquities.
In some double object-glasses the rays can only be seen
by looking through the convex crown glass lens. In one
object-glass the four bounding fringes at xx, fig. 25, united
.g. ‘26. and formed a black cross, as shewn in fig. 26. From a
series of experiments Sir David Brewster has found that
in the object-glass shewn in fig. 113, the action of the two
surfaces 1, 2 of the convex lens AB, and the inner sur¬
face 3 of the concave one CD, are necessary to the pro¬
duction of these fringes, and hence he concludes that the
■ rings arise from the interference of two pencils of light, one
of which has suffered three reflections within the convex
lens AB, and has passed four times through its thickness,
with another pencil which has suffered two reflexions with¬
in the convex lens, and one reflexion from the inner sur¬
face of the concave lens, and has passed four times through
the thickness of the convex lens, and twice through the
thickness of the meniscus of air.
In a triple object-glass, which gave a system of rings simi¬
lar to that in fig. 26, they were covered with another system
of very minute fringes, parallel to one another, and to the line
joining the centres x and x.1
Sect. VI—On the Colours of Double Plates of Glass of
Unequal 1 hickness, and other Analogous Phenomena,
449
| ours of
1 Me
fes of
qual
bess.
Knox.
27.
Mr. W. Nicholson observed the colours of thick plates
in the glasses employed for the sights of sextants, and he
considered them analogous to those of thin plates. They
have been ascribed, however, by Dr. Young,2 “ to the rays
twice reflected in the second plate only.”
Mr. Knox of Belfast3 has described some interesting phe¬
nomena already briefly noticed by Dr. Young, in the article
Chromatics. Having formed a system of the rings of
thin plates, by placing a convex lens on a piece of silvered
glass, he observed the common system of reflected rings,
and also the transmitted system reflected to his eye by the
silvered glass. This is shewn in fig.27, Plate CCCLXXXIII.
w iere A and B are the two systems; but he was surprised
to observe between them a system of parallel fringes CD
FI, passing through the intersection of the two circular
systems. I hese fringes were equal in number to the number
or the rings in A and B. They were equidistant, reached the
eoge of the lens on both sides, and were formed at right
angles to the direction of the light, and to a line forming
the centres of the systems A and B.
Our author then tried the effect of combining two prim¬
ly systems of reflected rings in the same manner. With this
view he placed a double-convex lens about thirty-six inches
m ocal length, on a piece of plate glass, with its under side
painted black, and upon the lens he placed a piece of plate
g ass. By these means two sets of primary rings were pro¬
duced, whose relative positions could be altered at pleasure. Periodical
By using the shadow of a black card, he found that, instead Colours,
of parallel fringes, as in fig. 27, he had a new species of
rings of a circular form, from two to three times the diame¬
ter of the primary rings from which they originated. These
rings passed, as before, through the intersections of the
primary ones ; and the ring which divided the two classes
passed through a point, whose distance from the centre of
each primary set were in proportion to their longest diame¬
ters.
These rings, which Mr. Knox calls intersectionary ones,
may be made to vary infinitely in their dimensions, accord¬
ing as the diameters of the primary sets differ more or less,
being least where that difference is greatest, and increasing
in size as the two primary sets approach to equality, until
at last they become straight lines, when the two primary
sets are equal. The dimensions of the intersectionary rings
will also, as Mr. Knox remarks, ceteris paribus, diminish as
the two primary sets approach, and increase as they recede
from one another.
As these intersectionary rings are almost always accom¬
panied by a second, and sometimes by a third set of equal
or unequal dimensions, Mr. Knox supposes that they may
be produced by primary sets, combined with either trans¬
mitted or reflected sets, provided the two between which
they are formed are of unequal dimensions.
Considering the intersectionary fringes as diagonals to
the angles at which they were formed, Mr. Knox conjec¬
tured that if he could form rectilineal fringes by flat plates,
and combine them at different angles, he would produce a
third or diagonal set placed between the other two. He
accordingly took a pair of slips of glass, and by applying
two of their ends together, and using some friction, and a
considerable degree of pressure, he formed a fine set of
rectilineal fringes. By applying a third slip of glass longi¬
tudinally to the upper one of the first two, he formed a si¬
milar set of rectilineal fringes at right angles to the first;
and he immediately observed the diagonal fringes, which
he had anticipated, appear in the angle between the two
primary sets, as shewn in fig. 28, wdiere B and C are the piate
primary fringes, and D the intersectionary set, divided into ccclxxxhi.
two classes, as shewn by the dotted line. By forming the Fig. 28.
second set of fringes at different angles with the first, the
central band of the intersectionary fringes always bisected
the angle. It is a curious circumstance, that though the
diagonal fringes are formed by the crossing of the tw o pri¬
mary sets, yet they never appear at the opposite angle A,
nor could they be made to appear in any angle formed by
primary fringes, unless these fringes were so disposed as to
have their red sides turned towards each other.
Dr. Young has given an explanation of these curious p)r> Youn"
phenomena in the article Chromatics,4 to which wx> must °
refer the reader.
Mr. Henry Fox Talbot upon superposing two films of Mr. Fox
blown glass and viewing through them a homogeneous yel- Talbot,
low flame, and even the light of the sky, observed bright
and dark stripes, or coloured bands and fringes, which were
not produced by either of them separately. These pheno¬
mena, as Sir John Herschel remarks, are obviously refer¬
able to the same principle as the fringes discovered by Sir
David Brewster, “ the interference taking place here be¬
tween rays respectively twice reflected within the upper
lamina, and once reflected at the upper surface of the
lower lamina, or else between rays, one of which is thrice
reflected in the mode represented by AaB'a'BkzA, and the
other in that represented by AaB'aA'a'A, the interval be¬
tween the glasses being supposed to be exactly equal to the
Edinburgh Transactions, vol. xii. p. 191.
VOX. xvi.
2 Art. Chromatics, vol. vi. p. 636. 3Phil Trans. 1815, p. 161.
4 Yol, vi. p. 636.
Si.
450
OPTICS.
Periodical thickness of the upper one in both cases, a condition which
Colours. is sure t0 obtain somewhere when the laminae are curved.”1
Sect. VII.—On the Colours of Fibres formed by Reflexion
and Transmission.
Colours of
fibres.
Every person must have observed the fine thread or line
of the spider’s web glittering with the brightest colours,
when the light of the sun is reflected from it to the eye. By
examining these colours attentively, they are found to vary
with the angle of incidence. The only attempt that we
know of to explain this phenomenon, that deserves no¬
tice, is that of Sir John Herschel:—“ These colours,” says
he, “ may arise either from a similar cause, (namely, that
which produces colour in a single scratch or fissure, or the
interference of light reflected from its opposite edges,) or
number of perforations in the circle being about ten or Period
twelve, and as minute as possible. When the instrument Colon
is constructed on such a small scale, the eye requires the's"^V
aid of a lens. The wool, or plate of particles, are then at¬
tached to the end of a slider, and when the light of an ar-
gand lamp, or two or three candles placed in a line, so as to
unite their flames, is transmitted through the wool or par¬
ticles, the slider is drawn out till the first dark red coloured
circle coincides with the circle of particles, and the index
then shews on the scale upon the slider the number which
indicates the size of the fibres or particles. The basis of
this scale, rather an imperfect one, Dr. Young took from
Dr. Wollaston’s measure of the magnitude of the seeds of
the puff ball or Lycoperdon bovista, which he found to be
the 8500ths of an inch in diameter. Dr. Young found the
from the thread itself as spun by the animal, consisting of rings formed by these minute seeds to be three-and-a-half
several agglutinated together, and thus presenting not a on the scale of his instrument, and hence he assumes the
cylindrical but a furrowed surface.” That the structure thirty thousandth part of an inch, (more accurately the
thus assumed would produce colours cannot be doubted, but 29750th), as the value of an unit on his scale. The follow-
they would be the colours of grooved surfaces such as we ing results were obtained by Dr. Young
have already described, which we conceive to be exceed-
• 1 J * /TV.  XT. T1 a c*ir\ i r \ o 11 w rv
ingly diflerent from those of the spider’s line.
It appears from a preceding section, that when a reflect¬
ing surface has its breadth reduced to an extreme degree
of narrowness, whether it be a metallic or a transparent one,
it is no longer capable of reflecting white light, but decom¬
poses it in the manner already described, the coloured bands
being transverse to the direction of the reflecting line. Sir
David Brewster has therefore applied this new property of
icflecting surfaces to account for the colour of the spider’s
line, which presents analogous phenomena, and which from
its extreme minuteness, must necessarily decompose white
light. If this is not the true cause of the phenomenon, it will
not be easy to obtain any rational explanation from the doc¬
trine of interference, without taking for granted the existence
of a structure of a very peculiar kind.
On the Colours of Fibres by transmitted Light.
If we take a number of fibres of wool, and fix them in
parallel directions, as in Fraunhofer’s gratings, they would
of course produce parallel spectra or coloured bands simi¬
lar to those already described. If we take a mass of the
same wool, in which the fibres have every possible direc¬
tion, they will then exhibit spectra or fringes lying in every
possible direction, or circular ones. As both these results
would be equally obtained, if the fibres were cut down into
particles as long as they are broad, we should have parallel
fringes when the particles are arranged in straight lines, and
circular ones when the particles are scattered like dust up¬
on a plate of glass in all directions. Hence fibres of mi¬
nute particles will produce circular fringes, which increase
in diameter as the particles are smaller in diameter.
When we therefore look at a candle placed at a little dis-
- tance, through wool, or cotton, or vapour lying upon glass, or
diluted blood, or milk, or the seed and farina of plants, &c.
&c., we observe round the image of the candle a light area
terminating in a dark reddish margin. This is followed by
a ring of bluish green light, and then a red ring, and when
the fibres or particles have an uniform size, the green and
red rings are frequently repeated. It is to Dr. Young that
we owe the discovery that the diameter of these rings is al¬
ways the same when the size of the particles or fibres is
uniform and equal, and that they vary inversely as the size
Dr. Young’s of the fibres or particles. On this principle he constructed
eriometer. his eriometer for measuring the diameter of minute particles
and fibres, such as wool, &c. It is composed of a plate of brass,
or copper, or even card, with an aperture in the centre about
the fortieth of an inch in diameter, and surrounded by a
circle of perforations about half an inch in diameter, the
6^
Table of the diameter of Fibres and minute particles.
Milk diluted, very indistinct, about  3
Lycoperdon bovista, dust of, very distinct  3|
Blood of a bullock, from beef.  4|
Human blood, diluted with water  5
Smut of barley (male ear)
Blood of a mare 
Human blood diluted with water after standing
five days  6^
Blood recently diluted with serum, only  8
Pus  7|
Silk, very irregular  12
Wool of the beaver, jointed, very uniform  13
Angola wool, about  14
Yigonia wool  15
Siberian hare’s wool, Scotch hare’s wool, foreign
coney wool, yellow rabbit’s wool, about  15^
Mole’s fur    16
Skate’s blood  16
British coney w ool, American rabbit’s wool, about
Saxon wool, a few fine fibres  17
Buffalo’s wool  I®
Wool of the mountain sheep, ovis montana  18
Seal wool, finest, mixed, about  l8i
Shawl wool IS or 19
Goat’s wool  19
Cotton, very unequal -  19
Peruvian wool, mixed, the finest locks  20
Welch wool, a small lock of.  20
Saxon wool ,...23 or 24
Wool of an Escurial ram   23 to 24
Southdown wool 
Lioneza wool, 24 to 29 generally 25
Paular wool, 24 to 29 generally 25£
Alpacca wool, about..
Laurestinus, farina of
Ryeland merino wool
Merino Southdown wool
16£
26
26
27
28
Lycopodium seed, beautifully distinct  32
Southdown ewe wool    9
Coarse wool, Sussex 
Coarse wool, from same, worsted  6
The diameter of the fibres or particles in the preceding
table may be obtained in parts of an inch, by dividing tne
  —- of an inch by the numbers opposite them. The
diameter of the particles of the human blood will
1 Treatise on Light, § 693. See also Biot, Traite de Physique, tom. iv. p. 246.
OPTICS.
451
iodical.—1—. divided by 5, or the 6000th part of an inch. Dr.
Jours. 305OOO _ 1
' Young has ingeniously observed, that if we square the num¬
ber belonging to the pound of wool, and substract 325, the
remainder will be nearly the number of pounds of wool that
are worth 100 guineas. In the case of good Lioneza wmol
for example, whose number is 25, we shall have 25 x 25
—325 =300 for 100 guineas, or seven shillings per pound.1
In experiments of this kind it would be better to express
the magnitude of the first ring in parts of the radius, or
by the angle which the whole ring subtends at the eye.
Those wrho have any of Mr. Barton’s scales, with the num¬
ber of lines in an inch marked, can easily compare the dia¬
meter of the first ring produced either by fibres or particles,
with the distance of the red spaces in the two first prismatic
images ; and by the rule of proportion he will find the mag¬
nitude of the fibres or particles.
Sect. VIII.—On the colours of mixed plates.
onrs of The phenomena of colour observed by M. Mazeas, when
he pressed between two glasses, suet, Spanish wrax, resin,
* common wax, and the sediment of urine, are clearly those of
as- mixed plates, though they have not hitherto been recognised
as such. He put between his glass plates a little ball of
suet about one-fourth of a line in diameter, and pressed it
between the two surfaces, warming them at the same time
in order to disperse the suet. He then rubbed them vio¬
lently together in a circular manner, and was surprised at
looking at a candle through them to see it surrounded with
two or three concentric rings, very broad, and with very
lively and delicate colours, namely, a red inclining to yel¬
low, and a green like that of an emerald. By continuing
the friction, the rings assumed the colours of blue, yellow,
and violet, especially when he looked through the glasses
on bodies directly opposed to the sun.
M. Mazeas2 shews very clearly that these were not the
colours of thin plates on account of the distance between
the glasses, and also because the colours disappeared by
melting the suet, but a new species of colours which he tried
in vain to explain.
Jr- M. Dutour3 repeated and varied the experiments of Ma¬
zeas, but did not succeed in explaining them.
oung- Dr. Thomas Young, apparently without knowing of the
experiments of Mazeas, though they are fully detailed by
Priestley, has described the very same colours under the
name of the colours of mixed plates, and the merit of dis¬
covery of these colours has been ascribed to him by almost
all modem writers. The method of producing the colours
by suet, as given above by Mazeas, is exceedingly sim¬
ple, while many persons have failed in repeating the expe¬
riments described by Dr. Young. It is to Dr. Young, how-
ever, that w^e owe the higher obligation of having discover¬
ed the general principle to which these colours must be
referred, though he has not examined the phenomena with
that attention which they merited. The following is the
account which Dr. Young has given of the colours of mixed
plates.
“I first noticed the colours of mixed plates, in looking at
a candle through two pieces of plate glass, with a little
moisture between them. I observed an appearance of fringes
esembhng the common colours of thin plates ; and, upon
o ung or the fringes by reflection, I found that these new
mges were always in the same direction as the other
mges, but many times larger. By examining the glasses
a .^agnifier, I perceived that wherever these fringes
• re ^jl1 ., ^e moisture was intermixed with portions of
’ Proc‘ucing an appearance similar to dew. I then sup-
P e that the origin of the colours was the same as that
of the colours of halos ; but, on a more minute examination, Periodical
I found that the magnitude of the portions of air and water Colours,
was byno means uniform, and that the explanation was there- ~
fore inadmissible. It was, however, easy to find two por¬
tions of light sufficient for the production of these fringes ;
for the light transmitted through the water, moving in it
with a velocity different from that of the light passing
through the interstices filled only with air, the two portions
would interfere w ith each other, and produce effects of co¬
lour according to the general law. The ratio of the velo¬
cities, in water and in air, is that of 3 to 4; the fringes
ought therefore to appear where the thickness is 6 times°as
great as that which corresponds to the same colour in the
common case of thin plates ; and, upon making the experi¬
ment with a plain glass and a lens slightly convex, I found
the sixth dark circle actually of the same diameter as the
first in the new fringes. The colours are also very easily
produced, when butter or tallow is substituted for water ;
and the rings then become smaller, on account of the greater
refractive density of the oils; but, when water is added, so
as to fill up the interstices of the oil, the rings are very
much enlarged ; for here the difference only of the veloci¬
ties in water and in oil is to be considered, and this is much
smaller than the difference between air and water. It ap¬
pears to be necessary for the production of these colours,
that the glasses he held nearly in a right line between the
eye and the common termination of a dark and luminous
object; the portion of the rings, seen on the dark ground,
is then more distinct than the remaining portion ; and, in¬
stead of being continuations of the rings, they exhibit every
where opposite colours, so as to resemble "the colours of
common thin plates seen by re¬
flection, and not by transmis¬
sion. In order to understand this
circumstance, we must consider
that where a dark object as A is
placed behind the glasses, the
whole of the light which comes
to the eye, is either refracted
through the edges of the drops,
(as the rays B, C,) or reflected
from the internal surface (as D,
E,) while the light which passes
through those parts of the glasses
which are on the side opposite
to the dark object, consists of
rays refracted as before through
the edges, (as F, G,) or simply
passing through the fluid, (as
H, I.) The respective combi¬
nations of these portions of light
exhibit a series of colours of dif¬
ferent orders, since the internal
reflection modifies the interference of the rays on the dark
side oi the object, in the same manner as in the common
colours of thin plates seen by reflection. When no dark
object is near, both these series of colours are produced at
once ; and since they are always of an opposite nature at
anY gb^n thickness of a plate, they neutralize each other,
and constitute white light.
In applying the general law of interference to these co¬
lours, as well as to those of thin plates already known, it is
impossible to avoid a supposition which is a part of the un-
dulatory theory, that is, that the velocity of light is the
greater, the rarer the medium ; and there is also a condi¬
tion annexed to this explanation of the colours of mixed
plates, as well as to that of the colours of simple thin plates,
which involves another part of the same theory ; that is,
2 Jf0. ^r* \ou,18 s Introduction to Medical Literature, p. 552.
tteS 1 resentces>tora- 11 ■ P- 43. s Id. Id. tom. iv. p. 288, 289; or Priestley On Vision, vol. ii. p. 505.
452
OPTICS.
Periodical that where one of the portions of light has been reflected
Colo u s. at t]ie surface of a rarer medium, it must be supposed to be
1 retarded one half of the appropriate interval ; for instance,
in the central black spot of a soap bubble, where the actual
lengths of the paths very nearly coincide, but the effect is
tlm 'same as if one of the portions had been so retarded as
to destroy the other. From considering the nature of this
circumstance, I ventured to predict, that it the two reflec¬
tions were of the same kind, made at the surfaces ot a thin
plate of a density intermediate between the densities ot the
mediums containing it, the effect would be reversed, and
the central spot, instead of black would become white ; and
I have now the pleasure of stating, that I have fully veri¬
fied this conclusion by interposing a drop ot oil of sassafras
between a prism of flint-glass and a lens of crown-glass ; the
central spot seen by reflected light was white, and surroun
ed by a dark ring. It was however necessary to use some
force in order to produce a contact sufficiently intimate;
and the white spot differed, even at last, in the same degree
from perfect whiteness, as the black spot usually does from
perfect blackness. There are also some irregularities at¬
tending the phenomena exhibited in this manner by differ¬
ent refracting substances, especially when the reflexion is
total, which deserves farther investigation.
Recent ex- We are not aware that these interesting experiments of
periments. Mazeas and Dr. Young, have been repeater by any mocern
writer, our treatises on optics containing merely an abstract
of Dr. Young’s results. The subject has, however, been
recently taken up by Sir David Brewster, who had found
that the colours of mixed plates, in place of being mere y
the result of an experiment, was & natural phenomenon oi z.
very interesting kind, which frequently presented itseli m
the examination of minerals. He was therefore led to at¬
tach a greater interest to the phenomena which they pre¬
sent. As the paper1 which contains the results of his in¬
quiries has not been published, we can only give a brie
notice of them.
In order to produce these colours so as to be permanent,
he found that the froth of albumen, (the white of an egg
beat up into froth) ground circularly as it were between
two thick plates of glass pressed firmly together, when the
circular motion is stopped, exhibits the colours very splen¬
didly. The glasses may then be held together by wax or
bv screws. If we desire to have a circular system of rings,
we must use a convex lens in place of one of the plates.
Whipped cream answers also very well; but paste that has
become very smooth by age he found preferable to any other
substance which he employed. When the experiment is
successfully made, the colours are extremely splendid, the
flame of a candle or other luminous body being of a bright
colour complementary to that of the coloured light which
surrounds it.
Upon looking with a microscope at the albumen or paste
thus pressed into a film, it is found to resemble accurately
the strata of cavities containing the new fluids, and some¬
times water, as in sulphate of lime, &c., the paste being
sometimes found in separate ramified patches of all shapes
surrounded with air, while on some occasions numerous air
cavities are included in the paste.
Although Dr. Young was correct m ascribing the colours
of mixed plates to the interference of rays moving with differ¬
ent velocities in passing through the two contiguous media,
yet his analysis of the phenomena is imperfect, and his deter¬
mination of the interfering pencils incorrect. In his 39th
lecture he ascribes “ the colours seen in the dark part be¬
yond the object, to the light scattered irregularly from the
surfaces of the fluid,”2 and in his description of fig. 115,
above quoted, he specifies as the interfering portions
which produce the colours, viz. rays reflected from the in
ternal surface of the cavities, with rays refracted through Period
the edges of the drops; and rays refracted through the Col«;.
edge with rays simply passing through the fluid. That the *
colours of mixed plates are not produced either by refract¬
ed or reflected pencils, is at once proved by the fact, that
the same colours may be produced when the most refract¬
ing medium is terminated by a fine edge, and is itself a
plate with perfectly parallel surfaces, so that there is no
edge to reflect light, and no inclined faces to refract it.
Having obtained this result, Sir David Brewster viewed the
subject in another aspect, and has shewn that the pheno¬
menon is entirely one of inflexion caused by the edge of
a transparent inflecting body sufficiently thin to produce
colours by the interference of the retarded light passing
through the body close to its edge, with the light passing
within the body close to its edge. The same, pencils
which interfere in the common case of a diffiacting body
interfere in the present case ; but the pencils that pass
through the transparent plate are modified by the retarda¬
tion which they experience, so as to produce the phenome¬
na of colours. The oppositely coloured pencils in mixed
plates form part of the system of diffracted fringes, the co¬
lour seen upon the luminous body occupying the shadow
of the diffracting edge, and the opposite colour seen around
or beside the candle occupying the first fringe on each side
of the shadow. The colours in the fringe on the left hand
of the shadow of the diffracting edge, are seen by the eye
on the right hand side of the candle, and those in the fringe
on the right hand of the shadow are seen by the eye on the
left hand side of the candle.
All the preceding phenomena may be produced by break¬
ing down a thin transparent plate into minute portions,
and when these portions are made to float in a fluid, or
are placed between two plates of glass containing a fluid ot
nearly the same refractive power as the solid portions.
The solid portions will thus act like much, thinner plates
placed in air, and we shall observe the identical phenome¬
na which take place with the cavities in paste or albumen.
When we examine with the microscope a very narrow por¬
tion of the solid substance bounded by lines nearly paral¬
lel, we perceive the phenomena of mixed plates under a
new aspect. The space between the shadow of the two
edges is filled up with a bright band of the colour which
occupies the two first external fringes, and as the innermost
fringe of each edge overlap each other, the colour has dou¬
ble the intensity. The same phenomenon is often seen in
the parallel ramifications, or in the long cavities produced
by the paste or albumen when the last act of friction wa
to move one of the plates of glass in a straight line.
The phenomena of mixed plates have been discovered by
Sir David Brewster in sulphate of lime, in which there are
shallow crystallised cavities in great numbers forming re¬
gular strata in the mineral. These cavities are fi e
water, and in this case the diffracting edge is the ed e o
the cavity, and the light which passes through the water has
its velocity greater than that which passes throug i
lid mineral. i, ra.
In one remarkable circular stratum of cavities, all the ca
vities in the centre were the deepest, and gradualydi^
nished in depth towards the circumference, till the m
croscope could scarcely resolve them. The hig * ^
of colours were therefore in the middle of the sfratu , ^
they gradually descended to a white of the fiist orde ,
the circumference of the circular stratum. Henry
An interesting experiment lately published by ^
Fox Talbot, Esq-3 is a phenomenon r'^l.Luce’the
which the densest of the plates is too thick 1 j} he>
colours at its edge in common light. Make, J .
« a circular hole in a niece of card, of the size of P P
364.
"SIT
OPTICS.
153
ouble of the GyG» Cover one half of this opening with an ex- exDosedi to anv nrpccnvo « i ^ mi i • -r-v
mtioo. tremely thin film of glass (probalily mica would answer ted through them smofe i T' "'l U'l|3mif' r,Ij0“,,ll':
the purpose as well or better.) Then view throudi this nlained S ^ ’ accordlnl? 10 th<i laws ex-Refmt.o,,.
e re.
^ the purpose as well or better.) Then view through this
aperture a perfect spectrum formed by a prism of moderate
dispersive power, and the spectrum will appear cover¬
ed throughout its length with parallel obscure bands resem¬
bling the absorptions produced by iodine vapour. The
cause of this phenomenon probably is, that one half of the
light which passes through the glass film has its undulations
thereby retarded by a certain quantity.”
This phenomenon, which we have observed under va¬
rious modifications, arises from the diffraction of the light
passing on each side of and very close to the edge of the
film 5 for it we cover this edge even with a fine wire, we
obstruct the diffracted fringes modified by the retardation
plained.
When a pencil of light falls upon all other bodies, such
as aitificial crystals, or salts on crystallized minerals, which
have not the above primitive forms ; upon animal substan¬
ces, such as bone, horn, shell, hair, crystalline lenses of ani¬
mal and elastic integuments ; upon vegetable bodies, such
as particular leaves, stalks and seeds ; upon artificial bodies
such as gums, resins, jellies, and solid bodies that have a
variable density, during the transient passage of heat, or
from rapid cooling, or unequal temperature and pressure
when a pencil of light falls upon such bodies, it will be re¬
fracted into two distinct pencils, more or less inclined to
each other according to the mechanical condition of the
0f t„e de,;*,- plate, and the phenomenon vanishes. IW b^T mthe hfw “ch he"^ eU~ hit
J 0rderft0 S“ thej tnTS m .Pe1rfeJct‘0"’ we must make it. In some minerals and artificial crystal th s refraS
the aperture no wider than to include the space on each of the two pencils is very great, andf genety lak ne
bide of the edge of the film within which the light passes is in such crystals, easily observed and measured • but in’
that * concerned m the phenomenon As the light here some cases it is not visible unless by tranTmhZ the lidit
cota,redand lyc!.rem0geneOUS’ * are alternately P™ms of the body with large refracting angks ;
Sir David Brewster has observed the fringes described feed o^fZ^S She^ertiet SwI *
by.“a hJth!ck P'atf ha™g «« «lge* and im- company the property of giving doubleZc t Th * L
mersed in fluids, and even with plates of glass the 15th part
of an inch thick, by looking through their edge upon a
highly dispel sed spectrum formed by a large refractin0-
angle of a prism, and magnified by a powerful telescope.
The perfection of the edge of the film, and an equality of
thickness, are essential to the production of the fringes in
their most interesting form. Sir David Brewster obtained
them by looking through plates of sulphate of lime, where
.ere were not properly speaking plates of different refract¬
ive powers, but where the plate suddenly became thicker, as
shewn in the annexed figure, where AB, EC is the plate
of sulphate of lime,
which becomes thick- Fia- j j g#
er at E. When the
eye looks through it
at the spectrum in the
direction ED, it sees
the fringes which
have the same mag-
3
company the property of giving double pencils. This .c-
paration of a single pencil into two, is called double refrac¬
tion, and the bodies which have such a property are called
doubly refracting crystals or bodies.
many regular crystals there is one line through which,
if a single pencil of light is transmitted, it does not ex¬
perience double refraction. This line is called the axis of
the crystal, or the axis of double refraction, and such crys¬
tals are denominated crystals with one axis of double re¬
fraction. In other crystals there are two lines through
which, if the single pencil of light is transmitted, it does
not experience double refraction. Such crystals are de¬
nominated crystals with two axes of double refraction. We
shall treat of these two classes in separate sections.
Sect. I. On the Laic of Double Refraction in Crystals
with one Axis.
. Bartholinus discovered the property of double refrac¬
tion in the mineral called Iceland spar, calcareous spar, or
by chemists, carbonate of lime; and it is well fitted for
exhibiting the phenomena, owing to its perfect transpar¬
ency, and the great separation of the two pencils, This
mineral consists, according to Stromeyer, of 56T5 parts of
lime, and 43-7 of carbonic acid. It crystallises in the form
nitude as if the plate ADB were removed, and the eye
ooked only through the plate CE, in which case it is clear¬
ly a phenomenon of mixed plates.
When these dark lines were produced in great perfec-  > — — . -x wci uum.
tion, they had a sort of granular structure resembling fine 311 obtuse rhombohedron, as
screws at their edges, and sometimes appearing to enclose shewn in fig. 117, where ABCB,
minute specks of light. Several other remarkable pheno- ABCB, &c. are the faces of the
mena accompanying these fringes were communicated by rhombohedron, and A A', the axis
me author to the British Association at Liverpool, and will the rhombohedron, on the two
appear in the next volume of the Philosophical Transac- j™ning its two obtuse angles
Fig. 117.
part.
V1‘ 0IV THE I>OUBLE REFRACTION OF LIGHT.
The following are the dimensions
of the crystal, as given by Malus,
w ho observes that the first angle, _
from which all the rest are derived, is within ten seconds of
the truth.
£5Fhzrmr “ it is fcBcf-'n
obliqiiy U ^ bet"een ^ edgeS i?'""1?1
npnp-i th!,surfac<l or emerges from the body in a single
iL k ’ eit ^r perfectly white, or decomposed into a diverg-
cnrrp^111 0*i co oured light. This supposition is perfectly
rfZr , Certain circumstances, for gaseous and fluid
w- S’ (!r g ass slowly and equally cooled, and for a nu-
eithpr o? aSS 7°^ crystallized bodies, whose primitive form is
tAyAw,/, ^ CU e’ ^1C re9u^ar octahedron, or the rhomboidal
Derain £ ^ien these bodies have the same tem-
e and density throughout their mass, and are not
5'
55
55
4
23
59'
26
T  AB, BC  78
Inclination of the faces to the axis A A'  45
Angle between the edges AB, AB', &c. and
the axis AA' 
Inclination of the edges AB, AB', to the op¬
posite faces AB'CB", &c 109
■     A'C, A'C, to the
opposite faces ABCB'  70 51 48
Length of the diagonal A A', the sides AB
AC being unity  1-2598
44 45
8 12
454
OPTICS.
Double As Iceland spar cleaves equally in planes parallel to all
Refraction. its s[x faces, it is easy to cut out of any mass of it an ac-
' curate rhombohedron in which all the three sides AB, A' B ,
A"B", are equal; but for the purposes of experiment it is suf¬
ficient to have a piece with two smooth and parallel faces
formed by cleavage, or ground and polished parallel to the
cleavage planes.
Let AX be such a piece of Iceland spar, and ABDL its up¬
per surface. If we
place its lower sur- Fig. 118.
face upon a piece
of paper having a
black line MN,
drawn upon it, and
if we place the eye
above the upper
surface, we shall
see the line MN
distinctly doubled;
or if it should ap¬
pear single, the
two images will
polish it. Let ACBD be such a sphere, AB being its axis Do: ,
Fig. 119.
separate, by turning the spar alittle round, and the line will ap¬
pear double as at MN, and mn. The one line will be found to
coincide with the other, whenMN is parallel to AD, the short
diagonal of the rhomboidal face ABDC, and the lines will
appear most separated, when MN is parallel, as in the figure,
to the long diagonal BC. If a black spot is usea in place 01
a line placed at O, it will appear double in every position,
and in turning the crystal round, the other image E •will
seem to revolve round O.
The best way, however, of shewing the double refrac¬
tion of the Iceland spar, is to make a ray of light. Hr, fall
upon the crystal at r. This ray will be refracted into two
pencils or rays, rO, rE, and these will be again refracted
at the second surface of the spar in directions Ec, Oo, par¬
allel to the original ray Rr. If we measure the angles oj
refraction of the fixed ray Oo, corresponding to several
angles of incidence from 0° to 90°, wTe shall find that these
angles are always to one another in the constant ratio 01
1 to T654, and that the refracted ray rO is always in the
plane of incidence. It follows, therefore, that this ray is
refracted as in water and glass, according to the ordinary
law of refraction discovered by Snellius. Hence it is. called
the ordinary ray. But if we make the same experiments
on the other ray rE, wre shall find that at an incidence of
0°, in place of passing on unrefracted, it is actually refract¬
ed 6° 12'; that at other incidences its angles of refraction
are not regulated by the law of Snellius, and that the ray
rE is not in the plane of incidence. We conclude, there¬
fore, that the ray rE is refracted according to some new or
extraordinary law which remains to be investigated, and
hence the ray rE is called the extraordinary ray.
If we grind down the two solid obtuse angles A, A', fig. 1 lo,
so that the ground surfaces are perpendicular to the axis A A ,
and if we polish their surfaces, and transmit a ray perpen¬
dicularly through them, so as to be parallel to the axis AA,
we shall find that there is only one refracted ray, and hence
there is no double refraction along the axis. Now this line
AA! is not & fixed axis like that of the earth ; it is merely
& fixed direction ; for every line parallel to AA' enjoys the
property of an axis, as there is no double refraction in lines
parallel to AA'.
In order to obtain an accurate idea of the law of extraor¬
dinary refraction, or that by which the extraordinary ray
rE is regulated, let us take a rhomb, such as that shewTn in
fig. 117, and grind it into an accurate sphere, and then
of double refraction, corresponding with
AA' in fig. 117, and let O be its centre.
If we now bend a piece of sheet lead or
sheet copper into an arch ADB, and mak¬
ing a small hole in it opposite to A, and
another opposite to B, cement a handle
to it about D, it will enable us, in the
following manner, to detect the general
law of extraordinary refraction. The use
of the two holes in this experiment is to
ensure that the light admitted through one
of them, and emerging at the other, shall pass through the
centre O of the sphere. Let one of the holes be now
placed in the surface of the sphere at A, and the eye at the
other hole at B, the hole will appear single, shewing that the
double refraction is there nothing. Let the hole be shifted
gradually from A to C, and the other hole will move from
B to D. In the different positions from A to C, it will be
seen that the hole begins to become double on leaving A,
and that the distance of the two images of it gradually in¬
creases from A to C, where it becomes a maximum. The
same result will be obtained by making the hole move from
A to D, or in any quadrant of the sphere passing through
the poles A and B. The very same result will be obtained
if the hole moves from B to C, or from B to D. If we now
make one of the holes move along the equator COD, we
shall find that by placing the eye at the other hole, the dis¬
tance of the images will be exactly the same, or the double
refraction the same in every part of the equator. Hence
the general law of double refraction in crystals with. one
axis, is a very simple one : it is nothing at the poles; it in_
creases gradually from the poles to the equator, where.it is a
maximum ; it is the same in the same parallels of latitude;
and the preceding experiments will also shew that the line
joining the centres of the two images is in the plane of the
meridian.
Let the index of extraordinary refraction be now mea¬
sured at the pole A, where it is the same as the ordinary
index, and at the equator C, and it will be found to be bodl,
or m, in the former case, and T488, or w!, in the latter.
Now Huygens was led by a theory which has been explained
under Chkomatics, to the following lawy which heverifiedby
experiment, and which has been confirmed by the expen-
mentsof Wollaston, Malus, and other philosophers. Uponthe
axis AB of the sphere, fig. 118, describe an ellipse Ac, Bd,
1
Itefri
whose lesser axis AB is to its greater axis cd as — is to
or as —is to—J—, or as -604 to *674; and if an ob-
m’ T654 1-488
late spheroid is supposed to be generated by the revolution
of this ellipse round its lesser axis AB, the reciprocal of tne
index of refraction of the extraordinary ray at any point ot
the spheroid will be measured by its radius at that point; that
is, if HabO is a ray incident at b, the radius — will be the
extraordinary index of refraction for that ray. If we there
fore make
(pzrROA, or the inclination of the incident ray to the axis.
R = crf, the major axis of the spheroid.
rr=:AB, the lesser axis.
Then It may be shewn, as Malus has done,1 that
_  Hr
®a ~~ sin.^ + R2 cos.2?)
Theorie de la Double Refraction, p. 143.
i
OPTICS.
ible and as the index of refraction of the extraordinary ray is
:tion. the reciprocal of this radius, we have
455
m — —  
> + R;
Hr
/R2—rz\
\ R2rW
sin. 2<p.
In the case of Iceland spar, we have
—0-536510 sin.2<p, or
‘m'— /n/2-736693—0-536510 sin2<p.
As the index of extraordinary refraction thus found, is
always equal to the index of the ordinary refraction minus,
another quality which depends on the difference between
the radius of the sphere and that of the spheroid, the crys¬
tals in which this happens may be called negative doubly
refracting crystals.
The preceding law of double refraction was believed by
Malus to be universal, and applicable to all crystals that had
this property. M. Biot, however, discovered “that in quartz
or rock crystal the extraordinary ray had its index of refrac¬
tion rn' greater than the ordinary index m. This mineral
crystallises in six-sided prisms, as shewn in the annexed
figure, terminated by six-sided pyramids,
AandB. If we grind down and polish Fig. 120.
the summits A and B of a large crystal,
perpendicular to the axis AB, and if we
determine the index of refraction when
the rays pass along AB, we shall find it to
be as Malus found it, 1-5484, and without
any double refraction, and 1-5544 in a di¬
rection perpendicular to the axis.
If we now grind the crystal into a sphere
ACBD, fig. 121, and if we perform the very
same experiments with it as we did with
Iceland spar, we shall obtain analogous results. The double
refraction will be found to increase from the poles A, B, to
the equator CD, and to be the same in every part of the
equator, and in each parallel of latitude; the only differences
between it and calcareous spar being that the double re¬
fraction is less, and that the index of refraction of the extra¬
ordinary ray is always greater than that of the ordinary ray.
The extraordinary refraction of quartz will, therefore, as
M, Biot has shewn, be represented by a prolate spheroid
generated by the revolution of the ellipse AcBcf, whose
greater axis AB is to the lesser cd as —  is to *
teresting to some of our readers,
called the 'principal section
of a crystal of calcareous spar,
&c., or a plane passing through
the axis, which will be in the
direction CH. LetSK,VK,
be rays incident on that plane
upon the surface CG, and
equally inclined to IKL, per¬
pendicular to the surface at
the point of incidence K; then
if KM is the refracted ray,
corresponding to a ray IK,
incident perpendicularly, the
other rays VK, SK, will be
refracted in directions KT,
KX, so that TM is equal to
XM.
Let CGHF be what is Double
Refraction.
Fig. 122.
Although the determination of the extraordinarily re¬
fracted ray is very simple, when the crystal is supposed to
be spherical, yet the formula becomes complicated when we
suppose the ray incident in any given direction upon a na¬
tural surface of Iceland spar. Malus has investigated such
a formula, but our limits will not allow us to give more than
the resulting expression.
Making 6 zzthe angle of incidence,
6'= the angle of extraordinary refraction,
tt r= the azimuth of incidence, or the angle which
the plane of incidence forms with the axis.
Ti-'rrthe same angle for the extraordinary ray.
X =the inclination of a line perpendicular to the face
of incidence to the axis of the crystal.
A~R2 sin.2 X-f-r2 cos.2,
C=sin. X cos. X (R2—r2). Then
't* t R2 r2 sin. 6 cos. 7t
Tang. 6’ cos. ^
and
A—R2 sin.2 6 (r2 cos.2 tt-}- A sin.2 tt
tang. sin. tt'=-
R2 sin. 6 sin. tt
V'A—R2 sin.2 0 (r2 cos.2 tt-J-Asin.2 tt.)
When the refracting surface is parallel to the axis, (as in
the six-sided prism of calcareous spar), we shall have X=90,
m which case Azzr2 and C=0. The formula then be¬
comes
1-5484
or as -6458 is to -6418. Hence, if R6aO
is a ray incident on the sphere at b, the
ra<^US Oa be the index of extraor¬
dinary refraction for that ray. Hence
we shall obtain
°«=   ^and
Fig. 121.
1-5544’ Tang. 0'cos. 7r=
Tang. O' sin. 7r=
r3 sin. 0 cos. tt
—sin. 30 (r3 cos. 7r-j-R2sin.2 tt)-
R sin. 0 sin. tt
v/(r2 sin.2 <p—R2 cos. 2 <p)’
R2—r2
V'l—sin.2 0 (r2 cos.2 tt+R2 sin.2 tt)*
and dividing the one equation by th^ other, we have
R5
Tang, tt7 z=—-tang, tt
R2 r
,2 ’
sin.2 <p.
Hence, as the index of extraordinary refraction is equal
o e index of ordinary refraction, plus, another quantity de¬
pending on the difference between the radius of the sphere
t iat of the prolate spheroid, crystals which have this
property may be called positive doubly refracting crystals,
of In tollowinS geometrical rule of finding the direction
p ,e exfraordinary ray, when the incident ray forms dif-
Jen angles with the axis given by Huygens,1 may be in-
When the refracting surface is parallel to the axis, and
the plane of incidence perpendicular to the axis, then 7r=
90°, or X=90 ; consequently cos. n'—0, and the first
equation becomes
Tang. 6'—-
R sin. 0
= and sin. d'=:R sin. 0.
V1—R2 sin.2 6’
When the refracting surface is parallel to the axis, and
the plane of incidence passes through the axis, in which
case the refraction is in the plane of a principal section,
then TrrzTr'zrO0, the second equation becomes
1 Traitc de la Licmi&re, sect. 17.
456
Double
Refraction.
OPTICS.
Tang. 6’=— + , 
R vl—r
r sin. &
sin. 2 d
or, by substituting r sin. 6 for its equal sin. 6, we have
m r sin. 8
Tang. 8 — ■ j
V1—r2 sin.2 6*
which substituted in the general formula, gives
/— the focal length of the extraordinary ray, when D
d is infinite, or the rays parallel, and Ref'
p—the focal length of the extraordinary ray re
quired.
Thus Malus has shewn that
ile
ion.
<P=
a2 bdrr'
d(r+r') (262—a2-
—brr’
lby
brr''
F=
Tang. 8'—
R
-Tang. 8.
When the refracting surface is perpendicular to the axis
of the crystal, as in the chaux carbonatee basee of any,
then X=:0°, and A=r2, and C=0. Hence
(r -\-r') (1—b)
When the radii r, r', are equal, or the lens equally con¬
vex, we have
a2 bdr
<P= —
' 2d (fb2—a2—a2 b)—a2 br
Tang. 6' sin. n'-
R1 sin. 8 sin. w
/=-
! hr
Tang. 6 Cos. ir'—■
~r —R2 sin.2
R2 sin. 8 cos. w
r»J\—R2 sin. 28
and dividing the one equation by the other tve have
i t   wliicli shews that the re-
Tang. ,r'=Tang. rr, and . ='. Hence we
fracted ray is in the plane ot the incment y
obtain from the preceding equation,
R2 sin. 8
Tan^‘s
In order to find the path of the extraordinarily refract-
n 1 1 „ iVvimwincr plecrant treometn-
" 2 (262—c2—a? b
If we suppose a to be equal to b, or the spheioid to be¬
come a sphere, by which the ordinary refraction is regulat¬
ed, we obtain for the ordinary ray,
br
r= 2(i=ry
Hence, the difference between the ordinary and extraor¬
dinary focal lengths will be
a1—62
/_F=2 F-
262
z2 b‘
If we change the signs of r and r' in these expressions,
they will apply to concave lenses. ,
If we now take Iceland spar, and suppose the lens to beLer
^ i i .   V.f/*\ cuVkctitntp in thp Ice
T - J . ^ the oath of the extraordinarily retract- lfwe now take Iceland spar, ana suppose me lens u, ucd*
,In C ^ has giVen the following elegant geometri- formed of that substance, we have only to substitute in the ce
edi ra>’ Jr etfon Lef EBH be the elliptical section of the preceding equation, the following values of a and b, viz..
^late^phCTohd whkh the d°vj^f ^mml
crystal, formed by the surface upon winch the ray .s me.
dent Let the ray RC fall upon its centre, and let RCK
be the intersection^ the plane of incidence with the face
of the crystal. Let EMH ^ i rio we obtain
il of
a=0*674l7l7
5=0*6044871, whence
771=1*65429
tw'=1’48330,
be a part of the oblate sphe¬
roid within the crystal or
below its surface, the axis
of the spheroid passing
through and having any in¬
clination to the surface.
Then draw in the plane
KCR aline CO perpendi¬
cular to RC, and having
drawn OK perpendicular to
OC, or parallel to CR,
■ iM
Fig. 123.
. r. 8*8228602
. r. 0*764180
. F. 114*4546
F=
f-*-
In the case of quartz or rock crystal, where
0=0*645813
5=0*641776
777=1*558176
TTi'^l *548435,
we obtain
<P--
make OK equal to-—J—q or the reciprocal of the sine of /—F= — F* 0*074845.
the angle of inddencI'ThioughK draw KTperpendicu;
,ar ,o fhe plane of incidence BUCK, and through KT draw be con tan, ^ If; the ge»eral express.on
a plane which shall toiich the spheroid Let I be the pomt ^ infinite, we have
where this plane touches the spheroid, then drawing the ui <?,
line Cl, this line will be the extraordinarily refracted   
ray. . . ,. , (r + r')(25--
,, As there are several researches and instruments m wnic i
Dr it may be required to find the focus of the extraordinary
lenses' pencil when the doubly refracting substance has the form
of a lens, we shall here give the formula obtained by Malus.
Calling r, the radii of the anterior and posterior surfaces whence
of a convex lens,
d=the distance of the radiant point,
«=the larger semi-axis of the spheroid of double ^ ind dent of the values of r and r'.2 a
refraction. _ The focus of the rays refracted extraordinarily oy
5=the shorter semi-axis of do. refracting lens, becomes more and more distant,
F=the focal length for the ordinary ray. doubi> re 8     -
— r. 0*962824
— r. 0*895775
F. 0*074846.
i2—ai 5)
and making a=0, we have for the ordinary- ray,
F=
brr'
(r+r')(\-b)
a2 (1—^>)
~ 2b2—a'1—dll)
i Malus, Thtorie, &c., p. 278, sect. 66.
2 Id. Id. p. 281, sect. 66.
( ftals
J one
■ i
OPTI
ouble the axis of double refraction of the crystal approaches to the
•action. axis 0f the lens ; and the preceding formulae apply solely to
the case where these two axes are parallel, as it is only in
that case that such lenses can be of any use.
List of the Primitive Forms and Crystals which have one
axis of Double Refraction.
From a very extensive series of experiments on the double
refraction of crystallised bodies, Sir David Brewster was led
to the general law, that all crystals whose primitive form
has only one axis of figure, or one pre-eminent line, round
which the matter of the crystals is symmetrically arranged,
had also one axis of double refraction, and that their axis of
figure was likewise the axis of double refraction.
The following are the primitive forms which possess this
geometrical and optical property :—
The rhombohedron with an obtuse summit.
The rhombohedron with an acute summit.
The regular six-sided prism.
The octohedron with a square base.
The right prism with a square base.
cs.
3. Regular six-sided prism.
Fig. 126.
457
Double
Refraction.
■ Emerald.
Beryl.
Apatite.
— Nepheline.
— Arseniate of lead.
+ Hydrate of magnesia.
4. Octohedron with a square base.
Fig. 127.
Table of Crystallised Minerals and other bodies which have
one axis of double refraction.
In the following table the crystals are arranged under
their primitive forms, so far as these forms have been deter¬
mined by crystallographers. The sign + indicates that
the crystals have positive double refraction, like quartz, and
— that they have negative double refraction, like Iceland
spar.
1. Rhombohedron with an obtuse summit.
Fig. 124.
-f* Zircon.
-f. Oxide of tin.
+ Tungstate of lime.
— Mellite.
— Molybdate of lead.
— Octohedrite.
— Muriate of potash.
— Cyanide of mercury.
5. Right prism with a square base.
Fig. 128.
/ 
/ x
- Carbonate of lime (Ice¬
land spar).
- Carbonate of lime and
iron.
- Carbonate of lime and
magnesia.
• Phosphato-arseniate of
lead.
■ Carbonate of zinc.
■ Nitrate of soda.
Phosphate of lead.
• Ruby silver.
Levyne.
Tourmaline.
Rubellite.
Alum stone.
Gmelinite.
Chlorate of soda.
Dioptase.
Quartz.
- Idiocrase.
- Wernerite.
- Paranthine or scapolite.
- Meoinite.
- Somervillite.
■ Edingtonite.
• Arseniate of potash.
• Subphosphate of potash.
Phosphate of ammonia
and magnesia.
— Sulphate of nickel and
copper.
— Hydrate of strontites.
+ Apophyllite of Uton.
-f- Oxahverite.
+ Superacetate of copper
and lime.
+ Titanite.
+ Ice, certain crystals.
Murio-carbonate of lead.
2. Rhombohedron with acute summit.
Fig. 125.
■ Corundum.
■ Sapphire.
Ruby.
— Cinabar.
— Arseniate of copper.
The following crystals and organised bodies have one
axis of double refraction, but their primitive form has not
been accurately determined.
. Position of the axis.
— Muriate of lime..  Axis of six-sided prism.
— Muriate of strontian  Do. do.
— Hyposulphate of lime1 ....Axis of hexagonal tables.
— Mica from  Perpendicular to laminae.
— Mica, with amianthus Perpendicular to the laminae.
— Nacre, (See/JM. Trans. 1 „ .... , .
1836, p. ). . j" Perpendicular to laminae.
+ Boracite Axis of rhomb of 90°.
+ Apophyllite, (surcompo- 1 n ... , ,.
we of Hauy),   j Perpendicular to the table.
+ Sulphate of potash and | . ... .
iron,... ... >• Axis of six-sided prism.
Tortoise shell, (Sir. J.
Herschel), 
3 m
VOL. XVI.
‘ Sir John Herschel.
458
Double g]ecT jj Qn tjie Law of Double Refraction in Crystals
Refraction. two axes.
OPTICS.
Fi<r. 129-
When M. Malus published his theory of double refrac¬
tion, and even so late as 1816, all crystals were believed to
have only one axis of double refraction, one of the rays be¬
ing refracted by the ordinary law, and the other by the ex¬
traordinary law, above explained. During the examination of
an extensive class of minerals and artificial salts, Sir Da¬
vid Brewster was led to the discovery of crystals with two
axes of double refraction.
The general character of the phenomena presented by
such crystals will be understood from fig.
129, where we may suppose, as before,
the crystal to have the form of a sphere.
In place of there being one line along
which there is no double refraction,
there are two such as P Op, P/Ojt/, in
which the incident pencil is not divided
into two. The double refraction in¬
creases on each side of these axes, from
P, to C and A, and from P' to D and A.
The double refraction increases in the very same manner
from p to C and B, and from p' to D and B, according to a
law which will afterwards be explained.
In continuing his investigations, Sir David Brewster
found crystals in which the axes POp, P'O// formed
all possible angles with each other from 0° up to 90°, and he
was led also to the important result, that these two axes
were not real axes of double refraction like those in uniaxal
crystals, but were only resultant axes, as he called them, or
axes of compensation. The grounds on w hich he formed
this opinion were, that these lines POp, P'Op' had no relation
whatever to any fixed or permanent lines in the primitivelorm
of the crystals, like the axes of uniaxal crystals, and that the
double refraction did not altogether vanish along these lines,
as in Iceland spar and other minerals with no axis. He was
led to these results, not by measuring the double refraction
itself, but by the phenomena which will be presently ex¬
plained. At this time it was the opinion of our author, and
afterwards that of M. Biot and other distinguished philoso¬
phers, that in biaxal as in uniaxal crystals, one of the rays
was refracted according to the ordinary law of Snelhus,
and the other according to an extraordinary law, and hence
the investigation of the extraordinary law occupied the at¬
tention of our author.
In commencing this inquiry, he assumed as the two real
axes of double refraction, the line AB bisecting the angle
formed by the apparent or resultant axes POp, P'Op', and
another line at right angles to it, viz. either the line CD,
or the line perpendicular to it passing through O.
If the principal axis AB is positive, then if we assume O
as the second axis, it must be taken positive also ; but if CD
is assumed as the second axis, it must be taken negative.
Now, it is obvious that if we take AB as & positive, and CD
as a negative axis, the double refraction in the direction
In this way, and by experiments which will be related Dow
in a subsequent chapter, our author was led to the follow- Refrac n.
ing method of finding the general law of extraordinary re-'^y1 ^
fraction in biaxal crystals.
Make b = axis of revolution of the two spheroids.
a' = the other axis of the spheroid.
/3, i3/ = the inclination of the incident ray to the
axes of the crystal.
■yj, = the angle of the doubly refracting forces
emanating from each axis.
£ = half the difference of the angle at the base
of the parallelogram of forces.
Then, as the velocity of the ray is inversely as the variable
radius of the spheroid, — will be the square of the velocity
of the ordinary ray, and the square of the minimum
velocity of the extraordinary ray, in virtue of the separate
action of each axis, AB and CD. Hence the difference be¬
tween the squares of the velocities of the ordinary and ex¬
traordinary rays will be
(a1z±=.b'1\ . 2
(-?r)sm-3
/a'!z±zb2\
\ a' Jb2 )
sin.2 /3
the si on being positive when the axis is positive, and vice
versa? But as these expressions represent the sides of the
parallelogram of forces, we have
si°^)-(wsto-33')tallg-H
Tang, t— g^-v-h2 I a'z±zb^
sin. /3-f
sin.2 ft.
Consequently the difference between the squares of the
velocities of the ordinary and extraordinary ray produced
by the combined action ot the two axes, will be
/«2z±=is
b*
sin.2 ft) (sin. ij/)
sin.
Hence, calling V the velocity required, we have
ta*z±ib2
V2=
i±-
b2
sin.2 /3 (sin.
sin. (C+W
'2=!=b2
and
\b2
+-
b2
sin.2 ft (sin. \|/-)
sin. (C+iis)
The form of the compound, or irregular spheroid, may
therefore be computed for all doubly refracting crystals.
The general law of extraordinary refraction which has
now been explained, may be thus expressed.
as a negative axis, the double refraction in Uie direction Tfie movement of the square
AB is the maximum double refraction of the axis CD, be- ordinary ray produced hy^he actl0^ f^0 ZralleLram
cause the effect ofthe axis AB is here nothing. In like man- refraction, is equal to the diagom j P , relocitv
ner the double refraction along CD is a measure ofthe whose sides are the increments of the square of die l
maximum double refraction of the axis AB. Hence we produced by ™h axis separately, and caku^
can easily ascertain the relative intensities of the doubly of Huygens, and whose J d t{e respec-
refracting force of each axis AB and CD. Having done by the two planes passing through the ray and F
this, the next step was to compute the double refraction at tive axes. an(i 0f the
the point P produced by the positive axis AB acting alone When the two axes are of equal mtasity, and M ^
as a single axis, and also the double refraction produced at same character, the preceding aw F". . , ) t
die same point P, by the negative axis CD. When this suits as the law of Huygens does for one axis place
was done, the two double refractions were found to be equal right ,0 a neCessary consequence,
^dStn axis P“ta whYchtSHlL no^uble^fmc- a consequence first deduced from them byM-
tmn, and which was the resultant of the actions of AB and product the sines of Ac
OPTICS.
mble angles which each of them make with the two resultant
action. axes P and P', and hence making these angles <p and <p',
'V^^and V the velocity of the extraordinary, and v that of the
ordinary ray, we shall have V = (V + a sin. <p x sin. <p') 1,
459
rres-
laff.
a being a constant coefficient.
M. Fresnel was led by theoretical considerations to sup¬
pose that in crystals with two axes, the law of double re¬
fraction was still more complicated; and he soon confirmed
the accuracy of his views by direct experiment, and was
thus able to establish a general law which embraced all
crystals with one axis.
Our limits will not allow us to do more than give the fol¬
lowing brief abstract of his labours, which we owe to M.
Pouillet.1
When the light is incident in the plane perpendicular to
AB, fig. 129. that is in the plane of CD, one of the tivo
rays is regulated by the ordinary law of refraction, whereas
when the ray is incident in the plane AB, perpendicular to
the axis CD, the other of the two rays is regulated by the
ordinary law of refraction. The formulae by which Fresnel
expressed his law, are as follow:
making Y==the velocity of the ordinary ray.
£=that of the extraordinary ray.
A=the angle of the ray with the one axis.
«=the angle of the ray with the other axis.
T)—ordinary velocity in uniaxal crystals, or the
constant velocity in the section perpendicu¬
lar to CD, fig. 129, in hiaxal crystals.
=the extraordinary velocity in uniaxal crystals,
or the constant velocity in the section per¬
pendicular to AB, fig. 129, then
V2=-D2 -^{cP—D2)sin 2i(a_A)
i;2=D2 + (d2—D2)sin2!(a + A)
In uniaxal crystals, when the tivo axes are reduced to
one, we have A=«, so that
V2=D2
v2=D2 + (r?2_D2)sin 2A>
that is, the ordinary velocity is constant in all directions and
equal to D, and, as the second equation indicates, the extra¬
ordinary velocity v depends on the angle A, which the ex¬
traordinary ray makes with the axis.
When this ray is in the section perpendicular to the axis,
we have A=90°, and sin.2 A=l, hence \'=:d.
When the ray is parallel to the axis A=0°, and sin.2
A=:0, wffience t>z=D, so that in this direction only the ex¬
traordinary becomes equal to the ordinary velocity.
In biaxal crystals, when the ray is in the section perpen¬
dicular to CD, fig. 129, it is evident that it always forms
equal angles with the axes P/>, V'p'. Hence A=a, and
sin.2i (a—A)=0, consequently V2=D2, or V=D. In this
way D is the expression of the velocity in this case, and it
is on this account that the term ordinary velocity is applied
to all those which are given by the different values of V.
When the ray on the contrary, is in the section perpen¬
dicular to AB, the sum of the angles A and a is always
equal to two right angles, and sin. l(A + a)=: 1, whence it
follows that V2=e?2, and \=d, and it is on this account
that the term extraordinary velocity is applied to all those
that are given by the values of v.
When d is greater than D, the minimum of the ordinary
velocity takes place when az=A, or when V=D, and the
maximum takes place when a—A is the greatest possible,
which happens in the plane of the axes APCBDP'. The
minimum becomes the maximum, and vice versa when D is
greater than d. The maximum and minimum for the extra¬
ordinary ray take place also, when v—d, and consequently
or the case when the ray is in the plane of the axes, but
t ley in like manner change their part when d is greater or
less than D. 8
In every case the difference of the squares of the veloci- Double
ties is expressed by the formula Refraction.
v2—V2 = (tZ2—D2) sin. a. sin. A.
That is to say, the two ordinary and extraordinary rays
having a common direction, the difference of the squares of
their velocities are proportional to the product of the sines
of the angles which each of them makes with the two axes.
“ This remark, adds M. Pouillet, had been made by Sir David
Brewster and M. Biot before Fresnel had pointed out the
simple law which embraces the phenomena in all its extent.”
List of the primitive forms of Crystals that have two axes oj
double refraction.
From a great number of experiments, Sir David Brew- Cr sta]s
ster found that the property of possessing two axes of dou- with two
ble refraction belonged to all the crystals that are included axes,
in the prismatic system of Mohs, or which have the fol¬
lowing primitive forms of Hauy :—
A right prism, Base a rectangle.
 Base a rhomb.
   Base an oblique parallelogram.
Oblique prism Base a rectangle.
 Base a rhomb.
 Base an oblique parallelogram.
Octohedron Base a rectangle.
.—  Base a rhomb.
In these solids there is no single line or axis of sym¬
metry.
The following table, which we could have enlarged con¬
siderably, contains most of the crystals with tw o axes, whose
primitive forms have been determined by crystallogra-
phers:—.
1. List of Crystals of known Primitive Forms, and having
Two Axes of Double Refraction.
1. Right Quadrangular Prism—Rase a Rectangle.
Cymophane, Young.
Peridot, ditto.
Prehnite, ditto.
Stilbite, ditto.
Comptonite, Brooke.
Thomsonite, ditto.
Anhydrite, Boumon.
Tartrate of potash,
ditto.
Staurotide, Hauy.
Datholite, do.
Mica, do.
Talc, do.
Position of Principal
Axis.
Axis of right prism.
Perp. to axis.
Parallel to longest
side of prism, or
perp. to best cleav¬
age planes.
Perp. to axis of right
prism.
Perp. to axis of prism.
Axis of right prism.
Perp. to the flat
rhomb, faces.
Position of Second
Axis.
Perp. to the sides.
Axis of right prism.
Axis of right prism,
or perp. to longest
faces.
Axis of that prism, or
other axis.
Axis of the prism.
Perp. to sides of prism
Parallel to a side of
rhomb, prism.
Axis of right prism.
Axis of right prism.
Spodumene, do. Axis of prism.
Sulphate of barytes, Short diagonal
ditto. rhomb, base.
Sulphate of strontian, Axis of the prism,
do.
Sulphate of soda,
Pour non.
Citric acid, do.
Tartrate of potash and soda, do.
Chromate of lead, do.
Stilbite, Brooke. Perp. to laminae.
Mesotype of Auv- Axis of prism,
ergne, do.
Greater diagonal ofits
rhomb, base.
Diagonal of its rhomb
base.
In plane of laminae,
of Long diagonal, or axis
of prism.
Perp. to axis of prism.
In plane of laminae.
Perpendicular to axis.
1 Piemens de Physique Experm. liv. viii. cap. 1.
460
Double
Refraction
OPT
3. Right Quadrangular Prism—Base an Oblique Parallelogram.
Names of Minerals-
Position of Principal
Axis.
Needlestone of Faroe, Axis of prism,
do.
Sulphate of lime, In plane of the lami-
Hauy.
Epidote, do.
Axinite, do.
Heulandite, Brooke.
Brewsterite, do.
Sulphato-carb. of
lead, do.
Acetate of strontian.
nse.
In base of prism.
Position of Second
Axis.
Perpendicular to axis.
Axis of prism.
Axis of prism.
Perp. to laminae. In plane of laminae.
I c s.
Names of Minerals.
Muriate of barytes.
Realgar.
Orpiment.
Lepidolite.
Mesotype.
Mesolite.
Serpentine.
Natrolite.
Sulphato-bi-carbo-
nate of lead.
Phosphate of iron.
Harmotome, Petalite,
Position of Principal
Axis.
In plane of laminae-
Perp. to laminae.
Axis of prism.
Ditto.
Perp. to laminae.
Plane of laminae.
Perp. to axis.
Ditto.
Axes of acute rhomb. In plane of laminae.
In plane of laminae. Perp. to laminae.
Chabasie.
4. Oblique Quadrangular Prism—Base a Rectangle.
10. Crystals, whose primitive form has not been determined, but which
have been found to have two axes, and which must belong to the Pris¬
matic System of Mohs.
Borax, Hauy.
Euclase, do.
5. Oblique Quadrangular Prism—Base a Rhomb.
Perpendicular to sides Axis of prism, or
of the prism. other axis.
lolite.
Indurated talc.
Carbonate of potash.
Diopside, Hauy.
Euclase, do.
Augite, do.
Glauberite.
Grammatite.
Sulphate of iron, Wollaston.
Super-sulphate of
potash, Bournon.
Acetate of copper,do.
Tartaric acid, do.
Oxalic acid, do.
Sugar, do.
Hydrate of strontian.
Bitartrate of potash.
Sulphate of soda.
Carbonate of copper.
Sulphate of ammonia
and magnesia.
Axis of prism.
Perp. to plates.
Plane of axis perpen¬
dicular to the flat
tables.
Perp. to axis of prism.
In plane of laminae.
In plane of tables.
Perp. to axis of prism.
Perp.to axis of prism.
Axis of prism.
Axis of prism.
Axis of prism.
Perpendic. to faces.
Axis of prism, or
other axis.
Long diagonal of
rhomboidal plates.
6. Oblique Quadrangular Prism—Base an oblique Parallelogram.
Feldspar, Hauy.
Kyanite, do.
Sulphate of copper,do.
Shorter diagonal of Axis of hexagonal
the rhomboidal prism, or long diag.
base. of rhomb, base.
Sulphate of soda and magnesia.
Sulphate of nickel. Short diagonal of the
rhomboidal base.
Oxy-nitrate of silver. Perp. to rhomb plates
Nitrate of ammonia.
 of lime.
 of strontian, with water of crystallization.
 of copper.
 of zinc.
 of mercury.
 of bismuth. m r
Nitrate of lead, certain specimens. Mr. Herschel, ham. Ph. Jour.
vol. ii. p. 184.
Muriate of mercury.
 of magnesia.
Acetate of lead.
Nitrate of potash.
Arragonite.
Octahedron with a Rectangular Base.
Perp. to sides of base
Perp. to sides of base
of zinc.
Carbonate of lead-
Sulphate of lead.
Topaz.
Muriate of copper.
Axis of octohedron.
Axis of prism or per¬
pendicular to axis
of octohedron.
In plane of base of
two pyramids.
Axis octohedron.
Long diagonal of
rhomb, base.
Axis of the octohe¬
dron.
Perp. to sides of rect.
base.
Short diagonal of the
rhomb, base.
8. Octohedron with a Rhombic Base.
Sulphur, Hauy.
Carbonate°of soda. Diagonal of base Axis of octohedron
^0> through o of Hauy, or other axis.
PI. xxxix.
9. Minerals belonging' to the Prismatic System of Mohs, and having
TWO axes, but not included in any of the above divisions of Hauy.
Sulphate of magne- Cleavable diagonal of Perpendicular to axis,
sia, Mohs. square base. or the other diagonal.
Sulphate of manga-
H0SC« • ii?
Sulphate of zinc. Axis of rhomboidal Short diagonal of
prism.
Sulphate of ammonia. Axis of hexahed.
prism.
Sulphate of cobalt. _ .
Carbonate of stron- Axis of prism.
tian, do. ...
Carbonate of barytes, Axis of prism,
do.
Diallage. Perp. to plates.
Molybdate of am¬
monia.
rhomboidal base.
Perp to axis.
Perp. to axis.
Perp. to axis.
Plane of plates.
   soda.
 barytes.
Phosphate of soda-
Oxalate of ammonia.
Hyper-oxymuriate of
potash.
Super-oxalate of pot¬
ash.
Super-chromate of
potash.
Crystallized Chelten¬
ham salts.
Murio-sulphate of
magnesia and iron.
Benzoate of ammonia.
Benzoic acid.
Chromic acid.
Spermaceti.
Boracic acid.
Succinic acid.
Super-tartrate of pot¬
ash.
Tartrate of potash
and antimony.
Camphor.
Hydrate of barytes.
Prussiate of potash.
Mother-of-pearl.
Carbonate of ammo¬
nia.
Hyposulphite of lime.
Perp. to broad sides
of prism.
In plane of hexag.
plates.
Axis of prism, or
other axis.
Perpendicular to hex¬
ag. plates.
Perp.to axis of prism.
Perpendic. to rhomb,
plates.
Axis of prism.
Plane of axis in that
diag.
Axis of prism. Perp. to axis.
Cleavable diagonal of Axis of prism, or
its square base. other
Perp. to laminte. 1° plane °‘ d®-
Perp. to plates. In plane of plates.
Perp. to plates. In plane of plates.
Perp.to hexag.plates. 1° plane P a £s'
Perp. to faces of flat In plane of these faces.
prism- . .
Perpendicular to axis Axis of prism,
of prism.
Perpendicular to axis
of prism.
Axis of prism.
of ba¬
rytes.
Perp. to flat plates.
Perp. to rect-laminse.
Perp. to laminae.
Short diag. of rhomb,
and perp. to best
cleavage.
Sir John Herschel,
Edin. Phil. Jour.
vol. i. p. 15.
Sir John Herschel.
In ane of plates.
In plane of laminae.
In plane of laminae.
Axis of prism, <>r
long diag"
)1arisa- Sect. III.—On Crystals with three Axes of Double
tion. Refraction.
Having determined the primitive form to which those crys-
i three tals belong which have one and two axes of double refraction
, Sir David Brewster found that all those crystals which have
no resultant axes, or, properly speaking, no double refrac¬
tion, belonged to that class of primitive forms which have
three rectangular axes of form, namely, the cube, the regu^
lav octahedron*, and the rhomboidal dodecahedron, or to the
tessular system of Mohs. Since, however, every real axis
of double refraction, coincides with a prominent line in the
primitive form of the crystal, he conceived that those crys¬
tals which had no apparent double refraction had actually
three equal rectangular axes, the effect of which was to
compensate each other at every point of the crystal, or, in
other words, to have an infinite number of resultant axes.
In confirmation of these views, our author found various*
indications of positive and negative doubly refracting struc¬
tures in alum, diamond, &c., as if these equal axes had not
exactly compensated each other, either from the three not
being perfectly equal, or from their not being placed ac¬
curately at right angles to each other.
The following is a list, which might be considerably ex-
tended, of the primitive forms of the crystals that have no
double refraction.
Primitive form a cw^._Muriate of soda, muriate of
potash, muriate of silver.
Primitive form an octahedron.—fluor spar,
muriate of ammonia, pleonaste, nitrate of lead, sulphate of
alumina, soda, alum, ruby copper, spinelle, nitrate ofstron-
tmn octahedral, nitrate of lead, nitrate of barytes, sulphate
o ammonia and chromium, sulphate of ammonia and iron,
sulphate of alumina and ammonia.
Primitive form a rhomboidal dodecahedron.—Garnet,
blende, sodahte, essonite, helvin, lazulite.
There are some crystals, such as arseniate of iron, amphi-
gene analcime,boracite, aplome,allof which have double re¬
traction, and therefore cannot belong to the tessular system.
OPTICS.
461
Poli ,,
tion
or suffers total reflexion from the second surfaces of trans-Polarisa-
parent bodies, or from the surface of metals ;—in all these tion-
cases it has suffered such a change, that it no longer has
the same properbes in all its sides, but, on the contrary,
exhibits distinct and remarkable properties in its different
sides, or, what is the same thing, has polarity. This beam of
common light is therefore said to be polarised. The differ¬
ent kinds of polarisation which may thus be impressed up¬
on common light are three, v\z. plane polarisation, circu¬
lar polarisation, and elliptical polarisation ; or the whole
of these three kinds of polarisation may be included in the
general name of elliptical polarisation, which becomes cir-
cu ar* when the two axes of the ellipsis are equal, and rcc-
tilmeal or plane when the minor axis of the ellipse is in¬
finitely small. We shall now proceed to explain the phe¬
nomena of these three kinds of polarisation, in their order.
CHAP. I ON PLANE POLARISATION.
byWUch COmm°n 1«ht may be Plane po-
1. By double refraction. ‘nsation.
2. By one reflection from transparent bodies.
3. By several refractions through transparent surfaces,
liy the absorption or dispersion of part of the light.
hese various processes exhibit many interesting pheno¬
mena and laws, which we shall proceed to explain.
Sect. I..
-On the Polarisation of Light by Double Refrac¬
tion.
Sect. IV.—Orc Crystals with Planes of Double Refraction.
^ ^ the crystals to which we have hitherto referred,
the double refractmn is related to one or more axes ; but
n nk«lVindibTStei haS f°Und’ that in analcim^ a mineral
ranked in the tessular system, there are several planes or
tLn ?hp0fH heKlCrySt? m which there is no double refrac-
f om tw d7ble refraCt‘on increasing with the distance
from these planes, according to a law which will be after-
S thSedntl°ned; r When the ^ is incident in any direc-
7 “at does not he in one of these planes, it is separated
Tncc0 V 7CS 7 d°Ub,e refracti°n- This is the only sub¬
stance which is known to possess this remarkable property.
PART VII. ON THE POLARISATION OE LIGHT.
any seff hfm emit ed/ronr the SUn’ fr0m a candle’ or from
oTrefra^T8 b°d£befbre ithas suffernd reflection from,
allow a 7 hYc aUl 7dy’ 18 calIed com™on light. If we
flectim? wT ° 77 ‘^bt t0 uPon any refracting or re-
by anvdiff y’ .whedleJ transparent or metallic, or to pass
changL 5wling.b0dy’ltwiI1 suffer Precisely the sLne
side or anvhn7er 7, UPH’ itS Under’ its riSht or its left
refracting Y fllerf-Slde °f bearn’ 18 turned towards the
Ws thaTtb 7 g’7r diffracting body. Hence it fol¬
ks sides hlS beam °f Ight haS 1116 8ame Properties in all
of conunon'V8) 7t f11 ligbt' d16 preceding beam
parent bodi ? 18 reflected at a Particular angle, from trans-
fractini snrf 0r paSSeS obli(l”ely through a number of re-
g surfaces, or is transmitted through certain crystals,
IrpTond P°IariSati0r °f Hgbt by the doubIe refraction ofPolarisa-
Iceland spar was discovered by Huygens. Upon examin- tion by
mg the two pencils O o, E e, fig. 118, formed double re-
by double refraction, he found that they had bl£>* 1^0. fraction,
different properties on different sides, and
that both of them differed from common Ikdit
as well as from one another. He discovered
this difference in the following manner.
Having taken two pieces of Iceland spar,
he placed them symmetrically, as in fig. 130,
with all the faces of the one parallel to all
the faces of the other, A /• X, A' G X' being
the principal sections of two rhombs. A ray
of common light R r, incident upon the first
crystal at r, is divided into two pencils r C,
r D, O being the ordinary and E the extra¬
ordinary ray, as formerly explained. Now tv
the ordinary ray D G , falling upon the second crystal "at G,
and the extmordinury one CF at F, should have been each
subdivided by douMe refraction, into two pencils, by that
crystal; but they are not, the ordinary ray
D G being only refracted ordinarily, and
the extraordinary ray C F only extraordi¬
narily, as seen in the figure, where these
rays F H, GK, emerge singly at H and K,
the one an ordinary and the other an ex¬
traordinary ray. If the upper rhomb re¬
mains fixed while the under one is turned l.
round 90o> so that its principal section is
perpendicular to that of the upper one, as-C
shown in fig. 131, the same phenomena will
take place, with this difference only, that the
ray D G refracted ordinarily by the first
crystal, is refracted extraordinarily by the
second, and the ray C F, refracted extraor-
fto'Viriw* lit i _ _
7. ' "v ~ icnacieu txiraor- ^ oe
dmanly by the first crystal, is refracted ordinarily by the
second. "
Hence it is manifest, that the ray of common light R r,
and the two doubly refracted pencils C F, D G, have all
462
OPTICS.
Polarisa¬
tion.
difFerent properties. For if R r were to fall upon the se¬
cond rhomb, it would be divided into two pencils ; whereas
' C F and D G refuse to be so divided, and are each refract¬
ed in difFerent ways by the second crystal.
Now, in every other position of the four rhombs, between
the two where their principal sections are parallel, or
perpendicular to one another, the two pencils C I, D G
are divided into two pencils, and four separate pencils
emerge from the second rhomb.
In order to understand the phenomena presented by
thesepencils, when the second rhomb performs a com¬
plete revolution behind the first one, let us suppose that
the lower rhomb begins to revolve from the position in fig.
129, which we shall call 0° of azimuth, and in which case we
shall have two horizontal pencils H E, K O, fig. 131, whose
Malus’s
law of in
tensity.
sections1 are shown in the annexed figure at jgg.
0°
221°
45°
G7i°
90°
1124°
135°
»1571°
B, opposite 0° ; A representing the appear-A
ance of the aperture through the first rhomb.
When the second rhomb has just begun toBO °
move out of its position of parallelism the © 0
first, two extremely faint images begin to ®
appear between the other two; and at 22tt ^ ©
of azimuth they will appear as at C. At 45° © q
of azimuth their intensity will be equal, as atE 0, ^
D ; at 671° the two most distant ones will G ©
have become the faintest; and at 90° the
four images will be reduced to two, this being r ©
the position shown in fig. 130. By conti- © ©
nuing to turn the second rhomb, other two g © ©
fainUmages start up, which at 1121° appear ^ &
as at G ; at 135° the four images are equally h © ©
bright, as at H; at 157i° the two outermost ^
are the faintest; and at 180° they all coalesce x©©
into one bright image, as at K, having twuce
the brightness of either of those at A or F, K ®
and four times the brightness of any one of the four at D
or H. . ,
In making the preceding experiment, it will be seen that
' two of the images gradually increase in brightness, while
other two gradually diminish. Malus investigated the law of
the intensity for these images, both when the pencil of com¬
mon light is incident perpendicularly and obliquely. Our
limits will permit us to give only the simplest case, making
o — ray refracted ordinarily by the first rhomb.
e = the ray refracted extraordinarily by the first rhomb.
/ o o — the ray refracted ordinarily by the first rhomb, and
ordinarily by the second.
oe~ the ray refracted ordinarily by the first rhomb, and
extraordinarily by the second,
ee — the ray refracted extraordinarily by the first rhomb,
and extraordinarily by the second,
eo — the ray refracted extraordinarily by the first rhomb,
and ordinarily by the second.
Q — the quantity of light contained in the incident ray.
(1 — m) Q — the quantity of light absorbed by the first
rhomb.
P = the intensity of any of the pencils.
P0 — the intensity of the ordinary emergent ray.
Pe — the intensity of the extraordinary emergent ray.
Then, since the quantity of light contained in the two
emergent rays is equal to the incident light diminished by
the quantity absorbed, we shall have Q— (1 — w) Q= Q;
and since the light is equally divided between the two
pencils, we obtain P0 “ m Q, and Pe — ^ w Q,.
But the quantity of light m Q which falls upon the second
rhomb will be reduced by absorption to mQ — (1 — m)
m Q = m2 Q; consequently, if a is the angle formed by the
principal sections of the two rhombs, we shall have
First pencil, P00 (wi2 Q cos.2 a).
Third pencil, Pee “ | (™2 Q cos.2 a).
Second pencil, Poe ^ <>2 Q sin.2 a).
Fourth pencil, Peo 2= ^ (>2 Q,sin.2a).
When the principal sections of the two rhombs are pa¬
rallel, then a = 0, and sin.2 a 2= 0, consequently Poe - 0,
and Peo = 0 ; that is, the third and fourth pencils will dis¬
appear.
When, on the contrary, the principal sections are at
right angles to one another, a ” 90 , and cos. a ™ 0, con¬
sequently P00 = 0, and Pee = 0 ; that is, the first and second
pencils will disappear.
When the incident ray is not perpendicular to the sur¬
face of the first rhomb, the intensities of the pencils are
functions of the angles of incidence and the angle which
the ray forms with the principal sections.
All the phenomena above described may be produced
by combining any two positive and any two negative crystals;
but if a positive is combined with a negative crystal, the
same effects will be produced when the principal sections
are at right angles to each other, as when they are pa¬
rallel in the other cases.
The difference between common and polarised light, as
evinced by the phenomena of double refraction, is, that the
former may always be divided into two pencils by a doubly-
refracting crystal, whereas the latter is not capable ofbeing
so divided under certain circumstances.
As the four polarised pencils, when united, as at K, fig.
132, produce a pencil of common light, or rather a pencil
which cannot be distinguished from common light, itis high¬
ly probable that the Iceland spar, in converting common into
po larised light, by refracting it into two pencils, has not com¬
municated to it any new property, but has merely sepa¬
rated it into its two elements, just as a prism separates a pen¬
cil of white light into its seven elementary colours by re¬
fraction, these colours again forming white light by their
reunion.
Polar.
tio;
"Y
Sect. II.— On the Polarisation of Light by Reflection. pok
k a
tion re-
We have already stated, in the history of Optics, theflect-
manner in which the celebrated French philosopher Malus
discovered the polarisation of light by reflection. Upon
repeating his experiments with a variety of opaque and
transparent bodies, not metallic, such as glass, water, &c. he
found that, when light was reflected at a particular angle from
such bodies, it teas polarised exactly like one of the pencils
formed by double refraction, the pencil polarised by reflec¬
tion having all its properties identically the same with that
of the doubly-refracting crystal. Like the latter, it was
no longer capable of being divided into two pencils by a
rhomb of Iceland spar ; and as, in the polarisation of light
by the double refraction of one crystal, that property depends
on the angle formed between the principal sections of the
two crystals, as shown in figs. 130 and 131, so, in the pre¬
sent case, the polarisation depends on the angle formed be¬
tween the plane of reflection and that of the principal sec¬
tion of the crystal which polarises the light. In all sue
phenomena, indeed, as Malus remarks, t\\Q plane of rejiec
tion replaces the plane of the principal section of the crys¬
tal.
If we receive the ray polarised by reflection from water
at an angle of 52° 45', upon any crystal having double re¬
ar an angle oi - o , , p
fraction, it will not be divided into two pencils when the p
r* r* . • •   1 1 4-l-» rv/"*! flS II
of reflection is parallel to the principal section, as 1111 ,
been a pencil of common light; but wlil.Je refraCte,
entirely, according to the ordinary law, as if t ie y
had lost the power of double refraction. If, on the o
If we place a circular aperture, the size of the little dark circles in fig. 132, at r, the images will have that form.
OPTICS.
jisa* hand, the principal section of the crystal is perpendicular
on. to the plane of reflection, the reflected ray will be refract-
ed wholly, according to the law of extraordinary refrac¬
tion. In all intermediate positions it will be divided into
two rays, according to the same law, and in the same pro¬
portions, as if it had acquired its new character by the in¬
fluence of double refraction.
In order to analyse this phenomenon completely, he placed
the principal section of a crystal vertically; and after having
divided a ray into two by it, he made these two rays fall
on the surface of water, at an angle of 52° 45'. The or¬
dinary ray was partially reflected, like common light, but
the extraordinary ray penetrated the ivater wholly, and not
a single particle of it was reflected. When the principal
section of the crystal was, on the contrary, perpendi¬
cular to the plane of incidence, the extraordinary ray was
partially reflected, and the ordinary ray was wholly re¬
fracted.
Malus found the phenomena to be the same for all other
transparent bodies, whether solid or fluid; but the angle
at which light experienced this modification wtis in ge¬
neral greater in bodies which refracted light most. Below
and above this limit the rays were more or less modi¬
fied.
This property of reflected light takes place at a different
angle for pencils reflected at the second surfaces of bodies,
and the sine of the angle at the first surface is to the sine
of the angle at the second, as the sine of incidence is to the
sine of refraction. Hence, in parallel plates, either of
glass or other bodies, the two pencils which are reflected
in the same directions from both surfaces have equally re¬
ceived this new property, and the light which has received
it is said to have been polarised by reflection^ M. Malus
found the same property in black bodies, such as black
marble, ebony, &c.2
Malus next proceeded to study the phenomena when
the light R, polarised by one plate of glass A, was reflect¬
ed from a second
plate C, fig. 133, the .
ray RA being in¬
cident on the first
plate, and the pola¬
rised ray AC on the
second plate at an
angle of 56°, the
polarising angle of
glass. In the case
463
shown in the figure, the plane of reflection ACE, in the
plate C, is at right angles to the plane of reflection RAC
rom the first plate, and in this case the reflected pencil
l/E wholly vanished, all the reflected and polarised light
AC having penetrated the glass at C. If we now turn
round the plate C from this point, or zero, into different azi¬
muths, so that it is always equally inclined to the polarised
ray, a small portion of the ray AC will be reflected from
> and this portion will increase till it becomes a maximum,
f Qnolle plane A.CE.is Parallel to RAC, or in the azimuth
0t pu continuing to *urn the plate C, the reflected
ray CE will gradually diminish, and when C has reached
e azimuth of 180° its plane of reflection will be perpen-
mcular to that of A, and the reflected ray CE will wholly
disappear. In advancing from 180° to 270°, CE will again
reach its maximum, and at 360°, when it has returned to
J Posltion, as in the figure, it will again return to its mi¬
nimum.
While the reflected pencil CE passes from its minimum Polarisa-
intensity at 0° and 180°, to its maximum at 90° and 270°, tion.
Malus supposes the intensity to vary as the square of the '
cosine of the angle of azimuth, or of any even power of the
cosine. Calling a the angle of azimuth which the plane of
the second reflection makes with a plane perpendicular
to RAC, I the maximum intensity of the reflected pencil,
and P the intensity corresponding to any azimuth a, then
P = I cos.2 a. If we make a equal to 0°, 90°, 180°, and
270°, we shall have, when a — 0°, cos. a = 1, cos.2 a — 1,
cos.4 a = 1, and consequently P=I, or the reflected pen¬
cil is a maximum. When a = 90°, cos. a = 0, cos.2 a = 0
cos.4 a ~ 0, and F = 0, that is, the reflected pencil wholly
disappears.
It is obvious, from the arrangement of glasses in fig. 132,
that, if the light R proceeds from the sky, an observer with
his eye placed at E will see a black spot in the part of
the sky from which the light R comes, as the whole of the
light penetrates the plate C. If the light R comes from
a house, the house will disappear if it is at a considerable
distance; and by turning round C, the house will have its
greatest brightness when the two planes of reflection are
parallel. If, in the position when the house was invisible,
we breathe upon the plate C, the house will suddenly be¬
come visible, and will again disappear when the breath has
evaporated. If we now place the plate C at an angle of
52° 45' to the ray AC, the house will be seen; but if we
again breathe upon CC, the house will disappear. The
cause of these phenomena is, that by breathing upon C
we make the reflecting surface an aqueous one, which
refuses to reflect light at an angle of 52° 45', but reflects
it at 56°.
If we place beside each other two sets of reflectors ar¬
ranged in the manner shown in the figure, C being in¬
clined in the one set 56° to A, and in the other set 52° 45',
and the plates C, C being near each other, we may, by
breathing upon each at the same time, exhibit the para¬
doxical phenomenon of reviving and extinguishing a lu¬
minous image by the same breath, or we may appear to
breathe at the same time light and darkness.3
1. On the Law of the Polarisation of Light by Reflection.
After determining the angle at which different bodies r f
polarised light, Malus concluded that “ this angle followed iariLtion°'
neither the order of refractive powers nor that of the dis- by reflec-
persive forces, and that it was a property of bodies inde-tion.
pendent of the other modes of action, which they exercised
over light.4
In repeating the experiments of Malus, Sir David Brews- Law of the
ter measured the polarising angles of a greater number of tangents. S
bodies, but experienced many difficulties in connecting °
them together by a simple law. In some substances the
light was not completely polarised at any angle. In others
purple and blue light was left at the polarising angles ; and
in various specimens of glass, different parts of the same
surface gave different polarising angles. The first of these
phenomena he ascribed to the circumstance that the dif¬
ferently coloured rays of white light were polarised at dif¬
ferent angles; and the second he found to arise from
changes that had taken place on the surfaces of glass by
partial decomposition, owing to the action of the atmo¬
sphere. By rejecting those substances where the action
of the surface was thus masked or disturbed, he was led to
the following general law, that the index of refraction of
any body is the tangent of its angle of polarisation.
a Vf.orie de to Double Refraction, sect. 48. _ a Ibid. sect. 50.
tural Magic ^p1"* 12s*11 WaS ^escr^e^ Sir David Brewster, In the Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. vii. p. 140. See also his Letters on Na-
Bnll. de Sciences de la Soc. Philos. Juin 1811, No. 45, tom. ii. p. 294
464
OPTICS.
The following were the experiments on which this law
was founded:—
Names of the Observed Polaris- Calculated Polaris-
Bodies. ing Angles. ing Angles.
Air 45° or 47° 45° O' 32"
Water 52
Fluor spar 54
Obsidian 56
Sulphate of lime 56
Rock crystal 57
Sulphate of barytes 58
Opal-coloured glass 58
Topaz 58
Mother-of-pearl 58
Iceland spar 58
Orange-coloured glass...59
Spinelle ruby 50
Zircon 63
Glass of antimony 64
Sulphur...  64
Diamond 68
Chromate of lead 67
591 53 11
50  55 9
3 56 6
28  56 45
22  56 58
29  58 33
1  58 33
40  58 34
47  58 50
23  58 51
12  59 28
6  60 25
8  63 0
45  64 30
10   63 45
2  68 1
42  68 3
j. ^ fX Polarising Angles. ^°!a; *
Names of the Bodies. Refrac- 6 6 tic
tion. Observed. Calculated.
Fluor spar, colourless 1-4341...55° 6'-7...550 6'-7
greenish blue 1-4343...55 3-8...55 7*0
Common opal..... 1-4516...55 29 -3...55 26 -3
Plate-glass, English, colour- | J.5J30...56 36 -0...56 32 -2
less.•••••••••••••••••••••••••• J
 - colourless 1-5266...56 45 -5...56 46-4
Crown-glass, English 1-5321...56 50 -2...5b 52-0
  ! ditto 1-5523...57 12 -6...57 12-6
Flint-glass, English 1-5783...57 41 -0...57 38-5
 1 ditto 1-6206...58 16-6...58 19-4
Pyrope 1-8131...61 4-0...61 7-7
Yellow blende 2-3692...67 8-2...67 7-0
Upon repeating these experiments with homogeneous
light, our author also found that the angle of polarisation
varied with the refrangibility of the light, and that the
tangent of the polarising angle was equal to the index ox
refraction of the light employed.
Hence we are able to explain why, at the maximum po- .g ^ ^ ^ th ~ index of
larising angle, a portion ot unpolarised light must always H we h b the
remain, and why this portion increases with the refractive ’
and dispersive power of the body. This will be understood jaw 0p^be sines, CL = .=
Upon examining the polarising angles of different spe¬
cimens of glass at different periods, after the surfaces were
polished, Dr. Seebeck confirmed the explanation given by
Sir David Brewster, of the variations in their polarising
angles.2
When a 'pencil of light is polarised by reflection, the sum
of the angles of incidence and refraction is a right angle.
Let MN, fig. 134, be the reflecting surface, and BA aray
of light polarised by reflec¬
tion in the direction AD, and
let AC be the refracted ray.
Then, since EF, the tangent
of the polarising angle BAE,
Fig. 134.
from the following table :—
Water.
Colour of the Light.
Polarising
Angle.
.53° 4
Index of
Refraction.
1-330 Red
1-336 Green, or mean ray 53 11
1-342 Violet 53 19
Plate Glass.
1.515 Red 56 34
1-525 Green 56 45
1-535 Violet 56 55
Oil of Cassia.
1-597 Red 57 57
1-642 Green 58 39
1-687 Violet 59 21
Variation.
BG
EF*
But from the similar tri-
angles ABH, AEF, we have AH, or BG: HB :: EF : rad.,
BG
...0° 15'
and HB = consequently CL = HB, and the an-
huh
.0 21
1 24
gle BAN = CAK. But EAB + BAN = 90°, consequent¬
ly EAB + CAK -= 90°. Hence the complement of the
polarising angle is equal to the angle of refraction.
When a ray of light is polarised by reflection, the reflected
ray forms a right angle with the refracted ray.
Since the angles DAM, BAN, CAK, are equal to one
another, the angle DAC is equal to the right angle MAK;
hence the reflected ray AD forms a right angle with the
refracted ray AC. _ .
When a pencil of light is incident on the second surface
Now itisobvious, that when the green or mean, or most of transparent bodies, at an angle whose
. .,,1 nm] thprpfnrp vanishes neither to the index of refraction, the reflected portion will be eimer
mnous ray, is polarised, and therefore vanishes, Mfy polarised, or the quantity of polarised light whchd
luminous ray, is polarised
the red nor the violet has wholly vanished, and conse-
quently a portion of unpolarised light, composed of a por¬
tion of these two colours, will still be visible. In oil of
cassia the quantity of light is considerable, and is of a fine
blue colour.
Dr. A. See- So recently as 1830, Dr. A. Seebeck of Berlin has pub-
beck’s ex- fished a series of very accurate and valuable experiments
periments. macle by an instrument constructed for the purpose, which,
contains will be a maximum.
As the images formed by the first and second surfaces
of a transparent plate are simultaneously polarised, this
proposition is established by the experimental results in
the preceding table.
The angle of polarisation at the second surface oj trans¬
parent bodies is the complement of the angle of polarisation
if any doubts had existed about the accuracy of the pre- at the first surface.
cedin- law, were sufficient to remove them. Dr. Seebeck’s As the angle ot incidence a the second surfacy® eq™
ceamg iaw, wee nppliratp to the ande of refraction at the first surface, and as this
principal object seems to have been to obtain accurate to the angle ot retraction ai u.e nrsc su^c,
measures of the polarising angle of different glasses, when latter angle is equal to the complement of the ayle ° P
measures oi me pu u ^ S ^ iariSation, it follows that the two polarising angles are com-
the surfaces were newly polished, in order to reconcile the
law to that class of bodies in which the deviations had plementary to each other. ^ f m fa
been found to arise from some chemical or mechanical When a ray of light is polarised by reflec ' ^
changes produced upon their surface. The following table second surface of transparent^ bfldies,the refle y
contains Dr. Seebeck’s experiments :
form a right angle with the refracted ray.
i Mean of four observations by Mains, Biot, Arago, and Brewster.
* See Poggendorf’s Annalen, 1830, No. 9, p. 27 ; or Edin. Journ. of Science, N. b. vol. v. p. 99-
OPTICS.
465
Tart
pi a. Let AB, fig. 135, be a ray incident at the first surface
tj ]yiN, AD the ray polarised at that Fig. 135.
^ '^surface, AC the ray incident at the
second surface PQ, and CM the
ray polarised at that surface; then,
if CF be the refracted ray, the an¬
gle MCF is a right angle. But
DAC is a right angle, and on account of the parallelism of
MN, PC, and BA, CF, the angle FCP is equal to DAM ;
but MCP is eqyal to MAC, hence the whole MCF is equal
to the whole DAC, or a right angle.
Cor. 1. The ray CM, reflected by the second surface, is
at right angles to the ray AB incident on the first surface.
Cor. 2. The internal reflected ray CM forms with the
external reflected ray AD, an angle equal to the angle of
deviation CAO.
Cor. 3. The ray CF, emerging from the second surface,
forms, with the first reflected ray AD, an angle equal to
the complement of the angle of deviation.
When a •pencil of light is incident upon the separating
surface of two media having different indices of ref raction
m, m', it will he polarised at an angle whose tangent is
equal to the quotient of the greater index of ref raction divid¬
ed by the lesser, or if m exceeds m'.
This truth is a necessary consequence of the general
law, and was also deduced from direct experiment. If the
uppermost of the two media is a parallel plate, such as
water lying upon a horizontal surface, &c. the separating
surface of the two media cannot, at any angle of inci¬
dence upon the first surface, completely polarise the in¬
cident light, unless the sine of the angle whose tangent is
is, when multiplied by m, less than unity. Thus, in the
case of water and glass, the polarising angle is 68° 47',
but no ray incident upon the water, even at 90°, can fall
at such an oblique incidence upon the glass as 48° 47'.
For sin. 48° 47' X m' (or the angle of refraction at an
incidence of 90°), is = 1-0048. When the upper medium
has a higher refractive power than the lower, and lies in a
parallel plate upon it, the same law is applicable, with
this difference, that the ray is now polarised at the second
surface of the denser medium, and the angle of polarisa¬
tion is that whose cotangent is equal to the index of
refraction —, of the separating surfaces.
In the preceding observations, we have considered only
the light which is incident at the polarising angle. It
becomes interesting to inquire, what is the condition of
the light which is incident at angles above and below the
polarising angle. Malus, Arago, Biot, Fresnel, and other
distinguished philosophers, considered the light thus re¬
flected as consisting of two pencils, one of which pre¬
served its state of common light, while the other pencil
^as polarised in the plane of incidence. In the year
815, however, Sir David Brewster was led, by direct ex¬
periments, to a very different opinion, namely, that the
pencil of light which was supposed to have preserved its
c laracter of common light had suffered a physical change
m condition, or had acquired in various degrees a cha¬
ncier approaching to complete polarisation. He found,
or example, that a pencil of light reflected from glass,
61 er at 62° SO' or 50° 20', was so far polarised, that it
"!as wllolIy polarised by a second reflection at either of
ese angles; whereas, had the unpolarised part been
atI!In°n light? it could not have been polarised at any
g e but 56° 45'. In like manner, he found that three
reflections at 65° 33'or 46° 30', and/o^r at 67° 33'or Polarisa-
43° 51', polarised the whole pencil; and in general he tion.
found that a ray of light partly polarised by reflection at ^ Y
any angle, will he more and more polarised hy every suc¬
cessive reflection in the same plane till its polarisation is
complete, whether the reflections are made at angles all above
or all below the polarising angle.
These views were not acceded to by philosophers, though
founded on direct experiment; and, so late as 1825, Sir
John Herschel, in discussing the question, gives his de¬
cision in favour of the opinion held by the French philo¬
sophers.1 Sir David Brewster was therefore induced to
repeat and extend his experiments, and succeeded in es¬
tablishing his original view of the subject on an impreg¬
nable basis. A brief account of these experiments will
form the subject of the next section.
2. On the Motion of the Plane of Polarisation by Reflec¬
tion.
MM. Fresnel and Arago, and Sir David Brewster, were Motion of
engaged about the same time in inquiries upon this sub- the plane
ject. If we suppose a pencil of polarised light polarised ^ Polarisa-
in a plane inclined 45° to a vertical line, and if we reflecttion*
it at different angles from a transparent surface in which
the plane of reflection is perpendicular to the horizon, the
plane of polarisation will be gradually reduced from 45°
to 40°, 35°, 30°, 25°, &c. as we diminish the angle of in¬
cidence from 90° till we reach the polarising angle, when
the plane of polarisation will be inclined 0°, or will be
brought into the plane of reflection. At angles less than
the polarising angle the plane continues to turn in the
same direction, till at 0° it is again inclined 45° to a ver¬
tical plane, or to the plane of reflection, having performed
a revolution of 90°, the first 45° during the change of in¬
cidence from 90° to 56° 45', and the other 45° from 56°
45' to 0°.
M. Fresnel represented these changes by the following
law : i being the angle of incidence, i! the angle of refrac¬
tion, x the primitive inclination of the plane of the polar¬
ised ray to the plane of reflection, and p the inclination to
which that plane is brought by reflection.
rr, cos. (i 4- *')
Ian. tan. x ^—-—(.
cos («—«')
When x — 45°, tan. x z= 1, and
cos. (i 4- i')
tan. <p — 7T--
cos. (* *')
In these formulae founded on the law of the tangents,
i + i' is the supplement of the angle which the reflected
ray forms with the refracted ray, while i—*' is the devia¬
tion produced by refraction.
The following are the observations with glass and water,
with which M. Arago verified the last of these formulae,
in which x = 45°.
Glass.
Angles of Inclination of Plane of Polarisa- tva?
Incidence. tion to Plane of Reflection. Ditterence.
Observed. Calculated.
24 38° 55' 37° 54' —1° I'
39 24 38 24 38 + 0 3
49 11 45 10 52 —0 53
60  5 15   5 29  —0 14
70 19 52  20 24 —0 32
80 32 45  33 25  —0 40
85 38 55  39 19 —0 24
87  40 55  41 36  —0 41
88  41 15 42 44 —1 29
89  44 35 43 52  +0 43
VOL. XVI.
1 Treatise on Light, sect. 866, 867.
3 N
466
OPTICS.
Polarisa¬
tion.
Difference.
Water.
Angles of Inclination of Plane of Polarisa-
Incidence. tion to Plane of Reflection.
Observed. Calculated.
60 10° 20' 10° 51' —0° 31' >
70 25 20 24 48 + 0 32
80 36 20  35 49  +0 21
85 40 50 40 32 + 0 18
The following observations were made by Sir David
Brewster on glass.
Glass.
the planes of polarisation, at an incidence of 45°, the angle ]
of rotation, when the plane of the polarised ray is 45°, on.
is equal to the angle of refraction, while the new inclina-^ '
tion of the plane of polarisation to the plane of reflection,
or £>, is equal to the deviation i — i'.
These phenomena may be represented to the eye as in
fig. 136, where MN represents the plane of incidence di¬
vided into ninety equal parts, and ab, ab, ab the planes of
Fig. 136.
90°.
88 .
86 .
84 .
80 .
75 ,
70
.45° 0' 45° 0'  0° 0'
.43 4  42 49  +0 35
.40 43  40 36 +° 7
.38 47  38 22 +0 25
.33 13  33 46  —0 33
.28 45  27 41  + 1 4
.22 6  21 3 + 1 3
65  14 40 13 53  +0 47
60
56
50
45
40
. 6 10  6 16 —0 6
. 0 0   0 0  0 0
. 9 0   9 0   0 0
.16 55  16 31  +0 24
.22 37  23 1  —0 24
30  32 25  33 19  —0 54
20
10
.39
.44
0 40 4 —1 4
0 43 49  +0 11
90°
85
80
75
70
67
60
50
O'.
0 ,
0
0
0
43
0
0
.45°
.34
.24
.14
. 4
. 0
.12
.24
0'
30
0
30
30
0
30
0
Diamond.
...45°
...33
...23
...13
... 3
.... 0
,...11
....23
O'.
56 .
12 .
8 .
54 .
0 .
41 .
30 .
. 0°
-f-O
+ 0
+ 1
+ 0
, 0
+o
4-0
0'
34
48
22
36
0
49
30
polarisation of the same pencil of light incident at the an¬
gles marked upon the curve line. At 90° of incidence, for
example, the pencil A has its plane of polarisation inclined
45° to the plane of reflection M; but at 70° the same plane
is inclined only 21°, and at 56° it is inclined 0°. At 40°
it is inclined 23° in another direction ; at 23° about 38°,
and at 0° it is inclined 45°.
Our author also made another series of experiments,
which confirms the general formula. As a? = 45° in the
preceding experiments, he wished to observe the law of
variation for (p when x varied from 0° to 90°. He took a
crystal of quartz with a fine natural face parallel to the
axis, and he found, that at an angle of incidence of 75°,
and when x was = 45°, the inclination of the plane of po¬
larisation to the plane of reflection was 26° 20'. We have
therefore cos- ^ ?) — tan. 26° 20', and consequently
cos. (i—i')
the general formula becomes tan. p — tan. x. tan. 26 20',
by which the third column in the foliowing table has been
calculated.
Inclination of Plane of Polarisation.
Observed. Calculated.
V alues
of x.
0...
10...
20...
30.. .
35..
40..
45..
50..
Difference.
. 0°
. 4
.10
.15
.20
.23
.26
.30
O'.
54..
0.
50.
0.
 0° 0'
.4- 0 25
.—0 16
.—0 12
  0° O'...
  4 29...
 10 16...
 16 2...
 19 12 4-0 48
30 22 40 4- 0 50
20 26 27 — 0 7
0  30 40 — 0 40
55 35 30 35 23...
60 40 0 40 45...
70 53 0 53 49...
80  70 0 70 29...
90 90 0 90 0...
It is a curious circumstance, that at an incidence of 45°
the deviation produced by refraction, or i — i\ is, in every
substance, the complement of the angle of refraction i' to
45° : and in the action of all substances in turning round
4-0 7
.—0 45
.— 0 49
.—0 29
 0 0
3. On the partial Polarisation of Light, and the Law of
its Intensity.
In order to apply these results, Sir David Brewster con¬
ceives common light to be composed of two pencils A, B,
fig. 136, having their planes of polarisation ab, cd at right
angles to each other, and of equal intensity. Two such
pencils united comports itself under all circumstances ex¬
actly like common light. We are as much entitled to con¬
sider a beam of common light as composed in this manner,
as we are to regard white light as composed of seven differ¬
ently refrangible rays. The prism analyses the one, and
doubly-refracting crystals, and the action of transparent
surfaces, analyse the other, and common light is recom¬
posed by the two oppositely polarised pencils, as much as
white light is recomposed by the union of the seven co¬
loured rays. Considering common light in this manner,
Sir David Brewster was led to obtain a complete explana¬
tion of the phenomena of polarisation produced by re¬
flexion and refraction. „
A beam of common light will be represented as at An,
composed of the two beams
A, B, ab and cd being
the planes of polarisation A
of each of them. In or- N
der, however, to analyse f J
the action of a reflecting
surface in changing the shall
physical condition of the beam of common llght» ^i tj n
represent it as in fig. 136, where the planeso P°
ab, cd are each inclined 45° to the plane of in^de“cT® \:nd
These two beams are obtained from,a rllornb „prture 0f
spar, upon one of whose surfaces is placed an ap
,L size of A or B, and the rhomb is turned round till IB
the size ot A or a, ana me ruumu — widence
principal section is inclined 45° to the plane o
OPTICS.
467
MN. In this position the double beam or pencil A, B
will turn its planes of polarisation as in fig 136.
At an incidence of 90°, or as near it as possible, no change
is produced in the pencils A, B, the angle aec being still 90°.
At an incidence of 80° the angle aec is reduced from* 90° to
66®; at 70° it has been reduced to 40°; and at 56°, the
maximum polarising angle, it has been reduced to 0°, or
the planes of polarization ab, cd being now parallel, or, what
is the same thing, the whole of the reflected pencil being
polarised in the plane of incidence. Below the polarising
angle, the planes ab, cd continuing to turn in the same
direction, are again inclined to each other. At 40°
they are inclined 50° ; at 23° they are inclined 38° ; and
at 0°, ora perpendicular incidence, they are again brought
back to their primitive inclination of 90°, or the state of
common light. The two curves in the figure show the
progressive change which takes place in the planes of po¬
larisation, these planes being a tangent to the curve at the
incidence which corresponds to any particular part of it.
“ Such,” says Sir David Brewster,1 “ being the action
of the reflecting forces upon A and B taken separately,
let us now consider them as superposed and forming na¬
tural light. At 90° and 0° of incidence, the reflecting
force produces no change in the inclination of their axes
or planes of polarisation ; but at 56° in the case of glass,
and 67° 43' in the case of diamond, the axes of all the
particles are brought into a state of parallelism with the
plane of reflection; and consequently when the image
which they form is viewed by the rhomb of calcareous spar,
they will all pass into the ordinary image, and thus prove
that they are wholly polarised in the plane of reflection.
“ Hence we see that the total polarisation of the reflect¬
ed pencil at an angle whose tangent is the index of refrac¬
tion, is effected by turning round the planes of polarisa¬
tion of one half of the light from right to left, and of the
other half from left to right, each through an angle of 45°.
Let us now consider what takes place at those angles
where the pencil is only partially polarised. At 80°, for
example, the angle of the planes a b, c d h 66°, that is,
each plane of polarisation has been turned round in oppo¬
site directions from an inclination of 45° to one of 33°
with the plane of reflection. The light has therefore suf¬
fered a physical change of a very marked kind, constitut¬
ing now neither natural nor polarised light. It is not na¬
tural light, because its planes of polarisation are not rect¬
angular ; it is not polarised light, because they are not pa¬
rallel. It is a pencil of light having the physical character
of one half of its rays being polarised at an angle of 66° to
the other half. It will now be asked how a pencil thus
characterised can exhibit the properties of a partially po¬
larised pencil, that is, of a pencil part of whose light is
polarised in the plane of reflection, while the rest retains
its condition of natural light. This will be understood by
placing the analysing rhomb, with its principal section, in
the plane of reflection, and viewing through it the images
A and B at 80° of incidence. As the axis of A is inclin¬
ed 33® to MN or the section of the rhomb, the ordinary
image of it will be much brighter than the extraordinary
image, the intensity of each being in the ratio of cos.2 p to
sin.2 p, p being the angle of inclination, or 33°, in the pre¬
sent case. In like manner, the ordinary image of B will
he m the same ratio brighter than its extraordinary image,
t lat is, by considering A and B in a state of superposition,
qao e^traordinary image of a pencil of light reflected at
^will be fainter than the ordinary image in the ratio of
sin. 33° to cos.2 33°. But this inequality in the inten-
s,ty tf*6 two pencils is precisely what would be produ¬
ced by a compound pencil, part of which is polarised in
'e plane of reflection, and part of which is common light.
When Malus, therefore, and his successors analysed the Polarisa-
pencil reflected at 80°, they could not do otherwise than ti°n-
conclude that it was partially polarised, consisting partly
of light polarised in the plane of reflection, and partly of
natural light. The action of successive reflections, how¬
ever, afforded a more precise means of analysis, in so far
as it proved that the portion of what was deemed natural
light had in reality suffered a physical change, which ap¬
proximated it to the state of polarised light; and we now
see that the portion of what was called polarised light was
only what may be called apparently polarised ; for though
it disappears, like polarised light, from the extraordinary
image of the analysing prism, yet there is not a single par¬
ticle of it polarised in the plane of reflection.
“ These results lead to conclusions of general importance.
The quantity of light which disappears from the extraor¬
dinary image, is obviously the quantity of light which is
really or apparently polarised at a given angle of incidence;
and if we admit the truth of the law of repartition dis¬
covered by Malus, and represented by Poo = Po cos.2 p,
and Poe = Po sin.2 p, and as we can determine <p for sub¬
stances of every refractive power, and for all angles of in¬
cidence, we may consider as established the mathematical
law which determines the intensity of the polarised pencil,
whatever be the nature of the body which reflects it, what¬
ever be the angle at which it is incident, whatever be the
number of reflections which it suffers, and whether these
reflections are all made from one substance, or partly from
one substance and partly from another.
“ Let us suppose that a beam of common light composed
of two portions A, B (fig. 138) pola¬
rised + 45° and — 45° to the plane of
reflection, is incident on a plate of glass
at such an angle that the reflected pen¬
cil composed of C and D has its planes
of polarisation inclined at an angle <p to
the plane MN. When a rhomb of cal¬
careous spar has its principal section in
the plane MN, it will divide the image
C into an extraordinary pencil E and
an ordinary one F; and the same will
take place with D, G being its extraor¬
dinary, and H its ordinary image. If we represent the
whole of the reflected pencil, or C + D, by 1, then C
D = E + F =: 1, and G + H =: 1. But since the
planes of polarisation of C and D are each inclined tp de¬
grees to the principal section of the rhomb, the intensity
of the light of the doubly-refracted pencils will be as
sin.2 p : cos.2 cp ; that is, the intensity of E will be -1 sin.2 p,
and that of F, ^ cos.2 <p. Hence it follows that the diffe¬
rence of these pencils, or ^ sin.2 <p — 1 cos.2 <p, will ex¬
press the quantity of light which has passed from the ex¬
traordinary image E into the ordinary one F; that is, the
quantity of light apparently polarised in the plane of re¬
flection MN. But as the same is true of the pencil D, we
have 2 (-^ sin.2 <p — cos.2 <p) or sin.2 <p — cos.2 <p for the
whole of the polarised light in a pencil of common light
C + D. Hence, since sin.2 <p + cos.2 p = 1, and cos.2 <p
= 1 — sin.2 f, we have for the whole quantity of polarised
light
Fig. 138.
But tan. <p = tan. x
Q, = 1 — 2 sin.2 <p.
cos. (i + i')
cos. (i — i')
sin# 0
And as tan.2 o = —and sin.2 <z> + cos.2 © = 1,"
r cos/p r “
we have the quotient and the sum of the quantities sin.2 <p
and cos.2 <p, by which we obtain
i Phil. Trans. 1830, p. 71.
468
Polarisa¬
tion.
OPTICS.
sin.2 <p =
Angle of Angle of
Incidence *J Refraction
tan. x
cos. (i + *')\2
: + *')Y
i-*•’)/
cos. (i
( cos. (i + *')\2
(tan. x y. r.<)
\ cos. (i — i')J
+ 1
+ (
tan. x
cos (* + *7)\2
Inclination of
Plane of Polarisa¬
tion to Plane of
Reflection, 0.
0° O'
10 0
20 0
25 0
+ i’)Y
— i')J
That is, Q = 1 — 2
cos. (i — i')
/ cos. (i + *')\2
(tan. x  77 tv 1
V cos. 0 — i')/
30 0
35 0
+ ('
tan. x
cos. (i —
cos. (i + tOV
*0/
cos. (i — i');
“ As the quantity of reflected light is here supposed to
be 1, we may obtain an expression of Q, in terms of the in¬
cident light, by adopting the formula of Fresnel for the in¬
tensity of a reflected ray. Thus,
Q
_ 1 /'sin.2(* — i’) tan.2 (i — i')
= L (s2
2 Vsi
1' )J
sin.2 (i + *') ‘ tan.2 (i + i')
'cos. (i + i')x 2
/cos. (i + iOV
/^l 2 Vcos. (i — i')) \
^ i + fcos- + *')y J'
/cos. (i + oy
\cos. (i — i')J
40 0
45 0
50 0
56 45
60 0
65 0
70 0
75 0 |
78 0
70 0
80 0
82 44
84 0
85 0
86 0
87 0
88 0
89 0
90 0
0° O'
6 32
12 58
16 5
19 8i
22 6
24 56
27 374
30 9
33 15
34 36
36 28
38 2
39 18
39 54
40 4
40 13
40 35
40 42
40 47
40 51
40 54
40 574
40 58
40 58
Quantity of
Light Re¬
flected out
of 1000 Rays,
45° 0'
43 51
40 13
37 21
33 40
29 8
23 41
17 221
10 18
0 0
5 4i
12 45
18 32
26 52
30 44
31 59
33 13
36 22
38 2
39 12
40 22-7
41 32
42 42
43 51
45 0
Quantity ofL RaV° of
Polarised polarised to
Reflected
Right.
43-23
43-39
43-41
43- 64
44- 78
46-33
49-10
53-66
61-36
79-5
93-31
124-86
162-67
257-26
329-95
359-27
391-7
499-44
560-32
616-28
676-26
744-11
819-9
904-81
10000
Light Q.
0
1-74
7-22
11-6
17-25
24-37
33-25
44-09
57-36
79-5
91-6
112-7
129-80
152-34
457-67
157-69
1566
145 4
134-93
123-75
108-67
89-83
65-9
36-32
0
0
0-04000
0-16018
0-26388
0-3853
0-5260
0-6773
0-82167
0-9360
1-000
0-9628
0-90258
0-79794
0-59154
0-47786
0-43892
0-40000
0-29112
0-2408
0-2008
0-16068
0-12072
0-0804
0-04014
0-0000
“ As tan. a: = 1 in common light, it is omitted in the pre¬
ceding formula.
“ This formula may be adapted to partially polarised rays,
that is, to light reflected at any angle different from the
angle of maximum polarisation, provided we can obtain an
expression for the quantity of reflected light.
« M. Fresnel’s general formula has been adapted to this
species of rays, by considering them as consisting of a
quantity a of light completely polarised in a plane making
the angle x with that of incidence, and of another quantity
1 — a in the state of natural light. Upon this principle
it becomes
sin.2 (i — i’) 1 + « cos.2 x
+
sin.2 (i + i')
tan.2 (i — *') 1
2
a cos.2 x
tan.2 (* — ir) ■ 2
“ But as we have proved that partially polarised rays are
rays whose planes of polarisation form an angle of 2x with
one another as already explained, x being greater or less
than 45°, we obtain a simpler expression for the intensity
of the reflected pencil, viz. the very same as that for po¬
larised light.
^ __ sin.2 (i
1’) tan.2 (* — i) . 2
—cos.2 x  x . v v< sin.2 x.
sin.2 0 + 1') tan.2 (* + *)
Hence we have
/sin.2 (i — «') _ 3 „ tan.2,(* — *') o;
Q=(
0-
cos.2* +
cos. (i + *')>2
sin.2(* + i')^’ ~ ‘ tan.2(i + i')
sin.2*
•>
tan. *
N . oy
V cos. (i — *')/ 'N
cos. (i + i') \2 ) '
. * 77 yr 1 y
cos. (I — v)/
+(
tan
« This formula is equally applicable to a single pencil of
polarised light of the same intensity as the pencil of par¬
tially polarised light. In all these cases it expresses the
quantity of light really or apparently polarised in the plane
of reflection.
«in order to show the quantity of light polarised at dif¬
ferent angles of incidence, I have computed the following
table for common light, and suited to glass in which m =
1-525.
“ As the preceding formula is deduced from princi¬
ples which have been either established by experiment
or confirmed by it, it may be expected to harmonize with
the results of observation. At all the limits where the
pencil is either wholly polarised or not polarised at all,
it of course corresponds with experiment; but though,
in so far as I know, there have been no absolute measures
taken of the quantity of polarised light at different inci¬
dences, yet we are fortunately in possession of a set of ex¬
periments by M. Arago, who has ascertained the angles
above and below the polarising angle at which glass and
water polarise the same proportion of light. In no case
has he measured the absolute quantity of the polarised
rays: but the comparison of the values of Q at those
angles at which he found them in equal proportions, will
afford a test of the accuracy of the formula. This com¬
parison is shown in the following table, in which column 1
contains the angles at which the reflecting surface polar¬
ises equal proportions of light; column 2 the values of p,
or the inclination of the planes of polarisation; and co¬
lumn 3 the intensities of the polarised light computed
from the formula. ,
Inclination of Planes Proportion of
of Polarisation to MN, Polarised Light,
or <Q. 01 Q
48' 37° 33' 
18 37 21 
5  36 47.....
6  36 0 
20 32 38 
42 33 1 
31 41 54 
^12 41 27  
“ The agreement of the formula with experiments made
with as great accuracy as the subject will admit, must e
allowed to be very satisfactory. The differences are wi
in the limits of the errors of observation, as appears iro
the following table: „ , e..
Deviations from Part °
Experiment. whole LigHt-
Glass: No. 1. 0-0065 ih
No. 2. 0-0262  
No. 3. 0-0122 fV
Water: No. 4. 0-0156 . e
“ M. Arago has concluded, from the experimen
stated, that equal proportions of light are polarise a ^
Angles of
Incidence.
Glass: No. 1
•{
No. 2.
No. 3.
Water: No. 4.
82°
24
82
26
78
29
86
16
•2572
,-2637
,-2828
•3090
,-4186
,-4064
,-1080
.-1236
O P T I C S.
469
■ angular distances from the angle of complete polarisation.
Thus, in glass No. 1, the mean of 82° 48' and 24° 18' is
53° 33', which does not differ widely from the maximum
polarising angle, or 55°, which M. Arago considers as the
maximum polarising angle of the glass.1 In order to com¬
pare this principle with the formula, I found, that in wa¬
ter No. 4, the angle which polarises almost exactly the
same proportion of light as the angle of 86° 31', is 15° 10',
the value of p being 41° 54' at both these angles; but the
mean of these is 50° 50' in place of 53° 11', so that the
rule of M. Arago cannot be regarded as correct, and can¬
not therefore be employed, as he proposes, to determine
the angle of complete polarisation.”2
4, On the Late of the Polarisation of Light by successive
Reflections.
We come now to show the application of the preceding
law of intensity to the phenomena of the polarisation of
light by successive reflections.
“ When a pencil of common light,” says Sir David
Brewster,3 “ has been reflected from a transparent sur¬
face, at an angle of 61° 3', for example, it has expe¬
rienced such a physical change that its planes of polar¬
isation form an angle of 6° 45' each with the plane of re¬
flection. When it is incident on another similar surface
at the same angle, it is no longer common light, in which
x — 45°, but it is partially polarised light, in which x-=.§°
45'. In computing, therefore, the effect of the second re¬
flection, we must take the general formula tan. <p — tan. x
(COS* {X i y\
—' ), ) ; but as the value of x is always in the
cos. (i — r)/
same ratio to the value of <p, however great be the num¬
ber of reflections, we have tan. 0 = tan.w p for the inclina¬
tion 6 to the plane of reflection produced by any number
of reflections n, p being the inclination for one reflection.
Hence, when d is given by observation, we have tan. p
— The formula for any number n of reflections is
fcos. (i 4- .
1 It is evident that 6
therefore tan
q _ /cos. (Z +
\cos. (i 4- *')/
cos. (i -j- *')>
never can become equal to 0°; that is, that the pencil
cannot be so completely polarised by any number of re¬
flections at angles different from the polarising angle, as it
is by a single reflection at the polarising angle ; but we
shall see that the polarisation is sensibly complete, in con¬
sequence of the near approximation of 6 to 0°.
“ I found, for example, that light was polarised by two
reflections from glass at an angle of 61° 3', and 60° 28' by
another observation. Now, in these cases, we have
6 after 1st 0 after 2d ^mity of
Reflection. Reflection. UnTPol™d
Light.
two reflections at 61° 3'...6° 45' 0° 47 0-00037
60 28....5 38 0 33 0-00018
The quantity of unpolarised light is here so small as to be
quite unappreciable with ordinary lights.
“ In like manner, I found that light was completely
polarised by five reflections at 70°. Hence, by the for¬
mula, we have
Values of 6. Unpolarisecl Light.
1 reflection at 70o...20o O' 0-23392
2   7 32 0-03432
3   2 45 0-00460
4   1 0 0-00060
3  0 22 0-00008
The quantity of unpolarised light is here also unapprecia- Polarisa-
ble after the fifth reflection. H011-
In another experiment it was found that light was whol-
ly polarised by the separating surface of glass and water
at the following angles :
Values of 6. Unpolarised Light.
By 2 reflections at 44° 51'...0°56' 0-0005
By 3 42 27....0 26 0-0001
“ In all these cases the successive reflections were made
at the same angle; but the formula is equally applicable
to reflections at different angles,—
“ 1. When both the angles are greater than the polaris¬
ing angle,—
. Unpolarised
Light.
1 reflection at 58* 2', and 1 at 67° 2'...0° 34' 0-0002
“ 2. When one of the angles is above and the other below
the polarising angle,—
. Unpolarised
Light.
1 reflection at 53°, and 1 at 58° 2'...0° 12'....0-000024
This experiment requires a very intense light; for I find
in my journal that the light of a candle is polarised at 53°
and 78°.
“In reflections at different angles, the formula becomes
cos. (js + *') cos. (I I') , .. .
tan. = X  Tp--,- I and * being the an-
cos. («— «') cos. (1 + I') °
gles of incidence. In like manner, if a, b, c, d, e, &c. are
the values of p or 0 for each reflection, or rather for each
angle of incidence, we shall have the final angle, or tan. 6
= tan. a x tan. b x tan. c x tan. d, &c.
“ It is scarcely necessary to inform the reader, that when
a pencil of light reflected at 58° 2' is said to be polarized
by another reflection at 67° 2', it only means, that this is
the angle at which complete polarisation takes place in
diminishing the angle gradually from 90° to 67° 2', and
that even this angle of 67° 2' will vary with the intensity
of the original pencil, with the opening of the pupil, and
with the sensibility of the retina. But when it shall be
determined experimentally at what value of p, or rather
at what value of Q, the light entirely disappears from the
extraordinary image, we shall be able, by inverting the
formula, to ascertain the exact number of reflections by
which a given pencil of light shall be wholly polarised.
“ As the value of Q depends on the relation of i and *',
that is, on the index of refraction, and as this index varies
for the different colours of the spectrum, it is obvious that
Q will have different values for these different colours.
The consequence of this must be, that in bodies of high
dispersive powers, the unpolarised light which remains in
the extraordinary image, and also the light which forms
the ordinary image, must be coloured at all incidences ;
the colours being most distinct near the maximum polar¬
ising angle. This necessary result of the formula was
found to be experimentally true in oil of cassia, and va¬
rious highly dispersive bodies. In realgar, for example,
p is 0 at an angle of 69° 0' for blue light, at 68° 37' for
green light, and at 66° 49' for red light. Hence there can
be no angle of complete polarisation for white light, which
was also found to be the case by experiment; and as Q
must at different angles of incidence have different values
for the different rays, the unpolarised light must be com¬
posed of a certain portion of each different colour, which
may be easily determined by the formula.
“ Such are the laws which regulate the polarisation of
s Hence we have assumed m = L428, the tangent of 55°, in the preceding calculations.
s -p,1.. 0 V10US that the rule can only be true when m = LOGO; so that its error increases with the refractive power.
,rhil. Trans. 1830, p. 80.
470
OPTICS.
Polarisa- light by reflection from the first surfaces of bodies that are
tion> not metallic. The very same laws are applicable to their
second surfaces, provided that the incident light has not
suffered previous or subsequent refraction from the first
surface. The sine of the angle at which p or Q has a
certain value by reflection from the second surface, is to
the sine of the angle at which they have the same value
at the first surface, as unity is to the index of retraction.
Hence <p and Q may be determined by the preceding for¬
mulae after any number of reflections, even if some of the
reflections are made from the first surface of one body and
the second surface of another.”
two parcels, and <p, <p the angles at which the pencil was I
polarised, we have
n:n' — cotan. <p : cotan. <p,' and
n X tan. <p —n' X tan. <p'.
That is, the number of plates in any parcel, multiplied by
the tangent of the angle at which it polarises light, is a con¬
stant quantity. From a great number of observations
made with a parcel of eighteen plates, our author found
the constant quantity for crown-glass to be 41-84 when
the light was that of a good wax-candle placed at the dis¬
tance of about twelve feet, so that we have
41-84
tan. 9 =  ;
Sect. III.— On the Polarisation of Light by Ref raction.
We have already seen that the polarisation of light by
refraction was discovered by independent observations by
Malus, Biot, and Brewster; but the priority of discovery
belongs to IVIalus, who, from various observations, ariived
at the following conclusion : “ When a ray of light falls
upon a plate of glass at an angle of 54° So', all the light
which it reflects is polarised in one direction. The light
which traverses the glass is composed, 1st, of a quantity of
light polarised in a direction opposite to that which is re¬
flected, and proportional to it; and, 2dly, of another por¬
tion not modified, and which preserves the character of
direct light.”
Sir David Brewster made analogous experiments with
thin films of glass, films of mica, folds of gold-beaters’
skin, and films of gold leaf; but he occupied himself chief¬
ly in determining the law of the phenomena depending on
the number ot plates through which the light was trans¬
mitted, and found that the number of plates which polarise
a maximum of light by transmission at different angles of
incidence, are to one another as the co-tangents of the angles
of incidence.
In determining this law, our author employed forty-
seven plates of crown-glass, each about thiee inches long
and one broad, and with these he obtained the following
results
Number of
Plates in each
Parcel.
Angles of Inci- Angles of Inci¬
dence at which | dence at which
Light is Polarised, Light is Polarised,
by Calculation. by Experiment.
8
10
12
14
16
18
21
24
27
29
31
33
35
39
41
44
47
100
200
500
1,000
2,000
4,000
14,000
8,640,000
79° ir
76 33
74
71
69
0
30
4
66 43
63 21
60 8
57 10
55 16
53 28
51 44
50 5
47 1
45 35
43 34
41 41
22 42
11 49
4 47
2 24
1 12
0 36
0 1
0 0 l"
78° 52' 1
76 24
74 2
72 15
69 40
66 43
63 39
61 0
56 58
54 50
53 16
51 0
50 23
46 50
45 49
44 0
42 0
Differences be¬
tween the Calculated
and Observed Angles.
19' —
9 —
2 +
45 +
36 +
0
18 +
52 +
12 —
26 —
12 —
44 —
18 +
11 —
14 +
26 +
19 +
r This result was obtained by a parcel
of plates of parallel glass.
that is, divide the constant quantity by any given number
of plates, and the quotient will be the natural tangent of
the angle at which that number will polarise a pencil of
light.
In this way the second column of the table, which dif¬
fers very little from the observed column, was computed.
From these experiments our author drew the same con-
elusion as in the case of reflection, respecting the state of
what Malus calls the unpolarised light, namely, that it had
suffered a physical change; and he also showed that light
could be polarised by successive refractions, each refrac¬
tion bringing it gradually nearer and nearer to the state of
complete polarisation.
1. On the Motion of the Planes of Polarisation by Refrac¬
tion.
The first, and we believe the only, experiments that have
been made on this subject, were those of Sir David Brews¬
ter ;x and we shall therefore give an account of his re¬
searches in his own words, abridging it as much as possible.
“ If we take a plate of glass, deviating so slightly from
parallelism between it faces as to throw aside from the di¬
rect transmitted image of a luminous body the faint images
formed by reflection between its inner surfaces, we shall
obtain, even at the greatest obliquities, a pencil of light
free of all admixture of reflected light.
“ Let this plate be placed upon a divided circle, so that
we can observe through
If n, n', therefore, represent the number of plates in any
it two luminous discs of
polarised light A, B (fig.
139) formed by double re¬
fraction, and having their
planes of polarisation in¬
clined + 45° and — 45°
to the plane of refraction.
At a perpendicular inci¬
dence, the inclination of
the planes of polarisation
will suffer no change; but
at an incidence of 30°
they will be turned round
40', so that their inclina¬
tion to MN or the angle
aec will be 45° 40'. At
45° their inclination will
be 46° 47'. At 60° it will
be 50® T; and it will in¬
crease gradually to 90°,
where it becomes 66° 19'.
Hence the maximum
change produced by a sin¬
gle plate of glass upon
the planes of polarisation
is 66° 19'—45° = 21° 19',
an effect exactly equal to
Fig. 139.
1 Phil. Trans. 1830, p. 133.
OPTIC S.
471
what is produced by reflection at angles of 39° or 70°. It
is remarkable, however, that this change is made in the op-
y nosite direction, the planes of polarisation now approaching
to coincidence in a plane at right angles to that of reflection ;
a difference which might have been expected from the
opposite character of the resulting polarisation.
“ In this experiment the action of the two surfaces is de¬
veloped in succession, so that we cannot deduce from the
maximum rotation of 21° 19', the real action of the first,
or of a single surface, which must be obviously more than
half of the action of the two surfaces, because the planes
of polarisation have been widened before they undergo the
action of the second surface.
“ In order to obtain the rotation due to a single surface,
I took a prism of glass
ABC, having such an Fig. 140.
angle BAG, that a ray
RR, incident as oblique¬
ly as possible, should
emerge in a direction
Rr perpendicular to the
surface AC. I took care
that this prism was well
annealed, and I caused
the refraction to be performed as near as possible to the
vertex A, where the glass was thinnest, and consequently
most free from the influence of any polarising structure.
In this way I obtained the following measures.
Angles of
Incidence.
67..
80..
861.
.52 53  7
.58 53 13
.61 16 16
.58 42 13
,61 0 16
0'
18
19
16
42
0
Glass.
Inclination of Planes Rotation of
ab, cd, to the Plane Plane for one
of Reflection. Surface.
87° 38' 54° 15' 9° 15'
54 50 47 25   2 25
32 20 45 22 0 22
“ I next made the following experiments with two kinds
of glass, the one a piece of parallel plate-glass, and the other
a piece of very thin crown. The latter had the advantage
of separating the reflected from the transmitted light.
Plate Glass. Crown Glass.
Incidence. Inclination. ^‘Sces. Inclination. twoSSs.
0° 45° 0'  0° 0' 45° 0'  0C
40 47 28  2 28 47 18  2
55  49 35  4 35 49 19  4
53 58 16  7
53.
16.
“ In order to ascertain the influence of refractive power,
I stretched a film of soapy water across a rectangular frame
of copper wire, and obtained the following measures:
Water.
Incidence. Inclination. Rotation.
85° 54° 17' 9° 17'
Metalline Glass.
0  45 0 0 0
20  45 42 0 42
30  46 50 1 50
40   48 0   3 0
55  51 12 6 12
80  62 32 17 32
“ From a comparison of these results, it is manifest that
the rotation increases ivith the refractive power.
“ In examining the effects produced at different inci¬
dences, it is obvious that the rotation R varies with the de¬
viation of the refracted ray ; that is, with i — i!. Hence
1 have been led to express the inclination <p of the planes
w polarisation to the plane of refraction and the rotation
oy the formulae
cot. ^ = cos. {i — *v), R = <p — 45°. ,
“ This formula represents the experiments so accurately,
that when the rhomb of calcareous spar is set to the cal¬
culated angle of inclination, the extraordinary image is
completely invisible.
“„The above expression is of course suited only to the
case where the inclination x of the planes of polarisation
ab, cd (fig. 139), is 45°; but when this is not the case, the
general expression is
cot. 0 — cot. x cos. (i — V').
“ When the light passes through a second surface, as in
a single plate of glass, the value of x for the second sur¬
face is evidently the value of <p after the first refraction ;
or, in general, calling 9 the inclination after any number n
of refractions, and <p the inclination after one refraction,
cot. 9 = (cot. f)n.
“ When 9 is given by observation we have
cot. <p = n^/ cot. 9.
“ The general formula for any inclination x and any
number n of refractions is
cot. 9 = (cot. x cos. (i — *7))n> and
cot. <p = n^/cot. x cos. (i — *').
“ And when a; = 45 and cot. a; = 1, as in common light,
cot. 9 = (cos. (i — *'))”>
cot. <p = "^cos. (i — i').
“ As the term (cos. (i — *'))” can never become equal
to 0, the planes of polarisation can never be brought into
a state of coincidence in a plane perpendicular to that of
reflection.
“ In order to compare the formula with experiment, I
took a plate of well-annealed glass, which at all incidences
separates the* reflected from the transmitted rays, and in
which m was nearly T510, and I obtained the following re¬
sults :
Angles of
Incidence.
Angles of
Refraction.
Rotation
observed.
Inclination
observed.
Inclination
calculated
Difference-
0°
10
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
00
05
70
75
80
85
80
90
0° O'
0 3Gi
13 5
10 15
19 20
22 19
25 10
27 55
30 29
33 52
35 0
30 53
38 29
39 45
40 42
41 19
41 21
41 28
0° O'
0 13
0 27
0 32
0 40
12
30
42
48
54
7
48
7
9 55
12 10
15 45
10 39
45° O'
45 13
45 27
45 32
45 40
40 12
40 30
40 47
47 42
48 54
50 7
51 48
53 7
54 55
57 10
00 45
01 39
45° 0'
45 0
45 25
45 40
40 0
40 25
40 50
47 34
48 24
48 59
50 30
52 7
53 59
50 18
59 5
02 24
03 9
00 19
+ 0° 7'
+ 0 2
— 0 8
— 0 20
— 0 13
— 0 20
+ 0 47
— 0 42
—■0 5
— 0 29
— 0 19
— 0 52
— 1 23
— 1 55
_ 1 39
_ 1 30
“ The last column but one of the table was calculated
by the formula
cot. 9 = cos. (cos. (i —
n being in this case 2. The errors, however, being almost
all negative, I suspected that there was an error of adjust¬
ment in the apparatus; and upon repeating the experi¬
ment at 80°, the point of maximum error, I found that the
inclination was fully 58° 40', giving a difference only of 25
in place of 1° 55'.
“Inthese experiments x = 45° and cot. x = 1; but in
order to try the general formula when x varied from 0° to
90°, I took the case w here the angle of incidence was 80%
472
Polarisa¬
tion.
Values of x.
0° 
21
and <f> — 58° 40' when x = 45°.
results.
Inclination
observed.
.. 0° 0'....
.. 7 10...,
.. 9 40 ...
..17 10...
15  24 42 ...
20  32 30 ...
25  39 15...
30  44 10 43 57
35  49 38  49 28
40  54 36 54 31
OPTICS.
The following were the
“ In all these cases the formula expresses the quantity of l|^|
5
10
Inclination
calculated.
... 0° 0'.,
... 7
... 8
...16
...24
...31
...37
20
19
25
Difference.
. 0° 0'
.— 0
■+ 1
+ 0
10
21
45
6 + 0 36
19
54
+ 1
+ 1
+ 0
+ 0
+ 0
11
21
13
10
5
light really or apparently polarised in the plane of refrac¬
tion. v
“ As the planes of polarisation of a pencil polarised q- 45°
and — 45° cannot be brought into a state of coincidence
by refraction, the quantity of light polarised by refraction
can never be mathematically equal to the whole of the
transmitted pencil, however numerous be the refractions
which it undergoes ; or, what is the same thing, refraction
cannot produce rays truly polarised, that is, with their
planes of polarisation parallel.”
ion. 11
On the partial Polarisation of Light hy one or more
Refractions.
45  58 40
50  63 10
55  66
60  70
65  74
70  76
75  79
80  83 23
85  86 23
5 — 0 25
 — 0 9
 — 0 17
 — 0 38
59
63 19
58  67 15
18  70 56
8 74 24
56  77 42
20  80 53 — 1
83 58  — 0
86 0 + 0
0 16
0 46
33
35
23
90  90 0  90 0  0 0
“ The last column but one was calculated by the formula
cot. 6 = cot. x . (cot. 58° 40')2.
“ In determining the quantity of polarised light in the
refracted pencil, we must follow the method already ex¬
plained for the reflected ray, mutatis mutandis. The prin¬
cipal section of the analysing rhomb being now supposed
to be placed in a plane perpendicular to the plane of re¬
flection, the quantity of light Q! polarised in that plane
will be
Q' = 1 — 2 cos.2 p,
the quantity of transmitted light being unity.
cot. <p = cot. x cos. (i — i'),
But
and as cot. <p =
cos/ cp
sin.2 <p
and sin.2 p cos.2 p = 1, we have
the quotient and the sum of sin.2 p and cos.2 p to find them.
„ (cot. x cos. (i — t'))2
Hence cos.' <p = j + (cot. * cos. (f _ ^ =
and by substituting this for cos.2 p in the former equation,
it becomes
_ (cot. a; cos. (* — *'))2
Q/ — l — 2
1 (cot. #. cos. (*—i'))
“ Now since, by Fresnel’s formula, the quantity of re¬
flected light is
sin.2 (t — if) , tan.2 (i — i')
R = £ (-
2 \s
+
i’))’
^sin.2 (i -f- i') _T" tan.2 (i + *')
the quantity of transmitted light T will be
T _ i i /sin.2 (i — i’) tan.2 (i ?')\
2 \sin.2 (* + **" tan.2 (i + i')J
Hence Q,'
tan.2 (* -j- i')
tan.2 (i — i1
(cos. (*■
^sm/ (i -f- i')
*))*
+
tan.2 (* + i!
©)
3-
1 -J- (cos.  *'))2'
« This formula is applicable to common light, in which
cot. a; = 1 disappears from the equation ; but, on the same
principles which we have explained in a preceding paper,
it becomes for partially polarised rays and for polarised
light
“ The analysis given in the preceding paragraphs, of the
changes produced on common light, considered as repre¬
sented by two oppositely polarised pencils, furnishes us
with the same conclusions respecting the partial polarisa¬
tion of light by refraction which we have already deduced
respecting the partial polarisation of light by reflectian.
Each refracting surface produces a change in the position
of the planes of polarisation, and consequently a physical
change upon the transmitted pencil by which it has ap¬
proached to the state of complete polarisation.
“ This position I shall illustrate by applying the for¬
mula to the experiments in a preceding page.
« According to the first of these, the light of a wax-
candle at the distance of ten or twelve feet is wholly po¬
larised by eight plates or sixteen surfaces of parallel plate-
glass at an angle of 78° 52'. Now I have ascertained that
a pencil of light of this intensity will disappear from the
extraordinary image, or appear to be completely polarised,
provided its planes of polarisation do not form an angle of
less than 88|° with the plane of refraction for a moderate
number of plates, or 88i° for a considerable number of
plates, the difference arising from the great diminution of
the light in passing through the substance of the glass. In
the present case the formula gives
cot. 6 = (cos. (*' — and 8 = 88° 5(y;
so that the light should appear to be completely polarised,
as it was found to be.
“ At an angle of 61° 0' the pencil was polarised by twen¬
ty-four plates or forty-eight surfaces. Here
cot. 6 = (cos. (i - *'))48 = 89° 36'.
“ At an angle of 43° 34' the light was polarised by forty-
seven plates or ninety-four surfaces. Here
cot. d — (cos. (i — i'))94 and 6 = 88° 27'.
“ It is needless to carry this comparison any further; but
it may be interesting to ascertain by the formula the smal
lest number of refractions which will produce complete
polarisation. In this case the angle of incidence must be
90°.
“ Hence, © = 56° 29' and (cos. (i — t'))9 gives 88° 36'’
and (cos. (i — i'))10 89° 4'; that is, the polarisation will be
nearly complete by the most oblique transmission through
four and a half plates or nine surfaces, and will be pertea-
ly complete through five plates or ten surfaces.
Sect. IV.— Comparison of the Laws of Intensity ft)
Light polarised by Reflection and Refraction.
Q!
-(ii
l 2Vsin.2(*
—«')
—^cos.
+ 0
tan.2(*—i
tan.2(i
1 +
(cot. x cos, (i — i’) )2\
(cot. x cos. (f— if) )2/
larised by refraction and reflection, it becomes a pomt^^
great importance to compare the results which they
Calling R the reflected light, these formulae become
^ sin.2x] ) « Having obtained formulae for the quantity of P°f
1} '/ larised bv refraction and reflection, it becomes a po mtoi
p 33-
OPTICS.
a = R (i —
Q' = l —r(i-
(cos. (i + i') \ 2
cos. (i — i') /
473
J + / cos. (i' + i'K
Vcos. (i — *')/
2 (cos, (i — ?) y
and
'-VV \
<p + (cos. (i—i'yy)'
“ But these two quantities are equal, and hence we ob¬
tain the important general law, that,—-.4* the first surface
of all bodies, and at all angles of incidence, the quantity of
light polarised by refraction is equal to the quantity polar¬
ised by reflection. I have said ‘ of all bodies,’ because
the law is equally applicable to the surfaces of crystallized
and metallic bodies, though the action of their first surface
is masked or modified by other causes.
“ It is obvious from the formula that there must be some
angle of incidence where R =: 1 — R, or the reflected
equal to the transmitted light. When this takes place,
we have sin.2 <p — cos.2 <p'; that is,
“ The reflected is equal to the transmitted light, when the
inclination of the planes of polarisation of the reflected
pencil to the plane of reflection, is the complement of the
inclination of the planes of polarisation of the ref racted
pencil to the same plane i or, if we refer the inclination of
the planes to the two rectangular planes into which the
planes of polarisation are brought,— The reflected wdl be
equal to the transmitted light when the inclination of the
planes of polarisation of the reflected pencil to the plane of
reflection is equal to the inclination of the plane of polari¬
sation of the refracted pencil to a plane perpendicular to
the plane of reflection.
“ in the following table, the inclination of the planes of
polarisation of the reflected and the refracted pencil, and
the quantities of light reflected, transmitted, and polar¬
ised, at all angles of incidence upon glass, m being equal
to l"o25, and the incident light — 1000, are given z
°c--
£*3
0° 0'
2 0
10 0
20 0
25 0
30 0
35 0
40 0
45 0
50 0
56 45
60 0
65 0
70 0
75 0
78 0
78 7
79 0
80 40
82 4
84 0
85 0
85 501
86 0
87 0
88 0
89 0
90 0
0° O'
1 18|
G 32
12 58
16 5
19 8|
22 C
24 5G
27 371
30 9
33 15
34 36
36 28
38 2
39 18
39 54
39 55
40 4
40 13
40 35
40 42
40 47
40 504
40 51
40 54
40 571
40 58
40 58
o'i v
c; Cm „
•.£ P-< ~ bp .
J'S'SH V
1j o e'2
C £ o
»—1 cc • r; a
S
•Bph £ .£P
4-
•5 o o _
"o CJ C 1y
= 5 .2
45° O'
44 57
43 51
40 13
37 21
33 40
29 8
23 41
17 224
10 18
0 0
5 41
12 45
18 32
26 52
30 44
30 53
31 59
33 13
36 22
38 2
39 12
40 12
40 22 t
41 3211
41 23
43 51
45 0
45° O'
45 0-7
45 3
45 13
45 21
45 31
45 44
46 0
46 20
46 45
47 29
47 541
48 42
49 28
50 55
51 48
51 50
52 7
52 271
53 26^
53 57
54 22
54 44
54 48
55 16
55 43
56 14
56 29
3.C
O' M
0 s •
•■sSj
5 ■*->
43-23
43-26
43-39
43-41
43- 64
44- 78
46-33
49-10
53-66
61-36
79-5
93-31
124-86
162-67
257-56
329 95
333-20
359-27
391-7
499 44
560-32
616-28
666-44
676-26
744-11
819-9
904-81
1000-
956-77
956-74
956-61
956-59
956-36
955-22
953-67
950-90
946 33
938-64
920-5
906 69
875-14
837-33
742-44
670-05
666-80
640-73
608-3
500-56
439 68
383-72
333-56
323-74
255-89
18-0-1
95-19
.0-
3J3
<0 M
3
0
0-07
1-73
7-22
11-6
17-24
24-4
32 2
44-0
57-4
79 5
91-6
112-7
129-8
152 3
157-6
157-65
157 6
156-7
145-4
134-93
123-7
11111
108-67
89-8
65-9
36-3
0-
the form! 1ob^lous’/rom a consideration of the principle of
ised lin-ht °r r^ecte(i light, that the quantity of polar-
Vol’xvi8 not nn& at h*’ because the force which polar-
ises it is there a minimum. At the maximum polarising Polarisa-
light, Qis only 79-5, because the glass is incapable of re- tio»-
ecting more light at that angle, otherwise more would
have been polarised. The value of Q, then, rises to its
maximum at-78° 7', and descends to its minimum at 90°;
but the polarising force has not increased from 56° 45' to
y < ’ af i- f value of shows. It is only the quantity of
1 eflected light that has increased which occasions a greater
quantity of light to disappear from the extraordinary ima,re
of the analysing rhomb. &
“ The case, however, is different with tne refracted light.
The value of Q' has one minimum at 0°, and another at
90°, while its maximum is at 78° 7'; while the force has
its minimum at 0°, and its minimum at 90°, where its
effect is a minimum only because there is no Imht to po¬
larise. At the incidence of 78° 7', where the^quantities
(4, (T reach their maxima, the reflected light is exactly
one half of the transmitted light; sin.2 — cos.2 © and tan.
<p' = cos. <p.
“ At 85° 50'40", where the transmitted light is one half
of the reflected light, the deviation (i — i') — 45°, and the
quantity of polarised light is one third of the transmitted
light, one sixth of the reflected light, and one ninth of the
incident^ light. Sin.2 <p’: cos.2 <p = reflected light: trans¬
mitted light, and cot. <p = sin. (i if.
“ At 430 we have (i + if + (i — i')=90° and (i — if,
tan. f and
cos-(* —O ^ ; ~ (sin.(i■+*'))2'
“ At56° 45', the polarising angle, the formula for reflect¬
ed light becomes R = | (sin.2 (* - iff ; but at this angle
we have i' = 90° — i. Hence we obtain the following sim¬
ple expression in terms of the angle of incidence, for the
angl^1^ re^ectei* hj ah bodies at the polarising
R = | (cos. 2 if.”
Sect. V—On the Action of Single Plates and Single Sur¬
faces in polarising Light by Reflection and Refraction.
In the article on the polarisation of light in this work, M.
Arago has described an elegant experiment, from which he
deduced the conclusion, that the quantity of polarised light
contained in the pencil transmitted by a transparent plate is
exactly equal to the quantity of light polarised at right angles,
which is found in the pencil reflected by the same plate.
Now- this law is true only at the maximum polarising
angle, the two pencils being unequal at all other angles of
incidence. The apparent equality observed by M. Arago
seems to have arisen from other light being blended with
tie pencils. In order, therefore, to obtain the true law
or single plates, we must determine it for a single surface.
In older to do this, Sir David Brewster employed a
well-annealed prism of co¬
lourless glass, in place of a
plate of glass, and he made
the ray BI from a sheet of
white paper BA enter the sur¬
face FD perpendicularly at I,
while another ray AS was re¬
flected to the eye from the
surface ED of the prism.
He then made the experi¬
ment with a doubly refract-
ing prism C in the manner
described by M. Arago, and
obtained the law for a single
surface, viz.
That the quantity of pola¬
rised light in the pencil re-
3 o
474
OPTICS.
Polarisa- fracted by a transparent surface is exactly equal to the
tion. quantity in the pencil reflected by it.
'v—“v-—'' That is, what was supposed to be true of plates is true
only of surfaces. . , . ,
The action of a single plate on light, involving the com¬
bined action of three refractions and two reflections, with¬
out following the light beyond one internal reflection, is suf¬
ficiently complex, and has been analysed in the following
manner by Sir David Brewster.
He took a plate of glass of the form MN, fig. 14^,
having an oblique face Md cut upon one of its ends.
Fie. 142.
We shall have
cot. <p =■ cos. (« — i')> or tan. <p =
Ik Isa-
cos.(i — if
cos. (i -f- if)   cos. (i + if)
tan. (p — tan. x . ..v ✓ / • 7\ \ o?
r cos. (1 — i’) (cos.(«—i,)Y
/ /• -AN (COS. (i — i!) )3
cot,, f = cot. a- (cos. (1 -i’))- -^7(r+iy
“ These formulae are suited to common light, where a;
: 45°, but when x varies they become
cot. <p = cot. x (cos. (i — i') ),
/ cos. (i 4- i1) \
d = tan. x [-  yrrjj
r \(cos. («—1') yj
/(cos. (i — i')Y\
CO.. fF = (C0t.3.-( +
“ A ray of light RA, polarised + 45° and — 4o , was
made to fall upon it at A, at an angle of incidence of near¬
ly 83\ so that the inclination of the planes of polarisation
of the reflected ray AP was about 36^°. Now the ray
AC, after reflection in the direction CS, without any re¬
fraction at B, where it emerges perpendicularly to Mf/,
would also have had the inclination of its planes of polari¬
sation equal to 36i° if there had been no intermediate re¬
fraction at A; but this refraction alone being capable ot
producing an inclination of 53°, or a rotation of o3 —-
— 8°, and this rotation being in an opposite direction from
that produced by the second reflection at C, the^ inclina¬
tion of the planes of polarisation for the ray CS is nearly
441°, the reflection of C having brought back the ray AC
almost exactly into the state of natural light.
“ Without changing either the light or the angle, I ce¬
mented a prism Mec? on the face MJ, so that cd was pa¬
rallel to <fN, and I found that the second refraction at b,
equal to that at A, changed the inclination of the planes
of polarisation to 53°; that is, the two refractive actions
at A and b had overcome the action of reflection at C, and
the pencil bs actually contained light polarised perpendi¬
cular to the plane of reflection.
“ In order to put this result to another test, I took a plate
Me NQ (fig. 142) of the same glass, which separated the
pencil bs reflected at the second surface, from the parallel
pencil AP reflected from the first surface, and 1 found, that
at an angle of 83°, the value of the inclination I or <p for
the ray was about 37-|°, while the value of I for the ray os
was nearly 55°, an effect almost equal to the refractive ac¬
tion of a plate at 83° of incidence.
“ When the pencil R A is incident on the first surface at
the polarising angle or 56° 45', the rotation produced by
refraction at A is about 2°, or the inclination I — 45
-}- 2° = 47° ; but the maximum action of the polarising
force at C is sufficient to make 1 = 0° whether x is 45° or
47°. Hence CB is completely polarised in the plane of
reflection, and the refractive action at b is incapable of
changing the plane of polarisation when 1 = 0°; the rea¬
son is, therefore, obvious why the two rotations at A and
b. of 2° each, produce no effect at the maximum polarising
angle.
“ If we now call
(p — inclination to the plane of reflection produced
by the first refraction at A,
d ~ inclination produced by the reflection at C,
f = inclination produced by the second refraction
at b,
“ Resuming the formula for common light, viz. cot. <p'
_ (cos* ()_) } js obvious that when (cos. (i — i') )3
cos. (i + i')
— cos. (i + *'), cot. p" = 1, and p7 = 45°; that is, the
light is restored to common light.
In glass where m — 1,525 this effect takes place at
78° 7', a little below 78° in diamond, and a little above 80°
in water.
“ At an angle below this p becomes less than 45°, and the
pencil contains light polarised in the plane of reflection;
while at all greater angles p is above 45°, and the pencil
contains light polarised perpendicular to the plane of re¬
flection. Hence we obtain the following curious law:
“ ‘ A pencil of light reflected from the second surfaces of
transparent plates, and reaching the eye after two refrac¬
tions and an intermediate reflection, contains, at all angles
of incidence, from 0° to the maximum polarising angle, a
portion of light polarised in the plane of reflection. Above
the polarising angle the part of the pencil polarised in the
plane of reflection diminishes till cos.{i + i') = (cos. *■—*') )3»
when it disappears, and the whole pencil has the character
of common light. Above this last angle the pencil contains
a quantity of light polarised perpendicular to the plane of
reflection, which increases to a maximum and then dimi¬
nishes to zero at 90°.’
“ Let us now examine the state of the pencil Co alter
only one refraction and one reflection. Resuming the for¬
mula tan. p' = cos- ^ it is evident that when (cos.
(i _ i') )2 — cos. (i + i'), p' = 45°, and the light restored
to common light. This takes place in glass at an angle
of 82° 44'. At all angles beneath this the pencil contains
fio-ht polarised in the plane of reflection ; but at all angles
above it, the pencil contains light polarised perpendicu ar
to the plane of reflection, the quantity increasing lom
82° 44' to its maximum, and returning to its minimum a
“ Let us now apply the results of the preceding analysis
to M. Arago’s experiment. Suppose the angle of incidence
to be 78° 7', and let the light polarised by reflecUon at
(fig. 142) be = m, and that polarised by one reflectio
= m. Then, since the pencil bs is common light, the^po
larised light in the whole reflected pencil AF, 6\1S- ’
whereas the light polarised by the two ref?'actl^^s "1^
so that the experiment makes two quantities appear ea
when the one is double that of the other. » ^
exceeds 78° 7', the oppositely polarised the P the
bs will neutralise a portion of the polarised hg
pencil AP, and the ratio of the oppositely Pola* ^
which seem to be compensated in the expenmen y
that of 3m or even 4ra to 1. , ct
“ We may now obtain formulae for c0111!?1111"?. idence,
quantities of polarised light at any angle of mci
either in the pencil CBS or bs.
OPTICS.
475
a- “ The primitive ray RA being common light, AC will
not be in that state, but will have its planes of polarisation
turned round a quantity x by the refraction at A; so that
cot. x — cos. (i — i'). Hence we must adopt for the
measure of the light reflected at C the formula of Fresnel
for polarised light whose plane of incidence forms an angle
x with the plane of reflection. The intensity of AC being
known from the formula for common light, we shall call it
unity, then the intensity I of the two pencils polarised
— a:and -f- * to the plane of reflection will be
sin.2 (i — i')
I = — „ cos.
(i -f i)
x +
tan.2 (i — *')
Q = I
C1-1
tan.2 (i + f)
/ cos. (i + i') \2
\(cos. (i—i') y2)
sin.2 x, and
+ 1
cos. (* + i')
(cos. (i — i') y
)
“ In like manner, if the intensity of CB = 1, we have
cos. + *')
tan. x = v 7
(cos. (i—i') )2’
and the intensity I of the transmitted pencil bs
1=1
sin.2 (i — i')
sin.2 (»+ i')
x +
tan.2 (i — ir)
tan.2 (i + i')
f(cos. (i — i') )3\2
sin.2 x and
Q
_ f j j _ 2 V cos, (f + i) ) \
\ 1 + A cos- (i — i') fvj
''(cos. (i — i) )3\i
cos. (i + f) /
“ The following table, computed from the formulae in
the preceding page, shows the state of the planes of po¬
larisation of the three rays AC, CS, and bs.
Angle of Inci¬
dence on the
First Surface.
0° O'
32 0
40 0
45 0
50 30
07 0
70 0
75 0
78 37
79 0
80 0
83 0
80 30
90 0
Angle of Re¬
fraction at
First Surface,
and Angle of
Incidence on
Second Sur¬
face.
0° O'
20 33
25 10
27 55
33 30
37 34
38 30
39 46
40 29
40 33
40 42
41 5
41 23
41 58
Inclination of! Inclination of inclination of
Plane of P olar- Plane of Polar- Plane of Polar
isation of AC,
fig. 142.
45° O'
45 34
45 53
46 17
47 22
48 57
49 33
50 45
51 49
51 56
52 16
53 21
54 47
56 29
isation of C S,
fig. 142.
isation of bs,
fig.142.
45° 0'
32 20
24 12
17 49
0 0
18 20
23 34
32 22
38 10
38 49
40 27
44 39
50 58
56 29
45° O'
32 51
24 56
18 38
0 0
20 50
27 6
37 48
44 59
45 46
47 46
53 40
60 13
66 19
Sect. VI—On the Polarisation of Light by Absorption and
Dispersion.
In the preceding section we have considered common
hght as consisting of two pencils of polarised light, hav-
mg their^ planes of polarisation at right angles to each
other. The very same results would take place if we con¬
sidered a beam of light as consisting of two sets of polar¬
ised rays, all those of one set having their planes of polar¬
isation in every possible direction, and of another set Hav¬
ing their planes of polarisation at right angles to those of
the former.1 In this view of the subject, common light Polarisa-
is polarised when it issues from the luminous body, and tion.
when we polarise it or decompose it by double refraction, ''■""“'v
or polaiise it completely by reflection or refraction, we
merely separate the one half of it polarised + from the
half polarised . Ibis effect is analogous to the de¬
composition of white light into its colours. All the
colours exist in the sun s light, and they are merely se¬
pal ated by prismatic refraction, or by interference, or by
absorption. J
Now common light may also be decomposed by disper¬
sion and absorption ; that is, if we can contrive any method
of dispersing or absorbing one of the two polarised pencils
of common light, we shall exhibit the other pencil in its
state of natural polarisation.
Crystals in which this effect is produced are called
singly polarising or singly refracting crystals. They were
first observed and described by Sir David Brewster in the
year 1812.2 The first mineral in which he discovered this
property was the agate, in which one of the pencils is dis¬
persed into a nebulous mass of light, sometimes of the
form of a crescent, so that the bright image was all polar¬
ised in one plane, like one of the pencils of Iceland spar.
The mass of nebulous light, too, was always polarised in a
plane perpendicular to that of the bright image.
I he same author discovered a similar property in cer¬
tain specimens of the carbonate of barytes, which exhibited
several interesting phenomena,3 in thick crystals of mica,4
and in mother of pearl,5 and very curiously in oil of mace,6
and other substances. The same property he found in
various artificial crystals, but particularly in nitre.
Another very beautiful example of polarised nebulous
images was observed by the same author in an artificial
kind of nacre already referred to, in which there are three
nebulous polarised images, with a bright image enclosed
in the middle one of the three nebulous images.7
A similar property was discovered in 1815 in the tour¬
maline, nearly about the same time, by M. Biot and M.
Seebeck, the priority belonging to the former. This crys¬
tal has double refraction, like all other crystals of the same
class; but when it is cut by planes passing through the
axis of the crystal, and has a certain thickness (about the
twenty-fifth of an inch, but which varies in different spe¬
cimens), it transmits only one of the pencils formed by
double refraction. The pencil polarised in the plane of
the principal section is absorbed, or somehow or other lost,
while the one depolarised at right angles to that section is
transmitted. If we take two such plates of tourmaline, and
place them with their axes parallel, the unabsorbed pencil
will be freely transmitted through both ; but if we begin to
turn one of them round, the light will become fainter and
fainter, and the luminous object will vanish entirely when
the axes are at right angles to each other. By continuing to
turn, the image again appears, reaches its maximum when
the axes are parallel, and then vanishes when the axes are
at right angles. The same phenomenon is exhibited by the
ayate in reference to its distinct image.
In all the singly refracting and polarising crystals above
enumerated, the effects described arise from a certain de¬
gree of imperfection in the structure and combination of
the elementary crystals, by which one of the polarised pen¬
cils is reflected or absorbed ; but Sir David Brewster found
that the same property may be communicated to any crys¬
tal, merely by altering its superficial conformation.
li we take a hexahedral prism of nitrate of potash, and
\ £hiL Trans. 1815, p. 149. Ibid. 1830, p. 84.
8 1^.ilosoPhi,cal Instruments, p. 329. See also Phil. Trans. 1813, p. 101. Ibid. 1814, p.’ 183.
6 Phil Ss [mr110118’ V01, P‘ 289’ „ 4 Phil- Trans. 1814, p. 225.
1814, 6 Ibid- P- 27 and 38. 7 Phil. Trans. 1836, p. 53.
476
OPTICS.
Polarisa- observe a luminous object through two of its inclined sur-
tion. faces that have a good natural or artificial polish, we shall
v v-'-'perceive two distinct and perfectly formed images. If we
now roughen these two surfaces, and cement upon each of
them a plate of glass by means of balsam of capivi, the
character of the two images will be greatly changed. I he
image that has suffered the greatest refraction will be as
distinct as before, but the other image will be either of a
faint reddish colour, or wholly invisible, according to the
degree of roughness induced upon the refracting surfaces.
When oil of cassia is used instead of the balsam, the least
refracted image, if it was visible before, will now be com¬
pletely extinguished.
By substituting pure alcohol, or the white of an egg, in¬
stead of the balsam, the least refracted image will become
distinct, and the most refracted image will be either a mass
of nebulous light, or almost invisible.
In order to explain these phenomena, we must recollect
that the index of refraction for the ordinary of nitre
is 1-511, and that of the extraordinary image 1-328. When
the rough surface of the nitre is covered with balsam of
capivi, which has nearly the same index of refraction as
the ordinary image, the same effect is produced as if t e
rough surface had been polished for the ordinary rays.
AlHhe little pits or depressions in the rough surface be¬
ing filled up with balsam, the ordinary rays suffer little or
no refraction in penetrating the crystal, and therefore the
image which they form will be as clear and distinct as m
the first experiment. But since the index of refraction for
the extraordinary image is much less than that of the
balsam, the rays of which it is composed will not enter the
crystal undisturbed, but will be scattered in the same man¬
ner as if its surface was rough, and had a refractive power
corresponding to the difference between the index of re¬
fraction for the extraordinary ray, and the index of refrac¬
tion for the balsam. Wlien water or alcohol is substituted
in room of the balsam, the effects now described are inter¬
changed, the roughness being removed for the extraordi¬
nary rays by the application of a fluid of the same refrac¬
tive density, while the rays that form the ordinary image
are dispersed by the refractions which still exist at the
rough surface of the crystal.
These effects will be better understood by supposing the
crystal to consist of an extraordinary and an ordinary me¬
dium, arranged in alternate strata, or as water exists in wet
hydrophanous opal. When the superficial polish of both
these media is removed, the application of the balsam re¬
stores, as it were, the polish of the ordinary medium, with¬
out restoring that of the extraordinary medium ; while the
application of the alcohol restores the polish of the extra¬
ordinary medium without restoring that of the ordinary
medium. . 7
These results were repeatedly obtained with calcareous
spar, arragonite, nitre, carbonate of potash, and other crys¬
tals;1 and we have now before us a singly-polarising prism
of Iceland spar, made nearly twenty years ago, which
answers all the common purposes of a plate of tourmaline
or a parcel of glass plates.
sently see, had been observed by Huygens, Robison, Ma- uL
lus, and others, in Iceland spar; but they were not aware ik
of their nature and origin. ^
There are four methods of exhibiting these colours,
which may be used at pleasure, and each of which has its
advantages.
1. If we take a plate of agate or tourmaline, or any other Fis
of the artificial singly-polarising crystals already describ-
th )f
Sect. VII.— On the Depolarisation of Light, and the Co'
lours of thin Crystallized Plates in Polarised Light.
The phenomena which we are about to describe are
among the most splendid in optics. They were disco¬
vered by independent observation by M. Arago and Sir
David Brewster ; the priority of discovery belonging to M.
Arago. The very same colours, indeed, as we shall pre-
*.1*  O J I  O «/ U  
ed, and having cut it into two parts, each of which is atsh tig
least equal to the diameter of the pupil of the eye, thoughth |K™-
this is not absolutely requisite, fix each of them above anmi
aperture in a piece of card or brass, so that no light passes
at their edges. Let them be now placed at the distance
of an inch or more, the one near the eye being capable of
turning round the axis of vision ; and let this last be turn¬
ed into such a position that the light of the sky, or that of
a flame enlarged by a lens placed near it, is no longer able
to penetrate the second singly-refracting plate.
If we now introduce between the two plates of tourma¬
line, for example, a plate, either thick or thin, of any
doubly-refracting substance, we shall observe^ very curious
effects. If the plate is thick, such as one of sulphate of
lime, the 30th of an inch and upwards, we shall find that
the insertion of the plate has revived, as it were, the light
which refused to pass through the second plate, and this
light will be white. If we turn the sulphate of lime round,
we shall find four positions 90° from each other, in which
the revived light is a maximum ; and other four bisecting
these, and also 90° from each other, in which the light en¬
tirely vanishes, as before the sulphate of lime had been
introduced.
This property of reviving tne light has been called the
depolarisation of light, because the sulphate of lime de¬
prives the rays polarised by the first plate, of that kind of
polarisation which prevented them from penetrating the
second plate.
But if the plate is thin, between the fiftieth and the
seventy-fifth of an inch, we shall have precisely the same
phenomena, with this difference only, that the restored
light is brilliantly coloured. The colours vary in inten¬
sity, like the white light, disappearing in the positions 0°,
90°, 180°, and 270°, and reaching their maximum at 45°,
135°, 225°, and 315°. If we now turn the plate of tour¬
maline next the eye round 90°, so that the axis of the two
plates are parallel, and the pencil polarised by the first
freely transmitted by the second, and if we then introduce
the same plate of sulphate of lime as before, we shall now
find that in the four positions of it, viz. 0°, 90°, 180°, and
270°, where no light or colours were formerly, nothing but
white light is visible; but that at the positions 45°, 135 ,
225°, and 315°, where the maxima of light and colour took
place, we have the maxima of a colour complementary to
that formerly seen, the intensity of this colour gradually
increasing from nothing at 0°, reaching its maximum at
45°, again diminishing to 90°, and so on with the otier
quadrants. These colours are called the colours oj crys
tallized plates, or the colours of polarised light.
In the preceding experiment with plates of tourma me,
we see only one of the two complementary colours, wlnle
the position of the tourmaline remains the same. e
disadvantage of using the tourmalines is, that, from tliei
brown colour, the brilliancy of the polarised colours
greatly injured; and the tourmalines therefore cannot
employed, either when we wish to have the most brillian
representations of the phenomena, or when it is necessa y
to study the exact tints which are developed.
But if we use the plates of agate or of roughened
1 Phil. Trans. 1819, p. 146
OPTICS.
477
'isa-
me' dr
land spar in the same manner, we shall not only have iden- FJrr, 144,.
tically the same phenomena of colour in the bright and
distinct image formed by the agate with a purer light;
but we shall have the additional phenomenon of this bright
coloured image placed in the middle of a nebula or haze of
the complementary colour, so that we here see both the co¬
lours at the same time, and without any of the superadded
brown colour imparted by the tourmaline. If the colour
of the distinct image is green, it will be encircled by a as to reflect it to the eye at O. If the plane of reflection
haze of red light; it it is blue, with a haze of orange light; from B is vertical, so as to be perpendicular to that from
and so on.1 A, not a ray of the pencil Rr will be reflected, but the
2. The second method consists in placing the film of eye at O will perceive a large black spot on the part
sulphate of lime GKHL between two bundles of glass of the sky or other luminous surface from which the ray
plates A and B, which polarise the light by refraction, as Rr proceeds.2 The plate or plates at A are called the
shown in the annexed figure. A ray Rr emerges from polarising plates, and that at B the analysing plate.
The plate of sulphate of lime is then placed at GKHL,
anywhere between the plates, and it will exhibit the very
same phenomena as between the tourmalines and the
bundles of plates, though with more brilliancy and distinct¬
ness, as there is no brown colour to disturb the tints, and
no haziness, as happens with the second bundle B of plates
of glass. In this method the planes of reflection perform
the same part as the axis of tourmaline and the planes of
refraction in the other cases.
4. The last method which we shall mention, is to em-Fourth
ploy rhombs of Iceland spar, both for polarising and ana- method,
lysing the light. If the Iceland spar is converted into two
A, polarised as at st, and
will freely penetrate the se¬
cond bundle B, and emerge,
as showm at vie, when the
planes of refraction of A
and B are parallel, as in the
their planes of refraction perpendicular to each other,
then the position of the plate of sulphate of lime, in which
no colour appears, is, when its axis of double refraction
CD is its principal axis (viz. the line bisecting the result¬
ant axis) if it is biaxal, parallel or perpendicular to the
figure; but not a ray of st will emerge at v when the
planes of refraction are perpendicular to each other. When
we interpose, therefore, the sulphate of lime GKHL, it will
exhibit identically the same phenomena as between the
tourmaline plates, the bundle A corresponding to the
fixed plate, and B to the moveable one, and the planes
of refraction corresponding to the axes of the tourmaline, of NicoTs prisms, then each prism performs exactly the
If we suppose the bundles A and B to be placed with same part as the tourmaline and the reflectors, exhibiting
only one of the complementary colours. This ingenious
contrivance, which derives its name from its inventor, Wil¬
liam Nicol, Esq. of Edinburgh, consists of two pieces of cal¬
careous spar cemented together so as to transmit only one
of the polarised pencils ; but the difficulty and expense of
planes of refraction. When CD, therefore, or EF (per- constructing it well, and the risk of a change in the state
pendicular to it), is in the plane of refraction of A, or of the cement which unites the two parts, render it de-
th plane of primitive polarisation, as it is called, not a sirable to have a simple, a cheap, and a durable substitute
ray of coloured light reaches the eye at v, and hence for it. The polariser and analyser used by Sir David
these have been called the neutral axes of the plate of Brewster in many of his experiments in elliptical polari-
sulphate of lime, because they produce no change upon sation, and in the action of crystallized surfaces, was a
the ray st. On the other hand, when the lines GH, KL, single rhomb of calcareous spar, having thin plates
perpendicular to each other, and inclined forty-five de- of colourless glass cemented to its natural surfaces by
grees to the neutral axes, are in the plane of primitive Canada balsam, which, while it removes any imperfection
polarisation, the coloured light depolarised is a maximum, of surface, protects the surfaces from any accidental inju-
and hence they have been called the depolarising axes of ry, or from the deterioration of the polish arising from
the plate GKHL, names which will be found very conve- frequently cleaning them. This rhomb, shown at ABCD,
nient in the description of phenomena. maybe of any thickness suited to the diameter of the
It is an interesting fact, which was discovered by Sir pencil of light which we wish to have. By a rhomb one
David Brewster, that nature actually presents us, in the inch thick we can obtain a pencil of light 0T15 of an
case of certain crystals of nitre, with the whole of the ap- inch in diameter; by placing an aperture of that diameter
paratus in the space of half an inch. One part of the at a on the lower side CD, we obtain
crystal has its laminae inclined like the bundle A, while two pencils b, c, polarised in opposite
another part has them lying in a rectangular direction planes, and just touching each other.
If we wish to use only one pencil, we
can conceal b or c with a wafer, and
use the other; but for the purpose of
our present experiment they may both
be left clear. If we now construct an
■Ww-. •    exactly similar,or a larger rhomb, with- ^^
• 1 he third method is shown in the annexed figure, out any aperture upon it, and place the two as we did the
w, ere A,18 ^ P^te of black glass (or a bundle of 8 or 12 tourmaline plates, or in any of the positions shown in fig.
pates of thin transparent glass, for the purpose of in- 130, we shall see only two images, the other two being
creasing the light), which polarises in a horizontal plane evanescent. Let the plate of sulphate of lime be now
ray Kr incident at an angle of 56°, reflecting it polar- interposed as formerly, and we shall find, that when its
6 ln the direction rs, where it is received upon a se- principal axis CD forms angles of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°
on plate of black glass B at the same angle of 56°, so with the plane of the principal section of the rhombs, no
Fig. 145.
. ^ Liidii 1lJt5 ** I cL/Lclll^Lilcir LtlrcCllUIl
like B ; so that such a crystal, by merely looking through
it when the opposite faces are either polished by art or
hy a cement, exhibits its own coloured rings. Sir John
erschel subsequently observed the same fact in carbonate
° potash, and proposes to call such crystals idiocyclopha-
nous, or those which show their own rings.
nane,,'V0u^ recommend it to Mr Watkins to prepare this apparatus with the same ingenuity with which he has done the other ap.
P™ for exhibiting the other phenomena of polarised light.
to i.Iip ^Pfearance of this black spot shows that the two reflectors are properly adjusted, so as to save all the trouble of attending
angles at which the rays are incident on the two reflectors A and L. *
478
OPTICS.
Polarisa- is depolarised ; but that when the axis forms angles
tion. of'45°, 135°, 225°, and 315° witli the principal section, the
two evanescent pencils are restored and brilliantly co¬
loured, let us suppose with green light, while the other
two pencils formerly seen are brilliantly coloured with the
complementary red colour. By turning round the rhomb
next the eye, these two colours undergo all varieties of
intensity, from their maximum tint to evanescence.
If we now enlarge the aperture a, fig. 145, in the first
rhomb, so that the two images b, c, in place of being in
contact, overlap each other, we shall have the parts that
do not overlap exhibiting the two complementary colours
as before, while the parts that do overlap form perfectly
white light; thus proving that the two colours are exactly
complementary to each other. Any of tne images b, c
may be enlarged, if necessary, by a convex lens placed be¬
fore them, or by other means.
In order to obtain a large pencil of polarised light b or
c, wTe must make the rhomb very thick; but there is ano¬
ther way in which we may obtain the same effect in thin
rhombs. There are particular specimens of the spar which
are interrupted with veins, and which will be described in
a separate section. If we obtain one of these in which the
vein has a certain thickness, it will produce polarised
images on each side of b and c, and these images will be
perfectly white. We may therefore use a much larger
aperture a, and obtain a very effective apparatus. This,
however, will be better understood afterwards.
When the veins above mentioned are thin, these lateral
images are beautifully coloured, the colours being portions
of the coloured rings produced by the thin vein, the
prism in front of the vein polarising the light, and the
prism behind it analysing it.
These different methods of exhibiting the colours of
crystalline plates may be varied, if we use a plate of glass
as the polariser, and a tourmaline for the analyser; or, in
short, we may use one half of each apparatus with one
half of the other. When we wish to have a large surface
of polarised light, the best and readiest is a large surface
covered with black varnish.
In the preceding observations, with the four different
kinds of apparatus, we have supposed the polariser and
analyser to be fixed, either with their similar planes paral¬
lel or perpendicular to each other, and the plate of sulphate
of lime to be moved round its axis. Let us suppose, how¬
ever, that the sulphate of lime is fixed in the position where
its colour, bright red, for example, is a maximum ; that is,
where any of the depolarising axes GH or KL, fig. 144, is
parallel or perpendicular to the plane Brs of primitive po¬
larisation. In this position of GH, let the analysing plate
B b» made to revolve round the ray rs, its motion com¬
mencing at 0°, and always keeping the same inclination to
rs, viz. 56°. The bright red visible at 0° will gradually di¬
minish in intensity as B moves from 0° to 45°, when the
red colour will wholly vanish, and the black spot be seen.
Beyond 45° a faint green tint will appear, gradually in¬
creasing, and attaining its maximum of brightness at 90°.
At an azimuth greater than 90°, the green becomes paler
and paler, till it vanishes wholly at 135°. Here the red
again begins, and reaches its maximum brightness at 180°.
Similar changes take place while the plate B moves from
180° to its original position at 300° or 0°. Hence it ap¬
pears, that when the sulphate of lime alone revolves, only
one of the complementary colours is visible, whereas,
when the plate B only revolves, both the complementary
colours are visible during each half of its revolution.
When these experiments are repeated with plates of
sulphate of lime, or any other mineral having different
thicknesses, different colours will be produced, varying
with the thickness ; and in every case the two colours
which are produced, either when we use the two polaris¬
ing rhombs, or cause the reflector B to revolve, are al¬
ways complementary to each other, or together make white
light. ^
If we remove the plate B, and look through the sulphate
of lime, we shall find that the light which it transmits is
always white, whatever be the position of the sulphate of
lime, whatever be the inclination which the ray Rr forms
with the polariser A, and whatever be the condition of the
polariser itself. The decomposition of the white light,
therefore, or its separation into two complementary co¬
lours, must be effected by reflection from the plate B.
Now sulphate of lime is a doubly refracting crystal, giv-
ing two oppositely polarised images, lying above one ano¬
ther, and one of its neutral axes CD is the section of a
plane passing through its principal axis of double refrac¬
tion, while EF is the section of a plane perpendicular to
that section. Let any of these planes, suppose EF, be
placed, as in the figure, in the plane of primitive polarisa¬
tion Rrs, then the ray rs will not be doubled, but will
pass into the ordinary ray of the sulphate of lime, and fall¬
ing upon B, it will not suffer reflection. The very same
will happen if CD is brought into the plane of primitive
polarisation, so that in these two positions none of the light
transmitted through the sulphate of lime will suffer reflec¬
tion at B, and reach the eye at O. In all other positions,
however, of the sulphate of lime, it forms images or
pencils of different intensities ; and when either of the de¬
polarising axes GH or KL is in the plane of primitive
polarisation Rrs, these two images or pencils will be of
equal intensity, and polarised in opposite planes. Now,
one of these images is red, and the other green, a fact which
will be afterwards explained; and as the red is polarised
in the plane of primitive polarisation, it will not suffer re¬
flection from B ; while the green, being polarised in the
plane of reflection from B, will be reflected to the eye at
O, and is therefore seen alone. From the same cause,
when B is turned round 90°, the green will not suffer re¬
flection from it; while the red will suffer reflection, and be
seen by the eye at O. The plate B has therefore analysed
the compound beam of red and green light by reflecting
one and transmitting the other colour.
Now, if the sulphate oflime had been thicker than the
fiftieth of-an inch, the two pencils would have been both
white; and when the plate was moved round, we should
have had a white pencil reflected from B, and undergoing
the very same changes that the coloured one did. Hence
we see the cause of the depolarisation of light, both when
the depolarising plate is thick and thin.
In the preceding experiments, the sulphate of lime has
been supposed to be so thin as to give a red and a green
tint; but if the plate is only 0-00046 of an English inch
thick, it will depolarise no light at all, either coloured or
uncoloured, and the black spot will be seen in every posi¬
tion of the sulphate of lime. If the thickness of the plate
is 0-00124 of an inch, the light depolarised will be the
white, the first order of Newton’s scale, whose comp e-
mentary colour is a deep violet; and if the plate is
of an inch, or upwards, it will also polarise white light, com¬
posed of all the colours of the spectrum. When the plates
of the mineral have an intermediate thickness between
0-00124 and 0-01818, they will give, at successive thicK-
nesses, all the intermediate colours in Newtons tah e,
between the white of the first order, and the white com¬
pounded of all the colours. The colours from the p a
B will be those in col. 2 of Newton’s table, while
lours seen in turning round the plate B will be the c
hit
it
plementary ones in col. 3 of the same table, tie on . »
responding to the reflected and the other to \he transmitted
tints of thin plates. . ♦ minted
By a variety of accurate experiments, M. Biot P°
out the connection between the colours of polarised -0
Po!
OPTICS.
, and of thin plates ; and in the case of sulphate of lime, the
films of which he measured with an ingenious instru-
^ment invented by M. Cauchoix, called the spherometer,
he has proved that the thicknesses which produce the dif¬
ferent colours in Newton’s table are proportional to the
value of the tints in the last column of'Newton’s table for
glass; this substance having nearly the same refractive
power as sulphate of lime. If we wish, for example, to
know the thickness of sulphate of lime which will give the
red of the first order of colours, the number in the last
column opposite red is 5fths; then, since the white of the
fmt order is produced by a plate 0-00124 of an inch
thick, the number opposite which is 3f-ths, we say, as
3|ths is to fifths, so is 0-00124 to 000211, which is the
thickness at which sulphate of lime depolarises the red of
the first order. By reversing this rule we can determine
the colour which will be depolarised at any given thick-
This law of the colours is by no means general,
479
Popu
eipei
meat
ness.   ^ -    ,
and we shall presently see that the colours of polarised
light bear frequently no relation whatever to those of thin
plates.
The above phenomena may be beautifully exhibited to
the eye by combining pieces of sulphate of lime into a
painted Gothic window, so that when the window is ex¬
posed to common or to polarised light it appears perfect¬
ly colourless, but when seen by reflection, it will exhibit
all the splendid colours of the separate films. Though
this experiment is well suited for exhibition, yet the fol¬
lowing one, which was also made by Sir David Brewster, is
more instructive. Selecting an uniform plate of sulphate
of lime, about the twenty-fifth of an inch thick, he ground
down,1 with the powder of schistus, one of its faces, so as
to make it a sort of wedge, in which the thickness varies
from the twenty-fifth of an inch down to the thinnest edge
that could be made. The plate was then placed in water,
which acted upon it slowly, making its edge thinner, and
giving a slight polish to its surface. When this film is
placed at GH, in fig. 144, its figure will be seen covered
with coloured fringes, as in fig. 146, parallel to its edges.
At its thinnest edge the colours of the first order will
commence from black,
and gradually increas- Fig. 146.
ing,asin Newton’s table,
till, at the thick edge
AD, we have the sixth
or seventh, or higher
orders of colours. Here we see at once how all the differ¬
ent tints and different orders are connected w ith the differ¬
ent thicknesses of the plate.
If we now cut this plate into two equal parts AB, CD,
and cross them as in the figure, a new
sef of fringes will appear, parallel to a
line joining the points where the two
thinnest and the two thickest edges
intersect, that is, parallel to NP, one
°f the diagonals of the intersectional
square MNOP. The line NP will be
black, and from NP to M and N the
ringes will be exactly the same as
those from the thin to the thick edge
ol the plate.
If the plates ab, cc? have their axes at right angles to
e“cn other, there will be only one set of fringes, beginning
11 t ie angle where the two tints are minimum.
grind one side of the plate spherical, so that the
thickness shall vary like the plate of air between a convex Polarisa-
and a plane surface, then, by combining a plate of this kind tion.
with a prismatic plate, or by combining two similar plates,
and by vaiying their maximum thicknesses, their breadths,
Ac. we shall produce, by their parallel or rectangular com¬
bination, intei sectional fringes of figures of great variety
and extreme beauty. Ihese figures will be analogous,
mutatis mutandis, to those observed by IVIr Knox, and the
far more splendid exhibitions produced by crossing plates
of glass in the manner described in a subsequent chapter.
If we grind concave surfaces on one of the faces of the
crystalline plate, we shall have circular rings, equidistant
if the concavity is conical, but resembling those of thin
plates if it is spherical. These plates may also be combined
with those wdiich give circular and rectilineal fringes, and
very fine effects produced by the combination.2 Still more
remarkable effects may be produced by turning beauti¬
ful patterns upon the sulphate of zinc, or etching them
either by the action of pure water, or water slightly acidified.
Lines of equal depths will be all equally coloured, and the
slightest differences in depth, which can be easily regu¬
lated by a fine turning-lathe, will produce a great variety
of different colours. Coloured figures and landscapes may
be executed by scraping away the surface to the thick¬
ness necessary to produce the requisite tints. A cipher,
too, might be executed upon a mineral; and if we cover
the Surface upon which it is formed with a fluid of the
same refractive power, it will be absolutely illegible by
common light, but may be distinctly deciphered when
placed between the polarising and analysing plates.
A sheet of ice irregularly frozen, and held in the posi¬
tion just mentioned, exhibits the colours of crystallized
plates in a splendid manner ; but if in a severe winter, wdien
ice can be handled without melting, we take an uniform
plate, and dissolve a pattern upon it by heat, which may be
applied in many ways, so as to affect only the parts to be
made thinner, we shall observe a phenomenon than which
nothing can be more splendid.
Sect. VIII.— On the System of Rings produced by Uni-
axal Crystals.
In the preceding experiments the crystallized plate is Rings in
held at such a distance from the polarising plate that itsuniaxal
surface could be distinctly seen by the eye; and it wascr^st'a^s*
from observations made in this manner that M. Biot de¬
duced his empirical formulae for expressing the variation
of the tint, as depending on the thickness of the crystal¬
lized plate, and on the square of the sine of the inclina¬
tion of the refracted ray to the axis of the crystal.
From this mode of observation M. Biot concluded, that
arragonite, topaz, sulphate of lime, felspar, sulphate of ba¬
rytes, and sulphate of strontian, w’ere all crystals with one
axis of polarisation and double refraction. In 1813, how¬
ever, Sir David Brewster was led to an entirely different
mode of observation. He brought the crystal or plate as
close to his eye as possible, and by using a large polarising
plate, such as a black japanned tray, he was able to see, at
the same instant, the colours produced at various angles of
inclination, in place of determining the loci of these co¬
lours, as was done, in the old way, by a great number of in¬
sulated observations.
When, for example, he looked through the ruby, the
emerald, topaz, ice, nitre, and other bodies, he observed the
most beautiful system of rings when the polarised light
! erf at.e ke cemented by one of its faces to a piece of plate-glass, which will protect it from breaking:, and after it is finish-
3 V lsec^’ eat'l1 half should be enclosed between two glass plates.
e \v ould recommend to the practical optician the construction of such plates as a matter of trade.
480
OPTICS.
Polarlsa- passed along the axis of double refraction of these bodies,
tion. The rings in crystals with one axis are essentially difierent
' from those with two axes. .
The uniaxal system of rings is represented in Plate
CCCLXXXIII. fig. 29, 30. 1 discovered them in all the
doubly refracting crystals with one axis, already mentioned,
excepting in Iceland spar, in which they were first observed
by Dr Wollaston, and independently by M. Biot and Dr See-
beck. This system of rings is seen along the axis ot double
refraction ; and it has been customary to cut faces upon the
obtuse angles of the rhomb of calcareous spar perpendicu¬
lar to the axis, in order to see them. Sir David Brewster,
however, employed the simple method shown in the an¬
nexed figure, which does not require the aid of the lapi¬
dary. Let CDEF be the principal section of a rhomb ot
Iceland spar ; cement upon CD and EF two small prisms
DLK, FGH, having the angles LDK, GFH about 4o ■
each; and let this rhomb be placed between the polarising
and analysing plates, so that the po-
larised ray rs passes perpendicular- Fig. 148.
ly through the faces LD, FG. The
rhomb must be held as close as pos- c
sible to the reflector B, which need
not be larger than the pupil of the :
eye. When the black spot is seen
on the reflector B, in the apparatus
as adjusted, then, when the rhomb
is interposed, the observer, with his
plane of primitive polarisation, we shall see in one of its Jfjrisj,
two images the primary system of rings, and in another on.
the secondary system; and in intermediate positions weyY'~
shall see the intermediate system, the one constantly pass¬
ing into the other.
When all these experiments are repeated in homogeneous
light, the system of rings will be smallest in violet, and
largest in red light, and of intermediate sizes in interme¬
diate colours.
If we divide the rhomb of spar, fig. 148, into two parts
by the line MN, and examine the rings through each se¬
parately, we shall find that the rings produced by each part
are larger than those produced by the whole, the thinnest
piece producing the largest rings. Hence two rhombs
united will give a system of rings corresponding to those
produced by one rhomb of the same magnitude.
The systems, if formed by zircon, ice, and positive dou-; the
bly-refracting crystals, are exactly the same as thepre-h—
:emsof
eye close to the plate B, and looking, as it were, through
the reflected image of the rhomb, will see the beautiful
system of rings shown in fig. 29, Plate CCCLXXXIII., in¬
tersected by a black rectangular cross AB, CD, the arms
of which are parallel and perpendicular to the plane of
primitive polarisation. The colours of the rings, of winch
seven or eight may be readily seen, are almost exactly the
same as those of the reflected rings in thin plates, as seen
in Newton’s table or scale of colours. _
If we turn the rhomb round its axis, the rings will suffer
no change, the four arms of the black cross revolving round
the circumference of the rings, or rather these four arms
remain fixed, and the rings revolve with the rhomb.
If the rhomb is now fixed so that the rings are distinct¬
ly visible, and if we cause the plate to revolve from zero
or 0° then the rings will change into the form shown in
fio-. 30, Plate CCCLXXXIII., in which the black cross is
broken up; and at 45° the rings will appear as in fig. 31,
which is the complementary system, with a white centre
exactly similar to the system seen by transmission in thin
plates. These two systems of rings superposed or p aced
one above the other, would produce uniform white light,
without any trace of rings. By continuing to turn B, the
primary system, fig. 29, will re-appear at 90*, 180°, an
270°; and the secondary system, ng. di, at 40 , 100 , ,
and 315°; while the intermediate system, fig. 30, will be
seen at intermediate azimuths.
It is very interesting to trace the passage of the primary
into the secondary system. When B begins to turn, the
arms of the black cross widen and become less black, and
within them we can see segments of the complernentaiy
rings, whose dark intervals correspond to the bright ones
of the primary rings, and vice versa. As B advances, the
rings of the primary set grow less, and more dilute, while the
others grow larger and brighter, till, at 45°, the secondary
set is complete. When the light previous to polarisation
has passed through ground glass, the diluted primary rings
appear of a gray-white colour, and as if they were nearer
the eye than the rest. ...
If, in place of the plate B, we use a polarising rhomb or
an achromatised prism of Iceland spar, and look through
it along the axis of the other rhomb, then, when the plane
of its principal section is parallel or perpendicular to the
ceding. But if we unite a positive system with an equnl
negative system, they will destroy each other ; and if the
two systems are unequal, we shall have a system equal to
the difference of their effects. These experiments of com¬
bining systems of positive and negative lings, though ra¬
ther troublesome, are extremely interesting. \v hen such
systems are combined, and the space between the ciystals
that form them left open, a series of splendid changes
are induced upon the resulting system, by placing one or
more crystallized films in one or more azimuths between
them ; but we shall have occasion to return to this sub¬
ject in the section on the multiplication of images by Ice¬
land spar. . ...
In examining the phenomena of the primary rings, it is
obvious that there is no polarisation, as there is no double
refraction along the axis of the crystal. The tints polar¬
ised increase with the double refraction, that is, with the
inclination of the polarised ray to the axis of double re¬
fraction; and their numerical value, as given in Isewtons
scale, increases with the square of the sine of that inclina¬
tion. At any given inclination to the axis the tint in¬
creases with the thickness through which the polarised ray
passes, so that when we have determined the tint at any
given inclination and thickness, it is easy to find it tor an¬
other inclination and thickness. . f
In crystals with one axis of double refraction, the lines o
equal double refraction are circles when the thickness is
equal, as in a sphere; in like manner, the lines of equaltint,
or the isochromatic lines, are circles, the tints being a maxi
mum in the equator, where the inclination to the axis is
90°. In crystals with great double refraction the same
tint at the same inclination to the axis is Prodf e° at a
much less thickness than in crystals with feeble doubk re¬
fraction. Quartz, for example, has a very feebie
refraction, and at the same inclination to the axis it
require a plate of quartz 115 times as thick as a p
Iceland spar to produce the same tint in ^eH’ton* , 't
In some crystals with one axis, such as quartz, am y»
beryl, the system of rings is disturbed by secondary >
which we shall have occasion to refer to m0^e fu. y f ct
gard to the two first crystals. In other crysta s P
crystallization is the general cause of these irr g
In Iceland spar, zircon, ice, tourmaline, ^ a
other minerals, the tints of the rings are very nea y U
of Newton’s scale ; but there are other crystals, such ^
phyllite, in which Sir David Brewster and i ^ ^
schel discovered remarkable deviations, whic
scribed in a subsequent section. ]ue 0f
The intensity of the polarising force, or tn
the tint polarised at a given thickness, has be ^afolloW.
ed by different persons for different cryst^- f uniaxal
ing have been given by Sir John Hersche
crystals.
:
OPTICS.
Numerical Value Thicknesses that pro¬
of the highest duce the same
/ Tint. Tint.
Iceland spar 35801 0-000028
Hydrate of strontia 1246 0-000802
Tourmaline 851 0-001175
Hyposulphate of lime 470 0-002129
Quartz 312 0-003024
Apophyllite, first variety 109 0-009150
Camphor 101 0-009856
Vesuvian 41 0-024170
Apophyllite, second variety 33 0-030374
third variety 3., 0-366620
These measures are calculated for the yellow rays.
481
Fig. 149.
Sect. IX.—On the System of Rings produced by Biaxal
Crystals.
The biaxal system of rings was discovered by Sir David
Brewster, while he was looking along one of the axes of
topaz when the crystal happened to reflect the light of a
part of the sky which was partially polarised, so that they
were seen without the aid either of a polarising or an an¬
alysing plate.
Upon examining other minerals, he discovered that the
possession of two systems of rings was the characteristic of
by far the greater number of crystallized bodies. In some
of the ci ystals, such as topaz, the lines along which each
system of rings is seen are so much inclined to each other,
that we cannot see the two systems at once i whereas in
others, where the inclination of the lines is small, both
the systems may be distinctly seen at the same time. This
will be understood, in the case of topaz, from fig. 149,
where MN is a plate of topaz with parallel faces of cleav¬
age perpendicular to PQ, the principal axis of double re¬
fraction. If we expose this plate
to polarised light, so that the po¬
larised ray passes along the line
ABeE (the plane of incidence be¬
ing in one of the two neutral axes
of the plate); and if the eye at
A receives this ray without using
the analysing plate, it will see in
the direction of that ray a sys¬
tem of oval rings of extreme beauty,
hke that shown in Plate CCCLXXXIII. fig. 32. When
the polarised light is transmitted along the line CBrfD,
equally inclined to the perpendicular PQ, it will see a si¬
milar system. The lines BD, Be are therefore the result¬
ant axes of topaz, along which the double refraction vanish¬
es. Ihe angle ABC is about 121° 16', but the inclina-
tion of the refracted rays or of the resultant axes is only
i' n j ”1? ar ian^’S are seen kj transmission in the direc-
ion Ud, Ee, but only when the analysing plate is used,
it we now receive the reflected ray upon the analysing
P] ,e system of rings will appear as in fig. 33,
a e CCCLXXXIII., which differs from fig. 32 only in
W FKrtS near major axis* The colours are the same,
darthe cei?tfaI sPots are much smaller, and the mass of
cid Wlt 1 wllich ^ey are surrounded encroaches con-
vi y-nPun the blue Part of the first ring- The same
round Z1 ^en at 9°G’ 180°’ 2270 S but uPon turning
and mo6 anaJysing Plate, we shall see, at 45°, 135°, 225°,
tivnlv f .’ a.tbirc* set> shown in fig. 34, which is compara-
ritief arn -in ltS co^our’ but distinguished by its peculia-
32 but-n“S ge.nera^ structure it resembles the set in fig.
er 'snnt- m themiddle of each central spot there is a dark-
green h v0mpri 0f blue and red chiefly> with a little
rings eVery ring is divided int0 two
fin?/ Tb' i-^blcb bas ^he same colours as the original
vol. xviS dlV1Slon tbe rings occupies only a part of
the semicircumference of each, and is not seen beyond
the third ring. When the analysing plate begins to move
from 0 , 70 , &c. where fig. 33 is seen, towards 45°, 135°,'
&c. two blue spots, and the division of the rings, begin to
appear at A and A in all the rings, and in the two central
spots, and move along each till they reach B at 45°, 135°,
&c. Continuing to turn the analyser, the spots and divi¬
sions move onward from B to C in all the rings, &c., and
disappear at C at 90°, 180°, &c. This curious system of
rings is obviously the first set in fig. 32, seen at the same
time with their complementary rings, and is a very rare
phenomenon. J
- The biaxal system of rings is best seen in nitre or Rings in
saltpetre, in which the inclination of the resultant axes is nitre,
only about 5°
. . °.r forming an angle of 2T with the axis of
the six-sided prism. When a plate of nitre, about the sixth
or eighth of an inch thick, is placed before a small analysing
plate, and very close to it, and the eye also held as close
to the analysing plate as possible, we shall see the beauti¬
ful biaxal system of rings discovered by Sir David Brews¬
ter, and shown in Plate CCCLXXXIII. fig. 35, where the
plane passing through the two axes of nitre is parallel or
perpendicular to the plane of primitive polarisation. At
angles inclined 45° to these planes, the rings assume the
form shown in fig. 36. In passing from the one of these
states to the other, the rings assume the forms shown in
figs. 3/ and 38. Ihe colours begin at the centres A and
B of each system; but at a certain distance, varying with
the thickness of the plate, the rings, in place of returning
and encircling each pole, encircle the two poles, as an el¬
lipse does its foci. When the thickness of the plate is
very small, the rings enlarge, and the fifth ring will sur¬
round both poles. At a less thickness the fourth, and so
on, till at a very small thickness the first ring, will surround
both poles, and the system then resembles much the uni-
axal system of rings. If the plate of nitre is very thick,
the rings diminish in size. These colours deviate more
and more from those of Newton’s scale, and the tints
do not begin at the poles A and B, but at virtual poles
in their vicinity. The colours of the rings within the two
poles are ret/, and beyond them blue, and the great body
of the rings is pink and green. The rings have been
called isochromatic lines, or lines of equal tint; and the
axes passing through the poles A, B, optical axes, or axes of
compensation, or resultant axes.
We have already given a long list of the various mine¬
rals and crystals which exhibit the biaxal system of rings,
and also the position of the line which bisects the anguTar
distance between the resultant axes, which is the princi¬
pal axis of the crystal.
The following table, showing the inclination of the re¬
sultant axes in different crystals, was drawn up from the
observations of Sir David Brewster. Several observations
by other observers have been added.
Character Inclination
of Principal of Result-
Axis. ant Axis.
...,*.Negative 2°or3° 0'
Sulphate of nickel, certain speci- ) p . .
mens j I ositive ..3 0
Carbonate of strontites Negative 6 56
— barytes Ditto 
Nitrate of potash Ditto,
Mica, certain specimens Ditto
Talc Ditto
Carbonate of lead Ditto
Sulphato-carbonate of lead Ditto
Mother-of-pearl Ditto
Hydrate of barytes   Ditto    
Mica, certain specimens, about Ditto 14
Arragonite... ...; Ditto 18
3 e
Names of Minerals.
Glauberite..
,.5
..6
..7
10
10
li
13
20
0
24
35
30
28
18
0
18
482
0 P
f'P
i
Names of Minerals.
Character
of Principal
Axis.
Inclination
of Result¬
ant Axis.
arig
ion.
19c
Pyroxene (Miller)    
Prussiate of potash, certain speci-1 positive 19
mens J
Cymophane Ditto 
Borax Ditto 28
Anhydrite1 Ditto 28
Mica (Biot) V30 t0 ^
Apophyllite, biaxal Negative Bo
Sulphate of magnesia Ditto 37
 barytes Positive 37
Spermaceti, about Ditto.. 37
Tincal, or native borax Negative
..38
30'
34<
51
42
7
0
8
24
42
40
48
0
42
4
Fig. 150.
Nitrate of zinc, estimated at about 40
Stilbite Positive 41
Sulphate of nickel Ditto.. 42
Tartrate of ammonia (Miller) Negative 42 20
 (Herschel) 4o
Carbonate of ammonia Negative 43
Anhydrite (Biot) 
  (Herschel)   ^3
Mira  Negative 45
Lepidoiite..   Ditto- 45
Benzoate of ammonia Positive 45
Sulphate of zinc Negative 44
    magnesia and soda Positive 4b
Hopeite Negative 48
Brazilian topaz Positive...••••■*
Sulphate of ammonia Ditto...49 or4--
Sugar Negative 50
Sulphate of strontites Positive 50
Murio-sulphate of magnesia and iron...Negative 51 lb
Sulphate of ammonia and magnesia...Positive 51 —
Heulandite (Herschel) 
Phosphate of soda Negative 5o
Comptonite Positive 56
Felspar Negative 58
Sulphate of lime Positive 60
Oxynitrate of silver Ditto.. b2
Dichroite or iolite Negative 60
Topaz (Aberdeenshire) Positive bo
Sulphate of potash Ditto.. 67
Carbonate of soda Negative 70
Acetate of lead Ditto. /0
Citric acid Positive 70
Tartrate of potash Negative 71
Benzoic acid (Miller) Ditto  o
Tartaric acid   Ditto <
Sulphate of oxide of iron and am- 1    79
monia (Miller)   j • •••
Tartrate of potash and soda 1 ositive 80
Carbonate of potash 
Kyanite   Positive 81
Hyper-oxymuriate of potash.
Muriate of copper.
0
24
41
48
0
0
8
28
49
0
50
0
0
0
17
20
6
30
0
16
50
0
0
1
25
29
20
0
0
0
.82
.84
87
88
89
Epidote, about ^
Peridot 
Crystallized Cheltenham salts 
Hyposulphate of soda (Marx) 
Succinic acid, estimated at about 90
Sulphate of iron, about   
Many of the measures in the preceding table were
taken with much care; but some of them were only esti¬
mated, and others will admit of correction by the use of as 1 to „ op
better specimens than the author was able .oj.rocure.^ ^ ^ 0E . then ,et
0
30
48
0
30
19
56
14
20
0
0
I c s.
discover the law of the tints by which every point of the
complex system of rings can be calculated, Sir David
Brewster considered the optic or resultant axes P, P' as
produced by two or more rectangular axes, the principal
one passing through O, and the other two at AB and CD.
We shall suppose, however,
the most simple case, where
the axes are only two, viz.
that at O, and another either
coinciding with AB or CD,
perpendicular to O. Now,
if O is a negative axis, AB
must also be negative ; but
if we take CD for the other
axis, it must be positive ; for
as the axis CD compensates
the negative axis O at P,
acting in the same plane, it
must be a positive axis, for
a negative axis would have
united its effect with that of O. For a similar reason, thi
axis at AB must be negative, in order to compensate the
negative axis O in a plane at right angles to it.
Supposing, then, O and AB to be two negative axes, a;
in mica, let it be required to determine the system of rings
which they will produce, or the tint at any point F. Now
we may either assume the relative intensities of these
axes, or, what is better, the angle formed by the two poles
p? P5 where the actions of the two axes are compensated,
as this angle can be readily measured in any crystal. As
the action of the axis AB (or the tint which it produces)
at P is destroyed or compensated by the action of the axis
O, or the tint which it produces, and as the tint is propor¬
tional to the square of the sine of the angle which the ray
makes with the axis, it is evident that the intensity of the
axis at O must be to the intensity of AB, as 1 to g'-^yop-
For as the tint produced at P by AB at an inclination of
90°, which is its maximum tint, is equal to the tint of b
produced at P at an inclination equal to OP, the maximum
tint produced at O will be found thus : Sin.2 OP : rad.- or
sin 2 90° — 1: ^— . We have therefore obtained an
* sin.2 OP
accurate expression of the relative intensities of the two
negative axes O and AB.
If we had supposed the rings to be produced by a nega¬
tive axis O and a positive one CD (which would equal y
account for the phenomena), then the intensity of U wi
be to that of CD as cos.2 OP is to sin.2 OP. .
From a great number of observations made at all incli¬
nations to the resultant axes, and from accurate measure
ment of the projected rings, Sir David Brewster found
all the phenomena of the rings, with all their varieties
form and curvature, vvere represented by the folio £
The tint produced at any point of the sphere,
axii
action of two axes, is equal to the diagonal of a pum
gram whose sides represent the tints produced by earn
separately, and whose angle is double of the ^hn
by the two planes passing through that point of P
and the respective axes. . . , ron„;red
In showing the application of this law, let it b _ |
to find the tint produced at E, fig. 150, by the «
of the two axes O and AB, whose relative in »
* Through E draw three great circles AEF.
In order to explain the biaxal system of rings, and to
1 This must have been a different mineral from that examined by Biot.
OPTICS.
483
T = tint required at the point E ;
& — the arch between the point E and the axis O ;
— the arch between the points E and C;
a — the tint produced separately at E by the greater
axis
b — the tint produced separately at E by the lesser
axis;
J, _ the angle of the forces;
= the angle CEF ;
w = the angle OEF ;
A = the arch FO, or the angle OAF, or the azimuth
on the great circle CPO passing through the
poles P, P, or centres of the two systems of rings ;
D = the arch FE, or the declination or distance of the
point E from the same great circle ;
P — half the difference of the angles at the base or at
the diagonal of the parallelogram of forces.
Then we have
cos. 6 — cos. A x cos. D,
p = 90° — D,
tan. D
COS. M —  7,
tan. 6
tan. D
tan. tp
2 AEO = ^ = 2 (180° —w) = 2 w.
Since, then, the tints a, b produced at E by the axes O
and AB are as the squares of the sines of the distance of
E from these axes, or as sin.2 OE and sin.2 AE, and as the
relative intensities of the axes are as 1 to -—,we shall
sin.2 OP
have
a — sin.2 OE, and b — sin.2 AE X sin.2 OP.
Having thus found the sides of the parallelogram of
forces whose angle is the diagonal T of this parallelo¬
gram, or the compound tint at E, will be obtained in the
following manner:
Tan.^-^^and
4 + 2 ^ = greater angle at the base.
Hence T= ,°r--»
sin. £ + J
When a = &, T = 2a (cos. cr -j- w).
When a — b and the two axes O, and AB equal or &> and
T -|- 2a (cos. 27r).
When twice the angle formed by the planes OE, AE or
= 90°, then T = Va2 62.
When ^ = 180°, T — a — b.
When p ~ 0° or 360°, T = a b.
Such is the method of determining the tints, and con¬
sequently the form of the isochromatic curves in relation
to the real axes to which the forces refer; but in relation
to the poles P, P, the law of the tints may be more simply
expressed by the formula T £ sin. PE x sin. P'E,
where t is the maximum tint at A, which must be pre¬
viously determined. This rule was deduced by M. Biot
mathematically from Sir David Brewster’s law, and it was
afterwards established experimentally by Sir John Her-
schel, without being aware of its having been deduced
from the general law.
The preceding general law is equally applicable when
ie nngs are formed in homogeneous light.
ir John Herschel,1 in examining the systems of biaxal
ri??s’ found that they resembled lemniscates, as represent-
e m the annexed figure. In these curves the rectangle
PE X P'E is invariable throughout each curve, and the Polarba-
Fig. 151.
value of this constant
rectangle in any one
curve is a X b, b being
the parameter of the
curve, and a half the
distance between the
poles P, P. The quan¬
tity a is of course the
same for each curve, but
b in different curves in¬
creases in the arithmeti¬
cal progression 0, 1, 2, 3,
&c. for the several dark
intervals of the rings, beginning at the poles, and in the
progression |, f, <$rc. for the brightest intermediate
spaces.
Many interesting conclusions have been deduced from
the preceding general law by Sir David Brewster. When
the two negative axes O and AB, fig. 150, are of equal in¬
tensity, then their action will be compensated at C and D,
and C D will be a smg\e positive axis of double refraction,
and also of an uniaxal system of rings like those in zircon ;
and the isochromatic curves given by the preceding for¬
mulae will be circles surrounding the axis. Hence it follows,
that two negative rectangular axes of double refraction and
polarisation compose a single positive axis. If vve now
suppose a negative axis at CD, equal in intensity to any of
the other two, it will evidently destroy the positive axis of
compensation at CD, so that three equal and similar ne¬
gative axes in any crystal destroy each other ; and hence our
author was led to the conclusion, that all the tessular
crystals in which there was neither double refraction nor
polarisation had three such axes. But if the third axis
at CD is not equal to O or AB, and if O and AB are
unequal, then we shall have all the phenomena of a crys¬
tal with two axes. In order to compute the tints thus
produced by three unequal axes, let O, AB', and CD be
three axes, and P, P' the centres of the double systems of
rings which they produce. We have already shown that
the resulting tint of two axes O and AB, at any part E, is
T « sin.
“ sin. ^ +if
In order, however, to combine this tint with another, we
must know the direction of it. Since is the double of
the real angle of the planes in which the forces from O
and AB act, the direction of the new plane in which these
forces act must form an angle with the real direction of
O, whose complement is
tion.
14+ £ 4
2 4
4-
^ 2’
or it forms with the real direction of A an angle whose
complement is
2 4 2
Hence the direction of the resultant in relation to BE,
the direction of the third force with which it is to be com¬
bined, is known.
In order to illustrate this in a case where the truth of
the result will be immediately seen, we shall take the case
of three equal axes, the general resultant of which is no¬
thing. In fig. 150, let O, AB, and CD be the three equal
axes, and E the point where we require to know the effect
of their combined action. Take AE = 70°, CE = 60°,
then EG = 30°, EF = 20°, AG = 66° 44', OG = 23°
16', OE = 37° 17'; then
1 Treatise on Light, sect. 903.
484
OPTICS.
a = sin.2 AE = 0-883104
b - sin.2 CE = 0-7500
c - sin 2 OE = 0-36694
a + c = 1-25004
■ c = 0-51616.
4 +
?r —
j 237c
( 122c
37c
40c
77c
16'
54'
12'
4'
52'
Combining then O and AB, we shall have
T = 0-7500,
which will be + or positive, as is greater than 180°.
Then
— 4- 49°
4 T- 2 —
19',
which gives 40° 21' for the direction of the new plane in
which the forces O and A produce the combined tint ot
0-7500. But the angle w or OEG = 40° 41', so that the
resultant lies in the plane CEG; and hence, it we com¬
bine with this resultant, or + 0-7500, the force 0-7500,
produced by CD, the result will be nothing. Ibis method is
also applicable to the combination of axes of double retrac¬
tion, the numbers corresponding to a, b, c being in that
case the difference between the squares of the velocities
of the ordinary and extraordinary rays, as produced by
each axis separately at the point E. .
The following table of the intensities of the polarising
force in biaxal crystals has been given by Sir John lier-
schel:
Value of
the Highest
Tint.
Nitre 7400
Anhydrite, angle of axis 43° 48', 1900
Mica, angle of axes 45° 1307
Sulphate of barytes  -521
Heulandite (white), angle of
axes 54° 17  249
Thicknesses that
produce the
same Tint.
0-000135
0-000526
0-000765
0-001920
0-000402 J
The numbers belong to the yellow ray.
Sect. X.— On Conical Refraction in Biaxal Crystals.
Conical re- The phenomenon of conical refraction seen along the axes
fraction. 0f biaxal crystals was deduced by Sir \\ . Kami on
the undulatory theory, and was discovered experimentally
and examined by Professor Lloyd in arragomte. It fol¬
lowed from the theory, that a single ray, proceeding r
a point within the crystal, and emerging at each of the four
poles, must be divided into an infinite number of emergent
rays, constituting a conical surface; and that a single ray
incident externally would be similarly divided.
In order to examine the emergent cone formed in air,
Professor Lloyd placed a lens of short focus atlts
tance from the first surface of a plate of arragomte 0-49 of
an inch thick, having its parallel faces perpendicular to
the principal axis of the crystal, and so that the centra
part of the pencil might have an incidence nearly parade
to the optical axis. He then looked through the crystal
at the light of a lamp placed at a considerable distance,
and observed a point more luminous than the space aroun
it, having a sort of stellar radiation. In order to examine
this phenomenon, he placed a plate of thin metal, having
a minute aperture, on the surface of the crystal next he
eve, and adjusted the aperture so that the line connected
with the luminous point on the first surface might be in
the direction of the optical axis. When the adjustment
was complete, there appeared at first a luminous circle
with a small dark space in the centre, and in this dark
central space were two bright points, separated by a narrow
and well-defined dark line, as shown in Plate CCCLXXXIV.
fijrs 39 and 40. When the aperture in the plate was slight¬
ly shifted, the phenomena rapidly changed, assuming suc¬
cessively the forms shown in figs. 41, 42, 43, In the first
stao-e of the change the central dark space became great¬
ly enlarged, and a double sector appeared in the centre.
The circle was reduced to about a quadrant, and was se¬
parated by a dark interval from the sector just mentioned.
This is shown in fig. 41. The remote sector then disap¬
peared, and the circular arch diminished, as in fig. 42; and
as the inclination of the internal ray to the optical axis
was farther increased, these two luminous portions merg¬
ed gradually into two doubly-refracted pencils. This
change is shown in fig. 43. In these experiments the
emergent rays were received directly by the eye placed
close to the aperture on the second surface.
Professor Lloyd succeeded in showing the phenomena
on a screen with the sun’s light, and he found the light
sufficiently distinct when the diameter of the section was
one and a half inch. Upon examining the cone with a
tourmaline, Professor Lloyd was surprised to observe that
one radius only of the circular section vanished in a given
position of the tourmaline, and that the ray which disap¬
peared ranged through 360°, as the tourmaline was turn¬
ed through 180°, the rays of the cone being all polarised in
different planes. Upon a more attentive examination he
discovered the remarkable law, “ that the angle between
the planes of polarisation of any two rays of the cone is half
the angle between the planes containing the rays themselves
and the axis:' The angle of the cone was found to be
6° 24', 5° 56', and 6° 22'; the mean of which is 6° 14.
When the aperture was considerable, such as that form-
ed by a large-sized pin, two concentric circles were seen
to surround the axis, the inner one being nearly twice
as bright as the outer one, and consisting of unpolarised
light, while the outer one wTas polarised according to the
preceding law. By using smaller apertures the inner circle
grew less, until it became a point in the centre of the fainter
exterior circle, which remained fixed. With a still less
aperture a dark space sprung up in the centre, incieasing
as the aperture diminished, until, with a very minute aper¬
ture, the breadth of this central space increased to about
three fourths of the entire diameter. In these cases the
appearances are as shown in figs. 44 and 45. Mhen the
line joining the luminous point on the first surface was
slightly inclined to the axis, the appearance was that
shown in fig. 46. . . . . .,
Professor Lloyd observed an interesting variation in the
phenomena, by substituting a narrow linear aperture ior
the circular one on the first surface of the crystal, this
aperture and the one in the plate next the eye eing 111
the plane passing through the optic axes. The line ia
the appearance shown in fig. 47, swelling out into the form
of an oval curve round the optical axis. By using a very
minute aperture next the eye, the phenomenon was as
shown in fig. 48. When the plate next the eye was slight
ly shifted, so that the plane passing through the aper u g
did not coincide with the plane of the optic axes, the curves
rapidly changed, preserving, however, the form of the
choid, whose pole was the projection of the axis o ^
emergent cone, and asymptote the line on
face. These effects are represented in figs. 49 an .
The second kind of conical refrfctlon.dedu ®in(rfe eX.
ticallv bv Sir W. Hamilton takes place when a sin0
termd ray Ts incident upon a biaxal crystal, soffiat one re¬
fracted ray coincides with an optic axi • , ,
there should be a cone of rays withinthe cryM^ cone
gle of the cone in arragonite being 1 55. A
will have its rays refracted at emergence, ^
parallel to the incident ray, they will form a s U ^ ^
of rays in air, the character ot whose ^tion J t ^
face of emergence being only 1° 55' at a distance eq
irisa.
m.
-o-
face of emergence being only
the thickness of the crystal. nre the size
In order to detect the existence a"d ™f.aft of a lamp
of this cylinder, Professor Lloyd used the .ght ht pasS
placed at some distance, and he _ • ht line, the
through two small apertures placed in a stra g
OPTICS.
485
Influe 1
jfpte;
. one in a screen near the flame, and the other in a plate
of metal close to the first circle of the crystal. Under
'"ordinary circumstances, the incident ray will be doubly
refracted within the crystal,, and the two pencils will
emerge parallel to the second surface. Professor Lloyd
was able to distinguish these two pencils by means of a
lens; and turning the crystal slowly, so as to vary the in¬
cidence, he observed a position in which the two rays
changed their relative places rapidly on any slight change
of incidence, and appeared at times to revolve round one
another as the incidence was changed. Being convinced
that the ray was now at the critical incidence, Professor
Lloyd changed the position of the crystal relative to the
incident ray very slowly ; and after much care in the ad¬
justment, he at last saw the two rays spread into a conti¬
nuous circle, and exhibit the phenomena which we have
already described in his own words in our history of Op¬
tics.
Professor Lloyd measured the angle of the cone by an
indirect method, and found it 1° 50', differing only 5' from
the angle deduced from theory.1
Sect. XL—On the Effect of Pressure and Heat on the
Double Refraction of Crystals ivith One, Two, and Three
Axes.
The influence of pressure and heat in modifying the
e doubly-refracting structure of bodies that previously pos¬
sessed that property, and of creating a new doubly-refrac-
tive structure in uncrystallized bodies, was first studied by
Sir David Brewster.2
By applying compressing and dilating forces to minerals,
he succeeded in altering their doubly-refracting structure
in every direction; but the effect was always most easily
seen when it was produced along the real axes of uniaxal
crystals, or the resultant axes of biaxal ones, where the
effect of the natural forces was either nothing, or compen¬
sated. The following were some of the results to which
he was led by applying the forces to parallel surfaces.
Axis of Compression and Dilatation parallel to the Axis of
the Crystal.
Positive crystals...
fCoranressed... {Ti"tVi3e jn New-
j ( ton s scale.
(Dilated -[Ti^s Ascend in
V ( JNewton s scale.
(Compressed... ITi";s descend in
Negative crystals...< 1 Newton s scale.
(Dilated J Tints rise in New-
V. I ton s scale.
Axis of Compression and Dilatation perpendicular to the
Axis of the Crystal.
(Compressed...descend in
Positive crystals 1 c Newton s scale.
“(Dilated / Tints rise in New-
V I ton s scale.
I Compressed...
| ton’s scale,
j Tints rise in New-
\ ton’s scale.
Negative crystals... < v  ; 
(Dilated -f pj8 descend in
V ( JNewton s scale.
The axis of compression and dilatation is the line per¬
pendicular to the two surfaces pressed together or drawn Polarisa-
asunder. tion.
I he above results were obtained by experiments both v “ v~—■'
on uniaxal and biaxal crystals.
When the axis of compression was perpendicular to
the axis of double refraction of an uniaxal crystal, it was
paitially converted into a biaxal one with two axes, the
poles of the two resultant axes being distinctly visible.3
M. Fresnel was, we believe, the first person who ob- Influence
served the influence of heat in altering the tints of sul- heat.
pkate of lime perpendicular to the lamina;, but we are not
able to refer to the details of his experiments. Profes¬
sor Mitscherlich, however, has investigated the action of
heat upon this mineral so completely as to include all
previous experiments in his results. Having found that
heat acts upon calcareous spar differently in different di¬
rections, expanding it in the direction of its axis, and
slightly contracting it in directions perpendicular to the
axis, he sought to determine if any variation in the dou¬
ble refraction was produced by heat. By the method of
interferences, and observing the compensation produced
by crossing plates of crystals at different temperatures, he
observed that a change in the double refraction was pro¬
duced.
In extending these experiments, Professor Mitscherlich Mitscber-
found that the two resultant axes of sulphate of lime in- lich.
dined 60° to each other at common temperatures, approach¬
ed each other when heated, till they met, and constituted
one axis of double refraction. By increasing the heat
they again separated in a plane perpendicular to the lami-
nce. In this experiment the principal axis of double re¬
fraction which bisected the optic axes gradually increased,
while the second real axis perpendicular to the laminse
diminished and disappeared when the crystal assumed the
uniaxal state. A new axis then sprung up in the plane of
the laminae perpendicular to the principal axis.
Sir John Herschel, in mentioning this remarkable ex- Sir John
periment, states that he observed the tints of a plate of Herschel.
sulphate of lime rise rapidly in the scale when the plate
was moderately warmed by the heat of a candle held at
some distance below it, and sink again when the heat was
withdrawn. He found, on the contrary, “ that mica simi¬
larly heated undergoes no apparent change in the position
of its axes, or in the size of its rings, though heated near¬
ly to ignition.”4
The extraordinary experiment of Professor Mitscherlich Recent ex-
was repeated by Sir David Brewster with one of the spe-perirnents.
cimens of sulphate of lime, in which he discovered one of
the resultant axes of this mineral. The following is the
account which he has given of this experiment, and of the
discovery of a stiil more curious property in glauberite?
The specimen of sulphate of lime was about one and a
half inch thick in the plane of the laminae, and the system
of rings which surrounded this axis was exceedingly mi¬
nute, with the usual black brush at each end of them.
I he other system of rings could not be seen in this speci¬
men, owing to the manner in which it was cut. Having
brought the crystal to a considerable heat, and exposed
it to polarised light, it wras a singular sight to see the sys¬
tem of rings travelling along towards the line which bisects
the optic axes, like a celestial body passing through the
field of a telescope, and changing their form and size as
they advanced. The specimen did not permit me to see
the two systems unite, and still less to see them open out
207.See InSh Transactlons’ 1833’ vo1- xvii-; and London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine, 1S33, No. 8, p. 112, No. 9, p.
3 EdhburffhVralso Pf ; i181-6’- P'167; antI Edinburgh Transactions, vol. viii. p. 281.
s r , 8 transactions, vol. viii. p. 285. 4 Treatisp nn T
Load, and Edin. Phil. Mag. December 1832, vol. i. p. 417. L b ’
sect. 1113.
486
OPTICS.
Polarisa- again in a plane at right angles to the laminse; but from
tion. tiie degree of heat which I used, and which drove off the
water of crystallization from part of the specimen, I pre¬
sume that the complete phenomenon cannot be developed
without destroying the constitution of the crystal; that is,
that after the two systems of rings have opened out in a
new plane, they will not return, by cooling, through their
state of union, into their primitive inclination of 60° in the
plane of the laminae.
“ A property of a similar kind, but perhaps a still more
extraordinary one, I discovered some years ago, subsequent
to Professor Mitscherlich’s discovery ; and I have slightly
noticed it in a paper on glauberite, published in the Edin¬
burgh Transactions.1 This interesting mineral has at or¬
dinary temperatures the curious property of two axes of
double refraction for red light, and only one axis for violet
light. If we apply heat to it, the two optic axes for red
light gradually close, and, at a temperature which the hand
can endure, the two systems of rings for red light have
united into one system, so that the crystal has now only
one axis of double refraction for red light. By continuing
to increase the heat, the two axes separated, and the single
system of rings opened out into two systems, lying in a
plane at right angles to that in which they were placed at
first. The heat was now less than that of boiling water.
By increasing it, the inclination of the optic axes gradual¬
ly increased. .
“ I now applied artificial cold to a crystal of glauberite
at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. 1 he in¬
clination of the optic axes for red light increased, as might
have been predicted; but, what was very unexpected, a
new axis was created for violet light, the plane ot the two
violet axes being coincident with the plane of the two red
optic axes at and below the ordinary temperature. An in¬
crease of cold increased the inclination of the optic axes
for all the colours of the spectrum ; the inclination of the
axes being least for the most refrangible, and greatest for
the least refrangible rays.
“ These results appear very complicated when we begin
with the effects at an ordinary temperature, and view them
in the manner in which they were observed ; but if we
commence the experiments at a low temperature, such as
the freezing point, the order and connection of the pheno¬
mena will be more easily understood.
“ At 32° glauberite has two axes of double refraction for
rays of all colours, the inclination of the axes for the violet
rays being least, and that for the red the greatest. As
the temperature rises, the optic axes for all colours gia-
dually approach, and the axes for violet first unite into
one. At this time the crystal has two axes for all the other
colours ; but as the heat increases, all the other pairs of
axes unite in succession, and form a single system of
rings. But before this has taken place, the axes for violet
rays have opened up again in a plane at right angles to
that in which they originally lay, and they are followed
by all the other pairs of axes ; so that at a temperature
much below that of boiling water, each pair of axes ap¬
pears with different inclinations arranged in a new direc-
tion. .
“ During all the changes which have been described
above, the crystal has preserved its constitution ; and by
abstracting the heat, the phenomena are all repeated in an
inverse order.
“ If the crystal should happen to be observed at that
temperature, which very often occurs when the greenish-
yellow or most luminous rays have the optic axes corre¬
sponding to them united, or form a single system of rings, olatj
then the blue rays will have two systems of rings lying in tim j
one plane, and the red rays also two systems of rings in a “r
plane at right angles to this. In two rectangular positions,,
namely, when the planes of the double axes coincide with:
or are at right angles to the plane of primitive polarisa¬
tion, the black cross will be very distinct; but in interme¬
diate positions it will be much less so, and the uniaxal
system of rings which predominates, from the greater in¬
tensity of their light, will have that indistinctness of cha¬
racter which, whenever it occurs, indicates a peculiar ac¬
tion of the doubly-refracting force on the differently-co .
loured rays. When the black cross is perfect and equall;
distinct in all positions, while the colours of the rings de¬
viate from those of Newton’s scale, then the axes for al
colours are obviously coincident, and the peculiarity ir.
the colour of the rings is owing to an irrationality in tht
action of the doubly-refracting forces on the differently
coloured rays.”
A series of highly valuable experiments on the change lessor
which temperature produces in the double refraction o:'lM|'
crystals,2 have been made by Professor Rudberg of UpsaL1
Professor Mitscherlich having only determined the ratio
between the mean double refraction of Iceland spar in a !
cold and in a heated state, without ascertaining the sepa¬
rate variations in each pencil, Professor Rudberg was de¬
sirous of supplying this desideratum.
For this purpose he constructed a box, AB, havingfour
of its faces double, so as to enclose a space which received
through the pipe P, and retained, the steam from a boiler.
This space communicated also with the external air. The
other two faces of the box were formed with plates of mi¬
ca. The inner box, therefore,
Fig. 152.
contained only air, which
was heated by the surround¬
ing steam. A thermometer
T indicated the temperature
of the air. A tube R, pass¬
ing through the two lower
surfaces of the box, formed
a free communication be¬
tween the interior and the
exterior air, so that their
elasticity was the same.
Through this tube R, without
touching its sides, there rose _
from the centre of the repeating circle a vertical copper
rod, carrying a plate C, upon which the crystal was pla¬
ced. This rod was attached below to another plate of #
copper, which rested on a ring of copper, which, having iii
teeth upon its circumference, could be moved by a screw. ;
By this arrangement he could perform the experiments $
as readily as if there had been no heating apparatus to ob¬
struct them. The heating apparatus was attached by a rod ;•
Q of iron rising from the masonry on which the repeat¬
ing circle rested. _ -
The experiments were made to determine the index o
refraction of the ray F of Fraunhofer’s spectrum near the ,i
boundary of the green and blue spaces. In this way he ;
obtained the following results. . ,qo „e(
1. Calcareous Spar. Refracting angle of prism ^
55' 9". i I
a. Ordinary Ray. The minimum deviation of the
line F produced by the prism was 52° 53'43". With a
difference of temperature of 64° (Reaumur, we presumey.
uiuerem-e ui i-cwpciamiv, v.. , ‘ i-i.
this ray suffered no change in its deviation; from w 1
1 Edin. Trans, vol. xi. part ii. page 273.
2 This interesting paper was communicated by the author to Sir David Brewster, and published in
Philosophical Magazine, December 1832, vol. i. p. 489.
the London and Edinburgh ^
OPTICS.
487
iractit
produc
bjpre
Hire.
author concluded, that the refractive ■power of calcareous
SPAR for the ordinary ray either does not change at all
'with the temperature, or decreases with it by a quantity
extremely small. The index of refraction of F at the
ordinary temperature was T66802.
b. Extraordinary Ray. By the difference of tempe¬
rature of 64°, the deviation was increased 2' 28", or 2'
3F' when corrected, which gives for the index of refrac¬
tion,
1-49118 at 64°
1*49075 at ordinary temperature
0-00043 increase.
Hence, in thx extraordinary ray, a rise of temperature of Polarisa-
64° increases the index of refraction 0-00343. tion-
Proi’essor Rudberg confirmed this result in the presence ^ v-^"
of Professor Mitscherlich in 1832.
2. Rock Crystal. Refracting angle of prism 45° Rock crys-
20 £j f• tsii*
In both the ordinary and extraordinary ray, the devia¬
tion was decreased by a rise of temperature 42". The in¬
dices for the ray F became in the extraordinary ray 1-55868,
being 0-00028 more than at the ordinary temperature ; and
in the ordinary ray, 1-54944, being 0-00026 less.
3. Arragonite. With four prisms he obtained the fol-Arragon-
lowing results. - ite.
Prism, No. 1.
Variation of the deviation —5' 8"
Variation of refracting angle 
No. 2.
— P 53"
+ 16"
When corrected for the deviation of the plate of mica, they became
Variation of deviation    — p
Variation of angle -j- 30
Hence he obtained the following indices of refraction :
47"
0
No. 3.
-4' 3"
- P53"
3' 57"
-1 44
At ordinary temperature..
At increased temperature.
No. 2.
1-53478
1-53416
Changes on index  — 0-00062
No. 3.
1-69510
1-69421
0-00089
No. 4.
— 2'58"
— 4 8"-6
— 2' 52"
— 40"
No. 4.
1-69058
1-68976
0-00082
Hence, says our author, the double refraction of arra¬
gonite appears to decrease a little with the temperature, be¬
cause the refracting power in the direction of the axis A
has diminished in a smaller ratio than that along the axes
B and C. In other respects arragonite comports itself
quite differently from calcareous spar. The axis A of arra¬
gonite obviously corresponds with the axis of crystallization
of the spar ; but notwithstanding this, the refractive power
in this direction diminishes in the former, and, on the
contrary, increases in the latter, besides, that in the direc¬
tion perpendicular to the axis A, the refractive power di¬
minishes considerably in arragonite, whilst, on the con¬
trary, it undergoes almost no change in calcareous spar.
While heat and pressure thus modify the doubly-re¬
fracting structure in minerals, they are capable of creat¬
ing it with regular axes in several soft substances. This
effect is quite different, as we shall soon see, from that
which is produced upon bodies by pressure, where the re¬
sult is modified by the external form of the body, and
where the double refraction disappears when the heat or
pressure is removed, or when the body is subdivided. A
permanent change is induced upon the soft solids in ques¬
tion, and, when subdivided, each part of the mass or plate
preserves the property communicated to it. Sir David
Brewster described, in the Philosophical Transactions for
1815,1 the original experiment which he made on this sub¬
ject with a mixture of rosin and white wax; but in the
same work for 1830,2 he has given a detailed account of
his experiments, and of the conclusions to which they lead
respecting the origin of the doubly-refracting structure.
Ihe following is the fundamental experiment described
by our author.
“I took a few drops of the melted compound (rosin and
ees wax), and placed them in succession on a plate of
t ick glass, so as to form a large drop. Before it was cold
aid above the drop a circular piece of glass about two
turds of an inch in diameter, and, by a strong vertical
pressure on the centre of the piece of glass, I squeezed
°ut the drop into a thin plate. This plate was now al¬
most perfectly transparent, as if the pressure had brought
the particles of the substance into optical contact.
“ If we expose this plate to polarised light, we shall find
that it possesses one positive axis of double refraction,
and exhibits the polarised tints as perfectly as many crys¬
tals of the mineral kingdom. The structure thus com¬
municated to the soft film by pressure does not belong to
it as a whole, nor has it only one axis passing through its
centre, like a circular piece of unannealed glass. In every
point of it there is an axis of double refraction perpendi¬
cular to the plates, and the doubly-refracting force varies
with the inclination of the incident ray to this axis, as in
all regular uniaxal crystals.
“ When the two plates of glass are drawn asunder, we
can remove one or more portions of the compressed plate,
and these portions act upon light exactly like plates of
uniaxal mica or hydrate of magnesia, and develope a dou¬
bly-refracting force of nearly equal intensity.”
By reasoning from this experiment, our author is led to Cause of
the opinion that double refraction is acquired by the par-double re¬
ticles of bodies at the instant of their aggregation, anci fraction,
arises from the pressures produced in the direction of three
rectangular axes, by the forces of aggregation. When these
forces are very weak, double refraction will not be pro¬
duced ; when they are sufficiently strong and of equal in¬
tensity, they will produce tessular crystals; when they
are equal in tw-o rectangular directions, they will produce
uniaxal crystals ; and when they are unequal in all the three
directions, they will form biaxal ones. In this way all the
phenomena of cleavage may be readily explained*
Upon some substances heat performs the same part as
pressure ; but our limits will not permit us to detail our
author’s experiments on this subject.
Sect. XII.— On the Deviation of the Polarised Tints from
those of Newton's Scale.
In all his investigations respecting the colours of thin
plates, M. Biot happened to use only such crystals as
Page 31, 32.
» Page 87-
488
OPTICS.
Polarisa- gave polarised tints similar to those of Newton’s scale, and
tion- he therefore considered this to be their character. In
1813, however, when Sir David Brewster described the
rings in topaz, he gave a list of all the colours in different
azimuths round the optic axes, and he not only found these
colours to vary in these different azimuths in the same ring,
but observed some colours at the extremity of the optic
axes. In his paper on the laws of polarisation, published
in the Philosophical Transactions for 1818, he remarks,
that “ in almost all crystals with two axes, the tints in the
neighbourhood of the resultant axes, when the plate has a
considerable thickness, lose their resemblance to those in
Newton’s scale, as will be more minutely described in an¬
other paper.” In April 1817 he communicated to the Royal
Society of Edinburgh an account of the extraordinary
system of rings in the apophyllite from the Tyrol, which
consisted of purple and yellow light, like the residual co¬
lours arising from the combination of irrational spectra.
In examining the colours of the polarised rings in bi-
axal crystals, he was led to divide them into two classes,
viz. 1. Those that had the red ends of the rings inwards,
or between the resultant axes, and the blue ends oid-
wards. 2. Those that had the red ends of the rings out¬
wards, and the blue ends of the rings inwards.
The crystals in which the deviation is very striking are
given in the following table.
Class 1.—Red ends inwards.
Carbonate of lead.
Sulphato-bicarbonate of lead.
Hyposulphate of strontia
(Herschel).
Tartrate of potash.
Nitre.
Sulphate of barytes.
 of strontites.
Tartrate of potash and soda.
Phosphate of soda.
Arragonite.
Topaz.
Mica.
Anhydrite.
Chromate of lead.
Muriate of mercury.
  of copper.
Oxynitrate of silver.
Sugar.
Crystallized Cheltenham
salts.
Nitrate of mercury.
■ of zinc.
 of lime.
Class 2.—Red ends outwards.
Native borax.
Sulphate of magnesia.
Arseniate of soda.
Unclassed.
Superoxalate of potash.
Oxalic acid.
Sulphate of iron.
Cymophane.
Felspar.
Benzoic acid.
Chromic acid.
Nadelstein.
Hyposulphate of soda (Her-
lours, overlapping each other, and these five constituting I! ^
an irregular system, unlike those produced by ordinary m.'
crystals.
In crystals where the displacement of the rings is great,
the oval central spots seen in Plate CCCLXXX1II. figs. 32,
33, and 34, are drawn out, as Sir John Herschel remarked,
into long spectra or tails of red, green, and violet light, and
the extremities of the rings are distorted and highly colour¬
ed, as in fig. 51, Plate CCCLXXXIV. W hen we view these
spectra with coloured media, they are found to consist of
well-defined spots of the several simple colours, arranged
on each side of the principal section, as shown in fig. 52.
These results are capable of being rigorously calculated
by the law of resultant axes given by Sir David Brewster,
and may be considered as a proof of that law. If this
were not the case, tartrate of potash and soda would have
two axes for every different ray of the spectrum, and four
series of poles extending each over a space of ten degrees.
In order to show how these phenomena may be calcu¬
lated by two axes, let O and A, fig. 153, be two negative
axes,which in red light compensate each
other at F and F ; then, if O and A had
the same proportional action on the vio¬
let and other rays as on the red rays, F
would also be the point of compensation
for the violet and other rays. In this
case F would be the centre of all the sys¬
tems of rings, as in uniaxal crystals, and
the tints those of Newton’s scale. But
if the axis O has a greater proportional
action upon the violet and other rays than A, the point
of compensation will be at/, which will be the centre of
the violet system of rings, the centres of all the other sys¬
tems being between F and /if the action of 0 upon them
is of an intermediate nature. This is the case with all the
crystals in Class 1 of the foregoing table. On the other
hand, if O has a less proportional action on the violet than
on the red, c, c will be the points of compensation for the
violet rays, and the centres of the two systems of violet
rings.
The most remarkable instances of deviated tints are those
in apophyllite, a crystal with one axis, discovered by Sir Da¬
vid Brewster. Sir John Herschel, in examining a number
of apophyHites, found that some specimens exexcise negative
action upon the rays at one end of the spectrum, a positive
action upon rays at the other end, and no action at all upon
the mean refrangible rays, the doubly refracting action ceas¬
ing, in the one case, in the yellow rays, and in another in
the indigo.2 In other specimens, the diameter of the rings
was nearly the same for all the colours of the spectrum, and
hence the rings were approaching to a series of black and
white ones. All these phenomena may be separately cal*
schel)
Sir John Herschel found anomalous tints in hyposul    r - ✓ . ,
phate of lime, and Vesuvian, both crystals with one axis, a culated by the law of resultant axes already mentione ,
circumstance which we ascribe to that axis being the re- on the supposition that apophyllite has three rectangu ar
sultant of three axes, two of which are equal. axes of double refraction. Sir David Brewster ha is-
In examining the rings formed by biaxal crystals, Sir covered, in the tesselated apophyllite, portions whic ac
David Brewster found that the black spot at the point of two axes co-existing with portions that had one axis, an
compensation was not in the centre of the rings, and the in his coloured drawings of the phenomena exmbite y
position of this spot for topaz is given in his table of these this mineral, he has pointed out a most extraordinary a
colours.1 of symmetry which regulates its varying double reirac-
T . It is to Sir John Herschel, however, that we owe the tion ; and as he had shown that a double dispersive pov^er
Herschel’s complete investigation of this subject in reference to bi- existed in the same crystal, the following exp ana ion
axal crystals. By using homogeneous light, he found that the remarkable phenomena of apophyllite approac ics
the angle of the resultant axes VOp, fig. 129, was different the character of demonstration. . ,
for the different colours of the spectrum, varying, in the Let O be the positive axis of uniaxal apophy i e,
case of tartrate of potash and soda, from 75° 42' in red let A and B be two positive axes which, if equa, wcr ^
light, to 55° 14' in violet light, so that with white light we produce a negative axis at O. But as the real axis a ^
have a system of rings, consisting of five rings of all co- a positive one, the apparent or finally resultant axi
experi¬
ments.
1 Phil. Trans. 1814, p. 204, 205.
2 Cambridge Trans, vol. i. p. 21-24.
Pol *-
ti
OPTICS.
O will be a single axis, negative if the negative is the strongest,
and positive if the positive is the strongest. Let us now
suppose that the two axes at O have equal intensity, viz.
+ 0 = — O for yellow light (— O being the resultant
489
Anak
Fig. 154.
of -f A and -f- B), and that — O acts
more powerfully upon the red rays than
q. 0, while + O acts more powerfully
upon the violet rays. In this case the
two axes + 0, — O will exactly com¬
pensate each other. In yellow light, a
yellow ray will experience neither double
refraction nor polarisation ; whereas in
red light, the predominance of — O will
leave a single negative axis for red rays, and produce a
negative system of rings ; and in violet light the predo¬
minance of -f- O will leave a single positive axis of double
refraction for violet rays, and consequently & positive sys¬
tem of rings. This compensation resembles that of a
compound lens, consisting of a convex and concave lens
of equal curvature, of such a glass that their refractive
index for yellow light is equal, while the index of refrac¬
tion for the violet rays is greater in the convex lens, and
the index for the red rays greater in the concave lens.
Such a lens will converge the violet rays, diverge the red
rays, and produce no deviation at all in the yelloio ones ;
that is, the same compound lens will be a plane lens in
yelbw light, a convex one in blue light, and a concave one
in red light. Hence each order of colours in apophyllite
is as it were a secondary or residual spectrum arising from
the opposite action of unequal negative and positive axes.
From the fact of some apophyllites exercising a negative
action, Sir David Brewster stated his expectation that
apophyllites might be found in which the double refraction
is negative for all the rays of the spectrum ; and several
years afterwards he discovered the remarkable mineral of
omhverile, which is an apophyllite with this property.1
The phenomena of glauberite already described afford
an additional illustration of these views.
Sect. XIII.— On Crystals with Planes of Double Refrac¬
tion exemplified in Analcime.
Analcime or Cubizite, a mineral which has been ranked
among the cubical crystals, might have been expected to
have had no double refraction if this had been its form. It
was found, however, by Sir David Brewster, to be a singular
body in its action upon light, and to exhibit the extraor¬
dinary property of rtiany planes of double refraction, or
planes to which the doubly-refracting structure was relat¬
ed in the same manner as it is to one or two axes in other
minerals.
Analcime crystallizes most commonly in the form of the
msitetrchedron, as in fig. 53, Plate CCCLXXXIV. If
we suppose a complete crystal of it to be exposed to po-
arised light, it will give the remarkable figure shown in
J>' ’ where the dark shaded lines are planes in which
ere is neither double refraction nor polarisation, the
on e refraction and the tints commencing at these planes,
an . reaching their maximum in the centre of the space
enc osed by three of the dark lines. The tints are those
n 1 ewton s scale, and are negative in relation to each of
.e °^lr 11X68 °1' the icositetrahedron. When light is trans-
1 e through any pair of the four planes which are ad-
jacent to any of the three axes of the solid, it is doubly
na^ac e ’ t^le least refracted image being the extraordi-
in /]°n-e’ anc^ conseclucntly the double refraction negative
re ation to the axes to which the doubly-refracted ray
18 Perpendicular. . ^
If we suppose the crystal to have the form of a cube, Polarisa-
the planes of double refraction will be, as in fig. 54, a plane tion.
passing through the two diagonals of each face of the v-'1”’'
cube.
The tints vary as the square of the distance from the
nearest plane of double refraction.
The tints shown in figs. 53 and 54 cannot of course be
seen at the same time, but are deduced from observations
made by transmitting polarised light in every direction
through the crystal.
Sect. XIV.— On the Double Refraction and Polarisation of
Composite Crystals.
In all the crystallized bodies whose action upon light we Composite
have been considering, excepting analcime, the phenome-crystais-
na are identical in all parallel directions, the smallest frag¬
ment having the same property as the largest, from what¬
ever part of the crystal it is taken.
In the mineral w orld, however, and among the products
of artificial crystallization, there occur crystals which are
composed of several individual crystals whose axes are not
parallel. These crystals sometimes occur in such regular
symmetrical forms, that mineralogists have long regarded
them as simple forms ; and it is probable that they would
have still been viewed in this light, if they had not been
exposed to the scrutiny of polarised light.
One of the most remarkable of these composite crystals
is Iceland spar, some specimens of which were observed,
even by Bartholinus and Huygens, to exhibit phenomena
quite different from those which we have already describ¬
ed. The property which they possessed of multiplying
the images of a luminous body seen through them had
been carefully studied by Benjamin Martin, Professor
Robison, Lord Brougham, Malus, and others; but until
the publication of Malus’ work on Double Refraction, no
sound explanation w^as given of these remarkable pheno¬
mena.
Malus describes the phenomena as produced by fissures
parallel to the surface of the variety of this mineral de¬
scribed by Haiiy under the name of chaux carbonatee
equiaxe. He explains the duplication of the images on
the supposition that there is a fissure or real opening be¬
tween tlie conjoined faces of the spar, and he ascribes the
varying tints to a cause not adequate to the production of
such splendid phenomena,—to the colouring of the thin
plate of air included in the fissure. He states correctly,
that the secondary images are doubled by two fissures,
tripled by three, &c.2
This class of phenomena was particularly investigated
by Sir David Brewster, who found that the fissures de¬
scribed by Malus were thin crystallized laminae of Ice¬
land spar, having their axes of double refraction inclined
to that of the portions of the crystal which it separated ;
that these laminae varied in thickness, the thinnest pro¬
ducing a large system of rings, and the thicker plates
smaller systems, the plates being sometimes so thick that
no colours whatever appeared. Hence it was obvious that
each crystal of this hind was a polarising and an analysing
apparatus, the thin lamina? being the plate which exhibited
its polarised tints in this singular position.
In order to understand this remarkable structure, we
have represented the laminae in fig. 155 by the planes
ABCD, ebcg, afhd parallel to the edges EGFH, and
also to the long diagonals of the rhomboidal faces, or per¬
pendicular to the short diagonal EF. When w^e look
through a crystal with only owe of these laminae, we observe
the two principal images of the candle A, B, or luminous
VOL. XVI
•Edinb. Journal of Science, No. xiii. p. 115.
* Theorie de la Double Refraction, p. 194-1011.
3 Q
490
OPTICS.
Polarisa- body, while fit a vertical incidence,
tion. an(i separated just as they would
s'—"'v'—have appeared in a common crystal
of the same thickness. But on each
side of this double image is a single-
polarised image C and D, C being po¬
larised in the same plane as B, and D in
Fitr. 156.
Fisr. 155.
series of rectilineal fringes complementary to the former Po.
reflected series is seen. They also are polarised in the
same plane as C, or the lowermost secondary image, andbe-^'
come much more distinct, by causing the oppositely pola¬
rised pencil to disappear.
The structure which produces the preceding phenome¬
na, and the duplication of the images, will be understood
from fig. 157, where ABCD
the same plane as A. Let us suppose that these phenomena
are seen through a rhomb w ith only one plane ABL ( g.
155 and through the faces EACD, BEHC Then, it we
incline the rhomb in different directions slightly, we shall
see the images C, D disappear when they have a certain
distance from A, B. If we incline the rhomb, bringing
EA nearer the eve than CD, the images C, D will ap¬
proach to AB, and will be found to disappear nearer and
nearer to AB as the inclination is increased, it being ne¬
cessary to bring the edge EG nearer the eye than AD, to
make C and D disappear. While C and D are thus ap¬
proaching to A, B, they become less and less coloured till
they are all white. If we incline the rhomb in an oppo¬
site direction, so that GD is brought nearer the eye than
EA the images C, D recede from A, B, and become more
highly coloured, the two images A, B becoming also J0-
loured. The images C, D sometimes appear doubled
when this inclination is going on, but it is only a dupli¬
city of colour, so to speak, in consequence of the spectrum
being divided by portions of it passing into the reflected
pencil. When we bring EC nearer the eye than AD, the
colours increase, A and B become also coloured, and an
apparent colorific duplication of the images C and D takes
place. If the rhomb is inclined in an opposite direction,
so that AD is brought nearer the eye than EC, the images
C D become also at first more coloured ; but by increasing
the inclination, the image C recedes rapidly on the right
side from A, B, contracts in breadth, and becomes pnsmati-
cally coloured, the spectrum which it exhibits being sub¬
divided by several black lines or bands, the parts of the
spectrum corresponding to these black lines or dark ban s
having passed into the reflected ray. 1 he spectrum D
recedes as rapidly to the left, expanding in breadth, and
even disappearing, as well as the images A, b.
All these phenomena are more finely seen, and the law
of their changes more easily detected, if, instead of a can¬
dle, we look at a long line of light, such as the narrow
opening between the edges of the window-shutters.
If we look through the faces ADl H, ADLG^of the
rhomb, placing a prism of glass with an angle of 12° or lo
upon one of the faces, to permit the refracted rays to
emerge at a moderate angle of deviation, the prismatic
images formerly described will be large spectra, subdi¬
vided by black spaces into 4, 5, 6, &c. coloured images of
the candle, or of the long luminous line, exhibiting one of
the most magnificent phenomena that can be witnessed.
These phenomena vary, of course, with the thickness m
the enclosed laminae, and as the laminae increase in thick¬
ness the subdivisions of the spectral images become more
numerous. . . r
When wre reflect light from these laminae, ABED, for
example, by allowing the light to enter by the face BFHL,
and emerge through the face AFHD, the boundary of total
reflection is marked by a series of brilliant rectilineal fringes,
polarised in the same manner as the image C, which is now
the lowermost. When the light is transmitted through
the laminae at the boundary of total reflection, by entering
through the face BECG, and emerging through AFHD, a
is the principal section of a
crystal of this kind of Ice¬
land spar, having AD for
its axis. One of the lami¬
nae oppositely crystallized is
shown at M?n, Nn, but much
thicker than they are ge¬
nerally, the angles AmM,
D?iN being 141° 44'. A
Fig. 157.
ray of ordinary light R5 will he refracted in the lines bcy
bd. These rays entering the laminae MN, wall be again re¬
fracted doubly ; but as the vein is so thin as to produce
the system of uniaxal rings, the colours will vary with the
thickness of the film and the inclination of the ray to the
axis of the lamina. The four pencils will emerge from the
lamina at e, ^ and will be refracted again, as in the figure,
into the pencils em, eny fo, fp, the colours of enyfo being
complementary to those of em,^.
That the multiplication and colour of the images are pro¬
duced by the causes above explained, has been proved by
Sir David Brewster, by actually placing laminae of differ¬
ent crystals between the prisms AN, BN. In this way,
by introducing different films in different azimuths, most
beautiful combinations may be produced.
If we grind down the angles A and B, so as to have two Me
faces perpendicular to the"’ axis AB, the uniaxal systemfefthe
of rings is beautifully modified by the action ot the d
Vl Iliiga AO     J ,
na MN ; and that this was the cause of the singular tranS’
formations which the rings experienced in different crystals,
was proved by the author above quoted, by inserting lami¬
nae between two plates of the chaux carbomtee basee of
Haiiy, whose natural faces are perpendicular to the axis.
These transformations are exceedingly beautiful, home
of them are shown in figs. 55, 56, and 57, one of the
rings consisting of eight dark radii, while the complemen¬
tary system has its inner circle marked with eight dark-
coloured spots. These rings suffer beautiful changes, both
bv the motion of the plane round its axes when the analys¬
ing plate is stationary, and by the motion of the analysing
plate when the rhomb is stationary. In studying these ph -
nomena in a great variety of crystals intersected with one
or more laminae, Sir David Brewster noticed a v y
markable fact. A rhomb of spar which produced o«e
part of it the transformed systems already mentione ,
hibited a singular effect in another part, where ^
tallization appeared perfect and simple, and •
were decidedly no veins or laminae. In oneposi ° ^
muth of this crystal, this portion gave, as migh
1 . ,    w th the black cross
mutn or tms crystal, uu» piui — - o ,
expected, the regular system of rings with the all
Vi # , ,ro
shown in fig. 29. But upon turning 1^01111^
the rings became elliptical, as shown at AbE S
the first order of colours in one quadrant having j
second order of colours in the adjacent qua ran
arms of the black cross took the contorted po , being
the continuations of it afterwards, viz. am, c ’ ticai
so very faint as to show the continuity f ^k.
linors. In this figure the rings ot the same orde
ediith the same figure. The very same pi "® "-
which points to important theoretical colBeque^ j ^
observed by the same author in another ™ elliptical
wholly without veins, but the rings were not
as in fig. 58. , , c;r David
This composite structure was discovered by
OPTICS.
491
a*
:|:,n
Brewster in various minerals, and he has described it plates, giving a single system of rays having the very pe-
very minutely in the case of Brazilian topaz, sulphate of culiar colours which have been already described. A num-
potash, and opophyllite* her of veins appear at the edges, as shown in the figure. All
Sir John Herschel, we believe, first noticed this struc- the other slices lying below this exhibit the beautiful tessel-
ture in Brazilian topaz, and observed that the central portion ated figure shown in fig. 01. The outer case MNOP which
of the crystal had a different colour from the external as it were, binds together the internal portions, consists of
portion, and that the plane of the principal section of the a great number of parallel veins or plates, which (five the
different parts made angles of 20 rt:0. Sir David Brewster colours of grooved surfaces. This frame encloses nine
found very remarkable arrangements of the coloured por- different crystals, namely, the central lozenge abed, the
tions, which he has represented in coloured drawings in prisms A, B, C, D with trapezoidal bases, and the four
the Cambridge Transactions, vol. ii. In some of these triangular prisms ehl, him, nkg, gfe, all of which are sepa-
crystals the structure was tesselated, as in fig. 158, where rated by distinct lines or veins, which are nearly all visible
ABED, CBEF, are the two external tesselae, at one of the by the microscope by a proper method of illumination,
obtuse angles of the rhomboidal section. If we suppose In polarised light they are all seen with great facility.
The most extraordinary fact connected with this struc-
Fig. 158.
that these tesselae are divided into four laminae, 1, 2, 3, 4,
and that MN is the principal section, or one of the neu¬
tral axes of the central portion of the crystal contiguous
to DEF, then the laminae 1, 1 have their principal section
in the direction aa', forming a very small angle with MN;
the laminae 2, 2 have their principal section in the line bb,
and so on to the superficial laminae 4, 4, which have their
principal section in the direction inclined from 10° z±:
to 22° z±z to MN, the inclination varying in different
crystals. The lines aa', bb', &c. are also the principal sec¬
tions of the corresponding laminae on the side NC. In
like manner, the principal sections aa', /3/3', &c. of the la¬
minae in BCFE, are the principal sections of the corre¬
sponding laminae on the other side AN. As the laminae,
however, are infinite in number, the principal sections
have every possible direction between dd' and dd*
The bipyramidal sulphate of potash, which Count Bour-
non supposed to be a simple crystal, wras found by Sir Da¬
vid Brewster to be a tesselated crystal, composed of three
pair of crystals of the prismatic sulphate of potash com¬
bined so that each pair had their principal axis parallel.
H'hen exposed to polarised light, each pair gave the sys¬
tem of biaxal rings, and when held at a distance from the
eye, had the tesselated appearance shown in fig. 59, Plate
ELCLXXXIV., each opposite pair of the triangles having
the same tint.1
Ihe most remarkable of this class of minerals, and in-
eed the most remarkable body in the whole mineral
’ingdom, is the tesselated apophyllite. It crystallizes most
commonly in four-sided rectangular prisms, like CD, fig.
• It we remove the uppermost slice A and the under¬
most B to the thickness of between the 50th and the 100th
0 arVnch, and examine it either by the microscope or by
poaused light, we shall find that it is like other uniaxal
iure is, that the central lozenge has only one axis of double
refraction, like the terminal plates A, B, fig. 60, while the
four prisms A, B, C, D, and the four triangular spiaces, have
two axes. In A and D the planes of the resultant axes
are coincident, as in the opposite triangles of sulphate of
potash, and lie in the direction MN, while the planes of
the resultant axes in B arid C lie in the direction OP.
When the plate MONP is exposed to polarised light
and turned round its axis before the analysing plate, the
lozenge abed wall be dark in every position of the plate,
while the portions A, B, C, D will depolarise the light, or be
luminous, when MO or ON are parallel or perpendicular
to the plane of primitive polarisation.
Remarkable as is the structure which we have now de¬
scribed, it is greatly excelled in beauty by another variety
of Faroe apophyllite, in which Sir David Brewster dis¬
covered the most extraordinary organization. He has given
an enlarged coloured drawing of the fine symmetrical tints
which it exhibits in polarised light, in the Edinburgh Trans¬
actions; but we hope its structure may be understood by
the following description which he has given of it. The
crystals have a greenish-white tinge, and are aggregated
together in masses. The quadrangular prisms are in ge¬
neral below one twelfth of an inch in width ; they are al¬
ways unpolished on their terminal planes; they have the
angles at the summit more deeply truncated than the other
quadrangular prisms from Faroe ; they are always perfectly
transparent; and may sometimes be detached in a complete
state, with both their terminal summits.
“ In examining this variety of apophyllite, I was enabled,
by the perfection of the crystals, to study their structure
through the natural planes, and at right angles to their
axes. The phenomena which this investigation presented
to me w'ere of a very singular and unexpected nature.
In symmetry of form and splendour of colouring they far
surpassed any of the optical arrangements that I had seen,
while they developed a singular complexity of structure,
and indicated the existence of new laws of mineral orga¬
nization.
“ When a complete crystal of this variety of apophyllite
is exposed to polarised ligVt, with its axes inclined 45° to
the plane of primitive polarisation, and is subsequently
examined with an analysing prism, it exhibits, through
both its pair of parallel planes, the appearance shown in
fig. 62. In turning the crystal round the polarised ray,
all the tints vanish, re-appear, and reach their maximum
at the same time, so that they are not the result of any
hemitropism, but arise wholly from a symmetrical combi¬
nation of elementary crystals possessing different primitive
forms and different refractive and polarising powers. The
difference in the polarising powers is well shown by the
variation of tint; and the difference of refractive power
may be observed with equal distinctness by examining the
Polarisa¬
tion.
1 See Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. i. p. 1.
i
492
OPTICS.
Polartsa- crystal with the microscope under favourable circumstan-
tion. ces 0f illumination, when the outlines of the symmetri-
cal forms shown in fig. 62 will be clearly visible.
“ In examining the splendid arrangement of tints ex¬
hibited in the figure, the perfect symmetry which appears
in all its parts is particularly remarkable. The existence
of the curvilineal solid in the centre ; the gradual diminu¬
tion in the length of the circumscribing plates, in conse¬
quence of which they taper, as it were, from the angles
of the central rectangle to the truncated angles at the
summits; but, above all, the reproduction of similar tints
on each side of the central figure, and at equal distances
from it, cannot fail to strike the observer with surprise and
admiration.
“ The tints exhibited by each crystal vary, of course,
according to its thickness; but the range of tint in the
same plate, and at the same thickness, generally amounts
in the largest crystals to three of the orders of colours
in Newton’s scale. The central portion, and the two
squares above and below it, have in general the same in¬
tensity, while the four segments round the central por¬
tion, and some of the parts beyond each of the squares,
are also isochromatic. In the central part the colours
have a decided termination; but towards the summit of
the prism their outline is less regular, and less distinctly
marked ; though this irregularity has also its counterpart
at the other termination. A part of these irregularities
is sometimes owing to the longitudinal striae on the natu¬
ral faces of the crystal, so that by carefully grinding these
off, the beauty and regularity of the figure is greatly im¬
proved.
“ In order to ascertain the order of the colours polarised
by the crystal, and observe in what manner they passed
into one another, I transmitted the polarised light in a
direction parallel to one of the diagonals of the quadran¬
gular prism, and thus obtained, as it were, a section of
the different orders of colours from the zero of their scale.
The result of this experiment, which is shown in fig. 63,
was highly interesting, as it displayed to the eye not only
the law according to which the intensity of the polarising
forces varied in different parts of the crystal, but also the
variation in the nature of the tints, and the connection be¬
tween these two classes of phenomena. At the points in
the diagonal mn, opposite to ba of the crystal, the tints
rose to the seventh order of colours; and in other two places
opposite to cdy they were only to the sixth; while near
the summits at mn, they descended so low as the/o«r^ or¬
der. Hence it follov/s that the four curvilineal segments,
fig. 62, are next to these in intensity; that the central
portions of the squares are again inferior to these ; and that
the weakest polarising force is near the summit of the
prisms. At ab, the fourth, fifth, and sixth fringes have a
singularly serrated outline, exhibiting, in a very interest¬
ing manner, the sudden variations which take place in the
polarising forces of the successive laminae.
“ Having thus described the structure and properties
of the tesselated apophyllite, it becomes interesting to in¬
quire how far such a combination of structures is compa¬
tible with the admitted laws of crystallography. The
growth of a crystal, in virtue of the aggregation of minute
particles endowed w’ith polarity, and possessing certain
primitive forms, is easily comprehended, whether we sup¬
pose the particles to exist in a state of igneous fluidity or
aqueous solution. But it is a necessary consequence of
this process, that the same law presides at the formation
of every part of it, and that the crystal is homogeneous
throughout, possessing the same mechanical and physical
properties in all parallel directions.
“ The tesselated apophyllite, however, could not have Pa ^
been formed by this process. It resembles more a work of t.
art, in which the artist has varied, not only the materials, ^
but the laws of their combination.
“ A foundation appears to be first laid by means of an
uniform homogeneous plate, the primitive form of which is
pyramidal. A central pillar, whose section is a rectangular
lozenge, then rises perpendicularly from the base, and con¬
sists of similar particles. Round this pillar are placed new
materials, in the form of four trapezoidal solids, the primi¬
tive form of whose particles is prismatic; and in these solids
the lines of similar properties are at right angles to each
other. The crystal is then made quadrangular by the ap¬
plication of four triangular prisms of unusual acuteness.
The nine solids arranged in this symmetrical manner, and
joined by transparent veins performing the functions of
cement, are then surrounded by a wall composed of nu¬
merous films, deposited in succession, and the whole of
this singular assemblage is finally roofed in by a plate
exactly similar to that which formed its foundation.
“ The second variety of the tesselated apophyllite is still
more complicated. Possessing the different combinations
of the one which has just been described, it displays, in
the direction of the length of the prism, an organization
of the most singular kind. Forms unknown in crystallo¬
graphy occupy its central portion ; and on each side of it
particles of similar properties take their place at similar
distances, now forming a zone of uniform polarising force,
now another increasing to a maximum, and now a third
descending in the scale by regular gradations. The boun¬
daries of these corresponding though distant zones are
marked with the greatest precision, and all their parts as
nicely adjusted as if some skilful workman had selected
the materials, measured the spaces they were to occupy,
and finally combined them into the finest specimen of na¬
tural mosaic.
“ The irregularities of crystallization which are known
by the name of made or hemitrope forms, and those com¬
pound groups which arise from the mutual penetration of
crystals, are merely accidental deviations from particular
laws which govern the crystallizations in which they oc¬
cur. The aberrations themselves testify the predomi¬
nance of the laws to which they form exceptions, and they
are susceptible of explanation by assuming certain po¬
larities in the integrant molecules. The compound struc¬
ture of the apophyllite, however, cannot be referred to
these capricious formations. It is itself the result of a ge¬
neral law, to which there are no exceptions, and when more
deeply studied and better understood, it must ultimately
lead to the introduction of some new principle of organi¬
zation, of which crystallographers have at present no con¬
ception. .
“ The difficulty of accounting for the formation of apo¬
phyllite is in no way diminished by giving the utmost li¬
cense to speculation. We cannot even avail ourselves of
the extravagant supposition of a crystalline embryo, which,
like that of animal and vegetable life, gradually expands
to maturity. The germ of plants and animals is nourished
by a series of organs, of which, however recondite be the
operation, we yet see the action and witness the effects,
but in the architecture of apophyllite no. subsidiary organs
are seen. The crystal appears only in its state of perfec¬
tion ; and we are left to admire the skill which preside
at its formation, and to profit by the instruction which is so
impressively conveyed by such mysterious organization.
We have represented in figs. 66 and 67 the figure pro
duced by polarised light by an internal slice of the barre
or cylindrical apophyllite from Kudlisaet, in Disco Islan ,
1 Edinburgh Transactions, vol. ix. p. 323.
OPT
i- brought home by Sir Charles Giesecke. The figures are
from ditFerent specimens. The shaded part of them has
Yonly one axis of double refraction, while the four sectors
have two axes, the luminous sectors being analogous to the
prisms]A, B, C, D, and the dark figure to the central lozenge
abed, in fig. 61. The mechanical structure of the cleav¬
age planes resembles the optical figure even after the planes
are ground.1
Sect. XV.—On the Absorption of Light by Uncrystallized
Bodies.
When a beam of light passes through the most transpa¬
rent media, such as air and water, a certain portion of it
is lost. This loss of light is particularly apparent in such
bodies when a beam of light has traversed a great thick¬
ness of the gas or the fluid. This loss of light has been
called absorption, and the Hght lost is said to be absorbed;
a term which we use at present as merely expressing a
fact
There are two kinds of absorption which may be no¬
ticed. 1. That in which all the rays of the spectrum are
proportionally absorbed or lost; and, 2. that in which dif¬
ferent quantities of the differently coloured rays are lost.
Those bodies in which the first kind of absorption takes
place are colourless, and those in which the second kind
takes place are coloured. In black ink, for example, the
transmitted light of the sun is white. In red ink it is red,
more of the most refrangible rays of the spectrum being
lost than of the least refrangible ones.
When a beam of the sun’s light falls upon a piece of
charcoal, the light is almost wholly lost or absorbed. Sir
Isaac Newton thought that the light was reflected or re¬
fracted “ to and fro” within such bodies till it was lost;
but still the question meets us, why is it lost ? If it is
scattered in all directions it must emerge again from the
charcoal, and be visible in some way or other. In order
to meet this and other difficulties, the light is supposed to
be detained within the body, and somehow or other unit¬
ed to its substance.
In the case of red ink and similar bodies Sir Isaac New¬
ton conceived that the blue rays which were lost w’ere
reflected by the particles of the ink, while the red rays
were transmitted, as in the colours of thin plates; but as
we cannot by any process see these blue rays, we can only
say that they are lost, and the cause of their loss is as diffi¬
cult to be found as in the phenomena of imperfect colour¬
less transparency.
The following are the general phenomena of coloured
absorptions in transparent bodies.
1. Red transparent solids or fluids absorb, generally
speaking, the blue end of the spectrum.
2. Blue substances absorb, generally speaking, the red
end of the spectrum.
3. Green bodies absorb both the blue and the red ends
of the spectrum.
I1. Yellow bodies absorb the blue and part of the green
of the spectrum.
But when we examine more narrowly the action of co¬
loured bodies on the spectrum, we find that a body may
derive its peculiar tint from absorbing two, three, four, up
to many hundred separate parts of the spectrum, so that
the colour of such a body is the combination of all the
i parts of the spectrum which are not absorbed. We may
mfer, however, from the general tint of the body, what
parts of the spectrum it has chiefly absorbed. Bed nitrous
ICS. 493
gas, for example, must have acted most powerfully upon Polarisa-
the blue end of the spectrum, as we have already seen tion.
that it does.
Three theories of absorption have been recently publish- Sir John
ed, namely, by Sir John Herschel, Baron Wrede, and M. HerseheL
Lame, all of which are founded upon the undulatory the¬
ory. Sir John Herschel conceives that light may be lost
within bodies by the interference of different parts of a
ray, which, after taking two routes of different lengths,
meet again in a condition to interfere. This hypothesis
has been modified by Mr Whewell in the following man¬
ner: “If we conceive,” says he,2 “ with Sir John Her¬
schel, a medium which will not transmit vibrations except
through certain canals, these canals must have a determi¬
nate direction, and therefore such a constitution would
give different proportions in different directions. But let a
medium consist of certain particles regularly distributed,
the intervening space being filled by a medium capable of
vibration. Let it be supposed, also, that each vibration, on
reaching a medium so disposed, proceeds in part direct¬
ly and in part by the indirect routes which go round some
of the particles and rejoin the direct course. We have
thus combinations of ramifying and uniting paths, which,
though very complex in each direction, are the same in
different directions, in consequence of the regular distri¬
bution of the particles. If the distribution, though regu¬
lar, have a reference to certain axes, as in many crystals,
the phenomena of absorption may be different in different
directions with regard to these axes.
“ In this wray the theory of ramifying canals comes to
coincide with the theory of vibrations, of which parts are
differently retarded, and thus interfere with each other; a
theory which has been suggested by other authors.’’
Baron Wrede3 supposes the particles of a transparent bo- Baron
dy placed regularly at equal distances, with the ether dif- Wrede.
fused between them. When a ray of light is propagated
directly through this medium, a portion of it encounters
some of the particles, and is reflected backwards, then for¬
wards again, and emerges along with the direct ray, so that
the reflected and direct portions will be in a state to inter¬
fere and destroy each other. This theory, which is analo¬
gous to Newton’s, or rather the very same as Newton’s, is
liable to the objection we have already urged to every
theory in which the light is supposed to be decomposed
by interior reflections. Now, Baron Wrede’s hypothesis
may explain all the phenomena, such as dark bands and
dark lines, which are known to be produced by thin plates
of various thicknesses, as Dr Young has stated ;4 and it may
even explain those bands and absorptions which have been
recently discovered in decomposed glass by Sir David
Brewster, where the effects are clearly produced by a com¬
bination of a great number of thin plates,5 but where the
reflected light is as copious as the transmitted light. But
we cannot conceive it at all applicable to the cases of ni¬
trous gas (to which he has attempted to apply it), and to
solids and fluids, in which all attempts have failed to dis¬
cover any of the reflected rays.
The hypothesis of M. Lame, which we have already M. Lam£
stated in our history of Optics, is incompatible with the
actual phenomena of absorption. In place of the lines and
bands depending on the surface of emergence, the system
of lines is determined by the action of the first surface of
the body, a fact independent of all theory.
Of all the theoretical views which we have mentioned, we
consider those given by Sir John Herschel and Mr Whe¬
well as the most consistent with observation. They re-
‘ Edinburgh Transactions, vol. ix. p. 328.
lavlor’s Scientific Memoirs, part iii.
Hub Trans, 1837, part ii.
lleport of the Fourth Meeting of the British Association, 1834, p. 551.
4 Elements of Natural Philosophy, vol. i. p. 468.
494
OPTICS.
Jlecent in
quiries.
lieve us from the difficulty of accounting for the reflected
light; but though they have this in their favour, they are
not founded on any direct data, and indeed were brought
forward, as Mr Whewell remarks, “ to show that there is
no incongruity between the undulatory theory and the
phenomena of absorption.”
■ An attempt has been recently made by Sir David
Brewster to deduce an explanation of absorption, both in
uncrystallized and doubly refracting bodies, from direct ex¬
periment ; but as the details have not been published, we
can only at present give a very general notice of it.
Having been led to suppose, along with Dr Young, that
a transparent medium transmits light in two sepaiate P®r“
tions, one passing through its ultimate particles, and the
other through its pores, and that these portions reumte
continually after each successive separation, Sir David
Brewster endeavoured so to combine a number of thin
plates, that the light transmitted through the whole
should move with different velocities, the differences being
so small as to produce interference. This task he found to
be a very difficult one, but he succeeded, after many fail¬
ures, in finding a doubly-refracting mineral upon which he
could impress this mechanical condition.2 When he placed
a small aperture upon this crystal, in order to exclude as
much as possible all the light which had not experienced
any change in its velocity, and looked through it at a well-
formed prismatic spectrum, or, what was the same thing,
analysed the light transmitted by the plate with a good
prism, he was astonished at the sight which was present¬
ed to him, not only because it confirmed his views on a
subject of such high scientific interest, but from the splen¬
dour of the phenomena which it displayed. The spectrum
was covered with the sharpest bright and dark lines and
bands grouped with all the irregularity of the solar and
nitrous gas lines. The bright lines of maximum inten¬
sity were variously placed ; and in almost every spectium
thus formed there was a narrow band of pure homogene¬
ous white light, incapable of being decomposed by pris¬
matic analysis. But the interest of this result did not
stop here. The spectrum of the ordinary differed from
that of the extraordinary ray, and the brightest lines had
a different locality in each of thevn. Here then we have
the phenomenon of dichroism, of the absorption of light
in crystallized and uncrystallized'bodies, and of bright and
dark lines and bands in the spectrum, and of the unequal
absorption of rays of the same refrangibility, but differing
in colour, all displayed by an artificially produced com¬
bination, in which we know that the phenomena are owing
to the interference of rays differently retarded. It can
therefore scarcely be doubted that the varied phenomena
of absorption arise from the differences of velocity in t e
rays which pass through the ultimate pai tides and throug i
the pores of bodies. The constitution of the body, or the
arrangement of the ultimate particles in the first film on
which the light is incident, determines the nature of the
absorptive action which the body exercises at diffeient
thicknesses.
of palladium, tourmaline, and other crystals. The origin 111
of this singular property was not known till Sir David
Brewter investigated its origin in iolite, and showed that it''*!
was connected with the doubly-refracting structure; that
it never occurred in the tessular crystals which did not pos¬
sess double refraction.
The connection of dichroism with double refraction, and
its general laws, will be understood from the following ob¬
servations. In a specimen of yellow Iceland spar the ex¬
traordinary image is of an orange-yellow colour, while the
ordinary image is yellowish-white. Along the axis of double
refraction the colour of the two pencils is exactly the same,
and the difference of colour increases with the inclination
of the refracted ray to the axis. Hence the difference
of colour increases in proportion to the difference of the
velocities of the two rays, and is consequently a maximum
in the equator of double refraction, and is the same in all
parallels; the colour along the axis being the natural
colour of the mineral. This is the invariable law of the
phenomena in uniaxal crystals. The following are the
observations made by the author already referred to.
Colours of the two Images in Crystals with one Axis.
Names of Crystals.
Colour whenuts Axis Colour when its Axis
is in the Plane of Pri- is Perpendicular at
mitive Polarisation, that Plane.
Zircon
Sapphire
Ruby
Emerald
Emerald
Beryl blue
Beryl green
Brownish white
Yellowish green
Pale yellow
Yellowish green
Bluish green
Bluish white
Whitish
Beryl yellow green Pale yellow
Rock crystal, al- lWhitish
most transparent J
Rock crystal, yellowT ellowish white
A deeper brown
Blue
Bright pink
Bluish green
Yellowish green
Blue
Bluish green
Pale green
Faint brown
Amethyst
Amethyst
Amethyst
Tourmaline
Rubellite
Idocrase
Mellite
Blue
Grayish white
Reddish yellow
Greenish white
Reddish white
Yellow
Yellow
Phos. of lime (lilac)Bluish
   (olive) Bluish green
Phos. of lead Bright green
Calcareous spar Orange yellow
Octohedrite Whitish brown
Yellow
Pink
Ruby red
Ruby red
Bluish green
Faint red
Green
Bluish white
Reddish
Yellowish green
Orange yellow
Yellowish white
Yellowish brown
Sect. XVI.—-On Dichroism, and the Absorption of Com¬
mon and Polarised Light by Doubly Refracting Crystals.
The name of dichroism or double colours, was given very
appropriately, byM. Cordier, we believe, to a mineral called
iolite, which in common light exhibited two different colours
in different directions. Dr Wollaston and several minera¬
logists had observed this double colour in certain crystals
. Phil. voi. ii. p. uo/.
The same property was afterwards found in several crystallized minerals.
Sir John Herschel has found this property beautifully
displayed in the sub-oxysulphate of iron, which crystallizes
in six-sided prisms. Along the axis the colour is a fv
blood-red, while through the sides of the prism it is ot a Lujut
green colour. Several tourmalines have also been od-
served by Sir John to have these same colours along the
axis, and at right angles to it. There can be httle doubt
that this property will be found in every crystal of suffieien
thickness that has the property of double refraction.
if the crystal is colourless, a slight inequality in the inten¬
sity of the two images may be observed; and when
distinctly coloured, the difference ot intensity is very ^ 3'
seen, even when the two colours are not oi a differen
The phenomena of dichroism are best seen in CFys , ‘
with two axes of double refraction, and are well exeaip -
i Dr Young made this supposition, not to explain absorption, but to account for the dispersion of colours by refracti
Nat. Phil. vol. ii. p. 937-
I
OPTICS.
fied in iolite, a mineral which crystallizes in six or twelve
sided prisms. These prisms are of a deep blue colour when
^seen along the axis, and of a yellowish brown colour when
viewed in a direction perpendicular to the axis.
If abed is a section of the prism of iolite in a plane parallel
to the axis of the prism, the transmitted light Fig. 159.
will be blue through the faces ab and dc, and ar^ 
yellowish-brown through ad, be, and.in every \/
direction perpendicular to the axis of the^f
prism. If we grind down the angles a, c, b, d,
so as to replace them with faces m n, m! n', 6
andop, o'jo', inclined 31° 41' toot?, or to 7j\ /\
the axis of the prism ; then, if the plane rn^0
passes through the resultant axes of double refraction,
we shall observe, by transmitting polarised light through the
crystal in the directions ac,bd, and subsequently analysing
it, a system of rings round each of these axes. The sys¬
tem will exhibit the individual rings very plainly if the
crystal is thin ; but if it is thick, we shall observe, when
the plane abed is perpendicular to the plane of primitive
polarisation, some branches of blue and white light, diverg¬
ing in the form of a cross from the centre of the system of
rings, or the poles of no polarisation, as shown at p and p',
fig. 67, where the shaded branches represent the blue ones.
The summits of the blue masses atp and jo' are tipped with
purple, and are separated by whitish light in some speci¬
mens, and yellowish light in others. The white light be¬
comes more blue from p and p' to o, where it is quite blue,
and more yellow from p and ft to c and d, where it is com¬
pletely ye//ow. When the plane a 5 c r? is in the plane of
primitive polarisation, the poles p, ft are marked by spots
of white light, but everywhere else the light is a deep blue.
In the plane cadb, fig. 159, the mineral, when we look
through it at common light, exhibits no other colour but
yellow, mixed with a small quantity of blue polarised in
an opposite plane. The ordinary image at c and d is yel¬
lowish brown, and the extraordinary image faint blue, the
former receiving some blue rays/and the latter some yel¬
low ones from c, and at a and b, where the difference of co¬
lour is still well marked. r\l\\e. yellow image becomes fainter
from a and b to p and jo', till it changes into blue, and the
faint blue image is strengthened by other blue rays, till the
intensity of the two blue images is nearly equal. As the
incident ray advances from c and d to p and ft, the faint
blue image becomes more intense, and the yellow one, re¬
ceiving an accession of blue rays, becomes of a bluish white
colour. The ordinary image is whitish from p and ft to o,
and the extraordinary a deep blue; but the whiteness gra¬
dually diminishes towards o, where they are both almost
equally blue.
1 he principal axis of double refraction in iolite is nega¬
tive. The most refracted image \% purplish blue, and the
least refracted one yellowish brown.
The following table shows the colours exhibited by crys¬
tals with two axes:
Colours of the two Images in Crystals with two Axes.
495
Axis of Prism in the A^5s f PrisI" Polarisa-
Names of Crystals. Plane of Primitive dlcular to tb0 Ptane tion.
Polarisation. of Primitive Polari-
Nitrate of copper Bluish white
Chromate of lead Orange
Staurotide Brownish red
Chloride of gold I T ,,
and sodium J Lemon yelIow
Chloride of gold | T
ami ammonia / Lemon yell°"'
Chloride of gold f r „
and potassium 5'ellow
Augite Blood red
Anhydrite Bright pink
Axinite Reddish white
Diallage Brownish white
Sulphur Yellow
Sulph. of strontites Blue
 cobalt Pink
Olivine Brown
sation.
Blue
Blood red
Yellowish white
Deep orange
Deep orange
Deep orange
Bright green
Pale yellow
Yellowish white
White
Deeper yellow
Bluish white
Brick red
Brownish white
Polarisation.
Blood red
Names of Crystals.
Mica
Acetate of copper Blue
unate of copper Greenish white
r.vlne Bluish green
bphene Yellow
Axis of Prism in the AxjS °f Perpen-
Plane of Primitive dlcular t0 the Plane
of Primitive Polari¬
sation.
Pale greenish yellow
Greenish yellow
Blue
Greenish yellow
Bluish
In the last eight crystals of the preceding table the tints
are not given in relation to any fixed line.
In Withamite, a crystal whose principal axis is negative
in relation to the axis of the prism, the dichroism is beau¬
tiful, and is exhibited both in common and polarised light.
When common light is transmitted through the two pa¬
rallel faces of the prism, the tint is of a crimson or ame¬
thyst colour, w ith a mixture of straw colour. Upon turn¬
ing the crystal round, the yellow tint disappears, and the
colour becomes a deep crimson-red. On continuing to
turn the prism, the colour changes to a straw-yellow, and
at the end of half a revolution the crystal resumes its com¬
pound tint. In the groups of crystals which have pene¬
trated the quartz, some of them occupy accidentally the
position which gives the yellow colour, others that which
gives the red colour, and some that which gives the com¬
pound tint, so that, without a knowledge of their dichroitic
property, the group might have been considered as com¬
posed of three different sets of crystals.1
The following table contains the characters of the two
pencils in crystals, the number of whose axes has not yet
been determined.
Phosphate of iron Fine blue Bluish white
Actynolite Green Greenish white
Precious opal Yellow Lighter yellow
Serpentine Dark green Lighter green
Asbestos Greenish Yellowish
Blue carb.of copperViolet blue Greenish blue
Orpiment Sulphur yellow Lighter yellow
Sir David Brewster found that the dichroism of several
crystals is changed by heat, and that in some cases this
property may be communicated to them. In several co¬
loured glasses, too, he found an analogous property, when
they had received the doubly-refracting structure either
temporarily or permanently.2
Sect. XVII—On the Action of the Surfaces of Crystal¬
lized Bodies upon Common and Polarised Light
It was remarked by Mains, that the action of the sur¬
face of Iceland spar upon light is independent of the po¬
sition of its principal section, and that its surface acts like
that of any common transparent body.3 In examining,
1 Edinburgh Journal of Science, April 1825, vol. ii. p. 219.
* See Phil. Trans. 1819, p. 11 ; or Edin. Philos. Jour. vol. ii. p. 340.
3 Th&orie de la Double Refraction, p. 240, 241 ; and Biot’s Traite de Physique, tom. iv. p. 339.
496
OPTICS.
32
32
18
14
Polarija- however, the superficial action of this mineral, Sir David
tion. Brewster discovered, that all its surfaces, without excep¬
tion, exercise a remarkable action upon light, and that its
polarising angle varied in different azimuths, excepting
when the surface was perpendicular to the axis.
If A and A!' are the minimum and maximum polarising
angles, viz. in azimuth 0°, or in the plane of the principal
section, and in azimuth 90°, or perpendicular to that plane,
he found that the variation of the polarising angle was re¬
presented by the following expression, where A' is the po¬
larising angle required at the azimuth a:
A' = A -f- sin.* a (A"— A) ;
in a plane perpendicular to the axis, A" — A = 0? and con¬
sequently no change takes place in the polarising angle ;
in planes inclined 45° 23' to the axis on the actual faces of
the rhomboid, A — A = 2° 18'; and
in planes coincident with the axis, A" — A =r 4° nearly.
The following were the measures which our author ob¬
tained on the natural faces of the rhomb :
Polarising Angle.
Azimuth  0°  57° 74'
 50 57' 58
 90  59
On faces nearly parallel to the axes :
Azimuth  0° 54
 90  58
Sir David Brewster also observed that the polarisation
was more complete in azimuth 0° than in azimuth 90° on
the faces of the rhomb; but more complete in azimuth
90° than in azimuth 0° in faces parallel to the axis.
As these experiments clearly proved that the forces
which produced double refraction extended beyond the
surface of Iceland spar, our author became desirous of as¬
certaining if the light polarised by reflection from the spar
suffered any change from the same cause. He therefore
thought of weakening the force which produces reflection,
in order to allow the interior force to show its weaker influ¬
ence ; and he accomplished this by placing oil of cassia on
its surface, and examining the light reflected at the sepa¬
rating surface of the spar and the oil. The experiments
which were thus made, and which are detailed in the Philo¬
sophical Transactions for 1819, completely proved that the
interior force polarised common light out of the plane of
reflection, and modified the law of intensity, according to
which light is reflected at different angles of incidence.
These experiments excited no attention till 1835, when
Professor Maccullagh, of I rinity College, Dublin, began to
investigate the laws which regulate the reflection and re¬
fraction of light at the separating surface of two media.
He had anticipated from theory effects the reverse of those
deduced from the preceding experiments; and in order to
account for the latter, he was obliged to modify his theo¬
retical views, and was thus led to the result, that when a
ray is polarised by reflection from a doubly-reflecting sur¬
face, the plane of polarisation deviates from the plane of
incidence, except when the axis lies in the latter plane.
The formula which expresses this deviation represents very
accurately the measures of the polarising angles in different
azimuths in the natural faces of the rhomb, the only surface
in which the exception is true ; but at all other inclinations
of the reflecting planes to the axis, the theory and the for¬
mula are in fault, for there is a large deviation when the
axis or principal section of the crystal is in the plane of re¬
flection. _ _
Professor Maccullagh’s success in deducing theoretically
the general fact of a deviation increasing as the refractive
power of the medium approached to that of the spar,
induced Sir David Brewster to resume his inquiries, the
general result of which he communicated to the British
Association at Bristol in 1836, in the following very brief
abstract.
“ When light is reflected at the separating surface of two
media, the lowermost of which is a doubly-refracting one,
the reflected ray is exposed to the action of two forces, 1
one of which is the ordinary reflecting force, and the other
a force which emanates from the interior of the doubly re-
fracting crystal. When the first medium is air, or even
water, the first of these forces overpowers the second ; and,
in general, the effects of the one are so masked by the ef¬
fects of the other, that I was obliged to use oil of cassia,
a fluid of high refractive power, in order that the interior
force of the calcareous spar which I wished to examine
might exhibit its effects independently of those which
arise from ordinary reflection. The separating surface,
therefore, which I used, had a small refractive power; and
the reflecting pencil is so attenuated, especially in using
polarised light, that it is almost impossible to use any other
light than that of the sun.
“ When a pencil of common light is reflected from the
separating surface of oil of cassia and calcareous spar, the
general action of the spar is to polarise a part of the ray
in a plane perpendicular to that of reflection, and thus to
produce by reflection the very same effect that other surfaces
do by refraction.
“ On the face of calcareous spar, perpendicular to the axis
of the crystal, the effect is exactly the same in all azi¬
muths ; but in every other face the effect varies in different
azimuths; and depends upon the inclination of the face to
the axis of double refraction. On the natural face of the
rhomb common light is polarised in the plane of reflection,
in 0° of azimuth, or in the plane of the principal section;
but at 38° of azimuth, the whole pencil is polarised at right
angles to the plane of reflection ; and in other azimuths the
effect is nearly the same as I have stated in my printed
paper. *
“ In order, however, to observe the change which is actu¬
ally produced upon light, it is necessary to use two pencils,
one polarised -J- 45°, and the other — 45°, to the plane of
incidence. The planes of polarisation of these pencils are
inclined 90° to each other, and the invariable effect of the
new force is to augment that angle in the same manner as
is done by a refracting surface, while the tendency of the
ordinary reflective force is to diminish the same angle.
Hence l was led to make an experiment in which these
opposite forces might compensate one another. I mixed
oil of olives and oil of cassia, till I obtained a compound
of such a refractive power that its action in bringing to¬
gether the planes of polarisation should be equal to the ac¬
tion of the new force in separating them. Upon reflecting
the compound pencil from this surface, I was delighted to
find that the inclination of the planes was still 90°, and I
thus obtained the extraordinary result of a reflecting sur¬
face which possessed no action whatever upon common
or upon polarised light.
“ The action of the new force when the plane of reflec¬
tion coincides with the principal section of the crystal isobvi-
ously inexplicable by any theory of light, though I have no
doubt that the undulatory theory may ultimately accommo¬
date itself to this as well as to other classes of phenomena
which it does not at present embrace. The difficulty, no"'
ever, is increased by another result of my experiments, whicn
it is important to notice. On the faces of the spar w ic
are inclined 0°, 45°, 90°, to the axis of double refraction,
the action of the new force is symmetrical upon the t
pencils of polarised light whose planes are incline +
and — 45° to the plane of incidence; whereas in aflm e j
mediate faces, whose inclination to the axes is a
67^°, the plane of one of the polarised rays remams statioi
ary, while that of the other is turned round 15°.
“ This effect is undoubtedly a very extraordinary one, a
indicates some singular structure in calcareous spar,
nature of which it is not easy to conjecture.
larijt
ioa.
'r*
is
k
f
OPTICS.
u “ 1 have examined tnese phenomena by using, in place of
oil of cassia, various fluids whose refractive powers descend
.^gradually to that of water ; but it would be a waste of time
to give any detailed account of them at present. I shall
only state, that the action of the new force becomes weaker
and weaker as the force of ordinary reflection is increased, by
diminishing the refractive power of the oil which is placed in
contact with the spar. With an oil of the highest refractive
index, the action of the new force predominates over the
feeble power of the ordinary force of reflection. With an
oil of a lower index the two forces exactly balance each
other; while with oils of still lower indices of refraction,
the ordinary force overcomes and conceals the action of
the new one.
“ Although I have obtained pretty accurate measures of
the amount of the deviations produced by the new force,
on eight surfaces, differently inclined to the axis, and in
various azimuths on these surfaces, yet many experiments
are still necessary before we can hope to discover the phy¬
sical law of the phenomena; and if this should be done,
1 have no doubt that Mr Maccullagh will be equally suc¬
cessful in the higher attempt of accounting for them by
some modification of the undulatory theory.”
Sect. XVIII—On the Mutual Action of Polarised Pays.
This curious subject has, we believe, not been studied
by any other philosophers but M. Arago and M. Fresnel,
and we shall therefore make no apology for giving an ac¬
count of the results which they obtained, in the words of M.
Fresnel himself:1—
“ In studying the interferences of polarised rays, M.
Arago and I found that they no longer exercise any influ¬
ence upon one another wdien their planes of polarisation
are perpendicular to each other; that is, that they cannot
then produce fringes, although all the necessary conditions
for their appearance in ordinary cases be scrupulously ful¬
filled. I shall describe the three principal experiments
which illustrate this fact, beginning with that which be¬
longs to M. Arago. It consists in making two pencils,
emanating from the same luminous point, and introduced
by two parallel slits, traverse two piles of very thin trans¬
parent plates, such as those of mica or blown-glass, which
are sufficiently inclined to each other to polarise almost
completely each of the two pencils, taking care that the
two planes are perpendicularly inclined to each other. In
this case no fringes can be perceived, whatever care may
have been taken thus to compensate the differences of both
in varying very gently the inclination of one of the piles ;
but when the planes of incidence of the piles are no longer
perpendicular to each other, they always cause the fringes
to appear. In proportion as the planes cease to be paral¬
lel, the fringes become weaker, and they disappear alto¬
gether when they are rectangular, provided the polarisa¬
tion of the two pencils has been sufficiently complete. It
results from these experiments, that rays polarised in the
same plane influence one another, like the rays of light
not modified ; but this influence diminishes in proportion
as the planes of polarisation deviate from one another, and
becomes nothing when they are rectangular.
The following is another experiment which leads to the
same results. Take a plate of sulphate of lime or of rock-
oiystal parallel to its axis, and of a uniform thickness; cut
it m two, and place each of the halves upon one of the slits
j)t the screen. I suppose that we have turned the two
ia ves in such a way that the edges which were in contact
e ore the division of the plate are parallel, and the axes
1 a 80 Parallel. But, in this case, we only perceive a
single group of fringes in the middle of the bright space as
it was before the division of the plates. But, if we turn
one of these halves in its plane, thus disturbing the paral-
e ism of their axes, we make two other groups of fainter
hinges spring up, situated one on the right, and the other
on the left of the group in the middle, and which are com¬
pletely separated from it, in the white light when the plates
of rock-crystal or of sulphate of lime which are used, are
only a millimetre thick. It is to be remarked, that the
number and breadth of the fringes lying between the mid¬
dle of one of these groups and the central group, is propor¬
tional to the thickness of the plates for crystals of the same
kind, or whose double refraction is of the same strength,
like rock-crystal and sulphate of lime. In proportion as
the angle of the two axes increases, these new groups of
fringes become more and more distinct, and attain at last
their maximum intensity when the axes of the two plates
are perpendicular to each other. In this position, the cen¬
tral group, which had been gradually weakened, altogether
disappeared, and is replaced by a uniform light. From this
we may conclude, that the rays which produce them, by
their interference, are no longer capable of influencing one
another.
From the position of these fringes, it is easy to see that
they result from the interference of the rays, which have
undergone the same kind of refraction in the two plates,
since, having travelled with equal velocities, they ought to
arrive simultaneously at the middle of the bright space
which corresponds to the equal routes, if as we suppose
the two plates have the same thickness, and always con¬
tinue perpendicular to the rays. Hence, the fringes of the
central groups were formed by the superposition of those
which arise—1. From the interference of the ordinary rays
of the left plate with the ordinary ray of the right plate ;
2. From the interference of the extraordinary rays of the
first plate with the extraordinary rays of the second. The
two eccentric groups, on the contrary, arise from the in¬
terference of the rays which have undergone diflerent re¬
fractions in the two plates ; and as it is the ordinary rays
which move with the greatest velocity in sulphate of lime
or rock-crystal, we see that, if we employ one of these two
species of crystals, the left group ought to be formed by
the union of the extraordinary rays of the left plate with
the ordinary rays of the right plate, and the right group
by the union of the extraordinary rays of the right plate
with the ordinary rays of the left plate. This being
established, it remains now to determine the direction of
polarization in each of the pencils which interfere, in order
that we may deduce from it what are the relative directions
of the planes of polarization which favour or hinder their
mutual influence. Analogy shews that the mode of the
polarization of light ought to be the same as in the small
plates in crystals thick enough to divide it into two dis¬
tinct pencils. But as this hypothesis might perhaps be an
object of discussion, and contradict an ingenious theory of
one of our most celebrated philosophers, we shall not pre¬
sent it at first as a certain principle, and we shall have re¬
course to a direct experiment to determine the planes of
polarisation, both of the ordinary and extraordinary rays
which emerge from these plates, which we suppose to be
one or two millimetres thick. This thickness is sufficient
to allow us to cut one of their edges obliquely, and obtain
by this prismatic form the separation of the ordinary and
extraordinary rays. We then find that they are effectual¬
ly polarised, the first in the principal section, and the others
in a perpendicular direction. If we are not sufficiently
convinced that this is their manner of polarisation in emerg
497
Polarisa¬
tion.
Elemrns dr /->/„, : r ■ riginal Memoir, but have translated this portion of it from M. Pouillet s very valuable work, entitled
ns (la 1 "ytiquc Experimental et de Meteorologie, liv. viii. chan. iii.
VOL. XVI. 1
3 R
498
OPTICS.
Polarisa¬
tion.
ing from each plate when these two surfaces are parallel,
we shall find a new demonstration of this in the facts that
we are about to describe, setting out from the principles
established by the experiments of M. Arago, and which are
besides confirmed by others, of which we are going to
speak. If, on the contrary, we no longer question the di¬
rection of the polarisation of the ordinary and extraordinary
rays, actual experiment will afford us a second demonstra¬
tion of these principles. When the axes, indeed, of the
two plates were parallel, the rays which had experienced
the same refractions in the two crystals were found po¬
larised in the same direction, and those of contrary colours
in rectangular directions. It is thus that the group o
fringes in the middle which proceed from the interference
of rays of the same name, had a maximum intensity, and
the two others, which resulted from the interference of t le
rays of contrary names, did not appear again. But when
the axes of the two plates formed an oblique angle, of 4 5 toi
instance, the rays of a contrary name, and those of the same
name, could act at the same time one upon the other, since
their polarising planes were no longer rectangular, and the
three groups of fringes were produced. When, m short,
the axes became perpendicular to one another, the rays o
the same colour were polarised in rectangular directions,
and the central group, to which it had given birth, vanish¬
ed, while the ordinary rays of the left plate were then po¬
larised parallel to the extraordinary rays of the right plate,
and this is the cause why the right group which they pro¬
duce attained its maximum intensity. It is the same with
the left group, arising from the interference of the ordinary
rays of the right plate with the extraordinary rays of the
left plate. .. , . ,
The following is a third experiment, which entirely con¬
firms the results which we have drawn from the first. Ha¬
ving polished a rhomb of calcareous spar upon two oppo¬
site faces, wrought with care so as to be quite parallel, 1
sawed it perpendicularly to these faces, and I obtained
in this manner two rhombs of equal thickness, and m w ic i
the routes of the ordinary and extraordinary rays were ex¬
actly parallel at the same incidence. I placed them one be¬
fore the other, so that the rays proceeding from the luminous
point which had traversed the first rhomb passed through
the second, taking care that their faces were perpendicular
to the direction of the incident rays ; moreover, the prin¬
cipal section of the second rhomb was perpendicular to that
of the first, in such a manner that the four pencils which
they produced were in general reduced to two ; the ordi¬
nary pencil of the first rhomb was refracted extraordinarily
in the second, and the extraordinary pencil of the first was
refracted ordinarily in the second. From this arrangement
it followed, that the difference of the route, proceeding
from the difference of velocity of the ordinary and extraor¬
dinary rays, was found compensated for by the two emerg¬
ing pencils. They crossed each other, too, at a very small
angle, and such that the fringes ought to have had a mag¬
nitude much more than sufficient to be seen ; and, notwith¬
standing, though the necessary conditions for the produc¬
tion of the fringes, in ordinary circumstances, were care¬
fully observed, I never could succeed in making them ap¬
pear.
While I was searching for them with care, holding a mag¬
nifying-glass to my eye, I gently varied the direction of
one of the rhombs, sometimes to the right, sometimes to
the left, in order to compensate the effect resulting from
any difference of thickness that might have existed; but
in spite of this trial, repeated a great many times, I never
could perceive any fringes ; and this is not surprising, after
what the other experiments have taught us, since the two
pencils emerged polarised at right angles to each other.
But what proves that the absence of fringes does not de¬
pend upon the difficulty of arriving by trials at an exact
compensation is, that I easily succeeded in making them ]
appear by employing the light which had been polarised
before it entered the rhombs, and in causing it to receive s
a new polarisation after its emergence. It is, then, com¬
pletely demonstrable from the experiments which I have
described, that rays polarised at right angles cannot exert
any sensible influence upon one another; or in other words,
that their union always produced the same intensity of
light, whatever may be the difference of route of the two
pencils which interfere.
Another remarkable fact is, that when they have been
once polarised in rectangular directions, it is not sufficient
that they are brought back to a common plane of polariza¬
tion, in order that they may give apparent signs of their
mutual influence. If in the experiment of M. Arago, in¬
deed, or that which I have described, we cause the rays
which have emerged from the two slits, and which are pola¬
rized at right angles, to pass through a pile of inclined platesof
plane glass, no fringes were perceived, in whatever direction
its ray of incidence was turned. Instead of a pile, we may
employ a rhomb of calcareous spar, if we incline its principal
section at 45° to the plane of polarisation of the incident
pencils, so that it divides into two equal parts the angle
which they make with each other, each image will contain
the half of each pencil, and these two halves having the
same plane of polarisation in the same image, ought to
produce fringes there, if it is sufficient to bring back the
rays to a plane of common polarisation, to re-establish the
apparent effects of their mutual influence. But the fringes
can never be obtained by this method, as long as the rays
have not been polarised in the same plane, before they were
divided into two pencils polarised at right angles.
When the light has experienced this previous polarisa¬
tion, on the contrary, the interposition of the rhomb makes
the fringes reappear. The most advantageous direction to
give the primitive plane of polarisation, is that which divides
Tnto two equal parts the angle of the rectangular planes, in
which the two pencils are polarised in the second instance,
because then the incident light is equally divided between
them. Suppose, in order to fix our ideas, that the primi¬
tive plane of polarisation is horizontal, it will be necessary
that the planes of polarisation impressed upon each of
the two pencils, is inclined 45° to the horizontal plane,
the one above it and the other below it, in such a man¬
ner that they remain perpendicular. We can obtain this
rectangular polarisation either with the help of the two
little piles employed in the experiment of M. Arago, or
with two plates whose axes are rectangular axes, or, finally,
with a single crystallized plate: We shall only consider
this last case, the two others presenting phenomena pre¬
cisely similar.
To divide the light into two pencils, which cross
under a small angle, and which may thus produce fringes,
the apparatus of two mirrors is generally better tnan
the screen pierced by two slits, because it produces
more brilliant fringes. It has, besides, the advantage ot
giving immediately to the two pencils the previous pohn-
sation necessary to our experiment; it is sufficien o
purpose that the two mirrors should be of glass not ti >
and inclined 35° to the incident rays ; care must b
taken to blacken them behind, to destroy the second r
flection. We place near them, in the line of the reflects
rays, and perpendicularly to their direction a plate ot su
phate of lime or of rock-crystal parallel to the ?X1S’
one or two millimetres thick, inclining its principal
tion 45° to the plane of pnmitive polansation, whic ,
have supposed horizontal. The apparatus eing P
we only L a single group of fringes across the pl»t«
before its interposition, and it occupies the sampl
before its interposition, aim nf‘ lass
But if we put before the magnifying-glass, a pne 0 |
plates, inclined in a horizontal or vertical direction,
OPTICS.
L cover on each side of the central group another group of
fringes, which is the more distant as the crystallized plate
U is thicker. If we replace the pile of plates by a rhomb of
calcareous spar, whose principal section is divided horizon¬
tally or vertically, we shall see in each of the two images
which it produces, the two systems of additional fringes which
the interposition of the pile of plates has caused to appear;
and it deserves to be remarked, that these two images are
complementary to one another ; that is to say, that the ob¬
scure bands of the one correspond to the brilliant bands of
the other.
We see in this experiment a new confirmation of the
principles demonstrated by the preceding ones. The rays
which have experienced the refractions of opposite names,
cannot influence each other, because, in emerging from the
same plate in the case we are now considering, they are
found polarised in rectangular directions; consequently the
groups to the right and the left cannot exist, at least while
we have not re-established the mutual influence of those
rays by bringing them to a common plane of polarisation ;
this is what is effected by the interposition of the pile of
plates or of the rhomb. The fringes thus produced are the
more distinct, as the two pencils of contrary names which
concur in their formation are more equal in intensity ; and
this is the reason why the direction of the principal section
of the rhomb, which makes an angle of 45° with the axis of
the plate, is the most favourable to the appearance of
the fringes. When the principal section of the rhomb is
parallel or perpendicular to that of the plate, the rays re¬
fracted ordinarily by the plate pass entirely into one image,
instead of being divided between the two, and all the ex¬
traordinary rays pass into the other image, so that there
can be no more interference between them ; and the ad¬
ditional groups of fringes disappear, each image presenting
only the fi inges which resulted from the interference of
the rays of the same name, that is to say, those which
compose the central group.
These two groups of additional fringes which polarized
light exhibited in the first position of the rhomb, afford
one of the most exact methods of measuring double re-
laction and of studying its law. Their eccentric position,
indeed, depends on the difference of route of the ordinary
and extraordinary rays which emerge from the plate; and
we can judge of the number of undulations by which the ex¬
traordinary rays of the right pencil remain behind the or-
dinary rays of the left one, by the number and width of the
fringes comprised between the middle of the right group, and
that of the central group. We may determine this differ¬
ence °f route still better, by measuring the interval between
the middle of the two extreme groups, which is the double
1 wJfT. ,lst'lnce from the middle of the central group.
ite ig it is best suited for this kind of observations, be¬
cause it is brightest, and renders the central band of each
group easier to.be observed. By comparing the thickness
the plate with the difference of the observed route, we
! may deduce from it the ratio of the velocities of the ordi-
naiy and extraordinary rays.”
Sect. XIX. — On the Production of Double Refraction
tioii' Pressure> and slotv and rapid Indura-
499
Unders, tubes, spheres, cubes, and rectangular plates of Polarisa-
fffss, all the phenomena of which were discovered by Sir tion.
.David Brewster. . .
1. Cylinders of Glass with one axis of double ref raction.
1 take a cylinder of g]assj
ACBD, fig. 69, from half an inch to an inch in dia¬
meter or upwards, about one-half an inch or more in
thickness, and transmit heat uniformly from its circumfer¬
ence to its centre, it will exhibit, when placed between the
polarising and the analysing plate, and held about eight or
ten inches from the eye, the system of uniaxal rings shewn
in fig. 69, exactly similar to those in fig. 29; and by
turning round the analysing plate, we shall see the com¬
plementary set, as in fig. 31, these rings will be seen as if
they were in the substance of the glass, and hence, if we
cover up any part of the circular surface, we shall cover
up a corresponding part of the system of rings. The axis
of the system or of double refraction is here fixed in the
axis of the cylinder, and does not lie in every direction
parallel to that axis, as in regularly crystallized bodies.
The system of rings thus produced is negative, like
those in calcareous spar.
As soon as the heat reaches the axis of the cylinder, the
rings become less bright, and they disappear entirely when
the heat is uniformly distributed through the glass.
2. Positive Axis.—If we heat a similar cylinder of glass
uniformly in boiling oil or otherwise, and cool it rapidly at
its edges by encircling its margin with a cold and good
conducting material, it will exhibit a similar system, which
will vanish when the glass is uniformly cold. This system
of rings, however, is positive, like those of Zircon, and if it
is placed above the equal negative system, produced as
already described, they will destroy each other. If the
two systems are not equal, we shall have a system equal
to tneir difference, as in positive and negative uniaxal
crystals. In both these systems the tint at any point varies
as the square of the distance of that point from the axis, so
tfiat if I is the tint at any distance D, the tint t corre¬
sponding to any distance d, will be t= ——. If V is the
d2
velocity of the ordinary ray, we shall have the velocity of
the extraordinary ray v = Y2 a d2.
If we transmit polarized light through the cylindri¬
cal surface of these cylinders, we shall observe the pheno¬
mena of biaxal systems exactly the same, as in rectangular
plates, fig. 81, the tints being produced by the action of
the positive or negative axis of the cylinder acting in op¬
position to an axis passing through each diameter of the
cylinder, drawn perpendicular to any point in the middle
line of the cylindrical surface.
(’fVar110us phenomena of double refraction and the sys-
» npn ,PO anfd nngS’ may be Pr°duced either transiently
P manently in glass and other substances, by heat and
nd ’ anc* dilatation, and by slow and gradual
light ov n’ Phenomena thus produced in polarised
he beautiful, and throw much light on
abject of double refraction.
Art-1- On the Transient Influence of Heat and Cold.
e influence of heat and cold may be exhibited in cy-
2. Oval Cylinders, with two axes of double refraction.
If we perform the two experiments above described with
oval cylinders, as in fig. 70, we shall have a system of rings
with two axes. A new axis is developed perpendicular
to the axis of the cylinder, and in the case of the heated
cylinder the new axis at O is a positive one, while in the
CA°£e™y,inder ifc is a negative one, the neutral black lines
AD, LB separating the two classes of tints, and corre¬
sponding to the dark hyperbolic branches in biaxal systems
of rings. The figure referred to is that shewn in azimuths
inc ined 45 to the plane of primitive polarization ; but
in the azimuths of 0° and 90°, the branches AD, CB re¬
sume the form of the rectangular cross.
3. Cubes and Parallelepipeds of glass with double refraction.
Cubes of Glass. — When the shape of the glass is
that of a cube as in fig. 71, the figure which it pro¬
duces in azimuth 0° by the two processes of heating and
500
Polarisa¬
tion.
OPT
cooling is that shewn in the figure, the tints being nega-
gative or positive according as we apply heat or cold.
The complementary system is shewn in fig. 12.
Parallelepipeds of Glass—In a parallelepiped 0.38 of
an inch square, and 1.11 long, the direct and complemen¬
tary systems at 0° of azimuth are shewn in fig. 73 and
74. The first of these consist of a black cross, surrounded
with beautiful fringes of contrary flexure, and four bright
green spots of the third order. The coloured spots at the
angles of fig. 74 are of a brilliant pink colour, with a spot
of blue in the middle of each. When the azimuth is 45°,
the direct and complementary systems change into fig. 75
and 76.
4. Cylindrical Tubes of Glass with two axes of double re¬
fraction.
When the cylinder has the form of a tube, as in
fig. 77, the double refraction is singularly distributed by
the application of heat or cold either to the outside ABCD
of the cylinder, or to its inside abed, or to both. A
black circular fringe mnop, is the central line which se¬
parates the outside or positive structure from the internal ne¬
gative structure, and rice versa. The breadth of the inter¬
nal annulus a o is always less than A o, that of the exter¬
nal one. They approach to equality as the bore of the cylin¬
der widens, and the negative structure grows very small, as
shewn in fig. 78, when the bore diminishes; so that when
the bore becomes infinitely small, the system becomes
either wholly negative or positive, according as heat or
cold has been used. If when fig. 77 is fully developed,
we cut a notch EF in the cylinder, we shall have a biaxal
system of fringes in which there is a positive structure be¬
tween two negative ones, or vice versa, as shewn in fig. 79.
The diameter op, fig. 77 and 78, is a geometrical mean
between the interior and exterior diameters of the tube,
that \$,op — V (AB Xab).
5. Rectangular Plates of Glass, with planes of double re¬
fraction.
If a well annealed parallelepiped of glass EFCD,
fig. 80, is submitted to the processes already described,
or even if we lay one edge of it CD on a piece of iion
almost red hot, and place the whole between the po¬
larizing and analyzing plates, so that if the heated edge
CD is inclined 45° to the planes of primitive polariza¬
tion, and the eye can see the whole surface of the glass,
a series of remarkable phenomena will be produced.
The moment the heat enters the lower surface at CD,
fringes of brilliant colours are seen above CD, and almost
at the same instant, before the heat has reached the upper
EF, or even the central line a b, similar fringes
will appear at EF. Colours, at first faint blue, then white,
yellow, orange, red, &c. of the first order spring up at ab,
and these central colours are separated from those at the
edges by two dark lines or planes MN, OP, corresponding
to'the hyperbolic branches in biaxal crystals, the double
refraction between MN and OP being negative, in refer¬
ence to a line perpendicular to the fringes, while it is positive
without MN and OP. The tints thus developed are those
of Newton’s scale.
If T is the central tint in the line « 6, D the distance of
either of the lines MN, OP, from a b, the tint t at any other
Td2
distance d, will be * = T —- -^F, a formula deduced from
Td2
the opposition of two axes. The term -jj2- represents the
influence of the principal axis or axes perpendicular to the
line a 5 at every point of it; but as the axis in the plane of
the plate produces an uniform tint Tj whose maximum is
ICS.
in the line ab, where the action of the other axis disap. p0i;
pears, and as these axes oppose each other hy acting rec- tt
tangularly, they will compensate each other in the linesw'
MN, OPj and the tint at any point must always be equal to
Td2
the difference of the tints, or to T 
The magnitude 2 D, or the distance between MN and
OP, is a function of the breadth of the plate or b, and 2 D:
V = 10 : 16.02 and D r= .312 B2.
The fringes seen through the thickness of the plates is
shewn in fig. 81, and the one seen through the ends in
fig. 82.
If we wish to find the tints in reference to the lines
M N, O P, let 5, V be the distance of any point from these
lines, whose distance from a b was d, then we have 2 = 1—d,
2 := 1 d and 1 —d2, that is the tint at any point varies,
as the product of the distances of that point from the planes
of the resultant axes M N, O P. Ifwe makev2 =
an expression which gives v the velocity of the extraordi¬
nary ray, we shall have the extraordinary refraction in
such plates.
6. Spheres and Spheroids of Glass with double Refraction.
Spheres If we place a sphere of glass in a glass-trough
of hot oil or otherwise heat it regularly, we shall find that
when the heat is passing to the centre of the sphere, it will
exhibit a positive uniaxal system of rings like that in fig.
69, in every direction in which we transmit the polarized
light; that is, it will have an infinite number o\'positive
axes of double refraction.
If a hot sphere of glass is immersed in a glass-trough of
cold oil, a similar system of rings will be produced in every
possible direction ; but it will be negative.
Spheroids. If we substitute oblate and prolate spheroids
in place of the sphere in these experiments, we shall find
that they will have each a positive system of rings round
their axis of revolution. It the polarised light is transmit¬
ted through an equatorial diameter, we shall find that there
are two axes of double refraction, the black cross opening
out when the axis of revolution is inclined 45° to the plane
of primitive polarisation.
In the prolate spheroid the black cross opens out in a
different plane.
7. On the Effects produced by combining Plates of Glass
under the transient influence of heat and cold.
If we combine any two plates of the same shape, the
resulting system of fringes will be equal to the sum of their
systems or effects, if the plates are of the same name, that
is, both positive or both negative, or to the difference of
their effects, if they are of different names. W hen the
plates are solids or symmetrical forms, such as cylinders,
cubes, or quadrangular plates, no essential variation o
figure is produced by the combination; but when the
plates are rectangular, very interesting phenomena are ex¬
hibited when plates of the same or of different names are
crossed rectangularly. Sir David Brewster has given or
mulae for calculating the forms of the compound or isochro-
matic curves, as he calls them, but our space will on y per
mit us to exhibit the effects to the eye.
When equal rectangular plates of similar names, a
is, both negative or both positive, are crossed, the p e
nomena of the intersectional fringes, as they may be ca e ,
are shewn in fig. 83, where the isochromatic curves
llWCTOO las* • •
When the plates are of different names, the oneP0S1.tl™
and the other negative, and of the same breadth, an
same number of fringes, the isochromatic curves are
cles, as in fig. 84.
OPTICS.
501
Pol;i ’
tio
When the plates are of different names, and of different be parabolas, as shewn in fig. 91, whose vertex will be to- y> i •
breadths, but containing the same number of fringes, the wards the convex side of the bent plate, if the principal 0tiaonSa
isochromatic curves will be ellipses, as in fig. 85. axis of the other plate is positive, but towards the concave ' 
side, if that axis is negative.
8. On the effects produced by altering the form of, or subdi¬
viding plates of glass under the influence of heat or Art. IV. On the Double Refraction produced by gradual
cold. Induration and difference of Density in soft Solids.
If we alter the shape of any of the plates above described,
the form of the isochromatic curves is immediately changed.
If we cut any rectangular plate into two by a line pass¬
ing through its middle, each of the two plates thus pro¬
duced has the property of the whole plate, though the
fringes are less numerous. If a plate ABCD gives the
tints shewn in fig. 86, OP and MN being the dark neutral
lines; then if we cut it with a diamond at ab, so as to sub¬
divide it into two plates, as in fig. 87, each of the plates
EFrs, GH r s, will have the same structure as ABCD,
viz. two neutral lines op, m n, and assume positive and ne¬
gative tints.
Art. II. On the Permanent Influence of Rapid Cooling.
In March 1814, Sir David Brewster found that glass
melted and suddenly cooled, as in the case of Prince Ru¬
pert’s drops, possessed a permanently doubly refracting
power, and he communicated this fact in a letter to Sir Joseph
Banks, dated April 8. 1814 ; and without knowing that Dr
Seebeck had published in December 1814 similar results
with cubes of glass, our author had discovered that cubes,
cylinders, plates, spheres, and spheroids of glass, exhibiting
permanently the phenomena described in th e preceding pages,
may be formed by bringing them to a red heat, and cooling
them rapidly and equally on their edges. A great variety of
beautiful optical figures, developed in polarised light, may
thus be obtained by cooling the glass on metallic patterns.
A very simple elfect of this is shewn in fig. 88, where the
plate of glass was cooled by resting it at its centre on a cy¬
linder of iron.
The phenomena of luminous sectors, separated by a
black cross at the central part of the uniaxal system of
rings, which Sir David Brewster discovered round cavities
in the diamond, in glass, and in various gums, arise from
the gradual induration of the mass, combined with the
elastic pressure of the air included in the cavities : They
are therefore not properly cases of induration alone.
When isinglass is dried in a circular trough, it exhibits,
by polarised light, the uniaxal system of rings like glass,
in fig. 69.
When it is indurated in the form of a rectangular mass,
by the exposure of two sides, fringes are produced pa¬
rallel to these sides, and biaxal like those in rectangular
plates of heated glass.
A sphere of transparent jelly or isinglass, when allowed
to indurate gradually, will have an axis of double refraction
in every direction, like a sphere of glass heated. In like
manner an indurated spheroid will exhibit the biaxal struc¬
ture of a spheroid of glass.
The most splendid examples, however, of this class of
facts are exhibited in the lenses of fishes and animals, as
shewn in figs. 92 and 93. The first of these shews the
doubly refracting structure of the crystalline lens of a cod,
along the axis of vision. The central and the external lu¬
minous sectors have a negative doubly refracting structure,
while the intermediate ones have 3l positive structure.1
The figure given by the crystalline lens of a cow is
shewn in fig. 93, where there are four series of luminous
sectors, the central ones hemg positive, the next negative,
the next positive, and the last negative?
Art. III. On the production of Double Refraction by Com¬
pression and Dilatation.
The effects of compression and dilatation in producing
double refraction were discovered by Sir David Brewster,
and communicated to the Royal Society in 1815. Our li¬
mits will permit us to only give a slight notice of them.
The phenomena both of compression and dilatation or
extension may be well seen by bending, merely with the
orce of the hands, a square rod, or a long and narrow
plate of glass, as in fig. 89. When it is held between
the polarising and analysing plate, eight or ten inches
trom the latter, with its edge AB inclined 45° to the plane
ot primitive polarisation, the whole thickness of the glass
wi be covered with two series of coloured fringes, like
those in the figure separated by a dark neutral line MN,
where there is neither compression nor dilatation. The
nnges on the convex side are negative, being produced
>y t e extension ot the glass in the direction m \, ra B,
while those on the concave side are produced by the com-
pression of the glass in the directions C n, D n. The iso-
c rnmatic curves marked by similar figures, indicating the
°* t^e co^ours’ are bent 35 in the figure,
ti en a P^ate °h bent glass producing fringes crosses
o icr at right angles, the effect at the intersectional
in !? 8 ,wn in fig- 90, where the tint is supposed only
m ,e white of the first order-
taller.aiPlate °f be.nt glass is crossed W1th a plate crys-
e y heat, the fringes in the intersectional square will
CHAP. II. ON CIRCULAR POLARISATION.
1. Circular Polarisation in Rock-crystal and Amethyst.
The general phenomena of circular polarisation were dis¬
covered by M. Arago in 1811. He found that in plates of
rock-crystal, the colours polarised along its axis were dif¬
ferent from those which he had studied in plates of other
crystallised bodies. When they were analysed by a prism
of Iceland spar, he found that the two images had comple¬
mentary colours in the ordinary tints, but, what was re¬
markable, they descended in Newton’s scale as the prism
revolved, so that if the tint of the extraordinary image was
red, it became in succession orange, yellow, green, and
blue. Hence he concluded that the differently coloured
rays had been polarised in different planes in passing along
the axis of the rock-crystal.
M. Biot took up the subject at this point, and investi¬
gated it with his usual ingenuity and success. He found
that while in some crystals of quartz the tints descended in
the scale of colours, by turning the analysing prism from
right to left, in others they descended m the scale by
turning the prism from left to right. The one he called
left-handed quartz, and the other right-handed quartz.
He took a plate of quartz, for example, jjth of an inch
thick, and having polarised the homogeneous colours
of the spectrum, he transmitted them in succession
along the axis of this plate, and obtained the following
1 See Phil. Trans., 1816, p. 311.
2 See Phil. Trans., 1837, vol. ii.
502
OPTICS.
Circular results. W hen the analysing plate was in 0 of azirnutu,
polarisation t]ie rcd light polarised by the plate was a maximum.
' When the analysing plate was turned from right to left,
the red tint gradually diminished, and after a rotation
of 171°, it wholly vanished. With a plate 2-25ths of an inch
thick,” the red tint did not vanish till after a rotation of
35°, and so on, every additional 25th of an inch of rock
crystal requiring an additional rotation of 11 ^ to make the
tint vanish. A whole inch of quartz, for example, would
require 25 X 17^0=437i°, or one whole turn, and 77^° more
to cause the red tint to vanish. It is obvious that twenty-
five plates of quartz, l-25th of an inch thick, would produce
the same effect as- one inch of it. .
Wrhen right-handed plates, however, are combined with
left-handed ones, the rotation produced is equal to the dif¬
ference of their actions ; thus a plate of left-handed quartz
l-25th of an inch, combined with a plate 2-25ths of an inch,
would produce a rotation of only 17^°. The following table
contains the rotations produced upon the other coloured rays
of the spectrum, as given by M. Biot:—
Arc of rotation for l-25th
Names of the ray. 0f an inch in quartz.
Extreme red, 17°‘4964
Limit of red and orange, 20 *4798
Limit of orange and yellow, 22 -3138
Limit of yellow and green, 25 ’6752
Limit of green and blue, 30 -0460
Limit of blue and indigo, 34 *5717
Limit of indigo and violet, 37 *6829
Extreme violet, 44 *0827
M. Biot conceived that this property of quartz belonged
to its ultimate molecules, but Sir David Brewster proved
that this was not the case, by shewing that heat deprived
quartz of the property of circular polarisation; and Sir John
HerscheTs beautiful discovery, that it was connected with
the crystallisation of the mineral, put this result beyond a
doubt. He found that those crystals in which the plagied-
ral faces described by Hauy, went round the crystal from
right to left, exhibited the optical properties of left-handed
crystals, and those crystals in which the plagiedral faces
leant round the crystals from left to right, had the properties
of right-handed crystals. Hence he concluded that what¬
ever he the cause which determined the direction of rotation,
the same law acted in determining the direction of the pla¬
giedral faces. .
When Sir David Brewster discovered the system of rings
in quartz, he found the tints of circular polarisation occu¬
pying, as might have been expected, the inner circle of the
rings as shewn in fig. 94, only small portions of the black
Pig. 94. crogs being visibie ; but these black portions were larger as
the plate became thinner.
In examining the structure and properties of the ame-
Amethyst. gir Davi(i Brewster found that this singular mineral
was actually composed of the two different kinds of quartz,
viz., the right-handed and the left-handed. These two
kinds of quartz are arranged in veins, as represented in figs.
fi95, 96. In fig. 95, the shaded veins which correspond
hlg , to each alternate face of the pyramid turns the planes of
polarisation from right to left, while all the rest of the crys¬
tal turns the same planes from left to right; and what is very
interesting, the black lines where these two structures unite
have no action whatever on the planes of polarisation. In
some specimens these opposite veins are so very minute,
that they destroy each other’s action upon the polarised ray,
and when this happens, the single system of rings appears
with its black cross, and entirely free of any of the tints of
circular polarisation. The colouring matter of the amethyst
is arranged in a very singular manner in relation to these
veins; and the fracture across the veins exhibits a beauti¬
ful, and sometimes a regular rippled structure, resembling
the engine-turning of a watch, and affords an infallible mi- ci® ir
neralogical character of the amethyst, whether its colour is Pdat, jon
yellow, orange, olive, green, blue, or perfectly colourless. w
The general structure of well crystallised amethysts is Fig,
shewn in fig. 96, which is of the natural size, and is taken
from one of the finest specimens that Sir David Brewster
met with. “ On the three alternate sides of the prism,” says
he, “viz., MN, OP, and OR, are placed sectors McN, OdP,
QaR, which are divided into two parts by dark lines cc', dd!,
aa', which separate the direct structures of A, C, and E
from the retrograde structures of B, D, and F. On the
other three alternate faces of the prisms are placed the three
veined sectors Mc5aR, NcMO, and YdbaQ, which meet at
b in angles of 120°, and consist of veins of opposite struc¬
ture, alternating with each other, and so minute, that in
many places the circular tints are almost wholly extinguish¬
ed by their mutual action. The direct sectors A, C, andE,
are all connected together by the three radial veins ba, be,
bd, and are therefore to be considered as the expanded ter¬
minations of these veins. The retrograde sectors B, D, and
F, are expansions of the first retrograde veins next to bde,
dba, and abc, and the lines cc', dd', and aa', are continua¬
tions of the dark or neutral lines which separate the first re¬
trograde vein from the direct radial veins.
“All the sectors A, B, C, D, E, and F, are of a yellowish
brown colour, and all the rest of the crystal is of a pale likw
colour, the lilac tints being arranged in the manner previ¬
ously described. The phenomena which I have now men¬
tioned as existing in this specimen are very common in the
amethyst; and I have never yet found a specimen in which
the yellow tints were not confined to those portions which
formed the expanded terminations of veins; a fact which in¬
dicates that this would have been the colour of the crystal,
whether its action were direct or retrograde, and that the
lilac colour affects in general those portions which are com¬
posed of opposite veins.”
The subject of circular polarisation received great acces- Fres s
sions from the genius of M. Fresnel. He conceived that adlsc' ies-
ray passing along the axis of quartz should be refracted in
two pencils, and he ascertained this to be the case by the
following experiment. He took a prism ACB of right-
handed quartz, having its faces AC, BC, equally inclined to
its axis AB, so that a ray PV should be incident at angles
of 75° on either face. As a ray, however, refracted at R,
would not emerge at all from the other side CB, he took
another similar prism, but from a crystal of left-handed
quartz, and having cut it into two halves, he placed these
two halves ACD, BCE, as in the figure, so that he had an
achromatic combina-
Fig. 160.
tion of three prisms.
Now a ray PQ inci¬
dent perpendicularly
at Q, should pass
straight on without
deviation, or double , .p,,
refraction, if quartz were like other uniaxal crystals. But it me
pencil PQ suffer any double refraction at Q, this double re¬
fraction will be doubled at R, because ABC has an opposi e
kind of double refraction. The same effect takes place a >
so that the ray PQ at its emergence at T, ought to have a
very sensible double refraction, even if that at U was y
small. NowM. Fresnelfoundthatthisdouble refraction actu¬
ally existed, but upon examining the image he found ttia
had suffered a new kind of double refraction, and acqmrt'_ _
properties. In place oftheir being polarised in opposrtep ’
like other doubly refracted pencils, which, when exa
with a doubly refracting prism, give two unequal 1 g
alternating in brightness during the revolution ot t 1
prism, they exhibit the following properties:—-
1. Either of the quartz rays, when examined wi
prism, gave two images of equal intensity in every p°
Cir
OPTICS.
Recem
)erime
Fig. 161.
r of the prism. Hence they resemble unpolarised light, as if
iciar on they consisted of two rectangularly polarised rays.
2. They differ from unpolarised light in having the fol¬
lowing remarkable and characteristic property. If either
of them are incident at right angles, as shewn at RP, fig.
160, upon the face AB of a parallelepiped of crown glass,
having its refracting index 1-51, and its angles ABC and
ADC 54-g-0, it will suffer two total re¬
flexions at Q and S, emerging perpen¬
dicularly from the surface DC in the
direction ST. Now this ray ST is
found to be completely polarised in a
plane inclined 45° to the plane of its
reflexions, whatever may be the po¬
sition of that plane. If the other ray
is incident at rp, and is reflected at q
and s, so as to emerge in the direction
st, the one ray ST will be polarised
in a plane 45° to the right, and the
other st 45° to the left of the plane of
reflexion. Hence they emerge when
superimposed in a state of common
light. Hie two rays RP, rp, are said to be circularly po¬
larised.
3. If a ray thus circularly polarised is transmitted through
a thin crystallized plate, and parallel to its axis, it is divided
by double refraction into two rays of complementary tints,
thus shewing a decided difference from a ray of common
light; and these complementary colours always differ from
those that are produced from light, polarised and analys¬
ed in the usual way, by an exact quarter of a tint either in
defect or in excess-
4. A. circularly polarised ray transmitted again along the
axis of rock crystal, and subsequently analysed, produces,
like common light, no colours, and differs in this respect
from polarised light.
As two circularly polarised rays RP, rp, emerge from
FresneFs rhomb, (as the parallelepiped of glass AB CD, fig.
160, has been called), in rays ST, st, polarised +45° to the
plane of reflection, it occurred to Fresnel, and hefound it to
be so, that a ray TS polarised 45° to the plane of reflexion
m the rhomb, would emerge in the direction PR, as a cir¬
cularly polarised ray, possessing all the properties of one of
the rays formed along the axis of quartz.
- In an extensive series of experiments, of which we shall
give some account in the following chapter, Sir David Brews¬
ter had occasion to examine some of the kindred phenome¬
na of circular polarisation. His first experiments on this
subject preceded those of Fresnel. He found that total re-
tlexion produced polarised tints analogous to those of crys¬
tallised laminae, and he supposed that these colours were
produced by the interference of two portions of light, the
one partially reflected in the first instance, and the other
beginning to be refracted, and caused to return, by the con-
mued operation of the same power.1 In continuing his
experiments, he found that the colours produced by total
re exion did not rise in the scale by successive reflexions ;
an at ie end of 1816, he announced in the Journal of the
oya nstitution,I2 that he had discovered “a new species
o moveable polarisation, in which the complementary tints
never rise above the white (the bluish white) of the first
iaer, by the successive application of the polarising influ-
i.e’, ,?' . determined experimentally the angles at
tlJu- tmt y38 successively produced and destroyed, and
fW 1SC0T ereC some ^ie losing properties of total re-
snpp^n> r TaS ^r.esnel’ however, that discovered this new
snip i° l)0‘ar'sation to be circular, and made those other
to S' n dl.S?°nerieS which we have just detailed. We owe
vPr •ir fl13 Brewster, however, the discovery of the in-
^—mn ot the spectrum in the phenomena of total reflexion,
508
of which we shall give some account in the next chapter. Circular
. . glving the name of circular polarisation to that which Polarisahon
is impressed on the two rays along the axis of quartz,
b resnel was guided by theoretical considerations. Mr. Airy Discovery
inn nftlA0fMr-Airy
Fig. 162.
Fig. 97.
See Chromatics, vol. vi. p. 646, and Phil Trans. 1830, p. 310.
has, however, taken a different view of the condition of the
light forming these two rays in quartz, and has been led to
results of very h,gh interest. The following are the expe¬
riments, which we shall give in his own words, on which
he founded his deductions. They were made with a Fres-
nei s rhomb, htted up as in the annexed
figure, where the rhomb is shewn at rr.
“ 1. If Fresnel’s rhomb, mounted as in
the annexed figure,be placed to receive the
polarised light, so that the plane of reflex¬
ion passes through the divisions 45° and
225°, the calc spar will present another
appearance 97. The rings are abruptly
and absolutely dislocated: those in the
upper right hand quadrant and the quad¬
rant opposite to it, are pushed from the
centre by one-fourth of an interval, and
those in the other quadrants are drawn
nearer to the centre by the same quality.
The line separating the quadrants is no¬
where black ; the intensity of its light is uniform, and about
equal to the mean intensity. If the plane of incidence pass
through 135° and 315°, the phenomena of adjacent quad¬
rants are exactly interchanged. No alteration is made by
turning the analysing plate round the incident ray ; the
lines dividing the quadrants are always parallel and perpen¬
dicular to the plane of reflexion at the analysing plate.
“ 2* If the plane of reflexion in the rhomb pass through
0 and 180°, or through 90° and 360°, the phenomena are
precisely the same, and undergo the same changes as those
in ordinary rings. If while the plates are crossed, the
rhomb be turned gradually from the position 0° towards
45°, the rings are gradually changed, at first becoming (as
far as the eye can judge) elliptical, and then assuming the
form represented in fig. 98.
. “ 3- If a P^te of quartz, whether right or left handed, be Flg’ 98'
interposed between the crossed plates, a set of rings is seen
like those in fig. 94. As far as the eye can judge, the rings Fje. 94.
are exactly circular, but there is no black cross, and the
central tint is not black, but removed from it by a number
of tints in Newton’s scale proportional to the thickness of
the quartz. Thus with a thickness of 0*48 inch, the central
tint is pale pink; with a thickness 0"38 inch, the central tint is
bright yellowish green; with thickness 0-26 inch it is a rich
red plum colour; with thickness 0T 7 inch, it is a rich yellow.
“ The colours then appear to be nearly the same, begin-
ning from the centre, as in Newton’s scale, beginning with
the tint representing this central tint. At a considerable
distance from the centre, four dark brushes begin to be vi¬
sible, in the same directions as the arms of the black cross
in calc spar.
“ 4. Now, (supposing the crystal right handed), if the
plate of quartz be thin, and the analysing plate be turned,
the upper part towards the observer’s left hand, a bluish
short-armed cross appears in the centre, which, on turning
further, becomes yellow, and the rings are enlarged. On
turning still further, the cross breaks into four dots. The
rings are no longer circular, but of a form intermediate be¬
tween a circle and a square, their diagonals (as well as the
cross) being inclined to the left of the parallel, and perpen¬
dicular to the plane of reflexion. See fig. 99- If the ana- F- q0
lysing plate be turned the other way, there is no cross ; the Ig
form ot the rings is changed from circular nearly as in the
former case.
“ 5. If the plate of quartz be thick, the dilatation, and the
rings, and the change of form are all the perceptible phe-
2 Vol. iii. p. 213.
504
OPTICS,
Circular nomena. And on turning the analysing plate continually
polarisation to the left, the rings continually dilate, and new spots start
'-*~y^''up continually in the centre, and become rings. If the
crystal be left handed, the remarks in this and the last ar¬
ticle apply equally well, supposing the analysing plate turn¬
ed in the opposite direction.
“ 6. If Fresnel’s rhomb be placed in the position 45 , and
the light thus circularly polarised pass through the quartz,
on applying the analysing plate instead oi rings, there are
seen two spirals naturally inwrapping each other, as m tig.
Fie. 100. 100. If the rhomb be placed in position 135°, the figure
is turned through a quadrant. If the quartz be left handed,
the spirals are turned in the opposite direction. ^ I he cen¬
tral tint appears to be white. With the rhomo which 1
have commonly used, (which is of plate glass, but with the
angles given by Fresnel for crown glass), there is at the
centre an extremely dilute tint of pink. ^ I think it i e y
that this arises from the cross in the angles, as the inten¬
sity of the colours have no proportion to that in other parts
of the spirals. The figure was drawn from the appearances
sjiven by a plate of quartz O'26 inch thick.
& “ 7. If two plates of quartz of equal thickness, but cut one
from a right handed, and the other from a left handed crys¬
tal, be attached together, and put between the polarising and
analysing plates, the left handed slice nearest to the polarising
Fisr. 101. plate, the appearance presented is that of fig. 101. tour
spirals (proceeding from a black cross in the centre, whic
is inclined to the plane of reflexion), cut a series of circles at
every quadrant. The points of intersection are in the plane
of reflexion, and perpendicular to it. This is the simplest
way of describing the form ; but if we followed the colours
which graduate most gently, we should say that the form
of each is alternately a spiral and circular arc, quadrant at-
“^At a distance from the centre, the black brushes are
seen. If the combination be turned, so that the right hand¬
ed slice is nearest to the polarising plate, the spirals are
turned in the opposite direction. This is one of the most
beautiful phenomena of optics. The slices from whose ap¬
pearance the figure was drawn, are each 0'i6 inch thic •
The preceding phenomena are described as they appear
when examined with an analysing plate of unsilvered g ass.
The following are the theoretical views which Mr. Airy
considers as consonant with these experiments. They had
been originally suggested to him by the desire of finding
some connecting link between the peculiar double refrac¬
tion in quartz, and the common double refraction.
“ 1. I suppose the ordinary rays to consist of light ellip-
tically polarised, the greater axis of the ellipse being per¬
pendicular to the principal plane, and t^e extraordinary
rays to consist of light elliptically polarised, the greater
• axis of the ellipse being in the principal plane.
“ 2. I suppose that when the ordinary ray is nght-ellip-
tically polarised, the extraordinary ray is left-ellipticaliy-
polarised, and vice versa. . ~
“ 3. I suppose that the proportions of the axes of the
two ellipses are the same, each proportion being one of
equality when the direction of the ray coincides with the
axis, and becoming more unequal, according to some un¬
known law, as the direction is more inclined to the axis;
the minor axes of the ellipses having sensible magnitudes
when the rays are inclined 10° to the axis.
« 4. j suppose that the course of the rays after refraction
can be determined by the construction given by Huygens
for calc spar, with this difference only, that the prolate spne-
roid for determining the course of the extraordinary ray
must not be supposed to touch the sphere for determining
the course of the ordinary ray, but must be entirely con¬
tained within it.”  
In a supplement to his investigations, Mr. Airy remarks, Cir r
that he has not yet ascertained the law which connects theP°fr ,,
ellipticity of the rays with the angle that they make with^'%
the axis. He considers, however, the following points as
made out:—
“ One of the rays is certainly right-handed elliptical, and
the other certainly left-handed elliptical. The major axis
of one is certainly perpendicular to the principal plane of
the crystal, and the major axis of the other is certainly in
tiiat plane. Mr. Airy remarks, that in some trials for mea¬
suring the ellipticities of the rays, he seems to have arrived
at the conclusion, that the proportion of the axes of the or¬
dinary ray is more nearly one of equality than the propor¬
tion of the axes of the extraordinary ray.”
This subject has recently been investigated by Profes-ProH
sor Maccullagh, whose object was to pave the way for a Mae'
mechanical theory, by shewing that all the phenomena may1#
be grouped together by means of a simple geometrical hy¬
pothesis. Setting out from this hypothesis, he arrives im-
mediately at all the known laws, and obtains at the same
time a law that was previously unknown, and which is tech¬
nically called the law of ellipticity. By this law Professor
Maccullagh has been able to compute the ellipticities ob¬
served by Mr. Airy in rays inclined to the axis of quartz,
from the angles of rotation observed by M.Biot in rays pa¬
rallel to that axis.1
The phenomena of circular polarisation were discovered
by Sir David Brewster, in plates of glass possessing the
doubly refracting structure. M. Dove of Berlin has found
it also in compressed glass and has published an inteiesting
memoir on the subject, in which he takes little notice of the
previous labours of others, on the various subjects of which
he treats. As our limits will not permit us to give any ac¬
count of its contents, we must refer our readers to the ori¬
ginal memoir.2
SECT. I, On the Circular Polarisation of Fluids.
Although this remarkable property was discovered in
some fluids by M, Seebeck by independent observation, yet
M. Biot had anticipated him in it, and has made this sub¬
ject so completely his own, by a series of the most elaborate
and beautiful researches, that if he had done nothing else tor
science, they would have ensured him a high reputation.
We regret extremely that our limits will not permit us to
give any thing like a full and satisfactory account oi his dis¬
coveries, particularly those contained in his valuable papero
1832. We must therefore refer the reader to his original
memoirs, and present to them in as abridged a form as pos¬
sible his leading results. . f
M. Biot discovered that some fluids turn the planes
a polarised ray from right to left, and others from e t o
right. He found also that the tints rose in the scale as m
quartz by an increase in the thickness of the fluid,
following table contains some of his results :—
I. Fluids that turn the Plane of Polarisation from
Left to Right.
J Arcs of rotation with the
red ravs, with a thick-
ness of 200 millimetres.
Colours. . 9()° -3'2
Oil of fennel seeds Palish green 13|
    carraway seeds Colourless  ^ ^
lavender Greenish  a
6 '58
 rosemary    03 .($
  maijoram Orange yellow  7
  sassafras X6!)0"  14 •12
  savine... Yellow........  ^ .g^
 bitter oranges Greenish yellow  ^ ^
  .bergamot Colourless  .53
 lemons ^^Vths of oil of oranges.
 o™.geyelU.w...;--y;0 ^
M pe j   Reddish or.
•.K™' T.yI0Cs Scientific Metnoirs. vo,. i. par, i. p.
75.
L
OPTICS.
mlar
sation
II. Fluids that turn the Plane of Polarisation from
Right to Left.
Essential oil of turpentine Greenish 59°-21
Naphtha Greenish 15 -21
Oil of anise seeds Greenish...  l .51
—— mint Limpid   >28
505
lior.
Dextr
at FeSent!tTWI’’at eSual densities and Elliptical
1 'li ning round the plane of a polarised ray, polarisation
only heins superior to it. The name of dex-'
w ll a The^” ST? t0 il in 0rder t0 mark the direction as
will as the powerful energy of its force of rotation.
dwe. Veliowish roSctured. Gf stnroh‘who. PerS°Z l!aVe more recently found a sugar
of or, I, li a p0Wcr of rotati™ almost equal to that
Oil of mustard an I oil of hitter almonds exercise no ac- tw 1 SUgaJ °f Canes- They have also discovered
tion upon polarised light. ,..at’ sugar of canes is dissolved in water mixed with
M. Biot found that in a solution of natural camphor in 11 ^te *u]Phunc a«d, and heated below the boiling point, it
alcohol, in which there was 0-37117 of camphor in weight 1 Jr L - °f turmn? the Planes of polarisation from
to I of the solution, and its density 0-87221, the rotation J 1 right, like sugar of grapes not solidified. Sugar of
for red light, and a thickness of 152 millimetres, was 17° !?rC-h submitted to the same process did not experience
M. Biot likewise found, that the colouration of liquids did
not exercise any influence on their rotatory propertv.
We regret that want of room prevents us from giving any
account of M. Biot’s more recent, and extremely interest¬
ing researches on the growth and nutrition of plants. These
researches have a high practical value, and shew in a
man"er that the most abstract researches in physi-
56 fiom left to right. A solution of artificial camphor
in alcohol, on the other hand, with 0-0917 of camphor to
of the solution, and having its density 0-8455, and in a
thickness of 1357 millimetres, produced only a rotation of
24°, but in the opposite direction, from right to left. In
gum from Senegal, of which 47"4 parts was dissolved in
99-1 of distilled water there was a rotation from rhdit to
left, of 12° 13' 20", with a thickness of 152 millimetres.
The following table contains the results which our
obtained from different kinds of sugar .- 
author ^ SdenCe Wil1 S0°ner 0r later find some ll^ful application"
Proportion of sugar
in 1 of the solution.
Sugar of canes, syrup of.. 0-25
 —  0-50
   0-65
Sugar of milk™ 0-14
 -Starch ....0-65
Crystallisable principle of
honey ^...0-34-
From Left to Right.
Arc of rotation of red Molecular
light in a thickness of power of
Density.
11052
1-2311
1 3114
1-0537
1 -2460
1-1329 16 47 30
Sugar of grapes  -g.'
83° 94
70-18
59-99
43-32
10
The rotation
From right to left.
being observed for the yellow rays,
and the thickness of solution 152 millimeters as before.
Sugar of grapes in syrup     q, q„
Uncrystallisable principle of honey, alcoholic solution 3 38 20
-the same dry   j
CHAP. III. ON ELLIPTICAL POLARISATION.
The phenomena and laws of elliptical polarisation, as they
ai e at present known, have been investigated only by Sir
David Brewster. This species of polarisation forms the
connecting link between plane polarisation and circular
polarisation, passing nearly into the former when exhibited
by gakcna and into the latter when exhibited by silver.
Sir David Brewster found at an early period, what Malus
had previously observed, that the light reflected from me¬
tals was polarised in different planes. The former, how¬
ever, found, that the pencil polarised in the plane of re¬
flexion was a ways more intense than that polarised in a per¬
pendicular plane, and which he conceived had entered the
metal and been partially absorbed. He found the differ¬
ence between the intensities of these pencils to be least
M. Biot made experiments with various vegetable juices, sdver a”d greatest in galaena, metals which had an interme-
 ■ • - ■ - ~ J Chute effect, being arranged as in the following table.
Order in which the metals polarise most light in the
plane of reflexion.
..5 50
..5-33
..1-81
..8-00
10-00
,.3-33
..1-81
..2-5
Galaena. Steel. Copper.
Lead. Zinc. Tin plate.
Grey cobalt. Speculum metal.Brass.
Arsenical cobalt. Platinum. Grain tin.
Iron pyrites. Bismuth. Jewellers'gold.
Antimony. Mercury.
Fine gold.
Common silver.
Pure silver.
Total reflexion
from glass.
all of which gave a slight rotation from right to left.
T,,. c .. Thickness of fluid. Rotation
1)0 °/gTel-Wlute 160 millimetres....
Do. red and white mixed 160 
Chasselas     
Muscat   lfin
Verjuice... .  JVZZAeo
Lnasselas of Fountainbleau 160
Common black grape 160
Apples for cider 
Red gooseberries very ripe  80
ernes of the service tree 160  2-5 He found also that, by increasing the number of re-
M. Biot also found that claret white nbo™ 1 i i Jxi0nsZ6' who}e of the light could he polarised in one
sulphuric ether, citrif add dSoTved in > c P T' iT. 6 ^lte ^ ofa wax candle 10 feet distant, is
30 to 37 of water, sulphuric acitlnure Jnd^rrd^0^01^1011 °f Pfansed by ^reflexions from between 60 0 and80<>,
olive oil, produced noeffect Nonpolarised lilt ’ ^ ?0rf1.than? from ^,andin to-
He found, however that Xtarfo Nd dS 1 • ,1 tal ^fl^^'^vhere the dhpticdpolarisation becomes circular;
proportion of 53 of acid to 52 of water n™ 1 7ed 1,n ,the and wIlen1 the two pencils are equal, the total polarisation of
°f 8° from right to left produced a rotation the pencil cannot be effected by any number of reflexions.
memoi^is foatofohe^0118 dLS<joveries contained in M. Biot’s with a s“f v^rytxSrd^ UJ
an uncrystalHsable syrup'vv^dh is fomi^ m th^f7 ^^e:c}r}ne ftbe first of these which was discovered by our author, was
wheat, and even of li<me JTtJ 1 pJJ J fanna °.f nce’ th? actlon of successive reflections from silver and gold upon
during an o^NsiteNtetion^and from1^erS^r°,m >Um inf)^0' Poised light These reflexions are made from tw? metallic
Power of rotation, whfoh Almost [rfolp nfth T J 8^en0r Plate? Plac"d betwf» ^ polarising and analysing plate or
orted by sugar of canes It ™ T 18 6X' ^ W!hen the plane °f metallic ^flexions is parallel
g canes. It surpasses all animal and vege- or perpendicular to the plane of primitive polarisation, its
velop^anfsJt free thVdextrhil^01” laUndry St<lrCh h0t °r C°ld adds’ by P°tash’ 0r b>’ hot water> ar,y one of which will rupture the en.
VOL. XVI.
3 s
i
506
OPTICS.
„ 0 i i „-i. ;«r>i;r,orl Ko antlmr “ without any theoretical reference the term circular Elliptic.
Elliptical azimuth will be 0°, 90°, 180 , &c. cand wne i polarisation is from this and other facts experimentally ap-polarisat;
polarisation to that plane, its azimuth will be 45 , , • oronriate.1 In like manner, without referring to the theore-'^yy
~ ‘ In azimuth 0° no colours are observed by reflexions ^J^tstence of elliptical vibrations ^ by the in-
from two plates ofsilver placed parallel to one ano er^ju terference of two rectilineal vibrations of unequal ampli-
in the case of crystallised lamime whose axes are m 0 ol terierenee u ^  tKo /
tudes we may give to the new phenomenon the name of
1350 orazimuth, the tnost brilUant contplemcn- “^*“4
•V colours are seen, either by turning round e ana y g represented by the variable radius of an ellipse.”
Now, it is a curious fact, that while silver restores the
ray to angles of 39° 48', other metals restore it to angles
deviating more and more from 45°, as is shewn in the fol¬
lowing table:
Inclination of
restored ray.
Total reflexion from glass 45° 0'
Pure silver 39 48
Common silver 36 0
Fine gold 35 0
Jewellers’ gold 33 0
Grain tin 33 0
Brass 32 0
Tin plate.... 31 0
Copper 29 0
Mercury 26 0
Platina 22 0
Inclination of
restored ray.
Bismuth 21° 0'
Speculum metal 21 0
Zinc 19 10
Steel. 17 0
Iron pyrites 14 0
Antimony 16 15
Arsenical cobalt 13 0
Cobalt 12 30
Lead 11 0
Galaena  2 0
Specular iron  0 0
Hence it appears that the elliptic polarisation passes into
Number of Reflexions.
tarv   -
plate,' or by using a rhomb of spar that gives two images.
These colours become fainter and fainter while the azi¬
muth changes from 45° to 90°, or from 45° back to 0 , ex¬
actly like those of crystallised laminae.
When a small number of reflexions are used, the tints
are fainter and less brilliant, and they increase with the
number of reflexions. There is an angle of reflexion
about 75°, at which the tints are brightest, and they become
fainter as the reflexions are performed at greater or at less
aI1 Afl ’the other metals in the preceding table, as well as
total reflexion from glass, give analogous colours, but tney
are most brilliant in silver, and diminish towards galaena
Now, it is obvious, that at about 75° of incidence (it we
suppose the metal to be steel) the polarised light which it
reflects has acquired some new physical property.  
1. It is neither common light nor partially polarisea clrcular nearly in the case 0f silver, and into plane polarisa-
light, because if we reflect it a second time at / 5 it is re- ^ ^ ^ ^ of gal(Bna . the eiiipSis becoming nearly a
stored to light polarised in one plane. circle in the former case, and a straight line in the latter.
2. It is not polarised light, because it does not vamsn ^ polarised _|_ 45° suffers different degrees of ellip-
during the revolution of the analysing rhomb. ticai polarisation by one reflexion from metals, and is re¬
in order then to discover its nature, let it be transmittea . to polarised lightj though in different planes,
along the axis of Iceland spar. The common umaxal b econd reflexi0n, so it exhibits the same phenomena
system of rings is changed into that shewn in tig. wz, ^05^9 in reflexions, and is restored to polarised hghtby
which is similar to the effect produced by crossing tie ^ ^ ^ 10 reflexions at the same angle. The following
uniaxal system of rings with a thin film polarising the pale ghews the inclination of the plane of polarisation of
blue of the first order. If we substitute tor the Iceland ^ restored ray to the plane of reflexion, in various numbers
spar, films of sulphate of lime, we shall find that their tm s reflexions from silver and steel,
are increased or diminished according as the metallic ac¬
tion coincides with or opposes that of the crystal. 1 ns
experiment led our author into the erroneous opinion that
metals acted like crystallised plates; but when he found
that a second reflexion at 75° destroyed the effect of the
first reflexion, he saw that this opinion was untenable, and
was led to consider the phenomena as having some resem¬
blance to those of circular polarisation. . . ,
We have already seen, that a circularly polarised raj
HP, fip-. 161, emerges after two total reflexions in the di¬
rection ST, polarised 45° to the plane of the two reflexions
in every azimuth. Now, if we reflect
a ray of light R polarised -f-450 at Q,
from one plate of silver CD, the rays
Q.S will have acquired a property an¬
alogous to that of circular polarisation;
for if it is reflected a second time at
S, the reflected ray ST will emerge
polarised 39° 48' to the plane of re¬
flexion. Now the difference between
this result and that from total re¬
flexion, is that one reflexion from sil¬
ver impresses the same character upon
light, whereas in total reflexion two
reflexions are necessary. Another , , .
point of difference is, that when the ray is restored by the
same number of reflexions, it is not wholly restored to a plane
__ 45°, but only to a plane — 39° 48'. But there is another
difference of a very interesting kind. In circular polarisa¬
tion, the ray has the same properties on all its sides, and
the angles of reflexion at which it is restored to polarised
light in different azimuths, are all equal to the radii ot
a circle described round the rays. “Hence, says our
4..
6..
8..
10.
12.
18.
36.
Inclination of the plane of the polarised ray.
Steel. Silver-
_17° 0' — 38° 15'
4- 5 22 + 31 52
— 1 38  — 26 6
, + 0 30  + 217
._ 0 9  — 16 56
0 3  + 13 30
0 0 — 6 42
0 0   + 0 47
+
These results shew in the clearest manner the reason why
common light is polarised by 8 reflexions from steel, and not
till after 36 reflexions from silver, the planes of inclination
of the two rectangularly polarised rays requiring in each
case that number of reflexions to bring them into a state
The angles at which elliptical polarisation is produced
by one reflexion, may be regarded in the present state 0
our knowledge of the subject as the angle of maximum po¬
larisation, and its tangent as the index of refraction ot the
metal, as given in the following table :
Name of metal. Angles of maximum polarisation. Index of refraction.
Grain tin 78° 30' 
Mercury 78 27  
Galcena..... 78 B3 
Iron pyrites 77 30 
Grey cobalt 76 56
4-915
4-893
4-773
4-511
,4-309
4-011
Speculum metal 76 0  
Antimony melted 75 25
Steel 75 0
Bismuth 74 50
Pure silver 73 0
Zinc 72 30 a
Tin plate hammered 70 50 
Jewellers’ gold 70 45
3-732
3-689
3.271
3-172
2-879
See Sir John Herschel’s Treatise on Light, § 1050.
I
OPTICS.
cal
N.tion
Fig
We may produce elliptical polarisation by a sufficient
number of reflexions at any given angle, in the same man¬
ner as in plane polarisation. The following table contains
the results of observations made with steel:
Number of reflexions at which Number of reflexions at
elliptical polarisation is pro- which the pencil is re¬
duced. stored to a single plane.
a 9 15, &c 6 12 IS, &c 86° O'
gi 7k m, &c 5 10 15, &c 8i 0
2 6 10," cStc 4 8 12, &c 82 20
507
Observed angle of
incidence.
1| 4J 7{, &c 3 6 9, &c.
.79 0
1 3 5. &c 2 4 6, &c 75 0
1| 44 74, &c 3 6 9, &c 67 40
2 6 10, &c 4 8 12, &c 60 20
24 74 124, &c 5 10 15, &c 56 25
3 9 15, &c 6 12 18, &c 52 20
At an incidence of 67° 40' elliptical polarisation is pro¬
duced by 1|, 4|, 7^ reflexions. Hence we draw the inter¬
esting conclusion, that the ray must have completed its el¬
liptical polarisation in the middle of the second and fifth re¬
flexion ; thatis,w'hen it had reached its greatest depth within
the metallic surface. It then begins to resume its state of
polarisation in a single plane, and recovers it at the end of
the 3d, 5 th, and 7th reflexion. Another very interesting
effect is produced when one reflexion is made on one side
of the polarising angle, and the other reflexion on the other
side. A ray that has been partially elliptically polarised by
one reflexion at 85° does not as in plane polarisation acquire
more by a reflexion at 54°, but it retraces its course, and
recovers its state of single polarisation.
Wehaveseenthatby^o reflexions, there is only owe angle,
viz. 73° for silver, at which the elliptically polarised ray can
be restored to plane polarisation. At three reflexions there
are two angles, viz. 63° 43', and 79° 40', at which the re¬
storation can take place, at four reflexions three angles, and
so on. This phenomena is exhibited to the eye in fig. 103,
where the concentric arches I, I; II, II, &c., represent
the quadrant of incidence from owe, tivo, &c. reflexions, B
being the point of 90° and C that of 0°. The point D on
the line A is the point or line of maximum elliptic polari¬
sation, viz. 73° for silver, and the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, in¬
dicate the points or nodes of restoration, and their distances
from C, the corresponding angles of incidence at which
the restoration takes place. The loops or double curves
lying between the points 1, 2, 3, &c. are drawn to give
an idea of the intensity of the elliptic polarisation which
has its minimum at 1, 2, 3, &c. and its maximum at the
white intermediate parts. These points of maximum in¬
tensity do not bisect the loops, or are not equidistant from
the minima ; but such is their relation that the maximum for
« reflexions is the minimum for 2w reflexions. These phe¬
nomena lead us to the explanation and analysis of the com¬
plementary colours which accompany elliptical and circular
polarisation.
On the Colours of Elliptical and Circular Polarisation.
When the preceding experiments are made with homo¬
geneous light, we find that the points and angles of resto¬
ration vary for the differently coloured rays. Thus in sil¬
ver we have the maximum polarising angle as follows :
Corresponding index
of refraction.
Here, then, we have the cause of the phenomena of the Elliptical
complementary colours seen in reflexion from metals. They polarisation
are analogous to the colours in oil of cassia, and chromate'^*^/”'**'
oj lead at the maximum polarising angle.1 Fig. 103.
But the remarkable result of the preceding measures is,
that in metallic as well as in total reflexion, the index of
refraction is less for blue than for red light, or in the lan¬
guage of the undulatory theory, the refractive index in-
ci eases with the length of the wave. In a recent commu¬
nication to the Royal Irish Academy,^ on the propagation
of light in uncrystallized media, Professor Lloyd has ob¬
tained an expression for the velocity of the propagation of light,
each of its terms consisting of two parts with opposite signs,
one of which is due to the action of the ether and the other to
that of the body. Conceiving, therefore, that there may
be bodies in which the principal term is nearly nothing, the
principal part of the expression will be that derived from
the second term ; and if that term be taken as an approxi¬
mate value, it will follow that the refractive index of the
substance must be in the subduplicate ratio of the length
of the wave nearly. “ Now,” says Professor Lloyd, “ it is re¬
markable that this law of dispersion, so unlike any thing ob¬
served in transparent media, agrees pretty nearly with the
results obtained by Sir David Brewster in some of the me¬
tals. In all these bodies, the refractive index (inferred
from the angle of maximum polarisation) increases with the
length of the wave. Its values for the red, mean, and blue,
ray in silver, are 3'866, 3-271, 2-824, the ratios of the se¬
cond and third to the first being .85 and .73. According to
the law above given, these ratios should be .88 and .79”
Professor Maccullagh has very recently3 endeavoured to
represent the phenomena described in the preceding pages by
empirical formulae, in the same manner as Fresnel represented
those of total reflexion. The following is a brief abstract
of Professor Maccullagh’s researches, which we shall give
in his own words.
“ The author observes, that the theory of the action of
metals upon light is among the desiderata of physical optics,
whatever information wre possess upon this subject being
derived from the experiments of Sir David Brewster. But,
in the absence of a real theory, it is important that we
should be able to represent the phenomena by means of em¬
pirical formulae ; and accordingly, the author has endea¬
voured to obtain such formulae by a method analogous to
that which Fresnel employed in the case of total reflexion
at the surface of a rarer medium, and which, as is well known,
depends on a peculiar interpretation of the sign y'— 1.
For the case of metallic reflexion, the author assumes that
the velocity of propagation in the metal, or the reciprocal
of the refractive index, is of the form
m (cos. x 4- _ 1 sin.*) ;
without attaching to this form any physical signification,
but using it rather as a means of introducing two constants
(for there must be two constants, m and *, for each metal)
into Fresnel’s formulae for ordinary reflexion, which contain
only one constant, namely, the refractive index.
“ Then if i be the angle of incidence on the metal, and i'
the angle of refraction, we have
For red light 75\ 3-866
For yellow light  73   3-271
For blue light 701 2-824
1 ^ ^vious that at the point of restoration where
De blue rays are restored, and vanish, the red rays are not and tan. 2x'=
lestored, and consequently will appear when the principal
section of the analysing rhomb is in the plane of reflexion.
sin. m (cos. x + 1 sin* x) sin- h
and therefore we may put
cos. i'— m' (cos. f— 1 sin. x') cos. i,
if m'i cos.4 2=1—2 m2 cos. 2 x sin-z *+™4 sin.41
0)
m2 sin. 2 x sin.2 i
(2)
(3)
(4)
1—m2 cos. 2x sin.2 i
“ Now, first, if the incident light be polarised in the plane
lor a full analysis of these phenomena, see Phil. Trans, for 1830, p. 319.
Proceedings of Royal Irish Academy, Oct. 24, 1836.
2 Jan. 9, 1837.
508
Elliptical 0f reflexion, and if the preceding values of sin. zv, cos. i', be
polarisation substituted in Fresnel’s expression
sin. (i—i'
sin. (« + «')’
for the amplitude of the reflected vibration, the result may
be reduced to the form
if we put
a (cos. S— — * sin*
(5)
m
tan\J/-=—,
m
(6)
(7)
(8)
tan fi=tan 2\^sin (x + xO
2_1—sin 2^cos (x + xO
a 1 + sin 2-^cos (x+xO
Then according to the interpretation, before alluded to, of
the angle S will denote the change of phase, or the
retardation of the reflected light; and a will be the ampli¬
tude of the reflected vibration, that of the incident vibra¬
tion being unity. The values of m', x', for any angle of
incidence, are found by formulae (3), (4), the quantities m,
X, being given for each metal. The angle x' is verY snmll,
and may in general be neglected.
“ Secondly, when the incident light is polarised perpendi¬
cularly to the plane of reflexion, the expression
tan (*—i')
tan (i i)
treated in the same manner, will become
if we make
a'(cos 8'—v/—1 sin S')
tan
=tan 2\|//sin (x—x')>
•sin 2\//cos (x—x') .
tan 8'=
1-
(9)
(10)
(11)
u   , (12)
1 + sin 2^'cos (x—x')
and here, as before, S' will be the retardation of the reflect¬
ed light, and a! the amplitude of its vibration.
“ The number M=— rosy be called the modulus, and
m
the angle x the characteristic of the metal. The modulus
is something less than the tangent of the angle which Sir
David Brewster has called the maximum polarising angle.
After two reflections at this angle, a ray originally polarised
in a plane inclined 45° to that of reflexion, will again be
plane polarised in a plane inclined at a certain angle (p
(which is 17° for steel) to the plane of reflexion ; and we
must have
tan p=a-Y (13)
a
Also, at the maximum polarising angle we must have
8'—8=90° _ (14)
And these two conditions will enable us to determine the
constants m and x for any metal, when we know its maxi¬
mum polarising angle and the value of <p; both of which
have been found for a great number of metals by Sir David
Brewster. The following table is computed for steel, tak¬
ing m—3i, x=54°.
OPTICS.
« The most remarkable thing in this table is the last co- Elliptica
lumn, which gives the intensity of the light reflected when polansatic
common light is incident. The intensity decreases very slowly
up to a large angle of incidence, (less than 75°,) and then in¬
creases up to 90°, where there is total reflexion. This singu¬
lar fact, that the intensity decreases with the obliquity of inci¬
dence, was discovered by Mr. Potter,1 whose experiments
extend as far as an incidence of 70°. Whether the subse¬
quent increase which appears from the table indicates a real
phenomenon, or arises from an error in the empirical for¬
mulae, cannot be determined without more experiments.
It should be observed, however, that in these very oblique
incidences Fresnel’s formulae for transparent media do not
represent the actual phenomena for such media, a great
quantity of the light being stopped, when the formulae give
a reflexion, very nearly total.
'' “ The value of S'—8, or the difference of phase, increa¬
ses from 0° to 180°. When a plane-polarised ray is twice
reflected from a metal, it will still be plane-polarized if the
sum of the values of 8'—8 for the two angles of incidence
be equal to 180°.
“ It appears from the formulae, that when the character¬
istic x is very small, the value of 8' will continue very
small up to the neighbourhood of the polarising angle. It
will pass through 90°, when mm'=l; after which the change
will be very rapid, and the value of 8' will soon rise to nearly
180°. This is exactly the phenomenon which Mr. Airy
observed in the diamond.
“ Another set of phenomena to which the author has ap¬
plied his formulae are those of the coloured rings formed
between a glass lens and a metallic reflector , and he has
thus been enabled to account for the singular appearances
described by M. Arago in the Memoires (lArcueil, tom. 3,
particularly the succession of changes which are observed
when common light is incident, the intrusion of a new ring,
&c. But there is one curious appearance which he does
not find describedby any former author. Itisthis. Through
the last twenty or thirty degrees of incidence the first dark
ring, surrounding the central spot, which is comparatively
bright, remains constantly of the same magnitude; although
the other rings, like Newton’s rings formed between two
glass lenses, dilate greatly with the obliquity of incidence.
This appearance was observed at the same time by Pro¬
fessor Lloyd. The explanation is easy. It depends sim¬
ply on this circumstance, (which is evident from the table,)
that the angle 180°—8', at these oblique incidences, is
nearly proportional to cos. i.
“ As to the index of refraction in metals, the author con-
cos x
jectures that it is equal to
In concluding our account of the phenomena of Physical
Optics, we could have wished to have given a popular ac¬
count of the undulatory theory of light, and of the explana¬
tion which it affords of a great variety of the most inter¬
esting phenomena in optics. This however has been one
to such an extent by Dr. Thomas Young, in the article
Chromatics in this work, and in the article Polarisa¬
tion by M. Arago, that we would not be justified in en¬
tering again upon the subject. Notwithstanding, however,
its acknowledged power in accounting for such a variety
facts, there are many of the principal phenomena in opti .
of which it is not capable of giving the least explanati ,
and there are others to which it seems in its present tor
to be totally inapplicable. We look forward, however, wi^
much hope, to the labours of Professor Lloyd, and Pro
sor Maccullagh, and Professor Powell, in this coun iy, >
in place of checking the progress of enqmry, as lias
lately done, by declaring the theory of undulations
1 See Edinburgh Journal of Science, A. S. Oct. 1830, vol. iii. p> 27b.
< git'
O P
TICS.
E>lisia*
na-
:he-
,ia.
already capable of explaining every phenomenon, regard it
as still imperfect even as a mathematical representation of
the phenomena, and consider experimental research as the
(only means by which a true theory of light can be obtained.
509
Rail w.
Fig. 14.
FART VIII. ON THE APPLICATION OF OPTICS TO THE
EXPLANATION OF NATURAL PHENOMENA.
As several of the subjects which belong to this branch of
Optics have been treated pretty fully in other parts of this
work, we must confine our attention to topics which have
not been previously discussed.
Sect. I.— On the Rainbow.
A general description of the rainbow has already been
given among the optical phenomena in Meteorology. In
order to explain the progress of the rays of light which form
the two bows, let R, R, R, R, fig. 104, be parallel rays pro¬
ceeding from the sun, situated at the back of the observer,
placed at O, and let them fall on drops of rain E, F, G, Ef
in front of the observer. Some of these rays of light will
enter the spherical drops of rain, and those which fall per¬
pendicularly and nearly so, will be transmitted through the
drop, and of course never reach the observer at O. Other
rays, however, especially those which fall obliquely, will be
separated into the prismatic colours at the first refraction, and
will subsequently be reflected once, twice, and more times,
within the drop, and emerge after one, two, or more reflexions
in different directions. Now, it is obvious that there will be
some position of the drops, such as E, F, at which rays that
have suffered one reflexion will reach the eye of the observer
at 0. Drops above these will throw the rays which they re¬
fract after one reflexion above O, and drops below these will
throw the same rays below O. In like manner, there must be
some position, as at II and G, at which other drops in which
the light that has suffered two reflexions will fall upon the eye
at 0, the drops above these throwing the rays above, and the
drops below them throwing the rays below O. Now,each drop
forms by refraction a prismatic spectrum, or coloured and elon¬
gated image of the sun. The rays RE, RF, which reach the
eye at 0, must fall upon the lower drops E, F, on their upper-
side, as shewn in the figure, and consequently (as may be
found by tracing the rays through the drops) the spectrum
v Inch they form will have the red rays uppermost, as at r,
near F, and the violet rays downwards, as at v, near E; and
as the same effect will be produced from all the other drops
which reflect the sun’s rays to the point O, there will ap-
pear to an eye at O, a coloured bow, such as we see it in
the heavens, with all the colours of the spectrum, as if they
nad been formed from the sun’s image, by a prism of water
mat produced the same degree of refraction. In like man¬
ner, the rays that enter the lower side of the drops will form
an inverted spectrum, after two reflexions, in which the red
mys are below, and the violet ones above, and as this spec¬
trum is much fainter, it will give a second coloured bow,
amter than the first, and having its red side below, and its
inlet side above. The following are the dimensions of the
two bows:—
tance of 40° 28', and that those which suffer four reflexions Expkna-
wril form a bow at the distance of 45° 33' from the sun; but don of na-
t re light which reaches the eye after so many reflexions is tural phe-
too faint to be seen, and these bows have consequently never
been discovered. '
Supernumerary bows of red and green light, to the num¬
ber of three, have been seen in contact with the violet arch
of the inner bow, and we have seen them also on the out¬
side of the outer or secondary bow. The cause of these is
not known, but a very ingenious explanation of them has
oeen given in Chromatics, vol. xi. p. 634, sect. iii.
Sir David Brewster, upon examining the two rainbows
with a rhomb of Iceland spar, found that they consisted
wholly of light polarised in the plane of reflexion within the
drop, or in planes coincident with the radii of the bow. The
two bows present a case of conical polarisation, the part of
the bow vanishing as the principal section of the rhomb be¬
comes parallel to its radius. It is strange that the polaris¬
ation of the bow, and consequently of light, had not been
discovered when it happened to be seen by reflexion on
panes of glass, or other reflecting substances, lying with
their planes of reflexion perpendicular to the planes of re¬
flexion w ithin the drop, and near the angle of maximum po¬
larisation. See Meteorology, vol. xiv. p. 749.
Sect. II.—On Halos and Parhelia.
Radius of the red edge of the inner bow... .42° 2'
~~~~——~ violet edge 40 17
Breadth of the inner bow  1 45
Radius of the violet edge of the outer bow 54 7
~~—     red  50 57
Breadth of the outer bow  3 10
Distance between the bows  8 55
/A- J" ^ias shewn that the solar rays which suffer
e exions, will form a bow round the sun at the dis-
Thename of halos and parhelia have been given to circles
round the sun and moon, some of which are extremely com¬
plicated and beautiful. The general theory of this class of
phenomena has been given by Dr. Young, in the article
Chromatics, vol. vi. p. 634, sect, ii., and a description of
the phenomena themselves, in the article Meteorology,
vol. xiv. p. 749.
The production of halos, which have their origin in the Artificial
refraction and reflexion of crystals of ice floating in the at- kales,
mosphere, may be illustrated by the following method given
by Sir David Brewster. A few drops of a saturated solu¬
tion of alum spread over a plate of glass, so as to crystallise
rapidly, will cover the glass with an imperfect crust, which
is composed, wdren examined by the microscope, of flat oc-
tohedral crystals, scarcely visible to the eye. If the ob¬
server places his eye behind this plate, and close to its
smooth side, he will see the sun or the candle encircled with
three fine halos, placed at different distances. The inte¬
rior one, which is the whitest, is formed by the refraction
of the rays through two of the faces that have the least in¬
clination to each other, and consequently give a spectrum
in which the colours are not greatly dispersed ; and as a
similar pair of refracting planes lie in every direction, there
will be a spectrum in every direction, and consequently a
rainbow of a circular form. The second halo, which is blue
without and red within, with all the intermediate prismatic
colours more highly dispersed, is formed by a pair of faces
moie inclined. I he third halo, which is larger and more
brilliantly coloured, is produced by a third pair of refracting
planes, having a greater refracting power, and consequently
giving a higher dispersion. When the granular crystals
have double refraction, and when they crystallise with their
axes perpendicular to the plates, combinations of greater
variety and beauty will be produced.
We have endeavoured, by looking through hoarfrost upon
glass, to produce halos actually resembling those seen in
nature; but we have not succeeded, though we have no
doubt that it may be effected by causing vapour deposited
under a variety of circumstances, to be frozen in different
ways.
Sect. Ill—On the Unusual Refraction of the Atmosphere.
One of the most interesting applications of optical science
510
OPTICS.
Fig. 105.
Explana- is the explanation which it affords of the extraordinary phe-
tion of na- nomena which arise from difference of density in differ-
tural phe- ent parts 0f atmosphere. As this subject has been
nomena. , treate(i Very fully in our article Meteorology, vol. xiv.,
r and illustrated with some interesting figures, we shall con¬
fine ourselves at present to an account of the most extraor¬
dinary of all the phenomena of this kind which have been
observed and correctly described. It was observed by Dr.
Vince, on the 6th of August 1806, about seven o’clock in
the evening. Between Ramsgate and Dover there is a hill,
over which the tops of the four turrets of Dover castle are
usually seen to a person at Ramsgate. At the time above
mentioned, however, Dr. Vince, when at Ramsgate, not only
saw the four turrets v, x, w, y, but the whole oj the castle,
m, w, s, 7', appearing as if it were situated on the side of the
hill next to Ramsgate, and rising as much above the hill
AB as usual, as if it had been brought over and placed on
the liamsgate side of the hill, fig. lOo. I his appearance
continued about twenty minutes. Between Ramsgate and
the land from which the hill rises, there is about six miles
of sea, and from thence to the top of the hill about the same
distance, the height of the eye above the surface of the sea
being about seventy feet. It is a very singular circumstance
in this phenomenon, that the image of the castle was so
very strong and well defined that the hill itself did not ap¬
pear through the image.
In order to explain this phenomenon, Dr. Vince sup-
I’ig. ]06. poses AB, fig. 106, to represent the castle, FC the cliff of
Ramsgate, BTD the hill, DC the sea, E the place of the
spectator, Tthe top of the hill, Ayt-E a ray of light coming
from the top of the castle to the observer, and BaucE ano¬
ther ray coming from the bottom of the castle, and T.r^E
a ray from the summit of the hill, reaching the eye at E, in
a direction between those of the other two rays; then it is
obvious that such a disposition of the rays will produce the
observed appearance. In order to give such a refraction,
the density of the air between yv\L and xwYj must have
varied with great rapidity, so as to increase the curvature of
the ray TtzE, after it cuts B?cE in x, in order to make the
ray TxzE fall between the other two rays. See Edinburgh
Transactions, vol. vi. p. 245.
through vapours so as to make it yellow or orange, the con-Explain
trast of the shadow is still more striking and beautiful. Thetioii oft
light of a candle which contains a great excess of red light,tural Pk
and which may be made to contain more by letting it burn^®®
with a long wick, exhibits along with the light of the sky^*^
the phenomenon of blue shadows in great perfection.
The subject of the blue colour of the sky has been treated
at considerable length in our article on Meteorology, vol.
xiv. p. 760, and an instrument called a Cyanometer, for
measuring its blue colour, has been well described, and an
account of the experiments made with it fully detailed.
Sect. V On the Colours of Natural Bodies.
Sect. IV.— On the Colours of the Atmosphere.
r , f As the earth’s atmosphere acts upon light like all other
the atm os- transparent bodies, and is continually changing its chemi-
pbere.
Blue sha¬
dows.
cal, mechanical, and hygrometrical condition, it acts upon
light in very different ways, under different circumstances.
As the colour of the sky is absolutely black on the tops of
the highest mountains, its blue colour in the regions which
we inhabit is owing to the action of the atmosphere.
That the blue light of the sky is light that has suffered
reflexion from the particles of our atmosphere, is proved by
the fact observed by Sir David Brewster, that this blue
light is polarized in a plane passing through the observer’s
eye and the sun. This fact is well illustrated by the dis¬
covery which we owe to the same author, of atmospheric
lines in the spectrum, formed by the blue sky. These lines
are principally in the more refrangible spaces, as already
described, and hence the prevailing light is blue.
The splendid colours which mark the rising and the set¬
ting of the sun, varying from the deepest red to orange,
yellow, and even green, arise from the same cause ; for
when we analyse these various lights with the prism, we find
that they are owing to definite parts of the spectrum hav¬
ing been absorbed by the atmosphere.
The phenomenon of blue shadows is finely seen when
the sky is particularly blue. It arises solely from the sha¬
dows being illuminated by the blue sky, while the part
round the shadow is illuminated by the sun, or by the light
of a candle. If the light of the sun passes at the time
The splendid colours which appear in the natural world Colour,-1
have long attracted the attention of philosophers ; but noiatura;
person ever had the courage to give a philosophical theorybodles'
of them but Sir Isaac Newton. When he had completed
his analysis of the colours of thin plates, he conceived that
they furnished the true cause of the colours of natural bo¬
dies. If we take a thin film of mica, a few millionths of an
inch in thickness, it appears to the eye of a bright blue
colour. Sir Isaac Newton maintained, that if this film could
be cut into a great number of minute parts of the same
thickness as itself, these particles would “ keep their colour,
and a heap of them constitute a mass or powder of the same
colour which the plate exhibited before it was broken.” A
plate of mica of a different thickness, would be green, an¬
other yellow, and another red, and all these, if broken down
into particles “ of the same thickness with the plates,” would
of course, according to our author, give a green, a yellow,
or a red mass.
We have already seen that different thickness of a trans¬
parent plate like mica, give various orders of colours; each
different tint corresponding with a particular thickness.
Considering then the particles of all bodies whatever
as transparent, and as having different sizes, they will pro¬
duce colours corresponding to these different sizes, and
consequently we shall have as great a variety of tints in
nature as there are varieties in the sizes of the particles
of bodies. A difficulty, however, here presents itself. The
colours arising from thin plates vary rapidly by inclining
them to the incident light, whereas those of coloured media
suffer no such change. Hence Sir Isaac Newton, was dri¬
ven to the supposition that the particles of bodies have sue i
an enormous refractive power, that the patns of the rays
refracted by a parallel film will not differ much in lengt
from, and consequently not be very oblique to, a perpendi¬
cular line. After explaining this theory, Sir Isaac ventures
to affix to different natural colours the order to which they
belong, the verv tint of that order, and consequent y t e
thickness of the particles which produce the colour. He
says, for example, that the green colour of all vegetables,
the most general tint in nature, is a green of the »
order, and that the blue colour of the sky is a blue o e
first order. Now we know the composition of a green (A tne
third order, and of a blue of \he first order, as given y ir
Isaac Newton himself. The green of the third orde;r
principally constituted of original green, but not
a mixture of some blue and yellow f that is, it .
all the rays of the green space, with the least retra J
rays of the blue space, and the most refrangible rays
yelloiv space, and it does not contain a single ray o *
violet, orange, or red light. . T>^Qwetpr
Such being the case, it occurred to Sir David ,
that the green colour of plants could be accurately a j
by the prism, and having extracted by means of alco i ^
green juice of a great variety of vegetable bodies, he
lysed their colours by the prism. In all bodies he ^
the composition of this green colour to be identically
same ; but it had no relation whatever to the green o
first order. It contained portions of all the colours o
OPTICS.
na- spectrum ,* and the prismatic spectrum seen through these
na- green juices was divided unequally into six luminous bands
)he- 0f various breadths, separated by dark intervals.1 In the
same manner he found that the blue colour of the sky was
not a blue of the first order.
From a series of experiments in which the same author
has been engaged, he has been led to the conclusion that
absorption is the cause of this extensive class of colours;
and that all the colours of natural bodies arise from the in ¬
terference of light, by which certain rays are extinguished.
When the interference takes place as in thin plates, be¬
tween the light reflected from the two surfaces, and be¬
tween the direct transmitted ray and other transmitted
_ Index of Refraction.
Refractive power of water   1-3358
Ditto of aqueous humour J -3366
Ditto of vitreous humour   -.3394
Ditto of outer coat of crystalline 1-3767
Ditto of middle coat of ditto D3786
Ditto of central part of ditto 1-3990
Ditto of the whole crystalline 1-3839
The following measures may be occasionally useful:
Index of Refraction.
From aqueous humour into the crystalline 1-0466
Do. do., taking the mean index of the crystalline, D0353
From the crystalline into the vitreous humour .....’.0-930
511
Explana¬
tion of na¬
tural phe¬
nomena.
If we execute a large diagram of the eye, and by means of Vision,
rays which suiter reflexion w-ithin the thin plates, we have tbe above indices of refraction trace the progress of parallel
two colours complementary to each other; but even in this rays from the cornea to the retina, we shall find that they
case, when the number of films is great, as in decomposed converge to points in or near to that membrane. The in¬
glass, the transmitted colours lose all their resemblance to crease of density in the crystalline lens towards its centre is
die colours of thin plates, while the reflected tints are ex- calculated to correct the spherical aberration, bv bringino-
ceedingly brilliant and metallic in their lustre.2 the central rays to the same focus with the marginal rays*;
In coloured fluids and coloured glasses, and coloured but there is no provision in the eye for correcting the aber-
gaseous media, the interference arises from rays that ac- ration of colour, because the purposes of vision do not re¬
quire different velocities in passing through the coloured quire it to be corrected. It may be readily proved by trac-
medium, one part of the intromitted light passing through ing the rays diverging from both extremities of any object
the particles, and the other through the intervening spaces, to the retina, and it may be also shewn by direct "experi-
Hence there are no reflected tints in such coloured media. ment, that an inverted image of the object is formed upon
Those who wish to study the Newtonian theory of the that membrane. Now, it is a law of vision, that when a ray
colours of natural bodies, are referred to Biot’s Traite de bght falls upon any point of the retina, the mind infers
Physique? where it is illustrated and defended with all the that the ray proceeded from a point insomelineperpendicular
sagacity and talent of that distinguished philosopher. See to that point of the retina. Hence, as rays from the upper
also an account of various ingenious experiments hostile P^rt °f an object fall upon the lower part of the retina, and
to the theory, in a paper by Mr. Delaval in the Manchester v^ce versa, such rays will seem to proceed from the upper Cause of
„ r. TJ1 part 0f 0bject) an(] a]i p0ints 0f an object wjU geen erect vision
in the diiection of the rays which issue from them, and con¬
sequently the object itself must appear erect, though its
image is inverted.
_ . .  A.s ^ is a law of vision that an object seen with a single Single vi-
3, exhibits a fine section of the eye after Soemmering. 18 seen iu a fixed direction, arising from the form of the s'on with
The followung dimensions of the eye have been given by r^tinaas a whole, or from the form of its individual parts, thentw0 tTes-
Dr. Thomas Young, the measures “being taken with great if ra>'s from the same object fall upon another eye, or upon
care from his own eve : a hundred other eyes which have the power of placino- the
retina of all the eyes, so as to see the same object in the
same direction, then the object thus seen must appear sin¬
gle. The only difference will be, that the object will be
seen twice as bright with two eyes, and a hundred times as
bright with an hundred eyes. If we place a hundred shil¬
lings in the same straight line, an eye whose axis coincides
with the axis of the cylinder which they compose, will only
see one shilling, and the same effect would be produced if
the shillings were transparent. If the hundred eyes were
placed with their axes in a hundred different directions, an
hundred objects will be seen. Small objects are seen dou¬
ble and even triple with one eye when the crystalline lens is
not uniform in its refractive power.
The defect of squinting mav arise from several causes. It 0l ig'n of
may be an original defect, in which the axis of the eye, or sciuillti%r-
the line in which objects are seen most distinctly does not
pass through the centre of the pupil. In this case it is
fhe following measures of the crystalline lens and cornea j.ncura^le : but it is generally speaking a disease arising
^ere taken by Sir David Brewster and Dr. Gordon from r°m,a1n imPeriectl011 in one eye, from its having a different
the pva „-r, -1  no. „ vjuiuuii, irom foca] Jenyth from the ntRcr  i v .. .
Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 131
Sect. V.—On the Eye and on Vision.
In our article on Anatomy,4 we have already given a full
description of the organ of vision, and Plate XXXIII, fio-
eye
. Hundredths of an inch.
Length of optical axis  q I
Vertical chord of the cornea 45
Versed sine of ditto   ] l
Horizontal chord of the cornea  49
Aperture of the pupil seen through the cornea 27 to 13
Diminished in consequence of the magnifying power
of the cornea   25 to 12
Radius of the anterior surface of the crystalline lens 30
Radius of the posterior surface 22
Distance of the optical centre from the anterior surface
of the lens  jq
Distance of the optical centre of the lens from the coriiea.'22
focal length of the cornea for objects 10 inches distant. 115
Joint focus of cornea and lens 91 22=   69
Principal focal distance of lens  273
Distance of the centre of the optic nerve from the
point opposite the pupil   12
Range of the eye, or field of vision jjq
after deatha ab°Ve fifty yearS °f age’ a few> hours
Diameter of the crystalline 0-378
Diameter of the cornea 0*400
Thickness of the crystalline 0*172
Thickness of the cornea 0 042
hummml0lf7ving measures of tlie refractive powers of the
the same eye^ ^ taken by the Same authors from
- , from the other, from its giving a less distinct
vision of objects, or from its muscles not being able to
direct it as quickly as the other to visible objects. The
consequence of this is, that as the observer can do without
it, and uses only his best eye, the imperfect one does not
follow the movements of the other, and therefore squints.
When we wish to see any object very distinctly, we inva- Indisfi'lcf-
riably direct to it the axis of the eye, and it is a curious fact,1!688 of ob‘
that there is no retina at the point where the axis meets the^m V1'
back of the eye, the foramen centrale corresponding to the
See Edinburgh Transactions, vol.
Phil. Trans. 1837, p. 245.
Tom. iv. p. 123.
‘ Vol. ii. p. 798.
IJ
512
OPTICS.
Indistinct
vision at
Explana- extremity of the axis. When the eye thus sees an object
tion of na- with perfect distinctness, every other point of the same ob-
tural phe- ject js seen indistinctly, and there is no adjustment of the
nomena. by which distinctness of vision can be obtained at any dis-
' tanceVrom the axis of the eye, the only way of seeing disinctly
being to direct the axis to the point we wish to examine.
The preceding fact leads to the opinion, that parts of an
object seen in the retina cannot be seen distinctly, and yet
if this were the case, we should be able to perceive upon
an uniform ground the foramen centrale.
The opinion that the retina, though sensible to light, does
usiui.au not give perfectly distinct vision, is favoured by the fact,
the base ofthat when tbe image of any object falls upon the round
tin optic kage 0p £be 0ptic nerve, shewn in Plate XXXIII. fig. 3 ol
llel V Anatomy, the object is not distinctly visible. This may be
easily proved by fixing on the wall of a room, at the height of
the eye, three wafers each tico feet distant. Stand in front
of the middle wafer with one eye shut, and beginning near
the wall, withdraw gradually from it, (continuing to view
the left hand wafer if the right eye is open, and the right
hand wafer if the left eye is open,) till the middle wafer
vanishes. This will be found to take place at/ce times
the distance from the wall at which the wafers are placed,
that is, at the distance of ten feet in the present case. If
we use three candles, the middle one will not vanish like
the wafer, but will become a cloudy mass of light.
Occasional The occasional insensibility of the retina to objects
insensibi- seen obliquely, was discovered by Sir David Brewster,
lity of the who hag illustrated it in the following manner. If we
iL tniii. in eye on a particular point, such as the head of a pin
XT6 n’ stuck into a green cloth, and lay down a quill or strip of pa¬
per upon the green cloth, some inches distant from the
pin, and then keep looking steadily at the pin s head, pait
of the quill, or the whole of it, will occasionally disappear,
as if it had been wholly removed from the cloth. In a short
time it will reappear, and again vanish. The very same
effect is produced, though less readily, when both eyes are
used, and when a luminous body is used in place of the quill.
In this case the luminous body does not disappear, but ex¬
pands into a mass of nebulous light, which is of a bluish
white colour, encircled with a bright ring of yellow light.
Superior j5ut though we cannot see objects distinctly by oblique
brightness vision? t they appear much brighter, and minute objects,
ot objects ciall luminous ones, are more easily seen by turning
seen on- ^ of ^ ^ away from them. Various astronomers
have found that very faint stars, and the satellites of Sa¬
turn, which disappear when the eye is turned fully upon
them, may be distinctly seen by directing the eye to an¬
other part of the field. This effect seems to arise from the
expansion and enlargement of luminous points seen ob¬
liquely.1
1 It has long been disputed, but the question has not been
much agitated in modern times, whether the retina or the
choroid coat behind it is the seat of vision. The insensibi¬
lity of the base of the optic nerve, and the fact that vision
is most distinct where there is no retina, are arguments in
favour of the choroid coat being the seat of vision, as Ma-
riotte believed. The transparency of the retina, and the
opacity of the choroid coat were considered as additional
arguments in favour of that opinion. Dr. Knox has shewn,
that in the eye of the cuttle fish, there is a membranous
opaque pigment in front of the retina, so that in this case
the retina must receive the influence of light from the vi¬
brations of this membrane just as it may receive them in other
cases, from the same membrane placed behind it. M. Lehot,
a living French author, has endeavoured to shew that the
vitreous humour is the seat of vision ; that w e see the length,
breadth, and thickness of every object as we do an image
formed in smoke } and that the retina takes cognizance of
this image in its three dimensions, by nervous filaments ex¬
tending so far into the vitreous humour as to render any Exp]s
adjustment of the eye at different distances unnecessary, tion 0f.
‘The insensibility of the retina to direct impressions of tllra' i
faint light, was discovered by Sir David Brewster,2 who/®’61
found, that when the eye directed its axis to objects faintly '
illuminated, it could not keep up a sustained vision of them.
liquely.
On tbe seat
of vision.
They disappeared and reappeared, and the eye was throwneyeto;
into a state of painful agitation. rectimyil
When we shut the eye quickly after looking at an objections o
we see it for an instant (about the seventh part of asecond)faintlifi i
in its own colours ; but this impression is instantly follow-Durat» f
ed by an image of the object in its complementary colours, impre-
If we look at a window at the end of a long passage, we011 ^
first see, after shutting our eyes, a picture of the window,tlna-
with black bars and white panes; but after the seventh of a
second the picture is one with white bars and black panes.
When we wdiirl a burning stick, we see a complete circle
of red light, although the burning end of the stick can
only be in one part of the circle at the same instant. This Dr. P
affection of the retina is the principle of Dr. Paris’s pretty thaumJ
toy, called the Thaumatrope, or Wonder-turner. A circular trope-
card with two strings is made to whirl rapidly round one of
its diameters. If we draw a cage on one side of a card,
and a bird on the other, and whirl the card round, we shall
see the bird within the cage, the retina retaining the impres¬
sion of both even when none of them are seen, which is the
case when the edge of the card is directed to the eye.
The same property of the retina to preserve impressions
of light, is the principle on which that beautiful instrument, foscoPt r
called the phenakistoscope, or magic disc, is founded. Thismd&!c
instrument was, we believe, originally invented by Dr.
Boget, and improved by M. Plateau, at Brussels, and
' Mr. Faraday. It consists of a circular disc from six to
twelve inches in diameter, with rectilineal apertures on its
margin in the direction ot its radii. A series of figures,
of a" rider for example, leaping a fence, is drawn on the
.circumference of a circle, parallel to the rim of the disc.
The first figure represents the rider and horse standing be¬
fore the fence ; and the last figure represents them stand¬
ing over the fence when the leap is completed. Between
these two figures there are several others, representing
the rider and the horse in different parts of the leap. The
observer then stands in front of a looking-glass, with the
disc in his left hand, attached to a handle, and by a piece
of simple mechanism he whirls it rapidly round, looking at
its image on the glass through the notches in its margin.
He is then surprised to see the horse and his rider actually
leaping the fence, as if they were alive, and returning and
leaping again as the disc revolves. If we look over the
margin of the disc, at the reflected picture on the face °t
the disc, all the figures are effaced, and entirely invisible;
but when we look through the notches, we only see the
figure of the horse and rider at the instant the notch or
aperture passes the eye, so that the picture instantaneously
formed on the retina is not obliterated by preceding or
subsequent impressions. Hence the eye receives in suc¬
cession the pictures of the horse and rider in all the atti¬
tudes of the leap, which are blended, as it were, into one
action. The apparent velocity with which the horse an
rider advances (supposing the disc always to have the sa
velocitv) depends on the proportion between the numo
of apertures in the margin of the disc, and the number
figures of the horse and rider. .
‘ If we use a disc with three concentric circles ot ap
tures, each containing different numbers, 8, 10, an >
for example, then considering that these apertures re
in the opposite direction in the reflected image, ^.1S 0
that when w-e look through the circle of 10, which
from left to right at the image of 10, revolvmg
mirror from right to left, these opposite motions w 
See Land- and Edin. Phil Mag. Sept. 1832, p. 169.
2 Edinburgh Journal of Science, No. vi. p. 288.
OPTICS.
<<• stroy each other, and the circle of 10 apertures will appear
ia‘ to stand still in the picture. On the other hand, the circle
' of 12 apertures will always gain upon the one of 10, from
' which we look, and will appear to move from left to right,
’^with the difference of the velocities of the two, while the
one of 8 will move backwards with the same difference.
If we whirl a disc containing any word or figure upon it,
without using a reflector, all is confused, and w e cannot
read the word or see the figure. Let it be whirled, how¬
ever, in the dark, and let a spark of electricity, or the light
of a little inflamed gun-powder, or of a percussion-cap, illumi¬
nate the disc, which it does only for an instant, and during
that short instant, the word or figure will be seen to stop,
and we shall read the one and see the other with great dis¬
tinctness.
When objects are placed at different distances, the focus
513
ccont J-
iness.
talar
not produced by age, but rather diminished by it, is com¬
mon even in young persons, arising either from a too great
convexity or refractive power in the lens, or too great con¬
vexity in the cornea. In this state of the eye, the.image
is formed in front of the retina, and a concave lens is ne¬
cessary to correct it. This is called short-sightedness, which
almost always decreases by age in consequence of the crys¬
talline lens becoming flatter.
When the eye looks steadily at a bright coloured red
jectra, "a^erJ and then looks at the wrhite paper on which the wafer
' J _ lino l f \i7ill c* r\r\ ^ 1 ^ —          t 1 1 • .1
icidem Iks, it will see for a while a green one, the green being the
:s, accidental colour, or the complementary one to the red. The
)lours
green image is called an ocular spectrum, as it has no real
existence. The accidental colours and the original co¬
lours are the same as those given in Newton’s Table, p. 432,
where the reflected tints correspond with the original or red
colour of the wafer, and the transmitted ones to the acci¬
dental colour, or vice versa ; so that w e can determine from
that table the accidental colours of any coloured object
upon which the eye may look steadily.
When the eye looks at the sun, or a bright image of it,
the ocular spectrum is not black, but of various colours in
succession, each colour being surrounded with a rim of its
accidental colour.
The following beautiful experiment, shewing the effect
“p11 in diminishing the sensibility of the retina to par¬
ticular colours, we owe to Mr. Smith, surgeon at Fochabers.
Hold a slip of white paper vertically about a foot from
,.e eW> and direct both eyes to an object beyond it, the
sip will appear double, and the twro images equally white.
jbt a .candle be brought near the right eye, so as to act strongly
upon it, without affecting the left, then the left image of
e paper, or that seen by the right eye, will grow green,
ana bright hand image, or that seen by the left eye, will
grow red, forming a beautiful contrast of colours. If the
ty of ti u!,11 6 18 ppght round to the left eye, the images will first
fetopii Z en°: the Sarae whitish colour, and then the right hand
e will become green, and the left hand one red.1
e insensibility of the eye to particular colours is very
uncommon. Professor Dugald Stewart, Dr. Dalton, and
'olours
reduce
ntev
inal ac
onofli
3 the e1
»sensib
cular ct
Its,
Mr. Troughton, were unable to distinguish the colours at Optical
the red end of the spectrum. All red objects appeared *nstruments.
green, owing to the insensibility of their retinas to red
colours. This subject has already been treated of in our
article on Colours, vol. vii. p. 128.
FART IX. DESCRIPTION OE OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS.
ition or point of distinct vision in the eye must vary. We feel
p'e that the eye has the power of adapting itself to these dif-
2 ferent distances, so as to make the picture on the retina
always distinct. How this is done has been long a matter
in dispute. There can be no doubt, however, that the first
step in the process is the variation of the pupil, which seems
by a mechanism at the base of the iris to increase the dis¬
tance of the lens from the retina.
iongsi - At the age of about forty, the eye loses this power of ad-
laess. aptation in consequence of the flattening of the crystalline
lens, which renders it necessary to use a convex glass, which
just compensates the flatness of the lens, and permits the eye
torts: ■ to adjust itself as formerly. The opposite state of the eye,
The great number of optical instruments which have Optical in-
been described in different parts of this work, renders itstruments.
scarcely necessary to treat this subject in the general arti¬
cle. Under the articles Burning Instruments, Camera
Lucida, Kaleidoscope, Micrometer, Microscope,
Photometers, and Telescope, the reader will find the in¬
formation, some of which he might have expected here.
There are instruments, however, so intimately connected with
Optics, and not previously described, which we must shortly
notice, namely, the Cylindrical Mirror, the Camera Obscu-
ra, the Magic Lantern, and the Phantasmagoric Machine.
1.
Cylindrical Mirror.
We have already (see p. 382) described the principle of Cylindrical
cylindrical mirrors. If we suppose one of these mirrors, mirrors.
AB, fig. 107, to be placed on a table, with the portrait of Fig. 1U7.
any person laid before it on the table, the reflected picture
of the portrait in the cylindrical mirror will be distorted.
If vve take an accurate drawing of this distorted picture
and lay it before a cylindrical mirror, as shown at MN,
where the human form can scarcely be recognised, we
shall see in the cylindrical mirror its image reduced to
symmetry.
2. On the Camera Obscura.
We have already explained the principle of the camera Camera
obscura in treating of the images formed by convex lenses, obscura.
I he instrument is indeed nothing more than a convex
lens placed in a suitable box, on the side or bottom of
which an image of external objects is formed by the lens.
A convenient portable camera obscura for drawing ob¬
jects is shown in fig. 108. The external object or land-
scape is reflected down into the lens AB by an inclined
mirror CD. The rays thus falling vertically upon the lens,
are refracted to their foci, and form a distinct image of
the landscape on the paper placed at EF. On one side
of the box there is an opening through which the obser¬
ver introduces his head and hand, care being taken, by a
curtain of black cloth behind him, to exclude all extra¬
neous light. M. Cauchoix of Paris has found that the
best form of the lens for a camera is a meniscus, hav¬
ing its convex surface towards the image, and its concave
surface towards the object, and their radii of curvature as
5 to 8.
V0L anal>'SIS of this and similar experiments will be found in the Land, and Edin. Phil. Mag
3. On the Magic Lantern.
The magic lantern, an invention of the celebrated ^aS'c ian*
Athanasius Kircher, is shewn in fig. 109. It consists tern‘
merely of a lens AB, which forms on the wall of a darkFlg* 109-
room a picture of any object placed before it, and at a
greater distance than its anterior principal focus. The
light of an argand lamp is thrown in a condensed state by
the illuminating lens D, upon transparent varnished pic¬
tures painted on long sliders. The lens AB forms a large
circle of light upon the wall, which, if it is not smooth
and white, should be covered with a white smooth cloth,
and the images of the coloured figure appear within this
circle.
A magic lantern is the same as a solar microscope, the
Ed. 1832, p. 249.
3 T
514
OPT
Optical sun being used for the source of light in the latter case, and
instruments natural objects in place of pictures. The solar camera mi-
II croscope invented by Dr. Goring, and fully described in our
Optimates. articie Microscope, vol. xv. p. 46, and the oxyhydrogen
microscope, described in the same article, may be consi¬
dered as the most perfect magic lanterns that have been
constructed, there being no difficulty in adapting them to
give magnified representations of minute transparent paint¬
ings.
4. On the Phantasmagoric Apparatus.
Phantas- The apparatus for the phantasmagoria, or the raising of
magoric ap- spectres, is nothing more than a magic lantern mounted
paratus. upon wheels, which, in place of throwing its pictures upon
an opaque white ground, upon which the spectator looks,
throws them upon one side of an imperfectly transparent
screen, the spectator viewing them on the other side of the
i ] n screen. The direct light of a lamp A, fig. 110, and the light
lg’ ’ reflected from the concave mirror B, is thrown upon the two
illuminating lenses C, D, which condense it, and thus sti ong-
ly illuminate the spectres and figures painted upon sliders
at E. These sliders are placed a little before the anterior
focus of the magnifying lens F, which forms a highly magni¬
fied picture of the figures on the transparent screen at G.
When this apparatus is mounted upon a carriage with wheels,
as at H, it may be made to approach to, or recede from, the
screen G, in consequence of which the figures may be
made to contract into dwarfs, disappearing in a point of light,
or swell out into giants of enormous magnitude. In order,
however, to have the pictures distinct at different distances
of the apparatus from the screen, an adjustment is necessary,
to make the distance EF increase as the apparatus approach¬
es to G, and diminish as it recedes from it. With this view,
ORA
the lens F is fixed to a slider, which may be drawn out by Op,
the general frame H. When this frame H is drawn awaybstnt „
from the screen, the point K is brought lower by means of !
the rod IK, connected with another rod KN fixed to the °R;
frame of the screen at N, where there is a joint or centre *
of motion. The descent of the point K causes another lever
KL to move the horizontal slider (which carries the lens F)
in such a manner as to keep the screen always in the focus
of F, and consequently the picture upon it always distinct. ,
When the frame H, on the other hand, advances to the
screen, the point K rises, and the lens F is again adjusted
by the motion of the slider. When the images diminish
and appear to vanish, the support of the lens F permits the
screen M to fall and intercept part of the light. The screen
M may have a triangular opening, so as to uncover the mid¬
dle only of the lens F. In this adjusting apparatus the
rods KN and KL must be equal, and the point I must be
twice the focal length of the lens F before the object, L
being immediately under the focus of the lens. The ob¬
ject of the screen M is to diminish the illumination of the
objects as they get smaller and appear to retire from the
spectator, because in the instrument they actually become
brighter.
When M. Robertson exhibited this remarkable instru¬
ment, living persons were often strongly illuminated and
introduced into the picture. The effect of life, however,
was better given when the shadows of living objects only
were introduced.
For farther information on the subject of this article,
see Astronomy, vol. iv. p. 101, chap. iv. Achromatic
Telescopes, Burning Instruments, Camera Lucida,
Chromatics, Colours, Kaleidoscope, Meteorology,
Micrometer, Microscope, Photometer, and Teles¬
cope.
OPTIMATES, one of the divisions of the Roman people,
and opposed to populares. It is not easy to ascertain the
characteristic differences of these two parties. Some say
the optimates were warm supporters of the dignity of the
chief magistrate, and promoters of the grandeur of the
state, caring not if the inferior members suffered, provided
the superior powers were advanced; whereas the popu¬
lares boldly contended for the rights of the people, claimed
larger privileges, and laboured to bring matters nearer to
an Equality. In short, according to this account, they re¬
sembled the court and country parties amongst the people
of this island. Cicero says that the optimates were the
best citizens, who wished to deserve the approbation of
the better sort; and that the populares courted the favour
of the populace, not so much considering what was right,
as what would please the people and gratify their own
thirst of vain-glory and applause.
OPTIO, an officer in the Roman army, who was an as¬
sistant or lieutenant to the centurion. The optio was so
called because in later times he was the choice or option
of the centurion ; at first, however, he derived his ap¬
pointment from the tribune or commander of the legion.
Sometimes the opiiones were also called succenturiones and
tergiductores; the latter name having been given them be¬
cause their post was in the rear of the company. Several
authors mention sub-optiones or sub-lieutenants. It is pro¬
per, however, to add, that optiones were not peculiar to the
camp, but were also employed in a variety of other offices.
OR, the French word for gold, by which this metal is
expressed in heraldry. In engraving it is denoted by small
points all over the field or bearing.
ORA, in Antiquity, was a term equivalent to ounce ;
but it has been much debated amongst our antiquaries,
whether the ora, the mention of which so often occurs,
svas a coin, or only money of account. Dr Hickes observes,
that the mode of reckoning money by marcs and oras was
never known in England until after the settlement oi the
Danes ; and by examining the old nummulary estimates
amongst the principal Gothic states upon the Baltic, it ap¬
pears that the ora and solidus were synonymous terms,
and that the ora was the eighth part of the marc. From
several of the Danish laws, it likewise appears that the
Danish ora, derived by corruption from aurea, was the
same as the Frank solidus of twelve pence. As a weight,
the ora was regarded as the uncia or unit, by which the
Danish marc was divided ; and in Doomsday-book the ora
is used for the ounce, or the twelfth part of the nummu¬
lary Saxon pound, and the fifteenth of the commercia.
As a coin it was an aureus, or the Frank solidus of
pence ; and from the accidental coincidence of the Iran
aureus with the eighth part of the marc, the Danes pro¬
bably took occasion to give it the new name^ot ora. An¬
other ora is mentioned in the rolls of the 27th o enry
III. the value of which was sixteen pence; and this was
probably derived from the half mancus of the Saxons, as
there were no aurei of that period to which these two e
nominations of money of sixteen and twelve pence coui
possibly be ascribed. It may be further observed, tha me
name ora distinguishes the gold coins in severa Par
Europe to this day. The Portuguese moidore is not »
else but moeda d’oro, from the Latin rnoneta «e, aura^
French louis d’or comes from the same use of t e ’
and owes its appellation to the ora. ,. ,
ORACLE, amongst the heathens, was the answer
the gods were supposed to give to those who con
them upon any affair of importance. It is also used
god who was thought to give the answer, and for tne p
where the response was given.
ORA
The credit of oracles was so great that in all doubts and
p disputes their determinations were held as sacred and in¬
violable. Hence vast numbers flocked to them for advice
about the management of their affairs ; and no business of
any consequence was undertaken, scarcely any peace con¬
cluded, any war waged, or any new form of government
instituted, without the advice and approbation of some
oracle. The answers were usually given by the interven¬
tion of the priest or priestess of the god who was consult¬
ed ; and were generally expressed in such dark and unin¬
telligible phrases, as might easily be wrested to prove the
truth of the oracle, whatever the event should happen to be.
It is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that the priests who
delivered them were in the highest credit and esteem ; and
that they managed this reputation so as greatly to promote
their own particular advantage. They accordingly allowed
no man to consult the gods before he had offered costly
sacrifices and made rich presents to them. Nor was this
all. To keep up the veneration for their oracles, and to
prevent their being taken unprepared, they admitted per¬
sons to consult the gods only at certain stated times ; and
sometimes they w'ere so cautious, that the greatest per¬
sonages could obtain no answer at all. Thus Alexander
himself was peremptorily denied by the Pythia or priestess
of Apollo, till she was by downright force obliged to ascend
the tripos, wdien, being unable to resist any longer, she
cried out, “ Thou art invincibleand these words were
accepted instead of any further oracle.
When men began to be better instructed by the lights
which philosophy had introduced into the world, the false
oracles insensibly lost their credit. Chrysippus filled an
entire volume with false or doubtful responses. CEnomaus,
to be revenged of some oracle which had deceived him,
made also a compilation of responses, to show their ridicu¬
lous vanity. Eusebius has preserved some fragments of this
criticism on oracles by CEnomaus. “ I might,’’ says Ori-
gen, “ have recourse to the authority of Aristotle and the
Peripatetics, to make the Pythoness much suspected; I
might extract from the writings of Epicurus and his fol¬
lowers an abundance of things to discredit oracles; and I
might show that the Greeks themselves made no great ac¬
count of them.”
The reputation of oracles was greatly lessened when
they became an artifice of politics. Themistocles, having
the design of engaging the Athenians to abandon Athens,
and to embark on board of their ships, in order to be in a
j better condition to resist Xerxes, made the Pythoness de-
beran oracle, commanding them to take refuge in wooden
walls. Demosthenes said, that the Pythoness “ philippized,”
to signify that she w'as gained over by Philip’s presents.
ihe cessation of oracles is attested by several profane
authors, as Strabo, Juvenal, Lucian, and others. Plutarch
accounts for it, by saying that the benefits of the gods are
not eternal as themselves are ; that the genii who presided
over oracles are subject to death; and that the exhalations
0 the earth had been exhausted. It appears that the last
reason had been alleged in the time of Cicero, who ridi-
eu es it in Ids second book on Divination ; as if the spirit
o prophecy, supposed to be excited by subterraneous ef-
uvia, had evaporated by length of time, as wine or other
nquors by being long kept.
Suidas, Nicephorus, and Cedrenus, relate that Augus-
us, laving consulted the oracle of Delphos, could obtain
o ot er answer but this : “ The Hebrew child, whom all
h H 8 0^e^’ 5^ves 1116 hence, and sends me back to
out this temple without speaking one word.”
i as adds, that Augustus dedicated an altar in the capi-
nniJlff thls1.inscriPtion» “ To the eldest Son of God.” But
D*! ltanding ^lese testimonies, the answer of the oracle
iu« n'? ^ t0 Augustus seems very suspicious. Cedre-
1 es Eusebius for this oracle, which is not now found
C L E.
in his works ; and the peregrination of Augustus into
Ln-eece took place eighteen years before the birth of Christ.
buidas and Cedrenus also give an account of an ancient
oracle delivered to Thulis, a king of Egypt, which they as¬
sure us is well authenticated. The king having consulted
the oracle of Serapis, to know if there ever was, or would
be, one so great as himself, received this answer • “ First
God, next the Word, and then the Spirit with them ; they
are equally eternal, and make but one whose power will
never end ; but do thou, mortal, get thee hence, and think
that the end of the life of man is uncertain.”
Van Dale, in his treatise of oracles, does not believe
that they ceased at the coming of Christ. He relates se¬
veral examples of oracles which were consulted until the
death of Theodosius the Great; and he quotes the laws
of the Emperors Theodosius, Gratian, and Valentinian,
against those who consulted oracles, as affording certain
proof that the superstition of oracles still subsisted in the
time of those emperors. But others conceive that the opi¬
nion of those who believe that demons had no share in
the oracles, and that the coming of the Messiah made no
change in them, as well as the contrary opinion of those
who pretend that the incarnation of the Word imposed a
general silence on all oracles, should all be equally reject¬
ed. They allege that two sorts of oracles ought to be dis¬
tinguished ; the one dictated by the spirits of darkness,
who deceived men by their obscure and doubtful answers ;
the other, the pure artifice and deception of the priests of
false divinities. As to the oracles given out by demons,
the reign of Satan was destroyed by the coming of the Sa¬
viour; truth shut the mouth of lies; but Satan still con¬
tinued his old craft amongst idolaters. All the devils were
not reduced to silence at the same time by the coming of
the Messiah ; it was only on particular occasions that the
truth of Christianity and the virtue of Christians imposed
silence on the devils. St Athanasius tells the Pagans that
they had themselves been witnesses of the sign of the cross
having put the devils to flight, silenced oracles, and dissi¬
pated enchantments. This power of silencing oracles, and
putting the devils to flight, is also attested by Arnobius,
Lactantius, Prudentius, Minutius Felix, and several others,
whose testimony affords certain proof that the coming of
the Messiah had not imposed a general silence on oracles.
Plutarch relates, that the pilot Thamus heard a voice m
the air, crying out, “ The great Pan is dead upon which
Eusebius observes, that the accounts of the death of the
demons were very frequent in the reign of Tiberius, when
Christ drove out the wicked spirits. Indeed the same
judgment may be passed on oracles as on possessions. It
was on particular occasions, by the divine permission, that
the Christians cast out devils, or silenced oracles, in the
presence, and even by the confession, of the Pagans them¬
selves ; and thus it is that we should understand the pas¬
sages of St Jerome, Eusebius, Cyril, Theodoret, Pruden¬
tius, and other authors, who have said that the coming of
Christ imposed silence on the oracles.
As to the second sort of oracles, which were pure arti¬
fices and deceptions of the priests of false divinities, and
which probably exceeded the number of those wdiich im¬
mediately proceeded from demons ; they did not cease till
idolatry was abolished, though they had lost their credit
for a considerable time before the coming of Christ. It
was concerning this more common and general sort of or¬
acles, Minutius Felix observed, that they began to discon¬
tinue their responses, according as men began to be more
enlightened. But, however oracles were decried, impos¬
tors always found dupes, and the grossest cheats almost
never failed to deceive.
Daniel discovered the imposture of the priests of Bel,
who had a private way of getting into the temple to take
away the offered meats, and who made the king believe
515
Oracle.
516
ORACLE.
oracle, that the idol had consumed them. Mundus, being in love
’ with Paulina, the eldest of the priestesses of Isis, went
and told her, that the god Anubis, being passionately fond
of her, commanded her to give him a meeting. She was
afterwards shut up in a dark room, where her lover Mun¬
dus, whom she believed to be the god Anubis, was con¬
cealed. This imposture having been discovered, Tibe¬
rius ordered those detestable priests and priestesses to
be crucified, and with them Idaea, the freed-woman ot
Mundus, who had conducted the whole intrigue. He also
commanded the temple of Isis to be levelled with the
ground, and her statue to be thrown into the liber ; but
as to Mundus, he contented himself with sending that per¬
son into banishment.
Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, not only destroyed
the temples of the false gods, but discovered the cheats ot
the priests, by showing that the statues, some of wine i
were of brass, and others of wood, were hollow within, and
led into dark passages made in the wall.
Lucian, in discovering the impostures of the false pro¬
phet Alexander, says that the oracles were chiefly afraid
of the subtil ties of the Epicureans and the Christians. 1 he
false prophet Alexander sometimes feigned himself seized
with a divine fury, and by means of the herb sopewort,
which he chewed, frothed at the mouth in so extraordinary
a manner that the ignorant people attributed it to the power
of the god by whom he was possessed. He had long be¬
fore prepared a head of a dragon made of linen, which
opened and shut its mouth by means of a horse-hair. He
went by night to a place where the foundations of a tem¬
ple were digging ; and having found water, either of a
spring, or of rain which had settled there, he hid m it a
noose egg, in which he had enclosed a little serpent that
had just been hatched. The next day, very early m the
morning, he came quite naked into the street, having on y
a scarf about his middle, holding in his hand a scy the, and
tossing about his hair like the priests of Cybele ; then get¬
ting on the top of a high altar, he said that the place was
happy to be honoured by the birth of a god. Afterwards,
running down to the place where he had hidden the goose
ea-g, and going into the water, he began to sing the praises
of Apollo and iEsculapius, and to invite the latter to come
and show himself to men. At these words, he dipped a
bowl into the water, and took out the mysterious egg,
which had a god enclosed in it; and when he had it m his
hand, he began to say that he held JUsculapms. V\ hilst
all were eager to have a sight of this fine mystery, he broke
the egg, and the little serpent starting out, twisted itself
about his fingers. ,
These examples show clearly that both Christians and
Pagans were so far agreed as to treat the greater number
of oracles as purely human impostures. That in fact all
of them were so, will perhaps be concluded by those who
give equal credit to demoniacal inspiration and demoniacal
possession. The most ancient oracle was that of Dodo-
na; but the most famous was that of Delphi, which per¬
forms such a prominent part in Pagan antiquity. Another
celebrated one was the oracle of Irophonius, in the neigh¬
bourhood of Lebadia, a city of Bceotia. It was held in
high estimation, and received its name from Trophonius,
brother of Agamedes, who lived in a subterranean dwelling
near Lebadia, and pretended to possess the faculty of fore¬
telling future events. He died in his cave, and was deified
as an oracular divinity. This oracle owed its reputation
to one Saon. Those who repaired to this cave for infor¬
mation were required to offer certain sacrifices, to anoint
themselves with oil, and to bathe in a certain river. They
were then clothed with a linen robe, took a honeyed cake
in their hands, and descended into the subterranean chain,
ber by a narrow passage ; and here it was that futurity was
unfolded to them, either by visions or by extraordinary
sounds. The return from the cave was by the same pas¬
sage ; but the persons consulting the oracle were obliged
to walk backwards. They generally came out astonished,
melancholy, dejected ; and hence the proverb hg Tgofwv/ov
/^avrsura/. The priests, on their return, placed them upon
an elevated seat, called the seat of Mnemosyne, where an
account was taken of what they had seen and heard. They
were then conducted by their companions to the chapel of
good Genius, where, by degrees, they recovered their usual
composure and cheerfulness.
Besides these three principal oracles of Greece, it is
proper to take notice of that of Amphiaraus at Oropius, in
Attica. It was so called from Amphiaraus, the son of Oi-
cleus, a man deeply skilled in magic, the interpretation of
dreams, and the like, who, after his death, was deified, and
delivered oracles in a temple erected to his divinity. Those
who applied for information were required to purify them¬
selves, offer sacrifice, fast twenty-four hours, abstain from
wine two days, and make an offering of a ram to Amphia¬
raus ; they were then to sleep on the skin of the animal,
and to see their destiny in a dream. Near the temple was
the fountain of Amphiaraus, which was deemed sacred, the
waters of it being forbidden to be used for ordinary pur-
poses.
At Delos there was also an oracle of the Delian Apollo;
in Milesia there was that of the Branchidae; and there
were others of less note, which do not require particular
description, such as that of the camps at Lacedaemon, that
of Nabarcha, that of Chrysopolis, that of Claros in Ionia,
that of Hallos, that of Patarea, that of Pella, that of Pha-
sellides, that of Sinope, that of Orpheus’ head, and a few
more, which it is unnecessary to mention.
Although the Romans upon many occasions consulted
the Grecian oracles, and had but few in their own country,
yet we must not omit mentioning the oracles which were
delivered by the Sibyl of Cumae, and enjoyed great cele¬
brity. They have been frequently alluded to by Virgil.
We have hitherto only considered the oracles ot false
gods, of which there was a far greater number than our
limits permit us to enumerate, and before either Greeks or
Romans had risen to any distinction. Oracle is in sacred
history sometimes used for the mercy-seat, or the cover ot
the ark of the covenant; and by others it is taken for the
sanctuary, or the most holy place, in which the ark was de-
P Amongst the Jews may be distinguished several kinds
of real oracles. They had first oracles which were ue-
livered viva voce, as when God spake to Moses face to
face, as one friend speaks to another ;J secondly, prophe¬
tical dreams sent by God, as the dreams which God sent
to Joseph, and which foretold his future greatness; third¬
ly, visions, as when a prophet in an ecstasy, being neitne
properly asleep nor awake, had supernatural revelations,
fourthly, the oracle of Urim and Thummim, which was
accompanied with the ephod or the pectoia ^orn J- *
high priest, and which God had endued with the gift or
foretelling things to come.4 This manner of inq^g
the Lord was often made use of, from Joshuas tim
erection of the temple at Jerusalem. Fifthly, atte
erection oi uie tempic -- , 0.
building of the temple, they generally cons^eTdPand
phets, who were numerous in the kingdom of Jud
Israel. From Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, wl o are
the last of the prophets any of whose writings re > ^
Jews pretend that God gave them what they ca^ al
or the daughter of the voice, which was a supe
•1 Numb. xii. 8.
* Gen. xxxvii. 5, 6.
* Gen. xv. 1 ; xlvi. 2.
Numb. xii. 6 ; Jod, & 28*
ORA
ORA
517
Ora( manifestation of his will, and was performed either by a
LOy strong inspiration or internal voice, or else by a sensible
and external voice, which was heard by a number of per¬
sons sufficient to bear testimony to the fact. For example,
such was the voice that was heard at the baptism of Jesus
Christ, saying, “ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased ; hear ye him.”1
The Scripture likewise affords us examples of profane
oracles. Balaam, at the instigation of his own avarice,
and fearing to lose the recompense which had been pro¬
mised him by Balak, king of the Moabites, suggested to
this prince the diabolical expedient of making the Israelites
fall into idolatry and fornication ;2 by which he assured him
of a certain victory, or at least of considerable advantage
against the people of God.
Micaiah the son of Imlah,3 a prophet of the Lord, says
that he saw the Almighty sitting upon his throne, and all
the host of heaven round about him ; and the Lord said,
who shall tempt Ahab king of Israel, that he may go to
war with Ramoth-gilead, and fall in the battle ? One an¬
swered after one manner, and another after another. At
the same time an evil spirit presented himself before the
Lord, and said, I will seduce him. And the Lord asked
him, how ? To this Satan answered, I will go and be a
lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets. And the Lord
said, Go, and thou shalt prevail. This dialogue clearly
proves these two things: first, that the devil could do no¬
thing by his own power; and, secondly, that, with the
permission of God, he could inspire the false prophets,
sorcerers, and magicians, and thus make them deliver false
oracles.
Respecting the cessation of profane oracles, there have
been a variety of opinions, some of which we have already
noticed. It has been generally held, indeed, that oracles
ceased at the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet some have en¬
deavoured to maintain the contrary, by showing that they
were in existence in the days of Julian, commonly called the
Apostate, and that this emperor himself consulted them ;
that history makes mention of several laws published by
the Christian emperors Theodosius, Gratian, and Valen-
tinian, to punish persons who interrogated them, even in
their days; and that the Epicureans were the first who
made a jest of this superstition, and exposed to the peo¬
ple the roguery of the priests. As we suspect most of
the facts here asserted should be understood in a qualified
sense, we shall endeavour to discuss this point of contro¬
versy in as few words as possible, although it is undoubt¬
edly a matter of some consequence.
The question, properly stated, is not, whether ora¬
cles became extinct immediately upon the birth of Christ,
or from the very moment when he was born ; but, whether
they fell gradually into disesteem and ceased, as Christ
and his gospel became known to mankind. And that they
did so, is most certain from the concurrent testimonies of
the fathers, which none can attempt to invalidate, without
being prepared to give up the most respectable traditions
and relations of every kind*
2d/y, But did not Julian the Apostate actually consult
these oracles ? We answer in the negative. He had in¬
deed recourse to magical operations, but it was because
oracles had already ceased; for he bewailed the loss of
t em, and assigned for their cessation pitiful reasons, which
1 u'l ^aS vioorously refuted, adding, that Julian “ never
cou d have offered such, but from an unwillingness to ac-
p1?0, edge that, when the world had received the light of
rist, the dominion of the devil wras at an end.”
<%> The Christian emperors do indeed condemn the
uperstition and idolatry of those who were still disposed
to consult oracles; but the edicts of these princes do not Orsea
prove that oracles actually existed in their times, any U
more than that they had ceased in consequence of their v Qran»
laws. It is certain that they were for the most part ex- V " Y"~'
tinct before the conversion of Constantine.
Stilly, Some Epicureans might make a jest of this super¬
stition ; but the Epicurean philosopher Celsus, in the se¬
cond century, was disposed to cry up the excellency of se¬
veral oracles, as appears at large from Origen’s seventh
book against him.
ORJ3A, certain solemn sacrifices of fruits, which were
offered in the four seasons of the year, in order to obtain
mild and temperate weather. They were offered to the
goddesses who presided over the seasons, attended upon
the sun, and received divine worship at Athens.
ORAL, something delivered by word of mouth, with¬
out being committed to writing. In this sense we say oral
law, oral tradition, oral communication, and the like.
ORAN, W arran, Auran, or Guharan, a famous mari¬
time city of Algiers, and the most westerly in the regency.
It is built on the declivity and along the foot of a high
mountain, wffiich overlooks it from the north and north¬
west ; and on this ridge are planted two castles, command¬
ing the city on the one side and the port on the other. To
the south and south-east there are two other castles, erect¬
ed upon the same level with the lower part of the city,
but separated from it by a deep winding valley, which
serves as a natural trench on the south side. A rivulet
flows through it, and passing afterwards under the walls of
the city, affords a copious supply of water. At every open¬
ing of this valley a pleasing and varied prospect presents
itself, of rocky precipices, orange plantations, and rills of
water winding down the heights. Near the head of the
rivulet just mentioned there is a fifth castle, which not only
guards the mattamores dug under its walls, but serves as
an important defence to the city. Yet strongly fortified as
Oran is, both by nature and art, it has been repeatedly
taken by the Spaniards, between whom and the Moors it
was for centuries a subject of contention. It was taken
by the former in the year 1509, but was recovered by the
Moors in 1708. In the year 1732 the Spaniards retook
it by surprise ; the Bey, otherwise a valiant soldier, having
been panic-struck on the first landing of the enemy, and,
without shutting the gates, abandoned the city to their
mercy. Oran was afterwards restored, and, along with
other parts of Algiers, has recently fallen under the domi¬
nion of France. During the time that the Spaniards re¬
tained possession of Oran, they erected several beautiful
churches, and other edifices, in the style of the Roman
architecture, though of less strength and solidity. They
have further imitated the Romans in carving upon the
friezes and other parts several inscriptions in large cha¬
racters, and in their own language. Shaw describes Oran
as a fortified city, about a mile in circumference. The
port called Mer-el-Quiver, corrupted from Mers-el-Kibeer,
and answering to the ancient Portus Magnus, is formed
by a neck of land, which runs out almost a furlong into
the bay, and thereby secures it against the north and north¬
west winds. It is defended by a castle more remarkable
for spaciousness and extent than for strength or beauty,
though a part of it has been skilfully hewn out of the na¬
tive rock. Oran has much declined of late years, as the
occupation of the place by the French has induced the
Arab population to leave it, although the former repaired
some of the edifices, and converted an old mosque into an
hospital. The inhabitants are estimated at about 4000. In
the year 1790 this city was destroyed by an earthquake,
and six thousand of its inhabitants w^ere buried under the
1 Matth. iii. 17.
2 Numbers, xxiv. 14; xxxL 16.
3 1 Kings, xxii. 19, &c.
518
ORA
O R C
Orange,
Sea-
Orange ruins. Oran is situated in 35. 50. noi tli, and longitude 0.
11 18. west.
ORANGE, an arrondissement of the department ot the
Vaucluse, in France, extending over 406 square miles. It
comprehends seven cantons, divided into fifty communes,
and contains 69,443 inhabitants. The capital, a city ot
the same name, is the seat of a bishop, and of some courts
of law. It stands on a fruitful plain, watered by the river
Meyne. It has large lofty houses, with narrow and crook¬
ed streets, a cathedral, a Protestant church, two hospitals,
1540 houses, and 8874 inhabitants, who make cotton, wool¬
len, and silk goods, besides oil, wine, brandy, madder,
and paper. It is in latitude 49. 4. N., and longitude 8. 8.
east. It is remarkable as the district whence the house
of Nassau derived its title as prince, which it has retained
without the territory. The vicinity of the city exhibits
many curious remains of Roman antiquity, especiail} a
triumphal gate of three arches, half a mile fiom it, on a
theatre, the walls of which are 108 feet in height. A
part of this building has of late years been converted into
a prison. . „ 0 .
ORANGE River, a large river of Southern Africa,
which derives its origin from the waters of the Snowy
Mountains, in the district of Graaf-Reynet, nearly at the
north-eastern extremity of the colony of the Cape of Good
Hope. It is formed chiefly by two rivers, the Ky Gariep
or Yellow River, and the Nu Gariep or Black River, which
unite their waters in latitude 29. 4., upwards of five hun¬
dred miles due east from their mouth. I he latter branch,
flowingfrom the south-east, is called, higher up, theCiadock
River, and receives the Sea-Cow River and some other
streams from the Sneuwbergen. The Muddy or Alexander
River, flowing also from the south-east, falls into the Yel¬
low River above its confluence with the Nu Gariep. The
former river, the Ky Gariep, comes from the north-east,
and is formed by the union of the Vaal River with the Hart
stream or Malalareen. After the junction of these two
streams, the Orange River flows at first in a north-westerly
course, but afterwards bends to almost due west, which
bearing it maintains until it falls into the Atlantic in lati¬
tude 28. 30. north. In the eastern part of its course it
forms the limit between the territory ot the Hottentots
and that of the Boshuanas; the country on the south pre¬
senting an entirely different character of animal and ve¬
getable life from that on the north. In its westerly course
this river winds its way through a desert of a clayey or
swampy character ; the sandstone rocks rising in perpendi¬
cular walls, which are often prolonged to a vast extent. The
country retains the same aspect for a consideiable space
on both sides of the river ; and the heat is here very great
and oppressive. The course of the Orange River, includ¬
ing its windings, must considerably exceed one thousand
miles.
Orange, Sea, in Natural History, a name given by
Count Marsigli to a very remarkable species of marine
substance, which he denominates a plant. It is tough and
firm in its structure, and in many things resembles the
common fucus; but instead of growing in the branched
form which the generality of these substances assume, it
is round and hollow, and in every respect resembles the
shape of an orange. It has, by way of root, some exceed¬
ingly fine filaments, which fasten themselves to the rocks,
or to shells, stones, or any thing else that comes in the
way. From these there grows no pedicle; but the body
of the orange, as it is called, is fastened by them to the
rock, or other solid substance. The orange itself is usual¬
ly about three or four inches in diameter; and whilst in
the sea it is full of water, which it retains even when taken
up. In this state it frequently weighs a pound and a half;
but when the water is let out, and it is dried, it becomes
a mere membrane, weighing scarcely any thing. It is
best preserved by stuffing it with cotton as soon as the d
water is let out of it, and then hanging it up to dry. Its
surface is irregular and rough, and its colour is a dusky
green on the outside, and a clearer but somewhat bluish ^
green within ; and its thickness is about an eighth part of
an inch. When viewed by the microscope, it is observed
to be all over covered with small glandules, or rather com¬
posed of them ; for they stand so thick one by another, as
to leave no space between, and seem to constitute the whole
substance ; so that it appears very like the rough shagreen
skin used to cover toys. These are indeed so many hol¬
low ducts, through which the sea-water finds a passage
into the globe formed by this skin, and by this means it
is kept always full and distended. On cutting it with a
pair of scissors, the water immediately runs out, and the
skins collapse; but there is something extremely remark-
able in this, for the whole substance, near the wounded
place, is in motion, and seems as if alive, and sensible of
the wound. The glandules are found full of water, resem¬
bling small transparent bottles ; and what goes to the
structure of the plant besides these, is an assemblage of a
vast number of filaments, all of which are likewise hollow,
being filled with a clear and transparent fluid.
ORATION, in Rhetoric, a speech or harangue, compos¬
ed according to the rules of oratory, but spoken in public.
ORATOR, amongst the Romans, differed from a pa-
tronus. The latter wras allowed only to plead causes on
behalf of his clients ; whereas the former might quit the
forum, and ascend the rostra or tribunal, to harangue the
senate or the people. I he orators had rarely a profound
knowledge of the law ; but they were eloquent, and their
style was generally correct and concise. I hey were em¬
ployed in causes of importance, instead of the common pa¬
trons. Orators, in the violence of elocution, used the ut¬
most animation of gesture, and even walked backwards and
forwards with great heat and emotion. Ihis it was which
gave occasion to a witticism of Flavius Virginius, who ask¬
ed one of these walking orators, Quot millia passuum de-
cla?ndsset ? “ How many miles he had declaimed ?” Si¬
milar to the Roman orators were the Grecian rhetores.
ORATORIO, in a kind of sacred drama, in which
the poetry is derived from some scriptural subject, and is
set to music in recitatives, airs, duetts, trios, quartetts, &c.
and choruses, accompanied by an orchestra, sometimes an
organ, and introduced by an instrumental overture. The
origin of the oratorio is not clearly established. _ Amongst
the most remarkable oratorios of modern times is Haydns
ORATORY, the art of speaking well upon any subject,
so as to persuade or convince. See Rhetoric.
Oratory, amongst the Roman Catholics, means a close
or small apartment near a bed-chamber, furnished with an
altar and crucifix, for private devotions.
ORBE, a small city of Switzerland, in the canton ot
Vaud, on the river of the same name, across which there is
a stone bridge. It contains 280 houses, with 1400 inha¬
bitants. Anciently it was one of the largest of the ci j
in the country, and in the time of the Romans was, under
the name of Urbigenum, the capital of Helvetia. In
middle ages the kings of the Franconian race had the
palace here, and gave their splendid festivals; bu m
Burgundian wars it suffered greatly, and declined so m
as to become subject to the cantons of Berne and tnbug.
It now contains some large houses. 1 he inhabitants c y
depend on agriculture, but have some trade with tien
and Yverdun. . en-
ORCHARD, a department in gardening, al'otte“
tirely to the growth of standard fruit-trees, for turn »
a large supply of the most useful kinds of fruit. See
TICULTURE. . .,TTeir
ORCHESTRA, in Music. See the article Music.
itlS. j
O R C
Orchestra, in the Grecian theatres, was that part of
the proscenium or stage where the chorus used to dance.
In the middle of it was placed the Aoyaov or pulpit. The
orchestra was semicircular, and surrounded with seats. In
Ithe Roman theatres it formed no part of the scene, but
answered pretty nearly to the pit in our playhouses, being
occupied with seats for senators, magistrates, vestals, and
other persons of distinction. The actors never went down
into the orchestra.
ORCHESTRINO, a modern musical instrument, so
called by its inventor Poulleau. It was shaped like a pi¬
ano-forte, had similar finger-keys, and its sounds were
produced by the friction of a circular bow upon the strings.
It imitated the tones of the violin, the viola, the violon¬
cello, the viol d’amour, the double-bass, &c. The construc¬
tion of the bow (of hair, &c.) is said to have been very cu¬
rious and ingenious.
ORCHESTRION, a musical instrument invented by
the Abbe Vogler about 1789. It was a kind of portable
organ, about nine feet in height, breadth, and depth. Its
power was that of an organ of sixteen feet pipe, and it had
a mechanism to swell or to diminish all the sounds within
its compass. Another instrument of the same name, in¬
vented in 1796, by Kunz, a Bohemian, consisted of a piano¬
forte, combined with some organ-stops.
ORCHIA Lex, Instituted by Orchius the tribune, in
the year of Rome 566. Its intention was to limit the
number of guests who were to be admitted at an entertain¬
ment; and it is also provided that, during supper, which
was the principal meal amongst the Romans, the doors of
every house should be left open.
ORCHILLA, or Horchilla, a small cluster of islands
in the West Indies, situated not far from the coast of South
America, in latitude 12. north, and longitude 65. 20. west.
The largest island, which bears the form of a crescent, is
very hilly on the east and west capes, and here trees and
verdure abound; but the other parts are low, and the soil,
Torn its flatness, is barren, and productive of very few plants.
There is little fresh water, no animals except goats and
izards, nor does it appear to contain any permanent popu-
ation. On the south-west side the shore is nearly as
>erpendicular as a wall, and the water being very deep,
'essels can approach close to it without danger. Naviga-
ion is extremely difficult amongst the Orchillas; for not
I 'nly are the islands separated from each other by very
mrrow channels, but there are a number of currents, vari-
■ble, violent, and dangerous.
ORCHON, a river of Chinese Tartary, which has its
ise on the confines on the great desert of Shamo, and falls
nto the Selingha. Long. 106. 14. E. Lat. 50. N.
ORCUS, the god of the infernal regions, was the same
vith Pluto, and so called from the Greek word o^o;, signi-
)ing a tomb or sepulchre ; or from o^xes, an oath sworn by
he river Styx. The ancients gave this name to all the di¬
mities of the infernal regions, even to Cerberus. There was
over of the same name in Thessaly, which took its rise in
^ marshes of the Styx, and the waters of which were so
nek that they floated like oil upon the surface of the ri-
er T>encus, into which they discharged themselves. This
O R D
probably suggested to the poets the idea of the infernal
abodes, which they denominated Orcus. Orcus has been
confounded with Charon. He had a temple at Rome.
ORDEAL, an ancient form ot trial. It consisted in an
appeal to the immediate interposition ot divine power, be¬
ing particularly distinguished by the appellation of
cium Dei; and was sometimes called jntrgatio vulgaris, to
distinguish it from the canonical purgation, which was by
the oath of the party. Two kinds of this trial were more
common than the rest, at least in Europe; viz. fire-ordeal
and water-ordeal. The former was confined to persons of
high rank, the latter to the common people. Both these
might be performed by deputy; but the principal was bound
to answer for the success of the trial, the deputy only ven¬
turing some corporal pain, for hire, or perhaps for friendship.
That the purgation by ordeal, of some kind or other, is
very ancient, admits not of a doubt; and that it was uni¬
versal in the times of superstitious ignorance, seems to be
equally certain. It appears even to have been known to the
ancient Greeks ; for, in the Antigone of Sophocles, a person
suspected by Creon of a misdemeanour, declares himself
ready “ to handle hot iron and to walk over fire,” in order
to manifest his innocence, which, the scholiast tells us, was
then an usual mode of purgation. And Grotius gives many
instances of water-ordeal in Bithynia, Sardinia, and other
places. It seems, however, to have been carried to a greater
height amongst the Hindus than ever it had been in any
nation or amongst any people, however rude or barbarous;
for in a paper in the Asiatic Researches, communicated by
Mr Hastings, we find that the trial by ordeal amongst that
people is conducted in nine different ways: firstly, by the
balance; secondly, by fire; thirdly, by^water; fourthly,
by poison ; fifthly, by the cosha, or the water in which an
idol has been washed ; sixthly, by rice; seventhly, by boil¬
ing oil; eighthly, by red-hot iron ; and ninthly, by images.
1. Ordeal by the balance is thus performed. The beam
having been previously adjusted, the cord fixed, and both
scales made perfectly equiponderant, the person accused
and a pundit fast a whole day ; then, after the accused has
been bathed in sacred water, the homa or oblation present¬
ed to fire, and the deities worshipped, he is carefully weigh¬
ed ; and when he is taken out of the scale, the pundits
prostrate themselves before it, pronounce a certain mentra
or incantation, agreeably to the Shastras, and, having writ¬
ten the substance of the accusation upon a piece of paper,
bind it on his head. Six minutes afterwards they place him
again in the scale, and if he weigh more than before, he
is held guilty ; if less, innocent; if exactly the same, he
must be weighed a third time, when, as it is written in
the Mitacshera, there will certainly be a difference in his
weight. Should the balance, though well fixed, break
down, this would be considered as a proof of his guilt.
2. For the fire-ordeal, an excavation, nine hands in length,
two spans in breadth, and one span in depth, is made in
the ground, and filled with a fire of pippal-wood. Into
this the person accused must walk barefooted; and, if his
foot be unhurt, they hold him blameless ; but if it be
burned, he is held guilty.1
3. Water-ordeal is performed by causing the person
519
Ordeal.
eight we'°rueal WaS Pff?ri?ed takinS up in the hand’ ullhllW a piece of red-hot iron, of one, two, or three pounds
arty escaJd baref°otfd and blindfold, over nine red-hot ploughshares, laid lengthwise at unequal distances; and if the
mdemned -w n ^ if WaS adJudgfd innocent; but if it happened otherwise, as without collusion it usually did, he was then
eared her \ \ owever’ by tins latter method, Queen Emma, the mother of Edward the Confessor, is mentioned to have
ipeaW L thl n er’ suspected°f familiarity with Alwyn, bishop of Winchester. The first account which we have of Christians
relate ?“e hre-°rdeak as a proof of their innocence, is that of Simplicius, bishop of Autun, who lived in the fourth century. This
nwilliL tn 1;°!7 1S f.fr’ bffore h,s promotion to the episcopal order, had married a wife, who loved him tenderly, and who,
’•least in tllp- m/;ter hl,s advancement, continued to sleep in the same chamber with him. The sanctity of Simplicius suffered,
I -rsisted by tle constancy of his wife’s affection ; and it was rumoured about that the holy man, though a bishop,
•ncourse of npo°iS1 ^ i ° ^lie ecc^esias^ca^ canons, to taste the sweets ot matrimony ; upon which his wife, in the presence of a great
the leist hurt ^ l° " a consiL ra^e cluantity l)urning coals, which she held in her clothes, and applied to her breasts, with-
iccess the ere 1 i ° 1<?1 f?e.rs011 or garments, as the legend says ; and her example being followed by her husband with similar
' St Brice rvuUl tltlK e adlmred the miracle, and proclaimed the innocence of the loving pair. A similar trick was played
urite, in the fifth century. (Mosheim, Ecclesiast. Hist. vol. ii.)
520
ORDEAL.
Ordeal, accused to stand in a depth of water, either flowing or
stagnant, sufficient to reach his navel; but care should
be taken that no ravenous animal be in it, and that it be
not moved by much air. A Brahmin is then directed
to go into the water, holding a staff in his hand ; and a sol¬
dier shoots three arrows upon dry ground from a bow of
cane. A man is next despatched to bring the arrow which
has been shot farthest; and, after he has taken it up, an¬
other is ordered to run from the edge of the water; at
which instant the person accused is told to grasp the foot
or the staff of the Brahmin, who stands near him in the
water, and immediately to dive into it. He must remain
under water till the two men who went to fetch the arrows
have returned ; for, if he raise his head or body above the
surface before the arrows are brought back, his guilt is
considered as fully proved. In the villages near Benares,
it is the practice for the person who is to be tried by this
kind of ordeal to stand in wrater up to his navel, and then,
holding the foot of a Brahmin, to dive under it as long as
a man can walk fifty paces very gently; if, before the man
has walked thus far, the accused rise above the water, he
is condemned ; but if not, he is acquitted.
4. There are two sorts of trial by poison. Firstly, the pun¬
dits having performed their homa, and the person accused
his ablution, two rettis and a half, or seven barley-corns of
vishanaga, a poisonous root, or of sctuchya, that is, white
arsenic, are mixed in eight mashas, or sixty-four rettis, of
clarified butter, which the accused must eat from the hand
of a Brahmin. If the poison produce no visible effect, he
is absolved ; but if otherwise, he is condemned. Second¬
ly, the hooded snake, called nagga, is thrown into a deep
earthen pot, into which is dropped a ring, a seal, or a
coin. This the person accused is ordered to take out with
his hand; and, if the serpent bite him, he is pronounced
guilty ; but if not, he is declared innocent.
5. Trial by the cosha is as follows. The accused is made
to drink three draughts of the water in which the images
of the sun, of Devi, and other deities, have been washed
for that purpose ; and if, within fourteen days, he has any
sickness or indisposition, his crime is considered as proved.
6. When several persons are suspected ot theft, some
dry rice is weighed with the sacred stone called salgram,
or certain sheas are read over it; after which the suspect¬
ed persons are severally ordered to chew a quantity of it.
As soon as they have chewed it, they are to throw on
it some leaves of pippal, or, if none be at hand, some
Uhurja patra, or bark of a tree from Nepaul or Cashmere.
The man from whose mouth the rice comes dry or stained
with blood is held guilty; the rest are acquitted.
7. The ordeal by hot oil is exceedingly simple. When
it is heated sufficiently, the accused thrusts his hand into
it; and, if he be not burned, he is held innocent.
8. In the same manner they make an iron ball, or the
head of a lance, red hot, and place it in the hands ot the
person accused, w ho, if it burn him not, is judged guiltless.
9. To perform the ordeal by dharmach, which is the
name of the shea appropriated to this mode of trial, either
an image, named dharma, or the genius of justice, is made
of silver, and another, called adharma, of clay or iron, both
of which are thrown into a large earthen jar ; and the ac¬
cused having thrust his hand into it, is acquitted if he
bring out the silver image, but condemned it he draw forth
the iron. Or, one figure of a deity is painted on white
cloth, and another on black ; the first of which they name
dharma, and the second adharma. These are severally
rolled up in cow-dung, and thrown into a large jar, without
having ever been shown to the accused, who must put his
hand into the jar, and is acquitted or convicted according
as he draws out the figure on white or on black cloth.
The superstitious weakness of mankind, when left to
themselves, is astonishing. There is indeed nothing so
absurd that they may not be made most firmly to be- (Vy
lieve, nothing so impious that they will not do. Nor cana^“>l
more notorious instance of the truth of this assertion be
possibly given than that of the trial by ordeal. The gross
absurdity as well as impiety of pronouncing a man guilty
unless he was cleared by a miracle, and of expecting that
all the powers of nature should be suspended by an imme¬
diate interposition of Providence to save the innocent,
when it was even presumptuously required, is self-evident.
Yet the origin of this mode of trial may be traced to neces¬
sity as well as to superstition. At the time in which it ori¬
ginated in England, as well as in other countries of Europe,
it was no easy matter for an innocent person, when accused
of guilt, to get himself cleared by the then established mode
of trial. It was therefore natural for superstition to fly to
Heaven for those testimonies of innocence which the ab¬
surdity of human laws often prevented men from obtaining
in the ordinary course of affairs. In this way, doubtless,
did the trial by ordeal commence ; and being thus begun
by necessitous superstition, it was fostered by impious
priestcraft and unjust power. During all the processes
there was great room for collusion and deceit, and there
can be no question but it was often practised; it could
not, therefore, on any account, or in any case, be a sign
of innocence or of guilt.
Besides the particular methods of trial which we have
already mentioned, there were some few more common in
European countries ; as the judicial combat, the ordeal of
the cross, and the ordeal of the corsned.
The judicial combat was well suited to the genius and
spirit of fierce and warlike nations, and, as we might rea¬
sonably expect, formed one of the most ancient and uni¬
versal modes of trial. We know that it was exceedingly
common in Germany in very remote ages. It was also
used in some countries on the Continent at a pretty early
period; but it is not mentioned in any of the Anglo-Saxon
laws, and it does not appear to have been much used in
England until after the Conquest. It was so much the cus¬
tom in the middle ages of Christianity to respect the cross
even to superstition, that it would indeed have been won¬
derful if the same ignorant bigotry had not converted it
into an ordeal; and accordingly we find it used for this
purpose in so many different ways as almost to preclude
description. In criminal trials, the judgment of the cross
was commonly conducted in this manner. When the pri¬
soner had declared his innocence upon oath, and appealed
to the judgment of the cross, two sticks were prepared ex¬
actly like one another ; the figure of the cross was cut on
one of these sticks, and nothing on the other ; each ol them
was then wrapped up in a quantity of fine white wool, and
laid on the altar, or on the relics of the saints ; after wmc
a solemn prayer was offered up to God, that he would he
pleased to discover, by evident signs, whether the prisoner
was innocent or guilty. These solemnities being finished,
a priest approached the altar, and took up one ot the sticks,
which was uncovered with much anxiety. It it was me
stick marked with the cross, the prisoner was pronounced
innocent; but if it was the other, he was declaredguity-
When the judgment of the cross was appealed to in t
causes, the trial was usually conducted in this '
The judges, parties, and all concerned, being assemb
a church, each of the parties chose a priest, the yo 8 ^
and stoutest whom he could find, to be his represen
the trial. These representatives were then 0 •
each side of some famous crucifix; and, at a S e ’
they both at once stretched their arms at fulHength, so
to form a cross with their body. In this Painfu J, m.
they continued to stand whilst divine service was perto
ing; and the party whose representative dropped ms
first lost his cause. ^iiopcp was
The corsned, or the consecrated bread and chee. ,
O R D
the ordeal to which the clergy commonly appealed when
( ''they were accused of any crimes ; and in this they acted a
very prudent part, as it was attended with no danger or in¬
convenience. This ordeal was performed in this manner.
A piece of barley bread and a piece of cheese were laid
upon the altar, over which a priest pronounced certain
conjurations, and prayed with great fervency, that if the
person accused was guilty, God would send his angel Ga¬
briel to stop his throat, that he might not be able to swal¬
low that bread and cheese. These prayers being ended,
the culprit approached the altar, took up the bread and
cheese, and began to eat it. If he swallowed freely, he
was declared innocent; but if it stuck in his throat, and he
could not swallow, which we may presume seldom or never
happened, he was pronounced guilty.
Besides these, there were a variety of other ordeals
practised in Christian countries, many of which retain the
same names which were used amongst Pagans, and differ
only as to the mode in which they were performed. In all
nations of Christians where these trials were used, we find
the clergy engaged in them. Indeed, in England, as late
as the time of King John, we find grants to the bishops
and clergy to use the judicium ferri, aqua, et ignis ; and,
both in England and Sweden, the clergy presided at this
trial, and it was only performed in the churches, or in other
consecrated ground. “ Non defuit illis operae et laboris
pretium,” says Stiernhook ; “ semper enim ab ejusmodi
judicio aliquid lucri sacerdotibus obveniebat.” But, to give
the canon law its due praise, w7e find it at a very early pe¬
riod declaring against trial by ordeal, or vulgaris purgatio,
as being the work of the devil, “ cum sit contra praecep-
tum Domini, Non lentabis Dominum Deum tuum." Upon
this authority, though the canons themselves were of no va¬
lidity in England, it was thought proper (as had been done
in Denmark above a century before) to disuse and abolish
this trial entirely in our courts of justice, by an act of par¬
liament 3 Henry III. according to Sir Edward Coke, or
rather by an order of the king in council.
It may still perhaps be a postulate with some in what
manner the effects of these trials were evaded, and how
it was possible to appear to do that which we know could
not be really done without material injury to the persons
concerned. On this subject Dr Henry observes, in refer¬
ence to the ordeals in ancient Britain, that, if we suppose
few or none escaped conviction who exposed themselves
tothose fiery trials, we shall be very much mistaken. “For
the histories of those times contain innumerable examples
of persons plunging their naked arms into boiling water,
handling red-hot balls of iron, and walking upon burning
ploughshares, without receiving the least injury. Many
learned men have been much puzzled to account for this,
and disposed to think that Providence graciously inter¬
posed, in a miraculous manner, for the preservation of in¬
jured innocence. But if we examine every circumstance
of those fiery ordeals with due attention, w’e shall see suf-
cient reason to suspect that the whole was a gross impo¬
sition on the credulity of mankind. The accused person
"as committed wholly to the priest who was to perform
he ceremony, three days before the trial, in which he had
•me enough to bargain with him for his deliverance, and
give him instructions how to act his part. On the day of
n.a ’ no person was permitted to enter the church but the
I ^ie accused till after the iron was heated, when
"e vefiiends of the accuser, and twelve of the accused,
E A L.
and no more, were admitted, and ranged along the wall on
each side of the church, at a respectful distance. After
the iron wras taken out of the fire, several prayers wrere
saidthe accused drank a cup of holy water, and sprink¬
led his hand with it, which might take a considerable time
if the priest was indulgent. The space of nine feet was
measured by the accused himself with his own feet, and
he would probably give but scanty measure. He was ob¬
liged only to touch one of the marks with the toe of his
right foot, and allowed to stretch the other foot as far to¬
wards the other mark as he could, so that the conveyance
was almost instantaneous. His hand was not immediately
examined, but wrapped in a cloth prepared for that pur¬
pose three days. May we not, then, from all these precau¬
tions, suspect that those priests were in possession of some
secret that secured the hand from the impressions of such
a momentary touch of hot iron, or removed all appearance
of these impressions in three days; and that they made use
of this secret whenever they saw reason ? What greatly
strengthens these suspicions is, that we meet with no ex¬
ample of any champion of the church who suffered the
least injury from the touch of hot iron in this ordeal; but
when any one was so fool-hardy as to appeal to it, or to
that of hot wrater, with a view to deprive the church of any
of her possessions, he never failed to burn his fingers, and
lose his cause.”
To this we may add what the learned Beckmann1 has
stated concerning the imposition which was probably prac¬
tised in the ordeal by fire. “ I am not acquainted with
every thing that concerns the trial by ordeal, when per¬
sons accused were obliged to prove their innocence by
holding in their hands red-hot iron ; but 1 am almost con¬
vinced that this was also a juggling trick of the popes,
which they employed as might best suit their views. It
is well known that this mode of exculpation was allowed
only to weak persons, who were unfit to wield arms, and
particularly to monks and ecclesiastics, to whom, for the
sake of their security, that by single combat was forbidden.
Ihe trial itself took place in the church, entirely under
the inspection of the clergy ; mass was celebrated at -the
same time ; the defendant and the iron were consecrated,
by being sprinkled with holy water; the clergy made the
iron hot themselves; and they used all these preparatives,
as, jugglers d° many motions, only to divert the attention
of the spectators. It was necessary that the accused per¬
son should remain at least three days and three nights un¬
der their immediate care, and continue as long after. They
covered his hands both before and after the proof, sealed
and unsealed the covering; the former, as they pretend¬
ed, to prevent the hands from being prepared any how by
art; the latter, to see if they were burned.
“ Some artificial preparation was therefore known, else
no precautions would have been necessary. It is highly
probable, that during the first three days the preventive
was applied to those persons whom they wished to appear
innocent; and that the three days after the trial were re™
quisite to let the hands resume their natural state. The
sacred sealing secured them from the examination of pre¬
sumptuous unbelievers; for, to determine whether the
hands were burned, the last three days were certainly not
wanted. When the ordeal was abolished, and this art ren¬
dered useless, the clergy no longer kept it a secret. In
the thirteenth century, an account of it was published by
Albertus Magnus, a Dominican monk.2 If his receipt be
1 Vol. Hi. 297.
•urn miraRi' 011' Dr MiraUlihus Mundi, at the end of his book De Secretis Mulierum, Amsterdam, 1702, 12mo, p. 100. “ Experimer
succum hi, [iU0<1 faClt, hominem ,ire in ignem sine laesione, vel portare ignem vel ferrum ignitum sine laesione in manu. Recip
misce • ex ^laU Pet . l,unJen 0V1> et semen psylli et calcem, et pulveriza, et confice cum illo albumine ovi succum raphani; con
•ustinero 1 „ coUectlone dhneas corpus tuum vel manum, et dimitte siccari, et postea iterum illineas, et post hoc poteris audacte
ignem sine nocumento.”
VOL. XVI. 0
3 u
521
Ordeal.
522
O R D
Order, genuine, it seems to have consisted rather in covering the
■—v—' hands with a kind of paste than in hardening them. The
sap of the althcea (marshmallow), the slimy seeds of the
flea-bane, which is still used for stiffening by the hat-
makers and silk-weavers, together with the white of an
egg, were employed to make the paste adhere. And by
these means the hands were as safe as if they had been
secured by gloves.
“ The use of this juggling trick is very old, and may be
traced back to a Pagan origin. In the Antigone of So¬
phocles, the guards placed over the body of Polynices,
which had been buried contrary to the orders of Creon,
offered, in order to prove their innocence, to submit to
any trial. We will, said they, take up red-hot iron in our
hands, or walk through fire.”
ORDER, in Architecture, is a system of the several mem¬
bers, ornaments, and proportions of columns and pilasters;
or a regular arrangement of the projecting parts of a build¬
ing, especially the column, so as to form one beautiful whole.
See Architecture.
Order is also used to signify a division or class of any
thing. Thus the tribe of animals called birds is subdivid¬
ed into orders.
Order, in Rhetoric, is the placing of each word and
member of a sentence in such a manner as will most con¬
tribute to the force, beauty, or evidence of the whole ; ac¬
cording to the genius and custom of different languages.
With regard to "order, we may observe in general, that, in
English, the nearer we keep to the natural or grammati¬
cal order, so much the better; but in Latin we are to
follow the use of the best writers, a joint regard being
always had to the judgment of the ear, and the perspicuity
of the sense, in both languages.
Order is also used to signify a class or division of the
members of a state, with regard to assemblies, precedence,
levees, and other circumstances.
Orders, by way of eminence, or Holy Orders, denote
a character peculiar to ecclesiastics, by which they are set
apart for the holy ministry.
In no reformed church are there more than three or¬
ders, namely, bishops, priests, and deacons. In the Roman
Catholic church there are seven, exclusive of the epis¬
copate, all of which the council of Trent enjoins to be re¬
ceived and believed, on pain of anathema. They are dis¬
tinguished into petty, or secular orders ; and major, or sa¬
cred orders.
Orders, the petty, or minor, are four ; those of door¬
keeper, exorcist, reader, and acolyte. Persons in petty or¬
ders may marry without any dispensation. In effect, the
petty orders are lookted on as little other than formalities,
and as degrees necessary to arrive at the higher orders.
The Greeks disavow these petty orders, and pass imme¬
diately to the subdeaconate ; and the reformed churches
to the deaconate. Their rise Fleury dates in the time
of the Emperor Justinian. There is no call nor benefice
required for the four petty orders ; and even a bastard
may enjoy them without any dispensation, nor does a se¬
cond marriage disqualify.
Orders, sacred, or major, are, as has already been ob¬
served, three, viz. those of deacon, priest, and bishop.
The council of Trent, reviving the ancient discipline, for¬
bids any person being admitted to the major orders, un¬
less he be in peaceable possession of a benefice sufficient
for a decent subsistence, and allows no ordinations on pa¬
trimonies or pensions, except where the bishop judges it
for the service of the church. A person is said to be pro¬
moted to orders per saltum, when he has not before pass¬
ed the inferior orders. The council of Constantinople
forbids any bishop being ordained without passing all the
degrees; yet ecclesiastical history furnishes us with in¬
stances of bishops consecrated without having passed the
O R D
order of priesthood; and Panormus still thinks that such 0
an ordination is valid.
Military Orders are companies of knights, instituted by 0rc;
kings and princes, either for defence of the faith, or to con-''"”
fer marks of honour and grant distinctions to meritorious
subjects.
Religious Orders are congregations or societies of mo¬
nastics, living under the same superior, in the same man-
ner, and wearing the same habit. Religious orders may
be reduced to five kinds, namely, monks, canons, knights,
mendicants, and regular clerks. Father Mabillon shows,
that till the ninth century, almost all the monasteries in
Europe followed the rule of St Benedict; that the distinc¬
tion of orders did not commence till after the reunion of
several monasteries into one congregation ; that St Odo,
abbot of Cluny, first began this reunion, bringing several
houses under the dependence of Cluny ; and that, a little
afterwards, in the eleventh century, theCamaldulians arose,
then the congregation of Yallombrosa, the Cistercians,
Carthusians, Augustines, and at last, in the thirteenth cen¬
tury, the Mendicants. He adds, that Lupus Servatus, ab¬
bot of Terrieres, in the ninth century, is the first who seems
to distinguish the order of St Benedict from the rest, and
to speak of it as a particular order.
White Order denoted the order of regular canons of St
Augustin.
Black Order denoted the order of Benedictines.
These names were at first given to the two orders in
question, from the colour of their habit; but were disused
after the institution of several other orders, who adopted
the same colours.
Gray Order was the ancient name of the Cistercians;
but, since the change of the habit, the name is no longer
applicable.
Orders, religious military, are those instituted in de¬
fence of the faith, and privileged to say mass ; but who are
prohibited marriage, and subjected to other restraints.
Of this kind were the knights of Malta, or of St John of
Jerusalem, the Knights Templars, the knights of Calatrava,
the knights of St Lazarus, the Teutonic kqights, and va¬
rious others.
ORDINAL Numbers, those which express order, as
1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and so on.
ORDINANCE, or Ordonnance, means a law, statute,
or command of a sovereign or superior. Ihus the acts of
parliament are sometimes termed “ ordinances of parlia¬
ment,” as in the parliament rolls; although in some cases
we find a difference made between the two, ordinances be¬
ing only temporary things, by way of prohibition, and ca¬
pable of being altered by the commons alone, whereas an
act is a perpetual law, and cannot be altered except y
king, lords, and commons. _
Coke asserts, that an ordinance of parliament diners
from an act, as the latter can only be made by the three¬
fold consent of the estates ; whereas the former may be
made by one or two of the estates.
In the French jurisprudence, ordonnances are such laws
as are established by the king’s authority alone.
ORDINARY, in general, signifies common, usual, thus,
an ambassador, or envoy, in ordinary, is one sent to re¬
side statedly, and for a number of years, at the cour o
some foreign prince or state, in order to keep up a goo
understanding, and watch over the interest of his ow
nation. . . iju..
Ordinary, in nautical language, denotes the esta
ment of the persons employed by government to take f
of the ships of war which are laid up in the severa
hours adjacent to the royal dock-yards. These ate p-;-;
cipally composed of the warrant officers of the s ■
as the gunner, boatswain, carpenter, deputy-purser,
cook, with three servants. There is, besides, enro
ORE)
ORE 523
Ord
Or*
na
•y the list of the ordinary, a crew of labourers, who pass from
ship to ship occasionally, to pump, moor, remove, or clean
' them, whenever it is necessary.
The term ordinary is also applied sometimes to the ships
themselves; and it is likewise used to distinguish the in¬
ferior sailors from the most expert and diligent. The lat¬
ter are rated able on the navy books, and have higher pay
than those who are rated as ordinary.
Ordinary of Assizes and Sessions, was a deputy of the
bishop of the diocese, anciently appointed to give malefac¬
tors their neck-verses, and judge whether they read or not;
to perform divine service for them, and assist in preparing
them for death.
Ordinary of Newgate, is one who attends in ordinary
upon the condemned malefactors in that prison, to prepare
them for death, and who records the conduct and beha¬
viour of such persons.
ORDINATES, in Geometry and Conics, are lines drawn
from any point of the circumference of an ellipsis, or other
conic section, perpendicularly across the axis, to the other
side.
ORDINATION, the act of conferring holy orders, or
of initiating a person into the priesthood, by prayer and
the imposition of hands.
Ordination has always been esteemed a principal pre¬
rogative of bishops, and they still retain the function as a
mark of spiritual sovereignty in their diocese. The ordi¬
nation of bishops is properly called consecration. Ordina¬
tion is one of the sacraments of the church of Rome. In
the established church of Scotland, where there are no
bishops, the power of ordination is lodged in the pres¬
bytery ; and by the Independents, in the suffrage of the
people.
ORDNANCE, a general name for all sorts of great guns
used in war.
Master-General of the Ordnance is deemed the princi¬
pal officer in the civil branch of the ordnance; yet he is
always chosen from amongst the first generals in his ma¬
jesty’s service.
Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance receives all orders
and warrants signed by the master-general, and from the
other principal officers, and sees them duly executed; is¬
sues orders as the occasions of the state require ; and gives
directions for discharging the artillery when required at
coronations, birth-days, signal victories, and other solemn
occasions.
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance inspects the stores
and provisions of war in the custody of the storekeeper,
and sees that they are ranged and placed in such order as
is most proper for their preservation.
Clerk of the Ordnance, an officer whose function is to
record all orders and instructions given for the government
°t the office ; all patents and grants ; and the names of all
officers, clerks, artificers, gunners, labourers, and the like.
storekeeper of the Ordnance takes into his custody all
ms majesty’s ordnance, munitions, and stores belonging
tV-fo, and indents and puts them in legal security, after
they have been surveyed by the surveyor-general, any part
ot which he must not deliver without a warrant signed by
me proper officers.
Clerk of the Deliveries of the Ordnance draws all orders
or e ivery of any stores, and sees them duly executed.
i reasurer and Paymaster of the Ordnance receives and
Pa)s a 1 moneys, both salaries and debentures, in and be-
ionging to this office.
architecture, is the composition of
[ and the disPosition °f its parts, both with re-
I hffr6 whole and t0 one another; or, as Mr Evelyn
, presses it, determining the measure of what is assigned
cinn 6 seve.ra^ apartments. Thus ordonnance is the judi-
s contrivance of the plan or mould ; as when the court,
hall, or other building or apartment, is neither too large
nor too small, and that the court affords convenient light
to the apartments around it, the hall is of a fit capacity to
receive company, and the bed-chambers of a proper size.
When these divisions are either too great or too small with
respect to the whole, as where there is a large court to a
little house, or a small hall to a magnificent palace, the
fault is in the ordonnance.
Ordonnance, in Painting, is used for the disposition of
the parts of a picture, either with regard to the whole piece
or to the several parts, as the groups, masses, contrasts, and
so forth.
ORE, a mineral body, partly or entirely composed of
some metallic substance, in the natural state in which it
exists in the earth. Metallic substances are found either
native, that is, pure, and uncombined with other substances,
or alloyed with other metals, or combined with oxygen or
sulphur, or with acids. Ihus it appears that metals exist
in ores in four different states; in the metallic state, when
they are either pure, or combined with each other, as in
the state of alloy; in the state of an oxide ; combined with
sulphur in the state of sulphuret; and, with acids, forming
salts.
OREEHOUA, one of the smaller Sandwich Islands,
which is a single high hummock, and is only separated from
Onehow by a channel about a mile in width. The popula¬
tion is 4000.
OREGON Territory, a vast extent of country belong¬
ing to the United States of North America, and situated
to the west of the Rocky Mountains. It is bounded on
the north by the British and Russian possessions, the limits
of neither power having been very clearly fixed. On the
west it is bounded by the Pacific; on the south by Mexico ;
and on the east by the stupendous ridges of the Rocky
Mountains, situated in the territories of Arkansas and Mis¬
souri. It may be assumed as stretching between the forty-
first and fifty-fourth parallels of north latitude, and the
thirty-fourth and forty-eighth meridians of west longitude.
The waters which rise on the western declivities of the gi¬
gantic mountain chain bounding Oregon on the east, flow
into the Columbia, the Multnomah, and the lake Buene-
ventura. In general the elevated summits of the Rocky
Mountains rise above the line of perpetual congelation.
Beyond the mountains the country descends by regular
belts, in the form of immense terraces, or descending plains,
disposed regularly, the one below the other. Beyond the
first plain, and between the Rocky Mountains and the Pa¬
cific, is another extensive and high chain of mountains,
in which are the great falls of the Columbia ; still farther
to the west, running parallel with the coast, and at the
distance of one hundred and fifty miles, is the third and
last chain. The peaks of all these mountain ridges are
covered with perpetual snow. The loftiest of them have
been named Mount Baker, Mount Regnier, Mount St He¬
lens, Mount Hood, and Mount Jefferson.
The Columbia and its branches are the only rivers which
have been explored to any extent in the region of Oregon.
This noble river, sometimes named after the territory, has
its head waters near those of the Missouri, and it collects
innumerable tributary streams throughout a great extent
along the western ridges of the Rocky Mountains. Imme¬
diately after it emerges from these, its current becomes
broad and deep, and having received Clarke’s and Lewis’
Rivers, which flow into it on the south-east side, its breadth
is enlarged to nine hundred and sixty yards. It there takes
a great bend to the south, and penetrates the second moun¬
tain barrier. One hundred and thirty-six miles lower down
are the great falls, where the river descends fifty-seven feet
in one rapid ; but none of the cataracts singly are above
twenty feet. Below these falls it winds first to the north¬
west, and then to the south-west, and intersects the third
Ordon-
nanee
Oregon.
524
OREGON.
Oregon, chain of mountains, where it is again compressed to one
s—hundred and fifty yards in breadth. Below this rapid, which
is distant one hundred and eighty miles from the Pacific,
it meets the tide, and from this point it has a broad es¬
tuary to the sea. Sixty miles below the rapids, the Wal-
lamat or Multnomah, a large tributary, flows in from the
north-east; and this river, together with those of Clarke
and Lewis, constitute the three great tributary streams of
the Columbia. Vessels of three hundred tons may reach
the Multnomah, and large sloops may ascend as high as
the tide. Above the rapids the navigation is good for
sixty-five miles, when it is interrupted by the long narrows ;
and higher up it is also interrupted by tails, which renders
about five miles of portage necessary to obviate these obstruc¬
tions to navigation. The river at the narrows, for upwards
of three miles, is compressed into a strait, not exceeding
sixty or seventy yards in breadth, the whole of which is a
succession of boiling whirlpools. The Columbia flows into
the Pacific Ocean in latitude 46. 19. north, and longitude
123. 54. west; and although its main sources are estimated
at only eight degrees of latitude Irom this, yet ii we take
into calculation its serpentine windings, its course cannot
be less than fifteen hundred miles. The mouth of this
great river is upwards of four miles wide, and, to the dis¬
tance of thirty or forty miles from its entrance into the sea,
it is, properly speaking, a mere estuary, indented by deep
bays, so as to vary from three to seven miles in width, it
is rendered extremely intricate and dangerous by shoals
reaching nearly from shore to shore, on which at times the
winds and currents produce foaming and tumultuous break¬
ers. The river proper, however, is only about half a mile
wide at its confluence with the sea, being narrowed by the
contracting shores of the estuary. The entrance from the
Pacific is bounded on the southern side by a flat sandy neck
of land, stretching into the ocean, and commomy called
Point Adams. The opposite or northern side is Cape
Disappointment, a kind of peninsula, terminating in a steep
knoll or promontory, crowned with a forest of pine-trees,
and connected with the mainland by a low and narrow
neck. The Columbia River is, for a considerable distance,
seldom less than a mile in breadth ; in some places it is
from two to five miles wide, and in others it forms lakes ol
very considerable magnitude. The shores are generally bold
and thickly w'ooded. Pine in all its varieties predominates,
and is mixed with white oak, ash, beech, poplar, alder,
crab, and cotton wood, with an undergrowth ot biiars and
other shrubs. Up to the rapids the river is covered with
numerous islands, from one to three miles in length, some
of which present fine meadows, and others are well wooded.
Sand banks also prevail, and these, being so large and high
as to be laid bare at low w’ater, materially obstruct the na¬
vigation of the river. In the neighbourhood of these the
shores are generally low, and present some fine flat bot¬
toms” of meadow ground, bordered by a profusion of black¬
berry and other wild-fruit shrubs ; in the deep and narrow
parts of the channel the shores are bolder. The pine-tree
declines considerably above the rapids, and is much more
equally mixed with other trees, amongst which the hazel
occasionally predominates. But in regard to size, the pine
and the cedar are as gigantic at the very source of the Co¬
lumbia as they are on the shores of the Pacific. The Co¬
lumbia and its tributaries abound with the finest salmon,
which seem in fact to constitute the principal article of
food of the savages who inhabit the country to the w’est
of the Rocky Mountains. Seals and other aquatic ani¬
mals are likewise abundant in this river, and the skins,
which are exported to China, constitute the chief article
of trade. A number of the head streams of the Mis¬
souri interlock with the waters of this river, as Wisdom
River with Clarke’s of the Columbia; and Jelferson of the
Missouri with Lewis’s of the Columbia. Clarke’s River has
a course of between two and three hundred miles before ()«*
it unites with the Columbia. Lewis’s River is also a large .
and long tributary, receiving in its course the North Fork
and Kooskooskee, and, after winding six hundred miles, it
joins the Columbia by a mouth upwards of six hundred
yards in width. The current is very rapid. Its waters are
deep, of a white colour, and slightly tepid, in which re¬
spect Lewis River forms a marked contrast with the Co¬
lumbia, the waters of which are quite clear and cool. The
latter river at this place is upwards of one thousand yards
wide, and the current descends at an even rate of about
four miles an hour. The two most important rivers which
join the Columbia below the rapids are, the Multnomah,
which has been already mentioned, and the Coweliskee.
The general course of the former is a little to the eastward
of south. It runs through a low, well-wooded country, for
upwards of sixty miles, when the navigation is interrupted
by a considerable fall, above which the channel contracts,
and the banks become higher and less wooded. The cli¬
mate on the shores of this river is remarkably mild, and not
so moist as it is on the coast. It possesses a rich and luxu¬
riant soil, which yields an abundance of fruits and roots;
and amongst other herbs the tobacco plant has been dis¬
covered, and found to be of excellent quality. The Indians
here are of a pacific character. There are no noxious rep¬
tiles, and beaver, deer, and elk are plentiful. Indeed
it is anticipated, that when Oregon shall become generally
colonized, the country about the Wallamat will be render¬
ed one of the most delightful districts to the westward of
the Rocky Mountains. Little is known of the Coweliskee.
It enters the Columbia from the northward, about half a
day’s journey below the Wallamat. Its banks are high
and thickly wooded, but its current is much interrupted by
rapids.
Little information has been obtained regarding the geo¬
logical features of this vast expanse of country; but it is
presumed that the western declivities of these mountains
are of primitive formation. The territory must have an
abrupt slope towards the Pacific, as it descends as much
in six hundred miles to the vvest, as it does in one thou¬
sand five hundred miles to the east. The summits of the
mountain ranges, being rugged rocks, the only covering ol
which is snow, that remains during the greater part of the
year, are necessarily sterile ; but these rocky chains embo¬
som and shelter valleys of considerable fertility. Ihe tim¬
ber which clothes the mountains consists of pine, spruce, hr,
and the other terebinthines. The terrace plains below have
in general a fine soil, but they are very scantily furnished
with timber, except on the banks of the rivers. The prairies
are covered with grass and a profusion of beautiful flowers,
the same as on the eastern sides of the mountains. Amongst
the prairie plants are found various species of edible roots,
which are used by the savages, in addition to the immense
quantities of salmon, which constitute their staple article ot
food. W’ild sage is not only a most abundant herb, but it
grows to so large a size that it is used as the chief article
of fuel on these extensive plains. Deep and thick fores
of such evergreens as pine and hemlock stretch a ong t
shore, and extend a considerable way into the interior, an
altogether it appears that the region which lies betwe
the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean possesses
many parts a fertile soil, besides enjoying an agreeable cm
1 mate. Its southern-border, where it joins with >
is indeed remarkably mild. In the year 180o this r fo
was explored by order of the American government; an
from the tables which were drawn up by Lewis and >
the persons employed on that service, a pretty correc
may be formed of the meteorology, and„conse‘1Unefnp 'ber
the climate, of the country in question. From Sep
it gradually became colder till the end ot 3 ’ n(i 0f
which the rigour of the winter abated, and by the
OREGON.
525
, February it was “ quite warm.” By the middle of March
K1plants appeared above ground, and put forth their leaves;
and on the 30th of that month, “ grass was sixteen inches
high in river bottoms.” It is not, however, till the end of
May that snow disappears from the high plains; and about
the beginning of June the river Columbia is at its greatest
height, being swelled by the melting of the snow on the
mountains. Strawberries are ripe at the end of this month,
and July and August appear to be the season when fruits
and flowers arrive at full perfection. From other and more
recent authorities we learn that the summer is reckoned
temperate, the thermometer never rising above eighty de¬
grees. Westerly winds prevail during the spring and early
part of summer, and they are succeeded by fresh breezes
from the north-west. In the month of October the south¬
erly winds set in, bringing with them frequent rain. The
rainy season, which commences in this month, continues,
with little intermission, till April; and although the winters,
as we have already observed, are mild, the mercury in the
thermometer seldom sinking below the freezing point, yet
the tempests of wind and rain are terrible. The sun is
said to be sometimes obscured for weeks, the brooks swell
into roaring torrents, and the country is threatened with a
deluge.
The foregoing observations regarding the climate, soil,
and productions of Oregon, apply chiefly to that part of
the country which lies between the rapids and the Pacific
Ocean. Mr Ross Cox, who spent several years in this
region, informs us, that from the falls to the land of the
Spokans, a distance of about five hundred miles, the sum¬
mers are excessively hot, and the winters intensely cold,
yet the climate is withal remarkably healthy, and, during
these seasons, subject to but little variation. The soil is
unproductive, consisting chiefly of a light yellowish sandy
clay. The plains are covered with a short kind of grass,
mixed with prickly pears, wormwood, and tufts of long,
coarse grass, from three to five feet in height. Patches of
clover are here and there visible, and in their vicinity the
chappallel and the camas or quamash roots are found.
Wild onions grow in considerable quantities along the
banks of the river above the falls. Cotton wood, small
willow, sumac, furze, and sarsaparilla, are also occasionally
found; but from the falls to Spokan River, none of the
larger trees are met with. The principal animals are horses,
small deer, prairie wolves, red foxes, badgers, polecats,
hares, and dogs. Otters are sometimes seen; but the great
staple animal of the American trapper, the beaver, is a
stranger to this particular district, whilst in other parts of
the country it is frequently found. The Indians affirm
that buffaloes were formerly numerous, but, together with
toe elk and the sheep, they have long since deserted the
plains. No rattle-snakes are seen below the falls ; but at
a short distance above them they make their appearance,
and are in some parts very numerous, as are also horned
hzards and grasshoppers. Within the region of the Rocky
Mountains vegetation on the Columbia is rich and luxu¬
riant, including all the varieties, from a profuse growth of
ackberry and wild cherry, to the stately pine and majes¬
tic cedar. On the eastern side of the mountains, the re¬
verse of this is observed, vegetation being dwarfish and
stunted. 1 he difference is supposed to arise from the great
Himidity of the atmosphere on the Columbia. There, west-
ery and south-westerly winds prevail during eight months
0.i e year> and are loaded with exhalations from the Pa-
,C1 c’ Such of the clouds as are not arrested by the high
anc s on the coast, are stopped in their progress eastw ard
J t e lofty chain of the Rocky Mountains, and thus serve
0 keep the climate perpetually moist.
n the year 1811, a settlement was formed by American
i izensat the mouth of the Columbia, and called Astoria,
1 cr .li Astor, who conceived the idea of forming an ex¬
tensive fur depot in this part of America. Astoria was
taken by the British in 1813, and by them the name of the
place was changed to that of Fort George. The soil and
productions of this portion of the Oregon territory are thus
described by Mr Ross Cox. “ The soil in the valleys con¬
sists of a bed of rich black mould, about six inches in depth,
which covers a stratum of gray earth, extremely cold. The
latter lies on a layer of large gravelly sand ; and under all
is a bed of hard flinty stones. On the high grounds, under
a thin covering of black mould, are found good quarry
stones, w'ell adapted for building. There is a bank of
white earth, resembling chalk, to the southward of Point
Adams; and farther on in the same direction, the Indians
find red, green, and yellow earths, and a species of heavy
shining clay resembling lead-mine. No limestone is found
in the neighbourhood.” In June there are, amongst other
wild fruits, small white strawberries, of a sweet flavour; and
these are followed by red and amber raspberries, which
grow upon bushes from ten to fifteen feet in height. Du¬
ring the three months which follow, there are obtained
considerable quantities of blueberries, blackberries, wild
cherries, gooseberries, w ild pears, and a species of bitter
crab-apple. There is a shrub of a peculiar description,
which yields a fruit much esteemed by the natives. The
country likewise abounds in various nutritive roots, amongst
which is a kind resembling young onions, collected by the
Indians in great quantities, which, after being dried and
pulverized, are made into loaves, and laid up for seasons
of scarcity. The principal quadrupeds are the elk, the red
deer, the black-tailed deer; the black, brown, and grizzly
bear, the last of which is extremely ferocious; the wolf,
lynx, panther, tiger-cat, wild cat, marmot, fox, beaver,
land-otter, sea-otter, musk-rat, wood-rat, and the horse.
White bears are occasionally killed on the coast to the
northward of the Columbia, but they are scarce. The
most remarkable of the feathered tribes are the black,
brown, and nun eagle, the hawk, pelican, cormorant, swan,
heron, crane, bustard, gray and white goose, various spe¬
cies of wild duck, and other water-game. In some parts,
the humming-bird and bee, in great numbers, banquet
during the summer months amongst the wild flowers and
aromatic herbs. The trees most common in the neigh¬
bourhood of Astoria are the cedar, spruce, pine, alder, and
some others equally valuable. The cedars are from twen¬
ty to thirty feet in circumference, and proportionally high.
The alders also are extremely large; and ash and oak, the
former of a tolerable size, are found a few leagues above
the fort.
The rivers and the lakes are most abundantly furnished
with fish of various kinds. In the spring months they
swarm with immense quantities of small fish resembling
pilchards, which are smoke-dried, and form an important
article of barter with the upper Indians for roots. Prime
sturgeon, which attains an enormous size, abound in the
months of August and September ; but the grand staple
is salmon, the chief fishing of which is at the “ long nar¬
rows,” already" mentioned, where the river, compressed into
a channel from fifty to one hundred feet in breadth, boils
and roars w ith great fury for a distance of three miles. In
the spring of the year, when the water is high, the salmon
ascend the river in incredible numbers. As they pass
through this narrow strait, the Indians, standing upon the
rocks, or on the end of wooden stages projecting from the
banks, scoop them up with small nets distended on hoops,
and attached to long handles, and cast them ashore. They
are then cured and packed in a peculiar manner. After
being disembowelled, they are exposed to the sun on scaf¬
folds erected on the river-banks. When sufficiently dry,
they are pounded fine between tw7o stones, pressed into
the smallest compass, and packed in baskets or bales of
grass matting, about two feet in length and one in diameter.
Oregon.
526
Oregon.
OREGON.
lined with the cured skin of a salmon. Packages are then
' made, each containing twelve of these bales, and being
well wrapped up and secured, they are placed in dry si-
tuations, and again covered with matting. Each of these
packages contains from ninety to a hundred pounds of dried
fish, which in this state will keep sound for several years.
At the head of the long narrows the Indians had some
years ago, and have still, it is presumed, their principal
trading mart or emporium. Here the salmon caught in
the neighbouring rapids are “ warehoused,’ to await cus¬
tomers. Hither the tribes from the mouth of the Colum¬
bia repair with the fish of the sea-coast, the roots, berries,
and especially the wappatoo, gathered in the lower parts o
the river, together with goods and trinkets obtained t e
ships which visit the coast, or from the colonists. Hither
also the tribes from the Rocky Mountains bring down
horses, bear grass, quamash, and other commodities ot
the interior. The trade is of course pursued on the pri¬
mitive principle of barter, the merchant fisherman acting
as middleman or factor. .
Although only a comparatively small portion ot Oregon,
and that chiefly situated on the banks of the great river,
has been described, the greater part of the territory being
still an unexplored wilderness, yet from this partial ac¬
count we are induced to form a favourable opinion ot the
country. Wood appears to abound on the banks of the
rivers, but many of the immense prairies of which the in¬
terior principally consists are nearly destitute of it, being
chiefly covered with a coarse grass, and a prodigious growth
of prickly pear, and other shrubs. Occasionally, however,
there intervene bright green patches intermixed with wild
flowers, and gentlv rising eminences, partially covered with
clumps of small trees, which give an agreeable variety to
the face of the country. Lewis and Clarke give a very
pleasing account of what they term the great Columbian
vallev. It is sixty miles in width, and extends far to the
south-south-east, between parallel ridges of mountains,
which bound it on the east and west. Through the centre
of this valley flows the Wallamat, which has already been
described as traversing for several hundred miles a still
unviolated wilderness. The sheltered situation of this
immense valley has an obvious effect upon the climate,
as might be expected. It is represented as a region
of great beauty and luxuriance, with lakes, and pools,
and green meadows, shaded by noble groves. Various
Indian tribes are said to reside in this valley, and all a‘ong
the banks of the Wallamat. There is another place called
Oakinagan, of which Mr Ross Cox gives a very flattering
description. It is a point of land three miles in length by
two in breadth, formed by the confluence of the river Oaki-
nao’an with the Columbia. This small spot is enclosed at
the upper end by a chain of hills, within which the lattle-
snakes never intrude. The climate here is highly salu¬
brious, the soil is fertile, producing immense quantities of
sarsaparilla; the horses are abundant, and ample facilities
exist for water-carriage. The native Indians who inhabit
the peninsula are an honest, quiet, inoffensive tiibe, whose
chief occupation is catching and curing salmon, and hunt-
in0- the deer and beaver. This was reckoned an eligible
situation for a fort, and here one has accordingly been
Greeted*
There is a district called New Caledonia, generally
included in the territory of Oregon, of which a short ac¬
count is requisite in this place. It extends from north
latitude 51° 30' to about 56°. The principal trading post
is called Alexandria, which is built on the banks of Fraser’s
River, in latitude 53° north. The country in its immediate
vicinity presents a beautiful and picturesque appearance.
The banks of the river are somewhat low ; but at a little dis¬
tance inland, elevations, partially diversified by groves of
fir and poplar, raise their heads above the general level.
This region is full of small lakes, rivers, and marshes. It 0rer
extends about ten days’ journey in a north and north-east''—\ ✓
direction. To the south and south east the Atnah or Chin
Indian country extends about one hundred miles; on the
east there is a chain of lakes, and the mountains bordering
Thompson’s River ; whilst to the westward and north-west
lie the lands of the Naskotinsand Clinches. The principal
rivers are Fraser’s, Quesnel’s, Rough 1 oplar, Chilcotin,and
West Road. Of these, Fraser’s River only is navigable. It
receives the waters of Quesnel s and W est I oplar Rivers,
which issue from small lakes to the westward. The lakes
and rivers abound in fish, such as salmon, trout, sucker,
and the like. The soil is thin and poor, and the vegetation
here is considerably inferior to that on the Columbia. On
the banks of the chief river, and in the interior, the trees
consist of poplar, cypress, alder, cedar, birch, and different
species of fir, spruce, and willow. There are some wild
fruits, and edible and medicinal roots, but not at all so
plentifully distributed as in other parts of the territory.
A number of valuable minerals are found in New Caledo¬
nia, including coal in considerable quantities. There have
also been discovered rock-crystal, cobalt, talc, iron, mar-
casites of a gold colour, marble and limestone, quartz and
granite, dhe animal kingdom does not differ so much
from that which characterises the banks of the Columbia,
as to require specific mention. Spring commences in April,
when the wild flowers begin to bud, and from this period to
the latter end of May the weather is delightful. In June it
rains incessantly, with strong southerly and easterly vvinds.
During the months of July and August the heat is very
great; and in September the fogs are so dense that it is
quite impossible to distinguish the opposite side of the river
any morning before ten o’clock. October gives indications
of the approach of winter ; and in January the cold is some¬
times most intense. In general, however, the climate may
be characterised as neither unhealthy nor unpleasant. The
natives prosecute the salmon fishery to a considerable
extent, and their mode of catching them is very similar to
that already described. Large-sized sturgeon are occa¬
sionally taken, but this fish is not relished by the natives.
Of the various Indian tribes who still inhabit the im¬
mense tract of country which we have described, our limits
permit us to present only a very brief notice. Iheir num¬
ber has been estimated at about 140,000, and they are
distributed into a great many tribes, which often engage
in war with each other. Many of them are excellent hun¬
ters ; and the mode of fishing and preparing the article
for the market shows a practised ingenuity seldom evin¬
ced by the aborigines of America. There are striking con¬
trarieties of character between the Indian tribes, some
of them being pugnacious and bloodthirsty, and others
a comparatively mild and inoffensive disposition, me
diet and their mode of living also vary considerably, b
they all chiefly subsist on the fish of the rivers, and the
native roots of the soil. For some years a settlement of
fur traders, called Astoria, has existed in Oregoo-
chief intercourse of this place is with China. 1 q
tion of settling this delightful country Permanen yguch
been more than once debated in Congress , an
settlements authorized, and rendered secure oy q ^
site military establishments, there can be no doubt b
would receive large accessions of emigrants. A
is claimed by the United States, on the ground of pr.or y
of discovery, examination, and occupation. ma(je
tainly first discovered by the Spaniards, bu y _
no attempt either to explore or settle it. Its -
belongs to Gray, an American, who entered he mou
the Colombia in 1790-1, the river bang called aitt
shin which he commanded. Subsequently t has he® ^
plored by navigators belonging to Great Britat ^ _ ii;,
to the United States
(r. R. R’)
ORE
OREL, or Orlow, a government of Russia in Europe.
It is situated in north latitude between 51. 49. and 54. 59.
and in east longitude between 32. 49. and 38. 57., and
extends over 16,610 square miles. It is divided into twelve
circles, and contains 1,270,000 inhabitants. It is rather
a level district, having no mountains, and only some ran¬
ges of chalk hills, between which are valleys and some
woods, that render the face of the country more pleasing
to view than most other parts of Russia. The rivers and
rivulets are numerous, and empty themselves, some into
the Wolga, and others into the Dnieper. The chief of the
streams is the Desna, which arises in the province of Smo-
lensko; and the next is the Oka, which originates in
Kursk, and runs through the whole province. The soil is
the most fruitful of any of the ancient divisions of Rus¬
sia, and, though not well cultivated, yields crops of all the
common grains, more than is required for domestic con¬
sumption. The surplus of corn, as well as spirits distilled
from it, forms a branch of the export trade ; but it is ex¬
ceeded by the manufactured goods, which consist of linen,
iron, and steel articles, raw hides and leather, tallow and
soaP> wares, hemp, flax, linseed oil, mats, butter, hams,
and wool. The only mines are those of iron ; but there are
quarries of alabaster, and some yielding excellent mill¬
stones. Orel, the capital of the government, as well as of
the circle in which it stands, is a city situated on the banks
of the river Oka, at the spot where the Orlik joins that
stream, and becomes navigable for barges. It is the seat
of a bishop, and is surrounded by palisades, and protected
by a citadel. It is a gloomy city, built chiefly of wood,
and contains 2871 houses, with about 20,000 inhabitants,
depending on the trade, which, from the whole province,
centres in it. It is 732 miles from St Petersburg. Long.
35.52. 2. E. Lat. 52. 56. 40. N. & s
ORELLANA, Francisco, the first European, as is
commonly thought, who discovered the river Amazons.
In 1539, he embarked, near Quito, upon the river Coca,
which farther down takes the name of Napo. From this
befell in with another large river ; and, leaving himself en¬
tirely to the direction of the current, he arrived at Cape
iWth, on the coast of Luiana, after sailing nearly eighteen
hundred leagues. Orellana perished ten years afterwards,
with three vessels which had been intrusted to him in Spain,
' without being able to discover the mouth of this river. In
| sailing down the river, he met with some armed women,
! against whom an Indian cacique had told him to be on his
§Unn#nd he thence named it “ the river of the Amazons.”
ORENBURG, a government of Asiatic Russia, the
most westerly of the whole, having on one side Russia
| in Europe, and on the other the government of Tobolsk,
it is bounded on the south by Independent Tartary, and
>s traversed by the rude tribes of the Kirghisses and Kal¬
mucks. The aspect of the country is mountainous, as it
is intersected by the most elevated part of the great Ura-
jan chain. Many parts are fertile, as the valleys and river
Mnks, and yield grain, not merely for the subsistence of
ne natives, but for exportation. Numerous flocks and
er, . a,re ffd on the abundant pastures; and even the ca-
e ils . ^ uP°p the plains. I he breeding of bees is pur-
-irnn and f°und an extremely profitable
nchof industry. A great quantity of large fish and ca-
m-3 eniin 116 ^rid are exPortecb This province is rich
n mmeral wealth. Its mountains afford inexhaustible
inP l.^ C0PP®r and iron; besides which, it contains sa-
wpIvp rS. ^ uca are .'cry valuable. It is divided into
1PI- i rwCtS’,of wllich tl;ie principal are Orenburg pro-
ijp T u?a’ 1 which contains the capital. On
ions nf 1^ntl?,! tll!S Province is exposed to the incur-
vhirh . ^hisses and the Kalmuck hordes, against
t :JZ 629%%,aS be“ ereCted- The 1,"pula‘
ORE
527
Orenburg, the capital of the province above described Orenburg
until 1702, when the government was transferred to Oufa. II
It is a considerable town, of an oval form, situated in one of ®restes-
the extended plains of Russia, and regularly fortified. It ^ ' Y "
was originally built higher up the Ural range, but in 1739
was transferred 120 miles lower, and in 1742 fifty miles
more. It contains nine churches and 2000 houses. It car¬
ries on an extensive trade with Tartary, Bukharia, and all
the countries in the interior of Asia. One great drawback
on this trade is the insecurity of travelling across the vast
intervening steppes, which are inhabited by nomadic tribes,
who subsist by plunder. Were this obstacle removed
(and the influence of the Russian government has gone far
to remove it), the trade must greatly increase. The ex¬
ports consist of cloths of different qualities, particularly of
a red or scarlet colour, velvets, Russia leather, linens blue
and white, copper and iron utensils, sugar and other colo¬
nial produce, toys, and glass, and various species of orna¬
ments. From dartary these caravans bring cotton wool,
India muslins and cottons, Persian silks, a little gold dust,
lapis lazuli, and a few precious stones. Sheep to the num¬
ber of 40,000 or 60,000, and horses to the amount of
10,000, are brought annually to the market of Orenburg.
The horses are sent to Russia, and also the sheep, the tal¬
low of which is exported from St Petersburg. A consider¬
able trade is carried on in the sale of golden eagles, which
are highly valued by the Kirghisses. Long. 52. 31. 10. E
Lat. 51. 46. N.
ORENSE, a city of Spain, in the province of Galicia.
It is situated in the higher part of the country, through
which the Minho flows, over which there is a magnificent
bridge. It was known to the Romans by the name of
Aqua Calida, on account of three fountains of warm water
which rise near it. It is situated in a very fertile district,
which produces great quantities of wine; but, from the bad
state of the roads, the expense of conveying it to a market
is more than it would sell for when it arrived there. Orense
is the see of a bishop, whose spiritual jurisdiction extends
over a part of the contiguous province in Portugal. It pos¬
sesses four churches, two monasteries, an hospital, and a
population of 30,000 souls.
ORESTES, the only son of Agamemnon and Clytem-
nestra, was seven years old at the period of his father’s
murder, when he was saved by his sister Electra, who sent
him secretly to Strophius, prince of Phocis, who had mar¬
ried the sister of Agamemnon. Plere he was educated with
Pylades the son of Strophius, and afterwards proceeded
to Athens. Eight years after the murder of his father he
returned to Mycenae, and, with the assistance of Pylades
and Electra, put to death iEgisthus and Clytemnestra
(Horn. Od. i. 298; iii. 303-310; Hygin. 117). For this
barbarous deed he was brought to trial, but was allowed
to escape on account of his father. Tyndareus, father of
Clytemnestra, was his accuser (Hygin. 119), or, according
to another tradition, Perilaus, son of Icarius, and cousin of
Clytemnestra (Paus. viii. 33, 2). He fled to Epirus, and
there founded the city Argos Oresticon ; but the district
of Orestias is more properly in Macedonia (Strab. vii. 326).
Suffering extremely from the stings of his conscience, he
consulted the oracle of Delphi how he might best expiate
his crime, when he was commanded to proceed to Tauris
and to bring back the statue of Artemis or Diana Tauropo-
los. There was a law in that country that all strangers
should be sacrificed to the goddess; and when Orestes .
and Pylades were found by some shepherds, they were
brought to Thoas, king of Tauris, who ordered them to be
delivered up to the priestess of Artemis, that they might
be sacrificed. Iphigenia, the sister of Orestes, had been
rescued from the altar when she was on the point of being
sacrificed by orders of her father, and transferred by Ar¬
temis to be priestess in her temple in Tauris. Iphigenia
528
O R F
O R F
Orfa.
discovered on inquiry that the strangers were her own
brother and his friend, and assisted them in carrying off
the statue (Hygin. 120). Upon their return they are said
to have passed through Cappadocia, and to have institut¬
ed the worship of Artemis or Diana at Comena and Casta-
bela (Strab. xii. 535, 537). Another tradition made him
be expiated by the Trcezenian (Paus. ii. 31, 11). On the
death of Menelaus, Orestes became king of Lacedamion ;
and on the failure of the royal line of Megephenthes at
Argos, he annexed that city to Mycenae. He also acquir¬
ed a great part of Arcadia, and was assisted by the Pho-
cians (ii. 18, 5). In the latter part of his life he retired
to Arcadia, and probably died by the bite of a serpent
(Schol. Lycoph.) at Megea, whence his bones were attei-
wards transferred, in the reign of Anaxandrides, to Spaita
(iii. 11, 8 ; Herodot. i. 67). He was married to Hermione,
daughter of Menelaus and Helen, by whom he had Tisa-
menos, who succeeded him (Hygin. 122) ; and by Erigone,
daughter of iEgisthus and Clytemnestra, he had Penthilus
(Schol. Lycoph. 1374). „ . . . ^
ORFA, or Ourfa, a pachahk or division ot Asiatic tur¬
key. It is almost entirely formed by the windings of the
Euphrates and the river Kbabour, and occupies a consi¬
derable portion of the most barren part ot Mesopotamia.
It touches on the north and east the pachalik of Diarbekir,
and the dependencies ot Malatea; and on the south and
west it is separated by the Euphrates from the deserts ot
Syria. The southern part of this province is, for the most
part, flat, sandy, and uncultivated, and inhabited by tribes
of wandering Arabs, who pitch their tents on the banks of
the rivers and in the vicinity of the springs; but towards
the north the country is mountainous and better inhabited.
In the early ages of the Homan empire this division of
Mesopotamia bore the name of Osrhoene, and had sub¬
sisted for 840 years as an independent kingdom, v, hen it
was reduced into the form of a Roman province by the
Emperor Caracalla. It was finally swallowed up in the
Turkish empire. The principal towns are Orfa, Racca,
and Soverick. _
Orfa, a large town, and the capital of a pachalik ot the
same name, in Asiatic 1 urkey. It is situated on the east¬
ern side of a hill, at the commencement of a plain ; so that
whilst its western extremity stands on elevated ground, the
eastern quarter of the town stands on a lower level; and,
with some trifling inequalities, the whole town may be said
to be nearly flat. It is surrounded by a stone wall, which
encloses a circuit of from three to four miles, in the form
of an irregular triangle ; and it is bounded on the west by
modern burying-grounds, gardens, hills, and vales, on the
south by a rising ground, on the east and south-east by
a fertile plain, terminating at the foot of a bare ridge of
hills, and on the south-west is a hill nearly overlooking
the town, and crowned with the walls of a ruined castle.
The houses are well built, and of good masonry ; they have
mostly a small door of entrance from the street, with an
open court, and divans in recesses below, whilst the upper
story is laid out in public rooms more expensively furnished.
Above is the terrace, on which are placed sofas and beds,
where, in hot weather, the family sleeps. The streets are
narrow, but having a paved causeway on each side, with a
central channel for water, and being more or less sloping
downwards, are generally clean. The bazaars are numerous
and well supplied, and are appropriated to the manufac¬
ture and sale of particular commodities. Most of these
are commodious; they are also covered, and are always
fresh and cool, being sheltered both from the sun and rains.
The bazaar in which muslins, cottons, and other piece goods
are exposed, is from twenty to twenty-five feet in w idth, and
from thirty to forty feet in height, covered in by a range of
fine domes in succession, admitting light and air by a sort
of lantern windows in the roof, ihe khans and caravanse¬
rais are numerous, and some few are excellent. The Khan Or; [j]
Khoolah-Oghlee, on the outskirts of the town, is spacious,^^
and capable of accommodating in its central court 100 camels ! f
with their lading, in the adjoining stables as many horses,
mules, and asses, and in the chambers above there is room
for 200 persons. The Khan-el-Goomrook, or the custom¬
house khan, consists of an open court 100 feet square, and
paved throughout. Through this court runs a tine broad
stream of transparent water, crossing it diagonally, and
serving for the watering of horses, the ablutions of the
pious,°and the washing and cleaning of manufactures.
There are, above and below, about 100 chambers large
enough to accommodate eight or ten persons each. There
are fifteen mosques crowned with minarets. 1 he most mag¬
nificent of these, though not the largest, is that of Ibra¬
him el Khaleel, or the mosque of the patriarch. It is si¬
tuated on a lake filled from a clear spring which runs in
the south-west quarter of the town, and abounds with
fine carp, in which the superstitious people believe that,
owing to the care of the patriarch, no impression can
be made by any process of cooking. The grand facade of
this mosque is a square pile of building, over which rise
three large domes of equal size ; and a lofty minaret springs
up from amidst a cluster ot tall cypress trees. At each end
of this central pile, towards the stream, are flights of steps
descending to the water s edge, for the ablutions of the
pious. The wings are terminated by two solid masses of
building, uniform in design, and “ completing,” says Buck¬
ingham, “ one of the most regular edifices of this kind to
be found perhaps in Turkey.” The largest of the mosques
at Orfa has a square steeple, and this form is also repeat¬
ed in one of the smaller ones. The castle is on the south
side of the city; the ascent is very steep, and is about half
a mile in circumference, surrounded by a deep ditch cut
in the rock, which can be filled with water from the river
Scirtus. On this rock are the ruins of a building called
by the Arabs the palace of Nimrod, consisting of two lofty
and fine Corinthian pillars, and of some subterranean apart¬
ments, apparently of great antiquity. There are four or
five large baths, some reported to be good; but the one
which was seen by Mr Buckingham was, though spacious,
dirty and badly attended. The manufactures of the town
are chiefly confined to articles of the first necessity, name¬
ly, to coarse woollen cloths, used for shirts and drawers,
and, when printed, made into gowns for females, shawls for
the head, and some other articles. The process used tor
printing cottons is tedious. A few carpets are made, o a
very good quality, also silk bands and tapes, hair-cloth tor
sacks and bags, and every description of saddlery and smith s
work, as well as of mason’s work and carpentry. Cook-shops
and coffee-houses abound everywhere ; and, during all the
summer, there is an abundant supply of solid ice brougi^
down from the summits of Mount Taurus, and sold a pre
sent for a farthing a pound. It is the seat of a consider¬
able inland trade, being a thoroughfare for caravans pass¬
ing from Aleppo into the interior of Persia. Ihe popma
tion may be estimated at 50,000, amongst whom are
Christians and 500 Jews, the rest being all Mahomme-
dans. The Christians are chiefly Armenians and bynan >
each of whom have a separate church, and live in a [
Orta is of great antiquity, and is considered by all the
learned Jews and Mahommedans, and by Christian scholars,
as the Ur of the Chaldees. It was the Edessa ot the
and Romans, and was frequently taken and reta j>
the wars between the Persians and Romans. In t 8
of Heraclius, about a. d. 637, Orfa was taken by the
cens, and its walls levelled with the dust. . • ality
by Baldwin in 1097, who founded the first pr P /
of the Franks or Latins. It was also take"f / ^ by
Khan about the year 1144, and thirty years afterward
O R G
O R G
529
Orfl
reu:
Wh
II
Org;
Saladdin. It was sacked by the Moguls in the thirteenth
century; and two centuries afterwards suffered the same
calamity from the armies of Tamerlane. It was visited
in 1544 by Tavernier, in 1738 by Pococke, who describes
^it as being in a flourishing state, and in 1766 by Niebuhr,
who gives the same account of it. It is sixty-seven miles
from Bir, and 232 from Diarbekir. Long. 38. 25. E. Lat.
36. 50. N.
ORFFYREUS’S Wheel is a machine so called from
its inventor, who asserted it to be a perpetual motion.
This machine, according to the account given of it by
s’Gravesande, in his (Euvres Philosophiques, consisted ex¬
ternally of a large circular wheel, or rather drum, twelve
feet in diameter, and fourteen inches deep, being very
light, as it was formed of an assemblage of deals, having
the intervals between them covered with waxed cloth, to
conceal the interior parts of it. The two extremities of an
iron axis, on which it turned, rested on two supports. On
giving a slight impulse to the wheel in either direction,
its motion was gradually accelerated; so that after two
or three revolutions it acquired so great a velocity as to
make twenty-five or twenty-six turns in a minute. This
rapid motion it actually preserved during the space of two
months, in a chamber of the landgrave of Hesse, the door
of which was kept locked, and sealed with the landgrave’s
own seal. At the end of that time, however, it was stopped,
to prevent the wear of the materials. The professor, who
had been an eye-witness of these circumstances, examined
all the external parts of it, and was convinced that there
could not be any communication between it and any neigh¬
bouring room. Orffyreus, however, was so incensed, or
pretended to be so, that he broke the machine in pieces, and
wrote upon the wall that it was the impertinent curiosity
of Professor s’Gravesande which made him take this step.
ORFORD, a borough and market town of the county
of Suffolk, and hundred of Plomsgate. It is a part of the
parish of Sudborne, though separated from it, and stands
at the confluence of the river Ore and Aide, ninety miles
from London. Orford was a place of some trade till its har¬
bour became chocked up. It has a mayor, recorder, twelve
burgesses, and eight portmen, and returned two members
to the House of Commons till 1832, when it was disfran¬
chised. It is remarkable for the ruins of an ancient tower,
which serves as a land-mark to vessels. It gives the title
of baron to Earl Walpole. The population amounted in
1801 to 751, in 1811 to 737, in 1821 to 1119, and in
I 1831 to 1302.
ORGAL, amongst dyers, denotes the lees of wine dried.
ORGAN, in general, is an instrument or machine de-
1 signed for the production of some certain action or opera¬
tion ; in which sense the mechanical powers, machines,
and even the veins, arteries, nerves, muscles, and bones of
the human body, may be called organs.
Organ, by far the most noble and imposing of all mu¬
sical instruments. It is quite inconsistent with the de¬
sign and limits of this work for us to enter into all the de¬
tails of the nature and structure of the organ. They would
nil a volume, and require many illustrative plates. We
shall, however, endeavour to give such a general idea of
the nature of the instrument as may satisfy those readers
who are not professionally interested in the subject; and
"e assure them that their own inspection of the mechanism
j o an organ (which is easily attained in every large town)
wi afford them more clear and satisfactory knowledge
an undreds of pages written in explanation of its con-
struction. For minute details, we refer to LArt du Fac-
• \nJc!r9Ves' ky F* Bedos de Celles, published at Paris
rVI a an^ ^ foFo, with 137 plates. This is con-
1 ered, even now, as the best and most complete work
n organ-building. It is a pity we have none such in the
English language. See also the Abbe Voder’s German
VOL. XVI. ®
works upon organ-building, and G. Serassi’s Lettere sugli
Organi, printed at Bergamo in 1816; together w'ith Re¬
ports of the French Institute upon M. Grenie’s improve-
ments on the organ. We suspect that the general want
of improvement in organ-building in Great Britain may be
traced to the absence of such works, and some others, in
our own language, for the instruction of our organ-build¬
ers. This may also explain, in some degree, why almost
all the best organs in England were constructed by fo¬
reigners. Recently, however, we are happy to perceive a
spirit of emulation arising amongst our native organ-build¬
ers , and we have little doubt that the ingenuity and supe¬
rior workmanship of British artisans will soon enable us to
vie with, oi excel, the best organ-builders of the Continent.
But, to do this, we must cast aside all national prejudices as
to organs, &c. and meet foreigners upon a fair and liberal
ground of competition.
The earlier history of the organ is extremely obscure.
A small and imperfect instrument, somewhat on the prin¬
ciple of the organ, may have been known to the ancients;
but surely nothing like our great church-organ. We read
of ancient hydraulic and pneumatic organs ; but such dis¬
tinction is so far erroneous, inasmuch as organ-pipes could
not be made to sound by having water forced through
them. I he water must have been a moving power only,
to impel the wind into the pipes. It would seem that the
Greek and Latin terms and organum, translated
by the English word organ, originally signified an instru¬
ment or machine of any kind, and were afterwards applied
to musical instruments of all kinds. “ Organa dicuntur
omnia instrumenta musicorum," says St Augustin. Still
later, according to St Isidore, these names, oeyavov and or¬
ganum, were applied to none but wind-instruments. In
modern times the term organ, in a musical sense, came to
signify only the instrument which we now know under that
name. The passage in Eginhard’s Annals which has been
interpreted the sending of an organ by Constantine Co-
pronymus to King Pepin in the year 757, may more pro¬
bably mean “ various musical instruments," since the words
are, “ Constantinus Imperator Pipini regi multa misit mu-
nera, interque et organa," &c. A writer of the sixteenth
century has ventured to describe the supposed organ sent
to King Pepin; and, by force of imagination, makes it out
to have been a grand organ with pedals. In Luitprand’s His¬
tory (book vi. c. 2) there is a curious passage regarding an
instrument sent to the Emperor Constantine in 950
“ Erat Regia ornata sumtuosissime, ibi aenea inaurata ar¬
bor ante ipsius imperatoris solium effulgebat, expansis
magnum in modum ramis aereis atque inauratis; in his
frequentissimae variarum specierum aves arte confictae,
quarum singulae speciei proprias voces cantusque emitte-
bant, incredibili arte. In the second volume of Gerbert
(De Cantu et Musica Sacra, plate xxviii.) will be found
a representation of a tree of this kind with birds upon it.
The Chronicle of Albericus adds to the singing of the
birds before Constantine, “ the roaring of enormous gilded
artificial lions.” (See Gerbert, vol. ii. p. 151.) That such
birds can be made, is certain from Maillardet’s beautiful
little artificial bird, which started up out of a gold snuff¬
box, fluttered its wungs, and sang with a pipe so clear and
loud as to fill a large room. It would appear that, in the
rude instruments called organs in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, the pipes were disposed in such a manner that
every sound in its finger-key compass caused the fifth and
the octave of that sound to be heard above it. Such a
succession of fifths and octaves was called “ organum,” no
doubt par excellence. From this and the old and extraor¬
dinary specimens of Biscantus, or Discantus, given by Ger¬
bert and others, and alluded to in our article Music (page
623), we are inclined to believe that the modern mixture-
stops of the organ have originated. We leave the consi-
3 x
Organ.
530
ORGAN.
Organ, deration of the ancient organs to antiquaries, and now pro-
——v -mmm' ceed to the modern organ, which seems to have assumed
something of its present form in the fifteenth century.
The mechanism of the modern organ has been much im¬
proved at different times by different builders. The fa¬
mily of the Antegnati, of Brescia, were amongst the earliest
famous organ-builders in Italy in the fifteenth and six¬
teenth centuries. In the eighteenth century there were m
Italy many celebrated organ-builders, amongst whom be-
rassi of Bergamo, and Callido of Venice, each constructed
upwards of three hundred organs. . .
Most of our readers probably know already that the
great organ is a complex wind-instrument, consisting ot a
great number of pipes of different sizes, formed of wood
and of different kinds of metal, some of which are Aute-
pipes or mouth-pipes, and others reed-pipes ; whilst all ot
these are made to sound by means of compressed air applied
to them through certain channels, by bellows worked ei¬
ther by human force or by mechanism. There are differ¬
ent kinds of organs, from the Lilliputian bird-organ up to
the great church-organ. We pass over the minor ones, in¬
cluding the chamber-organs and the smaller chapel-organs,
and proceed to the great church-organ. We need not de¬
scribe its front, nor the case in which its mechanism is con¬
tained. The great church-organ has usually three rows ot
finger-keys, placed above each other like steps. In some
of the largest organs there are four, or even five such rows
of keys. Besides these, there are rows of pedals, or toot-
keys, which act upon the larger pipes of the organ, ihe
bellows communicate, by a wind-trunk, with win a-chests,
or reservoirs of air, whence the wind is distributed to the
various pipes of the organ when the finger-keys or the
foot-keys (pedals) are pressed down. Attached to the up¬
per part of each wind-chest is a sound-board, as it is rather
improperly called. This sound-board consists of two parts,
an upper and an under board, the latter of which is much
thicker than the other. Both of these are formed of planks
of wood laid horizontally side by side, and accurately join¬
ed together at their edges. In the under side of the lower
board several rectangular grooves or channels are cut paral¬
lel to each other, and carried along nearly the whole lengt i
of the board, and as far as there are stops in the organ. In
these channels are fixed bars of wood, so as to render each
channel or partition completely separate from every other.
In the upper side of this board are cut a number of other
rectangular channels or grooves running across the board,
and at right angles with the under grooves. Into these
upper grooves are exactly fitted wooden sliders, or regis¬
ters, which run the whole length of the grooves. These
sliders can be drawn out so far or pushed in at pleasure,
by a mechanism attached to the draw-stops that are placed
on the right and left in front of the organ. Holes corre¬
sponding with the number or rows of organ-pipes placed
above the sound-board, are pierced through the latter into
the above-mentioned channels, and also through the she -
ers or registers, in such a manner that when the latter are
drawn out, their holes correspond with those of the sound¬
board, and allow the air from the wind-chest to pass through
them and through the other holes in the sound-board;
whilst, on the contrary, when the sliders are pushed in,
they completely prevent any air from passing from the
wind-chest to the pipes above the sound-board. Above
all and corresponding with the upper holes of the sound¬
board, are placed the pipes, fitted in by their conical feet
to what are called the stock-boards. There are rows of
thin boards, called racks, which are sustained by pillars of
wood, and which receive the upper part of the feet of the
pipes in holes made for the purpose. Opening into the
wind-chest, and fixed upon the under side of the sound¬
board, are spring-valves, which are connected, by a paiti-
cular mechanism, with the finger-keys and pedals; and
which, when the sliders are drawn out, and the keys and Oiy
pedals pressed down, are made to open, and so to admit
the air from the wind-chest into the channels or partitions
belonging to the different rows of pipes constituting the
various stops of the organ. The pedals and the finger-
keys communicate with these spring-valves by means of an
apparatus of trackers, cranks, and rollers, acting upon pull,
down wires that pass through the bottom of the wind-chest,
and are attached to these valves. The draw-stop move¬
ment, by which the sliders are drawn out or pushed in,
consists of a similar mechanism. In some organs these
sliders are superseded by another contrivance. Thus, in
what are called by the Italians somieri a vento, the open¬
ing of a given stop or register is not effected by drawing
out a wooden slider, so as to make its apertures correspond
with those in the sound-board ; but by pulling open, all at
once, in the channels of the sound-board, as many small
valves as there are pipes to that given stop. These small
valves are made to open by pulling out a draw-stop, and
to shut by pushing it in again. They are considered to
have many advantages over the ordinary slider, as being
more durable, and less subject to the influence of changes
of the weather.
A stop is called simple if it consists of one row of pipes,
and compound if it consists of more than one row. As to
the different rows of finger-keys, each communicates with
what is really a separate organ, or collection of pipes, with
its peculiarwind-trunk, wind-chest, sound-board, &c. These
different organs are generally three, and are called the
great organ, the choir-organ, and the swell-organ. The
middle row of keys is connected with the great organ, the
lower with the choir-organ, and the upper with the swell-
organ. The swell-organ has its pipes enclosed in a wooden
box furnished with a sliding door, or a hinged door, which
is gradually opened or shut by mechanism moved by the
performer’s foot applied to a pedal. All these different
organs, constituting the great church-organ, are supplied
with air by the same bellows, and by suitable wind-trunks
connected with the bellows. The bellows now generally
used are horizontal ones, instead of the old ones resem¬
bling blacksmiths’ bellows. For some improvements in
the sound-board and its appurtenances, see Serassi’s Let-
tere sugli Organi.
We have already mentioned, that the pipes of an organ
generally consist of mouth-pipes and of reed-pipes. With
regard to the mouth-pipes, their nature may be pretty
well understood by any one acquainted with the upper
part of the common English flute, or the flageolet. I e
reed-pipes are explained in a subsequent part of this arti¬
cle. What we have said regarding sonorous tubes in the
article Music, pages 608, 613, 615, may assist the rea er
in understanding our notices of organ-pipes. Organ-pipes
are either open, or stopped, or half-stopped. The stopped
ones have a plug or tompion inserted into their upper en ,
and pushed down or pulled up to regulate the Pltc *
half-stopped ones have a kind of chimney at the top-
Some of the middle-sized ones are partly stopped, an
have also on each side of the mouth a kind of ear ot me ^ ’
by bending of which outwards or inwards, the pitch ot t
pipe may be regulated. The largest pipes are square ones
of wood, and belong to the pedals. In some gre^ ° ’
the largest open pipe is thirty-two feet m length. 111 ,
pipes are made of wood or of metal. It has been ob
by organ-builders and others, that the quality
(timbre) of pipes depends much upon them propor 1
length and width, the material of which they are made,
&c.; and also upon the form of their open top, by
the wind escapes. We shall have occasion to notice m
again, when describing some of Greme s ^P™ d
A reed-pipe, with a conical tube which has a P
end, as in fig. 1, gives the most brilliant sound, it tnep p
Irga
’V*
ORGAN.
531
have a reversed conical top, as in fig. 2, the sound be¬
comes dull. If two similar truncated
cones placed base to base be fixed to Fig-l* Fig. 2. Fig. 3.
the wider end of a long conical tube,
as in fig. 3, a reed-pipe so formed will
give fulness and strength to the sound.
Theory affords no satisfactory expla¬
nation of these facts. The timbre of
the stopped and of the half-stopped
pipes is softer and duller than that of
the open ones. Pipes of pure tin have
long been known to possess a timbre
more clear and penetrating than those
made of tin mixed with lead. Some years ago, a Bohe¬
mian organ-builder made some of his pipes of zinc, which
was said to answer better than even tin. No doubt vari¬
ous simple and compound metals, and various other sub¬
stances that have not yet been used in the making of or¬
gan-pipes, might be employed with advantage to produce
a still greater variety of timbres and effects ; and for the
same purpose, various modifications of the ordinary forms
of pipes might also be employed.
The pipes and stops of an organ differ in number and kind
according to the size of the organ, the fancy of the builder,
and the taste of the public. In some Dutch, German, and
Italian organs, there seems to be a superfluity of stops. An
immense organ at Weingarten, in Germany, is described as
having sixty-six stops and 6666 pipes. The great organ at
Haarlem contains sixty stops, and its largest pipe is thirty-
two feet in length. For an enumeration of the stops of three
of Silbermann’s organs at Dresden, we refer to a Ramble
among the Musicians of Germany, published at London in
1828 (pp. 193, 194, 195). One of the largest organs in
Italy is said to be that built in 1733, by Azzolino della Ci-
aja, for the church of the Cavalieri di S. Stefano at Pisa.
It is said to have four rows of finger-keys, and more than
100 stops. Another remarkable one is in the church of
S. Alessandro in Colonna, at Bergamo. It was built by
Serassi in 1782, and has three rows of finger-keys, and
about 100 stops. In it the first and second rows of keys
serve for the great organ, and the second organ or choir-
organ, built together in the same part of the church. The
third row of keys is connected with mechanism, which
passes under ground and extends to a distance of about
115feet English, with a third great organ placed in another
part of the church, and directly opposite to the first. Not¬
withstanding such a distance from the keys, the third or¬
gan obeys them as readily as the first one does, Its low¬
est pedal-pipes consist not only of mouth-pipes, but also
of reed-pipes. The following is a brief description of an¬
other organ built by Serassi in 1796. “ Two rows of fin¬
ger-keys, the upper for the great organ, the ripieno of which
consists of the following stops : Two principal soprani;
two principal basses; octave, twelfth, fifteenth, twenty-
second, twenty-sixth, twenty-ninth, two thirty-thirds, two
thirty-sixths, and twelve deep bass stops belonging to the
chromatic scale, with the octaves of these, all, however,
governed by one register. The different stops belonging
to the great organ are, the sesquialtera ; two cornets ; flute
in octave ; flute in twelfth ; German-flute ; vox humana ;
viola; bassoon ; English horn ; trumpets ; trombones ; cym¬
bals; kettle-drums, and bass-drum, the last being man¬
aged by a pedal. The lower row of manuals or finger-
keys serves for the second organ, or choir-organ. It has
its ripieno, composed of principal, octave, fifteenth, nine¬
teenth, twenty-second, twenty-sixth, and twenty-ninth;
and has, besides, the stops of cornet, flute in octave, vox
inmana, and violoncello. By means of a pedal moved by
the right foot, all the stops of the first organ can be open¬
ed or shut at once.”
01 the different stops or registers of an organ, some de¬
rive their names from the instrument the tone of which Organ,
they imitate, and some from the relation in pitch which they
bear to the sounds of the diapason stop, as octave, twelfth,
fifteenth, seventeenth, and so on. We subjoin a brief
account of the most usual organ-stops. I. Open diapason ;
consists of metal mouth-pipes open at the upper end, and
extends through the whole scale of the organ, as its name
diapason imports. II. Stopped diapason ; mouth-pipes
generally of wood, and their pitch an octave below that of
the open diapason. They are stopped at the upper end.
III. Double diapason ; wooden mouth-pipes, open at the
upper end, and their pitch an octave lower than those of the
open diapason. They are generally confined to the two low¬
est octaves of the organ’s compass. In some of the largest
organs, the gravest sound of these is rendered by an open
pipe thirty-two feet in length. YV.Principal; metal mouth-
pipes, the pitch of which is an octave above the open dia¬
pason. The principal is the first stop tuned ; and then,
from it, all the other stops. V. Dulciana ; a metal mouth-
pipe stop, tuned in unison with the open diapason. The
sweetness of its tone originates in the length and narrow¬
ness of its pipes. VI. Twelfth ; metal mouth-pipes tuned
a twelfth above the open diapason. VII. Fifteenth ; metal
mouth-pipes tuned an octave above the principal. There
are, in some organs, stops named tierce or seventeenth, la-
rigot or nineteenth, twenty-second, twenty-sixth, twenty-ninth,
thirty-third, &c., tuned respectively at these intervals above
the open diapason. VIII. Flute ; metal and wood mouth-
pipes, in unison with the principal. IX. Trumpet; reed-
pipes of metal, in unison with the open diapason. X. Cla¬
rion or octave trumpet-stop; metal reed-pipes tuned an
octave higher than those of the trumpet stop. XI. Bas¬
soon ; reed-pipes, in unison, as far as their compass reaches,
with pipes of the open diapason. XII. Cremona, or pro¬
perly krum-horn; reed-pipes, in unison with the open dia¬
pason. XIII. Oboe ; reed-pipes, in unison with the open
diapason. XIV. Fb#/mmawa ; reed-pipes, in unison with
the open diapason, and intended to imitate the human voice,
a function which in general they perform very unpleasingly.
Amongst the compound stops used in organs are, I. The
sesquialtera, consisting of four or five rows of open mouth-
pipes at the intervals of seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty-
second, twenty-fourth, or twenty-sixth, above the open dia¬
pason. II. The cornet, a stopped diapason, principal, twelfth,
fifteenth, and seventeenth. III. Mixture or furniture stop,
consists of several ranks of pipes nearly the same as those
of the sesquialtera, but some of them of a higher pitch.
Vogler denounces the mixture-stops as “ insignificant'
We have sometimes heard a harsher term applied to them.
In Costanzo Antegnati’s Arte Organica we find the
following exposition of the series of registers or stops of the
organs then used in Italy.
7th do.
1st Stop. 2d do.
m:
-o-
3d do. 4th do. 5th do.
XU
X2I
 cr
Principal. VIII. XV. XIX. XXII. XXVI. XXIX.
In order to enable the reader to form a clearer idea of
the distribution of the pipes of an organ, we subjoin a
sketch of a row of the usual pipes of the great organ (as
contradistinguished from the choir and swell organs), and
as these pipes stand upon and are inserted in the top of
the sound-board. To simplify the diagram, the rack-board
and pillars are not represented here. The letter t indi¬
cates the trumpet; ff, furniture; sss, sesquialter; 15, fif¬
teenth ; 12, twelfth; p, principal; sd, stopped diapason ;
od, open diapason; SB, the top of the sound-board. The
other rows of pipes are, of course, to be imagined as placed
behind those pipes here represented, and as extending,
in their respective ranks, the whole length of each stop
532
Organ.
ORGAN.
or register, in lines at right angles with the line formed
by the row of pipes shown in the diagram.
Fig. 4.
o d
\1A
Fig. 7.
Fig. 5. Fig. 6
Not many years ago, M. Gre-
nie, a French amateur of music,
introduced several important im¬
provements in the construction of
reeds for organ-pipes. (See the
Reports of the French Institute,
&c.) His reed (AB in the an¬
nexed figure 5) was made ot wood
or copper, square-edged, and of
the form of a parallelopipedon.
[In order to show the difference
between the construction of M.
Grenie’s reed and the common
organ-pipe reed, we add a dia¬
gram of the latter, fig. 6.] Ihe
tongue was a thin plate ot brass,
of an even surface, and cut in
a rectangular shape, so as to fit —
almost exactly the grooved face of the reed. A strong
wire-spring cc’kept down this tongue firmly upon the reed,
at the* proper length, so as to regulate the tongue’s vibra¬
tions. The result of such a construction is, that when
this reed, enclosed in its tube, is made to sound by air
forced into the porte-vent DEF, by the aperture at F, the
air thus introduced not obtaining admittance into the reed
between the tongue and the sides of the reed-groove, im¬
pels the tongue into the latter. A little air haying been
thus admitted into the reed-channel, the elasticity of the
tongue makes it resume its former position, so as again to
exclude the air. The velocity which the tongue had ac¬
quired in its first vibration causes it, when returning, to
pass beyond the limit of its former position, to which it is
again brought back by the resistance of the air, and by
its own elasticity, and'whence the impulse of the current
of air from the porte-vent again forces it into the reed-
channel. The advantages of this construction are, that
the tongue does not strike against the edges of the reed,
as in the common reed-pipes, which thereby produce a
harsh and uneven tone ; and that its movements are smooth
and regular, since it has nothing to encounter in its vibra¬
tions but the air itself. The sound of M. Grenie’s reed-
pipes is said to be, in the most acute as well as in the
gravest of them, as sweet and pure as that of flute-pipes.
M. Greni6 adapted the degree of strength and rigidity of
each tongue to the breadth of the reed-channel which it
had to cover, so that the stream of air could never throw (
it into vibrations around its axis. The strength of the^“^
spring-wire also kept the length of the vibrating portion
of the tongue unchanged; so that, whatever the force of
the wind, the tone never altered its pitch. Only the in¬
tensity of the sound was affected by the greater or less
impulse of air. By means of a pedal, the performer moved
a spring-bellows, and, by thus regulating at pleasure the
force of the wind, could obtain a crescendo and dimi¬
nuendo in all the reed-pipes, as perfect as that of the hu¬
man voice, or of instruments modified in their sounds by
the lips and breath of the performer.
The air which causes these reeds to vibrate passes out
through open pipes, bevelled off into a cone,
and terminating in a hemisphere, fig. 7. I his
form is said to give roundness and strength to
the tone.
M. Grenie, when constructing his reed-pipes,
was for a long time checked by a very curious
phenomenon. He was at first occupied with
the gravest octave of which the sound C is
in unison with an open flute-pipe of eight feet;
and had constructed a certain number of pipes,
in giving wind to all his reeds by pipes of the
same length, fig. 8. But when he had reached the first
notes of the tenor compass, still con¬
tinuing to construct his porte-vents in
the same manner, the reed would not
sound at all. He in vain increased and
diminished the wind, in vain length¬
ened and shortened the tongue; the
reed remained mute, or produced only
very bad sounds. At last, after many
attempts, M. Greni6 thought that the
length of the pipe which conducts the
wind to the reed might have some un¬
known influence upon its vibration. He therefore substitut¬
ed for his fixed tubes two pipes, of which the one was made
to slide within the other, so that he could gradually vary
the whole length. He tried this change of length until
the reed produced a clear, pure, and sustained sound. He
found also, that in order to obtain the tenor sounds in all
their fulness, it was necessary to make the porte-vent
much longer than for the sound immediately preceding,
and this length always went on diminishing for the most
acute octaves, as is represented by fig. 9. Then the tops
Fig. 8.
Fi°r. 9.
R
R
R
of the pipes formed the curve C C' C*. This seem^j*
indicate that, by prolonging that curve, one wou o ^
the most favourable dimensions for those pipes
first octave which M. Grenie had at first made o eq^
lengths. But, to his great surprise, he found tna
L
rg«
■v"
O R G
was no advantage whatever in doing so; but that, on the
contrary, the sounds became very dull and irregular. He
therefore reasonably adhered to his first construction, which,
nevertheless, he still purposed to improve, by afterwards
making all his porte-vents sliding tubes, so that each of
them might have the most favourable length given to it.
He has since constructed, on this same model, open reed-
pipes of sixteen feet, which sound with very remarkable
distinctness, strength, and regularity. In this case the
tongue is a flat slip of copper, in length 0240 of a metre,
in breadth 0-035 of a metre, in thickness 0-003 of a metre ;
equal respectively to 9-449040, and 1-377985, and 0-118113
English inches and decimal parts. Its vibrations are so
powerful, that they cause the pipe in which it is placed,
the porte-vent over which it is mounted, and all neighbour¬
ing elastic bodies, to tremble. Of course, in order to make
it sound, a powerful and well-managed bellows-force is
necessary. That which M. Grenie employed was perfect
in regularity and power. It had a double current of air,
and was worked by one handle. M. Grenie obtained a
patent for his improvements. He considered the mixture-
stops in common organs as productive of nothing but bad
effects, and therefore excluded them from his organ. (See
report by Cherubini, Catel, Baillot, &c. in 1811.) We have
given so full an account of Grenie’s improvements, in order
to excite the attention of British organ-builders to this
subject, and induce them to discover many more improve¬
ments of which our organs are unquestionably susceptible.
One of the greatest steps to improvement in English
organ-building was made upwards of twenty years ago, by
Messrs Flight and Robson of London, in the construction
of their magnificent organ, called the Apollonicon. It was
exhibited to the public, and attracted vast numbers of vi¬
sitors. The ingenuity of its mechanism, the excellence of
its workmanship, the fineness of its tone, and the novelty
and grandeur of its effects, were universally acknowledged.
This fine instrument was played either by means of the re¬
volutions of three large cylinders, or else by means of six
different sets of finger-keys acted upon simultaneously by
six different performers. The Apollonicon was about twen¬
ty-four feet high and twenty broad. We heard it in 1817,
md were much struck by its varied and powerful effects.
However, the room in which it was placed was neither suf¬
ficiently large, nor so proportioned in form, as to display
the powers of this organ to the best advantage. This fine
instrument alone is sufficient to bear us out in what we
fiave said at the beginning of this article, as to the cer¬
tainty of English organ-builders being able to rival, or to
;xcel, the foreign ones, if they choose to exert themselves.
Several methods have been proposed in England to ren¬
der the intonation of the organ less imperfect, by dividing
he octave into a greater number of intervals than the usual
-welve : amongst others, that employed in Haw ke’s patent
)rgan, described in the thirty-sixth and thirty-ninth volumes
ff the Philosophical Magazine. Hawke divided the octave
nto seventeen intervals. Loeschman’s patent organ was
mother of this kind. He divided the octave into twenty-
our intervals, which were produced by six pedals and
•welve finger-keys. (See description in vols.xxxvii.xxxviii.
){ Philosophical Magazine.) In 1810, the Rev. Henry Lis-
•on, a clever and ingenious Scottish clergyman, obtained
i patent for an instrument, constructed by Messrs Flight
Robson, w-hich he named the Enharmonic Organ.
ee v°h xxxvii. of Philosophical Magazine.) Another
’’gan, similar to the one last mentioned, was made for Mr
mston by the same builders. (See Philosophical Magazine,
0 ’ Xxx*x-) It had eleven pedals, six of which were the
ame as those in Loeschman’s organ. In the second organ
).m *" har Mr Liston, there was a contrivance for an occa-
jlona alteration of the pitch of the pipes, in the requisite
egree, by means of flat metallic plates, which, when acted
O R G
533
upon by the pedals, were brought, at due distances, over Organist
the tops of the open pipes, or opposite to the mouths of II
t ie stopped pipes, so as to flatten the pitch when this f>r£“n0-
change was required. I^yncon.
ihe object of Mr Liston’s organ wras to supersede tern- ^ ^ v "
perament; but although its ingenuity and its effects were
admired by many of the best musicians in London, the
complexity of its manuals and pedals prevented it from
ever being generally adopted. And this has been the fate
of all such instruments, in modern as well as in ancient
times; for attempts of a similar kind were made, cen¬
turies ago, to introduce such minute subdivisions of the
octave into keyed instruments. The Spanish waiter Sa¬
linas, in his work De Musica (lib. iii. c. 27), speaks dis¬
paragingly of an instrument called an Archicymbalum,
which had been constructed in Italy above forty years
before the publication of his work in 1577, and in which
every tone w-as divided into five parts. “ Non silentio prae-
termittendum arbitror instrumentum quoddam, quod in
Italia, citra quadraginta annos fabricari cceptum est, ab
ejus autore, quisquis ille fuit, Archicymbalum appellatum.
In quo reperiuntur omnes toni in quinque partes divisi: ex
quibus tres vindicat sibi semitonium majus, et duas semi-
tonium minus, a quibusdam magni nominis musicis in pre-
tio habitum, et usu receptum : eo quod omnis in eo sonus
habet omnia intervalla, atque omnes consonantias (ut sibi
videntur) inferne, et superne, et post certam periodum ad
eundem, aut equivalentem sibi sonum post 31 intervalla
reditur,” &c. In the latter part of the last century, F. X.
Richter, chapel-master in the cathedral of Strasburg, usu¬
ally composed upon a clavichord, which had twenty-one
sounds to the octave, and which then seemed to be upwards
of two hundred years old. Richter died in 1789, aged
eighty.
For some hints regarding the proper use of the organ,
see the article Music (vol. xv. p. 644). Those who wish
to extend their knowledge of this subject will find abun¬
dance of information upon the history and the construc¬
tion of the orgart, and the art of playing it, in works pub¬
lished in Germany, France, and Italy. The German works
are the most numerous. (g. f. g.)
^ ORGANIST, a person who plays upon the organ. In
Germany and Prussia, the requisites of a good organist are
so many in point of musical education, and musical taste,
and mechanical skill, that hardly any of the organists of
other countries would venture to enter into competition with
the German or Prussian organists. All the best works upon
the art of organ-playing are in the German language. We
may cite, as one of these, Rink’s work upon organ-playing.
ORGANO-LYRICON, a musical instrument invented
at Paris in 1810, by M. de Saint Pern. Its height is about
eight feet two inches English, its breadth six feet six and
a half inches, its depth about four feet four inches. It
consists of apiano-forte, coupled with twelve different wind-
instruments, viz. three kinds of flutes, an oboe, a clarinet,
a bassoon, horns, trumpet, and fife. It has two rows of
finger-keys. The lower row belongs to the piano-forte ;
but, by an ingenious mechanism, and according to the de¬
pression of the keys by the performer, it may be made to
sound either the piano-forte alone, or a flute, or an oboe,
or to unite them all. The upper row of finger-keys has
no action on the piano-forte; but, by management of the
pressure, it causes the German flute or the oboe to sound,
and produces rinforzi by the gradual re-union of several
wind-instruments. Independently of these functions, this
row of finger-keys is destined for a great church-organ
placed above it. The correspondence between the two
rows of finger-keys is such, that they may, at the will of
the performer, act together or separately, or even partial¬
ly. The finger-keys are singularly light in their touch,
even at their maximum of depression. At the bottom of
534
O R I
O R I
Orgia
II
Orichal-
the instrument there are pedals for the double bass, and
for other combinations. The wind-chests are numerous,
and of such capacity that the wind of the large bellows
, which fill them cannot produce in them any augmentation
injurious to the purity of the timbre and the trueness of
the intonation. In this instrument, by means of ingenious
contrivances, the inconveniences of an irregular supply of
wind have been carefully avoided. A double pedal for the
right foot enables the performer to work the bellows him¬
self when he is alone. An adjacent pedal, turned the op¬
posite way, enables an assistant to do this. But, to avoid
the trouble of these pedals, M. de Saint Pern placed in an
adjoining room a large piece of clock-work, moved by a
weight of fifty pounds, which served instead of a bellows-
blower. The performer has beside him a mechanism that
communicates with the clock-work, and, by means of a
click and spring, leaves the weight going, or stops it at
pleasure. See Report read to the French Institute on
the 10th of September 1810 ; also Report of the French
Conservatory of Music, 12th of August 1810, where it is
said that “ M. de Saint Pern’s organo-lyricon might, in a
large room or a chapel, hold the place of an orchestra, and
imitate nearly all the effects of one.”
ORGIA, feasts and sacrifices in honour of Bacchus,
which were held every third year, and chiefly celebrated
bv wild, distracted women, called Bacchce. The chief so¬
lemnities were performed in the night, to conceal, perhaps,
their shocking impurities ; and a mountain was generally
chosen as the place of celebration. They were instituted
by Orpheus, and from him are sometimes called Orphica.
Authors are not agreed as to the derivation of the word;
but if we consider the frantic proceedings of the Baccha¬
nalians, opyyj, furor, bids fair for being the true etymology.
Orgia, according to Servius, was a common name for all
kinds of sacrifices amongst the Greeks, as ceremonice was
amongst the Romans. , . c
ORGUES, in the military art, are thick long pieces of
wood pointed at one end, and shod with iron, which being
kept clear one of another, hang each by a particular rope
or cord, perpendicularly, over the gateway of a strong
place, to be let fall in case of the approach of an enemy.
Orgues is also used for a machine composed of several
harquebuss or musket barrels bound together, by means of
which several explosions are made at the same time. It
is used to defend breaches and other places attacked. .
ORGYA, b^yurx, an ancient Grecian measure containing
about six English feet.
ORIBASUS, a celebrated physician, greatly esteemed
by the Emperor Julian, in whose reign he flourished. At
the request of the emperor, he abridged the works of Ga¬
len, and of all the most respectable writers on physic ; and
he accompanied Julian into the East, but his skill proved
ineffectual in the attempt to cure the fatal wound which his
benefactor had received. After Julians death he fell into
the hands of the barbarians.
ORICHALCUM, or Aurichalcum, a metallic sub¬
stance resembling gold in colour, but very inferior in va¬
lue. It was well known to the Romans, who often took
advantage of its resemblance to gold ; for some sacrilegi¬
ous characters, who could not resist the temptation of
taking gold from temples and other public places, chose to
conceal their guilt by replacing it with orichalcum. It was
thus that Julius Caesar acted when he robbed the capitol
of three thousand pounds weight of gold ; in which he was
followed by Vitellius, who despoiled the temples of their
gifts and ornaments, and replaced them with this inferior
metal. It has been a matter of dispute with philosophers
and others, what the composition of this metal could be,
or how it was procured; it is probable, at least, that it was
analogous to our brass, if not wholly the same with it.
The Romans were not only in possession of a metallic
substance, called by them orichalcum, and resembling gold u ^
in colour, but they knew also the manner of making it; illi
and the materials from which they made it were the very^'-w
same with those from which we make brass. There are,
indeed, authors of great repute who think very different¬
ly, and consider the art of making brass as an invention
wholly modern. Thus M. Cronstedt does not think it
just to conclude from old coins and other antiquities,
that the making of brass was known in the most ancient
times; and the authors of the French Encyclopedic assure
us that our brass is a very recent invention. It appears,
however, from Pliny (Nat. Hist. lib. xxxiv. § 2), and from
the concurring testimony of other writers, that orichalcum
was not a pure or original metal; but that its basis was
copper, which the Romans changed into orichalcum by-
means of cadmia, a species of earth which they threw upon
the copper, and which it absorbed. It has indeed been
contended that the cadmia of Pliny was native arsenic;
an opinion which scarcely merits confutation, but which
must appear extremely groundless, when we reflect that it
is impossible to make either brass or copper from arsenic,
and that Pliny expressly calls the substance from which
brass was made a stone. The testimony of Ambrose bishop
of Milan in the fourth century, and of Primasius bishop of
Adrumetum, in Africa, in the sixth, and of Isidorus bishop
of Seville in the seventh, all seem to confirm Pliny’s account.
We may therefore safely conclude, that the Romans knew
the method of making brass by mixing cadmia or calamine
with copper. Yet it is probable they were not the inventors
of this art, but borrowed it from some other country. It
appears from a variety of testimonies that brass was made
in Asia, in a manner similar to that employed at Rome;
and a variety of places are mentioned where it was com¬
monly made. It is supposed by some that in India, as well
as in other parts of Asia, it was made in the remotest ages.
With respect to orichalcum, it is generally supposed that
there were two sorts ot this metal, one factitious, and
the other natural. The factitious, whether we consider its
qualities or its composition, appears to have been the same
with our brass. As to the natural orichalcuw, there is no
impossibility in supposing that copper ore may have been
so intimately blended with an ore of zinc, or of some other
metallic substance, that the compound, when smelted,
might yield a mixed metal of a paler hue than copper, and
resembling the colour of gold or of silver.
We know of no country in which oricfuilcum is found at
present; nor was it anywhere found in the age of Pliny,
who does not seem to have known the country where it had
ever been obtained. He admits, indeed, that it had been
formerly dug out of the earth ; but it is remarkable, that in
the very passage where he mentions by name the countries
most celebrated for the production of different kinds o
copper, he only says in general, concerning orichalcum, tnat
it had been found in other countries, but without specify¬
ing any particular country. Plato acknowledges t at on
chalcum was a thing only talked of even m ins tune;
was then nowhere to be met with, although in the isiana
of Atlantis it had been formerly extracted from the min •
The Greeks were in possession of a metallic subst
called orichalcum before the foundation of lloI“e- f
mentioned by Homer and by Hesiod, and by bothot "e.
poets in such a manner as shows that it was then he
great esteem. Other ancient writers have expressed^
selves in similar terms of commendation ; and it is p
selves in similar terms oi comnienuauun , a r .
pally from the circumstance of the high reputed
rallJ , ... i i tn cunnose tnai
orichalcum that authors have been induced to suppose
the ancient metal of this name was a natura su ^
very different from the factitious one in use at Rom , ^
probably in Asia, and which, it has been shown,
respect different from our brass. ■, their
But this conclusion cannot be validly deduced fr
a
O R I
O R I
535
mcomiums upon orichalcum; for, at whatever time the
nethod of making it was first discovered, its novelty and
scarcity, joined to its utility, would enhance its value; at
east there can be no absurdity in supposing, that when
iirst introduced it was greatly prized, even though it be
■■ranted that it possessed no other properties than such as
ippertain to brass.
With respect to the etymology of the word there exists
rreat diversity of opinions. Those who write it aurichal-
um think it is composed of the Latin word aurum, gold,
•snd the Greek brass or copper. But the most ge¬
neral opinion is that it is composed of 6«of, a mountain,
and brass, alluding perhaps to its being found in
mountains or mountainous countries.
ORIENT, L’, an arrondissement of the department of
Morbihan, in France, which extends over 665 square miles.
It comprehends eleven cantons, divided into fifty-two com¬
munes, and in 1836 it contained 133,307 inhabitants. The
rapital is the city of the same name. It is a fortified sea¬
port, and a royal naval arsensal, standing at the mouth of
he river Scorf, where it enters the bay of Port Louis.
There are all those establishments for the building and
?quipping of ships of war. It is a well-built place, with long
straight streets, and very fine quays. It has three churches,
i naval hospital, 2000 houses, and 18,975 inhabitants. It
s considerable also as a commercial port, is a depot for
East India commodities, and has a great trade to the West
indies and the north of Europe. Long. 3. 30. W. Lat. 47.
18. 11. N.
ORIGEN, a celebrated ecclesiastical writer, and one of
he greatest geniuses, as well as most learned men, of the
hurch, during the third century, was born at Alexandria
n the year 185. He was sumamed Adamantius, either
rom his indefatigable application to study, or from the
irmness he discovered amidst the torments which he suf-
ered for the faith. Leonidas, his father, trained him with
;reat care, and caused him, from his infancy, to apply to the
tudy of the Scriptures, in which he made surprising pro¬
cess. The son’s inclination and turn of mind suited ex-
; ;ctly with the father’s design ; for he pursued his studies
rith extraordinary zeal and ardour ; and, being endowed
nth a quick apprehension and a strong imagination, he did
lot content himself with that sense which at first present¬
ed itself, but endeavoured to discover mysterious and al-
egorical explications of the sacred books. He would
ometimes even puzzle his father, by soliciting the latter
or recondite meanings; which obliged the good man to
eprehend him a little, and withal to advise him not to
tterapt to penetrate too far in the study of the Scriptures,
'ut to content himself with their clear, obvious, and na-
ural sense. Hence it appears how early he was seized
| >ith that furor allegoricus, as a learned modern calls it,
hat rage of expounding the Scriptures allegorically, which
fterwards became a distemper, and carried him to ex-
esses which can never be excused. In philosophy he
iad the celebrated Ammonius as his teacher, and St Cle-
oent of Alexandria for his master in divinity. At eigh-
een years of age he succeeded the latter in the office
t catechist; an important employment, which consisted
i teaching divinity, and in expounding the Scriptures,
^eonidas his father had suffered martyrdom the year be-
}re, during the persecution of Severus, in 202; and Ori-
en had shown such eagerness to follow his father to mar-
frdom, that his mother was obliged to hide his clothes
5 Prevent him going abroad. Origen had a great con-
aurse of auditors who attended his school, some of whom
ere of the faithful, and the others Pagans. He confirmed
nd strengthened the former in their faith, and converted
'ost of the latter; and there were such a number of mar-
/rs ainongst his disciples, that it might be said that he
ePt a school of martyrdom rather than one of divinity.
He taught the doctrines of Christianity to the women and Origen.
girls, as well as to the men; and taking in a too literal
sense what Christ says of becoming voluntary eunuchs, cas¬
trated himself, to prevent his deserving or suffering scandal.
He took a voyage to Rome in 211, in the beginning of the
reign of Caracaila, under the pontificate of Zepherinus.
On his return he published many works, whereby he ac¬
quired an extraordinary reputation, which drew to him a
great number of auditors. But Demetrius, bishop of Alex¬
andria, conceiving a jealousy of him, endeavoured upon va¬
rious pretences to injure him. At length Origen went to
Antioch, whither the Empress Mammaea had sent for him
to hear him discourse on the Christian religion. He did
not however stay long there, but returned to Alexandria,
where he continued to teach till the year 228, when he
left that city and travelled into Achaia. He then went into
Palestine, and was ordained by the bishops of that pro¬
vince at forty-two years of age. But the circumstance of
his being ordained by foreign bishops, without the per¬
mission of Demetrius, renewed that prelate’s resentment
against him ; upon which Origen hastily returned to Alex¬
andria, to endeavour to mollify him. Demetrius, however,
drove him thence in the year 231, and caused him to be ex¬
communicated, and even deposed, in a council which was
held in Egypt. Origen then retired to Caesarea in Palestine,
where he raised a celebrated school, and had St Gregory
Thaumaturgus, and a great number of other persons who
were illustrious for their virtue and learning, as his disci¬
ples. He afterwards travelled to Athens, and, at the de¬
sire of Firmilianus, staid some time at Caesarea in Cappa¬
docia ; whence he was invited into Arabia, to convince and
bring back to the truth Beryllus bishop of Bostra, who
maintained that the Word had no existence before his in¬
carnation. Origen had the happiness to make him sensi¬
ble of his mistake ; and some years afterwards he was sent
into Arabia by an assembly of bishops, to dispute against
certain persons who maintained that the souls of the dead
remained in a state of insensibility till the general resur¬
rection. At length the seventh persecution of the Chris¬
tians began in the reign of Decius, and none was treated
with greater severity than Origen. He supported with
incredible constancy the dreadful torments which the per¬
secutors of the Christians invented against them; torments
which were the more insupportable, as they were made to
continue for a long time, and as the persecutors took the
greatest care to prevent his expiring in the midst of his
tortures. But in the most excruciating agony he discov¬
ered an heroic courage, and suffered nothing to escape
him which was unworthy a disciple of Jesus Christ. Ori¬
gen died at Tyre in the year 254, aged sixty-nine. He was
the author of a great number of excellent works. The prin¬
cipal of those which have descended to us are, 1. A Trea¬
tise against Celsus, of which a good edition in Greek and
Latin, with notes, has been published by Spencer; 2. A
number of Homilies, with Commentaries on the Holy
Scriptures ; 3. Philocalia, and several other treatises; 4.
Fragments of his Hexapla, collected by Montfaucon, in
two volumes folio. Of all Origen’s works, the loss of the
Hexapla is most to be regretted. This work was thus
named from its containing six columns, in the first of
which was the Hebrew text of the Bible; in the second,
the same text in Greek characters ; in the third, the Greek
version of the Septuagint; in the fourth, that of Aquila ;
in the fifth, that of Symmachus; and in the sixth, Theo-
dosian’s Greek version. This admirable work first sug¬
gested the idea of our Polyglot Bibles. Of the book of
Principles we have only an incorrect Latin version. The
most complete edition of the works of Origen is that of
Father Delarue, a Benedictine, in Greek and Latin. Mont¬
faucon likewise published, in two volumes folio, some re¬
mains and fragments of his Hexapla. He ought not to be
536
O R I
O R I
Orinoco.
Origeniansconfounded with another Origen, a Platonic philosopher,
and the disciple and friend of Porphyry, who studied phi¬
losophy under Ammonius. This Origen was perhaps the
' founder of the sect of Origenians.
ORIGENIANS ( Origeniani)were ancientheretics. Epi-
phanus speaks of them as existing in his time; but their
numbers, he says, were inconsiderable. He seems to fix
their rise about the time of the great Origen; but he does
not say that they derived their name from that distinguish¬
ed father of the church. On the contrary, he distinguishes
them from the Origenists, whom he derives from Origen
Adamantius ; adding, that they first took their name from
one Origen, by which he intimates that it was not the
great Origen. St Augustin also asserts that their founder
was a different person. Their doctrines were infamous.
They rejected marriage; they used several apocryphal
books, as the acts of St Andrew ; and they endeavoured
to excuse their open crimes, by saying that the Catholics
committed the same in private.
ORIGENISTS, in Ecclesiastical History, a Christian sect
in the fourth century, so called from their deriving their opi¬
nions from the writings of Origen. The Origenists main¬
tained that the souls of men existed in a prior state; that
they were holy intelligences, and had sinned in heaven
before the body was created ; that Christ is only the Son
of God by adoption ; that he has been successively united
with all the angelical natures, and has been a cherub, a
seraph, and all the celestial virtues one after another ; that
in future ages he will be crucified for the salvation of the
devils, as he has already been for that of men ; and that
their punishment, and that of the damned, will continue
only for a limited time.
ORIGINAL, a draught or design of any thing, which
serves as a model to be imitated or copied.
Original Sin. See Theology.
ORILLON, in Fortification, a small rounding of earth,
faced with a wall, and raised upon the shoulders of those
bastions which have casemates, to cover the cannon in
the retired flank, and prevent their being dismounted by
the enemy.
ORINOCO, or Oronoko, ariver of Colombia, in South
America. Like all great rivers, its upper waters separate
into several branches, and it does not appear that the main
source has been ascertained with any degree of certainty.
According to La Cruz d Olmedilla, it issues from a small
lake called Ypava, situated in north latitude 5° 5', whence,
by a bend of a spiral form, it enters the lake Parima ; but
although the existence of this sheet of water has been de¬
termined, doubts are entertained whether it may not owe
its origin only to the temporary overflowings of the river.
From this lake it is said to issue by two mouths; and after
avery circuitous course of upwards of fifteen hundred miles,
including its windings, it flows into the Atlantic Ocean,
opposite to the island of I rinidad, by about fifty mouths,
seven of which are navigable. The Grande Boca, or prin¬
cipal mouth, which is six leagues wide, is south-east of Tri¬
nidad, in latitude 8° 30' north, and longitude 59° 50' west.
A soft mud bank, formed by the debris brought down by
the river, and of course just an extension of the delta of
the Orinoco, which will one day be clothed with vegeta¬
tion, stretches a considerable way into the ocean on the
left of the grand mouth, forming one line of the chan¬
nel to the entrance of the river. The other side of this
channel consists of hard ground, covered with shells and
shingles, and on which the water deepens and shoals con¬
tinually. At its estuary it presents the appearance of a
boundless lake, and for a great extent its fresh waters pene¬
trate into the bosom of the ocean, almost uncontaminated
by saline matter. “ Its green-coloured stream,” says Hum¬
boldt, “ and its waves dashing over rocks in milk-white
foam, are strongly contrasted with the deep blue of the
sea, which is separated from them by a strongly marked f
line.” Such is the force of the stream formed by the Ori-V
noco between the main land and the island of Trinidad,
that vessels overcome it with great difficulty, even when
favoured by a fresh breeze from the west. This solitary
and dreadful place, perpetually tormented as if by a whirl,
pool, is called the Melancholy Gulf, the entrance to which
is formed by the Dragon’s Mouth. There, in the midst of
furious waves, says the great traveller just quoted, enor¬
mous rocks raise their isolated heads, the remains of that
ancient dike which formerly joined the island of Trinidad to
the coast of Faria. It was the aspect of these places which
first convinced Columbus of the existence of the continent
of America. The unrivalled navigator reasoned admirably
when he concluded that such an immense body of water
must have accumulated during a very lengthened course,
and that the country through which it flowed must be a
continent, and not an island. He, however, supposed it
to be a continuation of the coast of Asia; and, from the
ethereal clearness of the sky, the refreshing mildness of
the evening air, and the aromatic odours which came waft¬
ed by breezes from the land, the Orinoco appeared to him
to be one of the four streams which issued from the ter¬
restrial paradise to fructify and divide the earth, and he be¬
lieved that he was about to set foot in the garden of Eden.
Within the bar of the Orinoco the water gradually deep¬
ens, the force of the current continuing very considerable,
and sometimes during the rainy season running at the rate
of six miles an hour, so that navigation upwards is exceed¬
ingly difficult, except by steam-boats. At some distance
within the Grande Boca of the river there is an island very
thickly wooded, and forming the segment of a large circle.
Indeed the magnificence of the scenery on the banks of
the Orinoco is the astonishment of every traveller. Fo¬
rests of boundless extent expand on either side, and, being
filled with aromatic herbs and flowers that diffuse the most
delightful odours, and all alive with birds of beautiful and
glancing plumage, from the lovely mocking-bird to the
grand vulture and fiery-red flamingo, together with hordes
of monkeys, which disport from bough to bough, exhibit a
richness, grandeur, and variety of scene which defies de¬
scription. Passing these forests, enormous plains stretch out
like oceans of verdure, far beyond the horizon embraced by
the eye ; and the sublimity of the scenery on the Orinoco
is enhanced by several cataracts, of which Humboldt has
distinguished and described those of Maypures and Atures.
Their elevation is inconsiderable, and both owe their ex¬
istence to an archipelago of little islands and rocks. The
appearance of these rapids, however, is exceedingly pictu¬
resque and beautiful. “ When the traveller descends from
the village of Maypures to the brink of the river, after
clearing the rock of Manimi, he enjoys a truly astonishing
prospect. At once a sheet of foam stretches out before
him, to fully a mile in extent. Masses of rock, of an iron-
black colour, rear their rugged fronts, like towers, out of
this misty cloud. Every island, every rock, is ornamented
with luxuriant trees, closely grouped together. A thick
smoke constantly hangs suspended over the water; and
through this foggy vapour, which rises from the foam,
shoot up the tops of lofty palm-trees. As soon as the
burning rays of the setting sun mingle with this humj
cloud, the optical phenomena which are produced actual y
give an air of enchantment to the scene. The coloured
arches successively appear and disappear, and their image
incessantly hovers before the eye at the mercy o t
wind. During the long season of the rains, the murmur-
inc waters have accumulated little islands of vegeta e
earth round the naked rocks. Adorned with the dr(^e'?’
the mimosa with its foliage of silver white, and a mu ti u
of other plants, these form beds of flowers in the mi s
frowning rocks.”
O R I
r;no The Orinoco is navigable, without difficulty, for two
hundred and sixty leagues, to the rapids of Atures, where
its mean height above the sea is, according to the travel¬
ler just quoted, not more than three hundred and fifty
feet, and thence, after two short portages, for one hun¬
dred leagues more, to the point near Esmeraldo, where the
celebrated bifurcation of this river takes place, and a por¬
tion of its waters descends along the natural Canal of Ca-
siquiari, to join the Rio Negro and the Amazon. The
communications which exist between the Orinoco and the
Amazon constitute one of the most astonishing phenomena
of physical geography. More than half a century has
elapsed since the fact was made known by the Portuguese ;
but for a long period after this it was pertinaciously main¬
tained by systematical geographers, that such conjunctions
of rivers were impossible. By the enterprise and perse¬
verance of recent travellers, however, it has been proved
that this is no anomaly; and we no longer stand in need of
either analogies or critical reasoning to support the fact.
M. de Humboldt has navigated both these rivers, and ex¬
amined and described this singular arrangement of the
land. It is now put beyond a doubt, that the Orinoco and
the Rio Negro flow along a plateau, which at this part has
no actual acclivity. A valley then intervenes, their wa¬
ters flow into it, and there unite, thus forming the cele¬
brated Casiquiari, by means of which MM. Humboldt and
Bonpland passed from the Rio Negro into the Orinoco. It
is believed that there are also other communications be¬
tween the Rio Negro and the different tributaries of the
Amazon. On both sides along its course the Orinoco re¬
ceives many tributary streams, of which three in particu¬
lar, the Apure, the Meta, and the Guaviare, flowing from
the westward, have also long navigable courses. The Apure
falls into the Orinoco about four hundred and forty miles
from the mouth of the latter river, in latitude 7. 36. 23.
north, and longitude 69. 7. 29. west. The course of the
Apure is as serpentine as that of the Orinoco, only on a
much smaller scale, the tributary being in no part of its
course much more than a musket-shot across. At rather
more than one hundred miles from the confluence of the
1 two rivers is San Fernando de Apure, a considerable town
in the province of Apure, and a place of some commerce.
From thence the navigation is continued, partly on the
Apure and partly on the river Santo Domingo, to Toruno
and Varinas, at a distance of above two hundred miles
i farther. The line of navigation of this branch of the com¬
merce of the Orinoco extends, therefore, nearly eight
hundred miles from the mouths of the river to the extre¬
mity of the province of Varinas. About sixty miles below
the cataracts, the Orinoco receives the Meta, a river which,
issuing from the paramos of Cundinamarca, keeps its course
parallel to them for a hundred and fifty miles, receiving in
its progress their tributary streams ; and then bending
to the east, crosses the llanos of Casanare, and completes
a course of more than four hundred miles before its conflu¬
ence with the great river.
At some future period the navigation of the Meta will
become an object of very great importance to Guiana, and
all the other eastern departments of the republic. The
Guaviare is also a very considerable navigable river, form¬
ed by a number of streams which flow down the eastern
declivities of the Andes. It joins the Orinoco at San
; Fernando de Atabapo, in latitude 4° 3' north, and longi¬
tude 68° 10' west, which is the point where the Orinoco
takes a great bend to the north. When steam navigation
shall have become common in this quarter of the world,
the river Guaviare will prove of immense advantage to
»ome of the interior provinces of Colombia, as a medium
through which their produce may be conveyed to the
sea-ports of the republic. There are a great number of
other streams, tributary to the Orinoco, no less than three
vojl. XVI.
O It I 537
hundred being enumerated. Many of the upper streams Orion,
of this river display the singular phenomenon which has 'v——'
been called “ black waters.” Under the shadow of the
palm-trees their colour becomes of a deep black, but, in
transparent vessels, it assumes a yellow hue. The ab¬
sence of crocodiles and fish (which are very plentiful far¬
ther down), a greater degree of coolness, a smaller num¬
ber of musquitoes, and a more salubrious atmosphere, dis¬
tinguish the region of the black waters. Humboldt sur¬
mises that they derive their colour from a solution of car¬
buret of hydrogen, resulting from the decomposition of
the multitudes of plants that cover the soil through which
they flow. With regard to the breadth, depth, and quan¬
tity of water discharged by the Orinoco, as well as the
size of the delta which it has formed, our information is by
no means precise. At six hundred miles from the ocean
it is said to be from five to six hundred yards across, and
at Angosturaor StThomas’s, situated two hundred andforty
miles from its mouth, to be nearly eight hundred yards
across. Its depth appears to be very great; even when
the waters are at the lowest, it is no less than sixty-five fa¬
thoms in some parts ; and during the rainy season it inun¬
dates the immense plains through which it flows, extending
during the highest floods from eighty to ninety miles on
either side, and thus presenting to the eye the appearance
of a vast inland sea, rather than a river. These facts, together
with that of the vast extent to which the current of the
river may be traced in the ocean, are sufficient to prove
that the quantity of water brought down by the Orinoco is
inferior to that of few rivers on the face of the globe. The
annual swell of the Orinoco commences in April and ends
in August. At the distance of thirteen hundred miles from
the ocean the rise is about thirteen fathoms. In the be¬
ginning of October the water begins to fall, and, quitting
the deluged plains, continues to diminish till March, when
it is at the lowest ebb. This river abounds in fish of va¬
rious descriptions. Amphibious animals are also found in
great numbers on its shores ; the cayman or alligator fre¬
quents its waters, and is very formidable. From one of
the best maps of Colombia which have been published, it
appears that its delta extends above one hundred and fifty
miles in length at the base, and that from the middle of
this line to the apex of the triangle it is above one hun¬
dred miles in depth. (r. r. r.)
ORION, in fabulous history, was the son of Jupiter,
Neptune, and Mercury. As these gods were visiting the
earth, they entered the house of Hyrieus, a native of Ta-
nagra, in Bceotia, under the character of benighted tra¬
vellers, on account of his being famed for hospitality to
strangers. Hyrieus treated them in the best manner pos¬
sible ; and even killed an ox, the only one he had, for their
entertainment. With this the gods were so pleased, that
they offered the old man whatever he should ask; and he
having let them know that he desired nothing so much as
a son, they, anxious to gratify his wish, caused the ox’s
hide to be brought before them, and having deposited in
it their urine, bade him keep it under ground for nine
months. He then dug for the skin, and found in it a
beautiful child, whom he called Urion. The name was af¬
terwards changed into Orion, by the corruption of one let¬
ter, as Ovid observes: Perdidit antiquum littera prima
sonum. Orion soon became conspicuous, and Diana admit¬
ted him amongst her attendants, and even became deeply
enamoured of him. His gigantic stature, however, dis¬
pleased Oenopion king of Chios, whose daughter Hero or
Merope he requested in marriage. The king, not willing
to deny him openly, promised to make him his son-in-law
as soon as he should have delivered that island from wild
beasts. This task, which Oenopion supposed to be im¬
practicable, was soon performed by Orion, who eagerly de¬
manded his reward. Oenopion, on pretence of complying,
3 y
538
0 R I
Orissa, made his illustrious guest drunk, and in this state put out
his eyes on the sea-shore, where he had laid himself down
to sleep, so that Orion, when he awoke from his debauch,
found himself blind. Directed by the sound, he then went
to a neighbouring forge, where he placed one of the work¬
men on his back, and by his directions proceeded to a place
where the rising sun was seen with the greatest advantage.
Here he turned his face towards the luminary; and, ac¬
cording to report, he immediately recovered his eye-sight,
and hastened to punish the perfidious cruelty of Oenopion.
Orion was believed to have been an excellent workman in
iron, and to have fabricated a subterranean palace for Vulcan.
Some say that Orion was the son of Neptune and Eury-
ale, and that he had received from his father the privilege
and power of walking over the sea without wetting his feet;
but others assert that he was a son of lerra, like the rest
of the giants. He had married a nymph called Sida be¬
fore his connection with the family of Oenopion ; but Sida
was the cause of her own death, by boasting herself fairer
than Juno. Diodorus says that Orion was a celebrated
hunter, superior to the rest of mankind by his strength
and uncommon stature. He built the port of Zancle, and
fortified the coast of Sicily against the frequent inunda¬
tions of the sea, by heaping up a mound of earth called Pe-
lorum, on which he built a temple to the gods of the sea.
After his death Orion was placed in heaven, where one of
the constellations still bears his name. The constellation
of Orion was placed near the feet of the bull. It was com¬
posed of seventeen stars, in the form of a man holding a
sword; for which reason the poets often speak of Orion’s
sword. As the constellation of Orion, which rises about
the 9th day of March, and sets about the 21st of June, is
generally supposed to be accompanied at its rising with
great rains and storms, it has acquired the epithet of aquo-
sus, which is applied to it by Virgil.
ORISSA, an extensive province of Hindustan, in the
Deccan, between the sixteenth and twenty-third degrees
of north latitude. It has Bengal for its boundary to the
north, to the south the river Godavery, to the east the
Bay of Bengal, and to the west the province of Gund-
wana. It may be estimated from north-east to south¬
west at 530 miles in length by ninety in average breadth.
Orissa was formerly an independent Hindu kingdom. It
was first conquered by the Afghans, and afterwards by the
Moguls towards the end of the sixteenth century. It was
in ancient times divided into five districts, namely, 1. Jella-
sir, comprising Midnapoor and the British possessions ly¬
ing north and east of the river Subunreeka ; 2. Buddruck
(now Cuttack) ; 3. Cuttack; 4. Kulling or Cicacole; and,
5. Rajamundry. The principal modern subdivisions of this
extensive province, independently ol other petty states and
large zemindaries, are, 1. Singhboom ; 2. Kunjeur ; 3. Mo-
hurbunge ; 4. Balasore j 5. Cuttack ; (3. Khoordah.
This "province, in the interior, is of a rude and barbarous
aspect, consisting for the most part of rugged hills, unin¬
habited jungles, and deep water-courses. It is surround¬
ed by pathless deserts, forests, or valleys; and the atmo¬
sphere is pestilential. There are only two passes in the
great mountainous ridge that extends from the Godavery
to the Mahanuddy ; the one direct, from Chandah to Cica¬
cole ; the other oblique, from Choteesghur by the way of
Kaluhindi, and both uniting at the pass of Saloor or Saure-
acca. But though Orissa is, generally speaking, a barren
country, the south-eastern or maritime parts are equal in
fertility to most parts of India.
At present the British rule over nearly one half of this
extensive region, and the remaining part is possessed by
tributary zemindars, called ghurjauts or hill-chiefs, who
pay a fixed rent to the British, under whose jurisdiction
they live. The woody and interior division of the country
belongs to them ; whilst the other division, belonging to
O R K
the British, comprehends all the low lands extending along Orist
the coast, a tract generally plain and fertile, but not well ||
cultivated or peopled. But the country occupied by the 0rk>
natives, though a barren tract of rock, forest, and jungle,^1
and thinly inhabited, produces a surplus of grain beyond^ ^
the consumption of its inhabitants. The British portion
of the country produces, as its chief staples, rice and salt,
the former of which is an article of export. Every sort of
grain and vetch is cultivated, and the country is improv¬
ing under its present administration; whilst the portion
that is still under its native chiefs presents a scene of op¬
pression and decay. The low lands along the Bay of Ben¬
gal abound with wild animals, such as hogs, deer, tigers,
and jackalls ; and the high lands are infested by such num¬
bers of wild animals, that in many places they are regain¬
ing possession of the country from which they were driven
by the progress of cultivation. Fish swarm in the rivers,
which are also infested with reptiles and alligators; and in
the plains and jungles are innumerable noxious insects. The
chief rivers are the Godavery, Mahanuddy, Byturnee, and
Subunreeka, besides innumerable mountain streams of a
short course.
The country between the rivers Gaintee and Bamoni is
peculiarly fertile, and is inhabited by an industrious class of
persons, weavers, chiefly of coarse muslins for turbans, and
sanaes, which are a staple manufacture. I he districts to
the west of Bengal are mountainous, and inhabited by a
savage race of Hindus, who are still called Oureas. They
go nearly naked, and are armed with bows and arrows, and
are nominally subject to the Mahrattas, though they pay
but little revenue. They are naturally a fierce people,
possessing personal courage in a great degree. They
are great enemies of the Mahrattas, who plunder and op¬
press them ; but those under the British dominion are a
mild and tractable people, and the palanquin-bearers in
Calcutta are mostly from that country. These bearers
have high and proud notions: they pretend to be of a
higher caste than the bearers from Bahar, and are very
fastidious about performing their duties.
In the ancient history of the Hindus, Utcala or Odra-
desa, implying the great or famous country of Gala, was
nearly co-extensive with the modern Orissa ; but the mar¬
tial race by whom it was inhabited were at last extirpated
by the karnas or kings of Magadha. A race of Hindu
princes governed the country in 1592, and were conquered
by the viceroy of Akbar, to whose dominion the country
was annexed as a dependent government. It then ro63*
sured 600 miles along the sea coast by forty in medium
breadth, extending from Tumlook on the banks of the
Great Ganges, to Rajamundry on the Lesser Ganges; and
was inhabited by the Oureas, a race of Hindus, of pecu¬
liar and distinct language, manners, and religion. From
disjointed fragments of its history, and from existing re¬
lics, it appears to have been a flourishing empire, even be¬
fore the Mahommedan invasion ; but it soon afterwards
fell into decay. When the Afghans were expelled from
Bengal by the Moguls in the sixteenth century, they took
refuge in Orissa, and retained possession of part of it, in¬
cluding the celebrated temple of Juggernaut, till near the
year 1615. . A ; ,
ORISTANO, a city of the island of Sardinia, situated
on the western side of the gulf or bay of that name, t is
the seat of an archbishop, and has a cathedral, a nunnery,
several monasteries, and a harbour about a mi e ronl ’
into which the river Oristano enters. The air is very i
pure. Oristano contains 4990 inhabitants.
ORIZAVA, a town of Mexico, in the state ot
Cruz. See the article Mexico. r.lQnfi.in
ORKNEY Islands, or Orcades, a group of island.
the North Sea, belonging to and forming with the
Islands one of the counties of Scotland. They ar I
ORKNEY.
rated from Caithness by the Pentland Firth, a strait of
''about twelve miles in breadth, and are situated between
the parallels 58. 44. and 59. 24. north latitude, and be¬
tween 2. 24. and 3. 20. west longitude from the meridian
of Greenwich. In number they amount to sixty-seven,
of which twenty-seven are inhabited; and the others,
known by the name of holms, are employed as grazing
grounds for sheep and cattle, and for the manufacture of
kelp. The islands are divided into two groups, called, in
reference to Pomona, the principal island, the North and
South Isles. The following are the names of the inhabited
islands in the southern division, with their population ac¬
cording to the census taken in 1831 :
South Ronaldshay 2265
Walls and Hoy 1388
Flotay and Faray  369
Burray  357
Graemsay  225
Swanay and the Skerries  89
Copinshay  7
4700
The following are the names and population of the
North Isles:
Sunday 1839
Westray   1702
Stronsay, Papa Stronsay, and Lingholm 1071
Rousay  921
Shapinshay  809
Eday and Pharay  756
North Ronaldshay  522
Papa Westray  330
Egilshay  228
Weir  93
Gairsay  69
Enhallow  20
8360
Pomona, or the Mainland, has a population of 15,787, and
thus the whole number of inhabitants f«mounts to 28,847.
Orkney has been computed to contain 150,000 square
acres, and, of these, 100,000 are said to be waste, or cover¬
ed by water. But the very irregular form of the islands,
penetrated by arms of the sea in all directions, renders
these estimates, in absence of any accurate survey, nothing
more than approximations. The general appearance of the
islands is bleak, and upon the whole uninteresting. The
total want of wood, and the immense tracts of waste, un¬
cultivated land, present a very forbidding aspect.
The climate is exceedingly moist, and, though the cold
is not very intense, the variable weather renders the winter
disagreeable in the extreme. For several months there is a
succession of rain, sleet, and storms. Spring is late, damp,
and cold; but an Orkney summer, though short, has many
and peculiar charms. The length of the day, the duration
ot twilight, the rapid vegetation, and, above all, the still¬
ness of the sleeping ocean on a calm evening, compensate
m no small degree for the dreariness of the other seasons.
Orkney is divided into twenty parishes, composing three
presbyteries and one synod. Together with Zetland, these
is anas constitute one sheriffdom or stewartry, under the
jurisdiction of a sheriff-depute and two substitutes, whose
courts are held at Kirkwall in Orkney, and Lerwick in
lM u! * . !l Passing of the reform bill, Orkney alone
i3 'he privUcge 0f sending a member to parliament; the
v | h“lders °f Zetland, owing to the want of a separate
ua ion of their estates, having no vote in the election.
v|p iand-tax payable for the county, two thirds are le-
nfu r°I11 Orkney, and one third from the other division
01 the stewartry.
We shall now proceed to notice the principal islands,
539
pointing out the most remarkable objects in them. The Orkney,
most southerly is South Ronaldshay, containing twenty-
four square miles, and a population of 2265 persons, chiefly
employed in agriculture, and the lobster, cod, and herring
fisheries. Ihere are two commodious and secure harbours
in this island, Widewall Bay on the west, and St Marga¬
ret s Hope on the north. The antiquities of the island are
several Piets houses, three or four monumental stones of
large size, and the How of Hoxa, an ancient stronghold.
To the north-west of South Ronaldshay lies Hoy, an island
of twice the extent, but containing only 1388 inhabitants,
the greater part of it being high land covered with heath!
This is in many respects the most interesting of all the
islands. The Wart Hill, the highest mountain in Orkney,
its towering precipices washed by the fury of the West¬
ern Ocean, the huge isolated rock called “ the Old Man
of Hoy,” the meadows of the Kaim, the beautiful vale o.
Berrydale, through which flows a stream whose banks are
fringed with birches, creeping juniper, and willows, and
the dwarfie stone, present to the spectator objects which
will amply repay a lengthened visit. Forming part of the
island of Hoy, but constituting a different parish, is Waas,
or Walls, distinguished chiefly for its excellent harbour,
Long Hope, which is now protected by a small battery
and a couple of martello towers. Burray, situated to the
north of South Ronaldshay, and separated from it by a
channel of a mile in breadth, has an area of only three
square miles, but produces grain, green crops, and good
pasture, and has, moreover, a valuable rabbit warren. Far¬
ther north is the largest island of the group, Pomona, or
Mainland, extending to thirty miles in length, and con¬
taining upwards of two hundred square miles. The towns
of Kirkwall and Stromness are in this island (see articles
Kirkwall and Stromness). Pomona is divided into
thirteen parishes, which are supplied by eleven clergymen.
Of these divisions, if we except St Ola, or Kirkwall, Sten-
nis has the greatest claims on the attention of the travel¬
ler or the antiquary. Here are the Stones of Stennis, two
collections of what at one time must have been upright
pillars, forming a circle and a semicircle. Many of these
stones are now overthrown ; but the circle, when com¬
plete, seems to have been formed of thirty-five blocks ; its
diameter is three hundred feet, and the stones of which it
is composed vary from ten to sixteen feet in height, and
from two and a half to five feet in breadth. There have
been many conjectures as to the purpose of these erec¬
tions, and it is by no means certain even by whom they
were raised. One opinion is that they are of Druidical,
and another that they are of Scandinavian origin. A very
probable conjecture is, that the circle was dedicated to
the sun, and the semicircle to the moon, the frequent ob¬
jects of Scandinavian worship. Of these stones the most
interesting was one which stood near to, but did not form
part of, the circle; it was perforated by a small hole,
through which the heads of children were passed in order
to secure them against palsy in after-life, and through which
also lovers’ hands were joined, in token that the vows then
made should be faithfully kept. The contracts or agree¬
ments here made were peculiarly binding, and the promise
of Odin was regarded by an Orkneyman as of too solemn a
nature to be trifled with. The malice or stupidity of a
stranger, wTio rented a neighbouring farm, induced him, in
1814, to overthrow and break to pieces this curious relic
of ancient times. In front of the circle there is a large
horizontal stone, conjectured to have been used for sacri¬
ficial purposes ; and it has been thought that it was on this
altar that Einar, jarl of Orkney, son of Ronald, about the
year 893, or, according to other accounts, 930, stretched
Halfdan, the son of Harold the fair-haired, king of Nor¬
way, and, tearing out his lungs, presented the reeking gift
to his god. In the adjoining parish of Sandwich, the gran-
j
540
Orkney.
ORKNEY.
deur of the rocks must attract the attention of the visitor ;
and one huge archway, formed by the restless fury of the
waves, called the Hollow How, or the Hole of Row, is
particularly deserving of attention. Robert Steuart, earl
of Orkney, had a palace in Birsay, the next parish on the
north-west, the ruins of which still remain. Brand, who
The geology of these islands offers little to attract our Orb
attention. The Orkneys are said to consist of an assem-'s-v
blage of secondary strata, disposed round a high central
nucleus of primitive rocks ; but Professor Traill remarks,
that “ the mineral history of Orkney is singularly monoto¬
nous and uninteresting; the whole islands, with slight ex-
~f'. , , ' . • innn cn-irc “ tlin nalire is two sto- ception. consisting of horizontal or slightly inclined strata
r^X'Se^^p^.yJeco.ed.thecen-
rcL^lfoldtgTth ScriptuietsLes! aTuoah's flood, in a few places, containing beds of limestone, with some
Christ's riding to Jerusalem &c. and the Scripture rs set tra“s ^™anr'"ep,j®”a;sn known t0 conslst of 545 species,
down beside the figure. It was .nh*.ted wrthtn Aese ^ a careful exaraiMtioP„
Smed Mm thAe^ace wms Fauna 0™-
Stdr:rm~JTh^fectio„ of hisyh„uSe. It fld«^ur ^S^pS^r
dence of the treasonable designs of ^jJ^ertus ^The’hSor^of the islands will not detain us long. They
of Patrick, Earl Roberts son . Do ^ have been originally peopled by a Scandinavian
Stuartus, filius Jacobi quinti, rex Scotorum, p . , j.t^e certain is known till the year 870, when
struxi.” The two islands of Shapinshay an .. h tl Norwegian chiefs, who had fled from home because of
containing from ten to twelve sfl^are.mile ’1'e!0pptiief"°ind the fic orie of Harold the Fair-haired, arrived thSre. Ha-
of the Mainland. In the former lead ore 1^ been found, years afterwards, defeated them,
but not in quantities sufficient to remune a » a inted Ronald count of Moere jarl or earl ofOrk-
and the latter presents to the antiquary for his mvestiga- ^ aPP^int^ 1 succeeded after an interval and some
tion, tumuli, Piets' houses, standing stones, a"da "umber ""f; Ha ^ ^eZ whilst another son of his, Hoi-
of ancient graves. To the east of Rousay ts the beautiful fr0'm Charles the Simple, king of
island of Egdshay, the favourite summer re? France and becoming duke of that [uovince.was the grea:-
great-great-grandfather of William^the^Conqueroi'. The
islands, was basely murdered by his cousin Hacon, in 1110.
Beyond these, to the north-east, lie Stronsay, where there
is an extensive fishing station ; and Eday, an island that
can boast of a burgh of barony. Still farther north he
Sanday on the east, and Westray on the west. Hie for¬
mer, because of its superior productiveness, has been call¬
ed the granary of Orkney ; and it produces, or rather did
descendants of Ronald ruled as jarls for upwards of four
hundred years, when the male line terminated m the per¬
son of Magnus, the fifth earl of that name. He died about
1320 or 1330, leaving one daughter, Matilda, who became
the wife of Malise, earl of Stratherne, and had issue Isa-
bell, who married Sir William St Clair, baron of Rosslyn;
etl the granary of Orkney; and it produces, or rattier u,u and ^S^^JorS.^HuTtle was Emitted by
produce, fully one fifth of the kelp manufactured in all the the ScoWtsA “rls oMJ y enter-
islands. It is a flat, low-1,ing island; and, till the ereetton Hacon ^'nfhif " een the coyurts „f Gotland
of a lighthouse in the year 1806, proved fatal to many a ves- f St’ded t0 lhe former Man and the
sel. Westray is, will, the except,on o Sanday, the largest ^ Norwy, ‘he la“c “ f in ar, !om
of the north isles. In it are the remams of a strong castle, Western I lands, tor Pay " , tribu/e> not ha,.
of which Ben, who wrote in 1529, thus speaks = Es ex- called the Annual r“ln^r°er"a>;on amounled t0 a |arge
cellentissima arx stve castellum, sed nondum tamen adl uc g _ > h ne„otja,i0n on the subject, it was
completa.” A great many graves, generally f°™«l °f ‘"ra ’ ad tot *e arrea^f the anm.al should bo held as
flat stones, four standing on their edges, and resting o » , , James HI should marry Margaret of
the fifth, have been lately uncovered, m consequence of ^ ahVuld be 60,000 florins, and that
sand blowing. In them have been found the remams of Norway, tojte^dowryfi^ Sc’otla„d for five sixths
human bones, and of various weapons, offensive a , ^ tl js]ands to be redeemed on the payment
fensive. In all probability they are the graves of native %^ttv was entered into in H68. The
and strangers, who had fallen in some of the many battles of the mo )• y o-ften rise to
of which tradition preserves the remembrance. Separat- marriage-portion was nev p , . Norway to these
fd from Westray & a frith of a mile in breadth, is the
small island of Papa Westray, with its beautiful fresh-wa- islands has b<- > been for centuries
ter loch, in the middle of which is a small island, whereon into w nc i ' ‘ -pb earldom remained in the family
stood the chapel of St Tredwall. The most northerly of practically re o ved The earldom ema in, or
the islands is North Ronaldshay, containmg » -a „1 ufoted to. the crown of Scotland, never again,»
from four to six square miles, with a population ot
It was on a reef near this island that the Suetia of Got-
tenburf, an Indiaman, valued at half a million sterling,
was wrecked in 1740; and here, too, four years after¬
wards, another Indiaman, the Crown Prince of Denmark,
with thirty chests of treasure on board, was cast away.
Ht theV 1790, a lighthouse, seventy feet in height, bo^dTer'self to create
was erected on the north-east point ot the island ; but this Bo , k ' d tShim in possession of tlm
light being often mistaken for that in Sanday, misled ma- him Duke of Orkney P ^^ infeft> or, at all
riners, and it is now discontinued, the latter being regard- ndands. ^ Hejpea^ ^ he fle(1; a„d the duke-
ed as sufficient.
ot eclair tin Itti ij wiien it ^ o 0!nfn
rather was united to, the crown of Scotland,never ^ -
be alienated, except in favour of a lawful son of the ki g-
For almost a century the crown-lands were leased
nous tenants, till at length, in May 1564 Qn® “ary
granted a charter to Lord Robert Stuart, her c
by Dame Euphemia Elphinstone, constituting
of Orkney. Afterwards, by her marriage-con
0 R K
0 R L
541
dom was at an end. Earl Robert had no concern with
y Orkney from 1567 to 1581, but in the latter year he had
another grant of the earldom made to him. This was re¬
voked by King James upon his attaining his majority in
1587. Again, a farther grant was executed in favour of
him and his heirs in 1591, which in 1592 was confirmed
by parliament. Earl Robert died in that year, and the
earldom was once more resumed by the crown ; and once
more, in March 1600, Patrick, the son of Robert by the
Lady Jean Kennedy, got a grant of it in his favour ; and
in May of the same year he got a grant of the bishopric.
Earl Patrick’s crimes brought him to the scaffold in 1615;
and after his death 'the Orkneys were again unalienably
annexed to the crown, and again they were alienated in
1643. This deed was declared null and void in 1669; and
once more, in 1707, they were mortgaged to the Morton
family, burdened with an annual payment of L.500 to the
crown. In 1742, this mortgage was declared irredeem¬
able, and Lord Morton in 1766 sold his rights for L.60,000,
to Sir Laurence Dundas, in whose family they still re¬
main. From a calculation made by Sheriff in his agricul¬
tural survey, printed in 1814, it would appear that Lord
Dundas draws annually from his vassals in the earldom
L.2187. 11s. 9||d., payable partly in money and partly in
produce. In addition to this he has a large private pro¬
perty in the county.
Of the trade and manufactures of Orkney, it is not easy
to give any thing like an accurate estimate; but the fol¬
lowing may be looked upon as generally correct.
Years.
1770
1780
1790
1800
1820
1833
Exports.
L.
12,018
23,257
26,598
39,677
Shipping.
Tons.
825
940
2000
1375
2841
4049
Ships.
Sailors.
17
20
23
21
46
78
76
90
170
119
300
319
The exports consist chiefly of grain, fish, cattle and
sheep, butter, hides, rabbit-skins, and eggs. In 1833, it
is said, 100,000 dozens of eggs were exported, which, at
6d. a dozen, brought L.2500. The imports are of a most
miscellaneous description, and we have seen no probable
estimate of their value.
Till lately, the principal manufacture in the islands was
that of kelp, which at one time brought L.12, L.16, and
even L.20 a ton; but now the prices obtained barely suf¬
fice to cover the expenses of making and carrying it to
market. The greatest quantity ever made in one year
was in 1826, when 3500 tons were manufactured, which,
on an average, sold at L.7 a ton. The expense of cutting,
drying, and burning the sea-weed, amounts to about L.3
or L.3, 3s. a ton of kelp, and it costs about L.l more to
bring it to market; and, for some years, the price has
scarcely exceeded L.4. 10s. or L.5.
In 1833 there were forty vessels of about thirty tons
each engaged in the cod-fishery, and they caught and
cured 560 tons of fish, valued at L.l3 per ton. During
t ie same year, the produce of the lobster-fishery, in which
t ere were engaged 216 boats and 432 men, amounted to
• 800. The principal fishery, however, is the herring-
snery. In 1820 there were exported from Orkney 17,989
an els of herrings, which, at 10s. a barrel, would amount
o about L.8000 ; and in 1833 the number had amounted
0 4,000 barrels, valued at L.17,000. The principal
stations for this fishery are Huip in Stronsay, and StMar-
garets Hope in South Ronaldshay.
e chief manufacture in Orkney at present is that of
taw-plaiting. Twenty years ago, from six to seven thou¬
sand females were employed in this branch of trade ; and Orle
they are calculated to have drawn in wages L.20,000 an- II
nually. Since that time the plaiting of common straw has ^^r^eans'
been almost entirely discontinued, and that of the unsplit
straw of rye or wheat has been introduced. In 1833 there
were plaited 489,560 yards of Orkney straw, and 240,900
yards of foreign straw. I he former is thought tougher
than the latter, but the colour is not so pleasing. A bon¬
net that will cost L.4 contains about 140 yards of the
finest plait.
In Kirkwall there are two licensed distilleries, and there
is one in Stromness. In 1833 there were distilled 13,947
gallons of whisky, yielding to the revenue L.2324. 10s. of
duty. It has been calculated, that during the year to
which these estimates chiefly refer (viz. 1833), upwards
of L.60,000 was received in Orkney, principally from fish¬
eries, farm produce, and manufactures.
When Dr Barry wrote his history of Orkney, more than
thirty years ago, he pointed out many defects in the sys¬
tem of Orkney farming. Some of these still remain, but
many of them have disappeared ; and, as old prejudices
wear away, and landlords see that it is for their own no
less than for their tenants’ advantage to grant leases of
some duration, and when both parties are convinced that
a proper rotation of crops should be insisted on, and when
fencing and draining have been carried to a greater ex¬
tent than has yet been done, we may hope to witness a
still more marked improvement. The grain almost exclu¬
sively raised in Orkney is barley, or rather bear or big (/tor*
deum tetrasiechon), and gray oats (arena strigosd). We
have seen wheat tried, but the result of the experiment
was not encouraging.
In conclusion, we would remark, that the inhabitants of
these islands are in general not overmuch inclined to la¬
bour when at home, but that when abroad they can be
made to exert themselves. They are somewhat supersti¬
tious, but are nevertheless well informed on many sub¬
jects ; whilst the upper classes, as a body, are not inferior
to their equals in station in any part of Scotland. All
classes are universally acknowledged to be kind, courteous,
and most attentive to strangers.
( Orkneyinga Saga ; Torfaei Rerum Orcademium His-
toria; Brand’s Brief Description of Orkney, 8$c.; Wal¬
lace’s Description of Orkney; M'Kenzie’s Greevances of
Orkney; Fea On the Fisheries of Orkney ; Low’s Fauna
Orcadensis ; Barry’s History ; Sheriff’s Agricultural Scene¬
ry ; Neill’s Tour; Peterkin’s Rentals and Notes; Groat’s
Thoughts on Orkney.')
OIILE, Orlet, or Orlo, in Architecture, a fillet under
the ovolo, or quarter round, of a capital. When it is at
the top or bottom of a shaft, it is called cincture.
ORLEANS, an arrondissement of the department of
the Loiret, in France, extending over 1012 square miles.
It comprises fourteen cantons, divided into 111 communes,
and in 1836 contained 141,637 inhabitants. The capital is
the city of the same name, being the seat of a bishop, and
of the departmental boards of the government and courts of
law. It stands on the right bank of the Loire, over which
there is a fine bridge of sixteen arches. It is surrounded
with walls, which, being planted with trees, form pleasing
promenades. In general, it contains anciently built houses,
and narrow streets, though there is one exception in the
suburbs. The cathedral is a fine old building, as well as
the town-house, and the chatelet, formerly the residence
of the Duke of Orleans. There are five hospitals, an ex¬
change, an academy, a lyceum with a library of 36,000 vo¬
lumes, and a theatre. The city contains 4600 houses, with
40,272 inhabitants. It is a place of extensive trade, hav¬
ing manufactories of serges and other woollens, several
sugar-refineries, distilleries, breweries, and china-w'orks.
It is also a depot for the wines of Languedoc and Guienne,
542
OEM
Orleans, and for brandies of its own preparation, as well as for
Peter those of Cognac, Chinan, Samur, and Blois. It has long
Joseph oiven a titie t0 a branch of the Bourbon family, and has
^ been much celebrated for its defence under the famous
v . , Maid of Orleans. Long. 1. 49. 23. E. Lat. 47. 54. 10. N.
Orleans, New, a city of Louisiana, one of the United
States of North America. See Louisiana.
Orleans, Peter Joseph, a French Jesuit, was born at
Bourges in 1641. He taught belles-lettres for some time in
his society, but afterwards devoted himself to the writing
of history; and this pursuit he continued till his death,
which happened in the year 1698. He wrote a History o
the Revolutions of England ; a History of the Revolutions
of Spain; a History of two conquering Tartars, Chunchi
and Camhi; the Life of Father Coton; and some other
pieces. His History of the Revolutions in England, under
the family of the Stuarts, from the year 1603 to 1690,
was translated in English, and published at London in
1711, one vol. 8vo ; to which is prefixed an Introduction,
by Mr Laurence Echard, who says, that “ the great va¬
rieties and wonderful changes in these reigns are here ju¬
diciously comprised in a moderate volume, with no less
perspicuity than strictness, and with a beautiful mixture
of short characters, nice reflections, and noble sentences,
which render the whole agreeable and instructive.
ORLOP, in nautical language, the uppermost space or
deck in a great ship, reaching from the main to the mizen-
mast. In three-deck ships, the second and lowest decks
are sometimes called orlops.
ORME, Robert, the historian of British India, born
at Aniengo, in Travancore, was the son of Ur Alexander
Orme ; and his mother was a Miss Hill, a sister of Mrs Ro¬
bert Adams. ,
He was sent to England at the age of two years, and
placed under the care "of Mrs Adams, who lived in Caven¬
dish Square. His literary education commenced very ear¬
ly, for he went to Harrow at six, having been previously,
for a twelvemonth, under the private tuition of a clergy¬
man in the neighbourhood. For seven or eight years he
applied to his classical studies as a school-boy with great
diligence; and when he was thirteen, he was placed in
the^office of the accountant of the African Company, in
order to gain some practical knowledge of the principles
of commerce.
In 1742 he went out to Calcutta, and was there enga¬
ged in a mercantile house of respectability; he made a
voyage to Surat in their concerns, and on his return, in
1743, he received from England the appointment of a
writer. Five years afterwards he was promoted to the
rank of factor in the company’s service. In 1752, having
been desired to give his opinion on the regulation of the
police of Calcutta, he drew up a memorial on the subject,
which did great credit to the accuracy and profoundness
of his views of the manners, the habits, and the interests
of the country.
He returned to England in 1753, upon a visit to his aunt,
and he was much consulted, during his stay in London, by
Lord Holderness, then secretary of state, with regard to
the policy to be observed towards the French government
respecting the affairs of India. He went out again in 1754,
and took his seat as a member of the council at Fort St
George. He had here an opportunity of effectually serv¬
ing the company by the vigour of his political conduct, and
of greatly contributing to the establishment of the decided
preponderance of the English interest in India. After the
well-known affair of the Black Hole of Calcutta, he was
particularly active in promoting the appointment of Colonel
Clive to the command of the expedition destined to punish
the cruelty of the tyrant who was the author of that out¬
rage • although his friendship with Colonel Clive did not
continue uninterrupted through life. Mr Orme’s exertions
OHM
on this and other occasions were so highly appreciated by One
the directors, that he was nominated as eventual successor
to the government of Madras; but he did not stay long
enough to profit by the appointment. In the capacity of
accountant-general, he became intimate with Mr Alexan¬
der, afterwards Lord Caledon, who was his deputy, and
with Mr Dalrymple the hydrographer, to whom he showed
many civilities, from a conviction of his merits. Mr Ben¬
jamin Robins, the historiographer of Anson’s Voyage, had
also been one of his early friends, that is, during his first
residence in India; for this singularly active person died
in 1751.
Mr Orme’s situation in India was extremely favourable
for the acquisition of historical information, which it was
the delight of his life to collect; but his health requiring
a change of climate, he sailed for Europe on board of the
Grantham in 1758. The ship, however, was captured in
January 1759, off the Cape of Good Hope, and carried to
the Mauritius; but after having been detained there for
some time, Mr Orme was allowed to proceed to the Cape,
and thence to France. Having landed at Nantes in the
spring of 1760, he paid a visit to Paris, where he amused
himself for some months with the literature and the theatres
of the day; and his biographer has preserved some inte¬
resting remarks that they suggested to him. In October
he arrived in London, and engaged a house which had
been lately built in Harley Street.
He employed himself for the two succeeding years upon
his Military History, sparing no pains nor expense to com¬
plete the collection of materials, which he had begun to
form in India, and to prepare the work, with all possible
care, for the press. The first volume appeared in 1763,
and was received with great approbation. The company
not only granted him free access to their records, but gave
him also the appointment of their historiographer, with a
salary of L.400 a year. After this time, he resumed some
of his classical studies, which he had discontinued so long
as to have forgotten almost all that he had learned; but
he soon recovered his knowledge of the ancient languages,
and added to them afterwards such of the modern ones as
he found likely to be subservient to his pursuits. His hours
of leisure were chiefly passed in the enjoyment of literary
society ; he became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
in March 1770 ; and about the same time he became inti¬
mate with Lord Sandys, and with Sir James Harris. Sir
William Jones, Dr Robertson the historian, Dr Pemberton,
Dr Wilson, Athenian Stuart, and Nourse the bookseller,
were also among his particular friends; as well as Mr Rouse
Boughton, afterwards Sir Charles Rouse Boughton, to whose
urbanity and thorough acquaintance with the Persian lan¬
guage he was indebted for several of his historical docu¬
ments. He obtained additional information tor the com¬
pletion of his History from the French general De Bussy,
who had been much concerned in some of the transactions
narrated in his first volume, and who was so much satis¬
fied with his candour and impartiality that he invited mm
to his house in the country, and entertained him there, m
1773, with great kindness and hospitality.
After the publication of the second volume ot his His¬
tory, he had ample leisure to amuse himself with literary
pursuits of a more general nature ; but in 1784 he suft -
ed a severe affliction from the loss of his nephew, Mr n-
sea, who was shipwrecked, with his wife and family, upo
their return from India, on board of the Grosvenor.
1792 he retired to Ealing, where he continued to re
till the time of his death, which happened on the
January 1801. .
Good sense and sound judgment were the principa
tures of his character. His works are more distingu
by simplicity, clearness, and precision, than by any J
powerful eloquence, or a very nice discrimination o
0 R M
racter. He was not, however, deficient either in command
of language or in poetical feeling. Sir William Jones and
^ Dr Robertson paid him some very high compliments, in
^ their private correspondence, for the elegance and purity
of his style ; and the former of these writers has also cha¬
racterized him, in his third Discourse, as possessing an “ex¬
quisite taste for every fine art.” We find also, amongst a
few miscellaneous poems collected by his biographer, a re¬
markable little Address to the Moon, written at Madras in
1757, which is manifestly the original of a well-known
Greek epigram and a Latin ode of Sir William Jones ; and
certainly the compliment of having been “ set to music,
and much admired,” must be considered as far inferior to
that of having been repeatedly imitated and translated by
a poet of a judgment so correct, and a taste so refined, and
having been called the production of “ a man of great ta¬
lents, and a particular friend of the translator.”
1. Of his works, the earliest in its origin was his Gene¬
ral Idea of the Government and People of Indostan. It
was principally written in 1752, and finished during his
return to England in the next year. A part of it was pre¬
fixed to his Military History, and it is printed in its entire
state among his posthumous works.
2. History of the Military Transactions of the British
Nation in Indostan, from the year 1745. A Dissertation
on the Mahommedan Conquests and Establishments in In¬
dostan is prefixed to the first volume. “ No historian,”
says the author of the Annual Register for 1764, “ seems
to have been more perfectly informed of the subject on
which he has undertaken to write ; and very few have pos¬
sessed more fully the talent of impressing it, in the clear¬
est and most vivid manner, on the imagination and under¬
standing of his reader.” The first volume, published in
1763, extends to 1756; and the second, published in 1778,
carries the history down to the peace of 1763.
3. Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, from the
year 1659, 8vo, London, 1782 ; first published anonymous¬
ly, but acknowledged and reprinted in 4to in 1805; to¬
gether with the Origin of the English Establishment at
Broach and Surat, the General Idea of the Government and
People of Indostan, and a Life of the Author. The His¬
torical Fragments is a work of considerable research, mak¬
ing a sort of episode to the Military History, to which it
affords some additions and corrections. It relates princi¬
pally to the sanguinary Aurungzebe and his immediate suc¬
cessors, and to his contemporary, Sevagi the “ Morattoe,”
the professed descendant of Porus. The Essay on the
Trade of Surat is a fragment which was left unfinished by
the author.
4. Several hundred volumes of Mr Orme’s manuscript
i collections, together with some scarce printed tracts re-
ating to oriental history, are carefully preserved in the
library of the East India Company.
ORMEA, a city of the province of Mondovi, in the con¬
tinental part of the kingdom of Sardinia, and situated on
the river Tanaro. It is surrounded with old walls, and has
a citadel, a collegiate church, and 800 ill-built houses,
; 5460 inhabitants, who carry on an extensive trade in
ORMOND, the northern division of the county of Tip¬
perary, m the province of Munster, in Ireland. For a long
^aVe earh an(I afterwards of marquis
u y3’t0 t^le n°ble family of Butler, descended from a
s er o St Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury ;
p i ’ the accession of George I. the last duke was attaint-
0 igh treason, and died abroad. In that part of the
ountry the family had great prerogatives and privileges,
Wh^ were granted by Edwar^ 1 *
n , SKIRK, a market-town of the hundred of West
vprn m 1 he county of Lancaster, twelve miles from Li-
P o > and 210 from London. The parish is very exten-
O R M
543
su e, comprehending six townships and one chapelryr. The Ormuz.
town is well built, consisting of four streets crossing eachv
other at right angles. Its church is a handsome Gothic
stiucture, and is remarkable for having the tower and the
steeple detached from each other, so as to appear like two
churches. There is a good market on Thursday, and con¬
siderable trade at all times, arising from the navigable canals,
to which there is easy access. The population of Ormskirk
township amounted in 1801 to 2554, in 1811 to 3064 in
1821 to 3838, and in 1831 to 4251.
ORMUZ, a barren island in the Persian Gulf, on which
was formerly built a city, forming a vast emporium of In¬
dian trade, and celebrated for its wealth and its extended
commerce all over Asia. This island is about twelve
miles in circumference, and resembles, when viewed from
the sea, a mass of rocks and shells thrown up by some vio¬
lent convulsion from the bottom of the ocean. Not more
than 500 inhabitants are contained within the walls of the
fort and a wretched suburb. A range of hills intersects
the island from east to west, from the suburb to these
heights is about a mile and a half, and the ground conti¬
nues level about two miles along the northern shore. This
whole space is one mass of ruins; and it is only where
the reservoirs of water have been made that the buildings
are in any thing like a perfect state. According to the
account of Kinneir, these appear to have been made in the
shape of a hollow cylinder, covered by an arch of solid
masonry; and it is probable, he adds, that every house of
consequence had one of these reservoirs, as there is only
a record of one well of fresh water ever having been on
the island, and that is now dry. The rocks of Ormuz con¬
sist almost entirely of fine crystal salt; and, from various
specimens which are found on the surface, there can be little
doubt of its abounding with sulphur and a variety of me¬
tals, especially iron and copper. It is mentioned that the
southern part of the island is one entire heap of cliffs and
rocks. > These sink abruptly, towards its northern extre¬
mity, into a plain, comprising an extent of six or eiMit
square miles of comparatively level country, terminatmo-
in a sandy spit that divides the harbour of Ormuz into two
parts, and on which stands the old Portuguese fort. The har¬
bour is tolerably good, being surrounded on all sides by the
land, though the bottom affords good anchorage. The
fort, which is still in a good state of repair, is built on
a narrow neck of land jutting into the sea, by which the
walls are washed on the northern and western sides, and was
never of great extent or regular figure. The walls have
been most carefully and substantially built of the rock af¬
forded by the island. Strong bastions command each face,
and the height from the water to the ramparts may be about
eighty feet. The walls are in good repair, but the inte¬
rior is in ruins. Two large reservoirs for supplying them
with water still subsist, and both are covered in. The roof
of one rests on two rows of massy pillars, and its diameter
is about 100 feet. The fort was formerly separated from
the mainland by a canal cut through the neck of land,
and this was crossed by a drawbridge ; but it is now chief¬
ly filled up, the eastern part serving as a dock for repair¬
ing boats. A rotten plank is the only passage to the gate¬
way, which is strongly defended by guns from the neck of
the opposite bastion. Several iron and two brass guns are
mounted on the walls, bearing the Portuguese arms. The
carriages of the guns are so bad that they would not bear a
single discharge. A mud wall, just beyond the old ditch,
encloses between itself and the fort the few miserable huts
that are occasionally tenanted on the island. “ Beyond this,”
says Frazer, in his Narrative of a Journey through Kho-
rassan (p. 47), “ upon the plain extending to the feet of
the mountains, lie scattered the ruins of the ancient Ara¬
bian and Portuguese city, with its villas and seats, which
are constructed of such perishable materials that scarcely
544
O R M
Ormuz, any relics of importance are to be seen. The only re
markable object is a tower near the waU, which I ra
conjectures to have been a minaret built by Shah Abbas
after he had captured the place. Along the shore both o
the eastern and western bays, not far from the water
edge, may be still seen a row of ruined houses, arcaded
into apartments of various sizes and dimensions, which,
in the opinion of Frazer, have been sirdabs or underground
apartments for retiring to in warm weather, or cellars for
receiving merchandise. The whole was of the same solid
architecture as the first. The ground beyond, for a -
siderable space towards the mountains, was thickly stre
ed with broken tiles, pottery, glass, and the other u
destructible relics of an eastern city thrown ^to heaps o
rubbish. Ormuz thus was possessed of no natural adva
ta^es either from soil or climate; the heats during the
summer being scarcely supportable by the human frame.
It produces no articles of provision, n°t eve« » dr0P f
water • so that it required a great exertion to render it
habitable. The greater portion of the i^and consists o
volcanic rocks, and the remainder of uneven stony place ,
strongly impregnated with salt; so that the means of
proving the^country do not exist. Not a tree nor a shrub
can beS raised; for the first necessary, water, is entirely
wanting, and all vegetable supplies come from Kishmee
or the mainland. Considering the barrenness of the island
Frazer doubts where the blooming and aromatic shrubs,
that in former times were said to have decorated the
streets, could have been found. The surface of the plain,
though level when contrasted with the mountains beyond
it, is still found extremely rugged on a nearer approacji,
and broken into ravines. The rocks are strongly impreg¬
nated with iron ; they rise in rugged amorphous masses,
strewing the ground with ruins, from which the mountains
rise abruptly in bare desolate crags, and sharp, lofty peaks,
of every variety of form and hue. “ In many parts, says
Frazer, “ these, as well as the plains below, have a volcanic
appearance, and a looseness of texture that alarms the tra¬
veller lest the surface should give way under Ins foot and
swallow him up in yet smoking ashes. The only produc s
of Ormuz are iron in various shapes, sulphur , salt, which
produced from several salt springs, and is the only source
of revenue in the island. The export in the company
ships is prohibited, lest it should interfere with the mono¬
poly of salt in India. But the export to other places is
considerable. The garrison of Ormuz consists °f eighty
soldiers belonging to the imaum of Muscat, who live im¬
mured in this desolate spot in great wretchedness. I he
broadsword and the target are their chief arms. These
swords are sharp and thin, and previous to an attack they
make them quiver and ring in the hand, with a jerk, whilst
held in an upright position, and then charge with loud
shouts. Ormuz was entirely indebted for its pre-eminent
splendour to commerce, and it was long tbe great depot both
of Indian and European produce. When the Portuguese
fleet had found their way to India round the Cape of Oood
Hope, they soon cast a covetous eye on the wealth ot Ur-
muz. They made several attempts to gain possession ot
it but without effect, till in 1514 it surrendered to Albu-
nuerque, who approached with an overwhelming force. It
continued to be one of the chief seats of the Portuguese
power till the reign of Shah Abbas, who conceived the
plan of its conquest, and of attaching it as an appendage
to the Persian empire. His attempt would have been vain
had he not been aided by an English squadron which hap¬
pened to be cruizing in these seas ; and the commanders of
which, being hostile to the Portuguese, readily fell in with
the schemes of the Persian monarch. Iheir combined
forces having landed, obliged the Portuguese to evacuate
the town and to retire to the castle, which was at last re¬
duced, chiefly by famine. Under the Persian regime the
O R N
town decayed ; the trade was ordered by the Shah to be O'
transferred to Gombroon, on the opposite coast; and all
the inhabitants at last followed, leaving only a Persian^ ;
garrison. About the end of the last century Ormuz was ‘1
taken possession of by the imaum of Muscat, and the inha¬
bitants were then reduced to forty families. But the fort
has since been repaired, and now contains 500 families.
Long. 56. 40. E. Lat. 27. 8. N.
ORNE, a department of France, formed out of the
southern part of the ancient province of Normandy and a
portion of the division of Perche. It lies between north
latitude 48. 12. and 48. 58., and in longitude between 1.1.
and 0. 50. west. It is bounded on the north by the depart¬
ments of Calvados and Eure, on the east by Eure and Loire,
on the south by Sarthe and Mayenne, and on the west by
La Manche and the sea. It is 2524 square miles in ex-
tent, or, according to the Almanac Royale, 645,254hectares,
of which 318,750 are under the plough, 63,750 are mea¬
dows and pasture, 61,500 are woods, and the remainder is
uncultivated, or the sites of towns, and the courses of rivers,
or roads. It is divided into four arrondissements, thirty-
five cantons, and 627 communes, and contains a popula¬
tion of 443,688 persons, who almost all adhere to the
Roman Catholic church. The face of the country is hilly,
though few of the elevations exceed 600 feet. Hie valleys
between these hills are most abundantly supplied with
streams of water, and it is said that no less than 300 rivers,
great and small, have their sources within the depai tment.
As a whole, it thus appears to be a lofty region. The Orne,
the Mayenne, and the Sarthe, are the great rivers by which
the water of the smaller streams runs to the ocean. Ihere
are many morasses, ponds, and small lakes between the
hills, but no canals. On the hills the soil is of a very ste¬
rile character, yielding only some scanty pasturage for
cattle. In the valleys it is better, but much of it is either
sandy or very stony. The climate is cold, but dry and
healthy. In the spring, from the height of the land, the
northerly winds often prove injurious to the blossoms o
the fruit-trees, and even to the corn. Ihe wheat, as well
as the rye, is peculiarly subject to blight. The agriculture
is badly conducted, although ot late somewhat improved.
It does not produce sufficient corn fiy a half years con¬
sumption, and what is raised is ot an indifferent quality.
The country people are generally poor; they are clothe
with coarse materials made by themselves, genera y wear
wooden shoes of their own fabrication, feed on buck¬
wheat and rye, and for drink have bad cider or perry.
No wine is produced within the department, nor is any
beer brewed. The products of most value are hemp and
flax, which grow of fine and long fibre, and the sale of them
procures the requisite corn from the neighbourhood. 1
cattle also yield some of the means of subsistence ^
breed of Norman horses is good, and the races have "e
years been improved by crosses with some of greater pmver.
Many young black cattle are bred, and many sheep, afew
which yield fine wool. The forests have been negleriech
and fuel is scarce. There are mines of iron, from ^.cn
about 150,000 quintals of wrought and of cast iro
yearly produced, and mostly converted into nails and
ironmongery goods. There are some fine hnens made,
and much pillow-lace is made by the females,
spun from their own flax. Those articles made from flaK
are the most valuable products of manufacturi g
A few cotton goods are also made ; and some lea h p
wax, honey, and bacon, may be added to he list rip
ducts. The city of Alenqon is the
partment, which elects four deputies to the ie0
^ORNITHLE, a name given by the an<r^t*
winds, which usually set in during the spring, at
when the birds of passage came over to them.
ORNITHOLOGY.
Ornithology, from cgy/s, bird, and Xoyoj, discourse, is
/that department of Zoology which treats of the history
and attributes of the feathered race. Birds form the se¬
cond great division of the animal kingdom, being usually
placed immediately after the Mammalia, and antecedent
to the reptile class. They may be defined as vertebrated,
oviparous animals, covered with feathers, organized for
flight, and enjoying a double system of circulation and re¬
spiration ; that is, their whole blood, like that of quadru¬
peds, must visit the lungs and return to the heart before
it is propelled to the extremities,—and the entire system is
provided with reservoirs of air, in addition to the lungs
properly so called.
The vast extent which the science of Ornithology has
acquired in recent times renders a full exposition impos¬
sible within our necessarily prescribed limits ; but we shall
endeavour at least to indicate the majority of the more
important groups, to figure and describe in each some in¬
teresting species, and by frequent reference to such au¬
thors as have most successfully treated o#the different
branches in detail, enable such of our readers as desire a
more elaborate view, to follow out the subject for them¬
selves. We presume it matters not with which depart¬
ment we commence. Let us begin, then, with the Bib¬
liography, which, however, need not detain us long.
Few if any important works have been transmitted to
us from antiquity. In the third book of Aristotle’s His¬
tory of Animals (llfj/ Zawv Ttfrog/a, the period being about
350 years before the Christian era) we find recorded
sundry observations, but brief and superficial, on the fea¬
thered race.1 His division seems to be into such as have
hooked claws, such as have separated toes, and such as
are web-footed ; and he observes, that the first have the
breast the most robust. He describes the differences in
the structure of the feet, and notices, that although the
generality have three toes in front, and one behind, yet a
few have only two toes in front. The bill supplies the
place of lips and teeth, and passages in different parts of
the head supply the place of the external organs of the
senses of smell and sound. The eyes are furnished with
a membrane like that possessed by lizards, but want eye¬
lashes. No bird with hooked claws has likewise spurs
upon its legs. These are a few examples of Aristotle’s
style of observation on the class in question.
Pliny was born about the twentieth year of the Chris¬
tian era. The tenth book of his Historia Naturalis treats
in part of birds, but in a very meagre and immethodical
manner. . He tells us of the raven and the phoenix, of the
ow the ibis, and the nightingale, of capons, and the cock-
nghts of Pergamus, and of the character and conduct of
'anous other birds.
For 1500 years from the time of Pliny we have no re¬
corded observations on Ornithology deserving of the read-
ers recollection. About the middle of the'16th century
Conrad Gesner, a native of Zurich, and a noted French¬
man called Pierre Belon, each published works in part
uevoted to Ornithology. The writings of Gesner (Histo-
ia rnmaliuni, 3 vols. folio) exhibit a cumbrous erudition,
^ a-sprinkling of original observation, but are chiefly
i • rac^eci horn ancient authors. Baron Cuvier regarded
im as an excellent compiler. His arrangement is alpha-
ica . belon s most successful efforts w'ere in the ich¬
thyological department, but even in his Historia Avium,
1 vol. folio, 1551, we may trace an improved spirit of ob¬
servation, although the basis of his classification would
scarcely suffice to support a system now-a-days. He di¬
vides the class of birds into six primary divisions. Isi,
The birds of prey, among which, misled probably by some
false analogy of plumage, he includes the cuckoo. 2d,
ihe Palmipedes. 3d, The Grallae, including, however, the
king-fisher, bee-eater, and other anomalous species. 4:th,
All the species which place their nests upon the ground,’
—an extraordinary bond of union, which of course brings
together the pheasant, the lark, and the woodcock. Ne¬
vertheless, our author does not confound them in his lesser
groups. 5fh, The omnivorous and insectivorous birds,
among which are placed the pigeons. 6th, The insecti¬
vorous and granivorous species, which habitually frequent
shrubs and hedges.
Another noted writer of the sixteenth century was Ulys¬
ses Aldrovandi of Bologna, whose works amount to thirteen
volumes folio ;—the majority of them, however, were not
published till after his death in 1606. The first three,
which treat of birds (as well as one on insects), made
their appearance in his lifetime, that is, from 1599 to 1603.
They contain some amusing information, amid avast mass
of learned rubbish borrowed from his predecessors. Profes¬
sor Savi, however, characterised the ornithological portion
as “ un monumento glorioso del suo instancabile zelo, delle
sue estese cognizioni ornithologiche, e della sua universale
erudizione.” It is at the same time entirely deficient in
scientific precision, and contains, amid much truth, a sad
intermixture of unmeaning fable. The edition with
which we are best acquainted is that of Bologna, 1634.
About nearly the same period a treatise w'as published
by Gommer de Luzaney, with the title of Be l Autour-
serie, which contains some good figures of the birds of prey
used in falconry. One of the earliest sketches of the
history of European birds is that given by Schwenkfeld, a
Prussian naturalist, in a volume entitled Theorio-Trophe-
vm Silesia, 1603. The arrangement is alphabetical.
Olina’s Uccelliera, which contains tolerable figures of a
few species not previously published, appeared at Rome
in 1622. It is a small affair, restricted to the description
of very few species, but contains accurate and interesting
records of their history and mode of capture, as practised
by the Italians, with whom la caccia, very different from
that of Melton Moubray, is a noted passion. A swarthy,
fire-eyed hunter of sixty-five is as proud of a string of
dead linnets as any young Scotchman of sixteen may be
of his first well-filled bag of grouse or black game.
We have next a dissertation on storks, cranes, and
swallows, by J. G. Swalbacius (Spire, 1630); a natural
history of Nurenberg (Antwerp, 1633); a description of
the birds of the West Indies, by Ue Laet (Leyden, same
year) ; a history of the birds of Brazil, by Marcgraaff (in
his Hist. Rerum Nat. Brasilia, Amsterdam, 1648); and
of those of Mexico, by Hernandez (in his Nova Plant.
Animal, et Min. Mexicanorum Hist. Rome, 1651). A
Scoto Pole of the name of Johnston published about this
period (some years elapsing during the completion of the
various parts) his Historia Animalium, of which the second
portion treats of birds. He is a follower, not so much
of nature, as of Belon, and other authors of the pre-
Historv,
we haveem!?16 ?^0Ur Preceding treatises on Natural History in this work (see, for example, the article Mammalia, vol. xiv. p. 74)
1 slight. 16 at 8red^er lenoth into the general character of the most ancient writers, our present notices are therefore extremely
546
ORNITHOLOGY.
History, cedino century, and was himself followed by Ruysch, a tooth-like process near the tip; the feet short, robust, Hi ,. .
whose, Theatrum Universale Animalium Omnium may be with acute hooked c aws. ‘ w
regarded as a second edition of Johnston’s work. The
   as a   - -
Natural and Medical History of the East Indies, by Bon-
tius, appeared in 1658, and contained descriptions of va¬
rious birds at that time new. Soon afterwards Perrault,
Borrichius, and Bartolinus, began to furnish the earliest
modern contributions to the anatomy of the feathered
race.
Willughby’s Ornithologia (a posthumous work, believ¬
ed to have been greatly amended and increased by Ray,)
was published in 1676. The first edition is in Latin, but
an English translation, enlarged, made its appearance two
years after. Ray’s own Synopsis Methodica Avium (et
Piscium) was likewise published posthumously, under the
care of Dr Derham, in 1713. The writings of these au¬
thors are remarkable, as manifesting an approach to a
more natural system of arrangement than had hitherto
prevailed ; but as they have been so frequently analysed,
we deem it unnecessary to occupy our space with any de¬
tailed exposition of their views. Baron Cuvier has term¬
ed Ray “ le premier veritable methodiste pour le regne
animal, guide principal de Linnaeus dans cette partie.”
In Sir Hans Sloane’s Voyage to Jamaica, &c. (1707-25),
we have notices of various birds, accompanied by rather
poor engravings ; but the work was of great use to science
in England, by the attention and emulation which it ex¬
cited in regard to natural objects, of which the author had
brought together upwards of 36,000, besides 200 volumes
of preserved plants. His collections formed the original
basis of the British Museum. A showy but inaccurate
work by Marsilli (1726) is devoted to an interesting sub¬
ject, the birds of the banks of the Danube. Albin’s Na¬
tural History of Birds, in 3 vols. 4to (1731—38), contains
above three hundred coloured figures of no great merit.
Yet it was afterwards reprinted in French, with additions,
at the Hague. About the same period w'as published
Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the
Bahama Islands, in 2 vols. lolio, and appendix (1731-43),
with numerous coloured plates of birds and other beings.
Frisch’s excellent work on German birds ( Vorstellung der
Vogel Deutschlands) was commenced at Berlin in 1734,
and was not completed when the author died. It was
continued by a stranger, and a collected edition of the
whole work, with two hundred and fifty-five plates, was
published in 1763. Although by no means highly finish¬
ed, these engravings are accurate, and exhibit a good deal
of the truth of nature. The arrangement is defective,
and retrogrades from that of Ray. Seba s great, or rather
large work, the Locupletissimi rerum naturalium Thesaiiri
accurata descriptio, was being carried on during this period
at Amsterdam, in four volumes folio (1734-65). It is un¬
worthy of being quoted, except in reference to the plates.
By this time the illustrious reformer of systematic na¬
tural history had made his appearance as an author ; the
first edition of the Systema Atawra’, consisting of only
fourteen pages folio, having been published at Leyden in
1735, when Linnaeus was not more than eighteen years of
age. It ran through twelve editions in little more than
thirty years; the twelfth impression, the last which the
author could himself revise, appearing at Stockholm in
1766-68. The influence exercised by the writings of the
great Swedish naturalist is too important to admit of our
proceeding farther without exhibiting a view of his clas¬
sification, so far at least as concerns the feathered race.
The following table presents an outline of the Linnsean
arrangement of birds, which he divides into six primary
Genus Vultur. Vultures. Beak hooked; head bare : eight
species.
Falco. Eagles and hawks. Beak hooked; head fea¬
thered : thirty-two species.
Strix. Owls. Beak hooked, feathers at its base di¬
rected forwards : twelve species.
Lanius. Shrikes. Beak straightish, notched: twenty-
six species.
Order II. PiciE. The bill cultriform, with the back
the feet short, rather strong.
convex
Genus Psittacus. Parrots. Beak hooked ; upper mandible
furnished with a cere : forty-seven species.
Bhamp/iastos. Toucans. Beak very large, hollow, con¬
vex, serrated ; both mandibles incurved at the tip:
eight species.
Buceros. Hornbills. Beak convex, curved, cultrate,
large, serrated ; forehead covered by a horny plate:
four species.
Buphaga. Beef-eaters. Beak straight, somewhat quad¬
rangular ; the mandibles bulging : one species.
Crotophaga. Plantain-eaters. Beak compressed, half
egg-shaped, arched, keeled on the back : two species.
Corvus. Crows. Beak convex, cultrate; nostrils co¬
vered by recumbent bristly feathers: nineteen species.
Coracias. Rollers. Beak conical, convex, straight,
acute ; upper mandible slightly longer, and indistinct¬
ly notched: twenty species.
Gracula. Grakles. Beak cultrate, convex, somewhat
bare at the base : eight species.
Paradisea. Birds of Paradise. Beak covered with the
downy feathers of the forehead ; feathers of the sides
long: three species.
Trogon. Curucuis. Beak shorter than the head, cul¬
trate, hooked, serrated : three species.
Bucco. Barbels. Beak cultrate, laterally compress¬
ed, notched at the tip, incurved, opening to beneath
the eyes: one species.
Cuculus. Cuckoos. Beak roundish; nostrils with a
prominent margin : twenty-two species.
Yunx. Wrynecks. Beak roundish, sharp pointed;
nostrils concave : one species.
Picus. Woodpeckers. Beak angular, straight, the
tip wedge-shaped; the nostrils covered with recum¬
bent bristly feathers : twenty-one species.
Sitta. Nut-hatches. Beak awl-shaped, roundish,
straight: three species.
Todus. Todus. Beak awl-shaped, a little flattened,
obtuse, straight, with spreading bristles at the base:
two species. ,. ,
Alcedo. King-fishers. Beak three-cornered, thicK,
straight, long : fifteen species.
Merops. Bee-eater. Beak curved, compressed, Keel¬
ed: seven species.
Upupa. Hoopoes. Beak arcuate, convex, a httiecoro-
pressed, rather obtuse : three species.
Certhia. Creepers. Beak arcuate, slender, acut .
twenty-five species. , , , t1ian
Trochilus. Humming-birds. Beak slender, longer tha
the head, its tip tubular: twenty-two species.
groups called orders.
Bill
Order III. Anseres. Web-footed water-fowl .
smooth, covered with epidermis, enlarged at thetip.
Order I. Accipitres, or birds of prey. The bill more
or less curved, the upper mandible dilated, or armed with
toes united by a web, the legs compressed and short.
Swans, geese, ducks. Beak lamellated at
Genus Anas.   , B , — .
the margin, convex, obtuse: forty-five spec
i *
ORNITHOLOGY.
Genus Mergus. Mergansers. Beak denticular cylindrical,
r the tip hooked : six species.
Alca. Auks. Beak short, compressed, convex, fur¬
rowed, the lower mandible with a prominent angle :
five species.
Procellaria. Petrels. Beak a little compressed ; the
upper mandible hooked, the lower channelled and
compressed at the tip : six species.
Diomedea. Albatrosses. Beak straight; upper man¬
dible hooked at the tip, lower abrupt: two species.
Pelecanus. Pelicans, solan-geese, cormorants. Beak
straight, the tip hooked, unguiculate : eight species.
Pdatus. Darters. Beak straight, sharp-pointed, den¬
ticulate : one species.
Phaeton. Tropic birds. Beak cultrate, straight, acu¬
minate : two species.
Cohjmbus. Divers. Beak slender, straight, sharp-point¬
ed: eleven species. r
Larus. Gull. Beak straight, cultrate, the tip slightly
hooked, the lower mandible with an angular pro¬
minence : eleven species. v
Sterna. Terns or sea-swallows. Beak slender, nearly
straight, acute, compressed : seven species.
Rynchops. Skimmers. Beak straight; upper mandible
much shorter, lower abruptly terminated: two species.
Oroer V. Gallin/e. Poultry and other gallinace¬
ous birds. Bill convex, the upper mandible arched over
the lower, the nostrils arched with a cartilaginous mem¬
brane. Feet with the toes separated, and rough beneath.
Genus Didus. Beak contracted in the middle, with two
transverse rugae; the tip of both mandibles bent in¬
wards : one species, now extinct.
Pavo. Pea-fowl. Head covered with feathers, those of the
rump elongated, with eye-like spots : three species.
Meleagns. lurkeys. Head covered with spongy ca¬
runcles ; the throat with a longitudinal membranous
wattle: three species.
Crux. Curassoes. Beak with a cere at the base; head
covered with recurved feathers: five species.
Phasianus. Domestic fowls and pheasants. Sides of
the head bare : six species.
Numida. Guinea-fowls. Carunculated wattles on each
side of the face ; head with a horny crest: one species.
Tetrao. Grouse and partridges. Bare papillae near the
eyes: twenty species.
Order VI. Passeres. Passerine birds, and others. Bill
conical, sharp pointed; feet slender, the toes separated.
Order IV. Grall;e. Waders or shore-birds. Bill
somewhat cylindrical; the feet long, bare above the tarsus,
and formed for wading.
Genus Phcemeopterus. Flamingoes. Beak incurvated as
if broken, denticulate ; feet webbed: one species.
Platalea. Spoon-bills. Beak flattish, the tip dilated,
rounded, and flat: three species.
Palamedea. Screamers. Beak conical; the upper man¬
dible hooked: two species.
Myctena. Jabiru. Beak acute; lower mandible tri¬
gonal, ascending ; upper three-cornered, straight: one
species.
Cancroma. Boat-bills. Beak bulging; the upper man¬
dible resembling a boat with the keel uppermost: two
species.
Ardea. Herons and cranes. Beak straight, acute, long,
a little compressed, with a furrow from the nostrils to
the tip: twenty-six species.
Tantalus. Ibis. Beak long, slender, arcuate; face
bare: seven species.
Scolopax. Snipes and curlews. Beak long, slender, ob¬
tuse ; face feathered: eighteen species.
Innga. Sand-pipers, or shore-larks. Beak roundish,
as long as the head; nostrils linear; feet with four
toes: twenty-three species.
Charadrius. Plovers. Beak roundish, obtuse; feet
with three toes ; twelve species.
Recurvirostra. Ayosets. Beak slender, recurved, point¬
ed, the tip flexible : one species.
Rcmatopus. Oyster-catchers. Beak compressed, the
tip wedge-shaped : one species.
tuhca. Coots. Beak convex; upper mandible arch¬
ed over the lower, which has a prominent angle:
seven species. fo
Tana Jacanas. Beak roundish, rather blunt; fore¬
head wattled ; wings spurred : five species.
armt’ Beak thicker at the base> compressed,
acute: ten species.
shfm* ir^n,mPeter* Beak conical, convex, rather
O,- Pp; the YpPer mandible longer : one species.
• Bustards. Beak with the upper mandible arch-
ed. four species.
Pstrich and cassuary. Beak somewhat co-
niLa ; win§s for flying : three species.
Genus Columba. Pigeons. Beak straight; nostrils with
a tumid membrane : forty species.
Alauda. Larks. Beak slender, pointed; tongue slit;
hind claws very long : eleven species.
Sturnus. Starlings. Beak slender, pointed ; flattened
towards the point: five species.
Turdus. 1 brushes. Beak subulate, compressed, notch¬
ed : seven species.
Ampelis. Chatterers. Beak awl-shaped, depressed at
the base, notched : seven species.
Loxia. Gross-beaks, bullfinches, &c. Beak conical,
bulging at the base: forty-eight species.
Emberiza. Bunting. Beak somewhat conical; lower
mandible broader : twenty-four species.
Tanagra. fanager. Beak notched, awl-shaped, coni¬
cal at the base : twenty-one species.
Motacilla. Wagtails and warblers. Beak awl-shaped ;
tongue jagged; claw of the hind toe of moderate
length: forty-nine species.
Pipra. Manakin. Beak awl-shaped, feathers at its
base directed forwards ; tongue abrupt: fourteen spe¬
cies. r
Hirundo. Swallows. Beak very small, depressed at the
base, incurved; the mouth wider than the head:
twelve species.
Caprimulgus. Goat-suckers. Beak very small, incurv¬
ed, depressed at the base ; large bristles; the mouth
very wide : two species.
The amount of species in the class of birds with which
Linnaeus had to form his system did not greatly exceed
nine hundred. Yet with what admirable tact has he seized
upon the characteristic forms which so long served as the
nuclei around which so many other species were assem-
bled. It is true that his arrangement, like all other in¬
ventions of human genius, is liable to many objections, and
may not suit the subject in the wide extent acquired in re¬
cent times; but when we see how closely his ordinal di¬
visions accord even with the most elaborate arrangements
of modern days, and how gracefully his generic groups may
now be formed into more extended families, each retain¬
ing such strong affinities in its constituent parts, we the
more incline to marvel at the two following circumstances ;
—1st, That Linnaeus himself should have so far advanced’
before his age, and anticipated the labours of posterity:
2d, that that posterity, or such portion of the same as in-
547
History.
548
ORNITHOLOGY.
History.
cline not seldom to sneer at his unprecedented and even
now unequalled labours, should not perceive that it is to
his system they are indebted for almost all that is of any
value in their own. But on this subject we shall not here
enlarge.
It has been sometimes remarked, that the characters
given by Linnaeus to his orders are totally inapplicable to
many of the species which each contains. Thus the vul¬
tures, it is said, which belong to the first order, have no
projecting processes on the upper mandible; the parrots,
which are referred to the second, have the bill hooked, not
cultriform, and bear no resemblance to the other species;
among the Anseres, which are characterised as having the
bill smooth, covered with epidermis, and enlarged at the
tip, are the gannets, with a bare and pointed bill, and the
divers, terns, and gulls, with bills not at all answering to
the description given ; among the Grallae, with a cylindii-
cal bill, are the ostrich, with a short depressed one, the
canchroma, with one resembling a boat, the spoon-bill, the
heron, the flamingo, and others, the bills of which differ
from each other as much as from those of the snipes and
curlews ; the character given to the bill of the Gallinae
agrees with that of many Passeres; and the wag-tail, the
swallow, the tit-mouse, the red-breast, and numerous other
small birds, have bills very different from those of the gold¬
finch, bunting, bullfinch, and cross-bill, which, neverthe¬
less, are all defined under the same order, and by a similar
phrase.1 We believe the truth to be, that the more natu¬
ral an order is, the greater the difficulty becomes of ex¬
pressing its characters in a single line, in accordance with
the briefness of the Linnacan method,—because none of
these characters, taken in disconnection, remain unmodi¬
fied throughout the extended series of beings which they
are intended to define. There is always a blending or
transition towards other groups, so that the character.ex¬
pressed in words must be regarded as applying in force
rather to certain species which exemplify the whole, and
towards which the others tend, than to the entire as¬
semblage. Now the Linnaean genera are often natural
as family groups, though their constituent portions may
not accord with the definition ; and as they become ex¬
tended, or rather filled up, by the discovery of new
species, the difficulty increases. Many of the modi¬
fying species, or connecting links, were totally unknown
in the time of the great Swedish observer, who ‘seized
chiefly upon the more prominent and tangible points ;
and the necessity of forming new subdivisions in no way
invalidates his claims upon the gratitude of all lovers of
the lucidus ordo. At the same time his early disciples
erred (though less grossly than many of the later rene¬
gades) in viewing all living things as merely destined to
clothe with flesh and blood the gigantic frame-work which
he had erected,—as if his exposition of the system of
nature were in fact itself that system,—as if the highest
attainments of any one, however gifted, in either art or
science, were ever more than the passionate expression of
some dim vision of truth, perceived through the influence
of the love of knowledge. With all the lights of modern
method, and the vaunted improvements in classification,
see we not still “ through a glass darkly?” Have not
some of those who talk slightingly of the Swedish sage
never contrived to see through the glass at all ?
During the thirty years which elapsed between the first
and twelfth editions of the Systema Natural, several im¬
portant additions were made to Ornithology from other
quarters. Edwards, especially, in his Natural History of
Birds, and other rare undescribed Animals, and in his
Meanings in Natural History, amounting in all to seven
volumes 4to (1743 and after years), made known in a H p
rough but recognisable style, many new and interesting'*"'
species. “ C’est le recueil,” says Cuvier, “ le plus riche
pour les oiseaux apres les planches enluminees de Buffon”
During the same period a letter was published at Pappen-
heim, on the birds of the Black Forest, by J. H. Zorn,
Epistola de Avibus Germanics, prccsertim Sylvee Hercynice,
which contains many excellent observations ; and the cor¬
respondence was afterwards extended by Briickmann in his
Aves in Germania obvice Epistolar. Itinerar. cent. ii. epist.
18, and Aves Sylvee Hercynice, ibid, epist. 17. In Ander¬
son’s Natural History of Iceland and Greenland (1750), we
have among the earliest authentic notices of the Zoology
of these northern regions. Klein and Maering each pub¬
lished systematic works, but based on very artificial prin¬
ciples, at this epoch. In Brown’s Civil and Natural His¬
tory of Jamaica, there are several ornithological contribu¬
tions ; and we may here name another excellent English
work, Borlase’s Natural History of Cornwall, which appear¬
ed at Oxford in 1758. In 1760 Brisson published his great
systematic Ornithologie, in six volumes 4to, still of value
for the minute though laborious exactness of the descrip-
tions. H is method is founded entirely on the form of the
bill and feet, the number of the toes, and the manner in
which these are united, with or without membrane, to
each other. The Ornithologia Borecdis of Brunnich ap¬
peared at Copenhagen in 1764.
The Storia Naturale degli Uccelli, printed at Florence
in 1767, is the most extensive of all the Italian works on
Ornithology, after that of Aldrovandi. It is frequently
named by Temminck and other modern writers, most of
whom, however, from their vague references, may be safe¬
ly inferred to quote at second hand. It consists of a large
collection of plates both of indigenous and exotic birds,
executed with sufficient exactness, considering the slight
practice which obtained in those days in the representa¬
tion of natural objects. The position of most of the figures,
as Signor Savi remarks, is forced and unnatural; and we
may see at once that the artist was guided more by his
own fancies than the accustomed observance of living na¬
ture. “ Illuminatio non semper optima, nec optimus sem¬
per avium situs,” are the observations made by Bcehmer.2
The plates were engraved from drawings in the collection
of a Florentine patrician, the Marchese Giovanni Gerini,
a passionate lover of Ornithology, who passed much of his
time in collecting, and causing to be described and figured,
whatever birds he could procure from every clime and coun¬
try. After his death some learned men, unfortunately not
much skilled in Ornithology, supposing either that general
erudition might suffice for science, or that the superficial
study of a few books might compensate the want of laborious
observations carried on from year to year, undertook to pub¬
lish Gerini’s uncompleted work, to fill up the voids which
he had left, and even to alter what he had already done.
They thus compiled a superficial text, in which they con¬
fused the classification, mistook the species, omitted seve¬
ral of the most interesting, and neglected the localities,—so
that a work which, in the hands of an able editor, might
have added a new glory to the already illustrious literature
of Italy, became nothing more than a disorderly collection
of figures. It is, however, of some value, chiefly as con¬
taining representations of species not previously known,
such as Falco cenchris, FringiUa cisalpina, Sylvia province
alis, melanocephala, and melanopogon, Sterna leucoplera, c.
From the year 1767 onwards, Fallas, in his Spfdegw
Zoologica, the narrative of his various Travels, ana the c
of the Royal Academy of St Petersburg, contributed to
nithology, as to most other branches of zoological scienc ,
1 Macgillivray’s Lives of Zoologists, vol. i. p. 275.
2 Bibliotheca Scriptorum IJistorice Naturalis, kc. tom. ni p*
502.
ORNITHOLOGY.
and about the same time the industrious Pennant was ao
'tively engaged in his important labours. His numerous
well-known works need not be here particularised. The
great collection published at Nuremberg by Schligmann in
1768, though amounting to nine volumes folio, including
an indifferent text, seems chiefly copied from preceding
works, such as those of Catesby and Edwards. In 1770
and following years, Noseman, in-conjunction with Sepp
the engraver, published, in Dutch, his History of the Birds
of the Low Countries. The concluding fasciculi are by
Houttuyn. Baron Cuvier thinks the figures “ remarkable
for their elegance.” Mr Swainson regards them as “poor
and unnatural.” The year 1770 is farther marked as an
important epoch, by the appearance of the first two volumes
of the Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, by BufFon. That
illustrious writer was the first to clothe the descriptive
portion of the science with colours as bright and varied as
those which beautify the fairy forms of which he treats,
but which had hitherto been viewed as it were only by
the half-closed eye of the technical describer. The Planches
Enlminees, afterwards published by Daubenton the youn¬
ger, in illustration of BufFon’s work, amount to above a
thousand plates of birds, being the greatest and most
important collection yet achieved in this department. In
1774 we have the Elementa Ornithologica, by SchcefFer,
whose system rests entirely on the legs and feet of birds,
the primary sections being divided into nudipedes and
plumipedes, while the orders and genera are determined by
the number, position, and connection of the toes. He
never employs the bill when he can help it; from which
we may infer the nature of the work, and its probable uti¬
lity to the student.
The Voyages aux Indes, &c. by Sonnerat (1775 and suc¬
ceeding years), contains figures and descriptions of many
new exotic species. Scopoli’s Introductio ad Historiam Na-
turalem, published at Prague in 1777, exhibits a systematic
distribution of birds, based on the form of the scales which
cover the tarsi. Thus the species which, like the gene¬
rality of the accipitrine kinds, parrots, the gallinse, grallce,
and palmipedes, have those parts covered by small poly¬
gonal scales, form the section called retepedes ; while the
others, which have the tarsi protected in front by semicir¬
cular plates, bordered behind on each side by a longitu¬
dinal furrow, constitute the scutipedes. The general result,
however, of this view is by no means successful. In 1776
Francesco Cetti published his Uccelli di Sardigna, a small
octavo volume, containing descriptions of only a portion of
the Sardinian birds, but valuable, from its notices of their
habits, and the description of various new species.
Latham’s General Synopsis commenced in 1781. How¬
ever faulty in relation to the present state of the science,
it was a work of great merit for its time, and contains, un-
er not very appropriate names, by no means inaccurate
descriptions of many rare birds, some of which have since
been published, by more recent writers, as entirely new.
Under this head we may mention both the Index Orni-
tmogicus of the same author (1790), and his greatly en¬
larged and more modern work, the General"History of
w s, ten volumes 4to, 1821-24, which combines the two
preceding (with their supplements); but is, we regret to
! 5ay, a mere combination of those rather obsolete mate-
rja s, without critical discrimination, or any correction of
>6 ancient errors. There is great increase without much
progression. Nearly contemporaneous with Latham’s first
iT0r ’ We contributions to Ornithology by Gilius,
err em, and Jacquin. About 1783 Mauduit commenced
e rmthology of the Encyclopedic Methodique, for which
onateire formed the system of classification which ac-
i •ompanies the volume of indifferent plates. Of the de-
iptive portion an excellent modern continuation, if not
0 etlon> ^as been published bv M. Vieillot, in three vo¬
lumes 4to, 1823. Sparmann, a pupil of Linnaeus, and a
well-known traveller, published in 1786 the Museum Carl-'
sonianum, in which several new species are represented
and described. In 1787 R. L. Desfontaines (in the Me-
moires de VAcademic des Sciences) contributed some no¬
tices of birds which frequent the coasts of Barbary ; and,
in the same year, Martinet, who had acted under the
younger Daubenton as a superintendent of the Planches
Enluminees, took it into his head to publish, on his own
account, a collection of figures and descriptions of birds,
amounting to no less than nine volumes octavo. Their
number was not more alarming than their nature.
In 1789 and following years, J. F. Gmelin published
the thirteenth edition of the Systema Natures of Linnaeus.
“ Son travail,” says Baron Cuvier, “ tout indigeste et de-
nue de critique et de connaissance des choses, est cepen-
dant necessaire, comme la seule table un pen complete
de ce qui a ete fait jusque vers 1790.” About a volume
and a half is devoted to Ornithology. White’s Journal of
a Voyage to JSew South Wales appeared in 1790, forming
an interesting addition to the natural history of a country
which still offers a vast field for zoological research ; and
soon afterwards Shaw announced his Zoology of New Hol¬
land, which advanced no farther than a few fasciculi. We
have likewise in 1790 the Fauna Grdenlandica of Otho
Fabricius, a work of great merit for the time, and still
holding a high place in the estimation of the naturalist,
from the accuracy of its descriptions, although in some in¬
stances the names are misapplied. In 1792 M. Beseke
published in German his materials for the Natural His¬
tory of the Birds of Courland. The works by Lord, Hayes,
Lewin, and others, which appeared about this epoch, iii il¬
lustration of the birds of Great Britain, were so soon af¬
terwards superseded by the admirable and unequalled wood
engravings by the inimitable Bewick, that it is scarcely ne¬
cessary to bring their names to the reader’s recollection.
We may close our imperfect sketch of the Ornithology of
the eighteenth century by the mention of Cuvier’s first
work, the Tableau Elementaire eh Histoire Naturelle (1798),
which contains the methodical distribution of birds, which
he afterwards completed in his Regne Animal.
We may commence the present century with the title
of Daudin’s work, the Traite Elementaire et complet d’Or-
nithologie, two vols. 4to, 1800. It is an unfinished compi¬
lation, of no great merit, containing oidy the accipitrine
birds, and a portion of the Passeres. Although Le Vaillant
commenced his magnificent series of ornithological illus¬
trations during the preceding season, and continued them
at intervals for several years, we shall here group together
the most important, for the convenience of the reader : 1st,
Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux de f Afrique, six vols. 4to,
1799-1800. The plates amount to 300, but are in¬
ferior to those of the other works of the same author.
2d, Histoire Naturelle June Partie d’Oiseaux Nouveaux et
Bares de VAmerique et des Indes, one volume 4to, IbOl.
This volume illustrates the Buceridce or horn bills, and the
Arrpelidai or fruit-eaters. 3d, Histoire Naturelle des Perro-
quets, 2 vols. 4to, 1801-5. Almost all the plates (139
in number) of this exquisite work are from drawings bv
Barrabaud, an almost unrivalled artist in the ornithological
department. 4th, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux de Paradis,
et des Rolliers, suivie de celle des Toucans et dis Barbus, 2
vols. folio, 1806. “ Equally splendid,” says Mr Svvainson,
“ with the preceding. The size and extraordinary plu¬
mage of the paradise birds require a scale fully equal to
the dimensions of this volume, which exceeds any other of
the author’s in the beauty and splendour of its contents.”
We believe that the two volumes, though generally regard¬
ed as one series, were published separately, with distinct
titles. 5th, Histoire Naturelle des Promerops, et des Gue-
piers, 1 vol. folio, 1807. This rare and beautiful volume
549
H istorv.
550
ORNITHOLOGY.
History, sometimes occurs alone, sometimes as forming volume
third of the preceding series. A complete collection ot
Le Vaillant’s works forms of itself a noble gallery of or*
nithological portraits. The letter-press, more especially
that of the Oiseaux d’Afrique, is also of great value, and
will be studied with additional advantage by those familiar
with the delightful narrative of his first and second I ra¬
vels into the Interior of Africa, 1790-95.
As belonging to the same class of works, and also of ex¬
cellent execution, may be mentioned Desmaret s Histoire
Naturelle des Tangaras, des Manahins, et des lodiers, 1 vol.
folio, 1805. M. Vieillot, who died in 1828, after a very
active career in Ornithology, is the author ot the following
works, all of a sumptuous character, and of considerable
value in their way, though inferior in beauty to those of the
two preceding authors. Histoire Naturelle des plus eaux
Oiseaux Chanteurs de la Zone lorride, 1 vol. folio, x80o
Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux de l'Amerique Septentmonale,
2 vols. folio, 1807 ;—Galerie des Oiseaux, 4 vols. 4to,
1826, an extensive series of figures, chiefly from the col¬
lection of the museum in the Garden of Plants. M. Vieif-
lot is likewise the continuator of Audebert’s Histoire des
Oiseaux dores, ou a reflets metalliques (2 vols. folio, com¬
menced in 1802) ; and has written largely on systematic
Ornithology in the Encyclopedie Methodique (Ornitholo-
qie, by the Abbe Bonnaterre, continued by M. \ieillot,
3 vols. 4to, besides the plates, Paris, 1823); and in the
Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle. Lastly, he in¬
dicated various new groups, or at least a variety of groups
under new names, in his Analyse d'une houvelle Orndxo o-
qie Elementaire, Paris, 1816 ; a work which seems to have
occasioned great offence to M. Temminck,1 and some dis¬
satisfaction to Baron Cuvier.2
Alexander Wilson’s admirable American Ornithology, or
Natural History of the Birds of the Lnited States, was pub¬
lished in nine volumes quarto (including Mr Ord’s Supple¬
ment) between 1808-14. It still maintains its character as
a work of the highest value, and although it has been since
surpassed by other works in elegance of design and beauty
of colouring, its descriptive or narrative portion has been
scarcely equalled. Of this most remarkable production
several editions have been published in America, and two
in this country, viz. one by Professor Jameson, in a cheap
and commodious form (four small volumes of Constable s
Miscellany, No. 68—71, 1831), with the advantage of a
systematic arrangement of the original materials, another
by Sir William Jardine (in three large 8vo volumes, Ip^A
with plates, and consequently of higher price, but enriched
by numerous notes of great value. .
We may here name the General Zoology, in fourteen
volumes octavo, 1800-26, commenced by Dr Shaw, and
concluded by Mr Stephens. The last seven volumes are
devoted to Ornithology. Most of the plates are copies. II-
liger’s excellent Prodromus Mammalium et Avium was pub¬
lished at Berlin in one volume octavo, 1811. It establishes
several new and important genera. _ .
The first edition of the Regne Animal of Baron Cuvier
(four vols. 8vo) appeared in 1817 ; the second (in five vols.
8vo) was published in 1829. We need say nothing of the
surpassing excellence of a work which cast the whole sub-
iect of Zoology into a new and more natural form, nor of
the unequalled labours of the illustrious author, by whom
the structure and characters of so many important groups
have been brought from darkness into light. The general
features of his system have, with few exceptions, been
steadily adhered to throughout the zoological treatises ot
this Encyclopaedia, and (which is more to be admired) do H ?i
equally pervade and illumine the labours of many modern'''—-^
authors who yet place themselves in opposition to his doc¬
trines, and seem to have forgotten, or been blinded by, the
dazzling source from which they drew their “ golden light
as if the false though gorgeous glory of a cloud could of it¬
self adorn the beauty of the azure heavens,—as if the re¬
flection of a sparkling river were any thing more than the
borrowed lustre of the “ Great Apollo.” Let the reader
rest assured, that however praise-worthy may be the skill
and devotedness of our ingenious system-makers, or how¬
ever valuable may be the materials which they have brought
to bear uoon isolated portions of nature s most majestic
kingdom, they are yet separated, by the will of God, in head
and hand, “ longissimo intervallo,” from their great master.
This is no reason, but the reverse, for their ceasing to
exercise their useful talents and natural powers of obser¬
vation with assiduity and patience, as becomes alike the
aspiring philosopher and the humble Christian , but let
no man mistake “ the spirit he is of,” nor suppose an owl
an eagle, seeing that not in every acceptation of the phrase
is it true, that ** a living dog is better than a dead lion.
The natural history of the birds of Germany has been
amply and successfully illustrated by the well-known works
of Naumann (father and son), by those of Bechstein, and
of Messrs Meyer and Wolf. We owe to M. Leisler a
Supplement to the work of Bechstein (Hanau, 1812-13),
and of Naumann’s Naturgeschichte der Vogel Beutschlands,
a second edition (in octavo), with beautifully coloured plates,
was commenced in 1820, but has not yet at^ined comple¬
tion. Meyer and Wolf’s Taschenhuch der Deutschen Vo-
qelkunde now amounts to three volumes, and is filled with
excellent observations, while their large illustrated work
on German birds, commenced so far back as 1804, and re¬
cently brought to a conclusion, is one of the most beauti¬
ful with which we are acquainted. M. Brehm published
his Beitrage zur Deutschen Vogelkunde in 1820-22, in three
large volumes, filled with minute details, which exhibit an
accurate practical knowledge of the science. The authors
views of species are peculiar. His Lehrbuch der ISatur-
qeschichte oiler Europaischen Vogel (two volumes) was pub¬
lished in the following year. In this, too, he surely describes
local races, or accidental varieties, as distinct species, lo
M. Brehm we likewise owe several fasciculi of a work com¬
menced in 1824, and published at intervals, under the title
of Ornis. It consists of memoirs and memoranda, by va¬
rious authors, relating chiefly to Ornithology. Lastly, we
may here name his Handbuch der Naturgeschichte aller Vo-
qel Deutschlands (Ilmenau, 1831), forming a goodly volume
of 1100 pages octavo (with plates), which, M. lemm
remarks, may be reduced to at least one half, by suppress¬
ing the numerous indications of what the author ca
species. His system is partitioned into twenty-three ord ,
variously subdivided, and containing 196 genera:
Some important additions have been made of kite y
to the Ornithology of northern countries. The buds
Sweden are described by Professor of Lim , ^
his Ornithologia Suecica, Copenhagen, ■L817- ‘
same author published a Skandinavischen Fauna in 18-_,
and a much more sumptuous work appeared a
1832, under the title of llluminerade figurer l
Fauna, mU text The first volume oouta t*
navims Fauna, nut text, me mat, vu ^
sides quadrupeds, seventy-five figures of Jn^
M. Boie gave forth his Tagebuch fl^Uen / ofhis
durch Norwegen, in which, along with the nar at ^ ^
travels, he furnishes many valuable observatio
« See his Observation, sur la Classification Methodique des Oiseaux, &C. 1817 J and Manuel d Ormthologie, Introduct
* E^nie Animal, second edition, tom. L note to Preface, p 23.
ORNITHOLOGY.
history and manners of the birds of Norway. The same
author published a work under the title of Ornithologische
Beitrage, in 1824 M. Faber’s excellent little volume, the
Prodromns der Islandischen Ornithologie, appeared in
1822. It contains most interesting accounts of the birds
of Iceland, especially the aquatic kinds ; and not less va¬
luable is his later publication, Uber das Leben der hoch-
novdischen Vogel, 1825, in which we have many acceptable
observations on the geographical distribution, and the
modes of life, of northern species. While on the subject of
northern birds, we need scarcely recall to the reader's re¬
membrance the various appendices to the Voyages of Cap¬
tains Parry and Franklin,—Captain Sabine’s Memoir on
the Birds of Greenland (Linn. Trans, vol. xii.), or the
beautiful work by Dr Richardson and Mr Swainson on the
birds of Northern America, which constitutes the second
volume of the Fauna Boreali-Americana, 1831.
We have few systematic works devoted to the Ornitho¬
logy of the more southern countries of the European con¬
tinent. We are ourselves acquainted only by name with
the Ornitologia deW Europa Meridionale (dedicatio sig-
nata 1772), in fob max., by Clement Bernini, a teacher of
drawing. 1 he birds of France in general are described by
M.Vieillot in the corresponding portion of the Faune Fran-
P«we,an octavo work, still in course of publication; and those
of Provence in particular, by M. Polydore Roux in his Or-
nithologie Provenyak, 1825. Of a more general character,
though not without its bearings on our present subject, is
the Histoire Naturellede VEurope Meridionale by M. Risso
of Nice, in five volumes 8vo, 1826. We have already had
occasion to name the Storia Naturale degli Uccelli, m\b-
ished at Florence in 1/67 ; and Cettfs more restricted one,
\jli Uccelli di Sardigna, 1776. In more recent times
1811), Professor Bonelli of Turin published a Catalogue eks
Oiseaux du Piemont, containing two hundred and sixty-
wo species. In 1822, Giambatista Baseggio inserted in
he twenty-eighth volume of the Biblioteca Italiana an
“numeration of the birds observed by him in the neigh-
•ourhood of Bassano, amounting to a hundred and thirtv-
tven species. In 1823, Fortunate Luigi Naccari printed
.1 Treviso, his Ornilologia Veneta, ossia Catalogo degli
jccelli della provincia di Venezia, in which he notices
wo hundred and six species. In the same year Savi the
ounger published, at Pisa, his Catalogo degli Uccelli del-
j i Provincia Pisana, e loro Toscana Sinonimia. The spe-
I ies are classed in accordance with M. Temminck’s sys-
sm, and amount to two hundred and twenty. From 1819
i 1826, Professor Ranzani of Bologna gave forth his ex-
I e lent Elementi di Zoologia, of which the third volume,
onsistmg of nine parts, is devoted to the natural history
1 ■ birds. It is, however, a general system, treating of
xotic as well as of indigenous kinds ; yet a good deal may
e gleaned from it regarding the Italian species. A work
more special interest is the Specchio comparativo delle
mithologie di Roma e di Filadelfia, by Carlo Bonaparte,
^monly called the Prince of Musignano. In this slight
‘ hlg;hly interesting volume (republished in the Nuovo
nornde de Letterati of Pisa), the author compares the
ithology of two distant regions of Europe and America,
ng, however, under nearly the same latitude, and re-
,11S. observations on their history and manners. Of
Jr68 0^, ^oman territory we had previously
• e. ^ an7 knowledge, and the Prince makes us ac-
v ntecl with not fewer than two hundred and forty-
// 'n y the same author we have also Osservazioni
a beconda Edizione del Regno Anirnale del Baron Cu-
rtWiTe ln the tenth and eleventh fasciculi of the
nan di Storia Naturale of Bologna ; and he has more
551
recently commenced the Iconografia della Fauna llalica. History.
Rome, 1832,—a sumptuous lithographic work, in large' v'—
quarto, devoted to Italian zoology. Not more than half a
dozen numbers have as yet appeared, and these contain
but few examples of the feathered race. Though not re¬
lating to Italy, we may here mention our author’s other
works, viz. American Ornithology, or the Natural History of
Birds inhabiting the United States, not given by Wilson
fiP1ieS’ 1three volumes 9^0, Philadelphia!
1825-28 (only the land-birds have yet been published) •—
.Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson’s Ornithology,
Philadelphia, 1828 ;—and Genera of North American Birds,
with a Synopsis of the species found within the territory of
the United States, New York, 1828 (published in the An¬
nals of the Lyceum of that city). The birds of Liguria
are enumerated and briefly described, particularly the im¬
mature conditions of the plumage, by Girolamo Calvi in his
Catalogo d’ Ornitologia di Genova, 1828.
The latest but most important work with which we are
acquainted on the birds of Italy, is the Ornitologia Tos¬
cana of Professor Savi, in three vols. 8vo, with additional
synoptical tables, Pisa, 1827—31. Though more specially’
devoted to the birds of luscany, it also contains descrip¬
tions of all the other Italian species, and may be regarded
as a most valuable addition to our knowledge of the
feathered tribes of Europe, dhe southern position and de¬
lightful climate of the Italian Peninsula induce the wan¬
dering wings of many species elsewhere rarce aves to wend
their way towards the olive groves and richly laden fig-
trees of that favoured land,—thus connecting the Ornitho¬
logy of Europe with that of Africa and other sultry re¬
gions. J
Me may be thought, in some of our preceding notices,
to have entered too minutely into the enumeration of de¬
scriptive local works, but we have been guided in so do¬
ing by two considerations : Is*, That none of our English
writers ever make any allusion to Italian Ornithology, ex-
cept by casual reference to Carlo Bonaparte; and, ‘idly,
that Buffon has recorded as his opinion, that “ le seui
moyen d’avancer 1’ornithologie historique, seroit de faire
1 histoire particuliere des oiseaux de chaque pays ; d’abord
de ceux d’une seule province, ensuite de ceux d’une pro¬
vince voisine, puis de ceux d’une autre plus eloignee; re-
unir apies cela ces histoires particulieres pour composer
celle de tous les oiseaux d’une meme climat; faire la meme
chose dans tous les pays et dans tous les differens climats;
compaier ensuite ces histoires particulieres, les combiner
pour en tirer les faits, et former un corps entier de toutes
ces parties separees.” 1
The Natural History of British Birds, by Donovan, in ten
volumes octavo, is a work of no great merit. Its period
of publication extends from 1799 to 1816.
To no one of our contemporaries is Ornithology more
deeply indebted than to M. Temminck. His Histoire Na-
twelle Generaledes Pigeons et des Gallinacees, three volumes
octavo, appeared in 1813-15. The portion which concerns
the pigeons was also published in folio, with beautiful co¬
loured plates, by Madame Knipp. His Manueld’Ornitho¬
logie, ou Tableau Systematique des Oiseaux qui se trouvent en
Europe, 1815, consisted at first of a single octavo volume;
but a greatly improved and extended edition in two vo¬
lumes appeared in 1820. Whatever difference of opinion
may prevail in regard to the author’s system, naturalists
ai e agieed that this is by far the most valuable work we yet
possess on the birds of Europe. Its main excellence con¬
sists in the attention bestowed upon the sexual distinc¬
tions, and the successive changes of plumage from youth
to age. I he first volume contains, under the title of Ana-
1 Hiitoitc Nat. des Oiseaux, Plan de POuvra^e.
w ORNITHOLOGY.
* History, lyse du Systlme Generate d'Ornitlwhgk,* c^,sslfic^on°/' a^Mowlyra^^tll ’logons ami, o Synopsis of th^'
' birds in general. Instead o a f r.dBirds of Australia. The latter is in a more portable form
the author has recently published (in 183o) a ’ han tlfe others ; but it is the author’s intention to illus.
as a supplement to the first volume, and he is n°w abo Ornithology of New Holland in the same mode
to give out a fourth part, or supplement to the second ^ ^ in which i,e Ls treated the birds of Europe,
lume. These parts contain the corrections and add t ^ M Lesson tiie Ornithologist stands indebted for se-
rendered necessary by the lapse of many years tfu . publications, both of a sumptuous and useful charac
Temminck has not confined his attenuon to tne m Vhe last edition of his work on humming-birds bears
Europe. In 1820 he commenced (m conjunction wi • , ‘ foll()Win,r title: Les Trochilides, ou tes colibris et les
Meiffren de Laugier) his Planches Colonees, ajvork smvi dun index general, dans leqml
tended as a continuation and completion of the wel decrites et classees methodiquement toutes les races et
Planches Enluminees of Buffon. It is printed in both a ^nt^cr^ paris, 1832, with seventy co-
quarto and a folio form, now amounts to above nmety especes^ auj^ Conjointly with M. Garnot, he has pub-
parts, and will be concluded (so far, at least, lished some figures of birds in the Zoological Atlas to Du-
great series is concerned) on the P^bca ion of the hun Mshed ^ ^ ^ weU a§ ^ o
dredth number. It will then form five vo u™os, comp d J^oohgie% His other works specially devoted
in all of
Ired and ninety-five plates, exhibiting en ^ sent subject are,—Manuel d’Ornithologie, two
seven hundred and fifty-five figures of birds, tne majmity ^ P 1829 ; Trade d’Ornithologie, two volumes
vriters. Each PHte is accompanied by ~ plateA 1831; and Histoue Naturelle des
unknown to prior writers. Each plate is accompanieu uy ^ umes^ ^ ^ 183! ; and Hisloire NaturelU des
corresponding letter-press, containing tl;e generic charac ^ ^ et des Epimaques, one
ters, the description of the species figu , •• • i gvo (with 41 coloured plates), 183o.
instances bv general observations on the distribution a Mr S wainson’s beautiful Zoological Illustrations {YmiSe-
co’nstruction of groups. The two conclud,„g numbers re i^S, Second^eriesS vol, 8vo 183M)
to contain a general index, as well as the ^les and t r entations of many rare and remarkable birds,
of the volumes. On the completion of this centmy, we ‘0 none with which we are acquainted, either m
trust M. Temminck will be encouraged 10 P^ceed to ano > or accuracy. By the same author (conjointly
ther series, as we know his materials are abundant, i g Richardson) we have, as already noted, the Fan-
inexhaustible. It would in truth be desira^e na Boreali-Americana, Part Second; and (without other
such established work should be generally regarded as a ^ ^ delightful pencil) several fasciculi of the
proper medium for the publication of new or rate subj Brazil. More recently Mr Swainson has en-
Fn Ornithology, for it is the bane of natural history in e- ^ ^ well as extended exposition of the
neral, that every year should be distinguished by the ap^ t^^ H ^ classiJkation 0f Birds, va two vo-
pearance of numerous abortive attempts, which each (1836_7)? which form the ornithological portion of
feeding season condemns to oblivion. i , ^ Lardner’s Cyclopaedia. These will amply repay the
comes both heavy and unproductive, yet we fear that na- ^^aiUentive
tional pride and personal vanity will long Prevent t1^ ‘ The birds of South America, which, like all the pro-
troduction of a better system. \Ve do not ™ean to say du^‘ons of that splendid country, are extremely gorgeous,
that we possess not among ourselves individuals compe liere and there illustrated in various works,
tent to do the subject justice, but assuredly there is muc 1 ^ rtia]1 g0 by Mr Swainson in one of those just
labour lost by a want of concentration. d ]n Azara’s Voyages dans VAmerique Mendion-
In connection with the labours of the !ast-named author, 4th volumes) there are descriptions of
we may here mention M. Werner’s lithographic work en- ^ ies from Paraguay and La Plata. The
titled Atlas des Oiseaux d Europe, pour ser™Je ornithological portion of the French edition was trans at-
ment au Manuel d!Ornithologie de M. of c .1 gonnini#i A great mass of Brazilian
thirty-two livraisons have now appeared. M.Temminck had ed,^ and figured in Spix’s ^ ^
figured a few European novelties in his Planches Color , ^ vols. 4t0 1824-26; while the habits of se-
but he appears to have remitted most of bis rare mdigenous Aouz,^ ^ curious birds of Demerara are record-
kinds Werner ; and we are happy to find he is no e(]\ln Mr Waterton’s eccentric and well-known Wan-
immediate communication, so fai as t ic pu > i . , derinqs. , . „t
European species is concerned, with our zealous and - ^ Ornithology of North America has been illustrat-
ligenFcounFryman Mr Gould. This leads us to record the i‘ieanU™;^ef yfull and satistactory manner. Indeed,
title of one of the most sumptuous and beautifully execut feathered tfibes of n0 C0Untry out of Europe, equal
ed works within the whole range o orni .10 ogi \ . extent, do we possess so ample and accurate a
tion, viz. The Birds if Europe, by John Gouid F.L S we do of those of the United States. \Ve ha e
now completed in five volumes royal folio. 1 he plates are E g the immortal WOrk of Alexander WJ
chiefly from lithograph drawings by Mrs Gould, but ma y J p nt continuation by Charles Lucien B
are also by Mr Lear, one of the best ornithological drafts- son and its exetnen^ c^ ^^ ^ ^ Jrecord the title of a
men the world has yet seen. Mr Goulds other works,maglFifiCent publication than either, weje^
preceding^are Birds, from ike Tne Birds of America, eagraoed from D,a«,,g,
to his brother, Don Joset iMcolas )vno rmoueu,. uv^ ^Jnfiliolre Naturelle de. Quadruples du Paraguay 2 ^A^^ewise
and published under the now wel - m -n tlie followinrr vear with corrections and additions by the author. I Rnen0s AfU;
The original, however, appeared at :,i a( h ^ . tfufntos para la Historia Natural de los Pajaros del Parafiay ff,-, MlrU
published his ornithological work under the volumes of the French translation, entitled Voyages duns l Am ? ^
7’ ^ M‘- «• “ H"”,er pn,pos p
tn.LWinmlltrits of both works, from the original Spanish, with notes.
7* the United States, by John James Audubon, F. R. S., &c.
••^3 vols. folio, London, 1831-37; an undertaking which far
exceeds in size and splendour all its predecessors in this,
or indeed in any other department of Zoology. The di¬
mensions of the work, as we have elsewhere noticed, are
such as to enable the author not only to represent the
largest birds of the United States, of the size and in the
attitudes of living nature, but to figure a great proportion
of them in family groups, so admirably conceived and skil¬
fully executed, as really to form historical pictures of the
highest interest to the general observer, and of the great¬
est utility to the student of Ornithology. The completion
of each volume of plates is immediately followed by a lartre
octavo volume of descriptive and general history of all the
species therein contained. Mr Audubon far excels Wil¬
son as an ornithological draftsman, and often equals him
in his lively, eloquent, and interesting details of the life
and manners of the feathered tribes. His descriptive vo¬
lumes aie entitled Ornithological Biography, or an Ac¬
count of the Habits of the Birds of the United States. They
at present amount to three in number; and a fourth and
final one, to accompany the concluding fasciculus of his
splendid plates, is now on the eve of publication.
An extremely useful and well-concocted work, of less
ambitious form than the preceding, is the Manual of the
Ornithology of the United Slates and of Canada, by
Thomas hiuttall, F. L. S., in two compact octavo volumes,
Cambridge and Boston, 1832-34. The author has recent-
ly returned from a scientific tour through the great west-
ern territories, including an extended range of the Rocky
Mountains; and, we doubt not, the public will benefit by
whatever account he gives of his researches.
Although we have hitherto confined our bibliographical
notices chiefly to the works of foreign writers, we have
done so not in consequence altogether of our own poverty,
but rather for the more ample information of the English
reader, who may be supposed to require less assistance in
regard to British authors. We have scarcely even named
the British Birds of the unequalled Bewick. We name
it, and nothing more, believing that every one who de¬
lights to see nature in art, is familiarly acquainted with a
work which may be keenly relished without any arduous
study, but which those who study most will best appreciate
and enjoy. Although the descriptive portion is written with
accuracy and intelligence, we doubt not it would be ad¬
vantageous to the author’s family, and prove a labour of
ove to one or more of the many skilful Ornithologists of
the present day, that the plates should be re-arranged in
conformity with modern views, the supplement incorporat-
ea, the synonyms increased, and such rational alterations
Rrit; l n°nS ,ef^ected’ as would ^nder it the manual of
British Ornithology, if not for all time coming, yet for
authL’UtT k-6318' , accomPanied by portions of the
that °bl0graphy’ 80 much the better* We regret
seen th S%racy and oriSlnal> should have not yet
ifh -lhc; m0St recent and complete edition of
face ?nJ,rda 18 V13t °f 1832- A ver* beautiful pre-
■s piefixed to the one published in 1826.
■ain '! m°5 oriSinal descriptive works on the birds of Bri-
jvo jl'e Montagu s , Ornithological Dictionary, 2 vols.
fheJ802’ and SuPPlement to the same, 1 vol. 8vo, 1813.
ORNITHOLOGY.
553
IW , ro tue same, 1 vol. 8vo, J 813.
i hnnlv ^ u0u °n y, excellent works on British birds
,f p y Such’ but valuable additions to the actual history
huropeau species,-the chief merit of many of our other
eS rrSU,,g in the'"' ,he
diereas Mn eign, wmers to our indigenous kinds ;
ations HpI n ^ rat ler £ave than borrowed, his obser-
ow extrempf 3 m°S.t eat|rely original. His volumes are
ombining bntl^^ 'p t-ieir tirst torm ’ but a new edition,
Ith notes, by^Mr Rennie WaS br0USht 0Ut in 1831’
VOL. XVI.
Dr Flem ing, in his History of British Animals, one vol. History,
octavo, 1828, enumerates and describes the birds of Bri-'
n. us work, which has been very useful to some
who say rather too little about it, we should desire to see
a new edition, remodelled in accordance with the altera¬
tions and additions rendered necessary by the lapse of
years. It is a publication of great merit. ^
. Tbc letter-press to Mr Selby’s folio Illustrations of Bri-
Rvn °^it c9y CT Tan the second edition, in two vols.
Svo, 1833) forms the best completed work we yet possess
in accordance with the modern method of arrangement
Jointly with Sir William Jardine, Mr Selby h^s also
brought out many fasciculi of Illustrations of Ornithology
(small folio), in which are figured various interesting and
curious forms of foreign species; and his well-instructed
coadjutor is editor (and of several volumes author) of the
JSaturahsts Library, in which a due portion is success-
iully devoted to the history and representation of the
feathered tribes. Both publications continue at the pre¬
sent time (1838). ^
One of the most valuable and carefully constructed
works with which we are acquainted is the Systema Avi¬
um of Dr Wagler, pars prima, Stuttgard, 1827. It con¬
sists of a series of monographs, not in systematic order,
biit including several extensive and difficult genera, such as
Btcus, Columba, &c. The author unfortunately died not
Jong ago, in consequence of a gun-shot wound accidentally
inflicted by himself while sporting, and the non-comple¬
tion of Ins work may be regarded as a great loss to Orni¬
thologists. Various additional though detached portions
of it, however, may be found in the Isis, a German perio¬
dica published at Frankfort. Wagler is also the author
ot the most recent descriptive summary of the parrot
tribe, under the title of Monographia Psittacorum, one
yo . 4to, Munchen, 1835. Our best previous treatise on
that gorgeous family was published by the lamented Kuhl,
in the Worn Acta of Bonn, vol. x. Of illustrated works on
the subject, we have already mentioned that of Vaillant •
and the English reader need scarcely be reminded of the’
extreme beauty of Mr Lear’s more recent Illustrations of
Hie Psittacidce, in one vol. royal folio.
A considerable flock of ornithological authors has re¬
cently appeared above the horizon, to enlighten, however,
rather than obscure our vision. We shall name a few.
Outlines of the Smaller British Birds, by R. A. Slanev
Esq. 12mo, 1833. y*
Familiar History of Birds, by the Rev. Edward Stan¬
ley, 2 vols. 12mo, 1835.
Manual of British Vertebrate Animals, by the Rev
Leonard Jenyns, 1 vol. Svo, 1835.
Feathered Tribes of the British Islands, by Robert Mu-
die, 2 vols. Svo, 1836.
History of the rarer British Birds, intended as a sup¬
plement to Bewick, by T. C. Eyton, Esq. 1836.
Of these, and other contemporary writers, the reader
will find more ample notice in Mr Neville Wood’s Orni-
thobgists I ext-Booh of 1836.
The following works relate particularly to the more mu¬
sical of the feathered tribes : Harmonia Ruralis, or Natu-
rfd^storJ of BritishSong Birds, by James Bolton, folio,
Hot 'Z>Britlrnk Warblers' by Robert Sweet, F. L. S. 8vo,
1823-32 British Song Birds, by Patrick
™yme,’ ,' S<F 8vo’ ;—British Songsters, by Neville
Wood, Esq. Svo, 1837 -,--Cage Birds, their Natural His-
tory Management, &c. (translated from the German), by
J. M. Bechstein, 12mo, 1837. J y
Mr Yarrell has commenced his much-desired History
of British Birds, illustrated by a wood-cut of each species
and numerous vignettes. Ihe illustrations are for the
most part remarkably accurate as ornithological represen¬
tations, and of extreme beauty in a pictorial point of view.
4 A
554
ORNITHOLOGY.
Structure. From the author’s excellent reputation as a naturalist, as
-Y-—well as from the specimens hitherto published, we should
augur that this work, on its completion, will form as valua¬
ble a manual of British Ornithology as can be well de¬
sired.
Last in our list, though the reverse of lowest in our es¬
timation, stand Mr Macgillivray’s characteristic volumes,
the Rapacious liirds oj Great Britain (1836), and the
History of British Birds, Indigenous and Migratory (vol.
1st, 1837). In regard to these two works, readers may pro¬
bably differ in their appreciation of some insulated passages,
critical or otherwise, not essential to the exposition of the
subject in hand ; but we think all must agree that they are
written in a clear, vigorous, and original manner, and de¬
void of that vapid spirit of compilation which pervades the
labours of so many of the ingenious author s predecessors
and contemporaries.
We shall not here enter into any detailed exposition of
the internal structure of birds. Our space would not ad¬
mit of our doing so in a manner likely either to satisfy our¬
selves or to instruct our readers. The subject is of too
ereat importance to be superficially treated, and a deeper
scientific examination is not to be looked for here. We
regret to say, there is much reason to accuse the naturalist
ofconfining his attention to the external characters of liv¬
ing beings, which, though important portions of the ani¬
mal economy, are nevertheless only portions, though too
often looked upon as all in all. It is no reason for ne¬
glecting the internal structure, that a knowledge of such
structure is not required to comprehend the modern sys¬
tems. This, we must admit, is true ; but the systems are
thereby so much the more defective. An assured anato¬
mical basis will never cause confusion or contrariety in
any good arrangement formed on the groundwork of ex¬
ternal characters ; for the best of these are sure to conform
themselves with all the important modifications of internal
structure, while the sooner a bad arrangement is under¬
mined the better. At the same time, that Zootomist would
know little of the practical importance of external forms
who should not endeavour to connect these with his de¬
monstration of more recondite characters. In truth, how¬
ever desirable it may be to know the whole of the animal
structure, whether external or internal, we must in rela¬
tion to museum specimens and to zoological collections in
general, necessarily have recourse to superficial, or at least
external characters, because none other are visible, or in¬
deed exist, in the subjects of natural history as usually
preserved ; and we should debar a vast multitude fiom a
most delightful study of graceful forms and gorgeous plum¬
age, if we could learn nothing important of beast or bird
without prying into all the hidden wonders of its interior.
Whatever progress comparative anatomy may in future
make, we trust the Zootomist will ever bear in mind that
the establishment of good external characters is a matter
of the highest and most indispensable importance to the^
present state and future progress of natural history, of
which the practical pursuit will ever mainly depend upon
the class of characters in question. As we cannot here
enter into the anatomical department of our subject, we
shall give, in the subjoined note, the names of a few works
likely to interest and instruct the reader.1 A few para¬
graphs will suffice for all we have ourselves to say, before
entering upon our systematic portion.
The bill, composed of the upper and under mandible,
varies almost infinitely in its form in the different genera,
(there
Comparativ _ .
History o/Biitish Birds, vol. i
1 k
in the determination and construction of which it affords sjictm
characters of the highest importance. As its modifications Hv-i
will be specially alluded to in our notices of the minor
groups, and are moreover accurately represented in the
plates which accompany the present treatise, we need not
here fatigue the reader by an unnecessary enumeration.
A portion at the base of the upper mandible, usually con¬
taining the nostrils, and sometimes covered with hairs or
feathers, sometimes partially or entirely bare, is called the
cere. It is very obvious in most birds of prey, but imper¬
ceptible in many other species. When we expand the
mandibles, we of course perceive the opening to the ali¬
mentary canal or digestive organs, which usually consist
of the following portions.
The pharytix follows immediately after the cavity of the
mouth. It leads into the oesophagus or gullet, which in
many species swells into what is called the crop, by some
regarded as the first stomach. This is followed by a se¬
cond enlargement, produced, however, rather by a thick¬
ening of the coats than by any increase of capacity within,
named the proventriculus. It contains numerous glandular
sacs interposed between its muscular and mucous coats,
which secrete a gastric juice to aid the process of di¬
gestion. This proventriculus leads to the gizzard or true
stomach, by some regarded as the third stomachic expan¬
sion. Here the function of digestion is completed. The
entrance from the stomach to the small intestine is named
the pylorus, of which the structure is frequently valvular.
The first fold of the small intestine is named the duode¬
num, and after receiving the pancreatic and biliary ducts,
it forms various convolutions, and terminates in the rec¬
tum or large intestine. I he ctuca are usually placed at the
commencement of the latter ; its termination is named the
cloaca.
These parts, it will be borne in mind, are variously mo¬
dified in the different tribes. In some the expansion called
the crop is wanting, or not to be distinguished from the
other upper portions of the oesophagus ; and the powerful
muscles which constitute the peculiar strength of the giz¬
zard in granivorous birds are very feeble in the carnivo¬
rous and fish-devouring kinds. In some the intestine is
long and narrow, in others short and vyide, while the caeca
exhibit a corresponding range, being in certain kinds ex¬
tremely long, in others merely rudimentary.
Birds are remarkable for the energy of their respirator)
functions. Although their lungs are rather small, they
are perforated in such a way as to communicate with mem¬
branous cells distributed through various parts of the body,
and even communicating with the interior of the bones, so
that the atmospheric air not only comes in contact with
the pulmonary vessels, but with a great proportion of the
circulating system. Thus birds have been said to respire
by the branches of the aorta, as w'ell as by those o tie
pulmonary artery. It is thus that the most rapid exercise
of the faculty of flight impairs not their power of breath-
in" ; and the best-trained hunter that ever bounded re-
joicingly over the fences of Leicestershire is tar sooner
blown than a field sparrow.
The trachea or wind-pipe is composed of bony iin& •
The upper larynx is of comparatively simple struc ure,
and of less importance than among the mammiferous c as ,
but farther down, and close upon the bifurcation o
trachea, is the lower larynx, the true organ of the voice
birds. The vast bulk of air contained in the inte[lor ^
no doubt contributes to the strength of their vocal P° an(j
while the muscles of the inferior portion of the lary >
%
\
\
Al>
A
ORNITHOLOGY. 555
the length diversified form, and varied movements of that tect the base of the secondaries 5 and the primary coverts, Structure.
>organ, bestow upon rt a great facihty of modulat.on. (figs. 1 and 2, at P. C.), which perform that office to the' 
The anterior limbs of birds, corresponding to the fore primaries. The feathers which clothe the under surface
legs of quadrupeds, have been converted into wings for the of the wings are named the under coverts of those parts •
purposes of that aerial locomotion commonly called flight, and the terms upper and under tad-coverts smnifv the
It is true that some birds cannot fly, that is, leave not the feathers which cover the base of the tail, above or below
surface of the earth ; but these are exceptions to the ge- But we need scarcely occupy our pages with the numerous
neral rule, and even among such exceptions the great ma- particulars which might be brought forward and which
jonty use their wings as a propelling power, whether cours- occupy so prominent a space in many ornithological vo-
ing amid dry and barren deserts, or submerged beneath lumes. The terms in most cases explain themselves,
the waves. The bony portions of the wings consist of the When we speak of the crest of a bird, we of course mean
.turnerus, l\\e cubitus, the carpal and metacarpal bones, to indicate the feathers on its head ; and the upper central
fingers. We shall briefly describe these parts in so far or lower portions of the back, can be respectively nothing
as they are connected with the imposition of the plumage, more nor less than one or other of these portions. When
jand consequently with the external characters of the we mention the point of the bill, we literally mean the
consul f6?! atec'c CL XX XVI I* fils V° Z 7y ^ f01"1’ and T? is n° WOrd in the En§lish nor in any ^her
consu t ™te LtXLXXX V II. figs. 3 and 4. The humerus language which can express it more clearly. Neither do we
orarmbone (c) is jomed to the body by means of a part of think it necessary, in an English work/to give a corre-
,ts ohn upper surface, which articulates with a correspond- spending Latin phrase for every term we use more esne-
mg cavity between the coracoid bone (b) and the scapula daily as many of these terms cannot be correctly Latinized
or shouldei-blade (a). It is directed backwards in repose, and in fact have never occurred at all in any books in that
and in a position more or less parallel with the spine. The language. Their confinement, therefore, in a dreumflex-
ot erex remity of the humerus articulates with the cubitus ual prison, amid the unembarrassed freedom of the English
or ore-arm, which is composed of the bones called the tongue, is a sad and cruel mockery “ of things attempted
ulm(d) and radius (e), and is so jointed as to fold when yet in prose or rhyme and we believe is but seldom prac-
at rest in a direction parallel to that of the arm. The car- tised by those who got through Ruddiman resuectablv in
mis consists of two small bones (//) placed between the early life. We therefore deem it worse than* uselesf to
juter extremity of the cubitus and the metacarpus. The present an endless catalogue of terms in Ornitholoqu fol-
USUfy- COns!StS offtvT° bone? united at both ends- lowed by explanations more obscure and ambiguous ’than
rom the anterior edge of the portion next the carpus, the technicalities themselves; but shall rather “endeavour
|kre projects a small bone, considered as analogous to the either altogether to avoid unknown tongues or bv the
irst digit or thumb, pollex (h); to the extremity of the context, to*render our meaning obvious to each c’apad^
I ,L£71(I" of the metacarpus are usually attached two Those minute discriminations, so often insisted on ale
' 7lta' bones ; and t0 tbe extremity of its inner in truth but seldom necessary in the description of a bird’s
,r ion is frequently appended a smaller bone of corre- external aspect, especially pf its LtherTd pon 0ns be
ponding nature. T hese are the of birds. cause large spaces of the plumage haTe ^
srtsv’°f thei77^eWlth the preCed'ng ldentical character both in texture and colour Thus
arts s as follows Here consult Plate CCCLXXXVII. figs, if the entire head is either black, while, blown or any
1 ‘ ,Ihe sma11 eIongated tuft of stiffish feathers which other single colour, it would be a waste of words to dl
othe the upper exterior margin of a bird’s wing, in- scribe it in any other way than simply as being of th^
reasmg in size downwards, pointing towards the base of colour; that is, it would be unnecesLlv to sa^thlt he
ourwL7?s77w "n ST^VndM ^°r Sp,U' yertica1’ auricular, and ocular feathers of
i Drtion we have called^he ’thumh The g§ fr°m & f head Werf coloured after such a fashion ; but if one
..Q. T.a e, called tlle thumb. The primaries or colour prevails over another, and vet is traversed nr in
^Lr-fe^e,;S.fti’e^',,hatis-the'-0“‘- a"y varied by other llll the Ztise rZ'n
! ersj antl which constitute the more or less pointed whether frontal or occipital in which the^vnrinii 1 ’
™al p„t,,o„ (see figs. 1 1 10, and fig, 2 and l, at P. pens should be s Jed P w’e luKit™rZ/Z;
tndarifs l^fes ^ 17 ™etacarPal bones- Tbe nomenclature of the parts themselves depends tl’some ex-
id 5 at § c rwh^h ' h ^gS‘1,1 6’ aand figS- 2 tent °n the distribution of the colours. Thus, of birds with
ler’a Dorflon’nf rh ’ " ^77 !S doSed’ usually a black abdomen aad a scarlet breast, we cal easflv coni
ibitus or fn° f he Pr!maritS.’ t1ake fhe,r 0rism from tbe ceive5 that even of the same species two individuals mav
lostbird/th T5 Whi evath‘rd Ser[es> inconsPlcuous in so considerably differ in the proportional extent of the
   ( g ’ at C,)> whlch Pro' lhe femur’ or thigh-bone (k), is cylindrical, somewhat
556
ORNITHOLOGY.
Structure curved, usually very short, and always so concealed with-
'in the body as not to be apparent as an external portion
of the limb. The next division is the leg or tibia (m),
frequently but erroneously called the thigh, probably
from its being the uppermost apparent portion. It is
usually covered with feathers, though sometimes bare o
its lower portion. Then follows the tarsus (n), that long,
slender, exposed portion, so conspicuous in almost all tie
species, varying considerably among accT,trineflbl^*’
ther short in web-footed water-fowl, and gn-cadylengt -
ened in the majority of shore-birds or waders. - IT
knobby portion, where it articulates with the tibia,'S the
true heel, although generally in colloquial, and not seh
dom in descriptive language, termed the knee. 1 e pro
minences of its lower extremity ortlcula'c ,h
The latter parts usually amount to four; the hind t ,
ever,is waging in many species, and the o^ichts genera .
Iv sunnosed to have only two toes, although Dr luley a
demonstrated the existence in that bird also of a rutoen-
tarv inner toe. The hind toe is by some regarded as the
2 the inner as the second, the middle as the third, and
the outer as the fourth toe ; and in this order there is a
progressive increase in the number of the joints of which
each is composed,-the first having two the second three
the third four, and the fourth five bones. l he s™
of the tarsus, toes, and sometimes of the base of the tib a
when that part is exposed, is covered either with plated or
reticulated^ scales, of various forms in different species;
and the tarsus is moreover often armed with one or more
spurs,—which, however, belong to the cutaneous rather
than the osseous system. A general notion of the latter
as it exists in the class of birds, may be acquired by an
inspection of the skeleton of the golden eagle just referred
to (Plate CCCLXXXV1I. fig. 3). We shall here add no¬
thing more upon the subject.
The position, and therefore to a certain extent the na¬
ture, of many modern genera, of which we are unao e
from want of space to give the characters, will be seen i
the tabular views with which we terminate the present
treatise. A considerable discordance still prevails in re¬
gard io the nature and amount of the generic groups m
Ornithology,—some writers advocating a numerous s
‘Son, and consequent restriction, » characters ; wh.te
others adhere, perhaps too tenaciously, to old associa
tions, which naturally tend to the augmentation of spe-
cies, in other words, to the extension rather than the in
crease of genera. The former plan is rendered neces¬
sary to a great extent by the vast additions which have
been made to our knowledge of groups and of typical sp^
cies within the present century, and might be dee™e
advisable among the larger genera even as a nmre mat
of convenience ;—its abuse in the hands of unskilful
experienced persons being of course no
ment against it. There is, however, a great deal that is
arbitrary and unsettled in whatever principle may be sup¬
posed Jguide the modern naturalist in the formation of
his generic groups. The simplicity and ease of applica¬
tion which characterised the former artificial systems have
been lost in their attempted demolition, while the recon¬
structions now arising (in spite of the abundant Aoug
not always acknowledged appropriation of some useful o
materials) are not yet so complete and commodious as to
afford the same accommodation to the benighted stude .
Order will no doubt some day spring from chaos, and even
already, amid the darkness of the upheaving waters, are
many sunny spots of terra firma towards which we fondly
gteer^ “ well pleased that now our sea should find a shore.
Naturalists, however, need by no means quarrel with each
other, as if there was a certain good to gain, or sorne great
physical truth to be established. “ All the great business
of genera and species,” says Locke, “ amounts to no more «iera.
but this, that men make abstract ideas, and, setting them ^
in their minds with names annexed to them, do thereby
enable themselves to consider things, and discourse of
them, as it were in bundles, for the easier and readier im¬
provement and communication of their knowledge, which
would advance but slowly were their words and thoughts
confined only to particulars.” “ The reason,’ he says
again, “ why I take so particular notice of this is, that we
may not be mistaken about genera and species, and their
essences, as if they were things regularly and constantly
made by nature, and had a real existence in things, when
they appear upon a more wary survey to be nothing else
but an artifice of the understanding, for the easier signi¬
fying such collections of ideas, as it should often have oc¬
casion to communicate by one general term, under which
divers particulars, as far forth as they agreed to that ab¬
stract idea, might be comprehended.”
The following observations by Mr Vigors may be intro¬
duced with propriety in this place, as according closely
with our own views on the subject of generic divisions.
« gut thouo-h nature nowhere exhibits an absolute divi¬
sion between her various groups, she yet displays suffi¬
ciently distinctive characters to enable us to arrange them
into conterminous assemblages, and to retain each assem¬
blage, at least in idea, separate from the rest. It is not,
however, at the point of junction between it and its ad¬
joining groups that I look for the distinctive character.
There, as M. Temminck justly observes, it is not to be
found. It is at that central point which is most remote
from the ideal point of junction on each side, and where
the characteristic peculiarities of the SrouPs> Sradua7
unfolding themselves, appear in their full development, it
is at that spot, in short, where the typical character is
most conspicuous, that I fix my exclusive attention. Upon
these typical eminences I plant those banners of distinc¬
tion, round which corresponding species may congregate
as they more or less approach the types of each. In
my pursuit of nature, I am accustomed to look upon the
no,, rirnfluftions insensibly pass into
<
arsuit or lidiuie, ± f
great series in which her productions insensibly pa« into
8 ■ other, with similar feelings to those with which
each other, witn sumun natural
contemplate some of those beautiful pieces of natural
scenery where the grounds swell out in a
terchange of valley and elevation. Here, altho g
detect no breach in that undulating outline «
eve delights to glide without interruption, I can still gie
a'separate existence in idea to every elevation befo^me
and assign it a separate name. It is upon the p
eminence in each that I fix my attention, and d«
points I compare together, regardless, in my ’
the lower grounds which imperceptibly meet at the bas
Thus also It is that I fix upon the typical eminences tha,
rise most conspicuously above that c°ntl"rljieese afford mi
which nature disposes her living group... ,uvjsions
which nature disposes ner nviug - divisions
sufficient prominency of character for my "
.. .11 xi ko whprp nature shows none.
sumcieni   -
for ideal they must be, where nature sho ^ ^
thus it is that I can conceive elevations
separate and united ; separate at their yp
but united at their basal extremes. rE_;oritiv explicit
“ It is difficult to convey, in terms ^ e„,
an accurate definition of abstract notio notPbe abl
We may see the subject c early 0V^ ^ntible, unles
to communicate it by words sufficient^ g j- hta
to those who may happen to view it ia jiiustratior
ourselves. I shall therefore take a famih^^
which comes home to the feelings of ®ve J ’ arked di
it will be immediately apparent that ^tronghyother in oi
visional groups may be kept apart fro c b lute bour
conceptions, although we can recognise no ab^d^
dary lines by which ,we ca" say Jhnepyriod 0f lime which u
iry lines oy which v*c ca.* —-v . :ime
“Let us take, for instance, that period of tim
ORNITHOLOGY.
res. volves the annual revolution of the earth round the sun,
■''and let us divide it into the usual departments which we
call seasons. Every man can picture to his own mind the
decided characters by which these divisions of the year are
parted from each other; he can mark out by definite dis¬
tinctions those striking periods where the year bursts forth
into bud, where it opens into flower, where it ripens into
fruit, and where it lapses into decay. He can ascertain
the nature of the impressions which each season forces
upon his own feelings, he can communicate such sensa¬
tions to others, and he can embody those natural periods,
of whose separate existence he feels conscious, into sepa¬
rate and well-characterised divisions, to which he can re¬
fer, without fear of being misunderstood, under the distinct
appellations of spring or summer, of autumn or of winter.
But can he at the same time point out the actual limits of
these natural departments of the year ? Can he fix, for
instance, in that intervening interchange of season, where
the rigour of winter silently and imperceptibly relaxes into
the mildness of spring,—can he fix, I say, upon the exact
period when the former terminates, and the latter begins ?
Can he assert at one moment that he is within the pre¬
cincts of one season, and that, even while he speaks, he
has passed into the confines of the other. He mav, it is
true, assign artificial limits to each department, and may
calculate with mathematical precision the months, the
days, the hours, of which it consists. He may even as¬
sign reasons for his arbitrary divisions, and prove their pro¬
bable approximation to the regular interchange of nature.
And this is precisely as far as the Zoologist can go. But
this is all that is in his power. He never can feel or assert
that the character of one season is lost at one particular
moment, and gives place to the character of that which
succeeds. Here, then, we have four decided divisions, per-
fecty distinct in themselves, yet to which we are unable
to affix the limits. So it is with the groups of Zoology.
Ihey exhibit separate divisions, distinguished by separate
characters, but running into each other without any as¬
signable limits; and any man may draw his imaginary
line across that ‘ border country,’ that ‘ land debateable,’
which stretches between the conterminous regions, accord¬
ing as it suits his fancy or his peculiar views, or as it may
accord with the greater or less preponderance of those
minor landmarks which serve as an inferior mode of de¬
marcation in the absence of all natural boundaries.”1
557
We shall now proceed with our proposed exposition of
the various orders. 1
Order I.—RAPTORES, OR BIRDS OF PREY.2
Raptorial birds, under which term we include the tribes
X/ known the general names of vultures, eagles,
strnn ’ zards,’ kltes> and owls, are distinguished by a
®barp-edged, acutely-pointed bill, more or less
h00ked at the extremity of the upper
called th W U(dl I^.C0Vered at tbe base by the membrane
with ku,6 CGre* • The nostrils are usually open. The legs,
tarsus- ,ex.cePtl0ns> are plumed as far as the top of the
covered te;iarerEart ?tSeIfis usual]y bare, but is entirely
Partiallu * • featbers ,n most of the nocturnal kinds, and
fou inn Ln Several °f th? diurnaL The toes are always
sometimeUember’ *ree in tbeir movements, the outer
are fumi^ Vf sat‘e ’ and tbe whole, with rare exceptions,
All nni6 ■ Tu-hsbarP_» curved, prehensile claws,
joritv nnPr°”a birds feed on animal substances,—the ma-
ivmg prey. Representing in their own class the
ferine species among quadrupeds, they subdue their weak- Raptores.
er brethren by force more frequently than guile; and if“v—
not more tyrannical than tigers, they at least exercise a
more extended sway, for the fields, the woods, and waters,
the barren mountains, and resounding shore, are all alike
subjected to their fierce control. Their power of flight is
remarkable for its surpassing strength and long endurance.
Ihey occur in some form or other under every clime and
their external aspect varies greatly, both in size and shape,
irom the ponderous eagle and condor of long extended
wing, to the finch-falcon of Bengal, which is scarcely
larger than a sparrow. But, generally speaking, raptorial
birds are of considerable bulk, as might be anticipated
from the necessity under which they lie of subduing an
active and not always unresisting prey. Their forms, how¬
ever, are often graceful, their actions energetic, their eyes
bold and bright, and their plumage beautifully varied; 
but they are more remarkable for chaste and subdued co¬
louring, for sober shades of intermingled black and brown,
than for those brilliant or gorgeous hues which characterise
so many of the feathered tribes.
Their dispositions naturally fierce or unaccommodating,
if not contentious, their ravening appetites, and dangerous
weapons, induce them but seldom to associate with each
other. We shall not here describe them, after the manner
of many authors, as gloomy and mistrustful,—for what
cause has an eagle, rejoicing in his strength, and winging
his way from distant isles o’er waters glittering with re¬
dundant life, or hovering on the side of some majestic
mountain, of which the purple heath is one wide store¬
house of the best of game,—what cause has he for gloom ?
Ur why should he mistrust, whose sail-broad vans mio-ht
almost carry him across the vast Atlantic, or assuredhTin
a few brief hours transport him from his bold but barren
eyrie, to richer pastures, reverberating with the varied
voices of defenceless flocks ? We believe there is nothin**
mournful or disconsolate in beings which pursue the un¬
fettered exercise of natural instinct. Such fearful attri¬
butes are but reflections from the melancholy mind of man
(whose morbid reasoti often casts a gloom across the bright¬
est sun), but cloud not in reality the face of nature. Birds
of prey, however, are not gregarious,—although, “ where
the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
kor eagles we presume to read vultures, the scavengers of
the raptorial order, which in sultry regions are highly use¬
ful in clearing all decaying offal from the earth. With
these exceptions, the others may be said to dwell in single
pairs,—at times in solitude. They build their rude but
sufficing nests amid precipitous rocks, on ancient ruins,
and occasionally among forest trees, while a few take up
their station on the ground. They seldom lay more than
four eggs, and many only rear a pair of young. These are
at first extremely helpless, and covered for a time with
down, fhe females, in the generality of species, are con¬
siderably larger than the males. The plumage of the
sexes often differs greatly, and in such cases the offspring
for one or more seasons resembles the mother.
The voice in the raptorial order is almost always harsh and
unmusical, sometimes more plaintive in the hooting kinds,
complaining by night from ivy-mantled tower or ancient
tree; and only one species, a hawk from Africa, has
been ever said to sing. The uses to the human race of
birds of prey are not remarkable. The scavengers above
alluded to are beneficial in their way, but the same can
scarcely be alleged of such as carry off our lambs or poul¬
try ; and we are not aware that either their flesh or fea¬
thers are of much avail. More might have been said of
certain members of the order, had not the practice of
1 Zoological Journal, No. ii. p. 196.
* Accipitres, Linn.; Rapaces, Temm.
558
ORNITHOLOGY.
Itaptores. falconry, with other chivalrous uses, been about to pass
away.
SECT. I. DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY.
Cere usually naked, or partly covered by setaceous fea¬
thers. Nostrils open. Eyes of medium size, lateral.
Head rather small, and elongated ; face not surrounded by
a completed disk of projecting feathers, as in owls. Ster¬
num strong and solid. Stomach membranous. Intes¬
tines not greatly extended. Caeca short. Toes naked.
Of this section Linnaeus and the other naturalists formed
only two genera, Vultur and Falco, which some regard as
forming two large families, subdivided into numerous mi¬
nor groups. There is, upon the whole, a well-marked
character, or at least a strong physiognomical distinction,
between tbe Vulturidce and Falconidce ; but this is more
easily seen than expressed, or, when expressed, is often
erroneously so. Thus a strong alleged distinction is the
nearly naked head of the former ; but the lammer-geyer
(G. barbatns) has that part as densely plumed as any
eagle. However, the nails are generally blunt, and the
feet comparatively feeble.
FAMILY I VULTURID/E.1
The birds of this family are of large size and gluttonous
habits. They prefer animal substances in a state of de¬
composition to living prey, and are frequently gregarious.
The bill is never notched, and the feet and claws are more
feeble and less curved than among the Falconidse. Though
indolent, especially after meal time, they are distinguished
by'great powers of flight. Their bodies in repose assume
a more or less horizontal position. Their flesh is disgust¬
ing as an article of food, but their down has been occasion¬
ally made use of for domestic purposes.
Genus Vultur, Cuv. Bill large and strong, compress¬
ed, straight at the base, convex and rounded at the
point. Nostrils naked, rounded, obliquely pierced. Head
and neck bare of ordinary feathers, but covered by a short
down. A collar of long soft feathers at the base of the neck.
The true vultures, as now restricted, belong to the an¬
cient world. Their flight, though slow, is powerful and
long sustained. They frequently rise, by repeated gyra¬
tions, to a great height in the air, and descend in a simi¬
lar manner. They assemble in troops, and feed for the
most part on carcasses; yet the Dalmatian shepherds are
said to dread their inroads among their sheep and lambs.
They build among inaccessible rocks, and feed their young
by emptying the unsavoury contents of their own crops.
It does not appear that they can transfix or carry off their
prey by means of their talons, as do hawks and eagles.
We have two species in Europe, the cinereous vulture
( V. cinereus, Linn. Plate CCCLXXXVIII. fig. 1), called
arrian on the Pyrenees, and the griffon or fulvous vulture
( V. fulvus, Linn.). Both birds occur in Spain and the
Tyrol, but are scarcely ever seen in Switzerland, and are
rare in Germany. The nidification of the cinereous vul¬
ture is still unknown. It probably never breeds in Eu¬
rope, but rather in the mountainous countries of Asia,
where it is known to occur abundantly. The fulvous vul¬
ture is more courageous than the preceding, and more
inclined to seize on living prey. It is common in the
neighbourhood of Gibraltar, abounds in Dalmatia during
winter, and has been observed to breed in Sardinia on
lofty trees. It lays two eggs, of a greenish white, with a
rugose surface. It is widely spread over the continent R? ^
of Africa. Several other species are found in the warmer Vs~
regions of the old world.
Genus Sarcoramphus, Dumeril.2 Bill thick, straight
from the base, but strongly curved at the extremity, the
margin of the upper mandible having a somewhat sinuous
or S-like outline. Nostrils longitudinal and oblong.
Head and neck bare, wattled, surmounted by a fleshy
crest.
This genus is confined to America, and consists of three
species, the famous condor of the Andes (S. condor), the
king-vulture (N. papa), and the Californian vulture (S.
californianus). The condor inhabits the loftiest of the
Andes, and in its aerial flights is supposed to attain to
a station far above that of every other living creature.
According to Humboldt, it soars to an elevation nearly
six times greater than that at which clouds are usually
suspended in the sky. At the vast height of almost six
perpendicular miles, the condor is seen majestically sail¬
ing through the ethereal space, watchfully surveying the
airy depth in quest of his accustomed prey. When im¬
pelled by hunger, he descends to the nearest plains which
border on the Cordilleras ; but his sojourn there is brief,
as he seems instinctively to prefer the desolate and lofty
mountains. The barometer amid such aerial haunts at¬
tains only to the height of sixteen inches. These rocky
eyries (of which the plain is elevated about 15,000 feet
above the level of the sea) are known vernacularly by the
name of condor nests. There, perched in dreary solitude,
on the crests of scattered peaks, at the very verge of the
region of perpetual snow, these dark gigantic birds are
seen silently reposing like melancholy spectres. Hardly
an instance is known of their assaulting even an infant,
though many credulous travellers have given accounts of
their killing young persons of ten or twelve years of age.3
The history of the condor, like that of its Patagonian
neighbours of the human race, has in fact been much ob¬
scured by exaggeration. An inspection of its feet and
claws suffices to show that it is not gifted with great
prehensile power, and could scarcely carry off the most
ill-conditioned child, though not seldom accused of such
evil practices. Condamine informs us that he has often
seen condors hovering over flocks of sheep, some of which
they “ would have carried away, had they not been
scared by the shepherdsand this vague supposition is
stated as a. fact in their natural history I It is a bird of
powerful wing, but of vulturine habits, feeding much on
dead animal matter, but not unfrequently joining together
in the attack of cattle, especially of such as are in any way
enfeebled. Although the usual station of the condor is
mountainous, it often descends, as we have said, to feed
among the plains and valleys; and a female, now in the
French museum, was found at sea, sitting on the dead
body of a floating whale. It breeds amid the inaccessible
peaks of the Andes, making no nest, but depositing its
eggs upon the arid rock. It is a large bird, ot from three
to four feet in length, with an extent of wing very various¬
ly stated, but probably sometimes reaching from ten to
twelve feet. The female is of a much browner hue, and
wants the caruncles. She is less in size than the male,
an unusual circumstance in this order, although we sus¬
pect that the greater bulk of that sex is a feature chiefly
characteristic of the hawks and eagles.
“In riding along the plain,” says Sir Francis Head, “I
passed a dead horse, about which were forty or fifty con¬
dors ; many of them were gorged and unable to fly; se¬
veral were standing on the ground devouring the carcass,
1 On the modern groups into which this family is divisible, the reader may consult a paper by Mr Vigors in the Zoological Jour¬
nal, No. viii. p. 368.
2 Vultur, Linn. Cuv.; Cathartes, Hliger, Temm. 3 Nuttall’s Manual of Ornithology, i. p. 36.
ORNITHOLOGY.
!?. the rest hovering above it. I rode within twenty yards of
-''them; one of the largest of the birds was standing with
one foot on the ground, and the other on the horse’s
body ; display of muscular strength as he lifted the flesh,
and tore off great pieces, sometimes shaking his head and
pulling with his beak, and sometimes pushing with his leg.
Got to Mendoza, and went to bed. Wakened by one of
my party who arrived ; he told me, that seeing the con¬
dors hovering in the air, and knowing that several of them
would be gorged,1 he had also ridden up to the dead
horse, and that as one of these enormous birds flew about
fifty yards off, and was unable to go any farther, he rode
up to him ; and then, jumping off his horse, seized him by
the neck. The contest was extraordinary, and the ren¬
contre unexpected. No two animals can well be imagin¬
ed less likely to meet than a Cornish miner and a condor,
and few could have calculated, a year ago, when the one
was hovering high above the snowy pinnacles of the Cor¬
dillera, and the other many fathoms beneath the surface
of the ground in Cornwall, that they would ever meet to
wrestle and 4 hug’ upon the wide desert plain of Villa-
Vicencia. My companion said he had never had such a
battle in his life ; that he put his knee upon the bird’s
breast, and tried with all his strength to twist his neck;
but that the condor, objecting to this, struggled violently,
and that also, as several others were flying over his head,
he expected they would attack him. He said, that at last
he succeeded in killing his antagonist, and with great pride
he showed me the large feathers from his wings; but
when the third horseman came in, he told us he had found
the condor in the path, but not quite dead.”2
The king-vulture, S. papa (Plate CCCLXXXVIII. fig.
3), is a much more gaily adorned species, the fleshy por¬
tions of its head and neck being red, orange, and purple.
The upper parts of the plumage are of a pale reddish-white
or clay colour, the collar at the base of the neck is bluish-
gray, the quill-feathers and tail black (the former with
paler edgings), and the under parts of the body white.
Ibis beautiful bird is found in America, from the 30th
degree of north latitude, to about the 32d in the southern
hemisphere; that is, it occurs in Mexico, Paraguay, Gui¬
ana, Brazil, and Peru ; but most abundantly beneath the
torrid zone. According to Azara, it makes its nest in
hollow trees, and lays two eggs. It is supposed to derive
its name from its habit of driving off the common vultures
of America, called turkey buzzards, from their prey. The
female king-vulture is of somewhat smaller size than the
male. The ruff, and all the upper parts of her plumage,
are brownish black, and her bill is destitute of caruncles.
Genus Cathartes, Illiger. Bill much more slender
than in the preceding genera ; the upper mandible inflat¬
ed above the nostrils, encroaching as it were upon the
orehead, curved at the point, the margins nearly straight;
toe under mandible slender, slightly inflated, and obtuse
at the terminal portion. Cere extended. Nostrils broad,
quadrangular, longitudinal, very open. Head and neck
naked, without caruncles. Tongue fleshy, fringed. Tarsi
naked, rather feeble; claws short, curved, blunt. Tail-
feathers twelve.
This genus, as now restricted, is likewise confined to
j meri^a. ht consists of two species, the common turkey
rrrrvv0 ca^e(* in ^ United States), C. aura, Plate
BLXXXVIII. fig. 2, and the carrion-crow (of the same
country), C. atratus. The former is abundant both in North
559
and South America, and extends, in the central districts Raptores.
of the fur-countries, as far north as the 54th degree. It"
is partially migratory, even in the middle states, retiring
southwards on the approach of winter. A few remain
throughout the year in Maryland, Delaware, and New
Jersey ; but none are known to breed in any of the Atlantic
States to the north of the one last named. In the interior,
however, they reach a much higher latitude during their
summer migrations, probably owing to the greater heat of
that season in the inland districts. A few make their ap¬
pearance on the banks of the Saskatchewan when the
month of June is far advanced, and after all the other
summer birds have arrived and settled in their leafy ar¬
bours. Though gregarious in more southern countries,
where they fly and feed in flocks, towards their northern
limits seldom more than a pair are seen together. They
feed on carrion, which they discover at a great distance,
it is now said, by the sense of sight alone. They some¬
times eat with such gluttonous voracity as to be unable to
rise from the ground. They have been accused of at¬
tacking pigs, beginning the assault by picking out their
eyes. But Mr Waterton, during his residence in Deme-
rara, could not ascertain that they destroyed even living
reptiles. He killed lizards and frogs and placed them in
their way, but they took no notice of them till they began
to emit a putrid effluvia. He differs from Mr Audubon
in his ideas regarding the relative superiority in these
birds of the organs of sight and smell. The one thinks
the eyes have it, the other the nose. The turkey buzzard
hatches her eggs in some swampy solitude, on a truncat¬
ed hollow tree or excavated stump or log, laying them on
the rotten wood. This species roosts at night on trees,
but more seldom than the other kind in flocks. In winter
they sometimes pass the night in numbers on the roofs of
houses in the suburbs of the southern cities, probably in¬
duced to do so by the warmth which emanates from the
chimneys. On fine clear days, even in the winter season,
they amuse themselves by soaring majestically into the
air, rising rapidly in large gyrations; and ascending be¬
yond the thinnest fleecy clouds, they almost disappear
from mortal view. In South America they will sometimes
accompany the condor in his loftiest flights, rising, all
fetid though they be, above the region of the purest Alps ;
and thus exhibiting an emblem of the mind of man, so
often sunk in Epicurus’ sty, yet for a time so raised by
god-like genius, as not seldom to perceive 44 far off the
crystal battlements of heaven.”
The other species of this genus is the black vulture, or
carrion-crow of the United States, C. atratus. It is rather
less than the preceding, measuring about twenty-six inch¬
es in length, the general colour of the plumage dull black,
with a dark cream-coloured spot on the primaries. It is
more impatient of cold, and prevails chiefly about the
larger maritime cities of South Carolina, Georgia, and Flo¬
rida. They seem, from Mr Douglas’s account, to proceed
further north on the western side of the Rocky Mountains.
Although they rise at times to a considerable elevation,
their flight is less easy and graceful than that of the tur¬
key buzzard. Ihey are much more familiar, and in
Charleston and Savannah may be seen walking the streets
as demurely as domestic fowl. They sometimes become
individually known ; and a veteran with only one leg was
observed to visit the shambles, and claim the bounty of a
gentle butcher, for upwards of twenty years.
•lor is to^be s-eet^ ^htTsme 11 ii^stantK'3attrarts ^hp^630 Wh " V0 ^ ^ skin him ’ and ^ ^ that although not a con-
should like to have a coTdor ^ r . WaS at10nec°f t.he m}ne3 in ClliIi, I idly mentioned to a person that I
all been caught in this manner da^s afte™ardh a Guacho arrived at Santiago from this person with three large ones. They had
Guacho a dollar, who immediatewlefY leT ^ horse ? two had died of galloping, but the other was alive. I gave the
* Rough Note) acroZT^X What 1 C°Uld d° Wlth three SUch enormous birds.” *
ORNITHOLOGY.
Genus Neophron, Sav. Cathartes, Illig. Percnopte-
rus, Cuv. Bill long slender, rounded, inflated at the
curvature of the upper mandible, which is much hooked
at the extremity. Nostrils median, oval, longitudinal,
open. Cere covering two thirds of the bill. Face, cheeks,
and throat naked, also a space extending down the middle
of the neck. Tongue oblong, linear. Tail of fourteen
feathers.
These birds are inhabitants of the ancient world. They
ceived it from the snow-capped ranges of the Himalaya R1,
Mountains. N
The bird described by Bruce under the title of Abou
Duck'n, or Father Long-Beard, is certainly identical with
the lammer-geyer, although we have been sometimes puz¬
zled to reconcile the comparatively feeble feet of the beau¬
tiful series submitted to our examination by Professor
Jameson, with the meat-bearing prowess of the Abyssinian
instance. On the loftiest summit of the mountain of La-
torei
other visit, immediately prepared his arms, and it was not
long before the gigantic creature re-appeared.
As when a vulture on Imaus bred,
Whose snowy ridge the roving Tartar bounds,
Dislodging from a region scarce of prey,
To gorge the flesh of lambs or yeanling kids
On hills where flocks are fed, flies towards the springs
Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams ;
But on his way lights on the barren plains
Of Sericana, wrhere Chineses drive
With sails and wind their cany waggons light:—
are less powerful than the true vultures, and of smaller mallon, while the traveller s servants were refreshing them-
size, but are still more useful in their scavengerial func- selves after the fatigues of a toilsome ascent, and enjoy mg
tions, their love of putrid flesh, and of all impurities, be- the pleasures of a delightful climate and a good dinner of
ing insatiable. The rachamach of Bruce, or gingi vul- goat’s flesh, a lammer-geyer suddenly made his appearance
ture of Sonnerat (Neophron percnoplerus, Sav.), affords h among them. A great shout, or rather cry ot distress,
characteristic example. See Plate CCCLXXXVIII. fig. 4. attracted the attention of Bruce, who, while walking to-
It is equal in size to a raven, the throat and cheeks na- wards the bird, saw it deliberately put its foot into a pan
ked, the feathers of the head and back of the neck long, containing a huge piece of meat prepared for boiling,
narrow, and pointed. The plumage of the male is white, Finding the temperature, however, somewhat higher than
except the quill-feathers, which are black; that of the fe- it was accustomed to among the puie gushing springs of
male and young is brown. This species has been described that rocky and romantic region, it suddenly withdrew, but
under a great variety of names. It occurs in several parts immediately afterwards settled upon two large pieces which
of Europe, more especially in Spain, Italy, and the Island lay upon a wmoden platter, and transfixing them with its
of Elba: It is likewise widely distributed over Africa, talons, carried them off. It then disappeared over the edge
where it is known to the Hottentots by the name of hou- of a “ steep Tarpeian rock, down which criminals were
goop. It was held in great respect by the ancient Egyp- sometimes thrown, and whose mangled remains may be
tians, and is frequently represented on the monuments of supposed to have first induced the bird to select the spot
that mysterious people. It is said to follow caravans as a place of sojourn. The traveller, in expectation of an-
through the desert, for the sake of devouring every dead
or unclean thing. We may add, that it has occurred once
or twice in England.
Genus Gypaetos, Storr. Bill strong, straight, curved
at the point, and somewhat inflated at the curvature.
Cere basal, covered by strong bristly feathers pointing
forwards. Nostrils oblique, oval, concealed by bristles.
Tongue thick, fleshy, bifid. Head feathered. A tuft of
bristly or hair-like feathers beneath the bill. Tarsi short,
thick, feathered. Tail-feathers twelve.
This genus contains only a single species, the cele¬
brated lammer-geyer, or bearded vulture of the Alps (G. So landed with far-stretched fanning pinions our lammer-
barbatus). See Plate CCCLXXXVIII. fig. 5. It is one geyer, within ten yards of his expected savoury mess,
of the largest, or at least the longest-winged, of all the Eu- but also within an equal distance of Bruce s practised
ropean birds of prey, haunting the highest mountains, and rifle, which instantly sent a ball through its ponderous
preying on lambs, goats, chamois, marmots, &c. Its body, and the magnificent bird sunk down upon the grass,
strength and prowess are probably exaggerated, for al- with scarce a flutter of its outspread wings,
though its powers of wing are undoubtedly great, its legs We may here close our brief notice ot the first great
and talons are proportionally more feeble than those of family of the raptorial order, merely remarking faither,
eagles and falcons. It is said not unfrequently to secure that the species last alluded to, though not so regarded by
its alpine prey by descending upon it suddenly with rush- any of our systematic writers, appears to us to bear a great
ing wing, and driving it over a precipice, devouring the resemblance to the kites,
shattered limbs at leisure. It builds among inaccessible
precipices, and lays two eggs. It is now one of the rarest
of the birds of Europe, though formerly not uncommon
among the mountains of Tyrol, Switzerland, and Germany.
The peasant sportsmen of the last century often killed  j ,
them, and one, Andreas Burner by name, is quoted by M. stricted genus Falco, now greatly subdivided by modern
Michahelles as having shot sixty-five with his own hand, naturalists, but not yet very satisfactorily arranged. t
Though a bird of rare occurrence, the bearded vulture is contains a vast assemblage ot eagles, hawks, buzzar s,
very extensively distributed. In Europe it haunts the kites, &c., all characterized by a more or less curved bi >
steeps of the Pyrenean Mountains, and the central Alps of wdiich the upper mandible is strongly hooked;
from Piedmont to Dalmatia ; it is described by MM. Larey vious or open nostrils, pierced in an almost always na e
and Savigny as occurring in Egypt, and by Bruce as an cere; and by curved retractile pointed talons. Ihe iea
inhabitant of Abyssinia; it has been received both from is never bare of feathers, as in most ot the preceding a
Northern Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, by M. Tern- mily, and the eye-brows are usually bony and projecting,
minck; in Asia it is known to cast its cloud-like shadow The geographical distribution of the Falconidae, consi
over the vast steppes of the Siberian deserts; while not dered in their generality, is universal, one or more sPeC1^
many years have elapsed since Professor Jameson re- being found in all known countries from Spitzbergen
FAMILY II FALCONIDA3.
This extensive family corresponds to the ancient unre-
’ The genus Falco, which in the days of Linnaeus did not exceed thirty-two different kinds, amounts, in the last edition o
Latham’s Synopsis, to 247* We have no doubt it now exceeds 300 species, even although many of Latham s names are rt
to the rank of synonyms.
ORNITHOLOGY.
]j res. New Holland, and several particular kinds having a very
J—'Vide range, not only longitudinally across the whole tem¬
perate and northern parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America, but latitudinally through almost every clime.
Most of them are, to a certain extent, migratory in their
habits, although their movements are by no means so re¬
gularly periodical as are those of more laborious wing. In
fact, the birds of this family, surpassing all others both in
the duration and rapidity of their flight, are scarcely amen¬
able to those natural laws which, in so many instances, ap¬
pear to regulate or restrict the location of other tribes ;
and hence we find, that if a mural precipice, an insulated
crag, the mouldering wall of a ruined castle, or the tor¬
tuous branch of some ancient and umbrageous forest tree,
has been successfully sought for in spring as a secure re¬
treat for the purposes of nidification and the rearing of
their young, the other seasons of the year are usually spent
in a life of wandering rapine. When we consider the facts
which have been recorded of the flight both of hawks and
pigeons, the migratory movements of birds in general be¬
come much less a subject of wmnder (excepting always the
beautiful instinct by which they are directed), than they
would at first appear. It is w'ell known that a falcon be¬
longing to Henry II. of France, w Inch had been carried to
Fontainebleau, made its escape, and w^as retaken next day
in the island of Malta, where it was recognised by the
rings on its legs. According to Colonel Montagu, it must
have flown with a velocity equal to fifty-seven miles an
hour, supposing it to have been on wing the whole time.
“But as such birds never fly by night, and allowing the
day to have been at the longest, or containing eighteen
hours of light, this would make seventy-five miles an hour.
It is probable, however, that it neither had so many hours
of light in the twenty-four to perform the journey, nor
that it was retaken the moment of its arrival ; so that u>e
may fairly conclude that much less time w^as occupied in
performing that distant flight.” Another falcon having
been sent from the Canary Islands to the Duke of Lermos^
then in Andalusia, was found in Tencrifte sixteen hours
after it had taken its flight from Spain. In regard to this
instance the calculation is more simple, and less likelv to
prove erroneous, because, supposing the bird to have fol¬
lowed anything like a direct course, its flight from the
coast of Andalusia to its native island would lie through¬
out over the waters of the ocean, and must therefore have
been continuous. Now the distance being not less than
7o2 miles, that space divided by sixteen, the number of
hours employed would give an average of forty-seven miles
an hour for the whole course. At this rate, if a falcon
were to leave the rock of Gibraltar on a Monday morning,
jt might enjoy eight hours repose, and yet reach Edin¬
burgh Castle in the course of Tuesday forenoon. Pigeons
have been shot in the far-inland forests of America with
their stomachs full of fresh rice, which, to have resisted
the digestive process, must have been sw allowed not many
hours preceding, but could not have been obtained within
eight hundred miles of the place where they were killed.1
ft thus appears probable, that the most extended migra¬
tory movement which any species is required to perform,
may m the greater number of cases be accomplished in a
hours °f days’~more frequently in the course of a few
‘'?^eJ1U,iner0US sPecies by which this great family is con-
sututed, though rarely adorned by those brilliant colours
1 »ch characterize so many of the gentler tribes, are per¬
haps o all the feathered race the most remarkable for
eau 'r 01 i°rm and elegance of proportion. Their eyes
561
are usually large and lustrous; their limbs, even when Raptores.
light, very strong and muscular, and armed with formi--
dable claws with which they pounce their prey. Their
general aspect (especially that of the true falcons), when
compared with other birds, is well expressed by the word
noble; and a single glance suffices to show that a combi¬
nation of fierceness, energy, and courage, must form their
predominating character. Like most other animals, how¬
ever, whether human or brute, they are by no means in¬
sensible to kindness ; and their instinctive sagacity, when
directed by the skill and perseverance of man, has for ages
been rendered subservient to his amusement in the sports
of the field. But the princely art of falconry, whether
from the progress of agriculture, the consequent minuter
subdivision of land, and the increase of inconvenient bar¬
riers by the fencing of enclosed grounds,—or the tastes of
men of rank and fortune having followed in another di¬
rection, has now almost entirely fallen into disuse. The
species most generally trained for the purpose in this coun-
try appears to have been the peregrine falcon, but many
other kinds are used in eastern regions; and even pon¬
derous eagles are sometimes made subservient to the hu¬
man will. Few’ things indeed more strongly illustrate the
subduing influence of reason over instinct, than that a
coarse illiterate groom, by tossing upa shapeless lure, should
thus entice a proud rejoicing falcon from his airy height,
and render him so submissively obedient as to forsake his
soaring flight, and all his bright survey of field and river,
and close contentedly his yet unwearied wings, to perch
for hours upon a brawny arm, his lustrous eye encapped in
velvet hood, and limbs “ by jessies bound.”
We must be very brief in our indications of the minor
groups; and of several subgenera, as they are called, we
can do nothing more than give the names. We do not here
adopt the division of noble and ignoble birds of prey, which
w e deem a distinction w ithout a difference, seeing that some
of the long-w inged hawks are difficult to train, while seve¬
ral of the short-winged kinds are made with ease submis¬
sive to the human race.
The genus Daptrius of Vieillot (Carctcara, Cuv.) is
formed by the Fulco aterrimus of Temm. (PL Col. 37 and
342). The cheeks and front of the throat are bare of fea¬
thers. The cere is haired. The adult plumage of the species *
named is black, wuth a white band spotted with black at
the base of the tail ; the bare portion of the face is flesh-
coloured, the cere and legs yellow, the bill lead-coloured.
The total length is about fifteen inches. It occurs in Gui¬
ana and Brazil. Its habits are unknown.
The genus Ibycter of the same author ( Caracara, Cuv.)
has the cere smooth, and the upper part of the neck, as
well as the cheeks, bare of feathers. The stomach is also
bare and prominent. The tarsi are short, strong, and re¬
ticulated. We believe there is only a single species of
this genus also, the lb. leucogaster of Vieillot (Gal. pi. 6),
or Falco formosus of Latham. Its bill is feeble, and but
slightly hooked, and its habits offer a corresponding non¬
conformity with the usual manners of the raptorial order.
It is of a mild and peaceable nature, living, it is said, chief¬
ly on fruits and seeds, with the addition of a few insects,
such as ants and locusts. It builds on trees, and utters
from time to time a harsh discordant cry. It inhabits
Guiana and Brazil, and, exhibiting some of the habits of
the toucans, is called by the negroes the capitaine des gros
bees.
The genus Caracara, Cuv. (Polyborus, Vieil.), has the
face only partially naked. The C. Braziliensis (Plate
CCCLXXXVIII. fig. (j) is extremely common in Paraguay.
but at an immense distance*from6thaUsland!" Newfounchand Wlth. their crolJS ful1 °f maize, a species of corn which does not grow
VOL. XVI.
562
ORNITHOLOGY.
Raptores. It lives in pairs, flies rapidly, and preys on birds and small
' quadrupeds, as well as on insects and reptiles. The fe¬
male is said to build upcn the ground when in the pampas,
and on trees when located in wooded countries. This ac¬
commodating habit is known to prevail among many other
birds.
The three preceding genera, which some regard as form¬
ing the tribe of Caracaras, are all native to the new world,
and may be said to form a link with the vultures, both in
regard to the bareness of the face, and their alleged ten¬
dency to prey on carrion.
We now proceed to the tribe of eagles, of which the
bill is very robust, comparatively straight at its basal and
middle portion, and suddenly curved at the extremity. It
includes the species most celebrated for their strength and
courage. Their strong limbs, curved talons, and broad ex¬
pansive wings, enable them to carry off well-grown lambs,
and other bulky prey. They are therefore dreaded by
shepherds and such pastoral people, as robbers of the first
rank, and a high premium is placed upon their heads ac¬
cordingly. .
In the genus Aquila properly so called, the bill is
shorter than the head, straight, curved at the tip, the edge
of the upper mandible with a slight festoon; the nostrils
are oblong and oblique ; the cere haired ; the tarsi short,
and covered with feathers. The well-known golden eagle
(J. chryscctos) affords a characteristic example. This fine
British species is widely spread over Europe and America.
In our own country it builds on the ledges of mountain
precipices—on the Continent its nest is frequently found
in forests; for example, in that of Fontainebleau. ,It is com¬
mon in the northern and central parts of Europe, but rarer
in the south. It is, however well known in Italy. We
have seen it sailing over the deep basin of the vale of
D’Uomo d’Ossola, and high above the highest snowy peaks
which glitter around the majestic passes of the Simplon.
In America it breeds among the subalpine districts which
skirt the Rocky Mountains, being seldom seen farther east¬
ward. It is regarded by the aborigines as an emblem of
strength and courage, and the Indian warrior as well as the
highland chieftain glories in his eagle plume. These birds
sometimes soar to a vast height, but they seem to do so
' rather as a kind of sporting exercise, than with a view to
search for prey. When employed in hunting, they keep
far nearer the earth, sweeping up the valleys, and skirting
the sides of heath-covered mountains. The golden eagle
is becoming rarer in Scotland every year. Many ancient
eyries are pointed out to travellers by gray-haired shep¬
herds, where the bird itself is now no longer known, and in
no lengthened period we may expect its extirpation. Se¬
veral other kinds of feather-footed eagles are known to
naturalists, such as the Aquila imperialis, a common Egyp¬
tian species, not unfrequent in the eastern countries of Eu¬
rope,—and the Aquila Bonelli, a recent acquisition, native
to the mountains of Sardinia, and no doubt inhabiting other
alpine lands. Aquila fucosus is a New Holland species,
very common near Port Jackson, and remarkable for its
fine wedge-shaped tail.
In the genus Hali^etus, or sea-eagle, the bill is nearly
as long as the head, and the tarsi are bare of feathers, ex¬
cept at the top. Their habits resemble those of the eagles
proper, but they prey more on fish, and will feed more rea¬
dily on tainted flesh. Species occur in Europe, Asia, Africa,
America, and Australia. Our own white-tailed eagle (H.
albicilla, Plate CCCLXXXVI1I. fig. 8) affords a good ex¬
ample. “ On observing a person walking near their nests,”
says Mr Macgillivray, “ they fly around him at a respect-1,
ful distance, sailing with outstretched wings, occasionally ^
uttering a savage scream of anger, and allowing their legs
to dangle, with outspread talons, as if to intimidate him.
I have observed them thus occupied, when on the edge of
a precipice five hundred feet high, with a very steep slope
above me, bounded by rocks, and from which I could not
have made my escape had the birds been resolute. Al¬
though on such occasions they are in general extremely
cautious, notwithstanding their manifest anxiety for the
safety of their young, yet I once saw an eagle come within
an hundred yards, when it was brought down with buck¬
shot by a friend whom I had accompanied to the place.”1
The same writer observes, that he has never heard of the
sea-eagle attacking those employed in robbing its nest;but
that he has been credibly informed of its having attempt¬
ed to molest individuals whom it chanced to find among
its native crags, in perilous places. In the Hebrides it is
itself frequently assailed by the skua-gull; and we have
ourselves more than once seen it attacked by the raven.
In our present group are many other species, such as
the beautiful Halicetus leucogaster of New Holland, and
the bald or white-headed eagle of America, H, leucocepha-
lus. The latter is often seen sailing through and around
the gigantic column of spray which rises from that “ hell
of waters,” the cataract of Niagara. Though a bird of
powerful wing, he seems to have fallen somehow into lazy
habits, or at least prefers the produce of others’ labours to
his own. “ Elevated,” says Wilson, “ on the high, dead
limb of some gigantic tree, that commands a view of the
neighbouring shore and ocean, he seems calmly to contem¬
plate the motions of the various feathered tribes that pur¬
sue their busy avocations below,—the snow-white gulls
slowly winnowing the air,—the busy tringae coursing along
the sands,—trains of ducks streaming over the surface,—
silent and watchful cranes intent and wading,—clamorous
crows,—and all the winged multitudes that subsist by the
bounty of this vast liquid magazine of nature. High over
all these hovers one whose action instantly arrests his
whole attention. By his wide curvature of wing, and sud¬
den suspension in air, he knows him to be the fish-hawk,
settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye,
kindles at the sight, and balancing himself with half-open¬
ed wings upon the branch, he watches the result. Down
rapid as an arrow from heaven descends the object of his
attention, the roar of its wings reaching the ear as it dis¬
appears in the deep, making the surges foam around. At
this moment the eager looks of the eagle are all ardour;
and levelling his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once
more emerge, struggling with his prey, and mounting in
the air with screams of exultation. These are the signals
for our hero, who, launching into the air, instantly gives
chase, and soon gains on the fish-hawk; each exerts his
utmost to mount above the other, displaying in these ren¬
contres the most elegant and sublime aerial evolutions.
The unencumbered eagle rapidly advances, and is just on
the point of reaching his opponent, when with a sudden
scream, probably of despair and honest execration, the lat¬
ter drops his fish :—the eagle poising himself for a moment,
as if to take a more certain aim, descends like a vvhirlvvin ,
snatches it in its grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears
his ill-gotten booty silently away into the woods.”2 When
forced to hunt for themselves, they often attack young
pigs, lambs, and sickly sheep. ,
In the genus Pandion the bill is much shorter than tne
head; the tarsi are short and naked, covered all round with
* American Ornithology, vol V p. 23. We quote Professor Jameson’s systematic edition, in four small volumes ^onstable^w"^,
1831). The student of American Ornithology will find some valuable notes by 8ir William Jardiue, in anothe g
in three vols. large 8vo, 1832.
ORNITHOLOGY.
res. imbricated scales; the claws are large and rounded on the
■■"''"under surface, the outer toe very versatile ; and the second
feather of the wing the longest. Our British osprey, or
small fishing eagle, is the Pandion halicetus. It breeds in
the vicinity of many of our northern sea-lochs, often on the
chimney-top of ruined castles by the shore. It destroys
a vast quantity of fish, which it secures by thrusting its
talons through their backs during a sudden momentary
plunge beneath the waves. It is remarkably abundant in
North America; and Wilson observes that it permits the
purple grakles to build their nests amid the interstices of
the sticks of which it has framed its own. He adds, that
it never picks up any fish which it may chance to drop either
on land or water. We know not if this trait applies to those
of the “ old country.” We once saw an osprey drop a large
sea-trout, which it certainly did not attempt to recover;
but then there happened at the same time to be an excel¬
lent shot, with a double barrel, within a rather dangerous
distance of the same. The osprey occurs in New Holland,
and is elsewhere very widely spread.
The genus Circ^tus of Vieillot is in a manner inter¬
mediate between the fishing eagles, the ospreys, and the
buzzards. We may mention as an example the bird called
jean-le-blanc by the French {F. Gallicus, Gmelin), a com¬
mon continental species.
In Harpyia, Cuv. the bill is very strong, and com¬
pressed, the upper mandible dilated on the margins, and
much hooked. The head is crested, the tarsi thick, the
wings rather short. The harpies are large birds of prey,
which dwell chiefly in the forests of Guiana, making their
nests on trees, and committing great depredations. The larg¬
est is the H. destructor of Daudin (Plate CCCLXXX VIII.
fig. 7), said to be capable of cleaving a man’s skull by a
single blow of its beak. We doubt if any one ever tried.
However, it carries off young fawns, and sloths of a year
old. It is a rare bird, lately imported to the Zoological
Gardens of London, and well exemplified by the specimen
in the Edinburgh Museum.
In the genus xMorphnus of Cuv. (Spizcetus, Vieillot),
the wings are shorter than the tail, the tarsi are length¬
ened (in some feathered), and the toes feeble. The spe¬
cies are extremely beautiful, and richly varied in their
markings. They are chiefly found in South America.
We have figured as an example (see Plate CCCLXXXVIII.
ng. 9) the Morphnus cristatus (F. Guianensis, Baud.),
j which strongly resembles the great harpy just mentioned
in its general aspect, but is at once distinguished by its
smaller size and longer tarsi. We may mention as an in-
stance of those with plumed tarsi, the Falco cristatellus
of lemm. PL Col. 282, w'hich is a native of India and
beylon.
i ^YMIND1S> Cuv. and Temm. the tip of the upper man-
«ime forms a lengthened curve, with a very acute point,
■fne nostrils are obliquely cleft, almost closed ; the cere
narrow. The tarsi are very short, and reticulated; the
wings rather long. I he species are South American, and
we know of nothing remarkable in their habits. See Cy-
- ^uncinotus, illiger, PL Col. 103. The extremely
nook-billed species (C. hamatus, PL Col. 61) now forms
f g^n“s Rostrhamus. Its nostrils are rounded, the
p ee before the eye is bare, and the tarsi are scutellated.
its habits are unknown.
Naturalists differ greatly in their distribution of the pre-
eenln^ ^enera'. Swainson thinks Circcelus is a sub-
Lp,c tonn of Gtjpager anus, and he places Cymindis with
fWaLat:araS’ a.ml certain otl>er groups, in his sub family
Vi •I f m(9 or kites, and locates Morphnus (Spizcetus,
v‘e •) with the buzzards.
563
w
6 now proceed to a third tribe, consisting chiefly of
the sparrow-hawks and goshawks. The bill is curved al- Haptores.
most from the base, convex, the upper mandible dilated'"—“V"-''
on the sides, the lower short and obtuse. The nostrils
are nearly oval; the tarsi rather long and slender ; the
claws broad and sharp. The wings have the fourth fea¬
ther the most extended, and are shorter than the tail. The
species are numerous, and occur in all parts of the globe.
The larger, which are also proportionally the more robust,
with thicker tarsi and shorter wings, have by many Orni¬
thologists been considered as constituting a separate ge¬
nus, to which the name of Astur is applied. That rare
British bird the goshawk (Astur palumbarius) may be
named as a good example, while the smaller and more
slender kinds included in the genus Nisus are represent¬
ed by our sparrow-hawk (N. communis, the Falco nisus of
Linn.). The transition from one to the other is however
very gradual, and some deem their separation unwarrant¬
able. Even the two British species, though usually re¬
garded as the types of their respective sections, do not dif¬
fer so much as to render the propriety of their separation
very apparent, even were no other species known. They
are all extremely active, as daring as the true falcons, and
prey exclusively on living objects, which they seize with
admirable dexterity. Their flight is generally low, and as
they pass over the fields or woods, they dart upon their
prey, whether it be in the air, among branches, or couch¬
ed upon the ground.1 The goshawk, though a short¬
winged species, was formerly held in great estimation for
the purposes of falconry. It is one of the most generally
diffused of all the accipitrine birds, but is now very rare
in Britain. A beautiful white species (Astur albus) is
found in New Holland. Of the sparrow-hawks we shall
allude merely to the Nisus musicus of Africa, commonly
called the chanting falcon. It is the only raptorial bird
in any way gifted with the powers of song ; but we must
not suppose that its notes at all resemble the harmonious
tones of the nightingale, or those of even our less accom¬
plished songsters. Its voice is merely a little clearer than
usual, although it seems impressed with a high idea of its
own poweis, and will sit for half a day perched upon the
summit of a tall tree, uttering its incessant cry.
A fourth tribe contains the kites, which are likewise sub¬
divided into several minor groups, all agreeing in their
comparatively feeble bills and feet, their short tarsi, and
long extended wings. The tail is forked. They are gifted
with great powers of flight, but are neither strong nor
courageous, seldom pounce on heavy game, sometimes
contrive to prey on fish, and have never the slightest ob¬
jection to chickens.
In the genus Milvus of Cuv. is included our common
kite (M. regalis, Vieil.; Falco milvus, Linn.). The tarsi
are scutellated in front, and tolerably strong. This beau¬
tiful bird is rare in many districts of Scotland, and is
scarcely ever seen in the Lothians. We have received it
from Argyllshire, but do not think it occurs in the West¬
ern Isles. We have often, in the North of England, ad¬
mired its wheeling flight, circling through the air with no
peiceptible motion of its long expanded wings, and sailing
over that enchanting land of lakes and mountains, with
such majestic sweeps as il it were itself il sole king of
rocky Cumberland.” The kite is distributed over all Eu¬
rope, but is unknown in America. Other species of the
genus occur in Asia, Africa, and New Holland.
In the genus Elanus of Savigny the tarsi are very
short, reticulated, and half clothed with feathers. The
wings are long, the tail but slightly forked. It contains
F- dispar and melanapterus, two species which some re¬
gard as one and the same. They feed on small birds, in¬
sects, and reptiles, and occasionally devour dead animals.
1 Itupacious Birds, p. 231.
564 ORNITHOLOGY.
Raptores. If identical, the species must exist in America, Africa European species; but a beautiful crested kind (P. era-(I
' (occasionally in Europe), and the East Indies. The swal- tata, Cuv.), Plate CCCLXXXIX. fig. 2, occurs in Java''
low-tailed kite (M. furcatus) forms the genus Nauclerus and the East Indies. P. Pllioti is also native to the latter
of Vigors. See Plate CCCLXXXIX. fig. 1. The form is country.
slender, the tail very long and greatly forked. The spe- In the genus Buteo, Bechstein, the cutting margin of
cies just named is white, with back, wings, and tail black, the upper mandible is more flexuous or tooth-like, the gape
glossed with green and purple. It inhabits America, at wider, and the space between the eye and the cere is co¬
least as far south as Buenos Ayres, and also passes the vered by the same setaceous plumage which usually pre¬
summer and breeds in the warmer parts of the United vails in that part, the nostrils are rounded, and the tarsi
States. Tempted by the abundance of the fruitful valley scutellated in front. The buzzards are a numerous genus,
of the Mississippi, a few are seen to wander as far as the distributed over most parts of the world. We have only
Falls of St Antony, in the forty fourth degree. Audubon two British species, the common buzzard (Buteo vulgaris),
states, that in calm warm weather they soar to an immense and the rough-legged kind (B. lagopus). The latter is a
height, pursuing the large insects (probably libellulae) rare or rather accidental visitor, its proper districts being
called musquito hawks, using their tails with an elegance the northern parts of Europe and America. We think
peculiar to themselves, and performing the most singular buzzards are most abundant in wooded countries. They
evolutions. The Mississippi kite (F. plumbeus, Latham) fly more sluggishly than hawks, and generally rather low,
constitutes the genus Ictinia of the modern systems, but at times they ascend to a great height, sweeping round
It is of a blackish ash colour, the head and under parts of in easy circles, and uttering a frequent shrilly cry.
a much paler ashy hue. Wilson frequently observed this In the genus Circus the bill is slender and compressed,
hawk in the course of his perambulations, sailing about in the cere large, the cheeks encircled by a kind of recurved
easy circles, at a considerable height in the air, and gene- ruff, and the tarsi long, slender, and scutellated before
rally in company with Turkey buzzards, with whose mode and behind. We have three British species, the moor
of flight its own exactly corresponds. It is not easy to say harrier (C. ceruginosus), the common ringtail or hen-har-
why two birds, whose food and manners are in other re- nev (C.cyaneus, male,— C. pygargus, female), and Monta-
spects so different, should so frequently associate in their gu’s harrier (C. cineraceus). All these birds roost and
airy gambols. Though the Mississippi kite feeds chiefly breed upon the ground, fly low, and frequent mountainous
on reptiles and insects, it is a bold and energetic bird, or marshy places. They prey upon whatever small-sized
The specimen obtained by Wilson, though wounded, and creatures they can master, whether beast, bird, reptile, or
precipitated from a stunning height, exhibited great insect. The hen-harrier is supposed to occur in almost all
strength, and a most unconquerable spirit. He no sooner parts of the world, but the identity ot the American and
approached to pick it up, than the bird immediately gave European specimens has not been definitely determined,
battle, striking rapidly with its claws, wheeling round and We have figured a foreign species as an example in 1 late
round as it lay, “ partly on his rump,” and defend ng itself CCCLXXXIX. fig. 5. It is the Circus palustris of Tem-
with vigilance and dexterity. Notwithstanding all the minck ( C. of some other authors), and a na-
aggressor’s caution, it struck its hind claw into his hand, live of Brazil.
with such force as to penetrate into the bone. “ Anxious We now arrive at the falcons properly so called, or
to preserve his life, I endeavoured gently to disengage it; those which have been sometimes distinguished by the
but this made him only contract it the more powerfully, appellation of noble birds of prey, probably on account oi
causing such pain that I had no other alternative but that certain members of the group, such as the peregrine and
of cutting the sinew of his heel with my penknife.” The jer-falcon, being held in high esteem as accessaries in the
whole time he lived with Wilson he seemed to watch his sports of the field. We cannot say that we have been led
every movement, erecting the feathers of his head, eyeing to our present arrangement by an impression that it is
him with fierceness, and no doubt regarding him (and with more natural than any other, for we have already left the
some show of justice) as the greater savage of the two. point which would have conducted us more insensibly ih-
In & fifth tribe we may place the honey-hawks, buzzards, to the ensuing nocturnal group of owls ; but we do not
and harriers, small groups connected, in a variety of ways, think it is liable to more grave objections than aie
by the usual interlacements, with several of the preceding others. Indeed the circular or recurrent nature of the
tribes. The buzzards, for example, both in form and actual affinities of natural groups renders their true expo-
plumage, resemble small eagles, though their bills are more sition, so far as any consecutive system is concerned, ini
curved from the base;1 2 the harriers in some measure con- possible ; for, instead of advancing, vve must necessany
nect the buzzards with the accipitrine hawks (gen. Nisus terminate where we began, and therefore either retrace a
and Astur); while the honey-hawks (Pernis) unite the portion of our circle, or break or bend it, before w'e can
buzzards to the kites. The natural affinities of groups are proceed to another. W ithout, therefore, desiring te
in truth so multiplied and complex, that we need scarcely reader to suppose that the harriers in any special way
wonder that even those w ho have most devoted them- conduct him to the falcons, we shall give a brief notice o
selves to explore such Cretan labyrinths, should have often the latter.
failed in their supposed elucidation:—so much the worse for The falcons are chiefly distinguished by the strong,
those who have never found the thread. tooth-like notching of the bill, which in the prece in.,
In the genus Pernis, Cuv. the lore, or space between groups is either entirely absent, or shows itself only int e
the bill and eye, is closely covered by small, compact, form of a more or less distinct festoon.* i be first qin *
rounded feathers, the nostrils are narrow, and the tarsi feather is always long, the second longer than the tnr
short, stout, and reticulated. The British bee-hawk (P. and fourth, so that the wing acquires a sharp or Poin ,e
apivorus), or honey-buzzard as it is usually called, though form, instead ot the rounded outline of the s®'ca ^
it cares less for the honey than for those that make it, is noble tribes ; and the points ot the wings, when cosei,
of this genus. WTe have no other indigenous, or indeed usually attain to the end of the tail.
1 Mr Macgilhvray mentions, that the digestive organs of the common buzzard so greatly resemble those of the golden eagle, t
a figure of the one might serve for that of the other. ... . ... r • u- . „n the jer-
2 It is, we believe, in vain that naturalists attempt exceptionless precision in their generalities ; for, in this very gro
falcon, in one sense the noblest of all, frequently wants the tooth, and exhibits a bill festooned like the eagle’s.
Ptore*
I 2l
c
pr
ai
m
it
rii
is
iii
lii
li
1 !oi
m
se
Vf
I
111
IE
111
It
|!
isi
111
{4
Hi
t
o
if
i ‘
E.
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ii
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i
i
i
res. In the restricted genus Falco, then, the bill is short,
—''but strong, conical, curved from the base, sharply hooked
at the extremity, and almost always toothed as well as
-kin + ori • tnncfr11 e o   l 
ORNITHOLOGY.
565
 J 7 7     viiv. 14 Cl 5 WCJl US
pointed ; the nostrils are rounded, the cere bare, or mere¬
ly encroached upon by the bristly feathers of the lore.
The tarsi are rather short and strong, and covered with
scales of somewhat variable form, but usually rounded or
angular. The wings are long and pointed. We have four
well-known British species, the peregrine falcon (F. pere-
grinus), the hobby (F. subbuteo), the merlin (F. cesalon),
and the kestril (F. tinnunculus). Besides these, we may
name the jer-falcon {F. islandicus, Plate CCCLXXXIX.
fig. 4) as an occasional, and the orange-legged hobby
(F. vespertinus) as an accidental visitor. The jer-falcon,
in spite of its alleged want of teeth, is one of the bold¬
est and most powerful of the class. This fine species
seems now confined almost entirely to the most northern
parts of Europe and America. It is well known in Ice¬
land and Greenland, and was often seen by Dr Richard¬
son during his journeys over the “ barren grounds” of
North America, where it preys habitually on ptarmi<Tan,
not, however, despising plovers, ducks, and geese. “ In
the middle of June,” he observes, “ a pair of these birds
attacked me as I was climbing in the vicinity of their
nest, which was built on a lofty precipice on the borders
of Point Lake, in latitude 65i°. They flew in circles,
uttering loud and harsh screams, and alternately stooping
with such velocity that their motion through the air pro¬
duced a loud rushing noise ; they struck their claws with¬
in an inch or two ot my head. I endeavoured, by keep¬
ing the barrel of my gun close to my cheek, and sud¬
denly elevating its muzzle when they were in the act of
striking, to ascertain whether they had the power of in¬
stantaneously changing the direction of their rapid course,
and found that they invariably rose above the obstacle
with the quickness of thought, showing equal acuteness of
vision and power of motion. Although their flio-ht was
much more rapid, they bore considerable resembfance to
die snowy owl.”1 Upon the whole, we think that Great
pntain and Ireland are just as well quit of such a fierce
intruder. The Doctor adds, that when the jer-falcon
pounces down upon a flock of ptarmigan, the latter en¬
deavour to save themselves by diving instantly into the
loose snow, and making their way beneath it to a consi¬
derable distance.
A few species, in which the toothing of the upper man¬
dible is double, form the genus Bidens of Spix, syno-
uymous, we presume, with Harpagus of Vigors. Such are
j ’ hdentatus, Lath., F. diodon, Temm. PL Col. 198. In
™Al of1Vlg°,rs’ the uPper mandible seems as strongly
s arply bidentated as in the preceding, but the under
one is simply notched, as in the true falcons, and the
second quill-feather of the wing is the longest. This ge¬
nus includes the beautiful little finch-falcon of Bengal, V.
®rv escens, the smallest of the hawk tribe. An elegant
— - * *>-?* ‘he e"-
tha? r,Shal! CM clulde,this secti0n by a brief indication of
Somli mar.kabIe bird> the secretary, or serpent-eater of
(see A^r^~-tbe Gl/P0fferanus serpentarius of Illiger
no^ CCC,LXXXIX- % 9)- ^ affinities have been
therm J sa,tIsfactorily illustrated, and each author has hi-
locates R3?? 11 acc°rdlnS to hls own fancy. Baron Cuvier
makes it the buzzards and the owls; M. Lesson
with the h ^i lnaceous accipiter,” in strange company
while Mr « ned SCr.eamer (Pal^ea cristate) of Brazil;
“ the • ,ainS°n 18 now satisfied that it is no other than
rasonal type of the aquiline circle.” Be this as it
may it has a strong well-curved bill, a crested head, a Raptores.
engthened neck, and long, slender, crane-like legs. It is'
the only one of its genus, and has been designated by a
variety of names. Some call it the messenger, because it
runs with great rapidity, which few actual messengers ever
do; others name it the secretary, because it has a pen-
hke plume behind its ear, where a secretary’s pen should
never be ; while its frequent title of serpent-eaL is pro¬
bably better earned, by its useful habit of devouring those
dangerous reptiles. Its diet, however, seems to be of a
rather miscellaneous nature, as Le Vaillant found in the
stomach of a single specimen twenty-one young tortoises,
three snakes, and eleven lizards, besides which there was
a large ball in the stomach, formed entirely of the scales of
tortoises, the vertebrae of snakes and lizards, the legs of lo-
custs, and the w ing-cases of coleopterous insects. “ In his
habits, says Mr Bennet, “ he partly resembles both the eagle
and the vulture, but differs from them most completely in the
nature of his prey, and in his mode of attacking it. Like
the former, he always prefers live flesh to carrion ; but the
food to which he is most particularly attached consists of
snakes and other reptiles, for the destruction of which he
is admirably fitted by his organization. The length of his
legs not only enables him to pursue these creatures over
the sandy deserts which he inhabits, with a speed propor¬
tioned to their own, but also places his more vulnerable
parts in some measure above the risk of their venomous
bite ; and the imperfect character of his talons, when com¬
pared with those of other rapacious birds, is in complete
accordance with the fact, that his feet are destined rather
to inflict powerful blows than to seize and carry off his
pr^- Wben he ra!Is uPon a serpent, he first attacks it
with he bony prominences of his w ings, with one of which
he belabours it, while he guards his body by the expan¬
sion of the other. He then seizes it by the tail, and
mounts with it to a considerable height in the air, from
which he drops it to the earth, and repeats this process
until the reptile is either killed or wearied out; when he
breaks open its skull by means of his beak, and tears it in
pieces with the assistance of his claws, or, if not too large,
swallows it entire. Like the eagles, these birds live in
pairs, and not in flocks; they build their aiery, if so it may
be termed, on the loftiest trees, or, wffiere these are want¬
ing, in the most bushy and tufted thickets. They run
with extreme swiftness, trusting, when pursued, rather to
their legs than to their wings; and as they are generally
met with m the open country, it is with difficulty that
they can be approached sufficiently near for the sportsman
to obtain a shot at them. They are natives of the south
ot Africa, and appear to be tolerably numerous in the
neighbourhood of the Cape, where, it is said, they have
been tamed to such a degree as to render them useful in¬
mates of the poultry-yard, in which they not only destroy
the snakes and rats which are too apt to intrude upon
those precincts, but even contribute to the maintenance of
peace among its more authentic inhabitants, by interpos¬
ing in their quarrels, and separating the furious combatants
who disturb it by their brawls.”2
SECT. II.—NOCTURNAL BIRDS OF PREY.
ie great raptorial division called owls are usually dis¬
tinguished by the comparative largeness of their heads,
the anterior portion of which is surrounded by a peculiar
circle of feathers forming a facial collar, to which they
owe the most marked and peculiar feature of their physi¬
ognomy. The bill is curved almost from the base, where
it is greatly enveloped by setaceous feathers, which fre-
Fauna. BorealuAmericana, part ii. p. 28.
Tower Menagerie, p. 211.
566
ORNITHOLOGY.
Raptores. quently cover or conceal the cere and nostrils. The eyes
' v^~^are large, and so placed that vision is directed rather for¬
wards than laterally, and are furnished with a nictitating
membrane. The tarsi, and even the toes, are closely
covered by short downy or hairy feathers. The outer toe
is versatile ; the claws extremely sharp. The plumage is
remarkable for its great softness. The concha of the ear
is for the most part very large; and from this we may in¬
fer that the sense of hearing is acute.
The greater proportion of the species hunt by night, or
during the sweet but sombre hours of twilight, iheir
flight is light, buoyant, noiseless, and performed by slow
but regular flapping of the wings. Their food, like that
of most birds of prey, is various; but we believe they pre¬
fer mice and similar small quadrupeds, probably because
the habits of tln^e minute creatures are, like their own,
nocturnal. Owls are solitary, seldom more than a pair
being found together, although the woodcock owl ( Otus
brachyotus) is found during autumn in small conjoined fa¬
mily flocks of ten or twelve together; and the Arkansa
owl of America is likewise in a manner gregarious. “ 1 here
is something,” says Wilson, “ in the character of the owl
so recluse, solitary, and mysterious, something so discord¬
ant in the tones of its voice, heard only amid the silence
and the gloom of night, and in the most lonely and seques¬
tered situations, as to have strongly impressed the minds
of mankind in general with sensations of awe and abhor¬
rence of the whole tribe. The poets have indulged free¬
ly in this general prejudice ; and in their descriptions and
delineations of midnight storms, and gloomy scenes of na¬
ture, the owl is generally introduced to heighten the hor¬
ror of the picture.” . .
The systematic arrangement of these nocturnal birds of
prey is as yet unsatisfactory. The following is a brief
view of Baron Cuvier’s system.
The genus Otus has two well-marked aigrettes, or
tufts of feathers, on the front of the head, capable of
being depressed or raised at pleasure, and the conch of
the ear extends semicircularly from the beak almost to
the top of the head, and is furnished in front with a mem¬
branous opercle. Two British species may be here placed,
the long-eared or horned owl commonly so called (Strix
otus), and the short-eared owl (Strix brachyotus). The
genus Ulula. consists of species resembling the preceding
in the bill and auditory opening, but not possessed of ai¬
grettes. Such is the great northern species (S. Laponi-
ca, Gm.). The genus Strix properly so called has also
large ear-openings, and wants the aigrettes, but is distin-
guished by the bill being comparatively straight at the
base, and curved towards the extremity. The iacial disk
is strongly marked, the tarsi are feathered, and the toes
are haired. Example, Strix fiammea, our barn or white
owl. In the genus Syrnium, the facial disk is formed of
decomposed or unwoven feathers, the collar is also large,
and the aigrettes wanting, but the toes are leathered.
See Plate CCCLXXXIX. fig. 6. The brown or wood owl
of Britain (S. aluco and stridula, Linn.) is placed here.
The genus Bubo has the facial disk less marked, the ai¬
grettes conspicuous, and the toes feathered. I he great
eagle owl of Europe (B. maximus, S. bubo, Linn.) affords
a good example. It inhabits the larger forests of Russia,
Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland, becoming very rare
in France, disappearing altogether in Holland, and visit¬
ing Great Britain as it were by chance. Here also may
be placed the great horned owl of America, S. Virgi-
niana (Plate CCCLXXXIX. fig. 8), which occurs in al¬
most every quarter of the United States, and spreads into
the far fur-countries of the north, wherever there is tim¬
ber of sufficient size to serve the purposes of nidification.
His favourite residence, however, according to Wilson, is I,
the dark solitudes of deep swamps, covered by a growth Vi
of gigantic timber, from whence, so soon as evening dark¬
ens, and the human race retire to rest, he sends forth his
unearthly hootings, startling the way-worn traveller by his
forest fire, and “ making night hideous.” “ Along the moun¬
tainous shores of the Ohio, and amidst the deep forests of
Indiana, alone, and reposing in the woods, this ghostly
watchman has frequently warned me of the approach of
morning, and aroused me by his singular exclamations,
sometimes sweeping down and around my fire, uttering a
loud and sudden waugh o ! waugh o ! sufficient to have
alarmed a whole garrison. He has other nocturnal solos,
no less melodious, one of which very strikingly resembles
the half-suppressed screams of a person suffocating or
throttled, and cannot fail of being exceedingly entertain¬
ing to a lonely benighted traveller in the midst of an In¬
dian wilderness.”1 The genus Noctua consists of species
in which the tufts or aigrettes are wanting, the concha of
the ear small, with an ordinary-sized opening. The facial
disk is likewise small and incomplete. This gives the
countenance a more hawk-like physiognomy; and in ac¬
cordance with this expression, we find the habits of the spe¬
cies naturallv more diurnal than those of many other owls.
We here place the northern Harfang, or great snowy owl
(Strix nyctea, Linn.), one of the most beautiful of the
group, an occasional visitant of Great Britain, and not
very unfrequent in the Orkney and bhetland Islands. It
is a common inhabitant of the arctic regions of both the
old and new world, from which it migrates on the ap¬
proach of winter, but without passing to the southward of
the colder portions of the temperate zone. It frequently
hunts by day; and indeed if it did not so, what would be¬
come of it in those far northern countries where a “ sleep¬
less summer of long light” knows not for months the re¬
freshing influence of nocturnal darkness ? It preys not only
on quadrupeds and birds, but frequently strikes its talons
into fish, and bears them astonished from their moist abode
into the leafy recesses of the forest. There are few things
more out of place than a trout on the top a large tree. Its
own flesh is said to be white and well flavoured ; and when
in good condition, is eaten both by the native Indians and the
white residents in the fur-countries. Several of the small¬
er owls are included in the present genus, such Mbfrwp™-
serina, Linn. In the genus Scops (Plate CCCLXaaIa.
flo-. 7) the toes are naked, and the head furnished wit
tufts; and in certain peculiar foreign species of consider¬
able size, the tarsi (a very unusual character) are bare
and reticulated. These have been formed of late into a
genus called Ketupa. Example, Strix Ketupa, Horsnela,
Temm. PL Col. 74. . . . ,
One of the most curious of owls, in its habits, is tn
burrowing species of the new world—Strix cuniculana o
Bonaparte. Its particular genus has not yet been deter¬
mined. These birds inhabit the burrows of the marmot,
and consequently dwell in open plains. 1 hey seem to enjoy
even the broadest glare of the noon-day sun, and may be see
flying rapidly along in search of food or1 pleasure urwg
the prevalence of the cheerful Tight of day. They lTI, .
fest but little timidity, allow themselves to be aPPm“c
sufficiently close for shooting, and though some or a /
soar away, they settle down again at no great distanc •
further disturbed, they either take a more leng
flight, or descend into their subterranean dweffing .
whence they are dislodged with difficulty.
/ are dislodged with uimcuiiy. ,
young are only covered with down, they frequent y a ^
young are only covereu wun uuwu, - . uut
the entrance to enjoy the warmth of the mid-day n > n
they are approached, they quickly re
>w. In North America the burrowing ow
as soon as
their burrow
I
1 American Ornithology, i. p. 101.
ORNITHOLOGY.
567
ores.
£Lo, on“d'eepir ^(if t,,e species are f -^.i—
"identical), on rats and reptiles
Order II.—INSESSORES or PERCHING BIRDS.1
This is the most numerous order of the class of birds,
and, as Cuvier has observed, is distinguished chiefly by ne
siould avoid bestowing appellations which convey an erro-''
neons idea of the objects intended to be expressed.
I he feet of the insessorial order are especially formed
ot perching, the hind toe springing from the same plane
as the anterior ones,—a structure which gives them great
power m grasping. Their legs or tarsi are always of mo¬
derate length, and the claws not strongly curved. The
gative characters; for it embraces all those various groups form of the bill is too various to be generalized - and tl e
which, sometimes possessing but little in common, are yet same may be said of the length of the wings of which thl
themselves neither raptorial, scansorial, grallatorial, na- comparative breadth generally bears relation to the mbit
“1, nor gallinaceous. At the same time they exhibit of life of each particular tribe. The stomach s in the
a genera resemblance to each other in structure, and pre- form of a muscular gizzard, generally preceded by a greater
sent such gradual transitions horn group to group, as to or less expansion in the shape of crop, and there are usu
render definite subdms.ons by no means easy. ally two very small cmca. The lowel larynx is very c„„^
They are said to possess not the violence of birds of plicated, especially among tile various tribes of songsters
pq,^-me«ing thereby our K^pitoriri order. We must now rest satisfied with these brief and baJren
generalities. “ I he great order of Passeres or Insessores of
authors,” Mr Macgillivray observes, “ is so heterogeneous
in its composition, that all who have attempted to charac¬
terize it, whether in few or in many words, have utterly fail¬
ed; for this plain reason, that its various groups are as un¬
ike to each other as they are to the Raptores or Rasores,
and that in fact the only common features which they ex¬
hibit are those of the general organization of birds. A
hornbill and a humming-bird, a parrot and a wren, a king¬
fisher and a swallow, a starling and a toucan, not to men¬
tion others still more dissimilar, are surely as unlike each
other as a hawk and a shrike, a pigeon and a plover, or a
flamingo and a pelican.”2
. -^ie frist principal division of the passerine birds con¬
sists of those genera in which the external toe is united
to the internal by not more than one or two of the joints,
and contains the four great tribes of Dentirostres, Fins iron-
tves, Cunirostres, and letiuirostres.
I J > o  J l w Idl H C-i •
Yet a fly-catcher crushing the body of a slender-limbed and
delicate gnat, a blackbird pertinaciously dragging a reluc¬
tant worm from its subterranean dwelling, or a sparrow
with his bill as full of tortuous caterpillars as it can con¬
tain (to say nothing of the butcher-bird, which is said to
impale his prey alive upon “ the blooming spray”), is as¬
suredly as raptorial or predaceous as need be well desired.
Neither can the division of the smaller birds into granivo-
rous and insectivorous be strictly maintained, though we
doubt not that the strong, conical billed species eat most
greedily of seeds and grain, while those of softer and more
slender bill are chiefly avidous of insect life ;—but all pre¬
cise divisions, founded on the love of any special diet, must
be received with reservation,—seeing that almost all passe¬
rine birds feed both themselves and young in spring and
early summer with what may be correctly called animal
food (that is, insects and worms), while in autumn and
throughout the winter season they just as generally (and
for the best of reasons) have recourse to all manner of
seeds and grain. The tender-billed birds are certainly
more dependent on insect food than the others, and it is Tribe 1st—Dentirostres.
consequently among them that we find the greater proper- . ,
tion of our migratory species ; for as the increasing chill- Bl mth a marginal notch towards the extremity of the
ness of autumn depopulates the busy world of insect life upper mandible.
SSSpSsSSSE itoSSSFs
3iEr£S;“.;“£,"sS,.fX
selves dm-ino- ’ J • 1 aS 1 i6 hard'bllled species sustain them- circular arrangements, or by an extended exposition of the
1 llr? P7ng and, SUmrr by the CaPture 0f insects* innumerable minor groups of whirh the famihes are com
-s i“d “dSir::les,s,stTgiy p°?ed' „we f1-”" ,iere con2tfr2e":
iSSH
tnsect-eatinp- hirrk f -f f°r °T P01"/11!11 the year most before tlieir minuter subdivisions (to be elsewhere studied)
rous Sand ifranivorm^ L Passenne ®Pec,es into msectivo- catchers, rounded and thickish in the tanagers, slender and
f-»n, the Tth nKS rthe f-bw”Vh a‘’ "t" ^ “ tlle ^lere,_but in each an°d all exhibidng
«subMfLsreinson tides the
sub-families, viz. Lamanat, or true shrikes ; Thamnophili-
run. nr niisn.&hrilr^c • ^  i  i -i > »
est ]ite 1 '  utju a^oramg to tneir strict-
"ntional chSterTiThaVe'in ZmellsTh ° or true <*«»«* > Thamnophili.
‘"ted for mimerlca sk,,. a, I. 1 ? * M’.0r I DicTurhue, ordrongo shrikes ; Cebk-
trance, but it is neverllict'inl^ 7 ..'‘I ‘‘Y’T"' or caterpil>af catchers; and Tyrannina, or tyrant
^ ; ne''“«'cle.s to be greatly desired, that shrikes; and each of these contains a great variety of ge-
PicaE ami Passebes, Linn.
s British Birds, vol. i. p. 311.
568
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. nera and subgenera. We shall here follow the outlines
'of Baron Cuvier’s system, which we shall illustrate by oc¬
casional figures.1 . . „ , • i ,
In the genus Lanius, the bill is of moderate size, but
strong, somewhat triangular at the base, and laterally com¬
pressed. In the European species (which we call butcher¬
birds) the upper mandible is somewhat arched. Three ol
these (Lan. excubitor, colurio, and ntfus) are natives ot
England, but the first and last are very rare. The food
of butcher-birds consists chiefly of insects, but they at¬
tack occasionally the smaller kinds ot birds and quadru¬
peds. Their mode of flight is irregular, the tail being
kept in constant agitation. The sexes differ from eac i
other in their plumage, and the immature b11118 bear a
resemblance to the adult females. In most ot the species
the moult is single, in others double, that is, certain parts
of the plumage are changed twice a year. Our great ci¬
nereous shrike (L. excubitor) destroys its larger prey by
strangulation, and transfixing it after death upon a thorn,
tears it into smaller parts at leisure. This wise but some¬
what savage instinct seems implanted in the bird to make
amends for the comparative weakness of its feet and
claws. “ This singular process,” says Mr Selby, “ is
used with all its food. I had the gratification of witness¬
ing this operation of the shrike upon a hedge accentor
(A. modularis) which it had just killed; and the skin o
which, still attached to the thorn, is now in my possession.
In this instance, after killing the bird, it hovered with
the prev in its bill for a short time over the hedge, ap¬
parently occupied in selecting a thorn fit for its purpose.
Upon disturbing it, and advancing to the spot, I found
the accentor firmly fixed by the tendons of the wing at
the selected twig. I have met with the remains of a
mouse in the stomach of a shrike ; and Montagu mentions
one in which he found a shrew.”2
We have figured, in illustration of the genus Lanius,
the species called Jiscal (//. colluris) by Vaillant. See
Plate CCCXC. fig. 1. When this bird sees a locust, man¬
tis, or small bird, it springs upon it, and immediately im¬
pales it on a thorn, with such dexterity, that the spine
always passes through the head. It is a bold, vindictive,
noisy, and even cruel bird, for it seems to kill many more
victims than it actually requires for food. '1 hese are found
transfixed on many a neighbouring bush and tree, the
major part often so destroyed by dryness as to be totally
unfit for food. • j r i
Some fore-gn species, in which the upper ridge ot the
bill is straight, and the point only curved, form the genus
Thamnophilus of Vieillot. Ihe lhamnophili inhabit
chiefly the tropical regions of the new world, but some
of the species have an extensive range, from Canada as
far southwards as Paraguay. In rham. guttatus o\ Spix
the bill is very strong, and the inferior mandible inflated.
In others it is straight and slender, with its base adorned
with reversed setaceous feathers. Such is /<• plumatus,
an African species, which forms the genus Pkionops of
Vieillot.
In the genus Vanga (Plate CCCXC. fig. 3) the bill
is large, greatly compressed throughout, the point ot
the upper mandible suddenly curved, the under mandible
bent upwards. Example, LcM' curvirostris, (jmehn. In
Ocypterus, Cuv. the bill is conical, rounded, scarcely
arched towards the point, the termination very sharp and
fine, slightly notched. The legs are rather short, and
the wings long, from which characters the species have
obtained the name of swallow butcher-birds ; but they are
as courageous as other shrikes, and do not fear to attack!
even crows. The species are numerous along the shores v
and islands of the Indian Seas, where they exhibit great
agility in the capture of their insect prey. Ex. Lati. leu-
corhynchos, Gm. In Baryta of Cuv. the bill is large,
conical, straight, round at the base, and encroaching on
the forehead by a circular notch; the ridge is rounded,
the sides compressed, the point curved. The nostrils are
small and linear. The species of this genus, as well as
those of Vanga, are by some combined with the crows,
as part of the conirostral tribe. We may name, as an ex¬
ample, the piping grakle of the older writers (Coracias ti-
bicen, Lath.), a native of New Holland, where it is known
by the name ot' Jarra-war-nang. It preys on small birds,
and is said to have a melodious voice, resembling the tones
of a flute. The genus Chalyb^eus, Cuv. has the bill re¬
sembling the preceding, but rather thicker at the base,
and the nostrils are pierced in a broad membranous space.
See Plate CCCXC. fig. 6. The species are natives of
New Guinea, and are remarkable for their beautiful tints
of burnished steel. C. paradisceus has the feathers on
the head and neck like frizzled velvet, and was first de¬
scribed by Sonnerat as a bird of paradise,—Par. viridis,
Gmelin. In Psaris of Cuvier the bill is conical, tiiick,
round at the base, but not encroaching on the front,
slightly compressed, and curved at the extremity. The
genus is founded on the Cayenne shrike of Latham, La¬
nius Cayanus, Linn.3 It now contains many species, all
classed by Mr Swainson among the Muscicapidae or fly¬
catchers. Their habits are said to resemble those of the
butcher-birds. The genus Grauculus, Cuv. has the bill
less compressed than in Lanius, the upper ridge sharp, equal¬
ly curved throughout its whole extent, the commissure or
cutting edges also slightly bent. The hairs which sometimes
cover the nostrils ally these species to the crows, from
which they are distinguished by the notching of the bill.
Their prevailing hues are ash-colour, and they are native
to the Indian islands. Cuvier here places the beautiful
Irena puella of Dr Horsfield, a Javanese species, of a
fine velvet black, the back splendid ultramarine blue.
It is ranged by others with the Orioles. Tb the same ge¬
nus he likewise refers the Papuan and New Guinea crow
( C. papuensis and Novae Guineai), and the Piroll of lem-
minck, of which the male and female differ so remarkably,
the former being of a glossy blue, the latter greenish.
This last species forms the genus Ptilonorhynckus ot
Kuhl,—Kitta of M. Lesson. It is the satin-bird of the co¬
lonists of Port Jackson, a solitary, fearful creature, which
seldom leaves the cover of the umbrageous woods, ihe
Australian natives call it cowry.
In Bethylus, Cuv., the bill is thick, short, bulged,
slightly compressed towards the end. Its type is the mag¬
pie-shrike of Latham, L. picatus, an inhabitant of Guiana
and Brazil. Plate CCCXC. fig. 2. In Falcunculus the
bill is much compressed, almost as high as long, thecu-
men arched. It contains the Lanius frontatus ot JNew
Holland. The genus Pardalotus (which M. Lesson
places with the tit-mice, and Mr Swainson w ith the mana-
kins) is likewise constituted by a New Holland species,
the Pipra punctata of Shaw. The bill is short, o tuse,
convex, and slightly compressed. _
All the preceding genera of the dentirostral tn e a
supposed by Baron Cuvier to be more or less alhe t°
Lanius of Linnaeus. A great diversity of opinion, how¬
ever, exists regarding their natural distribution , an
the most recent systems they will be found dihcrei )
•'v~-
i For more minute details, the student may consult Mr Swainson’s “ Inquiry into the Natural Affinities of the Lamad*
Ti. P. 149. * See W N* vii. p. *4, and No. vie. P «
sores, and variously disposed, according to the views of each par-
/^ticular author.
Many of the genera next ensuing are more allied to the
fly-catchers, Muscicapida;; but not a few are classed bv
recent writers among the Laniadce and Ampelidce The
bill is of medium size, broad at the base, horizontally de¬
pressed, almost straight, generally wider than high, the
point more or less hooked and notched. The mouth is
garnished with bristly feathers projecting forwards Their
food varies according to their size and strength,—the
more powerful species seizing occasionally on small birds
as well as insects, the more feeble being satisfied with the
latter kind of prey.
In the genus Tybannus, Cuv., the bill is straight, length¬
ened strong, the culmen rounded, the point suddenly
hooked. See Plate CCCXC. fig. 5. The species consist
chiefly of Linnaean fly-catchers, with a few shrikes. They
are all native to America, and, as their name implies, are
fierce and domineering in their disposition. They will de¬
fend their young against the boldest aggressor, and have
been seen to dnvefrom their nesting-places even the largest
birds of prey As an example, we may here name the
king-bird, or tyrant fly-catcher, of the new world, T in-
ireptim This species is one of the most remarkable for
the boldness and intrepidity which he displays in his at¬
tacks on the strongest of the feathered race. During the
earlier months of summer, indeed, his life is one continued
scene of broil and battle. According to Wilson, hawks
and crows, the bald eagle, and the great black eagle, all
equally dread an encounter with this dauntless creature,
who, as soon as he percei ves a bird of prey, however power¬
ful, in his neighbourhood, darts into the air, and quickly
ascending above his supposed enemy, pounces with vio^
lence upon his back, and continues his attack till his own
domains have been departed from. He is likewise in some
measure obnoxious to the human race, on account of his
love of bees ; for he will take post on a fence or garden-tree
in the vicinity of hives, and make continual sallies on the
industrious tenants, as they pass to and from their never-
ceasing labours. His great American biographer, how¬
ever, is of opinion, that whatever prejudice may prevail
“ dePreda]tions> he is on the Pwhole
sects ° man’ ^troying multitudes of in-
2n ITP KriPirey,0n the Pr°duce 0f the field
^ piose •1 y laS been lmmortaIi^d in verse as well
ORNITHOLOGY.
569
Far m the south, where vast Maragnon flows,
And boundfess forests unknown wilds enclose,
Vine-tangled shores and suffocating woods,
waL UP with heat, or drown’d with pouring floods •
Where each extreme alternately prevails S ’
And nature sad their ravages bewails ;
W°it' ti • in air above those trackless wastes,
SsThTlS r1tUr?,the i^g-bird hither hastes;
v-oasts the famed gulf, and from his height explores
; strea^ its long indented shores
Its lakpl TT50’ !vlde ^ning on the day,
AU temni PU65’ Where teather’d millions play:
Columbia’ n0t him : tli1 gazin» from on high,
Ti‘ “b a,s reg'ons wide below him lie;
There he W™derir,gs and his wish to roam,
Down efJS IiauVe, 'V00ds’ his fields> llis home;
And o’„ 1 heiShts>
°.n a full-blown sassafras alights.
His old fm and,Si!eunt’ for 3 whiie he views
Secs brothei«ented hfunts’ and shades recluse ;
Hears . h ls’.comrades5 every hour arrive,—
Love fireshSh? the tenants of the hive ?
And in the^ a ’~hu WOOS, and soon is bIest»
m the blooming orchard builds his nest.
as ?hee(iftvgSebvPn,riSratl?Siin S,Umn,er at least as f!,r north Insessor.,.
“e man M Para,Ilel- • II reacl,es Carlto" House in'
onth of May, and retires southward in September
LtToTfhe Su* Men °f 'tte ^rs
Danks of the Saskatchewan, but nothing is yet known of
its habits. It is described by Mr Swainson under the tit^
yrannus borealis. It is considerably smaller than the
preceding and may at once be distinguished by its forked
mtousltiPPCd Wlth White- The °‘her a™
Cut StThT°K<l,eXtTSive genu,s is that naraed Muscipeta,
• I he bill is long, much depressed, twice as broad
as high even at the base, the culmen usually very blunf
the margins forming an oval curve, the point feeblv
notched, and the base covered by long, setaceous feathers^
that ST the SpedeS is feeble compared with
hat of die preceding, and they prey exclusively on in¬
sects. They are extremely beautiful, often adorned bv
in^the taS°n Th ^ ^ by sracefu11^ elongated feathers
m the tail. The majority are native to Africa and India
an exTfple.6 ^ ^ °f Le Vail,ant ma^ be named as
Shon ahnedg<fHnShPLTYRHrCHUVf DeSm-’ tbe bil1 ^
precedT P * 3 , m°re ^Pressed than in the
preceding. P. cancromus inhabits Brazil. These birds are
/aC] C030‘f”e‘1 w,thyW“«. to wliich they are assured-
v axlied. Certain species, of which the feet and legs are
ong and slender, and the tail extremely short, form the
genus Conophaga of Vieillot. The fly-catchers properly
flth edi SenUS M-USCICAPA> Cuv., have the beardoAilh-
is narrm T thpenHed than ? MusciPeta> and the bill itself
narrower, the ridge or culmen is distinctly marked the
ZTclZTt* the P°int SliglUly b£llt- The spd;Z
fourPnr fi a^Cient contlnenL and not more than
four or five occur in Europe. Of these, two are British,
M.gusola, or the spotted fly-catcher, a well-known and
common species ; and M. luctuosa, or the pied fly-catcher
which is very rare. We have seen it on the banks of the
Eden in Cumberland. Both are birds of passage. The
species of this genus take their insect prey upon the wing
darting upon it at intervals from some7favourite TwT
The males and females differ considerably in their mark-
ngs, especially in spring and summer, although the former
M‘“lbicollis> Temm.) are scarcely to be dis-
TheTdifirntm 1 ^ x-r tbroubrllout the winter season,
ihe modifications in the form of the bill in this extensive
t,enus have led to the formation, so far as concerns exotic
species, of a vast number of sectional groups, or sub°-e-
nera, the characters of which we cannot here detail &
We now arrive, in accordance with Baron Cuviers sys-
^em though not, we fear, by natural transition, at The
^enus Gymnocephalus, of which the beak resembles that
of Tyrannus, except that the ridge is more arched and a
CCc/cT 8 tlT1faCe iS bare See Plate
CCCAC. hg. 8. There seems to be only a single sne-
cies, commonly called the bald crow (G.calvus) a bird
thoT T8126 f iar0°k’ 0t a uniform tobacco-brown colour
the feathers of the wings and tail black. It is called oiseail
man prere by the Creoles of Cayenne, probably from Us
capucin aspect. Its bald front bestows upon Va very
s i ular physiognomy. Vaillant regards the absence of -
uTte vLThe’re FV* acdde"tal > and l,e me“„ a
fra-hefaruuShS^spedmens’ a'id ,ias a'^
1 he genus Cephalopterus, on the contrary (see Plate
* Consult Part ii- pi- Ixxxv. “
,o, ;vf l & 13^:^ T-vrant shrik- ^«/«*, N,
570
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. CCCXC. 4), has the front adorned by a very pecu-
' v-^Uar tuft of feathers, which, rising upwards, and then
spreading around and drooping downwards, shades the
head, as"it were, beneath a parasol. Another expanded
and lengthened set of plumes hangs in an apron-like fashion
from the breast. The prevailing plumage is deep black,
the parts first mentioned having a metallic lustre. Ihe
med with holly berries. A third species was some time ago Ib
discovered by Dr Seibold in Japan. It is the B. phani-^
coptera of Temminck, and wants the wax-like appendages
to the wings. .
In the genus Casmarhynchus, iemm., the bill is re¬
markably broad, greatly depressed, soft and flexible at the
base, of a harder consistence, and somewhat compressed
the parts first mentioned having a metallic .lu^re- t ’rds the extremity. The nostrils are large and open,
bill of the only species known (C. ornutus) i& ro ’ , placed far forward on the bill. As an example, we
mandibles nearly equah the upper being convex ‘ singular bird the araponga ( Cos. nudicollis,
notch, and scarcely bent at the extremity. Inis tnra was
brought to Paris, from the Lisbon Collection, by M. Ceo .
St Hilaire, and was believed to have been sent originally
from Brazil. As that country, however, has been so much
explored without the Cephalopterus having ever since been
met with, it is more likely, M. Temminck thinks, to have
cinCl piclCcU idi lUiwaivA ^ jv* J7
may name that singular bird the araponga ( Cos. nudicolhs,
Temm. PL Col. 368-83), a Brazilian species, remarkable
for the metallic resonance of its cry, which sounds like
the clinking of a blacksmith’s hammer. By reason of this
peculiarity, it is known to the Brazilians by the name of
O. ferrador, or the blacksmith. The adult male is pure
met with, it is more likely, M. iemminc *p white the face and front of the neck nearly bare, of a
been obtained in the less-trequented countu s , ’ „reen’ coiour sprinkled with a few small black feathers,
the coast of Chili. On the other hand, M. Lesson alleges, ^"fc°7e’is'gieen spotted on the under parts with
that lie was informed by a weU-instriictec 01 ug the rgplumage of the head nearly black. The
the bird in question came trom Goa. It o , voun«- at first resemble the mother, and adolescent males
cephaloplera of M. Vieillot. We have no doubt ,t ts a South young at p|umage green and white. A„.
AS,regular birds we proceed to the Cotingas other species, "y—nding
or chatterers, genus Ampeus, Linn., “ rGouns They caruncle, hanging from the basal front of the upper mandi-
ful family, now partitioned mto ^X^XS ta tenerah We lt is erltl, and sometimes projects npward. This
have ail the depressed bill oi the ny c i i;rri,f|,, ;= the Anwelis carunculala of the older systematic writers,
but it is rather shorter in proport,on, broad.sh, andshgh.ly - to beTlso the Camprmero of the Spaniards,
vorous regime. These are the piahaus of South America,
genus Querula, Vieil. The species fly in troops through
plumage is white as snow. On his forehead rises a spiral
tube nearly three inches long. It is jet black, clothed all
genus Querula, Vied, ny m rroop — —h ^mall white feath°ers. it has a communication
the forests. Here are placed the Lotinga roug naiote and when filled with air looks like aspire ;
lant, or A,„pdis phanicia, also the Ampehsnnerea^A becomes pendulous. His note is loud and
Muscicapa rubricolhs of Gmehn. In the or ^31:^ de HkeP tyh’e sound of a bell, and may be heard at the
gas (or genus Ampelis properly so called) tl e riictnnrp of three miles. In the midst of these extensive
feeble, little elevated, deeply cleft. Ihe sPecl!yn a . , „eneranv on the top of an aged mora, almost out of
mented by an elongated crest, and tne majority ol u.c e"of7 ^ornin(T and an evening song; and
eies have the ha, shut in si.enc? the .
cits oavc —  J r”"--- ,,- „ sc.ariet even when the meridian sun has shut in silence the moutns
se^aHng-w^x.OV^^lK;seabirds,prefer wild" fruits to insects, J^^^u
nmtedTylfr a natle for a minute t then another toll, and then a pause.aga,n ,
as to prompt it to devour every fruit and berry m its way.
In this maimer it will gorge itself to such excess as to be
sometimes unfit to fly, and may then be taken by the
hand. “ 1 have seen some which, though wounded and
confined to a cage, have eaten apples until suffocation de- 'hpaV1tifuTsnow-white campanero. He is never seen
prived them of life.”1 Our author adds, however, that they , . , , other Cotineas nor is it known in what
are also excellent fly-catchers, spending much of their time to feed with the 01 In & third species
in pursuit of winged insects. I hey become very fat during par rmp] pi Col. 51 Plate CCCXC. %•
the fruit season, and are then so tender and juicy as to be ( £ h b ' ig an beset with numerous
much sought for as an article of epicurean diet. Ihey 10) the front ot tne t . d are
Xabit the United States throughout the year. The fleshy worm-shaped appendages. All these b . .
suu cneers me luicai.. — , — .
for a minute; then another toll, and then a pause again,
and then a toll, and again a pause. Then he is silent tor
six or eight minutes, and then another toll, an so •
Actaeon would stop in mid chase, Maria would de er her
evening song, and Orpheus himself would drop his lute, w
listen to him, so sweet, so novel, and romantic is the 0
^ ^sto.^iniK^Tauthorit,tbat
iianus ox me j^uiupcan ...6 v— . . ^ <t rnxAA we hut know\” says Mr Swainsoji
less known. It not unlrequently visits Britain during win- we can find. Could e „ , Gncmlar birds, which,
less Known. At ^ A n-trnu jt “ the habits and economy of these singuiar uu ^
ter and is supposed to breed within the arctic circle. It the habits ana economy 0 rn faht fabulous, what
[ik^wt i„b/bL North America, but 1ms not been ob- be
served to the southward of the fifty-fifth parallel. Dr "" 'we“oM; knowThat they live i" '
Richardson observed a flock of three or four hundred on ed ! \et at Fesent e Y of tr ical America,
the banks of the Saskatchewan in May. During their deepest and most secluded . riety 0f fruits un¬
trips to Britain they feed, when they can get them, on the where they snbs'stuponan in J. tha[1
berries of the mountoin ash ; and Sir William Jardine found known to E”°Peans;p loud, and are ut-
the stomachs of one or two killed near Carlisle to be cram- seen, since their notes are particularly
i Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p. 227-
* Wanderings in South America, p
. 121.
ORNITHOLOGY.
571
;ores.terecl morning and evening from the deepest recesses of the
forests. We have sometimes caught a distant view of them,
perched upon the topmost branches of the loftiest trees.”1
In the genus Procnias (now more restricted than by
Hoftmansegg) the bill is likewise very broad, and deeply
cleft, but the structure is firmer, and the upper mandible
more convex. The nostrils are basal. Example, P. ven-
trails, llliger, PI. Col. 5.
In the not very closely allied genus Ceblepyris, Cuv.
which Mr Swainson classes as the most aberrant division
of the shrikes, the bill resembles that of the Cotingas, but
tiie shafts of the rump-feathers are sharp pointed. These
birds inhabit chiefly Africa, and prey on caterpillars. Ex¬
ample, C. phcpfricopterns, Temm. PL Col. 71.
The genus Gymnodera, Geoff, (which forms a portion
of the Coracincc of Vieillot), has the bill stronger than in
any of the preceding AmpelidcE, the neck is partially bare,
and the head covered with velvety feathers. There does
not seem to be more than one species (G. nudicoUis), de¬
scribed by Shaw under the name of bare-necked grakle.
It was classed by Gmelin and Latham as a crow, the
Corvus nudas of their respective works.
The Drongos (genus Edolius, Cuv.) have tne bill par¬
tially depressed and notched, and its upper ridge sharp;
but it is distinguished by both mandibles being slightly
arched through their whole extent, and the nostrils are
covered with feathers. The species are rather numerous,
and are characteristic of the tropical countries of the East.
The Malabar shrike of Shaw (Edolius remifer, Temm. see
Plate CCCXC. fig. 7) affords a good example. The posi¬
tion of this genus ought certainly to be in closer approx¬
imation to the Laniadce than it is in the arrangement
of Baron Cuvier. Their habits are insectivorous, and some
of the species are said to warble as sweetly as the nightin¬
gale. They usually dwell together in society, pursue bees
with great avidity, and are often seen to combine in large
groups on the outskirts of the forests during morning and
evening. The species we have figured is a native of Java
and Sumatra.
In the genus Phibalura of Vieil. the ridge of the bill
is arched, as in Edolius, but shorter, broad "at the base,
somewhat dilated laterally, and slightly notched. The
only knowm species is a beautiful South American bird
(Ph. Jlavirostris, Vieil.; Ph. cristata, Swain., Zool. Illust.
pi. xxxi.), which appears to occur chiefly in the mining dis¬
tricts of Brazil. It was very rare a few years back, but
has now become comparatively common in collections, in
consequence of several recent importations.
We come now to an extensive group, the ancient Ta-
nagers, genus Tanagra of Linn., which, like most of the
other genera, has in recent times been numerously sub¬
divided. The bill is convex, sub-triangular at the base,
the upper mandible slightly arched, curved at the point,
notched, the margins flexuous and enlarged; the nasal fossae
are deep and large, and closed by a membrane ; the nos¬
trils are rounded. The wings are rather short. The Ta-
nagers are characteristic of America. They feed both on
grain and insects, and are remarkable for the beauty and
brilliancy of their plumage. The following are the princi¬
pal subdivisions. In Euphonia, Idesm. (Tangaras bouv-
reuils, Cuv.), the bill is short, and exhibits, when viewed
vertically, an enlargement at the base on either side. The
tail is also short in proportion. Examples,— Tan. violacea,
Lath.,—Pipra musica, Gmel.,— Tan. diademata, PI. Col.
~43,—and Tan. chlorotica, Gmel. See Plate CCCXC.
g- 9. In the genus Saltator, Vieil. (Tangaras gros-
tc, Cuv.), the bill is conical, thick, inflated, as broad as
■gh, the culmen rounded, Such are. Tan. magna, atra,
Jlammiceps, Sec. In the restricted genus Tanager (pro-Insessores.
perly so called) the bill is short, though longer than in—v^-1'
Euphonia, a& broad as high, slightly compressed. Exam¬
ples, 7. tricolor, t/wracica, auricapilla, &c. In the genus
Tachyphonus, Vieil. (Tangaras loriots, Cuv.), the bill is
more lengthened, conical, compressed, arched, sharp point-
e^* Examples, T. cristata, nigcrriina, &c. In the genus
Pyranga, Vieil. (Tangaras cardinals, Cuv.), the bill is
strong, lengthened, the point but slightly curved, the mar¬
gin of the upper mandible often strongly toothed. The
wings are rather long. The habits of several of the spe¬
cies of this genus are better known than those of the pre¬
ceding, in consequence of their more hardy constitution,
which enables them to spend the summer months in North
America. One of the most beautiful of these is the scar¬
let tanager ( Tanagra rubra, Linn.). Among all the birds
that inhabit the woods of the United States, there is none,
according to Wilson, that strikes the eye of a stranger, or
even of a native, with so much brilliancy as this. Seen
among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on
his plumage, he appears most beautiful. His whole plu¬
mage, with the exception of the wings and tail, is of the
most vivid carmine red. The wing-coverts, posterior se¬
condaries, and middle tail-feathers, are black, and form a
i ich contrast to the other portions of the plumage. After
the autumnal moult the male becomes dappled with
greenish yellow. The colour of the female is green above
and yellow below ; her wings and tail are brownish-black,
edged with green. I hough this lovely species sometimes
builds in orchards, and visits cherry trees for the sake of
their fruit, it does not frequently approach the habitations
ot man, but prefers the solitude of the umbrageous woods,
where, in addition to fruits, its food consists of wasps, hor¬
nets, and humble-bees. The scarlet tanager comes just
within the limits of the fur-countries, but is unknown as
yet beyond the forty-ninth degree. His nest, placed up¬
on the horizontal branch of a tree, is built of broken flax
and dry grass, so thinly woven that the light is easily seen
through it. The eggs are only three in number, of a dull
blue, spotted with brown but the bird is supposed to breed
more than once a year. The genus Pyranga contains also
Tan. cestiva and other species.
We conclude our notice of the Tanagers by a brief in¬
dication of the genus Ramphoceles, Vieil., of which the
bill is strong, compressed, with the sides of the lower man¬
dible so enlarged as to spread backwards towards the
cheek. Such is Tanagra Jacapa of Gmelin, a South Ame¬
rican species, represented in Plate CCCXCI. fig. 2.
Our next group consists of birds more or less allied to
thrushes. In all, the bill is compressed and arched, but
the upper mandible is but slightly hooked, and the notch¬
ing feeble. As in other extensive assemblages of species,
however, the structure is considerably varied. The natu¬
ral regimen is mingled, consisting both of wild fruits,
worms, and insects. A few species are gregarious, the
majority solitary. Of ten or twelve kinds which inhabit
Europe, we have six in Britain, viz. the missel-thrush ( T.
viscivorus), the song-thrush (T. musicus), the field-fare
(T. pilaris), the red-wing (T. iliacus), the blackbird (T.
merula), and the ring-ouzel (T. torquatus). The aspect
and general habits of most of these are too familiar to re¬
quire illustration. The blackbird and the thrush are two
of our most delightful and accustomed songsters.
"When snow-drops die, and the green primrose leaves
Announce the coming flower, the merle’s note
Mellifluous, rich, deep-toned, fills all the vale,
And charms the ravished ear. The hawthorn bush,
New budded, is his perch ; there the gray dawn
1 Natural History and Classification of Birds, vol. ii. p. 75.
572
Insessores.
ORNITHOLOGY.
He hails, and there, with parting light, concludes
His melody. 'There, when the buds begin
To break, he lays the fibrous roots, and see
His jetty breast embrowned; the rounded clay
His jetty breast has soiled : but now complete,
His partner and his helper in the work,
Happy assumes possession other home :
While he upon a neighbouring tree his lay,
More richly full, melodiously renews.
 The thrush’s song
Is varied as his plumes; and as his plumes
Blend beauteous, each with each, so run his notes,
Smoothly, with many a happy rise and fall.
Sometimes below the never-fading leaves
Of ivy close, that overt wisting binds
Some riven rock, or nodding castle wall,
Securelv there the dam sits all day long;
While from the adverse bank, on topmost shoot
Of odour-breathing birch, her mate’s blythe chaunt ^
Cheers her pent hours, and makes the wild woods ring.
The missel-thrush is the largest and strongest of the
o-enus, at least in Europe. He is a bold, pugnacious bird,
Guarding his nest with great success from the intrusive
magpie. His song is loud and clear, but monotonous;
something like an ineffectual attempt to combine the tones
of the thrush and blackbird. Yet Colonel Montagu ad¬
mired it greatly. The ring-ouzel affects mountainous and
barren places. Tire field-fare and red-wing are only seen
with us in winter, and are known to breed in the more
northern parts of Europe. The former sings well, and we
have somewhere seen it called the nightingale of Norway.
One of the most noted of the foreign species of the ge¬
nus is the mocking-bird of America, T. polyglottus, Linn.
It measures about nine inches in length, is cinereous above,
whitish below, with the tips of the wing-coverts, the base
of the primaries, and the lateral tail-feathers white Ihis
unrivalled Orpheus and great natural wonder of the Ame¬
rican forests inhabits the whole northern continent from
the state of Rhode Island to the larger islands of the VV est
Indies, and, continuing through the equatorial regions, is
found as far south as Brazil. Neither is it confined to the
eastern or Atlantic states, being known to exist in the
wild territory of the Arkansa, more than a thousand miles
from the mouth of Red River. It breeds around the far
w'estern sources of the Platte, near the veiy ase o ie
Rocky Mountains; and Mr Bullocx observed it on the
table-land of Mexico. The mocking-bird may be regard¬
ed as a permanent (we mean stationary) inhabitant of the
milder regions of the western world, though such as are
bred to the north of the Delaware seem to move south¬
wards before the approach of winter.2 The period of in¬
cubation varies with the latitude. A solitary thorn, an
almost impenetrable thicket, an orange tree, cedai, or
holly bush, are favourite places ; and during this important
period neither man nor beast can approach without being
attacked. Cats are especially persecuted; yet his chiet
and most vengeful rage is directed against the black sna ve,
a mortal enemy. The male bird darts upon the insidious
reptile with the greatest courage, and by violent and in¬
cessant blows upon the head, sometimes deprives him o
life. The boasted fascination of his race, his lurid eye,
his sharp envenomed fangs, avail not when competing
with the love of'offspring, that pure and beautiful affec¬
tion, the least selfish of all instinctive feelings. “ The
plumage of the mocking-bird,” says the first great histo¬
rian of the American feathered tribes, “ though none of
the homeliest, has nothing gaudy or brilliant in it; and
had he nothing else to recommend him, would scarcely
entitle him to notice; but his figure is well proportioned,
and even handsome. The ease, elegance, and rapidity of
his movements, the animation of his eye, and the inteili-Iir
gence he displays in listening and laying up lessons, from^
almost every species of the feathered creation within his
hearing, are really surprising, and mark the peculiarity of
his genius. To these qualities we may add that of a voice
full, strong, and musical, and capable of almost every mo¬
dulation, from the clear mellow tones of the wood-thrush
to the savage scream of the bald eagle. In measure and
accent he faithfully follows his originals. In force and
sweetness of expression he greatly improves upon them.
In his native groves, mounted on the top of a tall bush or
half-grown tree, in the dawn of dewy morning, while the
woods are already vocal with a multitude of warblers, his
admirable song rises pre-eminent over every competitor.
The ear can listen to his music alone, to which that of all
the others seems a mere accompaniment. Neither is this
strain altogether imitative. His own native notes, which
are easily distinguishable by such as are well acquainted
with those of our various song birds, are bold and full, and
varied seemingly beyond all limits. While thus exerting
himself, a bystander, destitute of sight, would suppose that
the whole feathered tribes had assembled together on a
trial of skill, each trying to produce his utmost efforts, so
perfect are his imitations. He many times deceives the
sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that perhaps
are not within miles of him, but whose notes he exactly
imitates ; even birds themselves are frequently imposed on
by this admirable mimic, and are decoyed by the fancied
calls of their mates, or dive with precipitation into the
depth of thickets, at the scream of what they suppose to
be the sparrowhawT.”3 _ . .
The mocking-bird sometimes breeds in captivity. Many
years ago a Mr Klein, of Philadelphia, partitioned off a
space of twelve feet square within doors, lighted by apret-
ty large wire-grated window. In the centre he placed a
cedar-bush, five or six feet high, in a box of earth, and
scattered about a sufficient quantity of materials suitable
for building. A male and female mocking-bird were in¬
troduced, and soon began to build. When the nest was
completed the female laid five eggs, all of which she hatch¬
ed, and she fed the young with great affection till they
were nearly able to fly. Business, unfortunately, called
the proprietor from home for a fortnight, and the care of
the colony being left to the domestics, the result may e
anticipated. On his return the young were utterly dead,
and the parents nearly famished.
Several African species allied to our present group
dwell together like starlings, in numerous chattering flocks,
pursuing insects, and committing great depredations in
gardens. Several are remarkable for the lustrous splen¬
dour of their plumage. Such are Turdus auratus^ and
nitens of Gmelin. The Senegal species, called the glossy
thrush, T. ceneus, is characterized by the magnificent
length of its caudal plumes. These richly attired species
belong to the genus LAMPROTORNiSjTemm. Other species,
in which the bill is slender and lengthened (as in the bra
zilian thrush of Lath.), form the genus Ixos of the las-
named author; while the genus Enicurus (more nea y
related, however, to the fly-catchers) consists o
two species with a stronger bill, the tail long and •
Such is E. coronatus, Temm.P/. Co/. 113; and
ibid. 160, from Java. Grallina of Vieilbt is con
ed by a New Holland species with a straight, lengthen^,
rather rounded bill, and long legs. 1 he plumag ^
and white. Ex. G. melanoleuca. Vied. .rhe
chophorus, Temm. is composed of sP^cies 0 ... jong)
bill is very strong, and garnished at the has ^ ^
projecting bristles, which sometimes prevail
i Grahame’s Bir&s of Scotland.
* Nuttall’s American Ornithology, i. 321.
3 Wilson’s American Ornithology, if 9"
O R NI T H O L O G Y.
jores.
occiput. The manners of these birds are as yet unknown.
- They live in Western Africa. Ex. Tr. barbatus, Temm. PL
Col. 88.
Ihe ant-thrushes, Myotheua, Illiger, come next in
order. They are chiefly distinguished by their long,
slender tarsi, and short tails. See Plate CCCXCI. fig.
1. Ihe species ot the ancient world, inhabitants for the
most part of India, the eastern islands, and New Holland,
are characterized by brilliant and contrasted colouring.
These are the Breves of Buffon, the short-tailed crows of
English writers. They form the genus Pitta of Yieillot
and Temm., of which the bill is strong but thrush-like (P.
cyanurus, brachyurus, &c.) ; while Myothera, as now re¬
stricted, contains the American species, of much more
sober plumage, with the bill more abruptly hooked, and
the tooth stronger. The species dwell among the enor¬
mous ant-hills of the western world, keeping much upon
the ground. They seldom fly, and certain'kinds are re¬
markable for their deep sonorous voices. The largest,
longest legged, and most singular in its general aspect,
known under various names, such as long-legged crow,
king-thrush, &c. (Corvus grallarius, Shaw; Turdus rex,
Linn.), constitutes the genus Grallaria of the modern
systems. It is a native of Guiana. The beautiful New
Holland bird, with a bill like a thrush, but shorter, the
legs long, the nails almost straight, and the lengthened
tail-featheis terminated by sharp points, forms the genus
Orthonyx, and is placed by Cuvier immediately after
the preceding group of ant-eating thrushes.
The genus Cinclus, Bechstein, characterized by an al¬
most straight, compressed, sharp-pointed bill, comprises
our well-known water-ouzel, C. aquations. This inte¬
resting bird is frequent along the banks of rivers, but
seems to prefer those of a somewhat rocky, alpine charac¬
ter. It lives in pairs, keeping always close by the stony
margin of its chosen stream. The nest, according to Sir
William Jar dine, is formed exactly like that of our common
wren, with a single entrance, and is composed of ordinary
mosses, without much lining. It is usually placed beneath
some projecting rock, not many yards above the water,
and often where a fall rushes over, in which situation the
parent birds must dash through it to gain the nest, which
they do with apparent facility, and even seem to enjoy it.
At night they roost in similar situations, perched with
the head under the wing, on some little projection, often
so much leaning as to appear hanging with the back
ownwards. I recollect a bridge over a rapid stream,
which used to be a favourite nightly retreat, under an
arch; 1 have there seen four at a time sitting asleep in
this manner, and used to take them with a light. Before
settling for their nightly rest, they would sport in the
pool beneath, chasing each other with their shrill and ra-
Fh cry, and at last suddenly mount to their perch ; when
ms turned, they return again in five minutes.”1 Durino-
winter they migrate to the lower streams; but in summer
re most abundant on the alpine tributaries. They feed
sma 1 hsh and insects, and are remarkable for their
power of walking, with the assistance of their wings, be-
Am '• 16 S.ur^ace' "there is an American species (C.
brnmGo^f ’ S0mew^at larger size, and of a uniform
llnfl *vrS ate co^our- tJ extends along the range of the
cky mountains, from Mexico to Lake Athabasca. There
title nfa^ADia;VC s.Pecies’ %ured by Mr Gould,* under the
sunn™ V' ™Uam> a name formerly bestowed on a bird
PP ed to come from the Crimea.
of hLt Kn-bf described another species by the name
elhed water-ouzel ((7. melanogaster'). It inha-
573
bits the north-eastern parts of the European continent, Insessores.
visiting in severe winters the coasts of the Baltic, where' v  
it is neither shy in its habits, nor distrustful of the pre¬
sence of man. We are rather inclined, however, to dis¬
trust some of Mr Brehm’s species.
The genus Philedon of Cuvier has the bill slightly
arched throughout its whole length, compressed, broad¬
ened at. the base; the nostrils are large, protected by a
cartilaginous scale, and the tongue terminates in a sort of
tuft. Hence the species are by many classed among the
honey-sucking or tenuirostral tribes. Many of them are
remarkable for some particular garniture about the base
of the bill, and are found in New Holland and the eastern
islands. Ihe genus is very extensive, but not very natu¬
rally composed, as it consists of species brought from a
variety of other genera, such as Certhia, Merops, Gracu-
la, SturnuS) &c. Some have a fleshy wattle depend in o-
from the lower mandible, as in Phil, carunculatus of New
Holland (which forms the genus Creadon of Yieillot).
In others the head is partially bare of feathers, as in the
goruk, likewise a native of New Holland, a bold and rest¬
less bird, which feeds both on insects and honey, and
often puts to flight whole droves of blue-bellied parra-
keets. . Some have neither bare skin nor wattles, but
are distinguished by a peculiar frizzled character of parts
.7e Plumage* The poe bee-eater of Cook’s voyage
{Phil. Cincmnatus) is of this kind. It is a beautiful bird,
of a glossy blackish green, with a band of white across
the upper portion of the wing, and a pendent tuft of long
twisted, white feathers on each side of the neck. It is a
native of New Zealand, and was formerly in great request,
as contributing to ornament the feathered mantles worn
by chiefs and persons of distinction. The species is also
said to sing well, and is moreover highly esteemed as an
article of food.
In the genus Eulaces, Cuv. (Mainatus, Brisson ; Gra-
cula, Vieil.), the bill is strong, compressed, high, the
culmen arched, the sides dilated towards the gape. A
portion of the cheek is bare, and a fleshy appendage
stretches towards the occiput from either eye. Here are
placed the famous mina birds, of which two species seem
to have been confounded by Linnaeus under the title of
Gracula religiosa. Ihe specific name was first applied
by misapp.iehension, in consequence of a Musulman wo¬
man refusing, on account of some religious scruple, to al¬
low a European artist to make a drawing of one of these
biids, which she had in captivity. Some uncertainty
seems still to pervade the naming of the species. The
Indian kind (G. Indicus, Cuv.) is somewhat larger than a
blackbird, the plumage of a fine silky black, with a white
spot upon the central edge of the wings, the bill and feet
yehoft. This bird is easily tamed, and becomes extreme¬
ly familiar in confinement. It is probably the most ac¬
complished linguist of all the feathered tribes, and may
be taught to pronounce long sentences in the most clear
and articulate manner. It is consequently held in high
esteem, and is frequently brought alive to European
countries, although it must be confessed that the purity
of the.English tongue is not always exhibited by the re¬
sult of its maritime education. The food of the mina in
a state of nature is said to consist both of fruits and in¬
sects. . It greatly loves bananas, and in this country has
no objection to either grapes or cherries. The larger
species (G. Javanus, Cuv.) equals the size of a jay. See
I late CCCXCI. fig. 3. The bill is broader, more hook-
ed at the end, but without the notch. Now M. Les-
son gives the name of Sumatranus to this species, and
Note to Wdson and Bonaparte's American Ornithology, vol. iii. p. 451. 3 Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains.
574
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores says that the Javanese, who esteem it highly, and part
' „   with it unwillingly, obtain it only by navigation, ilie In¬
dian species he has named Javanus, but without assigning
any special reason for such transmutations. The plumage
is the same in both. Old Edwards seems long ago to
have indicated the two kinds. “ The greater minor,
11UVC ~    - o . v
says he, “ for bigness equals a jackdaw or magpie; tne
lesser hardly exceeds a blackbird, so that the one is at
least twice as big as the other.” The bird described by
Bontius as an Indian starling was a mina. It imitatect
man’s voice more accurately than a parrot, and “ was
oftentimes troublesome with its prattle. ,
In the genus Gracula, Cuv. {Pastor, Temm.), the bill
is compressed, straight, or but slightly ai c e , t le n0 c 1
feeble, and the commissures form an angle as in the star¬
lings. This restricted genus contains several interesting
species, such as the pagoda-thrush (G. pagodarum), so
called from its frequent occurrence among the pagodas ot
Malabar and Coromandel. According to Sonnerat, it is
often kept caged for the sake of its song. The paradise
grakle of Latham {Par. tristis, Linn.) also pertains to this
•renus. It is well named Gracula grylhvora by Daudin,
and is remarkable, as its name implies, for the destruction
of locusts. We abridge the following particulars from
Buffon. The island of Bourbon, where this species was
formerly unknown, was once overrun to an alarming ex¬
tent by locusts, which had been accidentally introduced
from Madagascar. The governor-general and the mten-
dant of the island, alarmed at the desolation which was
taking place, deliberated on the best means of extirpation,
and with that view they introduced several pairs of the so-
called paradise grakle from India. The plan promised to
be successful; but unfortunately some of the colonists ob¬
serving the birds eagerly thrusting their bills into the soil
of the newly-sown fields, imagined they were in quest ot
grain, and spread a report that the grakles, so tar from
proving beneficial, were likely to be highly detrimental to
the country. The case was argued in due form, it was
stated on the part of the graklcs, that they ransacked the
new-ploughed fields, not for grain, but insects ; but the op¬
posite view prevailed, and two hours after the edict o
proscription passed, not a living individual was to be found
in the island. A speedy repentance followed this intem¬
perate and hasty execution, the locusts regained their as¬
cendency, and soon becoming more injurious than ever,
the grakles were again introduced, after an absence ot
nearly eight years. Their preservation and extension
now became an affair of state, laws were enacted in their
favour, and the physicians (we presume, from policy) de¬
clared their flesh unwholesome. An opposite inconve¬
nience, however, is said to have since arisen. 1 he birds
having prodigiously increased in numbers, and being no
longer adequately sustained by insect food, have had re¬
course to grapes, dates, and mulberries, and have even pro¬
ceeded to scratch up rice, maize, wheat, beans, and other
useful produce; they enter pigeon-houses, and attack both
eggs and young ; and thus, after destroying the destroyer,
they have themselves become a greater pestilence than that
which they extirpated. There is perhaps some exaggeration
in the concluding parts of this statement, as M. Duplessin,
who resided several years in the island, states that the laws
for its preservation are still in force. We may add, that
this bird is of the same lively and imitative disposition as
the mina, and is easily taught to speak. When kept near
a farm-yard, or other place resorted to by different kinds
of creatures, it spontaneously acquires the various cries
of dogs, ducks, geese, sheep, pigs, and poultry. The man¬
ners of the genus in general resemble those of the star¬
ling. They fly in troops, searching for insect prey; their
habits are familiar, their docility remarkable, and their
powers of imitation almost unparalleled. The only Euro¬
pean species hitherto classed with the grakles is the beauti¬
ful rose-coloured ouzel (P. roseus), which occurs in several
of the warmer countries of Asia and Africa, is not unfre¬
quent in Spain and Italy, and shows itself in other parts
of Europe, more rarely as we proceed northwards. Even
in Tuscany and the Lombardo-Venetian territory it is es¬
teemed unusual. A few are recorded to have built their
nests in the Florentine district in 1739. We do not know
that they have been since observed to breed in Europe.
They were very common in Dalmatia in 1832 ; and in the
year following one was shot in Ross-shire.
In the genus Pyrrhocorax, Cuv. the bill is compres¬
sed, arched, rather slender, slightly notched, the nostrils
covered with feathers. We have two European species,
according to Temminck’s views, viz. the alpine crow of
Latham (P. pyrrhocorax), and our own red-legged crow
(P. graculus). The former inhabits the highest of the
Northern and Helvetian Alps, seldom showing itself du¬
ring the summer season at any distance from the regions
of perpetual snow ; the latter is also mountainous, but more
widely spread over countries of less elevation. It is no!
unfrequent along many of the rocky coasts of England ana
Wales, is frequent in the Isle of Man, and occurs occa¬
sionally along the western shores of Scotland, and in Co-
lonsay and other islands. Baron Cuvier places this bird
alongside the hoopoes, as a tenuirostral genus called Ike-
GI In^he genus Oriolus the bill resembles that of the
thrushes, but is more powerful. The legs are shorter, and
the wings rather more lengthened. As now restricted,
this genus contains only the species of the ancient conti¬
nent, those of America {Icterus, Cassicus, &c.) being in¬
cluded among the conirostral tribes. The golden oriole
(Oriolus galhula) is one of the most beautiful of European
birds. It occurs occasionally in Britain. It breeds in
many parts of the European continent, arriving in spring
and departing in autumn. It builds on the tops of trees,
its nest being attached to and partly suspended from a
forked branch. This species feeds on fruits and insects,
and is particularly fond of figs. The Italian peasants sup¬
pose its cry to signify “ Contadino, e mature lo fico f Its
own flesh is of most excellent flavour, especia ly in au¬
tumn, when having for a time fared sumptuously on the
best of fruits, it has become extremely fat. Ihe rich p u-
maced regent bird of New South Wales (Smcw/ws^y*).
cephalus, Swainson) is by some regarded as an oriole.
The genus Gymnops, Cuv. possesses the strong bill
the orioles, but a great part of the head is bare of leather^
tne orioies, out a    -
In some of the species there is a prominence on the ba
i i   xW ~ tori VlPP-GQtCr 01
SUCGICO til 11 ^ M.     
of the beak. Such are the knob-fronted bee-eater o
White1 (Merops corniculatus), figured by Vaillant und
the name of corbicalao ( Ois. d'Amenque et deslndes, pW >
and the cowled bee-eater {Merops monackus, Latham>
The tongue is said to be tufted like tha
To the genus Gymnops Cuvier also refers the bald g
( G. Linn, and Lath.), a remarkable spec®, »»«»
Jo the Philippine Islands, where .t >s sa.d to btn d mt
hollows of the cocoa-nut tree. It feeds on fruits, an
extremely voracious. , e.
In the genus Menura, Shaw, the bill is straigl , o
what triangular at the base, compresse , ie
lengthened, central. Region of the eyes bai • r ^
and strong. The only known spec.es of th^n^i
somewhat anomalous genus, the lyr~ ------ ex-
(M. lyra or superba), is characterized byteg
tension and peculiar structure ot the ta.,1'featl 6 ,;eaSant.
Plate CCCXCI. fig. 4.) It is equal in size to ap^^
1 Voyage to Botany Buy, p. ICO.
575
ORNITHOLOGY.
5* The general plumage is brown. The tail of the female is
'of the ordinary structure. This bird inhabits rocky dis¬
tricts. Though placed in its present station by Cuvier, it
certainly seems more allied to the gallinaceous than the
passerine order. Its history, however, is still obscure, and
its anatomical structure, we believe, has not yet been in¬
vestigated.
from the last-named genus, it would appear an abrupt
and bold transition to the feeble-bodied, soft-billed stone-
chats, warblers, wagtails, and other Sylviadce, all of which,
however, Baron Cuvier has here grouped as intermediate
between Menura and Pipra. They form a very nume¬
rous assemblage, all characterized by a rather straight
and slender bill, but varying, on the one hand, by the de¬
pression of the mandibles, towards the fly-catchers, and
on the other, by its compression and curvature, towards
the straight-billed butcher-birds. The Sylviadse or war¬
blers are divided by Mr Swainson into the five following
sub-families, viz. 1st, Saxicolince or stone-chats, in which
the bill is depressed at the base, the gape furnished with
diverging bristles, the feet lengthened, the tail rather
short, the head large ; 2d, Philomehnce or nightingales, in
which the general structure is larger and more robust than
in the typical warblers, and the feet more formed for perch¬
ing; 3d, Sylviana or true warblers, of which the size is
very small, the structure weak, the bill very slender,
straight, with the under mandible much thinner than the'
upper; 4th, Pariarue or tit-mice (placed by Cuvier in the
comrostral tiibe), in w'hich the bill is either entire or very
slightly notched, and more or less conic, the hind toe large
and strong, and the lateral toes unequal; 5th, MotacilliruB
or wagtails, in which the bill is lengthened, straight, and
slender, the legs long, and formed for walking, the hind
toe elongated, and the tail narrow and lengthened.1 Mr
Swainson has elsewhere remarked, that the Sylviadae might
be termed “ ambulating fly-catchers,” since, when vievved
collectively, they are only separated from the Muscicapi-
n® by a different mode of feeding, indicated by the supe¬
rior length and structure ot their feet,—these parts being
adapted for constant locomotion, either among branches
or upon the ground ; while in the true fly-catchers the feet
are short, small, and feeble, in accordance with the seden¬
tary habits of the species. “ Comparing the warblers, on
the other hand, with the thrushes, we see that the best
distinction between the two groups lies in the very cha¬
racter which assimilates the Sylviadce to the fly-catchers,
namely, the basal depression of the bill. We allude, of
course, to typical examples; since all these distinctions are
softened down, in proportion as the three groups approxi¬
mate.2 We shall now proceed with our exposition of Ba¬
ron Cuvier’s system.
The genus Saxicola, Bechstein, has the bill slightly
depressed and broadened at the base. The species of this
genus seem confined to the ancient continents and New
Holland. They feed on insects, build on the ground or
among heaps ot stones, and usually frequent rather wild
and barren places. We have three British species, the
W eat_earor white-rump (S. cenanthe), which is migratory,
an anives with us in early spring, frequenting commons
an mountain pastures, but also occurring in more culti¬
vated places, though always preferring open districts; the
nn-chat (S.rubetra), likewise migratory, but later in its
• 771 ant^ frequenting moorlands and commons covered
tn furze or low brushwood, where it is almost always seen
,■ a/,Sht uP°n the topmost spray; and the stone-chat (S. ru-
in Britain throughout the year, and
is tl Cn 0uni nioisHsh places. Of these the white-rump
m / m°S,t esteeiTied as food, being compared by many
e ortolan. It is much sought after in Italy, that “ land
of song,” where, by the strangest mal-association, a man Insessores.
no sooner hears a feathered warbler sing than he desires to ■-'v''--—'
shoot and eat it. Even in the southern parts of Britain it is
much esteemed; and Pennant tells us, that as many7 as 1840
dozen have been taken in a single season at East Bourne,
in Essex. In the south of Europe it is usually captured bv
means of a peculiar net, and the lure of a living owl; with
us a noose of horse-hair placed between two upraised or
inclined portions of turf, between which the bird attempts
to pass in search of insects, is found sufficient. In regard
to the stone-chat, Temminck mentions that, though sta¬
tionary in Africa, in Europe they are birds of passa'ge. It
is singular in this case that they should remain through¬
out the year in Britain. The fact that they do so, how¬
ever, is undoubted, as we have ourselves shot them on the
Pent!and Hills when the ground was covered with snow.
Signor Savi mentions that they are stationary in Tuscany,
although “ per il tempo del caldo maggiore dell’ estate, e
dell autunno, molti abbandonano le piamire, e si retirano
su i monti per cercare luoghi pin freschi ”3
In the genus Sylvia of Wolf and Meyer (Ficedttla,
Bech.) the bill is merely a little narrower at the base than
in the preceding. The generic title, however, has been
variously applied of late, by different writers, to their re¬
stricted groups,—Mr Selby using it to designate our willow
and wood wrens, while Cuvier makes it contain, among
others, the four following British species, viz. the red-
bieast (6. rubecula), the blue-throat (N. suecicci), the com¬
mon red-start (S.phcenicurus), and the black red-start (S’.
tithys). Of these, the second and fourth can scarcely be
regarded as otherwise than of accidental occurrence in
England, and have never been seen in the northern quar¬
ters ot the island. T he red-breast is perhaps the most be¬
loved of British birds, and is remarkable tor its combina¬
tion of familiarity and independence. When left to its
“own sweet will,” it enters houses freely in cold or snowv
weather, will perch night after night on corniced book¬
case, or seek repose upon the golden scallop of a picture
frame; but it hates all forwardness in others, and will not
voluntarily come in contact with any hand, however beau¬
tiful. It hops delighted, singing as it goes with low and
plaintive note, along the comfortable carpet, or darting up
suddenly towards the window-frame, will utter a louder
gush of angrier melody on seeing some orange-breasted
brother, perched on leafless spray, still braving the increas¬
ing darkness. Fora time, just before nightfall, he seems
himself to suffer from some uneasy instinct, or probably
desires, from habit, to secure his usual perch in old fan¬
tastic yew or thick screened holly; but, on second thoughts,
he soon assumes some quiet corner, above the reach of cu¬
rious children’s hands. Not seldom when the evening
fire burns brightest, he descends on muffled wing, his larae
and liquid eye dilated less with fear than quiet wonder,
and after a brief survey, he re-ascends his place of safety.
Although this bird remains about our doors throughout
the summer, building near out-houses and in orchards, yet
Some red-breasts love amid the deepest groves
Retired to pass the summer days. Their song
Among the birchen boughs, with sweetest tail
Is warbled, pausing,—then resumed more sweet,
More sad, that to an ear grown fanciful,
The babes, the wood, the men, rise in review,
And robin still repeats the tragic line.
. have a notion, that in Scotland the female red-breast
is migratory. At least, in the vicinity of Edinburgh, we
recognise her not throughout the long-enduring winter.
All the individuals then about our gardens sing
till, in the month of March, some strangers show them¬
selves, but do not sing, and are immediately followed and
Nat' IIist- and Class if. of Birds, ii. 23d.
Fauna Bureali-Americana, part ii. p. 20.
3 Ornitoloffia Toscana, i. 231.
576
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores./erf by the resident males, at which time they (the sup-
■^-y   posed females) utter a low hissing note, and flutter their
wings like young dependent birds. This we have often
seen, and vouch for.
The red-start is a rarer species. It haunts retired well-
wooded lanes, where the timber is in a better state than the
stone dikes ; for it highly approves of the latter when old,
moss-covered, and full of holes. It is a bird of passage,
and although greatly less familiar than the red-breast, we
have seen it build beneath the cottage eaves. It is an ac¬
tive, restless bird, easily recognised by its snow-white tore-
head, black throat, ashy back, and tine reddish orange
breast and rump, to say nothing of the constant vibratory
motion of the tail. . . . , ,
The blue bird of America {Sylvia stalls) has the whole
of the upper plumage of a fine blue, while the throat,
neck, breast, and flanks, are bright orange brown. In ge¬
neral character and movement this bird resembles the Euro¬
pean red-breast, and may be said to be as familiarly known
in summer to the children of America as the robin is to
ourselves. Wilson informs us that its society is much
courted by the inhabitants of the country, and that tew
farmers neglect to provide for him a snug little summer¬
house, ready fitted, and rent free. He is migratory over
the northern districts, but a few remain throughout the
winter in some parts of the United States. A more re¬
cently described species, nearly allied to the preceding,
was procured by Dr Richardson at Fort Franklin, and is
named by Mr Swainson Erythaca arctica. Its colour is a
fine ultra-marine blue above, beneath greenish blue, whit¬
ish on the lower part of the abdomen, and under tail-co-
verts. It seemed to be merely a summer visitant ot the
fur-countries, and no other knowledge ot its haunts or ha¬
bits has been yet obtained.
The genus Cuiiruca, Bechstein, has the bill straight,
slender throughout, a little compressed anteriorly, the upper
mandible slightly curved towards the point. It contains that
prince of European songsters, the nightingale {C. luscima),
a bird of shy and unobtrusive disposition, seldom seen in
open places, but loving the protection of a close entangled
undergrowth of brakes and bushes. Its powers of song
are o-enerally admitted to be unrivalled, although the effect
is no doubt enhanced by the solemn stillness of the sum¬
mer night, when every other voice has sunk to rest, ioi
then
The wakeful bird
Sings darkling, and in shadiest covert hid
Tunes her nocturnal notes.
The words of the divine Milton are sacred ; yet we know
not that the female sings. It is a curious coincidence, how-
ever, that she should be asserted so to do by Pliny. Our
British nightingales never venture farther north than Don¬
caster, although in Sweden and the northern parts of Ger¬
many they are less restricted in their summer movements.
To this genus belong several other excellent British song¬
sters, such as the rich-voiced black-cap (C. atncapiUa),
the greater petty-chaps ( C. hortensis), and the white-throat
or muggy {C. cinerea). These, as well as the following,
are called abroad fauvettes.
A few species which affect damp underwood and reedy
marshes, such as the grasshopper warbler (S. locustella),
the sedge-warbler {S. phragmitis), and the reed-wren (o.
arundinacea), constitute the genus Salicaria of Mr Sel¬
by. To the same little group, we doubt not, belongs the
beccamoschino of the I uscans ( Sylvia cisticola, 1 emm.), re¬
markable as exhibiting the propensities of a tailor-bird.
The nest is placed near, but not upon the ground, usually
in a bush of lengthened herbage, the leaves and stalks which
form the external covering being drawn together, while a
flooring for the nest is made somewhat lower down, by
curving the leaves across. The beauty of the structure
consists in this, that the latter are not supported by their
mutual interlacement, but are sewed together, sometimes
by spiders’ webs, sometimes by thread-like portions of va¬
rious plants. The interior is chiefly composed of vegetable
down. The nests constructed in April are much less fi¬
nished than those of August, owing to the absence, in the
earlier month, of several materials which greatly conduce
towards their elegance and solidity.1
Another limited genus, called Accentor, has the bill
also slender, but rather more conical than the other Sylvias,
with the edges slightly bent inwards. The species are
much more hardy than the preceding (all of which are
birds of passage) ; and our only British representative, com¬
monly called the hedge-sparrow {A. modularis), remains
with us throughout the winter. It seems characteristic of
the northern parts of Europe, being seldom seen in France
except during winter; and the few that occur in Italy are
known to breed among the mountains, only descending to
the plains when the summer heat is over. With us what
school-boy knows not its mossy, twig-entangled nest, and
pure unspotted eggs of greenish blue ? A larger and still
hardier species is the alpine warbler {A. alpinus), of the
accidental occurrence of which in the garden of Kings
College, Cambridge, an instance is recorded by Mr Selby.
This bird is an inhabitant of the most mountainous regions
of Europe, and particularly affects those districts which
are of an abrupt and rocky character. It is common among
the Alps of Switzerland, and may be usually seen in the
environs of the convent of St Bernard. In summer it
ascends to a great elevation, wrhere it breeds beneath the
ledges of the rocks, laying four or five eggs of a greenish-
blue colour. As winter advances, and the snow begins to
gather amid the desolate steeps, it descends towards the
vales and middle regions of the mountains, where it sub¬
sists upon the seeds of alpine grasses, and of other plants.
In summer it destroys grasshoppers, and various insects,
and their larvae.2 , , , ,
In the genus Regulus, Cuv., the bill is still slender,
but conical, sharp pointed, and the sides, when viewed
from above, are slightly concave. I he species are "inch
more active and arboreal than those last named. W e may
mention as an example our beautiful golden-crested wren
(E. auricapillus, Selby ; 3Iot. regulus, Linn.), t re sm
of British birds. It inhabits woods and forests, and Ms
rapidly from tree to tree, examining the leaves and branche
in search of insects. Its manners resemble tho^ of Jh
tit-mice, in company with which it often tiave s. - )
has recorded, that after a severe gale from the north-ea t,
thousands of these tiny creatures were seen to arrive upo^
the sea-shore and sand-banks of the Northumbnan coast,
many of them so fatigued as to be unable to me ag n
aftei alighting on the ground. In this genus Cuvier re
tains our willow or yellow wren, and Jesser petty-ch^
(M. trochilus and kippolais), which most othe
writers keep apart in their restricted genus Sylvia, besw
ino- other titles {Erythaca, Phcemcura, Philomela, & •)
the genus which Cuvier has so called. These transposit^^
are the bane of Ornithology. Several true Regu
North America. . fnrei(rn
Our common (kitty) wren forms, with certrai fbill °is
species, the genus arched,
rather more slender than m Regulus,and y tensive
The generic name of Motacilla, of si ^
application in the older systems, is how restricted t
wag-taiis, such as 31. alba and cinerea, LinmCaJ^_
~i ~Nuovo Giorn^de' Letterati, t. vi. (where the nest is figured); and Ornitologiu Toscana, t. i. P
* Illustrations of British Ornithology, vol. i. p. 247.
282.
ORNITHOLOGY.
; sores
species, which differs from the others in being a bird of
passage, is moreover distinguished by an arched and
lengthened hind claw, and forms the genus Budytes, Cuv.,
founded, perhaps, upon a character of no great importance.
All the wag-tails are peculiar to the ancient continent.
The genus Anthus, Bechstein, so long united to the
true larks, has the bill straight, slender, rather subulate to¬
wards the point, the base of the upper mandible carinated,
the tip slightly bent, and emarginated. The hind claw is
more or less produced. We have three British species, the
rock or shore pipit (A. aquaticus), the tit-lark or meadow
pipit (A. pratensis), and the tree pipit (A. arboreus). Rich¬
ard’s pipit (A. Richardi, Vieil.) may be included in our list
of accidental visitants.
The great tribe of Dentirostres is terminated by Cuvier
with certain groups which differ from all the preceding by
the closer union of the outer and middle toes, which are
joined together for a considerable space, after the manner
of the syndactylous tribes.
Of these groups the first is composed chiefly of the
manakins (Genus Pipra, Linn.), in which the bill is short,
compressed, higher than broad, notched, the nasal fossae
large, the nostrils concealed by feathers. The tail and
legs are short. They may be subdivided as follows.
In the genus Rupicola of Brisson the species are of
considerable size, and their heads are ornamented by a
double crest of vertical feathers. The only species known
are South American, and are distinguished by the name of
rock manakins. P. aurantia,Y\e'\\. {Pipra rupicola, Gm.),
is of a brilliant orange colour, with peculiar frizzled fea¬
thers on the wings and tail. It is one of the most beauti¬
ful of birds, lives on fruits, scrapes in the ground like the
Gallinse, and constructs its nest among the deep caverns of
the rocks. It is shy and mistrustful, and flies with great
rapidity. The female, which is of a brown colour, lays two
eggs of the size of those of a pigeon. The immature birds
are also brown. This species inhabits the rocks by the
rivers of Guiana. Not far from the banks of the river
Ojapoc, to the windward of Cayenne, is a mountain which
contains an immense cavern. There also, according to
Waterton, the cock of the rock is plentiful. He is of a
gloomy disposition, retiring during the day among the
darkest rocks, and only coming out to feed a little before
sunrise and at sunset. The South American Spaniards
call him Gallo del Rio Negro, supposing that he is only
met with in the vicinity of that far inland stream ; but he
is common in the interior of Demerara, amongst the huge
rocks in the forests of Macoushia, and has been shot south
° * i6 1m^’ ^ie. caPta‘nsh*P °f Para. R. Peruviana is a
nearly allied species, of somewhat larger size, but wanting
• i *nzz!fd character of the wing and tail feathers. It
inhabits Peru. The female is still unknown. Our author
iere places the beautiful green species from Java and Su¬
matra {Calyptomena viridis of Horsfield), which he thinks
mners from the other Rupicolae chieflv in the crest not
being fan-shaped. (See Plate CCCXCI. fig. 7.) The
rue manakins (genus Pipra, Cuv.) are of much smaller
«ze. they likewise inhabit America, where they dwell in
he deep anci humid forests, feeding, it is said, both on
ui s and insects. I hey are in general distinguished by
j. nch and varied colouring of their plumage. We have
s>ure as an example a beautiful Brazilian species, the
1 lP™pureola. (See Plate CCCXCI. fig. 5.)
ie teiminal group of the Dentirostres is formed by the
genus Lurylaimus, Horsfield, in which the bill is much
in „n^er a,Pd broader than in any of the preceding, being
at tlOH ° the sPecies 50 greatly depressed and expanded
ie base, as to exceed the breadth of the head. The
7errlaP.s the under mandible. These birds are pe-
amnnnf0* an^ .t^e §reat eastern islands, and now
vol xvx Ve 01 S*X ^ num^er> which, however, offer such
577
disparity in the structure of the bill, as to render subdivi-Insessores.
sum unavoidable. This has been in part effected; the'
genus Cymbirhynchus, Vigors, containing Eu. nasutus,
winle the specific name of another {Eu. conjdon), remark¬
able for the extraordinary expansion of the upper mandible,
is used genencally by M. Lesson, the species itself being
termed Temminckn. (See Plate CCCXCI. fK 8.) We
know little of the manners of any of these birds. When
actually ascertained, they may probably be found to offer a
considerable disresemblance. They have hitherto been
generally found in wild and desert places, by the banks of
rivers, and are supposed to feed both on fruits and insects,
a frequent, it not a safe conclusion on the part of na¬
turalists, regarding almost every unknown species which
happens to be neither a goose nor an eagle.
I rise 2d.—Fissirostres.
This restricted tribe consists of the swallows, swifts, and
goat-suckers, and is characterized by the bill being short
broad, depressed, slightly curved, without any tooth, and
so deeply cleft as to give peculiar wideness to the gape,—
a structure of great use to birds which prey so exclusively
on insects taken on the wing. Their insectivorous regi¬
men induces migratorial habits, and all the species leave
ourselves and other northern nations so soon as the .sear
and yellow leaves of autumn betoken the approach of frost,
and the consequent decrease or extirpation of insect life.
ike the raptorial order, or birds of prey properly so called,
the fissirostral tribe is capable of a binary division into
clmrnal and nocturnal species.
Swallows, in general (Hirundo, Linn.), are remarkable
or their close-set, usually glossy plumage, the great length
of their wings, their swift, powerful, easy, and long-con¬
tinued flight. They occur in almost every region of the
globe. In the restricted genus Hirundo, Cuv., the toes
are disposed as in the majority of birds, that is, three an¬
terior and one posterior. In some of the species the legs
and feet are clothed with feathers, the hind claw is slightly
disposed to turn forwards, the tail is forked, and of medium
size. Such is our martin or window-swallow {H. urbica)
which forms so cheerful a feature in many of our villao-es
and country dwellings, building beneath the eaves*of
houses, or the upper angles of windows, it is glossy bluish-
black above, the rump and all the lower regions white. In
others the legs and feet are naked, the tail forked, and of
great length. Such is our chimney-swallow {H. rustica),
which usually builds in out-houses, and leaves the top of
its nest uncovered. Its upper parts, and the higher por¬
tion of the breast, are black ; the forehead and throat deep
orange-brown, the lower portions of the body white. This
species usually appears a few days earlier in April than the
preceding. Although the migratory movements of both
these birds may be still regarded as mysterious, there is
now no doubt of the fact that they do migrate. It appears
from the observations of M. Natterer, that they moult in
Tebruary, that is, during their absence from this, the land
of their nativity,—a fact which would of itself suffice to
overthrow the idea of their long-protracted winter sleep,
it is also m respect to other purposes as usual well ordain¬
ed, for if the heavy moult which befalls so many species
during spring or autumn, were equally to affect these long¬
winged birds, their flight from foreign lands, or journey
thither, might be procrastinated, or prevented altogether.
Swallows are probably the most purely and exclusively in-
sectivoious of all birds, and even if they could themselves
withstand our winter’s cold, they would soon perish mi¬
serably from want of food.
Ibis extreme sensibility of course renders it difficult
to keep swallows caged, or otherwise confined, through¬
out the winter season. Yet several instances are known
4 D
i
578
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. of their surviving that inclement period. The following
J is given by Mr Bewick, on the authority of the late Sir
John Trevelyan. The experiments were made by a Mr
Pearson. “ Five or six of these birds were taken about
the latter end of August 1784, in a bat-fowling net, at
night; they were put separately into small cages, and fed
with nightingale’s food. In about a week or ten days
they took the food of themselves: they were then put
altogether into a deep cage, four feet long, with gravel
at the bottom ; a broad shallow pan with water was placed
in it, in which they sometimes washed themselves, and
seemed much strengthened by it. One day Mr Pearson
observed that they went into the water with unusual eager¬
ness, hurrying in and out again repeatedly with such swift¬
ness as if they had been suddenly seized with a frenzy.
Being anxious to see the result, he left them to them¬
selves about half an hour, and on going to the cage again
found them all huddled together in a corner apparently
dead; the cage was then placed at a proper distance from the
fire, when two of them only recovered, and were as healthy
as before—the rest died ; the two remaining ones were al¬
lowed to wash themselves occasionally for a short time
only; but their feet soon after became swelled and inflam¬
ed, which was attributed to their perching, and they died
about Christmas. Thus die first year’s experiments were
in some measure lost. Not discouraged by the failure of
this, Mr Pearson determined to make a second trial the
succeeding year, from a strong desire of being convinced
of the truth respecting their going into a state of torpidity.
Accordingly, the next season having taken some more birds,
he put them into the cage, and in every respect pursued
the same methods as with the last; but to guard then feet
from the bad effects of the damp and cold, he covered the
perches with flannel, and had the pleasure to observe that
the birds throve extremely well. They sang their song
through the winter, and soon after Christmas began to
moult, which they got through without any difficulty, and
lived three or four years, regularly moulting every year at
the usual time. On the renewal of their feathers, it ap¬
peared that their tails were forked exactly the same as in
those birds which return hither in the spring, and in every
respect their appearance was the same. These birds were
exhibited to the Society for promoting Natural History,
on the 14th February 1786, at the time when they were
in a deep moult, during a severe frost, when the snow was
on the ground. They died at last in the summer, from
neglect during a long illness which Mr Pearson had, who
concludes this interesting account with the following words:
‘ January 20,1797.—I have now in my house, No. 21 Great
Newport Street, Long-Acre, four swallows in moult, in
as perfect health as any birds ever appeared to be in
when moulting.’ ”1 Our only other species is the sand-
swallow, or bank-martin (H. riparia), of smaller size and
browner colour. It is the earliest ot the genus ; but be¬
ing more locally distributed, its arrival in many districts
is not so speedily observed.
Among the foreign species, one of the most remarkable
is H. esculenta, a small brown swallow, from the Indian
Archipelago. Its nest, formed chiefly of a peculiar kind
of sea-weed, is very mucilaginous when cooked; and its
restoratory virtues are held in such high esteem, that it has
become with eastern nations, especially the Chinese, a
most important article of commerce. The best kinds (such
as are white and transparent, and of a uniform and delicate
texture) sell at from a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars
the peckul (not more than twenty-five pounds). The
Dutch alone were in use to export from Batavia about a
thousand peckuls every year; but of these, a great pro¬
portion was brought from the islands of Cochin-China,
and others to the eastward. However, these nests are
nowhere more abundant than about Croee, near the south
end of Sumatra. They weigh each about half an ounce, and
resemble a small saucer in shape, with one side flattened,
by which they adhere to the rocky walls of caverns. Their
texture resembles that of isinglass, or fine gum-dragon.
When about to be used they are soaked, then pulled to
pieces ; and after being mixed with ginseng, are put into
the body of a fowl, which is stewed all night with a suffi¬
cient quantity of water. When dissolved in broth they
are said to give it a delicious flavour.2 Naturalists are not
agreed as to the exact mode of formation of these nests.
Some suppose them the result of a glandular secretion.
Alexander Wilson says, that the aculeated swallow (H.
pelasgia) of America fastens together the twigs which
compose its nest by means of a strongly adhesive gummy
matter, secreted by two glands placed on each side of the
hinder portion of the head.3
The swifts belong to the genus Cypselus of Illiger, dis¬
tinguished by the extreme shortness of the legs, and the pe¬
culiar character of all the four toes being directed forwards.
The middle and outer toes have only three articulations.
Of all the feathered race, these are perhaps the most vigo¬
rous and unwearied flyers. Even in the skeleton, the short¬
ness of the humerus, the breadth of its apophyses, the
oval form of the fourchette, and the sternum unnotched
below, indicate a structure admirably suited to sustain
aerial motion; and when to these we add the enormously
lengthened primary feathers of the wings, we have a fly¬
ing machine of the most powerful kind. We doubt not
that during every summer evening in which these sable
creatures pursue their gladsome gambols through the un¬
resisting air, they travel many hundred miles. It is easy
to observe, that they are often on the wing incessantly for
hours together, careering in fine weather in vast and in¬
tersecting circles, screaming after each other in no melo¬
dious strains, and flying at such a maddening rate as if
flight were the only faculty worthy of exercise in earth or
heaven ; and we are sure that the same genius for arith¬
metic which enables a school-boy to ascertain how many
grains of barley would surround the world, might, if ap¬
plied to every minute’s flight of this surprising bird for
one “ purpureal eve,” elicit a result in distance which
would astonish even a railway engineer. Our common
swift is the Cypselus murarius of Temm. (Hirundo opus,
Linn.). These birds, as well as swallows, seem in many
instances to return to the same spot for a series of years.
Dr Jenner took two claws from the foot of twelve swifts.
Several were re-taken in the course of one or two seasons;
and at the expiration of seven years, one was brought m
bv a cat. A larger species (C. alpinus, Temm.), frequen
among the Alps of Switzerland and the Tyrol, and we
known at Gibraltar, has occurred occasionally m Ireland-
There are a great many foreign species, both of swifts an
swallows. . .iii
In the genus Caprimulgus, Linn., the gape
wider, and the beak is bristled at the base with stifhs
hairs. The wings are very long, the legs short, the tars
usually feathered, the toes united at the base byamern-
brane, slightly connecting even the hinder toe, v
is somewhat versatile; the middle toe is often too e
its inner edge (see Plate CCCXCI. fig. 6 a)-, and the
outer one, by a conformation of rare occurrence 8
birds, has only four articulations. , f bu.
The Caprimulgi or goat-suckers (an absurd 
1
x. p. m ; and Sir G. Staunton's Embassy to China, vol. i. p. 288, and vol. «• P- »•
cies seems described under the name of II. fuciphaga, m Act. Holm. t. xxxni. p. Ul-
3 American Ornithology, vol. ii. p. 24.
This spe-
ORNITHOLOGY.
ores-lous term, which, however, serves the best purpose of a
-■'name, in being generally understood to relate to the spe¬
cies in question) are solitary birds, which feed voracious¬
ly on insects, and fly about during the evening twilight,
encroaching in mid-summer on the clear and stilly hours
of night. Our only British species (C. Europceus) is a
bird of passage ; and in its beautifully brindled plumage of
ashy-gray, brown, and black, with here and there a patch
of white, presents a characteristic example of the genus.
It frequents commons, heaths, and uncultivated tracts, es¬
pecially where interspersed with brushwood. When on the
wing, it utters occasionally a sharp hawk-like cry ; but Cu¬
vier surely errs when he asserts that “ 1’air qui s’engouffre,
quand ils volent, dans leur large bee, y produit un bour-
donnement particulier.” If he alludes to the peculiar pur¬
ring and prolonged sound which some compare to that of
a spinning-wheel, there is no doubt of its being produced
when the bird is at rest, on the top of a wall, or among a
heap of stones. When perched upon a branch or paling,
its position is peculiar. It rests horizontally in the same
direction as that by which it is supported, instead of across
or at right angles. Its flight, when pursuing moths and
beetles, is very easy and graceful. The species of this
genus are widely distributed. Three occur in North Ame¬
rica; several in the southern parts of the new world ; in
ISew Holland they are well known ; Africa produces some
remarkable kinds ; and those of Java and the East have
been described by recent naturalists. Out of these, how¬
ever, several subordinate genera have been created. The
strong-billed species, which want the membrane between
the toes, and the dentation of the middle claw, form the
genus Podargus. They are natives of New Holland and
the eastern islands. (See Plate CCCXCI. fig. 6.) The
great species from Guiana, which has the sides of the
upper mandible dilated into a blunt tooth, constitutes the
genus Nyctibius of Vieillot. A very peculiar species
(Gmcharo de caripe), which feeds on fruits, and dwells gre¬
gariously in caverns, where the young are much sought
after on account of their delicious fat, forms the genus
Steatornis of Humboldt.1 It is the only frugivorous
night-flying bird with which we are acquainted.
Although the general title of goat-sucker is so fami¬
liar to our ears, we confess wTe were never aware of how
it had originated,—deeming it some accidental and un¬
meaning application,—till we had read the following pas¬
sage in Mr Waterton’s work. “ When the moon shines
bright, you may have a fair opportunity of examining the
goat-sucker. You will see it close by the cows, goats,
and sheep, jumping up every now and then under their
bellies. Approach a little nearer,—he is not shy,—‘ he
fears no danger, for he knows no sin.’ See how the
nocturnal flies are tormenting the herd, and with what
dexterity he springs up and catches them, as fast as they
alight on the belly, legs, and udder of the animals. Ob¬
serve how quietly they stand, and how sensible they
seem of his good offices; for they neither strike at him,
nor hit him with their tail, nor tread on him, nor try to
drive him away as an uncivil intruder. Were you to dis¬
sect him, and inspect his stomach, you would find no milk
lu" I* is full of the flies which have been annoying
t e herd. 2 Many an hour, during the long still summer
evenings, have we watched the flight of our only British
species, while it hawked for moths along the fringed mar-
flT8/] t^e rocky VV00(IS» or glanced more openly across
« u dew.y IIle^ows which bank the crystal basin of the
eautiful Winander,”—but we never saw it hovering
round or near to any kind of cattle. WTe doubt not, how-
yer, that the same habit, as noted by Mr Waterton, must
579
have been observed in Europe, and has, through miscon- Insessores.
ception, originated the vernacular name. *■ ''
Tribe 3d—Conirostres.
In this tiibe are comprehended a considerable variety
of genera, exhibiting not a little disparity in size, struc¬
ture, and habits, but agreeing in their bills being compa¬
ratively strong, more or less conical, and without notch.
Several of the species, such as crows and magpies, are
omnivorous; but, generally speaking, when compared with
either of the two preceding tribes, the diet of the Coniros¬
tres may be termed granivorous.
The first little group is constituted by the larks, genus
Alauda, Linn., of which the greater number have the
bill straight, moderately thick, and pointed. (See Plate
CCCXCII. fig. 1.) Though their flight is occasionally lofty
and sustained, and the sky-lark (Al. arvensis) obtains its
name
From warbling high
His trembling thrilling extacy.
As, lessening from the dazzled sight,
He melts in air and liquid light, 
yet they haunt, and build their humble nests, habitually
in fields of grain or grassy meadows. Even the wood-lark
(A. aroorea), although it perches and sometimes sings on
trees, rears its young upon the ground. The shore-lark
of Pennant (A. a/pestris, Gmel.) is common to the north¬
ern parts of Europe, Asia, and America.
In the genus Parus, Linn., the bill is small, short, coni¬
cal, straight, beset at the base with hairs, and the nostrils
concealed by feathers. The species commonly called tit¬
mice are lively, active little birds, usually observed flying
with eagerness from tree to tree in search of insects, scaf-
mg the branches in all directions, and seemingly quite re¬
gardless whether their heads or their heels are uppermost.
I heir nests are usually placed under cover, either in the
crevice of a wall or the hollow of an old tree, and the
number of eggs which they lay exceeds that of most Pas-
seres. They eat grain and seeds, as well as insects. The
species are distributed over the whole world, with the ex¬
ception of New Holland, South America, and the islands
ot the South Pacific Ocean. Although of rather gay and
beautiful plumage, they are more numerous in temperate
and northern countries than between the tropics. We
have seven species in Britain, of which the bearded tit¬
mouse (P. biarmicus) is scarce, and partially distributed,
and the crested species (P. cristatus) so extremely rare as
to be legalded as accidental, trom the small size, rapid
movements, and usually arboreous habits of all these birds,
their doings can scarcely be observed with advantage durino-
the umbrageous summer. But when the woods have either
lost their leafy glory, or the dry red foliage hangs unresis-
tant of the slightest breath, then are these vivacious crea¬
tures seen to congregate in little flocks, sometimes seve¬
ral species joining together, and cheering each other on
with frequent shrilly cries. In their foraging excursions
they likewise visit our gardens, shrubberies, and cottage
doors, plundering the farm-yards, eating potatoes with the
pigs and poultry, and greedily searching out an old mar-
low-bone, or (if in Scotland) a sheep’s head of the preced¬
ing Sunday. Hie suspended nests of some of the foreign
species are extremely elegant, and even that of our own
long-tailed species is an object of great interest and beauty.
Mr Selby describes it as usually fixed in one of the smaller
forks of a tree branch, but occasionally amid the closer
screen of a fir, or the centre of a thick bush of woodbine
or thorn. It is of a longish oval form, composed of different
Acad, des Sciences, Mars 1817, Nouv. Bull 1817, p- 51.
Wanderings in South America, p. 143.
580
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insesaores. lichens and wool firmly and curiously interwoven, and lined
  with a profusion of feathers. A small hole is left on two
opposite sides of the nest, not only for ingress and egress,
but also to prevent the bird during incubation from being
incommoded by its long tail, which then projects through
one of the orifices. The eggs are white, with fine red¬
dish-brown specks upon the larger end, and usually amount
to ten or twelve.1 The Petrus penduliuus^ a species of
the southern parts of Europe, constructs a purse-shaped
dwelling, suspended from the flexible branches of aquatic
plants, or interlaced among the waving reeds. This hang-
nest tit-mouse is often seen among the marshes of Boiogna,
where the peasantry seem to regard it with the same kinu-
ly affection as we do our red-breast. .
The genus Emberiza, Linn., is distinctly characterized
by its rather short, straight, conical bill, and the curved
form of the gape, produced by a narrowing of the sides of
the upper mandible, and a corresponding enlargement of
the under one. Instead of being as usual concave within,
the upper mandible has a hard, rounded knob in the in¬
side, or what is called a tuberculous palate. The species
commonly known by the name of buntings feed chiefly on
seeds and grain. The ortolan {E. hortulana), a native of
the centraf and southern provinces of Europe, has been
occasionally killed in England. It is much esteemed in
Italy and elsewhere as an article of food. It is frequent¬
ly lean when first netted ; but if left undisturbed and well
fed, it will not only fatten rapidly, but even in many in¬
stances die of repletion. The snow-bunting, and a few
other kinds, distinguished chiefly by the elongation of the
hind claw, form the genus Plectrophanes of Meyer, now
called lark-buntings by our English writers.
The great genus Fringilla of Linn, has the bill also
conical, and more or less thickened at the base; but the
commissure is not angularly curved, as in the preceding
m-oup. Numerous subdivisions have been made of this
genus in modern times. Of these the following may be
taken as examples.
In Ploceus, Cuv., the bill is rather square at the base,
but sharp-pointed; the upper mandible somewhat dilated.
The species are known by the name of weavers, on ac¬
count of the art with which they join together the mate¬
rials of their nests. Several species are gregarious, even
during the breeding season, hanging their nests close to¬
gether in the same tree ; and as each on building a new
nest forms it in close connection with the old, the final
result is, that an apparently solid mass is at length collect¬
ed, consisting of numerous apartments, each tenanted by
a pair of birds, but having the external appearance of one
gigantic dwelling. Cuvier here places the species known
in the older systems as the Philippine gross-beak, Z^ma
Philippina, Linn. This bird is known in India by the
name of baya, and may be rendered so tame as not only
to perch upon the hand, but to fetch and carry at com¬
mand. It builds a very curious nest, in the shape of a
long cylinder, swelling out into a globose form in the mid-
dlefand composed of the fine fibres of leaves and grass,
fastened by the end to a lofty branch, generally of the
Palmyra or Indian fig-tree. Ihe eggs are said to resem¬
ble pearls, with the white part transparent even when
boiled, and are accounted delicious eating. This species
is alleged to feed on fire-flies. Another remarkable Plo¬
ceus is the sociable gross-beak, or republican, Loxia soda,
Latham. It is an inhabitant of the interior of the Cape
country, and is thus described in Paterson’s Travels: “ Few
species of birds live together in such large societies, or
have such an extraordinary mode of nidification, as these ;
they build their nests on the mimosa trees, which grow to
a very large size, and appear to be well calculated for thelng!p0res
purpose, as the smoothness of their trunks prevents the HUJ
birds from being attacked by monkeys, and other noxious
animals. The method in which their nests are made is
very curious. On one tree there could not be less than
from eight hundred to a thousand under one general roof'.
I call it a roof, because it resembles that of a thatched
house, and projects over the entrance of the nest below
in a very singular manner. The industry of these birds
seems almost equal to that of the bee. Throughout the
day they appear to be busily employed in carrying a fine
species of grass, which is the principal material they em¬
ploy for the purpose of erecting this extraordinary work,
as well as for additions and repairs. Though my short
stav in the country was not sufficient to satisfy me by ocu¬
lar “proof that they added to their nest as they annually
increased in numbers ; still, from the many trees which I
have seen borne down by the weight, and others which I
have observed with their boughs completely covered over,
it would appear that this is really the case. When the
tree which is the support of this aeiial city is obliged to
give way to the increase of weight, it is obvious that they
are no longer protected, and are under the necessity of
rebuilding in other trees. One of these deserted nests I
had the curiosity to break down, to inform myself of the
internal structure of it, and found it equally ingenious
with that of the external. There are many entrances,
each of which forms a regular street, with nests on both
sides, at about two inches distance from each other. The
grass with which they build is called the Boshman’s grass,
and I believe the seed of it to be their principal food,
though, on examining their nests, I found the wings and
legs of different insects. From every appearance, the nest
which I dissected had been inhabited for many years, and
some parts of it were more complete than others. This,
therefore, I conceive to amount nearly to a proof that the
animals added to it at different times, as they found neces¬
sary, from the increase of the family, or rather of the na¬
tion or community.”2
The genus Pyrgita, Cuv., contains the sparrows proper¬
ly so called, of which the common house species (P. do-
mestica) affords a familiar example. This bird is charac¬
teristic of the temperate and more northern parts cf Eu¬
rope, and is scarcely known in Italy to the south of Pied¬
mont, being replaced by a closely-allied species, P. cisal-
pina, which is the Passer volgare of Italian authors. Al¬
though M. Temminck thinks that the manners of the lat¬
ter are less domestic than those of our more northern kind,
and that its love of fields and country places ally it rather
to the P. montana, we doubt not that all who have lived
in Italy will be of a contrary opinion,—-in agreement wit
the following beautiful passage by Professor bayi, wine
we shall not injure by translating. “ Sembra che ques
uccello non possa vivere se non con 1 uomo. Lccetuai
quelle region! alpestriove regnanoperpetuamente i g iac
in qualunque altroluogo in cui 1’uomo si e stabihto, fa r-
sera 1’ha accompagnato ; e indifferente alia prospera, o
traria fortuna, essa ha posta dimora nella dimora •
riva delli stagni, in mezzo alia quiete de boscin ^
remme, sulla povera ed umile capanna d un P"
d’un pecorajo, han domiciho le passere, le qua i
il loro cibo nella sementa di grano del piccolo camp ,
frutti dell’ orticello, nello scarso becchime get a
line o a’ piccioni. E nel modo stesso voi le ve e
tro delle pm grand! e clamorose c.tta, pwe >1 ? 1 ^
ornati d’una grandiosa cattedrale, o su i tetti d e 0
di delizia, e cercare le granella o miche di pane ™ re
alle piazze piu popolate. Ma se luomo cess
1 British Ornithology, i. 241.
-* General Zoology, vol. ix. p. 303.
ORNITHOLOGY.
ores
quella capanna, o quella citta, la passera anche essa Tabban-
— dona. Chi, girando nelle maremme, passa per antiche e dis-
abitate abbazie, per fortilizi, o ville in rovini, vedra dalle
finestre pin elevate di quelle, fuggire de’ piccioni insalva-
tichiti, udira gridar la civetta che abita fra li spacchi de’
muri vestiti d’ellera e parietaria, vedra la ballerina conti-
miare a fabbricarvi il nido, ma in vano egli la cerchera il vo¬
latile parasite dell’ Europeo, quella specie d’uccello che pri-
ma per il nuraero ogni altro ne superava in quel luogo.
Cosi nel modo stesso che una figura geometrica vista sulla
sabbia fu giudicata dal naufraga Filosofo per un segno certo
della vicinanza dell’uonio, per un tal segno ancora pub
ritenersi la presenza delle passere.”1 In regard to our own
species, Savi observes, “ non mi e noto se ne stiano anche
in Lombardia, ma so di certo che alcuno giammai ne e stato
visto in Toscana.” According to Temminck, the boundary
of the latter species is the great chain of the Alps, on the
southern slopes of which it disappears in favour of the cis¬
alpine kind. But it is our common British sparrow which
occurs about Trieste, and through the north of Dalmatia,
although separated from the region of P. cisalpinu only by
the waters of the Adriatic. “ I costumi,” adds the Ita¬
lian author, “ di queste due specie sono precisamente gli
stessi. lo ho accuratamente ed in varj tempi osserva^e
le abitudini della F. domestica, tan to in Svizzera che nel
settentrione della Francia, e posso assicurare che le stesse
sono di quelle della nostra specie Italiana.”2
In the restricted genus Fringilla, Cuv., the bill is ra¬
ther less arched than in the sparrows, and a little stronger
and moie lengthened than among the linnets. Cuvier in¬
cludes in it the chaffinch (F. coelebs), the mountain-finch or
brambling (F. montifringilla), and the snow-finch (F. ni¬
valis). ihe latter is scarcely ever found except in the
neai vicinity 01 ice and snow, and may be regarded (in
common with Accenter alpinus) as the most mountainous
of all the smaller birds of Europe. Yet though wild and
solitary in our estimation, from associating it with the
desolate scenery of the rock-surrounded glaciers, it is beau¬
tiful to see how, in the neighbourhood of the lonely shep¬
herd chalets of the Alps, it loves to humanise its feelings;
and how, among the few sad dwellings of the Mount Cenis,*
and other lofty passes, it perches on the roofs of houses,
hops about the beaten foot-paths, and builds among dis¬
mantled yet protecting walls. In winter it seeks subal-
pine regions, or the snow-covered valleys of Piedmont, but
scarcely ever migrates to the lowest plains. It is unknown
m iuscany.
In the genus Carduelis, Cuv., the bill is more exactly
conic, without bulging in any portion, and is rather length¬
ened. We may name as an example, our beautiful, live¬
ly, and intelligent goldfinch (G elegans, Steph.,—F. car-
Linn.), a bird widely distributed over Europe, and
extending from the sultry shores of the Mediterranean to
,le Plains °f Siberia. It occurs in Holland only as a bird
o passage. The siskin (F. spinus) is by some considered
a Larduehs, while others place it with the group which
allows, viz. genus Linaria, Bechstein, in which the bill
J conical, but not so long. Here we place our
gray linnets and red-poles, among which the more or less
ecided crimson tinting of the breast and forehead, accord-
g °age and season, has occasioned some confusion. Our
mmon °r g,-ay ]innet cannabinci, Linn.,—F. linota,
581
G ,N. . • vun/tuuma, Ginn.,—linota,
dm ,•' 1Si’ in t^ie Pei'lect nuptial plumage, synonymous with
is ih £ rnet and neater red-pole. Our lesser red-pole
cies L fk hnana of Llnn-; and the on]y other British spe-
form , 16 twyte or mountain-linnet, F. monlium, Gmel.,
brepH ^ 1 carded as a bird of passage, but now known to
wherp -n nort^ern counties of Scotland, if not else-
ln ^ntam. We have caught the young ones, half-
1 edged, among the Grampian Mountains. The amountInsessores.
o oieign species is considerable. Of these, one of the' ’
most remarkable for its musical powers is the well-known
canary (F. canaria, Linn.), a native of the Cape de Verd
and other islands, where its natural plumage is green. It
breeds readily in confinement with the linnet, goldfinch,
siskin, and other species.
The genus Vidua, Cuv., contains some remarkable spe¬
cies, with the bill more inflated at the base than the pre¬
ceding, but chiefly characterized by the extreme elonga¬
tion of the caudal plumage of the males. They inhabit
India and Africa, and were placed by Linnaeus among the
buntings. ®
I ne genus Coccothraustes, Cuv., containing the
gioss-beaks, has the bill very conical, but of extreme thick¬
ness at the base, and rapidly tapering to the point. The
culmen is roupded, the commissure slightly arched. The
species occur in America, as well as in the ancient con¬
tinents. The haw-finch ( C. vulgaris,—Loxia coccot/iraus-
tes, Linn.) visits the southern parts of Britain occasional¬
ly during winter, and is even said to have been found
breeding in Windsor Forest. It feeds upon the larger kinds
of seeds and berries, which it is enabled to bruise and
bieak at pleasure, by means of the great strength of its
bill. The evening gross-beak (C. vespertina, Cooper)
is a beautiful American species, with the frontal feathers
and a line above the eye yellow, the crown, wings, and
tail black, the secondaries and inner wing-coverts white,
the bill pale yellow. I ifis newly-discovered bird inhabits
the solitudes of the north-western interior, being met with
from the extremity of the Michigan territory to the Rocky
Mountains, and it is not uncommon towards the upper end
of Lake Superior and the borders of the Athabasca Lake.
Io the east of these regions it appears to be only a tran¬
sient visitor during spring and autumn. Our homely and
heavy-headed green linnet ( C. chloris, Fleming), of which
the mature male is a rich and beautifully plumaged bird,
belongs to our present genus. It is probable that the
Fnngilla incerta of Risso, figured by M. Roux (in his
Ormthologie Provengale), is nearly allied. It is one of the
rarest of the European birds, appearing occasionally du¬
ring the autumn in Provence, and likewise occurring in
the vicinity of Palermo.
In the genus Pitylus, Cuv., are contained a few spe¬
cies (almost all, we believe, from South America), in which
the bill, though thick, as in the preceding, is rather com¬
pressed, aiched above, and has sometimes a projectin0-
angle in the middle of the margin of the upper mandible!
Such are the Loxia grossa, Portoricensis, &c.
In the genus Pyrrhuua, in which the bill is shorter and
gieatly bulged, we have the bullfinches, of which our British
species, P. vulgaris, Temm.,—L. pyrrhula, Linn., is a well-
known example. It is very generally distributed through¬
out our wooded districts, but is nowhere very abundant,
and may be called scarce in several quarters of the island.
In the genus Loxia of Brisson, as now restricted, the
bill is compressed, and the two mandibles so curved and
deflected, that when closed they cross each other. This
extraordinary structure is supposed to afford the species
great facility in stripping the scales from the well-protect¬
ed seeds of the various kinds of pine-trees. The cross¬
bills are few in number, and occur both in Europe and
America. Their habits as breeding birds are little
known, but the period of incubation must be very early, as
L. cuivirostra sometimes visits this country in small flocks
as early as June. lemminck says, somewhat vagueljq in
regard to the parrot-billed species (X. pytiopsittacus), that
it “ niche en hiyer dans nos climats, sur les branches de
sapin; en Livonie Fespece niche des les mois de Mais.’’
Omitologia, Toscana, t. ii. p. 100.
Ibid. p. 106.
582
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. Their chief haunts are probably within the arctic circle.
' v'-—"' In America they are believed to breed about Hudson’s
Bay, being seen in the United States only from Septem¬
ber to April. It thus appears, at all events, that they do
not there breed during the winter season.
The great pine gross-beak (Loxia enucleator, Linn., by
some regarded as a bullfinch) may be here named as be¬
longing to the genus Corythus of Cuvier. It is a north¬
ern species, occurring in the colder regions both ot Europe
and America. Although Pennant mentions having met
with it in the woods of Invercauld in the month of August,
we are not aware of its having ever since been seen in
Scotland. . . , i
In the genus Colius, Gmelin, the bill is short, thick,
conical, somewhat compressed, both mandibles arched, and
of nearly equal length. The feathers of the tail are long
and graduated, and the plumage, for the most part fine
and silky, is usually ash-coloured. I he hind toe can as¬
sume a forward direction, almost as in the swifts. . (See
Plate CCCXCII. fig. 3.) The species are found in In¬
dia and Africa. Prior to the time of Vaillant, we knew
little of their habits. They are now known to be grega-
rious, endowed with but feeble powers of flight, but almost
as skilful as parakeets in climbing. They are not at all
addicted to insect food ; but their love of fruits, and the
tender buds of trees, makes them very injurious wherever
land is under horticultural care. They not only dwell
together in society, but build their nests in little groups
upon the same thorny bush. They are moreover distin¬
guished by a singular custom of sleeping close together,
suspended head downwards from the branches. I he spe¬
cies here represented (Plate CCCXCII. fig. 2) is C. leu-
conotus, Lath. (U. erythropus, Gmel.), supposed to be iden¬
tical with C. capensis, Linn.
The genus Buphaga ot Brisson has the bill square at
the base, and rather gibbous towards the point, which is
abbreviated. The species, only two in number, are insec¬
tivorous, and have derived the name of beet-eaters from
their habit of picking larvae from the hides of the larger
kinds of cattle, thus freeing them from noxious parasites.
The South African species (U. Africdna, Linn.) was ob¬
served by Vaillant in the country of the Namuquas in
small flocks. He found it shy, and difficult to be ap¬
proached. The other species referred to this genus is the
B. erythrorhyncha of Temm., common in the north-easter n
countries of Africa, where it follows caravans for the sake
of picking insects from the woolly backs of camels, and
other beasts of burden. It is singular, that although hi¬
therto unknown in Southern Africa, it should have been
received from Madagascar.
In the genus Cassicus of Cuv. the bill is much moie
exactly conical, thick at the base, extremely sharp point¬
ed. the commissure forming an angulated line as in the
starlings. These are American birds of gregarious habits,
which feed both on fruits and insects, and frequently ex¬
hibit such surprising skill and ingenuity in the structure
of their nests, that an old lady once gravely asked an Ame¬
rican Ornithologist whether he did not think they might be
taught to darn stockings. In the genus Cassicus pro¬
perly so called, the base of the bill ascends upon the fore¬
head, so as to encroach broadly upon the frontlet feathers.
Here are contained the largest species. The one we
have figured ( C. cristatus, Plate CCCXCII. fig. 5) is from
Cavenne. In the genus Icterus the bill is arched, and Inse ,reji
does not extend upon the forehead except by a sharp
notch.1 With the Icteri Cuvier combines the purple
grakle, or crow blackbird of America ( QtmraZMs versicolor
of Vieillot), between which and the fish-hawk a singular
understanding seems to be kept up. The nest of the lat¬
ter is of large dimensions, often from three to four feet in
breadth, and from four to five feet high, composed exter¬
nally of large sticks or faggots, among the interstices of
which several pair of crow blackbirds will construct their
nests, while the hawk sits hatching over all. These birds
are very injurious to the crops of Indian corn, and some¬
times collect in prodigious flocks, descending on the fields
like a blackening tempest. They occupy a great extent
of territory, being widely spread from Hudson’s Bay to
within the tropics. They are migratory in the colder
districts, and on their first arrival feed on insects as well
as seeds.2 According to Dr Richardson, their first appear¬
ance on the plains of the Saskatchewan is very striking.
They arrive from their southern winter quarters in thebe-
ginning of May, the males and females in separate flocks
of from twenty to a hundred, which perch in crowds upon
the leafless branches of the trees, their plumage shining
with metallic splendour.
The genus Xanthornus {les carovges) scarcely differs
from the preceding, except that the bill is straight. Here
Cuvier places many of the American orioles, such as the
red-shouldered species ( O. phceniceus, Linn.). These “ red¬
winged starlings,” as Wilson calls them, are generally mi¬
gratory in the states north of Maryland, but are found
during winter in immense flocks along the lower parts ot
Virginia, both Carolinas, Georgia, and Louisiana, particu¬
larly near the sea-coast, and in the vicinity of large fields
of rice and corn. “ In the months of January and Febru¬
ary, while passing through the former of these countries, I
was frequently entertained with the aerial evolutions of
these great bodies of starlings. Sometimes they appeared
driving about like an enormous black cloud earned before
the wind, varying its shape every moment; sometimes
suddenly rising from the fields around me with a noise
like thunder ; while the glittering of innumerable wings of
the brightest vermilion amid the black cloud they formed,
produced on these occasions a very striking and splendid
effect. Then descending like a torrent, and covering the
branches of some detached grove, or clump of trees, the
whole congregated multitude commenced one general con¬
cert or chorus, that I have plainly distinguished at the
distance of more than two miles; and when listened to at
the intermediate space of about a quarter ol a mile, wit a
slight breeze of wind to swell and soften the flow ot its
cadences, was to me grand, and even sublime. The whole
season of winter, that with most birds is past struggling to
sustain life in silent melancholy, is with the red-wings one
continued carnival. The profuse gleanings of the old rice
corn, and buck-wheat fields, supply them with abundant
food, at once ready and nutritious ; and the intermed a
time is spent either in aerial manoeuvres, or in grand voca
performances, as if solicitous to supply the absence ot a
the tuneful summer tribes, and to cheer the dejec
of nature with their whole combined powers ot harm >■
In this genus some have also placed die noted co -p
bird of Catesby (Icterus pecoris. Bon.; Emb.pecon ,
son), of which the most remarkable feature consists
For a detailed classification of the Icteri of Brisson, see Mr Vigors’s “ Sketches in Ornithology, Zoological J
182.
* Great confusion exists in the nomenclature of these birds, and of their co"geners the Jroup ’ ^ h;s ps 0f different
American species, chiefly in consequence of the transposition of names. Almost eve1^ C t fns four well-ascertained spe-
materials, and of course has applied his designations differently. The genus Qui'calus of Vieillot contains tour
cies, Q. major, versicolor, ferruginous, and baritus.
3 American Ornithology, vol. i. p* 193.
XJSL
ORNITHOLOGY.
ores, depositing, like our European cuckoo, its eggs in the nests
—■''of other birds. The circumstances by which Wilson first
became acquainted with this peculiar habit are as follows.
He bad in numerous instances found in the nests of three
or four particular species, one egg much larger and dif¬
ferently marked from those beside it. He at length de¬
tected the female of this cow-bunting, as he calls it, in the
act, that is, sitting in the nest of the red-eyed fly-catcher,
(her eyes might well be red, if she had ever fondly hoped
for a legitimate posterity), which happens to be a very
small one, and singularly constructed. Suspecting her
purpose (and truly her position was more than suspicious),
he cautiously withdrew without disturbing her, and had the
satisfaction to find on his return, that she had left an egg
exactly like that just alluded to. He afterwards, in many
instances, found the young cow-bunting in the nest of these
and of other birds, and also observed the latter followed
by a foster child calling most clamorously for .food. The
cow-bird is gregarious and migratory, entering the middle
and northern states about the end of March or beginning
of April, and passing northwards as the season becomes
milder. It arrives in the fur-countries in May, ranges to
the sixtieth paiallel, departs in September, and collects in
large flocks in Pennsylvania during the following months,
after which it retires to winter in the more southern states
and Mexico. Its food consists of grain, grass, and worms,
particularly certain intestinal ones, which it finds in the
dung of cattle. rI he cow-bunting never pairs, and a state of
general concubinage seems to prevail amongst them. Bred
up as foundlings in the nests of other birds, and fed by
foster parents, owing their existence «nd preservation
to a system of cunning deception, and commencing their
career by the destruction of the natural inmates of that
mossy dwelling in which they passed their own delusive
infancy,—what hopes can here be cherished of the hallowed
growth of home affections ? When the female is disposed
to lay, she appears restless and dejected, and separates
herself from the unregarding males, who care not for pos¬
terity. Stealing through the woods and thickets, she pries
insidiously into every bush and branch for a nest that suits
her fancy, and into it she darts in absence of the owner,
and in a few minutes is seen to rise upon the wing, re¬
lieved from all maternal care. If the egg be deposited
alone, that is, in a previously empty nest, it is almost uni-
tormly forsaken; but if the nursing mother has any of her
own she immediately begins to sit. The red-eyed fly¬
catcher ( Vtreo olivaceus) proves a most assiduous foster-
jff1;, beautiful basket-like nest of one of these
ir s, r Nuttall found an egg of each species, and the
temale fly-catcher already sitting. He removed her own
i egg, and left that of the stranger. She soon returned,
and, as if sensible of what had happened, gazed stead-
astly, shifted the egg, sat on it for a time, moved off, re¬
newed her observation, and at length settled down upon
ner nest. Two or three days after, however, she was
ound to have left the premises. Yet another bird for-
o°k two eggs of her own, because that of the cow-bird
as taken away,—which proves that there is no account¬
ant Sr taSteS* Tlie blue bird> wbich exhibits a strong
exam i erV° lts breeding places, affords one of the few
xampies of a species not refusing to lay after the stran¬
ger egg has been first deposited. Mr Pickering observ-
P,Z:r^fthe yellow warbler, in which,
been de™Vhieir T? an of the cow-bird had
the wa Ki0Slte,d’ and fintbng themselves unable to eject it,
inLvt f8 bur,edit in the bottorn of‘the nest> by build-
perhan! ffc an dltl0nal story ! The egg of the cow-bird,
coital Itk1 ihe\ngi ar^r’ and coming thus into closer
1 h the body of its nurse, is sooner hatched than
583
the others. The produce of the latter, though often stifled, Insessores.
are sometimes reared along with the intruder. If the na-‘
tural offspring die, they are found lying at some distance
10m the nest, and not directly beneath it, which shows
that they are carried out by the parents, and not heaved
over by the giant intruder, as in the case of our European
cue'oo. When fully fledged, the cow-bird soon deserts
his foster-parents, and skulks for a time about the woods,
tiff he instinctively joins a few of his own blood, and then
he seeks his food more boldly (five or six together), in the
fields and lanes.1 This bird measures about seven inches
in length. The head and neck are blackish-brown, the
rest black, glossed above with green, and on the breast
with violet.
The Baltimore oriole is another beautiful species of Ic¬
terus,—LBaltimorus. The male is orange, with the head,
neck, upper part of the back, and greater portion of the
wings, black. It winters in South America, but makes its
appearance in the United States in spring, where its ar¬
rival is hailed as the sure harbinger of warmth and sun¬
shine. Full of life and activity, it is seen vaulting like a
fiery sylph among the boughs of lofty trees, vanishing
with restless inquietude, and again flashing quickly into
sight from amidst some wreath of waving foliage, showing
like a living gem amid the green adornment of the leafy
forest. The most remarkable instinctive feature of this
bird is displayed in the structure of its nest, which con¬
sists of a pendulous cylindrical pouch of six or seven inches
in depth, usually suspended almost from the extremity of
some lofty drooping branch. The materials, according to
Wilson, are flax, hemp, cow-hair, and wool, woven into a
complete cloth, the whole being tightly sewed through
and through with long horse-hairs, several of which mea-
suie two feet in length. The bottom is composed of thick
tufts of cow-hair, also sewed, and strengthened with strong
horse-hair. The materials, however, vary, and so solici¬
tous is the bird to procure the best that can be possibly
obtained, that during the building season the women in
the country are under the necessity of narrowly watching
their thread when bleaching.
Hie genus Oxyrhynchus, lemm., has the conical sharp-
pointed bill of the Icteri, but it is shorter than the head.
Example, O. cristatus, Swainson’s Illustrations, vol. Hi. pi.
49, a Brazilian species. The genus Dacnis of Cuvier is
formed by the Motacilla cayana of Linn.
The genus Sturnus, Linn., also resembles the Icteri;
but the bill is depressed towards the extremity. There
are two European species, one of which, our common star¬
ling (S. vulgaris), is well known in many parts of Britain,
and is remarkable for its gregarious habits, and singu¬
lar aerial movements. Its glossy black and purple plu¬
mage, starred with little spots of white, render it a very
ornamental bird ; and the great facility with which it may
be taught to speak makes it much sought after as a domes¬
ticated species. S. unicolor inhabits Sardinia and the South
of Europe.
Baron Cuvier concludes the conirostral tribe with three
well-marked groups, the crows, the rollers, and the birds
of paradise.
In the genus Corvus, Linn., the bill is strong, straight,
rather long, compressed towards the point, the nostrils
covered by stiff, reversed feathers. The plumage, though
generally dense and dark, is soft and lustrous, and the
species bear so great a resemblance to each other, that, as
Mr Macgillivray observes, the most unpractised observer
can scarcely fail to distinguish a crow.. They also exhibit
corresponding instincts, being, if not shy, at least cunning
and watchful. They are omnivorous in the fullest sense
of the term, and will poke their beaks into every thing
1 Nuttall, vol. i. p. 178.
584
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. they can find, from a boiled potato to a dead horse.
When searching for food, they betake themselves to
open places, walk in a sedate manner, keep a good look
out, and on the least appearance of danger fly oft to a dis¬
tance. Their flight is also sedate, moderately rapid, and
performed by regular beats. Their cry varies from a
hoarse croak to a caw or chatter, and some of them are
musical. They nestle in high places, trees, towers, budd¬
ings of various kinds, or rocks ; and produce from three to
nine eggs, which are deposited very early in the season.
They repose at night in similar places, and when alarmed
bv dav generally take themselves to heights. Some spe¬
cies are gregarious, others unsocial, the latter eing t le
more carnivorous ; but even they are observed to associate
together when a large quantity of food attracts them to a
particular place. The sexes do not differ much in exter¬
nal appearance; the male, however, being in general more
robust, and having the plumage more glossy. Moulting
takes place in the summer months, and is very gradual.
Those which are more carnivorous have the faculty of dis¬
covering carrion at a great distance, in the same manner as
the vultures, which they in some degree resemble in their
habits. They are all easily tamed, and may be taught to
imitate the human voice so far as to produce a few articu¬
late sounds. In a state of domestication they are much
addicted to pilfering, their depredations not being confined
to articles of food, but extending to objects in no respect
useful to themselves.”1 ...... .
Five species of crow occur in Britain, all permanent
dwellers, viz. the raven (C. corax), the carrion-crow (C.
coram), the hooded crow (C. comix), the rook ( W^-
WA and the jackdaw (tt monedula). We shall not de¬
scribe the external aspect of these birds, which, we doubt
not, are familiar to our readers. The raven in a state of
nature is remarkable for his great cunning and sagacity,
while in the domesticated condition he is extremely fro¬
licsome and full of humour. We have seen one that, whi e
engaged in amusing himself with a poodle dog, and unable
to keep pace with his four-footed play-fellow, would seize
him bv a lock of hair, and hold on tenaciously while the
do- was careering at full gallop ; and his numerous devices,
with a view to conceal the remnants of his own food, or
appropriate that of others, were varied and unceasing.
This species is widely spread over the temperate and north¬
ern parts of Europe and America, and in the minds of the
ignorant is usually regarded with some degree of supersti¬
tious terror. In summer, when the sky is serene, he flies
in circles in the higher regions of the clear blue sky, and
his deep and solemn croak may be heard at a great dis¬
tance ; but he is said to be sometimes also seen in the
midst of thunder-storms, with the electric fire streaming
from the point of his bill!—an extraordinary phenomenon
certainly (if true), sufficient to terrify the superstitious, and
to stamp its subject with the character of a restless and m.
destructible demon. . ... •
The carrion-crow, and the hooded species, are so like m
size and structure, that it would be scarcely possible to
distinguish them, but for the partially gray plumage of the
latter ; and as a black and a gray crow are often seen to¬
gether, some naturalists incline to the belief that they are
actually the same. Their geographical distribution, how¬
ever, seems to differ ; the gray kind, though common m
Britain and the continental countries of Europe, being
unknown in America, wftiere, at the same time, the car¬
rion-crow is described as identical with our own ; while,
on the other hand, we find the latter extremely rare in
the north of Italy, where the hooded crow abounds. I he
iackdaw and the'rook seem unknown in the western world.
The magpies (genus Pica, Cuv.) are of smaller dimen¬
sions than the crows properly so called, and their tails, in-Inses;
stead of being either round or square, are long and gra-^—,
duated. Their dispositions, however, are equally omnivo¬
rous, and they are distinguished by the same sly and fur¬
tive cunning. There is only a single European species,
our common British kind (JC~ pica, Linn.), which occurs
all over Europe, and is well known in North America, and
some parts of Asia. Many beautiful species occur in Chi¬
na, and other eastern countries, such, for example, as the
red-billed pie, P. erythrorhyncha, Gould. Its size exceeds
that of our common kind, and the great length of its tail
bestows upon it a still more slender and elegant aspect.
The prevailing colours are blue, with bars of black and
white. It is often kept in aviaries, where it is highly es¬
teemed, on account both of its docility and beauty. This
species likewise inhabits the Himalaya Mountains, and
there is reason to believe that it is fierce and tyrannical
in a state of nature. Mr Shore states, that one which he
kept in captivity, although it refused other food, pounced
ferociously upon living birds, which were presented by way
of experiment, and eagerly devoured them. When seen
amid the foliage of trees, it forms an ornamental and con-
spicuous object, flitting from bough to bough, its long and
flowing tail waving in the wind, and its whole form full of
vivacity and grace.2 The Chinese magpie (P. sinenm),
made known by the researches of General Hardwicke,
seems widely extended over tracts of land of very various
character as to height and situation. It inhaoits tne higher
portions of the Himalayas, the plains at the base of those
mighty mountains, and a great part of the Chinese empire.
The beautiful jays (genus Garrulus, Cuv.) are very
nearly allied to the magpies, but the tail is not so length¬
ened, and the culmen of the under mandible is rather more
convex. Our British species ( G. garrulus) is one of the
most ornamental of our indigenous birds. It dwells in
woods, bevond the outskirts of which it seldom wanders.
Its food consists of insects, fruits, and forest seeds. Spe¬
cies of this little group are found in every quarter of the
known world except New Holland. The blue jay of Ame¬
rica (G. cristatus, Plate CCCXCII. fig. 4) is an almost
universal inhabitant of the western woods, frequenting
the thickest settlements, as well as the deepest recesses
of the unpeopled forest,—where his harsh voice often
alarms the watchful deer, to the mortification of the dis¬
appointed huntsman. This species is a bitter enemy o
owls, one of which he no sooner discovers than he sum¬
mons the whole feathered fraternity to his assistance, and
the united mob proceed to vent their indignant spite
against the blinking solitary, in the most wrathfu! and un-
measured manner. But this jay himself cannot be be d
guiltless of the most owl-like depredations,—for tie oe-
comes in his turn the very tyrant he detested, and sne
through wood and thicket, plundering every nest his pok¬
ing bill can reach to, gobbling up the eggs, tearing
callow young to pieces, and spreading not only fea ,
death, and sorrow, its sad concomitant, around him.
other very ornamental species-
Proud of caerulean stains
From heaven’s unsullied arch purloined,
is that mentioned by Pallas as having been
when Behring’s crew landed upon the coast ot A
It is the Corvus Stellen of Latham, by whom ^
described from a specimen in Sir Joseph Ban » d
from Nootka Sound. A larger and most magnificent bud
is the Columbia jay {Garrulus Bullokn, M agle , ^
Ten J).; figured in Mr Audubon’s sple.d,dw«b
The colour is bright blue, with a lolly cie.
plumes, the throat and breast black, the abdom 
Macgillivray's British Birds, i. 496.
2 Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, plat®
xli.
ORNITHOLOGY.
585
^ ?s. and two of the central tail-feathers extending far beyond
the others. It occurs chiefly in Mexico and California.1
In the genus Carvocatactes, Cuv., both mandibles are
equally pointed, and straight to the tips. The only spe¬
cies known in Europe, called the nut-cracker (C. nucifru¬
ga), is an occasional visitant of Great Britain. Two others
have of late years been discovered in Asia, one of which
is figured by Mr Gould. They are all believed to inhabit
forests, especially those of mountainous countries, whence
at certain seasons they emigrate in large flocks. In their
climbing tendencies they make an approach to the habits
of the woodpeckers.
The limited genus Temia, Vail., with the lengthened
tail and general proportions of the magpies, has the bill
elevated, the upper mandible bulged, and its base covered
by short velvety feathers. Example, Corvus varians. Lath.
(Phenotrix temia, Horsfield), of which the general plu¬
mage is bronzed green, the head black. It occurs in Java
and elsewhere.
In the genus Glaucopis, Forster, the bill resembles
that of the preceding ; but its base bears a pair of fleshy
caruncles. G. cinerea is the only known species. It is a
native of New Zealand, and was discovered during Captain
Cook’s voyage. Its flesh is excellent. It is the cinereous
wattle-bird of Shaw. M. Temminck joins this and the
preceding genus into one.
In the genus Coracias, Linn., containing the rollers,
the bill is strong, compressed towards the point, which is
slightly curved, and the nostrils are oblong, not covered
by the feathers, but placed at their margin. The feet are
short and strong. These birds are confined to the ancient
continents, and are remarkable for their beauty of plu¬
mage, of which the colours are usually different shades of
purple, blue, and green. They are said to be w ild and
unsociable, feeding on insects, and keeping themselves
concealed in the retirement of thick forests. The Euro¬
pean species (Coracias garrula, Linn.) has been some¬
times seen in Britain. The specimen in the Edinburgh
Museum was killed at Dunkeld. Although rare in France,
it is by no means uncommon in Sweden, where we would
not expect to find a species characteristic of the south of
Eurepe, and which is believed to w inter in Barbary and
Senegal. It is not unfrequent in the gardens of Rome,
and is common in the Morea. It becomes very fat in ac-
tumn, and is much sought after during that season as an
article of food, especially by the inhabitants of the Cy¬
clades. Several other kinds occur in Africa and the East.
Ot these the Abyssinian species is distinguished by the
elongation of the lateral feathers of the tail. The Mada¬
gascar roller, and some allied kinds, distinguished by a
shorter, more arched, and greatly broader bill, belong to
tie genus Colaris, Cuv., synonymous with Eurustomus
of M. Vieillot.
The genus Paradisea, Linn., with which we conclude
our abridgment of the conirostral tribe, contains the fa¬
mous birds of paradise, so noted during our early inter¬
course with eastern countries. The bill is straight, com¬
pressed, rather strong, unnotched, the nostrils surrounded
} a close tissue of feathers of a velvet texture, sometimes
resplendent with metallic lustre. (See Plate CCCXCII.
1 These birds are native to New Guinea and the
oeighbouring islands, and in consequence of the delicately
graceful Btruetixrc 0f their plumage, and the pure and beau-
1 u y blended colours by which they are adorned, the spe-
cies in general may be regarded as the most highly prized
a the feathered race. Their history was long obscure
s mght, and even now we have but few features of their
c aracter developed by the actual observation of trust-
ori' y witnesses. We cannot be here expected to throw
any new light upon the subject; but we shall give a por-Insessores.
tion of the information w hich we have acquired from vari-v
ous authors.
In the second edition of Pennant’s Indian Zoology, there
is a general description of the genus from Valentyn and
other writers, by Dr J. R. Forster, preceded by a learned
disquisition on the fabulous phoenix ot antiquity, a bird of
the size ot an eagle, decorated with gold and purple plumes,
and more particularly described by Pliny as being charac¬
terized by the splendour of gold around the neck, with the
rest of the body purple, the tail blue varied with rose-
colour, the face adorned with combs or wattles, and the
head furnished with a crest. This excellently adorned
phoenix Dr Forster very properly supposes to have been
no other than a symbolical Egyptian illustration of the
annual revolution of the sun, and the conversion of the
great year, which, according to Manilius, corresponds with
the supposed life of the phoenix, and from which period
the same course of seasons and position of the heavenly
bodies are renewed. Now, though it is certain, as Dr
Forster observes, that the birds of paradise were never
known to ancient writers, and that whatever the Egyp¬
tian priests delivered concerning their fabulous phoenix
has no apparent agreement with the birds in question, yet
it is remarkable enough that the names applied to them,
both by Indian and European nations, attribute somethin^
of a supposed celestial origin. Dr Shaw, however, thinks
that this notion has in all probability arisen merely from
their transcendent beauty, and the singular and delicate
disposition of their plumage. The Portuguese who navi¬
gated to the Indian islands called them Passaros da Sol,
in like manner as the Egyptians regarded their imaginary
bird as symbolizing the annual revolution of that great
luminary. The inhabitants of the island of Ternate call
them Manuco-Dewata, or the Birds of God.2
The great bird of paradise (Paradisea apoda, Linn.,
so called from its supposed want of legs), the first of the
genus made known to Europeans, was imported about the
year 1522, by Antony Pigafetta, who accompanied Ma¬
gellan in his voyage round the world. Pigafetta w'as sa¬
tisfied by ocular demonstration from the first, that this
bird, like every other, was supplied with legs, but that the
natives cut them off, as parts of no importance. In con¬
sequence, however, of this prevailing if not universal mu¬
tilation, a notion soon obtained in Europe that the bird
was naturally destitute of these common-place but useful
organs, and that consequently it floated for ever in the air,
winnowing with loving wings the gentle breezes, or at times
suspending itself for a few brief moments from some lofty
sun-illumined tree, by the two peculiar lengthened filament’s
with which it is adorned. In accordance with this belief,
it was of course consistent to suppose, that whatever indi¬
viduals were obtained “ on this dim spot which men call
earth,” had fallen from their aerial heights immediately be¬
fore their dissolution. Even Aldrovandus, the most zeal¬
ous naturalist of his age, having himself seen only such
specimens as had been mutilated in the usual manner, ac¬
cuses Pigaletta of audacious falsehood in asserting that
the bird was naturally furnished both with legs and feet;
and the great Scaliger, himself a naturalist of no mean or¬
der, gave equal credit to this foolish fancy.
The true residence or breeding-place of these birds
seems to be Papua or New Guinea, from whence they
make occasional excursions to some smaller neighbourino-
islands. They fly in flocks of about thirty or forty, led, it
is alleged, by a single bird which the natives call their
king, but which is said to be of a different species. It is
further pretended, that when this bird settles, the whole
flight settle also, in consequence of which they sometimes
VOL. xvi.
The Birds of America, plate xevi.
2 Shaw's General Zoology, vol. vii. p. 479.
4 E
586
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. perish, being unable to rise again owing to the peculiar
' 'structure of their wings. They also always fly against
the wind, lest their flowing plumage should be discom¬
posed. While flying they make a noise like starlings,
but their common cry rather resembles that of a raven,
and is very audible in windy weather, when they dread the
chance of being thrown upon the ground. In the Am
Islands they are seen to perch on lofty trees, and are va¬
riously captured by the inhabitants, with bird-lime, snares,
and blunted arrows. Though many are taken alive, they
are always killed immediately, embowelled, the feet cut
off, the plumed skins fumigated with sulphur, and then dried
for sale. The Dutch ships frequenting the sea between
New Guinea and Aru, a distance of about twenty miles,
not unfrequently observe flocks of paradise birds crossing
from one to the other of these places, but constantly against
the wind. Should a gale arise, they ascend to a great
height, into the regions of perpetual calm, and there pm-
sue their journey. With respect to their food we have
little certain information from the older authors, some ot
whom assert they prey on small birds, a supposition which
Dr Shaw inclines to think is favoured by their strength of
bill and legs, and the vigour with which they act in self-
defence. They are also said to feed on fruits and berries ;
and Linnaeus says they devour the larger buttei flies.1
We owe the following observations to M. Gaimard, one ot
the naturalists who accompanied the expedition of Cap¬
tain Freycinet, and who having had an opportunity of seeing
several living birds of paradise in the island of \\ aigiou,
has furnished us with some interesting details. He says that
they appear to prefer to all other places the most dense and
secluded portions of the forests. When the heavens are
clear, they perch habitually on the summits of the tallest
trees. They fly with rapidity, but in an undulating man¬
ner, as is usual with birds which are adorned with long
decomposed or disunited feathers; and he confirms the
old account, that the luxuriant length of their superb plu¬
mage induces them always to fly in the direction from which
the''wind proceeds. “ Cette manoeuvre,” he observes, “ est
pour eux tres-naturelle, puisqu’elle maintient les longues
plumes appliquees centre le corps; dans une direction con-
traire, le vent ne manquerait pas d’etaler et de relever ces
plumes, et il en resulterait necessairement un grand em-
barras dans le jeu des ailes.,, Their total disappearance
on the approach of any storm or tempest shows their con¬
scious weakness. In other respects, however they are
courageous, and even vindictive, pursuing fiercely any sup¬
posed enemy, however superior to themselves in strength
of bill and talons. There is no instance, Captain Freycinet
supposes (we now know he does so erroneously), ot their
bein0- ever reduced to the domestic state; and they are
never found caged by any natives of the Papous, where
they are by no means rare, and where their skins form the
principal object of commercial exchange between the in¬
sular inhabitants and the Chinese Indians or eastern Euro¬
peans. Authors (we speak not of those who assert that birds
of paradise are nourished by dew, or by the perfume which
exhales from fruits and flowers) have assigned different
diets to these birds. Some say that they search for fruits
and nectarous juices ; others that they capture insects,
and such small prey. There is truth in both statements,
for it seems ascertained that they feed alike on fruits anu
insects. As to all those anxious interesting cares which
precede, accompany, or follow incubation,—these and many
other important particulars in their history are still un¬
known. The natives of New Guinea, in preparing the
skins, content themselves by removing the fleshy mass of
the body, and cutting off the two wings and legs. I hey
then pass a piece of stick through the mouth downwards
to the tail. Few of the museums of Europe contain anylnsess,
other specimens than these mutilated remains, which the^-yi
gorgeous flow’ing feathers of the sides render still worthy
of admiration, however unfit to convey a true idea of the
natural state.
We shall next extract some interesting information from .
a work by M. Lesson, one of the few European naturalists
who have had an opportunity of beholding these extraordi¬
nary creatures in their native haunts. “ Les paradisiers
ou du moins 1’emeraude, seule espece sur laquelle nous pos-
sedons des renseignemens authentiques, vivent en bandes
dans les vastes forets du pays des Papous, group d’iles
situees sous 1’equateur, et qui se compose des lies Arou,
de Waigiou, et de la grande terre nommee Nouvelle-Gui-
nee. Ces sont des oiseaux de passage qui changent de dis¬
trict suivant les moussons. Les femelles se reunissent en
troupes, s’assemblent sur les sommites des plus grands ar-
bres des forets, crient toutes a la fois pour appeler les
males. Ceux-ci sont toujours solitaires au milieu dune
quinzaine de femelles qui composent leur serail, a la ma*
niere des gallinacees.
“ J’extrairai de mon journal inedit les details suivans,
relatifs aux oiseaux de paradis : ils ont ete ecrits sur les
lieux. Journal Ms., t. vi. p. 19 et suiv. Les oiseaux de
'paradis, a ^exception de deux especes, nous etaient ap-
portes par les Papous, ce qui etablit entre eux et nous un
commerce actif dechange. Je me procurai 1 etneraude, le
manucode, le loriot paradis orange, le sifilet, le superbe,
les epimaques promefils, et a paremens fiises, le niagni*
fique, et le rouge. La quantite que les naturels de ces con-
trees apportaient a bord de la corvette la Coquxlle doit
faire supposer que ces oiseaux, si estimes en Europe, y sont
singulierement multiplies. Le manucode se piesentadeux
fois dans nos chasses, et nous tuames le male et la femelle.
Cette espece parait monogame, ou peut-etre n’est elle iso¬
lee par paires qu’au moment de la ponte. Dans les bois cet
oiseau n’a point d’eclat; son plumage rouge de feu ne le de-
cele point, et sa femelle n’a que des teintes ternes. 11 aimea
se tenir sur les arbres de teck, dont le large feuillage 1 abrite,
et dont le petit fruit forme sa nourriture. II a 1’iris brun,
et les pieds d’un bleu d’azur tres tendre. Les Papous le
nomment saya. Des les premiers jours de notre ainvee
sur cette terre de promission (la Nouvelle-Guinee) pour
le naturaliste, je fus a la chasse. A peine avais-je fait
quelques centaines de pas dans ces vieilles forets, biles du
temps, dont la sombre profondeur est peut-e(re le plus
magnifique et le plus pompeux spectacle que j aie jamais
vu, qu’un oiseau de paradis frappa mes regards; il volait
avec grace et par ondulations; les plumes de ses bancs
formaient un panache gracieux et aerien, quq sans hyper¬
bole, ne ressemblait pas mal a un brillant meteore. bur-
pris, emerveille, eprouvant une jouissance inexprimable,je
devorais des yeux ce magnifique oiseau; mais mon trouD
fut si grand que j’oubliai de le tirer, et que je ^ maper*
cus que i’avais un fusil que lorsqu’il etait deja bien lo
On ne pourrait guere avoir une idee exacte des para
d’apres les peaux que les Papous vendent aux ^lala's’
qui nous parviennent en Europe. ^ Ces PeuPle® chaS1Spl r
primitivement ces oiseaux pour decorer les turbans tt
chefs. Ils les nomment mambefore dans leur lanSu ’
les tuent pendant la nuit, en grimpant le long des a
ou ilsse couchent, et les tirant avec des fleches *altes
et trescourtes, qu’ils faconnent avec le rachis des ^
d’un latanier. Les campongs ou villages de ;
Emberbakene sont celebres par la quantite c es
qu’ils preparent, et tout Part des habitans se k°rne ^
arracher les pieds, a les ecorcher, a leur fourrer
tonnet a travers du corps, et a les dessecher a
Quelques uns plus admits, et solhcites par les 4
1 Shaw’s General Zoology, vol. vii. p. 482-4.
ORNITHOLOGY.
s. Chinois, les dessechent avec les pieds. Le prix d’un oiseau
•^de paradis chez les Papous de la cote est au moins d’une
piastre, et ces peoples preferent 1’argenta tout autre objet,
meme a du fer travaille.
« Nous tuames, pendant notre sejour a la Nouvelle-
Guinee, une vingtaine de ces oiseaux, que je preparai
pour la plupart. Ils appartenaient a diverses personnes de
Texpedition, et notamment au capitaine. Je n’en avais
point encore, lorsque M. Berard, lieutenant de vaisseau,
zele pour les collections que je formais en simple particu-
lier, et a mes frais, pour le Museum, et pour remplir la
promesse que j’avais faite au ministere, en m’embarquant,
de recueillir les objets d’histoire naturelle, voulut bien
m’en remettre un pour la collection. Depuis, j’en achetai
un second d’un homme de lequipage, que je lui payai
150 francs. J en tuai ensuite un avec un grand nombre
de femelles : on les voit au Museum.
“ L’emeraude en vie est de la taille du geai de France ;
son bee et ses pieds sont bleuatres; I’iris est d’un jaune
eclatant; ses mouvemens sont vifs et agiles ; il ne se
perche communement que sur le sommet des plus grands
arbres. Lorsqu’il en descend, e’est pour manger les fruits
de quelques arbres moyens, ou lorsque le soleil, dans toute
sa force, lui fait un besoin de chercher de I’ombrage. II
affectionne certains arbres, et fait retentir les environs de
sa voix per^ante. Son cri lui devint fatal, parce qu’il
nous indiqua les allures de cet oiseau. Nous I’epiames,
et e’est ainsi que nous parvimes a en tuer; car, lors-
qu un paradisier male est perche, et qu’il entend bruiser
dans le silence de la foret, il se tait et ne bouge plus. Son
cri dappel est un voike, voike, voike, voiko, fortement arti-
cule. La femelle a le meme cri, mais elle le pousse d’une
maniere bien plus faible. Celle-ci, dechue du brillant
plumage de son epoux n’a que de sombres atours. Nous
en rencontrions a chaque arbre des vingtaines reunies,
tandis que les males, toujours solitaires, n’apparaissaient
que rarement.
C est au lever du soleil et a son coucher que 1’oiseau
de paradis va chercher sa nourriture. Dans le milieu du
jour, il se tient cache sous le large feuillage du teck, et n’en
sort point. Il semble redouter Taction des rayons brulans
de cet astre, et ne point vouloir s’exposer aux atteintes
dun rival. Nous apprimes, par une longue experience, a
uniter la ruse de ce bel oiseau ; mais le zele des tueurs de
paradisiers etait si grand que personne ne voulait tirer sur
aucun autre oiseau de peur de les effaroucher, et que, re¬
ad a peu pres a mes seules ressources, le tribut que
quelques personnes me donnaient de leur chasse fut bien
diminue; plus curieux, dans Tinteret de la science, d’un petit
volatile inedit, que de posseder plus ou moins de depouilles
(1 une espece connue, bien que prisee, je ne guettai des
paradis que pendant quelques jours, et tuai d’ailleurs toute
espece qui arrivait a ma portee.
“ P°uvr chasser les oiseaux de paradis, les voyageurs
ppe es a visiter la Nouvelle-Guinee doivent se rappeler
qail est necessaire de partir des le matin du navire, d’arri-
er au pied de Tarbre de teck ou du figuier, que ces oiseaux
ecnerchent a cause de leur fruit (notre sejour a eu lieu
Juillet au 9 Aout), avant quatre heures et de-
U mat1?’ et de rester immobile jusqu’a que quelques
' rf.’ P^fes par la faim, viennent sur les branches qu’on
oosJ,)186 a ?1Stf"Ce convenable. Il est indispensable de
olomhs61 Un.1USI Vres.longue Port^e> et charge a gros
d s’il 1 esl( f°rt, difficile de tuer roide un emeraude,
lerrln 68 ^jesse> d est biem rare qu’il ne soit pas
ioaisepf011^ e chasseur, dans des fourrees tellement
Mussole qU °n 116 PeUt y reconnaltre son chemin sans une
Le paradisier petit emeraude mange sans doute de
587
plusieurs substances dans son etat de liberte. Je puis Insessores.
amrmer qu il vit de graines de teck, et d’un fruit nomme
amthou, blanc rose, de saveur fade et mucilagineuse, de la
giosseur dune petite figue d’Europe, et qui appartient a
un arbie du genre^zcMs. Ces fruits plaisent a beaucoup
c oiseaux, car ils sont aussi recherches par les calaos, les
manucodes, et les cassicans calibe et phonygame.
J ai vu deux oiseaux de paradis conserves dans une
cage, depuis plus de six mois, par le chef des commercans
Chinois, a Amboine. Ils etaient toujours en mouvement,
et on les nourrissait avec du riz bouilli; mais ils aimaient
surtout les cancrelas (b/atla). Ce Chinois me les fit 500
francs piece ; alors, sans argent, et n’ayant point de credit
dans cette ile, je ne pus reclamer ma solde, et ce fut en
vain que j’offris des objets de valeur a ce trafiquant opu-
lent, il fut sourd a mes prieres. Pourquoi, sur Targent
que nous possedions a bord, pour frais accidentelsf et
quon a retourne a Paris, ne pas avoir achete, pour le
destiner a la France, un de ces magnifiques oiseaux,
qui serait peut-etre mort en route, mais dont les habitudes
vivaces, et analogues a cedes de nos pies, nous donnaient
tant de chances de succes P’’1
We shall conclude our miscellaneous extracts in illus¬
tration of these birds, by a quotation from a recent English
writer. The principal object of attraction to strangers at
Macao is known to be the splendid aviary and gardens of
Mr Beale, who, after a residence of forty years in that
country, devotes his leisure to the cultivation of many of
the most delightful productions of nature, and among these
not the least remarkable is the living bird of paradise, as
thus described by Mr Bennet. “ The specimen in the
possession of Mr Beale is a fine male, Paradisea apoda of
Linnaeus, the P. major of Shaw. He was at the time I
beheld him arrayed in his full and splendid plumage; he
is enclosed in a large and roomy cage, so as not by con¬
finement to injure in the slightest degree his delicate and
elegant feathers. This beautiful creature has been in
Mr Beale’s possession nine years, and was originally
procured from the island of Bouro (one of the Molucca
group), which is situated in about latitude 3° 30' south,
and longitude 126° 30'east....The neck of this bird is of
a beautiful and delicate canary-yellow colour, blend-
ing gradually into the fine chocolate colour of the other
parts of the body ; the wings are very short, and of a cho¬
colate colour. Underneath them, long, delicate, and
gold-coloured feathers proceed from the sides in two
beautiful and graceful tufts, extending far beyond the
tail, which is also short, of a chocolate colour, with two
very long shafts of the same hue proceeding from the
uripigium. At the base of the mandibles the delicate
plumage has during one time (according as the rays of
light are thrown upon it) the appearance of fine black
velvet, and at another a very dark green, which contrasts
admirably with the bright emerald of the throat....The
mandibles are of a light blue, irides bright yellow, and the
feet of a lilac tint. This elegant creature has a light,
playful, and graceful manner, with an arch and impudent
look; dances about when a visitor approaches the cage, and
seems delighted at being made an object of admiration ;
its notes are very peculiar, resembling the cawing of the
raven, but its tones are by far more varied. During four
months of the year, from May to August, it mouks. It
washes itself I'egularly twice daily, and after having per¬
formed its ablutions, throws its delicate feathers up nearly
over the head, the quills of which feathers have a peculiar
structure, so as to enable the bird to effect this object.
Its food, during confinement, is boiled rice mixed up with
soft egg, together with plantains, and living insects of the
grasshopper tribe; these insects, when thrown to him,
1 Manuel d'Ornithologies t. i. p. 387.
ORNITHOLOGY.
588
Insessores. the bird contrives to catch in his beak with great celerity i
' v   it will eat insects in a living state, but will not toucl
VVh» I observed the bird, previously to eating a grasshopper
o-iven him in an entire or unmutilated state, place the in¬
sect upon the perch, keep it firmly fixed wllh th^
and divesting it of the legs, wings, &c. devour it, wid
head always placed first It rareiy ahgh s upon the
ground, and so proud is this creature of its elegant dress,
that it never permits a soil to remain on it ’ a"d t “ay ^d
frequently seen spreading out its wings and feathers and
regarding its splendid self in every direction, to obseive
whether it is in an unsullied condition. di
Dr Shaw alludes to an instance of the bud of parad
having been brought alive to England. It had, however,
entirely lost the beautiful floating leathers rf"d« 1
body apparently so light and buoyant, and d.d not long sur
vive its arrival in our murky clime. . . • .p
Although there are not above seven distinct species o
these bird’s, they have been formed into no less than four
separate genera by M. Vieillot. The most anciently known
LSe kind called in English books the great or common
bird of paradise, I'emeraude of the French, P. apoda, Linn,
to which most of the preceding memoranda may apply.
/c TJ1 . rrrxm fi<r G.) It is of a cinnamon colour,
heeeup erpSthe'he^d neck yellow, the front and
roa emerald green, or black. It is the male of this
species which bfars the long, floating, yellow plumes so
prized as articles of commerce, with a view to ornament
in dress. Although the body is no larger than that of a
thrush, the total length is two feet. In the red paradise
bird (P. rubra) the head and throat are emerald-green,
the back and front of the neck orange yellow and velvety,
the throat chesnut or cinnamon colour, and the long
thers of the flanks brilliant carmine red. The two pecu
liar barbless shafts which proceed from the base of the tail,
are broad, flattened, twisted, and of a brownish-red coloui.
These belong to the restricted genus 1 aradisea.
The six-shafted paradise bird (P. sexsetacea, b aw,
P aurea, Gmel.) is black, with the throat of golden green,
and three prolonged setaceous feathers proceeding from
behind each eye, and terminating in a httle expanded disk
of <T0lden green. It forms the genus I arotia of Vieillot.
We shall merely add, that P. superba constitutes the genus
Lo^horina,—P. regia that called C.c.NNCRUS^ud P
niara Gmel., another named Astrapia. The whole aie
figured by Buffon, Vaillant, or Vieillot, and their singular
forms, gorgeous colouring, and exquisite structure of plu¬
mage, render them deserving of the most attentive co -
sideration on the part of all admirers of nature.
Tribe 4th.—Tenuirostres.
Baron Cuvier here places a variety of generic groups
which agree chiefly in possessing a slender lengthened bill,
sometimes straight, sometimes considerably curved. Ac¬
cording to the structure of the tongue, which in several
o-enera is not yet distinctly known, they feed either on in¬
sects or the nectarous juices of fruits and flowers,—a few,
such as the humming-birds, combining both these habits.
In the genus Sitta the bill is straight, pointed, com¬
pressed at the extremity, and the tongue short and corne¬
ous. The species called nut-hatches climb along the baik
of trees with extraordinary facility, not only upwards, like
the woodpeckers, but downwards, and in all directions.
The European species {S. Europea), though a constant re¬
sident in Britain, is rather rare in most localities. It breeds
in hollow trees, not seldom using the deserted habitation
of a woodpecker, the opening into which it contracts by
means of a wall of clay. The female sits very close during Insess j,
incubation, and instead of flying off when approached, she''—"v «
will utter a hissing sound, and make a show of striking
at the intruder with her bill and wings. Sir W. Jardine
some time ago enjoyed an opportunity of observing a brood
which had been taken young. They became remarkably
tame, and when released from their cage, wmuld run over
their owner in all directions, poking into seams and pockets,
as if in search of food upon some goodly tree, and uttering
from time to time a low and plaintive cry. In climbing,
they rest much upon the tarsus, but never use the tail.
Several true nut-hatches occur in North America, but Pen¬
nant erred in supposing that the European species was
likewise indigenous to the new world.
In the genus Xenops of Illiger, the bill is rather more
compressed, and the under ridge more convex, while in
Anabates of Temm. it is the upper ridge which increases
in convexity, so as to approach to that of the thrushes;but
the tail in some of the species is long and wedge-shaped,
and exhibits a worn appearance, as it it were occasionally
used in climbing.
In the genus Synallaxis, Vieil., the bill is straight, not
much lengthened, considerably compressed, slender and
pointed, and the tail is generally long and acuminate. (See
Plate CCCXCII. fig. 7.) We know little of the habits of
these birds, except that they are insectivorous, and dwell
in forests. Most of the species are from South America,
and to these it is probable that the generic term should
be restricted.
The old genus Certhia of Linnaeus was characterized
by an arched bill, but the species possessed but little else
in common, and have been therefore formed into several
minor groups. The true or restricted creepers (Certhia,
Cuv.), so called from their habit of running round the trunks
of trees, have the bill of medium length, curved, compress¬
ed, slender, sharp pointed. The tail is wedge-shaped, and
composed of stiff', deflected feathers. Our well-known Bri¬
tish species ( C. familiaris) is the only example of the ge¬
nus found in Europe, and it is in fact doubtful whether
there is any other elsewhere. The North American cieeper
seems identical, but the numerous other birds described
as creepers do not belong to the genus Certhia. The so¬
litary type alluded to is a retired inhabitant of the woods,
in no way conspicuous in colour, though pleasingly mottled
above with black, brown, and grayish white; and beingot
small size, and seldom showing itself in open places, is
deemed rarer than it really is. Though of a somewhat
lengthened form, it is probably, with the exception ot the
golden-crested wren, the smallest bodied British bird. It
is said to feed entirely upon insects, although as a winter
resident in many frost-bound regions, we shall not aver
that it never swallows seeds. It builds in the hoi ows o
trees, and maybe often seen during the delightful autumn,
when the rustling woods are fragrant with fallen leaves,
flitting from the top of one trunk to the bottom ot anothe ,
which it ascends by a kind of spiral progression, andtliL
darting downwards to a neighbouring tree, it thus Dm y
pursues from time to time its interrupted flig it- 1
chiefly shows itself in our shrubberies and wooded pie -
sure-grounds in winter. * ..
In the genus Dendrocolaptes, Hermann,tlie ta
sembles that of the preceding, but the bill is much stro g »
and enlarged at the base. In certain species it is great X
curved. (Plate CCCXCII. fig. 9.) These birds are ime
rican, and are usually characterized by a reddish plumag ^
In Tichodroma, Illiger, the tail does not Piesea ajf not
appearance at the point, although the best know ,
the only species, runs up rocks with great agi ) • ^
bill is long, slender, triangular, and depressed at  
Wanderings in Nexe South Woles, &c. vol. ii.
uses
ORNITHOLOGY.
is. The European species, called by us the wall-creeper (T7.
^phanicoptera, Temm.,— Certhia muraria, Gmeh), inhabits
the southern countries of Europe, where it dwells among
lofty and precipitous rocks. It is well known among the
Swiss Alps, and the mountainous parts of Spain and Italy,
where it is said to prey much on spiders and their eggs.
In the genus Nectarinia of Iliiger, the bill is arched,
pointed, and compressed, resembling that of the creepers,
with which the species were so long conjoined ; but they
do not climb, and their habits, if the name is properly
applied, are not so much insectivorous as honey-sucking.
They are all exotic. The term guit-guit is given by the
French to certain small species, of which the plumage of
the males is very rich and lustrous. Their tongue is bifid
and filamentary. Such are Certhia cyanea, cerulea, &c.
Some species of larger size and less adorned plumage, and
of which the tongue is short and cartilaginous, have been
separated from the others. Such is a South American
species, the Merops rufus of Gmelin, as large as a night¬
ingale, of a reddish colour above, the throat whitish. It
constructs a covered nest, and serves as the type of Tem-
minck’s genus Opetiorhynchus.1
The genus Dicjeum ofCuv. has the bill longer than the
head, sharp, curved, depressed, and broadened at the
base. The species are of small size, and usually ornament¬
ed with portions of scarlet. They are natives of the East
Indies. In Melithreptus ofVieillot, the bill is extreme¬
ly long, and curved almost into a semicircle. Of this form
the hook-billed creeper, Certhia vestiaria, Shaw, affords a
good example. (Plate CCCXCIII. fig. 2.) It is a native of
the Sandwich Islands, where it is much valued on account
of its plumage, which affords the principal material in the
formation of those gorgeous scarlet mantles worn by chiefs
and persons of distinction.
The souimangas (a Madagascar name, signifying sugar
eaters, genus Cinnyris, Cuv.) have the bill" long, slender,
and finely toothed along the edges. The tongue is capa¬
ble of considerable extension, and terminates in a small
bifurcation. The species are widely dispersed over all the
southern regions of the old world (Africa, the Indian
Archipelago, &c.), and seem in those countries to represent
the beautiful humming-birds of the western world. Indeed
these tribes greatly resemble each other both in form and
habits. The souimangas are subject to a double moult,
which occasions a considerable diversity in the plumage
even of the same species, according to the season of the
year; and hence our knowledge of this, as of several other
sumptuous groups, though sufficiently voluminous, is pro¬
bably not yet remarkable for its accuracy. Several splen¬
did works, however, have been devoted, either in whole or
in part, to its illustration.2 The nuptial plumage is remark-
I . . its golden lustre, and the richness and variety of
its innumerable iridescent hues; but after the termina¬
tion of the breeding season, a much more humble garb is
assumed, and many a bizarre appearance is presented by
t ie intermediate links of that changeable costume which
connects the holiday-suit of spring with the more quaker-
1 6 attire of autumn. Hence the difficulty of distinguish¬
ing in many birds, between a specific difference and an in-
ividual variation, more especially where foreign species
aie. concerned ; for in such instances we have seldom a
pio onged opportunity of verifying our observations on ex-
ernal characters, by an examination of natural habits and
instinctive modes of life. Yet it is only by ascertaining
589
the uniformity presented by all these circumstances in alnsessores.
variety of individuals, that we are enabled to trace out the
exact limits of specific identity. Several species of Cinnyris
occur in India, but the greater proportion are of African
origin, and may be said to form the most signal and ad¬
mired feature in the Ornithology of that country.
In the greater number the tail is equal. Of these we may
name the superb creeper ( C.superba), described and figured
in the magificent work of M. Vieillot. Its length is six
inches; the crown of the head, upper part of the neck,
smaller wing-coverts, back, and rump, are bright-greenish
gold; across the upper part of the breast runs a bar of
bright gilded yellow', beneath which the whole under parts
are deep brownish crimson ; the wings and tail are blackish
brown, the legs are also brown, the bill is black. This
beautiful species was discovered at Malimba, in Africa, by
M. Perrein. Another highly adorned species, such “ as
limners love to paint, and ladies to look upon,” is the
Certhia splendida of Shaw ( C. afra and lotenia, Linn. ?).
It usually occurs in woody places, and, in addition to its
splendid plumage, is said to be worthy of admiration for its
musical powers,—its song being by some esteemed equal
to that of the nightingale. The spotted breasted Cinnyris
(C. maculata) also dwells in the forests of Malimba, and
frequently approaches the habitations of the natives, al¬
lured by the flowers of the Cytisus cajan, commonly called
the Congo pea, which, according to Dr Shaw, is much cul¬
tivated by the negroes.
In some of these birds the central feathers of the tail are
lengthened in the males. Such is C. violacea, a Cape spe¬
cies, which likewise dwells in woods, and is said to build a
nest of a singularly elegant construction. In a few the
bill is almost straight, as in C. rectirostris, Vieillot. Our
restricted limits will not admit of our expatiating on this
delightful group.
The genus Arachnothera of Temm. has the long ar¬
cuated bill of the souimangas, but it is of stronger struc¬
ture, and wants the dentations, and the tongue is short and
cartilaginous. The species (such as A. longirostra and
inornata, Temm. PL Col. 84, figs. 1 and 2), so far as yet
known, inhabit the Indian islands, and prey on spiders.
The genus Trochilus, Linn., contains the true hum¬
ming-birds, a numerous group of fairy and fantastic forms,
which inhabit both continents of America, and some neigh¬
bouring islands, but are altogether unknown in the ancient
world. The bill is long and slender, but in its range
throughout the entire species exhibits considerable modi¬
fication, being in some nearly straight, in others curved,
and in a few turned upwards. Such as are characterized
by an almost straight bill constitute the genus Ornismya,
Lesson (Orthorhynchus, Lacepede), Plate CCCXCIII. fig.
1 ; while those in which it is more or less bent remain
under the ancient name of Trochilus, Ibid. fig. 6. The
tongue is long and extensile, and is usually described as
being composed of two muscular tubes united for the great¬
er part of their length, and broadening towards the point
into a spoon-like portion. Sir W. Jardine, on relaxing a
specimen of T. moschitus, observed the appearance of a fim¬
briated opening at the tip, the outer margin of each divi¬
sion beingbesetwith recurved,sharp-pointed, pliablespines,
while in all that Mr Swainson examined the two filaments
were perfectly flat. Their feet are extremely small, their
wings long and narrow, their tails comparatively broad,—
whilst their shortened humerus and very large unnotched
S«*, butifr? name Ncctarin'ta was bestowed by Illiger upon those foreign creepers known by the terms guit-guitt and souiman.
other hand fn •n ,more exclusively by Cuvier to the former, and by Temminck to the" latter. The souimangas, on the
we have oi!. a lnt° t"Vvier,s Senus Cinnyris, while the guit-guits are placed in the genus Ccereba by Temm. These transpositions, as
* Vailla t /r remarked’ ar.e extl'emely perplexing.
talliquct 2 v l c i dCS 0lseaux d'Afrique, 5 vols. in 4to, 1799, and subsequent years,—and Audebert, Oiseaux dores, ou a reflets me-
j o s. toi. Tans, 1802. A continuation of the latter work has been published by M. Vieillot.
590
ORNITHOLOGY.
Insessores. sternum exhibit osteological features m relation to the
' power of flight resembling those of swifts. The beauty ot
their plumage, if equalled, is certainly unsurpassed among
the feathered tribes. t
Humming-birds, in general, may be said to inhabit
chiefly the intra-tropical regions of America, including the
West Indies; but that they are capable of sustaining a
considerable reduction of temperature, and ot spreading
themselves into comparatively rigorous climes, is evident
from the observations of Captain King, who in his sur\ey
of the southern coasts met with numerous examples ot
these diminutive creatures flying about in a snow-storm
near the Straits of Magellan, and discovered two species in
the remote island of Juan Fernandez. Two other hardy
species had been long known to migrate during summer tar
into the interior of North America, viz. the ruft-nec e um-
ming-bird (T. rufus), discovered during Co°k s vo>Ka^1ir!
Nootka Sound, and since traced by Kotzebue to the 61:>t
degree of north latitude, along the western shores; and the
ruby-throated humming-bird ( T.colubris), which was tound
breeding bv Mr Drummond near the sources ot the Klk
River, and is known to reach at least as far north as the
fifty-seventh parallel. Mr Bullock also discovered several
species at a high elevation, and of course a coohsh tempe¬
rature, on the lofty table-lands of Mexico, and in in
the vicinity of the snowy mountains of Orizaba, i he best
and most ^mple history of these “ feathered gems may be
gathered from the pages of \V ilson and Audubon, while the
superb adornment of their beautifully pencilled plumage, so
rich in its varied combination of lustrous green and gold,
may be studied with advantage in the sumptuous pages ot
M. Lesson.1 2 They are of a most lively and active disposi¬
tion, almost perpetually upon the wing, and darting trom
flower to flower with the busy rapidity rather of a bee than
a bird. In the uncultivated districts of the country they in¬
habit the forests, but in peopled regions they flock without
fear into the gardens, poising themselves in the air, while
they thrust their long extensile tongues into every flower
in search of food. According to Bullock, they will remain
suspended in a space so small that they have scarcely
room to move their wings, and the humming noise which
they produce proceeds entirely from the prodigious ve¬
locity with which they vibrate these tiny organs, by means
of which they will remain in the air almost motiomess
for hours together. An older writer, Fermin, a physi¬
cian of Surinam, compares this action to that ot the
bee-like flies which in still and sultry weather we of¬
ten see hovering in the vicinity of still waters; and W il¬
son says, that when a humming-bird arrives betore a
thicket of trumpet-flowers in bloom, he suspends himselt
so steadily that his wings become “ invisible, or like a mist.
They often enter windows, and after examining any tresh
bouquets with which fair hands may have decked the
table, they will dart like sun-beams out by an opposite
door or window. During the breeding season they be¬
come jealous of encroachment, and exhibit great boldness
in defence of their supposed rights. When any one ap¬
proaches their nest, they will dart around with a humming
noise, frequently passing within a few inches of the intru¬
der’s head. A small species called the Mexican star (T.
cyariopogori) is described by Mr Bullock as^ exhibiting
great intrepidity while under the influence of anger. It
will attack the eyes ot the larger birds, striking at them
with its sharp, needle-like bill; and when invaded by one
of its own kind during the breeding season, their mutual
wrath becomes immeasurable, their throats swell, their
crests, tails, and wings expand, and they fight in the air
till one or other falls exhausted to the ground. Indeed
old Fernando Oviedo gives a still more alarming state-In** *
ment of their fiery temper. “ When they see a man'wv.
climb ye tree where they have their nests, they flee at his
face and strvke him in the eyes, commying, goying, and
returnyng with such swiftness, that no man woulde ryghtly
believe it that hath not seen it.
Although humming-birds may frequently suck the juices
of flowers^ those naturalists err who allege that they sup¬
port themselves exclusively on that natural nectar. “ For
myself,” savs Wilson, “ I can speak decisively on the sub¬
ject : I have seen the humming-bird for halt an hour at a
time darting at those little groups ot insects that dance in
the air in a fine summer evening, retiring to an adjoining
twig to rest, and renewing the attack with a dexterity
that sets all our other fly-catchers at defiance. ’ Mr Bul¬
lock thinks it probable that all the species eat insects, and
he had repeated ocular proof that many of them feed on
flies, which they both caught themselves, and used to
steal from spiders’ webs. It was only the smaller kinds,
however, that they dared to molest, for the stronger spid¬
ers showed fight, on which the besiegers would shoot off
with the rapidity of a sun-beam, and could scarcely be
discovered but by the luminous glow of their refulgent
colours It may easily be conceived that creatures ot such
resplendent plumage,'in spite of their irascible temper and
pugnacious habits, are universal favourites wherever they
appear; and that in “ the sweet serenity of a summer
morning,” their visits to the dewy flower-beds of a cottage
dwelling are surely welcomed with delight.
When morning dawns, and the blest sun again
Lifts his red glories from the eastern main.
Then through the woodbines, wet with glittering dews.
The flower-fed humming-bird his round pursues ;
Sips with inserted bill tbe honey’d blooms.
And chirps his gratitude as round he roams;
While richest roses, though in crimson drest.
Shrink from the splendour of his gorgeous breast.
What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly .
Each rapid moVement gives a different dye ;
Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling show,
Now sink to shade—now like a furnace glow !
In the summer of 1803 a nest of young humming-birds
was brought to Alexander Wilson. They ^re nearly fi
to fly ; in fact, one of them did fly out ot the wmdow
same evening, and falling against a wall, was killed upon
the spot. The other refused food, and in consequence
this foolish obstinacy its life next morning was nearly ex'
tinct. A lady in the house undertook to be its nurse, ana
placing it in 'her bosom, it immediately began to revive,
which showed its good taste and natural sense of comiorn
She then kindly dissolved a little sugar in her mouth, an
thrusting its bill into the same, the creature sucked
great avidity. In this manner it was brought up unt.l fit
for the cage. Wilson kept it for three months ^terwards,
supplying it constantly with loar-sugar dissolve ^
which it preferred to honey and water. He s - jj
fresh flowers every morning, sprinkled with the ^
quid. It appeared quite gay, active, and Iu‘ ^i)(U
hovering from flower to flower as if m lts r,at‘ m0.
(alas ! it still was caged), and always expre^ei J . . rf
tions and chirping the greatest pleasure a JL »
every fresh sipffly of flowers. “ Numbers of
says our author, - Visited it from motives ot curio^y,^^
I took every precaution to preserve it it po>s aQi it
the winter.’ Unfortunately, however, by s0™ , itseif
got at large, and, flying about the room, so mjurea
that it soon after died” rubv-throat-
Most of the preceding notices apply to th > ^
ed humming-bird (T. colubris, Linn.), the specieso^^
1 Histone Naturelle des Oiseaux Vouches ;—Hut. Nat. des Colibris ;—Hist. Nat. des Trochilidcs.
2 History of the West Indies, translated by Richard Eden, p. 199.
ORNITHOLOGY.
the particular habits and general economy have been the
1 most minutely studied. It sometimes makes its appearance
in Louisiana as early as the 10th of March, and shows itself
some weeks later in the northern states, varying not only
with the latitude, but the temperature of each season. Its
nest is described by Mr Audubon as being of the most
ielicate nature, the external parts formed of a light-gray
ichen found on the branches of trees, or on decayed fence-
ails, and so neatly arranged round the whole nest, as well
its to some distance from the spot to w hich it is attached,
as to seem part of the branch or stem. These little pieces
/lichen, he and others allege, are glued together with the
saliva of the bird ; but whether this fact has been proved by
nbservation,or is only a natural inference from the actual ap-
nearance of agglutination, we cannot say. The next coat-
ng, however, consists of a cottony substance, and the in¬
nermost of all of silky fibres obtained from various plants,
ind extremely soft and delicate. In this delightful little
ned the female lays only two eggs, of an almost oval form,
ind colour of pure white.1 Not more than ten days are
equired for hatching ; the young are ready to fly in seven
ir eight days; they are fed or cherished by the parents
nr nearly another week ; and Mr Audubon is of opinion
hat they are no sooner able to provide for themselves
nan they associate with other broods, and perform their
nigrations apart from the old birds, as he has sometimes
bserved twenty or thirty young humming-birds resorting
o a group of trumpet-flowers when not a single adult male
as to be seen.2 The migration of birds, as Dr Rich-
rdson has well observed, has in all ages been an object
: pleasing speculation to the philosopher; but in no in-
;ance does it appear more w onderful than when contem-
ated in relation to these tiny tribes. The lofty and sus-
hned flight of the eagle and albatross seems only com-
:ensurate with their gigantic size, and the irresistible
reeping of their mighty pinions; “ but how is our admi-
ition of the ways of Providence increased, when we find
iat one ot the least of its class, clothed in the most deli-
ite and brilliant plumage, and apparently more fitted to
itter about in a conservatory than to brave the fury of
e blast should yield to few birds in the extent of its mi-
■ations.’’3
The only instance wdth which we are acquainted of a
imtning-bird having been brought alive to England, is
at mentioned by Latham. A young gentleman, a few
;ys before sailing from Jamaica, observed a female of
rochilus mango sitting on her eggs. He secured the
rd. cut off the twig, and brought the whole on board his
' ssel- The mother was ted with honey and water, and
tring the voyage hatched two young ones, which surviv-
" their parent, were landed in England and lived for
me time in the possession ot Lady Hammond, from
lose mouth they readily sipped nectar. The longest
rviror, however, died in about two months after its ar-
a*. These frail creatures are in fact far too impatient
continuous cold to endure the climate of Britain during
nter. \\ e shall conclude by observing, that the species
verT numerous, and, like the generality of extensive
Jups, have been of late partitioned into many minor ge-
•a y 31. Lesson, and others who have devoted them-
'cs to their consideration. The range of size, as well
0 c. aracter; is considerable,— Trochilus minimus, which
io arger than an able-bodied bee, is the least of all the
L ,!• race>—"hile Trochilus gigas, a “ triton ’mong
mnows, is the largest of humming-birds, and al-
5 equals the dimensions of a snal Inw
591
equals the dimensions of a swallow,
n proceeding with our exposition of the tenuirostral
ive now approach the Hoopoes, in close approxima¬
tion to which is placed the genus Fregilcs of Cuvier, con-Insessores.
taining only a single European species, the Corvus gracu-^v '
his, or red-legged crow of British writers, which we have
aiready briefly noticed as a Pyrrhocorax. It is in truth so
nearly allied to the Alpine crow (C7. pyrrhocorax), or
choucard des Alpes, both in structure and habits, and is
so often seen in company with that species, that w herever
the one may be placed, the other should not be far dis¬
tant. M. Temminck, indeed, places them in the same ge¬
nus, although the bill of the red-legged bird (or Cornish
chough) is longer than the head, more subulate and slen¬
der at the point, and without any notch. Cuvier regards
the Corvus offinis of Latham, and another species from
New Holland, as both belonging to the genus Fregilus.
The true hoopoes (genus Upcpa) are all distinguished
by a crest upon the head, composed of a double row of
lengthened plumes, and capable of being raised at plea¬
sure. The only European species (U. epops, Linn. Plate
CCCXCIII. fig. 3) is a summer bird of passage on the
Continent, where it travels northward even as far as Swe¬
den. It never breeds in Britain, though it sometimes ac¬
cidentally occurs there. \\ e had one sent us a few \ ears
ago from the county of Fife. This bird is called'
bota by the Italians, most probably from its peculiar cry.
It keeps itself concealed among the trees; but is constant¬
ly heard repeating the syllable bu, bu, bu, bu, bu, with
such a strong sonorous voice, that it may be heard at a
great distance. Its song properly so called is only utter¬
ed during the honey-moon. Although the hoopoe lives
and builds in woods, it may be often seen, in search of in¬
sect food, in fields and pastures. The nest is generally
placed either in the natural hollow of a tree, or in the
deserted excavation of a woodpecker. It is composed out¬
wardly of feathers, and is lined with the hair of cows and
horses. The eggs are grayish white, finely spotted with
brown. This bird is very common in Egypt. A nearly
allied species ( V. Capcnsis) is found at the Cape, and oc¬
curs also in the East Indies; but we presume M. Savi is in
error when he says the genus is likewise known in Ame¬
rica.
The genus Promerops of Brisson has also an elongat¬
ed slender bill, finely pointed, laterally compressed, some¬
what convex above, with the nostrils open and cleft lon¬
gitudinally. The tail is very long and graduated, and the
tongue is extensile and bifurcated, so that the species are
able to absorb the nectarous juices of flowers. The title
seems now restricted to the African species, of which the
only one distinctly known is the Cape promerops (P. Ca-
pensis, jMerops coffer, Gm.), of a grayish brown above,
with a w hite throat, bordered by two dark lines, the breast
reddish, the abdomen yellow. 'The tail is of great length
during the completed plumage ; but the long, ribbon-hke
feathers are often absent, which greatly alters the exter¬
nal character of the bird. (See Plate CCCXCIII. fie. 5.)
In the magnificent and somewhat disputed genus Epi-
machus, Cuv^ the bill, though more robust in some of the
species, resembles that of the two preceding genera ; but
the base, or region of the nostrils, is beset'with short,
rounded, scale-like feathers, after the manner of the birds
of paradise, which they somewhat resemble, moreover, in
the great extension of certain portions of their plumage.
They are also native to the same countries. The Epima-
chus magnificus has the general plumage of a rich velvet
black, the head and throat lustrous, with changing tints of
green and blue. The tail is of ordinary length and struc¬
ture, but the sides are singularly ornamented bv long ex¬
tended filamentous feathers. (SeePlate CCCXCHI. fig. 7.)
The female is much les* adorned, being, according to M.
! Dr ,KlcJlardson describes the eggs as of “ a reddish white colour, and obtuse at both ends.”
nutho.oe<cal Biography, rcl. i. p. 251. 3 Fauna BorealUAmeriama, part ii. p.
323.
592
ORNITHOLOGY.
Ingres. Lesson, reddish above and gray below, ,stref «* ™th
'brown. The Epimachus sitperbus is likewise of a velve
black glossed in various parts with golden green and pur¬
ple the flank feathers greatly developed, and terminated
bv a brilliant edging. The tail is of such enormous length
fPlate CCCXC1II. fig. 4) that the total extent of this
species is nearly four feet. The female ( Upupa fusca ot
Gmelin ?) is described as reddish on the wings and tail, the
bodv of a mingled black and brown. The two preceding
kinds inhabit New Guinea. The Poradiseaot *«««
svstems is by some referred to oui presen g » ,
has also been made to contain a ^au"'"'1S07r^“
species, known to the natives by ie n ^ p^iorus
and described by Mr Swainson under ‘he Utle of Pfrtoo
by whom it is believed to have been first transmitte
tn this country.2 If not a true Epimachus, it certainly
greatly resembles that genus, having the forrn a^lo^‘
fmr JE. maqnificus, and the same tendency (though less
stfongly developed) to an elongation of the lateral P’u™e *
The obscure black and brown plumage of the female like¬
wise corresponds to what M. Lesson regards as the sexual
distinctions of the other species. We havehadrcccnt -
formation which confirms our former views, that it is not
of honey-sucking propensities. It rather exhrbrts a ten-
dency to scansorial habits ; and in its search for insects
its bill may be heard from some distance tapping the bai
like that of a woodpecker.
from its being absent in some of the component members Ins* res
of a natural family, and present in others. We may illus.s— w
trate this by an example. In the South American
genus
trate tins uy an cAampit. x.. w.v, —•“-■■v-uu gt
Ampelis there are genuine species, in some of which the
outer and middle toes are united, while in others they are
free. This is well seen in the beautiful Ampelis carnifex, in
which these parts are joined together, while in the closely
nllipd snecies A. voninadoura they are disunited. Havintr
All the preceding groups of the Passerine Order
belong to Cuvier’s first primary division, which, aswe sai
at starting (see page 567), is characterized by never hav¬
ing the outer united to the inner toe by more than the
length of* one or two plitiltinges* . , i
Those which follow, on the contrary, formmg the second
and much less numerous primary division of 0 r P‘! j
order, have the outer toe almost as long as the middle
one and united to it as far as the base of the terminal
articulation. Such a principle of division might, a prion,
be inferred to lead to some serious mal-arrangement of
the groups ; for it is extremely unlikely that so trifling
a character should be found in uniform accordance w^th
other and more influential attributes, and the slightest
study or most superficial inspection of this the '
tylous Division of Baron Cuvier’s passerine order ^ su^
to show that the said division is in many points extreme Y
heterogeneous and unnatural. To prove this to the satis
faction of any one at all conversant with the chaiactei
the prevailing forms in Ornithology, it will suffice merely
to enumerate its component parts, viz. the bee-ea ers ( -
rops), the motmots (Prionites), the king-fishers (Alcedo)
the todies (Todus), and the horn-bills (Buceros). It is
indeed surprising that any one so gifted with the power of
philosophical observation, so qualified by his profound ac-
nuaintance with comparative anatomy to trace the natural
relations of living creatures, and so signally successful in
his usual generalizations, should either have broug
sether, or permitted to remain in juxtaposition, so d -
cordant a group. The regulating character supposed to
be competent to amalgamate these discordant materia sis
alleged to consist simply in the close adherence of t
outer and middle toe throughout a considerable portion of
their length, that is, as far as the penultimate joints. Now,
that this character by itself is of no avail in the forma¬
tion of natural groups, is evident from two considera¬
tions:—ls^, From its being found in numerous genera, which
are admitted to bear no affinity to each other; dly,
wnicn tnese paru> aie jumeu m me cius*
allied species A. pompadoura they are disunited. Having
called the reader’s attention to this inconsistency, we shall
proceed to a brief sketch of the different generic groups
above named.
In the beautiful genus Merops, Linn., the bill is elon¬
gated, somewhat triangular at the base, slightly arched,
sharp pointed. The wings are long, and narrow at the
extremity. The feet are short. The flight of these birds,
commonly called bee-eaters, is easy and buoyant, resem¬
bling that of the swallow. The species are numerous in
Africa and the East; but only one is accustomed to show
itself in Europe, the Merops apiaster, or common bee-eater
of English writers (to whom, however, it is one of the
rarest of the feathered race), an elegantly-formed and
richly-plumaged bird (Plate CCCXCIV. fig. 2). It arrives
in the southern countries of the Continent in March, and
departs in September. It flies in flocks, usually at aeon-
siderable elevation, and utters with hoarse and guttural
voice, in startling disaccordance with its slender aspect, a
continual cry of gra, gra, gra. It builds in deep horizontal
holes in sandy banks, which it excavates in whole or in part,
working vigorously with feet and bill, and kicking out the
dry earth behind it with great dexterity. It lajs six or
seven eggs, white, lucid, and almost spherical. When the
young are partly fledged, but not yet fit to fly, they creep
to the mouth of their holes, where they seem to enjoy the
happy summer light and genial sunshine ; but on the least
alarm they trundle stern foremost into their inner chambers,
where they lie concealed until tranquillity again prevails. So
accustomed do they seem indeed to this peculiar movement,
that when taken from the nest, and placed in any more ex¬
posed position, they seek to escape by running backwards.
In fact, for a time they seem unable to walk in any other
direction. All these birds are exclusively insectivorous,
and prey almost entirely on the hymenopterous tribes.
Although they often take their food upon the wing, they
also gather it from the ground; and whenever they espy
the small hole which leads into the nest of wasp or bem-
bex, they place themselves close beside it, and snap up
the industrious tenants on their exit or arrival. The Ita¬
lian contadini regard the cry of the bee-eater as a sign
of rain when they hear it uttered from a great heig -
The appearance of this beautiful bird in England is acci¬
dental. We may add, that none of the species occurs m
In the genus Prionites, Illiger, the feet and form are
similar, but the bill is much stronger than in the preced¬
ing, the margins of both mandibles are crenulated (see
Plate CCCXCIV. fig. 3), and the tongue is feathered-
These birds are natives of South America. The p umag
of their head is loose, like that of our common jay, the a
is long and graduated, and in adult birds the W)
feathers are often bare or barbless for a space n ,
the extremity. They prey on insects, occasionally ^
small birds, and build their nests in the hollows f t
Example, the blue-crowned motmot, Kamphastos
Gmelin. , .. c . w the
The genus Alcedo, containing the king'fisl'f’jJ long)
legs still shorter than bee-eat^ and «h « > ^
straight, angular, and pointed (CCCXCl V. hg ^
As originally constituted, it contained a nfshape
blage of species from various countries of thewo^o^
Voyage de Duperrcy, pi. xxviii.
J Illuitrations of. Zoology, vol. i. pi- xi-
uses
ORNITHOLOGY.
593
s. and proportions rather awkward than elegant, but almost all
-'remarkable for great splendour of plumage. The size and
length of the bill are usually disproportioned to the body,
and the feet and legs seem of a diminutive and apparently
inconvenient form ; but the shining silky lustre of the fea¬
thers, and their rich and infinitely varied hues of the most
brilliant green and blue, contrasted with different shades of
orange, black, and brown, render the genus one of the most
showy and attractive within the entire range of the ornitho¬
logical system. The Alcedo ispida(ouv common king-fisher)
is the only species which occurs in Europe, and it yields to
few of its brethren in its lustrous beaut}'. It is one of the
rarest, and certainly the most highly adorned, of all our
resident species. It haunts the banks of lakes and rivers,
building in hollows near their margin, and preys chiefly on
small fish, on which it darts with the rapidity of an arrow,
plunging its little gem-like body for one flashing moment
in the crystal stream.
Certain modifications observable in the form of the bill,
and accompanied, as usual, by a corresponding change of
habits, have induced the division of the original genus.
For example, we owe to Dr Leach the formation of the
genus Dacelo, of w hich the type is the giant king-fisher
of New Holland (A. gigantea of Latham). The bill is
very strong, curved at the extremity, and bulged beneath.
These species (called martin-chasseurs by the French)
inhabit forests, and build their nests, not in the excavated
banks of rivers, but in the hollows of lofty trees ; whereas
the true king-fishers (martin-pecheurs) are never found at
any distance from the “ pure element of waters.” The
former also feed on insects rather than fish, and, the larger
kind especially, are clothed in a dingier and less adorned
plumage.
The one above alluded to (D. gigantea) is described
by Mr Bennet as well known to the colonists of New
South Wales by the name of laughing or feathered jack¬
ass,—a designation which occasioned a lady at home to
declare, that of all the wonderful productions of Australia,
she thought nothing could equal the “ feathered donkey.”
Its peculiar gurgling laugh, commencing in a low and
gradually rising to a louder tone, is often heard by travel¬
lers, proceeding from the branch of some lofty tree, where
the bird is watching for its prey. It is said that one sel¬
dom laughs without being accompanied by another, ap¬
parently anxious to join in a duet. This bird is respected
by Australian gardeners for destroying grubs, &c.; and
Mr Bennet reports, that it also deserves protection on ac¬
count of its devouring mice and venomous reptiles. “ A
gentleman told me he was perfectly aware of the bird de¬
stroying snakes, as he had often seen them carry the rep¬
tiles to a tree, and break their heads to pieces with their
sharp, strong beaks.” “ One of these birds, seen upon the
branch of a tree near a river, looking so stupid, and nod¬
ding as if asleep, was shot, and it was then found that this
peculiar manner proceeded from its having swallowed a
small snake, which had got into the stomach, throat, and
bul, but bad not yet accommodated itself in the former
cavity.”1
A rare and remarkable species, from the Moluccas,
w'ti a shorter bill than usual, and a much longer tail,
sometimes called the ternate king-fisher (A. dea, Linn.),
orms the genus Tanysiptera of Mr Vigors,—while a few
sma species which either want the inner toe, or possess it
m a very rudimentary state, constitute the genus Ceyx of
acepede. The latter occur in India. Example, A. tri-
Jacys> Sliaw- (Plate CCCXCIV. figs. 5 and 11.)
the genus Todus contains some small American birds,
» Pposed to resemble the king-fishers in their general
oriIi) t ieir feet, and lengthened bills; but the latter or¬
gan is horizontally depressed, and obtuse at the extremi- Insessores.
ty, the tarsi are more elevated, and the tail shorter. Their '
habits are insectivorous, and the species, very few in num¬
ber as the group is now restricted, are by most Ornitho¬
logists arranged among the Muscicapidce, near the genera
Platyrhynchus and Muscipeta. The best-known, if not
the only species, is the green tody (T. viridis, Linn.).
It is found in the Antilles, and some of the equatorial re¬
gions of South America, where it hunts insects like a fly¬
catcher, but builds in holes in banks, after the manner of
a king-fisher. Its nest is placed in a little chamber at the
termination of a tortuous gallery, and both sexes are re¬
markable for their strong attachment to their young. This
delightful bird is named ground-parrakeet by tbe Creoles
of St Domingo. Though not very rare, it usually dwells
in wild and solitary places, wdiich is probably the reason
of its being by no means frequent in the collections of Eu¬
rope. The male utters an agreeable song during the pair¬
ing season, but at other times the green tody is a very
silent bird. Its flight is straight and rapid, and it sits at
times both on stones and trees. (Plate CCCXCIV. figs. 6,
7, and 9.)
The genus Buceros, which includes the calaos or horn-
bills, is the last of the great passerine order in the ar¬
rangement of Baron Cuvier (Plate CCCXCIV. figs. 8 and
10). It certainly differs greatly from those near which he
makes it stand, nor does it amalgamate much better with
its neighbours in more recent systems. The species are
natives of Africa and India, and are characterized by their
enormous bills, toothed along their edges, and frequently
surmounted by an additional horny structure, which be¬
stows on them a very striking and peculiar physiognomy.
These excrescences vary considerably with the age of the
individual, and are scarcely perceptible in the young birds.
The horn-bills may be said to resemble the toucans in their
heads, the crows in their general habits, and the syndac-
tylous tribes in the form of their feet. Their tongue is
very small. These birds may be regarded as omnivorous,
as they feed indifferently on fruits, mice, small birds, rep¬
tiles, and even carcasses. They exhibit an awkward and
uncommon aspect while in the act of flying, in consequence
of the great size of their beaks and lengthened tails, and al¬
together their appearance is extremely uncouth. Perhaps
one of the most singular features in their economy consists
in their feeding greedily, and without injury, on the seeds
of nux vomica?
The African horn-bill (B. Africanus) is entirely black,
and nearly as large as a turkey. The crowned species (B.
coronatus) is a much smaller bird, scarcely equalling the
size of a magpie. Le Vaillant saw a flock of more than
five hundred of these birds, in company with crows and
vultures, preying on the remains of slaughtered elephants.
It is figured by Mr Swainson in the third volume of the
first series of his beautiful Illustrations. A large and re¬
markable Indian species has been of late years described
by Mr Hodgson. It measures four feet five inches from
tip to tip of the wings, and is three feet six inches in
length. Its body exceeds that of the largest raven, but
is very lean and incompact. It is believed to feed chiefly
on fruits, although it will seize upon reptiles when press¬
ed by hunger. Its freedom from any oflensive smell, and
the excellence of its flesh, which is much esteemed as an
article of food, go far to prove that its habits are chiefly
frugivorous. In a domestic state it will eat meat either
raw or dressed. Mr Hodgson’s specimen, however, was
fed mostly on boiled rice, mixed with ghee, and made into
large balls. It was never observed to take any water.
Whenever it swallowed a mouthful which on second
thoughts it considered as somewhat too large, it imme-
V°J- XVI.
1 Wanderings in New South Wales, i. 222.
Edinburgh Cabinet Library, British India, iii. 90.
4 E
i
594
ORNITHOLOGY.
Scansores* diately disgorged it for the sake of a little additional mas-
tication.1
Order III.—SCANSORES or CLIMBERS.
This somewhat heterogeneous group, continued by Ba¬
ron Cuvier as a separate order, forms, in the systems ot
our own more recent writers, merely an additional tribe in
the primary division of the passerine or insessorial order.
As the zoological treatises in our present w^ork have been
hitherto made conformable to the general principles whic i
regulate the arrangement proposed by the great trench
anatomist, we shall not here swerve from our previous
practice, although we doubt not, that among some recent
alterations for the worse, there may also be found not a
few for the better. We fear, however, that it may be
some time before the Scansores, even of the modern sys¬
tems, can be regarded as composed of very closely allied
groups,—at least so long as people feel averse to see any
natural connection between a creeper and a cockatoo, lie
this as it may, our present order is composed of species
the great majority of which possess two toes before and
two behind ; that is, one of the three anterior toes com¬
monly so called, is either reversible at pleasure, or is per¬
manently thrown backwards, so as to give great power and
tenacity of grasp during their infinitely varied movements
over the rugged bark or smoother branches of the forest
trees, on which they chiefly dwell. By this peculiar struc¬
ture many species are enabled not only to ascend with ease
a perpendicular trunk, but to suspend themselves from the
lower surface of a branch while searching for their favou¬
rite food, which consists of fruits or insects, according to
the form of the bill, so greatly diversified in the scansoriai
order. In the parrot tribe the foot is also used in the
conveyance of food to the mouth, and generally as a pre¬
hensile organ of a very perfect kind. ^ .
We are aware that more than one excellent Urmtnolo-
gist has objected to the title of this order, as incapable of
being strictly applied to the whole of the genera of whic i
it is composed/ It is no doubt true that many of the spe¬
cies (such as the cuckoo), in which the toes are in pairs,
or yoke-footed, cannot climb, while it is equally evident
that several other species (such as the creeper, C.famha-
ris the already alluded to very distant connection of the
cockatoo) are excluded from this order by reason of the
structure of their feet, in spite ot which, however, they
contrive to climb unceasingly; and that under these cir¬
cumstances the denomination cannot be rigorously applied
as alike characteristic of what it contains, and as correct¬
ly exclusive of what it does not contain. But we believe
the same objection may be made to apply at least with
equal force to various parts of every other system yet pro¬
posed. The ordinal characters, considered in their tota¬
lity, are seldom so natural, yet extended, as to admit of no
exception ; and it is extremely questionable whether a title
should be immediately changed upon the discovery of
every species which may not coincide with its most rigo¬
rous interpretation. In truth, this could not in many cases
be effected merely on the consideration of a single charac¬
ter, without producing greater inconveniences than those
\which it is desired to obviate. Among scansoriai birds,
for example, we have several species with only three toes,
and which it would therefore be unreasonable to expect
should conform to the ordinal character of having two toes
before and two behind. But in spite of that partial defi¬
ciency, they are, in every essential particular, “ true to their
order.”
The bill in the scansoriai tribes varies so greatly in the Scan!?,,
different genera, from the straight, lengthened, angular''-^.,
mandibles of the woodpeckers, to the deep, curved, com.
pressed organ of the parrots, that we must omit all consi.
deration of it in the ordinal characters, although the study
of its form is essential in relation to the minor divisions.
The species of this order are, with few exceptions, inha¬
bitants of the forests, and usually build their nests in the
hollows of ancient trees. Their powers of flight are not
remarkable. The European genera are almost entirely
insectivorous; the parrot tribe feed on fruits; the toucans
exhibit a tendency to the carnivorous habits of the acci-
pitrine tribes ; while other genera sensibly enjoy a mingled
or miscellaneous diet.2 ,
The genus Galbula, Brisson, has a straight, elongated,
sharp-pointed bill, with the upper edge lathei sharp; the
leo-s are very short, and the anterior toes much united (Plate
CCCXCV. fig. 1). The plumage of these birds, usually
known under the name of Jciccuiicu'S* is remaikable for its
metallic lustre. The species inhabit South America, where
they occur among trees in moist and marshy places. Exam¬
ples, G. parctdisea and viridis, Lath. 1 hey generally sit, ac¬
cording to Mr Swainson,on low naked branches in the forest
paths, from whence they dart upon butterflies, spearing
them with their long bills; and their haunts, indeed, may
be frequently discovered by the ground being strewed with
the beautiful wings of their mangled victims, the bodies ot
which they alone devour.3 “ A bird called jacamar, says
Waterton, “ is often taken for a king-fisher, but it has no
relationship to that tribe ; it frequently sits in the trees
over the water, and as its beak bears some resemblance to
that of the king-fisher, this may probably account for its
being taken for one ; it feeds entirely upon insects ; it sits
on a branch in motionless expectation, and as soon as a
fly, butterfly, or moth passes by, it darts at it, and returns
to the branch it had first left. It seems an indolent, se¬
dentary bird, shunning the society of all others m the fo-
re«t. It never visits the plantations, but is found at all
times of the year in the woods. There are four species ot
jacamar in Demerara; they are all beautiful; the largest,
iich and superb in the extreme. Its plumage is of so hne
a changing blue and golden green, that it may be ranked
with the choicest of the humming-birds. Mature has de-
nied it a song, but given it a costly garment m heu ot «.
The smallest species of jacamar 1S very common .n the dy
savannas. The second size a l golden green on the ta*
must be looked for in the Wallaba forest. 1 he third is
found throughout the whole extent of these wilds ; an
the fourth, which is the largest, frequents the mte ,
where you begin to perceive stones in the ground. A
Indian species(M. Lesson, however, assigns
of which the bill is shorter, thicker, and somewhat arche,,
Sc V. ie;U2)/a“heSr from SomL America, with
onlyflke toes (/ Weg constitams
nus Jacamar-alcyon (Plate CCLALV. ng-o;
names, however unmusically composed, point out th
tural relationship of our present group to Je bee ea
and king-fishers, with which (as Jissirostral bird s) y
combined in some modern systems. marked nu-
The genus Ficus, Linn., contains the well-marteA m
merous, and extensively distributed tribe of vv dp
which occur in all the great divisions of'theeall’fo.
the exception of New Holland. 1 he vast and sohta
rests of North and South America are, however, t ^
dominion, the greatest number, both there an^
world, being found within the tiopics. wediie-
bug, straight, angular, somewhat compressed or aeil^
Transactions of the Physical Class of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, part i. p. US.
Wilson’s Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. art. Scansores.
3 Nat. Hist, and Class, of Birds, E l'}4,
4 Wanderings, p. U7*
ORNITHOLOGY.
595
. shaped at the extremity, and admirably fitted for splitting
the bark or excavating the decayed portions of trees. The
tongue is long, and capable of great protrusion, in conse¬
quence of its muscular basis, and the length of the horns
of the os hyoides. It is not only furnished with little spines
pointing backwards, but is covered by a glutinous mois¬
ture secreted by the salivary glands, which aids in the
capture of the smaller insects, the larger, it is said, being
usually transfixed by the point itself. The tail-feathers
are very stiff and elastic, and greatly aid the motion of the
feet in climbing, being pressed upon the bark, so as in some
measure to support the body. Woodpeckers are shy and
solitary birds. During the breeding season they dwell in
pairs, and are only met with in small family flocks through¬
out the autumn. With the exception of the parrots, they
form the most extensive group among scansorial tribes,
between one and two hundred species being known to na¬
turalists. We have only four in Britain, viz. the green
woodpecker (P. viridis), our most common species; the
great black woodpecker (P. martins), which is a much
rarer bird ; the great spotted woodpecker {P. major) ; and
the lesser spotted kind (P. minor). Besides these, several
others occur on the continent of Europe.
In whatever clime or country woodpeckers are found,
they are characterized by strong affinities of form and co¬
lour, and constitute a very natural group, although some
slight modifications of the bill have given rise in recent
times to the formation of a few subgenera.
Buffon has drawn a melting picture of the miseries of a
woodpecker’s life. According to the view's of the always
eloquent, but frequently erroneous and sometimes incon¬
sistent Frenchman, no bird which earns its subsistence by
spoil leads a life of such painful and uninterrupted labour.
Nature appears to have condemned it to incessant toil,—
for while other species freely employ their courage or ad¬
dress, and either glide along on fearless rapid wings, or
lurk insidiously in closer ambush, the woodpecker is con¬
strained to drag on a miserable existence in boring through
the scaly bark and tough unyielding fibres of the hardest
trees. Necessity admits no intermission of its labours,—
no interval of sweet repose. Not even the darkness of the
night, nor sleep, that “ soft restorer,” who throw's her
balmy mantle over such a mass of human misery, brings
any solace here,—for the nocturnal hours are spent in the
same constrained and painful posture as are those of day.
It never shares in the joyous sports of the other inhabi¬
tants of the w'oods, and so far from joining in their glad re¬
sponses, it rather deepens the natural sadness of the forest
glades by its wild and melancholy cries. Now, what is
all this but the most fantastic coinage of the brain ?—as if
the blessed beings which people this gladsome wmrld en¬
dured the primal curse, and shared the self-inflicted ruin
of our race ! as if their joyful hearts were ever pressed by
sorrow, or responded in wailing sadness to the woes of
man! Spirit of Ebbs! not yet has thy malign influence
so encroached upon the “ Benigner Power.” Is there any
thing on earth for which we may not cry alas ! saving only
the omnipotent goodness of God, who careth “ for all his
creatures,”—and amid the unmeasured wretchedness which
springs from human folly, the wan faces of our fellow-men
pent up in close-built cities, the drunkard’s hollow eyes, his
shaking limbs, and tattered garments (and all the horrid
1 s that vice is heir to), what is more inspiring than to see
even a fragment of the face of nature,—some little open
P ot of garden ground, where in spring the blackbird still
trjay sing his evening hymn, or the autumnal red-breast
cheerily announce approaching winter ? Is there sorrow
* ere or suffering, save what may spring from some dark
spirit in the mind of man, the “ immortal rebel ?” When
iiiron himself, a great interpreter of nature, in spite of
a bis fitful fancies, yielded up his life to God who gave
it, did the lilied fields of France reflect the sun’s warm Scansores.
rays less brightly, or her sylvan choristers welcome with
sadder note the rosy day-break of the ensuing morn ; or
when that more wretched hour arrived (which the hoary
but irreverent parent was saved the pain to see) when his
son’s fair locks, dishevelled but not dishonoured, were
streaming on the blood-stained floor of that insatiate scaf¬
fold, what cared the gladsome birds in field or tree ? It
would indeed be but a doleful thought, if misery such as
man so often meets with among human kind, and which he
is therefore prone to picture, were to spread itself from
his own sad bosom into the depth of darkly shaded forests,
where so many gorgeous feathered inmates dwell, or among
ocean rocks amid upheaving waters, or wave-worn caves,
or crystal rivers with their golden sands.
Let those who dwell with pityon thefateof our condemned
bird go with us to America, and listen to the high-toned note
of Pious principalis (the name itself might “ threaten and
command”), echoing from the giant trunk or moss-grown
arm of some colossal tree, or watch his varied movements,
while from gnarled stems he drives off impetuously broad
flakes of flashing bark, which so accumulate around the base
of pine or cypress, as if a human carpenter had there set up
his habitation. Or if we cannot go to America, let us read
a great observer's history of another species. “ No sooner,”
says Audubon, “ has spring called them (the golden-winged
woodpeckers) to the pleasant duty of making love, than
their voice, which by the way is not at all disagreeable
to the ear of man, is heard from the tops of high decayed
trees, proclaiming with delight the opening of the welcome
season. Their note at this period is merriment itself, as
it imitates a prolonged and jovial laugh, heard at a con¬
siderable distance. Several males pursue a female, reach
her, and to prove the force and truth of their love, bow
their heads, spread their tails, and move sideways, back¬
wards and forwards, performing such antics as might in¬
duce any one witnessing them, if not of a most morose
temper, to join his laugh to theirs. The female flies to
another tree, where she is constantly followed by one, two,
or even half a dozen of these gay suitors, and w here again
the same ceremonies are gone through. No fightings oc¬
cur, no jealousies exist among these beaux, until a marked
preference is shown to some individual; when the reject¬
ed proceed in search of another female. In this manner all
the golden-winged woodpeckers are soon happily mated.
Each pair immediately proceed to excavate the trunk of a
tree, and finish a hole in it sufficient to contain themselves
and their young. They both work with great industry and
apparent pleasure. Should the male, for instance, be em¬
ployed, the female is close to him, and congratulates him
on the removal of every chip which his bill sends through
the air. While he rests he appears to be speaking to her
on the most tender subjects, and when fatigued is at once
assisted by her. In this manner, by the alternate exer¬
tions of each, the hole is dug and finished. They caress
each other on the branches, climb about and around the tree
with apparent delight, rattle with their bill against the tops
of the dead branches, chase all their cousins the red-heads,
defy the purple-grakles to enter their nest, feed plentifully
on ants, beetles, and larvae, cackling at intervals, and ere
two weeks have elapsed, the female lays either four or six
eggs, the whiteness or transparency of which are doubtless
the delight of her heart. If to raise a numerous progeny
may contribute to happiness, these woodpeckers may be
happy enough, for they have two broods each season.
Even in confinement the golden-winged woodpecker never
suffers its naturally lively spirit to droop. It feeds well,
and by way of amusement will contrive to destroy as much
furniture in a day as can well be mended by a different
kind of workman in two. Therefore, kind reader, do not
any longer believe that woodpeckers, I mean those of
j
596
ORNITHOLOGY
Scansores. America, are such stupid, forlorn, ’ “1“^ ”''
^~^P(\.ror beinas, as they have hitherto been representeu.
' The other species to which we have above alluded is
the beautiful ivory-billed woodpecker (Picm pnnapahs,
Linn ) of which the broad extent of dark and glossy plu-
mao-e with the well-defined snowy markings of the nec
an if wings, relieved by the rich tracery of the carmine crest,
„ml brilliant vellow eye, in some way so reminded the e
ZsSc Aulbon of the noble FoducUons o^ a grea
Flemish painter, that he saw -e ofjhese^gor^
geous birds flying from tree to tree, I wood ker
S&^n.'ative^p^nofflm
KC-^m^wifli^sple^didUrdforthe
latipr either downwards towaids the sea, f
Sne bzz£ ^sfSK^S'U^en,;
“to tt ™-d oyf the Mississippi, it is ound in
r^I^ds, and passes a hfe^of
nnrl there the massy trunk of a fallen and decayi g ,
S “ fo ^
dangerous nature beaSl but
SheXr ^peting, Composed »f ,«he ciches^mosses,
thefoot'fhrn^yield^^ind^ndangers ch^ety^de^ lhc
opening, lha p dismal croaking of innumerable
frog^thehissingot^serpmifsfo^the bellowing of Alligators^
S^fmo^hW spates the intruder dur
imr the meridian heat of our dogdays, in those gloomy ai
horrible swamps! But the attempt to picture these scenes
would be vain.P Nothing short of ocular demonstration can
im?^rhea flivhtr/dihWrd Vgmceful in the extreme
although seldom prolonged to more than a few bundled
although semo w|en H has t0 cross a large river,
yh,VhTt does in deep undulations, opening its wings at
first to their Ml extent, and nearly closing them to re-
first to tne • ise. The transit from one tree
toIno’thePrr0even should the distance be as much as a hun¬
dred yards’, is performed by a single sweep, and the bird
appears as if merely swinging itself from the top of theScas
one tree to that of the other, forming an elegantly curved^.
line At this moment all the beauty of the plumage is ex-
hibited, and strikes the beholder with pleasure. It never
utters any sound whilst on wing, unless during the love
season; but at all other times, no sooner has this bird
aliahted, than its remarkable voice is heard, at almost
every lean which it makes, whilst ascending against the
upper par ts of the trunk of a tree, or its highest branches.
Its notes are dear, loud, and yet rather plaintive. Ihey
are heard at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile,
and resemble the false high note of a clarionet. They
are usually repeated three times in succession, and may
be represented by the monosyllable, pait, pazt, pail. These
are heard so frequently, as to induce me to say that the
bird spends few minutes of the day without uttering them;
and tins circumstance leads to its destruction, which is
aimed at, not because (as is supposed by some) this spe¬
cies is a destroyer of trees, but more because it is a beau-
tiful bird, and its rich scalp, attached to the upper man-
dible, forms an ornament for the war-dress of most of onr
Indians, or for the short pouch of our squatters and hunt-
“s, by all of whom the bird is shot merely tor that pur-
P°o Travellers of all nations are also fond of possessing
the upper part of the head and the bill ot the male; anil
I have frequently remarked, that on a steam-boat s read¬
ing what we call a wooding-pluce, the strangers were very
“pt to pay a quarter of a dollar for two or three heads of
this woodpecker. I have seen entire belts ot Indian chiefs
closely ornamented with the tufts and bills of this species,
and have observed that a great value is frequently put
upon them. The food of this species consists principally
of beetles, larvae, and large grubs. No sooner, however,
are the grapes of our forests ripe, than they are eaten by
the ivory-billed woodpecker with great avidity. av
feen to bird hang by its claws to the ™
tion so often assumed by a tit-mouse, and, read i &
wards, help itself to a bunch of grapes with m^happar^
pleasure. Persimons are also sought for by >
g^undf but'prefeTs'at all times \he
Should it, however, discover the halt-standing
shaft of a large dead and rotten tree, ^attac^ ^ ^ ^
a manner as nearly to demobs i f , ancient
days. I have seen the remains ot some of hesejac
monarchs of our forests so excavated and that s ^
larly, that the tottering fragments of the tr PP
to be merely supported by t ie grea P h f this
which its base was surrounded. The “e"oi o|-
woodpecker is such that I have see“ “ ^nTbf0W ofits
bark seven or eight inches m length at a ™='e B rf a
powerful bill, and by beginning at ^e “P bf tyor
dead tree, tear off the bark, to an exto ot t ^
thirty feet, in the course of a tew tfJJits tail
wards with its body in an upward position, toss ^ ^ ^
to the right and lett, or leaning g were concealed,
certain the precise spot where the 8 fresh vi¬
and immediately alter renewing ts blows wit
gour, all the while sounding its loud notes, as b
de“0When wounded and brought to the ground the^^
bill immediately makes for the nearest tre , reaches
it with great rap
the top branches,
makes for the nearest ^ p reaches
it with great rapidity and perseverance, un ^
1 :s, when it squats and tnues, g  
Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p- 19L
ORNITHOLOGY.
597
areat effect. Whilst ascending, it moves spirally round
the tree, utters its loud pa.it, pait, pait, at almost every
hop, but becomes silent the moment it reaches a place
where it conceives itself secure. They sometimes cling
to the bark with their claws so firmly, as to remain cramp-
ed to the spot for several hours after death. When taken
by the hand, which is rather a hazardous undertaking,
they strike with great violence, and inflict very severe
wounds with their bill as well as claws, which are ex¬
tremely sharp and strong. On such occasions, this bird
utters a mournful and very piteous cry.”1
A few species in which the bill is obviously arched
form the genus Colaptes of Mr Swainson. They seem,
moreover, distinguished by the broad, bright-coloured shafts
of the quill-feathers. Such is the gold-winged woodpeck¬
er already alluded to. These birds perch
more frequently than the genuine woodpeckers, that is,
grasp or encircle the smaller branches, and they also often
feed upon the ground. A Brazilian species is even nam¬
ed P. campestris, from its habit of searching about in
fields and plains for insects in the dung of cattle, or on
ant-hills, where it finds an ample supply of favourite food.
This form occurs also in Africa. Certain three-toed
species were formed into the genus Picoides by Lace-
pede. (Plate CCCXCV. fig. 3.)
The genus Yunx of Linn., containing the wrynecks, re¬
markable for their beautifully brindled plumage, is of very
limited extent. The sole European species (Yunx tor-
quilla) is in Britain a rare but regular summer bird of pas¬
sage, breeding in hollow trees, laying numerous eggs, and
feeding on insects. The genus Picumnus of Temm. is
nearly allied, but is distinguished by its extremely short
tail. Example, P. abnormis, Temm. PI. Col. 371, fig. 3,
which comes from Java. Picus minutus, which some au¬
thors place here, is by others regarded as a Yunx.
In the genus Cuculus of Linn, were originally placed
a number of different insectivorous birds, commonly called
cuckoos, which agreed in the general form of the feet,
the lengthened tail, the bill of medium size, rather deeply
cleft, somewhat compressed, and slightly curved. But
they have since been formed into numerous minor groups,
the most marked and conspicuous of which we shall here
briefly notice.
The true cuckoos, genus Cuculus, Cuv., have the bill
of moderate strength, the tarsi short, and the tail of ten
feathers. As an example, wre name our common British
species, C. canorus, so remarkable for its singular and
somewhat anomalous habit of depositing its eggs in the
nests of other birds, a fact now so well known, and so
frequently recorded, that we need not here dilate upon
the subject, however curious in itself. The nest of the
hedge-sparrow (Accentor modularis) is that most usually
chosen in the south of England,—that of the yellow-ham¬
mer (Ernb. citrinella), the wagtail (Mot. alba), and the
meadow titlark (A. pratensis), being, however, likewise Scansores.
devoted to the purpose. “ In Northumberland,” says Mr
Selby, “ constant experience tells me, that the nest of
the last-mentioned bird is the one almost always chosen,
faking advantage of the absence of its dupe during the
time of laying (which generally occupies four or five days),
the cuckoo deposits its egg among the rest, abandoning
it from that moment to the care of the foster-parent. As
the same period of incubation is common to both birds,
the eggs are hatched nearly together, which no sooner
takes place than the young cuckoo proceeds instinctively
to eject its young companions and any remaining eggs
from the nest. To effect this object, it contrives to work
itself under its burden (the back at this early age being
provided with a peculiar depression between the shoul¬
ders), and shuffling backwards to the edge of the nest,
by a jerk rids itself of the incumbrance; and this opera¬
tion is repeated, till the whole being thrown over, it re¬
mains sole possessor. This particular tendency remains
for about twelve days, after which the hollow space be¬
tween the shoulders is filled up ; and when prevented
from accomplishing its purpose till the expiration of that
time, as if conscious of inability, it suffers its companions
to remain unmolested.”2
Various supposed reasons have been assigned for this
anomalous, and we might almost say unnatural, instinct.
Some have attributed it to the displacement of certain
viscera (the gizzard is said to be situate farther back than
in most other birds), which unfits them for the purposes
of incubation, while others imagine that the early period
at which cuckoos migrate from this country (they are ge¬
nerally off by the beginning of July) makes it necessary
that they should leave their offspring to the care of foster-
parents.3 But anatomical investigation has not proved
any thing sufficiently peculiar in their structure to warrant
the first conclusion ; and as to the second, it seems to us
not so much a deduction from a regulating and causative
fact in their history, as the statement of an additional cir¬
cumstance which renders that history still more singular,
and which naturally leads to the question, not easily an¬
swered, of why do they migrate so early ?4 In short, we
know nothing at all about the matter, further than that
the cuckoo of Europe, like the cow-bun ting of America,
always lays eggs, but never hatches them. The same
custom is alleged, we think upon a narrow and ill-consi¬
dered generalization, to characterize the other kinds of
cuckoo. It may be a practice common to several species,
but the rare black and white spotted cuckoo (Cuculus Pi-
sanus, Gm., an odd name for an African bird, which hap¬
pened once upon a time to visit Tuscany) is stated by the
authors of the Storia degli Uccelli to have built a nest in
the woods of Pisa, and reared four young ones. This spe¬
cies is extremely rare in Europe. It is known, however,
in the Genoese territory,5 and the young have been occa-
1 Ornithological Biography, i. 341. 2 British Ornithology, vol. i. p. 398. 3 British Ornithology, vol. i. p. 399.
4 Besides, in Italy and other southern parts of Europe, this migration does not take place till September, and yet the habits of the
bird are precisely the same. “ Quelli uccellini,” says Savi, “ nel covo de’ quali il cuculo ha lasciato i’uovo, non vi fanno attenzione ;
come uno de’ loro seguitano a covarlo, e quando e nato imboccano e custodiscono il piccolo cuculo, con lo stesso amore, e con la cura
medesima de’ figli propri. Ma ben presto egli paga d’ingratitudine le premure deL’amorosa sua balia : crescendo molto piii de’ com-
pagni, dopopoco tempo il nido e per lui troppo stretto : aliora ricorre a un barbaro espediente per procurarsi un alloggio piii comodo
^c....“ liipete quest operazione successivainente, in ragione che cresce, e che gli altri compagni lo incomodano, di modo die alia
hne rimane solo nel nido usurpato. Cosi quei miseri uccelli che construirono il nido e che han fatto da balia al cuculo, sono da lui
pnyati ad uno ad uno di tutti i figli.” Regarding the movements of the parent bird in Italy, he observes, “ E uccello migratorio :
arnva nelP Aprile, e parti in Settembre. Appena arriva comincia a cantare, e quantunque il suo verso non abbia alcuna varieta, non
ostante la voce essendo dolce e rotonda, si sente con piacere. Grandissimo e il numero che ne rimane in Toscana : non vi e bosco in
monte q in piano, che in primavera ed in estate, non risuoni dal cu cu, cu cu, di questo uccello. Nel Settembre comincia a muoversi
per emigare: allora in alcuni anni se ne vede passare una quantita grandissima per la pianura Pisana. Nel Settembre del 1823, gli
c.beri ‘kho stradone che da Pisa va al Parco lieale di S. liossore, attraversando vastissime praterie, ne furono pieni per una diecina
01 giorni. Volavano i cuculi da una pianta all’ altra, andavano a posarsi un poco sul prato, ritornavano sugli alberi, ma di la non si
a odanavano, benche continuamente fossero molestati dai non pochi cacciatori che vi erano acccorsi. Questi uccelli volano con grande
a s pd’ e sPessoi particularmente andando a posarsi, senza muovere le ali, come soglionofare i Falchi.” (Ornitologia Toscana, t. i. p. 152.)
kalvi, Catalogo d'Ornitologia di Genova, p. 55.
598
ORNITHOLOGY.
Scansores. sionally killed in the south of France.1 Many beautiful
v--'' cuckoos are found in foreign countries.
Those of North America belong to the genus Coccyzus
of Vieillot, and are distinguished by a greater length ot
tarsus. (Plate CCCXCY. fig. 4.) They seem to delight
more in deep woody solitudes than the true cuckoos, the
latter being often found on hilly pastures and open heathy
ground, if fringed with wood. A stranger who visits the
United States for the purpose of examining their natural
productions, and passes through the woods in May or June,
will sometimes hear, as he traverses the borders of deep,
retired, high-timbered hollows, an uncouth guttural sound.
He will frequently hear this without being able to discover
the source from which it comes, as the yellow-billed cuckoo
( Coccyzus Americanus) is both shy and solitary, and always
seeks the thickest foliage for concealment. Ihis bird is of
a grayish brown, with bronzed reflections, beneath white,
the inner vanes of the primaries reddish cinnamon colour,
the lower mandible white, and the length from bill to tail
about twelve inches. Considerable discussion has taken
place among philologists regarding the native languages o
North and South America,—remarkable, we are led to un¬
derstand, for their great number and striking dissimilarity.
We know not what may be the intention of the yellow¬
billed cuckoo in speaking as he does, or whether he is dis¬
tinctly comprehended by his neighbours; but the follow¬
ing is Mr Nuttall’s account of the elements of his conver¬
sation : “ The male frequently betrays his snug retreat by
his monotonous and guttural kow kow kow kow, or koo
koo koo koo, and ko kuk, ko kuk, koo koo koo kuk, koo ko
koo, koo ko koo, uttered rather plaintively, like the call of
a dove. At other times the koto kow kow kow, and tk
’tk ’tk ’tk ’tak, or ’kh ’kh ’kh ’kh 'kak, kow koiv kow kow,
beginning slow, rises, and becomes so quick as almost to
resemble the grating of a watchman s rattle, or else, com¬
mencing with this call, terminates in the distant cry of
kow kow kow.” From this peculiar iteration (Shakspeare
would have called it “ damnable,” a word we sometimes
hear in pulpits, but ourselves but seldom use), the species
in question has received the name of ^ozc-bird, and we do
not wonder at it. It may be satisfactory to know, that the
St Domingo cuckoo (C. Dominicus, Nut.) although it
sometimes cries both kow koto kow kow and kk kh kh kh
’kh ’kak, yet often utters, in a raucous guttural voice, espe¬
cially preceding rain, a word which sounds like orrattottoo
or worrattottoo, exactly which has not been yet determined.
In the genus Centropus of Uliger the bill is compress¬
ed and carinated, and the nail of one of the hind toes is
long, straight, and pointed, like a lark’s, d he tail is greatly
elongated. The species are native to India and Africa,
where they build in hollow trees, and feed on locusts and
other insects. Such are Cuculus jhgyptius, Senegalen-
sis, Bengalensis, &c. The genus Leptosomus ot Vieil¬
lot is constituted by the great Madagascar cuckoo (C.
cafer. Lath.—Lep. viridis, Vied.), the female of which, as
described by Buffon, is according to M. Lesson a distinct
species—Lcpt. crombus. These birds are said to be fru-
givorous. (Plate CCCXCV. fig. 5.)
In the genus Indicator, Vail., the bill is short, high, al¬
most conical. (Plate CCCXCV. fig. 6.) fhe tail consists of
twelve feathers, and is somewhat graduated, and at the same
time a little forked. The skin is described to be so hard
and tough as to resist the assaults of most hymenopterous in¬
sects ; but bees, which they incessantly torment, are said to
sting them in the eyes. The species, few in number, are
known by the name of honey-guides, and inhabit Africa.
The one mentioned by Sparrman is said to attract the no Scat ei
tice of the Dutch and Hottentots by a shrill cry of cher,'*-^
cher; and when it perceives itself observed, it flutters on¬
wards to the hive of a wild bee, in hopes of partaking of the
plundered honey. “ I have had frequent opportunities,”
he observes, “ of seeing this bird, and have been witness
to the destruction of several republics of bees, by means of
its treachery. I had, however, but two opportunities of
shooting it, which I did, to the great indignation of my
Hottentots.” It may be here noticed, we hope without
offence, that naturalists themselves seem not seldom to
belong to that irritabile genus, of which poets are usually
supposed to form the greater portion. Though Dr Sparr¬
man asserts that he was a frequent eye-witness of the cu¬
rious instinctive habits of the honey-guide, yet Vaillant
doubts if that traveller ever saw the bird at all. He says
that the account is merely a repetition of a fable believed
and i-epeated by credulous people at the Cape, and that it
is erroneous to suppose that the bird seeks to draw man
after it for the purpose of sharing the plundered sweets,
the fact being, that it calls not the man, but that the latter
knows, by attending to the cry of the honey-guide while
searching for its natural food, that he will be sure ere long
to find the stores of the industrious insect. According to
Bruce, the moroc, for so this singular species is sometimes
named, occurs in Abyssinia; and he too thiov\s disci edit
on Span-man’s statements,—his own being but ill received
by not a few. However, Sir John Barrow, a careful and
accurate inquirer, though not a professed naturalist, con¬
firms it by stating that people in the interior of the South
of Africa are too well acquainted with the moroc to have
any doubts, either as to the bird itself, or its singular in¬
stinctive habits.
The Barbacous of Vaillant (genus Monasa, Vieil.) are
South American birds, with rather conical elongated bills,
slightly arched towards the tip, and furnished at the base
with setaceous feathers. (Plate CCCXCV. fig. 7.) Such
are Cue. tranquillus and tenebrosus of the older systems,
and the JBucco albifrons of Spix. We believe they are in¬
sectivorous. The Malcohas of Vaillant, again (genus Phce-
NicoPHiEUS, Vieil.), are Asiatic species, of which the most
anciently known is native to Ceylon. (Plate CCCXCvI.
fic. 1.) We here place the Cuculus curvirostris of Shaw,
Latham’s red-headed cuckoo, C. pyrrhocephalus of Forster,
&c. and certain recent species described by Dr Horsneld
and Sir Thomas Raffles. The preceding groups were all
regarded as cuckoos by the older authors.
The genus Scythrops of Latham, however, has a much
stronger bill than any of these, marked by two slight lon¬
gitudinal furrows. There is a naked space around the eye,
and the nostrils are rounded. Only a single species is yet
known, Sc. Nova: Hollandice, Lath., sometimes called the
Known, oGWTtwie „
channel bill, a most peculiar looking bird, of the size or <
crow, gray above, beneath dingy white. (Piate CCC •
fig. 2.) In its bill it almost assimilates to the toucans, but is
tongue is simple. Though it is mentioned both by i e
and Phillips, we know as yet but little of its habits,
occurs in New Holland, where it is sometimes seen in smai
flocks, but more usually in pairs, frequenting trees, am u-
tering during flight a loud and screaming cry, not un •
the crowing of a cock. Its food is said to consist o
fruits and insects. It also occurs in the Celebes, wher
voice presages rain. .
The genus Bucco of Linn., is characterized by a ,
conical beak, bulged laterally from the base, and furnis ^
w ith five fasciculi of barbs directed forwards. I he o
1 exhibited by the Cuclid*. n„d the nu,„ero„S tehtor groups whiA have thence resulted
see M. Lesson’s Traite d'Ornithologie, and a recent paper by Mr Swamson in the Magazine of Zoology an >
ORNITHOLOGY.
599
, are short, and the flight heavy. The species feed on fruits
^and insects, and occasionally attack small birds. They
build their nests in hollow trees. Cuvier divides them into
three minor groups. The Zfaf'fo'orms of Buffon (Pogonias,
Illiger) have one or two strong teeth on each side of the
upper bill, of which the ridge is arched and blunt. The
barbs are very strong. (Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 3.) The spe¬
cies occur in Africa and India, and are more frugivorous
than their congeners. Example, P. sulcirostris, Leach,
Zool. Misc. xi. 76. The Barbus (genus Bucco, as re¬
stricted) have the bill simply conic, slightly compressed,
the culmen blunt, and a little raised about the centre.
The species live in pairs during the breeding season,
and in small flocks at other times. They occur in both
continents, and are adorned with lively colours,—Bucco
grandis, viridis, flavifrons, &c. Lastly, the Tamatias,
genus Tamatia, Cuv., have the bill more elongated and
compressed, with the extremity of the upper mandible
curved downwards. Their thick heads, large bills, and
short tails, give them a stupid aspect. They inhabit
South America, feed on insects, and are of solitary ha¬
bits. Example, T. mela?wleucos, melanotis, &c. They
are known by the English name of puff-birds ; and Mr
Svvainson describes them as sitting for hours together on
a dead or withered branch, from which they dart from
time to time on such unwary insects as approach within
their reach. He adds, that the hermit-birds (genus Mo-
msa), already mentioned, do the same, and frequently
rise up perpendicularly into the air, making a swoop, and
returning again to their former station. Similar manners
belong to the jacamars, though their flight is weaker.
In the genus Trogon the bill is also bearded, but short,
and broader than high, the upper edge rounded. Their
little feet are often feathered almost to the toes, and their
soft, full, lax plumage, and lengthened tails, bestow upon the
species a peculiar aspect. (Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 4.) These
birds abound in South America, where they conceal them¬
selves in the central solitudes of umbrageous forests, and,
except during the breeding season, dwell insulated and
alone. They will sit motionless for half a summer’s day,
often upon a withered branch, and if not concealed by some
accidental intervening mass of foliage, they fall an easy prey
to the keen-eyed hunter, who eagerly searches for birds not
less remarkable for the delicacy of their flesh than the beauty
of their plumage. During the morning and evening hours,
Mr Swainson informs us, they become more active; ven¬
turing at these times into the open parts of the forest,
and, taking a shady station, dart upon winged insects,
particularly beetles. At other times they feed upon fruits,
especially the rich purple berriesof the different melastomae,
“ at which,” says Mr Swainson, “ they invariably dart, pre¬
cisely as if they were insects capable of getting away.”
It has been remarked by the woodland hunters, that the
skins of these birds are of such delicate texture as to be
with difficulty preserved in a natural or complete condi¬
tion. It is probably for this reason that in museums they
exhibit a heavy, shapeless aspect, redeemed, it is true, by
the gorgeous colours or metallic splendour of their plu¬
mage. The most magnificent of the genus is the quezal
or golden trogon (71. pavo?iinus, Temm.), a rare and re¬
markable species, of which neither delineation nor descrip¬
tion can convey an adequate idea. The greater propor¬
tion ot the plumage is apparently composed of burnished
gold. I he head ornamented by a brilliant crest of de¬
composed barbs, the wing-coverts falling in flakes of gol-
ea green over the deep purplish-black of the primary
and secondary quill-feathers, the rich carmine of the lower
P^fts bestowing a warmth and depth of effect w’hich no
enetian painter ever equalled, and the long waving and
highly metallic feathers of the tail-coverts, extending about Scansores.
three times the length of the whole body, present a com- sv—
bination of beauty almost unexampled in the feathered
tribes. The first specimens seen in this country were
brought, we believe, by Mr Schenley from Vera Paez, in
central America. They are celebrated in the Mexican
mythology, and are much sought after as head-gear by
the Peruvian damsels. Trogons, of other kinds, occur also
in the Indian islands, and the warmer continental regions
of the old world.1
The genus CrotoPhaga, Linn., is recognised by its
thick, compressed, arched bill, wdthout dentation, elevated,
or surmounted by a vertical cutting crest. (Plate CCCXCVI.
fig. 5.) The species called atm or keel-birds inhabit South
America and the West Indies. They are of a familiar and
gentle disposition in confinement, easily tamed, and may be
taught to speak. Their plumage is black, with metallic re¬
flections. They build in bushes (some say upon the ground),
and several pairs will lay and hatch together in the same
nest, which is made of size proportioned to the partnership.
They feed on insects, keep much upon the ground, where
they also attack maize and rice. M. Lesson says that C.
major dwells more habitually on large trees, while C. minor
prefers the savannahs and marshy meadows. Mr Swain¬
son never saw the common ani perch on any thing higher
than a bush. &
The genus Ramphastos, Linn., is distinguished by its
enormous bill, which in some instances is almost equal in
size to the body. It is, however, extremely light, and
cellular within, arched towards the extremity, and irregu¬
larly toothed along the margins. The tongue is long, nar¬
row, and barbed on each side, like a feather. These birds,
commonly called toucans, inhabit South America, where
they live habitually in wmods, and prey on fruits, eggs,
and new-hatched birds. The species are pretty numerous,
and almost all distinguished by brilliant colouring, which
however is somewhat too strongly contrasted, and conse¬
quently deficient in that fine gradation or harmonious
blending which beautifies less gorgeous tribes. We have
never chanced to see them in the living state, but in mu¬
seums they present a somewhat awkward aspect, from
their disproportioned bills, short feet, and lengthened tails.
Their sense of smell is said to be extremely acute,—a fa¬
culty by some attributed to an extended ramification of
nerves within the nasal portion of the bill. The genus is
now divided into two : Is*, The toucans proper (genus
Ramphastos, Plate CCCXCVI. fig. 6), which have the
largest bills, with the ground colour of the plumage usu¬
ally black, the throat, breast, and rump being more gaily
ornamented wuth white, yellow, and red. 2d/t/, The ara-
caris (genus Pteroglossus, Illiger, Plate CCCXCVI. fig.
7), in which the bill is smaller than the head, and the
ground colour of the plumage generally green, with red
or yellow on the throat and breast. A live specimen
of Ramphastos tucanus, of which the manners have been
described by Mr Vigors, was extremely fond of fruit,
both fresh and dried. These it generally held for a short
time in the extremity of the bill, touching them with ap¬
parent delight with its slender feathered tongue, and then
tossing them into its throat by a sudden upward jerk.
Its tendency to prey on animals was, however, strongly
evinced by the excitement produced by the sight of a liv¬
ing bird ; and the carnivorous propensities of another in¬
dividual are curiously related by Mr Broderip. A gold¬
finch (though, we repeat, we approve not of the fact), in¬
troduced into the toucan’s cage, was seized and com¬
pressed so suddenly, that the poor little songster had only
time to utter a short squeak before.it was dead, with its
bowels protruding. The toucan then hopped with it to
1 Sir Gould has published a Monograph of the Trogonidce, wdth sumptuous coloured plates.
600
ORNITHOLOGY.
inuuija ui *  7 - ^
over various regions of the earth. Above two hunche
Lord Anson to view a magnihcent rapid in the island ot
Quibo. A fine river of transparent water there precipi¬
tates itself along a rocky channel, forming numerous falls,
and the great disrupted rocks which form its boundary on
either side are crowned with lofty forest trees. “ While
the commodore and those who were with him attentively
viewing the place, were remarking the different blendings
of the waters, the rocks, and the woods, there came in
sight as it were still more to heighten and animate the
Vvfr^irrimic flicrVit. of* imaccaws* which hovering
different kinds are known to naturalists.
It was the opinion of Buffon that none of the parrot
tribe extended either northwards or southwards beyond
the twenty-fifth degree, on either side of the equator.
Having apparently resolved, a priori, on these lines of cir-
cumvallation, he despised, as Pennant observed, the au¬
thority of the Dutch navigator Spilbergen, who was eye-
dence^f Captain Hood, who saw a parrot at Port Famine;
and of Commodore Byron, who notwithstanding t te co < | tators cannot refrain from a kind of transport
Cook in New Zealand, by Captain Furneaux at Van Die- cur ed ^ t ',a y Linn.) is litl]e inferior to die
latitude 531“ ; and others are well known to occur in Mac- Duke ot Mantua. It is said be afess . a
quarrie Island, which lies in latitude 54i° south. A spe- ed as a it”»y
cies inhabits North America, extending even beyond the the society of a y . J , .afternoon) amid the
Illinois River to the neighbourhood of Lake Michigan, in &m.,ba[ly (®u<j ‘ 1S,' d wllich graces the dessert of D'
the forty .second degree of north latitnde. It was seen by ™f.dh““aalt“ra'f°‘“cnd*| s are describod and
Alexander Wilson in the month of February, flying in
flocks along the banks of the Ohio, during a storm of snow,
and yet in full rejoicing cry. These, and many similar facts,
are now well known to naturalists..
The modern subdivisions of this great natural family
are too numerous and minute to be here recorded.1 We
must therefore satisfy ourselves with a brief indication ot
the principal groups. We presume nobody at this time om. ‘ u -‘“Jj haw|;'er7 being'shorter and stouter,
of day, under the pretence ot popular reading, desires to allied, the bill, nowe e , g  —
Scansores. another perch, and began to strip off its feathers. When be edified by anecdotes of parrots, so we shall devote the Sc „
- it was nearly naked, it broke the bones of the wings and little space we can afford for miscellaneous matters, to'—^
lens taking them in its bill, and giving them a strong la- a few notices of some of the species which have bred in
tefa! wrench. Having reduced the little victim to a si,ape- Europe. Of these we may here mention, as the prin-
less mass, it first swfllowed the viscera, and then the re- cipal, the great blue and buff maccaw (P. aramuna); the
maintog parts niece after piece, not even rejecting the gray parrot (/J. erytW); the smciale, ring-necked, and
legs and bill. ’ Mr Broderip adds, that he has sometimes pavouan parrakeets U’. sinnalo, tmquatm, Gmmunm)-
ohserved it return its fbo/h™ its crop, and swa.low it
a&The genus Psittacus, Linn., comprehending the almost in Europe ; but knowing several instances to the contrary,
innumerable tribe of parrots, lories, parrakeets, maccaws, we wish to impress upon the public the probability that
andTockatoo,, has thl bill thick, hard, solid, rather short, many more would occur were the experiment tried with
Xhe0^?bZ'o.CtX^s"dicr^ rXeng4aeourma"caws form the genus MAcaocEHcus Of
and fleshy and the lower larynx furnished on each side Vieillot. The face is either naked, or merely striped with
with SpeculLr muscles, tLch probably contribute to feathery lines, ^e “1 is very long
the ereat facility with which these birds acquire the arti- sharp-pointed. (Plate CLLXLV1I. tig. 1.) lliese birds,the
. f ■ ,• ^ c cUp i1urnan voice Their strong and largest and most magnificent of the parrot tribe, inhabit
b g ”£n bryh^c,esgmore So^th America. The great scarlet maccaw (PSi«a«am-
numerous ban usual. Their natural food consists of fruits canga, Lath. , when m perfect plumage, sometimes mea-
and seeds They climb trees with the greatest facility, st,res above three leet in ength the tai of cour emcluded.
and suspend themselves indifferently from feet or bill. The prevailing plumage is scarlet, as its name imphes, the
Their voPices are harsh and discordant, their forms often wings blue, the wing-coverts varied with yel ow, the cheek,
, eir voices aie nan, ^ richness They white and wrinkled. It is certainly a sumptuous creature,
firm'indledraP magnificent family? abundant in almosf but after all rather too like a richly liveried footman,-an
form in^ af and in the new world ex- association somewhat strengthened by its being so often seen
Sg from thi shores rf the Ohio to the Straits of Ma- as an inhabitant of lordly mansions, and surrounded by other
™nan thus presenting a vast and varied assemblage of menial bipeds, almost as gorgeous as itself. Our feeling,
gellan,—tnus presenung a excepting the would no doubt have been different had we ever witnessed
species from their natural evolutions. “ It is a grand sight in Ornitho-
comparatively cold and cloudy c ] & , , » savs \vaterton, “ to see thousands of aras flying
geous maccaws are charactens ic o isiands’ the over’you/head, low enough to let you have a full view of
^Tthf E^sTlndie and B,e Mo ,mca? wM?t several their^aming mantle." How delightful would it have been
lories of the East Indies ana me ’ , HUtributed on some bright and dewy morning, to have accompanied
groups of parrots, parrakeets &c. w defy dist hu e - ^me bnght a & J ^ id in the islandof
orticuiturai prouuce wmcn —
Neill. Many other splendid species are described
figured in the works ot naturalists.. ciPnder,
In the genus Aratinga of Spix, the hi ^
dentated ; the orbits of the eyes naked, the cheek
so ; the tail lengthened, wedge-shaped, the neff
feathers prolonged. The species are l)ecu iar ^/ws,
world. Such are Ar. Carolina-Augusta, chrysojp ^
&c.
Toliere'tL“g'en7sPs.TTActaA of Vigors see^
ab H-
lens!
-*v
ORNITHOLOGY.
5. the upper mandible compressed at the tip. The head is
yfeathered, but the orbits are naked. The species, such as
P. sqmmosus, &c. are likewise natives of South America.
The genus Pai^eornis of Vigors has the bill rather
thick, the culmen of the upper mandible rounded, the
lower broad, short, emarginate. The middle feathers of
the tail are greatly lengthened. The most anciently know n
of the parrot race belong to this genus, such as the Alex¬
andrine parrakeet, and other long-tailed species, distin¬
guished by their elegance of form, their ruby-coloured
bills, their semicircled necks, and the rich verdure of
their plumage. The one just named is native to India
and Ceylon, and derives its designation from the fact, real
or supposed, of its having been first transported from Asia¬
tic countries by Alexander the Great. Its most distin¬
guishing characters consist in the broad black patch which
occupies the fore-part of the throat, and extends laterally in
two narrow processes on each side of the neck ; a black
line stretches from the base of the beak to the eyes, and
there is a deep purplish-red patch at the base of the wings.
Its bill is larger than that of the rose-coloured parrakeet
(P.torquatus), which, however, it greatly resembles in its
general aspect. The last-named species is w idely spread
over India, and as far eastward as Manilla. It appears,
indeed, to be identical with another species extremely
abundant on the African coasts, and well known in France
under the title of perruche de Senegal. In so far as any
conclusion can be drawn from the vague and brief de¬
scriptions handed down by ancient writers, it would appear
that this species was, as it still continues to be, more fre¬
quent in the days of antiquity than any of its congeners. No
allusion is made by these authors to those specific marks by
which the Alexandrine parrakeet is so clearly distinguish¬
ed, and the general description applies very closely to the
rose-necked kind. That the latter was extensively known,
and held in high esteem on account of the brilliancy of its
nlumage, the docility of its manners, and its successful
mitative powers, is proved by innumerable passages in
he classical writers of antiquity, more especially from the
;arliest times of the Roman empire, to a very late period
)f its annals.1 The Alexandrine parrot is generally sup-
iosed to have been brought to Europe from the island of
Ceylon, the ancient Taprobane. In the reign of Nero,
he Romans introduced other species from different quar¬
ters of Africa.2 They were highly prized by that luxu-
ious people, who lodged them in superb cages of silver,
vory, and tortoise-shell; and the price of a parrot in those
lays frequently exceeded that of a slave.3 Nor did Ovid
hink it beneath him to write a lengthened elegy on the
leath of Corinna’s favourite,—a bird which, in the love it
'ore its mistress, seems to have emulated that of the
ying Greek for his country :—
601
Clamavit moriens lingua, Corinna, Vale.4
In the same group is generally included that beautiful
nd richly varied species from the Molucca Islands, called
he blue-bellied parrakeet, Ps. cyanogaster, Shaw. Its
3ngue, in common with that of several New Holland par-
rakeets, is finely ciliated at the tip on either side. Hence Scansores.
the formation in their favour of Mr Vigors’s genus Tri-
choglossus. Vailliant, during his residence at the Cape,
had an opportunity of studying the manners of a pair of
the species just named, which had been imported from
Amboyna. They bred during their confinement in the
menagerie of M. Van Bletemberg, then governor of the
Cape. I he female deplumed her beautiful breast, and
alter having collected the feathers into a heap, deposited
two round white eggs, on which she sat most assiduously,
the male feeding her at intervals, by disinterestedly dis-
gofging what he had swallowed, and presenting the same
to his spouse. The young were produced at the end of
nineteen days, and in the space of a few more became co¬
vered with a gray cinereous down, which was by degrees
succeeded by green feathers on the body, and by blue ones
on the head. At the end of three weeks they left the
nest, and perched upon the neighbouring sticks, where
the male and female fed them in concert, as above de¬
scribed, after the manner of pigeons. The parent birds
continued to tend them in this manner for six months,
and often afforded a very interesting scene,—the young
being frequently seated beyond the female, and the male
not being able to reach them, first presented the food to
his mate, who immediately delivered it to her young.
Ihese, though of different sexes, were perfectly alike till
the first moulting, at which time red feathers bordered
with green began to appear upon the breast, and the male
became distinguished by the blue patch upon the ab¬
domen.5
In the genus Platycercus, Vigors, the tail is broad,
depressed, and somewhat rounded. The species inhabit
New Holland, and the islands of the South Pacific and In¬
dian Oceans. Examples PL Pennantii, Tabuensis, &c.
Among the perruches ordinaires of Cuvier (a portion of
the genus Conurus, Kuhl), distinguished by a regularly
graduated tail, without any disproportionate prolongation
of the central feathers, we have the Carolina parrot of
Wilson (Ps. Carolinensis, Linn.), a green plumaged bird,
with yellowhead and neck, the forehead and cheeks orange.
Of more than two hundred species now known to belong
to the parrot tribe, this is the only one which inhabits the
United States, where it is chiefly restricted to the warmer
portions,—venturing but rarely beyond Virginia. West
of the Alleghanies, however, circumstances induce it to visit
much higher latitudes,—so that, following the great valley
of the Mississippi, it is seen to frequent the banks of the
Illinois, and occasionally to approach the southern shores
of Lake Michigan. Straggling parties have even been
sometimes observed in the valley of the Juniata, in Penn¬
sylvania ; and a flock, to the great surprise of the Dutch in¬
habitants of Albany, are said to have appeared in that vi¬
cinity. This species constantly inhabits and breeds in the
southern states, and is so far hardy as to make its appear¬
ance, commonly in the depth of winter, along the woody
banks of the Ohio, the interior of Alabama, and the banks
of the Mississippi and Missouri around St Louis and other
places, when nearly all other southern birds have migrated
1 Ancient writers are unanimous in their statements that parrots came to us first of all from India. Aristotle calls the Psittacus
’■p '*<’v '’ey'”'aV<l Arrian also makes it a native of the East (Hist. Ind. cap. xv.). The parrots of Africa became first known to
ie Ilonians in the time of Nero. (Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. vi. c. 29.) For the classical history of these birds, see Mr Vivors’s “ Sketches
1 j ™*'hology,”—Zoological Journal, vol. ii. p. 37.
3 Zoological Gardens, vol. ii. p. 96.51
The splendour of a parrot’s cage is thus described by Statius :—
At tibi quanta domus, rutila testudine fulgens,
Connexusque ebori virgarum argenteus ordo,
Argutumque tuo stridentia limina cornu,
Et querula; jam sponte fores : vacat file beatus
, „ Career.—Sylv. lib. ii.
Edinburgh Cabinet Library, Africa, p. 480. 5 Shaw’s General Zoology, vol. viii. p. 414.
ml., xvi. r
4 G
602
ORNITHOLOGY.
Scansores. before the storms of that inclement season.1 We may
s V   judge of the abundance of this species, even up to a recent
period, from the statement of Vaillant, who assures us that
he saw a package containing above 6000 skins, which had
been sent to a plumassier at Paris, for the formation of
ornamental dresses.2 Mr Audubon, however, informs us
that their numbers are now rapidly diminishing, and that
in some districts where, twenty-five years ago, they were
plentiful, scarcely one is to be seen. “ I should think, he
adds, “ that along the Mississippi there is not now halt the
number that existed fifteen years ago.” With a view to
illustrate the natural habits of these birds, we extract the
following account from the work of an English gentleman
now settled in America. “ The Carolina parrakeets in all
their movements, which are uniformly gregarious, show a
peculiar predilection for the alluvial, rich, and dark forests
bordering the principal rivers and larger streams, in which
the towering cypress3 and gigantic sycamore spread their
vast summits, or stretch their innumerable arms, over a
wide waste of moving or stagnant waters. From these, the
beech, and the hack-berry,5 they derive an important supply
of food. The flocks, moving in the manner ot wild pigeons,
dart in swift and airy phalanx through the green boughs
of the forest; screaming in a general concert, they wheel
in wide and descending circles round the tall button-wood,
and all alight in the same instant, their green lustre, like
the fairy mantle, rendering them nearly invisible beneath
the shady branches, where they sit, perhaps airanging
their plumage, and, shuffling side by side, seem to caress
and scratch each other’s heads with all the fondness and
unvarying friendship of affectionate doves. It the gun
thin their ranks, they hover over the screaming, wounded,
or dying, and returning and flying around the place where
they miss their companions, in their sympathy seem to lose
all idea of impending danger. More fortunate in their ex¬
cursions, they next proceed to gratify the calls M hunger,
and descend to the banks of the river or the neighbouring
fields in quest of the inviting kernels of the cockle burr,
and probably of the bitter weed,7 which they extract from
their husks with great dexterity. In the depth of winter,
when other resources begin to fail, they, in common with
the yellow-bird and some other finches, assemble among
the tall sycamores,8 and, hanging from the extieme tuigs,
in the most airy and graceful postures, scatter around
them a cloud of down from the pendant balls, m quest of
the seeds which now afford them an ample repast. \v itn
that peculiar caprice, or perhaps appetite, which chaiac-
terizes them, they are also observed to frequent the saline
springs or licks, to gratify their uncommon taste for sa t.
Out of mere wantonness, they often frequent the orchards,
and appear delighted with the fruitless frolic of pluck¬
ing apples from the trees, and strewing them on the ground
untasted. So common is this practice among them m
Arkansas territory, that no apples are ever suffered to
ripen. They are also fond of some sorts of berries, and
particularly of mulberries, which they eat piecemeal in
their usual manner, as they hold them by the foot. Ac¬
cording to Audubon, they likewise attack the outstanding
stacks of grain in flocks, committing great waste ; and on
these occasions, as well as the former, they are so bold
or incautious as readily to become the prey of the sports¬
man in great numbers. Peculiarity of food appears wholly
to influence the visits and residence of this bird, and in
plain, champaign, or mountainous countries, they are
wholly strangers, though common along the banks ot all
the intermediate water-courses and lagoons.
“ Of their manners at the interesting period of propagation Soar
and incubation we are not yet satisfactorily informed. Theyv—v
nest in hollow trees, and take little if any pains to provide
more than a simple hollow in which to lay their eggs, like the
woodpeckers. Several females deposit their eggs in the same
cavity ; the number laid by each is said to be only three,
which are nearly round, and of a light-greenish white.9
They are at all times particularly attached to the large sy¬
camores, in the hollow trunks of which they roost in close
community, and enter at the same aperture, into which
they climb. They are said to cling close to the sides of
the tree, holding fast by the claws and bill; and into
these hollows they often retire during the day, either in
very warm or inclement weather, to sleep or pass away
the time in indolent and social security, like the Rupicola^
of the Peruvian caves, at length only hastily aroused to
forage at the calls of hunger. Indeed, from the swiftness
and celerity of their aerial movements, darting through the
gleaming sunshine, like so many sylvan cherubs, decked in
green and gold, it is obvious that their actions as well as
their manners are not calculated for any long endurance,
and, shy and retiring from all society but that to which
they are inseparably wedded, they rove abroad with inces¬
sant activity, until their wants are gratified, when, hid from
sight, they again relapse into that indolence which seems
a relief to their exertions.”11
The pavouan parrakeet (Ps. Guianensis, Lath.) belongs
to our present group. This species is native to Cayenne,
and the Antilles, where it is not uncommon, often flying
about in flocks, frequenting the wooded savannahs, and
feeding by preference on the berries of Erythrina coral
lodendron. Its length is about twelve inches, its prevail-
in<r plumage green, the cheeks and sides of the neck being
speckled with bright red, which becomes more conspicu¬
ous as the bird advances in age; the smaller wing-coverts
are bright red, the greater yellow, and both the quill and
tail feathers are dusky yellow beneath. I he bill is whit¬
ish, the legs and feet gray. We owe to M. Gabriac the
following interesting particulars regarding the breeding of
a pair of this species in the domestic state. Two cages
were prepared for their reception in the month of April.
They were placed contiguous, but communicating only by
a small door, and the one enjoyed the “blessed light ot
day,” while the other was kept covered, so that no light
could enter but by the mutual door. The latter also con¬
tained an abundant supply of saw-dust. The birds were
placed in the open apartment, which was the larger ot the
two, and they speedily showed symptoms of tender attach-
ment to each other. They long declined, however, to ea¬
ter the darkened dwelling, although the female put m her
head, withdrew it again, advanced part of her body, then
returned tail foremost,—but finally, after several days ot
hesitation, she entered the mysterious chamber. Ihere
she expressed her satisfaction by little kindly c leer u
cries, and often called in the male, who exhibited every
proof of affection. She soon began to scrape about, an
arrange a kind of nest, and on the 18th of May she lay
her first egg, succeeded at intervals of three days by a -
cond, third, and fourth,—after which she sat assiduously.
The male took no share in the hatching, but he kep
stantly close by the nest, as if to cheer her sedentary io •
He did not however allow his affection to his wife to
fere with his duty to his hoped-for family. 1 theJ®®3 ’
who never left the nest but to solace herself wit
and drink, appeared to devote too much time to that in
gence, he remanded her back by a little blow
1 Nuttall’s American Ornithology, vol.
2 Hist. Nat. des Perroquets
51G.
7 Ambrosia, species.
8 Platanus occidentalis.
4 Platanus occidentalis.
5 Celtis occidentalis. „ . . , ^ „ n\na- r
e Xanthium strumarium. Audubon, Ora. o*
io c'oekofthe lrock of Peru, which is also somewhat related, apparently, to the parrots. (Note by Mr utta •)
S1 Nuttairs iWarazwd of Ornithology, i 456.
139.
ORNITHOLOGY.
603
beak, which occasionally produced something approaching
to a quarrel. At the termination of twenty-five days, there
being no appearance of progeny, the eggs v/ere purposely
withdrawn and broken, and were found to contain young
in different stages of development, but all dead. This re¬
sult was attributed to stormy weather, which had pre¬
vailed during incubation. Fortunately a second laying,
accompanied by the same circumstances as the first, com¬
menced on the 14th of July, and after twenty-three days,
counted rigorously, the young appeared from each egg in
a succession corresponding to the order of laying. They
were at first covered by a grayish down, and were cherish¬
ed with the tenderest solicitude by the parents, who on
the approach of any threatened danger defended them
with the greatest courage. It was in truth a curious sight
to see two creatures before so kind and tenderly affec¬
tionate to those around them, so grateful for their food,
and so solicitous of human kindness, converted by the
strength of this new passion into little tigers, and so in¬
tractable as to attend no longer to fair hands or gentle
This natural wildness showed itself also strongly
voices.
in the young ones, who recognised alone their parents,
and bit and scratched at all the world besides.
A few species have the tail square, with the central fea¬
thers prolonged, and these in Ps. setarius, Temm. PL Col.
15, are bare of barbs, except at the tip.
The great mass of parrots properly so called, belonging
to the restricted genus Psittacus, have the bill rather
strong, the face clothed with feathers, the head large,
without crest, the body thick, and the tail rather short and
square. Green is the prevailing colour of the plumage,
and the species are native to various countries both of the
old world and the new. One of the best known, and
most remarkable for its easy docility, the distinctness of
its articulation, and general loquacious powers, is the com¬
mon gray parrot, Ps. erythacus, of which the tail is red,
and the orbits white and naked. It is an African species,
and one of the earliest and most frequently imported. It
has been known to breed in Europe,—a French gentleman
it Marmande having had a pair which produced young
anes for five or six years successively. They made their
nest in spring, in a cask filled with saw-dust, the number
nf eggs being four, of which one was always unproductive.
According to Labat a similar instance had previously oc¬
curred at Paris. Our present square-tailed group is very
numerous.
The lories (genus Lorius, Vig.) have the bill rather
ittenuated, the upper mandible much arched, compressed,
-he lower lengthened, and nearly entire. The tongue is
lescribed as bristly and tubular. The tail is rather short,
sHghtly graduated. Various shades of red form the pre¬
vailing colour of the plumage. The species inhabit the
East Indies and the Asiatic islands. Example, Ps. uni-
-olor, garrulus, &c.
Certain short-tailed species, of small size, which inhabit
he tropical countries of both the new and old world, form
ie genus Psittaculus of Kuhl. Such are Ps. passerinus,
&c- They are erroneously called parrakeets by some
) our English writers, a name which would confound them
Vlth the long-tailed species already alluded to, and more
generally recognised under that title. The vast extent of
ie parrot tribe renders subdivision extremely desirable as
i matter of convenience ; but it must be confessed that a
llere difference in size and colour is not of itself sufficient
o authorize the separation of groups, or the formation of
jenera.
The genus Microglossus, Vieih, is, however, better
minded. The bill, especially the upper mandible, is very
nge and strong, the head ornamented by a crest of nar¬
row feathers, and the face naked. The tongue is cylin- Seansores.
drical, lengthened, and tubular, capable of being greatly v
protruded from the mouth, and ending in a kind of corne¬
ous gland, cloven at the tip. (See Plate CCCXCVII. figs. 5
and 0.) I he legs are more naked than usual, and the tarsi,
on which they occasionally rest while walking, very short
and square. I he tail is square or even. We are not ac¬
quainted with more than two species, both from eastern
countries. I he black or giant cockatoo (jRs. yigas'), called
by old Edwards “a parrot of the first magnitude,” and Ps.
aterrimus of Gmelin, are the birds alluded to. Their sy¬
nonymy seems confused. They inhabit New Guinea and
the isle of Waigiou ; and Edwards’s figure was taken from
a living specimen in Ceylon, but whether indigenous or
imported does not appear. Vaillant observes of one of
the species (his ara noir d trompe), that in cold weather
it covered the bare space on each side of its face by low¬
ering over them the feathers of the crest.
Ihe great New Holland species, called the Banksian
cockatoo, discovered in the course of Captain Cook’s first
circumnavigation, forms, with others, the modern genus
Calyptorhynchus. (Plate CCCXCVII. fig. 2.) These large
dark-coloured species are as yet but ill defined. They are
said to live on roots ; but Mr Bennet alludes to one which
feeds on the larvae of insects, as well as on the seeds of
Banksia, Hakea, and even of Xanthorrhoea, or grass tree ;
and in the travels of that gentleman we find the following
passage, which relates to a certain locality in New Holland.
Black and white cockatoos had lately become very nu-
meious about this part of the country : the former appear¬
ed to have been attracted by some trees that had been
felled when clearing a spot ofland for cultivation,—as these
biids visit the dead or fallen trees to procure the larvae of
insects that breed in them. I have seen, more than once,
small trees lying prostrate, occasioned by the powerful bills
of the large black cockatoos, who, observing on the trunk,
externally, indications ofa larva being within, have diligent¬
ly laboured to extract it; and should the object of'their
search be situated (as often occurs) far in, before they reach
it the trunk is so much cut through, that the slightest puff
of wind lays it prostrate.”1
1 he white-plumaged cockatoos, with conspicuous crests,
tinged in part with orange, red, or yellow, pertain to the
genus Plyctolophus, Vieil. (Plate CCCXCVII. fig. 3.)
I hey inhabit New Holland and the eastern islands, and are
remarkable for their great docility. They are said to pre¬
fer the vicinity of marshy places.
A beautiful small parrot, with longer legs than usual,
and straighter claws, forms the genus Pezoporus, Illiger.
It is green and yellow, spotted with black, the frontlet
led, the tail long and graduated. The outer hind claw is
very long, ibis singular bird, commonly called the ground
pariot (-/J. terrestris, Shaw,—P. Jbrmosus, Eatham), differs
fiom its congeners in hardly ever perching upon trees. It
i emains upon the ground in sedgy plains, or runs amon^
the long grass, almost after the manner of a rail. (Plate
CCCXCVII. fig. 4.)
At the conclusion of the scansorial order Cuvier has
placed two genera which have certainly but little in com-
mon with the preceding groups, and which some consider
as allied to the gallinaceous order, while others have placed
them in the coniiostral tribe of Passeres,—we mean Cory-
tiiaix and Musophaga. In both the bill is rather short,
the upper mandible bulged or rounded, the feet have a
short membrane between the toes, and although these are
not placed exactly in pairs, yet the outer toe is versatile
to a considerable degree. Ihe nostrils are simply pierced
in the corneous portion of the bill, the margins of which
aie dcntated. In the plantain-eaters (genus IMusophagv,
1 Wanderings in New South Wales, &c. i. 182.
604
ORNITHOLOGY.
Rasores. Isert, Plate CCCXCVII. fig. 8) the base of the bill forms
'a raised, expanded disk upon the forehead. The vio et
plantain-eater (M. violacea) is a bird of great beauty, the
general plumage being of a rich glossy violet black, the
crown and primaries crimson, the bill yellow tipt with red,
and a clear white stripe beneath the eye. It occurs in
the province of Acra, in Guinea, and in other parts ot
Western Africa, and feeds on the fruit of the musa or
plantain tree. The touracos (genus Corythaix, Ilhger,
Plate CCCXCVII. fig. 7) want the expansion at the base
of the bill, and have the head adorned by an elongat¬
ed crest. Several beautiful species belong to this genus,
such as the Cuculus Persa of Linn., a native of the Cape,
—of a fine green colour, with a portion of the quill-tea-
thers crimson. Vaillant informs us that there aie great
numbers of these birds in the country of the Kottinquas,—
that they are very difficult to shoot, as they perch only on
the summits of the tallest trees, and rarely sufter any one
to approach within gun-shot,—but that they are easily
caught alive in snares baited with such fruits as are in
season. He adds, that they are excellent eating. Another
species of this genus, which it is delightful to look upon,
is the Pauline touraco, C. Paulina, also a native ot South¬
ern Africa. M. Vieillot, who had occasion to examine
one alive in Paris, informs us that its manners were mild
and familiar, that it lived on succulent fruits, and was fond
of sugar. Its habits were active, its voice sonorous, and
apparently ventriloqual.
Order IV.—RASORES.1
GALLINACEOUS OR RASORIAL BIRDS.
The species of this order, by far the most valuable to the
human race of all the feathered tribes (how many, regard¬
less of Ornithology, yet dwell with pleasure on a roast¬
ed turkey), are characterized by a rather short and con¬
vex bill. The upper mandible is somewhat curved, and
furnished with a cere, sometimes naked, sometimes lea¬
thered. The head is generally small in proportion to the
body. The nostrils are placed on each side of the bill,
and usually in a fleshy protecting membrane. The tarsi
are for the most part elongated. The toes are four in
number, three of which are anterior, and united by a mem¬
brane more or less extended, at their bases; the fourth,
posterior, is articulated higher than the others, and is in
some cases very small, or even entirely wanting.
This order, as we have elsewhere noticed, contains se¬
veral of the most ornamental, and a great majority ot the
most highly prized and useful species ot the leathered
race. While the peacock and golden pheasant stand un¬
rivalled alike for elegance of form and beauty of plumage,
the turkey and domestic fowl, the grouse quail and par¬
tridge, lay claim to more substantial though less sentimen¬
tal regard, as conducing in no small degree to the social
enjoyments of civilized life. Gallinaceous birds are gene¬
rally distinguished bv a bulky form, and a heavy and some¬
what laborious flight'. In fact, the sternum or breast-bone
is so deeply notched on either side as to diminish the sup¬
port afforded to the action of the pectoral muscles; and the
power of the wings, and consequent duration and velocity
of their movements, suffer a corresponding diminution.
With the exception of the alectors or curassoes, few
of the gallinaceous species build on trees (in which they
differ remarkably from the preceding orders), though all
delight in basking on the ground, and scraping in the dry
and sultry soil, for which purpose they are provided with
muscular limbs and feet. They live upon all sorts of gram
and seeds,—occasionally upon berries, or the buds of shrubs Has lt,
and trees,—and, the younger birds especially, show them.''—- *
selves sufficiently eager and expert in the capture of in¬
sect prey. The females lay a great number of eggs, in a
rude and carelessly constructed nest; and the newly-pro¬
duced offspring, unlike the callow nestlings of the other
orders, though"they remain for some time associated with
their parents, run swiftly, and pick freely from their first
exclusion. The males, particularly towards the breeding
season, are quarrelsome and courageous,—indulging in
frequent and sometimes fatal contention. They are often
furnished with spurs. In the satyr pheasant both sexes
are so armed, and the males are moreover provided with a
couple of horns. In the polyplectron the tarsi of the male
are doubly armed, there being two spurs on each leg.
In their general form and habits, the particular structure
and functions of the digestive system, and the great bene¬
fits which they confer upon the human race, birds of this
order have been observed to bear a considerable resem¬
blance to the ruminating or herbivorous quadrupeds. Like
these, their stomach is of a more complex character,
consisting of a dilated membranous pouch or crop, and
a muscular gizzard,—in the former of which their food is
rendered moist and pulpy, in the latter it is bruised and
broken, and otherwise prepared for the production of the
life-sustaining chyle; whereas in accipitiine biids the
crop is either inconspicuous or non-existent, and the sto¬
mach, if not membranous, at least has its muscular coating
very thin. The intestine in gallinaceous birds is rather
long and wide, of nearly uniform diameter, and provided
with two enormous ca?ca. Iheir flesh, we need scaicely
say, is very delicate, and highly esteemed as a pleasing
and nutritious food. It varies considerably in colour,
that of the turkey and common poultry being white, of the
moor "rouse brownish red, while the breast of the black-
cock presents twm distinct layers of red and white, the one
imposed upon the other. We allude at present to its cu¬
linary aspect. . . , , i.
Naturalists have erred in assigning the polygamous ha¬
bit as a general characteristic of our present order Ihe
instinct to pair, or habit of monogamy, is no doubt be¬
stowed only on those species to which it is necessary tor
the sustentation of their young, and differs considerably m
the nature and permanence of the attachment, accord-
in" as the nest is placed above or upon the surface of the
"round. All birds which build on trees, as was long ago
observed by Lord Kames, are hatched blind, or extreme¬
ly defective in the sense of sight, and almost without lea¬
thers,—thus requiring the sedulous care of both parents.
But the generality even of gallinaceous birds, which breed
upon the ground, do likewise pair, though the hatching o
the eggs is entirely confided to the female, who comp etes
her task by leading the young towards their proper food,
which they are able to select for themselves, being active,
completely formed, and well feathered, f^ the.r hrst e^
elusion. What is indeed more beautiful than the foa
affection of these devoted creatures, teaching m he b a
ness of instinctive love, a lesson to proud but co1 ,
nity? Who knoweth not (now divinely told) how e
hen “ doth gather her brood beneath her wings; bow sue
shelters them from the nipping blast, expanding her , J
breast and feathery pinions, till she becomes a populous
breast and teatnery pimuns, tin ~ ‘
tabernacle, a living temple of maternal love, bes
sll protruding bills, and bright bnt puttee,
she will dare, with upraised ruffled plumes, the her est
set of the direst foe,-the callous school-boy with b*
threatening club, the snarling cur-dog with h^iv^S^
the insidious weasel, creeping serpent-hke through ta g
herbage, or the bolder bird of prey, “ lord oi the
1 GallinjE, Linn.
ORNITHOLOGY.
605
. heart and eagle eye,” descending swift and sure, like thun-
'v der-bolt from heaven ! What are each or all of these in
dread array, with death itself, to her at other times a fear¬
ful creature, but now pervaded by the deep intensity of
mother love ? Who knoweth not these things may have
wandered far through wood and wilderness, up vast and
lonely mountains, in moist and green savannahs, o’er dry
and desert sands,—but he has never turned a kindly and
considerate eye towards perhaps the too familiar features
of some lowly farm-stead close by his early home. Yet to
such thoughts the mind, in those that loved them once, not
seldom turns. The hoary worn-out warrior, with “ scars
entrenched,” and decked with emblems of the blood-stain¬
ed field,—the smooth but hollow statesman, gorgeous on
gala days in regal throngs,—the lawyer with insidious
tongue, by which the w'orse is made the better reason,—
the nabob “ with visage discomposed,” sallow as his gold
(his heart as pure ?),—the soft physician, with stilly foot
and ever ready palm,—the merchant prince dreaming of
“ Tyre and Sidon,” of freighted vessels, and “ the injuri¬
ous sea,”—think they not often of their boyish years, when
one bright summer day seemed like a century of such de¬
light as all their best planned schemes of proud ambition
since then have yielded never ? But in these fantastic
thoughts forget we not our gallinaceous order ?
The male, though somewhat less assiduous than the fe¬
male, continues to manifest a certain degree of parental
solicitude, by uttering the alarm note on the approach of
birds of prey, or other dangerous foes. Black game and
wood grouse, however, do not seem to pair at all, but in the
genial spring a male assembles round him a certain num¬
ber of devoted females, which afterwards deposit their
eggs, and rear their young altogether independent of the
male parent. These birds are therefore polygamous in
the proper acceptation of the term. Indeed, even among
herbivorous quadrupeds pairing is rare, because the female
can suckle her young while she herself is feeding ;—but
the monogamous habit probably obtains among most carni¬
vorous quadrupeds, and certainly among all carnivorous
birds, because incubation leaves the female no sufficient
time to hunt for food,1 and because young birds cannot
bear a long fast, and therefore require the assistance of
both parents while unable to provide for themselves.
An extraordinary circumstance has been observed in
the females of certain genera of this order, viz. an assump¬
tion of the male plumage after a certain period of life.
We believe it to be a fact in the natural history of com¬
mon poultry, that all hen-birds which either by accident
or design have been allowed to attain the age of sixteen
) ears complete, have been observed to assume the plumage
of c°cks! The same change has been seen to take place
both in the female pheasant and the pea-hen, but at more
indeterminate periods of life, and less in connection with
an advanced age. Though these facts have not escaped
! the observation of the philosophical naturalist, yet the
different circumstances attending their occurrence have
not been detailed with sufficient frequency or fulness to
admit of any satisfactory theory being offered in their ex-
P anation." We shall conclude these general remarks by
observing, that the gallinaceous order, with the exception
o the pigeon tribe, and the genus Opisthocomus (I'haozin,
u on), which certainly offer some very anomalous cha¬
racters, is naturally and consistently composed. We shall
now pr°cee(j a j)rief notice of the principal genera.
ie birds known by the general name of Alectors are
species of large size from South America, somewhat allied
0 urkeys. Their tails are broad and rounded, and com-
Posecl of large stiff feathers. They inhabit woods, living
1 ruits and buds, perching and building their nests on
trees, and dwelling gregariously in love and amity. They Rasores.
are known under the by no means euphonious names of
hoccos znAjacous (words which we shall not pronounce ex¬
cept when necessary), and are arranged as follows by Ba¬
ron Cuvier. The hoccos properly so called, which are also
known as curassoes (genus Crax, Linn., Plate CCCXC VIII.
fig* 1)» have the bill strong, and its base surrounded by a
skin sometimes of lively colour, and containing the nostrils.
The head is ornamented by a tuft of long, narrow, recurved
feathers. T he most common kind is the Crax alector, or
crested curasso, which was at one time almost completely
acclimated in Holland, where they were as prolific as com¬
mon poultry. It is so frequent in the woods of Guiana as
to form, according to M. Sonnini, the surest resource
of every hungry traveller whose stock of provisions may
be found exhausted, and who has therefore become de¬
pendent on his gun. They are gregarious, and even when
a considerable number have been shot, the rest will re¬
main quietly perched, as if unconscious of the surrounding
slaughter. Several other species are described in syste¬
matic works. C. globicera is distinguished by a large
rounded tubercle on the base of the upper mandible.
In the genusOuRAX, Cuv., the bill is shorter and thicker,
with its basal membrane, as well as the greater portion of
the head, covered with short, velvety feathers. (Plate
CCCXC VIII. fig. 2.) Here is placed the Our ax pauxi
(Crax pauxi, Linn.), or galeated curasso, a large turkey-
hke bird, with plumage of a shining black with green re¬
flections, the abdomen and under tail-coverts white. At
the base of the beak is a great oval tubercle, of a pale
blue colour, and as hard as stone. I he structure or posi¬
tion of the windpipe is peculiar. “ Sa trachee,” says Cu-
vier, descend dehors, le long du cote droit jusqu en ar-
riere du sternum, se recourbe vers le cote gauche, et re-
vient en avant pour rentrer dans la poitrine par la four-
chette. Tous ces anneaux sont comprimes.” This species
is a native of Mexico, where it lives gregariously, perching
on trees, but building usually on the ground, and leading
about its young after the manner of the pheasant and com¬
mon hen. It is easily domesticated.
The guans or yacous, genus Penelope of Merrem, have
the bill more slender than the preceding, with a bare space
around the eye, and on the lower part of the throat, the
latter generally capable of inflation. The individuals of
the same species seem to vary considerably, so that many
doubtful kinds have been described by naturalists. The
guany commonly so called {Pen. cristata, Gmelin), is the
largest of the genus, measuring about thirty inches in total
length. The whole upper surface of the body is of a dusky
black or bronze colour, glossed with green and olive. The
feathers on the back of the head form a thick erectile crest.
I he fore part of the neck and breast are spotted with white,
each feather being surrounded by a white border. The
naked part of the throat is bright scarlet, with a depend¬
ing fold of the same colour. The manners of this bird re¬
semble those of the curassoes. They search for food alono-
the ground, but perch and build upon the tops of tree?.
They are less gregarious, generally keeping together in
paiis, and remaikable, it is said, for the strictest constancy,
and their strong attachment to each other, being thus
deserving of the name they bear, that of the devoted con¬
sort of Ulysses.
The genus Ortilda of Merrem scarcely differs from
the preceding, except in having a much smaller portion bare
around the eye and throat. We are acquainted with only
a single species, the Phasianus motmot of Gmelin {Phas.
parragua, Lath.). Its voice is very strong, and the wind¬
pipe descends beneath the skin towards the abdomen, and
then remounts into the chest. The plumage is of a bronzed
See Karnes’s Sketches.
* Wilson’s Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. Order Galling.
606
ORNITHOLOGY.
Itasores. brown above, and ashy-white below, the crest red. It in¬
habits Brazil, Paraguay, and Guiana. Two other species
are described by M. Lesson, Ort. Goudotii and squamala,—
the former inhabits the mountains of Santa Fe de Bogota,
the latter is native to Brazil.1
The genus Opisthocomus of Hoffmansegg (basa ot
Vieil.) is associated in our present system with the preced-
ino- electors. The only known species (Phasianus cnsta-
tm, Lath.) has the bill short and thick, the nostrils pierced
in its corneous portion, without the usual surrounding mem¬
brane. The head bears a crest of long, slender, decomposed
feathers, and the toes (in which character it also diiters
from all the genuine gallinaceous kind) have no connect¬
ing membrane at the base. The bird occurs in Guiana,
where it is usually seen perched in places subject to inun¬
dation. It lives chiefly on the leaves and seeds ot a species
of arum. Its flesh has a strong smell of castoreum, and is
used only as a bait for fishes. “ II forme,” says Baron
Cuvier, “ un genre ties distinct des autres gallinacees, et
qui pourra devenir le type d’un famille particuliere quand
on connaitra son anatomic.”2 Its true situation in the na¬
tural system seems at present quite uncertain, but, trom its
great diversity in different works, must assuredly in some
be most erroneous. •
In the genus Pavo of Linn., the bill, of moderate size,
is bare at the base, the nostrils lateral, sub-basal, open.
The head is crested, the cheeks are naked, or nearly so.
The tarsi are rather long, and armed with a conical spur.
The upper coverts of the tail are of singular length and
magnificence. The tail itself is erectile and wedge-shaped.
The wings are rather short. This genus, as now restricted,
contains only two species. The common peacock {Pavo
cristatus, Linn.), so much admired for the surpassing splen¬
dour of its plumage, and now so familiarly known as a do¬
mestic bird, has probably been reduced to a state of de¬
pendence, if not of servitude, for some thousand years.
The earliest notice we possess of it is contained in the se¬
cond book of Chronicles. “ For the king’s ships went to
Tarshish with the servants of PIiram : every three years
once came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver,
ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” The introduction of this
beautiful bird to the western countries of Europe has never
been clearly traced,—but every step of its progress has no
doubt been owing rather to the agency of man than the in¬
stinct of nature. Its inborn tendency would clearly have
been to return to whence it came,—to seek again the pei-
petual sunshine, and ever-verdant forests ot Asia, the
banks “ of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams. it ap¬
pears to have been unknown even in Greece during the early
manhood of Alexander the Great, by whom it was first
observed with no less wonder than delight in the progress
of his southern expedition, and then transmitted to his na¬
tive country. There, however, it must have multiplied
speedily, as Aristotle, who died in a year or two after “ the
great Emathian conqueror,” mentions the peacock as a
well-known bird. It is now distributed among most civi¬
lized nations, beautifying with lustrous train our verdant
lawns, and arching its proud emblazoned neck among the
“ ancestral trees” of many lordly dwellings. The cry of
the peacock, unless when mellowed by distance, is harsh
and unmusical, but extends far and wide. Indeed the notes
of all birds, whether musically toned or inharmonious, are
very clear and forcible. The voice of a blackbird may be
heard as far as that of a man,—the clanging cry of the
stork has been calculated to fill a circumference of nearly R es
„ 1    fK/a IaovcIt cnr<=»nm nf* flip npnr*nrlr
half a league, and the harsh scream of the peacock extends
as far as that of an elephant.3 Mr Waterton observes, that
the singular metallic note of the campanero or bell-bird of
America is audible from a distance of three miles.
The only other species of this genus (as now restricted)
is the Japan or Javanese peacock (P. Japonensis, Briss.,—
P. Javanicus, Horsfield), of which we have elsewhere
figured both the adult male and young, under the name
of Aldrovandine peacock, from the specimens in the Edin¬
burgh Museum.4 It occurs in Japan, Java, and other
eastern and southern regions of Asia. The particular
markings and general distribution of the colours in the
train scarcely differ from those ot the better-known species;
but the Aldrovandine bird may be distinguished at first
sight from the common kind, by a difference in the form,
colour, and consistence of the cervical feathers; by the
shape and structure of the occipital crest, of which the
plumes are lance'-shaped, or broadly linear, and barbed
throughout their entire length, instead of being merely
tufted at the extremities; by the dissimilar plumage of the
wing-coverts, and the number of feathers in the tail, which
in the former consists of twenty, in the latter of only
eighteen.
The genus Polyplectron, Temm., contains a few spe¬
cies formerly classed with the preceding, but of smaller
size, and distinguished by a pair of spurs on each tarsus.
Such is the beautiful Thibet peacock {Pol. Thibetanus), the
peacock-pheasant of Edwards, of which a great proportion
of the plumage is ornamented by large and very brilliant
spots of greenish blue, changing with the varying light to
gold and purple, and surrounded by circles of black and
yellowish white. The male is about the size of the golden
pheasant. The plumage of the female is less brilliant,
and her tail shorter. The colour in the young of both
sexes is earthy gray, with large spots and small lines of
brown. This species is of easy domestication, and not re¬
markable for shyness even in a state ot nature. It is na¬
tive to the mountains of Thibet, and is said also to occur
in China. At least it is frequent in the aviaries of that
leaf-soaking people. , .
The genus Lophophorus, Femm., distinguished by its
tufted hanging crest, and strongly bent and broadly mai-
jrined bill, contains that splendid bird the Impeyan phea¬
sant {Loph. refulgens), of which the colours of the plumage
are so exceedingly brilliant from their metallic lustre, and
so variable according to the direction of the light or the
position of the spectator, that they cannot be expressed
by words, and even the skill of the most accomplished
painter would in vain attempt to equal the bright original.
Purple, green, and gold, are the prevailing hues. Ihe te-
male, however, is almost entirely destitute of metallic splen¬
dour. This bird inhabits the mountains in the northern
parts of Hindustan. Lady Impey endeavoured to trans¬
port it alive to England, but it died on the passage.
known to the natives by the name of monaul, which signi¬
fies the bird of gold.
The genus Meleagris, Linn., distinguished by its Dare
and wattled head and neck, and broad erectile tail, con¬
tains the valuable but unromantic turkey,
Linn., a heavy and ungraceful bird, as it exists in t le po
try-yards of Britain, but of a richer plumage and roo c
powerful wing in its native wooded wilderness. 16
turkey,” observes Mr Nuttall, “ once prevalent throughout
~ - ” ” _r ^ . v me; 2 Regne Animal, t. i. p* 473, note.
i Dictionnaire des Sciences Nat. t. hx. p. 135. win-inn- nf tho slrpno-th of voice in wild beasts. ^ur 0
3 We have few opportunities (fortunately) afforded us in this country o j ^ n p mention Durino' the residence u
distant Horn the menagerie (on the Mound, Princes Street) about two miles and a half.
4 Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. pb 14, lo.
Rasi
ORNITHOLOGY.
607
the whole continent of North America, from Mexico and
I'^the Antilles to the forests of Lower Canada, is now, by
the progress and density of population, chiefly confined to
the thickly wooded and uncultivated tracts of the western
states, being particularly abundant in the unsettled parts
of Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and throughout the
vast forests of the great valleys of the Mississippi and Mis¬
souri. On the banks of the latter river, however, where
the woods disappear beyond the confluence of the Platte,
the turkey no longer appears, and the feathers of the wings,
for the purpose of pluming arrows, form an article of small
commerce between the other natives and their western
countrymen. For a thousand miles up the Arkansas and
Red River, in the wooded alluvial lands, they are not un¬
common. They are likewise met with in small numbers
in Tennessee, Alabama, and West Florida. From the At¬
lantic states generally they are now nearly extirpated. The
wild turkey is neither gregarious nor migratory, but from
the necessity of wandering after food ; it is otherwise re¬
sident throughout the whole of the vast region it inhabits,
including the greatest diversity of climate ; and it is pro¬
lific in proportion to its natural resources, so that while in
the United States and Canada it only breeds once in the
year, in Jamaica and the other West India islands it is
said to raise two or three broods in the same period. In
quest of mast, they therefore spread themselves through
the country, and insensibly assemble in considerable num¬
bers to the district where their food abounds. These
movements are observed to take place in October (the tur¬
key moon of the aborigines). The males, or gobblers as
they are often called, from their note, are now seen apart
from the other sex, in companies varying from ten to a
hundred. The females move singly, or accompanied by
their almost independent brood, who all at first shun assi¬
duously the persecuting society of the selfish male. Yet
after a while, when their food proves abundant, separate
mixed flocks of all ages and sexes often promiscuously
join in the bounteous repast. Their migration, very un¬
like that of the rapid pigeons, is made almost entirely on
foot, until their progress is perhaps arrested by a river.
Their speed, however, is very considerable, and when sur¬
prised, they more commonly trust to their legs than their
wings, running nearly with the velocity of abound. On
meeting with an impediment of this kind, after consider¬
able delay, they ascend to the tops of the tall trees, and, at
the cluck of the leader, they launch into the air for the op¬
posite shore. The transit is a matter of little difficulty^,
though considerable labour, for the older birds ; but the
younger and less robust sometimes fall short of the bank,
and are either drowned or attain the land by swimming.
After crossing, it is remarked that they often become an
easy prey to the hunter, as they seem bewildered by the
new country in which they have arrived, or more probably
are fatigued by the novelty and extent of their excursion.
After long journeys and privations, particularly in frosty
weather, or while the ground is covered with snow, they
are sometimes reduced to the necessity of making their
appearance near farm-houses, where they now and then
even associate with the poultry, and enter the stables and
eri s after grain. In this desultory and foraging manner
they spend the autumn and winter.
According to the latitude, and the advancement of
ie season, though always very early in the spring, they
egm to be actuated by the instinct of propagation. The
es commence their gobbling, and court the society of
eir retiring mates. The sexes roost apart, but in the
,arne vicinity, and at the yelp of the female the gobbling
lecomes reiterated and extravagant. If heard from the
f'roun ’ a general rush ensues to the spot, and whether the
J aPpeais or not, the males, thus accidentally brought
&e ier, spread out their train, quiver and depress their
rigid wings, and strutting and puffing with a pompous gait, Ifasores.
often make battle, and directing their blows at the head,
occasionally destroy each other in a fit of jealousy. As
with our domestic fowls, several hens usually follow a fa¬
vourite cock, roosting in his immediate neighbourhood,
until they begin to lay, when they withdraw from his re¬
sort to save their eggs, which he would destroy if disco¬
vered.
“ The females are therefore seen in his company only
for a few hours in the day. Soon after this period, how¬
ever, the male loses his ardour, and the advances of affec¬
tion now become reversed, the hen seeking out the society
of her reluctant mate. In moonlight nights the gobbling
of the male is heard, at intervals of a few minutes, for
hours together, and affords often a gratifying means of
their discovery to the wakeful hunter. After this period
the males become lean and emaciated, so as to be even
unable to fly, and seek to hide themselves from their mates
in the closest thickets, where they are seldom seen. They
now also probably undergo their moult, and are so dry,
lean, and lousy, until the ripening of the mast and berries,
as to be almost wholly indigestible, and destitute of nutri¬
ment as food. So constant is this impoverished state, that
the Indians have a proverb, ‘ As lean as a turkey in sum¬
mer.’
“ About the middle of April, in Kentucky, the hens be¬
gin to provide for the reception of their eggs, and secure
their prospects of incubation. The nest, merely a slight
hollow scratched in the ground, and lined with withered
leaves, is made by the side of a fallen log, or beneath the
shelter of a thicket, in a dry place. The eggs, from ten to
fifteen, are whitish, covered with red dots. While laying,
the female, like the domestic bird, always approaches the
nest with great caution, varying the course at almost every
visit, and often concealing her eggs entirely by covering
them with leaves. Trusting to the similarity of her home-
ly garb with the withered foliage around her, the hen, as
with several other birds, on being carefully approached,
sits close without moving. She seldom indeed abandons
her nest, and her attachment increases with the growing
life of her charge. The domestic bird has been known
not unfrequently to sit stedfastly on her eggs until she
died of hunger. As soon as the young have emerged from
the shell, and begun to run about, the parent, by her cluck,
calls them around her, and watches with redoubled suspi¬
cion the approach of their enemies, which she can perceive
at an almost inconceivable distance. To avoid moisture,
which might prove fatal to them, they now keep on the
higher sheltered knolls ; and in about a fortnight, instead
of roosting on the ground, they begin to fly at night to
some wide and low branch, where they still continue to
nestle under the extended wings of their protecting parent.
At length they resort during the day to more open tracts,
or prairies, in quest of berries of various kinds, as well as
grasshoppers and other insects. The old birds are very
partial to pecan-nuts, winter grapes, and other kinds of
fruits. They also eat buds, herbs, grain, and large insects ;
but their most general and important fare is acorns, after
which they make extensive migrations. By the month of
August the young are nearly independent of their parent,
and become enabled to attain a safe roost in the higher
branches of the trees. The young cocks now show the
tuft of hair upon the breast, and begin to strut and gobble,
and the young hens already pur and leap. One of the
most crafty enemies which the wild turkey has to encoun¬
ter is the lynx or wild cat, who frequently seizes his prey
by advancing round, and waiting its approach in ambush.
Like most other gallinaceous birds, they are fond of wal¬
lowing on the ground, and dusting themselves.
“ When approached by moonlight, they are readily shot
from their roosting-tree, one after another, without any
608
Itasores.
ORNITHOLOGY.
apprehension of their danger, though they would dodge or
fly instantly at the sight ot the owl. I he gobblers, during
the season of their amorous excitement, have been known
even to strut over their dead companions while on the
ground, instead of seeking their own safety by flight. In
the spring, the male turkeys are called by a whistle made
of the second joint bone of the wing of the bird, which
produces a sound somewhat similar to the voice of the fe¬
male ; and on coming up to this call they are consequent¬
ly shot. They are likewise commonly caught in quadran¬
gular pens made of logs crossing each other, from which
is cut a slanting covered passage sufficient to allow the
entrance of the turkey. Corn is then scattered in a tiain
to this cage for some distance, as well as within; and
the neighbouring birds, in the surrounding woods, hay¬
ing discovered the grain, call on each other by a cluck¬
ing, and entering one at a time, they become seem¬
ed in the pen, as, for the purpose of escape, they constant¬
ly direct their view upwards, instead ot stooping to go out
by the path by which they had entered. The male wild
turkey weighs commonly from fifteen to eighteen pounds,
is not unfrequently as much as twenty-five, and some¬
times, according to Audubon, even thirty-six. Ihe hen
commonly weighs about nine pounds; and the usua
price for a turkey from the Indians is twenty-five cents.
The only other species of turkey is a very rare and
beautiful bird (M. ocellata, Cuv.), of which, we believe,
only a single specimen is yet known. It was captured by
the crew of a vessel who were cutting wood in the Bay
of Honduras, and was brought alive to the Thames, for pre¬
sentation to Sir Henry Halford, but met with an accident
which caused its death. It afterwards became the pro¬
perty of Mr Bullock ; and on the dispersion of his collec¬
tion, was purchased by the French government for the
Paris Museum. It is nearly equal in size to the common
turkey. The tail is less ample, but its colours are more
varied and beautiful, almost rivalling those of the peacock
in its little mirrors of sapphire, surrounded by circles ot
gold and ruby.2 „ .
The species known to us by the name of Guinea fowls,
form the genus Numida, Linn. The head is bare, the
top in some crested, and the throat wattled. Ihey are
all either from Africa or Madagascar.
The great genus Phasianus, Linn., including our cocks
and pheasants, has the cheeks more or less bare of fea¬
thers, usually covered by a scarlet skin, and the tail-fea¬
thers so placed as to slope downwards, roof-like, from
either side. The group was soon found to be too exten¬
sive and varied in its component parts to accord with the
preciser views of modern times, and seveial subdivisions
have been in consequence effected.
The restricted genus Gallus, for example (Plate
CCCXCVIII. figs. 3 and 3 a), of which the head is gene¬
rally surmounted by a fleshy vertical crest, the base of
the lower mandible furnished with two flattened wattles,
and the tail-feathers, fourteen in number, rising in two
almost upright planes, with ample coverts in the male sex,
contains, among other remarkable species, our domestic
cock and hen ( Galius domesticus—Phasianus gallus, Linn.).
The general attributes or special qualities of this brave, vi¬
gilant, and invaluable species, need not be here recorded;
and indeed a volume would scarcely suffice to describe its
numerous variations, from the pure undaunted blood of
Derby, fearless of death, to the crested dung-hill breed,
almost equally pugnacious, and by no means cowardly, yet
apt to turn tail on the sudden touch of unexpected steel.
In our present paragraph we avail ourselves in part of
a recent brief compendium. Ihe cocks with ample crests,
and five toes,—the rumpiess cock, anu mose oi many- R
mingled colours,—appear to have arisen chiefly from the^
various and prolonged circumstances attending domestica-
tion, and the intentional crossing of the breeds. The
most picturesque are those with superabundant crests, and
full auricular plumes. The crest is composed of narrow,
hackled feathers, which grow erect from the head, but
fall down in graceful curves, sometimes of such length as
to shadow or overhang the eyes. In some districts this
breed is much cultivated, being esteemed in proportion
as the colours of the body and crest can be made to form
the most conspicuous contrast, the body black, the crest
white, and vice versa. Other admired fancy breeds are
the Dutch pencilled fowl, which are pure white, with black
spots ; the Siberian fowl, with long tufts of hanging feathers
springing from the lower jaw ; and the Barbaiy fowl, of a
pale dun3 colour, with the feathers of the neck extremely
ample, and spotted with black. But a more singular ano¬
maly is exhibited by those with five toes, commonly called
dorkings, from being bred in most abundance in the neigh¬
bourhood of Dorking, Surrey. This race is easily conti¬
nued, and is much esteemed for the table, being white
and large. Dr Latham records one which weighed near¬
ly fourteen pounds. A still more remarkable race is that
vvithout a tail, the rumpless or Persian cock, as it is some¬
times called, which actually wants a portion of the caudal
vertebrae. These are usually regarded as mere varieties,
for the most part, probably, of accidental oiigin. There
are, however, three races of cocks, of a very marked cha-
racter, although their claim to actual specific distinction
cannot be yet made out. The first is Gallus morio, of
which the periosteum of the bones is black, and the comb,
wattles, and skin, of a dull purple. It has received the
name of negro or blackamoor cock, but is scarcely ever
seen in the poultry-yards of this country. I he other two
races are more frequent, and are known as the silky cock
(G. lanatus), and the Friesland cock (G. crispus). M.
Temminck is inclined to regard the former as a distinct
species. It occurs in China and Japan, where it is sold
as a rarity to Europeans. In this country it crosses easily
with the white domestic breed, and a mixed race is pro¬
duced with the feathers still silky, but less disunited. It
is sino-ular that the skin and periosteum of this kind areot
the same sable hue with those ot G. niorio, although the
flesh is remarkable for its whiteness. The size is rather
small, the plumage of the purest white, the comb and
wattles purple. The Friesland cock evidently belongs to
the opposition, having all the feathers turned the wrong
way, or standing nearly at right angles with the body.
The general colour of the plumage ot this kind is also
white, but it varies like that of other captive races. It
occurs in the domesticated state in Java and Sumatra;
but M. Temminck thinks it is also a distinct species, pe¬
culiar in the wild state to some unexplored quarter ot the
Indian islands.3 We doubt that nature, in her first in¬
tent, should ever have produced such an oddity.
Many fanciful and superstitious feelings are still main¬
tained regarding the domestic cock, and his nocturnal
crowing ; and even his more familiar morning salutation i
supposed to dispel all spirits, “ whether in sea or fare, m
earth or air.”
Some say that ever ’gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrate,
The bird of dawning singethall night long ;
And then, they say, no spirit walks abroad 5
The nights are wholesome ; then no planets strike;
'jSo fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm ;
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.
* Mlm. du Museum, vi. pL 1; and PI. Col. 112.
3 Naturalist's Library, vol. iii. p. 173*
i Manual, vol. i. p. 640.
ORNITHOLOGY.
609
r. Of the numerous benefits which the goodness of God inferred, that if the later of the sacred historians do not Itasores.
'-'has enabled man to deuve hom the wide circle of the mention poultry, it must be from some other cause than
feathered race, there is probably none which surpasses, ignorance of their existence,—seeing that as the early
either in extent or utility, the domestication of these most Greek nations had received them prior to that period,
familiar birds. Of so long standing, however, has been the either from Persia or the more south-eastern countries of
subservience of the race to man, that no authentic tradi- Asia, they could scarcely have remained unknown in the
tionary traces now remain of its original introduction to any intermediate regions inhabited by the Jews for these and
of the more ancient kingdoms of the earth,—its existence other reasons, which it would here be tedious to detail we
under human guardianship seeming indeed coeval with do not agree with Dr Scot.
the most antique records. It may therefore be regarded In regard to the natural origin of these domestic birds
as one of those particular and providential gifts, which, the first approximation to the truth (and we deem it but
like the faithful and accommodating dog, was at an early an approximation) resulted from the discovery by Son-
period of the world added to the fortunes of the first fa- nerat of a species of wild poultry native to the mountains
mihes of the human race, and has since followed man in of the Ghauts, in India. This is the Gallus Sonneratii of
his wonderful and far-spread migrations through every systematic naturalists, better known to British residents
clime and country, tor some thousand years the observ- by the now familiar name of jungle-cock. Our knowledge
ers of nature were ignorant of any wild species which, even of gallinaceous birds, however, has so greatly increased
in a remote degree, resembled any variety of the domes- during recent years, and so many additional species have
tic breed, and fiom the eia of Herodotus to that of Son- been discovered, that we are able to proceed upon much
nerat, the domestic cock and hen might have been re- more certain ground than were the naturalists of the last
garded as birds, the living analogues of which were no century. The jungle-cock is not only no lono-er the only
longer known to exist in a natural and unsubdued condi- claimant to the long dormant title which, under whatever
, , .... name of honour, may be due to the species so greatly be-
In consequence of the remote obscurity in which the neficial to the human race, but other aspirants have come
subject is thus involved, few points in natural history have forward with such better-founded claims, that his may
occasioned more inconclusive speculation, or are even now fairly be regarded as altogether set aside. In fact seve-
more difficult to solve with certainty, than the source ral important characters of the jungle-cock have never
from which we have primarily derived our different races been traced in any of the domestic varieties, and many of
of domestic poultry. That they came originally from Per- these latter present features which, if not incompatible
sia, has been inferred from the circumstance of Aristo- with, at least bear no resemblance to any attributes of
phanes calling tlm cock “ the Persian bird.’ Such an the supposed original. We may here observe, that the
origin, howevei, is improbable, when we consider that the natural form and structure of any portion of the animal or-
researches of modern travellers, and indeed of all who ganization are much less easily effaced or altered than the
have visited that country since the revival of learning, more superficial character of colour; and hence, if a par-
have failed to discover there any species of wild poul- ticular species of bird be naturally distinguished by a pe-
try, no gallinaceous bird being found in Persia more culiar consistence as well as colour of plumage, the influ-
nearly allied to the genus Gallus, than a species of Ao- ence of those causes which produce variation less fre-
pAqpW. If, however, it is merely meant that the Greeks, quently affect the former than the latter. Reasoning
during the intercourse, hostile or otherwise, which existed therefore « priori, it would be more natural to expect
between them and the Persian nation, may have obtained that if the jungle-cock were the parent of our domestic
a breed previously domesticated, the idea is less objec- breeds, such breeds, however they might vary in the co-
tionable; for it is known that in a domestic state poultry louring of their plumage, would at least at times exhibit
Dave existed in Persia from a very remote antiquity. those marked and peculiar characters of form and struc-
lt appears from an ingenious dissertation by the late ture by which the feathers of the supposed original are
i , u ^orstorPhlne’ t0 have been the opinion of that distinguished. This, however, is not the case. Amid the
learned Hebraist, that poultry were unknown to the Jews, infinite varieties which occur among our domestic poultry
m at least that they are not distinctly alluded to in the the plumage of none is found characterized by those horny
Uld testament. It cannot, however, admit of a doubt, laminae, or expansions of the shaft, which form so marked
that they were well known over many parts both of Eu- a feature in the plumage of the jungle-cock, and which
rope and Asia for several hundred years before the Chris- assuredly would have either continued a permanent fea-
mn era. When Themistocles took the field to combat ture, or been occasionally manifested in one or other of
he 1 ersians, he alluded, while haranguing his troops, to our domestic breeds, had these been derived from the spe¬
cie invincible courage of the feathered biped. “ Observe cies in question. We may mention another circumstance
with what intrepid valour he fights, inspired by no other on which we believe we were ourselves the first to insist1
motive than the love of victory; whereas you have to con- The native tribes of Indians inhabiting the districts where
tenator your rehgmn and your liberty, for your wives and the jungle-cock abounds rear a breed of poultry which
cnimren, for the tombs of your ancestors and it was on differs as much from the supposed original as our own, and
this, occasion that the Athenians achieved one of the most which never intermingles with the forest brood,
memorable victories recorded in history. According to According to M. Temminck (and in this we quite agree
^iian, it was in commemoration of this signal event, and with that industrious and observant naturalist), the species
oi tne ornithological image by which the courage of the to which our domestic races are most nearly allied, are
soldiery had been excited and sustained, that the Athe- the Jago cock of Sumatra {Gallus giganteus), a wild spe-
lans instituted those annual games of which cock-fighting cies of great size, and the Bankiva cock of Java, another
; med so conspicuous a feature. Now Themistocles died primitive species, which occurs in the forests of the last-
vea 6 S1XtLfilth year .°f his age, and about the 449th named island (see Plate CCCXCVIII. figs. 3 and 3 a. There
l r Precethng the Christian era, and must consequently are several circumstances which render the claims of these
as th nn c°ntemPorary with Nehemiah the prophet; and two birds much stronger than those of the jungle-cock. ls£,
twp f ^ testament history does not conclude till about Their females bear a strong resemblance to our domestic
n y years after the death of Themistocles, it may be hens; 2dlg, the common village cock, in its most ordi-
4 H
vol. xvi.
See our Essay “ On the Origin of Domestic Poultry,” in the Wernerian Memoirs, voL vi. p. 402.
610
ORNITHOLOGY.
Rasores. „ary condition^ ‘-mediate, in respect to size between One of the
 ^ Sr^n'Sient’ and S ^tion if arSeW £ a^'genns under the nanfe o?AaGns Of this rare and
m its torm, consisieuLe, auu fuo olin rpmarkahle bird M. qiqanteus, Ternm.) China and the ad-
S ' iUsrthTs^:"et«Te& o^tprovteJ ot ^rtar, have been'assigned asthea,
females, as well as males, provided with a fleshy crest and rive country by var.ous renters. lh,s, however, re,pure,
11 A .1 - - wl-ii/"*!-! rl Ifttinp’llisll both
small wattles,—characters which likewise distinguish both
sexes of our common poultry, although they are for the
most part but slightly developed in the females. Now the
female jungle-cock possesses neither comb nor wattles.
It maybe stated as a curious though well-known fact, that
when Captain Cook first visited the South Sea Islands, he
found them well stocked with domestic poultry; and the
more recent as well as more ample narratives of the mission¬
aries have confirmed the statements of the great navigator re¬
garding the practice of cock-fighting in Otaheite, and other
islands of Polynesia. Mr Ellis describes the *aa-ti-to-raa-
moa, or literally the causing fighting among fowls, as the
most ancient game of the Tahitians; and he informs us, that
according .cfbetradldon^the^e^pc^y have ex-
tive country uy vunuuo wni^io. .v^uu
confirmation, as all the specimens of which the origin is
accurately know n have been brought from the great east¬
ern islands and peninsula of Malacca. 1 here is a passage
in Marco Polo’s Travels, which may perhaps be construed
as relating to the bird in question. In his description of
the kingdom of Erginal (a district of I angout, in the north¬
west of the empire), he observes, “ pheasants are found in
it that are twdce the size of ours, but something smaller
than the peacock. The tail-feathers are eight or ten palms
in length.” “ This,” observes Mr Marsden, the learned edi¬
tor of the English edition, “ is probably the Argus phea¬
sant, which although a native of Sumatra (where I have
frequently seen it alive), is said to be also found in the
northern part of China.”1 Though of late years well
according to the tradition of the natives, ^ther knownTn the Basses-cours of Batavia (from which M. Tern-
iS,ed '".‘h the firnstScoaioS, or Te fp^dutV^Taa^ mincfe received a splendid series) we are not aware that
came with the hrst coiomsis, m e f J f , Aro-us has been ever imported alive into Europe It
contemporaneously with men ^ b ^ ^ ^ would certainly prove a more magnificent addition than
reign vessel was seen off their s , ^ . which has been made to our aviaries in modern times,
practice of training and fi^bting • q'|1P m eat annarent size of this bird arises chiefly from the
evet an! gorgeous’eombatants the wings, of which the icondaties
ample “^in^i^thefXck le^cd arethree times -engt o^the pr,manes, hem nearly
tail. We ™Ltrbeeen ^Un h?s coX we would S that porUon'of the wing^hich is not under the tan,
not appear to have been what mt p ,y . R di t influence of muscular action, this magnificent bird is
denominate game; for Mr Ellis (in his ^ a ate destitute of the power of flight. Its
searches) incidentally mentions, that as soo progress however, when running on the ground, is greatly
avoided another, he was considered as r*, or beaten’ a ;d Sera ed-the expanded secondaries, according to M.
victory was declared in favour of his opponen . It is n- accelerated, Jhe exp and capacious ^ and
deed a singular circumstance that this bar ar P furnishing a vervMleet and effectual mode of transporta-
should have pervaded so many unconnected nat on both fmnishm^a^ery Heet^ ^ ^
savage and civilized. It has enbrel^ cease i^d^ g?ice the eKC^ds thatofa barn-door fowl, but in its “ high andyitaj.
practical neamen m umc.    i qqlp female is, as usuairiess adorned. Her second-
We ourselves, to our shame be it spoken, once fought a long bread’th and exte„si0n, as well as
main of cocks with an Enghs 1 ^ The'clmrcli We the beautiful eye-like markings which adorn the male. In
held a high and conspicuous station f ' f , f ence however, of this homely appearance, she is
believe, indeed, that he is now a bis iop, P > ° ^ frequently sought for in her native forests, and is thus
us and of our famous Faa-ti-to-raa-moa. collections) by far the rarer of the two. M. Temminck,
fIU,IhhefdTouP„d!::NevUcSS ^colVedt a’space“y a .L^ght himself fortunate in finding a brace
naked warty skin. The tail is very long and sle„der endj ot ^"usTf emm., the head is crested,
feather laterally inclined or roofishaped, and the cent a « broader than in the true pheasants, and some-
pair usually much prolonged. The common pheasant ot the tad much Macartn' cock) or finback-
ssssiisssaiu-.*-..
Minor. Need we describe his glowing bright attire?
tlVThe honied pheasant of Edwards and Latham has been
made bv Cuvier to constitute the genus Iragopan. i
head though crested, is elsewhere almost naked, a
slender honi projects backward from behind each eve, and
. , 1 ok ryppsnre. hangs tioiu
a" loose and pendent skin, inflatable at pleasure, hangs froni
- ' 1 - -landible (see Plate CCCXLVHi
Splendid his form, his eyes of flaming gold
Two fiery rings of living scarlet hold ;
His arching neck a varying beauty shows.
Now rich with azure, now with emerald glow's.
His swelling breast with glossy purple shines,
Chesnut his back, and waved w-ith ebon lines;
To his broad wings gay hues their radiance lend,
His mail-clad legs two knightly spurs defend.
SeaXt™- tg.ter pS snVht * -
around the lower portion of the neck, is by .^™e ™e‘‘!del knovfn are brindled with brown and black. We have
as a distinct species. The gold and silver pheasants of our “re k“»»n a ,; f u habits or natural economy of *
the base of the lower mandible (see *  . ,,
fig. 4). The group now consists of about lour specie >
remarkable ib^thelr richly varied and beauti ul y potted
plumage. They are bulkier birdsyhan^ pheasant^^ ^
1 Travels, pp. 225-9.
4 Embassy to China, pi. xiii.
Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains
ORNITHOLOGY,
first discovered species ( T. satyrus), though usually brought
-''from Nepaul, has been ascertained also to inhabit Thibet;
and Chinese specimens from the mountain province of Yun¬
nan were seen by Mr Bennet in Mr Beale’s aviary at Ma-
611
cao.1
The genus Cryptonyx, Temm., has a bare space around
the eye, the tail of medium size and flat, and the tarsi
without spurs ; but the most peculiar character consists
in the hind toe being destitute of claw. The best-known
species is C. coronatus, or rouloul of Malacca (see Plate
CCCXCVIII. fig. 5). The female is described by Latham
under the title of Tetrao viridis. It inhabits deep forests,
is wild and cunning in a state of nature, and in confine¬
ment impatient of restraint.
The great genus Tetrao of Linn, has also been greatly
subdivided in recent times. All the species seem to agree
in having a bare band above the eye.
The restricted genus Tetrao has the legs covered with
feathers, and without spurs. In some the toes are naked,
and the tail either forked or rounded. Such is the great
wood grouse or capercailzie (T. urogallus), the largest
and finest example of the gallinaceous order indigenous to
Europe. In Britain it has been long extinct in the wild
state (although of late several times imported with a view
to re-establish the breed), and now occurs chiefly in Scan¬
dinavia, although not unknown among mountainous and
woody regions southwards, as far as the Alps of Savoy and
the Veronese. Although rather difficult to rear in Britain,
the capercailzie is often domesticated in Sweden, where it
becomes so tame as to eat familiarly from the hand.
Though naturally shy and wary, they sometimes, even in
their unreclaimed condition, manifest a singular and un¬
accountable degree of boldness. Mr Brehm mentions a
cock bird that inhabited a wood near Renthendorf, through
which there was a roadway, and whenever any one passed
through, it would fly towards him, peck at his legs, and
strike him with its wings. The black-cock ( T. tetrix) is a
smaller, but very beautiful species, of hardy habits, and much
on the increase in many parts of Britain, where it prefers
alpine pastures, with a sprinkling of natural wood, inter¬
mingled with moist places covered by long coarse herbage.
It is widely dispersed over the northern and temperate
parts of Europe, and spreads somewhat farther south than
the preceding, being found, though rarely, on the Apen¬
nines. We know that it breeds among the lofty hills above
Albenga, near the Colle de Tende. Other species of bare-
toed grouse occur in Europe, and a still greater number in
Aorth America. For the history of the latter we must
refer to the well-known works of Alexander Wilson, C.
L Bonaparte, Audubon, Richardson, and others.
Of the feather-footed game-birds (genus Lagopus), the
most noted for gastronomic excellence is our common red
giouse, or moor-game {L. Scoticus), so highly prized and
eager y pursued by sportsmen. This wrell-known species
restricts itself chiefly to the sides of sloping mountains,
and those extensive tracts of elevated land called moors,
ere lt 18 careless of other shelter than that afforded by
16 natural roughness of the ground, and its plentiful co-
venng of heath, or other alpine plants of still more lowly
giowth. ^ The most singular fact in its history is its re-
8 fiction to Great Britain and Ireland,—all other parts of
for W . ^rom U Indus to the pole,” being sought in vain
a single example. In this little group we also place
e P arffligans, distinguished from the other grouse by the
birS,UmPtlon a snow-white plumage during winter. These
surh See|n t0 Pre*er’ 'n comparatively temperate climates,
mik an ,at Scotland, the bare and stony sides orsum-
fpmn ° t!G highest mountains; but under the rigorous
Perature of Greenland, and the most northern portions
of America, they are chiefly found in the vicinity of the Rasores.
sea-shore, by the banks of rivers, and among the willow *
and other copse woods of the lower and more sheltered
vales. The species of Europe and America are not yet in
all respects sufficiently characterized and distinguished.
The genus Pterocles, Temm., has a naked space
aiound the eye, but not of a scarlet colour, as in grouse ;
the toes are bare, the hind one very small, and the tail
pointed (Plate GCCXCVIII. fig. 6). These birds, called
gangas, or sand-grouse, live in sandy plains and deserts in
the warmer regions of Asia and Africa, although two spe¬
cies, Pt. arenarius and setarius, Temm., inhabit some of
the southern countries of Europe, especially Spain. The
latter is the pin-tailed grouse of Latham, Tetrao alchata,
Gmelin.
The genus Perdix of Brisson contains the partridges,
distinguished by having the legs or tarsi bare, as well as
the toes. The tail is also very short, although of greater
length among the kind called francolins, and other foreign
species. Of these several are armed with spurs ; and one
especially, the sanguine partridge (P. cruentata, Temm.),
has sometimes three or four spurs on each leg. The fran¬
colins perch on trees. The partridges properly so called
always rest upon the ground. Their bill is not so strong,
and their spurs, if they have any, are very short, or simply
tubercular. Four or five sorts are found in Europe, al¬
though the common gray partridge (P. cinered) is our only
truly indigenous kind. The red-legged partridge (P.
rubra'), which in Italy is the most frequent, has been in¬
troduced of late years into the south of England, where it
continues to breed spontaneously in a state of nature.
Many other species occur in foreign countries.
The quails (genus Coturnix) are of smaller size than
the preceding, the tail is still shorter, the spurs are
wanting, and there is no coloured space above the eye.
The only British species is the common quail ((7. Euro-
peus), a well-known bird of passage, generally but not
abundantly distributed over the island. In Scotland it is
even scarce, although we have found it occasionally near
Edinburgh, as well as in Ross-shire, and along the coasts
of Aberdeen and Kincardine. The whole migrate from
the colder and temperate parts of Europe during autumn,
and re-appear in spring, in certain places, in enormous
numbers. Along the Neapolitan coasts, for example,
100,000 have been taken in a single day. In some of the
southern countries of Europe, however, many quails remain
throughout the winter. In Portugal they are even more
numerous during that season than in summer; and Signor
Savi says, in regard to those of Italy, “ Sono le quaglie
uccelli viaggiatori, giacche la massima parte lasciano 1’Eu-
ropa, traversano il mare, e vanno a passare il verno in
Aftrica, ed in Asia ; ma di Toscana, come pure dalle altri
parti meridionali, non partono tutti, anzi una gran quantita
ne resta per le stoppie delle nostre Maremme, ove trovano
e molto nutrimento e dolce clima. Negli ultimi giorni
d’Aprile si rimetteno in moto; quelle che avevan passate
il mare lo passan di nuovo, e quelle che eransi ritirate ne’
siti aprici si spargon per tutti i campi e prati.”2 A vast
number of quails of various kinds are found in foreign
countries. A beautiful small species (C. excalfactoria,
Temm.,—P. Chinensis, Lath.) is very abundant in China,
where it is bred in the domestic state, and kept in cages
for the singular purpose of warming people’s hands in win¬
ter. It is also patronised on account of its pugnacious
disposition, being fought with its own kind, as common
cocks are in this country.
The American quails now form the genus Ortyx, and
are in some measure intermediate between the true quails
and partridges. The bill is thick and strong, but short
Wanderings, &c. vol. ii. p. Cl.
Ornitologia Toscana, tom. ii. p. 200.
612
ORNITHOLOGY.
Itasores. and rounded ; the tail more lengthened than in those of
the old continent. One species, O. Californica, has the
head ornamented by a beautiful slender recurved crest.
(See Plate CCCXCVIII. fig. 7.) Several other kinds were
recently discovered and described by the lamented Douglas,
the botanical traveller and collector, whose tragical fate in
the Sandwich Islands recently excited the sympathy of the
scientific world. They differ from the ordinary quails m
usually perching upon trees at night. The Virginian Ortyx,
O. borealis, has of late years been reared in several parts
of England, and is now almost naturalised in Sussex. It
is considerably larger than the common quail. .
The genus Ortygis of Illiger resembles the quads m
general form, but the bill is somewhat compressed. The
toes are so deeply divided, as scarcely to exhibit a vestige
of the usual intervening membrane, and the hind toe is
wanting. The species are of small size, and occur in In-,
dia, Ah-ica, and New Holland. They are of polygamous
habits, and dwell in barren places on the confines ot de¬
serts, seldom taking wing except when closely run. One
of these birds is also much used by the Malays and other
eastern nations for fighting with its kind. (See Plate
CCCXCVIII. fig. 9.)
A bird of a very anomalous aspect and character, calieu
the heteroclyte grouse {Tetrao paradoxus oi Pallas), now
forms the genus Syrrhaptes of Illiger. The bill is rather
slender and compressed, straight, but as usual somewhat
bent towards the tip. The tarsi are short and densely
clothed with feathers; the toes are also very short and fea¬
thered, and connected together almost to the claws. I he
hind toe is not wanting, but seems buried in the feathers.
The wings and tail are very long, and are both terminated
by lengthened slender-pointed plumes. The only known
species (named S. Pallasii by M. Temminck), inhabits the
deserts of Tartary, near the shores ot Lake Baikal. Owing
to the peculiar structure of its feet, it can scarcely move
upon the ground; but its flight is brisk and rapid, though
seldom long sustained- .
The last group we shall here mention contains the lina-
mous—genus Tinamus, Lz\h.—Crypturus, Illig. (Plate
CCCXCVIII. fig. 8.) The bill is lengthened and slen¬
der, slightly arched, blunt-pointed, grooved on each side,
the nostrils central, deepening obliquely backwards. I he
wings are short, the tail almost rudimentary, ihe pal-
mation at the base of the toes is very short; and the
hind toe, reduced almost to a little spur, does not reach
the ground. The bare space around the eye is very cir¬
cumscribed. These birds abound in the Brazilian and
other tropical forests of America, where they run swiftly,
seldom fly, conceal themselves among long herbage, and
perch (as some say) upon the lower branches ot trees.
They live on fruits and insects, and their flesh is much es¬
teemed. Rather than exercise their natural powers ot
fljo-ht, they will sometimes foolishly allow themselves to be
killed in great numbers with a stick. I hey are also hunted
with dogs. They build upon the ground, and their eggs
are remarkable among those of gallinaceous birds for their
brilliant tinting, some being bright blue, others of a bril¬
liant violet colour. The different species of Tinamous ex¬
hibit a great diversity in size, from that of a pheasant to
a very small quail; and “ as for their flesh,” says Mr Swain-
son, “ we have often tasted it, and consider it, both in
whiteness and flavour, infinitely above that of the partridge
or pheasant. We believe these birds nevei perch, as some Rat
suppose, but that they live entirely among herbage, prin-^~
cipally in the more open tracts of the interior.”1
The great family of the pigeons (Columba, Linn.)
comes next in order in Baron Cuviers arrangement,.and
in that indeed of most of our systematic writers. There
are several circumstances, however, which make it doubt¬
ful whether the pigeons should not form either a separate
order of themselves, or undergo some other change in
their position. As compared with ordinary gallinaceous
birds, every one will admit that they present numerous
and striking disparities. Their powers of flight, for ex¬
ample, if equalled are not surpassed even by those of the
falcon tribe, their habits are monogamous, their haunts
very generally arboreal, their eggs few in number, and
hatched by the male as well as female, the young are at
first extremely helpless, and are fed for a length of time
from the crop of both parents,—in all these points, and
many more, they differ remarkably from other gallinaceous
birds. Professor Savi, we observe, places the pigeons in
his concluding tribe of Passeres ( Uccelli silvani), as a con-
nectinc link with the gallinaceous order, and for reasons
closely corresponding with those we have just assigned.2
Mr Macgillivray has recently observed, that “ the beauti¬
ful, very extensive, and generally distributed family of
birds commonly known by the names of pigeons, doves, and
turtle-doves, appears to form an order of itself, sepaiatedby
well-defined limits; but yet, as in other cases, presenting
modifications of form indicative of its affinity to contermin¬
ous groups. The peculiar shape of the head and bill, more
than3 any other external feature, serves to render the dif¬
ferent species readily cognizable as belonging to a single
tribe ; for, whatever may be the size, colour, or even shape,
of a pigeon, it cannot be mistaken. But the relations ot
the family, it would appear, are not so readily perceived,
some of our most approved systematists having associat¬
ed them with the passerine, others with the gallinaceous
birds,—while a few consider them as constituting a dis¬
tinct group. Linnaeus included them all under the single
o-enus Columba, which has merely been sectioned by M.
Temminck, and from which M. Vieillot has only separat¬
ed two genera under the names of Treron and Lophyrus;
while Mr Swainson and other Ornithologists have convert¬
ed it into several generic groups, such as Vinago, mclud-
ino- the thick-billed species, Ptilonopus, Columba, lurtur,
Ectopistes, Peristera, and others, characterized by uiffer-
ences in the wings and tail; and Lophyrus, formed, by
Vieillot, of the great crowned-pigeon. The latter seems
to connect this family with the Cracmse, which belong to
the gallinaceous order, while other groups manifest an af¬
finity to the partridges and allied genera. 1 he pig -
vary much in form, some having the body full, otiie
slender ; while the tail is very short, moderate, or greativ
elongated. In all, however, the head is smaH. oblong,
compressed, with the forehead rounded; a drcumstan
depending partly upon the form of the skull, and pa^
upon the absence of feathers at the base of he bd •
latter organ is characterized more especia y y J
the nasal membrane bare, generally scurfy, flesh}, an
tumid, with the narrow longitudinal nostrils placed un
der its anterior margin. It varies in size, bu PP
mandible has its ridge always obliterated at the b )
the encroachment ot the nasal membranes, ai
l ai Gallinacei, giacche i Picciani.
pure hS calatleri comuni agfi unfed agh aliri. Somigliano i 5peci st„ i, -
velocita ed a grand! distanze ; sono monogami: nascono nudi, e per un tempo assai g { ^enitori: fanno il nido sugli ai
’ * trim IK n 152.1
certa preparazione alia digestione : i semi, „
meule, come i Gallinacei, hanno lo sterno doppiamente scavato.
{Ornitologia Toscana, tom. ii. p. 152.)
ORNITHOLOGY.
613
. mity horny, arched, or convex, more or less compressed,
with a blunt thin-edged point. The tongue is fleshy, ta¬
pering to a point, and triangular in its transverse section.
The throat is very narrow. The oesophagus is of mode¬
rate width, but expanded, or opening into a large crop,
placed on the lower part of the neck and the fore part of
the breast, and terminates below in an oblong proventri-
culus, completely surrounded with large oblong glandules.
The stomach is a powerful gizzard of a somewhat rhom-
boidal form, and furnished with two very thick lateral
muscles inserted into two tendinous centres, with an infe¬
rior thinner muscle inserted into the same tendons. The
intestine is long and slender ; the casca very small and cy¬
lindrical ; the rectum very short, and but slightly enlar¬
ged. The tarsi are generally short and stout, either scu-
tellate or feathered. The foot is of that kind equally adapt¬
ed for walking and perching, having three toes before and
one behind; the middle toe considerably longer than the
two lateral, which are nearly equal, and the hind toe di¬
rected backwards, and shorter than the lateral. They are
covered above with numerous short scutella, laterally mar¬
gined, beneath flat and papillate. The claws are short,
compressed, moderately arched, rather blunt. The plu¬
mage is various, so that no general character can be derived
from it, farther than that the feathers have the tube very
short, the shaft commonly thick, and are entirely destitute
of the accessory plumule, which is largely developed in
the gallinaceous birds. The wings are for the most part
large, more or less pointed, with the second, third, and fourth
quills longest; but the primary quills vary in form, and pre¬
sent several very curious modifications. The tail is even,
rounded, cuneate, or graduated.”1 The skeleton, Mr Mac-
gillivray further remarks, differs very materially from that
of gallinaceous birds, and the intestine is much longer,
the difference, however, in the other Gallinae being made
up by the great development of the caeca, which in pigeons
are merely rudimentary, that is, extremely small, and secret¬
ing only a mucous fluid. We may add the following im¬
portant character, that the hind toe is articulated on the
same plane with the three anterior ones, instead of being
placed higher up, as in the rest of the gallinaceous order.
Although their legs are short, pigeons walk with great ease
and considerable celerity.
These beautiful birds abound in most of the temperate
and tropical regions of the earth, being, however, both
more numerous and more gorgeously attired in the latter,
where they often rival even the tribe of parrots in the
splendour of their plumage, and literally realize the de¬
lightful expressions of the Holy Scripture—“as the wings
of a dove^ covered with silver, and her feathers with yel¬
low gold.” The old genus Columba is one of the most
cobmopoht6 with which we are acquainted, being found
mused alike through Europe, Asia, Africa, and America ;
and even in the forests of the far-distant Southern Ocean,
their radiant plumage
Fills many a dark obscure recess
With lustre of a saintly show.
In no tribe of the feathered race do we meet with more
o delight the eye by its richness and diversity. “ In some,”
says Mr Selby, “ the plumage shines with a dazzling and
If6/!3 1C,^0SS’ varying in tint with every motion of the
and, and which vies in lustre with that of the diminutive
and sparkling humming-birds. In texture the plumage is
generally close and ad pressed, and the feathers feel hard
nm to the touch, from the thickness and strength of
the rachis or shaft. Upon the neck they assume a variety
of forms, in some species being rounded and stiff, and dis¬
posed in a scale-like fashion ; in others of an open, dis¬
united texture, or with the tips divided and curiously
notched ; and in the hackled and Nicobar pigeons they are
long, acuminate, and laciniated, like those of the domestic
cock ; and, we may add, that in nearly all they are so con¬
stituted as to reflect prismatic colours when held at various
angles to the light.”2
The vast variety of species and numerous sub-genera of
which the Columbidce are now composed render a full ex¬
position impossible. We must, indeed, rest satisfied with
a very brief notice of a few remarkable kinds. We have
four species of pigeon in Britain, and we are not aware
that more occur in Europe.
1^, The ring-dove, cushat, or wood-pigeon, C. palum-
bus, Linn., a large, beautiful, and well-known species, very
generally distributed over the more or less wooded dis¬
tricts of our island, but avoiding bare and rocky regions.
It breeds on trees in single isolated pairs, but is often gre¬
garious to a great extent in winter. It is a wary bird, of
powerful wing, not easily approached even in the forest
glades, yet not seldom building in groves or groups of
trees in the immediate vicinity of human dwellings; and
we have seen a gentle pair sitting for hours upon the
branches of an almost leafless sycamore in early spring,
preening their feathers in assured confidence, within a few
footsteps of our cottage door. Indeed we have often no¬
ticed, as others must have also done, what may be called
the discrimination of birds, in relation both to persons and
to places. We allude to what we should call their ac¬
commodating rather than their natural instincts,—how, for
example, after a season or two of observation or experi¬
ence, they will congregate around a spot where no rude
hands disturb their mossy dwellings, nor climbing urchin
shows his visage grim among the umbrageous boughs.
This is beautifully exemplified (and on a greater scale
than in a cottage garden) among the gladsome palace-
groves of the Tuileries and Luxembourg in Paris, where,
notwithstanding the gay and giddy stream of human life
which flows for ever through those royal walks, the wood-
pigeon builds her frequent nest, though far her flight to
rural solitudes for every offering which she brings her
much-loved young. This species generally breeds twice
a year.
2g%, The rock or wild pigeon, C. livia, Briss., a smaller
species, totally regardless of all the leafy glories of the
forest, but loving devotedly the craggy cliffs and hollow
caverns by the ocean-shore. This species is believed to
be the original of our common domestic breed, of which
the numerous and extraordinary, yet, with proper care,
permanent varieties, are among the more puzzling pro¬
blems of Ornithology.3
2>d, The smaller wood-pigeon, erroneously called the
stock-dove, C. (B7ias, Linn. This bird is much more li¬
mited in its distribution than either of the preceding, bein^
as yet unknown in Scotland, and frequenting chiefly the
southern and midland counties of the sister kingdom. It
is almost entirely confined to wooded districts, its habits,
according to Mr Selby, being strictly arboreal; yet Mr
Salmon records it as abounding in heaths and rabbit war¬
rens in the neighbourhood of Thetford, to which it an¬
nually resorts for the purpose of nidification.4
^th, The turtle-dove, C. tnrlur, Linn., a small and delicate
species, unknown in “ bleak Caledonia,” but a constant
summer bird in Kent, and other counties of the south of
liar ores.
8 For T^'u* P-,249- . 2 Naturalist's Library, vol. v. p. 88.
fa Pigeons bl?et3s’see Temminck’s Hist. Nat. Gen. des Pigeons et des Gallinacees, MM. Boitard and Corbie’s Mono^raphks
< ‘f0,lsPomestiques, the Pigeon Fancier, and other works. "o0raF,Kt
1 aguzme of Natural History, vol. ix. p. 520.
614
ORNITHOLOGY.
llasores. England, where it breeds in woods. It is sometimes seen
1 towards the end of summer in little flocks of a score or
two together. This bird leaves Britain in the course of
the autumn, and does not to our knowledge remain in any
part of Europe throughout the winter season.
Of the exotic pigeons one of the most remarkable is the
goura, or great-crowned pigeon, Lophyrus coronutus, Vied-
facility in Britain, but the winter cold would probably be G a
too much for it out of doors; and it seems, moreover, to %
want that instinct of local attachment which induces our^”"'
common pigeon to continue in the place where it was born
and bred, "in its natural state this species occurs in vari¬
ous parts of Africa. .
Somewhat resembling the turtles in the length of its
*« i, the a™. pigeon o. Africa,
of .he tribe measuring nearly twofeet and a halfin length, of .those rapid flight and countless eongregaUons « ha.e
ot the trioe, measuring ^ Molucca such graphic accounts m the dehghttul pages of Wilson
It inhabits Java, New Guinea, and most ot the .Molucca sucn g^piiu. a Columba miarafnrw nf
Islands, and is occasionally brought alive to Europe, where, and Audubon. This bird is die b J of
however the climate is too moist and variable to admit of authors, and is placed by Mrbwainson in his genus Lcto-
however, tne climate is too pistes It may be presumed to be sufficiently common in
'"Sr^sr^ntl^U^ehadded wScES
appendage bee^ ta fengl Id™
Xttf 7. IIS
^ thprn Afrin and the island of Madagascar. Another tivo hundred and seventy-two thousand pigeons . Mr Audu-
sin^ularnspecies i^the parabolic pigeon (C. arquatrix), bon confirms his predecessor’s account by a narrative still
singular hissplendid work on more extraordinary; and adds,tbataseveryp.geoncon-
discoyered by J aillanhand h i ig ye re. sumes fully half a pint of food (chiefly mast), the quant,ty
the birds of Afnca. i he ti g • , on necessary for supplying his flock must have amounted to
&EiSi=x335
SSSStfSSVIlStefiWS? »•—-•" “
those of the true gallinaceous birds, are produced from the ordei.
ecr<1’ in so matured a state as to follow their parents trom
the first. They live entirety on the ground, but roost at
night on trees and bushes. The carunculated species just
referred to is observed by M. Temminck to show a strong
resemblance to the gallinaceous tribes both in aspect and
manners. The fleshy scarlet lobes around the eyes and
throat correspond, it is supposed, to the wattles of domes¬
tic poultry. It builds its nest in slight depressions on the u—, ---> ar lontr and‘ s]ender, and more
ground, of twigs and stems of grass, and ays from s,x to determ.nate. The Jon and s e ^ ^
with extended wings. Then- first food cons.stsjhieflyJ ot th^order^ and varicd tribes which constitute
Piet intimated,
Order V.—GRALLAT ORES.3
SHORE-BIRDS, OR WADERS.
The characters of this order, so far as they can be for¬
mally stated, are as follows. The shape of the bid is m-
the larvae of ants and other insects, and when greater ^ "I o t nr fa o r de r the bill as we have just intimated
strength is gained, of seeds and berries. l ie ^u i u Je g go m’ diffe’rent models (though always
as "i re?
lie gree’n, with various reflections of copper and purphsh
red. It is generally described as residing habitually upon habits ot hie, B h . h ttin„ their tea-
the groundf where * it runs with great celerity,-perch,ng 'jJ riapWi^^
on the lower limbs of trees at night. \et Mr Bennet al- thers, an riv°ers orgthe sea’s more sandy shores.
oUnd Ute0 loftiest'hranch^r—where, ^TaddsTr^' Z * to -his len«h of limb that they owe the name of Grab
young “ similar to all the pigeon tribe.”1 It inhabits Ni¬
cobar, Java, Sumatra, and other eastern islands.
We have already alluded briefly to the turtle-dove. Ihe
most common kind in cages, in this country, is not the
gins U1 iah.es aiiu ii.wo, v..  
It is to this length of limb that they owe the name
latores, as if they went on stilts. The Frenc
echassiers is also derived from the resemolance wh
legs bear to the echasses, so frequently used by the ,
of the landes of Aquitaine. A too exclusive att
OI lilt; tCX/CCtCO vM -A J. A * * w • ——   ftlO-
SisirrcTesTbu. 'thatlalled the laughing or collared however, to this character see™ to have misled some ^
turtle, T. risorius (torquatus, Briss.). u"aA " frrpat
laughing or collared however, to ttns cnaracter see ns tu — “ tely
It is bred with great dern naturalists, who have included several very
2 Ser^TnteVSting'account^f the passenger-pigeon, in Ornithological Biography, vol. i. p- 319-26.
a GhallE, Linn.
ORNITHOLOGY.
allied genera under one order. Indeed a considerable di¬
versity of opinion exists as to what ought to form the com¬
ponent parts of the grallatorial order. By means of the
flamingoes and others, they are closely allied to the nata¬
torial or web-fboted birds,—while a dismemberment, partly
from the latter order, partly from the original Grallae, has
been advocated in favour of the Grebes, Phalaropes, &c. as
a separate and intermediate division under the name oi'Pin-
natipedes.
The Grallatores seek their food in marshes, and along
the banks of rivers and the shores of lakes. They also
frequent the sea-coasts, where many kinds, especially in
autumn, congregate in numerous flocks. But although the
habits of the majority are littoral, many haunt habitually
the arid deserts, the green and sedgy meadows, or the up¬
land moors. Who knows not the plover’s wailing cry among
the desolate mountains,—the curlew’s shrilly voice, “ a
viewless spirit of the elements,” far up amid those scenes
of pastoral melancholy, where the lonely rocks seem some¬
times silent as gigantic spectres, and anon resound with
varied and innumerable bleatings, as some gray-haired
shepherd, “ loving the land which once he gloried in,” his
dog his sole companion, gently leads along the fleecy
people? In truth we often seek in vain to generalise the
habits of the feathered race. In our systems we can give
them both a local habitation and a name, but in nature
they have wings, and like the wind travel where’er they
please, and no philosopher either from field or college can
say from whence they come, or whither they are going.
The food of our present order varies according to the form
of the mandibles. Such species as are provided with a
long, hard, sharp-pointed bill, as in the heron tribe, live on
fish and reptiles; the species in which that organ is softer
and more flexible feed on worms and insects, w hilst a more
limited number, for example the land-rail (Rallus crex).
are partly granivorous, and consequently affect a drier soil.
The jacana {P. chavaria) is said to feed on grass. The
habits of many species are migratory ; and it has been re¬
marked, that the young and old birds always perform their
journeys in separate assemblages. A great proportion of
the order congregates in the southern countries of Europe
before the arrival of w inter,—a season which many of them
are supposed to spend in Africa. A few are winter birds
of passage, that is to say, the temperate countries of Eu¬
rope form their southern boundary, and during the breed¬
ing season they seek the colder regions of the north. The
woodcock breeds in Scandinavia, where the observant
traveller may frequently see it, not as with us the har¬
binger of storms, but darting across his dappled dusty
path "in the leafy month of June.” However, in several
parts of the north of Scotland, woodcocks are now very
frequent throughout the summer season, rearing their ab¬
surd-looking, long-billed progeny along the banks of the
Bee, or in the well-wooded valleys of the eastern parts of
floss-shire. The smaller species, such as rails and sand-
Pjpers, run with great celerity ; the paces of the larger
kinds are more measured and sedate. During flight the
kgs in many kinds are extended on a line with the body,
in some entire genera, and in certain species of other ge¬
nera, the moult is double, that is, takes place both in spring
a!‘c nntunui, and occasions a great disparity between the
P umage of the winter and summer seasons. The attire of
le sexes is for the most part not very dissimilar. An ap¬
parent non-conformity may be said to exist in a few of the
^pecies, between the structure of the feet and the func-
ions of these organs, which would disenable us from indi-
a priori, the habits of such species merely from an
n»peclion of their organization. For example, the water-
n ( u ica chloropus) is an excellent and constant swim-
615
mer, and much more strictly aquatic than the avocet or Gralla-
flamingo, yet its toes are long and deeply divided, and fur- tores,
nished with an extremely narrow rudimentary web, while v
the last-named species, though semi-palmated, never volun¬
tarily venture beyond their depth.
ihe migiatory movements of the Grallatores are proba¬
bly determined in a great measure by the necessity of ob¬
taining suitable nourishment. The rigour of a Scandina¬
vian winter, which entirely congeals the surface of the
moist forest-lands of Sweden and the swamps of Lapland,
dri\es the woodcock to seek its food in the comparatively
milder copses of Britain and Ireland; while the landrail,
which is with us a native or summer bird, migrates in au¬
tumn to more southern regions, where it is probably known
only as a winter visitant. Analogous facts have been ob¬
served in various parts of the world. Thus in regard to
^orth America, the Grallatores, feeding bv preference in
marshy and undrained lands, frequent the Saskatchewan
prairies only in the spring; and as soon as the warm and
comparatively early summer has rendered the soil too dry
for their accustomed purposes, they retire to their breed¬
ing places within the arctic circle. “ There,” says Dr
Richardson, “ the frozen sub-soil, acted upon by the rays
of a sun constantly above the horizon, keeps the surface
wet and spongy during the two short summer months,
which suffice these birds for rearing their young. This
office performed, they depart to the southward, and halt
in the autumn on the flat shores of Hudson’s Bay, which,
owing to the accumulations of ice drifted into* the bay
from the northward, are kept in a low temperature all the
summer, and are not thawed to the same extent with the
more interior arctic lands before the beginning of autumn.
They quit their haunts on the setting in of the September
frosts, and passing along the coasts of the United States,
retire within the tropics in the winter.”1
The majority of the Grallatores are swift and powerful
flyers, being provided with rather long, acutely-pointed
wings; but to these attributes we have a few strong and
singular exceptions in such birds as the ostriches and cas-
suaries, which have scarcely any wings, and cannot fly
at all. ’ :
Baron Cuvier has established the five following tribes
among the Grallatores, viz. Brevipennes, Pressiros-
TRES, CULTRIROSTRES, LONGIROSTRES, MacRODACTYLES.
Tribe 1st.—Brevipenxes.
The small number of gigantic birds which constitute our
present tribe differ greatly, not only from the other Gral-
lae, but from all known species; Itf, in the extreme short¬
ness of their wings, which, though no doubt useful in their
w-ay, are altogether destitute of power to raise their bo¬
dies from the earth ; and, 'Zdly, in the sternum or breast¬
bone being destitute of a ridge or keel. The muscles of
the breast are also extremely slight and thin. “ II pa-
rait,” says Cuvier, “ que les forces musculaires, dont la
nature dispose, auraient ete insuffisantes pour mouvoir des
Riles aussi etendues que la masse de ces oiseaux les aurait
exigees pour se soutenir en fair.”2 This is not expressed
accoiding to the English mode of thought and feeling, but
it may pass for what it means. To make amends, how¬
ever, for this supposed incapacity of nature, we find that
the muscles of the legs have received an enormous deve¬
lopment, which enables the species to run almost with the
rapidity of race-horses, and to be thus independent of aerial
flight. In some of our modern systems these birds form
the family Struthionidce, and are placed in the gallinaceous
order.
In the genus Struthio, which contains the true ostrich,
Fauna Boreuli-Americana, part ii. Introduc. p. xix.
2 Rigne Animal, tom. i. p. 494.
J
616
Gralla-
tores.
ORNITHOLOGY.
the wines are adorned by loose flexible plumes, and though ther the result of a kind of joint-stock incubating com- ft,
of^smaH^extent arestill^sufficient to afford effectual aid in pany. Its flesh is eaten by the Indians, and ,ts feathers,
ot small extent, are sun ,, ,e onl tw0 in from their peculiar structure, make very good hair-brooms. '
running, fhe toes, at leas y, Y In the genus Casuarius, the wings are still shorter than
number. . . . sn in either of the preceding, and seem of no use even in run-
The only known species is nbg. They consist, in fhct, merely of a few hard, stiff,
called (Struthw camelus, L!nn;’ ^ ® remarkable* cha- sharp-pointed, barbless shafts. The head is surmounted by
5), a bird wluch f"™8, it a bony crest, and the bill is laterally compressed (see Plate
racters in the Ornithology ol A , ts the CCCXCIX. fig. 2). The sole species is the common cas-
is believed to be almost enttrely pecuhan It presents the ^ a bi^ first importc(, t0 Europe
tallest, and m many othei respec six°t0 geven fry the Dutch in 1597. Like the rest of its tribe, it is ex¬
ample ol the leathered race. It m a , „ p p tremelv large, measuring about five feet in height. Itsplu-
feet in height; its head is very flat, extremely small, and tie .. ^ g bSng long> narrow, decomposed,and
almost naked; as is also tjie «PPer P feet lono.> Xhe hair-like, and the plumule, or short inner feather (which
which is very slender, a™1 ^ £ k varied witfr white exists in almost all birds except pigeons), is ol nearly equal
general plumage ol the male is ’ t il bein„ length with the outer portion, so that an appearance is pro-
and gray, the line full feathers of the duged of there being double feather to each quill. The
either black or white. Our engraving \ unon the prevailing colour is blackish. The cassuary inhabits the
outer aspect. The female ;s b™^atT Yhue atld have EuS Ceram, Bourou, and especially kw Gains,
body ; the young are likewise o Xhe ostrich These birds usually live in pairs, and the female lays three
at first the head and neck ^^ely clothed. ^Ihe^ostnc^ of & ^ ^ punctured surface> They run
inhabits the deserts of Arabia, an Cape of Good with great swiftness, and defend themselves from dogs and
ZTZZ most an. otheAnima.s by kicking like horse. The inner claw i.
ciently peopled countries of the earth, it ^The'lmeu, or Nmv Holland cassuary, forms the genus
attention ot mankind fiom the ie p ^ and Dromecius 0f Vieillot. The bill is much depressed, the
quity. L is frequendy mentioned i Herodotus ag head feathered, without osseous crest, the throat naked,
in other portions of the Old Testame . , • Xj c]aws are of nearly equal length. The general co-
the early Greek writers was n“S irdull brown n,otdedq with dingy gray ; the youug
tory and appearance, and in aftei time Y are striped with black. The plumule is equally extended
frequently exhibited by the Romans in their games but “especies. (See Plate CCCXCIX. fig.
the brains of hundreds at a .time 6 abaius. 6.) Next to the cTstrich, the emeu is the tallest bird we
choice delicacy for the luxurious table o g female know. Its flesh affords admirable eating,—“ truly exqm-
The ostrich is gregarious and poiygamo • ^ the site>., Peron> « and intermediate, as it were, between
deposits her eggs, weighing nearly t 1 ed’ , the that of a turkey and a sucking pig.” Mr Cunningham com-
sand. These, in equatorial regions, ^ ^ reg it to wifrch is also an excellent thing. This
heat of the sun, with little or no a en 101 ^ ^ biid .g widely gpread over the southern parts of New Hol-
the mother; but on either side of t _ p b- d j d d the adjaCent islands. It is tamed with great ease,
be incubated in the usual fashion .11 g-gantic bna ^ ^Jg has frequently bred in Britain.
feeds naturally on seeds and herbage , , bat in tbe senus Apteryx of Shaw,1 the bill is slender and
obtuse, and its swallowing propensities so d- 0f considerable length, the legs short, with three anterior
there are few substances, however incongruous or indi- ^sona^eraa"esteri»r ’ t0&represent the hallux. The
gestible, which it declines. It is said by some to b wi ’ are ruPdimentaryf The only known species was ob-
swiftest of all running creatures, am ^ t on tained a good many years ago on the south coast of New
tisfied that those he saw at 1 odor, a l ie dythe Zeaiand} by Captain Barclay of the ship Providence, and
the southern side of the Niger, won , d Xbere was presented by him to Dr Shaw. It equals a goose in
fleetest race-horse that was ever bred m L g c • . d f wifrcb the history was long obscure,
is no doubt that the peculiar construction of birds in rela- in Londony
tion both to the respiratory and cl.rcua ‘°bcrtter Jind The last ornithological form to which we shall allude
such as to admit of their keeping in ^ the under our present tribe is the mysterious Dodo (Didus
than is possible for any quadruped, a ’ ‘ is ineptus), a bird which some regard as an extinct, others
case of the species in question, grea mu0 . P -p as a fabulous, species. In neither supposition would it tall
superadded, the natural result must be prodigious swift- of our present treatise, which seeks to
SS. . . f Gvo rrpnne nresent a sketch, however imperfect, of living nature; am
The nandou or American ostrich now foi Jg 1 therefore not occupy our narrow limits by a sub-
ness*
nandou or American ostrich now Jorms tne genu, our narr0w limits by as
Rhea, of which it is the sole spey®’, C, l‘U:'C|b | uj ;ect of “ doubtful disputation,” on which we cannot °ur-
having three toes, the wings terminated by a little spur, jeu - - > • t...—Mauri-
and the tail wanting. It is not above half fln
ostrich, of a whitish-gray, lead coloured on    - ; 3
head covered with close-set blackish feathers, almost as navigato
stiff as hair. This bird inhabits the pampas of Paraguay,
in troops of a few dozen, and extends almost as far south
as the Straits of Magellan. It is a gentle, innocent crea¬
ture, of herbivorous habits, easily tamed if taken young,
and laving an enormous number of eggs. As several te-
^ a sinule nesh are hi th! produce of one bird, but ra- the ground m search ot worms and insects,^ 
iect ot “ uouDttui aispuiauon, un wi.ig.i 'r •
It is not above haif^i^an ifi
Tribe 2d.—Pressirostres.
This tribe consists of the bustards, plovers, and other
species which, like all the preceding, either want th
toe, or have it so short as not to touch the groun
i Naturalist's jyiisccllany^ pl» 1057 . j. .1 1 ^
3 Whoever desires it, will find a summary view of authorities regarding the dodo
No. xii. p. 554.
Yarrell, in Zool. Trans, i. pi- g- Tournal,
,, by Mr T. S. Duncan, in the Zoological Jou™
ORNITHOLOGY.
617
Gr
to
species often frequenting moist meadows and tilled ground
in search of food. The stronger billed kinds feed also on
grain, &c.
The genus Otis, Linn., possesses the bulky massive
form of the gallinaceous order, and the upper mandible is
somewhat arched ; but the bare space above the tarsus,
the want of the hind toe, and the general structure both
outward and internal, connect them more closely with the
Grallatores. The great bustard ( Otis tarda) is the largest
of the European birds, and one of the rarest of our Bri¬
tish species. It sometimes weighs nearly thirty pounds,
and is now believed to be confined exclusively to Nor¬
folk. We have another species called the little bustard
(0. tetrax), also very rare. Many fine species occur in
Africa and the East. (See Plate CCCXCIX. fig. 4.)
The genus Charadrius, Linn., likewise wants the hind
toe. The bill is compressed, and somewhat enlarged to¬
wards the tip. It contains the various species commonly
called plovers, and may be divided into two. (Edic-
nemus, Temm., in which there is an inflation towards the
terminal portion of the bill in both mandibles, and the
nasal fossae are less prolonged. These are the larger spe¬
cies, of which the great plover or thick-
knee’d bustard of our English writers, affords a good ex-
amp’e. It is a migratory bird, of rare occurrence, confin¬
ed chiefly to our southern and eastern counties, which it
visits about the end of April. It is as yet unknown in
Scotland. This bird is a nocturnal feeder, and preys
principally upon insects. 2d, Charadrius, in which the
bill is inflated only above, and tw'o thirds of its length on
each side are occupied by the nasal fossae, which renders
the organ comparatively feeble. The species are grega¬
rious, and, like the gulls, beat the moist soil w’ith their pat¬
tering feet, to terrify the incumbent worms. “ The mem¬
bers of this genus,” says Mr Selby, “ are numerous, and
possess a very wide geographical distribution, species be¬
ing found in every quarter of the globe. Some of them,
during the greater part of the year, are the inhabitants
of open districts and of wild wastes, frequenting both dry
and moist situations, and only retire towards the coast
during the severity of winter. Others are constantly re¬
sident upon the banks or about the mouths of rivers,
particularly where the shore consists of small gravel or
shingle; such are most of the smaller species. Except
during the season of reproduction, most of them live in
societies, larger or of less amount, according to the spe¬
cies. I heir migrations are also performed in numerous
bodies, the old birds usually congregating by themselves,
and preceding the young in their periodical flights. They
run with much swiftness, as might be expected from the
simple structure of their feet; and from the shape and
dimensions of their wings, they fly with strength and ra¬
pidity. Ihey live on worms, insects, and their larvae,
&c. and most of them are nocturnal feeders, as indicated
by their large and prominent eyes. They are subject to
the double moult, and the change at the different seasons
is in many species very marked. Their nest is on the
ground, and their eggs are always four in number. The
esh of the larger species, and such as inhabit the plains
0 ^16 interior, is delicate and high flavoured; but in
niany of the smaller kinds, that live on the coast, or on the
Mnks of rivers, it is not so palatable.”1 The beautiful gold¬
en plover (CAar. is the best-known example to
" nch we need refer. The prevailing plumage of the up-
|fr P^r|'s is brownish, or very deep hair-brown, each fea-
t or being tipped and otherwise spotted with yellow. The
e un and throat are white, the fore part of the neck, breast,
c- ash-gray, streaked with darker gray, and tinged with
yellow. During the breeding season, the cheeks, chin,
throat, fore part of the neck, centre of the breast, and ab¬
domen, are of an intense black, and in this state it has been
erroneously regarded as a distinct species. To the same
group belong the dotterel (Char, morinellus), the ring-
plover (Char, hiaticula), and many other kinds, exotic and
indigenous. Several of the foreign plovers have sharp spurs
upon the anterior margin of the wing, as well as fleshy flat¬
tened lobes upon the head.
The genus Vanellus of Bechstein differs but little
from the plovers, except in the possession of a small hind
toe. We here place our elegant crested lapwing, or green
plover (V. cristatus), commonly called in Scotland the
pees-iueep. The gray plover (C. squatarola, Linn.) forms
the genus Squatarola of Cuvier, distinguished, like the
preceding, by a very small hind toe; but the bill is more
bulged beneath towards the extremity, and the nasal fossse
are short.
The genus FLematopus, Linn., commonly known by
the name of oyster-catcher, has the bill rather long,
straight, pointed, compressed. The hind, toe is wanting.
Our British species (H. ostralegm), breeds along the
rocky ledges of friths and bays, and is said to open oyster
and other shells by means of its bill. We could never
detect it in the performance of this feat, and we rather
doubt the fact, till assured of it by a credible eye-witness.
Oysters are by no means easily opened, even with a knife.
Several nearly allied species have been discovered of late
years in Asia, Africa, and America. One is found in New
Holland.
In the genus Cursorius the bill is slender, rounded,
somewhat arched, without furrow. The legs are long,
the hind toe wanting. Five or six species occur in Afri¬
ca and Asia, and of these, C. Isabellinus, Meyer, some¬
times accidentally appears in the south of Europe. A few
specimens have been even seen in Britain.
The genus Microdactylus, Geoffroy (Dicholophus,
Illiger), has the bill stronger and more curved, with a
wider gape. The legs are of great length, the toes slight¬
ly pahnated at the base, the hinder one very small, and
not reaching to the ground. The only known species is
a singular South American bird called the panama or
crested screamer (71/. cristatus, Geoff.,—Palamedea cristata,
Gm.). It is larger than a heron, the plumage reddish
gray waved with brown, the forehead ornamented by a
crest of recurved slender feathers (see Plate CCCXCIX.
fig. 8). The plumes of the head and neck are also de¬
composed. The ^ariama inhabits elevated plains in Brazil
and Paraguay, where it feeds on serpents and other rep¬
tiles, as well as on insects and their larvae. It flies feebly,
owing to the shortness of its wings, but runs with consi¬
derable swiftness. When pursued, it is apt to conceal it¬
self by squatting in some cunning corner. Its flesh af¬
fords excellent food, and it is sometimes reared by the
Spaniards in a domestic state. The female lays only two
eggs.
Tribe 3d.—Cultrirostres.
In this tribe the bill is usually strong, of considerable
length, straight, cutting, sharp-pointed. In many spe¬
cies the trachea undergoes a peculiar duplication in the
male sex. The caeca are short. Cuvier divides the tribe
into three lesser groups,—the cranes, the herons, and the
storks.
The cranes properly so called (genus Grus) have the
bill longer than the head. The most noted species is the
common crane of Europe (G. cinered), a migratory bird,
Gralla¬
tores.
vol, xvi.
1 British Ornithology, vok ii. p. 230.
4 i
!
618
Gralla-
tores.
ORNITHOLOGY.
well known in Britain during former ages, and s,ill breed- “cponUry ^“^^^’itrc^onlftwo t'
ing in the northern and eastern countries of Europe. swiftness, folate ggc, e y y ;
Part loosely wing the region, part more wuse,
In common, ranged in figure, wing their way,
Intelligent of seasons, and set forth
Their airy caravan high over seas
Flying, and over lands with mutual wing.
Easing their flight; so steers the prudent crane
Her annual voyage, borne on winds, the air
Elotes as they pass, fann'd with unnumber d plumes.
In our own island the appearance of this bird now-a-days
may be regarded as accidental. It is a very large spec.es,
measuring above four feet in height, ^e prevailing pin-
mage is of a deep ash-gray, the face and throa. b'ack, the
rump and tertial feathers very long, loose, flowing, decom
P°The whooping crane of the new world Americana)
has a pure white plumage, with black primaries. (See
Plate CCCC fig. 1.) This stately bird, when standing
Tret measures nearly five ^et in height and is the largest
of the feathered inhabitants of the United States (bating
Lynch law and the use of tar). It is wiuely spread over
North America, from which it usually retires in winter to
the West Indies, although a few hybernate in the warm
parts of the Union, or even linger throughout that mclement
season in the swamps of New Jersey, near Cape May. When
wounded this crane defends itself with vigour, and has been
known to strike its bill through a person s hand with the
strength and sharpness of a dagger. It bmkls upon the
ground, and sometimes congregates in vast flocks, the cla¬
mour of which is more easily imagined than described. It
was heard with astonishment by Captain Amidas, the first
Englishman who ever landed in North America, when
visited the island of Wokokou, off the coast of North Caro¬
lina. “ Such a flock of cranes,” says he, ‘ (the most part
white) arose under us, with such a cry, redoubled by many
echoes, as if an army of men had shouted all together. 1 e
bustle of their great migrations, and their passage, as of
mighty armies, fill the mind with wonder. Mr Nuttall, win e
descending the Mississippi in December, observed the
whooping cranes in countless thousands, as it assemb e
from all the swamps and marshes of the north and west, as
if the entire continent was giving up its quota to swell the
mighty host. Their flight took place during the night, down
Se great aerial valley of the river, whose southern course
conducted them every instant towards more genial climes.
“ The clangour of these numerous legions passing along,
high in the air, seemed almost deafening; the confused cry
of the vast army continued with the lengthened procession,
and as the vocal call continued nearly throughout the whole
night without intermission, some idea may be formed of t e
immensity of the numbers now assembled on their annual
iourney to the regions of the south. Several other fine
cranes inhabit America, as well as Africa, and the East.
The beautiful Balearic crane (A. pavomna, Linn.) be¬
longs to the genus Anthrofoides of Vieillot. (Plate
rrrXCIX fig 9*) It occurs in Africa and in some of
the Mediterranean islands. The Demoiselle (A. virffo) re-
markable for its peculiar and what may be almost called
Effected gestures, is nearly allied. It is likewise of African
ongin as is also the Stanley crane (Anth. Stanley anus),
belonging to the same restricted group, and more recently
described by Mr Vigors.1 . , 0 . .
In the genus Psophia, which contains the South Ame¬
rican trumpeters, so called from their peculiar voices, the
bill is less elongated, and the head and neck clothed with
short down-like feathers. P. crepitans is easily domesti¬
cated, and becomes much attached both to places and to
persons. It is even said to act as a guard or conductor to
1 Zool. Journal, vol. if. p. 234, pi. viii.
^The genus Aramus of Vieillot is constituted by the
courliri of Buffon, or scolopaceous heron, of which the
bill, slenderer and more deeply cleft, is inflated towards the
tip.5 The toes, all rather long, have no palmation. The
only known species (Ar. scolopaceus) inhabits Cayenne,
Brazil, and Paraguay, spreading into Florida and other
southern parts of the Union. It is a shy and solitary bird,
dwelling in pairs, and crying in a loud sonoious voice, con¬
tinually by night and day, carau, carau. It runs swiftly,
and builds upon the ground, but often lights on trees. It
is not fond of wading.
A still more singular bird, classed by Linnaeus with the
herons (Ardea helias), is the caurale snipe of Latham, which
now forms the genus Eurypyga of Illiger. “ C’est un
oiseau,” says Cuvier, “ de la taille d’un perdrix, a qui son
cou long et menu, sa queue large et etalee, et ses jambes
peu elevees, donnent un air tout different de celui des au-
tres oiseaux de rivage. Son plumage, nuance par bandes et
par lignes, de brun, de fauve, de roux, de gns, et de noir,
rappelle les plus beaux papillons de nuit. On le trouve
le long des rivieres de la Guiane.”*
The second group of the cultrirostial tiibe, composed
chiefly of the herons, is more strictly carnivorous than the
preceding#
The first genus is Cancroma, Linn., composed likewise
of a single species called the boat-bill—C. cochlearia. The
bill is comparatively short, but very broad, boat-shaped,
with the upper mandible overlapping the lower. It inha¬
bits the moist hot regions of South America, frequenting
the banks of rivers, preying on fish, and building its nest
on low bushes. It is of an irritable passionate nature, and
when enraged raises the feathers of its crest, so as to al¬
ter its usual aspect surprisingly. As it scarcely ever fre¬
quents the sea-coast, its alleged propensity to feed on crabs
is probably ill founded. The boat-bill varies considerably
in plumage, but it does not appear that there is more than
one authentic species. . , ,
The genus Ardea, Cuv., contains the true herons. Ihe
bill is as long or longer than the head, strong, hard, straight,
compressed, sharp-pointed ; the masticating edges sharp,
the culmen rounded. The eyes are encircled by a are
skin, which extends to the base of the bill. The herons
form a considerable group, almost all of which, according
at least to our particular taste, are remarkable for beauty
of plumage. They seldom, however, exhibit a preponde¬
rance of the brighter or more gaudy colours» s1uchfas.I'er
or yellow, being chiefly distinguished by a delicate ha -
monious blending of pearly-gray and brown, black, wtate,
pale blue, slate-colour, and other sober hues. The to*
of the plumage are graceful and elegant. Long pende
plumes.frequently ornament the hinder portions of the
head and nick, the lower part of the breast, and the dorsal
region. The body is usually small and light, the bmbs g
and delicate, the toes narrow and taper, and the neck h »
pliant, and extremely graceful. Many species fomeriy
garded as true herons are now excluded from them
genus. The habits of the heron tribe are fully as aqua
those of the majority of Grallatores They usually*
or rather wade, along the shores of lakes, nv^s\St g h
marshes, or the land-locked waters of narrow sea®, ^
of their natural food, which consists of fish, f
marine and fresh-water shells, slugs, "orms, “ , ^
insects. During flight they extend their legs bap
instinctively, as if to counterbalance the weig ^ tliey
terior extremity, and by a duplication o jnstances
lower the head between the shoulders. In sQme  
* Regnc Animal, tom.
ORNITHOLOGY.
• they are gregarious, in others solitary. In the former case
they build in trees,—in the latter, more frequently among
reeds or rushes. Several species afford an excellent
though now much-neglected article of food, and were not
only prized as such in England in the olden time, but were
objects of still higher interest and regard, as affording the
finest display of strength and intrepidity in the practice of
the noble art of falconry. Birds of this genus occur in al¬
most every quarter of the known world. The species
which inhabit high northern latitudes, such as Kamts-
chatka and the shores of Hudson’s Bay, migrate south¬
wards before the arrival of winter. Such as breed in warm
or temperate climates are more stationary.
Our common or long-necked heron (Ardea major et
cinerea, Linn.) affords a familiar example of the genus.
“ Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look,” yet when ex¬
amined close at hand he is an elegant and beautifully plu-
maged species. The heron usually builds on the tops of
lofty and umbrageous trees, yet in an island of Loch Conn
we have seen its nest on pollards not more than ten feet
high; and we lately noticed a large heronry among the
precipitous cliffs which overhang the sea about a mile out¬
side the entrance to the Cromarty Frith, upon the northern
shore. We have several other British herons, the majo¬
rity of which, however, must be regarded rather as strag¬
glers or accidental visitors, than as truly indigenous spe¬
cies. The egrets are beautiful crested herons, with the
plumage usually pure white, and in part decomposed, or
very loose and flowing. Of these, the little egret (Ardea
garzetta, Linn.) is common in Turkey, and the east of Eu¬
rope, as well as in many parts of Asia, Africa, and the
islands of the Mediterranean. It is frequently alluded to
in the ancient household books of England ; and in the re¬
corded bill of fare of the famous feast of Archbishop Ne¬
ville, in the reign of Henry IV., a thousand are said to
have been served up at a single entertainment. It is in¬
deed extraordinary that a bird now so rare in all the west¬
ern countries of Europe, should have been at any time so
superabundant in Britain; and Dr Fleming has judicious¬
ly suggested that the lapwing, which is so beautifully
crested, may have been indicated under the old title of
egritte. ihe true egret is not even alluded to as an indi¬
genous bird so far back as the time of Willughby and
! Eay- great egret {Ardea egretta, Temm.) is well known
in Poland and Hungary, but scarcely ever shows itself in
the western parts of the European continent.
The bitterns have the plumage of the neck extremely
full and elongated. Iheir colours are usually brownish
jellow, radiated or spotted with black. They form the
modern genus Botaurus. The night-herons constitute
a"°ther generic group, under the title of Nycticorax.
the term, which signifies night-raven, has been no doubt
applied from the circumstance of their feeding at night,
and remaining in a state of comparative rest and inactivity
throughout the day. The European species (Ardea nycti¬
corax, Linn.,—Nyc. Europeus, Stephens) is more common
m America than in the old world. New Holland and Af¬
rica each possesses a species. In form, Sir William Jar-
dine observes, these birds are intermediate to the bitterns
an true herons ; the bill is short, and stronger in propor¬
tion than in either, and the hind head is adorned with
(generally three) narrow feathers in the form of a crest.
ey feed by twilight, or in clear nights, and take their
prey by wary watching, like the herons. They are grega-
nous and build on trees, and are noisy and restless during
^ e period of incubation. The prevailing colours are ash-
B,ray an^ black, or pale fawn and chesnut. The young are
a ways of a dingier hue than their parents, and have their
earners marked with whitish spots.
619
The remaining genera of the Cultrirostres form Cuvier’s
third group.
In the genus Ciconia, Cuv., the bill is large, without
nasal groove or furrow, the nostrils pierced near the base,
and towards the dorsal portion. The tarsi are reticulated,
and the anterior toes strongly palmated, especially the ex¬
ternal. The mandibles are broad and light, and when
struck together produce a frequent and peculiar snapping
sound, almost the only one they ever utter. The best-
known European species is the white or common stork
(Ciconia alba), a bird somewhat smaller than the crane,
but larger than the heron. The bill and legs are red, the
whole plumage pure white, except the greater coverts,
scapulars, and quill-feathers, which are black. It is a com¬
mon summer bird in several European countries, espe¬
cially Holland, where it is esteemed and protected, and
has become so familiar as to build on the tops of houses
even in the centre of large towns. Its periodical migrations
have long excited the admiration of naturalists by their
extent and regularity. They are indeed beautifully and
wisely directed. “ Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth
her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane, and
the swallow, observe the time of their coming.” The species
appears to have been regarded with peculiar favour in al¬
most all ages and countries. By the ancient Egyptians it
was looked upon with a reverence only inferior to that
which they paid to the mystical ibis ; the same feeling still
pi epon delates in many parts of Africa and the East; while
nearer home the Dutch are remarkable for their affection¬
ate attachment to this “ household bird.” On the other
hand, the stork itself appears to reciprocate this friendly
feeling. Undismayed by tbe presence of man, it builds its
capacious nest upon the house-top, or on the summits of
ancestral trees in the immediate vicinity of human dwell¬
ings, or even environed by the busiest haunts of men. “ It
stalks, ’ says Mr Bennet, “ perfectly at ease along the busy
streets of the most crowded town, and seeks its food on
the banks of rivers, or in fens in close vicinity to his abode.
In numerous parts of Holland its nest, built on the chim¬
ney top, remains undisturbed for many succeeding years,
and the owners constantly return with unerring sagacity
to the well-known spot. The joy which they manifest in
again taking possession of their deserted dwelling, and the
attachment which they testify towards their benevolent
hosts, are familiar in the mouths of every one. Their af¬
fection for their young is one of the most remarkable traits
in their character. It is almost superfluous to repeat the
history of the female which, at the conflagration of Delft,
after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to carry off her
young, chose rather to perish with them in the general
ruin than to leave them to their fate; and there are many
other and well-authenticated proofs of a similar disposition.
Ihey generally lay from two to four eggs, of a dingy yel¬
lowish white, rather longer than those of the goose, but
not so broad. The incubation lasts for a month, the male
shaiing in the task during the absence of the female in
search of food.”1
. 0F,the foreign species, the gigantic stork (C. argala)
is well known in India by the name of adjutant. It mea¬
sures upwards of six feet in height. A nearly allied spe¬
cies is the marabou of Africa (C. marabou, Temm.), very
common in many parts of the interior. According to Ma-
joi Denham, it is protected by the inhabitants on account
of its services as a scavenger. Its appetite is most vora¬
cious, and nothing comes amiss to its omnivorous propen¬
sities. Mr Smeathman has given a long account of a bird
of this kind which regularly attended at tbe dining table,
and frequently helped itself to what it liked best. It one
day darted its enormous bill into a boiled fowl, which it
Gralla-
tores.
Zoological Gardens, ii. 21.
620
ORNITHOLOGY.
Gralla-
tores.
swallowed so instantaneously that all hope of rescue was
in vain. On another occasion it actually bolted a cat*
The genus Mycteria, Linn., contains the birds called
jabirus. They scarcely differ from the storks, except in
the bill exhibiting a slight curvature upwards. The spe¬
cies, if correctly referred to by naturalists, though few in
number, inhabit widely distant regions,—1¥. Americana
being native to Cayenne, M. Australis to New Holland,
and M. Seneqalensis to Western Africa. Is the latter sy¬
nonymous with Dr Ruppell’s saddle-billed stork, C. ephtp-
piorhyncha ? „ • , • c
The genus Scopus is composed of a single species,^.
umbretta, Linn., an African bird, of the manners of which
we are still entirely ignorant. In English books it is called
the tufted umber. Its generic title (2xowos) is Greek ioi
sentinel. It is probably watchful and solitary.
The genus Anastomus, of which the Pondicherry and
Coromandel herons of Latham serve as examples, is pecu¬
liar to the East Indies. These species present a remark¬
able peculiarity in the structure of the bill. I he mandibles
touch each other only at their points and bases, thus leav¬
ing a gaping intervening space. An. Coromandehanus is
common on the banks of the Ganges, and other eastern
rivers, and likewise frequents the Coromandel coast during
the months of September, October, and November, feed¬
ing on fish and reptiles. A more recently discovered spe¬
cies is An. lamelligerus of Temm. (P/. Col. 236), a nativ e
The genus Dromas of Paykull has the bill compressed
and swollen at the base beneath, with the commissures
close. The only known species is D. ardeola, lemm. rL
Col 362, an African bird, with white plumage, the back
and pinions, as well as the legs and bill, being black. It is
of rare occurrence, but rather extended distribution, spe¬
cimens having been obtained both from the shores of the
Red Sea and the Senegal coast. “Lardeole, says M.
Lesson, “ tient des oedicnemes par son bee, et memes des
sternes, de 1’avocette, par son plumage et les tarses. C est
un veritable oiseaux de transition dans 1 etabhssement des
families.”1 * Some recent writers regard this bird as iden¬
tical with the corrira so long ago described by Aldrovandi
as an Italian species, but not since seen either in Europe
or elsewhere. The descriptions however t.o not accord.
Bechstein, Vieillot, and others, think the Italian corrira
a fictitious species, made up from the body of an avocet
and the legs of a thick-knee’d plover ; but Professor Ran-
zani is of opinion, that as its name is a vernacular one, and
there is no proof that Aldrovandi possessed any stuffed
birds (none being mentioned in the catalogue *of his mu¬
seum, and the art in those days being almost unknown), a
well-known living species must have been alluded to. In¬
deed it appears that Charleton, at least seventy years after
the printing of the Italian author’s third volume, received
a specimen from Merret of what he considered as the bird
in question.3 “ Non vi ha al certo,” observes Ranzam,
“ alcun giusto motive di rivocare in dubbio, che al tempo
di Aldrovandi si trovasse ne’ luoghi vallivi del territono
Bolognese un uccello steganopodo, il quali vemsse da, cac-
ciatori chiamato corrira, perche correva yelocemente. E
quantunque,” he afterwards adds, “ oggidi muno de molti
cacciatori Bolognesi da me consultati conosca la corrira,
non cessero io per questo dal fame le pm dihgenti ricerche,
potendo benissimo accadere, ch’essa torm alcuna volta a
visitare i nostri terreni vallivi.”4
In the genus Tantalus, Linn., the bill, nostnls, and
feet resemble those of the storks, but the back of the
upper mandible is rounded, its point curved a little down¬
wards, and slightly notched on either side. A portion of G;
the head, and sometimes of the neck, is bare of feathers, t
The species, formerly confounded with the ibises, are ofv>-'
large size, and inhabit Asia, Africa, and America. The
best known is Tantalus loculator, called the wood ibis in
the United States. It is white, with the face and head
greenish blue, the quill and tail feathers black, with co¬
loured reflections. It measures above three feet in length,
and the bill itself is about nine inches long, very broad at
the base. The wood ibis is a solitary indolent bird, sel¬
dom associating in flocks, but resting alone, like a feather¬
ed hermit, listlessly on the topmost limb of some tall de¬
cayed cypress, with his neck drawn in upon his shoulders,
and his enormous bill resting like a scythe upon his breast.
Thus pensive and lonely, he has a grave and melancholy
aspect, as if ruminating in the deepest thought; and in
this sad posture of gluttonous inactivity (for in truth he
has only over-eaten himself) he passes much of his time,
till aroused by the cravings of hunger. He feeds on
snakes, young alligators, fish, frogs, and other reptiles, and
wisely migrates southwards on the approach of winter.5
In the United States the principal residence of this bird
is in the inundated wilds of the peninsula of East Florida.
The Tantalus ibis of Linn, is an African species, long er-
roneously regarded as the bird so highly venerated by the
Egyptians ; but it scarcely occurs in the country of the py¬
ramids, being usually imported from Senegal. The other
species of this genus are T. leucocephalus, from Ceylon and
Bengal; and T. lactea (Temm. PI. Col. 352), from Java.
The last genus we shall mention of our present tribe is
Platalea, Linn., containing the birds called spoon-bills,
which, like the preceding, are also few in number. The
chief character is constituted by the rounded flat enlarge¬
ment or dilatation at the extremity of the bill, from which
they derive their English name. They inhabit marshy
and* muddy places, where they grope about with their
spoons in search ot worms and mollusca. they aie gre¬
garious and migratory, build on trees, occasionally among
rushes, and occur in Europe (PI. leucorodiu'), Alrica (PL
nudifrons), and America (PL ajaja). The last-named
species, called the roseate spoon-bill, is a beautiful bud,
the ground-colour white, but richly tinged with rose-colour,
deepening in part into carmine-red. The feet are halt
webbed, and the toes are very long (see Plate CCCC.
fig. 2). This bird is more maritime in its habits than the
European kind, and wades about the coast in quest of shell¬
fish and small crabs. According to Captain Henderson
(in his account of Honduras), it occasionally both swims
and dives. Although it now and then straggles up the
Mississippi towards Natchez, into Alabama, and even as
far north as the banks of the Delaware, it is a truly tropi¬
cal bird, frequent in Jamaica and other islands ot the VVest
Indies, as well as in Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil. In a
southerly direction, it is said to spread as far as Patagonia.
Tribe 4th.—Longirostres.
In this tribe the bill may be characterized as lengthened
and feeble. The species belong chiefly to the old genera
Scolopax and Tringa of Linn. They bear a general resem¬
blance in their forms and habits, and frequent moist place.,
where their slender bills can probe for worms and msec
without the risk of fracture. ,
In the genus Ibis, Cuv., the bill is long, arche , >
and squarish at the base, with the point depressed, obtuse,
rounded, and the upper mandible deeply furrowed ,th. lngn£r
out its whole length. The nostrils arc narrow and oblong,
i Trait’e. d'Ornitlwlogie, p. 591.
3 Ornithologia, t. iii. p* 288*
3 Exercitationes de different as Animalium, Oxonii, 1677) P-
4 Elementi di Zoologia, t. iii. parte ix. p. 300-2.
5 Nuttall’s Manual, vol. ii. p. 83.
ORNITHOLOGY.
i- and pierced through the membrane of the furrow near its
• base. The forehead and lores are bare of feathers.
Ihe species of this remarkable genus are distributed
over the warmer zones of all the four quarters of the
globe, the green or glossy ibis (Ibis falcindlus), being it¬
self found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, and oc¬
casionally in Great Britain. The sacred or Egyptian ibis
(Ibis religiosa, Cuv.,— Tantalus Ethiopicus, Latham) is a
bird of a more striking and peculiar aspect, though undis¬
tinguished by much diversity in the colours of its plumage.
It measures about two feet six inches in length. The head
and neck are, in the adidts, bare ot feathers, presenting
nothing but a dark cutaneous surface. The prevailing
colour is white, with long funereal-looking plumes of a
purplish black colour, proceeding from beneath the ter¬
tiary wing-feathers, and hanging down not ungracefully
on either side. The legs and feet are deep lead-colour.
Among the ancient Egyptians, a people prone to award
divine honours to the brute creation, the ibis was regarded
as an object of superstitious worship, and its sculptured
outline frequently occurs among the hieroglvphical images
which adorn the walls of their temples. The conserva¬
tion of its mystical body occupied the assiduous care of
their holiest priests while living, and exercised the gloomy
art of their most skilful embalmers when dead. To slay
or insult it would have been deemed a crime of the dark¬
est hue, and sufficient to call dowm upon the offender the
immediate vengeance of heaven. The incarnation of their
gods was effected through the medium of this sacred bird,
and the tutelary deity of Egypt was supposed to be thus
imaged to the eyes of adoring mortals when he descended
from the highest heavens. The embalmed bodies of this
species are stiil found in the catacombs, and other places
of ancient sepulture; and the antiquary and the natural¬
ist marvel alike at the wonderful art which, for some
thousand years, has handed down unimpaired to a far-re¬
moved posterity the form and features of so frail a crea-
ture. Ihe perfection of an unknown process has almost
defied the ravages of time, and through its intervention
the self-same individuals exist in a tangible form, which
wandered along the banks of the mysterious Nile in
aSes the wTorld, or “ in dim seclusion
veiled, inhabited the sanctuary of temples, which though
themselves of most magnificent proportions, are now'
scarcely discernible amid the desert dust of an unpeopled
wilderness.
^natural and mythological histories of this remark¬
able bird are so closely combined by ancient authors, that
it is scarcely possible to gather from their statements any
rational meaning. Those, indeed, whose province it is to
illustrate the history of mankind, by explaining the rise
an progress of superstition, and the frequent connection
e ween certain forms of a delusive worship, and the phy¬
sical conditions of clime and country, may find in the dis-
toited history of Egyptian animals an ample field for the
xercise of such ingenious speculations ; but the Zoologist
as o do rather with things as they are, than as they
ere supposed to be,—and his province is to explain for
j6®?* S(? ^°) t^le works of the God of nature as they
s in their most beautiful and harmonious simplicity,
tj ky the multitudinous fables of a remote an-
liskl/’i We,neec* not> then> to inquire whether the basi-
De horn from an egg produced in the body of the ibis,
whif'hC°fCentrL,:*0n t^ie P°ison of ail the serpents
rpruii lt may ,?ve swallowed in the course of a long and
li»lupc"feat|in^ ’—nor wither the casual touch of its
der suiRces not only to enchant and ren¬
it at nn 100 f SiS-f;^e largest crocodile, but even to deprive
 e 0 hfe; nor whether the ibis itself, according
621
to an expression of the priest of Hermopolis, sometimes
attains to so great an age that “it cannot die,” unless
when, removed from the sustaining soil of its beloved
it sinks beneath the nostalgia of a foreign land !
Por we know that the basilisk does not exist; that young
ibises have been seen flapping themselves across the out¬
stretched bodies of sleeping crocodiles, which afterwards
sought the waters of the Nile with their accustomed ala¬
crity ; and that the age of the sacred bird, though from
the skill of the embalmers it may be said to be “ in death
immortal,” does not exceed that of the rest of its con¬
geners.
The sacred ibis is usually observed either in pairs, or
in small groups of eight or ten together. They build
their nests on palms and other elevated trees, and lay two
or three whitish eggs. They do not breed in Egypt, but
arrive in that country when the waters of the Nile begin
to swell. This apparent connection (as of cause and ef¬
fect) between the presence of these birds and the ferti¬
lizing flow of the mighty and mysterious river, probably
gave rise to their worship as divine agents in immediate
connection with those grander processes of nature by
which the surface of the earth was regulated, and sustain¬
ed in a fit condition for the health and prosperity of the
human race. A slight knowledge of natural history would
indeed have sufficed to show, that such divine honours had
not been awarded as a consequence of their destruction
of serpents and other venomous reptiles; for the modern
Egyptians confirm the views of Colonel Grobert, that the
ibis does not prey on serpents at all, but feeds very much
aftei the manner of the curlew, on insects, worms, small
fishes, and molluscous animals.1
A smaller sized though much more splendidly attired
species, is the scarlet ibis (/. ruber) of America. This
brilliant bird is confined to the new world, where it is
chiefly tropical, abounding in the West Indies and the
Bahama Islands, and stretching southwards of the equator
at least as far as Biazil. In the course of the summer (ge¬
nerally in July and August) it migrates into Florida, Ala¬
bama, Georgia, and South Carolina, retiring into Mexico
and the Carribbean Islands on the approach of the winter
season. It is gregarious, feeding along the sea-coast, the
shores of estuaiies, and the banks of rivers, on small fry,
shell-fish, insects, and worms. Although they often perch
on trees (where the contrast of their fiery plumage with
the surrounding foliage is said to produce a most resplen¬
dent effect), they build their nests upon the ground. The
young for several seasons exhibit obscure shades of brown,
they afterwards become spotted with red, and then assume
the splendid attire of the parents, which is a uniform and
dazzling scarlet, with the exception of the extremities of
the first four primaries, which are of a rich bluish black.
Pennant sajs that the scarlet ibis has been domesticated in
Guiana; and Latham possessed one which was brought
alive to England, and lived for some time with his poul-
tiy. . It is clear from the statements of American writers,
that it is, at least in temperate countries, a bird of pas¬
sage, although Cuvier observes, “ que cette espece ne
voyage point.” When taken young it is easily tamed, and
submits to domestication without repining. Delaet says
it has even propagated in captivity; and M. Delaborde
lias given the history of an individual which he kept for
above two years, feeding it on bread, raw or cooked meat,
and fish. It was fond of hunting in the ground for worms,
and was in use to follow the gardener in expectation of that
favourite food. It roosted at night upon the highest perch
in the poultry-house, and flew out at an early hour of the
morning, sometimes to a great distance from home. Our
climate is probably too cold and variable for a bird which
Gralla-
tores.
Wilson’s Illustrations of Zoology, vol. i. pi. xix.
622
ORNITHOLOGY.
Gralla- on the approach of winter always migrates southwards,
tores- H wrmld assuredlv form a splendid (it is even
on the approacn in wnnci _
otherwise it would assuredly form a splendid (it is even
said a savoury) addition to our stock of domestic fowls.
° . * ' -v-r     Kill ns m
id a savoury; auuiuuw   
In the genus Numenius, Cuv., the bill is arched, as in
the preceding, but still more slender, and rounded through¬
out its entire length, instead of being square at the base.
The extremity of the upper mandible extends beyond the
under one, and projects a little over it at the base. I iere
is an obvious palmation at the root of the toes.
To this genus belong the curlews,—well-known buds, o
shy and wary habits, which, according to the season, haunt
either the hilly pastures or the sandy shores, the or
American species (TV. longirostris, Wilson) is remarka e
for the extraordinary length of its bill. (See Plate *
fio- 3.) The common curlew of Britain (TV. arquata) seen
to inhabit exclusively, during the breeding season, our up¬
land moors and pastures, and descends to the sea-coasts m
winter. The smaller British species, called whimbrel (TV.
nhceopus), seems scarcely known in England during sum¬
mer,^but is then frequent in the north of Scotland, where
it breeds. It is distinct from any of the American curlews,—
with one of which, however, it has sfmetl,me,s, b^nv^‘
founded. A nearly allied species, first described by M. V ieii-
lot under the title of Numenius tenuirostns, as a native ot
Eo-ypt, has been ascertained by C. L. Bonaparte to exist in
great numbers along the banks of the Tiber, where it occurs
during winter. It has also been discovered by Signor Savi
in the neighbourhood of Pisa, by Dr Pajola in the Venetian
territory, and by Professor Bonelli in Piedmont. V e doubt
not it occurs occasionally in most parts of Europe (espe¬
cially the eastern countries), although it escapes detection
in consequence of its strong resemblance to the common
whimbrel. Its distinctive phrase is—Numenius pileo ci-
cerino e nigro maculato: pennis longionbus ilium candi-
dis, immaculatisT2 The small esqmmaux curlew {N. bo¬
realis, Lath, and Richardson) passes over a vast extent
of territory in its migrations,—breeding in the barren
lands within the arctic circle, and spending the winter in
]3razl]# t
In the genus Scolopax, Cuv., containing the snipes and
woodcocks, the bill is very long, but straight, and pervade
almost throughout its entire length by a nasal furrow.
The upper mandible is slightly inflated at the tip, w uc i
is rather soft, and extremely delicate in its perceptions.
The feet are not palmated. The head is compressed, the
eyes large, and situate far back upon the head,—“ ce qui,
says Cuvier, “ leur donne un air singulierement stupide,
qu’ils ne dementent point par leurs mceurs.” Now, though
the birds in question may want those accommodating in¬
stincts which elevate the character of many other species al¬
most into a semblance of reason, we are not aware that they
are in any way of defective intellect, that is, that their pro¬
ceedings are at all discordant with self-preservation, the
enioyment of their natural propensions, or the continuance
of their kind ; and as to the position of the eye, whatever
may be its physiognomical effect, is it not admirably adap -
ed to their general modes of life, and their particular habit
of plunging their bills into the mud of marshes, enaoling
them so to do, and yet to keep a sharp look-out around
them ? Depend upon it, their eyes are in the right place,
and their large size cannot be otherwise than advantageous
to birds which feed by night.
We have five British species of Scolopax, of which tne
woodcock (S. rusticola) is the chief, a bird much admired
by epicures, who eat him, entrails and all,—a dirty practice,
we opine : but, de gustibus non disputandum est. During
the dav this species usually frequents the closest brakes, GsU
where the ground, from depth of shade, is nearly free from t j.
herbage. They abound most in thickets by the sides of"
open glades, or where roads intersect; for by these they
pass to and from their feeding ground at evening and the
dawn of morn. “ Unless disturbed, says Mr k.elby, they
remain quietly at roost upon the ground during the whole
day but as soon as the sun is wholly below the horizon,
they are in full activity, and taking flight nearly at the same
instant, leave the woods and cover for the adjoining mea¬
dows or open land, over which they disperse themselves,
and are fully engaged in search of food during the whole
night Advantage has long been taken of this regular
mode of going to and returning from the feeding grounds
by the fowler, in those districts where woodcocks are
abundant, by suspending nets across the glades, or by the
sides of hedges, where they are observed to pass conti¬
nually • and though the adoption of the fowling-piece has
in general superseded the modes of capture formerly prac¬
tised. great numbers are still taken in this manner in De¬
vonshire and Cornwall. Another method of entrapping
woodcocks (as well as snipes) is by the springe, which is
set in places where those perforations made by the bill o
the woodcock in search of food, and technically called
borings, are observed to be most frequent. It is formed
of an elastic stick, of which one end is thrust into the
ground, the other having affixed to it a noose made of
horse-hair ; the stick being then bent down, this noose is
passed through a hole in a peg fastened to the ground,
and is kept properly expanded by means of a fine trigger,
so set as to be displaced by the slight pressure of the
bird’s foot. To conduct them to this trap, a low fence ot
twigs, or of stones placed so closely together as to leave
no passage through the interstices, is extended to some
distance on each side of the springe, and generally in an
oblique direction; over which obstacle, however trifling,
it seems the birds never attempt to hop or fly, but keep
moving along it, till they approach the part occupied b)
the noose of the springe : upon attempting to pass through
this apparently open space, they displace the trigger, and
are almost invariably caught by the noose, and retained
bv the spring of the stick against the opposing peg. Hay
being the woodcock’s time for repose, it sits very close,
and is not ^flushed; the sportsman then requiring
the aid of the busy spaniel, or the bush m which it is e
sconced to be actually beaten by an attendant, before it
will take wing. It rises, however, with much quickn: ,
and threads its way through the branches with gre
pidity, until the underwood and trees are fairly c ^
when its flight becomes measured, and offers an easy
to the sportsman. When roused, it seldom flies to any
great distance, but alights in the first thicket that atnacts
its attention, closing its wings, and dropping 1
down, and in such cases it is not unusual foi ‘t 0 runbe.
little way before it squats. Just before nsmg, P d
ing disturbed, or when running, it jerks its tad p
partly expanding it, and fully showing the white tha
tinguishes the under surface of the tips of the tail-f^
thers. In feeding, the woodcock inserts its bdl
the earth in search of worms, which are lts . b]
and principal food. This instrument is most adm J
calculated for the offices it has to perform when tl ^
mersed in the soil; for, in addition to its great le |
possesses a nervous apparatus distributed over a frea Pare
lion of its surface, and especially on such pai it
likely to come first into contact with its prey, g
. hplnrurs to a different genus.
wont iusi reieneu tu —  
loculator,—a bird which belongs to a different genus.
* Ornitologia Toscana, tom. ii. p. 324.
ORNITHOLOGY.
- the sense of touch in the highest perfection ; and to enable
it to secure the object thus detected by the discriminat-
J’^ing sensibility of the bill, it is further provided with pe¬
culiar muscles (common, I believe, to all the members of
the genus), which by compression of the upper or basal
part of the bill, are brought into action so as to expand
the tips of both mandibles sufficiently wide to lay hold of
and draw forth the hidden treasure. The digestion of this
bird is rapid, and the quantity of worms it can devour in
the course of a night is astonishing. I have known one
that consumed at a meal (that is, within the night) more
large earth-worms than half filled a garden-pot of consi¬
derable size. It may, however, by management, be brought
to eat other food ; as Montagu mentions one that was in¬
duced to feed on bread and milk, by worms cleanly washed
being put into a mess of that kind ; and by this practice
being persisted in, the bird soon acquired a relish for this
new sort of aliment, and, with the addition of a few worms,
throve well upon it.”1 We have already mentioned that
the woodcock is now of frequent and constant occurrence
as a breeding bird in several of the northern parts of Scot¬
land.
Our other species of this genus are the common snipe,
S. gallinago, Linn., which also occurs in the temperate
parts of Asia; and the jack-snipe, S. gallinula, a winter
visitant, which breeds, though sparingly, in the north of
Scotland. Besides these, we have as occasional visitants,—
the great or solitary snipe, S. major, Gmel., which haunts
the vast marshes of the north of Europe,—and a species
of which only one or two examples have been as yet dis¬
covered (it was first shot in Queen’s county, Ireland, w'e
believe in 1822), named S. Sabini, by Mr Vigors.2 Al¬
though some of these birds have an extended geographical
distribution, the great similarity of several species, both in
size and plumage, has caused misapprehension. There is
now no doubt that the species of Europe and America are
quite distinct. The lesser woodcock, S. minor, is a beauti¬
ful bird, well known in the United States. The brown
snipe of Pennant (/S', grisea, Gmel.) forms the genus Ma-
croramphus, Leach. Its toes are webbed at the base.
The genus Rhynchaia, Cuv., has the bill very similar to
that of the snipes and woodcocks, but it is slightly arched
towards the tip, and wants the furrow on that part. The
toes have no palmation. The species are more richly co¬
loured than their congeners, and, in consequence of their
1 occasional variation, have been as yet but indifferently dis¬
tinguished. The Cape species so called (A\ capensis,—Scol.
capensis, Gm., Plate CCCC. fig. 4), occurs in Java and
the East Indies; while H. variegata, by some regarded as
its young, has been received both from China and the south
ol Africa. A very distinct species, however (2?. hilarea),
described by M. Valenciennes, has been discovered in South
America.3
In the genus Limosa of Bechstein, the bill is still longer
than among the woodcocks, straight, or even slightly turned
upwards, and pervaded by lengthened grooves, although
the terminal single groove is wanting. The tip is blunt
and depressed. There is a palmation at the base of the
outer toes. The general form of the species is more slen¬
der, and the legs longer, than in the immediately preceding
groups. They haunt more habitually saline marshes and
the sea shore.
We here place the birds called godwits, of which we have
two British species,—the black-tailed godwit, L. melanura,
feisler and Temm. (Scol. cegocephala, Linn.), and the red
godwit, L. rufa, Briss. (Scol. Lapponica, Linn.). Of both
o these birds the synonyms, till lately, w'ere greatly con-
used, owing to the double moult to which they are sub¬
ject, and which, producing a remarkable change in the nup¬
tial plumage from that of autumn and winter, led to a cor¬
responding multiplication of names,—each kind being de¬
scribed as two species, according to the season in which it
was observed. Although the bill in the godwits possesses
much of the general form of that of the woodcocks, it wants
the extraordinary plexus of nerves, and therefore does not
become rugose by exsiccation after death, but continues
smooth and polished. It is also more solid, less flexible, and
thicker towards the base. Ihese birds inhabit marshes, and
the banks and mouths, of rivers, where the mud is soft and
deep, and there they probe with their long extended bills
in search of worms and insects. When thus engaged, they
are frequently seen with their heads entirely under water;
and we accordingly find them provided with that peculiar
gland above the eye, of which the function appears to be
to lubricate and defend that delicate and important organ
from the irritating effect of saline waters.4 The females
considerably exceed the males in size. Several fine god¬
wits, distinct from those of Europe, occur in North America ;
and a semi-palmated species, with a strongly recurved
bill (Scol terek, Lath.), is found both in India and Van
Diemen’s Land, and seems in some of its characters to lead
towards the avocets.
In the genus Tringa of Temm., Selby, &c. (Calidris
and Pelidna, Cuv.), the bill equals or is longer than the
head, is straight or slightly arched, compressed at the
base, tlie tip blunt, smooth, and dilated, semi-flexible, and
furrowed throughout its length. The legs are of medium
length, very slim, the feet four-toed, divided to the base,
slightly margined, with the hind toe scarcely reaching to
the ground.
The elegant and interesting species which compose this
rathei numeious genus are commonly known by the name
of sea-larks or sandpipers, a term likewise bestowed upon
the Totani. Many of them breed by the margins of lakes
and i iveis in the interior, although the majority congregate
in autumn in numerous flocks along the sea coast.& They
moult twice a year, and their spring and summer plumage
is generally very different from that of autumn and winter.
I his has occasioned great confusion in the history of seve¬
ral species. The sexes present no great disparity in point
of plumage, but the females are of larger size. We coin¬
cide in Mr Selby’s opinion, that the new genera Calidris
and Pelidna, w'hich Baron Cuvier has proposed in place of
Tringa, are not so distinct or well defined as to warrant their
adoption, being in fact only such slight modifications of form
as might naturally be expected in birds placed at the ex¬
tremes of the group to which they belong, and of which the
intimate connection is shown by the intervention of species
of intermediate form, leading gradually, almost impercep-
tibly, from one to the other. Besides, if these two generic
groups are adopted, it would appear that Tringa would
cease to exist as a recognised title, which is surely not in
accordance with established rule. The species of our
present genus are very widely distributed, and several are
identical in Europe and America.
The dunlin oi puire, T.variabihs,'\cvcivc\.(T.alpina2iX\d
cinclus, Linn.), is a strictly indigenous bird in Scotland,
where it bieeds both near the margins of our inland waters
and along the sea-shoie,—residing with us throughout the
year. In America it penetrates during the summer season
to the utmost habitable verge of the arctic circle, breeding
on the desolate shores of Melville Peninsula. It likewise
inhabits Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, and probably
most of the coasts of Europe. We know that at least durin<>-
winter it frequents the Italian shores. In the southern
hemisphere it sometimes wanders as far as the Cape of
Gralla-
tores.
2
British Ornithology, vol. ii. p. 110.
Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. p. 556.
3 Ferrussac’s Bulletin des Sciences, 2d cah.
4 Selby’s British Ornithology, vol. ii. p. 94.
624
ORNITHOLOGY.
Gralla-
tores.
111 i "iU U i.V. \A7oc’f Tnrlip'5 Iv estGGmcd 3S 3. ddic&tG 3nd nutritious ioO(l> TllOUgll
Good Hope, and lias been met v*i i o i g k t{lese t,ir(]s extend northwards as far as Iceland, and the
and South America. When fly,ng n great autumnal flock , t'^^Dir ^ ^ Russiai they never visit Scotland, the1-
its aerial movements are extreme y beau i u , marsh of Prestwick Car, near Newcastle, appearing to
dual of the vast assemblage yie ding so ins an an ^ their British boundary. They occur, though rarely,
the same impulsion as to exhibit alterna e y Pi ^ in America. Though their natural food is worms
the under surface of the body, so that we . 1 water insects, they fatten soon in confinement on
a living moving cloud of dusky brown, anc t .en a “ ^ ^ ^ wpeat or bread and milk mixed with bruised hemp-
flash of snowy whiteness. t • a 1
The larger species, called the knot ( T. canutus, Linn ) see^ ^ Hexer0poda of Nuttall has the bill straight,
has also a vast range in a northerly duec ion. rather enlarged and punctate at the extremity, the tarsus
the summer within the arcticcircle. bie the fif of moderate length, the three anterior toes connected at
Peninsula, and in Hudson s Lay, as . tJi t]ie base bv a membrane. Example, Tringa semipalmata,
fifth parallel. It lays four eggs of a dun coW, spoUed the base by^a me B Japan/the bilj
with red, upon a tuft of withered grass. larger than the head, partly arched, dilated, and
ters in Britain, but many proceed much ^ erjouth as is muc large tubercles. The tarsus is
we know they occur towards the ^y long, and the toes are usually connected by a mem-
Venetian territory. ™dgt °tes ana Jend the brane as far as the first articulation. The species are call-
ncan knots pass ovei the United Sta e , .es ed gtilt sandpipers, of which //. himantopus was discover-
Ire^r. ^eZ^Sckii, rninuta, maritime and ed by C. L. Bonaparte and Mr Cooper. Both these genera
C Ja.
SlCnUcl j Icticuicitcu# a* u j ^ # J
trie enure ausei^c ux ^ ***““ -- K-lr(lc rnrp ana remarkable bird, E. griseus, native, it is suppos-
cies i. the sanderling (A calidris), -e o^our wrnter brrd. ra.^and —^ ^ lmJca, It was fororerl, cTas,
i -.u .1... —( T>lntfslpn nunmpa. Linn.), though
Cies is uie ottuucinxif, —/7 
of passage, which breeds in the remotest northern re
gions, forming a rude grassy nesti among the desolate
marshes, and laying four dusky coloured eggs, spotted
with black. . „ 0 7
The genus Falcinellus, Cuv. (composed o> bcol.pyg-
mcea, Linn.), has the bill considerably arched, and the hind
toe wanting. The only known species is an African bird,
which occasionally makes its appearance in Europe. M.
Temminck seems to think it should be regarded rather
as a synonym than a distinct actual species.
The genus Machetes, Cuv., bears a great resemblance
ed with the spoon-bills (Platalea pygmea, Linn.), though
scarcely larger than a sparrow. Ihere is a specimen in
the French Museum, which was accidentally killed near
Paris. The plumage is gray above, white beneath.
In the genus Phalaropus of Brisson, the bill, though
more flattened, resembles that of Tringa, but the toes
are margined by a broadish membrane. In their habits the
species are more aquatic than most of their congeners; for
though they cannot dive, they float buoyantly on the sur¬
face, or even make their way by swimming with almost
The genus Machetes, Cuv., bears a great resemmance ^ the lariy web-footed birds. The gray
to Tringa, except that there is an obvious palmation at 1 or s‘aliopftoed sandpiper (Phal. lobatus, Flem.)
the base of the toes. It contains only one species, co n- j) 1 ionalf in Britain during winter. It breeds
monly called the xufi (T. pugnax,\j\nxi.), we p1? 1 habitually within the arctic circle, in Hudson’s Bay,
the Lincolnshire fenns and the London markets (see P ate 1 ^ N h CTeorgian Islands, and along the sterile
CCCC. fig. o). It u a summer bnd of passage amv „g m among Nort^g ^ J Meet,
the fenny districts of England in the month ot April, and s mon in the marshes of Sunda and Westra,
departing towards the end of September. The ruff, as its ' ‘s “'“"“Xriy of the Orkney Isles. When seen
specific name implies, is a remarkably pugnacious species, the mo y continually dipping its bill into
a disposition which probably arises from its polygamous a- sw mmnng P f ^ minute aquatic creature,
bits, in which it differs from its congeners. Some people ^f^Vvails grlatly with the season , and a variety
say there are more males than temalek-. Be t is as it ma) > ^ j)ave ^gen bestowed in consequence of these mu-
as soon as these birds arrive, each male fixes upon a &ma ^ req phalarope (Tringafulicaria, Linn.) re¬
hillock or dry grassy spot among the marshes where ne tatmn^ Theje^pHalaj ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ north.
keeps turning about till he has almost ti odden it are , prn0navicTators on the P10th of June, in latitude 68°, swim-
the moment a female makes her appearance, a geneial co - e. though several miles from land, but sur-
bat commences, the male birds lowering their heads, ex- ming a ^
paneling their neck-feathers, and flying at each other with rounded by mountains o rather
Z actfon of fighting cocks. These battles are obstinate a“ d"Le t’ols w^t paf,nation as in
and long continued, and whoever proves the victor for the low, t COnical and pointed, with the nasal
time obtains the female. They disperse at night for the ^ o7e half its length. The hind toe
sake of feeding, but every morning soon after day bieak fissure e* The 0nly known species,
each male returns to his hillock, where t.ie same scenes .J /0p whicU Si. morinellus is the young) is a
of rivalry and love take place, and continue till their pas- St. l^rP. \ on the mainland of Britain, though
sionate fervour is abated, towards the end of June. I e wm jlremains throughout the year among the
plumage of the ruff presents an almost infinite variety, ^ breeds The turnstonefas it is vernacularly caM
scarcely two individuals being ever found precisely the Sh^dnd/ £m;fteg^E .aiiy distributed of birds, being
same. The lengthened feathers of the head and neck n one of th^ ^ of ^Ver in almoSt every region o
are produced in spring, and shed towards the close of ^nddt E lish name ^s derived from its h^
zr*; ^»Trrr»T«heWSng S .h..
previously ignorant of^udi mutlom ‘lTdTflesh Ehigh" ^ZSev and stiffer than that of its congeners.    
1 Acad. Suec 1816, pi. vi.
ORNITI
t
In the genus TotAnus, Cuv., the bill is slender, round,
pointed, firm, the upper mandible slightly arched, with the
'"'nasal groove not extending above half its length. The
form is light and active, the legs rather long, the toes
webbed at the base, more especially between the outer
and middle toe. In birds of this genus, as Mr Selby has
observed, the comparatively hard and sharp-pointed bill
indicates a corresponding change in habits and economy;
so that instead of seeking their food by probing in the
sand or softer mud, they search for it along the pebbly
banks of lakes and rivers, or the ocean’s gravelly shore.
Some reside habitually in inland districts, while others
prefer the sea-coast, or migrate thither during the autum¬
nal season. The British species are the dusky sandpiper,
T. fuscus, Leisler ; the redshank, T. calidris, Bechst.; the
green sandpiper, T. ochropus, Temm.; the wood sandpiper,
T. glareola, Temm.; the common sandpiper, T. hypoleucos,
Temm.; and the greenshank, T. glottis, Bechst. Besides
which, the spotted sandpiper, T. macularia (a very com¬
mon species in North America), &c. are of occasional oc¬
currence. Regarding the last-named species, Mr Bartram
informed Alexander Wilson, that he saw one of these birds
defend her young for a considerable time from the repeat¬
ed attacks of a ground squirrel. The scene of action was
on the river shore. The parent had thrown herselfj with
her two young behind her, between them and the land ;
and at every attempt of the squirrel to seize them by a
circuitous sweep, she raised both her wings in an almost
perpendicular position, assuming the most alarming aspect
possible, and rushing forwards on the squirrel, which for a
time drew back intimidated; but soon returning, was met
as before by the affectionate but infuriated bird, her wings
and whole plumage bristling up to twice their natural size.
This interesting, but, for one of the parties, fearful play,
continued for about ten minutes, when the strength of the
bird began to flag, and the attacks of the quadruped be¬
came more audacious, on which Mr Bartram interfered,
“like one of those celestial agents,” says Wilson, “ who in
Homer’s time so often decided the palm of victory” ! The
green-shank ( T. glottis), though usually regarded as mere¬
ly a passenger in spring and autumn, is now know n to breed
in Scotland. It inhabits the northern parts of both conti¬
nents, but is rarer in the new world than the old. Mr Au¬
dubon traced it as far south as the Tortugas, near the ex¬
tremity of East Florida, and Latham received it from Ja¬
maica. It also occurs in Bengal. Our common red-shank
(T. calidris) is found occasionally in North America. A
large species well known in the western world by the name
of willet, and characterized by all the anterior toes being
conspicuously webbed at the base, forms M. Bonaparte’s
?enus Catoptrophorus. This bird not only wades, but
swims. It is the semi-palmated snipe (Scol. semi-pahna-
las) of the older systems.
1 he genus Lobipes of Cuvier combines the bill of the
preceding genus ( Totanus) with the lobated toes of Pha-
laropus. We may mention as an example the red-necked
phalarope,— Tringa hyperborea, Linn. {Lob. hyperborea,
f uv.), a species not uncommon among our northern islands,
where it swims with great ease,—resembling when in the
water a beautiful miniature representation of a duck. It like¬
wise breeds all along the forlorn shores of arctic America,
resorting to Hudson’s Bay in autumn. Another species
[L. Wilsonii) seems confined to the new world, where it
31eeds on the banks of the Saskatchewan, and occurs at
east as far south as Mexico. It does not advance to so
'•gh a northern latitude as the hyperborean species, being
yet unknown beyond the fifty-fifth parallel. It forms
m artless nest within the shelter of some grassy tuft, lay-
ng two or three pear-shaped eggs, of a tint between yel-
owish gray and cream colour, interspersed with small
oundish spots, and a few larger blotches of umber-brown
vol. xvi.
IO L O G Y.
towards the obtuser end. It can only be regarded as a
straggler in the United States. This bird forms the sub¬
genus Holopodius of Bonaparte, the basal web between
the inner and middle toe being less than in the preceding
species. I he synonyms of both are still somewhat con¬
fused.
The genus Himantopus, Brisson, has the bill round,
slender, pointed, the nasal furrow extending only half its
length. But the principal and most peculiar character
consists in the enormous length of the leg and tarsus, from
which the species have derived the title of stilts, or’long-
legged plovers. The toes are united by a basal web, larger
on the outer than the inner portion of the foot. These birds
have a greater predilection for the borders of the sea, and
for brackish lakes, than for the banks of rivers or pure
fresh-water lakes. Their movements are rapid on the
wing, but their gait is somewhat staggering, from the dis¬
proportionate length of their legs. The kind which occurs
in Europe (Him. melanopterus, Meyer), called the black¬
winged stilt, has been known to breed in France, and ac¬
cidentally visits England, but its chief resorts are the great
salt marshes of Flungary and Russia. It is often seen in
Italy in little flocks in spring, travelling northwards. It
likewise occurs in Asia, Africa, and America ; but the spe¬
cies of the new world, described by Wilson, is the Hitn. ni-
gricollis of Vieillot. Me shall here quote his account of its
manners and mode of nidification, as the history of the Eu¬
ropean stilt, in these particulars, is scarcely known. “ This
species arrives on the sea-coast of New Jersey about the
25th of April, in small detached flocks of twenty or thirty
together. These sometimes again subdivide into lesser
parties ; but it rarely happens that a pair is found soli¬
tary, as during the breeding season they usually associate
in small companies. On their first arrival, and indeed dur¬
ing the whole of their residence, they inhabit those parti¬
cular parts of the salt marshes pretty high up towards the
land, that are broken into numerous shallow pools, but are
not usually overflowed by the tides during the summer.
These pools or ponds are generally so shallow that with
their long legs the avocets can easily wmde them in every
direction ; and as they abound in minute shell-fish, and
multitudes of aquatic insects and their larvae, besides the
eggs and spawn of others deposited in the soft mud below,
these birds find here an abundant supply of food, and are
almost continually seen wading about in such places, often
up to the breast in water.
“ 1° vicinity of these bald places, as they are called,
fifty yards off, among the thick tufts of grass, one of these
small associations, consisting perhaps of six or eight pair,
takes up its residence during the breeding season. About
the first week in May they begin to construct their nests,
which are at first slightly formed of a small quantity of old
glass, scarcely sufficient to keep the eggs from the w7et
marsh. As they lay and sit, however, either dreading the
rise of the tides, or from some other purpose, the nest is
incieased in height with dry twigs of a shrub very com¬
mon in the marshes, roots of the salt grass, sea-weed, and
various other substances, the whole weighing between two
and three pounds. This habit of adding materials to the
nest after the female begins sitting, is common to almost
all other birds that breed in the marshes. The eggs are
four in number, of a dark yellowish clay colour, thickly
marked with large blotches of black. These nests are
often placed within fifteen or twenty yards of each other;
but the greatest harmony seems to prevail among the pro¬
prietors. While the females are sitting, the males are
either wading through the ponds or roaming over the ad¬
joining marshes; but should a person make his appear¬
ance, the whole collect together in the air, flying with
their long legs extended behind them, keeping up a con¬
tinual yelping note of click, click, click. Their flight is
4 K
625
Gralla-
tores.
626
Gralla*
tores.
ORNITHOLOGY.
n • i r, Ampricana Linn., Plate CCCC. fig. 6) has the head and Gpi.
stead}^, and not in short, sudden jerks, like , , rufous and the bill takes a downward curve to-
, plover. As they frequently alight on the bare marsh, they Pak rulous^nd the ^ the ^
drop their wings, stand with then legs ha en , Saskatchewan, as far as the fifty-third parallel, it does
trembling, as if unable to sustain the burden o ie t Droceed into the more northern regions. Be-
dies. In this ridiculous posture they will sornet.mes stand f P^^^e are the R. alba of Latham (fl.
for several minutes, uttering a curring sound, '' ''e, orientate, Cuv.), from India; and the It. rubricolte, Temm,
the corresponding quiverings of their wings and o > . c -m  u„iir.rsri Our inflia-pnous snecies also nr.
.1 a 4-/-. »rv-» r~1 f~\ 1 T r c* vnrihVl fTi* Q f" f I 1 111 nil 1 tV.
a native of New Holland. Our indigenous species also oc¬
curs both in Asia and Africa.
FAMILY V MACRODACTYLES.
The prevailing character of this group consists in the
extremely long narrow form of the toes, which are with-
out any connecting web. Nevertheless the species run
with great ease in moist places, and some of them swim
very swiftly. The bill, more or less compressed laterally,
varies in length in different genera, but is never so deli-
i i i  *U^ iner rnmilv. I hp nnmr
tne correspuiiumg ijuivciiiigo v/i —&—- - ^
they seem to balance themselves with great difficulty.
“This singular manoeuvre is, no doubt, intended to induce
a belief that they may be easily caught, and so turn the
attention of the person from the pursuit of their nests and
young to themselves. The red-necked avocet practises the
very same deception, in the same ludicrous manner, and
both alight indiscriminately on the ground or in the water.
Both will occasionally swim for a few feet, when they
chance in wading to lose their depth,^as I have had seve¬
ral times an opportunity of observing.”
The singular birds called avocets form the genus Re-
curviuostr a, Linn. Their feet are almost as fully pal- The bod,
mated as those of certain Natatores, yet they a * . ^ lid is nmc), compressed, a form determined in
rally classed among the Grallatores by reason of them Jm.ow mlme 0f ,he sternum,
lengthened tarsi, and legs bare above the knee. & f medium length, or short; and the power
also has the same lengthened, slender, pointed form, and Jhe efficient in such as are birds of
smooth elastic structure, which characterize our present
order, with which the birds in question agiee i g ric-ci& Vhe posterior toe is of considerable length,
neral mode of life. The character which distinguishes cised.^ The posterior^ ^ Linn$uJ contains
them from aH other ^rds ^lie extiaordmary up g the jac b& some named spur-winged water-hens. The
vature of the bid (see I late LLLL. fi?. i t ^ rather ionser than the head, nearly straight, laterally
live either in pairs or small companies in the ed and’somewhat enlarged both above and below
marshes, where they wade about with great ease, a towaPrds theextremity. There is usually a small fleshy shield
considerable depth, in consequence of their bodies g forehead. The toes are of great length,
raised so high above the surface. , Thout "twlfch Tryn^u^ebb^
they do not swim except by compukion ; ye one wh oh ' " nd The
Wilson wounded attempted repeatedly to dive, but t . ’ /th win„ \s armed with a spur. Thejaca-
water was too shallow for bis purpose. They run rapubj, ^nor^angle of ^ - eof the iorld_in fien-
and their flight is powerful and long sustaine . the Celebes, China, South America, and parts of
nests are described as small cavities *n efr ’ d . Africa, ’They inhabit marshy places, and run with great
with a few weeds, or merely the bosom of the baie sand , Ainca. xney „ , «i^*. Inna. pv.
sometimes, however, they are raised several inches above
the surface, as if to avoid the effects of moisture or inun¬
dation. The European species (R. avocetta, Unn.) is not
uncommon along the eastern coasts of England south o
the Humber. It breeds in the fenny parts of Lincolnshire
nnd Norfolk as well as in Romney Marsh in Kent. I bey
assemble°duri„g winter in entaU flocks
oozy shores about the mouths ol ’iv<~rs’ .W , , nne of is found both along the marine shores and the moist plains
out small worms and mollusca. Buffon indulges in one o 18 bot^ 0 ^ ecies, as Mr Gould observes, is
his characteristic vagaries while discussing the singular of Uie mte ^ ^ and beauty of form, than
bill of this bird, which he supposes to be one °f those ada tation to the particular localities to
errors or essays of nature, which, ^carried a it ’ which nature has allotted it. Formed for traversing the
would destroy itself; for if the curvature of the Ml were ^^l^naUne^ lotug covered surface of water, it supports
a degree increased, the bird could not procuie an} s ... ip n the floatino1 weeds and leaves by its extraordi-
foodf and the organ destined for the support of life wou d ^seTupon ^ lightness of body. Like
infallibly occasion its destruction. I his essay of natuie twater.hen> of whose habits and manners it
is, however, as it happens, a most successful on , y iargely, it is no doubt capable of swimming, al-
means of its lengthened legs and upturned bill, the avo- partakes^a g Y,^ nt tail.feathers seein an mcon-
cct feeds with facility in muddy marshes, where if otfiei -g & „ ^ , nnrnose. Its powers of flight
wise organized it would probably starve. If a devoted venient ^pPe."C ^gtl -q feathers being terminated by a
rervant of God, while tonsorially engaged on some beau- ^ding from the tip of each shaft,
tiful Sabbath morning, were to move the edge of his glit- slen e p r J has beerf long known as a native of the
tering blade an inch nearer his carotid artery, he would lbs g , otber eastern countries, but was
of the bill in question could not have been better project- In t & and curved at tbe extremity •
Africa. Ihey innamt mar&uy 0
facility over the surface of aquatic plants, their long, ex¬
tended toes spreading over so much space as to prevent
their sinking in the water. I hey feed on insects, bull
their nests among the moist herbage, and lay four or ,
nigh,, when their voices areo<len heard antong the niarstas
Ainerican Ornithologyiii. p. 76.
? Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains.
ORNITHOLOGY.
pie, furnished with strong spurs. The tarsi are short and
thick, the toes and claws long. Some systematic writers
''include in this genus only a single species, P. cornuta,
Linn., called kamichi or the horned screamer, a South
American bird, larger than a goose, with a slender move-
able horny projection on the forehead. Though this bird
affects inundated places, its toes are without palmation.
In its general aspect, and several of its special habits, it
exhibits an approach to the gallinaceous order; and al¬
though its stomach is but slightly muscular, it lives much
on grain and herbage.1 It is also easily reduced to the
domestic state; and although it lays only two eggs, the
young speedily follow the parents.
It is by no means easy to conjecture the natural uses
of these formidable weapons on the wings of this and se¬
veral other species. One would suppose them intended
to wage war among their kind,—yet the birds so endowed
are for the most part peaceable, and averse to broil and
battle,—even in most instances of a timid and fearful na¬
ture ; and in the case of several of the plover tribe, there
is no appreciable difference in the habits of the armed and
unarmed kinds. All who have studied the manners of the
kamichis agree that they are the gentle inhabitants of
moist savannahs, or the shores of those extensive rivers
which intersect the southern portion of America, and that
there is nothing pugnacious in their temper. Yet they
are “ doubly armed,” the margin of each wing bearing a
pair of very large spurs, thick at the base, but tapering
sharply to a point, and, no doubt, when driven forcibly for¬
ward by the muscular action of a powerful wing, capable
of inflicting such a blow as would at once deprive most
small animals of life.
Another bird, by some referred to our present genus,
is Pal. chavaria, Temm. (PL Col. 219), the Parra chava-
ria of Linn., known in some English works as the faithful
jacana. Instead of a horn, its head is ornamented by a
feathered crest, and there is an obvious palmation between
the outer and middle toes. For these and other reasons
it forms the genus Chauna of Illiger. Its head and upper
neck are clothed with down, the latter being surrounded
by a black collar. The rest of the plumage is lead colour
and blackish, with a white spot upon the front of the wings,
and another on the base of the primaries. Linnaeus, on
the authority of Jacquin, gives the following history of this
hkdIt inhabits the rivers, lakes, and marshes, near the
river Sinu, about thirty leagues from Carthagena, in South
America. It feeds on vegetables; its gait is solemn and
slow, but it flies easily and swiftly; it cannot run unless
assisted by the wings at the same time. When any part
of the skin is touched by the hand, a crackling is felt,
though it is very downy beneath the feathers; and this
down adheres so closely as to enable the bird at times to
swim, notwithstanding the length of its legs and of its
cleft feet; which latter enable it also to walk on the aqua¬
tic plants of the pools. It has two strong and pointed
spurs on the bend of the wing, which are, however, hid¬
den when the latter is closed, but when expanded they
become formidable weapons, aided by the strong and
lengthened wing ; and by means of them it is able to drive
off birds as big as the carrion vulture, and even that bird
itself, fhe natives, who keep poultry in great numbers,
have one of these tame, which goes along with the flock
about the neighbourhood to feed during the day, when
this faithful shepherd defends them against birds of prey :
lt never deserts the charge committed to its care, although
able to fly, but returns home with them safe in the even-
lng- It is so tame as to suffer itself to be handled by a
,rrown person, but will not permit children to attempt the
>ame. Its voice is clear and loud, but far from agreeable.”2
627
Baron Cuvier here places the genus Megapodius, Quoy
et Gaim., of which the bill is slender, straight, flattened,
and enlarged at the base, restricted at the centre, and in¬
flated towards the point. ’Ihe tail is small and wedge-
shaped. Ihe general form is massive, the plumage usual¬
ly brown, without lustre. Ihe species inhabit New Gui¬
nea, the Marianne Islands, &c. and are described in the
voyages of Freycinet and Duperrey. They are remark¬
able for the largeness of their eggs. Some authors place
them with the genera Crax and Penelope, rather than in
the grallatorial order.
The extensive genus Rallus, Linn., is in one or other
of its forms known in almost every country of the world.
With Bechstein, we w ould restrict the title to such as have
the bill longer than the head, rather slender, compressed
at the base, with the tip cylindrical, and slightly curved.
As a British example may be mentioned our common
water-rail (R. aquaticus), a shy and solitary bird, which
resides throughout the year in Britain. It is extensively
spread over Europe, but does not occur in America. The
land-rails form the genus Crex, Bechstein, and have the
bill shorter than the head, thick at the base, somewhat
cultrate, and compressed. Ihe wings are armed with a
small concealed spine. Besides the well-known corn-crake
(C. pratemis), a summer bird of passage, of which the de¬
ceptive note is heard so often during evening twilight, we
have the spotted crake, C. porzana, Baillon’s crake, C.
Paillonii (Olivaceous gallinule of Mont.?), and the little
crake, C. pusilla. The Carolina rail seems a Crex in the
form of its bill, though its aquatic habits assimilate it to
Rallus. It assembles during autumn in vast numbers on
the reedy shores of the larger rivers in the middle and
southern states of North America, and affords abundant
occupation to sportsmen. Any active and expert marks¬
man may kill ten or twelve dozen in a few hours. It win¬
ters to the south of the Union. The diet of the different
species probably varies with time and place. The Ame¬
rican bird just named is very fond of rice. Our own spe¬
cies feed both on grain and insects. Sir W. Jardine found
a short-tailed field-mouse in the stomach of a land-rail.
I his biid is called king of the quails in some continental
countries, in consequence of its arriving and departing
with these birds.
The old genus Fulica, Linn., has, like the preceding,
been also subdivided, in accordance with the form of the
bill and lobation of the toes. For example, the genus
Gallinula of Briss. and Lath, has the bill resembling
that of Crex, but there is a flat fleshy shield upon the fore¬
head. Ihe toes are long, and bordered by an extremely
narrow lateral margin. We here place our British galli¬
nule, familiarly known by the name of water-hen, G. chlo-
lopus, Lath, ihis bird, though with us a permanent re-
sidentei, is migratory in all the more northern parts of
Europe. It occurs both in Asia and Africa, but not in
Ameiica, as some erroneously suppose. It swims and
dives well, though its feet might, a priori, be deemed but
little fit for such aquatic service. The water-hen is of
rather familiar habits, that is, a pair are sure to make
their appearance as soon as any small artificial piece of
water has been formed, even in the closest proximity to
human dwellings. It builds by the water-side, and lays a
great number of eggs, from eight to ten, which it is said
to cover carefully during its occasional absence in search
of food. Ihe purple and Florida gallinules (G. NLartinica
and galeatd) occur in North America; and a Javanese spe¬
cies (G. ardosiaca) is described by M. Yieillot.
In the genus Porphyrio of Brisson, the bill is higher
in relation to its length than in the preceding. The
toes are extremely long, with scarcely a perceptible bor-
Gralla-
tores.
1 Eajon, Mem. sur Cayenne, t. ii. p. 284.
2 Shaw’s General Zoology, vol. xii. p. 272.
628
ORNITHOLOGY.
Gralla-
tores.
der; and the frontal disk, sometimes rounded, sometimes
square above, is of considerable size. The species are
remarkable for richness of colouring. P. hyacinthinus,
Temm. {Fulica porphyrio, Linn.), is an African species,
not unfrequent in Sicily and Sardinia. _ . .
The genus Fulica, as now restricted, is chiefly distin¬
guished from its congeners by a scallop-shaped or broadly-
festooned membrane on each side of the toes. It con¬
tains the coots, of which F. atra, Linn., our common coot,
affords a good example. This bird, as generally distri¬
buted in Britain throughout the summer season as the
water-hen, leaves the northern portions of the island on
the approach of winter. It dislikes being approached in
open water, though a good diver, and quickly betakes it¬
self to some protecting cover of reeds or other water-plants
on every slight alarm. The cinereous coot ot the westein
world (F. Americana, Gmel.) is a distinct species, though
not so regarded by Alexander Wilson. It is widely spread
over a vast extent of territory, from the steaming marshes
of Jamaica to the cool and grassy lakes which skirt the
plains of the Saskatchewan. . .
Baron Cuvier terminates his systematic exposition ot
the grallatorial order by three genera of a somewhat ano¬
malous nature, which certainly do not amalgamate either
with their neighbours or each other.
The genus Chionis of Forster has the bill short, strong,
compressed, the nostrils tubular, and protected by hard,
elevated, and compressed folds, which envelope the base.
(Plate CCCC. fig. 8.) The front of the head and part of the
face are naked, the wings long, the feet short. I here is
only a single species known. It is called tne sheath-bi ,
Ch. Forsieri, or necrophaga, or vaginalis, and is of snowy
whiteness, and of the size of a pigeon. A great diversity
of opinion exists regarding its position; some writers re¬
moving it into the ensuing order, while Mr Swainson places
it among the Columbidae. It inhabits New Zealand, Ker¬
guelen’s Land, Staten Land, and other countries of the
southern hemisphere, where it is said to frequent the sea¬
shore in flocks, feeding on mollusca and carrion, which lat¬
ter renders its flesh offensive to the taste. It was dis¬
covered during Cook’s circumnavigation.
The genus Glareola, Gmel., contains the pratincoles,
or sea-partridges as they are sometimes called. The bill
is short, compressed, somewhat arched throughout, and
rather deeply cleft. The wings are of great length, and
very sharp pointed, somewhat resembling those of swal¬
lows. The legs are of medium length, and there is a
sliidit palmation between the outer and middle toes. The
tail is usually forked. These birds fly in numerous noisy
flocks, and feed on insects, “ particulierement des mouches
et autres insectes ailes qui vivent parmi les joncs et les
roseaux; il se lance” (M. Temminck alludes particularly
to the European species) “ sur ces insectes avec une rapi-
dite etonnante, et les saisit au vol ou a la course. 1 The
pratincoles inhabit the temperate and warmer regions of
the old world, and are unknown in America. The col¬
lared or Austrian species (G. torquata, Meyer) is com¬
mon in the south-eastern countries of Europe, and has
been killed occasionally in Britain.2 G. lactea, Femm.,
inhabits Bengal ;3 G. grallaria of the same author is na¬
tive to New Holland.
Lastly, the genus Pikenicopterus, Linn., contains
those extraordinary birds called flamingoes. The bill is
higher than wide, dentated, conical towards the point, the
upper mandible suddenly bent from its centre downwards'*
upon the under one, which is the broadest. I he neck and
legs are of extraordinary length, and the anterior toes are
united by a broad palmation. Mr Swainson regards this
genus as the grallatorial type of the Anatidce, and he con¬
sequently places it in the natatorial order, which we are
just about to enter. The only species known in Europe is
Ph. ruber, Linn., a bird well known in Sicily and Calabria,
and very abundant in Sardinia, especially among the la-
gunes and marshes in the neighbourhood of Cagliari.
Large flocks occur almost every year along the southern
coasts of France, and a few sometimes stray as far north¬
wards as the banks of the Rhine. It is common in many
countries ot Africa and Asia; but the Ameiican species,
regarded as svnonymous by VV ilson, is a distinct kind, men¬
tioned long ago as such by Molina. (See Plate CCCC. fig.
9.) It is the Ph. Americanus of Mr Nuttall, and the bird
alluded to by Thomas Campbell in his Gertrude of Wyo¬
ming :—
Pa'ljj,
per
Then, where of Indian hills the daylight takes
His leave, how might you the flamingo see
Disporting like a meteor on the lakes.
Another western kind occurs in South America (PA.
ignipalliatus, Isid. Geoff.),4 while a fourth {Ph. minor)
is native to the Cape and Senegal.5 These birds in ge¬
neral inhabit solitary sea-coasts in most of the warmer
regions of the earth, where they associate in flocks, and
migrate in bodies formed into an angular phalanx, like
wild a-eese. They feed upon mollusca, insects, and spawn,
which they fish up by means of their lengthened necks,
sometimes turning their bill upside down, to take advan¬
tage of its peculiar, and apparently inconvenient form.
They are said to be extremely shy and watchful (although
Dampier and his two companions succeeded in killing
fourteen at once6 *), and place sentinels, which on the ap¬
proach of threatened danger, give alarm by a loud and
trumpet-like cry. They also breed together in inundated
marshes, raising their nests to a considerable height, by
collecting the mud into a pyramidal hillock with their
toes, after which they brood and hatch their eggs in what
may be called a standing posture, their feet and legs be¬
ing often in the water. The young are only two or three
in number, and run almost as soon as excluded from the
shell. They sleep standing upon one leg, with the neck
folded back upon the body, and the head reclined beneath
the wing. They run swiftly, but never swim from choice.
The tongue of the European flamingo was much admired
by ancient epicures; and Apicius, that “ deepest abyss
of wastefulness,” as Pliny calls him, is supposed to have
been the first to discover its exquisite flavour.
Order YI.—PALMIPEDES, or WEB-FOOTED
BIRDS.9
Thebirds of this order are especially characterized by their
peculiar adaptation for swimming, their feet beinS Sen ’
rally short and placed far behind, their tarsi short an“
pressed, and their anterior toes connected by membra >
5 Temminck, PI. Col. 419.
6 Voyage, i. TO.
Nuttall’s Manual, ii. 79-
1 Manuel, ii. p. 502.
2 Bullock, in Z,iran. TVatt*. xi. 177-
3 See Planches Col. 399;—also Leach in Linn. Trans, xiii. pi. 12.
4» On^onclu^ng”this^portion'<ff*o'ur present treatise, domestic circumstances with which it ^of
come acquainted, but which the author could not control rendered impMsible the conti u k acquirements m Ormtho-
the ensuing (natatorial) order was therefore kindly undertaken by Mr Macgilhvray^wbose^ wen^ 9
logy will render the substitution advantageous to the public.
ORNITHOLOGY.
629
Pali
ped
or inlayed by lateral lobes. Their plumage is close, often
glossy, and imbued with an oily fluid, which repels the
ywater; and their skin is moreover covered with a dense
layer of down, which prevents the rapid escape of the heat
generated in their bodies. They are the only birds whose
neck exceeds their legs in length, the reason of which ar¬
rangement is, that while swimming on the surface of the
water they have often to search for their food at some depth.
Their sternum is elongated so as to cover the greater part
of the viscera, and has only a lateral notch, or oval fora¬
men, so that a large surface is afforded for the insertion of
the pectoral muscles. Their oesophagus is always wide,
their gizzard generally muscular, and their intestine fur¬
nished with two rather long caeca. Their windpipe varies
in form, but the inferior larynx is simple, although in one
family it has a curious bony and cartilaginous dilatation.
This order has been divided into four families :
1. The Brachypterce, or short-winged sea-birds, having
the wings very short, and the feet placed so far behind
that they are obliged to assume a nearly erect posture when
on shore.
2. The Longipenna, or long-winged sea birds, having
the wings extremely long, the hind toe free or wanting,
and the bill horny.
3. The Tolipalmce, of which the hind toe is connected
with the rest by a common web, the wings long, and the
bill horny.
4. The Lamellirostres, whose bill, which is thick and co¬
vered with a soft skin, has the edges furnished with trans¬
verse horny plates or teeth.1
FAMILY I—BRACKYPTER/E, OR DIVERS.
The organization of these birds renders them more aqua¬
tic than those of any other family. Many of them reside
almost entirely on the waters, fly little, and walk with diffi¬
culty, their feet being placed very far behind. Their wings
are generally extremely short, and their flight, although
sometimes rapid, is neither undulated nor buoyant. In
some species they are reduced to mere organs of natation,
the quills not being developed. All the species are furnished
with a dense and short plumage, swim and dive with re¬
markable agility, and pursue their prey under the surface,
employing their wings as well as their feet to aid their
i progress. They are generally distributed, migrate exten¬
sively, and breed in society, often on rocky islands or abrupt
cliffs. This family may be divided into three tribes.
ls£. The divers,— Colymbidce, axe chai'acterized by their
straight, compressed, pointed, smooth bill, linear and lateral
nostrils, narrow wings, and short tail. In some the feet
are lobed, in others webbed.
The grebes, genus Podiceps (Plate CCCCI. fig. 1), re¬
semble the coots in the form of their feet, their anterior
toes, instead of being connected by webs, being merely
Mated by means of lateral lobes. Their body is generally
short and depressed ; their neck long and slender ; their
Ml straight, compressed, tapering, and pointed ; their nos-
rils linear and pervious. The legs (tibiae) are entirely
-oncealed in the abdomen ; the tarsi are extremely com¬
pressed ; and the claw of the middle toe is flattened and
Mated. The plumage is remarkably soft, silky, and often,
-specially on the lower part, has a shining gloss. Their
rings are very narrow, and their tail is generally reduced
0 a slight tuft of scarcely distinguishable feathers. These
•nds when on shore are obliged to stand in a nearly erect
•osture ; but although they walk with difficulty, their flight
is rapid, and their motions on the water extremely quick.
They dive and pursue their way under water with extreme
agility, and when apprehensive of danger generally disap¬
pear under the surface, instead of flying off. Their food
consists of small fishes, Crustacea, mollusca, and insects,
as well as seeds of aquatic plants ; and they nestle in marshy
places, laying several eggs, generally of a white colour.
Their plumage varies so much, according to age and sex,
that the species have been erroneously multiplied by au¬
thors. Four species inhabit Europe, of which two may be
particularly mentioned.
The great crested grebe, Podiceps cristatus, is of the size
of a mallard, blackish brown on the upper parts, with a
white band on the wing, and of a silvery white beneath.
The adults have a double black crest, and a large reddish
ruff or tippet margined with black, on the upper part of the
neck. This species inhabits the northern part of both con¬
tinents, where it breeds, and whence it migrates southward
on the approach of winter. The nest is made of rushes
and flags, or other aquatic herbage ; and the eggs, three
or four in number, are of a greenish white. Several au¬
thors allege that the female sometimes succours her young,
when fatigued or in danger, by carrying them on her back
or beneath her wings. From their surprising agility in
diving they are not inappropriately named water-witches
and dippers in America. The skins are dressed and made
into muffs and tippets.
I he little grebe, or dobchick, Podiceps minor, is the
smallest of the species, not exceeding ten inches in length.
It is not uncommon in most parts of Europe, as well as in
the north of Asia, and the country around Hudson’s Bay.
In large rivers and lakes individuals are said to be some¬
times devoured by pike and other fishes. In the adult the
upper parts are deep black, the lower silvery gray, the
throat black, and the neck ferruginous.
The finfoots, Podoa, Illig., have the feet lobed like the
coots and grebes ; but their tail is more developed, and
their claws more pointed. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 2.) To this
genus have been referred the African finfoot, P. Senegalen-
sis, and the Surinam species, P. Surinamensis, which latter,
however, is by some considered as belonging to Anhinga.
The divers properly so called, genus Colymbus, greatly
resemble the grebes in form, but differ from them in hav¬
ing the toes regularly webbed, and the tail moderately de¬
veloped. Their body is elongated, and somewhat depressed;
their neck long, their head small, oblong, and compressed •
their bill rather long, straight, and tapering to a point;
their plumage short and close; their wings of moderate
length, but very narrow. These birds are peculiarly aqua¬
tic, and while in search of food remain often longer sub¬
merged than on the surface, to which they seem occasion¬
ally to come merely for the purpose of respiring. They
feed on fishes of various kinds, but generally of small size,
as well as on Crustacea. Like the grebes, they dive when
alarmed, and are not easily raised from the water, although
their flight, which is direct, is very rapid. On land they
stand erect, and walk with difficulty. They are generally
solitary, breed on the margins of lakes in the arctic re¬
gions, and lay two or three very elongated, dark-coloured,
and spotted eggs. Their flesh is dark-coloured and unsa¬
voury. Of this genus the more remarkable species are the
following.
The great northern diver, Colymbus glacialis, is about
two feet and three quarters long, with the upper parts
black, spotted with white ; the head and neck glossy black,
with green reflections, the lower parts white; the tail has
twenty feathers. This species is generally distributed in
Palmi¬
pedes.
nd in^restin£ sen®ral observations on certain genera of this order, the reader may consult “ Remarks on the Pelagic Birds
dobe ” n„hr\0trr Palmipedes, considered especially as regards their habits and their geographical distribution in the Oceans of the
’ Pobhshed in I reycinet s Voyage autour die Monde,—Partie Zoologique, par MM. Quoy and Gainiard.
630
ORNITHOLOGY.
the cold and temperate climates of the northern hemi¬
sphere. It breeds in the arctic regions, generally on the
rLrain of lakes, or on islands, laying three eggs ot a
dull olive tint spotted with dusky. “ Far out at sea in
winter,” says Nuttall, “ and in the great western lakes,
particularly Huron and Michigan, in summer, I ha%e
K heard, on a fine calm morning, the sad and wolfish
call of the solitary loon, which like a dismal ec 10 se^
slowly to invade the ear, and rising as it proceeds, dies
aw£J in the air. This boding sound to mariners, suppos
ed to be indicative of a storm, may be heard sometimes
for two or three miles, when the bird itself is
reduced almost to a speck in the dis^ce ^he abon
gines, nearly as superstitious ^v and
the crv of the loon, considering the bird, from its y
extraordinary habits, as a sort of supernatural being. By
the Norwegians its long-drawn howl is with ^
anceof reason, supposed to portend ra .
this bird is dark and unpalatable; but its skin, witn t e
feathers on, is used by various barbarous tr.bes as an am-
C'lVo'other%ecies, of inferior size, the red-throated di¬
ver C wLlrionalis, and the blaek-throated C.arctws,
inhabit The ”ame regions, and are nearly sundar m ha-
bits Both these birds breed in some of the northern parts
0* The gldhemots, genus Ub.a, have the bill of moderate
length robust, straight, compressed, and pointed, tl e
nostrils nearly basal, lateral, linear, and partially covere
bv short feathers. The head ts ratlierlargeandoblong
the neck short. The legs are placed far back and the.r
feet differ from those ot the divers in wanting the bind
toe. Their wings are short, narrow, and pointed ; but
they fly with considerable speed, and their tai ,s 'eI7
K and rounded. These birds m,grate m small flocks,
and collect in vast assemblages to breed on the abrupt
precipices and rocky islands of the northern sea®''rh^
they a^ain retire towards the end ot autumn. .
no Lsfbut deposit their single egg, which is pyriform
and of erreat size, on the bare rock. _ , ,
TheCcommon guillemot, Vna troile, is somewhat less
than the mallard, and has the bill longer than the head,
its upper parts are black, the lower white, as are the tips
of thePsecondary quills ; in summer the head 1S anc_
the adult has a black stripe behind the eye. This .pe
cies is very abundant along the northern coasts ot Eu¬
rope and America, and nowhere more so than in the Bn-
tiS Another species, about the same size, but distinguishable
bv having the bill shorter and much more robust, is the
thick-billed guillemot, Uria Brunmchn, which also occurs
in the northern seas of both continents, but does not e
tend so far south as the former.
The Greenland dove, or little guillemot of authors, has
been considered by some as constituting a distinct genus
to which Cuvier has given the name of Cephus. it is
about the size of a large pigeon and is cot.rely btack, ex-
ceptin^ a large white space on the middle of the «ing, amt
the feet, which are red. This species, unlike those men-
tkmed above, breeds under stones or m the crevices of
rocks, where it lavs two or three light-coloured eggs,
shotted with dusky. It is frequent in the northern seas,
and breeds on the Scottish coasts in great numbers.
3 L The auks,—Alcodce, which form the next group, are
very closely allied to the guillemots, from which they are
easily distinguished by their extremely compressed and
vertically elevated bill, which is usually transversely fur¬
rowed. 'The toes are entirely webbed but the hind toe
rr a- in the guillemots, which they turther re-
serobTe in their habits and distribution. This tribe may
be divided into several subordinate genera.
The puffins, genus Fratercula, have the bill shorter Pal
than the head, and as high at the base as it is long, a cir- pet
cumstance which gives these birds an extraordinary ap-^ *
pearance, and has given rise to the appellations of coulter-
nebs and parrot-bills, vulgarly applied to them. At the
ba*e of the bill there is generally an elevated told of bare
skin ; and the nostrils, which are close to the margin, are
mere slits. The puffins fly with rapidity, in a direct line,
at the height of only a few feet over the waves; swim and
dive with extreme dexterity; and nestle in the crevices
of rocks, or more generally in holes formed by themselves
The species best known and most extensively distribut¬
ed is the common puffin, Fratercula arctica, which is of
the size of a pigeon or jackdaw, with the upper parts dusky,
the lower white, a broad black band round the neck, the
bill red, with three grooves across each mandible. It is
abundant on the northern coasts of Europe and America,
where it breeds in burrows formed by itsell in the soil of
unfrequented islands and headlands, making no proper
nest, and laving a single whitish and pyriform egg.
Another species, having a still more singular appear¬
ance, on account of two tufts of silky feathers on its head,
inhabits the shores of Kamtschatka, the Kurile Isles, and
others lying between Asia and America. The skins are
employed bv the natives as an article of clothing.
Some species having the bill less elevated, somewhat
quadrangular, and notched near the tip, hav e been distin¬
guished by M. Temrainck under the generic name ot Fha-
leris. Of these may be mentioned the Ph. psittacula,
and Ph. cristatella, both inhabitants of the north-western
coast of America, Kamtschatka, and the Kurile Isles.
The auks properly so called, or restricted genus Alca,
have the bill more elongated, and in shape somewhat re¬
sembling the blade of a common pocket-knife, its base being
feathered as far as the nostrils. As an example of the er¬
rors into which persons little conversant with living birds
may fall, may be adduced the following statement ot Cu¬
vier with regard to the auks: “Their wings are decidedly
too small to sustain them, and they do not fl> at all. bo
far is this from being the case with our common species,
that it flies with as much celerity as the guillemot and
puffin, and in its ordinary flight outstrips the gulls and
terns, although these birds fly with greater buoyancy.
The statement, however, is correct as applying o
great auk, which might perhaps with propriety be referred
t0 The ^pedefso Common on our coasts, as well as on
those of Europe and North America, is the razor-bille >
auk Alca torda, which is about the size of the common
guillemot, and similarly coloured, being black above an
white beneath, with a white band on the wing, and a an,
or two of the same colour on the bill.
The great auk, Alca tmpennis, is the Jargestbird
familv equalling a goose in size. Its colour i» smuiar
that of the common species; but its bill, ^hich ^ mark^
with eight or ten grooves, is entireiy black, Mid ^
oval white spot between the bill and the eye. 1 c
are reduced to a kind of paddles, and are sin;| arf Uv of
nf the nen°'uins, so that it does not possess the tacu y
flying. P It inhabits the highest latitudes ot the g o >e^
is extremely rare, so that specimens are ot ter) ^
quent occurrence in collect,ons and the “"'i °”e es
country is that of the Bnttsh Museum. A
have occurred of its being seen on "'^""' Xble bird
Scotland. In the northern seas this reimtUB ^
seems to represent the species of the next group,
belong to the other extremity of the globe. ; tc
sVThe penguins,—AptenodidcB, are eut.rd)'„
of the faculty of flying, their wings being c™'er
small, oblong, flattened paddles or fins, covered tuth
pall nute scale-like reamers. Iheir body is elliptical and de-
ped pressed, their neck of moderate length, their head oblong,
v their hill of moderate length, generally slender and point¬
ed, the upper mandible covered with feathers for a third
of its length, or as far as the nostrils, whence a groove ex¬
tends to the tip. Their legs are very short, and placed so
far behind that they cannot support themselves on land,
even in a vertical position, without resting on their tarsi,
which are flattened behind, somewhat like the foot of a
quadruped. Their life is chiefly spent on the ocean, and
as they possess the faculties of swimming and diving in
the highest degree of perfection, they are the most truly
aquatic of all birds, and the analogues of the swallows,
which are the most aerial. If any bird approaches nearly
in structure and habits to a quadruped, the penguins
may claim kindred with the seals, which they greatly re¬
semble in their mode of life, going on shore merely to
breed, and dragging themselves over the rocks in a similar
manner.
The penguins peculiarly so named, genus Aptexodytes,
as restricted, have the bill rather long, slender, and point¬
ed, the upper mandible slightly arched towards the end,
and covered with feathers at the base ; the nostrils linear,
with the nasal groove extending to the tip.
The Patagonian or great penguin, Aptenodytes Pata-
gonica (Plate CCCCI. fig. 4), is nearly of the size of the
great auk, of a dark-grayish blue above, white beneath,
the head black, and a yellow curved band on the fore
neck. It occurs in great flocks on the coasts of the Falk¬
land Isles, New Guinea, New George, the Straits of Ma¬
gellan, and other antarctic lands; feeds on fish, Crusta¬
cea, and mollusca ; and is employed by the natives as an
article of food, although its flesh is dark-coloured and rank.
The gorfous, genus Chrysocoma, have the bill short,
strong, and somewhat conical, with the point a little arch¬
ed. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 3 b.) The groove from the nostril
ends about a third from the tip. In other respects they
do not differ materially from the penguins.
The leaping gorfou, Chrysocoma saltator, is a handsome
bird, of the size of a domestic duck, with the head and
upper parts grayish black, the lower white, and the head
ornamented with a large crest, of which the central part
is erect and dusky, the lateral portions deflected, and of
a yellow colour. It is common in the Falkland Islands
and other parts of the southern seas ; and, like the Pata¬
gonian penguin and other birds of this group, is said to be
so stupid as to allow itself to be assailed without attempt¬
ing to escape. It is extremely expert at diving; and like se-
\eral birds of different families, such as the cormorants and
darters, is often observed, while about to plunge beneath
the surface, to leap several feet out of the water,—whence
our sailors have named it the hopping penguin, or jump¬
ing Jack. The word gorfou is a corruption of goir-fugel,
or gare-fowl, applied in Ferroe and the north of Scotland
to the great auk, Alca impennis.
Several other species of this genus are known, and in¬
habit the same seas, such as the Papuan gorfou, Chr. Pa-
pua; the collared, Chr. torquata ; the red-footed, Chr.
-atarructes; and the little gorfou, Chr. minor.
Thesphenisques, genus Sphexiscus, form a group cha-
acterized by their straight, compressed bill, which is irre-
lularly grooved at the base, and has the tip of the upper
mandible curved, while that of the lower is obliquely trun¬
cate, as in the cormorant. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 3 a.)
ihe Cape sphenisque, Spheniscus demersus, is about
.venty inches long, black above, white beneath, with the
roat and cheeks black, a white line over each eye, and
1 ack band across the fore part of the neck, and extend-
mg a ong each side of the body. It occurs in the vicinity
3 t.le of Good Hope, where it nestles in the rocks.
* bother species, Spheniscus Magellanicus, upwards of
two feet long, with the upper parts, a band on the breast, Palmi-
and a collar on the middle of the neck, black, inhabits pedes,
lerra del Fuego, the Straits of Magellan, and other parts
of the antarctic regions, where they are very numerous.
This species, like the gorfou, and probably all the birds of
this tribe, has a habit of leaping several feet out of the
water, either when about to dive, or when it meets with
any obstacle on the surface.
FAMILY II—LONGIPENNVE.
To this family belong those wandering sea-birds which,
having a flight characterized by extreme buoyancy and
rapidity combined, are met with on all parts of the ocean,
frequently at the greatest distance from land. Their wings
are always very long, although often extremely narrow;
and their tail is proportionally developed. Their hind toe
is small and free, or wanting; their bill pointed or hooked
at the tip, but without lamellae; their inferior larynx has
only one muscle on each side; their oesophagus is wide,
their stomach muscular, their caeca short. They are inca¬
pable of diving and pursuing their prey under the surface,
but they swim with ease, and sit lightly and gracefully on
the water. Some of them obtain their food by dipping or
plunging from on wing, others by picking it up as they
swim, while several wander to great distances in quest of
dead animals of all kinds, and are in fact the vultures of
the sea.
The petrels, Procellaricc, have their bill hooked at the
tip, which seems as if formed of a separate piece articu¬
lated to the rest (Plate CCCCI. figs. 5, 6, and 9); their
nostrils placed close together, and enclosed by a tube which
lies on the back of the upper mandible; and their hind
toe reduced to a knob with a claw upon it. These birds,
although many of them are very small, reside on the open
ocean, where they are met with by voyagers in the most
tempestuous as in the calmest weather. Their food con¬
sists of small fishes, Crustacea, and especially oily sub¬
stances of all kinds ; and most of them when seized, whe¬
ther on being wounded or on being dragged from their
holes, disgorge an oleaginous matter, or squirt it through
their nostrils. They are incapable of diving, and seldom
swim, but are generally seen flying or gliding over the sur¬
face of the waves, mounting upon their ridges and descend¬
ing into the hollows, often so close as to seem walking on
the water. Hence the name Petrel, or Little Peter, be¬
stowed upon them, in allusion to St Peter’s progress on the
waves. In stormy weather they frequently fly in the wake
of a ship, to shelter themselves from the wind. On account
of this habit they are held in aversion by sailors, who, ima¬
gining them to be predictive of tempests, and in league
w ith the mysterious source of evil, bestow on them "the
opprobrious appellation of Mother Carey’s chickens. Their
flight is rapid and buoyant; they breed in holes and cre¬
vices ot the rocky coasts; and are more numerous in the
antarctic than in the northern seas.
I hose which have the lower mandible truncate are more
peculiarly named petrels, genus Procellaria.
Of these the largest is the giant petrel, Procellaria gi-
gantea, which has a length of about three feet and a half,
and is of a dusky colour above, whitish beneath, with the
bill and legs yellow. It is of frequent occurrence in the
southern seas, is observed to be most lively in stormy
weather, and feeds on fishes, and the carcasses of seals,
birds, and other animals.
The pintado, or Cape petrel, Procellaria Capensis, is
about fourteen inches long, variegated with brown and
white, and occurs in large flocks in the antarctic seas, par¬
ticularly in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. Like
most of the other species, it flies very low, feeds on fish
632
Palmi¬
pedes.
ORNITHOLOGY.
and the carcasses of cetaceous animals, and when caught
squirts out a quantity of oil from the nostrils. _
' in tiie arctic seas a very abundant species is the fulmar
petrel, Procellaria glacialis, which is nearly of the size of
the herring gull, and has the upper parts of a light bluish-
gray, the head and lower parts white. It is extremely
voracious, and although its principal food consists ot fish,
it devours indiscriminately any floating animal substance,
and follows in flocks the track of a wounded whale, until
the huge animal is exhausted, when it alights on the car¬
cass, and devours the blubber until satiated. This bird is
one of those most familiar to the sailors of the whale-ships,
on which it constantly attends, to pick up any offal that is
thrown overboard, and come in for its share of the plunder
when a whale has been captured. It breeds abundantly
in the island of St Kilda, the inhabitants of which obtain
a large quantity of oil from the stomachs of the individuals
which they catch for that purpose. , . ,
Of the smaller dark-coloured species may be mentioned
the common or storm petrel, P. pelagica, which is not
larger than a lark, and in its flight resembles a swallow
(Plate CCCCI. fig. 5); Leach’s petrel, P. Leachn; and
Wilson’s petrel, P. Wilsonii. Respecting the latter, we
may quote the following passage from the description given
of it by M. Audubon, in his Ornithological Biography.
“ But now, ever flapping its winglets, I have marked the
little bird, dusky all over save a single spot, the whiteness
of which contrasts with the dark hue of the waters, and
the deep tone of the clear sky. Full of life and joy, it
moves to and fro, advances towards the ship, then shoots far
awav, gambols over the swelling w'aves, dives into their
hollows, and twitters with delight as it perceives an object
that will alleviate its hunger. Never fatigued, the tiny
petrels seldom alight, although at times their frail legs
and feet seem to touch the crest of the foaming wave, i
love to give every creature all the pleasure I can confei
upon it, and towards the little things I cast over the stern
such objects as I know they will most prize. Social crea¬
tures ! would that all were as innocent as you Iheie
are no bickerings, no jealousies, among you; the hrst that
comes is first served: it is all the result of chance ; and
thus you pass your lives. But the clouds gather, the ga e
approaches, and our gallant bark is trimmed. Darkness
spreads over the heavens, and the deep waters send back a
blacker gloom, broken at intervals by the g immer of the
spray. You meet the blast, and your little wings bear
you up against it for a while ; but you cannot encounter
the full force of the tempest; and now you have all come
close beneath me, where you glide over the curling eddies
caused by the motion of the rudder. You shall have all
possible attention paid you, and I will crawl to the cam-
boose, in search of food to support your tiny frames in
this hour of need. But at length night closes around,
and I bid you farewell....The gale is over ; the clear blue
of the sky looks clearer than ever, the sun s rays are
brighter, on the quiet waters the ship seems to settle m
repose, and her wings, though widely spread, no longer
swell with the breeze. At a distance around us the dusky
wanderers are enjoying the bright morning ; the rudder-
fish, yesterday so lively, has ended its career, so violently
was it beaten by the waves against the vessel; and now
the petrels gather around it, as it floats on the surface.
Various other matter they find; here a small crab, there
the fragments of a sea-plant. Low over the deep they
range, and now with little steps run on the waters, hew
are their notes, but great their pleasure, at this moment.
It is needless for me to feed them now, and therefore I
will return to my task.”  
The puffin-petrels, genus Puffinus, are separated from
the rest on account of their having the extremity of the
lower mandible decurved as well as that of the upper, and
the nostrils opening, not by a common orifice, but by two Pa.
distinct apertures. (Plate CCCCI. fig. 9.) pe
Of this genus may be mentioned the cinereous puffin-
petrel, Pvffinus cinereus ; the Manks petrel, Pr. anglorum;
and the dusky petrel, Pr. obscura.
In the genus Haladroma of Illiger, the thioat is di¬
latable like that of the cormorants, and the hind toe is
entirely wanting as in the albatrosses. In the genus Pa-
chyptila of the same author, the bill is enlarged at the
base, and its margins are garnished interiorly with fine
delicately-pointed vertical lamellae, (bee Plate CCCCI.
fitr. 0.^
The albatrosses, genus Diomedea, are the largest and
most powerful of all the feathered wanderers of the ocean.
Their bill, which is large, strong, and sharp-edged, is
terminated by a strong hook ; their nostrils, which are tu¬
bular, are placed apart; and their feet are destitute of
the hind toe. Their plumage is full, soft, and elastic, and
their wings, although narrow, are exceedingly long. They
are thus equally organized for swimming and flying, and
are met with in all parts of the intra-tropical and southern
oceans, sometimes following a ship in full sail for many
days, to pick up the refuse thrown overboard. I hey fly
with surprising buoyancy and speed, and are able to bear
up against the most violent tempests. When fatigued or
satiated they rest upon the waters. Their food consists
of the carcasses of all sorts of animals, as well as live fishes,
Crustacea, mollusca, and other creatures, and their voracity
is such that sometimes having gorged themselves to ex¬
cess, they are unable for a time to fly, and may be caught
or destroyed. Under these circumstances, however, birds
generally disgorge the contents of their gullet and sto¬
mach, and by thus lightening themselves, are enabled to
Of the different species of this genus, that which is the
best known, as well as the largest, is the wandering alba¬
tross, Diomedea exulans. It is as large as a swan, being
four feet in length, and measuring ten feet between the
tips of its extended wings ; its upper parts dusky, the low¬
er white, the neck and sides transversely streaked with
brown, the primary quills black, the bill yellowish white,
the feet flesh-colour. This celebrated bird 18 Punc‘Pa‘ j
met with in the seas adjacent to the Cape ot ^ood Hope,
and in those that separate the American continent f on
the Asiatic. It is extremely voracious, feeding on fashes,
mollusca, and the carcasses of whales and other an •
It is said that when it cannot swallow a large fish at once,
it introduces part of it, and waits until 18 dl^&teJ ,
fore swallowing the rest. Its flesh, although hard and dry
is eaten by the inhabitants of Kamtschatka, who use -
bones for tobacco-pipes and needle-cases.
From the albatrosses to the larger birds of the next S
nus the transition is but slight, both as regards form
‘“‘Th; gulls, genus Lauus, Plate CCCCI. fig-8, consti¬
tute a/extinsive group, of which representauves^are
found in all parts of the globe. Ihey are dial
by their longish, compressed bill, of which the upp
dible is arched towards the end, wh.le the lower tstoo
furnished with an angular prominence. 1 d
which are placed near the middle, are l>near-»Uong ^
pervious. Their body is generally light, the neck
derate length, their head ovate and rather large, theirkgs
of ordinary length, and their hind toe vmy snia^,^ ^ jn
times obsolete. Some of the species tgj and
the open ocean, but it is chiefly along moSt
especially near the mouths of rivers that th y ^
frequently seen, and in stormy weather they oft, ^
incursions over the land in seareh o wor > gsheS,
carrion. Their food consists hardly
Crustacea, and mollusca; but to the laig P
ORNITHOLOGY.
633
any animal substance conies amiss. They breed along the
shores, on unfrequented islands and headlands, laying in a
hollow on the ground from two to four eggs, spotted with
dusky.
Among the larger species, some are remarkable for the
dark or blackish hue of their back and wings; but in ge¬
neral the colour of those parts is a light-grayish blue,
while that of the lower is pure white. One species, the
ivory gull, Larus eburneus, has the plumage entirely of the
latter colour when in the adult state. The greater black-
backed gull, Larus marinus, the smaller black-backed
gull, Larusfuscus, and the thick-billed gull of New Hol¬
land, Larus melanoleucos, afford examples of the first kind
above alluded to. The largest known species is the bur¬
gomaster, Larus glaucus, of a light-grayish blue above,
white beneath, with the tail and tips of the wings also
white. It inhabits the arctic regions of Europe and Ame¬
rica, seldom making its appearance in the temperate cli¬
mates. One of the most common species on our coasts is
the herring gull, Larus argentatus, which remains with
us throughout the year. A gradual transition is observ¬
able from these larger species, which assimilate to the alba¬
trosses, to the smaller, which are intimately connected with
the terns.
Some species having very peculiar characters, have been
separated from the gulls, and formed into a genus apart.
These are the jagers, genus Lestris, which have the tip
of the upper mandible hooked, and the nostrils larger and
placed nearer the end of the bill than those of the gulls.
Their tail is generally pointed, their wings long, and their
flight is extremely rapid. Although they occasionally fish
for themselves, they obtain their food chiefly by attacking
various species of gulls and terns, which they teaze to make
them disgorge their food, which they then swallow-.
Of this genus the more remarkable species are the skua,
Lestris catarractes, which is nearly equal in size to the
great black-backed gull ; the pomarine jager, L. pomari-
ms; and Richardson’s jager, L. Richardsonii, which is
common on our coasts in autumn, and breeds in the Shet¬
land Islands and Hebrides.
The terns, genus Sterna, are generally of small size,
and remarkable for their slender body, long and narrow
wings, and forked tail. Their feet are extremely short,
and their bill longish, compressed, and pointed. They very
seldom swim, but, when fatigued or satiated with food, re¬
pose on the rocks or sands. Their flight is extremely
buoyant, and they usually obtain their food by plunging
after it into the w-ater from on wing. From their form
and the peculiar mode of flying, they have also obtained
the name of sea-swallows.
The most common species on the coasts of Europe are
the arctic tern, Sterna arctica ; the common tern, St. Hi-
rundo; and the little tern, St. minuta ; but several other
species occur there.
The noddies, genus Angus, differ from the terns in hav¬
ing the tail even at the end, and nearly equal with the
wings. Their bill also is more like that of the smaller
gulls. They are said to be so stupid as to allow themselves
to be killed without attempting to fly off; but this only
happens in places where they have not been accustomed
to meet with man.
The species best known is the black noddy, Anous
mger [Sterna stolida, Linn.), which is very common in the
tropical seas, and is of a sooty-brown, excepting the top of
the head, which is grayish white. It often settles on the
ri8glng of vessels, when the sailors sometimes catch it at
night while asleep.
Ihe skimmers, genus Rhynchops, Plate CCCCI. fig. 7,
are very nearly allied to the terns, but are distinguished
other birds by the extraordinary form of their bill,
0 which the upper mandible is considerably shorter than
vcl. xvi. J
the lower, and grooved beneath, so as to receive the edge
of the latter, which is extremely thin. They procure their ^
food in the same manner as the terns, skimming along the
surface of the water, and dipping their bill into it to seize
a small fish, as opportunity occurs.
Ihe only species whose habits are known is the black
skimmer, Rhynchops nigra, which is about twenty inches
long, its bill and feet red, its upper parts black, the lower
white, its wings considerably longer than the tail. It oc¬
curs along the coasts of America, from New York to Bra¬
zil, breeding on the sandy shores in June, and continuing
in flocks all the year.
FAMILY III TOTIPALMA3.
The birds of which this family is composed are those to
which the epithet palmipede is more peculiarly applicable ;
for not only are their anterior toes connected by webs or
membranes, as in the other tribes, but their hind toe is
similarly connected with the inner. Their tarsi are gene¬
rally short, their wings and tail long, their neck elongated,
and their bill rather slender, somewhat conical, but gene¬
rally hooked at the joint. They swim, and for the most
part dive, with admirable dexterity, generally fly with
great celerity, feed entirely on fishes and other marine ani¬
mals, and are remarkable among web-footed birds for fre¬
quently perching on trees.
The pelicans, Pelecani, comprehend those which have
at the base of the bill a space destitute of feathers. The
skin of their throat is extensile, their tongue very small,
their gullet of great width, their cmca small, their nostrils
mere slits, sometimes obsolete.
The pelicans properly so called, genus Pelecanus, Plate
CCCCI. fig. 10, are distinguished from all other birds by
the singular structure of their bill, of which the upper man¬
dible, however, presents nothing very remarkable, while
the lower has its rami extremely slender and elastic, with
a large dilatable membranous bag attached to it. They
are birds of large size, with wings of moderate length, the
tail rounded, the feet short, and the claws curved.
The most remarkable species is the common pelican,
Pelecanus onocrotalus (above referred to), which is as large
as a swan, and entirely of a white colour tinged with red,
excepting the alula and primary quills, which are black.
Its length is nearly six feet, and its extended wings mea¬
sure about fifteen. Its upper mandible is flattened, with
a hook at the point; and the sac appended to the lower
mandible extends about nine inches down the neck, and
may be dilated so as to hold a man’s head with ease. This
pelican occurs in the tropical and warmer temperate re¬
gions of the old continent, and is common in the eastern
countries of Europe. Its principal food is fish, which it
catches with great dexterity, by plunging after it from on
wing. In fishing it fills the gular pouch, and does not im¬
mediately devour its prey, but when it has obtained a suf¬
ficiency, returns to the shore, and swallows it at leisure.
The female forms a large nest of grass in a marshy place,
and lays two or three white eggs, similar to those of a
swan.
The brown pelican, P. fuscus, of a grayish-brown colour,
and nearly lour feet in length, is common in most parts of
America, and especially in the West Indies. A very large
species, P. australis, of a white colour, with the upper part
of the back, the quills, and tail, black, inhabits New Hol¬
land.
The cormorants, genus Phalacrocorax, resemble the
pelicans in their general form, but are destitute of the
large gular sac, having merely a bare dilatable mem¬
brane at the base of the lower mandible. They differ far¬
ther in not procuring their prey by plunging after it from
4 L
Palmi¬
pedes.
634
Palmi¬
pedes.
ORNITHOLOGY.
on wing, their mode of fishing being similar to that of the
divers.
The common cormorant, Phalaerocorax carbo, is nearly
as large as a goose, and has a brownish-black colour, with
a white spot on the thigh, and streaks of the same colour
on the head and neck. It nestles in the cavities of rocks,
or on trees, laying three pale-green eggs, crusted with white
caught. See him now ! yonder, over the waves leaps the
brilliant dolphin, as he pursues the flying-fishes, which he
expects to seize the moment they drop into the water.'
The frigate-bird, who has marked them, closes his wings,
dives towards them, and now- ascending, holds one of the
tiny things across its bill. Already fifty yards above the
sea, he spies a porpoise in full chase, launches towards the
I hi.
1 es.
calcareous'matter and l ^ an/in passing seizes «he that has escaped
both continenlr it is stated that this species was formerly from its dreaded foe; but now, ha.mg obtamed a fish too
• i • t i i r fi fUh 44 When large for his gullet, he rises, munching it all the while, as
they corlleto'dte rivers ^ays VthUoghhyT they takeotrlheir i? Lund for°.he skies. Three or four of his own tribe
hoodTnd ha in" tied a leather thing round ihe lower part have watched htm, and observed h,s success. They shoot
Lute’it necks hat theymay not swallow down the fish they towards him on broadly extended pontons, me m wtde ctr-
Sr a-Iime,
themnethey1 me)Vpre^ntl^to, the 'top ^f ^le^water^and Itehas^SrTy1 robbed hm;, but before he can Jcure the
tnem, tney rise prebenuy L . ;„r Cwallntv them contested fish it drops. One of the other birds has caught
pressing the fish lightly with their bills, ^ey fallow them, contested ^ P alh From bill tQ biU> and thJgh
till each bird hath in tins manner sw a ' which the air, rapidly falls the fish, until it drops on the waters,
h rrelddy Lty t7e,“o^eLfter and si^kslnjthe deep. Whatever disappmntmen. the
tnej reaauy ny, anu, ^ ’ • h h • they hungry birds feel, they seem to deserve it all.
vomit up all their fish, a >'«'* b™«‘' ^ ”fiPshin^ f he boobies, or gannets, genus Sola, hove the bill
gave them in then bills. \ ^ , the string straight, conical, a little compressed, and with the point
freomnthe fone'ck5 kav^Me8 pa^sag; to the stomach freS somewhat deflected, the edges serrate, or cut into by short
“•and’for them reward they them part;f paralieUines. The throat " space around the^
the prey they hai e caught, to eac i, percnane., narrow, and the tail cuneate or tapering,
fishes, which they by the way, as hey are falling in the an“ v e/ he w’aterwhen fishing, and plunge head-
aiYi"rCya — “o„y „rute crested olT/atr their prey resting a few moments on emerging
cormorant, PIuiL which is »fJ ^ The LLmlTgLuTt of telan goose, Suk, bamna,
colour, with a recurved frontal tuft; occur3 0n the coasts of Europe and North America, and
preceding in its habits, bleeding in n/ in differ breeds in vast numbers on remote and rockv islands. The
islands and headlands. Many other species occur n d ffe - breedsinva.t n Frith of Forth is
Bass Rock at the entrance of the Frith of Forth is a well-
known haunt of this species, as are Ailsa Craig in the
Clyde, St Kilda, and Suliskerry. The nest is very bulky,
and composed of sea-weeds ; the single egg not larger than
that of a domestic duck, and of a white colour ; the young,
at first covered with snow-white down, is when fledged
of a dark-brown colour, spotted with white. Although the
flesh of this species is rank and oily, it was formerly con¬
sidered a kind of delicacy, and is still sparingly used in
the south of Scotland.  
The booby gannet, Sula Candida, is inferior in size to
ent parts of the world, the genus being generally distri-
bUThe frigate-birds, genus Tachypetes, differ from the
cormorants in having the tail forked, the wings extremely
elongated, the feet very short, with their webs emarginate,
and the tip of both mandibles decurved. Their flight is
extremely rapid and buoyant, and they prey upon fishes,
which they capture by plunging after them from on wing,
or obtain by forcing the gannets to disgorge. Only one
species is well known. .
The common frigate-bird. Tachypetes aqudus^ .s of a th;“'which it closely resembles in
dusky colour, more or less varte^ted wd* wh.te o the J ^ [t u com’mon on the coas;3 of the warn,-
neck, and sometimes measures ten feet between the tips lorra am narticularlv in the Bahama Islands
of its extended wings. It inhabits the tropical reg^ns, an I ^ Brazilian £ea’s-l Although it sometimes nestles on
is found in great abundance on the island of Ascensio . ^ „ builds °n trees> and rep0ses there
Its principal food consists of flying-fishes, whic P_ ^ nf ht. it isssaid to^e a very stupid bird, allowing it-
tures during their aerial excursions. The folio g » knocked on the head or seized, without attempt-
haps any other bird. However swiftly the Cayenne tern, g Plotus> resemble the cormorants
the smaller gulls, or the jager, move on ™g, it seem ^ ^ ^ ^ bod and ^ but are more slender,
matter of mere sport to it to overtake any or them. t ^ ^ ye elon ated neckj with a small head, and a
goshawk, the peregrine, and the gyr-falcon, which 1 con & . . , , -n r :i— ^r.i.mnrants.
ceive to be the swiftest of our hawks, are obliged to pur¬
sue their victim, should it be a green-winged teal or pas¬
senger-pigeon, at times for half a mile, at the highest
pitch of their speed, before they can secure them. Ihe
bird of which I speak comes from cm high with the velo¬
city of a meteor, and on
straight, slender, and pointed bill. Like the cormorants,
they swim deep in the water, but with agihty, and in u
in<r spring fairly out of it to plunge headlong after tneir
prey. They inhabit the warm countries of America.
The black-bellied darter, Plotus melanogaster,
Plate
wKtoten^ha/spied »Lle fishing at a distance, ^
darts on either side to cut off all retreat, and w.th open “'h'te-bel .ed darter, /'. n^o, BrMa aad
bill forces it to drop or disgorge the fish which it had just but has the loner parts white.
1 Ornithological Biography.
ORNITHOLOGY.
other parts of America, roosting at night on trees, whence,
should one approach, they drop into the water as if dead ;
/and on emerging at a distance, show only their long slen¬
der necks and heads, which bear so much resemblance to
those of serpents, that this species is frequently named the
snake-bird.
The tropic birds, genus Phaeton, which form the last
group of this section, bear a considerable resemblance to
the gannets, but are readily distinguished by the two
extremely elongated feathers of their tail, on account of
which the French give them the not inappropriate name
ofpaille-eii-queue. Their head is entirely feathered ; their
bill straightish, tapering, pointed, and denticulated on the
edges; their feet are short, and their wings long. The
flight of these birds is rapid and buoyant, and they are
often seen far out at sea. As they seldom extend their
range beyond the tropics, their occurrence apprises navi¬
gators of their entrance into the warmer regions. They
perch and nestle upon trees.
Two species are distinguished ;—the common, or white¬
tailed tropic bird, Phaeton cethereus; and the red-tailed
species, Ph. phcenicurus. The former is white, with the
ocular region and shoulders black, the primary quills of
the same colour, and the bill red. It inhabits the Atlantic
Ocean. The latter is of a pale rose-colour, or reddish
white, with the ocular region and wing-coverts deep black,
and the two elongated feathers of the tail red. It occurs
in the Indian and African Seas, at Madagascar, the Cape
of Good Hope, the Isle of France, and many of the South
Sea islands.
FAMILY IV.—LAMELLIROSTRES.
The birds of this family are readily distinguished from
those of the preceding by the peculiar structure of the
bill, which has its margins furnished with horny lamellm, or
dentiform processes, and its surface covered with soft skin,
in place of the horny envelope which is spread over that
of the other Palmipedes. The tongue, which is broad and
fleshy, has its margins also lamellate ; the gizzard is ex¬
tremely muscular, although not of large capacity, and the
caeca are rather long. Another remarkable distinction is
found in the lower larynx, which generally has a very ex-
traordinary dilatation in the males. Their body is usually
somewhat depressed, their wings of moderate length, their
feet short, and their neck more or less elongated, some¬
times of extreme length. They swim with ease, but walk
in a constrained and vacillating manner ; and are for the
most part phytophagous, though many feed on mollusca,
Crustacea, and fishes. They occur in all parts of the
globe,—some being maritime, but the greater number
•acustrine or fluviatile, that is, frequenting lakes or rivers.
Ihey are naturally arranged into two groups;—the one
y Anatidce) comprising the swans, geese, and ducks ; the
other (Mergidce) composed of the mergansers.
he great group of Anatidce includes all those web-
ooted birds which have their bill large and broad, covered
"ith a thin membrane, and having its edges furnished with
tiansverse or oblique lamellae, the object of which seems
to be to allow the water to escape when the bird has
seized its food. Vegetable substances, especially seeds,
rootb, and blades of grasses, form the principal nourish¬
ment of many of the species ; but others feed on fishes,
mo usca, insects, and worms. The piscivorous species
i'e m pursuit of their prey, while those which feed on
egetable matter either procure it on shore, or along the
argms of the water, or, while floating on the surface, ob-
m r rom some depth by means of their long neck. The
«nS ^iese birds is much esteemed, but is not
lea ilj digestible as that of the waders and gallinaceous
635
order. Many of them moult twice in the year, and after
the summer change the males assume in part the colours
peculiar to the females, which, on the contrary, exhibit no
variation. They generally breed in marshy places, and
deposit numerous eggs. The young, which are at first
covered with stiflish down, are capable of walking and
swimming immediately after birth.
The characters by which the subdivisions of this group
are distinguished are derived chiefly from the form of the
bill. In the swan that organ is as broad at its fore part
as at the base, where its height is greater than its breadth,
and the nostrils are placed about the middle. In the
geese, the bill is shorter than the head, higher than broad
at the base, and narrower towards the end. Lastly, in the
ducks properly so called, the bill is at least as broad at its
extremity as at the base, where it is broader than high ;
the nostrils are placed on the back of the bill nearlhe*
base. In the swans the neck is extremely long, in the
geese of moderate length, and in the ducks generally rather
short.
The swans, genus Cygnus, are the largest birds of the
family, and are characterized by the elegance of their form,
and the graceful ease with which they glide over the sur-
iace of the water, although on land their motions are more
constrained. Their body is large, their neck extremely
elongated, their head oblong, their wings large, and their
feet short and strong. They live chiefly on the seeds and
roots of aquatic plants, and nestle among the reeds by the
margins ot lakes and rivers. They are strictly monoga¬
mous, and the young swim and walk immediately after
exclusion.
The wild swan, Cygnus ferns, has the bill yellow at the
base, and black towards the end, the plumage pure white,
but in the young of a gray colour. It is "readily distin¬
guished from the domestic swan by having the base of the
bill flattened above, and by the curvature formed by the
wind-pipe, which enters into a cavity in the crest of the
sternum, from which it is reflected anteriorly, and then
passes into the thorax. This species inhabits the northern
regions of both continents, whence it migrates southward
on the approach of winter, remaining in the temperate
countries until the return of spring. The female lays from
five to seven or eight eggs, of a whitish colour tinged with
olive, and is said to incubate six weeks. The flesh and
eggs are highly esteemed, and the skins are prepared with
the down to be made into garments. The down itself
forms an article of commerce, which is in considerable de¬
mand in the colder countries of Europe. The sons of the
swan is familiar to all the lovers of poetry ; but, hkemanv
equally accredited facts, has no real existence; for the cry
of this bird, although clear and shrill, is never modulat¬
ed into harmony. When heard at a distance, however,
especially from a flock on wing, it is extremely pleasing.
Another fable regarding the vast strength of wing of this
bird was long believed,—a blow from it being alleged
as sufficient to break a man’s thigh. “ It is hffih time,”
says Montagu, “ such absurdities should be erased in this
philosophic age, and that the mind of man should reason
before he continues to relate such accounts, only calcu¬
lated to frighten children. Let the bones of the wing of
the swan be examined, and compared with the thigh of a
man, or even of his arm, and it will be evident ^hat it
would be as impossible for a swan to break a man’s arm,
as it would be to break his head with a reed. The bone,
of a man’s arm would bear a pressure fifty times as great
as the bone of a swan’s wing; how, then, is the inferior in
size and strength to break the superior, without at least
being itself fractured ? It should also be recollected, that
a bird is incapable of striking with any degree of force
while all its quill-feathers are perfect, the resistance of
the air against such a surface being too great to allow of
Palmi¬
pedes.
636
Palmi¬
pedes.
ORNITHOLOGY.
its moving with sufficient velocity to inflict any sensible
paA species very nearly allied to the above is Bewick’s
swan, Cygnm Bewickii, which was first distinguished as a
species by Mr Yarrell and Mr Richard Wingate of New¬
castle. It has the bill black, with its base orange ye low,
the plumage white, and the tail of eighteen feathers
whereas there are twenty in that of the common wild
swan. The curvature of the trachea is also different, a ^
the size of the species is about a third smallei.
bits the arctic regions of both continents, migrating south-
W£The mute or tame swan, Cygnm ofor, has the b^l rcd, its
edges, the nail at its tip, and a large knob at the base of t
upper mandible, black; the phimage white, the tail of twe
ty-four feathers. In this species the trachea has no extra
thoracic curvature. The tame swan is said to be ^und n
its wild state in the eastern countries of Europe and A
It is generally distributed over Europe in a domest catea
« ate forming a great ornament to our rivers and artificial
ffieees of water. It makes its nest of grass, among reeds,
and deposits seven or eight eggs of a g^nish-white^o-
lour which are hatched in seven or eight weeks, me
young are of a gray colour, and were formerly much es¬
teemed as an article of food. o-pnpral
The black swan, Cygnm alralus, of wl"cl., , ^ S ' tl
colour of the plumage is brownish black, with part of t
winos white, and the bill red, inhabits various parts of New
Holland, and is now not uncommon in a domesticated state
in this country. (See Plate CCCCII. fig. o.)
Intermediate between the swans and geese are severa
species, such as the Guinea goose, Anas cygnoides of Lin
nLus and “he spur-winged or Gambia goose, AnasGam-
S of the same author,-which, although less elegant
fhan the swans! are ye, nearly allied ,0 them in the form
0‘ ThfiS, genus Anske, are distinguished as has been
already S by the form of their bill, which is short, and
narrowed towards the point. Their feet are also pro-
nortionally longer than those of the ducks, so that t ley
tove a greater facility in walking. They swim less, how¬
ler, and are incapable of diving. They live in flocks,
feed on gramineous plants and seeds, migrate in largje
dies which during their flight are usually disposed in di¬
vergent hues, and breed in marshy places, laying nume-
rous eggs. Those species which have the bill more slen-
del anf somewhat cylindrical, are separated by some an
tp form the eenus Bernicla. three species m
o-eese properly so called, and two of bernicles, are not
uncommon during winter in this and other countries
EUThPaet‘to which the origin of the domestic goose is attri¬
buted the gray lag, or common wild goose, Anser Jerus, is
nearly three feet Img, with the bill large and of an orange
colour the feet flesh-coloured, and the plumage light gray
and clove brown ; the rump and lower parts white. ll
formerly very abundant in this country, where it resided
alUhe year but is now met with only in small flocks m
the winter season, although a few individuals have recent¬
ly been found to breed in the north of Scot and—for ex¬
ample, in the islets of the lochs of Sutherland.
The bean goose, Anser segetum, is a little smaller, with
the bill moregelongated, and of an orange colour, with its
base and the nail black; the upper part ash-gray tinged
with brown, the rump dark brown, the abdomen and lower
' , n,wprtti white. This species is much more plentiful
with us than the last, appearing in large flocks in Novem¬
ber, and retiring northward in April and May. 
The white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons, has the bill Pa
and legs orange, the plumage gray on the upper parts, on pt
the lower white, and a patch of the same colour on thew
forehea common bernjc]e? Anser leucopsis, which has the
forehead, cheeks, and throat white, with the crown of the
head, the neck, and the breast black, is not unfrequent on
the western coast of Britain in winter ; and the brent goose,
Anser torquatus, characterized by having the head, neck,
and breast black, with a white patch on each side of the
neck, is also common in many parts, especially along our
eastern shores. The former of these species was long be¬
lieved, even by the learned, to be the produce of a species
of cirripodous animal, the Lepas anatifera of Linnaius, the
long feather-like branchiae of which gave rise to this ab¬
surd fable. , n l •
Another species of bernicle was observed, on Captain
Parry’s second voyage, on Melville Peninsula, and named
bv Dr Richardson, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, in ho¬
nour of Mr Hutchins, from whom Pennant and Latham
derived most of their information respecting the birds of
Hudson’s Bay. It is about twenty-five inches in length,
with a very short black bill; the head, neck, rump, and
tail pitch-black, and a white kidney-shaped patch upon the
From the bernicles and geese some authors distinguish,
under the generic name of spurwing, Chenalopex, the
species usually named the Egyptian goose, which has the
bill longer than the bernicles, and has the wings armed
with a spur upon the bend. It inhabits various parts of
Africa, especially Egypt and the Cape of Good Hope,
whence it has been introduced into this country.
The next genus, Cereopsis, is formed by a New Hol¬
land species, resembling the bernicles in form, but with
the bill smaller, and having at its base a membrane ex¬
tending over the forehead. The palmation of the feet
not so full as usual.2 (Plate CCCCII. fig. ^-)
The ducks, properly so called, have the legs much shorter
than the geese, and placed farther back, the neck shoiter,
and the body more depressed. Their trachea also has a
laro-e dilatation at its bifurcation. _ . ,
gome of them, having the hind toe margined with a
membrane or lobe, the tarsi more compressed the head
larger, and the wings shorter, teed on fishes and o,to
aquatic animals, and are less expert at walking, buUive
with greater agility. These species have been vanou y
grouped by authors into numerous genera, ot which
following are among the more remarkable.
The scoters, genus O.dum.a, have f bill short and
broad, with an elevated tumour or knob at the base,
towards the tip much depressed and flattene > * e
tuse and roundish; the lamellae widely set, ami srare J
projecting; the nostrils oval and sub-medial, the tail
andTogrtht genus belong the velvet scoter,
the black scoter, O. nigra ; and the surf scoter, • ^
cillata ; which occur along the coasts of the no iall
perate regions in winter, feeding on fishes, and esp J
mussels and other testaceous mollusca. LlkfLthat.
other sea-ducks, their flesh is held m We est be
ing dark-coloured and tough, with a fishy flavour.
The qarrots, genus Clangula, have the j *iie
than the head/efevated at the base, narrowed tow rd^e
than the head, eievaieu ai wt- u , thenos-
end * the lamellae numerous, but not projecting ,
trils roundish, and medial; the lad of moderate length,and
graduated^en clangula wh‘* “
white, with the head, the back, and the tailtei*a___
SteS ““Th7only known species, C'r. IW see 7oo,osiCa, Garten,, vol. «• P- 315.
ORNITHOLOGY.
637
. spot before the eye, and two bands on the wing, white,
. breeds in the arctic regions of both continents, and appears
'“^on the estuaries and lakes of the more temperate countries
in winter. The female is of a gray colour, with the head
brown.
To this genus belongs the harlequin-duck, Clangula his-
trionica (Plate CCCCII. fig. 3), which is distinguished by
having a large patch of white on the lore, a spot on the ear,
a longitudinal band on the sides of the neck, a transverse
band on the neck, and another on each side of the breast,
white; with the speculum or wing-spot blue, and the legs
dusky. It derives its name from the singularity of its mark¬
ings, and inhabits the northern parts of both continents.
The pochards, genus Fuligula, have the bill as long as
the head, broad and much depressed anteriorly, and a little
dilated towards the tip; the upper lamellae not projecting
beyond the margin ; the nostrils oblong, sub-basal ; the
wings and tail short, the latter rounded. This section con¬
tains a great number of species, most of which are mari¬
time and piscivorous, although the flesh of many is consi¬
dered palatable, and that of one, the canvass-backed duck,
has been celebrated by the epicures of the western world.
The red-headed pochard, Fuligula ferina, of which the
head and neck are bright chesnut, the breast black, the
sides and scapulars marked with undulated lines of black
and grayish white, is not uncommon on the coasts of Europe
during the winter, and is not unfrequently seen in our
markets.
Another common species is the scaup-pochard, Fuligula
marila, which has the head and neck black glossed with
green, the back and scapulars whitish with undulating black
lines, and the alar speculum white.
The canvass-backed pochard just alluded to, Fuligula
valisneria (Plate CCCCII. fig. 4), resembles the red¬
headed species, and is characterized by having the fore¬
head and cheeks dull brown; the head and upper part of
the neck fulvous, the lower part with a black belt; the
back, scapulars, and belly white, marked with narrow
black lines. These birds arrive in the United States from
the arctic regions about the middle of October, and fre¬
quent the large rivers and lakes, where they feed chiefly
on the roots of a grass-like plant, the Valisneria spiralis.
Although extremely shy, vast, numbers of them are killed
on account of the delicacy of their flesh. Towards even¬
ing they collect into large flocks, so extensive as some¬
times to cover several acres, and, when rising simultaneously
on wing, to produce a noise like thunder.
The eiders, genus Somateria, have the bill more elon¬
gated than that of the garrots, tumid and elevated at the
base, and extending over the forehead in the form of two
narrow processes ; the lamellae large and distant; the nos¬
trils small, oval, and medial; the wings and tail short.
The males are distinguished by their greater size and su¬
perior beauty. Only two species of this genus are known,
both inhabiting the northern and temperate regions of Eu¬
rope and America.
The common or St Cuthbert’s eider, Somateria mollis-
sima, is characterized by having the bill furnished at its
base with lateral prolongations, in the form of two narrow
flat lamellae. The male has the lower parts black, the up¬
per parts and the neck white, the top of the head violet-
black, and the cheeks pale green. The female has the
whole plumage reddish brown, with transverse black bars.
This species is extremely abundant in Iceland, Lapland,
Greenland, Spitzbergen, and the countries bordering on
Hudson’s and Baffin’s Bays ; but it is also common in all
the northern parts of Europe and America. The female
lays five or six pale greenish-gray eggs, and lines her nest,
which is composed of sea-weeds and other maritime plants,
with the fine and elastic gray down, which she plucks from
her breast for that purpose. This down is carefully collected
in northern countries,—each nest being generally robbed Palmi-
twice in the season. One female is stated to yield half a pedes,
pound of down, which, however, is reduced to one half by
being cleaned. It is extremely soft and warm, and so elas¬
tic that two handfuls are sufficient to fill a quilt five feet
square. In 1750, the Iceland Company at Copenhagen
sold so much of this article as produced 3747 rix-dollars,
in addition to what was sent directly to Gluckstadt. Be¬
sides supplying this valuable down, the eiders afford an es¬
teemed article of food to the Greenlanders, who moreover
convert their skins into warm and comfortable under gar¬
ments. Although the species occurs in> Britain, it is no¬
where so plentiful as to afford enough of down to render it
available as an article of commerce.
The king-eider, Somateria spectabilis, which has the la¬
teral prolongations at the base of the bill in the form of
two elevated, compressed tubercles, is very similar to the
other species, and inhabits the same countries, breeding
in the same manner, and lining its nest with down of equal
quality, plucked from its own plumage. The skins are
formed into winter garments by the inhabitants of Siberia
and Kamtschatka ; but as this species is not so numerous
as the other, its down is not of equal importance in a com¬
mercial point of view.
Other groups of ducks have the hind toe not bordered
by any membrane, the head smaller, the feet narrower,
the neck longer, the bill less tapering, and the body more
slender. They feed chiefly on vegetable substances, al¬
though they also devour fishes, insects, worms, and mol-
lusca. In this section, likewise, various generic divisions
have been made.
The shovellers, genus Rhynchaspis, have the bill longer
than the head, with the upper mandible semi-cylindrical,
and enlarged at the end, and the lamellae so long and slen¬
der as to resemble filaments.
The common shoveller, Rhynchaspis clypeata, inhabits
various parts of the north of Europe and America, and is
sometimes met with in England. It is about twenty inches
in length, with the head and neck glossy-green, the back
brown, the breast and abdomen brownish red, and the small¬
er wing-coverts pale blue.
Another species, the fasciated shoveller, Rhynchaspis
fasciata, of a rusty-brown colour, transversely striped with
white beneath, and having the tip of the bill membranace¬
ous, is a native of New South Wales.
The shielduchs, genus Tadorna, have the bill tumid
and elevated at the base, where there is a small tubercle,
but much flattened towards the point; the lamellae short
and distant; the nostrils oval and medial.
The common shieldrake, Tadorna Bellonii, which is one
of the most beautiful species of this family, is not very un¬
common in some parts of Britain, and occurs also on the
coasts of the northern and western countries of Europe. It
is characterized by having the head and upper part of the
neck greenish black; the back, wing-coverts, and flanks
white; the scapulars black, and a broad band on the breast
ferruginous. The female nestles in a rabbit-burrow, or
other hole in the sandy pastures on the sea-shore, gene¬
rally forming her nest of down plucked from her breast,
and laying from eight to twelve white eggs. Instances
have occurred of its breeding with the common duck; and
Montagu states that it bears confinement well, appearing
to enjoy perfect health, provided access to a pond is al¬
lowed it.
The musk-ducks, genus Cairina, have the bill also
furnished with an elevated tubercle at the base ; the edges
of the mandibles sinuated ; the face and lores covered with
a bare tuberculated skin ; and the wings furnished with a
knob or spur at the bend.
The common musk-duck, Cairina moschata, which is
now generally distributed over Europe in a domesticated
638
Palmi¬
pedes.
ORNITHOLOGY.
state, is a native of tlie warmer parts of America. In its
natural state it has the plumage entirely of a black colour,
'glossed with green and blue, excepting the wing-coverts,
which are white.
The pintails, genus Dafila, have the bill destitute ot
tubercle at the base, narrow, somewhat cylindrical, with
its edges dentato-laminate ; the nostrils are basal, and the
tail elongated, and tapering to a point.
The common pintail, Dajila acuta, has the head umber-
brown, with a longitudinal white line on each side ot the
occiput and hind neck ; the back and flanks undulated with
black and grayish white ; the lower parts white ; and the
two central tail-feathers black. It breeds in the arctic re¬
gions of Europe, Asia, and America; retires southward in
winter ; is very shy and vigilant; and is much esteemed as
an article of food.
The ducks, strictly so called, genus Anas, are distin¬
guished by having the bill simple at the base, as long as
the head, depressed, broad, and obtuse ; the nostrils oval
and small ; the tail moderate, even, or rounded, often with
the middle feathers and their coverts recurved.
Of this genus, the most common species in Europe is
that which is supposed to be the original of the domestic
duck, and which with us is named the wild duck or mal¬
lard, Anas boschas. The male is a very beautiful bird,
having the head and upper part of the neck deep green,
the latter with a white ring; the four middle tail-feathers
recurved ; the upper parts marked with fine undulated
grayish-brown and white lines, the breast deep chesnut,
the lower parts grayish white, undulated with grayish-
brown lines; the alar spot green, edged above and be¬
low with white. It inhabits all the northern countries of
the globe, and is common in Britain, where it breeds,
form in o- its nest of withered plants in marshy places, and
laying from ten to fifteen bluish white eggs. Instances
have occurred of its occupying the deserted nest of a crow.
Its flesh is justly held in great estimation, and vast num¬
bers are shot and caught in decoys. The following ac¬
count of the method employed in capturing wild ducks m
the fens of Lincolnshire is given by Bewick.
“ In the lakes where they resort, the most favourite
haunts of the fowl are observed : then in the most seques¬
tered part of this haunt they cut a ditch about four yards
across at the entrance, and about fifty or sixty yards in
length, decreasing gradually in width from the entrance
to the farther end, which is not more than two feet wide.
It is of a semicircular form, but not bending much for the
first ten yards. The banks of the lake, for about ten
yards on each side of this ditch (or pipe, as it is called),
are kept clear from reeds, coarse herbage, &c. in order
that the fowl may get on them to sit and dress themselves.
Across this ditch, poles on each side, close to the edge of
the ditch, are driven into the ground, and the tops bent to
each other, and tied fast. These poles at the entrance
form an arch, from the top of which to the water is about
ten feet. This arch is made to decrease in height as the
ditch decreases in width, till the farther end is not more
than eighteen inches in height. The poles are placed
about six feet from each other, and connected together by
poles laid^lengthwise across the arch, and tied together.
Over them a net with meshes sufficiently small to prevent
the fowl getting through is throw n across, and made fast to
a reed fence at the entrance, and nine or ten yards up the
ditch, and afterwards strongly pegged to the ground. At
the farther end of the pipe a tunnel-net, as it is called, is
fixed, about four yards in length, of a round form, and
kept open by a number of hoops about eighteen inches in
diameter, placed at a small distance from each other to
keep it distended. Supposing the circular bend of the Pak
pipe to be to the right, when you stand with your back to peck
the lake, on the left-hand side, a number of reed-fences'"-v ’
are constructed, called shootings, for the purpose of screen¬
ing from sight the decoy-man, and in such a manner that
the fowl in the decoy may not be alarmed when he is driv¬
ing- those in the pipe: these shootings are about four
yards in length, and about six feet high, and are ten in
number. From the end of the last shooting a person can¬
not see the lake, owing to the bend in the pipes: there is
then no farther occasion for shelter. Were it not for
these shootings, the fowl that remain about the mouth of
the pipe would be alarmed, if the person driving the fowl
already under the net should be exposed, and would be¬
come so shy as to forsake the place entirely. The first thing
the decoy-man does when he approaches the pipe, is to take
a piece of lighted turf or peat, and hold it near his mouth,
to prevent the fowl smelling him. He is attended by a dog
taught for the purpose of assisting him ; he walks very si¬
lently about half-way up the shootings, where a small piece
of wood is thrust through the reed fence, which makes an
aperture just sufficient to see if any fowl are in ; if not, he
walks forward to see if any are about the mouth of the pipe.
If there are, he stops and makes a motion to his dog, and
o-ives him a piece of cheese or something to eat; upon
receiving it, he goes directly to a hole in the reed-fence,
and the fowl immediately fly off the bank into the water;
the do<r returns along the bank between tne iced-fences
and the pipe, and comes out to his master at anothei hole.
The man now gives him another reward, and he repeats
his round again, till the fowl are attracted by the motion
of the dog, "and follow him into the mouth of the pipe,
This operation is called working them. The man now re¬
treats farther back, working the dog at different holes till
the fowl are directly under the net; he now commands
his dog to lie down still behind the fence, and goes for¬
ward to the end of the pipe next the lake, where he takes
off his hat, and gives it a wave between the shooting; all
the fowl under the net can see him, but none that are in
the lake can. The fowl that are in sight fly forward, and
the man runs forward to the next shooting and waves his
hat, and so on, driving them along till they come to the
tunnel-net, where they creep in : when they are all in
he gives the net a twist, so as to prevent their getting
back ; he then takes the net off from the end of the pipe
with what fowl he may have caught, and takes them out
one at a time, and dislocates their necks, and hangs the net
on again, and all is ready for working again. In.Jh'*
ner five or six dozen have been taken at one drift. Whe
the wind blows directly in or out of the pipes, the owl
seldom work well, especially when it blows in. E ™ X
pipes are made in the lake, they are so constructed as o
suit different winds.”1 The better to entice the fowl into
the pipe, hempseed is strewed occasionally in the water.
TheP season allowed by act of parliament ^ catchin,
these birds in this way is from the latter end o
tlllThebChinese duck, Anas galericulata, with a Penl|e^
crest, and the inner wing-feathers enlarged and raised ^
a vertical direction, is an extremely beautiful specie ,
native of China and Japan.
The summer duck, Anas which also has p g
dent crest, is not less beautitul. (I late CCCClI. g.^
It inhabits Mexico and other parts of North Am
migrating northward in summer, rarely vlsltin» 1 ks
„1 * „ calf mnrshps. but frecmenting the muddy ere
migrating nuimwcuu ^   
shore or salt marshes, but frequenting the muddy
ponds, and mill-dams of the inteiior. ,
P Tte tree duck, Anas arborea, of a gray colour, the ab
1 British Birds, vol. ii. p- 294.
ORNITHOLOGY. 639
domen spotted with black and white, and the head
slightly crested, inhabits the warmer parts of America,
and is remarkable for building in the holes of decayed
trees.
The gadwall or gray, dnas strepera, the Dominican
duck, A. Dominicana, the Spanish duck, A. viduata, and
many other species, belong to this genus,—which might
include the teals, although these are separated by several
authors.
The wigeons, genus Mareca, may be distinguished
from the ducks, as they have the bill shorter than the
head, higher than broad at the base, depressed and nar¬
rowed towards the end; the lamellae slightly projecting ;
the tail short and acute. They are, however, very inti¬
mately allied to the pintails.
Of this genus one of the best examples is the common
wigeon, Mareca Penelope, which has the forehead yellow¬
ish white, the rest of the head and the neck chesnut-red,
the back and flanks undulated with black and white. The
male of this species has been known to pair with the fe¬
male pintail, and produce a hybrid brood. It also pairs
with the common duck. Wigeons are abundant in winter
in many parts of Britain, and are very much esteemed for
the table.
The teals, genus Querquedula, are distinguished
from the other groups by their diminutive size. Their
bill is narrower than that of the wigeons, proportionally
longer, and has its base more elevated. The species are
generally very beautiful.
The garganey teal, Querquedula circia, of a gray colour,
variegated with black, and having a white streak above
the eyes, with a green spot on the wing, inhabits the more
temperate parts of Europe, and is abundant in Holland
during its winter migration.
The common teal, Querquedula crecca, which has the
head brownish red, the body transversely undulated with
dusky, a white line above and another beneath the eye,
and the alar spot black and green, is plentiful in many
parts of Europe and North America; while the blue¬
winged teal, Q. discors, characterized by the light blue
colour of the wing-coverts, is peculiar to the latter conti- Palmi-
nent, as is likewise the American teal, Q. Carolinensis. pedes
The second principal group named Mergidce, consist- Y'-""
ing of the genus Merges of Linnaeus, includes the re¬
maining birds ot the great family of Lamellirostres, which
are usually designated by the vernacular name of mer¬
gansers. They differ from the ducks in having their bill
slender, almost cylindrical, and furnished on the margins
with dentiform points directed backwards, and resemblino-
the teeth of a saw. (Plate CCCCII. fig. 6.) Their sum¬
mer residence is in the colder regions ot both continents,
whence they migrate southward on the approach of win¬
ter. Their body is elongated and depressed, their feet
short and placed far behind, their wings rather long and
narrow, their neck of moderate length. They fly with ra¬
pidity, swim and dive with the greatest facility, and gene¬
rally feed on fishes. In their habits they are interme¬
diate between the ducks and divers ; but in their organi¬
zation and plumage they are more nearly allied to the for¬
mer. Their tracheae, besides having an exceedingly large
dilatation at its bifurcation, is also enlarged previous to its
entrance into the thorax. In accordance with their pisci¬
vorous propensities, their gullet is wider than that of the
ducks, and their gizzard less muscular.
Three species occur in the temperate parts of Europe.
The goosander, Mergus merganser, of which the male is
black, with the lower parts buff-coloured, and the head
purplish green, with a slender elongated crest; the red¬
breasted merganser, M. serrator, about the size of the mal-
laid, also crested, the male black above, white beneath,
with the head dark green; and the smew, M. albellus,
which is smaller than the golden-eye, varied with black
and white, and having a large compressed white crest.
All these occur also in the northern parts of America,
which has moreover a species peculiar to itself, the hooder
merganser, M. cucullatus (Plate CCCCII. fig. 7), 0f a
blackish colour above, white beneath, with a semicircular
black crest, white on each side. The females and youm>-
of all the species differ greatly in colour from the adult
males. /_ ^
the orders, families, and genera, of birds, according to the system of illiger.<
Order I.—Scansores.
Family Psittacini  Gen. Psittacus, Pezoporus (‘nfyrfogog, pedester).
Family Serrati   Gen. Rhamphastos, Pteroglossus (cmgoi/, penna, yXoMa, lingua), Pogonias Uuyunag,
p barbatus), Corythaix (xo^tfa/g, galea, cristam movens), Trogon, Musonha<ra.
Family Amphiboh  Gen. Crotophaga, Scythrops, Bucco, Cuculus, Centropus (x^rg/y, stimulus, calcar;
. -jrous, pes).
Family Sagittilingues  Gen. Yunx, Picus.
Family Syndaclyti  Gen. Galbula.
Family Angulirostres
Family Suspensi 
Family Tenuirostres...
Order II—Ambulatores.
Gen. Alcedo, Merops.
Gen. Trochilus.
Gen. Nectarinia (nectarforum haurientes), Tichodroma (ruyj>q, murus, foogog, cursitans)
Upupa. b
hi’ J
1 Prodromus Mammalium et Avium, Berlin, 1811.
640
ORNITHOLOGY.
Illiger's Family PygarrUdd  Gem Certhia .4, vuUm), Sitta. Buphaga. Oriolua, Cassicaa, *mF.
Arrange- Family Gregarii  ° ‘ Aeuura vfc
ment.
Family Canori...
Family Passerini
Family Dentirostres
Sturnus. Mntnrilla Muscicapa, Myiothera ([tvi*, musca, S?igaw,
Gen. Turdus, Cmclus, Accent ^ ( iani0y Placerator), Todus, Pipra.
mTaiurilauda" Emteriaa, xlagra, Fringilla, Loxia. Coliua, Glaucop.s, Phyto-
Gen
tom a
Family Gem ^gK^C^opterua, Gracula.
Family Sericati,  gen. Ampebs, Caprimulgus.
Family Mantes.
Order III.—Raptores.
Family Nocturni...  Gen. Stn*. u8 ( ^ mUurt grus), Gypaetus.
fS’™"'::::.:::: Gen. vnunV, HU*
Family Gallinacei.
Family Epollieati..
Family Columbini.
Family Crypturi..
Family Inepti 
Order IV.—Rasores.
Jen. Numida, “
JeToS^I Syrrhaptes consuerc).
^en. Cryptunis (xg^rs/v, occultare, ovSv, cauda).
Jen. Didus.
Order V.—Cursores.
Family Proceri 
Family Campestres.
Family Littorales...
Gen. Casuarius, Struthio, Rhea.
get Smradrius. Calidris, Himantopus. H.matopns, Taehydromus
currens), Burhinus.
Family Vaginati 
Family Alectorides....
Family Herodii 
Family Falcati 
Family LimicolcB 
Family Macrodactyli.
Family Lobipedes 
Family Mygrobatce...
Order VI.—Grallatores.
■ Sel, Cereopsis, Dicholopbus (3/%a, Ufariar*, *.?«. -«), Palamedea, Chaan.
sfs ittw Scopus’Cancromj'
nastomus. .
; ■—-srss SS*r> "
e^ns), Strepsilas (rfrge^s/v, rerfere, XaS# irin^
;• Podoa (S;^, fa, ^)- ‘’'-'“OP"8-
liSrrir;, Recnrvirtra, Platalea, Pten.coplerus.
Order VII.—Natatores.
Family Longipennes 
Family Tubinares 
Family Lameltoso-dentati...
Family Steganopodes 
Family Pygodopes 
Family Iwpennes.
vov, pluma), Diomedea.
Pelecamis, Halieuf (atevs, piscator), g )fUr la!" Mormon O0^"’
Colymbus, Eudytes (to, facile, burn, nnnatorj,
:a.
Aptenodytes.
ORNITHOLOGY.
THE ORNITHOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF M. TEMMINCK.1
Order L—Rapaces. Order IX.—Columbie.
Gewem.—Vultur, Cathartes, Gypaetus, Gypogeranus, GW—Columba.
Falco, Strix.
Order II.—Omnivores.
Order X.—Gallinie.
641
Tem-
minck’s
and Vi¬
gors’s Sys¬
tems.
Genera.—Opisthocomus, Buceros, Prionites, Corvus, Genera.—Pavo, Gallus, Phasianus, Lophophorus, Poly-
Nucifraga, Pyrrhocorax, Barita, Glaucopis, Gracula, Bu- plectron, Meleagris, Argus, Numida, Pauxi, Crax, Pene-
phaga, Bombycivora, Ptilonorhynchus, Coracias, Colaris, lope> Tetrao, Pterocles, Syrrhaptes, Perdix, Cryptonyx,
Oriolus, Icterus, Sturnus, Pastor, Paradisea, Lamprotornis. Tinamus, Hemipodius.
Order III.—Insectivores.
Genera.—Turd us, Cinclus, Menura, Pitta, Myothera,
Tamnophilus, Vanga, Lanius, Psaris, Sparactes, Ocypte-
rus, Criniger, Edolius, Ceblepyris, Coracina, Ampelis, Cas-
marhinchos, Procnias, Rupicola, Phibalura, Pipra, Parda-
lotus, Todus, Platyrhinchos, Muscipeta, Muscicapa, Ma-
lurus, Sylvia, Saxicola, Accentor, Motacilla, Anthus.
Order IV.—Granivores.
Order XI—Alectorides.
Genera.—Psophia, Dicholophus, Glareola, Palamedea,
Chauna.
Order XII Cursores.
Genera.—Struthio, Rhea, Casuarius, Otis, Cursorius.
Order XIII.—Grallatores.
Genera.—Alauda, Parus, Emberiza, Tanagra, Ploceus,
Loxia, Psittirostra, Pyrrhula, Fringilla, Phytotoma, Colius.
Order V.—Zygodactyli.
First Family.
Genera—Musophaga, Indicator, Cuculus, Coccyzus,
Centropus, Phcenicophaus, Leptosomus, Scythrops, Ptero-
glossus, Ramphastos, Crotophaga, Trogon, Capito, Bucco,
Pogonias, Psittacus.
Second Family.
Genera.—Picus, Yunx.
Order VI.—Anisodactyli.
Genera.—Oxyrincus, Orthonyx, Dendrocolaptes, Xe-
nops, Anabates, Opetiorynchos, Certhia, Cereba, Trochi-
lus, Nectarinia, Climacteris, Tichodroma, Upupa, Epi-
machus, Drepanis, Meliphaga.
Order VII.—Alciones.
Genera.—Merops, Alcedo, Dacelo.
Order VIII.—Chelidones.
Genera.—Hirundo, Cypselus, Caprimulgus.
First Family.
Genera.—CEdicnemus, Calidris, Falcinellus, Himanto-
pus, Haematopus, Charadrius.
Second Family.
Genera.—Vanellus, Strepsilus, Grus, Aramus, Ardea,
Ciconia, Anastomus, Scopus, Phcenicopterus, Recurviros-
tra, Cancroma, Platalea, Tantalus, Ibis, Numenius, Trin-
ga, Totanus, Limosa, Scolopax, Rynchaea, Eurypyga, Ral-
lus, Gallinula, Parra, Porphyrio.
Order XIV.—Pinnatipedes.
Genera.—Fulica, Podoa, Phalaropus, Podiceps.
Order XV.—Palmipedes.
Genera.—Cereopsis, Chionis, Rynchops, Sterna, Larus,
Lestris, Procellaria, Pachyptila, Haladroma, Diomedea,
Anas, Mergus, Pelecanus, Carbo, Tachypetes, Sula,
Plotus, Phaeton, Uria, Phaleris, Mormon, Alca, Sphenis-
cus, Aptenodytes.
Order XVI.—Inertes.
Genera.—Apteryx, Didus.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF BIRDS, AS PROPOSED BY MR VIGORS.*
Order I.—Raptores, 111. (Accipitres, Linn.)
1st Family.  ?—Gen. Gypogeranus, 111. (Serpen-
tanus, Cuv.; Ophiotheres, Vieill.).
T, 2d Family. Vulturidas.—1 Gen. Cathartes,
• (Catharista, Vieill.) ; 2.   Gen. Sarcoramphus,
um. (Cathartis pars, 111.; Gypagus, Vieill.); 3. 
en. Gyps, Sav.; Vultur, Auct. (iEgypius, Sav.); 4.
-- Gen. Gypaetus, Storr. (Phene, SavA ; 5 Gen.
Neophron, Sav. (Cathartis pars, Temm.).
-Id Family. Falconidas, Leach.—1. Sub-fam. Aqui-
„ • Gen. Ibycter, Vieill.; Daptrius, Vieill.; Polybo-
s> leill. ; F*andion, Sav.; Haliaeetus, Sav.; Aquila,
pUC ' ’ . arPyia> Cuv.; Physeta, Vieill.; Morphnus,
uv> (Spizaetus, Vieill.); Cymindis, Cuv.; Asturina,
Vieill. 2. Sub-fam. Accipitrina. Gen. Daidalion, Sav.;
Astur, Auct. (Sparvius, Vieill.); Accipiter, Auct.; Har-
pagus ; Gampsonyx. 3. Sub-fam. Falconina. Gen. Hie-
rax, Vig.; Falco, Auct. 4. Sub-fam. Buteonina. Gen.
Ictinia, Vieill.; Circus, Auct.; Pernis, Cuv.; Buteo,
Auct. 5. Sub-fam. Milvina. Gen. Elanus, Sav.; Nau-
clerus, Vig.; Milvus, Auct.
4th Family. Strigidas, Leach—1. Sub-fam. Noc-
tuina. Gen. Surnia, Dum.; Noctua, Sav. 2. Sub-fam.
Bubonina. Gen. Scops, Sav.; Bubo, Cuv. 3. Sub-
fam. Asionina. Gen. Asio, Antiq. (Olus, Cuv.). 4.
Sub-fam. Strigina. Gen. Ulula, Cuv. ; Strix, Auct. 5.
Sub-fam. Syrniana. Gen. Syrnium, Linn.
5th Family. ?
1 From the Manuel d'Ornitholoeie, i. xlviii, 1820.
VOL. XVI.
2 In the Zoological Journal, No. vii. p. 392. 1825.
4 M
642
ORNITHOLOGY.
Vigors’s
Svstem.
Order II.—Insessores. (Picse, Passeres, Linn.)
Tribe I.—Fissirostres, Cuv.
fam. Passerina, Gen. Fringilla, Auct.; Passer, Auct. Yi^ <s
(Pyrgita, Cuv.). 5. Sub-fam. Pyrrhulina ? Gen. Lina- Sy3a
via, Bechst.; Vidua, Cuv.; Pyrrhula, Briss.? '—*
2d Family. Sturnid^;.—I. Sub-fam. Icterina. Gen.
Xanthornus, Cuv. (Yphantes, Vieill.); Icterus, Cuv. (Pen-
dulinus, Vieill.) ; Sycobius, Viedl. ? Quiscalus, Vieill. -
Cassicus, Baud.; Leistes (Agelaii pars, Vieill.). 2. Sub-
lam. Sturnina. Gen. Sturnella, Vieill.; Sturnus, Linn.;
Amblyramphus, Leach; Dilophus,Vieill. ? 3. ? Gen.
Lamprotornis, Temm.; Acridotberes, Yieill. (Gracula,
Cuv.). 4. ? Gen. Pastor, Temm. (Psaroidos,Vieill.);
Grailina, Vieill. ? 5- ? Gen. Buphaga, Linn.
Sd Family. Corvidae, Leach—1. ? Gen. Crac-
ticus, Vieill. (Barita, Cuv.) ; Nucifraga, Briss. 2. Sub-
1st Family. Meropid^;.—Gen. Merops, Linn. (Api-
aster, Briss.). _ ' , T11
2d Family. Hirundinidje.—Gen. Cypselus,
/Anus, Cuv.; Micropus, Meyer); Hirundo, Auct.
3d Family. Caprimulgid.*.—Gen. Caprimulgus,
Auct.; Podargus, Cuv.; yEgotheles, Vig. and Hors.;
Steatornis, Humb.; Nyctebius, Vieill.
4th Family. Todid^e.—Gen. Eurylaimus, Hoist.;
Eurystomus, Vieill. (Colaris, Cuv.); Todus, Auct.
5th Family. Halcyonid;e.—Gen. Alcedo, Linn.
(Ispida, Briss.); Halcyon, Swains.; Dacelo, Leach ; Ia-
nysiptera, Vig.; Galbula, Briss.; Capito, Vieilh? Mo-
nasa, Vieill.?
Tribe IL—Dentirostres, Cuv.
1st Family. Muscicapid#:.—Gen. Platyrhynchus,
Desm.; Muscicapa, Auct.; Muscipeta, Cuv.; Onychor-
hynchus, Fisch.; Vireo, Vieill.? Ictena, Vieilh ? -
2d Family. Laniadje.— 1. Sub-fam. Tyrannina,
Swains. Gen. Tyrannus, Cuv.; Tityra, Vieill. (Psans,
Cuv.V Gubernetes, Such. 2. Sub-fam. .Dtmmna, Swains.
Gen. Artamus, Vieill. (Ocypterus, Cuv.); Dicrurus,
Vieill. (Edolius, Cuv.); Trichophorus, Temm.; Lena,
Horsf. 3. Sub-fam. Laniana, Swains. Gen. Sparactes,
111.; Lanius, Auct.; Falcunculus, Vieill.; Cyclarhis,Swains.;
Lanio Vieill.? 4. Sub-fam. Thamnophihna, Swains.
Gen. Vanga, Cuv.; Thamnophilus, Vieill.; Malaconotus,
Swains.; Formicivora, Swains.; Drymophila, Swains.;
Laniarius, Vieill.; Prionops, Vieill. 5. Sub-fam. Campe-
phagina, Swains. Gen. Grauculus, Cuv.; Campephaga,
Vieill. (Ceblepyris, Cuv.). ^ . .
3d Family. Merulida:.—1. Sub-fam. Myothenna,
Swains. Gen. Urotomus, Swains.; Myothera, 111. (Myr-
mothera, Vieill.); Pitta, Vieill.; Grallana, Vied .; Co-
nophaga, Vieill.; Cinclus, Bechst. ? (Hydrobata, \ leill.) ;
Chamaeza, Vig. 2. Sub-fam. Meruhna. Gen. Merula,
Ray Sphecotheres, Vieill. ? 3. Sub-fam. Ono/twa. Gen.
Oriolus, Auct. 4. Sub-fam. Cossyphina. Gen. Cossy-
pha, Vig.; Timalia, Horsf. ? 5. Gen. Petrocincla, Vig.
1 4th Family. Sylviad^.—1.  ? Gen. Hylo-
11CUS, V icnx. ’  P, n • LT
fam. Corvina. Gen. Pica, Briss.; Garrulus, Boss.; Cor-
vus, Auct. 3. Sub-fam. Coraciana. Gen. Coracias, Linn.
(Galgulus, Briss.); Gracula, Auct. (Eulabes, Cuv.); Pti-
lonorhynchus, Kuhl; Glaucopis, Forst. (Callaeas, Lath.);
Crypsirina, Vieill. (Phrenotrix, Horsf.). 4. Sub-fam. Pa-
radiseana. Astrapia, Vieill.; Parotia, Vieill.; Paradisea,
Linn. (Manucodiata, Briss.); Lophorina, Vieill.; Cicin-
nurus, Vieill.; Epimachus, Cuv. ? 5. ?^ Gen. Fregi-
IIUIUO) *  ? —
lus, Cuv. (Coracias, Briss.) ; Pyrrhocorax, Vieill.
4th Family. Bucerid^e,Leach.—-Gen.Buceros,Linn.
(Hydrocorax, Briss.); Momotus, Briss. (Prionites, 111.;
Baryphonus, Vieill.). ^ r. , n
5th Family. LoxiADiE—Gen.Phytotoma,Gmel.;Coc-
cothraustes, Briss.; Pytilus, Cuv.; Loxia, Briss.; Psitti-
rostra, Temm.; Colius, Linn. ? Cissopis, Vieill. (Bethy-
lus, Cuv.) ; Strobilophaga, Vieill. (Corythus, Cuv.).
Tribe IV.—Scansores, Auct.
“tTH JL A 1,11x. - - -n 1 . 13
philus, Temm.; lora, Horsf.; Accentor, Bechst.; Pru¬
nella, Gessn.? 2. ? Gen. Brachypteryx, Horsf.;
Curruca, Bechst.; Ficedula, Bechst.; CEgithma, Viei 1. ?
3. Sub-fam. Sylviana. Gen. Sylvia, Auct.; Mehzophilus,
Leach; Synallaxis, Vieill.; Malurus, Vieill.; troglodytes,
Cuv.; Regulus, Cuv.; Tyrannulus, Vieill. 4. Sub-fam.
Motacillina. Gen. Motacilla, Auct. ; Budytes, Cuv.;
Enicurus, Temm.; Anthus, Bechst.; Corydalla, \ ig.;
Megalurus, Horsf. 5. Sub-fam. Saxicohna. Gen. Saxi-
cola, Bechst. (CEnanthe, Vieill.).
5th Family. Pipridje.—Gen. ^githalus, Vig.; Pa-
rus, Linn.; Megistina, Vieill.; Pardalotus, Vieill.; Pipra,
Linn. (Manacus, Briss.); Rupicola, Briss.; Calyptome-
na, Raffles; Phibalura, Vieill.; Bombicilla, Briss.; Am-
pelis, Auct. (Cotinga, Briss.; Tersa Vieill.); Procmas,
Hoffm. ; Casmarhynchus, Temm. (Ampehs, VieilLj ;
Querula, Vieill.; Coracina, Vieill. (Cephalopterus,Geofi.);
Pachycephala, Swains.
1st Family. Ramphastid^:.—Gen. Scythrops, Lath.;
Ramphastos, Linn. (Tucana, Briss.) ; Pteroglossus, 111.
2d Family. Psittacida:, Leach.—1. Sub-iam. rsil-
tacina. Gen. Psittacus, Auct.; Androglossa. 2. Sub-
fam. Plyctolophina. Gen. Plyctolophus, Vieill.; Calyptn-
rhynchus, Vig. and Hors.; Microglossum, Geoff. 3. Sub-
fam. Macrocercina. Gen. Macrocercus, Vieill. 4. Sub-
fam. Palceornina. Gen. Psittacara ; Nanodes, Vig. and
Hors.; Platycercus ; Pezoporus, 111.; Palaeorms, Vig.; ln-
choglossus, Vig. and Hors.; Lorius, Vig.; Brotogens, Vig.
5. Sub-fam. Psittaculina. Gen. Psittacula, Kuhi.
3d Family. PiciDiE.—Gen. Pogonias, 111.; Bucco,
Auct.; Picus, Linn.; Colaptes, Swains.; Yunx, Linn.
( ^S^fImiTy.’^ Certhiadje.—Gen. Dendrocolaptes,
Herm. (Dendrocopus, Vieill.); Certh‘^ ^■UCt‘’ iV, 7pp"
teris, Temm.; Orthonyx, Temm.; Tichodroma, 111. (Pe-
trodroma, Vieill.); Upupa, Linn.; Sitta, Linn.; Xenops,
Hoffm.; Orthotomus, Horsf.; Neops, Vieill.; Mmotilta,
Vieill.; Thriothurus, Vieill.; Pyrrota, Vieill. ? Opetiorhy •
chus, Temm.; Oxyrhynchus, Temm. rwv/us
5th Family. Cuculida:, Leach.—Gen. Coccyzu,
Vieill.; Leptosomus, VieilL; Cuculus Auct.;
Vieill.; Centropus, 111. (Corydonyx, Vieffl.); Saurot ,
Vieill.; Phaenicophaus, Vieill.; Crotophaga, Lmn.,
gon, Linn.; Corythaix, 111.? (Opaethus, Vieilh); Muso
phaga, Isert. ?
Tribe III.— Conirostres, Cuv.
1st Family. Fringillida;.—!. Sub-fam. Tanagrina?
Gen. Euphonia, Vieill.; Nemosia, Vieill.; Tachyphonus,
Vieill. ; Saltator, Vieill. ; Tanagra, Auct.; Pyranga,
Vieill.; Ramphopis, Vieill.; Arremon, VieiU. ; Dulus,
Vieill. ? Pipilo, Vieill. 2. Sub-fam. Alaudina. Gen.
Emberiza, Linn.; Passerina, Vieill.; Alauda, Auct.; Mi-
rafra, Horsf. 3. Sub-fam. Carduelina. Gen. Carduehs,
Briss.; Ploceus, Cuv. (Agelaii pars, Vieilh)- 4. Sub-
Tribe V.— Tenuiroslres, Cuv.
1st Family. Nectariniada ?—Gen. Nectarinia, I'1-
(Caereba, Vieill.); Dacnis, Cuv. ; Fiiroanus, VieiH.^
2d Family. Cynnvrida.—Gen.Cinnyns,C •(
u a Ami*,*.     -- Cinnyris,
lisuga, Vieill.); Dicaeum, Cuv.; Drepams, Temm.
3d Family. TROCHiLiDA;.-Gen. Troc nlus, Auc
(Polytmus, Briss.); Mellisuga, Briss. (Orthorhynchus,
Lacepede). ^ Promerops, Briss.
4th Family. Promeropida:.—Gen. Promemp >
(Falcinellus, Vieill.). M^imhao-a, Lewin
5th Family. Meliphagida:.—Gen.Mehpnag
s«
ORNITHOLOGY.
643
ii’s(Philedon, Cuv.; Philemon, Vieill.); Melithreptus, Vieill.;
Sy ^ Creadion, Vieill.; Mimetes, King? Sericulus, Swains.?
' Ptiloris, Swains.; Pomatorhinus, Horsf. ? Prinia, Horsf. ?
Order III.—Rasores, 111. (Gallinae, Linn.)
1st Family. Columbid^e, Leach.—Gen. Treron,
Vieill.(Vinago, Cuv.); Columba, Auct.; Ptilinopus, Swains.;
Lophyrus, Vieill.
2d Family. Phasianidje—Gen. Meleagris, Linn.
(Gallopavo, Briss.) ; Pavo, Linn.; Diplectron, Vieill. (Po-
lyplectron, Temm.); Gallus, Briss.; Monaulus, Vieill.
(Lophophorus, Temm.); Phasianus, Auct.; Argus, Temm.;
Numida, Linn. (Melegris, Briss.).
3d Family. TETRAONiDiE, Leach.—Gen. Liponyx,
Vieill. (Cryptonyx, Temm.) ; Odontophorus, Vieill.; Co-
turnix, Cuv.; Perdix, Briss.; Ganga, Vieill. (Pterocles,
Temm.) ; Tetrao, Auct.; Lagopus, Vieilh; Syrrhaptes, 111.
(Heteroclitus, Vieill.); Ortygis, 111. (Ortygodes, Vieill.;
Hemipodius, Temm.); Tinamus, Lath. (Crypturus, 111.;
Cryptura, Vieill.).
4th Family. Struthionidje—Gen. Rhea, Briss.;
Struthio, Linn.; Casuarius, Briss.; Dromiceius, Vieill.; Di-
dus, Linn. (Raphus, Briss.) ; Otis, Linn.
5th Family. Cracid^e.—Gen. Ourax, Cuv. (Pauxi,
Temm.); Crax, Linn.; Penelope, Merr.; Ortalida, Merr.;
Opisthocomus, Hoffm. ? (Orthocorys, Vieill.) ; Menura,
Lath,; Megapodius, Temm.
Order IV.—Grallatores, 111. (Grallae, Linn.)
1st Family. GruidjE.—Gen. Psophia, Linn.; An-
thropoides, Vieill.; Balearica, Briss.; Grus, Pall.; Caria-
ma, Briss. (Dicholophus, 111.; Zophorhynchus, Vieill.; Ma-
crodactylus, Geoff.).
2d Iamily. Ardeid.e, Leach.—Gen. Aramus, Vieill.;
Earypyga, 111. (Helias, Vieill.); Ardea, Auct.; Canchro-
ma, Linn. (Cochlearius, Briss.); Phaenicopterus, Linn.;
Platalea, Linn. (Platea, Briss.); Ciconia, Briss.; Mycte-
ria, Linn.; Scopus, Briss.; Anastomus, 111. (Hians, La-
cep.) ; Tantalus, Linn.; Ibis, Lacep. (Falcinellus, Bechst.).
3d Family. ScolopactdjE.—Gen. Numenius, Briss.;
Tetanus, Bechst. (Actitis pars., 111.) ; Recurvirostra,
Linn. (Avocetta, Briss.); Limosa, Briss. (Actitis pars.,
111.; Limicula, Vieill.); Ereunetes, 111. ; Macroramphus,
Leach ? Scolopax, Auct.; Rusticola, Vieill.; Rynchaea,
Cuv. (Rostratula, Vieill.) ; Machetes, Cuv. (Actitis pars.,
Hh); Pelida, Cuv.; Phalaropus, Briss. (Crymophilus,
Vieill.); Lobipes, Cuv. (Phalaropus, Vieill.); Tringa,
Auct. (Actitis pars., 111.) ; Phaeopus, Cuv.
4th Iamily. Rallid.e, Leach.—Gen. Parra, Linn. Swainson’s
(Jacana, Briss.); Palamedea, Linn. (Anhima, Briss.) ; System.
Chauna, 111. (Opistolophus, Vieill.); Glareola, Briss.;'
Rallus, Auct.; Chionis, Forst.? (Vaginalis, Gmel.); Crex,
Bechst. (Ortygometra, Steph.); Gallinula, Briss.; Por-
phyrio, Briss.; Podoa, 111. (Heliornis, Vieill.); Fulica,
Auct.
5th Family. Charadriad.e, Leach.—Gen. Haema-
topus, Linn. (Ostralega, Briss.); Calitlris, 111. (Arena-
ria, Briss.); Falcinellus, Cuv.: Erolia, Vieill.? Curso-
rius, Lath. (Tachydromus, 111.); Strepsilas, 111.; Squa-
tarola, Cuv.; \anellus, Briss. (Tringa, 111.); Pluvianus,
Vieill.; Charadrius, Auct. (Pluvialis, Briss.); Burhinus,
111.? Himantopus, Briss. (Macrotarsus, Lacep.) ; (Edicne-
mus, Cuv.
Order V—Natatores, 111. (Anseres, Linn.)
1st Family.—Anatid.e, Leach.—1. Sub-fam. Anseri-
na. Gen. Anser, Briss.; Bernicla, Steph.; Cheniscus,
Brookes’s MS.; Chenalopex,Steph.; Plectropterus, Leach.
2. Sub-fam. Cereopsma. Gen. Cereopsis, Lath. 3. Sub-
fam. Anatina. Gen. Tadorna, Leach ; Cairina, Flem.;
Anas, Auct.; Dafila, Leach; Mareca, Steph.; Quer-
quedula, Ray ; Rhynchaspis, Leach. 4. Sub-fam. ?
Gen. Clangula, Flem.; Harelda, Ray; Fuligula, Ray;
Mergus, Linn. (Merganser, Briss.); Somateria, Leach;
Oidemia, Flem.; Biziura, Leach. 4. Sub-fam. Cygnina.
Gen. Cygnus, Meyer.
2d Family. Colymbidje, Leach.—Gen. Podiceps,
Lath. (Colymbus, Briss. 111.) ; Colymbus, Auct. (Mer¬
gus, Briss.; Eudytes, 111.).
3d Family. ALCADiE.—Gen. Uria, Briss.; Cephus,
Cuv.? Mergulus, Ray; Phaleris, Temm. (Alca, Vieill.);
Fratercula, Briss. (Mormon, 111.; Larvae pars, Vieill.);
Alca, Auct. (Larvae pars, Vieill.) ; Spheniscus, Briss.;
Catarractes, Briss. (Eudytes, Vieill.); Aptenodytes,
F orst.
4th Family. Pelecanidje, Leach.—Gen. Onocrota-
lus, Briss.; Phalacrocorax, Briss. (Carbo, Meyer; Hali-
eus, 111.; Hydrocorax, Vieill.); Sula, Briss. (Dysporus,
111.; Morus, Vieill.) ; Tachypetes, Vieill.; Phaeton, Linn.
(Lepturus, Briss.) ; Plotus, Linn. (Anhinga, Briss.).
5th Iamily. Larid^e, Leach.—Gen. Sterna, Linn.;
Rhynchops, Linn. (Rygchopsalia, Briss.); Larus, Auct.;
Stercorarius, Briss. (Lestris, 111.; Praedatrix, Vieill.);
Diomedea, Linn. (Albatrus, Briss.); Haladroma, 111.;
Procellaria, Auct.; Pachyptila, 111.; Puffinus, Ray; Tha-
lassidroma, Vig.
THE ORDERS, FAMILIES, AND SUB-FAMILIES OF BIRDS, ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEM OF MR
SWAINSON.1
Order I.—Raptores. Rapacious Birds.
Family VuLTURiDiE. Vultures.
Family Falconid.e. Falcons.—Sub-families: Aquili-
nae, Eagles ; Cymindinae, Kites ; Buteoninae, Buzzards ;
lalconinae, Falcons ; Accipitrinae, Hawks.
Family Strigid^:. Owls.
Order II.—Insessores. Perching Birds.
Tribe I.—Dentirostres.
Family Laniadje. Shrikes.—Sub-families : Lanianae,
True Shrikes ; Thamnophilinae, Bush Shrikes ; Dicrurinae,
Drongo Shrikes; Ceblepyrinae, Caterpillar-catchers; Ty-
ranninae, Tyrant Shrikes.
FamilyMerulidjE. Thrushes.—Sub-families: Brachy-
podinae,Short-footed Thrushes; Myotherinae, Ant Thrush¬
es ; Merulinae, True Thrushes; Crateropodinae, Babblers;
Oriolinae, Orioles.
Family Sylviada:. Warblers.—Sub-families: Saxico-
linae, Stonechats ; Philomelinae, Nightingales; Sylvianae,
True Warblers; Parianae, Tit-mice; Motacillinae, Wag¬
tails.
Family Ampelidje. Fruit-eaters, or Chatterers.—Sub.
From the Natural History and, Classification of Birds, vol. ii. p. 205, published in Dr Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopadia, vol. xcii. 1837.
ie accessible form of this recent work renders it less necessary that we should give a full exposition of its systematic portion, and
i e^at amount of its generic groups renders their insertion somewhat incompatible with those prescribed limits which in truth we
vol6 a rea<^-v excceded. But we take it for granted, that everv sincere lover of Ornithology will possess himself of Mr Swainson’s
umes, to which any abstract we could offer would do injustice.
644
ORNITHOLOGY.
Birds of
Europe.
families: Leiotrichanm, Silky Chatterers? Yireoninm,
Greenlets and Thick-heads; Bombycilhnse, Swallow-chat-
'terers; Ampelinae, Typical Chatterers; Pipnnae, Ma-
Family Muscicapid^:. Fly-catchers.—Sub-families :
Querulinm; Psarianse, Black-caps; Fluvicolinae, Water-
chats ; Muscicapime, Fly-catchers; Eurylaimmae, Broad-
bills.
Tribe ll.—Conirostres.
Family Cobvidje. Crows—Sub-families: Corvine,
Typical Crows; Garrulin®, Jays; Glaucopmae, Wattle-
crows; Coracinae, Fruit-crows ; Frigihnae.
Family Sturnidaj. Starlings.—Sub-families: Sturni ,
Typical Starlings; Lamprotormnae, Grakles; Scaphidurm ,
Boat-tails; Icterime, Hang-nests; Aglamae, IVtaizers.
Family FRiNGiLLiDiE. Finches.-Sub-famd.es : Coc-
cothraustinae, Hard-bills ; Tanagrinae kf^pUrhulin*
lime, Ground-finches; Alaudmae, Larks, Pyrrhuhnae,
BUFam<;lyS'Mosophag.d*. Plantain-eaters.—Sub-fami-
lies: Phitotominae, Plant-cutters; Colinae, Colies; Muso-
phaginae, Plantain-eaters.
Family Bucerid^:. Genus Buceros.
Tribe III.—Scansores.
Family Ramphastidje. Toucans. M
Family PsiTTACiDiE. Parrots.—Sub-families: Macro-
circinae, Maccaws ; Psittacinae, Parrots ; Plyctolophime,
Cockatoos ; Lorianae, Lories ; Platycircinae, Lonets.
Family PiciniE. Woodpeckers—Sub-families . Pi-
cianae True Woodpeckers ; Buccoinae, Barbuts.
C Sily Certhiada,. Creepers._Sub-famil.es: Cer-
thianae, True Creepers; fnabatinae, Tree-runners ; S^
tinae, Nut-hatchers; Troglodytinae, Wrens; Buphagmae,
° Fa^lTcuculid^. Cuckoos—Sub-families: Cucu-
linae, Parasitic Cuckoos ; Coccyzinae, HoT°k;blll.ed
Leptostominae, Long-billed Cuckoos ; Indicator! ,
ney-guides.
Tribe IV. Tenuirostres. Suctorial Birds.
Family Meliphagida:. Honey-suckers.
Family Cinnyridaj. Sun-birds.
Family Trochilidje. Humming birds.
Family Promeropid.*. .Hoopoes.
Family Paradisiada;. Paradise Birds.
Tribe V. Fissirostres. Fissirostral Birds.
Family Meropid.®. Bee-eaters.
Family Halcyonid®. King-fishers.
Family Trogonid®. Trogons.
Family Caprimulgid®. Night-jars.
Family Hirundinid®. Swallows.
Order III—Rasores. Rasorial Birds.
Family Pavonid®. Peacocks and Pheasants.
Family Tetraonid®. Partridges and Grouse.
Family Struthionid®. Ostriches.
Family Columbid®. Pigeons—Sub-family : Colum-
Family Megapodiad®. Great-foots.
Order IV.—Grallatores. Waders.
Family Ardead®. Herons and Cranes.
Family Tantalid®. Ibis.
Family Rallid®. Rails.
Family Scolopacid®. Sand-pipers and Snipes.
Family Charadriad®. Plovers.
Order V.—Natatores. Swimmers.
Family Anatid®. Ducks.—Sub-families: Phaenicop-
tinae, Flamingoes; Anserinae, Geese and Swans; Anatinae,
River-ducks ; Fuligulinae, Sea-ducks; Mergan.nae, Her-
^ Family Colymbid®. Grebes and Divers.
Family Alcad®. Auks.
Family Pelecanid®. Pelicans.
Family Larid®.1 Gulls.
Birdu
Kurcf
ENUMERATION OF THE BIRDS OF EUROPE.8
Order I.—Raptores.
Vultur fulvus, Linn.
V. cinereus, Linn.
Neophron percnopterus, Sav.
Gypaetus barbatus, Storr.
Aquila imperialis, Briss.
A. chrysaeta, Briss.
A. Bonelli.
A. naevia, Meyer.
A. pennata, Steph.
Haliaeetus albicilla, Selby.
H. leucocephalus, 1
Sav. j
Pandion haliaeetus, Sav.
Circaetus brachydactylus, 1
Vieill. J
Griffon Vulture.
Cinereous Vulture.
Egyptian Neophron.
Lammer-geyer.
Imperial Eagle.
Golden Eagle.
Bonelli’s Eagle.
Spotted Eagle.
Booted Eagle.
Sea-Eagle.
White-headed Eagle.
Osprey.
Short-toed Eagle.
Buteo vulgaris, Bechst.
B. lagopus, Flem.
Pernis apivorus, Cuv.
Astur palumbarius, Bechst.
Falco islandicus, Lath.
F. lanarius, Linn.
Falco peregrinus, Linn.
F. subbuteo, Linn.
F. rufipes, Bechst.
F. aesalon, Temm.
F. concolor, Temm.
F. tinnunculus, Linn.
F. tinnunculoides, Natt.
Milvus vulgaris, Flem.
M. ater.
Nauclerus furcatus, Vig.
Elanus melanopterus, Leach.
Common Buzzard.
Rough-legged Buzzard.
Honey Buzzard.
Goshawk.
Jer-Falcon.
Lanner Falcon.
Peregrine Falcon.
Hobby.
Red-footed Falcon.
Merlin.
Lead-coloured Falcon.
Kestril.
Lesser Kestril.
Kite.
Black Kite.
Swallow-tailed Kite*
Black-tailed Kite.
i Thia anJ the preceding family are placed as sub-families in Mr Stinson's synopsis,-we presume, by an oremgbt >n typog-
pbicat correction. A similar inadvertency occurs ao'Ong tl.e Muirostra tnbc.. ^ According to the author of th» » J
V * From Mr Gould’s Birds of Europe, recently completed in five volumes y es of which 310 may be regarded as ^ lth)
tuous work, the number of European birds may now be stated to amount ^1^ of passagej which visit us from th ^ ^
Of the latter, about 170 are permanent residents in our eighty ^ seems to leave ten species unaccounted ,
and forty-five are winter birds of passage, which visit us from the nor • l d in bis Nomenclature of Bninh B t
scssorcs 117, the Rasores seventeen, the Grallatores sixty-six, and the iV
Bi of
Ei '?■
ORNITHOLOGY.
Circus rufus, Briss.
C. cyaneus, Meyer.
' C. pallidus, Sykes.
C. cineraceus, Meyer.
Strix flammea, Linn.
Bubo maximus, Sibb.
B. ascalaphus, Sav.
Otus vulgaris, Flem.
0. brachyotus, Cuv.
Scops Aldrovandi, Will, and)
Ray. j
Surnia cinerea.
S. nyctea, Dum.
S. Uralensis, Dum.
S. funerea, Dum.
Ulula nebulosa, Cuv.
Syrnium aluco, Sav.
Noctua nudipes, Wils.
N. ? tengmalmi, Selby.
N. passerina.
Marsh Harrier.
Hen Harrier.
Pallid Harrier.
Ash-coloured Harrier.
Barn Owl.
Great-horned or Eagle Owl.
Eastern Great-horned Owl.
Long-eared Owl.
Short-eared Owl.
Scops-eared Owl.
Great Cinereous Owl.
Snowy Owl.
Ural Owl.
Hawk Owl.
Barred Owl.
Tawny or Wood Owl.
Little Owl.
Tengmalm’s Owl.
Sparrow Owl.
Order II.—Insessores.1
Caprimulgus Europaeus,
Linn.
C. ruficollis.
Cypselus murarius, Temm.
C. alpinus, Temm.
Hirundo rustica, Linn.
H. rufula, Temm.
H. rupestris, Linn.
H. urbica, Linn.
H. riparia, Linn.
Merops apiaster, Linn.
Coracias garrulus, Linn.
Alcedo ispida, Linn.
A. rudis, Linn.
Muscicapa luctuosa, Temm.
M. albicollis, Temm
M. parva, Bechst.
M. grisola, Linn.
Collurio excubitor, Vig.
C. meridionalis, Vig.
C. minor, Vig.
Lanius collurio, Linn.
L. rufus, Briss.
Oriolus galbula, Linn.
Merula vulgaris, Ray.
M. torquata, Briss.
M. migratoria, Swains.
Turdus atrogularis, Temm.
T. pilaris, Linn.
T. viscivorus, Linn.
T. musicus, Linn.
T. iliacus, Linn.
T. Naumannii, Temm.
T. pallidus, Pall.
T. Whitei, Eyton.
T- Sibericus, Pall.
Cinclus aquaticus, Bechst.
C. melanogaster, I
Brehm. J
C. Pallasii, Temm.
Petrocihcla saxatilis, Vig.
P- cyanea, Vig.
Saxicola cachinnans, Temm.
S- leucomela, Temm.
S- cenanthe, Bechst.
stapazina, Temm.
k* aurita, Temm.
| European Goat-sucker.
Red-collared Goat-sucker.
Swift.
White-bellied Swift.
Chimney Swallow.
Rufous Swallow.
Rock-Martin.
Martin.
Sand-Martin.
Bee-eater.
Roller.
Kingfisher.
Black and White Kingfisher.
Pied Fly-catcher.
White-collared Fly-catcher.
Red-breasted Fly-catcher.
Spotted Fly-catcher.
Great Shrike.
Great Gray Shrike.
Lesser Gray Shrike.
Red-backed Shrike.
Wood-Chat.
Golden Oriole.
Black Ouzel or Blackbird.
Ring-Ouzel.
Migratory Ouzel.
Black-throated Thrush.
Fieldfare.
Missel-Thrush.
Song-Thrush.
Redwing.
Naumann’s Thrush.
Pallid Thrush.
White’s Thrush.
Siberian Thrush.
Water-Ouzel.
Black-bellied Water-Ouzel.
Pallas’s Water-Ouzel.
Rock-Thrush.
Blue Thrush.
Black Wheat-ear.
Pied Wheat-ear.
Wheat-ear.
Russet Wheat-ear.
Black-eared Wheat-ear.
Saxicola rubetra, Bechst.
S. rubicola, Bechst.
Phcenicura ruticilla, Swains.
Ph. tithys, Jard. 1
and Selb. J
Ph. suecica, Jard. (
and Selb. J
Erythaca rubecula, Swains.
Accentor alpinus, Bechst.
A. modularis, Cuv.
A. montanellus, }
Temm. J
Locustella fluviatilis.
L. avicula, Ray.
L. luscinoides.
L. certhiola.
Salicaria turdoides, Selb.
S. olivetorum, Strickl.
S. arundinacea, Selb.
S. palustris.
S. phragmitis, Selb.
S. melanopogon.
S. aquatica.
S. galactotes.
S. cisticola.
S. ? Cetti.
S. ? sericea.
Philomela luscinia, Swains.
Ph. turdoides, Blyth.
Calliope Lathamii.
Curruca Orphea
C.
Whinchat.
Stonechat.
Redstart.
Black Redstart.
Blue-throated Warbler.
Robin.
Alpine Accentor.
Hedge Accentor.
Mountain Accentor.
Reed Locustelle.
Brake Locustelle.
Willow Locustelle.
Creeping Locustelle.
Great Sedge Warbler.
Olive-tree Salicaria.
Reed Wren.
Marsh Warbler.
Sedge Warbler.
Moustached Warbler.
Aquatic Warbler.
Rufous Sedge Warbler.
Fan-tail Warbler.
Cetti’s Warbler.
Silky Warbler.
Nightingale.
Thrush Nightingale.
Gorget Warbler.
Orpheus Warbler.
645
Birds of
J'.urope.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
c.
atricapilla, Bechst. Black-cap
hortensis, Bechst. Garden Warbler.
Rupellii.
melanocephala, }
Lath. J
leucopogon.
cinerea, Bechst.
garrula, Bechst.
conspicillata.
sarda.
Ruppell’s Warbler.
Sardinian Warbler.
Sub-alpine Warbler.
Common White-throat.
Lesser White-throat.
Spectacle Warbler.
Marmora’s Warbler.
Barred Warbler.
nisona.
MeUzopIiihis provincialis, JDartforl, Warbler.
Troglodytes Europseus, Cuv. Wren.
Sylvia trochilus, Gmel.
rufa, Lath,
sibilatrix, Bechst.
icterina, Vieill.
hippolais, Temm.
Nattereri, Temm.
Anthus Richardi, Vieill.
A. pratensis, Bechst.
A. rufescens, Temm.
A. aquaticus, Bechst.
A. arboreus, Bechst.
A. rufogularis, Temm.
Motacilla Yarrellii.
M. lugubris, Pall.
M. alba, Linn.
M. neglecta, Gould.
M. boarula, Lath.
Regulus ignicapillus, Cuv.
R. vulgaris, Cuv.
R. modestus.
Parus major, Linn.
P. lugubris, Natt.
P. Sibericus, Gmel.
P. bicolor, Linn.
Willow Wren.
Chiff-Chaff.
Wood Wren.
Yellow Willow' Wren.
Melodious Willow Wren.
Natterer’s Warbler.
Richard’s Pipit.
Meadow Pipit.
Tawny Pipit.
Rock or Shore Pipit.
Tree Pipit.
Red-throated Pipit.
Pied Wagtail.
White-winged Wagtail.
White Wagtail.
Gray-headed Wagtail.
Gray Wagtail.
Fire-crested Wren.
Golden-crested Wren.
Dalmatian Regulus.
Great Tit.
Sombre Tit.
Siberian Tit.
Toupet Tit.
1 Including the Scansobes of the preceding Treatise.
ORNITHOLOGY.
Pall.
caeruleus, Linn,
ater, Linn,
palustris, Linn,
cristatus, Linn,
caudatus, Linn.
Calamophilus biarmicus, )
Leach, j
(Egithalus pendulinus, Vig
Bombycivora garrula, Temm. Waxen Chattel er
Alauda tartarica, Pall.
Azure Tit.
Blue Tit.
Cole Tit.
Marsh Tit.
Crested Tit.
Long-tailed Tit.
Bearded Tit, or Reed Bird.
Penduline Tit.
A.
A.
A.
A.
A.
A.
calandra, Pall,
brachydactyla, )
Temm. /
alpestris, Linn,
cristata, Linn,
arvensis, Linn,
arborea, Linn.
Calandra Lark.
Short-toed Lark.
Certhilauda bifasciata.
Shore-Lark.
Crested Lark.
Sky-Lark.
Wood-Lark.
Bifasciated Lark.
Plectrophanes Lapponica,! Lark-heeled Bunting.
Selb. j
pp nivalis,Meyer. Snow-Bunting.
Emberiza miliaria, Linn. Common Bunting.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
E.
melanocephala, 1
Scop. j
citrinella, Linn,
aureola, Pall,
cirlus, Linn,
hortulana, Linn,
rustica, Pall,
lesbia.
cia, Linn,
pithyornus, Pall,
caesia, Cretz.
Black-headed Bunting.
Yellow Bunting.
Yellow-breasted Bunting.
Cirl Bunting.
Ortolan Bunting.
Rustic Bunting.
Lesbian Bunting.
Meadow-Bunting.
Pine-Bunting.
Cretzschmar’s Bunting.
Marsh-Bunting.
Garrulus glandarius, Briss. _ Birds
G. infaustus, Temm. Siberian Jay. Buroi
Pica caudata, Ray. Magpie.
P. cyanea, Wagl. Azure-winged Magpie.
Pyrrhocorax Pyrrhocorax, \ A]pine Chough.
Temm. J
Fregilus graculus, Cuv. Chough.
Corvus corax, Linn. Raven.
C. corone, Linn. Carrion Crow.
C. cornix, Linn. Hooded Crow.
C. monedula, Linn. Jackdaw.
C. frugilegus, Linn. Rook.
Picus martius, Linn. Great Black Woodpecker.
P. viridis, Linn. Green Woodpecker.
f Gray-headed Green Wood-
P. canus, Gmel. ^ pecker.
P. leuconotus, Bechst. White-rumped Woodpecker.
P. major, Linn. Great Spotted Woodpecker.
P*. medius, Linn. Middle Spotted Woodpecker.
P*. minor, Linn. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Apternustridactylus, Swains. Three-toed Woodpecker.
Yunx torquilla, Linn. Wryneck.
Sitta Europcea, Linn. Common Nuthatch.
S. Syriaca, Ehrenb. Dalmatian Nuthatch.
S. Asiatica, Temm. Asiatic Nuthatch.
Certhia familiaris, Linn. Common Creeper.
Upupa epops, Linn. Hoopoe.
Tichodroma phcenicopte-j Wau_Creeper.
ra, Temm. J
Cuculus canorus, Linn. Common Cuckoo.
C. glandarius, Linn. Great Spotted Cuckoo.
Coccyzus Americanus, Vieill. American Cuckoo.
Order III—Rasores.
Mountain or Bramble Finch.
palustris, Savi _ _
schceniculus,Linn. Reed-Bunting.
Pyrgita domestica, Cuv. Common Sparrow.
P. montana, Cuv. Tree-Sparrow.
P. Hispaniolensis, Cuv. Spanish Sparrow.
P. cisalpina, Cuv. Alpine Sparrow.
P. petronia. Doubtful Sparrow
Fringilla ccelebs, Linn. Chaffinch.
F. montifringilla, )
Linn. /
F. nivalis, Linn.
F. ? hyemalis.
Linaria cannabina, Swains.
L. montana, Ray.
L. canescens.
L. minor, Ray.
Serinus flavescens.
Carduelis elegans, Steph.
C. spinus, Steph.
C. citrinella
Coccothraustes
Columba palumbus, Linn. Wood-Pigeon.
C. Ginas, Linn. Stock-Dove.
C. livia, Linn. Rock-Dove.
C. turtur, Linn. Turtle-Dove.
Phasianus colchichus, Linn. Common Pheasant.
j Capercailzie, or Cock ot
^ the Wood.
Hybrid Grouse.
Tetrao urogallus, Linn.
Snow-Finch.
Winter-Finch.
Common or Brown Linnet.
Mountain Linnet or Twite.
Mealy Redpole.
Lesser Redpole.
Serin Finch.
Goldfinch.
Siskin or Aberdevine.
Citril Finch,
vulgaris, 1 Hawfinch_
Bnss. J
chloris, Flem. Green Grosbeak.
Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst.Parrot Crossbill.
L. curvirostra, Linn. Common Crossbill.
L. • leucoptera, Gmel. White-winged Crossbill.
Corythus enucleator, Cuv. Pine Grosbeak.
C. * longicauda. Siberian Grosbeak.
Erythrospiza erythrina, Bon. Scarlet Grosbeak.
T. hybridus, Sparrm
T. tetrix, Linn.
Bonasia Europaea.
Lagopus Scoticus, Lath.
L. mutus, Leach.
L. rupestris, Leach.
L. saliceti, Swains.
L. brachydactylus.
Pterocles arenarius, Temm.
P. setarius, Temm.
Francolinus vulgaris, Briss.
Perdix rubra, Ray.
P. petrosa, Lath.
P. saxatilis, Meyer.
P. cinerea, Lath.
dactylisonans, 1
Black Grouse.
Hazel Grouse, or Gelinotte.
Red Grouse.
Common Ptarmigan.
Rock Ptarmigan.
Willow Ptarmigan.
Short-toed Ptarmigan.
Sand-Grouse.
Pin-tailed Sand-Grouse.
European Francolin.
Red-legged Partridge.
Barbary Partridge.
Greek Partridge.
Common Partridge.
Quail.
E. rosea.
E. githaginea.
Pyrrhula vulgaris, Temm.
Sturnus vulgaris, Linn.
S. unicolor, Marm.
Pastor roseus, Temm.
Nucifraga caijocatactes,
Rosy Grosbeak.
Vinous Grosbeak.
Bullfinch.
Starling.
Sardinian Starling.
Rose-coloured Pastor.
Coturnix
Meyer.
Hemipodius tachydromus, ^ Andalusian Turnix.
Temm. j
Glareola torquata, Briss. Collared Pratinc®le;
Cursorius Isabellinus, Meyer. Cream-coloured Courser.
Otis tarda, Linn. Great Bustard.
O. houbara, Linn. Ruffed Bustard.
O. tetrax. Little Bustard.
Briss.
Nut-cracker.
Order IV.—Grallatores.
Grus cinerea, Bechst. Common Crane
G. leucogeranus, Temm
Anthropoides virgo, Vieill.
Ardea cinerea, Lath.
White Crane.
Numidian Demoiselle.
Common Heron.
ORNITHOLOGY.
gird r Ardea purpurea, Linn.
A. comata, Pall.
"''A. alba, Linn.
A. garzetta, Linn.
A. russata, Wagl.
Nycticorax Europaeus, Steph.
Botaurus stellaris, Steph.
B. lentiginosus, Steph.
B. minutus, Selby.
Ciconia alba, Bellon.
C. nigra, Bellon.
C. Maquari, Temm.
Platalea leucorodia, Linn.
Phcenicopterus ruber, Linn,
ffidicnemus crepitans,Temm.
Himantopus melanopterus,)
Meyer. j
Squatarola cinerea, Cuv.
Vanellus cristatus, Meyer.
V. Keptuschka,Temm.
Pluvianus spinosus.
Charadrius pluvialis, Linn.
C. morinellus, Linn.
C. hiaticula, Linn.
C. minor, Meyer.
C. Cantianus, Linn.
C. pyrrhothorax, }
Temm. J
Hsematopus ostralegus, Linn.
Ibis Falcinellus, Temm.
Numenius arquata, Lath.
N. Phaeopus, Lath.
N. tenuirostris, Sav.
Limosa melanura, Leisl.
L. rufa, Briss.
L. terek, Temm.
RecurvirostraAvocetta,Linn.
Tetanus fuscus, Leisl.
calidris, Bechst.
semipalmatus, 1
Temm. j
glottis, Bechst.
Bartramius, Temm.
stagnatilis, Bechst.
ochropus, Temm.
glareola, Temm.
hypoleucus, Temm.
macularius, Temm.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
Strepsilas collaris, Temm
Scolopax rusticola, Linn.
S. major, Linn.
S. Sabini, Vig.
S. gallinago, Linn.
S- gallinula, Linn.
Macroramphus griseus, 1
Leach.)
Calidris canutus, Briss.)
and Cuv.J
Machetes pugnax, Cuv.
Iringa rufescens, Vieill.
T. ’
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
T.
pectoralis, Bonap.
subarquata, Temm.
variabilis, Meyer.
Schinzii, Bonap.
platyrhyncha,Temm.
minuta, Leisl.
Temminckii, Leisl.
niaritima, Brunn.
Arenaria calidris, Meyer,
bhalaropus hyperboreus, 1
Lath. J
Purple Heron.
Squacco Heron.
Great Egret.
Little Egret.
Rufous-backed Egret.
Common Night-Heron.
Common Bittern.
Freckled Bittern.
Little Bittern.
White Stork.
Black Stork.
Maquari Stork.
Spoonbill.
Common Flamingo.
Thick-kneed Bustard.
Long-legged Plover.
Gray Plover.
Lapwing.
Keptuschka Lapwing.
Spur-winged Plover.
Golden Plover.
Dotterel.
Ring-Dotterel.
Little Ring-Dotterel.
Kentish Plover.
Red-chested Dotterel.
Oyster-Catcher.
Glossy Ibis.
Common Curlew.
Whimbrel.
Slender-billed Curlew.
Black-tailed Godwit.
Bar-tailed Godwit.
Terek Godwit.
Avocet.
Spotted Redshank.
Redshank.
Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Greenshank.
Bartram’s Sandpiper.
Marsh Sandpiper.
Green Sandpiper.
Wood Sandpiper.
. Common Sandpiper.
Spotted Sandpiper.
Turnstone.
Woodcock.
Great Snipe.
Sabine’s Snipe.
Common Snipe.
Jack Snipe.
Gray Snipe.
Knot.
Ruff.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
Pectoral Sandpiper.
Pygmy Curlew.
Dunlin or Purre.
Schinz’s Sandpiper.
Broad-billed Tringa.
Little Sandpiper.
Temminck’s Tringa.
Purple Sandpiper.
Sanderling.
Red-necked Phalarope.
Phalaropus platyrhynchus, 1
Temm. j
Fulica atra, Linn.
Rallus aquaticus, Linn.
Porphyrio hyacinthinus,Tem,
Gallinula crex, Lath.
G. chloropus, Lath.
Zapornia porzana.
Z. Baillonii, Leach.
Z. pusilla, Steph.
Gray Phalarope.
Coot.
Water-Rail.
Hyacinthine Porphyrio.
Land-Rail.
Common Gallinule.
Spotted Crake.
Baillon’s Crake.
Little Crake.
647
Birds of
Europe.
Order V.—Natatores.
Anser hyperboreus, Pall.
A. ferus, Steph.
A. segetum, Steph.
A. albifrons, Steph.
A. leucopsis, Bechst.
A. ruficollis, Pall.
A. brenta, Flem.
Chenalopex iEgyptiaca,
Steph.
Cygnus mansuetus, Gmel.
C. ferus, Ray.
C. Bewickii, Yarr.
Tadorna vulpanser, Flem.
T. rutila, Steph.
Mareca Penelope, Selby.
Rhynchaspis clypeata, Steph
Anas Boschas, Linn.
Querquedula Crecca, Steph.
Q. glocitans, Vig.
Q. circia, Steph.
Dafila caudacuta, Leach.
Chauliodes strepera, Swains.
Fuligula ferina, Steph.
F. leucophthalma,)
Steph. f
F. rufina, Steph.
F. cristata, Steph.
F. marila, Steph.
F. dispar, Steph.
F. marmorata.
Somateria mollissima, Leach.
S. spectabilis, Leach.
Oidemia perspicillata, Flem.
O. fusca, Flem.
O. nigra, Flem.
Clangula vulgaris, Leach.
C. Barrovii, Sw. and)
Rich. J
C. histrionica, Leach.
Harelda glacialis, Leach.
Undina leucocephala.
Mergus merganser, Linn.
M. serrator, Linn.
M. cucullatus, Linn.
M. albellus, Linn.
Podiceps cristatus, Lath.
P. rubricollis, Lath.
P. cornutus, Lath.
P. auritus, Lath.
P. minor, Lath.
Colymbus glacialis, Linn.
C. arcticus, Linn.
C. septentrionalis, )
Linn. J
Uria troile, Linn.
U. lachrymans, Lapyl.
U. Brunnichii, Sab.
U. grylle, Lath.
Alca impennis, Linn.
Snow-Goose.
Gray-Lag Wild Goose.
Bean Goose.
White-fronted Goose.
Bernicle Goose.
Red-breasted Goose.
Brent Goose.
j- Egyptian Goose.
Domestic Swan.
Whistling Swan or Hooper.
Bewick’s Swan.
Common Shieldrake.
Ruddy Shieldrake.
Wigeon.
. Shoveller Duck.
Common Wild Duck.
Common Teal.
Bimaculated Teal.
Gargany Teal.
Pin-tail Duck.
Gadwall.
Red-headed Pochard.
White-eyed or Castaneous
Duck.
Red-crested Duck.
Tufted Duck.
Scaup Pochard.
Western Duck.
Marbled Duck.
Eider Duck.
King Duck.
Surf Scoter.
Velvet Scoter.
Black Scoter.
Golden Eye.
Barrow’s Duck.
Harlequin Duck.
Long-tailed Duck.
White-headed Duck.
Goosander.
Red-breasted Merganser.
Hooded Merganser.
Smew.
Great crested Grebe.
Red-necked Grebe.
Horned Grebe.
Eared Grebe.
Little Grebe, or Dabchick.
Northern Diver.
Black-throated Diver.
Red-throated Diver.
Foolish Guillemot.
Bridled Guillemot.
Brunnick’s Guillemot.
Black Guillemot.
Great Auk.
648
Index.
ORNITHOLOGY.
Alca torda, Linn.
Mergulus alle, Bon.
Mormon fratercula, Temm.
M. glacialis, Leach.
Pelecanus onocrotalus, Linn
P. crispus, Feld.
Phalacrocorax carbo, Steph.
Ph. graculus, )
Briss. /
Ph. pygaemus, (
Steph. J
Ph. cristatus, \
Steph. and Flem. /
Ph. Desmarestii.
Sula Bassana, Briss.
S. melanura, Temm.
Sterna Caspia, Pall.
S. cantiaca, Gmel.
S. Anglica, Mont.
S. hirundo, Linn.
S. Dougallii, Mont.
S. minuta, Linn.
S. stolida.
Viralva nigra, Leach.
V. leucoptera, Leach.
V. leucopareia, Steph.
Razor-billed Auk.
Little Auk.
Puffin.
Northern Puffin.
Pelican.
Dalmatian Pelican.
Common Cormorant.
Black Cormorant.
Little Cormorant.
Green Cormorant.
Desmarest’s Cormorant.
Solan Goose.
Black-tailed Gannet.
Caspian Tern.
Sandwich Tern.
Gull-billed Tern.
Common Tern.
Roseate Tern.
Little Tern.
Noddy Tern.
Black Tern.
White-winged Tern.
Moustache Tern.
Xema ridibunda, Boie.
X. atricilla.
X. melanocephala, Boie.
X. minuta, Boie.
X. Sabinii, Leach.
Larus marinus, Linn.
L. fuscus, Linn.
L. glaucus, Brunn.
L. islandicus, Edm.
L. argentatus, Brunn.
L. rissa, Linn.
L. eburneus, Gmel.
L. canus, Linn.
L. Audouinii, Temm.
Lestris catarractes, Temm.
L. pomarinus, Temm.
L. Richardsonii, Swains
L. parasiticus, 111.
Puffinus Anglorum, Ray.
P. obscurus.
P. cinereus, Steph.
Procellaria glacialis, Linn.
Thalassidroma Leachii.
Th. pelagica,
Selby.
Th. ? Bulwerii.
Laughing Gull.
Black-winged Gull.
Black-headed Gull.
Little Gull.
Sabine’s Gull.
Great black-backed Gull.
Lesser black-backed Gull.
Glaucous Gull.
Iceland Gull.
Herring Gull.
Kittiwake Gull.
Ivory Gull.
Common Gull.
Audouin’s Gull.
Skua.
Pomarine Gull.
. Richardson’s Lestris.
Parasitic Gull.
Manks Shearwater.
Dusky Shearwater.
Cinereous Shearwater.
Fulmar Petrel.
Fork-tailed Petrel.
j- Common Storm-Petrel.
Bulwer’s Petrel.
Inde
'—v
INDEX.
Ahou-duck'n 
Accentor 
Adjutant 
Alauda 
Albatross 
Alca 
Alcedo 
Alectors 
Ampelis 
An abates 
Anas 
Anastomus 
Anous  
Anser 
Anthropoides....
Anthus 
Aptenodytes —
Apteryx 
Aquila 
Ar near is 
Arach noth era...
Aram us 
Araponga 
Aratinga 
Ardea 
Arenaria  
Argus 
Arrian  
Astrapia 
Astur 
Auks 
Avocets 
Barbacous 
Barbicans 
Baryta 
Ba7ja 
Beccamoschino
Bee-eater,
common 
Page
.560 Bee-eater,
.576 cowled 
,.619 knob-fronted 
..579 poe 
..632 Beef-eaters 
..630 Bell-bird 
..592 Bethylus 
..605 Bernicla 
..570 Bidens 
..588 Birds,
..638 structure of. 
..620 plumage of. 
..633 of Europe, List of..
,..636 of paradise 
..618 BIRDS OF PREY..
...577 Diurnal 
...631 Nocturnal 
...616 Bitterns 
...562 Blackbird 
...599 Black-cap 
...589 Blackcock 
...618 Blue bird 
...570 Blue-throat 
...600 Boat-bill 
...618 Bombycilla  *
...624i Boobies 
...610 Botaurus 
,...558 BRACHYPTERiE 
,...588 Br ambling 
,...563 Brevipennes 
....630 Bubo 
....626 Bucco 
Buceros 
....598 Budytes 
,...599 Bullfinch 
....568 Buntings 
....580 Buphaga 
....576 Bustard 
Butcher-birds 
 592 Buteo,
Page
Buzzards 
,.574
.574 Cairina 
..574 Calaos 
..582 Caloptrophorus...
..570 Calyptorhynchus
..568 Campanero 
..636 Canary 
..565 Cancroma 
Capercailzie 
..554 Caprimulgus 
...555 Caracara 
...644 Carduelis  
...585 Cariama  
...557 Caryocatactes...
...558 Casmarhynchus.
...565 Cassicus 
...619 Cassuary 
...571 Casuarius 
...576 Cathartes 
...611 Catoptrophorus.
...576 Ceblepyris 
...575 Centropus 
...618 Cephalopterus...
...570 Cephus 
...634 Cereopsis 
...619 Certhia 
,...629 Ceyx 
,...581 Chaffinch 
,...615 Chalybseus 
,...566 Charadrius 
,...598 Chatterers 
,...593 Chauna 
....577 Chenalopex 
....581 Chionis 
....580 Chrysocoma....
....582 Cicinnurus 
....617 Ciconia 
....568 Cinclus 
....564 Cinnyris 
Page
.564 Circaetus 
Circus 
.637 Clangula 
..593 CLIMBERS...
..625 Coccothraustes
..603 Coccyzus 
..570 Cock,
..581 Bankiva 
..618 domestic 
..611 Jago 
..578 jungle 
..561 Macartney...
..581 Cockatoos 
...617 Colaptes 
,..585 Colaris 
...570 Colius 
...582 Columba 
...616 Colymbus 
... ib. Condor 
...559 CONIROSTRES.
...625 Conophaga 
...571 Conurus 
...598 Coots 
...569 Coracias 
...630 Cormorants....
...636 Corn-crake—
...588 Corrira 
,...593 Corvus 
,...581 Corythaix 
...568 Cory thus 
,...617 Cotingas 
,...670 Coturnix 
....627 Cow-pen bird.
,...636 Cowry 
....628 Cranes 
....631 Crax 
,...588 Creadon 
,...619 Creepers 
....573 Crex 
....589 Cross-bills,...'
Page
.563
,.564
,.636
,.594
..581
..598
..609
..608
..609
.. ib.
..610
..603
..597
..585
..582
,..612
...629
...558
...579
...569
...601
...628
...585
...633
...627
...620
...583
...603
...582
...570
...611
..582
...568
...617
.605
...573
,..588
...627
...581
In
ORNITHOLOGY.
Dentirostres 567
Dicseum 589
Diomedea 632
Divers 629
Dobchick  ib.
Dodo 616
Grackle,
bald   574,
bare-necked. 57]
paradise 574 Jarra-war-nang 568 Musophaea”
PlPin3 568 Jays 584 Mycteria
 562
Ectopistes 614
Edolius 571
Egrets 619
Eiders 637
Elanus 563
Emberiza 580
Emu 616
Enicurus 572
Epimachus 591
Eulabes 573
Philippine 580
sociable  ib.
Grouse,
red.
ib.
sand. ib. Lapiving.
wood,
617 Ocypterus 568
Eunhonia   ib’  579 CEdicnemus '.‘..'.'.‘.617
SZ;;; «"“• J-™* «« 0^ ....ese
Eufiloeomus. 610 Guan 605 Leptosomus   598 ODetiorhvnrini. 58Q
Eurmorhynchus 624 Guillemots 630 Lestris  633 OpiVthocomus  606
*"ry|su”“* 877 Guinea-fmvl 608 Limosa  623 oS«  
Eurypyga 618 Guit-guit 589 Linaria ............581
Tj i . „ Gulls  632 Linnets 581
acinellus 624 Gymnocephalus 569 Lobipes 625
F^coNm'; nta ^mnodera S71 Longipenn^ ’..'..'.’.'.SSI Unolus 574
Falcons  Gymnops o74 Longirostres 620 Ornismya 589
Falcunrnlne ^P^08 560 Lophophorus 606 ORNITHOLOGY 545
^ uiiLums 568 Lophorina 588
571 Haematopus 617 Lophotes 565
Baltimore 583
golden 574
red-shouldered 582
Oriolus 574
Field-fa,
   Hali3etus 562 Lorius  ib.
Hssirostres 577 Hatfang 566
flamingoes 628 —
Harpyia 563
History of   545
Illigers system of. 639
Linnceuss 546
Swainson’s 643
Temminck’s 641
Vigors's  ib.
Fhhcatrl68   Harpies 563 Lyre-tail. 574
Francolins! 6H **arPYia ^ Orthonyx 573
Freeilns  Hawfinch 581 Machetes 624 Ortolan 580
Friaafp hi 'j 574,591 Hawks 563 Macrocercus 600 Ortygis  612
vol. xv*'   HemiPaIma 624 Macrodactyles 626 Ortyx .!!.*.”]6]1
4 N
649
-p
^Crotophaga 599 Fringilla 580 Hernn<t V\go ht , Pa^e' In,lex-
Crow', Fulica   627 iSeroZda Macroramphus 623
^ 869 Fuligula 637 Himantopus".'.'.'."! ’625 wSSV 
^ red-legged. 591 gajbula   594 Hoccos^'^^^""^ MarTrl^ So
Cuculus  ib. Gallinula ..S.627 Hoopoes   th ^epPodlus 627
Cultrirostres 617 Gallinules  ib. HornbilU  fioq Jt!i^ugrlSl 606
SZ“'z::::::::::::622 g^z:::::::: ^  590 Me„»™ 571
Curruca 576 Gannets. .•.:::.r.:::6M Ibis 620 mZT” 6f
Cygnus.   635 Geese 636 Ictinia 564 Microdartvlus air,
Cymbirhynchus 577 Geophilus 614 lerax 565 Microebssus.'.V 60^
pymindlS GJareola. 628 Indicator 598 Milvus .".7".’ 563
CyPseluS 578 ^laucoP‘s 585 INSESSORES 567 Mina-bird    573
Dacelo 593 1x08 572
^ais 583 Goldfinch 581 Jacamars 594 Monaul  ”*600
nfil*;;; S? ^oosander 639 Jacamar-alcyon  ib. Morphnus.’.'.’.'.'.'l.’.W’.’.’.’.'.’.’.’seS
Dendrocolaptes 588 Goura 614 Jacana 627 Muggy !!  ib
Jackdaw 584 Muscicapa 569
Jacous. 605 Muscipeta  ib.
Jagers 633 Musk-ducks 637
 603
t\ .. , Gracula  ib. Jean-le-blanc 563 Mvnthpr7 Sq
Dotterel 617 Grallaria 573 iviyotnera 573
Sromas'. 620 GRALLATORES 614 Kamichi 627 Nandnu ria
 616 Grallina 572 KeeUirds Naucleru's' 
%20S fiifi'Ss Graucuius 568 Kestril. 565 Nectarinia '.".'.'.'.'.58!)
n ,. 636-638 Grebes 629 Ketupa 566 Neoohron
mlm 623 Greenshank 625 King-bird 569 Nightingale'.'.'.7.7“ 576
Griffon..  558 Kingfishers 592 Nisus  563
Gross-beak, Kites 563,564 Noctua  "566
evfmn9 581 Knot 624 Noddies   633
Vlne- 582 Kow-bird 598 Numenius 7.622
Numida 608
Lagopus 611 Nutcrackers 585
Lamellirostres 635 Nut-hatches "*588
heteroclyte 612 Lammer-geyer 560 Nyctibius  ’ 579
pin-tailed. 611 Lamprotornis 572 Nycticorax *...'.’.’"619
■’ Lanius 568
650
ORNITHOLOGY.
Index.
Page
page Inde;
Page ™ Galtntnr  571 Thrush, song 571
  “fi Plotus S"".7.7.''.*634 Sanderiing.'. 624 Tichodroma 588
pwf.::. SZT;—
Otus 666 Plyctolophus 60S S^-coramp   ^  5,9
^ura^  Pnflarmis ....579 Saxicola loans  
Oxyrhynchus 583 Podoa.^.. ScopsP 566 Toucans 599
Palamedea 626 Press kostres o  565 Tringa 623
PALMIPEDES 628 Pnomtes 
Secretary dba Tringa.
Sheath-bill 628 frochilus.
589
Pa'ndion.". 562 Prionops.. 568 Troglodytes 576
Paradisea 585   lb. Trogon  599
Pardalotus    ooo xrocniaa  .7 Irnmc.-hi
Paioua”.'.:::::.... »» sro»,e,#i"   “s ST 
Pqrra  626 Psans    ’
PomiL* 602 Psittacara 600
Parrots 603 Psittaculus .......603
..: “s  ....^
Pavo-;- 6PbG p(er21W.!*"/.V.V.7.r.".V6ib1. S^tmangas'., 589
Peacocks  • p |  ggg Sparrow, Ulula..
Pelecanus 633   ib. Phedge 576 Upupa
Pelicans  • pZmns 630 house 580 Lna...
Penguins..;; 623 Spoon-bills 620 Vanellus ••-•;y"617
Shrikes 568 Tropic-bird.
 635
 606
Silta"" 1 •'.'.....'..............588 Turkey-buzzard 559
   633 Turnstone 624
^   .623 Turtle-dove 613
Twyte 581
Tyr annus 
569
566
591
630
PERCHING BIRDS..561
  p  571 Spur-wing 636  7n7
Perdix 611 1 jrang ... •  617 Vidua 581
568
  Pvrrhocorax574  583 Vinago 
Petrels 631 Pyrrhocorax c^,tJnis 579 Vulturid^,
Pettychops.
.576 Pyrrhula 581
PfzoPorus 5q? Quails .   ....611 Stone-chat 575
Phaeton 635 Oumls......  619
Steatorms.
Sterna 633
614
558
 633 Querquedula,
.624
. ib. Quezal
..630
639
Phalacrocorax...
Phalaropes 
Phalaropus 
Phastanus.V.'.*• '.608 Rachamach 560
Pheasants 610 Rallus  \qg
Phibalura 571 Ramphastos 599
Philedon  573 Ramphoceles.
Ltuerqueuuia Storks. 
Querula 5/0 Strepsilas 
599 Strix 566
Struthio 615
Sturnus 583
 571
Sula 
Swallows 557, 558
Sf waders 
Vultur  '8>
Vulture,
bearded 560
black 559
Californian 558
cinereous '5.
fulvous 558
9^ f5°9
king 003
RAPTORES 557 S;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;—5^“. **
“ S. IST:::::: 500 %*»**». ®,
p:'a  584 Recurvirostra Sy
plcoid^:::: 597  sJrrbaPtes"
Picumnus  ib. Redpole..  Tnrhvnetes
  594 Redshank 6~o lachypetes
Pigeon.  612 Redstart 
carunculated, 614 Redwing.....
ib.
.612 Water-ouzel 573
Water-rail 
.634 Wattle-bird a8"
£E::I »E;p8
Regent-bird ....574 lamatia  Wheat-ear 575
„ ^ , P.7R Tnmntrnx  ID. VVUtUl eui ... }
SiS—s:  ««
Nicobar  lb. Rhea 616 Tanagess
parabolic  ib. Rhynchsea..
..571
 623 Tanagra  ib*
637 Tantalus 620
Whimbrel ^
Whinchat  
White-throat 5/b
rmssenaer   ib. Rhynchaspis 637 iantaius — Wiaeons 63J
ib. Rifle-bird 592 leals  Woodcock  62"
wood.....
T>in tails  638 Ring-dove 613   Woodpeckers 59^
fin-taus  ouzel  571 Tenuirostres 588 nooaptc ^
Pr1  b IXs •   585 Terns 833  ....597
gpra ±  ss*   en  
:::::581 Rostrhamus -MS TJiamnophilus 568 .    582
Xanthornus..
Plantain-eaters 604 Rouloul 611  573 Xenops
Platalea 620 Raff.  «4 ant     ^
Platycercus 601 Rupicola 5/7 glossy,  crvl
Platyrhynchus
Plectrophanes
569
580
Salicaria 576
missel,
pagoda.
571 Yacous.
574 Yunx...
,.588
.605
.597
O R O
Or 0
ffl
0 o
ORNITHOMANCY, a species of divination performed
by means of birds, being the same with augury.
OROBip, Don Balthasak, a celebrated Hebrew of
_ Spain. He was carefully educated in Judaism by his pa¬
rents, who were Jews, though they outwardly professed
themselves Catholics ; abstaining from the practice of
their religion in every thing, except only the fast of expi¬
ation, in the month Tisis or September. Orobio studied
the scholastic philosophy as taught in Spain, and became
so skilled in it that he was appointed professor of meta¬
physics in the university of Salamanca. Afterwards, how¬
ever, having applied himself to the study of physic, he
practised with success that art at Seville, till, being ac¬
cused of Judaism, he wras thrown into the prison of the In¬
quisition, and suffered the most dreadful cruelties, in order
to extort a confession. He tells us himself that he was
put into a dark dungeon, so narrow that he could scarcely
turn round in it; and he suffered so many hardships that
his brain began to be disturbed. He talked to himself
often in this way : “ Am I indeed that Don Balthasar Oro¬
bio, who walked freely about in Seville, who wTas entirely
at ease, and who had the blessings of a wife and children ?”
Sometimes he supposed that his past life had been but a
dream, that the dungeon where he then lay was his true
birthplace, and that it would to all appearance prove also
the place of his death. At other times, as he had a very
metaphysical head, he first formed arguments, and then
resolved them ; thus at once performing the different
parts of opponent, respondent, and moderator. In this
whimsical way he amused himself from time to time, and
constantly denied that he was a Jew. After having ap¬
peared twice or thrice before the Inquisitors, his treat¬
ment was varied. At the bottom of a subterranean vault,
lighted by two or three small torches, he was brought be¬
fore two persons, one of them judge of the Inquisition, and
the other secretary, who, having asked him whether he
would confess the truth, protested, that in case of a cri¬
minal denial, the Holy Office would not be deemed the
cause of his death, it he should expire under the tor¬
ments, but that it must be imputed entirely to his own
obstinacy. The executioner then stripped off his clothes,
tied his feet and hands with a strong cord, and set him
upon a little stool, wdiilst he passed the cord through some
iron buckles which were fixed in the wall; after which,
the stool having been drawn away, he remained hanging
by the cord, which the executioner still drew tighter and
tighter, to make him confess, till a surgeon assured the
court of examiners that he could not possibly bear more
^ithout expiring. These cords put him to exquisite tor-
ure, by cutting into the flesh, and making the blood burst
rom under his nails. As there was certainly danger that
tie cords would tear off his flesh, care was taken to gird
im about the breast with bands, which, however, were
drawn so very tight that he would have run the risk of
eing suffocated, if he had not held in his breath whilst
the executioner put the bands round him; by which de-
Tlce lus lurigs had room enough to perform their functions.
" the agony of his sufferings, he was told that this was
out the beginning of his torments, and that he would bet-
er confess before they proceeded to extremities. Oro-
bio added further, that in order to frighten him, the exe-
;.U'°ner’ Pacing himself on a small ladder, frequently let
l1p-a apuns*' dle shin-bones of his legs, and the staves
S sllarP>1created exquisite pain. At last, after a con-
h2u, -three years’the Inquisitors, finding themselves
pH k; y Perseverance in denying his religion, order-
as ho !voanc|s t? be cured, and discharged him. As soon
Snarici i °^tained his liberty, he resolved to quit the
madp n Pominio"s ’ and> proceeding to France, he w as
belP:0ferr °f Pj?ysic at Toulouse. The theses which
P epared as candidate for this place treated of putrefac-
O R O
651
tion ? and he maintained them with a metaphysical subtle- Orontes
ty wmich embarrassed all his competitors. He resided for n
some time in this city, still outwardly professing the Ca- Orotav^a.
t imic religion ; but at last, weary of dissembling, he re-'
paired to Amsterdam, where he was circumcised, took the
name of Isaac, and professed Judaism, still continuing,
however, to practise physic, in which he was much esteem¬
ed. Upon the publication of Spinoza’s work, he began to
despise a system the falsehood of which he quickly dis¬
covered ; and when Bredenburg’s answer to it came to his
hands, Orobio, being persuaded that the writer, in refuting
Spinoza, had also admitted some principles which tended
to atheism, took up his pen against both, and published a
piece entitled Certamen Philosophicum. But the dispute
in which he engaged with the celebrated Philip Limborch
against the Christian religion made the greatest noise.
In this he exerted the utmost force of his metaphysical
genius, and conducted himself with great temper. The
three papers which he wrote on the occasion were after¬
wards printed by his antagonist, in an account which he
published of the controversy, under the title of Arnica Col-
latio cum Judceo. Orobio died in the year 1687.
ORON1ES, a river of Syria, which has its rise near a
small hill at the foot of Mount Lebanon, to the north of
Damascus, not far from the source of the Jordan. The
two rivers flow in opposite directions ; the latter southward
to Lake Asphaltites, the former to the north, till, near An¬
tioch, it makes a circuit to the west and south, and falls
into the sea. The waters of the Orontes, at their source,
are said to issue out in a large stream from the solid rock.
It then takes a bend eastward, receiving several smaller
streams in its course, till at last it winds along to the north¬
east, through the plains of Khoms and Khamah, about a
hundred miles from its source. It soon increases to a con¬
siderable size, and swrells out suddenly into a large lake,
extending at least five miles to the north-east, and in some*
places nearly two miles wide. It is contracted in some
parts between narrow and steep banks; and its course is
deep and rapid, being scarcely less than four miles an hour.
Its waters are a dull yellowish white, from the clayey and
chalky soil of its banks in the lake above. At Antioch, where
it falls into the sea, it is stated by Buckingham to be from
100 to 150 feet wide, and its stream flows at the rate of
about three miles an hour. Such is the parched nature of
the climate, that it would be often dry were it not for the
bars of sand which obstruct its course, and allow the water
to accumulate. Its stream is very deeply sunk amongst
rocks, and it can only be rendered subservient to the pur¬
poses of irrigation by being laboriously raised with wheels.
It forms three lakes, the Bahr-el-Kades, that of Famie or
Apamea, and that of Antioch. By means of this river and
the Euphrates, it is thought that a shorter route to India,
nearly navigable all the way, might be effected; and an ex¬
pedition was sent out by the British government in 1835,
under Colonel Chesney, to explore the navigation of the
Euphrates for this purpose.
OROPESA, a town of Bolivia, in South America, in
the department of Cochabamba. The district in which it
is situated is so well irrigated by rivers and streams, that
it yields immense harvests of grain and other agricultural
products. Oropesa, formerly the capital, and still a con-
sidei able place, is situated in a beautiful and fertile valley,
on the holders of a small stream, one of the tributaries of
the Rio Grande. The chief occupation of its inhabitants
consists in supplying the neighbouring provinces with fruits
and grain. I he climate is mild and salubrious. Oropesa
stands in long. 67. 6. west, and lat. 18. 15. south. This is
likewise the name of a small town of Cuzco, in Peru.
OROPAVA, a town of Teneriffe, one of the Canary
Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on a
very steep declivity, and, from the great abundance of vva-
652
O R P
OUT
Orpheo- ter which runs through the principal streets, it has a very
reon pleasant appearance at a distance. The spring ot i? gua
II Mansa, collected into two large reservoirs, turns several
Orpheus. millSj and is afterwards distributed amongst the vineyards
of the adjacent hills. Orotava is the ancient Taoro ol the
Guanches. The houses are substantially built, but have a
gloomy appearance; and the streets seem as if deserted.
Near this town is the celebrated dragon-tree of Orotava,
one of the most gigantic productions of the kind on t ie
face of the globe. Its circumference near the roots is torty-
five feet. Although Santa Cruz is the principal seaport,
and the capital of Teneriffe, the riches and fertility ot the
island are to be found at Orotava; and here the wine is
chiefly made, and also shipped when the weather allows.
ORPHEOREON, an instrument of the lute kind, and
strung with eight wires. It is no longer used.
ORPHEUS, a celebrated poet and musician, who lived
at such an early period that his history is involved in table,
and many doubt if we have any facts respecting him on
which dependence can be placed. According to tne com¬
mon mythology, he was a native of 1 brace, being orn in
a cave at Pimpleia, a city of Pieria, which was then includ¬
ed in Thrace (Schol. Apollon, i. 25 ; Strab. vn. 330, x.
471). He is said to have been son ot Apollo, or ot LEagrus,
king of Thrace, and of the muse Calliope (Diodor. m. 64).
He was the brother of Linus (Apollodor. n.4, 9), and the
pupil of Musseus (Clemens. Strom, i. p. 332), or his mas-
ter (Syncel., p.156; Paus. x. 7 1; Said ). He ts placed
by Eusebius eighty-five years before the tall of iroy. lie
visited Egypt, and was there initiated in all the learn¬
ing of the priests. When he returned to Thrace, he insti¬
tuted the mysteries of Bacchus, which, according to Hero¬
dotus (ii. 81), included opinions which were afterwards
promulgated by Pythagoras. He studied also under the
Dactyli Idsei of Crete (Diodor. v. 64), and was the triend
and companion of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. He
took a distinguished part in the Argonautic expedition, and
saved his companions from the fascination of the birens
(Apollodor. i. 9, 25). On the death of his wite Eurydice,
he is said to have visited the infernal regions, and, through
the intercession of Proserpine, obtained permission trom
Pluto that Eurydice should return with him to earth, pro¬
vided he would engage not to look on her till he reached the
earth. He broke his promise, and Eurydice instantly dis¬
appeared (i. 3, 2). How and where he died is variously
stated. Some say that he died of grief lor the loss of Eury¬
dice ; others allege that he was killed by lightning, because
he revealed to man what the gods intended should be con¬
cealed from them; or that he was torn to pieces by the
Msenades of Thrace, for some disrepect shown to Bacchus.
Olympus, Pangseus, and Hamms, are all named as the place
of his catastrophe. The poets indicated the sweetness of
his music by feigning that it was capable of moving the
very stones and trees. Lucian tells a story ot the head
and lyre of Orpheus being thrown by the T hracian women
into the Hebrus, and, as it floated down, the head was
heaved by the water on the lyre, and sent forth, as it glided
along, doleful strains. The head and lyre having reached
the island of Lesbos, the former was buried on the spot
where the temple of Bacchus afterwards stood, and the lyre
was long preserved in the temple of Apollo. According
to Eratosthenes (Catast. 24), it was placed by Jupiter in
the heavens, and formed the constellation called Lyra.
There can be no doubt that there was an early poet of
this name, but Aristotle considered all the works which
were circulated under his name as spurious (Cic. De JSat.
Deor. i. 38) ; and Cicero ascribes them to Cercops, a Pytha¬
gorean, or to Onomacritus (Clemens. lc.). The hymn to
Jupiter, quoted by Stobmus (p. 40), is certainly very an¬
cient, as it is alluded to by Aristotle (Ate Mund. Op. y i.
p. 475), and is not to be confounded with the productions
of the later Platonic school, which we have under the title Orpim,;
of the Orphic hymns. These hymns present a mixture of ||
the theological ideas of the Greeks, Jews, and even Chris- 0rtl{°g:
tians, so that there can be no doubt of the period in which
they were written.
ORPIMENT (auripigmentum), a mineral composed of
sulphur and arsenic, found native in the earth, and consti¬
tuting one of the ores of arsenic, but sometimes artificially
prepared. .
ORRERY, a curious machine for representing the mo¬
tions or phases of the heavenly bodies. The .eason of its
bein0, called an Orrery was this ; Mr Rowley, a mathema-
oeillg uu-iicu •—   •"  
tical-instrument maker, having got one from Mr George
  - i • • 1 •   a. 4.^. 1-* W r- a f\
tlCai-inSlIUillCllL marvel,   . 
Graham, the original inventor, to be sent abroad with some
of his own instruments, he copied it, and made the first for
the Earl of Orrery. Sir Richard Steele, who knew nothing
of Mr Graham’s machines, thinking to do justice to the first
encourager, as well as to the inventor of such a curious in-
strument, called it an Orrery, and gave Mr Rowley the
praise which was due only to Mr Graham.
ORSKAIA, a town of Asiatic Russia, in the govern¬
ment of Orenburg, situated on the Or, about a mile and a
half before its junction with the Oural. Ihe Asiatic ca¬
ravans usually pass this river here in their way to Oren¬
burg. The town of Orenburg was originally built unon this
spot. Orskaia is 132 miles east ot Orenburg
ORTEGAL, Cape, the most northern promontory of
Spain, where there is also a castle of the same name. Long.
8. 20. W. Lat. 44. 0. N.
ORTELIUS, Abraham, a celebrated geographer,born
at Antwerp in the year 1527. He was well skilled in lan¬
guages and the mathematics, and acquired such reputation
by his knowledge in geography, that he was surnamed the
Ptolemy of his time. Justus Lipsius, and most of the great
men of the sixteenth century, were the friends of Ortehus.
He resided at Oxford in the reign of Edward VI. and came
a second time into England in 1577. His Theatrum Orbis
was the most complete work of the kind which had yet
been published, and gained him a reputation equal to the
immense labour bestowed in compiling it. He also wrote
several other geographical works, the principal of which
are his Thesaurus, and his Synonyma Geographxco,. ihe
world is likewise indebted to him for the which
he persuaded Camden to undertake. He died at Antwerp
in the year 1598. . ,1,0
ORTHEZ, an arrondissement of the department ot .he
Lower Pyrenees, in France, 616 square miles in extent, con-
taining seven cantons, 157 communes, and 83,600 inhabi
tants. The capital is the city of the same name, situated
on the Gave de Pau. It contains 1000 houses, and <30
inhabitants, who are occupied in making flannels and othe
woollen goods, and in tanning leather. A great quant y
hams are cured here, and sold under the nam ?,
harm?. It has been rendered remarkable by a victory whic
the Duke of Wellington gained there over the trench army.
Long. 0. 50. W. Lat. 43. 32. N. .i .• n
ORTHODOX, in Ecclesiastical History, an apPel a
given to those who are sound in all the articles of t e
“orthographic Projection of the Sphere, that
in which the eye is supposed to be at Rt"'f
It is so called, because the perpendicular, fr0I« f
of the sphere, will all fall in the common intersectio
the sphere with the plane of the projection. g
ORTHOGRAPHY, that part of S™a 0f
the nature and affections of letters, and toe jus
spelling or writing words, with all the proper ant ^
letters It forms one of the four great divisions or biancne
leiicio* ac At/x      - c
Orthography, in Geometry, the art of drawing or
lineating the fore-right plan of any object, at
O R V
O S C
653
Ort
I
Or
ra- ing the heights or elevations of each part. It is called
orthography, from its determining things by perpendicular
lines falling on the geometrical plane.
ORTHOGRAPHY,in^4rc/«fee£wre, is the elevation of a build-
ing or edifice.
Orthography, in Perspective, is the fore-right side of
any plane, that is, the side or plane which lies parallel to
a straight line, that may be imagined to pass through the
outward convex points of the eyes, continued to a conve¬
nient length.
ORTHOPNCEA, a species or degree of asthma, where
there is such a difficulty of respiration that the patient
is obliged either to sit or stand upright in order to be able
to breathe.
ORTHOSA, or Ortoso, a small seaport of Syria, in the
pachalik of Tripoli, on the coast of the Mediterranean, about
twelve miles north of Tripoli.
ORTIVE, in Astronomy, the same with eastern. The
ortive or eastern amplitude, is an arch of the horizon in¬
tercepted between the place where a star rises, and the
east point of the horizon, or point where the horizon and
equator intersect.
ORTON, a market-town of the county of Westmoreland,
in the east ward, 274 miles from London, and eight from
Appleby. It has a market, which is held on Wednesday,
Dr Burn, the author of the “ Justice,” and of some anti¬
quarian local works, was long vicar of the parish church, a
very large old building. The population in 1801 amounted
to 1230, in 1811 to 1333, in 1821 to 1525, and in 1831 to
1501.
ORTONE a Mare, a city of Italy, on the sea-shore, in
the province of Abbruzzo Citeriore, of the kingdom of Naples.
It is situated near to Cape Aquabella, is surrounded with
walls, is the see of a bishop, and contains 5680 inhabitants.
It has no haven, but a good roadstead.
ORURO, the name of a department, and also of a pro¬
vince, of the republic of Bolivia, in South America. The
department so called contains the three provinces of Paria,
Oruro, and Caraugas. The whole district forms part of
a very high table-land, perfectly level, and elevated more
than 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. The province
is bounded on the east by Cochabamba and Charcas ; on
the west by part of the great chain of the Andes, which se¬
parates it from Arequipa ; on the north by La Paz ; and on
the south by Paria. That part of the Bolivian Andes in
which Oruro is situated forms one of those metalliferous
groups which are so common along the whole mountain
chain. The silver mines here were formerly very rich and
productive, but they are now nearly useless, being filled
with water, which, in a country where machinery is little in
use, proves an almost insurmountable barrier to mining ope¬
rations. The city of Oruro stands in longitude 68.17. W.
and latitude 17. 58. S., at an elevation of 12,44>1 feet above
the level of the sea. The climate, although cold, is by no
means unhealthy; but, from the rarity of the atmosphere,
some difficulty of breathing is at first experienced by those
who are not accustomed to respire at such altitudes, and
t le alternations of heat and cold during a single day are
exceedingly disagreeable to all. The city and province of
ruro were formerly populous, but since the unfortunate
struggle for Peruvian independence under Tupac Amaru,
which was put an end to in the year 1782, the aboriginal
population in particular has very considerably declined. The
piovince contains about 15,000, and the city between 4000
and 5000 inhabitants.
ORVIETO, a city of Italy, in the delegation Viterbo, in
1 ei|)aPi*. dominions. It stands on a tuffstein rock, on the
an s of the Paglia, and has a magnificent cathedral with
ome very fine paintings, a noble episcopal palace, with se-
ra other churches, and fourteen convents or monasteries
nr the professed of both sexes. It contains 7800 inhabi¬
tants, who are employed in the silk and other trades, and
wlm produce excellent wine. Long. 12. 2. 26. E Lat. 42.
2i. JNlm
OSAGCA, a large city of Japan, the port of Meaco. It
is situated at the mouth of a considerable river, and at
the head of a bay of the same name. It is the seat of an ex¬
tensive trade, and one of the most flourishing cities of the
empire. A quantity of earth is found in the neighbour¬
hood, which is exported to all parts of Japan. It is twen¬
ty-five miles south-west of Meaco.
OSAGE, a large river of North America, and one of
the affluents of the Missouri. (See the article Missouri.)
This is also the name of a tribe of Indians who inhabit
that part of the Missouri territory through which the river
flows during the first part of its course. They likewise
extend across the country to the Arkansas, and even to
Red River, and are considered as a powerful tribe.
OSARA, or Asara, a village in the Syrian desert, near
the Euphrates, 170 miles east-south-east of Aleppo.
OSCHA, a river of Asiatic Russia, which falls into the
Irtysch, in the government of Tobolsk.
OSCHOPHORIA, a festival celebrated by the Athe¬
nians, and which receives its name awo rou tpigs/v ra; oeyag,
from carrying houghs hung with grapes, * which were
called o<r^a;. The original institution is mentioned by
Plutarch. Theseus, on returning from Crete, forgot to
hang out the white sail, by which his father was to be ap¬
prized of his success. This neglect proved fatal to iEgeus,
who threw himself into the sea, and perished. Theseus
no sooner reached the land, than he sent a herald to in¬
form his father of his safe return, and in the mean time he
began to perform the sacrifices which he had vowed to
make when he first set sail from Crete. The herald, on
his entrance into the city, found the people in great agi¬
tation. Some lamented the king’s death, whilst others,
elated at the sudden news of the victory of Theseus,
crowned the herald with garlands in token of their joy!
The herald carried back the garlands on his staff to the
sea-shore; and, after waiting until Theseus had finished
his sacrifice, he related the melancholy account of the
king’s death ; upon which the people ran in crowds to the
city, showing their grief by cries and lamentations. From
this circumstance, therefore, at the feast of Oschopho-
ria, not the herald, but his staff, was crowned with gar¬
lands, and the people who were present exclaimed iXsAeu,
iov, iov, the first of which expresses haste, and the others
consternation or depression of spirits. The same author
further mentions, that Theseus, when he went to Crete,
did not take with him the usual number of virgins, but
that instead of two of them, he took youths of his own
acquaintance, whom he caused to pass for women, by
changing their dress, and accustoming them to the oint¬
ments and perfumes of women, as well as by a lono- and
successful imitation of the female voice. The imposition
succeeded. Their sex was not discovered in Crete; and
when Theseus had triumphed over the Minotaur, he'with
these two young men led a procession with branches in
their hands, and wearing the same habits, which were after¬
wards worn at the celebration of the festival. The branches
they carried were in honour of Bacchus or Ariadne, or
because they returned in autumn, when the grapes were
ripe. Besides this procession, there was also a race, in
which young men only whose parents were both alive had
permission to engage. It was customary for them to run
from the temple of Bacchus to that of Minerva, which was
on the sea-shore. The place where they stopped was call¬
ed ou^otpopov, because the boughs which they carried in
their hands were there deposited. The reward of the con¬
queror was a cup called mwarr'kou, Jive-fold, because it con¬
tained a mixture of five different ingredients, wine, honey,
cheese, meal, and oil.
Osacca
Oschopho-
ria.
654
O S I
Osenoka OSENOKA, a small river of Asiatic Russia, which falls
Osiris. ^OSE^NEY^Island, in England, is formed by the river
  'Isis, in the meadows near Oxford, where a magnificent
abbey was erected at the instigation of a concubine of
Henry I. to atone for her sins; and the same mg u
a palace there, in which Richard I. was born, and which
Edward II. converted into a monastery. ..... ^
OSILO, a city of the island of Sardinia, in the diocese
ofTassari, in the northern division. It stands on the top
a mountain, in a very healthy situation, and contains 5430
^OSIMa’a city of Italy, in the delegation of Ancona, m
the papal dominions. It is situated on an elevated and
healthy situation, with most picturesque scenery around it.
It is the see of a bishop, and has a cathedral and various
other churches, as well as monastic establishments for both
sexes and is inhabited, besides, by several families of con¬
siderable wealth. There is a college and some learned
societies, and a population of 11,750 persons, who subsist
tLpir pstates. or by agricultural labour.
OSIRIS, in Mythology, one of the gods of ancient Egypt,
and by many believed to have been the Sun, or at least
the mind actuating that luminary. .
The Egyptians derived all things from two principles ,
one active, and the other passive. Their active pnnc.p e,
accordino- to Jablonski, was an infinite and eternal Spirit,
and their passive principle was Night. This spirit t icy
consideredPsometimes as a maie, sometimes as a ema
divinity, and occasionally they attributed to it both sexes,
but it does not appear to have been the object of their
worshin The earliest objects of Pagan adoration were
die sun,* moon, and planets ; and that the philosophers and
of ancient Egypt worshipped the Sun by the name
of Osiris, may be proved by numberless testimonies from
the most authentic records of antiquity. Diogenes Laer¬
tius affirms, that they held the Sun and Moon as divin -
ties and that they called the latter Isis; and Macro-
hius savs expressly, “ Nec in occultoest, neque ahud esse
Osfrin quam Solem, nec Isim aliud esse quam Terram
The same writer informs us, that in the hierogypiic
writings of ancient Egypt, “ Osiris was represented by a
sceptre and an eye,” to denote that this god was the Sun
looking down from heaven on all things upon ear* n
the hieroglyphical inscriptions the symbol ot Osins is an
eve surmounting a chair or thione. r ■,
} It must not, however, be concealed, that some of the
ancients, and a few of the most learned of the modems,
have contended, that by Osiris the Egyptians understood
die Nile or spirit of the Nile, whilst others have confound-
ed him with the Grecian Bacchus. Scahger and Selden
have adopted the former of these opinions, and Servius on
Virgil has given countenance to the latter. But that t icy
areffil mistaken has been proved by dablonski in suc
manner as to enforce the fullest conviction. When the
Egyptians,” says he, “ in their sacred books, sometimes
ga°4Pthe name of Osiris to the Nile and its wonderfu in¬
crease during the heat of summer, they meant nothing
more than ^attribute to their god Os,r s the gift which
fertilizes their country.” This they would the more rea¬
dily have done, because they believed the Nile to have
its source in heaven. Hence Eusebius tells us, Ougiftfny
6 Ns/Xos, ov oveatov xurapigtefa, oiovrui, Osins is the Aite,
because they think it is sent dawn from heaven. In one
sense Osiris might be Bacchus, because the original Bac¬
chus was himself the Sun ; but that the Egyptian god could
not be worshipped as the inventor ot wine is undeniable,
as Jablonski labours to prove, the primitive religion ot
that couTy inculcated upon its votaries that wine was
the ghl no/of a benevolent god, but of an evil genius, the
enemy of the human race. In support ot this opinion
O S I
he quotes from Plutarch a passage, whence it appears, Osiris
that before the era of Psammetichus, the Egyptians nei-^-Y-v
ther drank wine themselves, nor offered it in libations to
the <mds; because they believed that the first vine which
sprung from the earth was impregnated by the blood of
those giants who perished in the war with the gods. It
is indeed true, that the Greeks, who borrowed their reli¬
gion as well as the first principles of their science from
Egypt, attributed to Bacchus many of the actions of Osi¬
ris-but it is likewise true, that they ascribed to him other
attributes, which the Egyptian god could not possess, con-
sistently with the established superstitions of that country.
Salmasius, however, attempts to prove, from the import of
the name, that the Osiris of Egypt must have been the
Bacchus of Greece. 2»jg, or 2/g/, he says, signifies a
in the Egyptian language ; and hence he concludes that
the god was called Osiris by the Egyptians, for the same
reason that by the Greeks he was called Koufoj, and by the
Romans Liber. But this seems to be all a mistake. Sms
forms a part of many Egyptian proper names, as Bu-sim,
Thermo-siris, Tapo-siris, and the like, and is by some de¬
rived from the Hebrew word Sar, Sur, or Sir, w hich signi¬
fies a prince, potentate, or grandee. As the name of the
god was in Egypt not Osiris, but Isms or Ysins, it was
probably composed of S*> or Sins, and the Hebrew pre-
fix lor ish, denoting strength; so that the whole word
would signify the strong or mighty prince. And if so, we
cannot doubt, as Diodorus Siculus, Eusebius, Sextus Lra-
piricus, and others affirm, that the Egyptians worshipped
the Sun by the name of Osiris, but that by this name they
meant the power or governing mind of the Suu, as the
Greeks and Romans seem to have done by their Phoebus
But1 although the original Osiris was undoubtedly the
Sun, or the intelligence actuating the Sun, yet there is
reason to believe that there was a secondary Osins, who
at a very early period reigned in Egypt, and was deifie
after his>death, for the benefits which he had rendered to
his country. This is indeed so generally admitted, that
amongst the learned great controversies have arisen re¬
specting the time when he flourished, and whether he wa
the civffizer of rude barbarians or the victorious sovereign
of a polished nation. Newton, it is well ^own, has adopt^
ed the latter opinion, and with much plausffiihty endea
voured to prove that Osiris was the same with Sesostri or
Sesak; but it must be confessed that his conclusio
contrary to all the most authentic records of antiqu y,
and that it would be easy, by the same mode of argmng,
to give a show of identity to two persons unive sally known
to have flourished in very distant ages* , j)j0.
Egypt, as may be seen in the writings o ’ jed
dorris Siculus, Strabo, Plutarch, and o^
from them, expressly asserted the distinc P t
Osiris and Sesistris, and placed them in ve y ffi n
from each other. If any credit be df,t0^ "mo-
just named, Osiris was the founder of the Egypha ^
narchy; and, as was customary in lose ‘ V. gun or
personage, having either received the name °t th
communicated his own to that uinirjal^’ ] re(j t0 his
death deified for the benefits which he had rend^ demi,roc],
country ; and, being at first worshipped on y a ^ °on.
was in process of time advanced to lu r^eks, wbo,
founded with his heavenly godtather. The G ^
although original in nothing, were al^ys P ^
their vanity to hold themselves out as the dr t ^ that
tions, claimed this Osiris as their own> a P ^ them,
he was the son of Jupiter and Niobe. Accords g de_
IZK or " ™ien=emany go’od 1- *
O S 0
Os
St
Os<
|.. that country, and both Osiris and Isis were after their
deaths worshipped as gods. But that this is a ridiculous
fiction needs no proof; because every one knows that
^good laws were established in Egypt long before the Ar-
gives had any king, or indeed existed either as a tribe or
a nation.
OSKOL-STAROI, a city of Russia, in the government
of Kursk, the capital of a circle of the same name. It
stands at the mouth of the river Oskolka, and has eight
churches, a nunnery, 813 houses, and 6000 inhabitants,
amongst whom many are occupied in the iron trade. It is
904 miles from St Petersburg. Long. 37. 29. E. Lat. 51.
15. N.
OSMANJIC, a town of Asiatic Turkey, in the govern¬
ment of Sivas, 140 miles north-west of Sivas.
OSMANSKOI, a small town of Asiatic Russia, in the
government of Kolivan, on the Irtysch, 201 miles west-
south-west of Kolivan.
OSNABRUCK, or Osnaburg, a province of the king¬
dom of Hanover. It has been formed out of the ancient
sequestered bishopric of that name, which by the treaty
of Westphalia had been fixed to be held in sovereignty al¬
ternately by a Catholic and a Protestant prince; and in
consequence it came under the government of the late
Duke of York, second son of George III. To the bishop¬
ric has been added by cession the Prussian bailiwick of
Beckenburg, the lower county of Lingen, and the circles
of Meppen and Emsbuhren. It is bounded on the north
by East Friesland, on the north-east by Oldenburg and
Diepholz, on the south-east and south-west by the Prus¬
sian province of Westphalia, and on the west by Bentheim.
It extends over 1288 square miles, contains twenty towns
and cities, 382 villages, with 249,470 inhabitants, of whom
two thirds are Catholics, and the other third Protestants,
chiefly of the Lutheran confession. It is generally a level
and sandy district, excepting on the southern part, where
there are two ranges of hills. Near these the soil is toler¬
ably fertile; but on the other parts, except near the rivers,
it is very poor and unproductive. The heaths are exten¬
sive, and a large portion of the province is covered with
woods. The corn produced, even with the aid of exten¬
sive cultivation of potatoes, is not sufficient for the con¬
sumption. Flax is grown largely, and the spinning of it was
the chief employment of the country people of both sexes
during their long winters ; but that occupation has been
much diminished by the introduction of spinning by ma¬
chinery in the countries which used to obtain their yarn
from this province. Numerous bodies of the agricultural
labourers repair to Holland to work, and some after har¬
vest return home to live upon their earnings; but many
of them remain to perform the lowest kinds of labour in
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other cities, and many also
enlist into the Dutch army. The province is formed into
four divisions or circles, viz. Osnabruck, Lingen, Meppen,
and Emsbuhren.
Osnabruck as it is called by the Germans, or Osnaburg
as it is spelt by us, is the capital of the province. It is situ¬
ated on the river Hase, is imperfectly fortified, and con¬
sists chiefly of one very long and not ill-built street, di¬
vided into the old and the new town. It is the see of a
atholic bishop, who has a palace and a cathedral; and
t eic is ^ fine old council-house, in which the treaty of
estphalia was negotiated. It has two Catholic monaste-
ries, ^ Lutheran gymnasium, two Lutheran churches, and
°ne, besides the cathedral, for the Catholics. It contains
a] houses, and 10,500 inhabitants, who depend
cue y on the decaying linen trade, and on internal com-
m<0?m Long. 7. 33. 40. E. Lat. 52. 16. 45. N.
ORHJS, Jerome, a Portuguese ecclesiastic, was de-
Hnn Lr°^ a n°b*e family, and born at Lisbon in the year
• He was educated at the Universityof Salamanca, and
OSS 655
afterwards studied at Paris and Bologna. On his return to Ossa.
Portugal he gradually rose till he obtained the bishopric ''■“"V'"*''
of Sylves, to which he was appointed by Catharine of Aus¬
tria, regent of the kingdom in the minority of Dorn Sebas¬
tian. At the request of Cardinal Henry of Portugal, he
wrote his history of King Emanuel, and the expedition of
Gama, which his great contemporary Camoens made the
subject of his Lusiad. It is remarkable that the history
of Osorius and the epic poem of Camoens were published
in the same year, 1572. But the fate of these two great
authors was very different. The poet was suffered to
perish in poverty, under the reign of that same Henry who
patronised the historian; yet, allowing for the difference
of their professions, they possessed a certain similarity of
mind. Even in the priest Osorius there appear many traces
of that high and heroic spirit which animated the soldier
Camoens, particularly in the pleasure with which he seems
to describe the martial manners of his countrymen under
the reign of Emanuel. “ In that age,” says he, “ poverty
and sadness were banished from Portugal. Complaints
were never heard ; but every place, from the court to the
cottage, resounded with mirth and music. Illicit love was
unknown ; nor would the ladies listen to the most honour¬
able addresses of such youths as had not signalized them¬
selves in war. No young man about court, however noble
by birth, was permitted to wear the dress of manhood till
he had passed over into Africa, and thence brought back
with him some animal esteemed for its rarity ; and such
was the hardy education of the nobility in that age, that
many of them travelled everywhere in quest of adven¬
tures.” This is a striking picture of the manners of chi¬
valry, to which Portugal owed much of its glory in that
splendid period. There is one particular in the character
of Osorius, which, considering his age and country, de¬
serves the highest encomium ; and that is his tolerant
spirit. In the first book of his history he speaks of Ema¬
nuel’s cruel persecution of the Jews in the following ge¬
nerous and exalted language: “ This,” says he, “ was au¬
thorized neither by law nor by religion. Can men be com¬
pelled to believe what they reject with abhorrence ? Do
you take upon you to restrain the liberty of the will, or to
fetter the understanding ? Such an attempt must be un¬
successful ; and is not acceptable to Christ, who expects
from man devotion of the heart, and not that formal wor¬
ship which is the offspring of pains and penalties. He
wishes them to study his religion, and accept it from con¬
viction, not from terror; for who does not see that forced
belief is mere hypocrisy ?” Osorius is said to have used
many arguments to dissuade Dorn Sebastian from under¬
taking his unfortunate expedition into Africa, and to have
felt so deeply the miseries which befell the Portuguese
after that fatal event, that his grief w'as supposed to have
accelerated his death. He died in the year 1580, happy,
says De Thou, who celebrates him as a model of Christian
virtue, that he died just before the Spanish army entered
Portugal, and thus escaped being a witness to the desola¬
tion of his country. His various works wrere published at
Rome in 1592, by his nephew Osorius, in four volumes
folio, with a life of their author. Amongst these there are
two remarkable productions; the first, an Admonition to
Queen Elizabeth, exhorting her to return into the bosom
of the Church of Rome; and the second, an Essay on Glory,
written with such classical purit}', as to give birth to a re¬
port that it was not the composition of Osorius, but the last
work of Cicero on that subject.
OSSA, a lofty mountain of Thessaly, near the Peneus,
which runs between this mountain and Olympus; it was
famous in the fabulous story of the giants.
Ossa, a town of the island of Gilolo, situated on the
southern side of a great bay of the same name. It affords
water, provisions, timber for spars, and other necessary ar-
656
OSS
OSS
IVOssat. tides, with whidi ships touching at the island are supplied.
' T mu? 128. 22. E. Lat. 0. 45. S.
OSSAT, Arnaud d’, a celebrated cardinal, and one o
the most remarkable men of his time, was born at L^que-
en-Magnoac, a village in the diocese of Auch, in the year
1536. In the strictest sense of the Spanish expression,
he was “ the son of his own works.” There is reason to
believe that his father, who died in distress in Spain, ex¬
ercised the profession of farrier; and this opinion is
accordance with the common tradition, according to w
D’Ossat was ushered into the world by an army-tarne
At the age of nine, he found himself without any known
parents, Ld having no other resource than
But a gentleman of the neighbourhood, named De Marca
received the orphan into his house, and caused him to be
educed alon/with one of his nephews, who had been
"ted to L care. In this situat.on P-ogre-
Tyoecat was so striking, that m a very few years he was
Sought capable of acting as preceptor to the companion
nf his studies. In 1559 he received orders to attend his
pupil and two other nephews of M. de Marca, to Pans ;
and he was likewise intrusted with the charge o' '! 5"11'1
a merchant in Lectoure, who accompanied *™.lo these
vouths he devoted the utmost care and attention till the
year 1562, when, having completed their course of sUi jq
thev returned to their relations; thus relieving him ho
those extrinsic duties, the performance ot which had im¬
peded his own progress, and prevented him from increasing
at pleasure the amount of his own acquirements. During
this period, however, he had studied rhetoric and philo¬
sophy, and, in particular, had profited by the of lla¬
mas, whose bold and penetrating mind had enabled him to
strike into new paths of inquiry. Hence, when Char pen
tier the fierce Champion of Aristotle, attacked Ramus
D’Ossat defended the doctrine of his master in ^
production, entitled Lxpositw in Disputationem Jacobi Car-
Vpenterii de Methodo, Paris, 1564, in 8vo, the elegan
close dialectics of which so disconcerted Charpentier, that
the only answer he could make to his adversary cons.sted
in scurrility and abuse. D’Ossat quitted Ramus to study
the civil law under Cujas in the university of Bourges. His
intention^vas to qualify himself for the
• and accordingly, having taken his diploma, ne re
turned to Paris in the year 1568, and was admitted to tie
bar But being as yet almost unknown, and without the
means necessary to enable him to wait for employment in
the ordinary course of the profession, he had not long at
tended the sittings of the parliament of Pans ere he became
convinced that he would' never find his place -
much that was arbitrary on the bench, and the barbarism
that reigned at the bar. Fortunately for him, however, the
celebrated Paul de Foix then filled the office of counsellor
to the parliament. The merit of D’Ossat could not escape
the notice of a magistrate who cherished so strong a pa.
sion for letters. De Foix, notwithstanding his enthusmsm
fnr Aristotle and his favour for Charpentier, sought out
the Modest advocate, admitted him to the learned society
which met at his house, and having seen cause to esteem
himmore and more in proportion as he became acquaint¬
ed with him, procured for D’Ossat the situation o c(^n
sellor to the presidial, or local court, ot Melun ; an office
which appears to have imposed on him httle or no duty,
since he continued to hold it as late as the yeai lo88.
D’Ossat having in this way become necessary to his patron,
accompanied1 him into Italy in the year 157* A polmcul
mission of pure etiquette had been confided to De koix,
and he accordingly considered his journey merely as an
opportunity thrown" in his way of adding ^ ^s hterary
enjoyments. Whilst he travelled on horseback, D Ossat
explained to him Plato, whilst De Thou read the Parotid*
Of Cujas; and all the three, like worthy friends of Mon¬
taigne, sometimes discoursed together on the peripatetic DUt
philosophy. The orthodoxy of De Foix having been call-v—/ -
ed in question by the pope, and his holiness having or¬
dered “ an information” on the conduct which he had
pursued in the parliament, D’Ossat composed an apolo-
getical memoir in behalf of his friend. But this defence
produced no other result than making its author advan-
taSD°eUFoixnwithdrew from Rome, in order to allow the
proceeding which had been commenced against him to
fall asleep. D’Ossat, however, remained; and it was proba¬
bly during this interval that he took holy orders. In 1581,
De Foix returned to Rome as ambassador of Henry III.,
and chose D’Ossat as his secretary. This choice was, m
every respect, fortunate ; and so completely did the secre¬
tary enter into the views of his principal as to the manner
of conducting business, that the resemblance observable
in the style of their despatches has induced an erroneous
belief that these were all prepared by D Ossat. After
the death of De Foix, D’Ossat was employed in the same
capacity by Cardinal Hippolyte d’Este, official protector of
the church of France, whose entire confidence he had gain¬
ed ; and he acquired a still greater ascendency over Car¬
dinal de Joyeuse, who succeeded Cardinal d Este. After
the disgrace of Villeroi, Henry III. offered the place of that
minister to D’Ossat; but he refused to succeed a man who
had strong claims on his gratitude. Besides, he foresaw
that, in this elevated post, it would be impossible for him
to make head against the intrigues of the Guises ; and he
loved his country too well to render himself subservient
to their ambition. His experience prevented h™
being seduced, like so many others, by the pretexts of the
League ; he maintained a courageous fidelity to his sove¬
reign ; and he wrote, in the name of Cardinal de Joyeuse,
a letter approving of the murder of the Guises. Joyeuse
afterwardfallowed himself to be drawn into the ranks of
the Leaguers; but he repaired his error by a n0^le^?
tion, which no subsequent act belied, to Henry IV. D Os¬
sat being charged by the queen-dowager, the widow of
Henry III., to solicit the celebration of the obsequies o
that unfortunate prince, vainly endeavoured, during seve¬
ral years, to overcome the resistance of the pope,
f„ Jd hU assent ,o a ceremony which had been consecrat.
ed by usage. Whilst he was thus interceding for the
memory of'Henry IIL, De Thou dedicated to him a poem
he had written on the death of that royal victim. D Ossat
though without any public character, and ^ut orde
from the French ministry, zealously interposed h. effect
reconciliation of Henry IV. with the holy and to
prince being informed of h.s spontaneous exer KinMSweU
as of his capacity, wrote to request him o P vt.
communication, and act in concert, with the Duke of Ne
vers, who was then on his way to Rome, P™''‘d“» ,'u'1
powers. The duke, however, despising an auxiliary calc
fated to prove the more useful as he was less conspicuous,
undertook to conduct the negotiation alone, an'J “,nf ' r|
ly failed. Nevertheless, Clement VIII. was
desirous that Henry should be solemnly admitted int
communion of the Ltholic Church; but he wished ^
same time, to keep terms with Spain, and to obtain
tions advantageous to the holy see. i- ;.v ”
Accordingly, he acted with an “ innocent duplicity
which completely deceived the Spaniards. ne
who held the office of chamberlain t0 P0f LJ
published a pamphlet in order to prove that a re ap
heretic could neither be absolved nor tecogmsed^k^g
D’Ossat wrote a triumphant /'l "his ’roductiou,
although he approved ot the substance o J P D,0s.
required that it should only be circulated privately^t^
sat entertained no doubt whatever as was
of the pope; but in the negotiation, with whicn
OSS
at. at length exclusively intrusted, he had constantly to guard
■—''against the captious and formalist character of the court
of Rome. When he had smoothed all obstacles, Duper-
ron was sent to Rome to join him in receiving the stipu¬
lated absolution in name of the king. The first condition
which the pope wished to impose on the royal commis¬
sioners, was to deposit the crown of France at the feet of
the pontifical throne. But the representatives of Henry
declared firmly that they wrould never consent to any pro¬
position inconsistent with the independence of the royal
authority; nor did they show themselves less decidedly op¬
posed to every clause which had a tendency to compromise
anew the tranquillity of the state, or excite alarm amongst
the Huguenots. The Spanish faction murmured at not
being able to prevent an absolution, which conciliated to
Henry the opinion of a great number of his subjects. But
their discontent was unavailing. Everything had been
satisfactorily arranged, and Duperron was appointed to
the bishopric of Evreux ; whilst D’Ossat, who had brought
about this happy result, received as his recompense the
title of councillor of state, and the bishopric of Rennes.
During the remainder of his life he actively co-operated
in all the diplomatic affairs which were conducted in Italy.
By his means the connection which had subsisted nearly
thirty years between Margaret of Valois and Henry IV.
was dissolved. The dispensation granted by the pope, to
validate the union of Catherine of Bourbon and the Duke
de Bar, was also his work. He took part in the negotia¬
tion concerning the restitution of the marquisate of Salu-
ces; observed the astute conduct of the Duke of Savoy;
induced the Grand Duke of Tuscany to evacuate the forts
which he occupied in the isles of If and Pomegue near
Marseilles; proved, in a memoir which he distributed to
the sacred college, that the peace recently concluded at
Vervins was more necessary to Spain than to France ; and
was chosen to announce that peace to the senate of Ve¬
nice. In satisfying Clement VIII. respecting the delay
of publication experienced by the Council of Trent, the
guarantees which the edict of Nantes granted to the Pro¬
testants, and the rigorous measures ordained against the
Jesuits, D’Ossat displayed all the resources of an insinuat¬
ing mind, and dissipated the clouds formed by the Spa¬
nish influence at the court of Rome. His experience ap¬
pears to have been only once at fault, in a case where he
took counsel of his affections rather than of his judgment.
M e allude to the assent which he gave to a project of the
pope for placing upon the throne of England the Duke or
Cardinal of Parma, to the prejudice of the son of Mary
Stuart.
D’Ossat, by his simple and modest character, no less
than by his prudence, his private virtues, and his talents,
had procured for himself many friends, and reached the
highest consideration he could attain in the face of the
double obstacle of poverty and obscurity of birth, when, in
tie year 1599, he received a cardinal’s hat, which was
conferred on him at the earnest solicitation of the king,
the following year he wTas appointed to the bishopric of
aleux, which, however, he almost immediately found
means to resign with advantage. Nevertheless, his last
years were embittered by vexation, and saddened by dis¬
appointment. To support his dignity, he had only two
enefices, the revenues of which were in part seized on
ythe neighbouring gentlemen. The king had granted
11111 a pension sufficient for a man accustomed to limit his
Personal wants ; but it was not regularly paid. Sully, who
ia ? ’ ^le person of D’Ossat, the protege of Villeroi,
msitated not, first to suspend, and then altogether to dis-
continue, the annual prestation to which the bounty of
Jn uVieiG^n glven a title; and the cardinal
U a!!e t>een exposed to all the pangs of shame and
ery, if the heirs of Hippolyte d’Este had not paid to
vol. xvi. r
OSS
him a legacy of L.500, which had been exigible for more
than ten years. Besides, D’Ossat, who only saw the in¬
ternal situation or France with the eyes of Villeroi, form¬
ed an exaggerated notion of some disorders produced by
the ligoious administration of Sully; and, under this im-
piession, wiote to the king a letter, in which he drew a
daik picture of the dangers with which he believed the
state to be threatened. Sully, more irritated than ever,
was loud in his complaints against the cardinal; and in
his Memoires may be found the imputations which he
laid to the charge of a man who, like himself, had de¬
voted all his thoughts to the service of his sovereign.
D Ossat, however, had the consolation of learning that
he retained the esteem of Henry IV., if he had lost the
favour of his great minister. He died on the 13th of
March 1604, in the sixty-eighth year of his age; and as
he had no known relations, he divided his little property
between bis two secretaries and the poor.
Madame d’Arconville published a prolix Life of Cardi¬
nal d Ossat, Paris, 1771, in two vols. 8vo, in which she in¬
serted a translation of a remarkable memoir on the effects
of the League, composed in Italian by D’Ossat, and con¬
taining an able exposition of the character of the policy
pursued by the Guises, with the consequences which might
be expected to result from it. The Letters published un-
dei the name of Cardinal Joyeuse may also be regarded
as the productions of D’Ossat; but it is to the collection
of his own Letters addressed to Villeroi that he is chiefly
indebted for his classical reputation in diplomacy. Ches-
tei field lecommended them to his son as the work best cal¬
culated to give him an insight into the conduct of affairs ;
and Wicquefort appears to have had them continually in
view in his treatise entitled LAmbassadeur. The language
of D’Ossat is natural and full of sincerity ; his statements
are marked by a grave and concise simplicity ; he is al¬
most never betrayed into any false step or unguarded ex¬
pression ; and he interests us equally by his modesty and
his loyalty. Now, when the court of Rome is no longer
the centre of negotiations, and the ideas of men have taken
anothei couise, his diplomatic correspondence has neces¬
sarily lost much of its importance; but with reference to
the history of the time to which it refers, it must ever be
consulted with advantage. As the collection of his Letters
does not commence until the month of April 1593, it thus
leaves a gap in his political life from the year 1589 until
the period in question. The first edition was published at
Paris in 1624, folio, by the brothers Dupuy; but it has
been much surpassed by that of Amelot de la Ploussaye,
which appeared at the same place in 1697, in two vols.
with notes, and which was reprinted with additional notes
at Amsterdam, 1707, 1714, and 1732, in five vols. ]2mo.
This work was translated into Italian by Jerome Canini,
and published at Venice, 1629, in 4to. (a.)
08SLR0, a town of the island of Cherso, in the Adri¬
atic, within the Austrian province of Trieste. It stands on
the western side of the island, on a promontory, and is the
see of a bishop, but with only 360 houses and 1540 in¬
habitants. It is also the name of an island separated from
Cherso by a narrow channel which is not passable by ves¬
sels. It is well cultivated, and very productive of wine.
It contains two townships or communes, with 1600 houses
and 7200 inhabitants.
OSSIAN, the son of Fingal, a celebrated Celtic bard,
who is commonly supposed to have flourished about the
end of the second or the beginning of the third century.
Several incidents in the poems ascribed to him are con¬
ceived to point out this as the era of the poet; particularly
the engagement of Fingal with Caracul, “ the son of the
king of the world,” who, according to Macpherson and
Whitaker, is the same witli the son of Severus, the Cara-
calla of Roman history. Fingal, who commanded the Ca-
4 o
658
Ossian.
0 S S I A N.
ledonians at that memorable juncture, is said to have eluded
'the power of Severus, and gained a signal victory on the
banks of the Carron, in which Caracul fled from his arms
“ along the fields of his pride.” As Gibbon observes, how¬
ever, “ Something of a doubtful mist still hangs over these
Highland traditions, nor can it be entirely dispelled by
the most ingenious researches of modern criticism; but
if we could with safety indulge the pleasing supposition
that Fingal lived, and that Ossian sung, the striking con¬
trast of the situation and manners of the contending na¬
tions might amuse a philosophic mind. I he parallel,
he adds, “would be little to the advantage of the more
civilized people, if we compared the unrelenting revenge
of Severus with the generous clemency of Fingal, the
timid and brutal cruelty of Caracalla with the bravery,
the tenderness, the elegant genius of Ossian; the mercenary
chiefs who, from motives of fear or interest, served unde
the imperial standard, with the free-born warriors who
started to arms at the voice of the king of Moryen . if, m
a word, we contemplated the untutored Caledonians, glow¬
ing with the warm virtues of nature, and the JSe"fr^
Homans, polluted with the mean vices of wealth and sla-
^Speculationslike these,however, though they may amuse
by their novelty, or surprise by a striking contrast of situ¬
ation and of manners, can have no real value in themselves,
if they rest merely on a “ pleasing supposition, unsupport¬
ed by evidence. “That Fingal lived, and that Ossian
sung, can only be believed upon the assumption that the
poems ascribed to the son of the Caledonian hero are au¬
thentic productions; and, until this be established, it is
obviously vain to attempt to deduce from them any in er-
ence as to the existence of the one, the era of the other,
or the circumstances and manners of the times when they
are said to have flourished. The primary question there¬
fore is, Are the poems attributed to Ossian, more especial¬
ly those given to the world by Macpherson, the genuine
productions of a Celtic bard of the third century ; or are
they, on the other hand, a forgery, palmed upon the world
by L individual who attempted to give currency to his own
compositions under the mask and pretence of a high anti-
^U“^The appearance of the poems of Ossian,” says the Ab-
bate Cesarotti, “ was a phenomenon so unexpected and ex¬
traordinary, that it is not surprising they should have excit¬
ed doubts and astonishment, even during the Pen°d ° ®
thusiasm itself, in a country scarcely known to history—
wild savage, and covered with mists; in a state of society
the most rude, miserable, and barbarous, without com¬
merce, without learning, without writing, and without arts;
how could there arise so transcendent a genius, who should
at length come to dispute the palm with the most cele¬
brated poets of the most polished nations, nay, even with
those who for so many ages were regarded as models of the
art ? This novelty was too much at variance with all re¬
ceived opinions to be believed without question, or admit¬
ted without controversy. Was there truly an Ossian?
Was he really the author of the poems which have been
published under his name? Can this be a spurious work?
But when? How ? By whom ? These are the questions
which have divided England and civilized Europe respect¬
ing this surprising phenomenon. These are the doubts
which have been raised by learned men and critics ; doubts
which, though much weakened, have not yet been entirely
removed from the minds of many persons. Whatever
opinion be adopted, it is certain that various embarrassing
difficulties present themselves, and that the most strenu-
ous advocates on both sides cannot fail to waver in their
conclusions.”1 , . ,
The ingenious Italian translator having here suggest-
ed the questions which it is most material to resolve, be¬
fore any conclusion can be safely deduced from the contents
of the poems themselves, we shall endeavour to furnish our
readers with the means of judging for themselves respect¬
ing the whole matter in controversy; first, by submitting
a short historical account of the manner in which the poems
ascribed to Ossian are said to have been originally collected,
translated, and published, by Macpherson ; secondly, by ex¬
hibiting a summary of the arguments which have been etn-
nloved to disprove the authenticity of these poems; third-
lv, by stating the results of the elaborate inquiry into the
nature and authenticity of the poems of Ossian, instituted
bv the Highland Society of Scotland, and conducted by a
Committee of that body, under the auspices of its chairman,
Mr Henry Mackenzie, by whom the Report was drawn up;
and, lastly, by subjoining some particulars respecting the
other collectors of Celtic poetry, whose proceedings form a
curious sequel to those of Mr James Macpherson. It is
only by a clear and comprehensive statement of the whole
case, that a rational judgment can be formed respecting t je
various matters in dispute ; nor is it possib e otherw^e to
enable the reader to decide for himself, whether the doubt
raised by learned men and critics have been removed,
even in any material degree obviated.
Os n.
1.
^ '
in uno stato di soeieta it pm rozzo, me.cn u, . delli ^ colte nazioni; a quegli stessi, cne
Genio cosi trascendente, die venisse a disputar la pal 1 P tntte le idee ricevute per esser accolta senza contrasto.
tanti secoli come i modelli dell’arte ? Questa novita tovesciava trop^ ^^16^ ^ ^ ^ ? Sarebbe questa un- 0pera supposta ?
veramente un Ossian ? fu egli realmente 1 autore delle Poe!>»e, che co p pinlhilterra, et I’Europa colta sopra questo sorpren-
aUsfy us hat he was not only incapacitated by ignorance ^ lesions. Examples
le has, in several parts of the Historical and Critical Dictation b^n gmlty o ^ ^ a pm rozzo,
ds translation of the passage above quoted. 1. he render! “ in a state of society the most unpohshed,
    spnza idee. «cnW«ra, senz arti, ne len ,  nn imnortant adnussw1
SCK occur in his translation of the passage above sUteTf society the most unpol^h
meschino, e barbaro, senza commercio, senza idee, senza ^ttura, sen . 1 ’ 1 „ Hhoui writing containing an important adm
wretched and barbarousthus suppressing the material words, senza scnttura, w . d d*’f from his translation of the toUow
OT thepart of the Italian translator of Ossian 2. His colta sopra questo sorprendente
ing'sentence: •‘toT che per iungo '* ggS
mL< which he renders thus: “ These are ^^^^^^^^hifis Xr ignorance, or something
•while Europe regarded with veneration tins surpnsi g p states is, that the questions he had indicate ? tances
says nothing “ E'.rnne regarding with veneration, &c.: what he siaies is, nf Ossian. Numerous inswu
,, whicn xi0 *ciivids viiuo • # . 99 1
while Europe regarded with veneration this surprismg plienomerion. questions he nau inufoao^ a -
l«SSed^Vr2»
of a similar and still more striking kind might easily be added.
o S S I A N.
ian. I. The first person who seems to have conceived the idea
r-' of collecting and translating some of the traditional poems
floating in the Highlands, was a young man named Jerome
Stone, formerly a schoolmaster at Dunkeld. In 1756, he
published, in the Scots Magazine, a translation in verse of
Bas Fhroich, or the death of Fraoch, under the title of Al-
bin and Mey ; and this specimen he accompanied with a
short letter addressed to the editor, indicating his opinion
of the poetical merits of the various pieces in his posses¬
sion. Stone did not think of giving to the public the ori¬
ginal of his translation; but Mr Mackenzie, having pro¬
cured it from Mr Chalmers of London, into whose liands
it had accidentally fallen, has inserted it in the appendix to
the Report of the Committee of the Highland Society, with
Stone’s version and a literal translation subjoined/ This
poem, according to Dr Graham, approaches nearer to the
style of the Gaelic fragments of Ossian than any thing he
had yet met with.1 About the same time Mr Pope, minister
of Reay, in Caithness, had thoughts of making a collection of
the old Highland poems ascribed to Ossian, in concert with
a gentleman then living on Lord Reay’s estate; but the
death of the latter, upon whose assistance he had mainly
depended, put an end to the scheme.2 J
The next, and by far the most celebrated, collector of
Gaelic poetry, was Mr James Macpherson, whose transla¬
tions first attracted notice to the supposed productions of
the Celtic muse, and whose proceedings in connection with
these gave rise to the controversy which so long divided
the literary world. The circumstances which originally
led to the employment of this gentleman as a collector and
translator of Gaelic poetry, have been fully stated by Mr
Mackenzie, in the Report of the Committee of the Hieh-
land Society. °
Mr Home, author of Douglas, happening to be at Moffat,
a watering-place in Dumfriesshire, in the summer of 1759
met there with Macpherson, whom he found officiating as
tutor to Mr Graham, younger of Balgowan, whose father’s
family was then residing at that place. In the course of his
inquiries about the manners and customs of the Highland¬
ers, Mr Home learned from Macpherson, that one of their
favourite amusements consisted in listening to the composi-
ions of their ancient bards, which were described as high¬
ly pathetic and imaginative ; and some fragments of these
traditional poems, which, at Mr Home’s desire, Macpherson
translated from memory, struck him as exceedingly beauti-
tul. Mr Home communicated these pieces to his friends,
whose opinion proved as favourable as his own ; and, under
this impression, they prevailed on Macpherson to publish
em in a small volume at Edinburgh, at the same time un¬
dertaking to superintend the publication, and also to defray
he expense. To this volume Dr Blair wrote an introduce
w a" ’ aPPearance> it attracted “ universal at-
Gq 'Tit he hterary circle of Edinburgh, consisting of
avid Hume, Dr Robertson, Dr Blair, Dr Carlyle, Mr
wwe’and °the.rS’ felt much interested in the discovery of
Teemed t0 be 3 new mine of Poetical wealth; and a sub-
ption was accordingly entered into to enable Macpher-
son to make a tour through the Highlands for the purpose
of collecting larger and more complete poems, which he'
represented as still existing there, and of which some of
the pieces already published were described by him as only
detached and disconnected fragments. He particularly
mentioned a poem in an epic form, and of considerable
length, on the subject of the wars of Fion or Fingal. which
he thought might be recovered entire. Mean while, that
ST^/17^’ Pl\bllsheld’m his ovvn name, a poem, en-
tit ed The Highlander, which appears to have sunk into
oblivion immediately after its publication ; but the remem¬
brance of this production was revived by Mr Laing, in the
controversy which subsequently arose respectingThe au¬
thenticity of the poems ascribed to Ossian ; and it is not
a little remarkable that the style and imagery of the poem
called Fingal occur in almost every page of The Hio-h-
lander. &
Under the patronage of the eminent individuals already
mentioned, Macpherson performed his literary tour in 1766;
transmitting from time to time accounts of his progress'
and of the various poems which, as he said, he had suc-
ceeoed m collecting. The districts through which he tra¬
velled were chiefly the north-western parts of Inverness-
shire, the Isle of Skye, and some of the adjoining islands ;
places which, from their remoteness, and the state of man¬
ners that then existed in them, were thought the most
likely to afford, in a pure and genuine state, those tradition¬
ary tales and poems in the recital of which the Highland¬
ers were represented as taking so much delight. On his
return from the north, Macpherson passed some time with
an early acquaintance of his own, Mr Gallic, then a mis¬
sionary in Badenoch; and availed himself of the assistance
of this gentleman, as well as of that of Mr Macpherson of
btrathmashm, in collating the different copies of the poems
which he had collected, in translating difficult passages,
and m determining the meaning of obsolete words.3 He
then proceeded to Edinburgh, where he communicated to
ms patrons the result of his expedition, and in 1762 pub-
lished Fingal, an epic poem in six books, with some other
detached pieces of a similar kind. In an advertisement
prefixed to Iingal, he states, that « some men of genius
had advised him to print the originals by subscription,
rather than deposit them in a public library;” and, in the
preliminary dissertation, he says that “ his translation is
literal, and that as he claims no merit on account of his
version, he wishes that the imperfect semblance which he
draws may not prejudice the world against an original
which contains what is beautiful in simplicity, or grand in
the sublime.” In the year 1765, he published another
epic poem, entitled Temora, to the seventh book of which
he annexed the original Gaelic; but of all the rest he pub¬
lished only translations. At his death, however, he left
a sum of money for defraying the expense of publishing
t le originals of the whole, with directions to his executors
for carrying that purpose into effect. But, from whatever
cause, this publication has not yet appeared, and it is
more than probable that it never will.4
659
petency of that i/li/uln T, / ^g^ana gentleman who met Maepherson in Londo
to have translated.*" But'it i^fomottPnTh/1 /mp.robable,u,ilL nave ranncated the originals of the poems which he professed
" • ,,is °f th“
Ossian.
MUin “ “ behi?f, hT a"'J, Se aneSCk.lS
M possessed. Mr John Mackenzie, of the Temple, London, whom Mr Macpherson had left sole trusts
i
662
O S S I A N.
Ossian. public access to bis manuscripts, at one time proposing
 [ int- them by subscription, and at another to deposit
Lm in some public library t and, lastly, they have not
yet, been published, and probably never wdl, because, if
they were, their authenticity would be fully as liable to
challenge or dispute as the translations which Macpherson
professed to have made from them. The demand made
bv Dr Johnson and others was in itself m1os1: reaSOna^pr;
and the refusal to produce evidence, merely bec^se ™e
doubted in a case where there was great room for incr
dulity, is either a proof that none whatever exis et> °
instance of perversity unexampled in the history of
r7l.CS7Sr, in his elaborate and rhetorical Disser-
tation had done little or nothing to remove the doubts
which from the first were entertained as to the autheatica'
tv of the poems ascribed to Ossian, incredulity gained still
greater confidence from the formidable and systematicon-
fet of Mr Laing. In the third volume of h.s H.story of
Scotland, that gentleman, in treating of the Highlanders,
had adverted to the state of society and «>a^ers rqire-
sented in these poems, as existing amongst that people,
about the end of the second or commencement of the third
century, and had thence deduced an argument agamst the
authenticity of productions displaying a refinement and
cultivation^ sentiment inconsistent with all history and
exnerience. “ The productions of the Celtic muse, sau e,
“ would persuade us to believe that the early manners o
the Highlanders displayed a civilization inconsistent with
an utter ignorance of the arts of life; an uniform heroism
unknown to barbarians ; a gallantry which ch.valry nevei:
inspired; a humanity which refinement has never equa
led • and that before their advance to the shepherd state,
tht; possessed a correct taste, a. polished d.cuon a cult -
vated and sublime poetry, enriched 'Vlth ^Ib aU the
images of classical antiquity, and intermixed with all the
sentimental affectation of the present times. Them his
tory contains no marks of primeval refinement, unless we
ca^persuade ourselves that their descendants, as soon as
they approached observation, degenerated on emerging
from the savage state, and became more barbarous in pro-
nortion as they became more civilized.
1 The improbability of such an inversion of the orf n.aiJ
law of human society is sufficiently apparent. ButMr La g,
not content with urging this argument, which he held to be
“unanswerable,” annexed to the fourth volume of his h.s-
tory a “ Dissertation on the supposed Authenticity of Os-
sian's Poems,” in which he has reduced his numerous de¬
tections, historical and critical, under a few general heads,
“ and endeavoured,” as he says, “ to disabuse his country¬
men, and to put an end, if possible, to the controversy and
deception for ever.” These heads are, the Roman His¬
tory of Britain, the Middle Ages, Tradition, the Customs
and7Manners of the Times, the Real Origin of the Poems
Imitations of the ancient and modern Poets, the pretended
Originals, and Macpherson’s avowal of the whole impos- Ossi
ture* thus embracing the whole question in all its bear-^—y
ino-s ’and details. In such an article as the present, it is
ofcourse impossible to enter into a subject branching out
into so many divisions; or even to attempt giving an ab¬
stract of the various arguments which have been urged by
Mr Laing in attempting to disprove the authenticity of the
poems ascribed to Ossian. We shall therefore content
ourselves with indicating a few of the leading points, leav¬
ing those who take an interest in the controversy, ot de¬
sire further information, to consult the Dissertation itself.
On the first branch of his subject, Mr Laing contends
that, as the Highlanders originated from Ireland, and as
their arrival from that country is established by the con¬
currence of every Scottish and Irish historian, whether
their first migration is placed in 258 under Cairbar Riada,
or postponed until 503, when they were restored by Fer-
eus MacErth and his brother Loarn, there was not a
Highlander in Scotland of the present race at the begin¬
ning of the era which is assigned to Fingal by Macpherson.
He next shows, that by connecting his poems with Roman
history, Macpherson has fallen into the most ridiculous
mistakes. Gibbon had previously remarked the absurdi-
tv of making the Highland bard describe the son of Seve-
rus “ by a nickname invented four years afterwards, scarce¬
ly used by the Romans till after the death of that empe¬
ror and seldom employed by the most ancient historians;
and the detection is as complete with respect to Carau-
sius, who is represented as the contemporary and succes¬
sor of that emperor. The most noted or classical places
in Scotland are also, by a dexterous anticipation, appropri¬
ated to Ossian, as Carron, Glencoen or Gona, aiJd Dum¬
barton the Alcuith of Bede. The name of Balclutha Mr
Lain0, considers as fictitious ; and in Fingal s intercourse
with other nations he discovers the same minute yet con¬
clusive anachronisms. The invasions from Lochhn, a name
unknown until the ninth century, are also, according o
Mr Laing, equally fabulous with the pretended exploits of
Fingal against the Romans. The detections resulting from
a comparison of the incidents mentioned m these poems
with the history of the middle ages are not less important
They relate chiefly to Magnus, surnamed Barefoot, Gathula
or M, the friend of Fingal; Carrick-Thura, the palace of
the king of Innistore ; and the circle ot Loda. ?
But one of the strongest points of Mr Laing s argu-
ment is that which has for its object to disprore that poeM
of such length could have been preserved entire, fo P
wards of fifteen hundred years, by means of oral tra i
alone. “ It is indeed strange,” says Hume, in a letter
Gibbon “ that any man of sense could have iniagin
possible, that above twenty thousand verses, a ong w
numberless historical facts, Ud have been pr^erved by
oral tradition, during fifty generations, bj the
baps, of all the civilized nations, the most slt0U^ .
most turbulent, and the most unsettled. Where PI
■ - I suppose my opinion of the poems of Ossian,” says Johnson, ’ je£Ahe orieinal, nor can It be shown by any °the. •
other form than that which we have seen. The editor or author never “uld show the on^ ^ ^
to revenge reasonable incredulity by refusing evidence, is a „ it if he had it; but whence could it be had ■ lar st0.
stubborn audacity is the last refuge of guilt. It would b \ He has doubtless inserted names that circula PrePcollected,
to be remembered, and the language formerly ^ rmthing writte . ±1 ^ ^ names and some ot the mages be 0 LondoD,
ries and mav have translated some wandering ballads, it any can oe mu , r,.,,rwe„ t0 the Western Islands, pp- 27J, ’ itnesges,
r7tr^o“unS S^s^o^7 ^SeverM fragments m these rthese^ d?mm
not^know how it is, but mimicry is a species of poetic imitatmn so ^ . t daubings. The most^celebrated rke
limine from originals of great masters, by those whose own desig ” little nearer, the book written b\ B ■ w
K «"!e aTEaionrt J Foote, were the n.^t mUerable ; and o c™e a Me^ ^ «/ «
civil society, under the name and character of Bolingbroke, is iar superior y ^ ^ ^
Mr Mason, dated 12th January 1762 ) . P c rj 209. Macpherson gives three severa e y
Which itLvolved bun.
O S S I A N.
663
ian. sition is so contrary to common sense, any positive evi-
v—^dence of it ought never to be regarded. Men run with
great avidity to give their evidence in favour of what flat¬
ters their passions and their national prejudices.” The
consideration of the mutability of language also supplies
an argument which cannot easily be obviated. This is
counteracted only by letters and bj the art of printing ;
but an unwritten language naturally diverges into different
dialects, and in every age assumes a new form, although the
radical structure may remain. If these poems, then, are
alleged to have been preserved by oral tradition, in an ob¬
solete diction, that is, in a dialect disused by the people,
this alone is sufficient to confute their authenticity. But
if it be maintained that the language has remained inva¬
riably the same since the end of the second or beginning
of the third century, this is contrary to the experience of
all nations, and, besides, is disproved by the difference of
the Gaelic from the parent Irish, a page of which a few
centuries old is confessedly unintelligible to the people of
the present day. Nor has the difficulty been in any de¬
gree removed by the numerous attestations which have, at
different times, been obtained. No sooner were the trans¬
lations published, than the traditionary existence of the
poems disappeared. When Dr Johnson visited the Western
Isles, the natives had nothing to communicate that de¬
served attention; and his assertion that there was not a
Gaelic manuscript above a century old still remains undis¬
proved by the publication of any such document. In proof
that the Highlanders were neither rude and illiterate, nor
the Gaelic an unwritten language, in the time of Ossian, it
has been alleged that the Druids, when expelled from Scot¬
land, retired to Iona, where they established a college, and
lived and taught unmolested till the sixth century, when
they were dispossessed by St Columba. But, according to
Mr Laing, there is no evidence, nothing indeed but conjec¬
ture, that the Druids ever existed in Ireland ; and the fact
appears to be certain, that there never was a Druid in Scot¬
land, otherwise Tacitus, who describes the destruction of
their order in England, would most probably have remarked
their influence or existence under Galgacus in the Cale¬
donian war. “ I he man,” he adds, “ who can thus create
an historical fact, requires nothing but genius to fabricate
an epic poem.” Finally, if manuscripts be appealed to, “ let
a single book of Fingal in manuscript, such as translated
by Macpherson, of an older date than a century, be pro¬
duced and lodged in a public library, and there is an end
of the dispute.”
Mr Laing then proceeds to show that the contradiction
is not greater between the primeval refinement ascribed
to the Highlanders, and their recent barbarism, than be¬
tween their real manners at the period of Fingal and those
described in the poems of Ossian. He alleges that reli¬
gion w'as avoided as a dangerous topic, which led to detec¬
tion ; that, from the difficulty of inventing a religious my¬
thology, Macpherson has created a savage society of re-
•w^0 Relieve in ghosts, but not in deities;
and that, solicitous only for proper machinery, he has ren¬
dered the Highlanders a race of unparalleled infidels, who
believed in no gods but the ghosts of their fathers. And
the same difficulty, he adds, occurred in the adaptation of
circumstances, peculiar customs, or rites, to the supposed
state of society; points on which Macpherson has laid him¬
self open to suspicion or detection. Mr Laing next traces
the origin of the poems ascribed to Ossian, which he as¬
cribed to the failure of Macpherson’s avowed poem, entitled
The Highlander, published at Edinburgh in 1758, four
years before the appearance of Fingal, and a desire on the
part of Macpherson to insure a more favourable reception
to his subsequent productions, by assigning to them a re¬
mote antiquity.1 He shows, that when The Highlander is
examined, its plot exhibits the very outlines of Fingal; that
the inferiority of The Highlander to Fingal affords no pre¬
sumption whatsoever that the latter is authentic; and that
the Fragments of Gaelic Poetry published at Edinburgh
in 1760, were produced when his taste and style had been
considerably improved. But the most copious and curious
source of detection is, according to Mr Laing, the constant
imitation of the classics, the Scriptures, and such temporary
publications as were then in vogue. The details on this
part of the subject admit not of any condensation, and the
reader is consequently referred to the Dissertation itself.
Some of the supposed imitations are perhaps a little over¬
strained, and others not very obvious or striking; but the
number that is liable to neither objection is so great, and
in many cases so apparent, as to be altogether destructive
of the notion that Macpherson translated from originals
which had been composed by a Celtic bard, who flourish-
cd fifteen centuries before the time when his pretended
compositions were given to the public. As to the speci¬
mens of the original produced by Macpherson, Mr Lain<>'
contends that they were translated into Gaelic from the
English original by the translator himself; and, in parti¬
cular, that the original Gaelic of Malvina’s Dream was pro¬
duced by the translator at the request of Lord Karnes.
Lastly, he has shown that, from the very beginning, Mac¬
pherson avowed the deceit, and that he ended, as we have
already seen, by expressly vindicating and appropriating to
himself the poems which he had at first attributed to Ossian.
Dr Graham’s Essay on the Authenticity of the Poems of
Ossian professes to be an answer to Mr Laing’s masterly
Dissertation on the same subject. But in reality it is only
a piece of captious controversial writing, deficient in cri¬
tical ability, displaying neither originality, acuteness, nor
research, and as devoid of candour and fairness2 as it is
Ossian.
“/succeeding ages. From this source nroceeds our^enov,?-1111 5^7^, n0 “ordinary man in his own time, becomes the Jonder
Wended with their virtues virtues but the vices which were once
compositions to a person whose rM anulitn Zl^hL Jt r C0nSl?erattJ0n mtSh\ indu°e 11 <W‘dent of his abilities, to ascribe his own
writer of this age " antiquity, and whose situation when alive, might well answer for faults which would be inexcusable in a
Committee of the Highland Society
not be improper for one who Ins UIiIp to lneo .. v, , 7 1 ' °01 to ihe Station of the arguments of Mr Laing, it may
the lists even with this powerful antagonist ” It would ^ 16 ^°0C* t0 ^ain some a(lvantage in the discussion, to enter
Ws entry into the list L he caffsTt hv a toSt,, , been m°re cre.dltable to Dr Graham, however, if he had not prefaced
word from which it can bv anfvilnce o77n7 ^t f1" In the Report of the Committee, there is not one
here ascribed to them. ldiey7Irv1OToLrtir» w slmd0«od^Vnfrrfd h 7heyuWere,^Uiltyof the ridiculous and presumption
dence and information than draJL,l iJfrr/, wished sedulously to avoid anything like controversy, desirous rather of procuring evi.
% the strange assertionnthat^thevW“ considered^Ras Ipn1; hS0,far .f0111 their Report embodying any expression which could jus-
was no part of the plan unon whiclft hev r beneath their dignity to stoop to the refutation of Mr Laing’s arguments,” which
views and opinions of that (fistinmiishJdPnpr^ ^ containsabundar't proofs of the respect and deference which they showed for the
k f ‘ ompare with this disingenuous allegation, the honest valedictory appeal of the ac-
II
o S S I A N.
662
Ossian. public access to bis manuscripts, at one time proposing
to print them by subscription, and at another to deposit
them in some public library ; and, lastly, they have not
yet been published, and probably never will, because, if
they were, their authenticity would be fully as liable to
challenge or dispute as the translations which Macpherson
professed to have made from them. The demand made
by Dr Johnson and others was in itself most reasonable;
and the refusal to produce evidence, merely because men
doubted in a case where there was great room for incre¬
dulity, is either a proof that none whatever existed, or an
instance of perversity unexampled in the history of lite¬
rary controversy.1
II. But if Blair, in his elaborate and rhetorical Disser¬
tation, had done little or nothing to remove the doubts
which from the first were entertained as to the authentici¬
ty. of the poems ascribed to Ossian, incredulity gained sti
greater confidence from the formidable and systematic on¬
set of Mr Laing. In the third volume of his History of
Scotland, that gentleman, in treating of the Highlanders,
had adverted to the state of society and manners repre¬
sented in these poems, as existing amongst that people,
about the end of the second or commencement of the third
century, and had thence deduced an argument against the
authenticity of productions displaying a refinement and
cultivation of sentiment inconsistent with all history and
experience. “ The productions of the Celtic muse,” said he,
“ would persuade us to believe that the early manners of
the Highlanders displayed a civilization inconsistent with
an utter ignorance of the arts of life; an uniform heroism
unknown to barbarians ; a gallantry which chivalry never
inspired; a humanity which refinement has never equal¬
led ; and that before their advance to the shepherd state,
they possessed a correct taste, a polished diction, a culti¬
vated and sublime poetry, enriched with the choicest
images of classical antiquity, and intermixed with all the
sentimental affectation of the present times. I heir his¬
tory contains no marks of primeval refinement, unless we
can persuade ourselves that their descendants, as soon as
they approached observation, degenerated on emerging
from the savage state, and became more barbarous in pro¬
portion as they became more civilized.”
The improbability of such an inversion of the ordinary
law of human society is sufficiently apparent. ButMr Laing,
not content with urging this argument, which he held to be
“ unanswerable,” annexed to the fourth volume of his his¬
tory a “ Dissertation on the supposed Authenticity of Os-
sian’s Poems,” in which he has reduced his numerous de¬
tections, historical and critical, under a few general heads,
“ and endeavoured,” as he says, “ to disabuse his country¬
men, and to put an end, if possible, to the controversy and
deception for ever.” These heads are, the Roman His¬
tory of Britain, the Middle Ages, 1 radition, the Customs
and Manners of the Times, the Real Origin of the Poems,
Imitations of the ancient and modern Poets, the pretended
Originals, and Macpherson’s avowal of the whole impos- Os n.
ture ; thus embracing the whole question in all its bear-
ings and details. In such an article as the present, it is
of course impossible to enter into a subject branching out
into so many divisions; or even to attempt giving an ab¬
stract of the various arguments which have been urged by
Mr Laing in attempting to disprove the authenticity of the
poems ascribed to Ossian. We shall therefore content
ourselves with indicating a few of the leading points, leav¬
ing those who take an interest in the controversy, of de¬
sire further information, to consult the Dissertation itself.
On the first branch of his subject, Mr Laing contends
that, as the Highlanders originated from Ireland, and as
their arrival from that country is established by the con¬
currence of every Scottish and Irish historian, whether
their first migration is placed in 258 under Cairbar Riada,
or postponed until 503, when they were restored by Fer¬
gus MacErth and his brother Loarn, there was not a
Highlander in Scotland of the present race at the begin¬
ning of the era which is assigned to Fingal by Macpherson.
He next shows, that by connecting his poems with Roman
history, Macpherson has fallen into the most ridiculous
mistakes. Gibbon had previously remarked the absurdi¬
ty of making the Highland bard describe the son of Seve-
rus “ by a nickname invented four years afterwards, scarce¬
ly used by the Romans till after the death of that empe¬
ror, and seldom employed by the most ancient historians;”2
and the detection is as complete with respect to Carau-
sius, who is represented as the contemporary and succes¬
sor of that emperor. The most noted or classical places
in Scotland are also, by a dexterous anticipation, appropri¬
ated to Ossian, as Carron, Glencoen or Cona, and Dum¬
barton the Alcuith of Bede. The name of Balclutha Mr
Laing considers as fictitious ; and in Fingal’s intercourse
with other nations he discovers the same minute yet con¬
clusive anachronisms. The invasions from Lochlin, a name
unknown until the ninth century, are also, according to
Mr Laing, equally fabulous with the pretended exploits of
Fingal against the Romans. The detections resulting from
a comparison of the incidents mentioned in these poems
with the history of the middle ages are not less important.
They relate chiefly to Magnus, surnamed Barefoot; Cathula
or Ketil, the friend of Fingal; Carrick-Thura, the palace of
the king of Innistore ; and the circle of Loda.
But one of the strongest points of Mr Laing’s argu¬
ment is that which has for its object to disprove that poems
of such length could have been preserved entire, for up¬
wards of fifteen hundred years, by means of oral tradition
alone. “ It is indeed strange,” says Hume, in a letter to
Gibbon, “ that any man of sense could have imagined it
possible, that above twenty thousand verses, along with
numberless historical facts, could have been preserved by
oral tradition, during fifty generations, by the rudest, per¬
haps, of all the civilized nations, the most necessitous, the
most turbulent, and the most unsettled. Where a suppo-
1 “ I suppose my opinion of the poems of Ossian,” says Johnson, “ is already discovered. ^ be^shown by any other:
other form than that which we have seen. The editor or author never could show the ong , ^ ig not t acquainted; and
to revenge reasonable incredulity by refusing evidence, is a degree of msolende with whic ld it be ha(i ? It is too long
 loct it omnht Iip pnsv to show it it he had it; but whence couiu n ue u   
        md the names anu some oi me London,
make an inaccurate auditor imagine that he has formerly heard the whole.” (Journey to the living witnesses,
1774.) Bishop Warburton expresses a similar opinion. “ Several fragments m these poems i fragments the
sung to the harp both in the Highlands and in Ireland. My solution of the difficulty is^ ^ ^ j do
forgery has been erected.” “ You will say,” he adds, “it is a work infinitely above one of those we ^ m
not know how it is, but mimicry is a species oi poetic imitation so different from the t * Tb most celebrated mimics on
painting from originals of great masters, by those whose own designs were all sign-post daub g . b written by Burke against
the stage, as Eastcouvt and Foote, were the most miserable actors ; and, to come a [“^fbUcomnosition^ ” (Extract of a Letter to
civil society, under the name and character of Bolingbroke, is far superior to any other of his compositions. ^
Mr Mason, dated 12th January 1762.)   , etymologies of the nama
i Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. i. c. 8, p. 209. _ Macpherson gives three y
Caracalla, being altogether unconscious of the historical anachronism in which it involved him.
o S S I A N.
isian. sition is so contrary to common sense, any positive evi-
v—"'dence of it ought never to be regarded. Men run with
great avidity to give their evidence in favour of what flat¬
ters their passions and their national prejudices.” The
consideration of the mutability of language also supplies
an argument which cannot easily be obviated. This is
counteracted only by letters and by the art of printing;
but an unwritten language naturally diverges into different
dialects, and in every age assumes a new form, although the
radical structure may remain. If these poems, then, are
alleged to have been preserved by oral tradition, in an ob¬
solete diction, that is, in a dialect disused by the people,
this alone is sufficient to confute their authenticity. But
if it be maintained that the language has remained inva¬
riably the same since the end of the second or beginning
of the third century, this is contrary to the experience o*f
all nations, and, besides, is disproved by the difference of
the Gaelic from the parent Irish, a page of which a few
centuries old is confessedly unintelligible to the people of
the present day. Nor has the difficulty been in any de¬
gree removed by the numerous attestations which have, at
different times, been obtained. No sooner were the trans¬
lations published, than the traditionary existence of the
poems disappeared. When Dr Johnson visited the Western
Isles, the natives had nothing to communicate that de¬
served attention ; and his assertion that there was not a
Gaelic manuscript above a century old still remains undis¬
proved by the publication of any such document. In proof
that the Highlanders were neither rude and illiterate, nor
the Gaelic an unwritten language, in the time of Ossian, it
has been alleged that the Druids, when expelled from Scot¬
land, retired to Iona, where they established a college, and
lived and taught unmolested till the sixth century, when
they were dispossessed by St Columba. But, according to
Mr Laing, there is no evidence, nothing indeed but conjec¬
ture, that the Druids ever existed in Ireland ; and the fact
appears to be certain, that there never was a Druid in Scot¬
land, otherwise Tacitus, who describes the destruction of
their order in England, would most probably have remarked
their influence or existence under Galgacus in the Cale¬
donian war. “ The man, he adds, “ who can thus create
an historical fact^ requires nothing but genius to fabricate
an epic poem.” Finally, if manuscripts be appealed to, “ let
a single book of Fingal in manuscript, such as translated
by Macpherson, of an older date than a century, be pro¬
duced and lodged in a public library, and there is an end
of the dispute.”
Mr Laing then proceeds to show that the contradiction
is not greater between the primeval refinement ascribed
to the Highlanders, and their recent barbarism, than be¬
tween their real manners at the period of Fingal and those
described in the poems of Ossian. He alleges that reli-
663
gion was avoided as a dangerous topic, which led to detec¬
tion ; that, from the difficulty of inventing a religious my-
thology, Macpherson has created a savage society of re-
•W^° ^e^eve ghosts, but not in deities;
and that, solicitous only for proper machinery, he has ren¬
dered the Highlanders a race of unparalleled infidels, who
believed in no gods but the ghosts of their fathers. And
the same difficulty, he adds, occurred in the adaptation of
circumstances, peculiar customs, or rites, to the supposed
state of society; points on which Macpherson has laid him¬
self open to suspicion or detection. Mr Laing next traces
the origin of the poems ascribed to Ossian, which he as¬
cribed to the failure of Macpherson’s avowed poem, entitled
The Highlander, published at Edinburgh in 1758, four
years before the appearance of Fingal, and a desire on the
part of Macpherson to insure a more favourable reception
to his subsequent productions, by assigning to them a re¬
mote antiquity.1 He shows, that when The Highlander is
examined, its plot exhibits the very outlines of Fingal; that
the inferiority of The Highlander to Fingal affords no pre¬
sumption whatsoever that the latter is authentic; and that
the Fragments of Gaelic Poetry published at Edinburgh
in 1760, were produced when his taste and style had been
considerably improved. But the most copious and curious
source of detection is, according to Mr Laing, the constant
imitation of the classics, the Scriptures, and such temporary
publications as were then in vogue. The details on this
Pait of the subject admit not of any condensation, and the
reader is consequently referred to the Dissertation itself.
Some of the supposed imitations are perhaps a little over¬
strained, and others not very obvious or striking; but the
number that is liable to neither objection is so great, and
in many cases so apparent, as to be altogether destructive
of the notion that Macpherson translated from originals
which had been composed by a Celtic bard, who flourish¬
ed fifteen centuries before the time when his pretended
compositions were given to the public. As to the speci¬
mens of the original produced by Macpherson, Mr Lain<r
contends that they were translated into Gaelic from the
English original by the translator himself; and, in parti¬
cular, that the original Gaelic of Malvina’s Dream was pro¬
duced by the translator at the request of Lord Karnes.
Lastly, he has shown that, from the very beginning, Mac¬
pherson avowed the deceit, and that he ended, as we have
already seen, by expressly vindicating and appropriating to
himself the poems which he had at first attributed to Ossian.
Dr Graham’s Essay on the Authenticity of the Poems of
Ossian professes to be an answer to IVIr Lamg’s masterly
Dissertation on the same subject. But in reality it is only
a piece of captious controversial writing, deficient in cri¬
tical ability, displaying neither originality, acuteness, nor
research, and as devoid of candour and fairness2 as it is
Ossian.
F'TU ;:poet7’ »* ^ **.
authors is not altogether to be attributed tn tlviV t 0\vf(. uPon them when they are not sensible of it. This neglect of living
the man -,ho ■writl differs from the ™ 1 in commonhfr D J b andJ.ewardb‘S g™™- -It ofte.^appears that
hh writings, remain: his is f“d from S and ’ howfer-.^e obliterated by death, and his better part,
of succeeding ages. From this source oroceeds nnr venev.f f6 e?m™t,.aordlnary man 111 his own time, becomes the wonder
blended with their virtues hTve d^ Virtue8 re™> bllt the vices which were once
compositions to a person Shfr/IZ; Itur ^ d^dent °f his aUliti^ U> a*nibe his
writer of this age.” antiquity, and whose situation when alive, might well answer for faults which would be inexcusable in a
of sSlSd haT,’ iV^prlXlf^tTleled ^ j"Jbe'nea t \° remark’ “ ^ th°U^h the Committee of the Highland Society
not be improper for oLiL harTittle to iose nnd wbo “IG™ to SJ°0P io ihe refutation of the arguments of Mr Laing, it may
the lists even with this powerful antagonist ” " It wnnl l*T'V 16 t0 ^a*n sonie advantage in the discussion, to enter
his entry into the list ^he caffsTt bv a } \T ^ credltable to Dr Graham, however, if he had not prefaced
'vord from which it can, bv anv violeni^ Tn the Report of the Committee, there is not one
here ascribed to them. They very oronerlv “ wiohpd i , at they were guilty of the ridiculous folly and presumption
dence and information, than of drawing inferelces from them ^nd" f'T an{thmg like controversy, desirous rather of procuring evi.
hfy the strange assertion that tCv « consideted ? ib ?i , ?°m their Keport embod3’i"g any expression which could jus-
"asno pan of the plan upon which they proceeded fr contains abundaft nraofrTfTb10 ^ Mr Laing’s arguments,” which
'lews and opinions of that ffistinmiUh/d n comains abu!™ant proofs of the respect and deference which they showed for the
1 that dlStlngUlshed Person- ComI,are Wlth thls disingenuous allegation, the honest valedictory appeal of the ac-
0 S S I A N.
664
Ossian. of ingenuity or talent. At the outset, Dr Graham seems
disposed to throw James Maepherson overboard. “ I speak
only of the poems,” says lie ; “ of Macpherson’s dreams I
make no account.” But, unfortunately, the one can never
be separated from the other. The question is not as to the
existence of detached poems, songs, or “ wandering bal¬
lads,” which nobody has disputed; but whether it is pos¬
sible now to produce the originals of Fingal, Temora, and
other poems, of which Mr Maepherson has given what he
calls translations, and at the same time to establish the
authenticity of these originals. Until this be done, or un¬
til some ancient manuscript of these poems shall have been
published, all the arguments employed by Mr Laing will
remain in full force and unshaken. It is no doubt true
that Dr Blair has pronounced Ossian superior to Virgil, and
that the Italian translator, Cesarotti, who implicitly adopted
his opinion, has re-echoed the same extraordinary senti¬
ment. This, however, is matter of taste alone ; and as Dr
Blair’s Dissertation left the real question at issue exactly
where the ingenious author found it, the same thing may,
without any discourtesy, be affirmed of Dr Graham’s Essay.
The attempts made, in the latter work, to answer MrLaing’s
arguments in detail, have signally failed in the object con¬
templated, particularly in all questions of a purely historical
kind. In proof of this we need only refer to his confused
notions respecting the origin of the Caledonians ; the ab¬
surdities in which he has involved himself from not un¬
derstanding the statements of Bede, upon which he pro¬
fesses to ground part of his refutation of Laing; and espe¬
cially the extraordinary notion, contradicted by all history,
that Ireland derived its Celtic population from Scotland.
In grasping at straws, he also betrays a consciousness of
the weakness of his cause, or the difficulty of the side which
he has undertaken to defend. It may be true, as he alleges,
and as several persons have testified, that Maepherson was
not at first very profoundly skilled in the Gaelic language ;
but it is to be observed that this was his vernacular tongue,
and that, at all events, he had the assistance of persons
whose knowledge of the Highland dialect has never, as far
as we know, been questioned or disputed.
But Dr Graham, when at a loss to resolve difficulties by
an appeal to facts, has always a theory at hand to help him.
The transmission of the poems of Ossian, by oral tradition,
through a period of more than fifteen centuries, is acknow¬
ledged to be “ a phenomenon of which we have no example
in the history of literature.” Yet we are desired to re¬
ceive with undoubting faith this unparalleled anomaly; first,
because, from the time in which these poems were com¬
posed till that in which “ they were collected and translated
by Maepherson, the Caledonians or Highlanders remained
unconquered ; and, secondly, because, in consequence of
this permanency of political situation, their language re¬
mained unaltered, and unmixed with any foreign idiom.”
In this last point, however, Dr Graham contradicts himself,
and makes an admission which appears of itself to be fatal
to his theory. After informing his readers that the poems
ascribed to Ossian “ bear throughout the stamp of antiqui¬
ty,” he adds, “ that some foreign, and even some modern
terms, sometimes occurbut that “ still the Gaelic idiom
is maintained, and the purity of its structure preserved in¬
violate.” Nor is his reference to the supposed history of
the poems of Homer, as a case in point respecting the al¬
leged oral transmission of those ascribed to Ossian, much
more fortunate than his theory of the immutable perma¬
nency and purity of the Gaelic language. For every scholar
who has read Wolf’s Prolegomena ad Eomerum must be Os*n.
aware that this is neither more nor less than citing what isv—W
doubtful or improbable, in one case, to support what is at
least equally doubtful or improbable in another. And as to
the wonderfully retentive memory ascribed to the old High¬
landers, it may be sufficient to observe, that this new theore¬
tical element cannot be admitted upon a mere assumption
without proof, and contrary to all experience or probability.
Lastly, Dr Graham, anxious to dispose of the whole ques¬
tion at once, furnishes us with what he calls “ a very obvi¬
ous criterion of originality.” “ Mr J ames Maepherson,” says
he, “ was brought up in the bosom of polished society ; his
mind was enriched with the stores of ancient and modern
literature ; he was familiarized, from an early period of
life, to the modes of acting, and thinking, and expressing
himself, which characterize the scholar of the present
times. That a person of such education, and of such ha¬
bits of thinking, should so completely divest himself of all
his previous acquisitions in literature, and science, and of
every idea rendered familiar to him by long use; and that
he should be able to write with uniform consistency, in
the character of a person who is supposed to have lived
fourteen hundred years ago, and in a state of society so
different from the present order of things; in short, that
a modern European should produce such a work as the
poetry of Ossian, distinguished exclusively by the ideas
peculiar to people in the most simple state of society,—
all these, I confess, I must consider as efforts beyond the
reach of humanity'.’ We are not prepared to admit that
the real case is here fairly stated, or that Maepherson has
preserved the uniform consistency which Dr Graham has
gratuitously ascribed to him ; indeed Mr Laing has shown
that, in numerous cases, the very reverse is the fact. But
supposing that the doctor were correct to the letter in his
statement of the question, it follows that Chatterton achiev¬
ed an “ effort beyond the reach of humanity,” by the com¬
position of the poems he ascribed to Kowley, which are
entirely divested of every allusion to the modes and man¬
ners of the time when they were written, whilst the lan¬
guage is almost as faultlessly antique as that of the era to
which the ingenious and unfortunate author chose to assign
them.1
III. We come now to the Report of the Committee of
the Highland Society, which, as a sort of judicial document,
is particularly deserving of attention. The Committee in
question was appointed for the express purpose of collect¬
ing all the evidence and information which could be ob¬
tained on the subject; and with this view it began by cir¬
culating a set of queries, embracing the principal points
which had been brought into dispute in the controversy
respecting the authenticity of the poems ascribed to Os¬
sian. Its declared object was sedulously to avoid all con¬
troversy on the subject, and rather to collect materials from
which a judgment might be formed respecting the ques¬
tion at issue, than to attempt to pronounce any formal de¬
cision of its own. In this spirit the Report was drawn
up by Mr Henry Mackenzie, the chairman ; and although
there is a manifest and not unnatural bias in favour of the
Celtic bard, yet, upon the whole, it displays a candour,
fairness, and impartiality which, on a subject where na¬
tional prejudices had been strongly excited, camrot be too
highly commended. It only remains for us, therefore, to
lay before our readers the results of this patient and labo¬
rious investigation, as these have been stated in the Re¬
port itself, and to leave them to form their own judgment.
complished and enthusiastic author of the Phingaleis: “ Jamque vale, mi Laingi: si fors resipueris ; si te poeniteat; si leum e e
confiteare, fas tibi mecurn in amicitiam coire. Solemne namque fuit adeoque est Caledonibus,
Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos.”
1 The Gil Bias of Le Sage is another instance in point. Though written by a Frenchman, it is, in sentiment, feeling, manners,
and habits of thought and expression, as completely Spanish, as if it had been the production of Cervantes himself.
L-
O S S I A N.
sian
Before proceeding, however, to submit to the Society
the general conclusions at which they had arrived, the
Committee felt themselves called upon to take notice “ of
some difficulties in this investigation, which have struck,
and must strike, every impartial person at all acquainted
with the subject, and conversant at the same time with
the history ol nations, and the progress of society.” 1. The
firsi, of these is the circumstance of the language, in poems
for which such a high antiquity is claimed, being so near¬
ly what it still is, in the common use and understanding
of the country. This has always been considered as a
fatal objection ; and, as we have already seen, it is forcibly
urged by Mr Laing, who contends, that if the language had
been ancient or obsolete, the poems could not have been
preserved, and that the circumstance of its being modern
is a proof that the poems could not be ancient. The Com¬
mittee, however, suggest that “ perhaps the situation of
the Highlands and Islands, where this poetry has been
preserved, and the little communication they had with
other countries, may in some measure account for this cir¬
cumstance. 2. Another preliminary difficulty adverted to
is, that any human memory should have been able to re¬
tain poems of such length, and so numerous, as some of
those Highlanders, from whose oral recitation the collec¬
tors ol such poems professed to obtain them, are said to
have repeated. T.he solution offered by the Committee is
the common one, that “ the power of memory in persons
accustomed from their infancy to such repetitions, and
who are unable to assist or injure it by writing, must not
be judged ot by any ideas or any experience possessed by
those who have only seen its exertions in ordinary life
and that instances of such miraculous powers of me¬
mory are known in most countries, “ where the want of
writing, like the want of a sense, gives an almost superna¬
tural force to those by which that privation is supplied.”
3. A third difficulty, which has always appeared to intelligent
inquirers the hardest to be surmounted in this matter, is
the style of manners and of sentiment exhibited in the
poms ascribed to Ossian. The Committee reply, that in
all the ancient Celtic poetry, a distinction is made be¬
tween the Fingalian race and their invaders or enemies,
the former assuming a degree of generosity, compassion,
and delicate attention to the female sex, which is denied
to the latter; and, besides, that some allowance ought to
be made “for the colouring of poetry on the manners
and sentiments of the heroic persons of whom it speaks.”
Ihe real difficulty, however,, is to explain how any poet
living amidst barbarism, violence, and anarchy, could have
conceived or imagined a style of manners and sentiment
so different from all that he could ever have known or
observed, and drawn such pictures of generosity, com-
Ean’ and gallantry, as are to be found in the poems of
Having disposed of these preliminary difficulties, the
comnuttee proceed to report, that there are two questions
o which it has directed its attention, and on which it now
submits the best evidence it has been able to procure.
rW arf’ lst’What P°etry> of what kind, and of what
off, ^xcell,ence> existed anciently in the Highlands
tion of nnd’ and was generally known by the denomina¬
tion of Ossiamc, from the universal belief that its father and
pr ncipa! composer was Ossian the son of Fingal ? And,
Mr lan-T AT 1 lav! c°lle?tion °1 sneh poetry published by
-tr James Macpherson is genuine ? *
states^r1, t0tAe firSt °f th6Se <luestions> the Committee
exisf • T , confidence an opinion “ that such poetry did
dance - if A*™8 cTm0n’ generalj and in great abun-
in a b'i i ai * WaS a most impressive and striking sort,
second m! fe§ret elo(luent’ tender> and sublime.” The
more diffieSn°n’ however>the Committee found it “ much
voL x®, t0 anSWer decisiveIy-" ^ was possessed
of no documents to show how much of his collection Mr
Macpherson had obtained in the form in which he gave
it to the world. The poems and fragments of poems
665
Ossian.
, , — r-   iiog men (.a ui uueillS
they had been able to procure contained often the sub¬
stance, and sometimes almost the literal expression, of
passages given by Mr Macpherson in the poems of which
he published translations. “ But the Committee has not
been able to obtain any one poem the same in title and tenerr
with the poems published by him. It is inclined to be¬
lieve that he was in use to supply chasms, and to give con¬
nection by inserting passages which he did not find, and to
add what he conceived to be dignity and delicacy to the ori¬
ginal, by striking out passages, by softening incidents, by
refining the language, in short, by changing what he con¬
sidered as too simple or too rude for a modern ear, and
elevating what in his opinion was below the standard of
gootl poetry. To what degree, however, he exercised
these liberties, it is impossible for the Committee to deter¬
mine. Such is the deliberate judgment pronounced in
the report; a judgment, we may observe, which disposes
of the whole matter in dispute, by establishing the import¬
ant fact, that there could exist no originals, in the proper
sense of the term, from which Macpherson’s translations,
manufactured as they are here admitted to have been,
could possibly have been derived. That he availed himself
argely of the traditionary poems and ballads which former-
ly circulated in the Highlands, as in most other countries
similarly situated, no one has ever denied or disputed.
I his, indeed, has been the opinion even of those who most
strenuously contended that his pretended translations, taken
as a whole, were spurious. But that there ever existed in
the Gaelic language such long and connected poems as
those oi Fingal and Temora, seems to be now definitively
decided in the negative. The Report concludes by stating,
that the Committee “ encountered many more difficulties
and was obliged to bestow more labour, than it was at all
aware of when it undertook the investigation committed
to it by the Society j” and it adds, that this labour “ has,
after all, effected its purpose in a very imperfect manner
meaning, no doubt, in as far as regards the object origi¬
nally contemplated, of establishing the authenticity of the
poems ascribed to Ossian. In this “ purpose,” indeed if
such was entertained, it has entirely failed; but, on the
other hand, it evinced perfect candour and impartiality in
its researches, and acted throughout with a jealousy and
circumspection which it rightly conceived to be due to
itself, to the Society, and to truth.
IV. In order to render our view of this subject as com¬
plete as possible, it only remains to notice two other col-
lectors of Gaelic poetry ; namely, Mr Duncan Kennedy,
and Dr Smith of Campbelton. J
Mr Kennedy, originally a schoolmaster in Argyleshire,
and afterwards an accountant in Glasgow, appears to have
i ^io11 t0 GaeIi.c poetry somewhat prior to the year
1 /SO ; and his collection, consisting of three thin folio vo-
lumesm manuscript, having been purchased by the High¬
land Society of Scotland, is now in the possession of that
Dr Graham, the author of the Essay already men¬
tioned, having opened a correspondence with Mr Kenne-
y, called his particular attention to a passage in one of
r Smith s letters to Mr Henry Mackenzie, in which the
reverend gentleman states, that, on observing the beauty
of one or two passages of some poems communicated to
him by Kennedy, the latter said, these were of his men com¬
position ; and after stating to Kennedy how much it con¬
cerned his honour to take notice of this charge, Dr Graham
invited him “ to come forward, and make a fair acknow-
e gment of the share which he had in the business.”
Kennedy, nothing loth, obeyed the call thus made on him ;
fd in his answer to Dr Graham’s application, dated the
2olh of October 1805, there is the following extraordinary,
4, p
666
OSS
Ossian. and, we may add, instructive passage : “ As the rage of
both parties must soon subside, a fair division of property
ought to take place, and poetical justice [to be] distri¬
buted between Ossian and the fabricators. It will, there¬
fore, be admitted, at least by me, that Macpherson has in¬
terpolated ; that Smith has composed; and that Kennedy,
with much reluctance, is forced to confess, that he has ven¬
tured to make some verses, which, perhaps his vanity may
deceive him, but he is inclined to think, approach nearest to
the genuine strains of Ossian that have yet been produced
in the Gaelic language!' In the same communication he
declares that he composed about a sixth or seventh part
of what is contained in the manuscripts purchased by the
Highland Society ; that the Death of Carril is entirely
his own ; that most of Bas Ossian he also claims ; that
considerable portions of the Death of Diarmid, Goll, Os-
cair, Garbh, Latha na Lhir, and other poems in the col¬
lection, are of his composition ; and that “ a good Gaelic
scholar, of a good ear, and well acquainted with his ima¬
gery, and the qualifications and names of his favourite he¬
roes and professed enemies, may compose verses approxi¬
mate to the excellence of the original, and which notone in a
thousand will be able to distinguish from the rear strains of
Ossian. Here is a full, free, and instructive confession,
which, although it excited the indignation and provoked
the criticism of Dr Graham, who, no doubt, expected
something very different, appears, nevertheless, to be dis-
tincruished for its frankness and candour, and which af¬
fords a significant hint of that process of manufacture
which was pursued by Macpherson in concocting his pre¬
tended translations.
The next, and only other, collector we have to notice is
the Rev. Dr John Smith of Campbelton,who, like Kennedy,
performs a secondary part in this extraordinary literary im¬
posture. It appears that Dr Smith had the use of Kenne¬
dy’s manuscripts, and that he transcribed from them into
his own collection whatever he conceived to possess merit.
In the year 1780, Dr Smith gave this collection to the pub¬
lic in a translation; and, seven years afterwards, he pub¬
lished the originals, in an octavo volume, under the title of
Scandana. Kennedy, however, in his letter to Dr Graham,
distinctly states that Dr Smith “ composed," or, in other
words, fabricated originals ; and as he has frankly acknow¬
ledged the share which he had in the fabrication of his own
collection, the charge would carry considerable weight, even
if it were not indirectly admitted by Dr Smith himself,
which, as we shall presently see, is the case. Dr Graham,
who appears to have been most unfortunate in the sources
to which he applied for corroborative evidence, addressed a
letter to Dr Smith, dated the 24th of March 1806, stating
to him the confessions of Kennedy, including the charge
of fabrication against Smith himself, and requesting that
he would point out the manner in which he might be ef¬
fectually vindicated from so disgraceful an imputation.
Dr Smith, however, being less sensitive on this point than
his correspondent, took the matter very calmly, and aban¬
doned all his publications to their fate with the most stoical
indifference. “ On the subject of your letter,” says the re¬
verend gentleman, in reply, “ I have long ago said all I
have to say, and take no further concern in the question. If
any allege he passed on me as ancient poetry what was his
own composition, 1 have no interest in disputing his allega¬
tion. If I had, I would try if he could write such verses
as he claims (no doubt the best) on any other given sub¬
ject ; and examine whether these passages were not by a
dozen or score of other conti'ibutors. Unfortunately for me,
not only one, but every contributor, dead or alive, must re¬
nounce his right, before I can take the merit of a verse or
line, if vanity do not prompt me to take the contribution
of such as are dead, and unable to dispute my claim. But
this, I think, I shall leave to others; and if they claim
O S T
the translation as well as the original, I will not dispute Os iC8,
it, nor care who may believe and who may doubt it. The *ijil
stopping of my plough by a shower^of rain coming on 0
gives me more concern than either.” This is, perhaps,
the most extraordinary answer that ever was made to a
charge of literary imposture. Dr Graham says, “ it will
be found replete with good sensebut, for our part, we
discover in it merely a studied evasion of the important
question, to which it so much concerned Dr Smith to give
a distinct and unequivocal answer. It is some consolation,
however, to find, that the strange proceedings in which
this gentleman appears to have been engaged, were not,
like those of Macpherson, productive of profit. The eyes
of the public had already been opened; and, from one
of Dr Smith’s letters to Mr Mackenzie, we learn that
“ the profits of his publication were only a serious loss,"—
a circumstance which affected him so sensibly, that he
adds, “ I could never since think of Gaelic poetry with
pleasure or with patience, except to wish it had been dead
before I was born.”
We have thus placed before our readers as complete
and comprehensive a view of this famous controversy as
our limits would possibly permit. The subject has no
doubt lost much of its original attraction; indeed public
opinion appears to have gradually settled down into a de¬
cided conviction, that the poems of Ossian, as they appear
in the pretended translations of Macpherson, are substan¬
tially a forgery. But the controversy as to their authen¬
ticity or spuriousness, which was for a considerable time
carried on with so much acrimony, forms a curious chap¬
ter in the literary history of Scotland; and, for this rea¬
son alone, we have endeavoured to exhibit a condensed
view of the origin, the progress, and, we may add, the ter¬
mination, of the dispute, at the same time furnishing such
collateral information as seemed calculated to throw light
upon the principal question agitated by the advocates and
opponents of the Ossianic hypothesis. (a.)
OSSIFICATION, in the animal economy, the forma¬
tion of the bones, but more particularly the conversion of
parts naturally soft to the hardness and consistency of
bones. . ^ , . '
OSTADE, Adrian van, an eminent Dutch painter,
was born at Lubeck in 1610. He was a disciple of Irancis
Hals, in whose school Brouwer was contemporary with him,
and in it they contracted an intimate friendship. The
subjects of his pencil were always of a low kind; he had
nearly the same ideas as Teniers, and diverted himse
with clowns and drunkards in stables, ale-houses, and kit¬
chens. His pictures are so transparent and highly finish¬
ed that they have the polish and lustre of enamel. They
have frequently a force superior to Teniers ; yet it were
to be wished that he had not designed his figures so short.
Of the Dutch masters he is perhaps the one who best un¬
derstood the chiaro oscuro ; and he was often employe to
paint figures for the best landscape painters among his
countrymen. He died in 1685. His works, especially
those of his best time and manner, are very scarce; an
hence, when they can be purchased, no price is thoug
too much for them. His prints etched by himself, iarg
and small, consist of fifty-four pieces. .
OSTEND, a city of Belgium, in the province of West
Flanders, and circle of Bruges. It stands on the sea-shore,
with a good harbour, and two basins. The entran
the harbour is narrow, and only passable at hig i wa ’
and at low water the vessels within are aground,
mouth of the haven is defended by two forts, and t
town is surrounded with walls, and protected by '
tresses or citadels, being thus capable of de ence g
attacks either from the sea or from the land. ^
built; the streets are broad, and the houses g°o •
connected by canals with Bruges and Nieuport, whicn a
LL
O S T
O S T
667
olla. continued from the latter place to Dunkirk. It contains
10,550 inhabitants, many of whom depend on the sea and
the internal navigation, and particularly on the fishery. It
has considerable occupation in building ships, and in mak¬
ing sail-cloth and linen goods, besides cables and small
cordage. It has also salt-refineries and saw-mills. But
it is deficient in good water, which is conveyed from a dis¬
tance of more than a mile. The siege of this place in
the war between the Netherlands and Spain is one of the
most memorable that history has recorded. It began in
1601, and ended in 1604, when it was surrendered to the
Spaniards, who had lost before it 100,000 men. Long. 2.
28. 48. E. Lat. 51. 13. 37. N.
OSTEOCOLLA, iffnoxoXXa, in Natural History, a white
or ash-coloured sparry substance, in shape like a bone, and
by some supposed to have the quality of uniting broken
bones. It is found in long, thick, and irregularly cylindrical
pieces, which are in general hollow, but are sometimes
filled up with a marly earth, and sometimes contain within
them the remains of a stick, round which the osteocolla
had been formed. But though it is plain that many pieces
of osteocolla have been formed by incrustations round sticks,
yet the greater number are not so ; in fact, they are irregu¬
larly tubular, and appear to be formed of a flat cake, rolled
up in a cylindrical shape. The crusts of which these are
composed do not form regular concentric circles round the
internal cavity, as must have been the case had they been
formed by incrustation. On the other hand, they plainly
show that they were once so many thin strata, composing
a flat surface, which has afterwards been rolled up, as one
might do a paper three or four times doubled, into two,
three, or more spiral lines. In this case, each single edge
of the paper would be everywhere a regular point of a
continued spiral line drawn from a given point; but they
would by no means be so many detached concentric circles.
The osteocolla is found of different sizes, from that of a
crow-quill to the thickness of a man’s arm. It is com¬
posed of sand and earth, which may be separated by wash¬
ing the powdered osteocolla with water, and is found both
in digging and in several brooks, in many parts of Ger¬
many and elsewhere. In some parts of Germany it is
called hammosteus, from its always growing in sand, never
in clay, or any solid soil, nor even in gravel. Where a
piece of it anywhere appears on the surface, they dig
down for it, and find the branches run ten or twelve feet
deep. They usually run straight down, but sometimes they
are found spreading into many parts near the surface, as
if it were a subterraneous tree, the main stem of which
began at twelve feet depth, and thence grew up in a
branched manner till it was met by the open air.
The osteocolla found in the earth is at first soft and
ductile, but in half an hour’s time, if exposed to the air,
it becomes as hard as we find it in the shops. The me¬
thod of taking up a perfect piece for a specimen is to open
the ground, clear away the sand, and leave it so for an
our or thereabouts, in which time it will harden, and may
be taken out whole. It is certain that the osteocolla is
produced at this time; for if a pit be cleared of it, more
wi grow there in a year or two, only it will be softer, and
will not harden in the air so easily as the other. What
the rotten substance resembling the decayed branches of
trees is, we cannot determine, unless it really be such ; but
the opinion of the common people, that it is the root of
something, is absurd, because its thickest part lies at the
greatest depth, and the branches all run upwards. The
osteocolla is a marly spar which concretes round this mat-
or, ut what it is that determines it to concrete nowhere
i Same §rou^d excepting around these branches, it is
cult to say. The rottenness of this substance, which
rms the basis of the osteocolla, renders it very liable to
°u ei and fall away, and hence it is that we usually see
the osteocolla hollow. Sometimes it is found solid ; but Osteology-
in this case some vegetable matter has served as its basis, jl
and instead of one branch, it will be found to have con- , <^stla‘vS-
creted about a number of fibres, the remains of which will" ’ Y
be detected in it on a close examination.
OS 1 EOLOGY is that part of anatomy which treats of
the bones.
OSTERODE, a city of Hanover, in the province of
Grubenhagen and bailiwick of Eimbeck. It is situated at
the foot of the Hartz Mountains, on the rivers Sose and
Apente, and is surrounded with walls. It contains 760
houses, with 4500 inhabitants. It has a gymnasium with
six professors, and contains an extensive corn magazine,
always stored with a large quantity of bread-corn for the
supply of the miners of the Hartz. It has manufactures
of various woollen goods, of cottons, and of hosiery ; and,
besides, white lead, small shot, snuff, and soap, with other
small articles, are made there. Long. 10. 11. 24. E. Lat.
51. 14. 15. N.
OSTERVALD, John Frederic, a celebrated Protes¬
tant divine, was born at Neufchatel in 1663. He made
such rapid progress in his studies that he became master
of arts at Samur before he was sixteen years of age ; and
he afterwards studied at Orleans and at Paris. On his re¬
turn to Neufchatel in 1699 he became pastor of the church
there, and contracted a strict friendship with John Alphon-
sus Turretin of Geneva, and Samuel Werenfels of Basil;
and the union of these three divines, which was called
the Triumvirate of the Divines of Swisserland, lasted till
his death. Ostervald acquired the highest reputation by
his virtues, and his zeal in instructing his disciples; and he
restored ecclesiastical discipline. He wrote many books in
French, the principal of which are, 1. a Treatise concern¬
ing the Sources of Corruption; 2. a Catechism, or In¬
struction in the Christian Religion, translated into Ger¬
man, Dutch, and English, with an Abridgment of Sacred
History prefixed to it; 3. a Treatise against Impurity ; 4.
an edition of the French Bible of Geneva, with Arguments
and Reflections, folio ; 5. Ethica Christiana ; and, 6. Theo-
logiae Compendium. Ostervald died in the year 1747, re¬
gretted by all who knew him.
OSTERW1CK, a city belonging to the Prussian pro¬
vince of Saxony, and the capital of a circle of the same
name, which extends over 270 square miles, and contains
36,000 inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Ise,
and is fortified. It contains 480 houses, with 2850 inhabi¬
tants, who are occupied in various manufactures, and carry
on extensive breweries and distilleries. Long. 10. 36. 48.
E. Lat. 51. 58. 18. N.
OSTIA, a town on the eastern coast of Italy, in the
territory of the Roman see. It stands near that mouth of
the river Tiber called Bocca del Fiumecino, in a marshy
and unhealthy spot. It is the seat of a bishop, whose dio¬
cese is united with that of Velletria, and contains a large
and fine cathedral. It is not on the spot where stood the
Ostium of the ancients and the principal maritime esta¬
blishment of Rome, which was stated to have been three
or four miles in circuit, but somewhat farther from the sea¬
shore. The remains of the ancient city are still visible in
the ruins of aqueducts, temples, and other edifices, which
must have been built by a rich and luxurious population.
I he chief occupation of the few inhabitants consists in
collecting salt made by the heat of the sun alone, and with
which the greater portion of the papal dominions is supplied.
Long. 12. 10. 30. E. Lat. 41. 45. 38. N.
OSITAKS, an Asiatic tribe, who form the greater pro¬
portion of the native population of Siberia. They chiefly
inhabit the banks of the Obi, in the government of To¬
bolsk, extending northward along the river to the frontier
of the Samoiedes. They are extremely rude in their ha¬
bits and manners. Considering indolence as their chief
668
O S T
O S T
Ostracism, enjoyment, they labour only from necessity. They are di-
'•“■"“V'-''’minutive in their persons, being rather under than above
the middle size; slender in their figures, with thin legs,
and their faces pale and not at all strikingly marked. The
visages of the men are particularly repulsive; nor do the
women possess any superior attractions. They are simple,
timid, and full of prejudices; and their only virtue seems
to consist in hospitality, which they share in common with
other savages. They are clothed in skins, without any
shirt; and their lower garment consists of a species of
jacket with sleeves, which reaches to the middle, whilst an
upper garment, with a cap, is worn in cold weather. The
female’s attire is not particularly becoming. The head¬
dress is adorned with bands of cloth fastened by ribbons,
and by ear-rings of little coloured pearls. They tattoo also
the back of the hand, and the fore part of the arm and of
the leg. They are by no means distinguished for cleanli¬
ness, owing probably to the hard labour to which they are
exposed ; the men, as in all barbarous countries, regarding
them as slaves. The Ostiaks live chiefly by fishing, and,
with all the disgusting filthiness of savages, they eat their
fish raw. Some of the rich have herds of rein-deer. With
these they migrate along the banks of the rivers in porta¬
ble tents, composed of pieces of bark sewed together; but
in winter they dwell in wooden habitations, covered with
earth to increase the heat. The filth and stench of their
abodes cannot be described. In winter they sometimes
engage in hunting, performing for this purpose long jour¬
neys on sledges. They are in general healthy; but when
they advance in years they become liable to nervous and
scorbutic disorders. The small-pox, in particular, has com¬
mitted dreadful ravages amongst them. They are exceed¬
ingly rude in their religious notions, being generally pa¬
gans, and addicted to the grossest idolatries. They have
in all their cottages idols, which are like dolls: these are
placed in the neatest corner of the tent, with a little table
before them to receive the offerings. Here they deposit,
for the use of the idol, a large horn of snuff, with little pieces
of willow bark, such as are here used for putting into their
nostrils ; and they often bedaub it with fish oil: but if any
misfortune befall them which they imagine the idol might
have averted, they cast it on the ground, and break it to
pieces. The idols which are the chief objects of worship
are in a wooded valley, the approaches to which are care¬
fully guarded. They consist of a man and woman clothed
in the Ostiak dress, finely adorned with their richest furs
and cloths. The surrounding country is considered as
sacred, so that they neither hunt upon it, nor cut down
the grass nor any tree. They place great confidence in
their sorcerers, and are deluded by the grossest and most
absurd superstitions. They were governed, before the
Russian conquest, by their own hereditary chiefs, who
still administer justice amongst them ; and the obedience
exacted from them consists chiefly in the regular payment
of their tribute of furs. Their amusements consist in
dancing, or in romantic tales of their exploits and amorous
adventures ; and their language has a considerable affinity
with that of the Finns. According to the census of 1784,
the Ostiaks of the Obi amounted to 30,891 males.
OSTRACISM, in Grecian antiquity, denotes the ba¬
nishment of such persons as by their merit or their influ¬
ence gave umbrage to the people of Athens, lest they should
attempt any thing against the public liberty. This pun¬
ishment was called ostracism, from the Greek word herga.-
xor, which properly signifies a shell; but when applied to
this object, it is used to signify the billet upon which the
Athenians wrote the names of the citizens they intended
to banish. The learned are divided with regard to the sub¬
stance of which this billet was formed. Some insist that
it was a small stone, or a piece of brick; others hold that
it was a piece of bark; and others assert that it was a
shell. The wrord admits of all these interpretations ; but Os
what determines its true sense, is the epithet applied to its-
by ancient authors, signifying “ the punishment of potter’s
clay and this expression seems to prove, that the word
ouvgaxov, when applied on this occasion, signified a “ piece
of baked earth, in the form of a shellan idea which the
Latin authors had undoubtedly in their heads when they
translated it by testula. The ancients are likewise divided
respecting the time at which ostracism was instituted, but
they all agree that the person who moved the law was
its first victim. As to the name of its patron, and the
time of its establishment, however, they differ extremely.
Many are of opinion that ostracism originated at a very
remote period in the history of Athens.
But however this may be, the punishment of ostracism
was inflicted by the Athenians when their liberty was be¬
lieved to be in danger. If, for instance, jealousy or ambi¬
tion had sowed discord amongst the chiefs of the republic,
and if different parties were formed, which threatened some
revolution in the state, the people assembled to propose
measures proper to be taken for preventing the conse¬
quences of a division which in the end might be fatal to
freedom. Ostracism was the remedy to which they usually
had recourse upon these occasions ; and the consultations of
the people generally terminated in a decree, by which a day
was fixed for a particular assembly, when they were to pro¬
ceed to the sentence of ostracism. The persons who were
threatened with banishment then omitted no assiduity or
art calculated to gain them the favour of the people. They
made harangues to evince their innocence, and the great
injustice which would be done them if they were banished.
They solicited, in person, the interest of every citizen ; and
all their party exerted themselves on their behalf. They
also procured informers to vilify the chiefs of the opposite
faction. Some time before the meeting of the assembly, a
wooden enclosure was raised in the forum, with ten doors,
that is, with as many as there were tribes in the republic;
and when the appointed day came, the citizens of each tribe
entered at their respective door, and threw into the middle
of the enclosure the small brick upon which the citizen’s
name was written whose banishment they voted. The ar-
chons and the senate presided at this assembly, and count¬
ed the billets. He who was condemned by 6000 of his
fellow-citizens was obliged to quit the city within ten days;
for 6000 voices, at least, were requisite to banish an Athe¬
nian by the ostracism.
The Athenians, without doubt, foresaw the inconvenien¬
ces to which this law was subject; but they sometimes pre¬
ferred exposing the innocent to an unjust censure, to liv¬
ing in continual alarms. Yet as they were sensible that
the injustice of confounding virtue and vice would be too
flagrant, they softened, as much as they could, the rigour
of ostracism. It was not aggravated by the circumstances
which were most dishonourable and shocking in the ordi¬
nary mode of exile, and the goods of those who were ba¬
nished by ostracism were not confiscated. Such persons
enjoyed the produce of their effects in the places to which
they were banished, and their banishment was only for a
certain time. But in common banishment, the goods or
the exiles were always confiscated, and no hopes were given
them of ever returning to Athens. ^ „
The scholiast of Aristophanes informs us of a third dif¬
ference between ostracism and the common banishment,
namely, that a particular place of retirement was assigne
to those who were banished by ostracism, which was not
appointed to the other exiles. There is reason, howevei,
to suspect the truth of this observation. Themistocles
• • > - ,• i.-- i—:„u * That great
was certainly not limited in his banishment. .
man, as we are told by Thucydides, though his chief resi¬
dence was at Argos, travelled over all the Peloponnesus.^
This punishment, far from conveying any stigma o in a
L
OTA
ladtes my, became, by the objects on whom it was inflicted, a proof
| of merit. Aristides the sophist, in his second declama-
,balo. tion against the Gorgias of Plato, justly observes, that os-
v^tracism was not an effect of the vindictive spirit of the
people against those whom it condemned ; that the law,
whether good or bad, was only meant to prune the luxu¬
riant growth of transcendent merit; that it condemned to
a banishment of ten years only those illustrious men who
were accused of being exalted far above other citizens by
their conspicuous virtue ; and that none of that public in¬
dignation was shown to those exiled by ostracism, which
commonly breaks out against criminals.
Such were the mitigations with which this law was intro¬
duced amongst the Athenians ; and from them we perceive
that the people were sensible of all the inconveniences to
which it was subject. They were indeed too enlightened
not to foresee that in many instances it might produce in¬
justice; that if, in some respects, it would be favourable to
liberty, in others it would be its enemy, by condemning
citizens without allowing them a previous defence, and by
making a capricious and envious people arbiters of the fate
of great men ; and that it might even become pernicious to
the state, by depriving it of its best subjects, and rendering
the administration of public affairs an odious employment
to men of talents and virtue.
OS'! RACITES, a name applied to the fossil oysters
which are so common in many parts of England.
OSWESTRY, a market-town of the hundred of the
same name, in the county of Salop, 182 miles from Lon¬
don, and seventeen from Shrewsbury. It is situated in a
feitile district, and has a good market, which is held on
Wednesday. Being a frontier town towards Wales, in an¬
cient times it was an important place, frequently harassed,
and often burned. I he chief trade depends on the canal,
which connects it with the Severn, the Dee, and the Mer¬
sey. It has a corporation of twelve aldermen and eighteen
common councilmen. A recorder is chosen annually, who
is generally the mayor of the preceding year. In 1801,
the population amounted to 2672, in 1811 to 3479, in 1821
to 3910, and in 1831 to 4478; but the whole parish, at the
last census, contained 8581 inhabitants.
OSYMANDES, or Osymandyas, a famous kino- 0f
Egypt. According to some, he was the first monarch who
collected a great number of books for the purpose of form¬
ing a library; and this curious collection he is said to have
entitled Pharmacy of the Soul.
OTAB ALO, a district or jurisdiction of South America,
in the republic of Colombia, and department of the Equa¬
tor or Quito. It contains eight towns or villages, the lands
belonging to which are laid out in plantations, consisting
principally of the sugar-cane ; but wheat and barley both
tlinve uncommonly well. A number of small rivers ferti¬
lize the country, which abounds with sheep, black cattle, and
norses. Great quantities of butter and cheese are export¬
ed; and the native Indians, who still inhabit their ancient
territory, are a very industrious people, weaving quilts, cot¬
tons, bed-furniture, and carpets of very brilliant colours,
which are much esteemed. There are two lakes in Otaba-
o, each about three miles in length by a mile and a half in
oreaotn, one of which produces a cray-fish that is highly
KJ ^ QT’t eing the only fresh-^ter fish that can be
bad there. The Indians of Otabalo resisted Huana Capac
tTiaf1*! eX^e(?ltI0? aSatnst Quito, which so exasperated him
he ordered all who could be found to be beheaded
O T H
669
anH • r  ’ , 'rUJU luunu to ne neneaded
, .lnt0 a small lake in a neighbouring district; from
uch circumstance it received the”01”— 1 
fhai • *,CI'C1VCU lIie name of Yagarchoca,
samo ’ b oody lake.” The town, which bears the
northnfme aA -he dlstrict’ is situated about thirty miles
west 1 fr°^ ?Ult0T’ ln 0° 15' north latitude, and 77° 56'
15 Onn I-6’ ^ie year 1818 it was said to contain
inhabitants, a great portion of whom .
but the population must have since that period decreases
materially. Ihe other towns and villages are not of much
importance. Those of Cayambe and Catacatche are situ-,
ated at the foot of the mountains which severally bear
the latter beinS between 16,000 and
17,000 feet above the level of the sea. Near Cayambe, on an
emmence, are the ruins of an ancient circular temple, about
i ^ ^llameter• Qfi this edifice nothing remains but
the middle walls, which are about five feet in thickness
and fifteen feet in height, the whole being constructed of
unbaked brick, cemented with a sort of earth. In the plain
near this village are numerous tumuli, or burying-places
of the ancient inhabitants, which are generally of a conical
shape. Many of these are of great size, and have been
perforated for the sake of the gold utensils which were de¬
posited in the earth along with the remains of the depart¬
ed chief. In this manner not a few Spaniards at one time
acquired considerable wealth; for in running a gallery
through the tumuli, they came upon a number of golden
idols, and jewels to a great amount. The ornaments and
images made of the precious metals which have from time
to time been discovered, are in general beautifully wrought,
but thin and hollow. The emeralds also are cut into all
sorts of shapes, and perforated with the greatest nicety;
displaying altogether a degree of skill and finish far supe¬
rior to what might have been expected from workmen
whose only tools were made of hardened copper or stone.
OEAHA, one of the Society Islands, in the South Pa-
cific Ocean, situated to the north of Ulietea, and surround¬
ed with rocks. It was visited by Captain Cook in 1769,
and afterwards, in 1791, by Captain Edwards. Long. 151.
20. W. Eat. 16. 53. S. 5
^ OTAHEITE, or Tahiti, a celebrated island of the
bouth Sea, situated in west longitude 149. 13. and south
latitude 17. 46., discovered by Captain Wallis in 1767. See
the article Polynesia.
c 0?^0,0T^ or Wenooaette, a small island in the
South Pacific Ocean, about three miles in circumference,
discovered by Captain Cook in 1777. Long. 201 37 E
Lat. 19. 51. S.
qo^ ^LVIU.S’ a Roman emperor, born in the year
and of a family which claimed descent from the ancient
kings of Etruria. Being among the number of Nero’s fa¬
vourites, he was raised to the highest offices of the state,
and made governor of Pannonia, by the interest of Seneca,
who wished to remove him from Rome, lest Nero’s love
for Poppsea should prove his ruin. After Nero’s death, Otho
conciliated the favour of Galba, the new emperor; but
when he failed to gain his point, and Galba refused to
adopt him as his successor, he resolved to make himself ab¬
solute, without any regard to the age or dignity of his bene¬
factor. The great debts which he had contracted encou-
raged Ins avarice; and having procured the assassination
of Galba, he made himself emperor. He was acknow¬
ledged by the senate and the Roman people; but the
sudden revolt of Vitellius in Germany rendered his situa¬
tion very precarious, and it was resolved that their re¬
spective pretensions to the empire should be decided by
arms. Otho obtained three victories; but in a general
engagement near Brixellum, his forces were defeated, and
he stabbed himself when all hopes of success had vanish¬
ed. 1 his happened in the thirty-seventh year of his age,
after a reign of about three months. It has been justly
observed, that the last moments of Otho’s life were those
of a philosopher. He comforted his soldiers, who lament¬
ed ins fortune, expressing his concern for their safety;
and he observed, that it was better one man should die
than that all should be involved in ruin on account of his
obstinacy. His nephew was deeply affected, and feared
exceedingly the resentment of the conqueror; but Otho
comforted him by observing that Vitellius would be kind
Otaha
Otho.
670 O T R O T W
Otley and affectionate to his friends and relations, since, in
II the time of their greatest enmity, the mother of Vitel-
Otranto. jjus receivec[ the most friendly treatment at his hands.
He also burned all letters which, by falling into the hands
of Vitellius, might provoke his resentment against those
who had favoured the cause of an unfortunate aspirant to
empire. These noble and humane sentiments in a man
who was the associate of Nero’s disgraceful pleasures, and
who had stained his hands with the blood of his master,
have appeared to some wonderful, and have passed with
others for mere craft and policy, rather than the suggestions
of a naturally virtuous and benevolent heart. His father
was a favourite of Claudius.
OTLEY, a town of the west riding of Yorkshire, in
the wapentake of Skrack, 205 miles from London, and ten
from Leeds, with a market on Tuesday. It is situated in
a beautiful valley on the river Wharffe. ihe parish is
very extensive, containing three chapelries and ten town¬
ships. The population of the town amounted in 1801 to
2332, in 1811 to 2602, in 1821 to 3065, and in 1831 to
3161. That of the parish, at the last census, amounted to
10,163.
OTODINI, ancient Britons, who, as some suppose, oc¬
cupied the countries now called Northumberland, Merse,
and the Lothians, to the north-east of the Brigantes. As
the Otodini are not mentioned by any of the Roman histo¬
rians, and noticed only by Ptolemy, it is consequently un¬
certain whether they formed a distinct and independent
state, or were united with the Brigantes. They were a
considerable people, however, and possessed a long tract
of the sea-coast, bom the river Tyne to the Frith of Forth.
Their name is derived by Baxter from the old British
words Ot o dineu, signifying “ a high and rocky shore
and thus descriptive enough of their country. They were
probably reduced by Agricola at the same time with their
more powerful neighbours the Brigantes ; but as they
lived without the wall of Severus, they were, like the rest
of the Maeatae, engaged in frequent revolts. In the most
perfect state of the Roman government in this island, the
country of the Otodini formed a part of the Roman pro¬
vince called Valentia, which comprehended the large tract
between the two walls. As this province was never long
in the peaceable possession of the Romans, the latter had
but few stations in the country of the Otodini, except those
along the line of the wall of Severus. Various authors
have derived the name of this people in various w’ays, and
it is very differently spelled; and different opinions seem
still to be entertained amongst the learned respecting their
real situation. Indeed it is even doubtful whether their
country was in P^ngland or in Scotland.
OTRAHERMANA, La, a small island in the Eastern
Seas, near the west coast of Lucon. Long. 120. 6. E. Lat.
15. 55. N.
OTRANTO, a province of the kingdom of Naples, on
the Italian continent. It is the north-eastern corner of the
kingdom, a kind of peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea,
extending in north latitude from 39. 47. to 40. 48., and
in east longitude from 16. 44. to 18. 41. The other boun¬
daries on the land side are, on the north-west Bari, and
on the south-west Basilicata. It is 1650 square miles in
extent, and contains 292,100 inhabitants, of whom about
40,000 are said to be Arnauts and Greeks. A continua¬
tion of the Apennine chain runs through the centre of the
province, but none of the points are very lofty, and they
gradually decline in height till they terminate in the sea
at Cape Leuca. On both sides of this ridge the land is
of moderate quality, chiefly of a calcareous and clayey
mixture; and when well fallowed, which, from a scarcity
of manure, is the common practice, yields good crops of
the common kinds of grain, and abundance of all sorts of
pulse. Near to the shore, tobacco, cotton of a good qua¬
lity, and much liquorice, are grown ; and on the sides of C|ajan{
the hills some very strong, if not well-flavoured wine, is ||
produced, and also much olive oil. Silk is neglected, al- Vay.
though the soil and climate are favourable to mulberry ^
trees. Honey and wax are obtained in every village in
plenty. There are no minerals, and the manufactures are
insignificant. The chief city is Lecce.
OTTAJANO, a city of Italy, in the province Terra di
Lavoro, in the kingdom of Naples. It is a large place, in a
district producing considerable quantities of silk and olive
oil, and abundant crops of corn. It contains three parish
churches, and, including the adjacent village, 14,200 inha¬
bitants.
OTTERBURN, a township in the parish of Eilsdon, of
the county of Northumberland, and ward of Coquetdale,
308 miles from London, and thirty-two from Newcastle.
It is remarkable for the battle fought there in +388*be¬
tween Henry Percy, usually called Hotspur, and the Earl
of Douglas, a conflict w hich gave rise to the ancient bal¬
lad of Chevy Chase. It is on the north side of the Cheviot
Hills, and the population amounts to about 400.
OTTERY, St Mary, a market-town of Devonshire, in
the hundred of the same name, and 167 miles from Lon¬
don. It is situated on the river Otter, has a market which
is held on Tuesday, some trade in making serges, and some
in pillow-lace. In 1801 the population amounted to 2415,
in 1811 to 2880, in 1821 to 3522, and in 1831 to 3849.
OTTICOTTA, a town of Hindustan, in the Carnatic,
thirty-three miles north-east from Madras. Long. 81. 1.
E. Lat. 13.21. N.
OTUNGURRA, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Bahar, and district of Chuta Nagpore. Long. 85.42. E.
Lat. 23. N.
OTWAY, Thomas, an eminent tragic poet, was the
son of Mr Humphrey Otway, rector of Woolbeding, in
Sussex, and was born at Trottin, in that county, on the
3d of March 1651. He received the rudiments of his edu¬
cation at Winchester school, and in 1669 was entered a
commoner of Christ-Church ; but, from whatever cause,
he left the university without a degree, and proceeded to
London, where he commenced player. In 1672, he made
his first appearance on the stage in the character of the king
in the Forced Marriage, though with indifferent success,
and soon found that he was not likely to gain much reputa¬
tion as an actor. This inability to shine on the stage Otway
shared with Shakspeare and Jonson, as he likewise shared
some of their excellencies. It seems reasonable to expect,
indeed, that a great dramatic poet should without difficul¬
ty become a great actor ; that he who can feel might also
express; that the man who can excite passion should be
able to exhibit readily its external modes and indications.
But experience has fully proved that, whatever be the af¬
finity of these powers, one of them may be possessed in a
great degree by a person who has very little of the other;
and that they either depend on different faculties, or a
different use of the same faculty. I he actor must possess
a pliancy of mien, a flexibility of countenance, and a va¬
riety of intonation, in which the poet may easily be sup¬
posed deficient; or the attention of each may have been
differently employed, the poet considering thought and
the player action, the one watching the heart and the
other contemplating the expression of the countenance.
Otway, however, though sensible of his inability to at¬
tract notice as an actor, felt conscious of possessing powers
which qualified him for becoming a dramatic author; an ,
under this impression, his very first attempt was mae in
the highest department of the art. His tragedy of A ci i
ades was acted at the Theatre Royal in 1675, hi°ugi wi i
what measure of success we are not informed. The s ory
taken from Nepos and Plutarch; but in certain points e
departs from history in order to accommodate thee arac
O T W
ay. ter of his hero to the effect which he wished to produce.
^Don Carlos, another tragedy in heroic verse, founded on St
Real’s novel of the same name, and the Spanish chronicles
of the life of Philip II., was performed in 1676, and ap¬
pears to have succeeded much better than any other of
his plays. For many years indeed it was more applauded
and followed than either Venice Preserved or The Orphan;
and it is even asserted that it was played for thirty nights
together, though this may reasonably be doubted. At°any
rate, it was very successful, and brought more money than
any preceding tragedy.1 In 1677, Otway produced Titus
and Berenice, a piece in three acts, translated with altera¬
tions fiom Racine; and also The Cheats of Scapin, a farce
partly taken from Moliere ; which were acted together with
considerable success, the custom of annexing farces to
plays having about that time been introduced. His co¬
medy of Friendship in Fashion, which appeared in 1678,
had also some success, though it seems doubtful whether
the author was at this time in London, as he certainly
went abroad during the year 1677. J
The occasion of his going abroad will be immediately
explained. Johnson, however, in introducing this circum¬
stance, observes; “ Want of morals, or of decency, did
not in those days exclude any man from the company of
the wealthy and the gay, if he brought with him any
powers of entertainment; and Otway is said to have been
at this time a favourite companion of the dissolute wits.
But as. he who desires no virtue in his companion has no
virtue in himself, those whom Otway frequented had no
purpose of doing more for him than to pay his reckoning.
They desired only to drink and laugh ; their fondness was
without benevolence, and their familiarity without friend¬
ship.” Men of wit received at that time no favour from
the great except that or sharing their riots, from which
they were dismissed again to their own narrow circum¬
stances ; and thus they languished in poverty without sup¬
port, and often without resource. But some exception
must, nevertheless, be made. The Earl of Plymouth, a
natural son of the king, procured Otway a cornet’s com¬
mission in some troops which were then, 1677, destined
for Flanders. But the poet did not prosper in his military
capamty. The society of dissolute wits had but ill quali¬
fied him for submitting to the restraints of discipline, or
observing that regularity which the laws of the service re¬
quired ; and hence, having left his commission behind him,
he returned to London, where he resumed his dramatic
labours.
In 1680, he produced Chius Marius, a tragedy, which
had some success, probably from the circumstance of the
author having availed himself of the excitement that then
prevailed about the Popish Plot ; and, in the dissen-
ons of Marius and Sylla, endeavoured to shadow forth
he proceedings of the factions in the reign of Charles I.
t. u hl|T1^er^degree of fame awaited him from his next
uagedy, Ihe Orphan, which appeared the same year. This,
as Johnson observes, is one of the few pieces which have
? possession of the stage, and pleased through all the
ssi uc es of dramatic taste and fashion. It is a domestic
,nf T drfvn.from middle life, and its whole power is
| .ri r,e flections. The Soldier’s Fortune, and its second
wT ’ K u produced respectively in 1681 and 1684,
npr? f°ih succes1sful> being far better suited to the man-
ZL iatuage than t0 those of the Present- The inci-
othPr char^cter.s may, for the most part, be traced to
plays, and neither is in any respect worthy of the
O T W
genius which, in 1682, gave to dramatic literature Venice
Preserved, a tragedy, the fame of which, like that of The'
>p an, is secure against all the caprices of taste and
fashion, whilst it displays still higher powers of poetry and
of expression. Ihe striking passages are familiar to all,
and its faults as well as its excellencies seem to have been
rightly appreciated by the public. It is, in fact, the pro¬
duction of a man not very attentive to decency, nor over
zealous for virtue, but of one who conceived forcibly, and
drew originally by consulting nature in his own breast! Be¬
sides the plays already mentioned, he wrote the miscella¬
neous poems inserted in Johnson’s series of the poets : and
he translated from the French a History of the Triumvirate.
But Otway s career was destined to be a short one. He
died be ore completing his thirty-fourth year, on the 14th
o Apn] 168o, in a manner which has been variously re¬
presented; but, according to every account, in circum¬
stances of the deepest distress. “ Having,” says Johnson,
been compelled by his necessities to contract debts, and
hunted, as is supposed, by the terriers of the law, he re¬
tired to a public-house on Tower Hill, where he is said to
have died of want; or, as is related by one of his biogra¬
phers, by swallowing, after a long fast, a piece of bread
winch charity had supplied. He went out, as is reported,
almost naked, in the rage of hunger, and finding a gentle¬
man in a neighbouring coffee-house, asked him for a shil¬
ling. Ihe gentleman gave him a guinea, and Otway going
away bought a roll, and was choked with the first mouth-
ful. Ail this, I hope,” adds Johnson, “ is not true ; and
there is this ground of better hope, that Pope, who lived
near enough to be well informed, relates, in Spence’s Me-
morials, that he died of fever caught by violent pursuit of
a thief who had robbed one of his friends. But that indi¬
gence, and its concomitants, sorrow and despondency,
pressed hard upon him, has never been denied, whatever
immediate cause might bring him to the grave.” Pope’s
account of Otway’s death was first related by Warton in
the notes to his Essay on that poet; and it differs in seve¬
ral particulars from the version of it given by Johnson. It
would appear that an intimate friend of Otway’s having
been murdered in the street, the poet pursued the mur-
deier on foot as far as Dover, where he was seized with a
ever, occasioned by the fatigue, which afterwards carried
him to his grave in London. By this account the rob-
ber is a murderer; and as Warton was more correct in
stating facts than Johnson, it is probable that he relates
the story exactly as he heard it. But it may nevertheless
be traced to Spence, who, it seems, was informed by Den¬
nis, the critic, that Otway had a friend, named Blakiston,
who was shot in the street; that the murderer having fled
towards Dover, Otway pursued him; and that, on his re¬
turn, having drunk water when violently heated, he caught
the fever which caused his death. Dennis, however, in
the preface to his Observations on Pope’s Translation of
Homer, 1717, 8vo, says merely that Otway died in an ale¬
house ; a statement which is not inconsistent with the pre¬
ceding account, as, in point of fact, he generally lived in
one. As to the story of the guinea and the loaf, it rests
upon no sufficient authority, and may probably have been
introduced to heighten the picture of the poet’s distress,
about which, unfortunately, there can be no doubt what¬
ever. Some, however, are inclined to think that both ac¬
counts might be true. But this cannot be, for the suppo¬
sition of Otway having died of fever, occasioned by fa¬
tigue, or by drinking cold water when violently heated, is
671
Otway.
1 This circumstance is coarsely alluded to by Rochester in the Scion of the Poets •
Tom Otway came next, Tom Shadwell’s dear zany J '
And swears, for heroics he writes best of any;
lion Carlos his pockets so amply had filled,
That his mange was quite cur’d, and his lice were all kill'd.
672
CUD
O U D
Otway,
Cape
Oudanulla.
altogether inconsistent with the story of his running half
naked into the street in the rage of hunger, and being
choked with the first mouthful of the bread purchased
with the money that had been charitably given him. No
one ever heard or knew of a patient in high fever being
seized with raging hunger, and greedily devouring the first
morsel of bread he could procure. The idea is altogether
absurd.
When Otway first began to rise in reputation, Dryden
spoke slightingly of his performances ; but afterwards, when
The Orphan and Venice Preserved had established his
fame, fully acknowledged their merits. “ To express the
passions which are seated in the heart by outward signs,”
says he in his preface to Dufresnoy, “ is one great precept
of the painters, and very difficult to perform. In poetry
the very same passions and motions of the mind are to be
expressed ; and in this consists the principal difficulty, as
well as the excellency, of that art. This, says Dufresnoy,
is the gift of Jupiter ; and, to speak in the same heathen
language, we call it the gift of our Apollo, not to be ob¬
tained by pains or study, if w'e are not born to it. For
the motions which are studied are never so natural as those
which break out in the height of a real passion. Mr Ot¬
way possessed this part as thoroughly as any of the an¬
cients or moderns. I will not defend every thing in his
Venice Preserved; but I must bear this testimony to his
memory, that the passions are truly touched in it, though
perhaps there is somewhat to be desired both in the grounds
of them, and in the height and elegancy of the expression.
But nature is there, which is the greatest beauty.” This
is high, and, at the same time, discriminating praise. Ot¬
way’s power consisted in moving the passions and touch¬
ing the heart. All the fountains of feeling were at his
command, and he could throw them open at his pleasure.
His mastery over the emotions as well as the passions of
the soul was unrivalled. But he had not much cultivated
versification, nor replenished his mind with general know¬
ledge ; and hence his numbers are sometimes harsh, and
his allusions neither rich, varied, nor striking. “ Nature,”
however, “ is there,” and her presence atones for every
deficiency.
It appears that Otway, when he died, had about him the
copy of a tragedy which he had sold for a trifle to Bentley
the bookseller. An advertisement which appeared in
L’Estrange’s Observator for the 27th November and the
4th December 1686, in which a reward is offered to any
person who “ can give notice in whose hands the copy lies,”
leaves no doubt whatever of the fact. The play in question,
however, seems to have been irrecoverably lost; for the tra¬
gedy entitled Heroic Friendship, which was printed in 1719,
and attributed to Otway, is evidently no production of his.
It never was acted, nor deserved to be acted. (a.)
Otway, Cape, a high and rocky promontory upon the
south coast of New Holland. Long. 143. 29. E. Lat. 38.
M. S.
OTWEILER, a city of Prussia, in the province of the
Lower Rhine, in the government of Treves. It is the ca¬
pital of a circle of the same name, which extends over 178
square miles, and comprehends three towns and forty-seven
communes, with 17,500 inhabitants. The city is situated
on the river Blies, and contains two churches, 320 houses,
and 2730 inhabitants, who are employed in making cloth,
and some china-ware.
OUCH, a very ancient town of Hindustan, in the pro¬
vince of Moultan, the capital of a district, and probably
the Oxydracoe of the Greeks. It is situated between the
river Indus and the Sutlege or Hyphasis, and within the
territories of the Bahawulpoor rajah. It is seventy-five
miles south by west from the city of Moultan. Long. 70.
50. E. Lat. 29. 11. N
OUDANULLA, a small town of Bengal, in the district
of Rajemahl, situated at the foot of a range of hills which u<le
approach near to the western bank of the Ganges. Near^ -v^
the town are the remains of a handsome stone bridge, a
very fine specimen of modern Mahommedan architecture,
built by the Sultan Sujah between 1640 and 1660. It was
near this place that Major Andrews, in 1764, attacked and
gallantly stormed the entrenched camp of the Nabob Cos-
sim Ally. Long. 87. 45. E. Lat. 24. 55. N.
OUDE, a province of Hindustan, situated between the
twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth degrees of north latitude.
On the north it is bounded by various petty districts tri¬
butary to Nepavil, from which it is separated by interven¬
ing hills and forests ; on the south by Allahabad; on the
east by Bahar; and on the west by Delhi and Agra. It is
about 250 miles in length by 100 in breadth.
This province is part of the extensive plains of Hindus¬
tan, and is level in its surface, and extremely well watered,
the Goggrah and Goompty Rivers running through it, both
navigable by boats at all seasons of the year, and having
the Ganges for its western boundary, besides numerous
streams and lakes which intersect it in different directions.
The soil is fertile, and, when properly cultivated, is exceed-
ingly productive, yielding abundant crops of wheat, barley,
rice, and a variety of other grains, cotton, sugar-cane, in¬
digo, and poppies, and all the staple articles raised in In¬
dia. It also produces grapes, mangoes, and other fruits.
To the north-east the ground rises, and the country abounds
in extensive woods and plains covered with grass, which
afford cover for game and wild animals of all kinds. The
air and the climate are suited to the spontaneous gene¬
ration of nitre, from the brine of which an inferior kind
of salt is produced. Lapis lazuli is also produced in this
province; and a variety of cotton cloths and a coarse kind
of flannel are made; also bows, arrows, shields, match¬
locks, and swords. The climate is more temperate than
that of Bengal. The hot winds commence about the middle
of March, and blow with violence till about the beginning
of June ; but the inhabitants, nevertheless, contrive to keep
their apartments very cool; and to the natives the hot
winds are not unhealthy, however injurious to European
constitutions. The rains are neither so violent nor of such
long duration as in Bengal; and the temperature during
the four cold months of the year is delightful. The prin¬
cipal towns of the province are Lucknow, Fyzabad, Oude,
Kbyrabad, Ghoorackpore, and Bahreich. The inhabitants
are about one third Mahommedans; the remainder are Hin¬
dus of all castes. “ All the villages,” says Heber (vol. ii.
p. 49), “ have pagodas, while many are without mosques.
They are a superior race both in body and in mind to the
feeble natives of Bengal and of the districts round Calcutta.
The Rajpoots, more especially, are distinguished by robust
frames and by their military air, as well as by the more
solid qualities of soldiers. The military habits ot the po¬
pulation were long fostered by the disorderly state of the
province, which, though it has no doubt improved, still
affords too many opportunities to the freebooter.
Oude is celebrated in the ancient historical poems of
Hindustan as an opulent and splendid empire, which ex¬
tended all over the south of India, and even as far as the
island of Ceylon. But these fabulous exaggerations are not
deserving of credit. It was in the thirteenth century t iat
Oude was conquered by the Mahommedan feingsof Del i,
to whose empire it remained attached until its separation
after the death of Aurungzebe, when it shared the fate °
all the other parts of his kingdom, and from a depen en^
province grew up into an independent state. Ihe rs
ancestor of the present ruler of Oude was Saadut h- 'an,
a native of Rishapoor, in the province of Khorassan, w !0
was appointed subahdar of Oude during the reign o 3
hummed Shah. He was by birth a Persian, and came
India as a soldier of fortune ; but by his courage an at
0 U D
iude. dress he rose by degrees to the rank of general in the im-
Y'“'perial service, and was sent to the government of Oude.
Having no sons, he sent for his nephew Mirza Mokiem to
Persia, and gave him in marriage his only daughter, born
of a concubine. He also introduced him into the imperial
service, with the title of Suffder Jung, the defeater of ar¬
mies. Saadut Khan died by taking poison, in consequence
of the humiliating treatment he experienced from Nadir
Shah, who invaded and overran India in the year 1739 ; and
his son-in-law having secured possession of his treasure,
succeeded to the throne, and was confirmed in the govern¬
ment of Oude by the emperor Mahommed Shah. Suffder
Jung’s reign was prosperous and successful. In the year
1747 he repulsed Ahmed Abdally, king of the Afghans;
and, as the reward of his valour, he was honoured with the
title of Abul Munsur, the victorious, and appointed prime
minister, which was the origin of the title of vizier in his
family. In addition to Oude, he also obtained a grant of
the province of Allahabad ; and at length, finding his in¬
fluence upon the decline, and tired of the intrigues of the
court, he died in 1753, or, according to some, in 1756. He
was succeeded without opposition by Shuja ud Dowlah,
who was successful in all his measures, until he took part
with Cossim Ally Khan against the British, and was de¬
feated by them in the battle of Buxar in the year 1764
(see Hindustan, vol. xi. p. 419). He died in 1775, and
was quietly succeeded by his eldest son Asoph ud Dowlah,
a weak prince, who died in 1797. Having no legitimate
children, he nominated one of his adopted sons, Vizier Aly,
as his successor, who was dethroned by the British on ac¬
count of his illegitimacy, and Saadut Ali, the eldest bro¬
ther of the deceased nabob, was raised to the supreme power.
It was in his reign that his dominions were dismembered,
during the administration of the Marquis Wellesley ; for an
account of which the reader is referred to the article Hin¬
dustan. The nabob of Oude had long agreed to pay an
annual contribution to the East India Company, but was
constantly in arrear, from the mismanagement of his af¬
fairs. On this account it was that, in lieu of this contribu¬
tion, a portion of his territories was ceded to the Company,
he being left sole ruler of the remaining portion. Great
complaints have always been made against him by the
British for the mal-administration of his dominions, which,
there is no doubt, have often been a scene of serious disor¬
ders. He died in the year 1814, leaving a treasure, it is
said, of many millions. Having been long on bad terms
with his eldest son, he nominated his second as his suc¬
cessor. But the British, whose influence was now undis¬
puted, refused to confirm his bequest, and elevated to the
supreme power the eldest son, Ghazi ud Been. The first
act of the new ruler, in a conference which he had at Cawn-
poor with the governor-general, was to solicit the accept¬
ance of a crore (10,000,000) of rupees as a free gift. This
was however declined, excepting as a subscription to the
loan of'six per cent, which was then open ; and he after-
wardsagreedto the permanent assignmentof 651,000 rupees
annually, in payment of pensions due from the Oude trea¬
sury, under the guarantee of the British government. The
^epaulese war being protracted to a second campaign, and
gre^ preparations being made, and expense incurred, in
the Pindarrie war, a hint was conveyed to the nabob that a
second loan of a crore of rupees would be acceptable; and
^nov^*nS> no doubt, the power of those by whom
he hint was given, cheerfully complied, and the amount
was paid in bullion at Lucknow, from the treasures of his
at er. For the first time, the strip of low country, or
erriam, which bounds the hills, and which was taken
rom t ie Nepaulese, was given him, at his own suggestion,
is asserted, on the same authority of course, that he
O U D
voluntarily tendered to the British the free gift of a crore
of rupees. I his territory which he consented to receive
is either, as Bishop Heber mentions, a savage wilderness,
or “ occupied by a race of mountaineers, who pay no
taxes without being compelled, and whom he has not the
means of compelling. In short, the whole transaction,
both the voluntary offer and the free gift, bears the aspect
of fraud and extortion.
For more than fifty years the British have been inter¬
fering in the affairs of Oude, and under this superinten¬
dence the country has been gradually falling into decay
and disorder. Their professed object has been to improve
the interior administration, and the collection of the re¬
venue. But in this case it is deeply to be regretted that
their efforts should have been attended with so little suc¬
cess ; for, according to the latest accounts, the country is
a scene, in many parts, of anarchy, disorder, and extortion.
The minister of the nabob, Hukeem Mendee, a man of
considerable opulence, and, according to Heber, as respec¬
table in his private conduct as most of the ministers in
the East are expected to be, was dismissed at the insti¬
gation of the British ; and a series of violent measures fol¬
lowed, in which many of the zemindars were proscrib¬
ed and banished. Heber asserts,1 that the worst conse¬
quence of the two loans to the British was, that it laid
them under an obligation to the nabob, and prevented them
from urging such measures as would have been necessary
for the reform of the interior administration of the country.
Hukeem Mendee, the displaced minister, had been conti¬
nually introducing improvements in the collection of the
revenue, after the examples afforded in the British pro¬
vinces. The system adopted by the nabob was that of em¬
ploying collectors or assessors, or officers who united both
these duties, and whose sole object was to extort as much
as possible from the impoverished peasantry and landhold¬
ers, and to whose oppression there was no check. “ In con¬
sequence,” says Bishop Heber (vol. ii. p. 82), “ three or four
times more than the sums really due were often extorted by
these locusts, who went down and encamped in different
parts of the country, and, under various pretences, so de¬
voured and worried the people that they were glad to get rid
of them on any terms. Nay, sometimes, when one aumeen
had made his bargain with the land-owners and tenants, and
received the greater part of the payment in advance, a se¬
cond would make his appearance with more recent powers
(having outbid his predecessors), and begin assessing and
collecting anew, telling the plundered villagers that they
had done wrong to pay before it was due, and that they
must look to the first man for re-payment of what they
had been defrauded of. ‘ All this has been done,’ was
said to me, ‘ and the king will neither see it nor hear it.’
It was not likely, however, to be done long without re¬
sistance. The stronger zemindars built mud-forts, the
poor ryots planted bamboos and thorny jungle round their
villages; every man that had not a sword sold his gar¬
ment to procure one, and they bade the king’s officers
keep their distance. Ihe next step, however, of govern¬
ment, was to call in the aid of British troops to quell these
insurgents. This the king of Oude had, by the letter and
spirit of existing treaties, a right to do. His father and
uncle had purchased this right by the cession of nearly
one third of their whole territories, by the admission of
two or three garrisons of subsidiary troops into their re¬
maining provinces, and by the disbanding of by far the
greater part of their own army, on the express condition
that the English should undertake to defend them against
all external and internal enemies. Still Saadut Ali had
used this right very sparingly. He was not fond of ad¬
mitting, far less requesting, any more foreign interference
Oi
VOL. XVI.
1 Narrative of a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, vol. ii. p. 81.
4 Q
o. 0>
674
O U D
Oude. than he could help. And his own guards, consisting
—■Y-'-'of two thousand regular infantry, one thousand horse,
three hundred artillery, and the irregulars whom I have
noticed, were enough for all usual occasions, and were in
excellent order and discipline. Now, however, all was
changed. The soldiers themselves were so ill paid that
it was difficult to keep them together ; the artillery, a
beautiful little corps, first mutinied, and then disbanded
themselves to the last man; and the king had really no
option between either altering his system, or governing
without taxes, or calling in British aid. lhat aid was de¬
manded and given; and during the greater part of Lord
Hastings’s time this wretched country was pillaged under
sanction of the British name, and under the terror of Se¬
poy bayonets, till at length the remonstrances of the Bri¬
tish officers employed on this service became so urgent,
and the scandal so notorious and so great, not to omit that
the number of the disaffected increased daily, and that,
the more parties were sent out in support ol the aumeens
(collectors), the more were called for, while every peasant
who lost lands or property in the progress of the system
became a decoit (gang-robber), and made inroads into the
company’s provinces, that a different course was impe¬
riously forced on government.”
The British resident was instructed to urge anew on the
king a system of efficient reform. But he was extremely
averse to the interference of the British, and accordingly
the resident was instructed to decline granting military
aid, unless some previous reforms should be carried into
effect, and unless an English commissioner versed in such
matters were allowed to accompany the detachment, and to
determine, before resorting to extreme measures, on the
justice of the collector’s claims. The nabob evaded these
peremptory demands, and begged that, as a preliminary
step, the British force should be employed in putting down
the rebellious zemindars, in destroying their mud-forts,
and in disarming the people. Bishop Heber, however, ob¬
serves, that the territories are in a far better state of cul¬
tivation than he expected to find them. From Lucknow
to Sandee he says that the country is as populous and well
cultivated as most of the Company’s provinces. Since the
aid of the British troops has been withheld, he adds that
affairs have been in all respects growing better. The ze¬
mindars have in a few instances carried their point, and
the collectors have been either driven away, or forced to
accept a moderate compromise ; and the chief sufferers are
the king, who gets little or nothing of his undoubted dues,
and the traveller, who, unless he has a guard, had better,
as Bishop Heber recommends, sleep in a safe skin on the
other side of the Ganges. “ It should be observed, how¬
ever,” the same acute observer continues, “ that I have as
yet seen no sign of those mud-forts, stockades, and for¬
tresses, on which the zemindars and peasantry are said to
rely for safety ; that the common people north of Lucknow
are, I think, not so universally loaded with arms as those to
the southward; and that though I have heard a good deal
all the way of the distressed state of the country, as well
as its anarchy and lawlessness, except in the single in¬
stance I have mentioned, where the treasure was attack¬
ed, I have seen no signs of either, or had any reason to
suppose that the king’s writ does not pass current, or that
our aumeen would have the least difficulty in enforcing
it in our favour, even without the small payment which I
give, and which is evidently accepted as a gratuity. I
cannot but suspect, therefore, that the misfortunes and
anarchy of Oude are somewhat overrated, though it is
certain that so fine a land will take a long time in ruining,
and that very many years of oppression will be required
to depopulate a country which produces on the same soil,
and with no aid but irrigation, crops of wheat and pulse
every year.”
o u D
The ten-itories of Oude reserved for the nabob occupy (4
about 21,000 British square miles, and contain a popula¬
tion of at least 3,000,000 of inhabitants. 0, le
Oude, a town in the province of Oude, and the ancient ^2
capital of the above-mentioned province. It was long the
residence of a Hindu dynasty, and subsequently the seat
of the provincial government. It is situated on the south
side of the Dewah or Goggrah River. It is described as
having formerly been a city of vast extent; but nothing
now remains to attest its former magnificence but a heap
of ruins. It is still considered, however, as a place of great
sanctity, and a resort of Hindu pilgrimage. In its vicini¬
ty are two remarkably large tombs of great antiquity, and
venerated by the Mahommedans as the tombs of Seth and
Job. There are no documents to tell at what period the
seat of government was removed to Lucknow. But after
the battle of Buxar in 1764, the nabob Shujah ud Dow-
lah founded the city of Fyzabad on the ruins of the ancient
city of Oude, and the old city was in consequence demo¬
lished. It is eighty-five miles travelling distance east from
Lucknow. Long. 82. 10. E. Lat. 26. 45. N.
OUDENARDE, a circle of the province of East Flan¬
ders, in Belgium, divided into eight cantons and 119 com¬
munes, and" containing 156,500 inhabitants. The capital
is the city of that name, situated in a fertile valley on the
banks of the Scheldt. It is well built, and contains 950
houses, with 5300 inhabitants, who carry on extensive ma¬
nufactures of fine linen. Lat. 50. 50. 40. N.
OUDEYPOOR, a Rajpoot principality in the province
of Ajmeer, of which it occupies the south-eastern quarter.
It is situated between the 24th and 26th degrees of north
latitude. This territory formerly bore the appellation of
Mewar or Mevar, and its chief is frequently styled in history
the Rana of Chitore. So disorderly has for a long time past
been the state of the country, that it is difficult to fix the
real extent of the Oudeypoor territories, though they may
be considered generally as comprehending the districts ot
Chitore and Mewar. In this view, they are bounded on the
north by the Joudpoor territories; on the south by many na¬
tive principalities in the provinces of Gujerat and Malwah ;
on the east by the territories of Kotah, Boondee, and Sindia;
and on the west by the large district of Sarawy, nominally
subject to Joudpoor. The whole area in 1818 might he es¬
timated at 7300 square miles. The chief, who is of the Raj¬
poot or military tribe, the children of the sun, is esteemed
to be of the proudest lineage in Hindustan. He is considered
as the most noble of the Rajpoot chiefs, though he is much
inferior in temporal power to the rajahs of Jeypoor and Joud¬
poor. He is said to be descended in the female line from
Noushirvan the Just, who was sovereign of Persia at the
birth of Mahommed; and thus he claims a common origin
with the Seids, descended from Hossein the son of Ah. On
this account he is much revered by the Mahommedans.
The face of the country is in general rather hilly tlian moun¬
tainous, but when properly cultivated it is extremely ferti e.
It is watered by many streams, independently of the periodi¬
cal rains: and yields in abundance sugar, indigo, tobacco,
wheat, rice, and barley. It also possesses iron and sulphur
mines, and abundance of fuel. It is a strong country, u
of wild fastnesses and intricate paths. The country formei-
ly possessed tin mines, which produced about three lacs o
rupees annually, besides rich copper-mines in various parts.
It is mentioned by Colonel Todd, that great riches wort
formerly extracted from these mines; but the miners ar
now dead, and the mines filled with water; and thoug
recent attempt has been made to work them, it was so
profitable that the design was soon abandoned.
The Raipoots form the aristocracy of the country,
are esteemed one of the purest of the Hindu tribes, an
most elevated in rank. The rights by w*»ch Pr°P \ l
held in Oudeypoor, as well as throughout Northern India,
O U D
udev- and everywhere, indeed, except where they have been obli-
iwr. terated by concjuest, aredefined vvitli singular perspicuity by
Lieutenant-colonel Todd, in his great work on Rajasthan, in
which the lights of philosophy are combined with the most
laborious research, and a deep skill in the mysteries of
Hindu literature. In the article Hindustan we have en¬
deavoured to give a view of the state of landed property
throughout India ; and in this province, wdiere the ancient
laws and customs still survive the rage of conquest, the ryot
or cultivator is the original proprietor of the soil. This is, ac¬
cording to the learned writer referred to, an inherent right
which force only can destroy ; whilst the title of the govern¬
ment is confined to a fixed rent; so that it is a common say-
ing, “ The government is owner of the rent, but lam master
of the land. It is under this title that the land is held by the
great chieftains and military vassals ; the only claim of the
crown being for a quit-rent, which in many cases has been
commuted for military service. Land, however, is held by
other tenures, as by a grant from the crown in lieu of ser¬
vices; and this grant may be recalled. But so sacred has the
grant from the ryot been considered, that even monarchs
have held lands on this tenure from their subjects. In the
confusion and civil wars which distracted the country, many
of these rights were lost; even the government dues were
rarely levied, except by force ; and the feudatories as rarely
obeyed the summons of the chief to appear at his court.
The province of Oudeypoor, together with Northern India,’
shared in the general confusion; and the repeated invasions
ofScindiahad spread such disorder throughout the country
that the revenues could not be collected. That of the rana
had declined to eight or nine lacs of rupees; wdiilst petty
states, such as Shahpoorah, Sherghur, and others, every¬
where set up claims of independence. In consequence of
these depredations, and the general disorder that reigned
in the country, the rana was reduced to great poverty. °His
lands were usurped by predatory bands, and by the more sys¬
tematic encroachments of Scindia and Holkar. A conven¬
tion was agreed upon by the different chiefs, by which all
extortion and plunder were to be suppressed. But though
the most sacred oaths were exchanged in ratification of this
treaty, the old scenes soon recommenced with increased
violence. From this degrading bondage the rana of Oudey¬
poor was rescued by the interference of the British, who, as
usual, exacted for their good offices a large tribute. His
condition was, however, somewhat improved; his chiefs and
nobles, and former feudatories, daily repairing to offer him
their obeisance. But his poverty still continued, whilst
ms subjects were oppressed by his rapacious officers, who
came in place of the plundering banditti who had been ex¬
pelled by the power of the British government. The de¬
struction of that predatory system under which Central
“‘a, an(J Oudeypoor amongst the other states, was so long
oppressed, disorderly bands of Pindarries plundering the
country, and connived at or assisted by Scindia and Holkar,
as effected in the short campaign of 1817, when the Indian
armies were al! directed to march on Central India, and, not
content with a defensive war, to attack the plunderers in
heir remote haunts, and entirely to root them up. The suc-
verl? h rm ^ reSt°rPd peaCe t0 Central lndia’ and
ered the different rajahs and feudatories from the merciless
xac mns 0f the military banditti who had desolated the
'-uuniry,
t “^tal1 the Pences who obtained succour at this momen-
Tofi/lf18 1U ‘ 16 Polltlcal history of India,” says Colonel
dbnnr Teu°?d ,m°re 111 need oP il than the rana of Oo^
ami in p 6 lb’th Januarf 1818 the treaty was signed ;
procepfWlTT/ an enr°yvvas nominated, who immediately
the np.yiv t° the rana s court to superintend and maintain
annv ln,f'ni°rmfd re,atlons. > The right wing of the grand
such tf>rm -6ady Preceded him, to compel the surrender of
oiyas was unjustly held by the lawless partisans
0 U D
675
o Scindia, and to reduce to obedience the refractory nobles, Oudey-
o u hom anarchy was endeared, from long familiarity.” The Poor-
strongholds of the country were soon surrendered to the
victorious army,and tranquillity was restored. But an awful
scene of rum was exhibited. The rana, in his passage from
Jehajpoor o Romulmer, a space of about HO miles, at the
time when he re-entered on the possession of his territories,
found only two thm y-peopled towns, which acknowledged
bis authority. “ All, ’ says Colonel Todd, “ was desolate ;
even the traces of the footsteps of man were effaced. The
babool (mimosa Arabica) and gigantic reed, which harbour¬
ed the boar and the tiger, grew upon the highways; and
every rising ground displayed a mass of ruin.” He adds, that
be passed through Bhilwara, the commercial entrepot of
Rajpootana, in May 1806, when it was comparatively flour¬
ishing, and contained 6000families. In 1818 it showed not a
vestige of human existence. “ All was silent in her streets;
no living thing was seen, except a solitary dog, that fled in
c ismay from his lurking place in the temple, scared at the
unaccustomed sight of man.” Oudeypoor, the capital of the
country, which formerly contained 50,000 houses within its
walls, had not now 3000 occupied; the rest were in ruins
the rafters being taken for fire-wood. The produce to the
levenue from the spring harvest ot 1818 was only L.4000.
Crrain sold for three times the price at which it could be
pm chased within a distance of eighty miles; and the rana,
whose ancestors had opposed Baber, Akbar, and Aurum-
zebe, dunng the splendour of the Mogul sovereignty, had
not fifty horse to attend him, and was mainly indebted to Za-
iim omg of Kotah for the means of subsistence. It was out
of this state of confusion that order was to be restored. But
the elements of prosperity, though scattered, were not ex¬
tinct. I he first point was the recognition of the prince’s
authority by his nobles, the surest sign of which was their
pi esence in the capital; and such was now the paramount
influence of British authority, that in a few weeks the rana
saw himself surrounded by a court such as had not been
known for half a century, and the whole feudal association
of Mewar was embodied in the capital. Colonel Todd, in
his great work already referred to, gives a striking picture
of tlie restoration of order and prosperity iu this country.
To recall the exiled population,” says he, “was a measure
simultaneous with the assembling of the nobles ; but this
was a work requiring time. They had formed ties and incur¬
red obligations to the societies which had sheltered them,
which could not at once be disengaged or annulled. But
vvhei ever a subject of Mewar existed, proclamations pene¬
trated, and satisfactory assurances were obtained, and rea¬
lized to an extent which belied in the strongest manner the
assertion that patriotism is unknown to the natives of Hin¬
dustan. The most enthusiastic and cheering proofs were af¬
forded, that neither oppression from without, nor tyranny
within, could expel the feeling for the ‘ bapota,’ the land of
their fathers. Even now^, though time has chastened the
impressions, we should fear to pen but a tithe of the proofs
of devotion of the husbandman of Mewar to the solum na-
tale; it would be deemed romance by those who never
contemplated humanity in its reflux from misery and de¬
spair to the sweet influences of hope. He alone who had
witnessed the day of trouble, and beheld the progress of
desolation, the standing corn grazed by Mahratta horse,
the rifled towns devoted to the flames, the cattle driven
to the camp, and the chief men seized as hostages for
money never to be realized, could appreciate their deli¬
verance. lo be permitted to see these evils banished; to
behold the survivors of oppression congregated from the
most distant provinces, many of them strangers to each
other, and the aged and the helpless awaiting the lucky day
to take possession of their ruined abodes ; was a sight which
memory vvill not part with. Thus, on the 3d of Sawun (July),
a favourite day with the husbandman, three hundred of ail
676
0 U F
Oufa.
Oudghir conditions, with their waggons and implements of labour,
and preceded by banners and music, marched into Kupa-
sun ; and Ganesa was once again invoked, as they reconse¬
crated their dwellings, and placed his portrait as the Janus
of their portals. On the same day, and within eight
months subsequent to the signature of the treaty, above
three hundred towns and villages were simultaneously
re-inhabited; and the land, which for many years had been
a stranger to the ploughshare, was broken up. Well
might the superstitious fancy that miracles were abroad ;
for even to those who beheld the work in progression it
had a magical result, to see the waste covered with ha¬
bitations, and the verdant corn growing in the fields
where lately they had roused the boar from his retieat.
It was a day of pride for Britain. By such exertions of
her power in these distant lands her sway is hallowed.
By Britain alone can this fair picture be defaced; the
tranquillity and independence she has conferred, by her
alone may be disturbed.”
To give effect to all the measures necessary for the im¬
provement of the country, proclamations were issued by the
rana, inviting foreign merchants and bankers to establish
connections in the chief towns throughout the country ;
branch banks were everywhere formed, and mercantile
agents fixed in every town in the country; the shackles that
bound external commerce were at once removed, and the
multifarious posts for the collections of transit levies abo¬
lished ; in lieu of which chain of stations, all levies on goods
in transit were confined to the frontiers. Under this sys¬
tem, of which peace was the object, the country improved.
Bhilwara, the chief commercial mart, rose rapidly from ruin,
and in a few months contained 1200 houses, half of which
were occupied by foreign merchants. In 1822 it contained
nearly 3000 dwellings, inhabited by merchants, bankers, or
artisans. Notwithstanding various obstacles to the pros¬
perity of the country, from an impoverished court, avaricious
and corrupt officers, the discontent of the headmen of the
village, and bad seasons, the general prosperity advanced
rapidly; and of this the increase of the revenue and po¬
pulation, as exhibited below, is a sure index.
Abstract of the land and commercial revenues of Me-
war in the following years: Spring harvest of 1818, 40,000
rupees; of 1819, 451,281; of 1820, 659,100; of 1821,
1,018,478; of 1822, 936,640. Comparative population of
the chief towns before and after four years of peace
No. of houses in 1818. No. in 1822.
Oodipoor, 3500 10,000
Bhilwara, none 2,700
Poorh, 200 1,200
Mandel b0 400
Gooosonda ....60 350
OUDGHIR, a populous village of Hindustan, situated
in the province of Bejapore, with a small fort and hand¬
some cypress garden. It is in the nizam’s dominions, and
is 115 miles north-west from Hyderabad. Long. 77. 25.
E. Lat. 18. 19. N.
OUEINING, a city of China, of the first rank, situated
on a fine lake in an extensive plain, surrounded with high
mountains. Long. 103. 50. E. Lat. 26. 45. N.
OUE-KIUN, a city of China, of the first rank, in Ho¬
nan, being situated on a river, in a sandy plain and barren
soil. .
OUEN-TCHEOU, a city of China, of the first rank, in
Tchekiang, situated on a river, with a good harbour. Long.
129. 29. E. Lat. 28. 1. N.
OUFA, a considerable city of Asiatic Russia, and capital
of the government of Orenburg. It is situated on fhe banks
of the Belaia, near its junction with the Oufa; part of it
is a species of hollow resembling a cavern, and its site is
intersected by numerous torrents and ravines. It was
built in 1573, by the Czar Ivan Vassilievitch, as a station
OUR
to collect the tribute of the Baschkirs, and as a barrier 0;
against the inroads of the Kirghisses. It was once forti- I i
fied ; but the fortifications have now fallen into decay, the v 0u: £
danger of invasion having diminished with the extension of
the frontier. This place is the residence of the primate,
who bears the title of Archbishop of Orenburg and Ou¬
fa. It contains about 1000 houses, and nearly 2500 inha¬
bitants of both sexes. It has seven churches, two con¬
vents, one of which is destined for nuns, an academy, and
two schools. The surrounding country is fertile, abound¬
ing in forests and pastures, and well suited for the rearing
of bees ; and the Tartars who dwell in the neighbourhood,
being the most diligent and industrious cultivators in Si¬
beria, have acquired considerable wealth. It is asserted
that there was formerly on the spot where Oufa stands a
great Tartar city, the residence of the khans of the No-
gais ; and this tradition is confirmed by many ancient relics
found near the city, amongst which are two mosques built
of brick, and several remarkable sepulchral monuments,
with Asiatic and Cufic inscriptions. Long. 56. 18. E. Lat.
54. 42. N.
Oufa, a considerable river of Russia, which rises in the
Oural Mountains, and falls into the Belaia, near the city
of Oufa. Its course is through a mountainous and fertile
country; and several of its tributary streams have rich mines
of iron on their banks.
OUGHTRED, William, an eminent mathematician,
was born at Eton in 1573, and educated in the school there,
whence he was elected to King’s College, Cambridge, of
which he afterwards became fellow. Being admitted to
holy orders, he left the university about the year 1603, and
was presented to the rectory of Aldbury, near Guildford in
Surrey ; and about the year 1628 he was appointed by the
Earl of Arundel to instruct his son in the mathematics.
He kept a correspondence by letters with some of the most
eminent scholars of his time on mathematical subjects; and
the most celebrated mathematicians of the age owed most
of their skill to him, his house being full of young gentle¬
men who came from all parts to receive his instruction. It
is said that, upon hearing the news of the vote at West¬
minster for the restoration of Charles II. he expired in a
sudden transport of joy, at the age of eighty-eight. He
wrote, 1. Claris Mathematical which was afterwards pub¬
lished in England ; 2. A Description of the Double Hori¬
zontal Dial; 3. Opuscula Mathematical and several other
works. .
OUKESIMA, an island in the Chinese Sea, near the
coast of Tonquin, about thirty miles in circumference.
Long. 105. 42. E. Lat. 18. 44. N. .
OULLER Lake, a lake of Hindustan, in the province of
Cashmere, into which the river Behut or Jhylum pours its
stream. Long. 73. 50. E. Lat. 34. 22. N.
OUNCE, a weight, the sixteenth part of a pound avoir¬
dupois, and the twelfth part of a pound troy. 1 he word
is derived from the Latin, uncia, the twelfth part of any
w hole, called as ; and, in geometrical measures, an inch, or
twelfth part of a foot. .
OUND, a village of Hindustan, in the Mahratta terri¬
tories, and province of Bejapoor. 1 he surrounding istnc
is the property of Scindia’s family. It is nine miles from
1 0OUNDLE, a market-town of the county of Northamp¬
ton, and the hundred of Polebrook, seventy-eight miles
from London, and sixteen from Stamford. It has a g
market, which is held on Saturday, and is "far y surroun -
ed by the river Nen, over which are two bridges,
them a curiosity, from the number of its arches, as well
from the causeway leading to it. 1 he PoH311”1} “ d jn
in 1801 to 1956, in 1811 to 1833, in 1821 to 2150, and
1831 to 2308. . , . 0f Al-
OURCHA, a town of Hindustan, in the provmc
OUR
ral lahabad, and district of Bundelcund. The rajah was for-
fitains merly a person of great note ; but his revenue is now re-
I . duced to one lac, and his consequence has sunk in propor-
^ tion. He is still considered as the head of the petty chiefs
^ of Bundelcund.
OURAL Mountains, a remarkable and extensive range
of mountains, which has its commencement in the interior
of Asia, in the territory of the Kirghisses, between the Cas¬
pian and the Aral, and stretches about due north along
the sources of the Oural, the Tobol, the Emba, the Petcho-
ra, and the Sosva, by a course very imperfectly known, but,
it is supposed, nearly parallel to the course of the Obi, to
the shores of the Northern Ocean, and across that ocean
throughout the whole length of Nova Zembla. It forms,
during the greater part of its course, the boundary be¬
tween Northern Asia and Russia in Europe. The soil and
the country are very various, great part of these mountains
being little else than lofty and barren deserts. Hence this
extensive tract is divided into the Oural of the Kirghisses,
the mining district of the Oural, and the desert regions.
No accurate information has been obtained? excepting re¬
garding the mining district, which contains extensive mines
of iron and copper, with several of gold and of platina.
Great establishments have been formed in these desert
parts for the working of the mines, the produce of which
has been increasing in value for the last twenty years. Be¬
sides these metals, the Oural Mountains also produce va¬
ried and beautiful specimens of minerals, as jasper, quartz,
petrosilex, agate, calcedony, rock crystal, topaz, amethyst,
chrysolite, asbestos, amianthus, and others. The Oural
Mountains slope much more on the western than on the
eastern side ; and on the former there is a collateral chain,
which contains rich veins of copper. Many of the loftiest
pinnacles are composed of granite, which appears below in
large masses; and they reach above the level of perpetual
snow. The sides, particularly the western, are composed of
schistus, whilst, in the lower parts, calcareous rocks predo¬
minate. These mountains are covered in many parts with
forests, in which are generally found pines, cedars, larches,
and other natives of a northern climate; and in the south¬
west parts are found the oak and the ash. Between the
mountains are seen fine pasture-grounds, rich valleys, and
beautiful meadows, in which numerous herds of cattle are
bred. The country is well watered, both by numerous ri¬
vers, and fine transparent lakes full of fish.
Oural, a large river of Asiatic Russia, formerly called
by the name of Yaik. It received its present appellation
in the year 1775. It has its rise in the Oural Mountains,
m about 54° north latitude, and runs westward a great part
of its course, after which it turns directly south, and falls
into the Caspian, nearly in 47° north latitude, and 53° east
longitude. It forms the boundary between the Kirghisses
and the Baschkirs; has a rapid current, with a pure stream ;
and everywhere abounds wdth fish, the fisheries on its
banks affording an inexhaustible source of wealth to the
Cossacks. It has very steep and rocky banks whilst it is a
mountain stream ; but afterwards flow's through a dry and
saline plain. J
. OURALSK, a large and populous city, with narrow and
irregularly built houses, the capital of the Oural Cossacks.
. 6 male inhabitants, who amount to 3600, are divided
into seven regiments, w'hich are under the general super¬
intendence of the governor-general of Orenburg. They
are chiefly employed in taking fish, which are very abun-
ant m the Oural, and are considered to be superior in
qua ity to those caught in the Caspian. The place is sur-
cqU1i ^7 Pabsades and an irregular rampart. Long.
52-6. E. Lat. 50.11. N. 5
OURFA. See Orfa.
OUROOMI A, or Ooromia, the chief town of a district or
& vernment of the same name, in Persia, situated on a large
OUR
677
lake, also of the same name, in the province of Azerbijan. Ouroomia
It is an ancient city, which, according to Sir Robert K. II
Porter, once bore the name of Thebarma; and is mention- 0urr.v’8
ed as a place of some consequence by Strabo. It is sur-
rounded with walls and towers, which are at present in a'^ v-*-'
very ruinous state, though, with a shallow ditch, they con¬
stitute its only means of defence. It is, however, beautifully
situated amidst the most extensive and luxuriant gardens,
producing almost every European and Asiatic fruit in the
greatest plenty and perfection. The town contains, ac¬
cording to Frazer, about 20,000 inhabitants, who are of
disorderly habits, being mostly the immediate retainers of
chiefs who, having their property in the neighbourhood,
reside in large palaces within the town. The latter have
constant feuds with each other, in which their retainers
take part ; and the governor, who is a chief of the Affshar
tribe, being quite unable to restrain them, more murders
are committed in the town of Ouroomia than in any other
city of Persia. It is sixty'miles west of Tabreez. Long. 46.
12. E. Lat. 37 58. N. h
Ouroomia, Lake, a noble expanse of w'ater, about 100
miles in length, stretching nearly north and south, and about
forty miles in breadth. It is surrounded by picturesque
mountains, and valleys which are fertile and well filled with
villages. It lies to the south-east of Koiy, at no great distance
from the city; and is generally considered as the Spauto
and Marcianus of Strabo and Ptolemy. Its waters, like
those of the%ea, appear of a dark blue colour, streaked with
green, according as the light falls on them ; they are perfect¬
ly clear, and intensely salt. According to an experiment by
the late Mr Brown, they were found to contain one third
more salt than the sea. A great quantity of salt is also de¬
posited on the shores, and on the bottom, which is seen fora
considerable distance, from the clearness of the water. In
some places there is an incrustation of salt towards the
margin, from under which, when broken, thick concentrated
biine rushes out; and the deposition of salt and saline
effloiescence extends in some places many hundred yards
from the water’s edge, encircling it with a belt of glittering
white. No fish or living thing, says Frazer, as far as is known^
has been found in this fine lake. Within the last twelve or
fourteen years, the same traveller was informed that the
waters had gone back, and left the shore dry, in some places,
to a distance of full 500 yards. From the village of Sheratt-
Khaneh, built upon a bank once overhanging the water, it
has retired, leaving a mud beach, covered with salt or saline
efflorescence, of many hundred yards in breadth. A finer
subject for inland navigation than this lake and its tributary
streams can scarcely be conceived. The country fromTa-
breez to its bank is level, and the river Adjai, which passes
the town, could easily be converted into a canal, or made to
feed one ; and by this channel the valuable produce of all
the districts around the lake of Ouroomia might be brought
to the capital at a trifling expense. But the spirit of enter¬
prise in Persia is broken under the influence of a despotic
andunstable government; and hence it is in vain to expect
that capital will ever be employed in any useful improve¬
ment. bo little disposition is there to take advantage of this
lake for inland navigation, that there is not a single boat upon
it. Fhere were formerly two; but one was wrecked, with the
loss of eight men, and the other was allowed to rot. The dis¬
trict or government of Ouroomia contains, according to Fra¬
zer, 400, and to Sir Robert K. Porter, 700 villages. It has
been ruled by the present governor and his family for 200
years. Its revenue amounted for twenty-five years to 7000
tomaums, or about L. 15,000 annually. Butsince the rivalry
of certain noblemen with each other for the government, it
has been increased to L.100,000, which is wrung from the
poor peasantry by the most cruel extortion.
OURRA’S Island, or New Alderney, an island ins
the South Pacific Ocean, discovered by Captain Carteret
678
Ouse
H
Ovation.
O V A
♦
in 1767. It is one of the Queen Charlotte Islands, and is
ten miles long and five broad. Long. 165.19. E. Lat. 11.
, 10. 8.
OUSE, Greater, a river which rises near Fitwell, in
Oxfordshire, and proceeds to Buckingham, Stony Strat¬
ford, and Newport-Pagnel, in Buckinghamshire; from
thence it proceeds to Bedford, and turning north-east, it
passes on to Huntingdon and Ely, till at length it arrives
at Lynn-Regis, in Norfolk, and falls into the sea.
Ouse, Smaller, rises in Suffolk, and, separating that
county from Norfolk on the south-west, discharges itself
into the Great Ouse near Downham. There is still ano¬
ther of the same name, which rises on the west-north-west
side of Yorkshire, and running chiefly to the south-east,
at length falls into the Humber.
OUSSOOR, a town of Hindustan, in the Mysore ra¬
jah’s territories, which surrendered to a British detachment
in 1791. Long. 78. E, Lat. 12. 45. N.
OUTCHANG-FOU, a city of China, of the first rank,
situated on the great river Yang-tse-kiang, at its junction
with the Han. "it is the capital of the province of Hou-
quang, and when joined to Hang-yang-fou, situated on the
opposite side of the river, and forming properly one with
it, it ranks with the largest cities in China, or in the
world. From its position at the junction of the great river
Yang-tse-kiang with the Han, it enjoys an easy commer¬
cial intercourse with almost every port of China. Though
nearly 500 miles from the sea, the river is deep enough to
float the largest vessels ; and, for some miles in the vicinity
of the city, it is entirely covered with barks, amounting to
8000 or 10,000, many of which form the only habitation of
numerous Chinese families. This interminable prospect
and forest of masts presents one of the most striking scenes
in the world. The surrounding country is noted for the
excellence of the tea which it produces; and the bamboo
paper manufactured here is very highly celebrated all over
China.
OU-TCHEOU, a city of China, of the first rank, in the
province of Quang-see. It is favourably situated for com¬
merce, as the whole rivers of the province meet under
its walls in their progress to Quang-tong. The surround¬
ing country is mountainous. The rhinoceros is found in
the neighbouring rivers. Long. 110. 32. E. Lat. 23. 38. N.
OUTING, a city of China, of the first rank, in the pro¬
vince of Yunan, situated in a fertile country, near a range
of very rugged mountains, which yield abundance of musk.
It is exposed to the inroads of the mountaineers, for which
reason a considerable garrison is maintained in the place.
Long. 102. 6. E. Lat. 25. 53. N.
OUTLAW signifies one who is deprived of the benefit
of the law, and therefore held to be out of the king’s pro¬
tection.
OUTLAWRY, the punishment of a person who, being
called into court, and sought, according to the usual forms,
does contemptuously refuse to appear.
OUVAROFSKOI, a fort of Asiatic Russia, in the go¬
vern merit of Tomsk. It is agreeably situated, contains
twenty houses, and has been erected as a bulwark against
the Kirghisses.
OVAL, an oblong curvilinear figure, otherwise called
ellipse. The proper oval, or egg shape, however, differs
considerably from that of the ellipse, being an irregular
figure, narrower at one end than at another; whereas the
ellipse or mathematical oval is equally broad at each end.
But it must be owned that these two are commonly con¬
founded, even geometricians calling the oval a false ellipse.
OVATION, in Roman antiquity, was a lesser triumph,
allowed to commanders for victories won without the ef¬
fusion of blood, or for defeating a mean and inconsiderable
enemy. The show generally began at the Alban Moun¬
tain, whence the general with his retinue made his entry
O V E
into the city on foot, with many flutes or pipes sounding (
in concert as he passed along, and wearing a garland or
myrtle as a token of peace. The term ovation, according^' 1
to Servius, is derived from ovis, a sheep, because on this
occasion the conqueror sacrificed a sheep, as in a triumph
he sacrificed a bull. The senate, knights, and principal
plebeians assisted at the procession, which concluded at
the Capitol, where rams were sacrificed to Jupiter. The
first ovation was granted to Publius Posthumius, for his vic¬
tory over the Sabines in the 253d year of Rome.
OVEN, a kind of domestic furnace, used for baking
bread, pies, tarts, and the like. It is of a ' rcular structure,
with a very low roof, well lined both on the top, bottom,
and sides, with stone ; and it has a small entrance in the
front, fitted with a door, which being clapped to the mouth
of the oven, confines the heat, whilst bread, pies, or pud¬
dings, are baking. Over this pastry-cooks have another
oven built much in the same manner, which is used for
such things as require a less degree of heat. Ovens are
heated by burning in them dry faggots, wood, &c. till all
the parts are equally hot.
OVERALL, John, a celebrated English bishop, was
born in 1559, and, after a proper foundation in grammati¬
cal learning, was sent to St John’s College, Cambridge,
and elected a scholar of that society; but having after¬
wards removed to Trinity, he was chosen fellow of that
college. In 1596 he was made regius professor of divinity,
when he took his degree of doctor, and about the same time
was elected master of Catherine Hall. In 1601 he was pro¬
moted to the deanery of St Paul’s, London, by the recom¬
mendation of his patron, Sir Fulke Greville, and Queen
Elizabeth ; and in the beginning of King James’s reign he
was chosen prolocutor of the lower house of convocation.
In 1612 he was appointed one of the first governors of the
Charter-House Hospital, then just founded by Mr Thomas
Sutton. In April 1614 he was made Bishop of Litchfield
and Coventry; and in 1618 he was translated to Norwich,
where he died in May 1619, at the age of about sixty.
He was buried in that cathedral, where he lay unnoticed
and forgotten till some years after the restoration of Charles
II., when Cosin, bishop of Durham, who had been his se¬
cretary, erected a monument, with a Latin inscription, in
which he is said to be “ Vir undequaque doctissimus, et
omni encomio major.”
Wood observes, that he had the character of being the
best scholastic divine in England; and Cosin, who per¬
haps may be thought to rival him in that sort of learn¬
ing, calls himself his scholar, and declares that he derived
all his knowledge from Overall. He is also celebrated by
Smith for his distinguished wisdom, erudition, and piety.
In the controversy about predestination and grace, which
in his time divided the reformed churches, he held a
middle opinion, inclining somewhat to Arminianism. He
seems indeed to have paved the way for the reception of
that doctrine in England, where it was generally embrace
a few years afterwards, chiefly by the authority and in u-
ence of Archbishop Laud. Overall cultivated a particular
friendship with Gerard Vossius and Grotius, and was muc
grieved to see the love of peace, and the projects of tie
latter to obtain it, so ill repaid. He himself laboured hear¬
tily to settle the differences in Holland, upon what is known
by the name of the Quinquarticular Controversy, as ap
pears in part by his letters to the two learned correspona-
ents just mentioned, some of which are printed in
Epistolce Prcestantium Virorum. „
This bishop is known in England chiefly by his Unv -
cation Book, of which Burnet gives the following accoun .
“ This book was wrote on the subject of governmen ,
divine institution of which was very positively assert •
It was read in convocation, and passed by that boa>, ■
order to the publishing of it, in opposition to the p P
O V E
ury laid down in the famous book of Parsons the Jesuit, pub¬
lished under the name of Doleman. But King James did
m' not like a convocation entering into such a theory of po¬
litics; so he discouraged the printing of it, especially
since, in order to justify the owning of the United Pro¬
vinces, who had lately thrown off the Spanish yoke, to be
a lawful government, it was laid down, that when a change
of government was brought to a thorough settlement, it
was then to be owned and submitted to, as a work of the
providence of God. Here it slept, till Archbishop San-
croft, who had got the book into his own hands, and not
observing the Ust-mentioned passage in it, resolved to
publish it, in the beginning of King William’s reign, as
an authentic declaration which the Church of England had
made in the point of non-resistance. Accordingly it was
published in quarto, as well as licensed, by him, a very
few days before he was under suspension for not taking the
oaths.
OVERBURY, Sir Thomas, a learned Englishman, was
born in 1581, and studied at Queen’s College, Oxford, after
which he removed to the Middle Temple, London. He then
travelled for some time, and returned a most accomplished
person ; after which he contracted an intimate acquaint¬
ance with Sir Robert Carr, knight of the Bath, who being
soon afterwards taken into his majesty’s favour, procured
Overbury the honour of knighthood. Sir Thomas perceiv¬
ing the familiarity which subsisted between his patron Carr,
now Viscount Rochester, and the Lady Frances, the wife
of Robert Earl of Essex, was so much displeased at it that
he endeavoured to dissuade Lord Rochester from keepino1
her company, and from proceeding in the base design he
had formed of having her first divorced from her husband,
and then marrying her. 1 he viscount, resenting this ho¬
nest advice, told all he had said to the lady, who was as
remarkable for her wickedness as for her beauty; upon
which they immediately resolved to effect his destruction.
About this time, the king having occasion to send an am¬
bassador abroad, Rochester recommended Sir Thomas Over¬
bury. His majesty approved the choice, and the viscount
imparted the king’s intentions to Sir Thomas; but, under
a treacherous show of friendship, dissuaded him from ac¬
cepting of that employment, as it might hinder him from
abetter way of advancement, promising that he would pre¬
vent his majesty from being displeased at his refusal. The
viscount then went to the king, and having artfully incens¬
ed his majesty against Sir Thomas for refusing to obey his
commands, the latter was, on the 21st of April 1613, com¬
mitted for contempt to the Tower, where he continued a
prisoner till he was despatched by poison .on the 15th of
September following. About two years afterwards the
whole contrivance of his death was discovered. On this
several persons were condemned and executed ; but though
Urr, now Earl of Somerset, and the Lady Frances, his
countess, were condemned to death for contriving the mur¬
der, and hiring the persons who were concerned in it, the
King only banished them from court, and afterwards par-
coned them. Sir Thomas Overbury obtained considerable
reputation as an author, both in prose and in verse; but
* is probable that the compassion excited by his unhappy
end may have at first imparted to his works a degree of
popularity which they have not since retained. The prin-
c>pa are, L The Wife, a long poem, filled with sentiments,
ndxims, and observations, such as considerable experience
, V°^ect judSment of mankind could alone supply •
Wl £haracters ?nd Descriptions of the Properties of
prose^style^SOnS, Whlch afford a favourable specimen of his
the°J^R?AULT?G’ the act of °Pening and extending
commi ^ ^artS a tac^e' or other assemblage of ropes,
moTZ rh bl0cks or dead eyes* 11 is used to re-
hose blocks to a sufficient distance from each other,
O V I
679
Ovidius.
that they may again be placed in a state of action, so as Overhaul-
to produce the effect required. ing
Overhauling is also vulgarly employed to signify an
examination or inspection of the condition of a person or
OVERRAKE, a nautical term. When a ship riding at
anchor so overbeats herself into a high sea that she is-
washed by the waves breaking in upon her, then it is said
that the waves overrake her.
OVER!, the same with open. Thus an overt act sig¬
nifies an act which in law must be clearly proved ; and such
must be alleged in every indictment for high treason.
OVERTON, a town of Flintshire, in North Wales in
the hundred of Maylor, 183 miles from London and eight
from Wrexham. It stands on the river Dee. In 1801 the
population amounted to 1233, in 1811 to 1563, in 1821 tn
1668, and in 1831 to 1746.
Overi-gn, a town of the hundred of that name, in the
division of Kingsclere, in the county of Hampshire, fifty-
three miles from London. It was formerly a borough, and
sent two members to parliament, but has long lost its char¬
ter. In 1801 the population amounted to 1130, in 1811
to 1178, in 1821 to 1341, and in 1831 to 1507.
OVERTURE, in Music, a piece of instrumental music
winch precedes an opera, a ballet of action, a cantata, &c.
Amongst the finest modern overtures are Mozart’s to “ II
Flauto Magico,” and to “ Don Giovanni j” also some of
Cherubini’s and Beethoven’s. Some of Rossini’s, Weber’s
and Spohr’s have likewise great merit.
OVERYSSEL, one of the provinces of the kingdom of
the Netherlands. It extends in east longitude from 5.
44. to 6. 59., and in north latitude from 52. 6. to 53. 52.*
and covers 1342 square miles. It is bounded on the north
by Friesland and Drenthe, on the east by Hanover and
Prussian Westphalia, on the south by Guelders, and on the
west by Guelders and the Zuyder Zee. The face of the
country is level, and the land sandy, a great part beino- co¬
vered with heaths, and other parts fertile land for grazing
cattle, but marshy. The climate is foggy. This province
is watered by the river Yssel and other smaller streams •
and its productions are oats, buck-wheat, potatoes, apples,,
plums, flax, hemp, and turf for fuel. It breeds good horses
In 1831 the inhabitants amounted to 178,980, of whom
117,130 were Protestants, 59,360 Catholics, and the rest
Jews. Zwolle is the capital.
OVIDIUS, P. Naso, one of the most celebrated of
the Roman poets, was born at Sulmo, a city of the Peligni
on the 20th of March, b. c. 43., the very year in which Cicero
lost his life. ^ His father, who was of equestrian rank, be¬
stowed on his son the best education that Rome could fur¬
nish, and this was afterwards improved by a residence at
Athens. On his return to Rome he applied himself to law
and we find him in succession triumvir, centumvir, and de¬
cemvir. He soon found, however, that such a course of life
did not suit his inclination; and withdrawing himself from
active business, he devoted his whole time to the study of
poetry. He was three times married ; but his first two
wives he divorced, and to his third, who was of the family
ot the rabn, he was passionately attached. His daughter
i enlla appears also to have been a favourite. With Vir¬
gil he could have been but little acquainted, as the Man¬
tuan bard died when Ovid had scarcely attained his twenty-
fifth year; but he was the intimate friend of Propertius,
Catullus, and Cornelius Gallus. He passed many peace¬
ful years in Rome, enjoying all the pleasures of a luxurious
capita!, and pursuing his favourite studies; but at last some
ot his proceedings having excited the displeasure of Augus¬
tus, he was ordered to retire from Rome, and take up his
residence at fomi, a city of the Getae, situated near the
mouth of the Danube. What really was the cause of his
banishment is a poipt which has been much discussed by
680
O V I
Ovidius. the learned ; but as the poet always speaks of it in dark and
'obscure terms, no satisfactory solution has as yet been sug¬
gested. It would appear to have been something of which
he had been an innocent witness, and which he had been in¬
discreet enough to mention to his friends on some convivial
occasion. As Julia, the niece of Augustus, was at this time
banished on account of her shameless debaucheries, some
have imagined that Ovid’s punishment might have arisen
from participation in her pleasures, or from some indiscreet
disclosure of them. It has even been suggested that the lady
whom he celebrates under the name ofCorinna was no other
than Julia; but this is impossible, as he himself states that
he was only about his twentieth year when he sung her
praises; and his banishment took place about his fiftieth
year. Others have suggested that it arose from the disclo¬
sure of some state secret respecting Agrippa, the nephew of
Augustus, who had been banished to Campania; but theie
is nothing in the works either of Ovid or of any ancient au¬
thor that can enable tis to come to any satisfactory conclu¬
sion. Ovid did not submit to the inconveniences of exile
without murmuring, nor was he willing to allow himself to
be forgotten. He showed that his mind was completely
enervated by the luxurious life he had led at Rome; and
he allowed himself to make the most abject entreaties to
Augustus to procure his recall; but neither Augustus, nor
after him Tiberius, would listen to his request. He re¬
mained at Tomi till the time of his death, which happened
in the eighth year of his banishment, and the fifty-ninth of
his age, a. d. 16.
Ovid’s principal work is entitled Metamorphoseon Libn,
probably from the Latin language not affording a word equal¬
ly expressive of the author’s meaning. They contain, in fif¬
teen books, a series of about three hundred and fifty fables,
which begin with Chaos, and end with the death of Caesar ;
and they are so arranged that one fable seems to arise
naturally from the other. The poet has shown much art in
selecting those fables which were suited to his purpose, and
in uniting into one consistent whole, materials which differ
so much in form and in character. He has also contrived
to throw into his work much dramatic spirit, which keeps up
the attention of the reader, and gives a liveliness to every
scene which he describes. No poet has succeeded better
in painting the passions and affections which agitate the
breast of man. The materials for his work are no doubt
mainly drawn from the Greeks, and more particularly from
the Alexandrine school, by which this subject had^been
frequently treated. He has borrowed much from Nican-
der, who also afforded materials for the work of Antoninus
Liberalis, a Greek of the later ages. We possess a Greek
translation of the Metamorphoses by Manuel 1 lanudes.
His work entitled Amonim consists of forty-nine
elegies, and was originally divided, as he himself states, in¬
to five books ; but he omitted two. The subject of these
elegies is the poet himself and his love-adventures, which
he describes with the utmost freedom and sincerity. The
passions which moved him, and the feelings he experienced,
are expressed with all the lightness of touch and grace so
peculiar to the poet, and which has taken off much of the
grossness that is natural to such a subject. According to a
German critic, this work must have been published some¬
where between 744 and 752 u. c. (b. c. 10-2).
His work entitled Tristia, in fifty elegies, and Epislola
ex Ponto, forty-six elegies, in four books, were both com¬
posed at Tomi during his exile, the first between the
years 762-765 (a. d. 9-12), and the second between 765-
969 (a. d. 12-16). Both contain heavy and unceasing
complaints of the unhappiness of his fate ; but the constant
repetition of the same idea produces a disagreeable effect;
and the unmanliness of his grief does not tend to raise his
character in the mind of the reader. The versification
of these works, however, is perfect.
UC SlVie, WiUl «   j • , ij
versity, a well-endowed hospital, and a beautifu P
walk. It is supplied with water by a fine aqueduct,
conveys it from two fountains in the neighbouring hills.
Long. 5. 56. 22. W. Lat. 43. 21. 55. N.
Oviedo, John Gomales, in Spanish, Goncal t
dez de Oviedo y Valdez, a celebrated h.stonan, ™ born a
Madrid about the year H78 and educated Ute
pages of Ferdinand and Isabella. One o j prom
age of fifteen when Christopher Columbus ret to
his first voyage ; and being seized wdh a stm g di ^ ^
learn the details relating to the great discove y
O V I
The Heroides are a series of love-letters written by he- 0 d
roines of the mythological age, to their absent lovers. Ovid -
does not appear to have borrowed the idea of this species
of elegy from any Greek writer, though some have been
inclined to suspect that such was the case. We possess
twenty-one of these letters, but the genuineness of the last
six has been doubted, some ascribing them to the pen of
Aulus Sabinus. Love forms the subject of them all, with
complaints of the absence of lovers ; but the different cir¬
cumstances in which each is placed have enabled the poet
to throw much agreeable variety into the letters. The
feelings are described with much truth ; and though the
simplicity of an earlier age is sometimes to be regretted,
still they must be considered as one of the most success¬
ful of his works.
The Fasti is another work of very high merit, in which
he describes the origin and customs observed in different
Roman festivals, in chronological order. The six books
which we possess include only the first six months of the
year, though the poet intended to have completed in the
same manner the circle of the year, but was prevented
probably by his banishment. The subject is one which en¬
abled him to display his historical and mythological learn¬
ing ; and as he seems to have taken much interest in the in¬
vestigation of the ancient native religion of Italy, this poem
is one of the chief sources from which we gather the cus¬
toms and superstitions of those early times.
The bibliography of Ovid is immense ; indeed the dif¬
ferent editions of his works, together with the commen¬
taries, and the translations, would fill a volume. We shall
here confine ourselves to the citation of the principal edi¬
tions. These are, 1. The Bologna edition, Azzoguidi, 1471,
in folio, being the first book printed at Bologna; 2. That
of Rome, Conrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannartz, 14<1,
in two volumes folio, published under the auspices of the
Bishop of Alenia ; 3. Those published by the Alduses, at
Venice, about the beginning of the sixteenth century, which
are greatly esteemed, particularly that of 1502, 1503, in
three vols. 8vo, and that of 1515, 1516, also in three vols.
8vo, with notes by Navagero; 4. The Leyden edition, 1661,
1662, in three vols. 8vo, cum notis variorum, brought out
under the superintendence of Cnipping; and, 5. That of
Amsterdam, 1727, in four vols. 4to, being the beautiful edi¬
tion of Burmann. The French translations are exceedingly
numerous, and, upon the whole, the best that have appear¬
ed in any modern language. . . .
OVIEDO, a city of Spain, in the province of Asturias,
of which it is the capital. It is situated between the
rivers Nalon and Nora, on a hill of granite, and enjoys a
serene atmosphere, although generally rather ramy. s
fields are fertile, and yield abundance of fruits and horti¬
cultural vegetables ; and near it there are good meadows,
where cattle are depastured, and hay made for the winter
consumption of stock. The city contains a population °t
6000 inhabitants, amongst whom there are some
most distinguished families of the province, who unfortu¬
nately prefer a residence in cities to living on z-
estates/ It is not a place of trade, but rather the r sort rf
lawyers and clergy. It has a very magnificent cathed^^
in the Gothic style, with a remarkable lofty tower, a
O V I
do. lustrious navigator, he soon made himself acquainted with
■—''all that had passed in this wonderful expedition. Having
OWE
about the year 1513, came to the conclusion that it had
embraced the profession of a,™, he distingui^d himself eais"
in the war of Naples, where he rendered important service employment which led bin, thither- ^ c ’ ®0ll.cltetl th®'
to Spain; and it was in recompense of his talents and that tC wLTnf ^ - r faCt d‘scovered
bravery that Ferdinand appointed him director of the gold ployed by the natives‘ anTbv whicf als^he"
and silver mines in the island of Haiti, which Columbus own cure”7 It i« irbw’fnnf y^hlc“ aIso he effected his
named ^rst Espanola, and then San-Domingo. Oviedo commenced physician for syphiulfcmaMes^n'the0^0
proceeded to Ins destination m 1513; and employed in ment of which he made use Sf the wood of gLc whh a
working the mines, which were poor compared with those success which considerably augmented the foSe he had
afterwards discovered m the continent of America, the acquhed in working the mines of Halth at the expense of
natives of the island, a good and gentle race, naturally in¬
dolent, and by no means robust, with constitutions already
enfeebled by the ravages of syphilis, a disease previously
unknown in the old world. This unfortunate people, who
had received the companions of Columbus with so much
cordiality, Oviedo treated worse than beasts of burden;
compelling them to labour without intermission, and ex¬
ercising the greatest cruelties to enforce submission to his
commands on the part of a race which had previously lived
in idleness, subsisting on the abundant natural productions
of the climate, and on fish, which they caught without dif¬
ficulty, as an amusement rather than an occupation. The
abominable tyranny to which the natives were thus sub¬
jected soon caused a considerable diminution of their num¬
ber; and Oviedo, in order to justify himself for the op¬
pression and cruelty which he exercised, had the bad faith
to allege, in his writings, that the Haitians were dissolute,
unprincipled, and in every respect deserving of extermi¬
nation. Nor was this all. Not content with calumniat¬
ing the people lie had so cruelly treated, he added the ri¬
diculous falsehood, that amongst them syphilis was the re-
the lives of a great number of the natives. (A.)
OVHJA, or Septa, in ancient Home, a place in the
Campus Martins, at first railed in like a sheep-pen, but
afterwards adorned with marble, and beautified with walks
galleries, and a tribunal or seat of justice. Within this
precinct or enclosure the people were called to give their
suffrages for the election of magistrates. The ascent into
the ovilia was not by stairs, but by pontes, or narrow boards,
. for the occasion. On this account, de ponte dejici
signified to be deprived of the privilege of voting; and per¬
sons thus dealt with were called depontani.
OVIPAROUS, a term applied to such animals as bring
from.eggs ; as birds, insects, and others,
i UV(U, ’ or ()vUM> in Architecture, a round moulding,
the profile or sweep of which, in the Ionic and Composite
capitals, is usually a quadrant of a circle; and hence it is
also commonly called the quarter-round. It is usually cut
with representations of eggs and arrow-heads or anchors
placed alternately.
OWEN, Dr John, an eminent and learned dissenting
minister, was born in 1616, at Hadham, in Oxfordshire,
Of whir l nmr*** hie -Tof  tt t
Cll]f j v o , i i me ic- iuiiji&ier, was Dorn in Iblb, at Jtdu
pliititrI,is faf’er was 'r- Hf ^ -
a deficiency of vital power. A residence of nearly twelve to leave the univershv i i i , ?bl,Sed
years m Haiti enabled Oviedo to study the natural his- chaohin to Sir It h Vn 60 ^ A°0b orders lie became
R or the "d - •» its parts, observe'syp^ftlir in'all tt t “eTuTor
BSpliiiSl
!PI*S^SS
VOL. xv,. by S,pi“l,> d g soJ»urn »• Naple* yew. Soon alter.vards Cromwell sent him into Scotland!
4 R
681
Ovilia
II
Owen.
682
O X F
O X F
Owhyhee but he also returned from thence after about half a year s
II residence at Edinburgh. He was then promoted to the
Oxford, deanery nf Christ-Ghurch, Oxford, whither he went in
J651 ; and Cromwell, being now chancellor of the univer¬
sity, nominated him his vice-chancellor. The next year
he was created doctor of divinity by diploma. Dr Owen
held the post of vice-chancellor five years, during which
he behaved with the greatest moderation ; for, although of¬
ten solicited, he never molested the meeting of the royal¬
ists at the house of Dr Willis the physician, where divine
service was performed according to the liturgy of the
Church of England; and though he was a commissioner
for ejecting scandalous ministers, he frequently overruled
his brethren in favour of those royalists who were distin¬
guished by their merit. At the death of Cromwell he was
removed from the vice-chancellorship; and at the Resto¬
ration he was ejected from his deanery of Christ-Church.
But he had provided himself a comfortable retreat at an
estate he had purchased at Hadham. He now employed
himself in preaching as often as he had an opportunity,
and in writing books ; one of which, entitled tint Lux,
falling into the hands of Lord Clarendon, he was so pleas¬
ed with it, or from policy pretended to be so, that he sent
for Dr Owen, and acknowledging the service he had done
by it to the Protestant religion, offered to prefer him in
the church if he would conform ; but he respectfully de¬
sired to be excused. His moderation secured him respect
from persons of opposite principles ; and in the number of
his friends were Dr WRkins, bishop of Chester, and Dr
Barlow, bishop of London. He died at Ealing in 1683. His
works are printed in seven volumes folio.
OWHYHEE, the easternmost, and by far the largest,
of the Sandwich Islands. See the article Polynesia.
OWLAH, a city of Hindustan, in the province of Delhi
and district of Bareilly. It is pleasantly situated on the
western bank of the Harowly River, and, with the adjoin¬
ing district, came into the possession of the British in 1802.
It is an ancient town, and was fixed upon in the early part
of the last century by Aly Mohammed, one of the Rohilla
chiefs, as the capital of his territories. On his death Owlah
fell to the share of Futteh Khan, superintendent of the
household, and after the death of the latter his son Ahmed
Khan resided there. It was also the residence of many
of the chiefs and their families, which conduced greatly
to its grandeur and extent. But on the cruel extermina¬
tion of the Rohilla nation by Sujah ud Dowlah, aided
by the British, in 1774, it was forsaken by its principal in¬
habitants ; and it has now fallen into decay and ruin. It
is about sixteen miles north-west from the town of Ba¬
reilly. Long. 79. 35. E. Lat. 28. 10. N.
OWLING, so called from its being usually carried on
in the night, is the offence of transporting wool or sheep
out of this kingdom, to the detriment of one of its staple
manufactures.
OWRAM, North, a township in the parish of Hali¬
fax, in the west riding of Yorkshire, 197 miles from Lon¬
don, where the inhabitants are chiefly employed in making
woollen goods. In 1801 the population amounted to 4887,
in 1811 to 5306, in 1821 to 6841, and in 1831 to 10,184.
Owram, South, a township in the parish of Halifax,
only half a mile distant from North Outram, and, like it,
chiefly occupied in the woollen manufacture. In 1801 the
population amounted to 3148, in 1811 to 3615, in 1821 to
4256, and in 1831 to 5751.
OXFORD, the capital of the English county of the
same name, is situated at the junction of the river Cher-
well with the Isis, which about eight miles lower down re¬
ceives the waters of the Thame, and then becomes the
Thames, a contraction of Thame-Isis. It is fifty-five miles
from London by the High Wycombe road, and fifty-eight
by Henley. It is pleasantly situated on ground rising gently
from the rivers which almost surround it, and its imme- (tbrd.
    - - ok).
diate vicinity smiles with fertile and verdant meadows ^ ^
beyond which, on the east, south, and west sides, it is
bounded by an amphitheatre of hills, and on the north the
view is extended over a rich district in the highest state of
cultivation. The air is pure and salubrious; and from the
neighbouring heights, the city, with its spires, and domes,
and towers, presents an impressive spectacle of all that is
lovely in nature, magnificent in art, and sacred in anti-
quity.
The locality of Oxford is favourable for intercourse with
the whole of the kingdom. It is nearly in the centre of
England ; and good lines of road pass through it from almost
every quarter. Its vicinity supplies most of the first ne¬
cessaries of life with facility ; and though formerly the enor¬
mous price of fuel was the subject of serious complaint,
that evil has been remedied by a canal which joins the
Grand Junction Canal at Braunston, in Northamptonshire,
and has proved a great advantage to the city, by convey¬
ing the coals of Staffordshire at a cheap rate, whilst the
capital expended in the undertaking has become a very lu¬
crative investment to those who embarked money in the
project. Besides the canal, Oxford has water communica¬
tion by the river Thames with both sides of the kingdom.
The Thames and Severn Canal unites these two rivers
through the Stroud Canal, and thus goods may be conveyed
downwards to Oxford from Bristol, Gloucester, Worcester,
and Birmingham, and upwards from the mouth of the
Thames near the metropolis of the empire.
The city, properly so called, was formerly surrounded by
walls, considerable portions of which still remain. It is of
an oval form, and about two miles in circumference. The
municipal limits, which are now made co-extensive with the
parliamentary boundary, comprehends the whole or part of
twenty parishes, the extreme extent of the borough each
way being now about three miles. Four principal streets,
broad and well built, cross each other at the centre; but the
communications between these streets are rather narrow.
The High Street is generally admired, as well for its length
as for the number and the magnificence of the buildings on
both sides of it; the effect of which is much heightened by
its curvature, which at every advance opens up new views
of architectural grandeur. In this street is the entrance to
the market, which is well stored with provisions of every
kind, equal in quality to any in the kingdom. The town-
hall is a fine building, serving the purpose which its name
expresses, as well as that of a county-hall; and the assizes,
the county-sessions, the election for city and county mem¬
bers, as well as public meetings, are held in it. It was bml
in 1754, at the expense of Mr Rowney, then member for
the city ; but has been since considerably improved by tlie
united funds of the county and the city. It is one hundred
and thirty-five feet in length by thirty-two feet in breadth,
and is the apartment in which, in the year 1814, tbetree-
dom of the city was presented to George IV., the
aom oi me   p .. j;a.
peror of Russia, the king of Prussia, and many other d
*. • , I    A ^ILUvUnrr tn this edifice IS tile
tinguished personages. Adjoining to this edifice is
council-chamber, for meetings of the city council, which is
councu-ciiamuei, iui   j - 'farters
adorned with portraits of eminent persons and benetacto-
The corporation now consists of a mayor, ten aid >
and thirty councillors, with a recorder,^andjiistice^ ^
 thirty
peace appointed by the crown. —v ' , f e tiie
members to the House of Commons. These, befo ^
Reform Act, were elected by the freemen; b“ , ig a
pound householders are now added to them- was
county of itself. The county-jail, a large buddiDg,^^
county ot itself, me couiuy-jcm, a ^| ;rtv
erected upon the site of the anaent cast e about
years ago ; but, besides the county-jail, there
prison and a bridewell. The remains of tl]® . | ovisjons
of the fortress, and a large magazine for storing p
for the garrison, are still preserved.
OXFORD.
683
rd. Some have pretended to trace the origin of Oxford to
•—'remote antiquity; but their speculations can only be look¬
ed upon as fanciful conjectures. No credit can be given
to any statement respecting it previous to the reign of Al¬
fred. In 727, a monastery was founded at Oxford, or, as
it was originally called, Oxenford, dedicated to the Holy
Trinity. The habitations of the laity attracted to the neigh¬
bourhood were probably the origin of the town ; and as
the clergy, previous to the Conquest, were the sole depo¬
sitories of learning, and the only teachers to whom the
people could look for instruction, and as every monastery
became more or less a kind of school, it is not improbable
that the educational department of the monastery was the
germ of the University of Oxford.
In the course of thirty years, between 979 and 1009,
the town was thrice consumed by fire; and during the
contests between the Danes and Saxons, it often suffered
severely. It was the occasional residence of King Ed¬
mund, surnamed Ironside, who was murdered there; of
Canute the Great, who repeatedly held parliaments in it;
and of Harold, surnamed Harefoot, who was crowned and
died in Oxford.
The inhabitants having refused to open their gates to
William the Conqueror, he obtained entrance by force,
and levied a heavy tax on the townsmen as a punishment
for their resistance ; and the better to restrain their rebel¬
lious spirit, he built and fortified a strong castle on the
west side of the town, near the river.
The successors of the Conqueror frequently made Ox¬
ford the place of their residence, and several of them
were munificent patrons of its schools. In the contest be¬
tween King Stephen and the Empress Maud, the latter,
having taken shelter in the castle, was besieged in it by
the king in person, and only escaped by stratagem the day
before it surrendered.
In 1177, the princes and chief lords of Wales did ho¬
mage here for their territories and estates to Henry II.
This monarch resided, during a great part of his reign, in
the palace of Beaumont, which was built in the north
suburbs by Henry I. In this palace Richard Cceur-de-
Lion was born ; and here King John passed many of his
troubled hours. Richard I. was a great promoter of learn¬
ing, and gave especial encouragement to Oxford, which
was the place of his birth. Many new halls or schools were
established under his patronage, and by means of funds fur¬
nished from his private exchequer. To such a pitch had
he raised the reputation of Oxford, that in the succeed¬
ing reign its schools were attended by not less than three
thousand students; but in the year 1209 this prosperity
was sadly overcast, and the town, as a seat of education,
tireatened with total destruction. A student, whilst en¬
gaged in some manual exercise, accidentally killed a woman
belonging to the town, and, being alarmed for the conse¬
quences, took to flight. The mayor and burgesses sur¬
rounded the hall to which the supposed murderer belong¬
ed, and demanded that he should be delivered up. They
were informed that the accused student had fled ; but this
answer by no means appeased the clamours of the multi-
tude, who seized three students, entirely unconnected with
the affair, and hanged them without trial or inquiry. The
teachers and scholars, justly enraged at this barbarous
outrage, unanimously quitted Oxford, and betook them-
Se ves l? Cambridge and other places; and they did not
return till the humbled inhabitants had repeatedly applied
0r Pardon, and expressed the deepest contrition for their
conduct.
_ tjle reign of Henry VIII. Oxford was elevated to the
0 ^ city, and that of a bishop’s see; and it was at
x oi that Archbishop Cranmer, and Bishops Ridley and
rimer, ™ere executed as heretics, by order of Queen
Mary, iu October 1555.
In the year 1577, the plague raged with dreadful mor¬
tality in the town. During the trial of a popish bookseller,
accused of circulating mischievous pamphlets, nearly all
the persons present were suddenly seized with sickness;
and within forty hours upwards of three hundred died,
amongst whom were the chief baron, the high sheriff, se¬
veral justices of the peace, and most of the jurors. When
the plague broke out in London, King James withdrew
to this city for safety; but the dreadful scourge visited
Oxford not long afterwards, and made such awful devas¬
tation that the scholars fled from the University, and the
citizens shut up their shops ; and not a living creature, be¬
sides nurses and corpse-bearers, was to be seen in the
streets, which were covered with grass, even in the mar¬
ket-place.
During the struggles between Charles I. and his par¬
liament, the king, in consequence of the disaffection of
the citizens of London, removed his court to Oxford; be¬
ing well assured of the loyalty of the townsmen, and the
inviolable allegiance of the university. The melancholy
winter of the year 1646 was spent by the unfortunate
monarch within the walls of Christ-Church; where he as¬
sembled a parliament of his diminished and disheartened
adherents, and where he wrote his memorable letter to
Lord Digby, in which he declared, “ if I cannot live as a
king, I will die as a gentleman.” Though the city was
strongly fortified, and considered as a post of great im¬
portance by both parties, it never happened, during the
war, to be the scene of any great military transaction ;
but the negotiations for peace between Charles and the
republican party were chiefly carried on at Oxford.
The last parliament which met in this city was con¬
vened by Charles II. in 1681, and lasted only seven days.
The party spirit and turbulence displayed, not only by the
populace, but by the representatives, compelled the king
to order its premature dissolution, to prevent the passing
of a bill for banishing and excluding from the throne his
brother, the Duke of York, afterwards James II.
Oxford has the transcendent glory of being the cradle
of the Reformation. Wickliffe, whose name will be vene¬
rated by all who value the truths of Christianity, and the
progress of the human mind, was warden of Canterbury
College; and it was here that he read those lectures on
divinity which shook to its foundation that spiritual des¬
potism which held Europe in thraldom, and here he first
inculcated those truths which form the basis of religious
liberty.
The University contains twenty colleges and five halls.
Merton College, the oldest in point of legal establish¬
ment, was founded by Walter de Merton, bishop of Ro¬
chester, who established it by charter, dated 7th January
1264. It consists of three courts. The chapel, which is
situated at the west end of the outer court, is a fine spe¬
cimen of old English architecture. The tower and gate
of the outer court were constructed in the early part of
the fifteenth century; and the whole of the other part was
rebuilt in 1589. I he second, or large inner court, exhi¬
bits a mixed style of architecture; the third, or small
court, is the oldest, and is supposed to have been built at
the same time with the library, which forms its south and
w'est sides. This is the oldest library in the University,
and possesses many valuable manuscripts and early printed
books. In tlie hall of this college Queen Elizabeth was en¬
tertained at dinner on her visit to the University in 1592.
University College is said to have owed its origin to
King Alfred ; but it is ascertained that it was founded by
the University, with funds left by William of Durham, in
1249. It stands on the south side of the High Street,
and consists of two quadrangular courts, which were built
at various times between the years 1634 and 1675.
Baliol College was projected by John de Baliol, father
Oxford.
684
OXFORD.
Oxford, of the unfortunate king of Scotland, in 1263 ; but, in con-
’ sequence of his sudden death, it was only founded in 1282,
by his widow, Dervorguilla. The architecture is very ir¬
regular ; none of the present buildings are of earlier date
than the fifteenth, and the east and south-east sides vyere
rebuilt in the beginning of the eighteenth century. Ihe
court of the quadrangle is one hundred and twenty feet by
eighty ; there is also belonging to the college an area on
the north-west, containing lodgings for the students, and
a new building fronting the street one hundred and eight
feet in length.
Exeter College was founded in 1315, by Walter de Sta¬
pleton, bishop of Exeter. It has been built at various times,
and forms one extensive quadrangle, nearly a hundred and
thirty-five feet square. The architecture of this College is
of an uniform and simple character. I he whole of the west
front has recently been renewed with Bath stone, and a
handsome new building erected, facing Broad Street.
Oriel College was founded in 1326, by Adam de Brom ;
and shortly after was taken under the protection of Ed¬
ward II. It consists of a quadrangular range of build¬
ings, with two ranges on the east and west sides of the
garden, between which is the library, an elegant modern
building, from a design by Wyatt.
Queen’s College was founded by Robert de Eglesfeld,
and obtained a charter from Edward III., dated the 18th
January 1340. The present buildings are of modern erec¬
tion ; they consist of two courts, divided by the hall and
chapel, in an oblong form, three hundred feet in length
by two hundred and twenty in breadth. The library, which
contains about 18,000 volumes, is a magnificent room, a
hundred and twenty-three feet by thirty.
New College. The foundation-stone of this college was
laid by William of Wykeham, for his scholars of Win¬
chester College, in the year 1380; but the buildings were
not completed till 1386. As originally projected by the
founder, they consist of a spacious quadrangle, including
the chapel, hall, and library. A range of cloisters, ex¬
tending a hundred and forty-six feet by a hundred and
five, with the area within, were consecrated in 1400, as a
burial-place for the college. The chapel is one of the
finest buildings in tbe University, and is exceedingly beau¬
tiful and chaste in its interior decorations.
Lincoln College was founded by Richard bleming, bishop
of Lincoln, in 1427, and completed by Bishop Rotherham.
The chief buildings compose two quadrangular courts.
The larger, which contains the library and hall, was built
soon after the founder’s death ; but the smaller, in which is
situated the chapel, whose old painted glass windows are
the finest in Oxford, was not built till two centuries after¬
wards.
All-Souls College was founded in 1437, by Archbishop
Chicele. It consists of two spacious courts, the one open¬
ing into the High Street, and the other into the court
where the Radcliffe Library is situated. The latter quad¬
rangle, which was erected in the beginning of last cen¬
tury, is a hundred and seventy-two feet in length by a
hundred and fifty-five in breadth ; the buildings are in the
mixed Gothic style of architecture, and very handsome.
On the south side is a beautiful chapel, with an altar-
piece by Raphael Mengs. The library, which is on the
south side, is a hundred and ninety-eight feet in length
by thirty-two and a quarter in breadth, and forty feet in
height, and contains above 110,000 volumes.
Magdalene College was founded by William of Wayn-
flete, bishop of Winchester, under a license dated the 18th
July 1457. It is situated on tbe east side of tbe city, neat-
the Cher well, and is one of the finest ranges of buildings in
the University. On the side fronting the High Street there
is a finely-proportioned tower, a hundred and forty-five feet
in height.
The chapel is a beautiful Gothic structure,
which has recently been restored, in good taste. Magda- Qferd.
lene College being bound by its statute to entertain the —
kings of England and their sons when at Oxford, it has
frequently been the scene of royal festivity. Edward IV.
and Richard III. were both entertained here by the foun¬
der. Prince Arthur paid a visit to this college in 1496;
and in 1605 James I. held his court within its walls, on
which occasion Henry prince of Wales was admitted a
member of the society. In 1649, Oliver Cromwell, Fair¬
fax, and other officers of the parliamentary army, had a
sumptuous dinner provided for them here, and afterwards
played at bowls in the college green.
Brazen-Nose College was founded by William Smyth,
bishop of Lincoln, in concert with his friend Sir Richard
Sutton. The buildings were begun in 1509, and occupied
the site of several halls, amongst which was Brazen-Nose
Hall, whence the new foundation derived its name. It
consists of an extensive quadrangle, a smaller court on the
south, a range of buildings called the New Buildings, and
the principal’s lodgings. The front of this college forms
the west side of Radcliffe Square.
Corpus Christi College was founded and endowed in the
year 1516, by Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester. The
building, which stands to the east, of Christ-Church, ori¬
ginally consisted of one large quadrangle, with a chapel,
hall, and library; but various additions have since been
made. The altar-piece in the chapel is the Nativity by
Rubens. The library contains some curious printed books
and manuscripts.
Christ-Church College is indebted for its origin to the
munificence of Cardinal Wolsey, who commenced it in 1524,
under the designation of Cardinal College, upon a scale of
magnificence far surpassing that of any of the other foun¬
ders ; but upon his disgrace Henry VlII. seized the reve¬
nues. In 1532 Henry was induced to grant the college a
charter, and directed that it should be called King Henry
VIII.’s College ; but about twelve or thirteen years after¬
wards Henry converted the college into a cathedral church,
translating to Oxford the episcopal see of Oseney; and
thus it became an ecclesiastical endowment, with a foun¬
dation for children annexed to it. Besides the cathedral,
the buildings consist of two spacious quadrangles, with two
smaller courts ; and in the tower, which rises from the gate¬
way in the centre of the principal front, is suspended the
bell called “ Great Tom.” The cathedral is supposed to
have been completed about 1180, but parts of it are of
much earlier date. The hall built by Wolsey, with its roof
of richly carved oak, ornamented with the armorial bear¬
ings of Wolsey and Henry VIII, is a fine specimen of his
magnificent taste. . „ • .ru
Trinity College was founded in 1554, by Sir Ihomas
Pope, who purchased for this purpose the extensive build¬
ings of Durham College. This college formerly consisted
chiefly of a low quadrangle, with hall, library, and chapel.
In 1664, extensive additions were made, and spon after¬
wards a new court of three sides was built by Sir Christo¬
pher Wren. -7 .
St John’s College was founded and endowed in tool, uy
Sir Thomas White, a citizen and merchant of London. It
consists of two quadrangles, and has in front a wide er
race and a row of lofty elms. The inner court was ui
in 1635, from a design by Inigo Jones.
Jesus College owes its foundation to Dr Hugh ap >
or Price. Queen Elizabeth instituted the estabhshme
by charter, dated the 27th June 1571; but though nom *
nally foundress, she bestowed little patronage, and still es
property, on the college, the funds having been supp
by Dr Price and the munificence of other individuals,
buildings form two quadrangles, the first n?ea?u™g .
feet by seventy, and the second a hundrec y
The front towards the street was rebuilt in 1 ,
OXFORD.
■ord. Wadham College was projected by Nicholas' Wadham ;
/—''but dying before his plan could be put in execution, his’
widow founded it in 1613. It consists of one quadrangle
about a hundred and thirty feet square. The hall is one
of the largest in the University. The Royal Society ori¬
ginated in this college, and its meetings were held in a
room over the gateway, from 1652 to 1659.
Pembroke College. Though in the charter, which is
dated 1624, King James is called founder, and the Earl of
Pembroke the chancellor of the University, yet they contri¬
buted little or nothing towards the establishment of this
college; the real founders were Thomas Tesdale and
Richard Wightwick. It consists of a small neat quad¬
rangle ; and the chapel attached to it, which was erected
in 1728, is an elegant building of the Ionic order.
Worcester College was founded in 1714, under the will
of Sir Thomas Cooks. It is situated upon the western side
of the city, near the banks of the Isis. It consists of a
range of buildings, having the library, hall, and chapel in
the centre, an elegant line of new buildings on the north,
and the old buildings on the south side.
Hertford College, anciently Hart Hall, was elevated to
the rank of an independent college in the year 1740; but
since 1805 no principal could be elected, owing to the
nature of the statutes. It has now ceased to exist as a
college. 4 he site is occupied, under an act of parliament
passed in 1816, by St Mary Magdalene Hall.
The halls were originally the private property of inha¬
bitants of the town, who let them for the use of the stu¬
dents ; but after the endowment of colleges, the halls ora-
dually fell into disuse. Five, however, still remain, and
the students who belong to them wear the same dress, and
have the same university privileges, as the other students ;
but the halls have no fellowships or scholarships, and what¬
ever property they possess is held in trust by the Univer-
sity. The names of the halls are St Mary’s, Magdalene,
New Inn, St Alban s, and St Edmund s. There is nothing
in their architecture worthy of remark.
The Bodleian, or Public Library, was founded by Sir
Ihomas Bodley, at the close of the sixteenth century, on
the remains of that which was originally established by
the Duke of Gloucester. The erection of the present
building was begun in 1610. The principal room is in
the form of the letter H. The Bodleian is one of the five
ibranes which, according to act of parliament, receives a
copy of every newly-published book. The continual ac¬
cessions which it has received have rendered it one of the
best libraries in Europe. The library is open between
hadyday and Michaelmas from nine in the morning till
four in the afternoon, and between Michaelmas and Lady-
day from ten in the morning till three in the afternoon.
No book can be taken out of the library ; and from the il-
hberal nature of the regulations, it is of little use, even to
the resident members of the University. The Arundel
thfschoolT P aCed ^ 3n apartment on the north sWe of
.L?he. Radcllffe Library is one of the most imposing ar-
bv DrTJ f the University- It was founded
y Ur Radchffe, who bequeathed L.40,000 for its erec-
yZi m *endUm9S was executed by Gibbs between the
twi.lare"d0n Printi"g-house was erected in 1711, from
orvPoffitlipai?S1hgn°Ut °f,the Sale of Lord Clarendon’s His-
s r t h RRebelh°n> the C0Pyright of which was pre-
sive stI .he TVerSlt? hy his lordshiP’s son- It is a mas-
for thP n •Ure’ • ° St0neS hiSh* The business of printing
when iflTer y W^S Car,ned °n in this budding till 1830,
wafnp removed to the present printing-house, which
ing yeanmenCed m 1826, and ready for Use in the ft11™-
The Theatre vvas built by Gilbert Sheldon, archbishop
685
of Canterbury, and chancellor of the University in 1669, Oxford,
on the plan of the Theatre of Marcellus at Rome ; and the
architect was Sir Christopher Wren. It is used for pub¬
lic meetings, for the recital of prize compositions, and oc¬
casionally for conferring degrees.
A museum was founded in 1682, by Elias Ashmole. At
the extremity of the northern suburbs stands the Obser¬
vatory ; and at the entrance of the city by the London
road are the Physic Gardens, which were commenced in
1622 by the Earl of Derby.
When Henry VIII. elevated Oxford to the rank of a
bishop s see, he converted the ancient church of St Frides-
wide into the cathedral. It is built in the form of a cross,
with a spire in the middle; and the tower contains ten bells’
which formerly belonged to Oseney Abbey. The length of
the chapel from east to west is a hundred and fifty-four
feet. The nave was originally almost double its present
length, but was in part taken down by Cardinal Wolsey, to
make room for the dwellings of the canons. The length of
the tiansept from north to south is a hundred and two feet.
The height of the western part is forty-one feet, and of the
choir thirty-seven feet. This building contains monuments
of gieat antiquity. Most of the windows were destroyed in
1651 : those that remain, with others since executed, dis-
1651    
play some historical scenes connected with sacred subjects.
It has of late years been thoroughly repaired, and has re¬
cently been adorned by a fine statue of Dr Cyril Jackson,
long president of the college. It was executed by Chan-
trey, and is universally allowed to be an admirable like¬
ness.
In noticing the parochial churches of the city, the first
to be mentioned is that of St Mary, which, though the
public service is partly conducted under the direction of the
University, and it is hence called the University Church,
does in fact belong to the vicar and the inhabitants of the
parish. It is a spacious Gothic structure, finished in the
year 1498. The lofty spire, a hundred and eighty feet in
might, is a conspicuous object, and the tower contains six
large and well-toned bells. In 1828 it was repaired and
veUf I^gluy finished, but in harmony with the original plan.
. I here are thirteen other parish churches. St Peter’s-
in-the-East is an interesting edifice, of a very ancient date;
and is supposed to have been originally built by St Grym-
bald, under the patronage of Alfred. St Michael’s is of
equal dimensions with St Mary Magdalene’s, and is said to
have belonged to the canons of St Frideswide, before the
Norman conquest. The windows are large and pointed.
St Martin’s, or, as it is more commonly called, Carfax, is
the church of the city, at which the mayor and corpo¬
ration attend divine service. It has been rebuilt within
the last fifteen years, upon the site of a structure of great
antiquity, and much enlarged. St Peter’s-in-the-Bailey, at
the west end of the city, was opened for divine service in
1740, and a gallery added to it thirteen years after, at the
expense of an individual named Flexney. It is seventy
feet in length and thirty-eight in breadth, with a tower
containing only two bells. St Aldate’s, of great antiquity,
is said to have been founded or restored in 1004. It is a
venerable pile, consisting of a nave, two aisles, and a chan¬
cel, and is about a hundred feet in length. St Ebbe’s is a
plain, modern church, built in 1817. The church of St Mary
Magdalene is a neat stoneedifice, eighty-eight feet in len<>-th
said to have been founded in 1194, and is remarkable for
three uniform pointed windows in a chantry chapel within
it, and a parapet of open trefoil work of great beauty. St
Giles is an edifice venerable from its age, being furnished
with numerous lancet-shaped windows. It is a solid and
capacious building, though not sufficiently so for the popu¬
lation of the parish, which has rapidly increased. Holy-
well Church, so named from a well of great sanctity in an¬
cient times, and near to it, is a small building, with a tower
686
O X F
Oxford- said to have been built in 1464; but the church itself is
shire, much more ancient. It has an embattled tower, contain-
ing six bells. St Clement’s, in the eastern suburb, is a
handsome edifice, lately enlarged, owing to the great in¬
crease of inhabitants. St Thomas’s Church, at the western
extremity of the city, was founded by the canons of Oseney
in 1141. It is about a hundred feet in length, and has
lately been much improved. The church or chapel of St
John is also the chapel of Merton College ; but the parish¬
ioners have a part of the north side allotted to them as the
place of sepulture, the chaplain of the college reading the
burial service. There is also the church of All Saints, in
the High Street. Besides these parish churches, there are
four places of worship for Protestant dissenters and Wes-
leyans, and a small but neat chapel for the Roman Catho¬
lics. The population amounted in 1801 to 10,534, in 1811
to 11,916, in 1821 to 14,901, in 1831 to 18,436, and in 1833
to 20,411. This does not include those persons resident
in the several public buildings comprehended in the Uni¬
versity, or in the House of Industry, or the Radcliffe Infir¬
mary. The census is taken at a period of the year when
the colleges are not at the fullest, and the absent students,
fellows, and professors, are consequently included in the
enumerations of other districts. The whole number re¬
siding in the university amounted in 1801 to 1171, in 1811
to 1015, in 1821 to 1463, and in 1831 to 1634. The re¬
sidents in the House of Industry were 219, and those in
the Radcliffe Infirmary 145 ; thus making the whole popu¬
lation at the census of 1831 to be 22,186. The system of
education taught in the colleges will be treated of under the
article Universities.
OXFORDSHIRE, an inland county of England, chiefly
celebrated on account of its capital, which is one of the prin¬
cipal seats of learning in the British dominions, and from
which city it has derived its name. It is bounded on the
east by Buckinghamshire; on the south, south-west, and
south-east by Berkshire ; on the north-east by Nortbamp-
tonshire; and on the north-west by the county of War¬
wick. The river Thames (called sometimes the Isis till it
reaches Oxford) is the line of demarcation on the whole
of its southern boundary; running between this county
and Berkshire with various, and, in the latter part of its
course, most beautiful sinuosities. The county is of a most
irregular figure. Near the centre, in which the city of
Oxford stands, it is not more than seven miles in breadth,
and at no great distance to the north it is thirty-eight
miles. Towards the north it resembles a cone, and to the
south it is similarly contracted. Its extreme length is fifty
miles. The extent is estimated at 742 square miles, or
474,880 English acres. It contains one city, twelve mar¬
ket-towns, and 207 parishes, and is divided into fourteen
hundreds.
This county is by no means uniformly beautiful. On
the north, the absence of hedges, which are supplied by
stone walls, gives a dreary appearance to the face of the
country. In the centre it is generally flat and woody, af¬
fording few pleasant prospects, though its trees and ver¬
dure give it the semblance of wealth. The southern part,
from the beauty of its rivers, the gentle swelling of its
hills, the verdant meadows between them, and the num¬
ber of highly embellished residences of rich proprietors,
is a district abounding with rural charms. The Chiltern
Hills, the highest range in England south of the river
Trent, belong to this portion. They are in many parts
adorned with beech-woods, and in every interval of these
woods cultivated quite to their summits.
The climate of the county varies according to the ele¬
vation and exposure. In the north, where no hedges im¬
pede the winter winds, the cold is somewhat severe; and
the Chiltern Hills are frequently enveloped in damp fogs,
especially in the more woody parts of them. Mr Arthur
O X F
Young, in his Agricultural Survey of Oxfordshire, has (H
formed a classification of the soils in the different districts i
of the county, which, like all similar estimates, must be^
received with hesitation, or at least with many exceptions.
The red soil, found chiefly in the north, and by far the
most fertile, he estimates at 79,635 acres. The land, pro-
vincially called stone-brash, found in the centre, and the
surface of which is often covered with stones, amounts to
164,023 acres. The Chiltern lands, the soil of which is a
loam resting everywhere on a bed of chalk, and covered
with flint stones, are 64,778 acres. To these are added
166,400 acres under the description of miscellaneous, which
comprehends all sorts of soil, from loose sand to the hea¬
viest clay, and includes the rich meadows on the banks of
the rivers.
Although this is wholly an agricultural county, and al¬
though much progress in improvement has been made of
late years, yet the general practices are by no means
equal to the average of those of the rest of England.
The most beneficial husbandry is founded upon the valu¬
able water-meadows on the banks of the different streams.
These are naturally so fertile that they appear to have
prevented that care which would render them still more
productive. Little attention is paid to draining, and still
less to irrigation; though the good effects of both these
practices are obvious, and their accomplishment easy in
many circumstances. Some few oxen are fattened, and
butter and cheese made in the dairies, but the facility of
navigation induces the farmers to make more hay than is
consumed by their stock, and to send it to distant and
higher markets than their own, nearer to the metropolis.
On the arable fields, especially on the stony lands near
Burford, the use of oxen for the plough is very common;
and the Herefordshire breed is generally preferred for
that purpose. The practice of paring and burning the
surface prevails in many parts of the county ; and in the
newly enclosed lands the application of lime as a manure
is highly beneficial; whilst on the Chiltern lands it is not
found to produce a good effect equal to the expense which
attends it.
Where the soils are so very various, the rotation of crops
must necessarily vary with them. On the red soils, the
most usual course is, 1st, turnips; 2d, barley, or spring-
wheat; 3d, clover; 4th, wheat; 5th, peas or beans; and,
6th, oats. On the stone-brash lands, the usual rotation
is, 1st, turnips ; 2d, barley ; 3d, clover, to stand for two
years; 4th, wheat; and, 5th, oats, peas, or sometimes,
but rarely, beans. On the Chiltern lands the rotations
are the same, with only slight variations. On both these
last tracts of country, the cultivation of sainfoin is veiy
extensive ; occupying on most farms from one seventh to
one eighth of the whole. This valuable artificial grass
produces heavy crops. When it was first introduced, it
would remain productive for fifteen or sixteen years; but
since it has become more familiarized to the soil, it seldom
lasts more than seven years so as to be fit to make hay,
but yields food for sheep for one or two years afterwards.
The sheep, which were formerly almost all of the Berk¬
shire breed, have of late years been superseded by the
race of the South Downs.
Oxfordshire is not a manufacturing district. Witney
was long celebrated for its blankets, and still retains its
fame; but, in spite of the machinery which has been intro¬
duced to diminish the price, the manufacturers of lorx-
shire and Lancashire excel those produced here, t pre
sent, however, this trade gives employment to 2/ Pe
sons in the town and two adjoining hamlets,
bury, and its adjacent hamlet Neithrop, 125 persons
occupied in making plushes and girth-webs, and a num
in some other parishes within the county.. Gloves o .
perior kind are made at Woodstock and its vicini } ,
O X F
brd- there are some of the finer kinds of cutlery made in that
re- town. Sacking is made at Abingdon and at Henley; and
r^many axles and coach-wheels at Henley-on-Thames.
The rivers all discharge themselves into the Thames.
They are formed by the numerous small springs which
are everywhere to be seen ; and before they join the
Thames, are called the Windrush, coming from Burford
and Witney ; the Evenlode, from Wichwood and Charl-
bury; and the Cherwell, from the vicinity of Banbury.
The Thames, composed of the stream of that name and
the Isis (on which a strange confusion has arisen), is navi¬
gable from near one of its sources, not far from Leach-
lade, to the sea. The barges navigating it are from se¬
venty-five to one hundred tons burden, but the larger
ones ascend no higher than Oxford. From the frequent
recurrence of shoals, owing to the floods in winter, and the
scarcity of water in summer, it is a dilatory navigation ; so
that frequently the passage from America to London oc¬
cupies less time than from Leachlade to that city. The
scarcity of fuel was severely experienced till within these
last few years; but the completion of a canal which con¬
nects the city of Oxford with the collieries of Stafford¬
shire has removed the evil, and proved highly profitable
to the proprietors of that important work.
The city of Oxford, the glory of this county and of the
kingdom, has already been described.
Ihe antiquities of this county have been accurately
described, and are deserving of the closest inspection.
Amongst them are traces of the various roads formed by
the Romans, whose principal station was at Dorchester;
besides many funereal mounds, and the Vallum, called
the Devil s Ditch. The Priory of Godstow, and the ruins
of many other religious houses, exhibit the architecture of
different and remote ages.
The population of this county, according to the returns
at the four decennial enumerations, has been as follows, viz.
in 1801, 109,620; in 1811, 119,191 ; in 1821, 136,971;
and in 1831, 152,100.
The occupiers of land employing labourers
were  2054
Occupiers of land not employing labourers...458
Labourers employed in agriculture 15,998
Labourers employed in manufactures 711
Labourers employed in retail trade or han¬
dicraft 11,110
Capitalists, bankers, &c 2/254
Labourers not agricultural 3,049
Other males under twenty years of age 2,547
Male servants   223
Female servants   57^
inJi1 ? V)WI?S with>n this county which contain more than
TWO inhabitants are the following:
Oxford 20,640 inhabitants.
Banbury 5,906
Witney 5,336
Henley-on-Thames 3,618
Bicester 2,868
Thame 2,885
Chipping Norton 2,637
Burford 1,866
Watlington ],833
Bampton 1,605
Deddington 1,590
Woodstock 1,380
te whole county is in the diocese of its chief citv.
ie members returned to the House of Commons under
afenn7 t^ree *or tf*6 county, who are polled for
thr °r ■ Wltn,e>r’ Heddington, and Nettlebed ; two each
ear-], / Cuy ,and for the university of Oxford; and one
eacntor the boroughs of Banbury and Woodstock.
AAe most distinguished residences are, Blenheim Cas-
o X u
687
Oxus.
t e, Duke of Marlborough; Blandford House, Duke of Oxgam
1 eaufort; Brightwell, W. Lowndes Stowe, Esq.; Cud-
desdon Palace, Bishop of Oxford ; Crowsley Park, John
Atkins Wnght, Esq.; Ditchley Park, Lord Dillon;'
Greys Court, Lady Stapleton ; Hey thorp, Earl of Shrews¬
bury ; Kirthngton Park, Sir H. W. Dashwood; Middle-
ton Stoney, Earl of Jersey; Mongewell, Bishop of Dur¬
ham; Mapledurham, Michael Blount, Esq.; Nuneham
Park Lord Vernon; Rycot Park, Earl of Abingdon;
Shiplake, Lord Mark Kerr; Shelswell, Harrison
Esq.; Shirburn Castle, Earl of Macclesfield; Thane
Park, Miss Wykham ; Wroxton, Earl of Guildford ; Wa-
terstock, W. H. Ashhurst, Esq.; Wormsley, John Fane,
Esq. ; Wheatfield, Lord Churchill.
(See the Agricultural Stale of Oxfordshire, by Arthur
Young; Pott’s Oxfordshire; and Brewer’s Account of Ox¬
fordshire, in the Beauties of England and Wales.)
OXGANG, or Oxgate, is generally taken, in our old
law-books, for fifteen acres, or as much ground as a single
ox can plough in a year.
OXUS, or Ammu. This great river of Central Asia has
its source in the high lands of Pamer, a branch of the main
ridge of the Hindu Coosh Mountains, which, extending
northward, forms the boundary between Thibet and Great
Bukharia. It issues from a glacier in a narrow valley 200 or
300 yards broad, which is enclosed on three sides by the
high snowy mountain called Pooshtikhur. The stream is
seen flowing from under the ice, which is stated to be at
least forty spears in depth. The spring itself is buried
under the great mass of ice whence it issues, and cannot be
seen; but there is no doubt of its issuing from this spot, as
there is no other open or break from which it could issue
at any more distant point. Hie small but swelling stream
is carried north in this narrow valley for five coss or ten
miles; at eight miles it is twenty yards broad, and breast
deep; and on leaving the valley, after being joined by many
other springs from the same hill, it is fifty yards broad, and
about four feet deep. It is joined by the Shiber about sixty
miles from its source, which is sixty yards broad. The
Oxus, however, is much broader, having been joined by se¬
ven or eight streams from knee to middle deep, and from
ten to thirty yards broad. It flowrs in a south-west direc¬
tion for 120 miles, and then meets a high ridge of moun¬
tains running from west-north-west to east-south-east.
From this point it takes a west-south-west course through
the wild and mountainous regions v'hich separate the coun¬
try of Balkh from Independent Tartary, until it breaks
through the ridge in its progress southward, and meets
some of the ridges which diverge from the main ridge of
Hindu Coosh. In this part of its upper course, being a dis¬
tance of more than 300 miles, it is confined between the
mountains, and is joined by numerous streams, from two
to four of which are crossed in each day’s journey alon» its
left or southern bank, besides two very considerable rivers,
namely, the Soorkhab or Kurategeen River, and the Kok-
cha or Budukshan River. It also receives the tribute of
many streams from the north, the names of which are un¬
known in Europe. Its course is now west-north-west; and
it passes the far-famed city ofSamarcand, which, however,
is not situated on its banks, but on a river flowing into
it. lo Bukharia, which is situated on one of its tributary
streams, it has a northerly course of 250 miles, being forced
off in this direction by the high land of Hindu Coosh,
which extends north of the ridge a considerable distance,
and runs over a flat country, sandy, and little better than
a desert. From this point to Ourgunge is a distance of 400
miles, over a desert of at least 300 miles, with only a few
habitations of horse-breeders along the banks. On the left
bank is a forest the greater part of the way, through which
those who pass are obliged to carry their provisions for eHht
or ten days at a time. Mr Elphinstone has thus traced
588
O X Y
Oxycrate its course for 900 miles ; and other travellers in the East
11 have gleaned scanty information respecting its lower course
Oxygen. t;jj it terminates in the Sea of Aral after a course of 1200
‘“~v " " miles. Frazer mentions, on the authority of a native travel¬
ler or merchant, that after passing the town of Ourgunge,
it makes a turn to the east, and is joined by the Seer or Si-
hon (the Jaxartes), when both spread out into a large lake,
which has no outlet, its waters being absorbed by the sand
of which the surrounding country is composed. Frazer
seems to think that this account corresponds so well with
that of the Arabian and the Persian geographers, that there
is no denying credit to it. But the accounts of native tra¬
vellers are proverbially so erroneous, that no reliance can be
placed upon them. They generally travel for the purposes
of trade, and pay little attention to thegeography of the coun¬
try, or other details; and this, joined to their known careless¬
ness of truth, renders their testimony of little value. Colonel
Kinneir mentions, that Sir John Malcolm conversed with a
native, who assured him that the termination of the river
was in the Caspian Sea. This opinion is, however, strongly
combated by Mr Frazer, who affirms that there is nothing
like evidence to prove that the Oxus overreached the Cas¬
pian Sea ; that this notion rests on vague tradition, founded
on ignorance ; and that all the native authorities who speak
directly to this point constantly say that the Jeyhoon or
Ammu falls into the lake of Khaurezm. The ancient geo¬
graphers were ignorant that there were two distinct lakes in
Asia, namely, the Caspian Sea, and that of Aral. I hey sup¬
posed that both formed one lake ; and hence their error was
extremely natural, in giving a termination to the Oxus in
the Caspian, the only outlet which they knew to exist in
the direction of its stream. But we know for certain that
no river falls into the Caspian to the south of the bay of
Mangulshuck; for the caravans that pass and repass from
Asti’abad to Khyvah, and from thence to Mangulshuck, do
not cross a single stream, or meet with a drop of running
fresh water, after crossing the river Attruck near Astrabad.
It is equally certain, from the same evidence, that no branch
of the Oxus falls into the Caspian to the northward of Man¬
gulshuck. Mr Frazer, in answer to his inquiries concern¬
ing the rise of the Oxus or Ammu, was informed by a tra¬
veller who saw it in the summer season near Balkh, that it
was as large as the Jumna in its fullest season, and per¬
fectly navigable for boats, which are in common use for
crossing the stream, and for the conveyance both of goods
and passengers from Balkh and from Bukharia to Ourgunge
and Khyvah. At Bukharia it is a very large river, the
stream being at no time less than a thousand yards wide;
and in summer, when the snow melts, it sometimes spreads
to the breadth of four miles. It is deep, and navigable for
boats, by which means an active intercourse is maintained
in most parts of its course. (F-)
OXYCRATE, an old term in Pharmacy, denoting a
mixture of vinegar and water, proper to assuage, cool, and
refresh. The usual proportion is one spoonful of vinegar
to five or six spoonfuls of water.
OXYDE, or Oxide, in Chemistry, is the term employed
to denote a very numerous class of bodies formed by the
union of certain bases with a smaller proportion of oxygen
than what is necessary for their conversion into acids. See
Chemistry.
OXYDATION, or Oxidation, is a term employed to
express the process by w hich bodies are converted into
oxides. See Chemistry.
OXYGEN, a term adopted in the chemical nomenclature
to express the acidifying principle, and formed from
acid, and ymy/M, to generate. It is not found naturally in
a separate state, but always in combination with some other
substance. In its aeriform or elastic state it is called
oxygenous gas, and is the same as the dephlogisticated
air of Priestley and Cavendish, the empyreal air of Scheele,
O Z A
and the vital or pure air of other chemists. See Che- O *
mistry. |
OYER, in law-books, seems to have been anciently used 0zc i
for what is now called assfzes. See Assize.
OYES, a corruption of the French Oyez, Hear ye; a
term or formula frequently used by the criers in our courts
on making proclamations, or to enjoin silence.
OYOLA, one of the larger Navigators’ Islands, in the
South Pacific Ocean, separated from Maouna or Massacre
Island by a strait nine miles wide. It is mountainous to¬
wards the centre, from which the land slopes with a gen¬
tle declivity to the sea. Long. 171. 25. W. Lat. 14. S.
OYSTER Harbour, a bay on the south-west coast of
New Holland, and north part of King George the Third’s
Sound, discovered by Vancouver in 1791. Long. 118.15. E.
Lat. 34. 58. S.
Oyster Island, an island situated in the Bay of Bengal,
and extremely dangerous to vessels, as it rises very little
above the level of the sea, and is surrounded by rocks. It
abounds with small rock-oysters, which the natives of the
opposite coast catch with hammers and carry to Chittagong,
whence they are conveyed to Dacca and Calcutta. It is nine
miles south-south-west of the north point of the Arracan
River.
OZANAM, James, a laborious mathematician, w^asborn
in the year 1640, at Bouligneux, in the principality of
Dombes. His family was of Hebrew extraction, but had
long been converts to the Catholic faith ; and some of them
had held considerable places in the parliament of Pro¬
vence. Nature had given him a decided taste for the exact
sciences ; but his father, who intended him for the church,
took care not to foster an inclination adverse to his views;
and, during four years, young Ozanam studied divinity,
though with little pleasure or success. As he advanced
in years, his aversion to this study increased in the same
proportion as his ardour for the sciences, to which he was
denied access, became more and more intense. His father,
however, died just as he was about to complete his course
of theology; and being now his own master, he renounced
all idea of entering the church, and, devoting himself en¬
tirely to the mathematics, made so great progress that,
at the age of fifteen, he composed a work in which he af¬
terwards found some things deserving of publication. As,
by the custom of Bresse, the estate w ent to the eldest son,
the subject of this notice had no other resource than to
teach mathematics, wdiich he had not been permitted to
study; and, accordingly, having established himself at
Lyons, he there supported himself for some time by the
produce of his lessons, supplying the deficiency by his
gains at play. Some foreigners, pupils of his, to whom
he had lent fifty pistoles without taking any note or obli¬
gation for repayment, having mentioned the circumstance
to the father of Chancellor d’Aguesseau, that magistrate,
touched with so generous a trait of character, invltecJ
Ozanam to come to Paris, where he would necessarily find
greater facilities for teaching than at Lyons. Ozanam ac¬
cepted this proposition the more readily, because he de¬
sired above all things to make the acquaintance ot tlie
great geometers wdiose works he had studied ; and having
abandoned play in order to devote himself entirely to the
mathematics, he had soon a great number of pupils, du
at first he wanted the prudence necessary to profit by is
success. He was young, handsome, and sprig it y, a
being addicted to gallantry, he became entangled in soni^
intrigues which, besides the annoyance they gave him, ex¬
posed him to considerable ridicule. Reflection
and celibacy appearing to him a dangerous state, he
ried a young woman almost without fortune, who na
terested him by an air of gentleness, modesty, and,v‘r • ‘
Nor, adds Fontenelle, did these fair appearances de
him. Satisfied with his condition, he divided his tim
-anatn
o Z A
twreen study and teaching. He gave lessons during peace ;
“''and the time of war he employed in composing works
which added to his ease and comfort as well as to his re¬
putation. He had as many as twelve children, who near¬
ly all died at an early age, and whom he regretted, says
his panegyrist, “ comme s’il eut ete riche, ou plutot
comme ne 1 etant point; car ce sont les plus riches qui se
tiennent les plus incommodes d’une nombreuse famille.”
He lost his wife in 1701, and with her all the comfort and
happiness of his life. Neither did this misfortune come
single. Ihe war of the succession, by depriving him of
his scholars, reduced him to a melancholy condition. But
his patience was never for an instant ruffled, and notwith¬
standing the difficulties in which he found himself in¬
volved, he lost nothing of his gaiety. About this time he
was admitted into the Academy of Sciences as an eleve, a
title which it was intended to elevate in general estima¬
tion by bestowing it on a man of Ozanam’s age and merit.
He appeals to have had a presentiment of approaching
death, aiising perhaps from some latent disorder within ;
and under this impression he refused to receive some fo¬
reign noblemen who wished to become his pupils, alleging
that he should not live long enough to carry them through
a regular course. At length, on the 3d of April 1717, im¬
mediately after dinner, which he had eaten with some relish,
he felt himself unwell, and asked to be put to bed ; but a
few minutes afterwards he was struck with an apoplexy,
which in less than two hours carried him off. Ozanam
was a man of a mild and calm disposition, of a cheerful
and pleasant temper, and endeared by a generosity almost
unpaialleled. After marriage his manners were irreproach¬
able. He was sincerely pious, although in matters of re¬
ligion he did not allow himself to know more than the
people, and studiously avoided intermeddling in theologi¬
cal disputes, he used to say that it was the business of
the doctors of the Sorbonne "to dispute, of the pope to de¬
cide, and of a mathematician to go to paradise in a per¬
pendicular line. He composed with extreme facility, and
never made any erasure or correction on his manuscripts,
his first copy being always the last.
Besides editions of the Elements d'Euclide of Pere de
CIndies, of the Geometric Pratique, and the Trade du
sphere of Boulanger, and some Memoires in the Collection
of the Academy, the Journal des Savants, and other pub¬
lications, Ozanam wrote, 1. Tables des Sinus, Tangentes,
ffcecan‘es, et des Logarithmes, Lyon, 1670, and Paris,
Ibbo, in 8vo; 2. Traite de Gnomonique, Paris, 1673, in
12mo: 3. La Geometric Pratique, ibid. 168-1, in 12mo;
noe T irrrvno A ^    11
o z o
689
L Iraite des Lignes de premier genre, de la construction
des Equations, etc. ibid. 1687, in 8vo; 5. L’Usage du
Compas de Proportion explique, ibid. 1688, in 8vo; 6.
Dictionnaire Mathematique, ibid. 1690, in4to; 7. Cours de
Mathematiques, ibid. 1693, in five vols. 8vo, reprinted at
Amsterdam in 1/99 ; 8. Traite de la Fortification, con¬
taining the ancient and modern method for the construc¬
tion and defence of strong places ; 9. Recreations Mathe¬
matiques et Physiques, ibid. 1694, in two vols. 8vo ; 10.
Nouvelle Trigonometric, 1699, in 12mo ; 11. Methode fa-
^rPen.t^r 0U m^surer toutes sortes de Superficies,
ibid. 1699, in 12mo; 12. Nouveaux Elements d’Algebre,
Amsterdam, 1702, in 8vo ; 13. La Perspective Theorique
et Pratique, ibid. 1711, in 8vo ; 14. La Geographic et
Cosmographie, qui traite de la Sphere, ibid. 1711, in 8vo.
Ozanam left in manuscript a treatise on the Analysis of
Diophantus, which was in the library of D’Aguesseau. (See
his Plage by Fontenelle, the Memoires of Niceron, and the
Dictionary of Chaufepie.) . (A ^
OZLLL, John, a well-known translator, who received
the rudiments of his education in the free school at Ashby
^ la Zouch, and completed his grammatical studies at
Christs Hospital, where he acquired a considerable know-
ledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. It was the intention
of his friends to send him to Cambridge; but, averse to the
confinement of a college life, and perhaps disinclined to
the clerical profession, he solicited and obtained employ¬
ment in a public office of accounts, a situation for which
he had been at much pains to qualify himself. His atten¬
tion to business, however, did not divert his thoughts from
literature. He made himself master of the principal modern
languages, especially trench, Italian, and Spanish ; and
from ail these, as well as from the Latin and the Greek
he favoured the world with translations, which, if not re¬
markable for elegance, are generally pretty faithful to the
originals. Ozell, though evidently a prudent man, had
nevertheless a more exalted notion of his own abilities than
the world was disposed to entertain ; and this vain con¬
ceit probably led Pope to give him a place in the Dunciad,
a species of distinction which seems to have annoyed him
excessively. He died in the year 1743. (A.)
OZIERI, a city of the island of Sardinia, the capital of
the diocese of the same name. It stands on a beautiful slope
in a healthy district, in which excellent wheat is raised
and large flocks of sheep are pastured. Besides the cathe¬
dral, it contains several nunneries and monasteries, an hos¬
pital, and 7200 inhabitants.
OZiyyv,TAIA’ a Stress of Asiatic Russia, in the govern¬
ment of Orenburg, on the Oural, and so named from the
a *es by which it is surrounded. The village contains a
church and 200 houses.
?Z?iyEi’-0r 0f°Li, a people who inhabited the eastern
part of iEtoha, called Ozolea. This tract of territory lay
at the northern extremity of the bay of Corinth, and ex-
tended about twelve miles. The name Ozolez, on account
o its indelicate signification, was highly disagreeable to the
Altolians tS ’ ^ t*ierefore exchanged it for that of
Ozell
I!
Ozolse.
4 S
VOL. XVI.
690
P.
Pacajes.
P A C
PTHE fifteenth letter and eleventh consonant of the
9 alphabet. The sound of it is formed by expressing
.the breath somewhat more suddenlj’ than in forming the
sound of b; but in other respects these two sounds are
pretty much alike, and hence are often confounded. When
p stands before t or s, its sound is lost; as in the words
psalms, psychology, Ptolemaic, ptisan, and the like ; but
when placed before h, then both together have the sound
f, as in philosophy, physic, and many other words. P and
B are so like each other, that Quintilian declares, that in
the word obtinuit, his reason required him to put a b, but
that his ears could hear nothing but a p, optinuit; and
hence, in ancient inscriptions and old glossaries, it appears
that these two letters have often been confounded. Seve¬
ral nations still pronounce one for the other; the Welch
and Germans particularly, who say, ponum vinum, for bo-
num vinum. Plutarch observes, that it was usual for those
of Delphi to say (Surav for vurav, fiixpov for mxgov; and
amongst the Latins, as often as an s followed, the b was
changed into a p, as scribo, scripsi.
As an abbreviation, P stands for Publius, Pondo, &c.
PA. DIG. for Patricia Dignitas; P. C. for Patres Con-
scripli; P. F. for Publii Films ; P. P. for Propositum, or
Propositum publicum; P. R. for Populus Komanus; P. R. S.
for Pratoris sententia; P. R. S. P. for Praises provincial.
P. M. amongst Astronomers, is frequently used for post
meridiem, or afternoon ; and sometimes for post mane,
after the morning, that is, after midnight. P was also
used amongst the ancients as a numeral letter, signifying
the same with the G, viz. a hundred, according to the
verse of Ugutio,
P similem cum G numerum monstratur habere ;
though Baronius is rather inclined to think that it stood
for seven. When a dash was placed on the top of P, it
stood for four hundred thousand.
St Jerome, treating of Daniel, observes, that the Hebrews
had no P, but that the ph served them instead of it; add¬
ing, that there is but one word in the whole Bible read with
a P, viz. apadno. The Greek <r signifies 80. On the
French coins, P denotes those that were struck at Dijon.
In the Italian music, P stands for piano, or softly ; and
P. P. P. for pianissimo, or very softly. Amongst physi¬
cians, P stands for pugil, or the eighth part of an handful;
P. iE. partes cequales, or equal parts of the ingredients;
P. P. signifies pulvis panium, or Jesuits’ bark in powder;
and ppt. preparatus or prepared.
PABULUM, amongst natural philosophers, is the same
with Fuel.
PACAJES, a province of Bolivia, in South America, in
the department of La Paz. It lies in the vicinity of the
great lake of Titicaca, but its dimensions cannot be exactly
stated. Being in the neighbourhood of the Andes, its cli¬
mate is cold, and its soil not very productive. The inha¬
bitants, who are distributed in about fifteen small settle¬
ments, consist chiefly of Indians, and are employed for the
most part in tending cattle and sheep, with which the pro¬
vince abounds, being well adapted for grazing. Several
mines of silver and emeralds were formerly worked here,
but this pursuit is now abandoned. There is a mine of
talc, however, which supplies the whole of Bolivia and
PAD
Peru with plates of that substance, which is used as a
substitute for window-glass. Pacajes, the capital of the
province, is situated eighty miles south-west of La Paz, in
a variable climate. Its chief commerce consists in the sales
of cattle to the neighbouring towns.
PACCALONGAN, a small European town and fort on
the northern coast of the island of Java. It is the seat of
the resident, and is chiefly peopled by natives and Chinese,
though there are a few Dutch families. It is situated on
the great road across the island, and near a forest, which
is remarkably unhealthy. It is 282 miles east from Ba¬
tavia.
PACE, a measure taken from the space between the
two feet of a man in walking, being usually reckoned two
feet and a half, and in some men a yard or three feet.
The geometrical pace is five feet; and 60,000 such paces
make one degree on the equator.
Pace, in the manege, is of three kinds, viz, walk, trot,
and gallop; to which may be added an amble, because
some horses have it naturally. Horses which go shuffling,
or with mixed paces between the walk and amble, are for
the most part of no value. This commonly proceeds from
their fiery temper, but sometimes from a weakness in their
reins or legs.
PACEM, a town on the north coast of the island of Su¬
matra, the capital of a kingdom of the same name, depen¬
dent on Acheen. It contains above 500 families, and is
120 miles south-east of Acheen.
PACHAMAC, a valley of Peru, in South America, ten
miles south of Lima. It is celebrated for its pleasantness
and fertility, but still more on account of a magnificent
temple built by the Incas of Peru, in honour of their gods.
When the Spaniards conquered Peru they found immense
riches in this temple. .
PACIFIC Ocean, the vast ocean which separates Asia
from America. It is called Pacific, from the moderate
weather which the first mariners who sailed in it expe¬
rienced between the tropics; and it was called South oea,
because the Spaniards crossed the isthmus of Darien from
north to south when they first discovered it, though it is
properly the Western Ocean with regard to America.
PACKANGA, a town on the eastern coast of the Ma¬
lay peninsula, situated on the river of the same name, t
has now lost much of its former importance, though it is
still conveniently situated for trade. Lat. 3. JN.
PACKET, or Packet-Boat, a vessel appointed to carry
by sea, in the most expeditious manner, the mail of letter-
packets, and expresses, from one kingdom to another.
PACTOLUS, in Ancient Geography, a river of Lydia,
rising in Mount Tmolus, and also called Chrysorhoas, from
its rolling down golden sand. From this river icesus
thought to have derived all his riches.
PACUVIUS, Marcus, of Brundusium, in Calabria,
tragic poet of high reputation, who flourished a
year of Rome 600. He was nephew of Ennius ; pub s
several theatrical pieces, of which only some fragm
main ; and died at Tarentum at above ninety years
PAD AH, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Cun
waneh, and district of Gangpoor, situated on t e
of the Soanke River, and belonging to an independen
du chief. Long. 84. 45. E. Lat. 22. Pn.
Paccc
ga;l
pi
PAD
lua
lang PADANG, a small island in the Eastern Seas, near the
west coast of Borneo. Long. 109. 21. E. Lat. 0. 33. S.
^ PADANG-GUCHI, a small river of Sumatra, which
runs into the sea on the western coast, between the 4th and
5th degrees of south latitude.
Padang, one of the principal Dutch settlements on the
west coast of Sumatra, and to which all the other factories,
as Pulo Chinco, Priaman, and Adjerhadja, were formerly
subordinate. The town, with the fort, which is a square
with four bastions of stone, is situated one mile up the river.
There are on the opposite side mountains which command
the fort at the distance of about 300 yards. Some pepper,
camphor, and benzoin, are furnished ; but since the estab¬
lishment of the English at Bencoolen the quantity collect¬
ed has been small. Padang was first visited by the Eng¬
lish East India ships in 1649; it was then in possession of
the Dutch, who retained it till 1781, when it was taken by
the British, but given up at the peace of 1783. These
settlements were again taken in 1794, but were given up
to the Dutch at the general peace of 1814.
PADDING ION, one of those parishes in the county
of Middlesex which, by the increase of building in the vi¬
cinity of the metropolis, may be considered as a part of
London, with which it is in contact on the north-east part.
This in some measure accounts for its rapid growth, which
has also been accelerated by the Grand Junction Canal ter¬
minating in a capacious basin furnished with storehouses
for goods of all kinds. The parish-church is in the centre
of a small green, and is an elegant object; and some new
churches are in progress. In 1801, the population amount¬
ed to 1881, in 1811 to 4609, in 1821 to 6476, and in 1831
to 14,540.
PADDOC, or Paddoc-Course, a piece of ground en¬
compassed with pales or a wall, and taken out of a park,
for exhibiting races with greyhounds, for plates, wagers,
and the like.
PADERBORN, a city of the Prussian province of West¬
phalia, m the government of Minden, and the capital of a
circle of the same name, which extends over 108 square
miles, and comprehends two cities, two towns, and thirty-
eight villages, with 26,500 inhabitants. The city is built
on the river Pader, and contains one Lutheran and four Ca¬
tholic churches, two ancient monasteries now secularised,
and one nunnery. It has 900 houses built in a very an¬
tique style, and a population of 6200 persons, chiefly Catho-
1 v' u • W3S c^e^rated for a peculiar kind of linen, to
which it gave its name. There are now some extensive
breweries and distilleries. Long. 8. 38. 21. E. Lat. 52. 45
32. N.
a township and chapelry in the parish of
Whalley, in the hundred of Blackburn, of the county of
Lancaster, 213 miles from London. In 1801 the popula¬
tion amounted to 2118, in 1811 to 2556, in 1821 to 3060,
and m 1831 to 3529.
PADSTOW, a seaport and market-town of Cornwall,
in the hundred of Pydar, 243 miles from London, and
thirty from Launceston. It is situated on the left bank of
the river Alan or Camel, where there is a harbour which
is rather difficult to enter, but secure within, and containing
water for vessels of five hundred tons burden. It has a con-
si era e pilchard fishery; and in summer it is resorted to
or sea-bathing. The market is held on Saturday. In 1801
,6 Population amounted to 1332, in 1811 to 1498, in 1821
to 1700, and in 1831 to 1822.
PADUA, a delegation of the Austrian province of Mi-
an, in taly, bounded on the north by Treviso, on the east
y enice, on the south by Polesina, and on the west by
verona and \ icenza. It extends over 837 square miles,
s divided into twelve districts, containing 104 communes,
and has a population of 296,000 persons. The land, ex-
P on the west side, is an extended plain. It is drained
PAG
by the rivers Etsch, the Brenta, and the Musone ; and it
las numerous canals, which serve, many for irrigation, and
some for navigation. The agriculture is well conducted,
and yields abundantly wheat, maize, rice, and all kinds of'
horticultural products. Fruit is in superfluity, and much
wine is made. Olives, hemp, flax, and silk are copiously
grown, and afford employment to manufacturers, who fabri¬
cate various kinds of goods.
1 ADUA, a city, the capital of the delegation of the same
name, in Italy. It is built on the river Baglioni, which
is connected by a canal with the several lagunes. It is
surrounded with walls and ditches, and defended by seve¬
ral bastions. It has several fine squares, but the streets
are narrow, and in general filthy, though they contain some
very magnificent buildings, especially the palace or state-
house, the university, and the theatre. Besides the cathe¬
dral, it contains ninety-six churches and chapels, sixteen
hospitals, and 6000 houses, with 46,300 inhabitants. Its
university is an establishment of great celebrity, and has at
present upwards of forty professors, though only about three
hundred pupils. There are depending on it an observa¬
tory, an anatomical theatre, a library with 60,000 volumes,
and similar institutions. It is a place of some trade in the
manufacturing of woollen goods, which, however, are chiefly
of the coarser kinds. There are also silk and linen manu¬
factures, a trade in wine, oil, and leather, and a transit com¬
merce by the canal. Long. 11. 46. 38. E. Lat. 45. 23
40. N.
PADUAN, amongst medallists, a modern medal struck
in imitation of the antique, or a new medal struck wdth
all the marks and characters of antiquity. This name is
properly applicable to those medals only which were struck
in the seventh century by an Italian painter born at Pa¬
dua, who succeeded so well in the imposture, that the best
judges are at a loss to distinguish his medals from the ge-
nuine ones; but it is also used to signify all medals of
tins kind.
PADULA, a town of Naples, in the province of Princi-
pato Citenore. It stands in the Valley of Diana, between
hills, and contains 5900 inhabitants.
• nA?US’ n°W ^>0’ ancientIy called Eridanus, espe-
crally by the Greeks, a river of Italy, celebrated in fable.
P/EAN, amongst the ancient pagans, was a song of re¬
joicing sung in honour of Apollo, and chiefly used on occa¬
sions of victory and triumph.
Pa:an, in the ancient poetry, is a foot consisting of four
syllables, of which there are four kinds; the ptean primus,
secundus, tertius, and quartus. Ihe paean primus consists
of one long syllable and three short ones, or a trochaeus and
pyrrhichius, as temporibus ; the paean secundus consists of
a short syllable, a long, and two short, or an iambus and
a Pyrrhichius, as potentia; the paean tertius consists of
two short syllables, with a long and a short one, or a pyrr¬
hichius and a trochaeus, as animatus; and the pman quar¬
tus consists of three short syllables and a long one, or a
pyrrhichius and iambus, as celeritas.
PiEDO-BAPTISM, infant baptism, or that conferred on
children : from crcwg, infant, and /Sowmo^a, baptism. This
has been the subject of great controversy in the church.
PAGAHM, an eminent city of the Burman empire,
situated on the eastern bank of the Irrawuddv. This
city was formerly the residence of a dynasty of kings,
and it still contains numerous temples, in a superior style
of architecture to those built in later times. Little remains
o the city except a brick rampart. It has, however, a good
market, well supplied with grain, oil, fish, and vegetables.
Long. 94. 35. E. Lat. 21. 9. N.
691
Padua
II
Pagan.
AGAN, Blaise Francois Comte de, an eminent
rrench mathematician, was born at Avignon, in Provence,
on the 3d of March 1604, and embraced the profession of
arms at fourteen, having been bred to it with the great-
C92
PAG
Faganalia est care. In 1620 he was engaged at the siege of Caen,
II in the battle of Pont de Ce, and the reduction of the Na-
Pagninus. varrese> antl the rest of Bearn, where he signalized him-
v / self, and acquired a reputation far surpassing his years.
He was present in 1621 at the siege of St John d’Angeli;
as also at that of Clarac and Montauban, where he lost
his left eye by a musket-shot. After this time there hap¬
pened neither siege nor battle in which he did not sig¬
nalize himself by some effort of courage and conduct. At
the passage of the Alps and the barricade of Suza, he put
himself at the head of the forlorn hope, and immediately
began a furious assault, and, the army coming to his as¬
sistance, forced the barricades. When the king laid siege
to Nancy in 1633, Count Pagan had the honour to attend
his sovereign, in drawing the lines and forts of ciicumval-
lation. In 1642 his majesty sent him to serve in Portugal
in the capacity of field-marshal; and in the same ycai he
unfortunately lost his eye-sight. But though he was thus
disabled from serving his country in the field, he resumed,
with greater vigour than ever, the study of the mathema¬
tics and fortification, and, in 1645, gave the public a trea¬
tise on this latter subject. In 1651 he published his Geo¬
metrical Theorems, which show a perfect knowledge of all
parts of the mathematics. In 1657 he published his Ihe-
ory of the Planets, a work which distinguished him amongst
astronomers as much as that on fortification did amongst
engineers ; and, in 1658, his Astronomical Tables. Count
Pagan died at Paris on the 18th of November 1665.
PAG AN ALIA, certain festivals observed by the an¬
cient Romans in the month of January. They were insti¬
tuted by Servius Tullius, who appointed a certain number
of villages (pagi'), in each of which an altar was to be
raised for annual sacrifices to their tutelar gods; at these
all the inhabitants were to assist, and give presents m
money, according to their sex and age, by which means
the number of country people was known. 1 he servants
upon this occasion offered cakes to Ceres and lellus, in
order to obtain plentiful harvests.
PAGANISM, the worship or adoration of false gods.
PAGEANT, a triumphal car, chariot, arch, or other
similar decoration, variously adorned with colours, flags, &c.
carried about in public shows and processions.
PAGES, three small rocky islets in the strait between
Kangaroo Island and the main shore of New Holland.
Long. 138. 21. E. Lat. 35. 46. S.
PAG1, Antony, one of the ablest critics of his time,
was born at Rogne in Provence in the year 1624. He de¬
voted himself to the study of chronology and ecclesiastical
history, in which he excelled. His principal work is, a
criticism on the Annals of Baronius, in which he has rec¬
tified a great number of mistakes both in chronology and
in facts. Pagi died in 1699.
PAGNAN1, a large market-town of Italy, in the pro¬
vince Principato Citeriore, of the kingdom of Naples. It
now contains, with adjoining villages, 9630 inhabitants.
PAGNINUS, Sanctes, an Italian Dominican, eminent
for his skill in oriental languages and biblical learning, was
born at Lucca in 1466. He was deeply and accurately
skilled in Latin, Greek, Hebrew^, Chaldaic, and Arabic,
but particularly in the Hebrew. He applied himself to
examine the vulgar translation of the Scriptures; and be¬
lieving it to be greatly corrupted, he undertook to make a
new one from the Hebrew text. The design of Pagninus
seemed a bold one; yet such was his reputation, that it
was approved by Leo X., who promised to furnish him with
all necessary means for carrying on the work, which was
printed at Lyons in 1527. This is the first modern trans¬
lation of the Bible from the Hebrew text. Pagninus, how¬
ever, is thought to have adhered with too great servility
to the original text, and thus to have rendered his trans¬
lation obscure, barbarous, and full of solecisms. He also
P A I
translated the New Testament from the Greek ; and was Pag
author of a Hebrew Lexicon and a Hebrew Grammar. ||
He died in 1536, aged seventy. Luther spoke of him and ™n8w
his translations in terms of the highest praise.
PAGO, an island in the Adriatic, forming a portion of
the Austrian province of Dalmatia. It is long, and of a
singular form, with several peninsulas, and abounds in salt
lagunes, from which much culinary salt is made. The
island abounds in excellent coal. It contains 4300 inhabi¬
tants of the Sclavonian race.
PAGOD, or Pagoda, a name given by the Hindus and
others to the temples where they worship their gods.
Pagod, or Pagoda, is also the name of a gold and sil¬
ver coin, current in several parts of the East Indies.
PAHANG, or Pulo Pahang, a small island in the
Eastern Seas, near the coast of Malacca, five miles east
from the town of Pahang.
Pahang, a town of Malacca, on the east coast, situat¬
ed twelve miles from the sea, on a broad and shallow river,
full of shoals. It is divided at its mouth, which is situated
in lat. 3. 45. N., into two channels, which are navigable for
small vessels up to the town. It is enclosed by a wall made
of the trunks of trees joined close together, and about
twenty-four feet in height. The streets are fenced on
both sides with hedges of reeds, and planted with cocoa
and other trees; so that it has more the appearance of
an assemblage of gardens than of a regular city. It for¬
merly carried on a considerable trade, and was visited by
vessels from various parts of India, such as Bantam, Bata¬
via, Japan, and China. At present the trade is carried on
in vessels belonging to the place, in which are imported
articles of European manufacture, such as iron, cutlery,
glass; also piece-goods, woollens, tobacco, &c. In return
they receive from the eastern islands cloves, elephants’
teeth, mace, nutmegs, rattans, sago, tortoise-shell. Gold-
dust, with which the river abounds, is also a principal ar¬
ticle of trade. The mouth of the river is in lat. 3. 45. N.
PAHO, a river on the west coast of the isle of Celebes,
which runs into the Straits of Macassar. Long. 119.52.
E. Lat. 3. 10. S.
PAIMBCEUF, an arrondissement of the department
of the Lower Loire, in France, 332 square miles in extent.
It comprehends five cantons, divided into twenty-six com¬
munes, and contains 39,800 inhabitants. 'I he capital is
the city of the same name, situated on the left bank of the
Loire, and nine miles from its mouth. It has a good haven,
where the larger ships discharge their lading into craft to
convey it to Nantes. There are several establishments for
building and repairing ships. The city contains 800 houses
and 3980 inhabitants.
P AINOMJEUNG, a castle of Thibet, situated on a per¬
pendicular rock washed by a river which flows at its foot.
Long. 89. 10. E. Lat. 29. N.
PAINSWICK, a market-town of the county ol Glou¬
cester, in the hundred of Bisley, 101 miles from London,
and seven from Gloucester. It is pleasantly situated on
the banks of a small stream which empties itself into the
Stroud. The town is not large ; but the parish is divide
into four lythings, and contains 6510 acres of land. R IS
a place of great antiquity, having a church ot various styles
of architecture, with a tower, on which is a spire rising o
the height of 174 feet. On the summit of a hill calleu
Spire Head, adjoining to the town, are the ruins ot an an¬
cient fortification called Kingsbury Castle. It has a goo
market, which is held on Tuesday. The principal occupa¬
tion consists in making superfine woollen cloths; an , y
the population returns of 1831, the number ot f*11
employed in trade and manufactures was 448, whus
employed in agriculture were 195, and all others •
1801 the population amounted to 3150, in 181 o 5
in 1821 to 4044, and in 1831 to 4099.
603
PAIN
ainting. Painting is the art of conveying thought by the imitation
things through the medium of form and colour, light and
ifinition. shadow. Colour, and light and shadow, can by themselves
do little more than excite sensations of harmony and senti¬
ment, independently of action, passion, or story; but if
founded upon form, thoughts become clear, expressions of
passion intelligible, and actions, gestures, and motions of the
human frame defined and decided. Form therefore is the
basis of painting, sculpture, architecture, and design of every
description.
Any school of painting, therefore, which is established
upon a principle different from this, or which makes the sub¬
ordinate parts of colour, light, and shadow the principal law
of its practice instead of a component part, is in opposition
to the most celebrated schools in the world ; for the most
eminent both in Greece and in Italy, were indebted for their
celebrity and renown to the strict observance of the doctrine
here enunciated. In Greece, the schools of Sicyon, Corinth,
Athens and Rhodes, and in Italy, those of Pisa, Florence,
Rome, and Bologna, were the most important, the most use¬
ful, and the most intellectual; and in all these form consti¬
tuted the great and fundamental law of their practice. But
in Venice, colour took the lead ; it predominated too in Hol¬
land and Flanders ; and it has always reigned, to the sacri¬
fice of common sense, in Britain. Yet for sound and philo¬
sophical views of art, as a vehicle of passion or of moral nation¬
al influence, neither of these schools can be referred to, with
the same conviction or confidence with which all nations can
refer to the former great sources of sense, principle, and
genius.
: n of In what country Painting first originated, is nearly as dif-
cing. ficult to discover, as it is to find a country where it never ex¬
isted at all. Design, the basis of painting, must have begun
with the very first instrument of necessity which man required,
fhe origin of any art, science, or discovery, is not so much ow¬
ing to the particular accident which happened to the individual
concerned, as to the intellectual adaptation of that individual
to receive impressions of a peculiar nature from the particu¬
lar circumstance which occurred. Thus whether Music was
invented by the man, who, listening to the sound of an anvil,
instantly composed notes ; or whether Painting was disco¬
vered by the lovely girl, who, watching the shadow of her
lover, as he sat silent at the prospect of parting, traced it
upon the wall as a memento of their mutual affection ; whe¬
ther it originated with Philocles in Egypt, or Cleanthes in
Corinth, or long before Egypt or Greece were habitable;
toe principle is the same. Without an inherent suscepti¬
bility to the impressions of sound, in preference to all other
impressions, in the man, or an inherent susceptibility to the
impressions of form equally intense in the girl, the intellec¬
tual faculties of either would have never been excited to
compose notes, or to define figures. The art originated with
the first man who was born with such acute sensibility to the
beauty of form, colour, and light and shadow, as to be im¬
pelled to convey his thoughts by positive imitation.
When the Spaniards landed in South America, the mode
by which the natives conveyed intelligence of their arrival to
mg Montezuma was by painting the clothes of the strangers,
their looks, their dress, and their ships. This certainly must
ave been the most ancient, because the most simple and ob¬
viousmode in the world of conveyingthought, after oral com-
TING.
mumcation. But independently of all theory, there cannot Painting,
be a doubt of the extreme antiquity of painting. The walls of
Babylon were painted after nature with different species of
animals, hunting expeditions, and combats. Simiramis was
represented on horseback striking a leopard w ith a dart, and
her husband Ninus wounding a lion. “ And I went in and
saw, and behold every form of creeping things, and abomi¬
nable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pour-
trayed on the wall round about.” (Ezek. viii. 18.) “ She
saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chal¬
deans pourtraye.d in vermilion, girded with girdles upon
their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of
them princes to look at, after the manner of the Babylo¬
nians and Chaldeans.” (chap, xxiii. 14, 15.) It is inferred
fiom a passage of Diodorus Siculus, that these figures were
painted first on the brick before burning, and then vitrified
by fire.1 But before this was done, experience must have
been acquired of the liability to decay of painting upon ex¬
ternal walls ; and considering, too, that great statues were
erected in Babylon, the arts must have existed amongst the
Babylonians long before the period here referred to.
But a great revolution has taken place in our ideas on this Antiquity
subject, from the decyphering of hieroglyphics, and wre are al t m
now assured of the extreme antiquity of art, in ages hitherto Ethiofia-
deemed almost entirely fabulous. From Asiatic art we have
been accustomed to turn to that of the Egyptians ; but it is
no longer considered as amatterofspeculationthattheEthio¬
pians preceded the latter in knowledge, and that from this
ancient people the Egyptians received gradually a knowledge
of art. 1 he course of civilisation probably descended from
Ethiopia to Egypt; and yet we have evidence of the existence
of Egyptian painting and sculpture more than eighteen centur¬
ies before Christ, and even then the arts were in the highest
condition that the Egyptian school ever attained. From the
most ancient records of the Jewish and Greek historians,
in which Egyptian and Ethiopian monarchs are mentioned,
and their actions narrated, we can now turn to correspond¬
ing traces of their existence and exploits commemorated up¬
on the dm able materials of the temples, tombs, and palaces
which still remain. When therefore it is found that this me¬
thod of interpreting hieroglyphics has proved to be correct,
in all that we know of the Caesars and the Ptolemies, or see
casually alluded to respecting the Pharaohs,we have no right
at all to dispute the truth of the same mode of interpretation
when it indicates a still higher antiquity, though we have not
the means of confirming it by collateral reference. Eighty
miles above Dongola, Lord Prudhoe discovered the remains
of a magnificent city, which he conceives to have been the
capital of Tirhakah mentioned in the Bible ; and amongst
these ruins he observed two nobly executed lions, specimens
of Ethiopian skill. On the shoulders of one is the name of
Amenoph III., who was called Memnon by Greek historians.
1 he style and execution of these great works are evidence
of the talent of this people.2 It is now certain that as early
as the nineteenth century before Christ, the walls and
temples of 1 hebes were decorated with paintings and sculp¬
ture, commemorating personal and historical events ; and
certainly in comparing the designs on these temples with
those of a later period, we must conclude that the Egyptian
school of painting never exceeded their merit.3
I he conclusion to be drawn is, that at this time the Egyp-
1 Barry’s Lectures.
2 Now in the Bristol Museum.
3 See last vol. of Sculpture, (Dilletanti-J
694
PAINTING.
Painting, tian priesthood had not interfered with art or artists ; but
that the painters were left freely to commemorate the great
actions of their employers, to study nature, and to do as they
liked. Many of these actions are delineated in a natural man¬
ner, and there is a great deal of dignity in the figure of the
hero; the sea fights are also well grouped, and there are many
of the Trajan-column figures, and not more gross perspec¬
tive is visible. The colour is a mere illumination, and the
composition as a whole infantine ; but there is proportion,
and not absolute ignorance of the component parts.1 After
this period, art became a mere tool in the hands of the priests
and as the law compelled the son to follow the profession of
his father, it may be supposed that painting degenerated
into the mere fac-simileof prescribed forms of gods,godesses,
and men, and that in the time of the Ptolemies it was little
better than an illuminated hieroglyphic.
Character of The Egyptians appear to have done everything with re-
Egyptian ference to form. Their painting was at best but coloured
design. sculpture. They seem to have been aware of the mortality
of colours, and to have said, “ As colours must go, let us cut
out the designs in stone, so that at least form may remain
in our granite sculpture, and defy every thing but the con¬
vulsion of the earth.” First the designer drew the outline in
red, then the master artist corrected it, then the sculptor cut
it, then the painter coloured it, gods blue, goddesses yel¬
low, men red, and draperies green and black; and such is the
extreme dryness of the climate, that a traveller says, he saw
in Nubia, a bas-relief half cut, with the red outline left for
the rest, and that he wetted his finger and put it up, and
immediately obliterated a part of the red chalk.
The Egyptians would seem to have been a severe people,
as hard as their own granite.2 They had an awful feeling of
respect for the wisdom of their ancestors ; they hated re¬
form ; no physician dared to prescribe a new medicine, and
no painter dared to invent a new thought. Plato says, that
the pictures of his day in Egypt were just the same as from
ages immemorial ;3 and, according to Winkelman, another
cause of their inferiority in painting, was the little estima¬
tion in which painters were held, and their extreme igno¬
rance. Not a single painter of eminence has reached us,
and but one sculptor, viz. Memnon, author of three statues
at the entrance of the great temple at Thebes. In the know ¬
ledge of the figure it is impossible they could be great; for
there is proof that they dared not touch the dead body for dis¬
section, and even the embalmers risked their lives from the
hatred of the populace.
Winkelman divides Egyptian design into three periods:
First, from the earliest times to the conquest of Cambyses ;
secondly, from the conquest of Cambyses to the subjugation
of the Persian and the establishment of the Greek dynasty
in Egypt; and, thirdly, from that period to the time of Ha¬
drian.4 * When the paintings at Thebes were executed is
not known. But they were upon the walls at the expulsion
of the Shepherd Kings,6 and this was the first period of their
art, and before Moses. The Egyptians never, in either art,
reached the power of making men, as Aristotle said of Po-
lygnotus, better than they were; in other words, they never at¬
tained the true ideal beauty, founded on nature, yet above it.
Their figures are' debased transcripts of what they had about
them, and therefore, so far authentic as to character. The
Egyptian female heads are far from displeasing ; they have a
sleepy voluptuous eye,6a full andpleasant mouth, high cheek
bones, dark brows, and there is something by no means dis¬
agreeable in the silent lazy look of their expression. But the
very want of ideal beauty gives an assurance that the figures Painti:
are Egyptian nature, and that every habit, public, private,
civil and religious, is laid open to us, by the wonderful disco¬
veries of Belzoni and his followers: it is almost as impossible
now for an artist to be incorrect in painting an Egyptian sub¬
ject, as it would be to err in painting a British one. In a tomb
laid open by Belzoni, the characters of the procession were ad¬
mirably distinguished; the Jew, the Egyptian, the Negro, and
the Chaldaean, were as little liable to be confoundedas if they
had been before us. In their sculpture, however, there is more
of science than in their painting. Sculpture was practised
by the priesthood, and sculptors were called sacred stone¬
cutters. The great head of Memnon in the British Museum,
is beautifully cut, the nose and mouth especially ; and, con¬
sidering its remote antiquity, it is really a great wonder.
Upon the whole, it is impossible to believe that the art
of painting, amongst other nations, owed much to the Egyp¬
tians ; they had no colour, and no light and shadow, but only
some form, some expression, and some character. The groups
of the ruins of Ely thia shew a great deal of nature and sim¬
plicity ; the animals are varied, and the cows are lowing and
gamboling ; yet it is after all but childish work, and as the
paintings at Thebes are the best, those of Ely thia have not
much to boast of.
Whether the Greeks owe their beginnings to Egypt, is
more than doubtful, from the simple fact of the early Greek
painters using no blue, whilst it was the constant practice
of Egyptian painters to use blue in every thing.7 Athens
was founded by an Egyptian colony, and painters might be
amongst the emigrants, as well as masons and sculptors; yet
in the early state of things, painters were not an article of
necessity, and it is problematical if in this alleged emigration,
there were any persons of that class. The beginning of art
was the same in all nations. They might improve each
other ; but we do not believe that painting was ever origin¬
ally brought into one nation by another, or that there ever
existed any, where it has not always been more or less known
from the remotest period of their history.
After Ethiopian, and Egyptian art, that of the Hebrew State of;
people must next be examined. That they had sculptors amongst,
and chasers, is evident; but it is not so certain that painting Hebrews
was practised. Though the cunning work of the curtains
Exodus means tapestry, and for any cunning work of thekind,tiong
designs coloured must have been executed; yet there is
no proof in any part of the Bible that painting as an art was
ever practised by them ; and even the designs alluded to,
were exclusively applied for the purposes of religion. “ More¬
over, thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine
twdned linen, with blue, and purple, and scarlet; with cheru¬
bim of cunning work shalt thou make them.” (Exodus xxvi. 1.)
“ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called
by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe
of Judah ; and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in
wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and m ail
manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work
in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones,
to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in aW manner
of workmanship” (Exod. xxxi. 1—5.) Yet when o omon
wanted artists, he sent to Tyre, which is presumptive evi¬
dence of a deficiency of skill at Jerusalem. No allusion is
made to the existence of the art of painting amongst the He¬
brews ; yet it is hardly possible to suppose a people working
in stone, and silver, and gold, and timber, designing an
weaving a cunning work of cherubims on cui tains an
1 See the French national work on Egypt. 4 Wink. lib. ii. chap. 2.
2 OAmt lib. xvii v. 448. 5 See 2fl vo1- of Ancient Sculpture, (Dilletanti.)
3 De Le.gibus, lib. 2. 6 See Description de VEgypte, tom. i; plates. ^ ePtj0n is,
7 Col. Leake says there is a remnant of blue on the temple of Theseus; but that may be as applied t0 arc“lt^ct“ * -on simpks
whether the great painters used it in their art. Pliny says no, and Quintilian confirms him by applying to them t p
color. No colour is simplex where pure blue is used.
linting- ders for garments, and having been so long amongst the
’■V1^ Egyptians, to have been ignorant of painting ; but it is the
opinion of one of the greatest living authorities in the church,
that the representation of any object by painting was not
permitted to the Hebrews.
With respect to the painting of the Phoenicians, Persians,
Indians, and Chinese, it was in the earliest ages, and has
ever since been, miserable and wretched. Although the
Indians and Persians have always been celebrated for their
tapestry, yet it is more for the excellence of the material
than the purity of their designs. You may know a tiger
from an elephant, though scarcely from a monkey, in their
tapestry, shawls, and carpets ; but in their utter ignorance
of the naked figure, their long, barbarous, and cumbersome
garments, and their want of science, are so grossly palpable,
that they have never been, and never will be, referred to
by any nation as authority in design. In their coins, how¬
ever, the ancient Phoenicians shewed more knowledge of the
form than the Persians, the Chinese, or the Indians,
tsran . Erom the painting of these Eastern nations, we may now
justifiably approach a people, whose origin, history, and sci¬
ence, have puzzled historians more than perhaps the Atlan-
tides themselves. Who the Etruscans were nobody knows ;
uru- a§Tee ^at they were not aborigines, and this is es¬
tablishing something. Yet it can scarcely be questioned that
in their most remote, as well as their more refined periods
they were indebted for their arts, their language, and their re¬
ligion, principally to the Grecians. The time when the Etrus¬
cans had commercial relations with Egypt and Greece, is
hardly known dbut as their early style of art is a little Egyptian
and their subjects Grecian, they were no doubt connected with
both, even before the Greeks had settled in Italy. It is not
yet decided where they came from, and who they were, and
it one consults all who have written on the subject from He¬
rodotus to M. Raoul-Rochette, he is likely to be as open to
a new theory as when he began. Their early works prove
nothing. These are like the early works of almost all bar¬
barous nations. The gods of the Etruscans are, in point of art,
the gods of the Peruvians, the Sandwich Islanders, or the Es¬
quimaux. Idols are idols, in early nations all over the world;
and the bandy-legged Apollos, squinting Pans, and Dii in-
Mjenetes, sixteen heads high, of this mysterious people, would
do as vyell for any of the gods of the South Seas, as the early
barbarians of the Mediterranean.2 When commerce brought
them m contact with Greece and Egypt, traces of the art of
both nations become apparent; but this is no evidence that
ney came exclusively from one nation or from the other.
Wmke man is a person of great genius, and always touches
art as if he saw the whole ground. He divides Etruscan
art into three epochs, Heyne into five ;3 he goes to leading
points, Heyne enters into details. The first epoch was
gross; the second exhibited traces of Greek or Pelasgic art;
JE! ™ ha<J a taint Egyptian ; the fourth was better ;
e fifth produced ideal beauty and Greek mythology : and
niLC°«nF etCS thu Per/°d tiU decay- Campania was colo-
" f™.1 B-c- ’ but the Eubaeans had founded Cuma 1550
b.c. this neighbourhood brought the Etruscans in contact
with Greek art, when about the ninth or eleventh Olympiad
Greekcolomes were established in Sicily; and the intercourse
tSreC1-F0Ca ^complete, it cannot be wondered, that
innri|,°r.e J'K)rant °f the two nations became fascinated and
so likpred V the Tperi°r °ne’ and thus rendered Etruscan
confusion60^ ^ ^ ^ haS eVer SinCe ProcIuced doubt and
thetfromV •0„PILny’ tlhearr,ivaI °f E*emaratus with Clean¬
ses from Corinth, first brought art into Etruria about 650
tr i in i j js g
b.c. ; yet, he says, there were beautiful pictures at Ardea and Painting,
7<711C1 TTre older than Eorne, and Rome wasv 
founded 754 b.c. Heyne says, that before Rome was built,
casting of metal, sculpture, and painting existed in Etruria
enor o any connection of the Etruscans with Greece ;
according to Wmkelman the Etruscans were advanced in
ao-e? ffWnheMreeflkS’ ^ ^ WaS a tradition °f the remote
ages, that Daedalus flying from Minos settled in Etruria and
first sowed the seeds of design. When Etruria became a
Roman province, Marcus Flavius Flaccus besieged Volsi-
nium, the etymological meaning of which is, “ The town of
artists, and brought away two thousand statues from that
city alone. An able writer, in the “ Newcastle Transac¬
tions contends, that it is doubtful if the Etruscans had any
art before the arrival of the Greeks.* No historian of
t ns nation has reached us; their inscriptions are not yet
thoroughly decyphered; and as the Romans destroyed every
monument of surrounding nations, there is no fixing their
antiquity. It is clear, however, that painting flourished in
1[aJIl bf ore1 !t dld m Greece; such at least is the opinion
of 1 irabosclnA Pliny says nothing about it before the 18th
ylympiad in Greece, whereas in the 16th there were paint¬
ings in the above towns in Italy, and works too shewing
giea-t refinement; which the Romans admired in their days
of splendour, and which their emperors wished to remove,
surrounded as they were by the finest productions of Grecian
art. I heir civil and religious rites not being the same as
the Egyptians, and there being no traces of embalming, it
oSn161^0 be COnduded that they were not of Egyptian
Ail hopes of discovering any of their paintings, any impor¬
tant work which should give us evidence of their talents in
ait, were given up, till in 1760 Pacciaudi discovered at Tar-
quima, tombs decorated with designs; and in 1837 fac-similes
of pictural decorations of other tombs were exhibited in Lon¬
don, with the monumental statues themselves, and in parts
were extremely beautiful in taste, design, expression, and
drapery. I he extremities were correctly and sweetly drawn •
and the expression and character of the head, which were
very interesting, would not have disgraced any period of
Greek or Italian design, though they would not have ho-
noured the finest. It is impossible to judge of the colour
o the Etruscan school from these specimens, or from the
vases called Etruscan. Fresco, stucco, or distemper are adapt-
e neither for depth nor for tone; oil or encaustic is the only
vehicle fit for harmony, and oil or encaustic was never prac¬
tised by them. With respect to the painted vases called
Etruscan, because they are found in Etruria, we might just
as well assert, if one discovered in the middle of Yorkshire
a mass of china, that it must be of English manufacture be-
cause it was found in Yorkshire. After the Greeks had
settled in the south, their vases might be and no doubt were
an article of commerce ; of course they were imitated, but
surely the design and origin are wholly Grecian, whatever the
Etruscans might after long intercourse do in the way of imita¬
tion. 1 h e principles of design and proportion in these beauti¬
ful productions, are the same as in the finest works of Greek
sculpture, with an occasional but trifling variation. Raftaelle
himself could not have exceeded the purity of form expressed
by line, in drapery or figure. In the finest vases the artists
seem to have been perfect masters of the figure, and to have
gone right round with the stylus, till the contour of the part
was completely expressed. Nor is there any thing wonder¬
ful in this, considering the manner in which Greek artists
and manufacturers began, proceeded, and concluded their
studies. According to Plato, a perfect mastery of the forms
•B-C. 1556. 2 See Gori
This is a most able article, and the reader is rpfprrpdSfn !<■ fnr * • -3^ee Heyne’s Notes on Winkelman, vol. i.
5 Storia della Letteratura ltdiana. °r m°re extensive information on the Etruscans.
6*96
Painting-
PAINTING.
and animal was the basis of all instruction in de-
Ot man
' si°*n.
' &We have thus brought down the history of the art to a
period, when our information, though imperfect, is more cer¬
tain ; but we can never sufficiently estimate the loss of ail
the ancient treatises on art, though we ought to be very
grateful for what we possess in Plato and Aristotle, 1 hny
and Quintilian, and other ancient writers, Greek and Ho¬
man, down to the middle ages, and till the subject was taken
up by Vasari and Lanzi. The continued existence of this
and fio-ure. The philosophers recommended to all classes'
the studv of art, as a refined mode of elevating their percep¬
tion of beauty i and the government seconded the lecom-
mendation of the philosophers. The priests found the reli¬
gious feeling rendered more acute by painting and sculpture;
and the authorities discovered, that the emotions of patriotism
were doubled by the commemoration of great national events,
in temples and in public halls. Now, add climate as adapt¬
ed for such productions and their preservation, and genius,
Greek
school of
art.
up by Vasari aud ^anzu ihe C0Hn nr less subject of the gift of God, as the first cause, and no one surely need
glorious art, can always be Proved’ k tions 0fJsplen- wonder that all these causes mutually acting on each other
course, like every thing human, to those ^ | t|e DroduCed the miracles of perfection in art,which the world
dour and calamity, triumph and misfortune, which ait the gince wPith an incredulous and bewilder-
lot of every thing here below. . 1 ia!5
The superiority of thefG^e^ 1 ^^menffor^t- C The passion for the beautiful in poetry, painting, music,
to the secondary causes of climate g thp influence and nature, led them to abhor the bloody amusements of
ting the one important requisite, without which the influence and lea ^ contest for glory by pictures, poems, or
of the most genial climate, or the patronage of the mo^ pet- of swiftLi or vvre A
feet government cou d 1, Ue ; we ™aan nataraUnd ^ the . a , deligh M ohject,
herent genius, it the Atnenians, i n ’ . . r • Olvmnic names ; and during those noble comme-
•Mans, and the Sicyonians owed *en excellence m art to a|, Greec“ aasembled in happi-
the climate, why did not the same c ima t pro 1 P^ ness on(j ’• Even the i,arsh Spartans signed a truce of
fection in the Spartans and Arcadia . . ,, j s with the Messenians, that they might keep a fete
secret, why are not all people under the same latitude equally ^
gifted and equally refined? Climate maybe more o kss “"Sheared amongst the wrestlers at Co-
»-aw KESsSSSS-SaZ;
great
tries ; nor could all the beauty of climate m Greece o y, painting-rooms ; Marcus Aurelius took lessons
ever have made Mengs a Raffaelle, or David the Tit an of s i from an artist and always said that the latter
modern times. It would be absurd to deny altogether the in- in true3 from the false; and
fluence of climate in the extremes. ^ f - -possib e but t0 the Athenians for one of their
StSEv Sn^'mc “ b" genius^there a'b.cstphilosophers to educa.ehis children,^,selecMMe-
^ . • • a *     C
trodorus the painter, and, let it be remembered, that amongst
the children placed under his care, was one of the Scipios.
What must have been the effect on the rising youth ofGreece
when the Amphictyonic council decreed that Polygnotus,
their greatest monumental painter, should be maintained
LU clUttl-A.1V V* ICllAAi ^ ' .v
would assert its superiority in something or in some way
What we contend for is, that Winkelman’s theory of limit¬
ing the gifts of God, intellectual or corporeal, to latitude or
longitude, is not borne out by facts, the great test of all theo-
ntSw^e idolaters, and their love of beauty was
a principle of their religion. . The more beauti u Tlie <>lorv and the fortune of a great painter did not de¬
form could be rendered m painting or scvdPtu"e’ ^ J0Wj Up0n the caprice of individuals; he was the
chance had the artist of the blessing of the god» here, and pend, as , i r1 * emnloved bv countries and
their immortal rewards hereafter. As beauty was so much
prized by this highly-endowed people, those w .out g the national expenditure. The educated and the high-born
with it became ambitious of making it known to great - , P with a conviction of the propriety and jus-
lists, and by them to the world. Artis s fixed the fame of were brouf t UP ^ ^ members of
beauty in man or woman, and even children who gave pro verniJent, considered this as useful a method of pub-
mise of being beautiful were allowed to contest foi a pr ize, e|. enditure> as squandering thousands on matters merely
and the child who won it had a statue erected to. i - - Y i- i Patic or in vain shows, mummings,and pageants. And
people were complimented by being named from the beau y l ^ ’ , ti.p svstem of our own country, when the
of any particular part, and Winkelman quotes an instance, such J Y f ]1 instructed, and are made sensible of
where one was called Xapcro^apo, that is, “having eye- people become fully instructea, anu a
Hdswhere thegraces sat.” There were games instituted near tl’e^”“1 “^“ct upon the money spent in England by
the^government, andOie^cmiseqaienceswlnch^sooften^attend
kept continually before their eyes thefineststatues. Still, this *■ at expen^ n^^ interference on the part of the state, and
admiration of beauty was but a secondary cause ; for thoug i there produced have been canons of beauty
the Lacedaemonians showed this love ot beauty, they did thatti!e A . it k natural to inquire, what was
not produce great artist. The Greeks had a strong sen-
sibility to beauty and an intense acuteness of understand- the syste l^y da causes must have been, the com¬
ma-. Every artist was a philosopher, and every philosopher warded . tne minters, musicians,
relished art, and understood it. The artists^ began by the Pet^Ce °hi Brians wrestlers, boxers, and philosophers with
study of geometry and of form ; they analyzed the pecuhari- suulptors inst ’ It ^ have b^en the taste and
ties of the form of man, by contrasting it with that of the such confidence pp   
1 See a beautiful pannage De le^, lib. ii. p. 669.-If eve^ sebol.r would mark aud .ranscribe every pa.eage relaliug .0
raigbt soon be made out.
i ainting
rmpic
anal.
knowledge of the members which composed the judgment-
boards, and their sincere conviction of the importance of their
office. One has only to sift for a moment the nature of their
greatest tribunal, that of the Olympian games ; one has only
to reflect on the deep feeling, the solemn sincerity, the awful
piety of their conviction,that what they had to do involved
the future prospects of the rising youth of Greece, and that
on their moral honesty depended the glory of their country,
and that of its painters, sculptors, architects, philosophers,
poets, and heroes. Before proceeding to detail the rise
and progress of Greek art, and Greek artists, as the paint-
mg of every nation is connected with its civil, religious, and
scientific institutions, (though more must always depend on
highly-gifted individual effort to advance the knowledge of
mankind, than any given assemblage of inferior individuals ;)
a rapid examination of the principles which guided the de¬
cision of one of their most important tribunals, composed
of the greatest men the world has seen, ought to form a por¬
tion of every history of the art.
Aristotle in his Politics,1 as quoted by Mr. Hamilton in his
pamphlet on the Houses of Parliament, observes: “ All were
taught ypa^ara or literature, gymnastics, and music, and
many rr,v ypa^v, or the art of design, as being abundantly
useful for the purposes of life, but mainly because it enables
us to appreciate the merits of distinguished artists, and car¬
ries us to the contemplation oireal beauty ; as letters, which
are the elements of calculation, terminate in the contempla¬
tion of truth.” A people thus educated, to understand the
basis of beauty in art, and to believe that their decisions,
when they became judges of genius, involved their own
intellectual taste and repute, and who gave their decisions
m the presence of kings, philosophers, and people, were as
httle likely to be biassed by unjust predeliction as human
nature could be; though, of course, in the corrupt times of
Nero and the emperors, great abuses took place. But in the
Marathoman period, if ever partiality was banished from hu¬
man honours, it was banished from the Olympic games, in
those immortal days of glory and patriotism. At this extra¬
ordinary assemblage, kings entered the lists, and nations re¬
spected the judgment, or if they refused to abide by the deci¬
sion of a just tribunal, they w ere excluded by vote till they
paid the hne and acknowledged their error. And what was
the result. I he highest honours were obtained in these con¬
tests, because every one gifted in art, poetry, music, or phy-
sica strength, knew that if he deserved the olive-crown, no
partiatily, no nephew of the judge’s sister, or first cousin of
the judge s wife, would deprive him of his due. Every be¬
ing did his best, and if that failed, he had a consoling con¬
scious conviction that he had been honourably, and honestly,
and nobly beaten by a better. It is astonishing, if once en-
tn e confidence exist between judge and competitor, to what
a degree this confidence affects both ; what a spring it gives
o mind and body, and how honestly every thing is done :
v- lf confidence be, from repeated experience, withheld,
110W half the cities of the mind, and the
I leisot the body and soul, sink under the impression. Na-
po e°n used to say, “ that if the moral feeling of an army was
tavour °f a campaign, it was equal to 40,€00 men.” If mo-
anntk!1 • be loSt in SUch cases’ disgU8t is generated, and
apathy, indifference, and failure are the result.
tho c f CT understand the Greek character thoroughly,
rkLSrtf?m of excitement that was worked on, and the mate-
cond ,WerUSe?t0r°USethe enerSies of competitors,it will
Derfpr.i t0?euUnderStandingof the secondary causes of their
Thpv !10n’lf he nature of the Olympic games be examined.^
the rip y- acknowledged to have subsisted before
e rise of chronological dates and records; and the record of
know yrTC conquerors after their restoration, is the first
 hronological date. Pausanias says they were cele-
FAINTING.
697
VOL. XVI.
1 Lib. viii. c. 31.
bratedeveiy five years, that is, they were celebrated on the Painting
fifth year after thefourthhad passed; and Sir Isaac Newton is
nf TZ? thatj£eyyre originally instituted in celebration
fp 01‘CS" . hy the Olympic games had always the pre-
ference, there is no knowing; but the grand statue of Jupiter
at Elis, must no doubt have had considerable influence.
tpnrlpd Prifyilege.°f Presiding at the Olympic games was at¬
tended with such dignity and power, that the Eleans who
had been in possession of it from the earliest times, were
more than once obliged to maintain their right by force of
ar™S- Aftfr y™8 deputes about the number of presidents
or hellenadicks, they remained at the original number often;
and Pausanias says, that for ten months preceding the
games, they dwelt together in a house appointed for them,
and called from them, hellanodiceum. By the most scru¬
pulous attention, they did every thing to qualify themselves
for being deservedly the judges of all Greece; to which
end they were patiently instructed by officers called guar¬
dians of the laws, and they attended every day in the o-ym-
nasium, upon the preparatory exercises of all those w ho were
admitted as candidates, and who entered their names also
ten months before, and exercised during apart, not the whole,
of this time, in preparing themselves for the combat. Being
exposed to the severest scrutiny, the judges had by these
means frequent opportunities of trying the skill of the com¬
batants, and also of exercising their own judgment; and both
prepared themselves for the praise or censure of an awful
tribunal, and a numerous assembly, whose censure could only
be escaped by the most exact impartiality on the part of the
judges, and the mostsincere and earnest efforts for superiority
on that of the competitors. In addition, the judges swore
a solemn oath before the statue of Jupiter, upon their finish-
mg the examination, to act according to the strictest equitiv;
and to all these precautions against human frailty, liberty of
appeal to tne senate at Elis was allowed to any one who felt
aggrieved. The judges had also the power of excommunicat¬
ing whole nations. Once an Athenian found guilty of corrup¬
tion was fined, and refused to pay. The Athenians sanc¬
tioned his refusal, and were instantly excluded from all the
games, till they repented and paid the penalty. When the La¬
cedaemonians were impertinent, other nations took up arms,
^ndcompelled them to submission. Suchpower hadawonder-
tul effect on all the nations of Greece.
As the time approached, the candidates were rigorously
examined as to their virtuous descent, and their own moral
life; and when they passed in public review down the sta¬
dium, a herald demanded with a loud voice, “ Is there any
one who can accuse this man of any crime? is he a rob-
ber. is he a slave? is he wicked or in any way de-
praved ? Themistocles once stood up at the ceremony
and objected to Hiero, king of Syracuse, because he was a
tyrant, a name odious to the democracies of Greece ; and
t lere could not be a stronger evidence of their utter de¬
testation of the name, than refusing to admit a king to con-
end because he was a tyrant; thus placing him upon a level
with a s ave, who could not by law be admitted. The can¬
didates having passed in public review with honour, were
then sworn, that they had done all which was required by
law ; and marching to the stadium, attended by their friends,
connexions, and families, who encouraged them to do their
best, and appealed to the gods to smile on their exertions,
they were left for the fight. And being thus thought wor¬
thy of the contest, even defeat was considered by them as
an evidence of their honour. The olive crowns and palm
branches were placed before their eyes on beautiful tripods,
to excite their utmost exertions, and when victorious it was
announced by proclamation; they were crowned by the he¬
ralds, and then led along, preceded by trumpets, their names
being shouted aloud throughout the vast assembly ; and on
2 See West’s Pindar,
4 T
698
PAINTING.
Painting, their return to their native city, they entered through a
n-*—breach in the wall, drawn in a chariot. And such was the
high feeling engendered by these judicious excitements, that
even Alexander himself was refused permission to contend,
because he was a barbarian, nor was he allowed until he had
proved his ancient descent at Argolis.1 “ In the republic
of the fine arts,” says the catalogue to the designs for a Na¬
tional Gallery, “ competition is the great source of excel¬
lence ; but so to frame institutions, and invite competition
as to secure all the attainable talent, and so to form a tribu¬
nal as to derive all benefit for the public, and to do justice
to the competitor, have been matters of great difficulty in
all ages and all countries.”
The whole history of ancient art shews the estimation in
which the unsophisticated judgment of the public was held.
Aristotle3 says, “ The multitude is the surest judge of the
productions of art“ If you do not get the applause of the
public,” says some one else, “what celebrity can you attain?”
and Cicero 3 makes the public the supreme judge. Thus then,
no one ought to wonder at the perfection of Greek genius in
every thing, stimulated as it was by these secondary causes,
and the one acting upon the other, in a climate adapted in
every way for comfort, for health, and for convenience. The
Greeks were men like ourselves, not larger as their arms prove,
and not handsomer, for there exist as fine forms in either
sex, in Great Britain, as ever graced the atelier of Zeuxis ;
indeed Cicero complains of the plainness of the Athenians.
When genius and secondary causes unite, as they sometimes
do, then such men as Pericles and Alexander, and Polyg-
notus, Zeuxis, and Apelles, are the result; for all the Olym¬
pic games, and Greek tribunals, could never have made Hud¬
son Apelles, nor Caligula the benevolent Howard. “ If any
thing were wanting,” says Flaxman, “ to convince us of the
high estimation painting was held in by the Greeks, the
facts alone, viz. that Plato studied it, and Socrates was a
sculptor by profession, are enough. But nothing is want-
ing.”
In ancient painting, we certainly owe more to Pliny than
to any other author; though in point of exquisite tact for hit¬
ting at once the characters of the great geniuses in art, he
is not to be compared to Quintilian. There is more dis¬
crimination in the short account Quintilian gives ofthepaint-
ers and sculptors, than in all the delightful connoisseur chit¬
chat for which Pliny must ever be the leading favourite. Yet
certainly his gossip and anecdotes are sometimes underrated
by learned critics ; for in two instances of gossip, about the
partridges and grapes of Zeuxis and Protogenes, and the con¬
test of Apelles and Protogenes very deep principles of Greek
form and Greek imitation may be settled. Painting is said
by Pliny to have existed before the foundation of Rome in
Italy, as illustrated by designs on the walls at Ardea, Lanu-
vium, and Genre. This is always mentioned with a sort of
doubt by antiquarians, who suspect that to the arrival of De-
maratus from Corinth, the father of Tarquin, king of Rome,
Italy owes her first knowledge of painting ; but it has been
shewn that this cannot be so, if pictures were executed in
Italy before Rome was founded. Pliny sneers at the Egyp¬
tians for boasting of the antiquity of their painting ; whereas
the Greeks equally deserve asneer for believing that they had
invented design.
The Greeks painted tabular pictures on wood, and mu-
and mural ra^ pictures on walls. The materials were either encaustic
pictures ; or wax painting, and distemper or glue-painting. In en-
distemper caustic on wood, they painted with a metal point called sty-
andencaus - lus ; in distemper they painted with brushes, and in encaustic
tic painting on wai]s they also used brushes. Tabular pictures were pre¬
pared with a ground of wax, and the composition was drawn
in with a stylus or point as we draw upon an etching ground
with a needle. At a sale of antiquities in London there was Paintiij,
a regular Greek tablet with a wax ground, a stylus attach-'**^
ed to it as boys hang slate-pencils to their slates, and a sen¬
tence of Greek actually half-cut. The word ypafyw being
used for painting, design, or writing, makes the instrument
the same in either case. This tablet was like a slate ; the
middle had been planed smooth, and the frame was left
round it. The progress of the Greeks is very interesting,
and shews how the mind gradually advances to the imitation
of reality, and rests impatiently on mere outline, as a repre¬
sentation of nature. After a certain time, the early ar¬
tists, when they had drawn an outline, ventured to colour
it inside with black. This mode of imitation was called
crKiaypacpia, and the paintings crKiaypappara, or skiagrams,
from o-Kia shade, and ypacpu to draw. Our black profiles
and whole figures seen in shop windows, are the skiagrams
of the ancient Greeks. This was hailed as a great step, and
the painter who could fill up a face or a figure with black
was regarded as a man eminent in art. After a little came
the genius with more extended views, who invented the po-
voypappa or monogram from povos only, and ypacfxo, to draw;
that is, to define by line only, an outline without a shade.
Next came the man who had the nerve to try a positive co¬
lour. Pliny has preserved his name, Cleophantus of Corinth;
he ground up a red brick,4 and therefore the Greeks claim¬
ed the invention of colour, although the Chaldseans had paint¬
ed men red on the walls of Babylon, and so had the Egyp¬
tians on their tombs, nearly a thousand years before them.
This discovery w as called povoxpvpa, or monochrom, single¬
coloured from povos alone and xPcolxa colour, and this was
their first attempt at imitating flesh.5 Next came the white
ground (the gesso of the Italians and lime and plaster of the
Egyptians) covered with wax. From one colour, naturally
enough came the others ; for if brick produced red, earths,
burned or natural, would produce other colours, and poly-
chrom, from iroXvs many, and xPwMa colour, was formed.
The art having now discovered its materials, soon ad¬
vanced steadily and gloriously to excellence. “ How long
the brush assisted only the cestrum, and when it super¬
seded it,” says Fuseli,6 “ cannot be ascertained; it cannot
be proved, that it ever entirely superseded it, and there ;s
every reason to believe they were always combined. It
has been contested that painting was not known in Homer’s
time, because he speaks not of art; but what would be said
of any man wdio argued that painting was not known in Mil-
ton’s time, because he did not speak ot it. Plomer speaks
olpainting ships, and Milton alludes to “the paintedstou,
but colouring and design must have been known from the
shield of Achilles, and the tapestries of Helen and Andro¬
mache, if the walls of Thebes and those ot Babylon, had not
settled the question. Troy was taken 1184 before Christ;
but painting flourished in Egypt 1900 years before our era,
that is, 716 years before Troy was taken, and 993 years be¬
fore the era of Homer.
The nature of distemper and encaustic painting amongst
the Greeks involves one or two questions interesting to
artists. Their distemper was our tempera, and consisted
in dissolving colour in water, and mixing it with glue,
and though in Pliny, glue is only mentioned once, and that
in conjunction with (tectores) plasterers, it is evidently
to be inferred from the brushes used in its practice, t a
tempera intensely varnished was the general practice o
the fabulous painters, and encaustics the exception. Cn a ^
encaustic pictures, the Greeks put {ivtsavaev) “ burnt in,
and what justified them in doing so ? Merely the gf11
application of fire to melt wax, or a particular mode ot p '
tice. Was the cestrum or stylus heated, whilst finishing^^
work, after the wax had been laid on ? or was any ac ^
1 See Notes on West’s Pindar.
2 De Pepublicd, iii. c. 7.
* De Oratore, c. 49.
* Testa, ut ferunt, trita, Plin. lib. xxxv.
® RIovsxg&jpzr.v dictum, ibid.
6 Fuzeli, Lecture first.
Tainting, heat applied to amalgamate the colour in the conclusion,
which justified such a term ? or was the wax actually melted
and used whilst boiling ? Pliny says, that there were cer¬
tain colours winch would not stand without varnish; and that
after they were laid on walls and dry, they were varnished
with a mixture of warm punic w ax and oil. Every Greek
artist had his chafing-dish or KavTrjpiou ; and when the var¬
nish was dry, it was heated by fire from the chafing-dish
“ usque ad sudorem,” until it sweated, when it was rubbed
with wax candies, and polished with white napkins. This
method the Greeks called mvais1 or the burning mode ; and
why might it not be applied as well to encaustic pictures,
when finished either on wood, copper, walls, or stone, thus
harmonizing and judiciously amalgamating fierce execution
or distinct touches, and authorising the word iveKavaep beine
put after the artist’s name ? °
All the artists in Europe know well how often they use a
vehicle2 for a varnish, and a varnish fora vehicle in practice-
and hence it is too absurd to doubt for a moment, that any
Greek painter who had once used oil and wax as a varnish
would not use it as a vehicle at the first opportunity. Pliny
infers, that “ ceris pingere,” to paint with waxes (coloured)
and “ picturam inurere,” to burn in the picture, were the
painting.
and
same methods. « There were anciently,” he adds, “ two me¬
thods, one cerd, with wax, and another on ivory with a ces-
trum ; then came a third, boiling the wax and painting ships
at once with it, which was a lasting mode, so that neither sea,
wind, nor sun destroyed it.” It appears from another pas¬
sage, that the ships were painted in the same way3 as pic¬
tures which were burnt in. “ Waxes are tinted with these
cdours for pictures which are burnt in ; a different manner
of painting from that employed on walls, but like that (of
waxes tinted) employed for painting ships.” Were tinted
waxes applied hot ? From this it may be inferred that they
Encaustic painting may be divided into four methods •
1st, mixing the colours with wax, and thinning them at the
moment of painting with a liquid ; 2d, placing wax in co¬
lours on the ivory, distinctly like mosaic, and uniting them
by working them over with a heated cestrum ; 3d, boiling
the wax and using it hot; and, 4thly, softening the whole
picture after completion, by heating it with a chaffing-dish
or cautenum. Both Pliny and Vitruvius describe this last
method of varnishing ; and it is curious to contrast their re-
ative descriptions. Pliny is rapid, careless, general, desul¬
tory, as if talking at a party; Vitruvius, accurate, mathe¬
matical, careful, and architectural, as if every word was a
brick, that must be poised and balanced. Pliny says you
must liquefy punic wax with oil,4 and rub it with a candle
and napkins. Vitruvius says, after your wall is dry and
smooth, hquefy punic wax, paulo, a little by fire, then tem¬
per it with oil. In Pliny the paulo is left out, and so is the
fire , but Vitruvius guides you to the degree, which is every
thing in th e practice of the art of painting. The paulo, there-
fore, is invaluable; do not boil, but heat your wax, then liquefy
it, then varnish, then when dry heat it with a chaffing-dish
and rub it smooth. To artists this practice is beautiful, and
though oil-painting was supposed to be unknown to the
Greeks, this was very near the point, and if used by Polyg-
notus at Delphi or Thespiae, would have justified the term
burnt in, without the use of the cestrum.
It is not settled by Pliny who first discovered encaustic
painting ; it is not known, he says, whether Aristides may
have invented it, or Praxiteles completed it. But there ex¬
ited on the walls encaustic paintings by the old painters
Po ygnotus and Nicanor ; Lysippus at digina put his name
to Ins tabular works with evfKavo-ev; Pamphilus the oreat
master of Pausias, did not practice it exclusively; and Pausias
vv,f®^ie *n thi® art- Pausias, Pliny adds, repaired the walls
of I hespiae, painted by Polygnotus, but being obliged to use
the brush, failed, because he handled an instrument which he
was not accustomed to. It appears, however, that the walls of
Ihespiae were painted in encaustic by Polygnotus, and with
the brush; or Pausias, the greatest encaustic painter, would no t
have been employed to repair them, nor would he have gone
out of the way to use the brush, if Polygnotus had used the
cestrum. But Pausias failed, because the brush was not his
insti ument; therefore encaustic on walls was not worked with
the cestrum, as it was on tablets, and the burning in on tab¬
lets was not of the same nature as that on walls. That the
brush and the cestrum were totally different in practice there
is no doubt; but that there was ever a time when the brush
was not used in painting is absurd ; and Pliny is evidently
wrong in saying it was the last method.
It stands to reason that to paint ships was the earliest ne-
cessity of navigation. The ark was pitched inside and outside
(Gen.vn.14). Pitch melted is in fact like wax or oil; and
how was it to be equally spread over so vast a surface except
y ;Jr)ls lPs • *act> amongst the Egyptian antiquities im¬
ported of late years, brushes have been abundant. Thus
the Greeks painted on walls, wood, stone, ivory, copper, and
canvass; on walls it was mural painting, and on either of the
other materials, tabular painting.5
There is another question which remains to be settled be¬
fore touching on the great artists and their works : Did the
Greeks paint in fresco ? The belief has been that they did.
Vasari affirms it; but Letronne certainly establishes the sus¬
picion that they did not, except in a few ornamental parts of
architecture, and that stucco was more in practice. In
fresco the colours are placed on wet mortar, and become a
part of it. In stucco the colours do not become a part, and
can be separated. Certain colours are destroyed by con¬
tact with lime, and yet those colours which fresco would
have ruined, are always found on ancient painted walls.
a little boy blowing tl^firJ.^PVmy^xxxv. lmp°rtant part ln an eilcaustlc Pointing, because Philiscus painted a painter’s room (atelier) vvitl
* “ Cere tinguntuHisdeTfimranTureMleno h’ ,,i',ui<l yo'‘put over ,he work. w,'e" 'lone, to preserve it
£k’if •***“ VaintingT, *“ ” H P™«i« of the
r»L,
never before or after till the middle ages? Is this likely ’ As a cunoms snpfim should canvass be only once used in antiquity,
the combatants, Letronne, have written him from Athens that in the temnle fTTh ofthebllmlvlolence of party, the friends of one of
per part of the wall, actual contours of the works of Po5ygnl Tn/L on 2 haVe dr°vered by candle-light round the up-
Jheearly Christians; thus proving that Letronne is decfdedlv idfh ^ c * cestr,m' the colours having been picked out by
the friends of his opponent, Raoul-Pochette, have also w^^^ pa!nt^ walls. Yet would it be behoved, that
^n(Jm of the Poster as if fitted to receive tabular works which were let intoX 1,“ *». ^ that they have discovered a
pictures were scarcely ever painted on walls, but nearly always on wood is riah, t 1 T il* V ^ thuS the of Raoul-Rochette, viz. that
But the theory of M- Letronne is also riqht ■ for the ancients nfb>7ed n fonnel'|gelltle>nen assert that there are contours on
rin? t k^ 0ry.was obtained by easel pictures, he affirms that there were also Dictnres d Sn 8 l'6 aS ^00d ’ and tbou8h Rliny says that the
ng tabular pictures, he says pictures on walls cannot be saved in e sse of fhW r^ because ln S1 vm& one oh his reasons for prefer-
Ifp,c,utes had “* b"n « w* - well « on wood, how W 1>,ef“S '**•**
PAINTING.
Ancient
Greek ar¬
tists.
Letronne says, that there does not exist a well authenticated
evidence of fresco, except as mere ornament in ceilings.
Having thus laid before the reader the different modes
of Greek practice, without which no subsequent account
of their arts or artists would have been intelligible, it is
time to say something of the artists themselves, who practised
these various modes of imitating nature. Of their different
methods, their white grounds descended to them from the
eastern nations, and have come to us through the middle
ages. Some of their colours we use now, and for some we
have substitutes as good. If their principles were as easily
attainable as their colours, we should have very little to de-
In the earliest state of Greek art, Philocles from Egypt,
and Cleanthes from Corinth, were the inventors of outline,
and Ardicesfrom Corinth, and Telephanes from Sicyon, the
first who put it in practice, without any colour, lo this
early period may be applied the accusation of ^uan, that
the artists were obliged to write underneath their wretched
illustrations, “ This is a bull, this is a horse, this is a tree.
The next were single-colour painters, or monochromatists,
as Hveiomon and others. Now the sexes began to be dis¬
tinguished, when Cimon the Cleonean had energy to attempt
the imitation of every thing. He it was who invented fore¬
shortening, and drawing things at an angle.2 He it was who
had courage to vary the characters and forms of heads, to
make them looking up, looking down, and looking behind; he
articulated his joints, shewed the veins and muscles, aucl gave
undulation and folds to his draperies. Panamus, Phidias s
brother, painted the shield of Minerva at Elis, and also the
battle of Marathon ; and so much had the knowledge of co¬
lour and art advanced, that portraits of the great leaders,
Miltiades, Callimachus, and Cynegyras, on the part of the
Greeks, and of Datis and Artaphernes, on that of the bar¬
barians, were introduced, and known by the spectators. It
was at this period that the glorious contests for victory m
art were begun at Corinth and Delphi; and Pansenus was
conquered by Timagoras of Chalcis, who commemorated his
victory by a poem ; “ though I doubt not, says Pliny, there
is some chronological error.”
The Greek national and monumental painter Polygnotus,
flourished at this period or before it. He seems to have
been really a great man, and to have possessed a mighty soul.
He was born in Thasos, an island in theiEgean Sea ; and his
works seem all to have been national, votive offerings of cities
and his country. He was worthy of the finest period of
Greece, and met his noble patrons by a suitable return ; he
was one of those beings who are born for the time or be¬
yond it, and of whom the time is in want, or for whom it is
not enough advanced. He first clothed lovely women m
light and floating draperies, adorned their beautiful heads
with rich turbans, and thus advanced the art immense¬
ly. In expression of face he ventured to make the mouth
of beauty smile, and thus softened, by shewing the teeth, the
ancient rigidity of his predecessors. He painted gratuitously
the Hall at Delphi, and the Portico at Athens, called HouwAy,
thus offering a contrast to Micon who was paid. Such con¬
duct was immediately judged worthy to be commemorated Paintii
by the highest authority in Greece, the Amphictyonic Coun-^v^
cil, who ordered that Polygnotus should henceforth be main¬
tained at the expence of Greece. Pliny has certainly not
said enough of Polygnotus, whose great work at Delphi, de¬
scribed by Pausanias, proves him to have had colour in a
high degree, imagination in the highest, and all which, accord¬
ing to Aristotle, forms the most important requisite in the
language of painting. His work at Delphi was executed by
order of the Cnidians, who had a treasure there, and had also
built a stadium. Besides this building, they employed Po¬
lygnotus to adorn the great Hall, leaving him the choice of
subjects ; and as Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, was mur¬
dered and had a tomb near the spot, these subjects related
to the Trojan war.
It is supposed that because Pausanias describes one thing
as above another, composition was little known, and that there
were several subjects in one plane. But any one might de¬
scribe the Cartoons at Hampton Court in the same way,
and make a reader, who had never seen them, believe that
one figure was above another, and several subjects^ too.
Might not one say, “ Above Pythagoras in Raffaelle’s School
of Athens, is Alcibiades listening to Socrates;” but because
they are above one another, that is no proof that they do
not retire. Aristotle settles his high rank better than Pliny
or Quintilian. “ Polygnotus,” says he, “ made men betterthm
they are, Pauson worse than they are, and Dionysius the
same as they are.”3 Polygnotus, therefore, expressed the
leading points of the species man, and cleared the acciden¬
tal from the superfluous. Cimabue did not do this, nor Mas-
saccio, nor Giotto ; but Raffaelle and Michel Angelo did;
and when this is done, in painting or sculpture, the com¬
ponent parts of art must be equally advanced. Besides, when
did Polygnotus flourish? Between the 84th and 90th Olym¬
piad. The Parthenon must have been built; the beauties
of Phidias’s immortal hand must have been executed, such
as we see them in the Theseus, Ilyssus, metopes and friese
of the Elgin marbles. And could any painter be a Goth in
composition, when such knowledge of the art is visible in
these perfect wonders ? Polygnotus put the names to many
of his figures ; Annibale Caracci put “ genus unde Latinum
to Venus and Anchises ; Raffaelle gilded his glories ; but
what argument is that against the genius of either ? I he
power of Polygnotus in painting the daemon Eurynome, with
a skin the colour of a blue-bottle fly, shews the truth of his
imagination, as well as his power of observation and imitation.
Polygnotus was a great genius, worthy of his age; and the
“ simplex color,” applied by Quintilian to his works, only
proves the purity of his taste in using it.
1 Simplicity is not barbarism, any more than g«rge^s'
ness is true taste. About the 90th Olympiad the light be¬
gan to dawn and to give promise of a glorious sunnse. Agla-
ophon, Cephissodonus, Phrylus, and Evenor, the fathe
Parrhasius, and preceptor of the greatest painters, appeare -
These were all celebrated in their day ; but one of the mo t
important reformers wasApollodorustheAthenian,whoflou-
rished in the 93d Olympiad. He was the first, accord g
* Catagrapha^nvenh, hoc est, obliquas imagines et varie formare voltus, first all art is profile;
cataqrapha means profiles; but how could he invent profiles when proves are the chara views of the head and face, looking
but Cimon was l reformer. To draw downwards he invented oblique news and the t&tions but sect.ons of
behind, looking up, and looking down. Fuzeh says catagrapha mems profi e ; but profi es ' imagines” are angular views, seeing
the Sure and face?in the same sense as architectural sections, that is, equal halves Jhe obi qu« imagmes ^ ^ head
things at an angle /the passage is directly illustrated by the circumstances that he m^ a’s if the eye looked at
looking behind be a profile? In some places it may mean so ; in Fausamas, in rauwai u s
the top of the head to the feet, which \s foreshortening. ^
' H.r:S!?,PpS; lib. ,11. c. 10. p. 890. Clari Pict„,« fuisse dicun.u, Polygno.m, atque Z
at Thespite, Delphi, and the Poikile at Athens, were painted m all the variety these tnree colours y
colour ’
Painting* Pliny, who expressed the species; and he was also the firstwho
honour to the glory of the pencil. But, after Phidias, Pa-
noenus, Micon, and Polygnotus, one is inclined to question
whether he was the first who expressed the species. Phidias,
in the opinion of the ancients, was the greatest artist in sculp¬
ture. Plato says that Phidias was “ skilled in beautybut
to be skilful in beauty, argues the power of expressing the
species, and a perfect knowledge of the construction; for
beauty is the last operation, and is based upon the first. How
then Apollodorus could have expressed the species better than
Phidias 01 Polygnotus, it would perhaps have puzzled Pliny
to explain. However, let us take what the gods have spared,
and be grateful. “ His, is the adoring priest,” says Pliny,
“and Ajax defying the lightning at Pergamus; nor was any
tablet worth looking at before.” That may be. The pre¬
vious works were monumental, national, or mural, painted
with brushes, and bold in execution. Tabular painting
may have been a more delicate workmanship; but it is not
to be compared with the true epic, any more than the highly-
wrought easel pictures of Raffaelle, are to be compared with
his frescos.
indent “The doors,” says Pliny, “ that Apollodorus had opened,
reek Zeuxis boldly marched through, about the 95th Olympiad ;
““ters. daring every thing the pencil could do, and carrying it to
the greatest glory.” Some place him in the 89th Olympiad;
but this is a mistake. Hemophilus or Naseas was his mas¬
ter. Apollodorus became envious of Zeuxis, because the lat¬
ter improved upon the style he had introduced, and wrote a
lampoon. Zeuxis became very rich, grew very haughty, and
always appeared at the Olympic games in a purple robe,
with his name in gold letters on the border. So high was
his opinion of his own pictures, that, thinking no money could
equal their value, he gave them away. From this feeling,
he presented an Alcmena to the Agrigentines, and a Pan to
Archelaus; he also painted a Penelope, in which her moral
beauty of character was visible, and an athlete, so much to
his own delight, that he wrote underneath, “ It is easier to
criticise than to execute.” His great works were Jupiter and
all the gods, and Hercules strangling the serpents. He was
censured for large heads and violent markings, but otherwise
he was strictly correct. Pliny varies his history with current
stories, and we can almost get at the principles of Greek art
Iromthemaswellasfromtheaccountoftheartitself. Current
stories and proverbs should never be disregarded ; for, if not
true, they may be taken as inventions characteristic of the
parties, or they would never have been believed. The Agri-
gentines, says Pliny, ordered a picture for a temple of Juno
Lucima, and they allowed the painter to select the finest "iris
as models. Cicero1 says it was the Crotoniates who employed
him; and as Zeuxis always studied nature, the most beautiful
girls were ordered by government to come to him, and having-
sdected five, he then painted his Helen. Zeuxis made his
sketches in black and white (pm## et monochromata ex albo)
or of a single colour heightened by white. His contempora¬
ries and rivals were Timanthes, Androcydes, Eupompus, and
Parrhasius. The contest of the last with Zeuxis, in which
the one deceived the birds by grapes, and Parrhasius Zeuxis
nimselt by his curtain, contains the great principle of Greek
art, viz. That the most perfect imitation of reality was not
incompatible with the highest style. Antiquaries are dis-
posed to laugh at these stories as beneath the dignity of
ehef; but artists know well enough, that, so far from being
unworthy of credit, all the stories of Pliny and Allian tend
more or less to illustrate a principle. Zeuxis painted a boy
Wes> 1116 birds at the fruit; but his rival ob-
v-onh? h*at’ ^°.y !lad 1)6611 6(lual t0 the grapes, the birds
uould have been frightened. Zeuxis was a great painter
and discovered the principles of light and shadow.
After Zeuxis came Parrhasius, “liquidis ille coloribus,”2
painting.
701
who was born at Ephesus, and celebrated for great excellence. Painting
He first gave correct proportions to painting ; airs to the' -
head elegance to the hair, and beauty to the countenance.
tuy/1^rkn°T edgm,Tt °f a11 artists’ the manner in which
he lost the contours of his forms, was exquisite. Many peo¬
ple can execute the parts of which the middle of things is
composed; but few can finish the boundaries of objects as
f the substance was round, and did not end with the con¬
tour which defined it; thus giving one an idea as if some¬
thing was concealed, and exciting the imagination to con¬
ceive what the eye did not see. This excellence Xenocra-
tes, and Antigonus, who wrote on painting, conceded to Parr¬
hasius ; and not this excellence alone, but also many others.
1 , best “tea than can be given to the moderns of the
works of Parrhasius, is by referring them to the pictures of
Corregio, of which this is the great excellence. Parrha¬
sius appears also to have had the same defect; for he sof¬
tened the centres of his figures, and gave them too much
pulpiness for the heroic. There remained, in Pliny’s time
sketches of subjects, and of hands and feet, from which ar¬
tists learned a great deal. He contrived in a picture to
paint the people of Athens, and to give a true idea of their
variable character; humble yet vain-glorious, timid yet
lerocious£—and all these contrasts he expressed with great
power. But Parrhasius disgraced his genius by yielding to
what Johnson calls “the frigid villany of studied lewdness,”
and sacrificed his noble art to pander to the beastly appetites of
the debauched; in fact, Tiberius kept one of his licenti¬
ous pictures in his bed-room, namely, that of Meleager and
Ataianta. But whatever may have been the habits of an¬
tiquity, and however indecencies may have been connected
with religion, it is clear the greatest men did not approve of
such prostitution of talent. Aristotle censures the practice,
and warns tutors to guard their pupils from such corruptions.
limanthes followed, the great painter of the sacrifice of
Iphigema in Auhs. No picture had more reputation for touch-
xng art and delicacy than this. After exhausting expression
in all the principal agents, the artist covered the face of the
lather, not daring to trust his hand to attempt imitation, and
leaving every spectator to imagine an agony of his own. As
Funpides has the same incident, Fuzeli thinks the honour of
being the first inventor is due to Timanthes. In the death
ot Germamcus, Poussin hid the face of his wife. Timanthes
seems to have been ingenious in his inventions ; to give the
idea of great size to a sleeping Cyclops, he introduced two
satyrs trying to span his thumb. Pliny adds, that there was
a head painted by him in the Temple of Peace at Rome, and
which was a perfect specimen of art.
Euxenides taught Aristides, the great master of expres¬
sion, and Eupompus taught Pamphilus, who was the master
ot Apelles, a name synonymous with perfection in finish, but
not for invention like Zeuxis, monumental commemorations
.ike Polygnotus, composition like Amphion, or expression like
Aristides. No ; Apelles was the deity of tabular pictures,
the greatest glory of the art in Pliny’s mind, but not in the
minds of those who see beyond the range of a dining-par-
lour. Eupompus painted a victor with a palm branch in his
hand ; and*such was his influence in Greece, that he was al¬
lowed to divide painting into three schools, viz. the Ionian,
Sicyoman, and Athenian. Pamphilus was a Macedonian,
who combined literature with painting and made it a prin¬
ciple ot tuition, that no man could be great in either who
was not a mathematician ; for he denied that without geo¬
metry art could be perfected. He taught nobody under a
talent, which both Apelles and Melanthus paid. So "Teat
was the influence of this distinguished man, that first a°t Si-
cyon, and afterwards in all Greece, he got it established as
a principle of education, that all clever boys should be taught
on tablets the art of delineating, which is the foundation of
1 De Invent, lib. 2. chap. x.
2 Horace.
PAINTING.
painting. He considered this art as the first that should be
taught in a liberal education. Slaves were prohibited the
exercise of design; which was an absurd law, because in
literature itwouidhave prevented fEsop or 1 erence from de¬
veloping their genius. What right have any creatures, who
are obliged to eat and sleep like the meanest slave, to pass a
law to prohibit the exercise ot any natural talent, if the A -
mighty has not disdained to think one worthy of being so
ed ? The consequence of this was, that no slave ever dis¬
tinguished himself in the arts.
About the 107th Olympiad, after Echion and Iherami-
chus, came the god of high finish and grace, A pelles, r is
style is always the precursor of decay. First came a race
in art, amongst whom invention, expression, form, colour, and
fleeting lines, (Ires lineas effugientes) and yet superior to all Paintir
that was to be found in the finest works. Unfortunately it '
was burned at the destruction of the palace.
Now comes the question, what were these lines which
could thus speak to artists who had never seen each other,
the common language of a common code of law for design.
“ Secuit lineas” does not mean actually to cut the lines in
two, but in the technical idiom of English artists, to strike
a line. It was not the metal cestrum, but the hair brush,
and therefore cut in this sense could not have been meant.
To cut with a brush means to design with an air of power.
Three lines varied in shape would mean nothing, if nothing
was expressed; but if some known contour of the body was
taken in repose, three variations of its position without al-
in art, amongst whom ^ve^tion, expression, torm^ colour, auu ^onwovldbe as much as could be expected in the
execution, m a series of pictures intended to illust a P c, tr. Anelles drew a line from the clavi-
Ple were enough, provided the principle was expresse . iese con u PP f b^ in profi]e shaping all the parts
were the monumental geniuses. But when the art becomes cle A to me p j i r _
national and glorious, the noble the “Pulent become L line, and knSv that in finely-
bitiousto share the glory withthurco y, , , ji , en the stomach, from great exercise and temper-
to the humble office of adorning apartments As is the ele- formed men, me st ^^ ^ ^ ,n £ c>
asiras??. rdLsrejsE s aMssttstr.stSft'is
his sovereign and the peop e* ^ d J ntly drew, bering that in powerful men, the pyramidahs D, fig. 3, ans-
was grounded to *e f^t"legree of perfection.” ing from the pubis and going into the rectus, makes another
Protogenes, were the
“^S^lt^SinedUsprin- St^ewouldacknowledgedielinetobeconi-
ciples. His treatises were extant in Pliny s time, and even in pleted.
that of Suidas,1 who speaks of them ; and as they were pro-
Fisz;. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig 3
c -
bably illustrated with designs, the loss is much to be deplor¬
ed. Beauty was the leading feature of his style, as well as
of that of the greatest painters of the same period. In grace
he defied competition ; and this explains the secret of his tri¬
umph. “ I know when to leave off,” said he, “ which is a
great art; Protogenes does not. Over-working is injurious.
He was a very generous man, and acknowledged when
others were superior to him ; observing that Amphion was
a better composer, and Asclepiadorus more correct in propor¬
tion. Amongst all the stories of Pliny, the most delightful is
that of Apelles and Protogenes, which seems to be an au¬
thentic fact; and even if it were not, it would illustrate the
principles of Grecian art. Protogenes lived at Rhodes and
Apelles sailed to see him. Having landed, he called, and found
the artist “not at home.” Being shewn by an old woman
into his painting-room, he found a tablet with its wax ground
ready for a picture, and taking up a brush, drew an exquisite
line in colour down the tablet. Protogenes having return¬
ed, was shewn what had happened ; and, contemplating t e
beauty of the form, he said it must be Apelles, as nobody else
could draw so perfect a work. He then took the brush and
drew another still more refined, saying, if the stranger call
again, shew him this, and say that that is what he is seeking.
Apelles returned, and blushing to see himself outdone, again
took a brush and drew a third, leaving nothing to be exceed¬
ed in refinement, (nullum relinqwens amplius subtihtaU lo- ^ ^ oi ^ esL   
cum.) Protogenes when he saw this immediately song - connoisseurs, and would illustrate a great principle .
visitor, saying thathe could carry the line no further. T e at by a knQwled fconstructi0n was the basis of cor-
tablet with these lines upon it, was considered by all the name y, t ^ foundation of all beauty.
Greek artists as a miracle of drawing. After the death of rect g ice of this eminent man to do
Apelles and Protogenes, and the conquest of the Romans, it It ^ d happened; and hence the
was preserved in the palace of the Caesars on the Palatine someth g Y >. line.” If artists were to write
hill, where it was seen by Pliny containing nothing but three proverb, No day wu _______ 
In Conduci’s Five Dialogues, it is stated that Mtchel An¬
gelo thought it must have been a contour of some part o
fhe body. Now. this singular contest would be feh by »1
artists as one of the greatest utdity. It would be w ondere
a “ Amphion mentioned twice in ancient authors, and it is hence supposed that Echioa
would be a better reading.
PAINTING.
703
minting, this over their painting-room doors, it would not be without
',^Y^te/advantage. Rubens rose at four, and was in his painting till
five in the afternoon, with occasional variations. All the
greatest men of antiquity and of modern art, have been the
most diligent and the most industrious. And here is the most
celebrated of the tabular painters of antiquity afraid to let a
day pass without the use of the pencil. Apelles used also to
hide himself behind his works to hear the remarks of the pub¬
lic. This deference to the public voice evinced by sculptors,
painters, and statesmen, is a beautiful proof of the sense and
understanding of the time. Nothing was done in defiance
of public taste, but every thing in conformity to its dictates ;
and though this does and often did lead to great injustice in
political matters, in art the maxim is infallible.
Apelles of Cous excited envy enough, and notwithstand¬
ing his graceful manners, his tender heart, and his accom¬
plished mind, when driven by stress of weather into Alexan¬
dria, the courtiers of Ptolemy, hating his superiority, and
fearing his probable fortune, sent him a pretended invitation
to sup with the king. Apelles went; the king felt astonished
at the liberty, and sending to demand explanation, discover¬
ed the imposition. On inquiring if Apelles knew the person
who had given him the invitation, he immediately sketched his
face on the wall, and the king recognised the culprit. Courts,
kings, and people can onlyjudge of results. The infinite num¬
ber of repeated acts, the nulla dies sine linea, the failures, the
recoveries, the musings, the thinkings, that had taken place
with the “ cestrum cum lumine,” they had not witnessed;
therefore, knowing their utter incapacity to do as Apelles did,
they concluded that he was a wonder, and he of course be¬
came a favourite. As an evidence of that peculiar tact by
which such men are sure to please kings and nobility, namely,
by the power of seizingthe most agreeable expression of any
sitter’s face, however ugly, and rendering his very defects a
cause of elegant concealment; he painted Antigonus, who
had lost one eye, in profile, concealed his defective eye, and
made him as graceful as if he were Alexander. This was
the great secret of his fortunes, as it was that of Titian’s, Van¬
dyke’s and Reynold’s ; and though not to be compared in
point of taste or knowledge of the art, this was also the se¬
cret of the popularity of Lawrence, mere portrait painter as
he was, and nothing more.
Polygnotus, Pausias, Aristides, Timanthes, Zeuxis, Parr-
hasius, Pamphilus, Euphranor, and Timomachus did not so
completely gratify the vanity of their contemporaries, and
were not such personal favourites as Apelles; for there is no
gratitude equal to the gratitude of being successfully painted.
Kings bow to the unknown power of having their momen¬
tary expressions observed, seized, transferred, and fixed for
ages, and whilst colours and canvass last, carried on, for the
admiration of a distant age, when the existing one is past and
forgotten. What can equal the gratitude of a woman to have
her beauty preserved, whilst she is in her bloom, for the ad¬
miration of her children when age has shrivelled her form,
or misfortune destroyed her happiness? The world may be
elevated, excited, roused, by the commemoration of the great
deeds of ancestors or heroes ; but no sympathy is ever ex¬
cited, and no personal vanities are ever so happily gratified
by any class of painters, as by the great portrait-painter. The
degree of imagination required is not of that irresistible kind
which forces him to leave the model before him, using it only
to realise his own burning conceptions, so that all likeness of
the individual is lost; he requires no more than to retain in
his mind the best expression of the individual before him to
identify it upon canvass. But it must be exactly like, or it is
nothing. After the likeness is completed, the sitter will have
no objection to the highest degree of embellishment. There
the great portrait-painter shews the degree oifancy wanted,
and he that embellishes most, without losing resemblance, will Painting,
be the most welcomed, as Apelles was, by the world.
1 o put Apelles in comparison with Polygnotus is out of
the question. Highly-wrought individual figures, littlomore
than portraits of beautiful nature, cannot rank so high in the
judgment, though they may in the delicate sympathies of
the world. But that single terrific conception of the demon
Eurynome, for which no prototype in nature could be found,
that momentary blush which crimsoned his Cassandra,1 Aris¬
totle’s praise that he made men better than they were, and
Plato’s ranking him with Phidias, settles the question of his
greatness ; and as a portrait expression must be seen before
it can be done, and must be like or it is nothing, there is
an end of the highest quality of human genius, invention.
Indeed, whatever the vanity of the world may be inclined to
feel, the greatest portrait painter is but an inferior artist.
The age of Polygnotus and Phidias was the meridian age
of Greek art; and that of Apelles was the setting glory.
From the latter period it sunk gradually as if nature had been
exhausted by the previous effort. Such ages have never
since been seen ; such perfection had never been realized
before, and never will be again ; for in order to become such
sculptors and painters, men must also become idolaters.
But to return and conclude the notice of Apelles, this court-
favourite of antiquity. Notwithstanding the education of
Alexander by Aristotle, notwithstanding that r\ ypa(f)iKT) was a
portion of his education, Alexander was little more than a glo¬
rious barbarian in art. He talked so absurdly in the painting-
room of Apelles, that the artist was obliged to request that his
majesty would be cautious, lest the boys should laugh as they
ground their colours. Apelles may be considered as the
Titian of Greek art, with the addition of all that vast know¬
ledge of form, which every painter and every school was ob¬
liged to master. But the disposition to perfect single figures,
and the acknowledgment that others exceededhim in compo¬
sition, clearly point out the extent of his fertility. Though
Pliny describes many beautiful pictures, his greatest are sin¬
gle figures. His Venus Anadyomene was the most celebrat¬
ed of all his works; but being painted upon wood, it was des-
tioyed by insects in the time of Augustus. He began ano¬
ther, and having completed it as far as the bosom, died; but
although the contours were completed for finishing, nobody
would venture to touch it, such was the extreme veneration
entertained for him. By this description we see the nature
of the Greek process; first, the ground, then the drawing in,
next the impasto preparation, and then the completion part
by part. He had got the picture finished as far as the bosom ;
and therefore to finish highly by degrees was his system. He
was not deficient in expression, for he painted persons dying
with great power. His imitation must have been perfect,
for his painted horses are said to have made real horses neigh;
and his colour must have been exquisite, for he glazed Tike
the Venetian school. Pliny mentions him as one of those
who painted with four colours ; but this is a mistake ; for it
was in the age of Polygnotus that blue was not used. From
a passage in Cicero,2 it appears that that age wras famous for
“ form and contour;” whereas, according to the same writer,
all things were perfect in the works of Protogenes, Nicho-
machus, Echion, and Apelles.
Pliny is therefore right in saying that pictures which con¬
stituted the opulence of towns, were painted with four colours
only ; but he is not as clear as usual in regard to the period
to which this observation applies. Quintilian, calling the
colour of Polygnotus “ simplex color,” seems to indicate the
absence of blue ; whilst red, yellow, black, and white did not
produce such gorgeous splendour as in the age of Apelles.
1 hus Quintilian, as well as Cicero, collaterally proves Pliny
to be in part right. It is extraordinary that Reynolds did not
Lucian.
2 Brutus, c. 18.
704
PAINTING.
Fainting, allude to the absence of blue in the enumeration of Pliny.
' Great depth, fine tone, simplicity, and modesty, can be ob¬
tained without blue, but never that tremendous magnificence
produced by the contrast of the deep andawful azures of Titian.
Though Polygnotus did not use blue, his black was made from
vine-stalks and wine-lees,1 which render black more blue than
the ivory black of Apelles, which was discovered by him,
and is used to this hour in Europe. There were several of
the same name, but Apelles Cous distinguishes the great
Apelles, as Aristides Thebanus does the great Aristides.
After this long account of the courtly, accomplished, and
highly-wrought Apelles, there may be something interest¬
ing to allude to Aristides the “ great master of expression,”
as Fuseli calls him. He was the first who painted deep
human emotions, fierce passions, and distressing perturba¬
tions ; but he was hard in colour, says Pliny, and not so har¬
monious as Apelles, probably like Raffaelle, the great Italian
master of expression, in comparison with Titian. His finest
picture was that of a mother dying from a wound which she
had received in the sacking of her native city. Her infant
was trying to reach the nipple with its boneless gums, whilst
the mother, faint and exhausted, appeared struggling to save
it from sucking, lestbloodmight mingle with its nourishment;
a tender and affecting thought. Alexander was so touched
by this picture at Thebes, when the city was taken, that
he sent it to Pella.2
Protogenes was another of the great men of this time.
It is indeed extraordinary to reflect how genius in art and
literature seems always to come in clusters in every coun¬
try. He was born at a small town on the coast of Asia Minor,
subject to the Rhodians ; and he got his living till he was
fifty years old, in great poverty, painting beautiful ornaments
for the prows of ships. He was not a man of fertile inven¬
tion, and spent years over single works, which induced Apel¬
les to say that he never knew when he had finished. His
celebrated work was Talissus, which occupied him seven
years. Titian took eight to paint the Pietro Martyre, and
seven to finish the Last Supper for Charles V. ;3 and yet
in Titian’s works there is no appearance of over diligence.
Pliny says he painted his pictures four times over, so that
if one picture was destroyed another might be ready. No¬
thing shews so completely the exact degree of knowledge
which Pliny had of art as this absurd conclusion from an
admirable practice. Protogenes proceeded with his works
as Titian did, by stages ; and each stage was a separate im-
pasto of colour, which helped the next till completed. Of
this artist the story is told of his flinging his sponge at a
dog’s mouth in a rage, because he had vainly tried to hit
breath coming out of it, and by that accident succeeding;
a circumstance which shews that it was tempera painting,
for a sponge would not have done for wax. Such a habit of
daily application had Protogenes, that when Demetrius be¬
sieged Rhodes, he would not leave his painting-room, but
proceeded daily in his studies amidst the noise of battering
rams and catapultae. The king came often to visit him ;
and that part of the town where he worked was spared, and
the picture thus finished was said to have been done at the
point of the sword. Protogenes painted the mother of Aris¬
totle ; and the philosopher urged him to execute the battles
of Alexander ; but he was not a man of rapid conception or
fertile invention for a series, and could not be moved.
It is curious to reflect, that all the great painters painted
portraits ; which proves that they thought it essential to that
truth which was the foundation of their ideal beauty. Indeed,
every great painter should paint a portrait a month ; and
if, like the Greeks, he has always nature for his works, he Paint*.
never can degenerate into manner. V^v J
Of the other painters, Asclepiodorus was celebrated for pro¬
portion ; Nicomachus forrapidity of hand, and Theonfor wild
conceptions, “ quas Grseci vocant (pavracrias” Pliny places
Theon amongst the herd, whilst Quintilian and iElian place
him amongst the illustrious, where heoughtto be. He paint¬
ed a single warrior dashing forward on the spectators ; and
collecting the public, he kept the picture behind a curtain,
when in the midst of a blast of trumpets, the curtain was
dropped, and the wonderful figure terrified the people. He
also painted Orestes, distracted and insane, and proved him¬
self a great and wild inventor. The three remaining great
men of the fine period, were Pausias, Euphranor, and Timo-
machus. No passage has excited so much discussion as the
well known one in Pliny, where he says, “ nulla gloria artifi-
cum est, nisiqui ta&w/aspinxere,” as if he meant that the only
glory in art consisted in tabular pictures, “ irivaKes,” on wood,
and that there was but little in monumental and mural efforts.
Pliny, however, does not here contrast the tabular pictures
of Apelles with the mural paintings of Polygnotus, but with
the works of one Ludius, a Roman, a mere ornamental
landscape-painter upon walls, like our Bond Street paper
painters. This was much the fashion in Pliny’s time, which
he laments; and many examples of the same species may
now be seen in Pompeii.
Having thus described the fancies and caprices by which
the art had been degraded, Pliny turns to the highly beau¬
tiful tabular wmrks of Apelles, and observes naturally enough;
“ This is not the thing ; the glory of art and of artists con¬
sists in the Venus of Apelles, the mother of Aristides, the
lalysus of Protogenes, and not in this mechanical whim,
w hich is not the glory and the end of painting.” This, per¬
haps, is the explanation which he would give if he were alive
and able to answer us. Is it not unjust then to take up such
ground as M.Raoul-Rochettehas done in France, and Payne
Knight in England, and infer that there was no real glory in
any other mode of painting ? The ancients estimated mural
painting at Delphi, as the Italians do in the Vatican. But
they did not undervalue tabular painting, small pictures, en¬
caustic, landscapes, or humour ; they painted in every style
and they excelled in all.
Pliny now proceeds to the encaustic painters, of whom
Pausias and Euphranor appear to have been the greatest.
Pausias was a master of foreshortening, as we learn from
Pliny’s description of a bull which he painted in front
and projecting beyond the tablet. After Pausias came the
Isthmian Euphranor, who wrote on symmetry and colour,
painted great and small works, and delineated statues and
animals. He said of his Theseus, that “ it was real flesh,
whilst that of Parrhasius had fed on roses.” Ihen came
Nicias wrho painted women beautifully, understood light and
shadow, and was another pillar of art. Metrodomswas both
a philosopher and a painter; and w hen the victorious Paulus
desired Perseus to send him a philosopher to educate his
children, and a painter to arrange his triumph, Metrodorus
was despatched as a person capable of executing both tasks.
Timomachus is the last of this splendid list whom it is neces¬
sary to mention. He died, like Apelles, leaving an important
work unfinished. „
Such were the most illustrious men of the three finest Glory an
periods of Greek painting. The first period of Gree ar «
was that before Pericles; the second, or that of Pence
himself, was the finest, the highest, and the purest in paint¬
ing, sculpture, and architecture; the third was the epoc
1 See Pliny, lib. xxxv. The sea in the Venus Anadyomene is quoted as a proof that blue must have been used. But where is
any blue in Vandervelde ? We do not think that a picture exists with blue in his sea. . w the utter wan
2 Raffaelle imitated this in his plague, where a fine youth is putting away an infant from a dying mother s bosom ; idi uious,
of taste in making the boy hold his nose for fear of infection, renders the sentiment not pathetic but at once disgustin0
3 See, in Ridolphi, Titian’s letter to the emperor.
minting
of Alexander, the most refined, but prophetic of the cor
'•uption followed; then came the subjugation of the Ko
nans, when the noblest wnrbc  
painting.
705
: fleets of
:e con-
iiest of
reece.
, , ,—   cuujugaiiuu ui uie no-
mans, when the noblest works of the Greeks were seized
as tribute, or matters of right, and Italy was inundated by
the productions of Greek talent. J
This influx of foreign productions entirely suffocated
native Italian genius. Greek productions became matters of
property ; and dealers sprung up who manufactured orio-inals
to supply the market of the rich collector. Galleries &were
formed to produce genius, which had sprung up from na¬
tional demand without a single gallery or a single collec¬
tion of any works, except the productions of their native soil.
The most celebrated works were copied and re-copied by
the Greeks in all parts of the Mediterranean. Horace al¬
ludes to this ; and there can be no doubt whatever that the
effect was to render all native attempts of the Romans and
Etruscans no longer available. For not one great artist is
named during the whole period of progressive decay from the
Caesars to Constantine; and the Romans or Latins never pro¬
duced any talent worth consideration till the revival of art in
Italy, after so many ages, in the fifteenth century. Then the
same principle operating, and the church and state demand¬
ing art as an assistant, outpoured an abundance of native ta¬
lent, because there was a vent, as there had been before in
Greece, Egypt, and Chaldaea; and the genius of Rome, Flo¬
rence, Pisa, and Venice, vindicated their long suppressed
claims to originality. Amongst the illustrious Romans,
Julius Caesar seems to have been a magnificent collector :
but whether, like Napoleon, he was also a magnificent patron
of the talent of his time is not known. He bought Greek
pictures, and presented them to Roman temples^ but one
work of native art, produced by native patronage, is more
honour both to patron and to artist than a gallery of foremn
pictures be they ever so divine. &
Upon the whole, before tracing art from its decay to its
revival, we cannot but acknowledge as evident, that a period
of dearth in genius has generally succeeded in the world to
one of prolific production. Inpaintingand sculpture, second¬
ary causes, such as the nature of the government, or the circum¬
stances of the two arts being required for political purposes,
may considerably facilitate the development of genius. But
it is not so with the poet. He can give vent to his immortal
thoughts in poverty or wretchedness, independently of the
taste of the times, or the patronage of the state. Milton, in
obscuntyand blindness, wrote Paradise Lost; and Savage, in
poverty and wretchedness, composed his Bastard in the
streets, begging bits of paper as he walked, when he had
more thoughts than his mind could contain, and thus, as effec-
ua y preserved them as if he had been bred in a palace, or
tions i 6618 ° 116 fineSt hot-Pressed t0 receive his lucubra-
i0Cty Q.AftT thT> conclu]est °f Greece, and the removal of art and
s Ro- artists to Rome, the genius of painting seems to have left
■ oo!.the world. The Roman school of painting and sculpture
s scarcely worth a single thought. In the last years of the
pubhc the art sunk rapidly. Augustus tried to revive it;
but though the pupils and descendants of the illustrious
inftt.emPted Tt0 second his views, and though the writ-
ngs of Apelles, Euphranor, and Pamphilus, were all in ex-
wnc006’ ^ ^ le^r, PriIlcipies known and acted upon, genius
tpn l "T t0 be found* That divine spark with its at-
pn?niWhlSJ)eri’ unseen but not unheard, which ever at-
sunnn ted who are born for great objects, whether it
supported Columbus amitlst the storms of the Atlantic, Alex-
Thl,1' w if- P unSeti int0 Asia, Napoleon as he rushed into
ualy, Wellington at Waterloo, Michel Angelo when he
VnTiPnn ne £ I™ ^P61’ Raffaelle ^ entered the Painting.
sunernamrul ^ he adorned the P-thenon ; that'
,1— incomprehensible something, which inspires
hope, when the whole world seems adverse to desert ” was
f°mnIer0mAll n ,!ike the *lor>'which had Hazed in the
coJcldn „n „ ; he sa™«e> splendid, imperial Romans
could do, all the honours and riches they had to confer, were
bestowed m vain. Architecture suited their savage vastness
o mind better than painting; therefore architecture flourish-
and “ft uSLT Said “t0 ^ f0Untl E°me thatched,
« huSriff'“l”/'4'*«•
Not Babylon
Nor great A1 cairo, such magnificence
Equalled in all their glories, to enshrine
Belus or Serapis* their gods, or seat
Their kings, when Egypt with Assyria strove
In wealth and luxury.
Claudius built a superb aqueduct, and Nero burned3 and
rebuilt a golden palace ; but he could not replace the lines
of Apelles and Protogenes, or the miracles of Timanthes
and Aristides, which perished in the conflagration. Galba,
Otho, and Vetelhus were hurried through life and empire
too rapidly for art; whilst Vespasian and Titus bewildered
the Romans with their Cyclopean masses. Hadrian, him¬
self an artist, endeavoured to recover art by indiscriminately
encouraging Etruscans, Greeks, and Romans ; “ but such a
medley of principle as their works displayed,” says Agin-
eourt, “ hastened the decay of art, and rendered the emper¬
or hopeless of reviving it.” The art thus went floundering
on until Dioclesian, with all the gorgeous splendour of an
eastern monarch, mingled together Roman, Greek, and ori¬
ental art, and corrupting all taste led to its extinction. It was
between the reign of Commodus and that of Constantine,
that those causes were generated which undermined the em¬
pire and brought art, science, and literature into the chasm.
Of forty emperors who, from the second to the fourth cen-
ury had struggled for the diadem and obtained it, twenty
had been murdered by the army and the people. “ Ainsi”
says Montesquieu “ comme la grandeur de la republique, fut
fatale au gouvernement republicain, la grandeur de fem-
pwe le fut a la vie des empereurs.”* Constantine’s remo¬
val of the seat of empire did not so much begin the destruc-
lon of art as complete it; for previous causes, domestic and
political, had been preparing the ruin for centuries before.
Agincourt thinks that as far as art is concerned, too much Age of
ff attr‘bu'ed f° tl>i3 of the empire. But yet Co„st°
tbe hlst epoch of what may be called modern art in oppo-dne.
sition to ancient, must date from the introduction of Christ¬
ianity as a state religion, when the whole moral feelings of
Greek and Romans took another turn in painting and sculp¬
ture. Although Constantine only grafted Christianity on
Jragamsm, and founded more Catholicism than Christianity,
by meeting and uniting the prejudices of both Pagans and
Christians; yet surely if genius could ever be created by
patronage, the age of Constantine, and those of Charle¬
magne, and Louis XIV. ought to have rivalled those of Pe¬
ricles and Julius. Such was the rage for splendour in this
eign, that the quarries of Phrygian marble and of the isle
of 1 roconnesus, were almost destroyed to furnish palaces
for the emperor, his sons, and his ministers. Temples,
palaces, forums, triumphal arches, colossal statues, an hip¬
podrome, and eight public baths were built and adorned at
once ; and in addition, splendid commissions were given to
the painters for pictures of Christ, the Virgin, the prophets,
and the apostles. Rome, Naples, Capua, Antioch, Tyre
Jerusalem, and even Bethlehem, felt the effects of this mag-
jn . J L vecs, drc. oavage.
VOL. XVI “lt06eth“ ,0 beW U- 4 ASinco“rt' * tAr,, ,„m. i. S‘“t r°DJ(.aJenee drs
4 u
7p!1„ nificentemployment; but wl,.,. were the re J to"
_«^^Wing? Nothing, absolutely nothing, to guide anybody ex<-Ll . »„ ever thought of, what Phidias never permitted to
the antiquary ; and if any evidence were wanting to s o ^1 mentioned in his school, a parcel of painters brought into
that the genius and the patron must exist togethe > practice by the very mysticism of their impossible theories,
result will be nothing, the end of Constantine s splen wag Jorrupt> being born in sin and vicious in practice ;
would abundantly supply it. . , jiim asa model therefore when painting holy subjects,
The moral character of ancient Greece was gone , was t0 aCt under the influence of Satan. Man was banished,
instinct of public glory was passed i th™.“ ™'™e’ered and so was woman, and nature in every thing ; till at last all
adequate reward ot talent on a great principle, were s n;,.inters nainted in one way, and in came manner into the great
at; and “ Lucian,” (as the author of the Ducmrs Hum- P“n‘® like a l’,eperous distillment” stained her
vpic observes) “had already ridiculed this tribunal, w c t d’ isoneaherbeauty. Yctthetraditionalmaxims
had listened with rapture to Herodotus, and crowned Action garment anupo^ ^ b ’ and art, giv<! 0ne a very
for a fine picture, and which in its days of Marathoman glory, O ^ wtr(. the maxims 0f the finer Pagan peri-
had done more than ever was done before or since in ro g ^ nothing but an imitation of nature,” says St.
ing human effort, mental and bodily, to its highest pitch of «'!• "t ^ Gmt c. xvm. p. 18.) “ Ancient
excellence. Luxury, indolence, vice, fanaticism, cant, s i , t0 surpass each other by faithful imitation,”
phistry, intrigue, and imposture, had Cnob. S«- Gent. lib. vi. fob 68) “ Nature is fire arche-
pirations of patriotism and glory. ihe great ana t e t art the image ; every image has a model, and painters
opulent,” says Pliny and Vitruvius, « were fonder of gold ’ee,” (Theodoret.) -Imitation is the
and glitter than purity ot design or pathos of expres , .t ^ inting^ be not seduced by an illusion,” (St. Cle-
perfection of form; overwhelmed with colours from all the P begging the people not to be seduced by
countries of the earth, with double the advantages of I olyg J d t t °s if they were gods, tell them that pic-
notus, and Zeuxis, and Aristides,; who painted with four are irnitions of nature, and therefore
only, “ nulla nobilis pictura est. Of course, th,s ^ a ot be gods” These maxims of the fourth century had
ways the end, when the moral and national importance of t ^g^nded from a nobler er£U Besides the treatises
painting is undervalued. W hen native art is desp^ed, and ^ A Eu branor, and Pamphilus, were all in existence,
spurious foreign productions are preferred ; when conno: readPby tbe educated and accomplished ; and we
seurs of what is past abound, and connoisseurs gee how ski[fuby the fathers of the church tried to save fine
passing exist not; when painting is considered as a baub fi.om destruction, by assuring the people that they
oPabitof furniture, and painters share dignity with upholster- ^ imitations of life, for such was the principle of
ers and gilders, what wonder if “ nulla pictura is the c y . Are nottbese quotations then collateral evidences of
Gold and vermillion being thus introduced upon the wa ‘ f tbe Greeks, if we had known nothing of the
of palaces and preferred to beautiful art, in came arabes- sbtYng to Zeuxis?
ques. Claudius had before introduced Indian patterns and g Christianity was at first the ruin of art, by making Muenci
mosaic pictures, which had hitherto been kept for pave- l Ch y and b ical ugliness, or defor-0f Chns
ments, till Commodus, for the sake of a new sensation had ytLehing that ^ 111 beautiful works of artanity or.
a portrait in his palace of Piscenmus Niger, pamteA _ wereremnants o/idolatry, they ought to be destroyed; and tbe arts,
mosaic, which may be considered as the first picture of tl j lcating tbat mankind being corrupt and born m sin,
description. When painting was in this staggering condi- y lgtian ;ainter ougbt t0 look at the naked figure whilst
tion, Justinian gave it a final blow by ordering enca s wag painting it. Add to these prejudices, the predilec-
and distemper designs, as vulgar, to be banished from ce 1- ^ of Pasternc’notions for gold and silver, the preference of
ings and walls, and mosaic, marble, and golc, 1 eastern dresses to the simplicity of Greek clothing, the con¬
ferred. Though mosaic was perhaps one of the means of ^ our Saviour was
preserving art and of introducing it into Italy, y , handsome, and the vehemence with which Pagans
only be used in pavements, or to preserve the works of great "g Y b “ h d int0 tbem. and no one can won-
masters. The anti-pagan zeal of the early Christians is and whicb painting declined.
well known. They used to put ropes round the necks division of opinion about the person of Christ, andReprcse
Apollos and Venuses to try them publicly, like crime , e Fatberg t0 exp0se the cross t0
find them guilty, and pound them to dust. But human na- the d e^d golden.locked Apollos and perfum- Christ,
ture is always the same. A thousand years afterwards S ’enug’g couid not comprehend that suftenng and ma-
similar scene was acted in Scotland by John Knox and the were founded up0n a higher philosophy, so era-
reformers, nor had England escaped the fury of iconoclasir. J P pajnters, that to avoid collision they painted
Eusebius2 informs us that in the empire whole towns rose biassed painters,^ with tbeir Greek Inl¬
and destroyed the temples mwhich they had just worshippe. the f^x/of beauty and of grace. It mustbe
The air echoed with the noise of hammers, the crashing § ^ to al] readers thus to trace the progress of feeling
pediments, the breaking of pillars, and the shouts of a mad- £ the head of Christ.3 In the fourth, fifth, and sixth
dened and frenzied populace. The finest works of I bi^as, S beauty and youth still predominated ; and he is
Scopas, Polycletus, and Praxiteles, and all that was left of centime., y bandsome, crushing the hon under
Polygnotus,^Apelles, Zeuxis, or Euphranor, were demolished painted ^ ^erd Uh his flock. With alle-
or burned, like wretches who had infected religion, and their his feet, oi y^ ^ gavIiour ended, whilst the Fathers of
ashes were danced on with fanatical exultation. So great m- go Y b b y ^ of Egypt, interfered, and issue
deed had been the destruction, that when Arcadms and “e church liRe 1^ ^ ^ gented j agony on *
Honorius issued a fresh edict to go on destroying, they aa edict or e g^ ^ evaded> The creeks still
added, as well they might, “ Si qua etiam nunc m temphs ^oss. But f^ ^ ^ .f k were ^ never-dymg
fanisque consistent, “ If any pictures or statues are ftillleft. their goulg) painted 0ur blessed Saviour cty g
During this frenzy was introduced into art, Paintin^ ^ ' P [lie cross but smiling with triumphant glory as
out nature, and after producing a race of monsters down to upon the cioss, b     .
Tr. ... r * Mortcsq. Decadence des Eomains, V33. _„;nted of them be-
l Spartian, In hta Pise. Aig- cap. fi. r iIvp Virgin were known, and that no pictures were painte
s St. Augustin declares that in his tune no faces of Christ or the Vi g buke’s own hand, now m Home,
fore the council of Ephesus; yet there are seven reported originals, lour ot wtnen y
PAINTING.
PAINTING.
Jpoch of
Painting, joicing in liis sacrifice. In whatever the Greeks were com-
^-^^pelled to do, beauty seemed still to be the basis of their art.
By degrees, however, the poor descendants of Apelles and
Polygnotus finding no employment except on the conditions
prescribed, the person of Christ became gradually degraded
in art; and at the separation of the Latin church, to paint
him ugly, bloody and agonized, was the settled principle of
representation, and has more or less influenced his repre¬
sentation ever since. There seems to be some doubt as to the
extent of the devastation committed by the Goths. Alaric staid
butthree days in Rome, and Attilahad himself painted in one
of his Milan palaces seated on a throne, and receivin'1- the
homage of a Roman emperor.1 Theodoric seems to have
had a very good feeling for art. He laments, in a letter to
Symmachus, the ruins of works of genius, begs their preser¬
vation, and concludes with observing that Rome has still a
'population of statues with herds of bronze horses. The ex¬
pulsion of the Goths and the invasion of the Lombards, again
afflicted the art; but it had found its way into France, and
the churches of Paris, Tours, Bordeaux and Clermont, were
ornamented by native painters.
_ Though the popes had begun to adorn the churches, and
art in the earliest times had been kept alive with consider-
able talent in the catacombs in Rome ; though Europe had
been astonished by the splendour of the ecclesiastical patron¬
age of painters ; yet the next great epoch after Constantine
originates in the efforts of the illustrious Charlemagne. He
formed the plan of renovating art, science and literature; and
he would have accomplished his object, if the genius of the
age had been worthy of the emperor. The ancient practice
of painting churches, kept alive by previous popes, he con¬
firmed by a law ; and agents every year visited the provin¬
ces to see that the law was observed. If a royal church was to
bepainted, the bishops and abbots were responsible. If, in the
midst of a campaign, an order was issued for a church, one
to paint the walls was included; and no church was con¬
sidered as finished till that was done, the object of the em¬
peror being to obliterate the remembrance of the splendid
altars of the Pagans, by still more magnificent Christian or¬
naments. “ Repair your church,” says the archbishop of
Ireves; “you know the decision of the emperor.”
Two monkish painters of the time are celebrated ; and
I ranee and Britain began even at this early period, to take
an interest in the arts. Biscop, abbot of Weremouth, had
brought pictures from Italy. Charlemagne had invited king
Ufira to protect painting, with but little effect; yet though
the walls of English churches were whitewashed, the English
began to adorn the ceilings and the windows, and hung ta¬
pestry upon the walls.2
In Spain, the Arabians had introduced their art, such as it
could be, under the prohibition of Mahommed; and minia¬
tures or manuscripts were so eagerly bought all over Eu¬
rope, that the artists in France, Germany and Italy, devoted
themselves to this production; though here again it was
acknowledged by all, that they were beaten by the Greeks.
•in spite of all this, the art continued to decay; and at the se¬
cond Council of Nice the members gave evidence of the state
to which monks and bishops had reduced it. “ How can
painters be blamed?” say they; “the painter invents nothing.
invention and composition belong to the Fathers ;3 the art
• 0n<T16 Peters. ’ Inadvertently, too, the emperor in-
rp>e e art by altering the dress of his cavalry and foot.
hr,16 ™en, as usual flowed the example, and having re-
quis led the pure taste of the Greeks, dress has in conse-
Jndv6 ?eCOme an annual novelty and change. The Paladin
stro- u. V°rSe Were covered with iron and mail; angles and
p 1 lne* predominated; the naked form was more than
concealed, and the artist deprived of his materials.
707
Though the art suffered at the death of Charlemagne, yet Painting.
£ was kept alive by monks and by bishops. At Rome, at^-^*w
ra ermo,andat Milan, religious painters preserved it from de- The middle
L.ay I .V^y sPruog UP aH over Europe, and even St. Dunstan, aSes-
Archbishop of Canterbury, is spoken of as a skilful painter
and maker of instruments.
It is curious, after all that has been written about oil
painting, and the discovery mnde by John Van Eyk, to find a
writer of this period called Eraclius, in a treatise on painting,
speaking of oi painting : “ De omnibus coloribus cum oleo
distemperatis. Another monk wrote o treatise, in which
he says, “ he will tell the world how the Greeks mixed
their colours.” Now, as according to Suidas, the writings of
Apelles and Euphranor, were in existence in the tenth cen¬
tury, and these people lived before that time, there is reason
to believe that they were aware of oil painting having been
practised in ancient Greece, and that subsequent discove¬
ries were but different revivals.
Whilst the art feebly struggled on in the west, the court
of Constantine Porphyrogenitus wasthe rendezvousofartists,
and in 9U7 St. Mark was built at Venice by Greeks. In
contrasting Greek with Roman art at this time, the Greek is
still supenor. The Greek composition did not want dignity,
whilst in the Roman, all sound principle seemed dead. The
most ignorant Greeks shewed taste in their draperies, and their
heads have character, and in the arrangement of hair, they
remind one of the Panathenaic procession ; whilst the Ro¬
mans, with their large heads and long limbs, evince a gross
ignorance of beauty.
In the tenth century, tapestry for a time superseded
painting ; though in Germany, France, Italy and England,
many painters flourished. In England, historical comme¬
morations w ere in fashion, and the Duchess of Northum¬
berland adorned Ely Cathedral with a series of pictures
illustrating the deeds of her distinguished lord.4 When
William the Conqueror came, he introduced a new style of
architecture ; but both at York and Canterbury, paintings
then adorned the walls. In 1013, a head of Christ was exe¬
cuted in mosaic, and is still considered as the wonder of the
middle ages.
After so many vicissitudes of fortune, painting now began Symptoms
to shew symptoms of revival. Frescos had been executed in ofTS?
Rome in 498, and in795; andtherewasaheadof Christpaint-
ed in St. John Lateran, and still to be there seen, which
gave evidence of great feeling. But the grand impulse was
given in the year 1066, when St.Didier sent for Greek artists
to adorn Monte Casino at Subiaco. The example was fol¬
lowed. Pisa, Venice, Amalfi, Genoa, and Milan, all muni¬
cipal corporations rivalled each other; and when Pisa sent
to Greece to collect as many splendid remains of art as could
be obtained to adorn the dome of the city, Buschetto, a cele¬
brated Greek architect, was engaged to superintend their
embarcation, to accompany them during the voyage, and to
land them safely for the purchasers. Buschetto was received
with so much enthusiasm, that he founded a school of sculp¬
ture, which existed for two hundred years ; and ultimately
out of this very Greek school, came the great artist Nicolo
.risano, the head of the Italico-Pisan school. From this
moment art, after having sunk to the lowest barbarism, went
on improving till the taking of Constantinople by Mahom¬
med II., an event which scattered the Greeks collected at
that court all over Europe. Hundreds went to Italy as paint-
eis, sculptors, chasers, and mosaic painters; and by their
smuggles for existence, inoculated Italian artists with some
remnant of their taste for beauty, decayed as it was. Cima-
bue was theirpupil, and Giotto was his. The Catholic church
wanted artists, and genius again began to shew itself. One
man of genius appeared after another, till Michel Angelo,
1 Suidas.
* 'William of Mulmsbury.
3 Concil. Nic. ii. act. vi. tom. iy. ed. 1714.
4 Strutt.
708
Painting.
Italian
schools of
painting—
The Tus¬
can.
Pisano.
PAINTING
Leonardo, Raffaelle, Titian, and Corregio, were the glorious
results And though it cannot be denied that the high as¬
pirations of Christianity, by placing every thing human on
its proper level on earth, in comparison with eternal happi¬
ness, had justly prostrated the splendid beauty of Pagan
art, by exposing its idolatrous tendencies ; though the suf¬
ferings, and the agonies of its founder and its martyrs had
revived its pathos with higher objects than mere beauty of
form or face, and saved painting and sculpture from ex¬
tinction ; yet it must be acknowledged, that the beauty of
Christian art has never rivalled the indisputable perfection
of the Pagans. To their enthusiastic overestimate of the
religious value of physical, as emblematic of moral beauty,
is their perfection attributable ; but if it can only be revived
by some similar delusion, the result will in our opinion more
than atone for any thing that seems doubtful or questionable
in the principle.
The most eminent pictures of the middle ages, setting aside
the cemeteries or catacombs, which cannot legitimately be
referred to the middle ages, but to the earliest ages of
Christianity, are to be found in Rome. The greatest works
of the middle ages are the series of Popes, begun in the fifth
century, and continued down to the present time. The next,
which was executed in the year 1011, is the painting of the
church of St. Urbano, where some of the Acts of the Apos¬
tles are represented on the walls. Though the mosaics of
St. Mark’s, executed by Greeks, were earlier, and kept art
alive, yet, according to Lanzi, nothing in reality appeared
which gave symptoms of the approach of any thing extraor¬
dinary, till about the thirteenth century ; and this revolu¬
tion of style was entirely owing to sculpture.
The glory of this art belongs partly to the Tuscans, the le¬
gitimate descendants of the ancient Etruscans, but most es¬
pecially to the Pisans, who first had the courage to burst the
yoke which Greek art in its fallen state had imposed upon
them, and to go at once to the antique ; and this glory be¬
longs to Nicolo Pisano, a pupil of the school originally found¬
ed by the Greek Buschetto. There were in Pisa several
ancient sarcophagi, but especially one, containing the body
of Beatrice, mother of the Countess Matilda, with a bas-re¬
lief in good style, which served as the model of Nicolo ; on
this he formed his style, in which there is something of the
antique, especially in his heads and draperies. Many artists
who had not done so before, immediately devoted them¬
selves to sculpture ; and Nicolo Pisano must be considered
as the first Italian, who opened the eyes of his contemporaries
to the true principle of using the antique, that is, keeping
nature in view at the moment of practice. In 1231 he cut
an urn in Bologna, whence he was called “ Nicolo of the
urnand he produced two stories of the last judgment at
Orvieto, and another work at Pisa, which convinced the
world that he was born to found an epoch. He executed
other great works, and was really the head of the illustrious
school which produced Orcagna, Donatelo, and the famous^
Lorenzo Ghiberti, who made the beautiful bronze doors of
which Michel Angelo said, that they were worthy to be the
gates of paradise.
Many other eminent men came from his school. All Italy
was more or less affected by Pisano’s genius; and though a
sculptor, his effect on design was so great, that he must
be considered as having had a material influence on paint¬
ing. Painting remained behind sculpture, and even mo¬
saic ; and Vasari exaggerates the effect of Cimabue’s ap¬
pearance in the year 1240 \ for Lanzi proves that there were
Pisan painters of talent before that period, and that the
early art does not in the first instance owe so much to the
Florentines as Vasari has asserted. At Assisi there is a
crucifixion by Guinta Pisano, who, according to an inscrip- Paintii
tion, learned his art from the Greeks in 1210. This was be-'^V -
fore Cimabue : but Lanzi says that the work is not inferior
to Cimabue, and in drapery, colour, light, and shadow, com¬
position and expression, very like the contemporary Greeks.
Guinta disappeared and died, nobody knows where or how.
Guido di Sienna was another name of this early period. In
the Louvre there were some exquisite heads of angels with
gilt glories, full of beauty and expression, executed by this
artist. Then followed Margaritone, who painted on canvass
covered with size and plasterfor a ground ; which the Egyp¬
tians, Greeks, and Romans, had done long before his time.
During the time that the neighbouring cities had found¬
ed a new style, Florence had no painters ; but when the au¬
thorities called in some Greeks in 1250, it is asserted that
there was a painter called Bartolomeo. Vasari wishes of
course to infer that Cimabue was the first Italian painter
who gave the impulse ; but Lanzi proves the contrary.
Although there is no city we owe so much to as Florence,
yet the Florentines ought not to be allowed to deprive their
old enemies of the honour of having produced earlier pain¬
ters, besides Pisano.
Cimabue, who was both architect and painter, was honour- Cimab
ably descended. That he might have been the scholar of
Guinta is probable, because the Italians knew more than the
Greeks of that time; but there is every reason to believe
that he learnt of those Greeks who had been called to Flo¬
rence, and whom, according to Vasari, he stood whole days,
when a boy, watching as they painted in Santa Maria No¬
vella. From this moment indeed may be dated the excite¬
ment which impelled him to become a painter. At As¬
sisi his genius seems to have been put forth with most power.
Lanzi concludes the notice of him by saying, that Cimabue
was the Michel Angelo, and Giotto the Raffaelle of his age.
In the Louvre there were one or two large examples of Vir¬
gins, staring and Gothic, and which the French, still more
Gothic, were absolutely repainting.1 Vigorous in his colour,
and colossal but ill-proportioned in his figures, Cimabue first
gave indications of attempting something new in painting;
indeed, his watching the Greeks all day is so like an infatu¬
ated youth, that it bears truth on the face of it. Florence
was often in commotion when his works appeared; and
although he was not actually the oldest painter, he was the
first of that series which ended in Raffaelle. His style was
meagre, his drapery sharp, and his colour a species of illu¬
mination ; but though he had no light and shadow or per¬
spective, he was a great man for his time ; and in some of
his heads there are both character and expression.
Men of genius assist to call forth men of genius. In the Giotto
neighbourhood of Florence, Cimabue accidentally found a
youth tending sheep, and trying to draw one upon a slate.
After some conversation with the boy, finding the youth am¬
bitious to become an artist, he consulted his father, took
him immediately under his own tuition, and advanced him
rapidly. Cimabue was amply repaid for his generous con¬
duct, as the innocent youth was Giotto, afterwards one o
the great men of the time. No man can judge of Giottos
genius in England, because fragments of single heads or bits
of altar pieces, are no fair criteria of a genius like his. Bis
series of pictures in the Campo Santo are admirable, if allow¬
ance be made for the taste and simplicity of the age; but there
are many actions and positions of Giotto; as fine as can be con¬
ceived, and which other artists by aggrandising in form, have
rendered models of imitation. He was the friend ot Ban >
and painted the portrait of the great poet. He seems
have been a facetious and amiable man as well as a genn ,
and was indisputably the greatest painter till Massacio.
1 The writer of this article, who saw a Frenchman solidly repainting a large Pic‘,ure Stre ^Truisfestturateur.”
where he was admitted by Denon, asked the Frenchman who it was by: “Monsieur, said he, je ne suis pas pemt , J
e Or
nas.
Painting, went about Italy scattering seeds every where, and when
the Papal See was moved to Avignon, he w ent w ith the court.
Giotto was the greatest of the Florentine school. He was
the father of painting, as Boccaccio was the father of liter¬
ature. He was sought for at Ravenna, and at all the great
towns of Italy, and was patronised by all the first families.
He was an object of study and admiration, until the time
of Raffaelle, and that of the Caraccis, and is so even at the
present time. There are in Giotto instances of pathos and
expression, which would do honour to any period Thus
the greater part of the merit belongs to the Florentines, but
not the whole. Giotto died in 1336, when painters had in¬
creased immensely. In 1290, the first society of artists in
Venice was established, under the protection of St. Luke.
They were not academies, but associations of artists, com¬
posed of engravers, painters, sculptors, and orefici. Their
object was to advance design in all arts ; and had they
always continued to act on this honest and simple principle
we should not now have had to lament in Europe a race
who are synonymous with every thing weak, mannered, and
absurd in art.
uffalraaco The next distinguished artist was Buffalmaco. Although
totally independent of Giotto, he was also intimate with
Boccaccio. He was very capricious, and worked only when
he liked, yet he was inferior to no one. He painted the
Cmcihxmn, Resurrection, Ascension, and Creation of the
World m the Campo Santo; in fact, the Campo Santo seems
to have been a receptacle for all the distinguished geniuses
as they appeared in that age. In it there are things as fine
in conception as were ever imagined; and the foundation of
some of Raffaelle s best compositions in the Vatican may be
there found. Vasari’s life of Buffalmaco is exceedingly en¬
tertaining, as indeed ail his lives are.
The two Orcagnas, Andrea and Bernardo, were the next
artists of this early school. Andrea, painted the Judgment
and the Inferno, in the Campo Santo. He was full of in¬
vention, but not equal to the Giotto school, though he first
gave evidence of perspective. Lanzi thinks that the art did
not advance so quickly after Giotto’s death as it ought to
have done. Taddeo Gaddi, his best pupil, was to him
what Juho Romano was to Raffaelle. Vasari, who saw his
pictures in good condition, says, that he excelled his master
m fleshiness and colour. Agnolo Gaddi the son of Taddeo,
was a humble imitator of Giotto and his father, and had as
ins pupil Ceromno Cininni, whose treatise on the mechanical
preparations of the art is very valuable. Fortunate would
it have been had the treatises of Apelles and Euphranor
also reached us. 1
Pisa now began to decline, and the Florentines took pos¬
session of that city in 1406. Hated and detested by their
conquerors, the spirit of the citizens sunk into the greatest
depression; the artists left the city, and the school entirely
T]CaVr , 6 ^ lorentines now rose in the ascendant.
1 he Medici began to appear. Cosimo, the father of his
un ry and the protector of genius, gave fresh energy to
art, science, and public affairs. Lorenzo followed, and their
house became the refuge and resort of all who were cele-
orated in painting, poetry, sculpture, architecture, and
philosophy. Masaccio, the two Piselli, the two Lippi,
nozzo, Sandro, and Ghirlandaio, received from the Me-
mci protechon and employment. The pictures of the time
lave perpetual portraits of the Medici. The citizens be-
f.h™ ,aniraatfd the same spirit; frescoes covered the
t~’and sr"allcr works filled the houses. Up sprung,
and ft,4 1°S|t ° Painters’ marble-cutters, bronze-casters,
Pi«?a ^ which the principles of design passed from
tellr. R or®nce ’ and out blazed before the world Dona-
fionsnfi fSChl> Ghiberti- The most exquisite produc-
becamI iCU p Ure,lmarb e’ and bronze flowed. The youth
of mw f1 ed \S0,’md desiSn became the first necessity
manufacture ; and though the finest works of Italy at this
PAINTING
709
or any period cannot be compared to the finest works of Painting.
Greece, yet a good style of design was established, but un-v^\-^
equa o lose refined forms of beauty, so palpable inthemerest
fragments of the works of the school of Phidias, which have
all the look of life without any of its vulgarities, all the es¬
sential details, without a single superfluous one. This can¬
not be said of the naked figures of the period in question, or
of any period of Italian art, not even of the art of Michel
Angelo and Raffaelle. I here was a want which Greek forms
only supplied ; there was an absence of refinement, and a
want of something which the Greeks possessed. Michel An¬
gelo and Raffaelle were educated without system. There
was no school in Italy like the schools of Sicyon and Rhodes,
Athens, and Corinth, where all the hidden secrets of perfect
form were taught, that is, the secret of beauty. Michel An¬
gelo and Raffaelle owed their greatness to their own genius •
and their art died with them. There has been nothing in
t le woild like the art of Phidias, except the poetry of’Shakes-
peare. The intellectual powers and perceptive senses of
the Greeks must have been several degrees more refined
than those of all preceding or subsequent nations.
I he followers of Giotto had advanced theart from infancy Masaccio
m colour, composition, and expression; but in perspective,
and light and shadow, they left it as they found it. Uccello
had given symptoms of perspective, and Massolinoda Pani-
cale of light and shadow, until the appearance of Masso di
b. Giovanni, a youth so immersed in study, so utterly ab¬
sorbed m his divine art, that he neglected dress, health, food,
sleep, and seemed only to be conscious of life when he touch¬
ed a pencil. For this entire neglect of the humanities and
comforts of life, the Italians, whose satirical turn is ever ap¬
parent, added accio to Masso, (accio affixed to any word ex¬
citing associations of dirt or ugliness,) so that Massam'o
meant a dirty and neglectful man. Neglectful as he was
however, he was the immediate precursor of Raffaelle ; and
ail the great subsequent painters studied him. Raffaelle bor¬
rowed from him Paul in Elymas, the Adam and the Eve in
the Loggia, and other entire figures. Like Apollodorus, he
opened the doors; and Raffaelle having passed through,
never forgot his obligations. Ghiberti and Donatello form-
e Ins style ; from Brunaleschi he learnt proportion ; and
lough the finest antiques ivere not known in his time, he
improved himself bystudying suchas were in existence. The
airs of his heads are JlnM,*11 ht 
inline
airs of his heads are Rajfaellesque, says Mengs ; yet, would
it not be more just to say, that Raffaelle’s heads are Mas-
saciesque . Raffaelle died the favourite of a court, loved
lamented, and in competence. Massaccio so excited the
envy of his inferiors, that it is suspected he was poisoned
at the age of twenty-eight, before he had fairly taken his
ground. Surely, then, when Massaccio is praised for what
must have been his own, it is not quite fair to term his ex¬
cellence, that of a man w ho came after him, and perhaps
owed it to him. His works are at S. Ambrogio, and del
Carmine in Florence, and St. Catherine in Rome. His heads
are full of character, his drapery is beautifully composed, and
his composition is unaffected, but his knowledge of the naked
form is feeble and vulgar. Some of the heads of del Car-
r“ine ,are b.dl of character like Holbein, with the same look
of rigidity in expression ; but he was a true genius, bene¬
fiting by his predecessors, going beyond them, and enabling
those who studied him to carry the art to the highest point
i ever reached in Italy. Pietro Perrugino, Leonardo, Raf-
faelle, and Michel Angelo, all studied and all were benefit¬
ed by him. In the Palazzo Pitti there is a portrait of a
young man who looks alive.
After several names of great merit, we reach one who ad-Ghirlandaio
vanced towards the great era; we mean Domenicho Ghir¬
landaio, the master of Michel Angelo, a circumstance which
atone is a passport to immortality. Fuseli says, that he was
the first r loren tine who added truth to composition by truth
of perspective. The abolition of gold fringes in drapery may
PAINTING.
710
Painting, be dated from him; though his historical figures are little
more than portraits well-selected. The last important name
of the first epoch of Italian art was that of Luca Signorelli,
who had glimpses of real grandeur. His dome at Orvieto,
where he painted the Last Judgment, has bold fore-shorten¬
ing, with absurdities of an earlier date mixed up in it;
but Michel Angelo adopted many of his ideas, as well as
Dante’s; and certainly the absurd assertion that he “disdain¬
ed to look abroad for foreign help,”1 is successfully refuted
by this fact.
One can see how gradually art sunk after its decay into
Gothicism; how gradually it advanced again to nature and
common sense, and from common sense to elevation. Dur¬
ing this first period the approaches to ideal beauty, imperfect
as it was in Italian art, were gradual, and would have been
longer in coming had not the discovery of the Apollo, and
other ancient works, opened the eyes of all the great men
living, and a spring taken place from Perrugino, Ghirlandaio,
and the Bellinis, which was soon visible in the works ofllaf-
faelle and Michel Angelo. Leonardo seems not to have been
smitten by the ancients to the same degree as the other two
w'ere. There is less obligation to any nation in him ;
and unquestionably few as are left of the effusions of his
genius, they are more original than the Vatican or Sistine
Chapel. What wras there in the world to put us in mind of
the Standard struggle or Last Supper of Da Vinci ?
Oil paint- ®ut before proceeding, it may be as well to allude to the
ing. question of oil painting. It was long a supposition that Van
Eyk discovered it, and that it was not known before ; where¬
as, it was used in England in 1230, long before the time of
Van Eyk. Cennino Cennini wrote a treatise on the techni¬
cal practice of the Italian painters ; he wras a pupil of Ag¬
nolo Gaddi, who was a pupil of Taddeo Gaddi, who was a
pupil of Giotto, who was a pupil of Cimabue, who was a pupil
of the Greeks. There can be no question that from the
mixture of oil with punic wax2 as a varnish, the use of oil
was known to the ancient Greeks, and that it was carried
on to the tenth century, when the monk Theophilus3 wrote
his treatise. He positively describes how to mix the colour
with oil instead of water, and how to boil the oil; and then
we can prove its existence by actual documents in the rolls
of the Exchequer in England (1239), and by the 23d of
Henry III., wherein the king issues an order to “ our trea¬
surer Odo the goldsmith and his son, to be paid 117 shill¬
ings for oil, varnish, and colors bought, and for pictures
made in the chamber of our Queen at Westminster,”4 5 nearly
two hundred years before Van Eyk. There can be no
doubt that oil painting has never been unknown, even to
the Egyptians; it has been forgotten and revived, but none
of the periods of revivals are entitled to the honour of dis¬
covery. “ Chaque nation a ses avantages, et ses desavan-
tages,” said a Frenchman to us, whilst shrugging his shoul¬
ders as a spout of water from a roof drenched him to the
skin in Paris ; and “ Ogni nazione ha le sue virtu, ha i suoi
vizi,” says Lanzi. Every nation which confesses its vices,
is sure to have justice done to its virtues. There is no Ital¬
ian school, however good, which has not its errors, and none
which has not its excellencies as well as its mistakes.
Florence was distinguished for fresco more than for oil
painting. The Florentine style of design, in its best days,
was always peculiar; the figures were long in proportion,
their feet were small, and so were their knees; there was
always a look, in Florentine design, as if the muscles of the
body were suffering from a temporary knotted cramp ; they
were, in design, too circular, too elliptical, or too angular,
and never seemed to have hit the exact medium between Pair- ,g.
all three, like Phidias. Their colour was not rich, like the''-'*' w
Venetians; their draperies clung too closely to the limb as
if they were wet; they made an ostentatious display of the
limb underneath; in fact their system degenerated into
manner, and beauty seems not to have been a primary ob¬
ject in the Florentine school, any more than in that of their
ancestors the Etruscans. At Fountainbleau, though the
designs of Primaticcio were full of talent, yet they gave a
very good idea of the excess of the Florentine manner.5
The two great luminaries of Florence were Da Vinci and
Michel Angelo. Da Vinci was less of a mannerist than the
other great man. He was, in fact, the link between the
meagreness of the first period of design, and the vulgar
swing of the second.
Leonardo was born in 1452. He was a natural son, and Leone: la
had all the eccentricity, sloth and fire, weakness and energy, Vinci
idleness and diligence of that class. A poet, a musician, a
mathematician, an hydraulist, a mechanic, a modeller, and
a painter; he excelled in all. Keen, eager, minute, search¬
ing and indefatigable, handsome in face, beautiful in per¬
son, tall in figure, athletic and skilled in manly exercises, a
graceful dancer, a splendid horseman, and an harmonious
singer; he equally delighted the people, infatuated the
women, and bewitched the sovereign. And yet with all
this vast power, the gift of his Creator, he was so deficient
in concentration of mind, that he seemed to have no power
of collecting its rays sufficiently long to make discoveries
in any thing. He was the scholar of Verocchio, by whom
he was infected with a lazy love of design in preference to
the vigorous energy of using the brush. He passionately
loved geometry, horses, and soldiers ; and in his horses he
never left nature like Raffaelle, Julio Romano, or Michel
Angelo, but gave them their natural characteristics of fleshy
nostrils and projecting eyes.
His tw o greatest works are his Last Supper, and his Bat¬
tle of the Standard. The beautiful humility of Christ, the
tender amiability of St. John, the powerful expressions of all
the apostles waving to and fro in their attitudes, as if disturb¬
ed in their feelings, by the remark of Christ, that “ one of
them should betray him,” prove the extent of his genius, and
the depth of his perceptions. But even here, the bane of
his existence, that disposition to experiment, has ruined the
work, more from the consequences of his own preparations,
than either time or damp. Such men are never regarded
as steady lights by posterity ; painting was only a portion
of his occupations, and not the end of his life. One quarter
of the lives of such men is spent in experiments ; another
quarter in putting them in practice ; a third in lamenting
their failure ; and the last amidst the bitterest remorse, de¬
voting themselves to their real pursuit, to satisfy the crav¬
ings of conscience and the reproach of the world. What has
Leonardo left us in all his-various pursuits to compensate us
for the loss which accrued to painting ? Geometry was as
much a caprice of his extraordinary mind, as any other
science. What has he left us in poetry, which poets could
look up to ? What in mechanics, that Watt could have
founded on ? What in music, that would have benefitted
Mozart ? What in hydraulics, that would improve our
shares in canals ? The genius that composed such works
as the Standard and Last Supper, need not to have shrunk
from competition with Michel Angelo, young as he was.
There is no doubt the world is always delighted to pulj
down an established artist by pushing up a younger rival
in his face; but if you become irritable, and desert your
1 Reynold’s note. 2 Pliny, lib. xxxv. Cera punica cum oleo liquefacta. .
3 Lib. i. c. 18. Accipe semen lini et exsicca illud in sartagine super ignem sine aqua, &c. Again, “ cum Aoc oleo tere roiniunii /
lapidem and again, “accipe colores quos impone volvens, texens eos diligenter cum oleo lini." (De omni Scientia Artis Pirtgen i-J
4 Rot. Claus. 23d Henry III. Walpole’s Worfo, vol. iii. p. 16. r tTiis school.
5 In 1814, the writer saw the remains. There was a naked youth over one of the gateways, which had all the peculiarities oi i
Painting.
M ;1
Ai o.
P A I N T I K G.
country from disgust, men only laugh ; wnereas the sound of the day Michel Anc^l h a i
^princip!0 is, Laugh at the world, stay in your country, and cation, ^ame il ^ in edu-
work harder than ever. ilW. ro ’ to°’ when he w'as wanted; when ancient
The fact is, that such men as Leonardo are great geniuses ritv which harf1^101^ f'!" Wer,e ^rea^ing through the obscu-
but not the greatest. The evidence of superior fenks is nrhitTn^wi^ overwhelmed them, and the discovery of
the power of intellectual concentration. Such powers had Men’s minds * ttennS t leir beauties throughout Europe.
Newton Milton, Bacou, Locke, Watt, Michel Angdo Na- everv fresh d,W r°USed V1? with wonder and delight at
poleon, Raffaelle, Titian, Rubens, Vandyke, and our’ own science were hailedTrith a mis^’ pC!utecJure’ P°etry, and
Reynolds. Such men only are examples, and not beacons • for but th^lw Jit 8 ,which nothing can account
such men only are blessings to their species. As a sued’ MieUl A i 7 c theua^es that had passed.
men of his extraordinary caprice of character, his want of Lofenzo ha(S
perseverance, and his notions of the most elaborate fl d °Penecl ior the youth ot Florence, retired to
were at least equal; he took four vearsTn^ ^ and, fragme^s of the palace.’ With hU
and then said it was not done. His children ’ fcuteness’ energy> and perception, it is not wonderful that
but bis women have an air rf modesty to conS 3 ri ' ’ “<m Perccived,,ho priority of the forms oFlS master
ousness, and his oil-works are far from models of excell- of ScTZs^ruaito„^n °f *«f<,rn’’ *he rcslll‘
ence, the over-wrought finish being hard. There is always hi/hoSl, h™ he antKl"e- He corrected with
m his expressions an air as if they were set in enamel and Innn 7 16 ?an'?W mcagreness ofGhirlandio ; and
could not relax. The picture, in our national gallerv of thfrh hrtUSrCar y’ ,that self-wi11 and vigorous decision,
Christ and the Doctors, is a celebrated Zk- but ^hv ^hlch/nab ed Sllbsequently to accomplish whatever
should Christ, who disputed with the doctors at twelve years thicSaced the^p"6 tb™ ^ T™ °f that mighty P°Wer
of age, be larger m person and head than the doctoJwho realized in Zf Panth^nthf air, as he predicted and
are sixty? And why should Christ be like a woman in Z i ?.do!ne of St- Peter’s. Here was the embryo
men’s clothes, and look out of the picture, and talk with his the^SZci an ^0Uj?ht him, througb the vast ceiling of
fingers to the spectators, instead of being, as he was a fine had t v " C p though when he began it, he
boy of twelve years oJd, handsome, intellectual and^arn^lic? one of Zi"1" K •" fresf° before- Michel Angelo was
We should like to have heard Leonardo’s reasons if he had a, 1 l 1 re be.inSs who are wanted when they come,
any, for such an apparent absurdity. ’ he 'lad f"d 1 ?Ve °PP°rt'm.'tieli put in their way adequate to devei
T n rlocimv   n . .   lODQ tilG DOW GTS Wlfll wIa i r'la f la .1 t i •
  — — A^cun,
any, tor such an apparent absurdity.
In design, and tempera or fresco-painting, Da Vinci was
great; but m 01 pictures he is false in taste, petty in exe¬
cution, and unskilful m backgrounds. By his depth of
hght and shade and also of colour, which give 1
to all Italian art, he had a sense of beauty which greater
steadiness mio-hthavpt«rm,o-i1i-^„t.  f . .
 —“ in lucii way aue
lope the powers with which they are gifted. * Julius II. wa<
as wonderful a man as Michel Angelo ; and they mutualh
nspn-ed each other What Julius willed, Michel Angelc
Miclud Z" ^ ’° ^CrPorm ’ and wbat tbe inspirations ol
Michel Angelo sgemus suggested, the vigorous pope, whose
tV™“'d have 3d’ bet,a
steadiness might have brought out to perfection Zh f,ne old .venerable head a helmet would'
a man flies off from painting to make a lion, which will walk £3 wT^tT*0" “t ™lue- were «
by machinery, to meet the king of France who annrmrlmd ™ i ’ Z 1scIf"wllIcd> both proud and haughty, both inde
Milan, to stand upon his hind legs without human help to AnZZ andun£°yenable. If Julius wished what Miche
open his own belly, and show the king ofFrance his arms ins’ide iTMfrhJ? ?° lunno.ur to do’ he vould not do it; am
it, what could be expected from his taJents, great as they were? art what thZZZZff!? fxecute’ on sound principles o
Nowhere does his character show itself more conspicuously it ’in spitenfZ p0nhf.dld ^comprehend, he would dc
than m his treatise on painting ; in fact it is not a treatise5^ disnleasuiv qdenunciatlons of banishment, or threats c
but a collection of spnnrofo   ^ , ’ ^pleasure. Jhey were made for pnpti  
bt a co^e t f °n Pamt^g ? " faCt ifc is n0t a treati^
hut a collection of separate disjointed thoughts, like the re-
Z C°tery b00k- 11 is ve,>' easy Put down your
he,? °“?r wl‘hou,t arraI1gement; but the^lif-
t? ’i1 Ca!lect them for the illustration of a principle
!Se Frh,or Kuynolds. Every man can put down sepa
rate thoughts, hi eveiy man ITLXCrS toTl tack'ota’® 'V’* ‘T f** ‘he ^at art!st '“7® h
range them as to throw light upon an art. Leonardo dis- “When I ™ m ,at,'vork> PaMng withvigou
sected and drew finely; but there was a meam-c common- " 1 ’ d Mlchel - •* -
“met hS„m h‘S figU1'e? a ““tuf Perfect construction, as
t men had never worn clothes. On the whole, this ilius-
nous man cannot be referred to as the head of an epoch.
StoTEtZZT”* Part °f.it’ but not like MichefAn-
£ mLle n! 6 6 g,reat, eufueer. What he did in paint-
fis® K uenttm t,he bad ”otdone more- “ An ar-
m ndTh yn0ldS-,nblSlftertoBarry> “ should bring his
tes t‘ htf 0n the “omen, he rises till he
pU 1?ea’ ancl u bis mind be calm and undisturbed hv , f"  ‘“‘a j visiuie m me nerci
other objects, he will find it quite enough to fill up life if imnet,, ■ ° m tbat wbicb was en,irely owing to th
■t vvas longer than it is.” B 10 M> Up “e> lf ■“Petuos.ty of Ins old patron, has been attributed as a mer
No man could be more opposite to Leonardo than his b nfn™? x *e 8reat Painter- Such is the infatua
great successor Michel Angelo; patient, laborious virtuous i£ work Tf V man 'S rea"y Of this astonish
and indefatigable, painter, architect and sculptor • he left -'i I.,7 7'I that enough can never be said; thoug]
work m each art that advanced the rankof h.feountrv To fef °S b,een e/hauste'l do it justice. Fuseli wa
htrn to Sucll a character, is a relief and ablesswl^hi hhn £asvle ' 7 the mystery V the composition
ie aspiring youth contemplates the result of conduct totally inventor !, P tm- the eommentator on a level with th<
^r?vFfe of that we have been considering. Soltorv and the fi„ 5-eXh'blt7 he'aya. “ the origin, the progress,
liJJ“gl'r g‘fted- doipismg the subterfuges of society, he racter of Mtoh'P/f1^10" 0f'he°CraCy” B“t Fuseli’s cha-
h»ed alone ; and in addition to his geniSs he was a gr£t ore fthe d‘f A”8?-'013 ?verdone. It is an effort to ox-
Medici Pl’?u§'bt up by the liberality of Lorenzo de in all such effort Z iingS m tbe stron»est language ; and
d l’admitted freely at his table with th J illustrious men and turgid. ^ Iangua^e mvariably becomes inflated
diyleasure. They were made for each oTher,"they under-
stood each other, and they were attached to each other; the>
quarrelled, became friends, and quarrelled again. “ Wher
wfll the ceiling be finished ?” said Julius, as he trod on the
scaffolding with a stamp that made the boards tremble, af¬
ter climbing to the top, where the great artist lay on his
/w] °n f ma»reSS,’ bard at work» painting wit/vigour,
mntion" ZZ, said Mlchel Angelo, irritated at the inter-
o P f m W fn,thou canst,” thundered out the pope ;
Ait thou minded to be hanged ?” ^ P
This was the man for Michel Angelo. Conscious of his
age, conscious that death followed him wherever he went,
he began, proceeded with, and finished all he undertook as
Wied MiclTi10”,10 !iVe’ BJ Ms P^“l watching^he
hurried Michel Angelo through the ceiling of the chanel in
twenty months, a time byno means equal to that which mmh"
o have been devoted to it. The hurry is visible in the Zee
apid execution ; and that which wai entirely owing ?„ the
impetuosity of his olri nnf-mn . i ^
PAINTING.
In comparing this illustrious sovereign of modern de¬
sign with Phidias, or the Greeks generally in the naked
figure, he must unquestionably yield to them the palm. Mi¬
chel Angelo often perplexed his limbs with useless anatomy;
it must not be denied, and cannot be refuted, that he did
not always clear the accidental from the superfluous. If
the principle be a sound one, namely, “ that any two parts
of a body bearing comparison must keep a consistency
throughout, similar in essence and similar in development,
then is Michel Angelo grossly inconsistent; because if the
spine of the ilium in front be covered fully by the muscles
around it, so ought the spine of the scapula behind to be
equally covered. If the former be, and the latter be not,
then the figure is inharmonious and inconsistent, and what
Phidias would never have tolerated. Now the figure of
Michel Angelo’s Christ standing with a cross, has the spine
of the scapula prominent and bony, and all the muse es
shrinking from it, the characteristics of a thm man ; whilst
the spine of the ilium of the same figure in front, is entirely
covered by the muscles around it, the marks of a muscular
and fleshy man. What authority had Michel Angelo in
nature or antiquity for such inconsistency ? These are the
excesses which bring dissection into contempt, and which
induce anatomists to doubt whether the Greeks dissected
or not, because they were never guilty of such absurdities,
and because they had too much self-control to make that
an end of art which was but a means of the perfection of
art. And yet Vasari calls it “ mirabilissima.” This figure
and the Lazarus in Piombo’s, as well as several figures in the
Last Judgment, are justifiable grounds for asserting he was
not equal to the Greeks in the naked figure ; though in the
conception and arrangement of a vast whole to illustrate a
grand principle, he approaches but does not surpass the Par¬
thenon in its glories. In the form he must not be compared
to the Greeks; gigantic as he is, he was decidedly inferior.
MichelAngelo’slineisbynomeans “uniformlygrand; and
his women maybe “ moulds of generation, but certainly not
of love. His infants may “ teem with the man,” but they
have nothing of the infant. His men may be a “ race of
giants,” but they are brutal in expression, fierce in action,
and distorted in position. It is useless in a rapid and ge¬
neral view of art to go over ground which has been so of¬
ten gone over before; to talk about the prophets and si¬
byls, after three hundred years’ enthusiasm, is worse than
useless. Europe knows the awful grandeur of one or two
of them, looking like beings to whom God has spoken, and
who have never since ceased meditating on the awful voice.
The style of Michel Angelo has been called the style of
the gods; but if majesty without pretension, humility with¬
out feebleness, power without exertion, and an awful pie-
sence without vulgar assumption, be the characteristics of
a god, what figure of Michel Angelo’s deserves that appel¬
lation ? Is it in the bullying defiance of Moses ? the twist¬
ed tortures of Jonah ? the cramped agonies of the sleep¬
ing Adam ? or the galvanized violence of the ornamental
figures at the tombs ? It must be admitted, that the Pen-
soso-Duca is majestic and silent;. but this is an exception,
not an habitual characteristic. “ Michel Angelo’s mind,
says Reynolds, “ was so original that he disdained to look
abroad for foreign help.” Disdained! W hy there is not a
prophet, a sibyl, or a naked figure in the whole chapel
where the torso cannot be traced. And what are the works
of both Michel A ngelo and Raffaelle, but improved comple¬
tions of all that their predecessors had done for a thousand
years in barbarism and obscurity ? Shakespeare’s plots are
all borrowed ; Lady Macbeth is not his own ; that hideous
expression “ know IVIacduff was from his mothei s womb un¬
timely ripped,” is Hollingshed’s. But what of that? It is
the new thoughts he puts into them, which gLe him claim
to the sympathy of the world. Phidias and Raffaelle have
one great and decided beauty in their works ; their figures,
whether in action or expression, always look as the uncon- Paintirs
scious agents of an impulsion they cannot help. You are
never drawn aside from what they are doing by any ap¬
pearance in them, as if they wished to make you consider
how very grand they were, or how very gracefully they
were moving. They seem impelled by something they can¬
not controul; their heads, hands, feet, and bodies imme¬
diately put themselves into positions the best adapted to
execute the intentions wanted; whereas often in Michel
Angelo, and always in his imitators, there is a conscious¬
ness as it were in his arms and limbs, which destroys all
idea, as if his figures were the unconscious agents of an
impulsion they could not help, and which acted by means
of the will on the muscular system.
It is an inherent principle of life never to disturb itself
for grace, or for any other object either in action or repose,
not immediately the natural consequence of the impulsion
which moved the body. Style in design is a result and
not a cause. Whatever object is represented in painting
or sculpture, the intentions of God in its bodily foimation
should be ascertained ; the means which God has bestow¬
ed on it to enable it to execute its only will or gratify its
own instincts, should be investigated; and then the aberra¬
tions produced by time, accident or disease, or other causes,
will be clearly known, so that he who takes upon himself
to represent any object in painting, will be able to distin¬
guish accident from essence, and shew the object in its es¬
sential properties of body as God first created it. The ex¬
ternal form in that body will then be essential, and the re¬
sult of its completion in art will be style in design. There
are certain inherent principles of our common nature to
which all bodies must yield, viz. that compression and ex¬
tension must have different effects, and so must repose and
action. If a great artist represents a figure and makes its
parts the same in either case, he must be ignorant of nature
or above its simplicity. No doubt, the conception of an
idea may be so grand, the beauty of a character may be
so angelic, the pathos of an expression may be so deep,
that errors or inadequacy in the mode of representation
may be overlooked or forgiven ; but in order to bring the
art to the perfection to which the Greeks brought it,
there must be nothing to forgive or to overlook. An idea or
conception being the nobler part of the art, we may, in our
common conviction of human frailty, overlook any inade¬
quacy in the means of imitation ; but the very admission
proves there must be something to be overlooked and some¬
thing which, we have a notion, has not been adequately re-
presented.
An art the modes of which to convey thoughts, being the
imitation essentially of natural objects, ought surely to ave
the imitation perfect, because the imperfection of the means
has always detracted from the impressions of the thought.
Poets are not endured if their grammar is bad, or their lan¬
guage defective ; and why should drawing, form, colour, or
light, shadow, and surface, the grammar of art, be excused
more than the poets’ ? Because the simplest imitation is a
once recognised as the imitation of the prototype, w y
should facility of imitation be any excuse for defect. An,
but its the grand style. Yes, the grand style of Europe
for the last three hundred years ; but was it the grand sty
of the Greeks ? Certainly not; their grand style was nature
elevated not violated, with none of her inherent bases
life altered a hair’s point, none of her essential details
omitted, and none of her essential principles overwhelme
by useless detail. , . , oHjIp
When vou see an outline like iron, that is the grand y _
When hands were twisted, heads distorted, one leg up, an
the other so far removed from the body, that you ^ay q '
tion if it will return, that is the grand style. AH this
dity originated with Michel Angelo ; and though he not
answerable for the exce^es of his admirers, there
Painting, something erroneous if every imitator has led to such ex-
•^-V^travagance from Goltzms downwards. Michel Angelo was
a tremendous genius, and his effect on the art was vital ; but
he did not like the Greeks suffer the unalterable principles of
life to keep m check lus anatomical knowledge. This was
an error, because we can imagine no beings,1 and no world
where malleable matter is not influenced by the common
principles of the solar system, or where any creatures com-
uosed of bones, muscles, tendons, and skin, must not yield
be created Sm ^ mS“tUted for their when
Thus Michel Angelo often overstepped the modesty of
truth, and gave a swaggering air to his figures. Every fi¬
gure of his looks as if he was insulted and preparing to re¬
turn a blow. If they sleep they seem as if the? would
kick; if they move when they are awake, they seem as if
all their musems were cracking. We allude particularly
to thenakedfigures; Jer-ermahand theDuke are exceptions!
t ley are only exceptions. Fuseli observed that Michel
Angelo was theof art; but it would have been more just
to have-caHed him the pepper, because very little indeed
will do for a seasoning. In poetry of sentiment the Me-
frOU,f PerhaPs have competed with Phidias ;
for Michel Angelo bemg a painter as well as Phidias, he
combined in his sculpture a knowledge of effect. In selec-
tion of subject and daring execution of hand, perhaps the
Sistine Chapel might equal the great works of parting
amongst the ancients; but in naked representations IcaZot
be compared to ^ The Elgin marbles had not then enlight¬
ened the world The due subordination of all science to na¬
ture had not then been so exquisitely seen ; the due combi-
0fih ecrn hOUt meanness’ and of abstraction without
osmg sight of life, were not so apparent in the great works of
ancient art which were found before this period. Had Michel
ngelo seen the Theseus and Ilyssus, Jupiter’s breast and
horses head, he would have felt the difference between the
muscular swing of a blacksmith, and a hero naturally born
powerful, without his muscles being distorted by manual
labour; and that a hero might be elevated and yet simple,
s y without fatness, and muscular without being skin¬
ny. Michel Angelo has been called the Deity of design ;
but he was rather the Devil. One can imagine the con¬
sternation of Phidias and his pupils, if suddenly at Athens
the galvanized figures of the tombs had been let down
rough the roof, whilst they were preparing the Olympian
aSTook qUiet’ 8°lemn’ Steady’ thinkinS> peaceful,
Reyndds says he prepared the way for the sweeping out-
wt f.^bens; but how many thousands has he ruined?
evidence n? nCe 0f ^ LaSt JudS™nt? ^ there any
Sn nr T fiP°Wif f a whoIe’ ]ike Rubens, Ti-
cWe of Tmt0rftt0 • T;s thfe application of any prin-
bythe due combination of variety and
g}P e ' , S ^ot a ™ass of separate groups, vulgar in de-
Trl ^ T aCt,0n’ and dem°niac in expression ? Is
the Christ worthy of Goltzius ? Surely it would have dis-
graced him, and then what devils! Are these the fallen
Arf 1 °f h,eavfn/ they are the legitimate offspring of hell.
whe mgS 0Sc gl°ry WaS ob6cured’ not extin-
g shed, whose majestic forms existed, though in ruin ?
STwhoT5, T °'’ly diStUrbe,d by tiestroy-
cve'r J'h S?T ?rand’1,<;roic. terrific beings L
Hnrt b 1 *catbed by hghtning, singed by fire, dingy from
throughStheCratef 'k thunder’ their splendour sparkling
VenS tbe homd obscurity, in which they meditated re-
oses like n,iT them ^nths bke wolves, ears like asses,
en and mS 0gS’ and tadS hke m0nkeys’ witb feet clo-
ni sshapen, was not to represent a fallen angel, but
'• deformed Though evil, they were beautiful
’‘7— Their forms had not yet lost
siu their original brightness.”
VOX,. XVI.
painting.
713
Where. ifMffl I be the same?” says Satan.
who is dra<.mnein!fnt !aaeeVerbeenuttered bythe"retch'—,-v.
i t. ‘ figure down to the bottomless pit, in a
way delicacy forbids one even to think of, much more to
torture tlu/d* ,M,lcbe|. Angelo’s demons would not only
torture the damned, but feed upon their bodies. Y
It is clear, however, that there was a time when he was
not so exaggerated. The holy Family, in sculpture, broulh
p e, and beautiful, it is m fact a divine work. Perhaps the
violence of Julius m hurrying him through the Sistine^ha-
^iand the ^cessity of painting with tremendous exagge-
ration on so large a space, got his hand into a fierce power
that it never lost. Painting on grand ceilings is like telk-
mg in large theatres. He never entirely finished any thing •
he ieft negnmd pupils, like Kaffaelle; be assisted the hum-
ble b„t never mstmeted the gifted. The figure of Laza-
rus m our national picture, especially the hand and thumb
that press the shoulder of the attendant on the left side, is
L ifit bG t0 the timid paint
Mi Va ’ ,le sPectator will be convinced of it. in
of Eiironcl° rTagreat geniuS; but let the students
ried S ^ aSlUr u u* hlS Style has been grossly over-
stitute the Thm banisb b^8 ™rks from their eyes, and sub-
style of Phi^u and I yST’ and the real Prand natural
v o ent V;il ,S°0n exdude the satanic Etruscan, and
violent anatomical distortions of Michel Angelo. He may
H,i“^god.g,ant " ar'; bUt Eaffaelle —BA and"
The next Florentine of power was the monk Bartolomeo t? 1 1
dted iihu h °SSel!i’ and Le0nardo aroused and ex- t0 eme°
executing ;b!cWaS grfnd in colour’ bght and shadow, and
execution, surface, and character. In the Louvre there were
ha°d to W?lthy 0t anyhand’ an>' competitor, or any genius. He
had the honour of advancing liaflhelle; he invented the long
onffti/Th baieithe prTr USe ofit; he never put draper?
on it till he had drawn the naked figure first, so that the
naked partaffected the Ws of hi? folds; he hid great
depth, grandeur, and a certain wildness of air; he drew
1 y, ancl his tones were solemn and elevated. Wilkie
VfrSn^1 to • higheS‘enthusiasm of bi8 Assumption of tlm
ZrfZ 1 18 7P°ssible not to feel the deepest interest in
a srhnTe0’ iT ^ t0 be astonished that be did not found
a school, and head an epoch. Such things, however, are
never done by the mere influence of talent; the character
of the man is principally though not wholly the cause. He
painted a S. Sebastiano, which was so beautiful, that it be-
iTr; 0t Ita!ian Iadies- He was ordered to adorn
e great hall of council at Florence, as Da Vinci and Mi-
chel Angelo had done before; but as if a fatality attended
Thk ifr ^ diedr^lthout going further than the designs.
I his is curious. Da Vinci designed the Standard struggle ;
Michel Angelo the group of soldiers alarmed by the trum-
“ c‘ressing themselves; and now Bartolonieo began
tdrigns’ and died in 1517, without completing them.
top narr/aS a g,reat af ist- His method was first to draw
the naked figure, then clothe it, then paint the whole pic¬
ture in light and shade in oil, and then tone and colour,
A?drey niT1? °US de,Pth °f his firSt imPasto painting.
raiP 1 dreaDel Santo is another name enthusiastically over-Andrei del
^d by VaSan- ((He be called Andrea senza error!; Santo
but what genius senza errori,” ever enchanted the world ?
°fMicbeI Angelo, with all his violence,
the dash of Tintoretto with all his caprice, the colour of
rwan .Wltb hl8want of drawing at first, the sweetness of
eg 10 with his namby-pamby men. the composition of
Bubens with his flabby women, the expression of Raffaelle
wi h his hardness of effect; but spare us from that poet,
painter, musician, or moral character, who is so perfect that
he must be admired without the gusto of finding fault;
above all, spare us from the Grandisons of art. Andrea was
4 x
714
painting
Painting, one of those to whom talent is more applicable than genius
■ , 'whatever excellence he attained, he would have never at
tained to that degree, but for the existence of his superiors.
The greater part of the works attributed to him in England,
are conies bv his pupils which he retouched.
r After these great men, it would be useless to detail t e
SrSrldecay of the Florentine school; it yielded to the circomstan-
tine school, ces of the time, and the misfortunes of the Medico
continual political squabbles turned mensmtnds from artas
in ancient Greece; but the great want of course was h
want of genius, which no efforts have since been able to
rear. Though the style of the Florentine tohool was not so
pure as that of the Roman, it led the way “ nd°“e ““her’.
and kept side by side with it; they benelitted each other.
Leonardo gave an impulse to art; and though P
rice of his character, he did not complete the mP"
given, andwasmorethe cause of greatness in others, than *e
man who established his own, yet the art is indeed to this
hiehlv-aifted man, who had an effect on Georgione,
lomeo, Raffaelle, andMichel Angelohimself; and gratitudes
due to his genius. This great school was brought to utter
ruin by what Lansi calls the Cortonescln, or pnpds of Co
tona where art had degenerated into mechanism, and thoug
less,’endless, and sprawling groups. The des^nd“ts ° sie
Medici breed had more disposition than power to patronise,
tUl Leopoid reigned in 1765. The academy was renovated
in 178s! and once more in 1804 ; but
in nothing. The great men were passed without these con
ventional distinctions; the little ones who came after, live
onlv bv their embellishment. Boys are educated to draw
tolerably well, to colour with tolerable harmony, to invent
tolerably insipidly, to become intolerable P-f-s ^
phshcd academicians, to die, be buried, and decay , and
thus leave room for another race “ “tolerably imbec
art as their illustrious performers before them. It is quite
absurd to read in Lanzi, always at the end of the epochsjf
a school, “ Decadenza dell’ arte, e fondazione deW ^ademia
per avivvarla “ decay of art, and foundation of an acade y,
to trive it life.” But after a few galvanic twitches it stretches
out its feeble legs, gasps with an expiring g™
a trembling of its eyelids, which it opens ”or?’ s‘areS
with a fixed look, sighs deeply, and drops ttojaw for ever.
Then come the vain efforts to restore circulation, then ttieae
teive —es that it is still living; then d„„d
nurses dress up its helpless head with '““d, and put some
abracadabra on its cold breast; but all won t do for g
Sere is no hope. Such have been die teseUs “t the
academies. Genius fled at their foundation, and left the
useless bodies without soul, life, or circulation. The sove
reSns of Europe will at last find out that no academies
should go further than schools; and till they do, the end
art will be forgotten, in a vain contemptible struggle or i
conventional distinctions. 171 nr on-
The three leading lights of art as schools, are th
the Roman, and the Venetian. The Barman must m
spite of all the beauty of Corregio, be considered as the be
ginning of corruption. The other schools, the Modenese,
the Cremonese, the Ferarrese, Genoese, and the Pie
tese, are but different branches. XT , v u „ k,,™
The glory of Italian art is Raffaelle. Had he bee
in Greece, and qualified by a Greek education, he would have
been as peat in painting as Phidias was in sculpture, but
the education of all the Italian artists was imperfect, and
Sev seemed to be grounding themselves, _ (even Raffaelle
himself) on the meagre stvle of the early painters. The dis
Angelo in every way, he proved himself decidedly the in¬
ferior man. In all his endless inventions, a single repetition
of himself, even in the folds of a drapery, is not to be found;
he was not like Titian, an exquisite colourist, but his colour
is always agreeable, though not distinguished for light and
shade ; and his groups are never obtrusive, though not re-
markable for aerial perspective. Every object keeps its place;
though no face of his can compete with the beauty of the an¬
cients, his women always enchant; his great power was cha¬
racter and expression, and telling a story by human passions
and actions; in these he was unrivalled in modern art, and
not surpassed by the ancients. His father being a painter,
he was bred up in the art; and his master Perrugmo, was a
great man in his way, though somewhat of a Goth. In style,
therefore, Raffaelle lost time with him ; but could he have
gone in early life to such a school as Sicyon, there is no
knowing to what a pitch of perfection he might have carried
the art. His latter excellence is entirely owing to his own
sense, based on the antique ; for most of what he learnt from
Perrugino he had afterwards to unlearn. He entered the
Vatican at twenty-five, and died at thirty-seven What then
must have been his diligence his devotion, and his genius
In anv historv of painting, at this time of day, to talk of the
subjects of the Vatican, or the Madonnas, so often copied, so
often engraved, so often seen, so often praised, would be tres¬
passing on the temper of the reader. His f^er, as well
as that of his art, was the very converse of Michel Ange .
Michel Angelo envied his equals, was kind to his inferiors,
and always insulting to his superiors ; whilst Raffaelle was
kind to all, and the idol of the society in which he moved.
Michel Angelo associated with no men but admirers. The
Sequence was that his life was written by his flatterers
Condivi and Vasari, a great portion, perhaps, delicately in¬
sinuated by himself; and, as might be expected, they have
sacrificed Raffaelle to the Dagon of their idolatry. Vasari
insinuated that Raffaelle was greatly indebted to Michel A -
ltcIo * and Reynolds following Vasari and Condiyi, goes fa -
fher than either, asserting that Raffaelle owed his existence
to Michel Angelo. Was there ever such gratuitous assump¬
tion ? If it means any thing, it means that but or Miche
Painting.
Roman
School.
Raffaelle.
ti0„ ? Tf ft — any thing, ft means £at but for Miche,
Amrelo his genius would never have been developed. Is
suchan absurdity worthy of Reynold’sundersfondmjt ^rely
not and in fact it can be made clear that Kattaelle am no
p y.;s existence to Michel Angelo. If he owed any thing
to that great artist, he owed the corruption of his own pure
stvle After the Capella Sistina was opened, Raffaelle, b
like every body else by its heavy, cumbrous, vulgar, broad,
^d cirmilardesign, immediately tried it; but it did not sm
Ws beautiful nature any more than it would have suited the
elliptical beauty of the heroic forms of Greece.
What does Reynolds mean when he says, tha
had more taste ^
fatnilthre'of inen^camed)o a An^cfo
1. Kut the road which each took for the exercise
aeniui was different. Raffaelle excelled in expreKin?^
passions; Michel Angelo in subhmity of charact^^
nendentlv of all passion and emotion. Ihoug
rials of RaffaeUe’s art are generally as much
so than Michel Angelo’s.' Is not Michel Anjem ^
indebted to Luca Signordh and *<= S“in’the Va-
choice of subjects in the Sistin , whilst their
tifan? This does not invalidate their genius ,
predecessors were the root, the stem, the lc-e, an £
bud, they were the full Mown flower MtchelAnge^ ^
gJfia^toTpoweftofolly'hidependent of toe other
kS^of^rrS^odisdainedit;
Painting. Raffaelle was made for society; Michel Angelo despised it.
kaffaelle s works there is a geniality of soul with which
every man s and woman’s heart beats in sympathy ; whilst
we have no sympathy with the characters of Michel Angelo
who overwhelms our imaginations, but never touches our
hearts. We are awed by his Sibyls, but we could never
thmk of loving them; and his demons are surely unworthy
ofdie fiery solitudes of hell. How could Ariosto say of
“ Michel, piu che mortel,
Angel divino
and then herd up Raffaelle with Sebastian and inferior men ;
Michel Angelo was perhaps the more moral man of the two,
but not the greater painter.
Vasari and CondiviwouJd never have been allowed to
publish their falsehoods, as Lanzi says, had Raffaelle been
living; but where were Julio Romano, Luca Penni, and
Pohdoro, whom Raffaelle had raised from a mason’s boy to
a great painter ? Where were they ? where were his “ dear
pupils . Let no man, ’ says Johnson, “ look for influence
beyond his grave. Vasari asserts that Michel Angelo, in
flying to Florence, when he quarrelled with Pope Julius II.,
eft the keys of the Sistine Chapel, which he was then painting,
to Bramante, Raffaelle s uncle, who dishonourably let in Raf¬
faelle ; and that the latter, on seeing the grand design of the
prophets, changed his whole style. This absurdity was
current m Europe for two hundred and fifty years, till Lan-
zi, with his usual acuteness, opened the eyes of the world.
Would any one believe, that when Michel Angelo fled to
Florence, it was in 1506, years before Raffaelle ever enter¬
ed Rome, and four or five before the chapel was ever be¬
gun or painted. It may be presumed that Raffaelle did
not surreptitiously derive any advantage from works four
years before they were conceived or painted ; and we con¬
ceive that Bramante could not give Raffaelle the keys to
open a door which was never locked, especially as Michel
Angelo did not leave any keys, if ever he left them at all,
till four years after the time Vasari dates as the period.
The prophet Esaias which Vasari says shewed an alteration
of style in consequence of the stolen views of works which
were not in existence, was painted one or two years before
Miche Angelo touched this very chapel. So much for
Vasan’s sacrifice of Raffaelle to the great Dagon of Ifis ido-
y, and so much for Reynold’s absurd and unthinking
iTave eri’sted” V f°r^idleI lo’ Faffaelle would never
ave existed. Vasaris is a delightful book, and all his
1 inciples of art are sound, for they are the result of con-
wHh Mirh 7? Srefmt men; he Was most int™ate
with M Che! Angelo, and Titian, and all the great artists
itti their pai"ting-rooms> at ,heir
nlielvpf8^6^ f Raffae]le’ his feelinS was com-
d h ?at ? Was aImost impossible to distin-
andlhlt Jr 8 ? th°Ug,h there is a differenee in feeling,
wet thLp ?rCe \S m fa,V0Ur °f the PuPii' In the Louvre
ciatiofwI n hlS W°rkS °f Cabinet Size* The Annun-
sweetness v°ne ° 11686 ’ an(1 more Srace’ innocence, or
seemed »]’ ! Pf on canvass. Raffaelle’s pencil
S WhT meIt7hen he poached a woman or an
the Jreat^ * “ agG/)f gemus thls vv'as> and how nearly all
born^n 1459 ReefTd t0 •0me together' Da Vinci was
oorn m 1452, Bartolomeo m 1469, Michel Angelo in 1474
Titian in 1480, and Raffaelle in 1483. S ’
names'1 wh^ T ofart to detail the inferior
uMma’te evng / by-little and little’ oonduce to the
this desermPan8!°n ° feni.us’ 18 ^possible. A historian of
lands in tl.P ^ laS 0Ii y itime for leading points, or head-
httle cle V0yag!,; he has not leisure to dive into every
mainland projection, which by degrees, push the
school will n “j 066^11- The older painters of the Roman
school will not add much to the interest of the art; and a
PAINTING.
715
moreTikef^to f ^f6 ^ his ^lorious ^oo^ ^ much Painting.
ly ?6fit Student’ and instruct the general'
aider. It is not, on the whole, morally just; but many
eminent men become thus swallowed up in the bC of
eir successors. As Shakespeare nearly deadens all feeling
for previous excellence, so does Raffaelle, though Shake?
speare, Michel Angelo, Raffaelle, and Titian were all in
debted to their predecessors. n'
Jf Julius was adapted for Michel Angelo, Leo X. was
pecuJmr y so for Raffaelle; though Mengs says that the hon¬
ours and indulgences he received from Leo, made him lux¬
urious and idle, and that he was not so industrious as dur¬
ing the short reign of his first patron Julius. Yet his ranid
advance from the first picture he painted in the Vaticanj to
the Hehodorus, is extraordinary ; and, as according to Va-
san he sent artists to draw for him in Greece, there is no
doubt that he had a sketch of the pediment of the Parthe-
non before it was blown up, and that the Heliodorus is but
a skilful adaptation of the Ilyssus. He was so much over¬
whelmed by employment and honours, that his latter works
in the Vatican were wholly placed in the hands of his pu¬
pils, and carried on with the spirit of a manufactory. He
was then appointed architect to St. Peter’s at the death of
St. Gallo which distracted his thoughts. Incessant appli¬
cation, and incessant thinking of course weakened his deli¬
cate frame, nor did the capricious and harrassing attend-
ances on such a court increase his strength; added to which
the maddening love of women for one so highly gifted and
tSLbands°mrf’ hls ?wn devoted passion for Fornarina, and
the endless demands on his brain, brought him to the grave
at thirty-seven, absolutely borne down, like Byron, bv ex¬
citement of every description, nervous, bodily and mental,
ibis is the way with the world; they kill a favourite by
kindness, and an offender by cruelty.
In some life of him an attempt was made to prove that
ie caught cold by hurrying from his work to thepalace at
the Pope s order, and standing while in a profuse perspiration
a draught. But that is no refutation of the previous causes ;
the question is, what prepared him to be killed by such a
hZT ‘ ruInC6SSant W°rk and dissiPati°n 5 no painter can do
both. Of course princes must be obeyed at any expense •
they seem to feel little for their dependants, as if in revenge
or emg themselves deprived of so many enjoyments by
ceremony and etiquette. Napoleon used to take great de-
ight in never suffering old German maids of honour with
htty quurters in their arms to sit in his presence.
His last work, according to Mengs, was his Transfiguration
n oil, a work deficient in masterly execution, and having a
laboured look of smoothness. In drapery, in character, and
t! expression it was fine ; but in the Louvre it looked small.
By the side of Corregio, it seemed hard ; by that of Titian,
noT 1 by U r Tintoretto, tame ; and the Christ’s head was
not equal to Corregio’s at the National Gallery. It was not
an example to hold forth to a young man as faultless. The
Cartoons at Hampton are finer in point of execution alone ;
they are his finest works for all the requisites ofart. He was
SrStre^by designing for tePestry ; his genius was put
forth with a Venetian power of brush ; and there are heads
equal to any, especially the frightened woman’s head in the
Ananias, in these wonderful works.
In beauty he was far inferior to the Greeks; in form he
could not approach them ; in composition he was perfect;
in expression, deep; and in telling a story, without a ri-
va . aking into consideration all the great men in modern
art, this young man, not highly educated like Rubens, must
>e placed on the throne, till one arises who shall have what
ie iad not, in addition to his own perfections; and that
young man will probably arise in Britain. He was an ex¬
traordinary creature ; modest, timid, and amiable ; affec¬
tionate to his equals, and gentle to the highly-born, his
premature death gave a shock to Rome, which those only
716
Painting
PAINTING.
can estimate, who know the depth of Italian sensibilities.
But did he die too young < Not at all. He might have
decayed, or he might have become more luxurious and more
neglectful. No man dies too young who dies with all the
sympathies of the world unexhausted about him. 1 he ju¬
ror Raphaelis is the best species of fury that can seize a
young student. He has no manner, no affection, no vice,
no grand style ; ail is simple, natural, and unaffected, ms
women are creatures of gentleness and love, though none
are perfectly handsome. Perhaps he was more adapted
for the characteristic heads of apostles than the naked terms
of Greece; in fact he wasa great Christian painter, and see
ed born to extend the influence of Christianity by his art.
His father being a painter, he began early of course, and
at sixteen, had painted a picture at Gastello the compositum
of which was in advance of the age. At seventeen he
painted another of the Virgin and child. In the Sacristy, a
Sienna, he assisted Pinturichio with designs ; m l504, he
went to Florence, where Michel Angelo and Da Vinci were
making a great noise with their cartoons for the hall, he stu¬
died both, and improved his perspective and colour, m co
nexion with Bartolomeo. When Bramante, his uncle, who
was architect to the Pope, advised his Holiness to send for
Raftaelle, the pope consented ; and in April 1508, Raflac
entered Rome, and was admitted into the Vatican.
From the continual occupations of Raffaelle m his art
from boyhood upwards, he could not have had a classical
education to any great extent. He knew a little Latin, as
all Catholics did; but he was intimate with Bembo, Cas g-
lione, Ariosto, and Aretino ; and these men must have
helped him in historical or philosophical know ledge, or mo¬
ral allegory, for the completion of his great works. R aft ae e
left a noble school; and as soon as grief for the loss of their
master had subsided, his pupils set about completing the
works he left unfinished. The battle of Constantine was
done by Julio Romano and Perino del Vaga. As Raffaeile
lay in state, the Transfiguration was placed at the head o
Julio Ro b' .Iu'lio'Pomano was the most eminent of his pupils. With
“ vast poetry of mind, he did things m a sty e of execution,
which renders him the purest poet m his art. Hissu rp
ting, and moon rising over our heads, in the Palazzo de ,
is nowhere equalled or approached. 1 hough Put f°rt
his genius at Mantua, he was a Roman m practice, an
Raffaelle owed the elements of his art. His colour was crude
and his execution harsh ; yet no one can fail to see m h
works, the real poetry of painting. Pohdoro was another
great man of the same school. He was originally a mason s
boy, and used to prepare the walls for fresco ; but begot
interested in seeing the young men work, tried to d .
himself, and Raffaelle having assisted him, he became an
eT^interefting to reflect on the affection with which
Raffaelle was surrounded. He never went to court withou
being attended by fifty gallant artists. Little must he have
made others feel his superiority; and for once a man of genius
seems to have made envy smile. Though there is an in¬
stinct in the world, the moment a man of genius appears, yet
it depends upon himself whether he is received as a blessing
or an annoyance. Mankind will assault the man who at¬
tempts to command by superiority, instead of leading by cour¬
tesy; but they will hail him let his superiority be what it
may, who seems willing to help his inferiors with kindness,
or supply theirwant of knowledge, as if they were doing him
a favour to listen. The whole of this is based ongoodness
of heart, tender sympathies, and a consciousness without tiie
f ^"Shave gone fton, the Etema, City after
Decline of r, J th> jn 1527, Rome was stormed and taken
'.cLo”"8" bytelgn soldt. The saiages bivouacked in the Vatican,
' and injured the frescoes by their smoking and fires. Se¬
bastian del Piombo attempted to repair them after the sol- Painting,
diersweregone ; and Titian, whenin Rome, not knowing Se-^-*
bastian, actually asked him who had been spoiling thosebeau-
tiful heads? The art went on sinking rapidly till 1595. Raf¬
faelle had been dead seventy-five years; Giorgione, eighty-
four ; Corregio, sixty ; Michel Angelo, thirty ; and 1 itian,
nineteen. When the usual apprehensions of getting on a
lee-shore seized the patrons and the artists, and the usual
signal of distress was hoisted, Muziano, a pupil of Htran,
founded St. Luke’s Academy in order to raise a new batch
of Raffaelles and Corregios, and save the noble vessel. The
only man who since dazzled for a moment, was Michel An¬
gelo Caravaggio. He had great and original talent, though
founded on common nature, without any abstract notion of
form, any conception of beauty of women, or any refinement m
anything. With a sledge-hammer for a pencil, he seemed
resolved to batter down all opposition ; and by fierce ex¬
tremes of light and shade, bearded men, dead Christs, and
Transteverine beggars for apostles, he founded a school, got
a character, and raised a name, which cannot be forgotten
in the art of Europe.
Lanzi seems to class in the Roman school every body
who practised there for the last three hundred years, but
that is not fair. On this principle, all the Flemings, Dutch,
Germans, Russians, Spaniards, and English, may be of the
school, because they studied there ; and Rubens, Vandyke,
Velasquez, the Caracci and their pupils, as well as our Rey¬
nolds, were, on the same principle, of the Roman school.
About the seventeenth century, this eminent school, in spite
of the academy of St. Luke, went on declining. Birth, de¬
struction, and reproduction seems to be the principle of every
thing physical, but not of moral or mental powers. Lanzi
attributes this decay to any cause but the right one ; namely,
the absence of genius, the great primary cause, and which
no academy can ever supply. f .. , _ f
Cortona, Bernini,and Sacchi,were the heroes of this day; Cortmj,
and at a later period appeared Carlo Maratta. nd Sac’d
came to him a substitutefor nature ; though in l689,hegave
sufficient tone to art, to induce Clement XL to employ him.
But here, as well as elsewhere, genius was wanting. Carlo
was as heavy as the lumbering folds of his own drapery; and
so insipid are his large pictures, that it is a question whether
they did not generate in Europe a contempt for large scrip¬
ture subjects, which has lasted ever since. However, im¬
becility had not done spawning; and in a faint struggle to
offspring against nature, out came Pompio Battone, and Ra¬
phael Mengs. To complete the farce, academies began to
be founded in France and in the rest of Europe ; and Fom-
pio Battone, and Raphael Mengs may be looked upon as a
very fair sample of what academies can produce, have pro¬
duced, and will probably produce to the end of time. Meng
was every thing but a man of genius. He was a badpamR
and a deep critic ; and his predicting that we had not th
works which the ancients esteemed the most, was verified,
a most astonishing manner, by the discovery of the Elgin
marbles. The prediction does honour to the
Mengs. Thus end two great schools of form, conception,
expression and composition; the Florentine andtbe Roma
But of these the Roman was unquestionably the g* Venetial
We now come to the Venetian, a great sc 100 o ,’school-
light and shadow, impasto, and execution, comp cmg
imitation of reality; and in summing up the charact^f
Italian and Greek art, we shall see that these comp
imitation, eachof which characterised an Italian schod,^
combined in all schools, as a necessary requisite m tde pe
fection of Grecian imitation. . . :n Ve-
The most ancient work of Venetian artkn0'™’ , v It
rona, in the cellar of a monastery, (Sant.NazanoaCels
is inaccessible to the public, but can be1st,^ t io0f the
cuts of Dionisi. In the part which formed thewato
faithful, has been painted the mystery of redemptio ,
PAINTING.
fainting, work of 1070, when the Doge Silvo invited Grecian mosaic
painters to adorn St. Mark ; men who though rude in art,
could nevertheless paint. Thus commenced the art in Ve¬
nice, whither, after Constantinople was taken by the Venetians
in 1204, Greek painters and sculptors, as well as orefici, flock¬
ed in crowds.
In the thirteenth century, painters had increased so much,
that a company was formed, like the English constituent
body to which Hogarth belonged, and laws and constitutions
were made. Things were proceeding in this train when
Giotto, returning from Avignon, painted at Verona and Pa¬
dua. Nothing of his, however, is leftin Verona; butatPadua
the remains of his works are still quite fresh in fresco, and
full of grace and vigour. Such was the early beginning of
this great school, in which it will be seen that Greeks, as
usual, had the first hand. Various names sprung up in this
period, but the Bellinis are the most important. One of
them was engaged by Mahommed II. and by his talents up¬
held the honour of the Venetian name; another was the
master of Titian and Giorgione, two of the greatest names
of the Venetian school.
orgione. Giorgione was a great genius ; and his execution was en
717
tirely above vulgar prejudices. He saw and seized the lead¬
ing points of leading objects, and hit them with a touch and
an impasto, of which he had no previous example even in
Leonardo. His breadth and tone were beautiful; and he
first opened the eyes of Titian to the superior value of breadth
and touch, as compared with over-wrought labour and smooth
finish. Giorgione died inthe vigour of his life, to the great loss
of the art; for there is no knowing how much farther he would
have carried his principles, or how successfully he would have
disputed the crown with Titian. Lord Carlisle has asmall pic¬
ture by this eminent man, of a youth buckling on the armour
of a knight, which is exquisite in tone, brilliancy, depth, and
feeling; and had he not been cut off by the plague, there
is no knowing how far he might have gone. He certainly
first opened Titian’s eyes to the value of breadth, and that
comprehension of mind required to seize the leading cha¬
racteristics of objects by a touch, leaving the atmosphere
to finish at a given distance. After his death, Titian was
without a rival. This great painter began, of course, like all
Venetians, to paint directly from nature, without having pre¬
viously dissected or drawn ; nor was he sensible of this error
of the Venetian school, till coming to Rome and seeing the
works of Michel Angelo, Raffaelle, and the antique, he, like
a great genius, set about remedying his deficiency; and
the perfection of this union of form and colour is seen in his
greatest work, Pietro Martyre, any attempt to move which
from Venice, the Venetian senate decreed should be punished
with death. This picture occupied him eight years; and
eight years were well spent in such a production. The ter¬
rific gasping energy of the assassin, who has cut down the
monk ; the awful prostration of the monk, wounded, and im¬
ploring heaven; the flight of his companion, striding away in
terror, with his dark mantle against a blue sky; the tower¬
ing and waving trees, the entrance, as it were, to a dreadful
forest; the embrowned tone of the whole picture, with its
dark azure and evening sky, the distant mountains below, and
splendid glory above, contrasting with the gloomy horrors of
the murder ; its perfect, though not refined drawing, its su¬
blime expression, dreadful light and shadow, and exquisite
colour ; all united, render this the most perfect picture in
talian art. Why does not one perfect work entitle a man
to rank as highly as a series of imperfect works, like the
apella Sistina? The answer is, because there is greater
range of capacity shewn in a series of conceptions to illus¬
trate a theory, than in the completion of one work alone,
although all the component parts may be perfect; and Raf-
faelle, and Michel Angelo, will ever rank higher than Titian, Painting,
as 4 olygnotus will rank higher than Protogenes or Apelles. ^
-Prolific thinking, is surely of more value than intensity of
imitation, though intensity of imitation must be added to
realize the idea of a perfect painter.
litian began in the style of his master Bellini, with the Titian,
most minute finish ; a capital basis for future practice, if a
man have comprehension to know when to leave it, as Ti¬
tian did. To shew the young artist that it is never too late
to improve, let him compare the Bacchus and Ariadne in
our National Gallery, when he could not draw finely, with
the Pietro Martyre when he could. In modern art, he was
the only painter who hit the characteristic of flesh. Every
gi eat painter s flesh is paint; T itian’s had real circulation of
blood under the skin. On comparing the Ganymede, in our
National Gallery, fine as it came from Titian’s pencil, with the
Theodosius by Vandyke, which is close to it, as fine a spe¬
cimen of Vandyke’s fire of brush as can be seen, the heavy
leathernlook of Vandyke’s colour excited astonishment. In
the flesh of Ganymede, colour, oil, brush, and canvass, were
all entirely forgotten ; it quivered, it moved with the action
of the limbs. In Vandyke, the materials of art are upper¬
most ; you think of them, you wonder at the touch, you for¬
get the^ subject, the expressions as it were scenting of the
painter’s room and the easel. And so you do with all the
but never with Titian. Though we have fine
Titians in England, the Dianabeing at Lord Egerton’s, and a
head at the Duke of Sutherland’s ; yet it must be confessed,
that the Louvre possesses Titians more perfect, especially
the entombing of Christ. In Josephine’s collection at Mal-
maison, there were a Venus and Cupid, as perfect as our
Ganymede, and not injured by restoring, the fatal propensity
of the Fiench. In Titian whenever you see the blues sober
and in harmony, the picture is uninjured; whenever you see
them harsh and too brilliant, they have been rubbed, and
the last tone has been taken off.
In colour, he was never equalled; in execution of the brush,
he was quite perfect; and in character and expression of por¬
trait he was like Reynolds elevated and sublime; but the dull¬
ness which portrait, if perpetually practised, engenders in
the capacity to idealise and elevate, rendered his conception
of poetical characters defective. Nothing can exceed his
Aretino, his senators, and his popes ; nothing can exceed
Sir Joshua s Lord Heathfield and Mrs. Siddons; but no¬
thing can be meaner than some of Titian’s attempts, like
Raftaelle, at high poetical expression, except some of Rey¬
nold’s heads in the Beaufort. The nerve and beauty of the
colour in Diana and Acteon are so touching, that one can
almost fancy one hears the water ripple and the leaves wave.
Glazing was the great feature in his tone, as it was in that
of Apelles ; and there is no perfect colour without it.
The first requisite in fine colour is the ground or prepa¬
ration spread over the canvass to receive the colours. It is
either of a nature to absorb the oil, or to resist the absorp¬
tion. If it resist the absorption of the oil out of the colour
put on it, it is an oil-ground ; if it absorb the oil, it is a w^a-
ter-ground. And it has long been an interesting question,
whether the Venetians used an oil-ground or an absorbent
giound; whether, like the Greeks, they worked in tempera,
and varnished out, or whether they judiciously mingled
both oil and tempera together. One would think that Va¬
sari, living as he did with all the great painters, could not
be ignorant of their various methods of practice. In 1567
or 1568, he called on Titian, saw him, staid with him, was in
his painting-room, and must have talked on art, and per¬
haps dined or supped with him.1 But Vasari distinctly says,
in a sort of recipe-introduction to his lives, (edition 1568)
“ that the ground on wood was gesso, plaster of Paris ; that
Titian’s ^®,K'eat Pa\I1,:®rs seem^ prefer supper- In Tichozzi, Titian seems to have been a sociable man, and there are extracts from
S and Aietinos letters, alluding to pheasants, and presents of birds for the next supper.
7L8
PAINTING.
Painting, then they mixed three colours, white, yellow, and amber,
and spread them equally over the white ground; and jhat
after tracing their cartoons, they painted their pictures.” A
more abominable ground never was mixed ; to those who
have an organ of colour it is an absolute emetic; and though
it might have been Vasari’s and the Florentines’ ground,
it never could have been endured by the eye of a Venetian.
« This was the method,” says Vasari, “ for pictures on
wood; but when canvass became the fashion, gesso being
likely to crack in ceiling, they made a ground of flour (fa¬
rina), white lead, and nut-oil, after the canvass had been
smoothed by size.”1 j r> i
Now when this was published, Titian, Tintoretto, and raolo
Veronese were alive and all at work; and it is but common
sense to conclude, that had it been false, they would have
contradicted it. Vasari concludeswith saying, “ So are paint¬
ed all the great works in St. Mark’s Place, Venice. ^
place was the Miracle of the Slave, by Tintoretto, afterwards
seen bv every bodyin the Louvre. Lanzi says,thatthe Vene¬
tians preferred canvass, but that at first they painted in tem¬
pera, and then came oil-painting, which the Venetians first
adopted. On the arrival of the Bacchus and Ariadne in
England, a little bit chipped off at the corner showed the
oround underneath to be of the purest white. Now, it a white
ground is absorbent, it sucks the oil out of the oil colours,
and becomes the colour of oil. Sir Humphry Davy said to
the author of this article in 1823, that in process of time oils
become varnishes ; and it is not impossible that the white
ground of Titian may have been absorbent, and though it
had sucked out the oil in the course of three hundred years,
it may have recovered its original whiteness. The author s
experience extends only to thirty years, and in that period
an absorbent ground which sucked out oil has never recovered
its whiteness.
But if the Venetians painted first in tempera upon the
white ground, and finished in oil, the tempera intervening
between the last painting and the ground would preserve
the around white ; and as Titian’s method of proceeding
was gradual and progressive in successive layers, like that
of Protogenes, so* that each layer became a help to the suc¬
ceeding one, there is no reason to doubt that tempera might
have been the first impasto. In parts of the Pietro Mar-
tyre, there certainly was the crude look of tempera prepa¬
ration, softened by a glaze, especially about the projecting
leg of the assassin. That the basis of Venetian pictures was
a white ground, there can be no doubt; like the intonacos
of Apelles, and the plaster-grounds of the painted mummy-
coffins of Egypt. Tintoretto and Bassano used dark grounds
to save trouble; but they are ruinous. They come through
the thin half-tints of the picture, and render it distinct mas¬
ses of dark and light, like most of the Lombard school.
Many of the works of Paul Veronese, who painted one hun¬
dred years before, were in perfect preservation in the Louvre,
whilst a number of the Lombard pictures were gone. The
white ground was the “ luce de dentro of the Italians,
“the light within.” Upon this beautiful white ground they
placed their colours purely and crudely, and then by spread¬
ing thin transparent tones, took down the rawness, without
losing the force of the tint. This was the practice of the
Greeks, and is also the present practice of the British school.
When Cicognara, the president of the Venetian academy,
was in England, he remarked to the author on the singular
fact, that the British was the only school of colour left in
the world, though our climate was the worst; and such was
the state of Venice some years since, that an English consul
could get nobody to paint the king’s arms for him, and being
the son of a painter, he was actually obliged to paint them
himself. . . TJ.
As an example lot the student, Titian is perfect, xiis
execution never attracts by itself alone, but as the vehicle Paintii
of the object it imitates. In colour he is never gaudy, ^
never black in light and shadow, never forced or affected,
and in drawing, latterly, grand. In composition he was not
so perfect nor so fertile as Raffaelle ; but in the imitation of
flesh, no other artist in the world, except Apelles perhaps,
could rival him. As a painter of portrait and landscape, no
one has surpassed him. He did not grace his senatorial heads
with the beauty of the backgrounds of Reynolds or Van¬
dyke ; but the absence of all gaiety behind the heads, per¬
haps added to the sublimity of their expression. It is cu¬
rious to read in Boschini’s little work, that young Palma,
who had it from old Palma, a pupil of Titian, told him
that Titian very often finished with his thumb. Palma dis¬
tinctly says, that he has seen Titian put on with his thumb
and fingers masses of colour which gave life to a picture.
In a word, neither of the great Italian schools showed
the sense of the ancients. The Romans omitted colour and
imitation from sheer accident; the Venetians drawing and
form ; and Reynolds, without going into the causes of these
mutual deficiencies, laid it down as a principle, that colour
and reality were incompatible with high art; whereas, when
each school found out its deficiency, each endeavoured to
correct its peculiar defect. i
The giant of Titian’s school was Tintoretto, who gaveTintor ,
such early indications of self-will and genius, that Titian,
mean and jealous, turned him out of the house. Raffaelle
would not have done this ; he did not turn out Julio Ro¬
mano. But Tintoretto was not to be crushed by the bad
passions of his envious master; and took it very properly as
an evidence of his talent. And what did Titian get by his
paltry meanness? Nothing but pity. Tintoretto, young as
he was, immediately formed a plan of his own, for combin¬
ing the drawing of Michel Angelo with the colour of Titian.
Fie devoted the day to the one, and many parts of many nights,
and often whole ones, to the other. In a few years, the result
was the Miracle of the Slave and the Crucifixion. Al though
the execution of Tintoretto looked daring and impudent
by the side of the modest, senatorial dignity of Titian, yet
there was a grand, defined dash about it. The original
sketch of the Miracle of the Slave, is in the possession of
Rogers the poet, and is a very fine thing. Every body speaks
of the Crucifixion as a wonderful instance of power. But in
colour it is lurid and awful; in expression, character, and
delicacy of feeling, discordant and offensive. His pictures
seem to be a mass of fore-shortenings, affected twistings,
dashing darks, and splashing lights, with a hundred horse¬
power of execution ; bearded heads, Venetian armour, silks,
satins, angels, horses, architecture, dogs, water, and brawny-
armed and butcher-legged gondoliers, without pathos, pas¬
sion, or refinement. He used to put little models in boxes,
and light them in different holes, for effect. Like all Ita¬
lians, he was accustomed to model and hang up his models
by threads for fore-shortening. His style of form was a
mixture of the pulpiness of the Venetian, and the long, ano-
tomical, bony look of the Florentine school. He cannot be
depended upon for correctness of proportions, but he was
a grand and daring genius ; and his conduct, when oppress¬
ed by Titian, should ever be held up as an example tor the
aspiring youth, when trodden upon by his elders.
Whilst Tintoretto was astonishing the Venetians bymsFau
darino-, which made even Titian tremble, Paul Veronese,
the other great contemporary, was mildly pursuing his azure
and beautiful course. Of a nature the reverse of 1 mtoretto,
and not equal to him in sublimity or terror of conception, e
vet save equal evidence of being run away with by his bms .
Ceilings, canvass, halls, walls, and palaces, were so many
proofs of his power. His greatest work is at Pans. Ristn
Marriage of Cana, a wonderful instance ol executive pow >
i This is Vasari’s account, pp. 51, 52, 5-3, Firenze, volume i. 1568.
minting-
nnaletti;
but here all story, sentiment, and pathos, are buried in the
noise, bustle, eating, drinking, and fiddling of a Venetian
city feast. Paul Veronese was certainly the most corrupt
painter of the time. ‘ 1
After these great men, the art began to decay ; and Paul
Veronese and Tintoretto gave symptoms of a conventional
mode, which, when taken up by inferior men, hastened its
Down to the present age, with the exception of two
a VTV O W TV    , 1 S*
PAIN T I N G.
719
rum
nbard
Par-
school
( egio,
or three mannerists, no name occurs worthy of eminence or
selection. Cannaletti was a genius in his way. Sebastian
Ricci, and Marco Ricci, were much employed in England
to disfigure ceilings and palaces by wholesale, with gods and
goddesses, in subjects allegorical, poetical, mythological, and
nonsensical, to understand which it required pages of expla¬
nation, and to see which a nine-feet telescope by Dolland.
Montague, Burlington, and Bulstrode houses, are signs of
the infatuation of the English nobility at that time; an in¬
fatuation, however, which shewed a disposition to employ
art as it had been employed in Italy, and if the genius hail
been equal to the opportunity, the result would have been
different.
The next school of any importance is the Lombard school
which comprehends the Mantuan, the Modenese, the Cre-
monese, and the Milanese. Andrea Monteguais the hero of
the Mantuan school, and Vasari says, that his master-pieces are
the tempera designs which we have at Hampton Court. They
are fine things ; Rubens used them ; and they are a mine of
costume, though the formshave too much the look of the mo¬
del. Julio Romano’s great work is at Mantua, yet he must be
considered as a Roman. It was, as Lanzi says, the great¬
est effort of the last style before Leonardo da Vinci intro¬
duced a new one, which overturned the Gothic. After
Julio Romano, the art decayed, and then of course came the
old story, “ Una accademia per avvivarla.” This academy
has been splendidly kept up by Austria, and, as usual, has
not produced a single man of great genius, in three hundred
years.
Contiguous to the Modenese school is the Parman ; and
now we come to the most unaccountable and delightful of all
pamteis, Corregio. When it had been determined to or¬
nament the great cupola of St. John, Corregio, though then
a young man, was selected to paint it; and, like Raffaelle,
ms genius expanded with the opportunity. After Raffaelle,
litian Michel Angelo, Da Vinci, and Bartolomeo, who
would have thoughtthat anotherstyle, independent of either,
and unlike any thing else in the world, could have burst out?
But so it was. Of all the painters that ever lived in the world
there is no accounting for Corregio. Unlike Greeks, Ro¬
mans, and Italians, out he came into the world, in colour,
drawing, light and shadow, composition, expression, and form,*
i e nature, and unlike every body else, who ever studied na¬
ture at all. Michel Angelo, Raffaelle, Titian, we can trace ;
we see upon wliom they were grafted, when they budded and
burst forth. But who is Corregio ? Nobody is certain,
une swears he was poor, another that he was well off; ano¬
ther says he died in consequence of a fever which he caught
hy carrying all his money in copper, the price of a picture ;
another protests it was no such thing. Meng’s account is
the best, and Vasari’s mostly without authority.
There is no certainty that his portrait is in existence ; in
fact there is as much dispute about it as there is about Shakes-
peare s; and here are his beautiful works, his Notte, his
Catherine, his Christ in the Garden, his Magdalene, his Ve¬
nus and Mercury, and his in the National Gallery,
the only head of Christ in the world. This head of Christ
ought to be reverenced as the identification of the charac¬
ter, as much as the head of Jupiter by Phidias was in the
■ragan world. There is no Christ’s head by Raffaelle which
at an approaches it, either in the Transfiguration or in any
er work ; and the head by Leonardo da Vinci in the gal
ery cannot be endured after it. Of all painters, he aston
ishes one the most. If any fault is to be found with him, Painting
his men have a touch too effeminate. His colour is exqui-'
sue; Jus light and shadow are enchanting, but his forms
detective ; his composition is simple and infantine ; his ex¬
pression unimpassioned, but sweetness itself; and when sor¬
row or suffering was to be represented, who ever did it more
tenderly than Corregio ? Let any man who doubts this, dwell
for a moment on the gentle suffering, and the feminine yet
manly beauty of the Christ above mentioned. It is the very
Christ who commanded by submission ; without weakness
beautiful, without effeminancy tender; without taint the
personification of love. His hands, his shoulders, his beard
Ins hair, belong to that divine being who vanquished sin’
by yielding to torture. It does not seem painted, but as it
were spread upon the canvass by an angel’s breath. Hi«
men look as innocent as girls; his women as guileless as in¬
fants; and his infants as if they had just come from the skies.
In the cupola at Parma, the great wonder is the fore¬
shortening ; and in the mouths of the vulgar this is techni¬
cal perfection; whereas there is nothing more purely me¬
chanical, nothing in fact you can so easily teach. One single
smile of Corregio’s angels, one touching look of Raffaelle’s
apostles, the sentiment of the Duke de Lorenzo by Michel
Angelo, one crimson tone by Titian, are worth all the fore-
shortemng on earth. The greatest excellencies of Signo¬
relli, Buonarotti, and Corregio, are said to be their fbre-
shortenings; whereas the greatest excellencies of Buona¬
rotti and Corregio are not their fore-shortening at all.
In spite of the perfections of this wonderful man, he
founded as it were the decay, “le commencement de
la nn. His breadth in fresco produced Lanfranco, Cor¬
tona, and Giordano, who covered Italian palaces with the
sweeping brush of our patent chimney-cleansers, begin¬
ning it m the morning, finishing it by the evening, stand¬
ing on the floor, and disdaining a scaffold, previous study, or
previous thinking; and others came who bedaubed the pa¬
laces of Europe with clouds like feather-beds, cornucopias
and Jupiters, till one’s brain aches in thinking of them.
Reynolds was immensely indebted to Corregio; for Rem-
bi-andt and Corregio are certainly the bases of his style.
One of the most beautiful works in the Louvre was the
Marriage of St. Catherine, which when once seen haunts
us m after life in dreams. In a word, Corregio was an
angel that passing this earth in its flight, drooped its wings
and dropped upon it, to give us a foretaste of the smiles
which welcome a happy spirit in a purer sphere.
Parmegiano is the next important name in this school, Parmevi
who grafted the grace of Corregio on the affectations ofano g
Michel Angelo. His greatest work is in our National
Gallery; the Vision of St. Jerome. The Christ is a beautiful
boy, but affected ; the Virgin is Michel-Angelesque, havino-
tie glumdalchtch look of his Brobdignaggian women!
St. John is finely drawn, but not unexceptionable; and the
St. Jerome is sleeping in a position as if he had got into a
cramp in the first part of the vision, and could not get out
till it was over. It is raw in colour, skinned in construc¬
tion, and spoils the composition altogether. His small pic¬
tures are beautiful but long in proportion. His fingers seem
always to move to music ; and his limbs to be conscious how
gracefully they are disposed. He has often been a fatal
example to the young. Nor is his Moses, whatever Gray
may say of it, an instance of the sublime. The expression
is mean, and the form overdone. Parmegiano died, like
Kaffaelle at the age of thirty-seven, when all that was ex¬
pected of him had not been realised, and when, if he had
lived longer, perhaps lie would have done worse.
In 1570, the best Corregieschi were grown old or dead, School of
and the school of Parma began to give way to that of Bo-Bologim.
Jogna, the truly great academical school. This was not an
academy in the modern sense of the word ; it was a school,
and nothing but a school, without distinctions, and managed
720
PAINTING.
Painting, by directors ; and it is the only academy which has ever pro-
duced any genius. Dominichino, Guido, and other names
of the second period, came between unrivalled excellence
and approaching destruction, and stopped for a little time
the decay of the art.
Of the Cremona school, there is no great name. In the
Milanese school, Da Vinci seems the hero; he founded
an academy which, according to Lanzi, was the first in Eu¬
rope that reduced art to rules, the works of Leonardo be¬
ing the canon. His great work is in the refectory. But
fifty years afterwards Aramini says that it was spoiled ; in
1642 Scannelli writes, that it was with difficulty made out;
and Barry ultimately saw it destroyed by a restorer. When
Eugene Beauharnois was viceroy of Italy, he drained tne
refectory and had it paved with tiles ; and it is said in a re¬
port, that the colours began to revive. Da Vincis acade¬
my having produced no talent, Maria Theresa founded
another, which, though full of casts of every description, has
nevertheless proved equally unsuccessful.
The Caracci and their pupils were the last crop of genius
which Italy threw up, and though they were second-rate,
they came of the breed of the great who were no more.
The style of Michel Angelo seems to have taken early root
in Bologna, perhaps from his executing in that place the
statue of Julius II. Giotto, in the first instance, excited
emulation by flying about Italy; but he seems to have scat¬
tered everywhere the seeds of art, and I ibaldi, after hav¬
ing studied in Rome, certainly founded this style at Bo¬
logna. The first school formed was by Bagna Cavallo, and
Primaticcio. It failed in 1564; upon which Primaticcio went,
to France, and Tibaldi to Spain, and the art was of course
neglected.
The Caracci succeeded them and were extraordinary
men ; but what would they have done if Raffaelle, Michel
Angelo, Titian, and Corregio had never lived? They
saw nature only by the help of their great predecessors.
Whatever the Caracci did had the appearance of labour;
whilst whatever was done by their great predecessors, had
an air as if there was something that no labour could at¬
tain. Ludovico had more feeling than his brothers, and
had the honour of being instructed by Tintoretto. They
were the sons of a tailor, and founded an academy in their
own house. Agostino principally engraved, and Annibale
principally painted ; but they each contributed instruction
to the school in which were formed Dominichino, Guido,
Lanfranco, Guercino, and Albano.
Guido, Gu- The greatest genius of the school was Guido ; but he was
ercino,' and envied by the Caracci; and even in this school the vices of
Albano. an academy began to appear. We did not find Raffaelle
sowing discord amongst his pupils by putting one against
the other. Albano w as opposed to Guido. Dominichino was
an eminent but heavy genius; and his communion of St. Je¬
rome is a fine thing though dull. There was a vulgar gran¬
deur about Guercino, and an insipidity about Albano. The
great work of Annibale Caracci is the Farnese gallery,
which is excellent in every thing, but nerve and genius. Say
what you will about the Caracci, there is a want in their art,
which affects the pen of him who is attempting to do them
justice. They lived together, did not marry, and were ill
paid and ill-tempered ; like all old bachelors they were dis¬
contented, they did not know why, and fidgety, they did not
know for what; they envied the talents they were desirous
of bringing forward, called the art their “ wife,” and were
never satisfied, living in a perpetual fret of teaching, and paint
• 1  1 ~ I^ A i-* v* i o 1 rliceir'iotoH finf
their “ cara sposa ;” and to all the confusion of a bachelor’s Paintiw
house, added the slang of a mere painter’s habits. At the'
dinner-table, crayon and paper were always at hand to
catch attitudes, actions, and expressions, and groups ; as if
expressions and attitudes could not have been remember¬
ed in the solitude of' the study, and kept till wanted with
just as much effect as this vulgar intrusion on the usages of
society. A great artist is always a man of the world; an
inferior one a man of the palette. Raffaelle, Titian, Angelo,
Rubens, and Reynolds, would have passed a twelvemonth
in any society without being discovered to be artists; but
the Caracci would have talked of tone and touching during
the first half-hour. A genteel woman, accidentally travelling
in a coach with three artists who were palette-men, expres¬
sed afterwards her wonder and suspicion as to the state of
lie V C/lL  o I I V • J J
in<r, and complaining. Annibale became dissipated and
died early. It is an extraordinary feature in the moral cha¬
racter of the Italian artists, that the greater part did not
marry, and hence came the cant “ of the art being their
wife,” with the natural consequence, that girls who had
been models generally ended by being mistresses.
The Caracci kept up this affectation, they said the art was
their intellects. For after the usual dead silence, one of them
said, with an air of vast profundity: “ How finely the white
sheet in the hedge carries off the colour in the sky.” “ And
look at that old woman’s cloak taking up the brick-wall,”
said another. “ Yes,” said the oldest of the set, “ how fine¬
ly it was done yesterday by a red night-cap in a pretty bit
of Sir George.” Johnson used to say, “ Sir, we were redu¬
ced to talk of the weather.” But even the weather is prefera¬
ble to this detestable affectation. Though the deepest prin¬
ciple of the ancients was the preservation of beauty in every¬
thing, they never sacrificed beauty to expression, but al¬
ways combined the two ; whereas Guido, by an eternal re¬
petition of the expression of the Niobe in Christs and Vir¬
gins rendered the preservation of beauty at such an expense
insipid. The beauty of the Flelen and Paris was truly ex¬
quisite; buthundreds of’Herodias’s daughters with St.John’s
heads, “ have a look,” as Lord Byron says, “ of bread and
butter.” His grace was the grace of theatres ; his pencil
light, airy, and beautiful, though rather careless than master¬
ly. Dominichino, on the other hand, obedient, slow, and
timid, imitated everybody and fell short of all. But Guer¬
cino was the most original of the school; his finest manner
is his candlelight manner, yet still there is a vulgarity in
his forms.
None of the Caracci or their school, had they been born
at an earlier period, would have advanced the art one iota be¬
yond their predecessors, so entirely dependent were they up¬
on the great who had gone before. “ Such was the state
of art,” says Fuseli, “ when the spirit of machinery destroy¬
ed what was yet left of meaning;” when contrast and
grouping meant composition and thinking, and a mass of
rapid, thoughtless, empty, impudent frescos disgraced the
wTalls, palaces, and churches of Italy. Pietro of Cortona
and Luca Giordano are the heroes of this inundation of
splashiness; and yet what artists they were ! The decay
which it announced, was the decay of the giant Italian fresco
hand that still struggled to do its duty, whilst the head was
fast approaching imbecility in thought. The meanest pupil
of the meanest machinist would have swept the first-rate
British artist that has ever yet existed into the earth, with
his tiptoes and exhibition-glare.
Thus, with the Caracci and their school, ended the great" 'n,
ness of Italian art; nor has there been one single painter of
such genius since, from Andrea Sacchi to Cammucini the
present hero of the Romans. Rubens, Vandyke, and Kem-
brandt turned it into a new channel in Flanders; Velas¬
quez and Murillo kept it alive in Spain ; Teniers, ^
and Jan Steen preserved it from extinction in Holland;
Poussins, Claude, and Salvator, meanwhile revived it in
Italy; whilst the old Gothic masters in Germany, with their
colour, and most of them with great invention but in a
taste, were an absolute dung-hill of diamonds and i)ear ’
which everybody has considered himself as havmg a ng
to plunder, not even excepting Raffaelle himself. V
the art was sunk to the lowest depths in Europe, Reynoms
in England broke forth with a brilliancy of colour wh
■man
iol.
ert
iinting. has rendered it bo longer a hopeless attempt to rival the
gorgeousness of Venetian splendour. If ever there was a
refutation of Reynold’s own theory, that “ genius was the
child of circumstances,” he was a living one ; in spite of all
circumstances, in spite of the utter want of all education as
a painter, in spite of all the apathy of the nation, and the
extinction of art in Europe, out he came with a vigour and
beauty which have ever since defied rivalship in portrait and
The Germans are an extraordinary nation, but always
more or less under the influence of a wrong taste Their
early paimere are fuli of thought; antlas a proof of what
Raffaelle s estimation of them must have been, he adopted
almost to the letter, in his famous Spasimo in Spain, Shoen-
gaers magmfieent composition of Christ bearing the cross.
The hand leaning on the stone, with the momentary action
of the drapery, is in Shoengaer. The brute pulling Christ, in
an old German dress, Raffaelle has taken and improved;
and he has also placed the Marys in the fore-ground which
Shoengaer placed in the back-ground; but the whole of
the composition is Shoengaer’s, though Raffaelle of course
has added to it his own perfections.
A]bert Durer is considered as the greatest man of the
er- German school; but there is nothing which he has ever
done that can compete, in expression and composition, with
this fine production of Shoengaer’s. Fuzeli says, “ Albert
Durer was a man of great ingenuity, but not of genius. His
proportions of the human figure are on a comprehensive
principle founded on nature, and the result of deep think¬
ing. He had sometimes a glimpse of the sublime, but it
was only a glimpse. The expanded agony of Christ on the
Mount of Olives, and the mystic conception of his figure
of Melancholy, are thoughts of sublimity, though the ex-
pression of the latter is weakened by the rubbish he has
a own about her. His Knight, attended by Death and the
Hend, is more capricious than terrible ; and his Adam and
Eve are two common models shut up in a rocky dungeon,
if he approached genius m any part of his art, it was in co-
our ; his colour went beyond his age, and as far excelled
n mth, and breadth, and handling, the oil colour of Raf-
faelfe, as Raffaelle excelled him in every other quality. I
speak of his easel-pictures; his drapery is broad though
much too angular, and rather snapt than folded. Albert
is called the father of the German school, though he nei¬
ther reared scholars nor was imitated by the German artists
ot hisor the succeeding century. That the exportation
of h,s works to Italy should have effected a temporary
JcJf] 'n thc: PHncipJes of some Tuscans who had studied
VLichel Angelo, as Andrea del Sarto, and Jacopo da Ponto-
rT;S \fact Whlch Proves that minds as well as bodies
may be at certain times subject to epidemic influences.”
1 n.Lucas voin Leyden was the Dutch caricature of Albert
ey- adoS ani ere l0ng the st>’,e of Michel Angelo was
adopted in the same way as by Pelegrino Tibaldi, and be-
b spread by the graver of Giorgio Mantuano, provoked
who6 Cai:fvans of German, Dutch, and Flemish students,
ho, on their return from Italy, introduced at the courts
Prague and Munich, in Flanders and the Netherlands,
riPreuP°Ster0US.manner’ that bl°ated excrescence of
m TY brains, which in the form of man left nothing hu¬
man, distorted actlon and gesture with insane affectation,
thedsfvredcnleigeWgaWSofchildren in colossal shapes, in
to feJ 6 °f G,olzi1us and granger. But though content
colour nfv'1 tle U1SpS ol Luscan design, they imbibed the
lenrp i Aenice, aml spread the elements of that excel-
dmJrlc (t\T^lshcd succeeding schools of Flan-
the wnrlrl <ti do anc * At this moment out blazed upon
brush / i i!atn.giant ot execution and brute violence of
bens • a,K] )U1 iant colour, and daring composition, Ru-
Remhr^n an°ther mysterious and extraordinary being,
brandt, who seemed born to confound all theory but
VOL. XVI. ^ J
PAINTING.
that of innate genius, confirmed it for ever. Rubens Mn
joyedPonly the0"10?1' °f ^ rainbowi whilst Rembrandt "en¬
joyed only the poetry and solemnity of twilight; when the
hour'oFh^infpirat’ion'.'he SUn WaS d°Wn’ th“
It is the perfection of a fearless hand and daring brush, con-
scious of Its principle ; and though the sweep of Michel An
gelo s contours, applied to butcher’s backs aid coal-heaver’s
legs, rather increased their vulgarity than added to their re¬
finement, yet the dashing power of that astonishing picture
in spite of its Flemish, pallid, and ugly wretches for women’
renders it the bloom of his powers. Rubens was a man of
such genera! knowledge, that the Marquis of Spinosa said,
hat pamtmgwas his least qualification. He was ambassado^
i L ?ng ’ and adorned the banquetting ceiling
j; , 'tehall, the centre portion forming an amazing pictured
Educated classically, he carried classical feeling into every
he turned tiSh-rt 5 ^ after spoutinf Virgd with enthusiasm,
1 i d i f CanvaSS and Pamted a Flemish butcher with
bandy legs (if he happened to have such) for Ameas. How
extraordinary it is that, relishing as he did, Homer, Virgil
GenmnD i fgiV? D.Utdl Helens’ Flemish J^os, and
German Diomeds, for classic an. His greatest work is the
Luxembourg Gallery; and for once he hit a sweet female ex!
pression in the mother of Mary de’ Medicis, after accouch-
ment. One of hishnest pieces, the Rape of Proserpine is
at Blenheim, where the Arethusa, as a water nymph, is put-
tmg up her hand, with her back towards you. That a man
who could occasionally paint with such delicacy, should so
counted 1!^ H bis/abby.^gfity, is not to be ac¬
counted for. He painted portrait finely, landscape sweetly
and animals with great power, except the lion, whose straight
nobfe look ^ H ayS CUrled like the andentS’ and Iost its
noble look. He was a great man, and painted wherever he
went. He was dihgent and religious; he rose at four, heard
mass, and went to his pamting-room, where, with little inter¬
mission, he painted till five ; he then rode, and returned to
his friends, many of them the most celebrated men of the
day, who were assembled to meet him at supper ; at eleven
he retired, and again proceeded to work at day-break. It
thiSi Yirtu?us co»rse of so great a man,
with the vulgar infidelity which alone distinguishes the most
incompetent m the art; and it is impossible not to conclude,
that those whom God has most endowed with gifts, are the
r^LaiL'r^work’ ^
vreN° In'AH Gd Shi!ie S° effectually as in the Lou-
vi e. In all the world, perhaps, there never was such a
splendid opportunity for studying to perfection the princi-
plesofthe great men in the art, as was afforded in the Louvre
in its full glory ; and injurious as the formation of that col¬
lection had proved to the cities of Italy, yet Napoleon gave a
digmty and an importance to the art, which it has not since
ost, by making the productions of its great men subjects of
treaty, and receiving them as equivalent to territory or trea-
8are' fl rbfe y°u rushed from the Romans to the Venetians,
om the Flemings to the Spaniards, from Titian to Raftaelle,
10m Rembrandt to Rubens, and settled principles in half
an hour, which it took others months, perhaps years, to ac¬
complish. It cannot be denied, that in force of effect, Ru¬
bens bore down all opposition, from his breadth, brightness,
and depth ; and let every painter be assured, that if he keen
. lf:se .tbree qualities of effect, the leading qualities in the
imitation o. nature, he will defy rivalship in the contest of
exhibition.
4 Y
722
PAINTING.
Painting.
Rembrandt, with all his magic, painting on too confined
'a principle, lost in power, and looked spotty and individual.
paul Veronese and Tintoretto had not that solidity? which
is the characteristic of Rubens ; Titian seemed above c°n"
test, and relying on his native majesty of colour, exhibited
a senatorial repose, which gave to Rubens a look almost of im¬
pertinence ; but still you could not keep your eyes off the
seducer, and even if you turned your back, you kept peeping
over your shoulder. Here all peculiarity suffered. The sil¬
very beauty of Guido looked grey ; the correctness of Kat-
faelle looked hard ; Rembrandt failed most by the bright¬
ness of Rubens, the magic of Corregio, or the sunny splen¬
dour of Titian ; and after wandering about for days, y0^ de‘
cided that he suffered most who had most peculiarity. it i
all his grossness, want of beauty, and artificial style, Rubens
brightness and breadth carried the day, as far as arresting
the eye, and forcing you to look at him, kate as vou might
his vulgarity, and his Flemish women, and his Flanders breed
of horses. . • . j?
Rembrandt Rembrandt van Rhyn, was next to Rubens, m point ot
art, and more than equal to him in originality. W hether m
portrait, landscape, or historical pictures large and small, he
was like nobody; as wonderful as any, and sometimes superior
to all. His bistre-drawings are exquisite, his etchings un¬
rivalled ; his colour, light and shadow, and surface, solemn,
deep, and without example ; but in the naked form, male or
female, he was an Esquimaux, His notions of the delicate
form of women, would have frightened an Arctic bear. Let
the reader fancy a Billingsgate fish-woman, descending to a
bath at a moment’s notice, with hideous feet, large knees and
bony legs, a black eye, and a dirty night-cap,—and he will
haveaperfect ideaof Rembrandt’s conception of female beau¬
ty Though his historical pictures are often remarkable tor
pathos and expression, his characters are sometimes abso¬
lutely ridiculous. His Abrahams are Dutch old clothesmen,
and yet his Jacob’s Dream is sublime beyond expression.
Whatever he painted, he enriched ; his surface was a mass
of genius, and his colour a rainbow, darkened by the gloom
of twilight. In portrait, sometimes, his dignity was equal
to Titian ; but the characters he painted were inferior.
These two wonderful men, each a perfect contrast to the
other, revived art; Rubens on the principles of the Vene¬
tians, and Rembrandt in defiance of all principles. But the
latter sacrificed too much to a peculiarity, and he was punished
for it in the Louvre by the side of others.
Rubens produced Vandyke, Snyders, and Jordaens, and
a whole host of pupils. Vandyke had more elegance, but not
so much imagination ; Jordaens more vulgarity, with equa
power. Snyders was a mere animal painter, and he carneci
the touch necessary to execute the hairy skin of an animal,
into every thing he did. Vandyke by his splendid portraits,
certainly generated a love of art in England, which has never
left us, after the destruction of historical painting at the Re¬
formation. .
Rembrandt bad pupils, who were by no means equal to
himself. David Teniers the elder was a pupil of Rubens.
These two extraordinary men were certainly the founders ot
the Dutch school; and the great principles of their works
were carried by David Teniers the younger, Jan Steen,
Ostadt, and Cuyp, into smaller and more delicate produc¬
tions ? A man of the highest ambition and noblest views in
art can study with the greatest benefit the dead fish and
bunches of turnips, servant girls and drunken boors, for beauty
of handling and effects in art. He who looks down on the
excellencies of the Dutch school, does so from a narrowness
of understanding, and not an enlargement of views ; and it
an historical painter can see nothing to learn in their little
beautiful works, he will not learn much from the greater pro¬
ductions of Titian. i i.- i
Directly after the Flemish comes the Spanish school, which,
not so vulgar as the former, was equally unideal. The Spam-
Van dyke,
&c.
Teniers,
&c.
Spanish
school.
ards painted the people about them for all sorts of subjects Paintin
and all sorts of characters ; and they are only more refined
than the Flemings because the Spaniards are a more culti¬
vated people. The long possession of the Moors prevent¬
ed the Spaniards from advancing as soon as Italy. The great
schools in Spain have been those of Madrid, Seville, and Va¬
lencia. In 1446 Antonio Rincon abandoned the Gothic
of theEuropean artists; in 1475 Gallegos was so like Albert
Durer, that he is suspected to have been a pupil; in the six¬
teenth century riches flowed in, patronage was liberal, and,
what is most important of all, genius existed in Spain. Be¬
cerra de Baeza, pupil of Michel Angelo, painted in fresco,
at Madrid, Salamanca, and Valladolid; and in the Trinita del
Monte in Rome, there is also a picture of his. Various paint¬
ers follow of course in all the schools, till the coming of the
real hero of Spanish art.
Velasquez was born at Seville in 1599. Hebecame a pupil Velasqs
of Herrera, and left Seville in 1522, to seek his fortune in the
metropolis; where he succeeded so completely as a portrait
painter, that he got to court, and having become acquainted
with Rubens, often visited his painting-room. Rubens must
have been of the greatest use to him. Velasquez then visited
Italy, but could not bear the Roman school after the Venetian.
In masterly execution and life he surpassed Rubens and Van¬
dyke. Of all the great painters, he seems to have despised the
most the vulgar appetite for what is cal 1 e(\Jinish, that is, polish¬
ed smoothness. Every touch from Velasquez is a thought cd-
culated to express the leading points ot the thing intended
to convey it. Masterly beyond description, and delightful
beyond belief, he conveyed the impressions of life as exqui¬
sitely as if his imitation breathed. But so utterly decayed is
the present Spanish school, with its pompous academy, that
Spaniards when asked how they can reconcile their hideous
polish with the freedom of Velasquez, have answered that
Velasquez was always in a hurry.
After Velasquez ranks Murillo, a man of a tenderer genius, Murillo
but equall y alive to life. He has the surface of Corregio and
colour peculiarly his ow n ; and he was what the Italians call
a Naturaliste, indeed, the whole school was of that species.
Like Rembrandt and Rubens, the heroes of history are
always the countrymen of the Spanish painter. The rro-
digal Son is one of the finest works in the Duke of Suther¬
land’s collection; it is beautiful in execution, light and sha¬
dow, and colour, but Spanish in character and expression.
They never got beyond their model or their country ; and
this may in a great measure be owing to their masters hav-
ingbeen Venetians, though Tibaldiand Torngiano had visited
Spain. Murillo was an exquisite painter, and if he had been
soundly educatedlike the Greeks, would have been as refined
in character and form as he is now in colour and hand mg-
He first got an insight into painting from Moya, a pupil o
Vandyke. Having sold his pictures to hawkers for wha
they would bring, he saved money and went to Madrid,
and, with the frankness of genius, at once introduced hi -
self to Velasquez, who received him like another Railaelie.
After three years of continued kindness, he returned to Se¬
ville, founded an Academy, and for his great work of St. A
tony at Padua, he received ten thousand reals. It is sai
thathe covered more canvass than any body else; but after tn
acres of Rubens in tbe Louvre, that assertion f f ^nabN
Velasquez and Murillo, of course, came like the rest, ^
academies. One now exists in Madrid, and no geni
appeared since its institution. It is qmte ndicu ous to ^
the same results all over the world ; and it is ^ “ d
diculous, to find the kings of Europe still continuing
and embellish these useless establishments.
In France, throughout all the middle ages, fresc0, scbool.
sign was never extinct, either in mosaic, glass, apes } J
mtniature, or tempera. Though the author^of^
“Discourse Flistonque” says, that the Frenc form 0f
who presumed to personify the Along i y i
PAINTING.
’aiming, man; yet nothing worth remembering occurred till the death
Leonardo, in the arms of Francis I. in 1518, and the em¬
ployment of Primaticcio, Rosso, and Nicolo del Abbate.
Jean Cousin in 1462, and Vouet in 1582, were the first
French painters of any importance in this latter period. Si¬
mon Vouet, the younger, was the master of Le Sueur, Le
Brun, Mignard, and Dufresnoy ; he lived in 1600, and the
best period of French art was from that time until 1665, the
beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. They, as usual, found¬
ed an academy, ten years before Poussin’s death ; and Coy-
pel, Jouvenet, and Rigaud, were the produce of the institu¬
tion ; whilst Poussin, Le Sueur, and LeBrun, had flourished
and obtained their reputation before it was founded. Van
Loo and Boucher succeeded Jouvenet and Rigaud, and gave
additional evidence of the utter incompetence of the aca¬
demic system. About 1770, flourished Greuze, who began
to evince a better taste, and was persecuted by the Royal
Academy for his independence, till the Revolution of 1790
put an end for the time to all imposture. Down went the Roy¬
al Academy in an instant; and all the conventional distinc¬
tions in art, which are generally the cloak of imbecillity, were
fluttered off in the whirlwind. The people, long prevented
from seeing fine works in the great galleries, now broke into
these galleries with brutal exultation. Bloody and dreadful
as were the consequences of the first burst of the French
Revolution, one of its most beneficial effects consisted in
throwing open all matters of art and science to the people.
Naigeon, the conservator of the Luxembourg, said, in 1814,
that nothing was opened to the people before the Revolu¬
tion ; and we ourselves in England are now enjoying our
Museums, en tirely in consequence of the effect produced upon
Mr. Fox and the English, who visited Paris in the year 1802,
and who were astonished at the noble frankness with which
the Louvre was exposed.
The academy being swallowed up in the whirlpool of poli¬
tical revolution, the Institute supplied its place. Napoleon,
on becoming first consul, sent immediately for David, who
had been a furious republican during “le temps de la ter-
reur a man of great talent, but of abominable taste. Na¬
poleon made him his court-painter, and gave such prepon¬
derance to his influence, that the detestable style of David
became everywhere but in England the style of European
723
art.
David’s style. Prudhom was a man of genius. Hideous as
was the style of David, in fact painted Roman sculpture, it
had some foundation in reason. This was, if possible, to
bring the French back to classical art, after the flutter of
Boucher, and the pomposity of Coypel; but, like all reform¬
ers, he went to excess.
The materials for assisting them are so deficient, that the
greatest artists have arrived at any thing like an imitation
of nature only by the greatest science and skill. It is much
easier to paint a button and a chair, than a human face; there¬
fore the great artists dwelt upon the face with all their dex¬
terity, and touched off the button and chair with less an¬
xiety and care. The French used to say, that tAeirs was
the system of the ancient Greeks, and that it was our pre¬
judice to disapprove of it. But before we have done, we
shall show that it was not the system of the ancient Greeks ;
and as we pay all due deference to the Italians, Flemings,
Dutch, Spaniards, and Greeks, and to their own Poussin and
Uaude, they have no right to accuse us of prejudice be¬
cause we disapprove of David. We do not deny David’s
talent, because it must have required talent to mislead the
continent of Europe. In art David’s expression was taken
rom the theatre, and his actions were borrowed from the
opera house ; his forms were Roman and not Grecian, and
is colour was hideous enough to produce ophthalmia. If
e and his pictures, with all he ever designed, and all he ever
invented, had not appeared in the world, or having appeared,
a been utterly rooted out of it, the atmosphere would be
purer. He is a plague-spot, a whitened leprosy in painting, Painting,
that haunts the imagination with disgust. This he had thev — —
impudence to say of Rubens. But since the peace, and from
the connection with England, a better school of colour has
spi ung up in France ; and La Roche gives evidence of hav¬
ing in some degree got rid of the furniture look of David,
though it still poisons a French pencil.
Horace Vernet is a distinguished name ; indeed, he may
be called the fiist light-infantry grenadier of European art.
He paints a head in five minutes, a whole imperial family
in ten minutes, and an historical picture in twenty ; and he
paints all three with talent and skill. Though the* French
are not yet sound in art, they are the best educated artists
in Europe; and if the English would combine their own
colour with the careful habits of French early study, and if
each school could supply the deficiencies of the other, they
would make out a very good school between them.
In thus suffering ourselves to be led away to the present
state of the French school, we have omitted to do justice
to the great men of former times; Poussin, Sebastian, Bour¬
don, and Le Sueur. Poussin is the hero of French art
His Death of Germanicus is very fine, as a specimen of his¬
tory ; and his Polyphemus sitting on the top of a mountain,
and playing his pipe, with his back towards you, is a pure
specimen of the poetic. He studied the ancient Romans so
much, that he became Roman in his faces, drapery, and
figures; and in his naked forms, the common model is too
apparent. His finest works are in England ; but though dis¬
tinguished for expression, there is always an antique heart¬
lessness, as if copied from the masks of an ancient theatre.
Bourdon’s Return of the Ark is a high proof of his con¬
ception ; and Le Sueur’s St. Bruno is pure in taste, but bad
in colour. The Battles of Alexander by Le Brun show the
latter to have been of the family of machinists. His colour is
bronzed and disagreeable. Le Brun was a court-favourite,
and his Greeks, as well as barbarians, have an air of the
opera at Versailles. His composition is artificial; and he is
not a fit example for youth. The only man who coloured
with exquisite feelingwas Watteau, whose touch and delicacy
of tint may be studied with great profit by any artist.
In a word, it is extraordinary that th e French as a nation, have
never been right in art. Poussin was the only man who could
T> ii /"'i / • i ^ c*. i/* x wL&oolll W cto lilt/ Mil 1 y Illtill WXIO COUK
Lros, Prudhom, Guerin, deviated from the rigidity of have set them right, and they persecuted him so, that he set
IS Si VP. Krnnhnm ax-q c o man rv-L rmnino XJ ^ H ~     —1 *T)  /■'ll it • i .
tied in Rome. Claude Lorraine can hardly belong to them;
and though Louis Philippe is now employing them by hun¬
dreds, nothing very eminent has yet proceeded from such
encouragement.
The Germans are taking higher ground than any other Progress of
nation, and are making rapid advances, particularly at Mu-the Ger-
nich. They have begun again fresco painting; and the li-mans-
berality of their king has rendered Munich the most flou¬
rishing city in Europe for arts and artists; but as Canova
said when he was in England, there is very little grand art
left in the world. It is extraordinary to reflect on the little
original thinking that is to be found. This was more ap¬
parent in the Louvre than any where else ; and one could
not help being amused at seeing the way in which Rubens,
who, like Michel Angelo, is supposed to have never looked
out of himself, had plundered the old Gothic painters ; the
h all of the Damned, by an old German, being the complete
basis of the same subject by Rubens.
When incessant demands are made on the genius of a
favourite, every aid to thinking is grasped at and improved.
Raffaelle did this; so did Rubens; and even Reynolds used
to have portfolios brought him to look over at breakfast, and
select what would help him, saying, “It will save me the trou¬
ble of thinking.” This involves a very serious question in art.
The utmost merit that can be allowed is that of skilful adap¬
tation. “ Nihil tetigit quod non ornavit ” may be said of
all these ; and surelya good thought badly done is justifiable
food for a superior mind to render it better.
P A I N T I N G.
724
Painting. We come now to the British School, which, though the
iast founded in Europe, is inferior to none in variety of power.
British There is no doubt that the art1 would have advanced in
school. Britain side by side with the continental nations, if we had
continued Catholics ; in fact, we w ere doing so, when Wick-
liffe’s opposition to the Catholic priests roused up the peo¬
ple to hate and detest every thing connected with their sys¬
tem. ,Painting of course came under this furious denunci¬
ation, and through successive ages went on till the period
of the Reformation.
Historical In Edward the Confessor’s time, there were executed bas-
notices of reliefs as good as any thing done at that time in Europe, and
British art. by no means deficient in grace, though disproportioned, and
unskilful in composition. In one ot these there is a king in
bed, and leaning upon his hand; which in an improved style
might be made a fine thing. In Alfred’s reign and before,
York and Canterbury were adorned with pictures and ta¬
pestry ; and in the tenth century, Ethelrida adorned Ely
Cathedral with a series of historical pictures in memory of
her famous husband BirthwAtod. As this is recoided, says
Strutt, the practice must have existed before ; and that it
continued to exist and be the fashion down to the Edwaids
and Henrys, there is good evidence; for in the time of Henry
HI. mention is made of the immortal Master Walker’s paint¬
ing in Westminster, the no less renowned John Thornton of
Coventry, painter there, and the east window of York.2 In
the reign of Henry YIII. there was a chartered society of
painters ; and in the seventeenth of Elizabeth it was moved
in the House by Sir G. Moore, “ that a bill to redress cer¬
tain grievances in painting be let sleep, and be referred to
the Lord Mayor, as it concerned a controversy between
'painters andplaisterers and Sir Stephen Jones stood up
and desired that the Lord Mayor “ might not be troubled,
and it seemed to go against the painters”
The painters who complained thatthe plaisterers used their
colours, and took the bread out of their mouths, go on to say,
that in the nineteenth of Edward IV., that is in 1480, there
were orders issued “ for the use of oil and size, and that the
“ painters’ only mixture was oz'/and size, w'hich the plaisterers
do now usurp and intrude upon.” In their petition they ob¬
serve with the greatest simplicity : “Workmanship and skill
is the gift of God, and not one in ten proveth a workman,
and that those who cannot attain excellence must live by
the baser part of the science.” They add that “ painting on
cloth is decayed ; that this art is a curious art, and requireth
a good eye, and a stedfast hand, which the infirmity of age de-
cayeth, and then painters go a-begging and then they
conclude the petition to the House by this remarkable pas¬
sage : “ These trails thus curiously painted in former ages
the images so perfectly done, do witness our forefathers' care
in cherishing this art of painting? “ This bill,” said Sir
Stephen Jones, “ is very reasonable and fit to pass,” and IPaintiii
so it did.3
The above extract, proves that in Elizabeth’s reign the
historical attempts were alluded to, as belonging to former
ages, viz. from the tenth century downwards; that the House
of Commons praised the wisdom of those times in cherish¬
ing painting ; and that this wisdom the Reformation had ob¬
viously discarded.
In 1538, Henry issued an order against the use of pic¬
tures and statues to impose on the people; yet pictures are
called “bokes for unlearned people.” In 1542, in his letter
toCranmer, the king tries to restrain the destruction of pic¬
tures; but it was too late. In the reign ofEdward IV. the Duke
of Somerset fined and imprisoned all those who possessed
pictures of religious subjects. To such excess had the fury
of the people been excited, that the recorder of Salisbury, Mr.
Henry Sherfield, was fined L.500, and imprisoned in the Fleet
for not breaking a painted window in Salisbury Cathedral.
Walpole says that one Bleese was employed at 2s. 6d. a-day
to break windows at Croydon ; and in Charles I.’s reign it
was ordered,4 that all pictures having the second person of
the Trinity should be burnt, and that all pictures having the
Virgin should share the same fate. Cromwell stopped this
barbarity, and it wras owing to the self-will of this extraor¬
dinary man that' the Cartoons of Raffaelle was bought in for
L.300, at the sale of Charles’s effects.
Thus it is clear the art was stopped by the Reformation.
In St. Stephen’s Chapel, before the alterations made some years
since, there were figures painted on the walls, as excellent
as any figures in the Campo Santo, and perhaps executed
about the same period. In Elizabeth’s reign, as we have
seen, historical art is referred to with sorrow in the House,
as a thing past but which had existed ; and in the same
reign, says Hillier, “ men induced by nature,” to pursue high
art, “ have been made poorer, like the most rare English
drawers of story works? Now, Hillier would not have said
this, if it had not been true that the drawers of story works
were principally natives.
In Henry VII.’s time, Torrigiano, the same youth who had
felled Michel Angelo to the ground in the gardens ot Lo¬
renzo and shattered his nose, was in England, and executed
important works. In the time of Henry VIII., commissions
for high art being over, Holbein devoted himself to court
portrait-painting, though in the city he painted some large
pictures. Rubens’ and Vandyke’s visit excited Dobson, a
capital painter of a head; but although Oliver was distin¬
guished as a miniature painter, and although there are de¬
signs at Oxford, by English painters, no one genius seemed
to arise till after Lely and Kneller had succeeded Vandyke.
Cooper was the first'English painter employed in foreign
courts as a miniature painter. Thornhill, a man oi talent,
1 It is a curious fact, that the art seems to have been in an advanced state in England, while it is doubtful whether ‘ P
in Florence in 1226. In 1250 the authorities in Florence sent for some Greeks because there was no pan.ter ; yet atthat Perl°" H, J
land, and long before, historical painting seemed quite the fashion amongst the upper classes. All the mgs looms, as ^ ^
ivere pdm«lf In the 25th of Edward IJI. in the rolls of the Exchequer 2C.h September 1351, there .s a charge to “ W'tonr^M
ryngton, for making twenty angels to stand in the tabernacles by task-work, at 6s. t^d. foi each image, . , s. • t0 0ji_
gun the beautiful pictures and designs in St. Stephen’s Chapel; and it is curious to see, in all the accounts, e c01' inferior artists
painting. The artists employed must certainly have been men of distinguished talent, who had the power o o f£l bv the king as
Jo »“isgt them. The most celebrated of their' comber appear, to have been Hugh de St. Alban’s, S,h“
his principal painter. The following document, dated 18th March, 1350, contains his appointment. The kingUoall jT ^ ^
sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, officers, and his other lieges, as well within liberties as without, to whom be greeting, i > , ^ ^
pointed our beloved Hugh de St. Alban’s, master of the painters assigned for the works to be executed in oui c aP ’ .ces where
Westminster, to take and choose as many painters and other workmen as may be required for performing those wor's, > P ^
it may seem expedient, either within liberties or without, in the counties of Kent, Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, and Sussex, e °we
workmen to come to our palace aforesaid, there to remain in our service, at our wages, as long as it be "e. ^ manner as the said
command you to be counselling and assisting this Hugh, and completing what has been stated, as often and the books, (25 Ed-
Hugh may require.” (See Britton’s West. Pal. p. 170.) The illustrious Hugh seems to have been a designer; for in the m i^
ward III/April 30,) is1 the following entry, “ to H. de St. Albans, ordering or designing the drawings for the painters, one d y,
2 See Carter’s Etchings. , ,
3 See Sir W. Munson’s Account of the Acts of Elizabeth, 1632, British Museum.
4 See Journals of the House, 23d July 1645.
painting.
ainting.
725
^ ^ , VJ. rjQ
and a member of the House, forms the link
and another; and then sprung up Hogarth, Gainsborough, four "wefe mad^RA’s6^^?!6'1 dh eCfhy’ £;nd thewholeKtvventy-
Wilson, West, and Barry. As usual, when Ilevnolds and UeK'As* , V1118 bY thls limited number were^-^ ^
Hogarth had for ever rescued Britain from all doubt as to her die m eSent exc^u81ve law and constitution, and all
genius, without an academy of any descltion a rova „ *e»ta».ouS regulations passed, which had been checked
demy was founded to produce more genius iust as had been re • " 'i!' a consL|i"er.cy ; and thus the art of England
,lone all over F.nrone f ,„a 18;”. f’.J“S“hf! b«e» rec«lved ‘W®*- “ore fatal than at the Reformation, The
weakness of the nation has been gratified to an excess by
this interpsfpn 4-k • _ r» .i . , . ,
,e A ca¬
ny.
. ^ genius, just as naa been
done all over Europe; and no man equal to Reynolds and
Hogarth has since appeared.! After the academy was found¬
ed at Milan by Leonardo, no genius like his appeared. After
that of St. Luke was founded at Rome, Raffaelle and all
being dead, no one came forth. After an academy had been
founded at I arma, Corregio being gone, nobody appeared.
After a national academy was founded at Venice, and royally
endowed genius fled. The same thing happened in Fer¬
rara, Modena, Florence, and Naples ; and also in France,
Spain, and England. Need further evidence be sought of
the uselessness of such institutions ?
In 1711, there existed a school, of which Kneller wasthe
head, whilst Vertue the engraver drew in it. After 1724
Sir James Thornhill openedaschool in hisown home Povent r,,mi;A”‘i”777”7-’ucuui, laKenirompamphlets
Garden, and sodid the Duke of Richmond at Whitehall Privv {a! i^^vf thf time’ especially that of Sir Robert Strange,2
Gardens. Sir James proposed to Lord Hahfkx to found I it be e ^^cessarp audit will not appear tedious, If
royal academy, but without success. At SR James’flea h rvhTblS ^ the sake of the art ot our own coun-
- — w. h.„k„    T!’e
,i,- . . , , , : — giuuueu io an excess ov
this interested assembly, to the ruin of their taste and iudg-
Tve™ hlghKarVr g0ne ,back’ and is going back further
every year, by the struggles of these men to keep up their
monopoly in dehance ot the increasing intelligence of the
people, which they fear, and which will yet be their utter de¬
struction. In this affair Reynolds behaved with great mean-
nff* I16 Promised to stand by the constituency; yielded
at the offer of a knighthood; was afterwards justly punished,
y being compelled to resign ; and foolishly complained of
ingratitude which he had deserved.
In order that the state of art in Great Britain may be
rightly understood,this authentic detail, taken from pamphlets
published at the time, especially that of Sir Robert Strange 2
IlclS OPPri 1" M Ol 1 (yll f" O/'»OC?0'r» S'] 14. * 11 . i. ^ .
,  -v xxi ou ^umes aeatn,
the school was broken up, and the artists were again left
without instruction ; when, for the purpose of studying the
iv ing model, they hired a room in Greyhound Court, Arun¬
del Street, and Michael Moses was the conductor of it. Here
they were visited by Hogarth, who was so well pleased, that
a union ol the whole body took place, and they removed to
effect of the academy has been pernicious. Imitating the
example, all the eminent provincial towns have established
exhibitions instead of schools ; and every year the annual
S-?e meti:oPollf18 repeated in the provinces, with
but little addition to that which proved unsaleable in theLon-
Peter’s Court, St. Martin’s J Tembers H^.opposed such a conclusion, and from the
amounted to a hundred and forty-one, each payino- an annual W gpredicted its effect, which has happened to the very
subscription. There was at thetLeagreatS of happy feL Icknnlw Reyn°lds be^n to P^ceive the truth, he
lowslnp amongst the artists. Reynolds, who was a member that « C 111(5 enor’.an(i 8aitl to Sir George Beaumont,
with Hogarth and others, adorned the Foundling Hospftal ’ art ”^ If IheIT^l gl°Und ^hich would ruin ^e
and thepubhc were so interested, that the society thoughtthev he ’thu* i 1 ] d 1 .f1 evfcry other academy m Europe could
might venture on a charter, which was obTffned and S thet " d T"’ intriSUes’ the same despotism,
was established by lawa government oftwenty-fou’r direetnr« f i f injustice, and the same want of principle would be
annually elected, including the pres C, Mhe whoTe bodv twle' d 6 5 ^ EmT Would no ^"ger wonder
andout of it. An united exhibition having betun ftheco/ The h fS "T* hafe 1?r°duCed a RafFaelle-
stant source ofirritation, for every man cannothave his works left •. St dnd 8traight forward constituency being thus Reyaolds.
in the best places,) squabbles arose; and the &eSs findW bvthen^iT unPfected by the king, it was soon deserted '
the benefit of being able to hang their own works and those o-etheffJ * i^ Publlc’andshortly escaped noticealto-
of their friends in the best situations, intrigued to keen their fedo-f h tfOUghsu.chamai|lasfIogarthhadimProved his know-
places another year. This was foolishly Sted - anleveTv whh h ft m ltS Scho° S*, The literary ^endour with
subsequent year finding themselves becominga match for the whirl! ?.lf yn° ds wa88lirrounded, gave aglory to the Academy
constituency, they kept theirplaces for eight years, in defiance hab armm^
oflaw ; so that at last it was found that the men eleftfd ff 7 ui ’ h f artlStS Stl11 fancy ^eysee, though it
preserve order and law, had been ^ ‘f ™betlthe moment he expired. Reynolds was really a great
both. With the feelings of independent freemen the eon «>-1S ’ lj0i gcousm tone and colour, unimpeachable in compo-
stituencies resolved to endure this no longer • when to nre- tlUTf dffP ^ ^ shadow, beautiful in character, and
vent collision, it was agreed to refer the noint to thf Att " • e Purest Painter 0* children and women that ever lived
ney-General, De Gre^, both ,arts pledS hem eRf ffdod ^ ^ ^0rance belonged to the
abide by his decision. De Grey gafe it aSnst The db-eJ! 7 / j at f T? We,re entirely his own 5 and though he
tors, and these honourable men then refused to keen their f^en.a e 1C e. 4n^e °5 and baS done lnJury to taste, by
word. The constituency met, and vLlef tly expelled six- ee Zrt ^ 7 WaS right’ yet bad he lived to
teen of them; but before resigning, these gentlemen met did in - r. cse|us 01 y88u8> be would have been equally can-
secretly, and fearing exposure, tore out and destroyed the tint aymg m was m error. Lord Heathfield is a portrait
minutes from the 19th November 1764, to the 1 ItftMarch pTrkTr t ^ ^ any W°rk of Titian’s for men, and Mrs.
L65, and from the 17th of June 1765, to the 21st of M-ireh • Ip7!atenfder’S,W,eet piCtUre°faw0man’wasnever equalled
1766. They then went to the king, George III^ whonfthev VnT T T by any WOrk of the Venetian a^d
persuaded that the chartered body was republican- and th J hbT« Were. children ever so completely
there was no hope unless a royal academy was founded with nf 1^ T 47 In ar4 Academy ? who surpassed the propriety
«• gS&Zs&SiJ&rL Vd
gestions, and ,bundell an academy witl| forty memberf; ^ not ^
nobody w!iu(»meriofitr.0dUCed ^ &n academy’ but at Graham’s school, Edinburgh. Now this school is an academy with all its pride, and
0f3t7hR0yal Afdemicianf,”lftKriLah AIus0etum.PUbllShedln the ycarl771»by Dmv^ll, St. Martin’s Lane, entitled “ On the Conduct
18 ^ ^ aUth°r ^ Sir ^ 5 -d haS SinCe ^ ^ pamphlet, « Concise Vindication,” &c. in British Museum.
726
PAINTING.
Painting. Titian ; but place one of his finest portraits by the side of
^any picture of Titian’s, see them at the proper distance, and
Reynolds would keep his station. Here, however, the praise
must stop. Reynolds could have no more painted Pietro Mar-
tyre than he could have revived the martyr after he was
dead. He was not so great a man as Titian, because he
did not like him remedy his ignorance, when he found it
out at a much earlier age. He was always talking of what
he would do if he began the world again. Sir Joshua loved
society ; he was the deity of his coterie ; he liked a glass
of wine and a game at whist; and he never lost his temper
because he was successful in the world, but the first time he
was thwarted he got in a passion. Reynolds was a great
genius in painting, but not a great man. He raised English
art from the dust, and gave English artists an a-plomb in so¬
ciety which they never had before, and he first reduced the
art to something like system by his discourses ; but not hav¬
ing moral courage to resist the formation of an academy,
which he could have done by his influence and his genius,
he compromised the art, and was indirectly the means of
throwing it off its balance, which it will yet take halt a cen-
turv more to remedy, as Hogarth predicted.
Hogarth As an inventor, Hogarth is by far the greatest of the British
h ’ school; although in aim and object, colour, surface, and all
the requisites of a great painter, infinitely below Reynolds.
It would be useless to detail the perfections of a man so ad¬
mired all over the earth, and who will only cease to be a de¬
light with its existence. It is astonishing how hereditary
is the hatred of academies. The painters in revenge for
Hogarth’s opposition, swore that he was no painter, and swear
so to this hour. The absurdity of this criticism can be prov¬
ed by the Marriage a la Mode, whilst the picture of the hus¬
band and wife after a rout, is as beautifully touched as any in
that class of art can be. He has not the clearness of Teniers,
nor the sharpness of Wilkie ; his touch is blunt, and his co¬
lour deficient in richness ; but you feel not the want whilst
looking at him; and although his expression is often carica¬
ture, yet in the above picture it is perfection. Hogarth un¬
fortunately believed himself infallible; but his wretched beau¬
ty of Drury Lane for Pharaoh’s daughter at the Foundling,
his miserable Sigismunda, and his Paul before Felix, we hope
convinced him of his forte. If he was serious in these pic¬
tures, which we very much doubt, he deserved a strait waist¬
coat and a low diet as the only treatment for his hallucina¬
tion.
G-ainsbo- Gainsborough was another painter of great genius in
rough. portrait and landscape ; but Wilson was a greater. His touch
and feeling were comprehensive, though too abstracted for
the vulgar, who always like polish and to put up their fingers.
He used to say to Sir George Beaumont, “ When some¬
body is dead somebody’s pictures will sell better.” From
neglect he got into foolish habits of drinking and died
librarian to the academy. A miserable dauber called Lam¬
bert was the fashion, and his character as a landscape pain¬
ter was hit by poor Wilson. He said “ his trees and foliage
were eggs and spinach, and nothing moreyet Lambert
got hundreds when Wilson could hardly get shillings. But
where are now the immortal Lambert’s works ? Making
fire-screens for garrets, whilst “ somebodijs pictures” adorn
the houses of the great. Gainsborough was a great por¬
trait painter and ran Reynolds hard. West s Wolf and La
Hogue are the triumph’s of his talent; but his great sacred
subjects are inferior works. The writer of this observed to
Canova in England, “ Au moins, il compose bien. ” “Mon¬
sieur,” replied the Italian, “ il ne compose pas; il met des figures
en groupe.” He was a skilful machinist; and though there are
bits of colour in his small works, rich and harmonious, his
portraits are detestable, his handling unfeeling, his drawing
meagre and common. He was deeply versed in nothing,
though possessing great acquired knowledge ot his art with¬
out being an educated man. W ith respect to his being the
greatest man since the Caracci, with Rembrandt, Rubens, Paintiif
Vandyke, and Dominichino, Guido, and Guercino since, or
a little after, the idea is ridiculous and absurd. The king
hated Reynolds on account of his devotion to Burke and
Fox, and puffed West from sheer irritability. The king said
to Hopner, “ Why does Reynold paint his trees red and
yellow ? who ever saw trees that colour ?” Hopner, who
said what he pleased, replied, “ Then your majesty never
saw trees in autumn.”
Romney, a second-rate man, had great patronage, whilst Romney.
Barry, a man of great grasp of mind, had none whatever.
Barry joined the Academy to oblige Reynolds, against his own
convictions; was soon at issue with its selfish monopoly; op¬
posed it; urged the propriety of devoting a portion of its funds
to establish a school of colour; exasperated the intriguers by
his fearless attacks ; and was expelled of course as an ob¬
noxious man, the king having been persuaded to sanction it,
under the deadly hint that Barry was a radical. Barry was
the protege of Burke, and his Adelphi pictures, shewing the
progress of society, though deficient in drawing, colour, and
delicacy of touch, were the first work in England on the
comprehensive principle of the ancients. Having neglect¬
ed Burke’s repeated entreaties to dissect, he suffered the con¬
sequence. His forms at the Adelphi are such as can be got
by general drawings from the antique, but there is no refined
knowledge of construction in them.
As a man of genius, however, Barry is not to be compared Barry,
to Henry Fuzeli, the friend of Reynolds and Lavater, and one
of the most distinguished and accomplished men of his time.
Fuzeli was undoubtedly the greatest genius of that day.
His Milton gallery shewed a range of imagination equal to
the poet’s; his Satan bridging Chaos, his Uriel watching
Satan, his Shepherd’s Dream, his Fairies from Shakespeare,
and his Ghost in Hamlet, announce him as having conceiv¬
ed, like Theon, (pavracrias, and as being the greatest inventor
in art since Julio Romano. But in the modes of conveying
his thoughts by form, colour, light, and shadow, and above
all, nature, he was a monster in design; his women are all
strumpets, and his men all banditti, with the action of gal¬
vanized frogs, the dress of montebanks, and the hue of pes¬
tilential putridity. No man had the power like Fuzeli of
rousing the dormant spirit of youth ; and there issued from
his inspirations a nucleus of painters, who have been the firm¬
est supporters of the British school.
But Fuzeli, as a painter, must be a warning to all. Had Fuzeli.
he taken the trouble to convey his thoughts like the great
masters, his pictures would have risen as time advanced;
yet as time advances, his pictures, from having no hold on
our feelings like the simplicity of nature, must sink. His
conceptions however poetical, are not enough to satisfy the
mind in an art, the elements of which are laid in lovely
nature ; and great as his genius was in fancy and concep¬
tion, inventor as he was in art of fairies and ghosts, he will
never be an object to imitate, but always to avoid by young
men, who are more likely to lay hold ot his defects than his
beauties. The finest conception of a ghost that was ever
painted, was the Ghost in Hamlet on the battlement s. There
it quivered with martial stride, pointing to aplace of meeting
with Hamlet; and round its vizored head was a halo of light
that looked sulphureous, and made one feel as if one actu¬
ally smelt hellv burning, cindery, and suffocating. the
dim moon glittered behind; the_sea roared in the distance,
as if agitated by the presence of a supernatural spirit; anc
the ghost looked at Hamlet, with eyes that glared like the
light in the eyes of a lion, which is savagely growling over
his bloody food. But still it was a German ghost, and not the
ghost of Shakespeare. There was nothing in it to toucn
human sympathies combined with the infernal; there va
nothing at all of “ his sable, silvered beard,” or his C0UI7
tenance more “ in sorrow than in anger;” it was a here,
demoniacal, armed fiend reeking from hell, wio a
PAINTING.
7^7
minting, yet expiated “the crimes done in his days of nature,” to qualify
him for heaven. His next finest works were the two fairy pic¬
tures in the Shakespeare gallery, some diving into harebells,
some sailing in Bottom’s shoe; but beautiful as they were, in¬
deed the only fairies ever pain ted, still your heart longed for na¬
ture in colour, form, action, and expression. Such an union had
the Greeks, and no art in the world will be perfect until it
appears again. These pictures are evidences of the highest
conception of the fanciful and supernatural. His Lazar
House is an evidence of his power of pathos ; his Uriel and
Satan of the poetical ; his Puck putting on a girdle, of the
humorous and mischievous. But when Fuzeli attempted
the domestic, as in the illustrations of Cowper, his total want
of nature stares one in the face, like the eyes of his own
ghosts. Never were the consequences of disdaining the
daily life before your eyes, or of affecting to be above it, so
fatally developed as in this series of design ; though in com¬
paring with him another eminent artist, namely, Stothard,
who, in sweetness and innocence, was his decided superior,
Fuzeli surpassed him in elevation and reach of mind. In the
pictures of Stothard, who painted equally well w ithout life
before him, there is not the same extravagance, yet there
is almost equal want of nature in another way. Flaxman,
hard.
and was killed. This ill-fated artist was in every respect Painting,
worthy of his father.
Never were there four men so essentially different as West, West.
Fuzeli, Flaxman, and Stothard. Fuzeli was undoubtedly
the man of the largest capacity and the most acquired know ¬
ledge ; West was an eminent artist in the second rank ;
Flaxman and Stothard were purer designers than either ;
Barry and Reynolds were before all the others. In Barry’s
Adelphi there is a grasp of mind, as Johnson said; yet as a
painter he was inferior to all. Though Fuzeli had more
imagination and conception than Reynolds, though West
put things together with more facility, and Flaxman and
Stothard did what Reynolds could not do; yet as a sound,
great, and practical artist, in which all the others were de¬
ficient, Reynold’s must be considered the head of the Bri¬
tish school as a painter and handler of his brush.
Opie must not be omitted, nor Northcote his imitator and Qpie,
contemporary, both of them men of talent. Opie, a man of Northcote,
great and powerful genius, issued from Cornwall at once on Wilkie,
the town. Northcote was six years with Reynolds ; and his
Arthur and Hubert, and Children in the Tower, are fair
specimens of his talents. He was a malicious man, and
tried to injure his greatest protector, Reynolds, and Dr.
Stothard, and Fuzeli, are the three legitimate designers of Mudge w ho introduced him, by allowing Hazlitt to print
our school, and yet not one of them was perfect master of his (Northcote’s) Conversations. There never was a deeper
the figure. scheme for malignant defamation. Northcote always said
Flaxman’s designs from the Iliad and the Greek tragedies that he did not print them, and Hazlitt that he did not talk
are his finest wmrks; and when first they appeared in Italy, them; and each vented his spite on a mutual friend, and
they were denied to be the invention of an Englishman, as shifted the blame to the other. Reynolds was succeeded by
it was supposed to be impossible that any Englishman could West, and the art sunk to the lowest depth, containing only
kavo an imagination. But yet of some of these designs it Sir Joshua’s humble imitators, when a genius broke forth,
have
really may be said, “ 11 n’y a qu’un pas du sublime au ri
dicule.” It is extremely difficult to say whether they are
in the highest degree sublime or extremely absurd. In all
attempts to express the passions, you will perceive extra¬
vagance ; but in comparing him with Canova, in this part of
the art, Canova must yield the palm as much as Flaxman
was inferior in the perfection of working up a single and
beautiful figure. Though this eminent man talks pom¬
pously of Greek form and anatomical knowledge, he in re¬
ality knew very little of either ; and though there is a great
deal of useful matter of fact in his lectures, yet on the whole
they display a w retched poverty of thinking. His book
of Anatomy for students is not deep enough on the separa¬
tion of muscle, bone, and tendon, and can help a young man
a very little way to correct notions. The value of Fuzeli’s
and Opie’s lectures in comparison with Flaxman’s or Bar¬
ry’s is evident; and the superiority of Reynolds to all, ex¬
cept Fuzeli in his lecture on Greek art, needs not to be
dwelt on.
Stothard, as an inventor in composition, was equal to all,
but as a painter, certainly inferior to all. In fact he could
not paint; he had no identity of imitation ; he did not and
could not tell a story by human passions ; and his style of
design showed great ignorance of the constituent parts of the
figure. But there was a beautiful and angelic spirit that
breathed on every thing he did. He seems in early life to
have dreamed of an angel, and to have passed the remain¬
der of his days in trying to endow every figure he design¬
ed, with something of the sweetness that he had seen in his
sleep. Peace to his mild and tender spirit. It was im¬
possible to be in Stothard’s painting-room for ten minutes
without being influenced by his angelic mind. He seem¬
ed to us always as if he had been born in the wrong pla¬
net. He had a son whose etchings from our ancient tombs
are an honour to the country. He fell from a great height,
in pursuing his designs from some tomb in a country church,
David Wilkie, who rendered our domestic school, the first
in Europe ; and the feeling for art has been rapidly advan¬
cing amongst the people ever since. This many circum¬
stances unite to prove.
In consequence of the perpetual complaints from the Parlia-
great body of artists, the government granted a committee mentary
in 1836, to examine the cause of the superiority of France in inquiry-
manufacturing design, as well as the condition of high art, and
to ascertain if the accusations against the Royal Academy
were true or false. Never in the world were the consequences
of a monopoly or; the perceptions of respectable men so
ludicrously developed. The president and body first denied
the right of the House of Commons to examine them at all;
and when the persuasions of their friends showed them their
folly, their appearance before the committee presented a scene
never to be forgotten in the history of English painting.
On all questions of finance, they proved satisfactorily the
honour of their transactions ; but on all questions of art more
was proved against them than ever had been suspected.1
The resignation of Reynolds, and the expulsion of Barry; the
loss of a million of money to the art on the Waterloo mo¬
nument, in consequence of their not replying to Lord Cas-
tlereagh’s committee; their refusal to let the artists also
support their exhibition, and have the same opportunities of
fitting their works for the public as at the British Gallery;
and, to crown all, their rendering the school of design lately
established of no avail to the mechanic, by establishing a law,
that the study of the figure is not necessary for his education,
though it was proved that this study at the Lyons academy
for mechanics, wras the real cause of their superiority to us;
are such indisputable evidence against their protestations
of sincerity, that it has rendered the nobility and the nation
more than suspicious of the truth of all the accusations which
have been made against them.
In Scotland the art is in a promising condition, and the Scottish art
Scottish school in purer taste than the English. Living as
1 See Report on Arts and Manufactures. In this Report the important subjects of Art and Manufacture are both considered ; and no
one, with any pretensions to taste, should be without it.
728 PAIN
Painting, the artists do, in the most magnificent city in Europe, sur-
rounded by a cotintry pregnant with historical recollections,
and guided by their own shrewd understandings, the school in
Edinburgh will, before many years, take a very high rank
in the art. But there is some cause to apprehend that it will
be checked at its most critical period, from the usual cause,
the foundation of the old curse of Europe, an academy.
After having produced Runciman, Raeburn, Wilkie, and
the other eminent men Scotland can boast of in art, they
have been persuaded to found conventional distinctions,
in favour of a select few; and, as elsewhere, the result will be
the same. No Wilkie, no Runciman, no Raeburn will come
from it; for the best men they now possess were eminent be¬
fore it was thought of. The art has no business with any aris¬
tocracy of talent. Conventional distinctions, which are not
hereditary, are laughable and absurd; and distinctions which
are, ought to be reserved for high descent, heroic actions, land¬
ed property, or vast political genius. Such an aristocracy pro¬
duces heart-burnings and injustice ; for it places power in
the hands of men, who are not amenable to justice for tyran¬
ny, and who cannot be reached by law, for calumny or in¬
sinuation. “ Of all hatreds,” said the Edinburgh Review,
“there are none to equal the hatreds weak men in power
bear to the man of genius without it.” It is a curious evi¬
dence of the sagacity of the Scotch, that whilst the English
portrait painters, since the death of Reynolds, were all plac¬
ing kings and queens on their toes, from sheer ignorance of
perspective, Raeburn, Wilkie, and Gordon have never made
that mistake.
In a word, it is our decided and unprejudiced conviction,
that the genius of the British people, will never have fair
play or be soundly advanced, till the Royal Academy is
removed, or effectually remodelled; and this will be effected
either by the positive interference of the queen or the go¬
vernment, or by the rapidly increasing knowledge of the
people. If the capital and the provinces were freed from the
predominence of those men ; if the honours were abolished
and the constituencies restored; if the whole national galler¬
ies were turned into a great school, with branch schools in the
great towns ; if the Cartoons were removed to London for
the occasional sight of the people, as they might be inclin¬
ed to drop in; and if a Native Gallery were arranged for the
best productions to be purchased as they appeared, and
the House of Lords adorned with a series of grand works
referring to the British constitution ; then w'ould the go¬
vernment do a real good to taste, refined pleasures, and design
for manufactures, such as would entitle them to the ever¬
lasting gratitude of the nation.
On the other hand, if all the ancient boroughs of the
land have been obliged to bend to the call for reform; if
the crown itself has been obliged to yield up the old House of
Commons ; if the salaries of our great officers of state have
been cut down without complaint; if pensions bestowed
equally for merit or for vice, are to be rigorously sifted ; if
the queen herself has been obliged to permit her expendi¬
ture to be questioned ; are a set of men without a lease of
their House, or charter for their existence, without any one
legal claim to be considered as a constitutional body—are
they alone to brave the Commons and the Lords, are they
alone to defy and deny reformation, taking their stand upon
their utter insignificance ? If so, it will be an anomaly in
the character of the British Legislature, which, in after times,
will only be remembered as a proof of imbecility and folly,
if not of something still worse than either.
General We have now gone through the great leading schools of
deductions. Italy, France, Germany, Flanders, Holland, Spain, and Bri¬
tain, and we have taken those names only, which may be
considered as leading an epoch ; so that, in such a system,
many eminent men must of necessity have been omitted.
From the Petersburg, Copenhagen, Berlin, or Stockholm aca¬
demies, no great genius except Thorwaldsen has yet appeared.
TING.
Was Italian art equal to Greek art ? Certainly not. In Paintii
the finest Italian there is a want of beauty in form and face,^Y« ■
which Greek art could only supply. Poussin said, that Raf-
faelle was an angel in comparison with the moderns, but in
comparison with the ancients he was an ass. Though this is
vulgar, it is in our opinion true. The ancients combined
the Venetian and Roman schools; they considered form,
colour, light and shadow, surface, expression, and execu¬
tion's all equally component parts of imitation, and all neces¬
sary to perfect that imitation which was to be employed as an
instrument to convey thought. They combined the draw¬
ing and the colouring of the two great Italian schools; as
these illustrious schools tried to do when they found out
their error, in pursuing one at the expense of the other.
Reynolds, from the defective practice of each school, laid
it down that colour was incompatible with high art; and he
also laid it down that the ancients coxdd not be great paint¬
ers in a whole, though they might be in a solo, from the pic¬
tures on the walls of Pompeii. We do not wonder at any
man so concluding before the Elgin marbles arrived; but
we do marvel at Reynolds taking the works in the private
rooms ofa provincialRoman city asjustifiable grounds on which
to estimate the extent of genius in Greek art at its finest
period, five hundred years before. But after all, what are the
pictures of Pompeii ? Very probably the designs in Pom¬
peii would rank about as high in ancient art, as the designs of
our paper-stainers in Bond Street would in British art.
The pictures at Pompeii are no more criteria of what the
art of Apelles and Polygnotus really was, than any sculpture
dug up there would be a criterion of what the art of Phi¬
dias was. Reynolds undervalues contemporary praise ; but
Quintilian, Cicero, Horace, Juvenal, Strabo, Polybius, and
Pausanias, Valerius Maximus, Allian, and Pliny, were not
contemporary ; and, therefore, the praises of Aristotle or of
Plato who were, justify the enthusiasm of those who were
not.
Since the works of Phidias arrived in England, we have
positive evidence that the Greeks knew the great principles
of composition and grouping, as applied to painting; because
the metopes are instances of arrangement of line, that will
do exactly in a picture, if the Laocoon had not shown it be¬
fore. Having now seen the Elgin marbles, which the Greeks
estimated as their finest work, and having found all the enthu¬
siasm of the ancients more than borne out, have we not a jus¬
tifiable ground to argue from what we do see in one art,
that what we do not see in another was equally excellent ?
Will any man, after seeing the Theseus and Ilyssus, doubt
that the ivory Minerva and Olympian Jupiter were equally,
if not more beautiful ? Why shoidd the ancient critics have
faith placed in all their decisions except those on painting ?
Why should they lose their perspicacity of understanding
only when they talked of this art ? After Aristotle and
Plato had admired the Minerva inside the Parthenon and
the sculpture outside, they might admire the pictures ; and
nobody will deny them the power of making comparisons.
Had the Elgin marbles and the old antique never been seen,
would not the same sophistry have been put forth to question
the merit of their sculpture as well as to deny that of their
painting ? “ Nothing can be more perfect than Phidias,
says Cicero. “You cannot praise him enough,” exclaims Phny.
“ He made gods better than men,” says Quintilian. e
was skilful in beauty,” says Plato. You believe all this, _
because you cannot contradict it; but the moment Quin
tilian says, “ Zeuxis discovered light and shade ; Parrhasius
was exquisite for subtlety of line ; Apelles for grace ; iheon
for poetical conceptions, (q>avTacrias) ; Pamphilus for ma¬
thematical principle ; Polygnotus for simplicity of ^epic ar¬
rangement in colour and form; Protogenes for finish; —-w 'en
Pliny commends Aristides for expression, and Amplnon tor
composition, and speaks of the grand assemblage or t re &o
by Zeuxis, as well as the single figures of Apelles, Keynoi .
ting, replies, “ Admiration often proceeds from ignorance of higher
excellence, I will not believe contemporaneous praise.” We
answer, that admiration oftener proceeds from knowledge
of superior excellence ; that the most enthusiastic admir¬
ers of Greek painting were not contemporary; and that
Reynolds’ conclusions against Greek art are founded upon
data which are altogether erroneous.
Taking the Elgin marbles as a standard, we cannot but
suppose that the finest great works of Greek art had the
finest drawing, the most wonderful knowledge of form the
finest grouping, and the finest expression. ^ To this ’mav
be added, colour from Pliny, light and shadow from Quin¬
tilian; perspective from Vitruvius; fore-shortening, dwelling
on the leading points, like Vandyke, and touching off the
inferior parts from Plutarch; and, what was never~suspect-
ed, execution with the brush from Horace, on the leading
principles of the Venetians. The French used to affirm
that David’s principle was the same as that of the Greeks’
namely, obtruding on the attention all the superior parts, and
neglecting the inferior ones. In Plutarch’s life of Alexan¬
der, at the very beginning, he describes to his readers his
plan of writing his li ves, and concludes with this extraor¬
dinary passage : “ Like painters that paint portraits, who
dwell on the face, caring little about the remaining parts.”1
His meaning is, that he would, like painters, dwell upon the
leading points in the history of great men and lightly touch
off the inferior parts. Could he have made such an allusion
for the general reader, if this had not been the practice of
the great Greek painters ? Again, Horace says in the art
of poetry,
PAINTING.
729
spective to a much greater extent than, in consequence of Painting,
some bad^landscape discovered in Herculanum, has been
supposed. 2 I hat they foreshortened is clear, from Pliny’s
description of a bull coming out of a picture frontways.
1 he inferences to be drawn from all this, are, first, from
Plutarch and Horace, that the Greeks had execution like
Titian and Vandyke; secondly, from Pliny, that they must
have had fine colour, (lib. xxxv.) ; thirdly, from Quintilian,
that the principles of light and shadow were understood, (lib.
xh.) ; fourthly, from Vitruvius, (lib.vii.), that they had suffi¬
cient perspective to make objects recede and advance; and
fifthly , from the Elgin marbles, executed by and in the school
of Phidias, who was first a painter, that they had expression,
form, and composition. If the three most important can be
proved, as they can, and colour, light and shadow, and exe¬
cution, more than inferred ; what right has an eminent En¬
glish portrait-painter, grossly deficient as a painter of high
art, to assert, that they could not be great in extensive com¬
positions, because the painted walls of a provincial city gave
no evidence of such excellence in their private houses ? for¬
getting that these were executed five hundred years after the
eras of Greek perfection, when Greece was a Roman pro¬
vince, when her cities had been sacked, and her art was talk¬
ed of as a wonder that had passed away.
Lt pictura poesis erit; quae si propius stes,
Te capiat magis ; quaedam si longius abstes.
That is, some pictures are painted for a close, others for a
distant inspection. T he former, of course, are wrought up;
but in the latter, the leading points are seized by a touch,
leaving the atmosphere to unite. As to mere handling of
the brush, this is conclusive, and shows that it was done on the
same system as by Titian, Tintoretto, and Velasquez. Rey¬
nolds has quotedPliny’s description of glazing, that is, spreading
a thin transparent tint over the crude colours to bring them
into harmony, which was the practice of the Venetians.
Another passage completes the conviction : “ Adjectus est
splendor, alius hie quam lumen, quern quia inter hoc et
umbram esset, appellaverunt tonon.” (Lib. xxxv. e. 5.)
“Now was added splendor, a different thing from light, and
which splendor, because it was between light and dark
was called toner To the mind of an artist this is exquisite
m distinction; first, the colours on the tablet were fresh,
unmixed, and raw; then was spread over a transparent glaze’
to take off the crudeness ; then this crudeness being reduced,
it was called splendor, glowing, rich, and deep, but different
trom light, which is cold and white ; and this splendor the
tireeks called tone, as both the Venetians and the British
denominate it. But the circumstance of tone being the cha¬
racteristic of any school, is proof of an age for colour.
As to their perspective, let any man consult Vitruvius,
fim. vn.). Agatharcus composed a treatise on the subject;
andtrom this hint, Democritus and Anaxagoras wrote on per¬
spective, explaining in what manner we should, in appear-
i nces agreeable to nature, from a central point make the
dnes to correspond with the eye and the direction of the
visual rays,and render the scene a true representation of
i mgs, that those objects which are drawn on a perpen-
icular pkne, may appear some retiring fh)m the and
r t0Tards it- From a l)assaSe in Plato, it is
ear, that the Greeks carried the illusions of theatrical per-
I he principle laid down for high art has been, that the Conclusion,
lower addresses the eye and the higher the mind, and that
the union of the two was incompatible ; whereas, the true
principle surely is, that both styles address the mind through
the eye, but in different ways; the lower walk making the
imitation of the actual substance the great object of plea¬
sure only; and the higher walk making imitation the means
of conveying a beautiful thought, a fine expression, or a
grand form with greater power. The imitation though more
abstracted must not be less real or effective. Sir°Joshua
Reynolds affirmed, that the look of truth which fine colour,
light and shadow, and reality gave, distracted the eye from
the poetry of the conception or the depth of the expres¬
sion. But it may be maintained, that in an art, the ele¬
ments of w Inch are laid in imitation, the beauty of an ex¬
pression, the grace of a motion, and the sublimity of a
conception, will be increased in proportion to the look of
reality in the objects ; and the practice of all the great
Greek painters, and of Raffaelle and Titian in their latter
works, (the Transfiguration, and Pietro Martyre), proves
that they had come to the same conclusions. Yet Rey¬
nolds, w ith his usual sagacious policy, appears to waver lest
he should be wrong. “ There is no reason,” says he, “ why
the great painters might not have availed themselves with
caution and selection of many excellencies in the Venetian,
flemish, and Dutch schools ; there are some not in con¬
tradiction to any style, a happy disposition of light and shade,
breadth in masses of colour, the union of these with their
grounds, and the harmony arising from a due mixture of hot
and cold tints, with many other excellencies which would
surely not counteract the grand style.” And then he con¬
cludes that 4 a subdued attention to these excellencies must
be added to complete a perfect painter.” This is all that
is contended for. So far from these excellencies beino- in¬
compatible with grandeur of style, they are essential to it,'they
are the elements and the basis of it, they cannot be left out,
or if they are, the style is deficient, absurd, and not founded
in nature. There is not the least doubt that the Greek
painters considered the power of imitating natural objects
by colour, and light and shadow, as necessary and requisite
in preparatory study as drawing or composition; and the
greatest painters in the grand style in ancient Greece, were
oxrnep ovp 6c CcoypaQoc raS 6poc6rVraS dno rov Trpoacmov, araXapfiavovacv, e\aXc,ra rcov Xocnur pepcov <ppovTc(ovT<s.
Theatre of the Greeks, p. 262, 3d edition, Cambridge. AAE3ANAP02.
von. xvi.
4 z
I
730
PAIN
House- just as capable of imitating still life as the possessois of it
Painting, now. .
It may, therefore, be fairly deduced, that the Greeks
possessed all parts of the art, and none particularly to the
exclusion of others ; that, therefore, all parts of the art, m
due subordination, maybe considered as essential to an artist
of the highest walk, as also in the more humble depart-
TIN G.
ment; and that the system of Reynolds, which excludes Hc e.
identity and power of reality from judicious imitation of the >g,
objects painted, combining colour and light and shadow, as'^"'^
well as expression and form, is false, and should be exploded
from all systems where art is considered as a matter of im¬
portance to the dignity or glory of a nation.
(q. q. q. q.)
HOUSE-PAINTING In a country with a climate
like that of Great Britain, house-painting is an art of much
importance, as being conducive to the durability and com¬
fort of our dwelling-houses; and in every country it is an
art, which, though somewhat mechanical, may be made to
approximate to those of a higher and more intellectual na¬
ture. The house-painter, therefore, ought to make himself
thoroughly acquainted, not only with the mechanical depart¬
ment of his business, but likewise with the rules by which
high art is governed, especially those of harmonious colour¬
ing. By such means he will, in the first place, understand
the best methods of rendering his work capable of resisting
for many years the effects of a changeable climate and hu¬
mid atmosphere ; and, secondly, he will be enabled to ren¬
der even his plainest work pleasing to the eye of the intel¬
ligent and tasteful. It is further necessary that he should
make himself acquainted with the various styles of orna¬
ment, not only in painting, but in architecture, and also with
such of the ornamental works of the great masters of an¬
tiquity as are still in existence.
For nearly a century house-painting in this country was
in the most degraded state; so much so, that when any
thing beyond the plainest style of work was required, artists
were brought from France to execute it; and specimens ot
their skill may still be found in many of the mansions of our
nobility and gentry. Within these fifteen or twenty years,
however, great improvements have been made. The hand¬
icraft department has not only become equal, but it is be¬
lieved, superior to that of any other country, especially m
the imitations of the finer kinds of woods and marbles; whilst
attention to the scientific part of the art, if it may be so
called, is rapidly becoming more general in practice.
We shall, in the first place, give a short account of the
plainest branch of house-painting.
It is well known that the ceilings and walls of apartments
in dwelling-houses and other buildings of this country are
now almost uniformly finished in plaster; and the nature and
properties of this composition are also well known. One ot
these properties is its power of absorbing moisture ; conse¬
quently, when an apartment is left for any length of time
without the benefit of a fire, or heated air supplied by other
means, the plaster will continue to absorb a portion of the
humidity with which the atmosphere is generally loaded; and
this absorption will not only render the room unwholesome,
but will tend to impair the durability of the plaster itself.
The first object, therefore, in painting a house, is to render
the interior walls impervious to this absorption ; and for this
purpose the house-painter provides various materials.
These are, white lead, ground in refined oil to the con¬
sistency of a thick paste, which operation is now performed
by machinery on the premises of the original manufacturer,
instead of being done by a clumsy hand-mill as formerly in
the painter’s shop; linseed oil, spirits of turpentine, litharge,
sugar of lead, japanners’ gold size, ochre, Venetian red, lamp
black, Indian red, Turkey and English umber, terra de Sien¬
na, red lead, Prussian blue, orange lead, chrome yellow, Ver¬
million, lake, and other pigments. But white lead is the ma¬
terial of the greatest importance, as it is the principal ingre¬
dient in all ordinary colours used in house-painting; indeed,
it generally constitutes nine-tenths of the composition, and
consequently forms the main body of the paint. The quality
of this article is therefore of the greatest importance, as upon
it depends almost entirely the durability of the work; yet
it is of all the painter’s materials the most difficult to get
free of adulteration. There are three qualities of this article
manufactured, the prices of which vary, according to that of
pig lead, from about 27s. to 40s. per cwt. But this differ¬
ence in the price of white lead is trivial in comparison with
the mode in which it is sometimes adulterated^ This is done
by the introduction of fine whiting ground in oil, in the same
manner as the white lead. The cost of this is about 5s. per
cwt., and, as detection is very difficult, the temptation to
adulterate is proportionally great. But how much greater
must it be to the needy tradesman, who can employ it alone
instead of white lead in the two first coats of his work, with
scarcely a possibility of his employers knowing any thing ot
the matter ? This in some measure accounts for the great
difference that exists in the prices of painters’ work. The
iniury done to paint by the admixture of whiting is, that it
not only renders it of a much less compact body, but, causing
it to be more easily acted upon by the atmosphere, renders
it much more liable to be blanched anddestroyedby repeated
washings. .
Linseed oil being the principal diluent, stands next in
importance. It varies but little in quality, and is seldom
adulterated; the superiority of one kind over another con¬
sisting entirely in its clearness, and being of a moderate
ao-e. It is sometimes boiled, which gives it great facility
in drying, but renders it so thick and unctuous that it is
only fit for out-door work. . ,
Spirits of turpentine, of which a great deal is now usee
in house-painting, is also rather uniform in quality; but va¬
ries greatly in price according to the state of the
Perhaps the only difference in its quality, consists in thema -
ner in which it is distilled ; and it is easy to distinguish what
has been properly done by the absence of the resmou
ter which is generally to be found in that which has b
distilled with less care. , ,, minter
Litharge and sugar of lead are purchased by the painte
in a dry state, ground in oil into a paste of a thick consis
tency, and used to dry and harden paint. They do not y
much in point of quality. Japanners gold size is a M ^
which there are various qualities, the price being
to 18s. per gallon. It is used for the same PurP°se' •
t0 Several of the colouring pigments ^ ^ "
in quality, and the house-painter, in laying WOrks;
“L JL,U to the rates of prices at which he works,
suit it exactly to the rates ot prices — "j,"ft t0
some of them varying from 9d. to Ss. per • rlb-
the quality, and others, such as oc ue, ion • ^ houge_
These are the principal materials employed ^ n iUnoW
painter in the plain department of his work , ^ 1 ;
be necessary to give some account f “P£S|y re-
To paint plaster properly, five coats ‘ ^ ^ four
quisite; but where it is not of a very absorbe
'I?
PAINTING.
ouse- are found to answer. The first is composed of white lead,
nting- diluted with linseed oil, to rather a thin consistency, in order
that the plaster may be well saturated ; and into this is put a
small quantity of litharge to insure its drying. In quick
plaster, which is the best for painting, the oil in this coat
is entirely absorbed, thereby hardening the plaster to the
extent of about the eighth of an inch inwards from the
surface. When this is found to be the case, the second
coat should also be thin that the plaster may be thoroughly
saturated; and it will be found necessary after this to give
other three coats, making in all five. The second coat will
be found to be but partially absorbed, and it is therefore re¬
quisite to make the third coat a good deal thicker, and to in¬
troduce into it a little spirits of turpentine, and such of the
colouring pigments already enumerated, as may bring it some¬
what near to the tint ofwhich the apartment is to be finished.
The fourth coat should be as thick as it can be well used, and
should be diluted with equal parts of oil and spirits of turpen¬
tine. The colour of it ought to be several shades darker than
that which is intended for the finishing coat, and the drying
ingredient, sugar of lead instead of litharge. These coats ought
all to be laid on with much care, both as to smoothness and
equality, and each lightly rubbed with sand-paper before
the application of the other. The finishing or flatting coat,
as it is termed from its drying without any gloss, is next
applied. It ought, like the others, to be composed of pure
white lead, ground as already described, and diluted entirely
with spirits of turpentine ; and it should appear, when mix¬
ed, a few shades lighter than the pattern chosen for the wall,
as it darkens in the drying. The drying ingredient should
be a small portion of japanners’ gold size. This coat must
be applied with great care and dispatch, as the spirits of
turpentine evaporate very rapidly, and if touched with the
brush after that takes place, which is in little more than a
minute after its application, an indelible glossy mark will
be left on the surface. Nothing has been said of the time
that each of the coats will take to dry sufficiently to re¬
ceive the next; as that depends much on the state of the
weather, the quantity of dryer employed, and the atmos¬
phere kept up in the apartment. It may be observed,
however, that under any circumstances the first coat ought
to stand a few days before the application of the second;
the second a little longer before the application of the third ;
and the third, unless in four coat work, should have still
longer time to harden. But the coat immediately before
the flatting or finishing coat ought not to stand above two
days, as much of the beauty and solidity of the work will
depend on the latter dying into and uniting with the for¬
mer.
The description of this process might be sufficient to
convince every one, that there could be no better mode of
rendering the plaster ot which the walls of our apartments
are composed, impervious to the eflPects of our changeable
and humid climate. In the first place, it hardens the sur-
lace, and then forms a compact, and smooth incrustation,
upon which the dampness of the atmosphere can only
condense when any sudden change takes place in the tem¬
perature. This is often exemplified in staircases, where
the wall gets so low in temperature during a continuance
or cold weather, that when a change takes place the con¬
densation is so great, that the water runs in streams upon
the steps. How then, we may ask, can any one employ
paper-hanging, or any other absorbent mode of finishing in
such apartments ? It ought to be well known, that in such
cases the moisture instead of being condensed and rendered
easi y lemovable, is absorbed and gradually given out in
connexion with the natural effluvia ofglue, rotten paste, and
other noxious materials.
In many cases it has been found that this substantial
731
style of painting is too heavy in its effect for ceilings, which House-
require a degree of aerial lightness, especially in drawing- Painting,
rooms, boudoirs, and such like apartments. In these cases, ’ ~
thererore, the absorption is stopped by two coats of paint,
and when these are quite dry and hard, a coat of what is
called distemper colour is applied; that is, white lead ground
in water, and diluted with size made from the parings of
white leather and parchment skins. In ordinary apart¬
ments, fine whiting may be substituted in distemper work
tor white lead. 1
Ihe painting of the woodwork of such apartments as are
not fitted up with oak or other hard woods, is a process
very similar to that employed upon plaster, not only when
it is to be finished plain, but also as a ground-work for imi¬
tations of the foreign woods now in use; only each of the
coats should be thicker and applied with still more attention
to smoothness. The imitating of woods and marbles may
be termed, in house-painting, a link between that which has
been already explained and is essentially simple, and that
which is really ornamental. It has of late been brought to
such perfection, that in some cases where the real and the
imitation oak are brought into juxtaposition, as at Abbots-
ford, it is scarcely possible, even after examination, to distin¬
guish the imitation from the reality. Imitations of marble
have in some cases been brought to equally great perfec¬
tion, but this is far from being so general.
The process of painting imitations of woods, is in the
first instance, as already observed, to lay a ground-work of
four ur five coats of paint, taking the greatest care that no
brush marks remain. This requires much more time than
applying the same number of coats for plain finishing; and
the last coat instead ot being flatted, is composed of equal
portions of oil and spirits of turpentine. The shades and
grain of the wood are given by thin glazings of Vandyke
brown, terra de sienna, or umber, according to the kind of
wood to be imitated; which colours are ground in water and
mixed with small beer, the tenacity ofwhich is sufficient to
prevent it rubbing off by the application of the varnish which
immediately follows. All imitations of woods are painted
in this way, except wainscot, for which a thick substance
is lequisite, in order that it may receive the impression of
an ivory or horn comb, by which the peculiar grain of that
wood is imitated. The varnish employed upon work of
this kind is copal, which of all the materials used by the
painter is that in which he has most latitude. The price
of copal varnish is from 10s. to 42s. per gallon; so here
again he can suit his materials to the price which he re¬
ceives for his work.
The imitation of marbles has nothing very peculiar in
its mode of execution, being more like actual painting than
that employed in imitating wood; and on this account it de¬
pends more on natural taste, than on mechanical skill.
I he ornamental department is likewise making great
strides towards its ancient excellence, and owing to the im¬
proved taste of the present age, is beginning to be some-
what in demand. What is meant by the ornamental de¬
partment, is the decorating of the walls of apartments
either by original designs of pannelling and borders, or by
careful imitations of Raffaelle’s arabesques, Watteau’s gro¬
tesque pannellings, and the Pompeian frescos ; as well as
decorations in imitation of basso relievo, in white and
gold, polychrome and various other styles.
1 he want of general instruction in art, and the preval¬
ence of the use of paper hanging, have tended to retard
the progress of ornamental painting; but the former cause,
thiough the patriotism of an individual,1 backed by a go¬
vernment that has the interest of all classes in view, is, by
the establishment of schools for ornamental design, in a
fair way of being removed; and the latter will soon give
1 Mr. Ewart, formerly M. P. for Liverpool.
732
PAINTING.
Houae-
Painting.
way to the rapid improvement which is taking place in
public taste. , . .
* It now only remains to notice what we term the scienti¬
fic department of house-painting, or more properly (from
the improved practice of the profession) interior decoration.
The fact is now no longer disputed that the rules of the
highest science and art can be made available in improving
our most ordinary occupations; and in no case has this lac
been made more apparent than in the application of the
science of chromatics or the laws of harmonious colouring to
the interior decoration of our dwelling-houses. Much at¬
tention is, however, requisite on the part of the house-
painter, to the proper application of these laws m his prac¬
tice. Every practitioner in the higher walks o art, has
only such a style of colouring to study, as may be suite
to the general character of his subjects; but the house-
painter must vary his style, not only according to the uses
of the apartments which he decorates, but the tastes of i
employers, the style of the architecture, the situation of the
house, and the quarter from which each apartment is lighted.
He must confine himself to neither a vivid, sombre, warm,
nor cold style ; all must be equally at his command, be¬
sides, an artist has the advantage of light and shadow in
of the furniture which ought to fix the tone; and there may Hi ,e.
be the most decided contrasts in its parts, which, by the
introduction of proper medial hues throughout the room,
can be reconciled and united. Apartments lighted from
the south and west, particularly in a summer residence,
should be cool in their colouring ; but the apartments of a
town house ought all to approach towards a warm tone; as
also such apartments as are lighted from the north and east
of a country residence.
“ When the tone of an apartment is therefore fixed by the
choice of the furniture, it is the business of the house-painter
to introduce such tints upon the ceiling, walls, and wood
work, as will unite the whole in perfect harmony. This is a
difficult task. The colours of the furniture may be arranged
by a general knowledge of the laws of harmony, but the
painter’s part cannot be properly added without the closest
attention to the principles of art.
“ The style of colouring is the next point to be fixed, and
will depend entirely on the use of the apartment. In a
drawing-room, vivacity, gaiety, and light cheerfulness should
characterise the colouring. This is produced by the intro¬
duction of light tints of brilliant colours, w ith a considera¬
ble degree of contrast and gilding; but the brightest colours
sides, an artist has the advan ge }1 d in and strongest contrasts should be upon the furniture, the
toning the colours in a > kinio-M. effect of which will derive additional value and brilliancy
decorative painting, are all liable to be placed in full light
and must necessarily be in themselves toned to prevent
that unnatural crudeness so annoying to the eye. A pic¬
ture may have many excellencies to compensate for defec¬
tive colouring; it may excel in one or other or all of the
qualities of drawing, expression, and composition ; but be¬
yond the mere handicraft department, the works of the de¬
corator must depend solely for their effect upon harmonious
COl7woul’d exceed our limits to give even an outline of the
laws of harmonious colouring, as applied to house-painting,
and shall, therefore, refer the reader to the only work which
has yet been written on the subject, and from which we
make the following extract, relative to the tone and charac¬
teristic style of colouring peculiar to the various apartments
of a dwelling-house. . , „ , , ..
“ The tone or key is the first point to be fixed, and its
degree of warmth or coldness will be regulated by the use,
situation, and light of the apartment. The next point is
the style of colouring, whether gay, sombre, or otherwise.
This is more particularly regulated by the use of the apart¬
ment, and the sentiments which it ought to inspire ; for, as
Sir Joshua Reynolds says in regard to colouring, ‘ what
may heighten the elegant may degrade the sublime. Un¬
ison, or a proper combination of parts, is the next consi-
“ The tone or key is generally fixed by the choice of the
furniture ; for as the furniture of a room may be considered,
in regard to colouring, in the same light as the principal
figures in a picture, the general tone must depend upon the
colours of which it is composed: for instance, if the pre¬
vailing colour be blue, grey, cool green, or lilac, the gene¬
ral tone must be cool; but if, on the other hand, it be red,
orange, brown, yellow, or a warm tint of green, the tone
must be warm. But, as stated before, there can be no
pleasing combination of colours without variety. This, by
iudicious management, may be given without in the least
interfering with the tone, for it is merely the general colour
effect of which will derive additional value and brilliancy
from the walls being kept in due subordination, although at
the same time partaking of the general liveliness.
“ The characteristic colouring of a dining-room should be
warm, rich, and substantial; and where contrasts are in¬
troduced, they should not be vivid. This style of colour¬
ing will be found to correspond best with the massive de¬
scription of the furniture ; and gilding, unless in very small
quantities for the sake of relief, should be avoided.
“ Parlours ought to be painted in a medium style, between
that of a drawing-room and dining-room.
“ The most appropriate style of colouring for libraries is
solemn and grave, and no richer colouring should be em¬
ployed than is necessary to give the effect of grandeur,
which can scarcely be done where one monotonous tint pre¬
vails ; but care should be taken not to disturb the quiet and
solemn tone which ought to characterise the colouring o
all apartments of this description.
“ In bed-rooms, a light, cleanly, and cheerful style of co¬
louring is the most appropriate. A greater degree of con¬
trast may here be admitted between the room and its fur¬
niture than in any other apartment, as the bed and window-
curtains form a sufficient mass to balance a tint of equal
intensity upon the walls. There may also, for the same
reason, be admitted gayer and brighter colours upon t e
“ Stair-cases, lobbies, and vestibules, should all be rather
of a cool tone, and the style of the colour should be simple
and free of contrast. The effect to be produced is that ot
architectural grandeur, which owes its beauty more to tne
effect of light and shadow than to any arrangement ot co¬
lours ; yet they ought not to be so entirely free from colour
as the exterior of a mansion, but should be in colouring
what they are in use, a link between exterior simplicity
and interior richness. . , . nlp
“ Stair-cases and lobbies being cool in tone, and simple
in the style of their colouring, will much improve the ett
of the apartments which enter from them.
Hay’s Laws of Harmonious Colouring adapted to Interior Decoration, Edinburgh, 1836, in 8vo, 3d ed.
:'air
ring.
P A I
P A I
PAIR, two of a sort, a couple.
PAIRING, the uniting or joining in couples. The in¬
stinct of paiiing is bestowed on every species of animals to
which it is necessai'y for rearing their young, and on no
other species. All wild birds pair; but with a remark¬
able difrerence between such as place their nests on trees,
and such as place them on the ground. The young of the
former, being hatched blind, and without feathers, re¬
quire the nursing care of both parents till they are able to
fly. The male bird feeds his mate on the nest, and cheers
her with a song. As soon as the young are hatched, sing-
ing yields to a more necessary occupation, that of pro¬
viding food for a numerous issue; a task which requires
the care of both parents.
Eagles and other birds of prey build upon trees, or in
tinue in pairs all tlte year round "and the same pair prol bumh ^ntotuo5 ^ the, r‘Ver’ whi^ ^vides^the
Z SIT-n.™8 “ eagles, the New Tol™
733
tl”s® especially who store up food for winter, and Paisley.
during that season live in common. Discord amongst such v  
would be attended with worse consequences than even
Thp1? 1008 ant^ bulls’ who are not confined to one place.
bIav.ers’ Wlth respcct to pairing, resemble birds that
place their nests upon the ground. As soon as the young
a e produced, the males abandon their stock of food to
at large’ but return frequently to
P A S. le? are suckling their young.
EAlbLEY, the principal town of Renfrewshire, and, in
point of manufacturing importance and population, 4he
Whbe p ’/p finelX,situated the banks of the
White Cart, about three miles south of the river Clyde
Ihe ancient and principal part of the town occupies the
summit and slopes of a beautiful declivity, the Eastern
base of which is washed by the river, which divides the
- - ^ ----- O least is uie case or eagles.
The male and female hunt together, unless during incu¬
bation, at which time the female is fed by the male. A
greater number than a single pair are never seen in com¬
pany.
Gregarious birds pair, in order probably to prevent dis¬
cord in a society confined to a narrow space. This is the
case particularly with pigeons and rooks. The male and fe¬
male sit on the eggs alternately, and divide the care of
feeding their young.
Partridges, plovers, pheasants, sea-fowl, grouse, and
other kinds that place their nests on the ground, have the
instinct of pairing; but they differ from such as build on
trees in this respect, that after the female is impregnated,
she completes her task without needing any help from the
male. Retiring from him, she chooses a safe spot for her
nest, where she can find plenty of worms and grass-seed
at hand ; and her young, as soon as hatched, take foot, and
seek food for themselves. The only remaining duty incum¬
bent on the dam is, to lead them to proper places for food,
and to call them together when danger impends. Some
males, provoked at the desertion of their mates, break the
eggs if they stumble on them. Eider-ducks pair like other
birds that place their nests on the ground ; and the female
mushes her nest with down plucked from her own breast.
It the nest be destroyed for the down, which is remark-
ably warm and elastic, she makes another nest as before.
it she be robbed a second time, she makes a third nest;
but the male furnishes the down.
Pairing birds, excepting those of prey, flock together in
February, in order to choose their mates. They soon dis-
perse, and are not seen afterwards except in pairs.
1 airing is unknown to quadrupeds that feed on grass,
to such it would be useless, as the female gives suck to
her young whilst she herself is feeding. If M. Buffon
deserves credit, the roe-deer form an exception. They
pair, though they feed upon grass, and have but one litter
in a year.
Beasts of prey, such as lions, tigers, wolves, pair not.
he female is left to shift for herself and her young, which
tho ro orJ.ous task> anfl often so unsuccessful as to shorten
nrpv1 K 0 man^ of1them* Pairing is essential to birds of
timp5 be.cause meubation leaves the female no sufficient
of nrpv pUnt f°r -Painng 18 not necessary to beasts
mav eCaUiSe t leir y°Ung can bear a IonS fast i and we
f ay,add an.other reason, viz. that they would multiply so
ta t by pairing as to prove troublesome neighbours to the
desnprai^6* ,AmonSst an^mals that pair not, males fight
ed rntfi G y abo,-lt a female. Such a battle amongst horn-
usnaf f C 18 fine Y described by Lucretius. Nor is it un-
™gle femS?" °r dSht li<mS t0 Wage blood>' nr for a
earlmf. reas°n that makes pairing necessary for gre-
irds obtains with respect to gregarious quadru-
,7 eiticiion. xcUSley is
generally considered as the ancient Yanduaria of Ptolemy
and as having been a Roman town or station during the
presence of these invaders in the northern part of Scot-
~fnd' As late as tlle beginning of the last century, consi-
derable vestiges remained of a Roman camp on the western
side of the hill on which Paisley is built; but these have
long since been obliterated by the progressive extension
and improvement o the town. The latitude of Paisley is
55. 48. north, and the longitude 4. 26. west. The climate
is temperate, but humid. Inflammatory and pulmonary
complaints are prevalent, and infectious diseases have been
of rather frequent occurrence in its history. In 1645 a
pestilence committed great ravages in this place ; and’in
765 dysentery prevailed to an alarming extent. In 1771
pleurisy carried off numbers of the inhabitants; and a viru¬
lent influenza visited it in 1803, 1830, 1831, and in the be-
Sinhnini?j1°f 183?’ • 1 aiS 6y 18 not’ however> considered as
unhealthy, nor is its mortality above the average of other
large manufacturing cities. Whether the Roman town or
station called Vanduaria was a place of any size or import¬
ance, ancient chronicles are entirely silent. A dark cloud
overhangs the history of Paisley till about the year 1163
when Walter, the first Stewart, founded a monastery on the
the 0!!^ ° fhp^a,rt’ 0pPA°site t0 wbat is now termed
the Old 1 own of Paisley. At this period there does not
appear to have been a village or hamlet, however small, in
existence; but the protection which the monastery afford¬
ed in those rude times, and the multitude of pilgrims, tra¬
vellers, and persons of distinction, who frequented it, gra¬
dually induced a population to assemble in its vicinity
and a village of some extent made its appearance on the
western bank of the river, and began slowly to clamber un
the gentle slope of the hill on that side. In 1220 the mo^
nastery was elevated to the dignity of an abbey, and many
valuable privileges were subsequently conferred upon it by
the pope, and by its founder and successive patrons. Its
jurisdiction and revenues were very extensive, extending
to, and being derived from, localities at a great distanceg
its abbots were commonly men of the highest family
connections, and appear frequently as prominent actors
Tf Sc°ttlsb civil and ecclesiastical history.
After the Reformation, the revenues and privileges of this
ecclesiastical establishment were bestowed upon Lord Claud
Hamilton, and have since become the property, though
greatly reduced of the noble family of Abercorn A con¬
siderable part of the ancient abbey still remains, and is in
excellent preservation. The skeleton of a beautiful win-
?lrty-fverfeet in b^gbt by eighteen in breadth, al-
most the only fragment of the more ancient part of the
building, has been much admired for its size, lightness
and fine proportions. The external architecture of the
remaining portion is perhaps scarcely equal to that of
some other ecclesiastical edifices in Scotland; but the ap-
734
PAISLEY.
Paisley, pearance of the nave, which is occupied as a parish church,
' is grand and striking in no ordinary degree ; and some few
fragmentary remains of the old monastery exhibit fine spe¬
cimens of the purest Gothic. Before the accession of the
Stuart family to the throne of Scotland, their burying-place
was in the abbey ; and even after that event, two of its
members were interred there, namely, the queen of Robert
II. in 1387, and Robert III. in 1406. The tomb of Marjory
Bruce, the daughter of Robert I. is still to be seen in the
famous sounding aisle, now occupied as a burial-vault by the
Abercorn family.
Notwithstanding the wealth and manufacturing import¬
ance of Paisley, it is only a burgh of barony ; but its privi¬
leges are so very considerable as almost to equal those of
a royal burgh. Previously to 1770, the burgh had a vote
in the election of a member of parliament for the county.
Now, by the Scottish Reform Act, Paisley sends a mem¬
ber to represent it in parliament. The constituency in
1837 was 1484. Formerly the government of the town was
vested in a provost, three bailies, and seventeen council¬
lors ; but by the Scottish Burgh Reform Act there are
now a provost, four bailies, and ten councillors.
In 1333, John Hamilton, the last abbot, conveyed, by
a deed, the revenues and privileges of the abbacy to Lord
Claud Hamilton, then a child of ten years of age: he was
afterwards deprived of the latter, on account of his adhe¬
rence to the fortunes of Queen Mary, but in 1591 they were
restored, with the title of Lord Paisley. In 1653, the second
Earl of Abercorn disposed of his interest in the abbacy to
the Dun don aid family; and in 1658 the magistrates and
council purchased this superiority, and since that time
Paisley has held directly of the crown. The old valuation
of the burgh-lands was a thousand pounds Scotch. The
town’s revenue, from various sources, such as lands and
houses, river-dues, arid various other civic items, amounts to
L.3843. 12s. 7d., and the supposed value of the burgh pro¬
perty is about L.50,000; but, deducting debts and other ob¬
ligations, its nett amount may be L.20,000.
The topography of Paisley and its vicinity is not very
remarkable. Previously to the year 1736, the whole of this
district was included in one parish, known by the name of
the parish of Paisley ; but since that time the burgh has
been divided into three parishes, the High, the Middle,
and the Low. The Abbey parish now comprehends the
New Town, which, with a trifling exception, is separated
from the burgh by the river Cart, and the populous vil¬
lages of Johnstone, Elderslie, Tthorn, Quarrelton, Nitsil,
Hurlet, and Dovecote Hall, with the country districts.
To the north, and affording a noble view from the emi¬
nence on which Old Paisley is chiefly built, extends the
great plain of the lower valley of the Clyde, anciently call¬
ed Strathgryffe. On the south, the Gleniffer, or Paisley
Braes, distant about three miles, swell gently up to the
height of 760 feet above the surface of the Cart. The soil
is of a mixed character, generally poor and thin, but in
many places rich and fertile. From the heights just men¬
tioned descend a variety of minor streams, of great utility
to the agriculturist and the manufacturer, and adding to the
richness and beauty of the scenery. The surface of the
country in the neighbourhood, with the exception of that
to the north, which is flat, is agreeably diversified, and
broken into gentle swells and soft declivities, which, with
the mixture of gentlemen’s seats, farm-houses, bleaching-
fields, and other public works, confers a picturesque and
animated character upon the entire vicinage. Valuable
minerals abound in the parish, such as coal, limestone of
the coal formation, and ironstone ; though the latter is not
smelted, at least to any extent, but is sent to the Lanark¬
shire furnaces. There are very extensive coal-pits wrought
in the neighbourhood, chiefly at Johnstone; and in that
vicinity, and at Hurlet, the chemical works of the Messrs
materials, prosecuted for a long series of years, succe -
ed in realizing a nearly perfect imitation of those onen
fabrics, in colours, texture, and design, and at a mere tra -
tion of the cost. Besides the extraordinary cheapness,
the variety of new and beautiful fabrics and designs w
have been introduced into the shawl manufa£,l;urem^riU.
largely contributed to its extent and success, ine mai
facture of shawls is almost wholly confined to Pais ey,
a considerable proportion of these find their way
Wilson at Thornly are on a very large scale. Very fine Pai r
freestone is also obtained in the neighbourhood. ,
As it is chiefly, however, to its being one of the princi¬
pal manufacturing stations in the kingdom that Paisley
owes its celebrity, we shall now present a brief sketch of
the history, progressive improvement and increase, and
present extent, of its principal manufactures. There is no
certain account as to the precise period when the art of
weaving was introduced. It appears, however, that the
manufacture of linen was carried to a considerable extent
during the last century. Shortly after the union, the spirit
of manufacturing enterprise sprung up in the west of Scot¬
land, and Paisley was not slow in availing itself of the
general impulse. Craufurd, describing the state of Paisley
in 1710, observes, “ That which renders this place consi¬
derable, is its trade of linen and muslin, where there is a
great weekly sale in its markets, of those sorts of cloth;
many of the inhabitants being chiefly employed in that
sort of manufactory.” From 1744 to 1784 the linen manu¬
facture increased in amount from L. 18,886. 15s. lOd. to no
less than L.l84,385. 16s. 6id. About the year 1722, the
manufacture of linen thread was introduced into Paisley,
and carried on to a large extent. For several years it
reached the amount of L.l 00,000 annually. Cotton thread,
having superseded that made from linen yarn, is manufac¬
tured to a very considerable extent, and forms one of the
principal manufactures of the place. In 1760, silk gauze
began to be manufactured in Paisley; and in a short time
the skill and ability with which this manufacture was pro¬
secuted caused its abandonment by the manufacturers of
Spitalfields, the original seat of the silk manufacture in
Great Britain. This manufacture flourished extensively
until near the close of the last century. From 1772 there
existed also a considerable manufacture of ribbons, and
other articles in silk. It has been calculated, that in 1784
the value of the manufactures of Paisley, in silk gauzes
and other silk goods, linen lawns, linen gauze, and sewing
thread, was L.579,185.16s. 6d., and that in 1769 it amount¬
ed to L.660,385.16s. sterling. In 1744, only 867 looms were
employed in the weaving of linen; and forty years after¬
wards no fewer than 5000 looms were engaged in the manu¬
facture of silk, the produce of which amounted to L.350,000.
Towards the end of the last century, from the caprice of
fashion, and the gradual introduction of the cotton manu¬
facture, the making of silk goods declined rapidly; but a
new species of manufacture sprung up, which has since
been carried to a much greater extent. Ihe manufacture
of shawls, of cotton, silk, and fancy woollen fabrics, was in¬
troduced, and has now become the staple trade of Paisley.
Although little more than forty years have elapsed since
its introduction, this manufacture is so extensive, that m
1834 the value was calculated to be about a million ster¬
ling ; and since then it is understood to have increased con¬
siderably. 1 V J u
Previously to the present century, fine shawls had been
manufactured in this country, chiefly at Norwich and Stock-
port in England, where they were made in imitation or the
rich India shawls. The latter, from their high price, were
beyond the reach of all but a few wealthy individuals, w en
the manufacturing skill and enterprise of Paisley embark¬
ed in the manufacture, and, by successive inventions and im¬
provements in the loom, and in the kind and quality o ^
PAISLEY.
735
ley. Glasgow markets for home and foreign sale. The kinds
reproduced are various in quality and cost, and there is a
great variety in the styles and fabrics. Some are wholly
made of silk, but these are not now much in demand ; others
of silk and cotton, and a great many of Persian and fancy
wools mixed with both or either. Thibet-cloth shawls, a
very rich and fanciful fabric ; Chenille shawls, a beautiful
imitation of silk velvet; Canton crape shawls ; and various
other and newer kinds, of every possible variety in size,
texture, pattern, and price; are produced from the looms
of Paisley, with a rapidity and abundance which, whilst
it tends occasionally to overload the market, affords satis¬
factory evidence of the manufacturing skill and resour¬
ces of Paisley. The present annual amount of the trade
and manufactures of Paisley has been roughly calculated
at nearly two millions sterling. To give any thing like a
view of the various inventions and improvements in the
art of weaving, by means of which Paisley has attained
its present eminence as a chief seat of the silk and cot¬
ton manufactures in Scotland, would swell this article be¬
yond all due bounds. The hasty sketch which we have
supplied affords some general data to the reader, who may
consult, if he wishes for more minute information, Wilson’s
Survey of Renfrewshire ; Craufurd’s Description of the
Shire of Renfrew, with Robertson’s continuation ; and the
New Statistical Account of Scotland. The spinning of
cotton yarn is also extensively carried on by Paisley ma¬
nufacturers in the town and parish, but there are no data
to be relied on for ascertaining its annual amount. Bleach¬
ing and dyeing are, as might be expected, prosecuted to a
very considerable extent. Soap-making is a trade of some
antiquity and importance ; and malting, the distillation of
raw spirits, and silk throwing, have also a considerable
capital embarked in them.
Under the head of General Statistics wre may notice the
increase of the population in Paisley from 1791 to 1835.
In 1695 the population of the town of Paisley, exclusively
of the Abbey parish, where there were then very few
houses, was only 2200. In 1755, sixty years after, it
amounted in the town and Abbey parish to 6799; and in
1781 to 11,100 in the town alone, the population of the
Abbey parish not being given in the register.
In 1791 the total population was 24,592
... 1801 31,179
... 1811 36,722
... 1821 47,003
... 1831 57,466
The population may now be assumed at about 65,000,
according to the ordinary increment of increase. Thursday
is the market-day in Paisley, and there are four fairs an¬
nually, which last three days each. The races at St James’s
Fair are well known in the west of Scotland, and attract
great numbers from the surrounding districts. For the
last three or four years these races have been much fre¬
quented by the sporting world. Race-horses of high cele¬
brity have made their appearance on the course ; and a
greal deal of money, it is understood, has changed hands.
Paisley is abundantly supplied with the means of external
communication ; and when the Ayrshire and Greenock rail¬
ways are completed, few towns in the empire will possess
equal facilities for traffic or travelling. By the canal be¬
twixt Glasgow, Paisley, and Johnstone, no fewer than
423,186 passengers were conveyed, from the first of Octo¬
ber 1835 to the first of October 1836. From the latter
period, however, to the first of October 1837, the number
ad decreased to 386,157, owing to other means and
modes of locomotion being opened up. After the rail¬
way to the Clyde near Renfrew, which is from two to
t ree miles in length, was opened, in the spring of 1837,
a out 50,000 passengers passed along it, going up and
own the river, during the first seven months ; and no
fewer than 100,000 persons were carried by coach to and
iq‘v7 G!r?gOW’ ^rom October 1836 to the same time in
carr*age °f goods on the canal has increased
from 48,991 tons in 1831, to 67,305 tons in 1836. The
yearly returns of the post-office afford additional evidence
of the growing prosperity of Paisley.
In 1720 the amount was only L.28 13 0
... 1769 ;...223 3 8
••• 1809 2814 17 4
_ - 1834 3194 0 0
The river Cart is navigable to Paisley for vessels of from
sixty to eighty tons burthen ; but the improvements in pro¬
gress upon the river, by deepening, and removing various
other obstacles to the navigation, for which an act of par¬
liament has lately been obtained, are expected greatly to
increase the facility of external traffic. The river dues in
1835 amounted to L.260. An act of parliament has also
been obtained to make a cut from the Forth and Clyde
Canal, to enter the Clyde as near as possible to the con¬
fluence of the Cart with that river; an undertaking which
will be highly advantageous to the Paisley manufacturers,
by affording them a cheaper and more expeditious transit
for their goods to London and the continental markets, for
which a large portion of their manufactures are prepared.
1 he antiquities of Paisley, with the exception of its ab¬
bey, of which we have already spoken, are hardly worth
mentioning. Ihere are a few old castles in the vicinity,
in a state of lesser or greater dilapidation ; but, with the
exception of that of Crookston, once the property of the
family of the feeble and worthless Darnley, and which,
from its commanding situation on a richly-wooded slope,’
about four miles to the east of Paisley, and its air of vene-
lable antiquity, forms a most picturesque feature in the
general landscape, none of them possesses much interest,
either historically, or as agreeable accessories in the general
scenery.
Notwithstanding the enterprising and intellectual cha¬
racter of the inhabitants of Paisley, the means of education
are not so abundant as might be expected. From a re¬
port by the presbytery to the General Assembly in 1834,
the number of schools in the town and Abbey parish was
only sixty-five, and the scholars amounted to 4776. Since
then, however, considerable exertions have been made to
remedy this deficiency. Government lately granted L.700
to the burgh for educational purposes ; and this sum, aided
by liberal subscriptions from the citizens, and the exertions
of the general session and various philanthropic individu¬
als, has provided the means of education for a large addi¬
tional number.
The town is well lighted with gas, and an act of par¬
liament has lately been obtained by a public company to
supply it with water from the neighbouring heights. The
assessment for the poor for 1838 is L.3500 for the three
town parishes. The only public building in Paisley of any
impoitance, with the exception of the abbey, is the county-
jail and public offices, an edifice of considerable extent,
castellated in style, and standing in a fine situation on the
westein bank of the Cart. The news-room at the cross is
also a handsome building. Ihere are three bridges over
the Cart, connecting the Old and New Town of Paisley,
but none of them is particularly remarkable.
The civil history of Paisley affords little to interest or
deserve the attention of the general reader. Its ecclesi¬
astical history is curious and interesting, but supplies few
points sufficiently salient and compact to be entered upon
in so brief a sketch. The famous “ Black Book of Paisley,”
which was long supposed to have been a history of Paisley
and its monastery, has been ascertained to be the Scoti-
chronicon of Fordun, a monk of the fourteenth century.
Manuscript copies of this curious old work, with continu¬
ations by Bowmaker and others, are in the College Li-
PaLsley.
736 PAL PAL
Paita brary at Edinburgh, and in the British Museum. The Char- tained his freedom, and became a teacher or preceptor at Pai |
II tulary or Register of the Monastery of Paisley, printed in Rome. His claim to learning cannot be questioned, since gs.j
Pabemon. jggg, at the expense of the Earl of Glasgow, president of he is recorded as a scholar even by Juvenal. Only some J
the Maitland Club, is a valuable document, containing much fragments of his works remain. v a'' *
curious information respecting those primitive times. Pre- PALvEOLOGUS, Michael, a very able man, who was
viously to the Reformation, Paisley was a place of little governor of Asia under the Emperor Theodorus Lascaris;
importance. The neighbourhood of its abbey, however, and who, by various stratagems and cruelties, procured
with the presence of its lordly abbots and their distinguish- the empire for himself and his posterity. See Constan-
ed guests, conferred upon it considerable dignity even tinopolitan History.
then, and drew into it the neighbouring gentry, who, down PALyEP APHOS, a town of Cyprus, where once stood a
to a comparatively recent period, had family mansions in temple of Venus; and an adjoining town called Neo Pa-
the town. The inhabitants early embraced the doctrines phos, where St Paul struck Elymas blind, and converted
of the Reformation, notwithstanding the naturally adverse the proconsul Sergius Paulus.
influences of their great monastic establishment; and dis* PALtESTRA, in Grecian antiquity, a public building
played their attachment to these on various occasions dur- where the youth exercised themselves in wrestling, run-
ing the civil wars and prelatical persecutions of the seven- ning, playing at coits, and other feats of strength and skill,
teenth century. In 1715 and 1745, they showed equal To prevent the combatants from hurting themselves by
zeal for the house of Brunswick ; and the burgh had to pay falling, the bottom of the palsestra was covered with dust
a fine of L.500 to the Young Chevalier,‘at the latter period, or gravel. Some think that the palaestra was only a part
as a composition for its anti-Jacobite predilections. The of the gymnasium. Many authors also imagine that the
magistrates afterwards memorialized government for com- palaestra was of two kinds, the one for the exercise of the
pensation, but they never obtained it. In 1597, the queen body, the other for the cultivation of the mind; but the
of James VI. honoured the inhabitants with a visit to their derivation of the word seems to confine it exclusively to
town, when it would appear that the royal entertainment bodily exercise.
fell so heavy on the burgh funds, that in 1617, when her PALALAIKA, or Balalaika, a rude kind of guitar
royal consort also visited it, the civic dignitaries prudently with two strings, which is common in Russia,
forbore so costly a welcome, but in lieu thereof employed PALAMEDES, a Greek chief, son of Nauplius, king of
“ a prettie boy, a son of a Sir James Semple of Beltrees,” Eubcea, by Clemene. He was sent by the Grecian princes
to make him a speech, which, from the extracts of it we who were going to the Trojan war, to bring to the camp
have seen, was judiciously spiced for James’s royal ear. Ulysses, who, in order to avoid the expedition, pretended
Its modern history is comprised in the progress of its insanity, and, the better to carry on the imposition, often
manufactures, and the improvement of the town in all its harnessed different animals to a plough, and sowed salt
interests and appearances, of which we have supplied this instead of barley. But Palamedes soon discovered the
brief analysis. cheat. He knew that regret to part with Penelope, whom
PAITA, or Payta, a town of Peru, in the department Ulysses had lately married, was his only reason for pre-
of Truxillo. It stands on a bay of the same name, situat- tending insanity; and to demonstrate this, Palamedes took
ed in 5. 2. of south latitude. A hard sandy beach extends Telemachus, of whom Penelope had lately been delivered,
round the harbour, which is completely sheltered from all and put him before his father’s plough. Ulysses turned
prevailing winds. The port is a rendezvous for American the plough a different way, not to hurt his child. He was
whale-shTps. It is the seaport of Piura, fourteen leagues therefore obliged to attend the Greek princes to the war;
in the interior, and carries on a considerable coasting trade, but a mortal enmity took place between Ulysses and Pala-
The exports from Paita are cinchona, rhatany, silver, and medes. The king of Ithaca determined to take every op-
wool. This town has suffered as much from the invasions portunity to distress him ; and when all his attempts were
of the buccaneers as any port of the Pacific. It was also frustrated, he had recourse to a base stratagem, and had
burned by Lord Anson in 1741, and by Lord Cochrane in Palamedes unjustly accused and convicted of treason, and
1810 ; yet the importance of its position has always led to stoned to death by the army. Palamedes was a man of
its reconstruction. The population amounts to about 3000. learning as well as a soldier ; and, according to. some, he
PAITAN, a district on the north-eastern coast of Bor- completed the alphabet of Cadmus by the addition of the
neo, containing a bay and river of the same name. The four letters 9, g, <p, during the Irojan ivar. To him
bay is greatly encumbered with shoals, and the coast on also is attributed the invention of dice and backgammon;
* both sides is extremely foul. The country around produces and it is said that he was the first who regularly ranged an
abundance of camphor. army in order of battle, and who placed sentinels round
PAKIR, a seaport of Arabia, situated on the coast of the camp, and excited their vigilance and attention by
Hadramaut, from which a considerable trade is carried on giving them a watchward.
with India. The environs abound in cattle, grain, and dates. PALAMOW, a district of Bengal, situated on thewes-
Pakir is twenty-five miles east of Dofar. ern frontier, between the 22d and 25th degrees of nort
PALACE, Palatium, a name generally applied to the latitude. It is bounded on the north by Rhotas; on t e
dwelling-house of a king, prince, or other great personage, south and west it touches different wild districts of Gun
It takes different epithets, according to the quality of the waneh ; and on the east it has Ramgur. It is the least po
inhabitants, as imperial palace, royal palace, pontifical palace, pulous and worst cultivated of any district in Bntis n
cardinal palace, ducal palace, episcopal palace, and so on. dia. It contains, however, both iron and coal; bu ^
PAL ACHY, a, town of India, in the province of South natives are not sufficiently advanced in civilization t0 ej^
Coimbetoor, containing 300 houses, and a small temple, plore the mines. The Burnah or Cayle River, whic i a
with a small fort adjacent. Palachy is 121 miles south by into the Soane, flows through it; and on its stream tim
east from Seringapatam. Long. 77. 8. E. Lat. 11. 47. N. and other heavy articles might be floated down to t'anm,
PALfEMON, Q. Rhemmius, a famous grammarian of if the country were more civilized. The principa ^
Rome, in the reign of Tiberius, who was born of a slave, at are Palamow and Jaynagur. The former, the c ne ^
Vienza. We are told he was first brought up to the busi- of the district, is situated in a valley on the e.a®tein S* jn.
ness of a weaver ; but attending his master’s son to school, the Cayle River, and is the residence of a rajah or /e
he profited by this opportunity of attaining knowledge, and dar. Long. 78. 10. E. Lat. 23. 52. N. o:ctrirt of
acquired so much skill in common learning, that he ob- PALAPETTY, a town of Hindustan, in t e
PAL
ar Dindigul, thirty miles north from the town of Dinditml.
I Long. 78. 10. E. Lat. 10. 40. N.
^ PALAR, a river of the south of India, which has its
rise in the province of Mysore, and, after a course of 200
miles, falls into the Bay of Bengal near Sadras.
PALARIA, amongst the Romans, a kind of exercise
performed at a stake by the soldiers. The stake being fix ¬
ed in the ground, and six feet in height above it, the young
undisciplined soldiers advanced against it, armed with a
hurdle and cudgel instead of a sword and shield, and
w'ent through all the rules of attack and defence, as if ac¬
tually engaged with an adversary. Sometimes they stood
at a distance, and attacked with missive weapons ; at the
same time using all the requisite motions for defending
themselves, and warding off what might be thrown against
them. °
aiatineATINATE> a Province or signiory, possessed by a
Palatinate of the Rhine, a province of Germany, di¬
vided into two parts by the Rhine, called the Upper and
Lower Palatinate.
PALATINE, or Count Palatine, a title anciently
given to a 1 persons who had any office or employment in
the prince s palace, but afterwards conferred on those de¬
legated by princes to hold courts of justice in the pro¬
vinces, and on such amongst the lords as had a palace
that is, a court of justice, in their own houses.
Palatine-Games, in Roman antiquity, were games in¬
stituted in honour of Augustus by his wife Livia, after he
had been enrolled amongst the gods. They were cele-
brated in the palace, whence the name, and were confirm¬
ed by the succeeding emperors. Some authors say that
these games were instituted in honour of Julius Caesar,
and others again confound them with the Ludi Augus-
tales; but neither of these opinions seems to be well sup¬
ported. *
PALATSHA, a village of Anatolia, in Asia Minor, si¬
tuated near the coast of the Mediterranean. It is supposed
by some to be the ancient Miletus, whilst others believe
the rums to be those of Myus, an ancient town, ultimately
incorporated with Miletus. Long. 27.12. E. Lat 37 31 N
JALAWAN IslE, a large island in the Eastern S^
estimated at 2/5 miles in length, and thirty-two miles in
average breadth. It stands between the northern extre¬
mity of Borneo, with which and the Philippines it forms
an extensive chain of islands. The country is described
as being flat to the bottom of the hills. Its productions
are cowries, wax, tortoise-shell, and sea-slug or biche de
m?, the last being abundant. It contains much ebony and
taka-wood; also hot springs and mines of gold.
LAZ??-LA’ a city °f the island of Sic%> in the in-
tendancy of Siragosa, and district of Noto. It is situated
n a ugh mountain, the ancient Erbessus, in a humid at-
S !S“ from H contains 8500 t
habitants, chiefly cultivators.
T^ALCATI J*0*’ 0r Balkash, a lake of Northern
and no fXtending ab°Ut 200 miles from north to south,
from tbpfA0mi ''t!1 t0 WeSt , U is situated 700 miles east
not alino- >t|ra * pate,rS-’ d?ou§b somewhat brackish, are
lakes n ^ •fei Unb,t ^0r drin^ng- It contains several small
countrv nf if Sr ,ern extl'emity- 0n the west it has the
of Soongaria.6 KlrghlSSeS’ and °n the east the gre*t plateau
anf d;LfC0J?’ ?„t0Wn of BenSal>in the province of Bahar,
"om Caf n°f CThUta ^agP°re’ 200 mdes by n^tl
»r°m Calcutta. Long. 85. 0. E. Lat. 22. 58. N.
makbef’/i lU 6 P°mted Stake or Piece of wood used ^
was aninstr °SUreS’ fparat,ions' and the like- The pale
the ancient UT?ent of Punishment and execution amongst
Turks. omans, and still continues so amongst the
vOL. xvi.
PAL
737
PALEMBANG, a district of Sumatra, on the north-
tas ern coast, extending along the river Palembang, which,
rises within two days’journey of Bencoolen, and runs
neai y across the island. It is upwards of a mile in breadth
opposite to the town of Palembang and the Dutch factory,
an may e navigated by vessels which do not draw more
than fourteen feet depth of water. In its lower parts, to¬
wards the sea-coast, the country is described as flat and
marshy, and, with the exception of a few tracts, entirely
unfit for cultivation. The produce of this country con¬
sists chiefly of pepper, rattans, gambir, silk, cotton, da-
mor, ivory, cats-eyes, sulphur, salt, wax, rice, benzoin, in¬
digo, tobacco, areca, buffaloes, and gold. The pepper
trade is very profitable. The port is much frequented by
trading vessels, chiefly from Java, Bally, Madura, and Ce¬
lebes, which bring rice, salt, and cloth, the manufacture
of these islands. With opium, the piece-goods of India,
and European commodities, it is supplied by the Dutch
from Batavia, and by interlopers. These in return receive
pepper and tin, which were formerly monopolized by the
Dutch East India Company to the amount of about two
millions of pounds, one third of which was shipped at Ba¬
tavia for Holland, and the remainder sent to China. The
interior parts of the country are divided into provinces,
each of which is assigned as a fief or government to the
royal family, or to the nobles, who commit the manage¬
ment to deputies, and are little interested about the wel-
tare of their subjects. The power of the monarch is un-
imited; but not maintaining any permanent body of
troops, his nobles often contemn his orders ; and power in
this case belongs to the stronger party. He has no re¬
venue except what arises from his monopolies, and from
the produce of the customs ; but the amount of these, es¬
pecially that arising from pepper and tin, is considerable.
I he population, with the present rulers, iS/said to have come
a great portion of it, originally from Java ; though, accord¬
ing to the opinion of the best authors, Palembang is the
original country of the Malay race. The policy of the
princes having always been to encourage foreign settlers,
the city and lower parts of the river are in a great measure
peopled with natives of China, Cochin-China, Camboia,
aiam, Patani, on the coast of the peninsula ; Java, Celebes
and other eastern islands. In addition to these, the Ara¬
bian priests are described by the Dutch as a very nume¬
rous and pernicious tribe, who impose upon and plunder
the credulous inhabitants, and are nevertheless held by
them in great reverence. The Mahommedan religion pre¬
vails throughout all the dominions of the sultan, with the
exception of a district near the sea-coast, where the natives
live in the woods like the brute creation. The natives are
described by the Dutch as devoid of every good quality.
But the Dutch are generally at enmity with the natives in
their colonies, irritating them by their tyranny and op¬
pression; and hence it is not unusual for others who treat
them differently to find their characters exactly the reverse
of the portrait drawn of them by the Dutch. They have
besides, little knowledge of their character, owing to the
jealousy and alarm of the Palembang government at every
attempt to penetrate into the interior.
In the year 1812 the kingdom of Palembang was con¬
quered ; and the sultan, who had made himself universally
™louJLby .hJs cruelties, having been dethroned by a hand¬
ful of British troops under the orders of Colonel Gillespie,
his brother was raised to the throne in his stead. The
expedition which was sent against this tyrant, being de¬
tained in the river of Palembang in the ascent to the ca¬
pital, and Colonel Gillespie learning that the sultan in his
rage had come to'the resolution of putting to death all the
wealthy Chinese and the other merchants, penetrated to
the capital with a small party of about seventeen grena¬
diers, and, entering the nalace, fortified themselves until
5 A
Palem¬
bang.
738
PAL
PAL
Palem-
bang
the other troops arrived, and thereby prevented the in¬
tended massacre, and completed the overthrow of the sul-
„ , H . tan’s despotism. .
Palencia. PALembang, the capital of the above district, and a
great emporium of inland commerce. It is situated in a
marshy tract of flat ground, a few miles above the delta
of the river, and about sixty miles from the sea. It is so
intersected by the branches of the river, forming a number
of islands, that it has received the appellation ot the Lity
of Twenty Islands. It extends about eight miles along
the banks of the river. The houses of the sultan and his
son are square areas, surrounded with very high bnc
walls. Each of these palaces contains several detached
buildings of the pavilion form, having portions of groun
planted with fruit-trees and ornamental shrubs. n ron
of these palaces is an extensive battery lacing the river.
There is also a lower range of batteries; and between the
two is seen the Maidan or Plain, at the extremity of which
appears the hall where the sultan gives audiences to the
public. The sultan, before the arrival of the British, had
been engaged in the construction of a new harbour, tor
which he had found materials in the Dutch factory, whic
he had demolished. It joins the inner palace, but the
buildings are still incomplete. A large reservoir of water,
with pleasure-boats in it, occupies the middle of this area,
which is surrounded by numerous detached buildings toi
the females of the court. The principal mosque is a pretty
large building, nearly square ; and adjoining it is a hig
octagonal tower, from which the muezzin calls the people
to prayers. The houses of the common people are made ot
bamboos, with mats, and thatched. Some of the Rouses
float on the river, to the banks of which they are attach¬
ed. About two miles above Palembang the river divides
into two large branches ; that on the left leading to a coun¬
try-seat of the sultan, consisting of several bungalows and
wardens delightfully situated on a cluster of small islands.
The inhabitants amount to between 20,000 and 30 000 and
consist of Malays, Chinese, and Arabs. Long. 10L 54. E.
Palembang, the river on which the city of the same
name is situated, rises within two or three days journey
of Bencoolen, and falls into the .Straits of Banca. 11 e
river, with the exception of the bar at its mouth, on which
there are two fathoms and a quarter, has a depth sufficien
to carry a frigate as far up as the town. It is of considerab e
breadth, with low and woody banks. . , c .
PALEMERDY, a town of Hindustan, in the Southern
Carnatic, district of Madura, thirty-one miles south-east
from the town of Madura. Long. 78.23. E. Lat. 9. 26.. .
PALENCIA, a province in Spain, forming part ot the
ancient kingdom of Leon. It extends 145 square leagues,
and the number of its inhabitants is 118,064, a density o
population much greater than the general average of the
kingdom presents. As the province is well watered, the
riches and population, which m Spain must arise from tl e
abundance of that element, are on the advance. 1 he
rivers that water it discharge themselves at last into the
Duero, and are the Pisuerga, the Carrion, the Arlanza,
and the Arlanzon. The country is generally fertile in the
valleys, and yields wheat, barley, and wines. There are
some coarse woollen manufactories scattered over the pro¬
vince, as well as in the capital city. The Canal of CastiUe
runs through this province as far as it is executed. I his,
like the Canal of Aragon, is designed to promote two im¬
portant objects, that of internal navigation and that o ir¬
rigation. The part of this valuable and costly work that
is°completed begins in the village of Alar del Key, in lati¬
tude 42. 51., taking its water from the Pizuerga, the left
bank of which it follows. It enters the kingdom, of Leon
by crossing that river, and then continues on its right
bank, crossing also the Cieza, when it makes a turn to
the city of Palencia, and terminates in the Carrion, a little
below it. A branch called the Canal de Campos runs from
it to the westward, towards Beceril. The masonry of this
work is stupendous and well executed, as are all the locks,
sluices, and other appendages. Such great operations al¬
ways proceed slowly in Spain, and the recent struggles
have created considerable impediments ; but if the pro¬
ject be successfully pursued, and the original plan com¬
pleted, this canal will connect itself with that of Aragon,
and thus create an internal navigation across the whole
of Spain. There are made in this province 500,000 hogs¬
heads of wine, and 2000 of brandy. It possesses 3050
horses, 6500 mules, 3800 asses, 9300 oxen, 318,500 sheep,
11,300 goats, and 5500 pigs. It is in the captain-gene¬
ralship of Zamora, and enjoys the privileges and laws of
Palencia, a city of Spam, the capital of the province
of Leon. It is situated on the banks of the river Carrion,
after that river has been increased by the junction of
the Cieza. It is the see of a bishop, and has a large and
ancient cathedral. The country around produces good
wheat, barley, and wine, especially in moist summers;
but it has a barren appearance, from being almost wholly
destitute of trees. It is a manufacturing place, and fur¬
nishes blankets, coverlets, baize, serges, and hats, to a great
portion of the inhabitants of its own and the surround¬
ing provinces. It is not considered as a healthy city, from
its vicinity to a most pestiferous stagnant lake cal ed Na¬
va. It is situated in longitude 4. 34. west, and latitude
42. 10. north, has a population of 8292 souls, and contains
five churches, eleven monasteries, and two hospitals.
PALENGA, a village of Hindustan, in the province ot
Sinde, situated in the route from Hyderabad to Luckput
Bunder. Lat. 24. 19. N. _ .
PALERMO, a province or intendancy of the island o
Sicily, belonging to the kingdom of Naples. It is formed
out of the Val di Mazzara, and some portions of the Vai di
Demona. It is situated on the sea-shore, which is its
western boundary, and is bounded on the east by Messina,
on the south by Calataniferra and Girgenti, and on the
east by Trapani. It is divided into four districts, viz. Fa-
lermo, Cefalu, Corleone, and Termini, and contains 410 000
inhabitants. The capital of the island, as well as o the
intendancy, is the city of Palermo. It stands upon a bea
tiful gulf of the same name near Cape Gallo. It has
fine mole running out nearly a quarter of a mile from
the arsenal, with a lighthouse, which forms a convemen
harbour. The city is built upon a ferule plain, a1'»
in general is salubrious, but in some part* malam i je
nerated in autumn. Most of the houses ’
which contribute much to cleanliness. It is a
and not inelegant city. The most prominen buddmgs
are the royal palace and the cathedral,
versity, with a library, and a good observ^1 f'be seeny
fine specimens of Moorish architecture are ,icjeg pr0.
13 PAL^^P'aga; ItSip'Ihe goddet; of thejhep-
herds, to whom they offered milk and bon^’ beasts
she might deliver them and their f°cks.f° nted as
and infectious diseases. 1 his goddess w’-,re celebrat-
an old woman. Her festivals, called Romulus began
ed on the 21st of April, the day on w i ceremonies
to lay the foundation of the city Rome; the c^e
consisting in burning heaps of straw, teapm|
them. Some call the festival Pan/m for the
because the sacrifices were offered to the f
fecundity of the flocks.
Palei a
II
Pat
739
PALESTINE.
sjgtine. Palestine, though a country of limited extent, has yet
'been the scene of events that will ever be memorable in
Desd,
the history of the world. It was in this fruitful land, flowing
with milk and honey, that the chosen people of God, re¬
deemed from Egyptian bondage, and crowned with con¬
quest, were appointed to rest from their toils, after then-
long and laborious pilgrimage through the wilderness. Here
they dwelt in peace, and in the enjoyment of all earthly
blessings. Corrupted by prosperity, they provoked the ven¬
geance of heaven by their ingratitude and rebellion, and
were again, for their iniquities, swept into captivity in an
unknown and hostile land. Restored to their country
through the favour of the Persian king, they relapsed into
their former evil courses; and filling up the measure of
their guilt by putting to death the promised Messiah, they
were abandoned by Heaven to the rage of their enemies,
and finally escaped, a miserable remnant of unhappy fugi¬
tives, from the flame and the sword, which devoured their
country and ruined its cities, and were dispersed amongst
all nations, an astonishment and a by-word, as it was fore¬
told they would be, to all succeeding generations, and a
living evidence of the truth of those prophecies of which
they are the subject. In the mean time the Christian re¬
velation published at Jerusalem gradually extended its in¬
fluence, until its authority was acknowledged by the Ro¬
man emperor, and throughout his whole dominions, and,
finally, in all those European kingdoms into which the
Roman empire was broken by its barbarous invaders; and
thus was brought about, not by the violence of conquest,
but by the peaceful triumph of a purer faith, one of the
most extraordinary revolutions ever known in the manners,
laws, institutions, and morals, of a large portion of the civi¬
lized world. In the middle ages, the deliverance of the
holy city was the reigning delusion of that barbarous time;
the war-cry was raised throughout all Europe against the
infidels who dishonoured Jerusalem by their presence, and
interrupted the pilgrimage to that holy place; the knights
of Christendom, obedient to the call, assembled from all
quarters round the banner of the cross; and vast armies
were transported from Europe to Asia, to contend with the
Mahommedans for the possession of the Holy Land. A long,
bloody, and doubtful war terminated in the triumph of the
infidels, and finally consigned the land of Palestine to
their barbarous sway. A country which has been the scene
oi such various revolutions, and of so many marvellous
events, in which the light of divine truth was first dis¬
played, once so famed, and now so degraded, cannot fail
to be regarded with deep interest in a liberal and enlight¬
ened age, affording, as it does, so many curious topics of
discussion, and so wide a field of interesting inquiry. It
has accordingly been resorted to, especially in modern
times, by numerous travellers from Europe, whose works
contain the most ample details concerning its natural fea¬
tures, its scenery, productions, animals, its antiquities, the
manners of its inhabitants, and its present condition; and
Jt is from the copious information contained in these works
that the following narrative has been compiled.
The tract of country known in modern times under the
name of Palestine forms, for about 140 miles, from the
thirty-first to the thirty-fourth degrees of north latitude,
the eastern shore of the Mediterranean; whilst it is bound¬
ed on the east by the great Syrian desert, on the north the
mountains of Libanus and Anti-Libanus form a natural Palestine,
boundary, and on the south it extends to the Arabian de- ’
sert. It is 140 miles in length, as already mentioned,
and about fifty in breadth ; and is distinguished by the in¬
equality of its surface, and by the varied scenery which it
presents; “ a land, says Sandys, with his usual force,
“ that flowed with milke and hony; in the middest, as it
were, of the habitable world, and under a temperate clime ;
adorned with beautiful mountaines and luxurious vallies;
the rockes producing excellent waters; and nopartofit emp¬
ty of delight or profit.”1 Along the sea-coast of Palestine,
the country consists chiefly of fertile and extensive plains,
from which the ground gradually rises by successive terra¬
ces or ridges, into the central range of mountains which
intersect the country throughout its whole length, and
which present, with intervening valleys of singular beauty,
all the varieties of bold and rugged scenery, and often
sterile and naked rocks. On the eastern declivity of these
mountains the country is rich, diversified, and luxuriant;
its lofty mountains and sloping hills covered with forests,
the deep valleys watered by murmuring streams, and cloth¬
ed with cultivation, or enlivened with the flocks and herds
of the wandering Arabs.2
Those mountains which form the central chain of Judea
run parallel, under various names, to the shore of the
Mediterranean, being in general at the distance of twenty
or twenty-four miles from the sea; Mount Libanus forms
the summit, and they divide into two distinct chains, the
greater on the west, which looks to the Mediterranean, and
the lesser on the east, which bounds the plains of Damas¬
cus, and has received the appellation of Anti-Libanus.
These ridges, throughout their whole extent, from the
northern frontier of Palestine to the Dead Sea, are rugged
and barren, and destitute of inhabitants. The country be¬
tween these two chains is watered by the Jordan, which has
its rise in the northern chain of the Libanus Mountains, and
flows southward in the central valley through the Lakes of
Hoole and Tiberias, until it terminates in the Dead Sea.
The country has generally been divided into three regions,
namely, Judea, which lies to the south, Samaria in the
middle, and Galilee on the north; and to these may be
added the region beyond the river Jordan, which, running
along the whole length of the country, divides it into two
distinct portions.
Judea proper contains the modern district of Gaza, and
was formerly the central district of the ancient kingdom
of Judah, of which it contained the metropolis. It com¬
prehends the whole country from the Lake of Asphaltites to
the sea, a space of about sixty or seventy miles in breadth.
The soil consists of a sandy earth; and it rises in far-as¬
cending terraces from the sea to the mountains. The
country situated near the Mediterranean consists of low
plains, that are both beautiful and fertile. The plain
around Rama, says Dr Clarke, is as fertile as any part of
the Holy Land. It resembles a continual garden; though
at the time that this celebrated traveller passed through
the country, cultivation had been neglected, owing to a
dreadful plague by which it had been visited.3 The sea¬
shore is lined with mastic trees, palms, and prickly pears.
The plains, though neglected, are clothed with the richest
vegetation; and Sandys describes the country on the coast
between Jaffa and Gaza as luxuriant and beautiful. “We
i TravSnP1 ?f ? Jou.rne^ 111 f°ur containing a description of the Turkish Empire, Egypt, the Holy Land, &c. b. iii. p. 141.
* i , Palestine, by J. S. Buckingham, vol. ii. chap. xix. p. 118. r ^
Uarke’s Travels in the Holy Land, vol. ii. chap, xviii. p. 637.
740
PALESTINE.
Palestine, past this day,” he observes, “ thorow the most pleasant
’ and pregnant valley that ever eye beheld. On the right
hand a ridge of mountains, whereon stands Hebron; on
the left the Mediterranean Sea, bordered with continued
hills, beset with variety of fruits, as they are for the
most part of this day’s journey. The champaign be-
tweene about twenty miles over, full of flowrie hills ascend¬
ing leisurely, and not much surmounting their ranker
vallies, with groves of olives and other fruites dispersedly
adorned.’’1 In his journey southward along the coast to
Rama and Joppa, he met with the same luxuriant country.
The caravan, he mentions, lay in deep pastures, without
controlment of the villagers; and descending through dif¬
ferent valleys, having “ divers orchards,” towards the sea,
he found a want of trees, but no part barren ; and the coun¬
try, he adds, “ would prove more profitable if planted with
vines and fruites.” Higher up, the country becomes uneven
and rocky, and so difficult is the road over rugged and path¬
less rocks, that though the journey between Jerusalem and
Jaffa might be performed in thirteen hours, the distance
not being more than forty miles, it generally occupies
about a day and a half. The mountains consist of lime¬
stone, naked and barren, compared by Dr Clarke to the
worst parts of the Apennines, which, however varied, have
nothing either of the grand or the picturesque in their ap¬
pearance. Yet however barren the hills in this district, the
intervening valleys are remarkably fertile, and repay the
labour of the cultivator by plentiful crops of tobacco, wheat,
barley, Indian millet, melons, vines, olives, pumpkins, and
cucumbers; while natural groves arise, consisting of the
ever-green oak, the cypress, of andrachnes and turpentine
trees ; and the ground is covered with the rosemary, the
cy tasus, and the hyacinth. Of these valleys, that of Jeremiah
and the Terebinthine Yale are remarkable; the latter fa¬
mous in sacred history, as the scene of David’s triumph
over the Philistine. The entrance into this vale is over
hills and rocks; the mountain is still seen on the one side,
and the mountain on the other, exactly as it is described
in holy writ; and the valley between them, and the very
brook in which David “ chose those five smooth stones,”
with one of which he smote the Philistine, and which has
furnished drink to many a thirsty pilgrim, on his journey
from Jaffa to Jerusalem.2
The vegetation of these mountains has been compared,
for its richness, to that of Crete or Candia. Such is the
spreading luxuriance of the forest, that travellers have re¬
posed or dined under the shade of lemon-trees as large as
one of the finest European oaks; and sycamores are to be
seen, whose expanding foliage is sufficient to afford shelter
to a band of twenty or thirty travellers, with their horses.
Dr Clarke, in describing his journey to Jerusalem from the
north, celebrates in the highest strains the beauty and fer¬
tility of the mountainous country through which he travel¬
led. The road, he observes, was mountainous and rocky,
and full of loose stones; yet the cultivation, he adds, is
even marvellous, and affords one of the most striking ex¬
amples of human industry that can be anywhere seen.
“ The limestone rocks,” he continues, “ and stony valleys
of Judea, were entirely covered with plantations of figs,
vines, and olive-trees; not a single spot was neglected.
The hills, from their bases to their upmost summits, were
covered with gardens; all of these were entirely free from
weeds, and in the highest state of agricultural perfec¬
tion. Even the sides of the most barren mountains had
been rendered fertile by being divided into terraces, like
steps rising one above another, whereon soil had been ac¬
cumulated with astonishing labour. Amongst the standing
crops we noticed millet, cotton, linseed, and tobacco, and
occasionally small fields of barley. In places where the
ground is subjected to irrigation, two crops are produced,
one of wheat in May, and another of pulse in autumn.”3
In many districts fine wines are produced; that of St John,
near Bethlehem, is said to be delicious. On the eastern
declivity of the central mountains, as they decline into the
valley of the Jordan near Jericho, the olives are produced
of a large size, which give oil of the finest quality. The
mulberry grows in straight rows in the open field, inter¬
mingled with the vine, which, hanging in festoons from the
branches, presents a graceful appearance; and several of
the fruit-trees are continually bearing flowers and fruit in
all their stages. This luxuriant vegetation may occasion¬
ally languish or be burnt up during the extreme heats
and droughts of summer; and at all seasons it is liable to
be interrupted, and is only seen in detached spots in more
lofty situations ; but these exceptions to the general luxu¬
riance of the scene may partly be ascribed to the heat
and drought of the climate, and partly also to the indo¬
lence and general barbarism of the country. It is certain,
that the more deeply we penetrate into these hills, the rug¬
ged nature of the scenery and the barrenness of the coun¬
try increases, and, “ as we approach the centre of Judea,”
says M. Chateaubriand, “ the sides of the mountains en¬
large, and assume an aspect at once more grand and bar¬
ren ; by little and little the vegetation languishes and
dies ; even mosses disappear ; and a red and burning hue
succeeds to the whiteness of the rocks. In the centre of
the mountains there is an arid basin, enclosed on all sides
with yellow pebble-covered summits, which afford a single
opening to the east, through which the surface of the Dead
Sea, and the distant hills of Arabia, present themselves to
the eye. In the midst of this country of stones, encircled
by a wall, we perceive extensive ruins, scanty cypresses,
bushes of the aloe and prickly pear; some Arabian huts re¬
sembling white-washed sepulchres are spread over heaps
of ruins. This spot is Jerusalem.”4 From the central chain
of mountains in Judea a desert extends eastward to the
Dead Sea, which is encompassed by two rugged chains of
sterile hills. North-eastward, the large and fertile valley of
the Jordan, called El Gor, has in all ages been celebrated
for its rare and valuable productions. It is described by
Josephus as the most fruitful country of Judea, in which
numerous palm-trees flourished near the town of Jericho,
besides the balsam-tree, which was considered as one of the
great staples of the country, and the source of its wealth.
All these fine productions, by which in ancient times the
country was enriched, have now entirely disappeared; and
in the vicinity of Jericho there is not a tree of any descrip¬
tion, either of palm or balsam, and scarcely any verdure or
bushes, to be seen about the site of this city, which is in
ruins, and surrounded with desolation. Ihis is ascribed,
however, by Mr Buckingham, more to the neglect of ag¬
riculture, and of the ancient aqueducts which were con¬
structed for the irrigation of the land, than to any change
in the climate or soil. There are traces in many parts
of Judea, of ancient and more extended, as well as more
skilful cultivation, such as the remains of walls, which were
built to support the soil on the declivities of the hills; also
of cisterns, in which the rain-water was collected, and after¬
wards distributed in canals over the fields. In a hot an
dry climate, and a rocky country, water is a main ingre¬
dient of fertility; and under an ardent sun a prodigious
produce must have been extracted, by means of this ar i-
ficial irrigation, from the thirsty soil. All the ancient a -
counts of Judea, accordingly, agree in describing it as a i >
1 Sandys, lib- iii. p. 150. ...
3 1st Sam. xvii. 2, 3 ; Clarke’s Travels in the Holy Land, vol. n. chap. xvim p. o* .. ^
Clarke's Travels in the Holy Land, vol. ii. p. 520. * Travels in Palestine, vol. n- chap. xvn. p
PALESTINE.
tine, productive, and well-cultivated country; and, under all the
'—''ruthless desolations of war and barbarism to which it has
been exposed, it still retains the traces of careful cultiva¬
tion. It still answers to its ancient character of a land flow¬
ing with milk and honey; the flocks of the Arabs finding
here luxuriant pastures, and the wild bees still lodging in
the holes of the rocks, where they lay up their stores of
fragrant honey, that is seen flowing from them.
Every spot in Judea is consecrated by ancient recollec¬
tions, and has been the scene of some great event in sa¬
cred history. Jerusalem, the capital, has been already
described under its proper title, and is still a remarkable
city, though declined from its ancient splendour. The
other towns are Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Saviour,
about six miles to the south of Jerusalem, renowned for its
antiquity, and for the localities consecrated by the Re¬
deemer’s presence; and especially for an elegant church,
on the supposed site of the sacred manger, enriched by of¬
ferings from all the nations in Europe. It contains from
1000 to 1500 inhabitants, mostly Christian. Hebron is
still farther to the south, in a less arid country, with 1000
or 1200 inhabitants. This ancient city, the seat of David’s
kingdom before he took Zion from the Jebusites, is entire¬
ly in ruins. Gaza, famous as the scene of Samson’s ex¬
ploits, is situated near the sea-coast, on a hill in the midst
of valleys, and these again surrounded with hills planted
with all sorts of delicate fruits. It has now declined, like
all the other cities in this country, from its ancient im¬
portance ; the buildings, says Sandys,1 being “ mean, both
for form and matter; some built of mudj among all, not
any comely or convenient; ” “ yet,” he continues, “ even
there some relicks left that testifle a better condition. For
divers simple roofs are supported with goodly pillars of Pa¬
rian marble ; some plaine, some curiously carved. A num¬
ber broken in pieces, do serve for thresholds, jambs of
doors, and sides of windows, unto every beggarly cottage.”
Ten miles north of Gaza, on the sea-coast, stands Asca-
lon, celebrated during the Crusades, but now a place of no
note. Azotus and Acheron, also on the coast, are places
of no account; and Rama, about thirty miles north-west of
Jerusalem (not the city to which the prophecy of Jeremiah
applies, “ In Rama was a voice heard,” &c.), a magnificent
city during the time of the Crusades, was found by Dr
Clarke to exhibit one scene of ruin. This was no doubt
partly occasioned by the plague, which had raged in Judea
previous to his visit, but partly also to the general tenden¬
cy to decline and ruin, which is seen throughout the whole
country, from the indolence and barbarism of the inhabi¬
tants, and the oppressions to which they are exposed.
The remarks of Sandys on the incongruities seen in the
buildings at Gaza, of marble pillars in the meanest struc¬
tures, apply generally to the towns throughout the Holy
Land; all of which, however mean in their present appear¬
ance, bear the marks of former magnificence, and of a
happier era. About ten miles to the west is situated the
town of Joppa or Jaffa, which owes all its celebrity and
importance to its being the port of Jerusalem, being one
of the worst harbours in the Mediterranean. It was in an¬
cient times the only port in Judea, to which, from Mount
Libanus, were brought the materials for building the temple
of Solomon, previous to their being transported by land to
Jerusalem. To the north of Jerusalem, on the western
slope of the central mountains as they decline into the val-
ey of the Jordan, stood the ancient city of Jericho, now
a scene of ruin, so that the site of this city is scarcely
nown ; and Buckingham, one of the latest and most judi¬
cious as well as learned travellers, is of opinion that it has
Deen fixed too near the river Jordan, at Rihhah. In a
spot near to this he discovered heaps of ruins, the position
741
of which seemed to agree more accurately with the site Palestine,
assigned to Jericho by Josephus than any other in the
country.
To the north of Judea lies the country of Samaria,
which is the middle division of Palestine, and is now chief¬
ly comprehended in the district of Naplous. This district
of the country is, like Judea, mountainous in the interior ;
but along the sea-shore extends the plain of Sharon, from
Mount Carmel on the north, with little interruption, ac¬
cording to Chateaubriand, into Judea, as far south along
the shore as Gaza. But this space comprises, properly
speaking, four distinct plains, separated from each other
by ridges covered with loose stones. The soil of the plains
in Samaria, though it is sandy in its nature, is of extreme
fertility. It is covered during the spring with many va¬
rieties of luxuriant flowers, with white and red roses, with
the narcissus, the lily white and yellow, and other beau¬
tiful and fragrant flowers and shrubs. Dr Clarke mentions,
that he observed the cactus ficus Indicus growing to an
enormous size, its gaudy blossoms making a splendid show,
and concealing the thorns under them, that inflict severe
and even dangerous wounds in this climate.2 This fertile
soil, according to Chateaubriand, languishing under the
iron rod of Turkish despotism, produces nothing but
thistles, dry and withered grass, mixed with inconsider¬
able plantations of cotton, millet, and grain. The con¬
dition of the country, no doubt, depends on the character
of the Turkish pasha, to whose care it is committed; and
the fairest promise of prosperity is frequently blighted by
the misrule of a cruel and avaricious tyrant. Such was
Djezzar Pasha, who ruled the pachalik of Acre at the time
Dr Clarke visited the Holy Land ; and who, by his cruelty
and extortion, converted a fertile district into a desert.
But the country that was under the milder rule of the
pasha of Damascus bore an entirely different appearance ;
and Dr Clarke observes, “ cultivated fields, gardens, and
cheerful countenances, exhibited a striking contrast to the
tenitories of Djezzar Pasha, where all was desolation, war,
and gloominess.” Mr Buckingham, however, ascribes this
improved aspect of the country less to the influence of the
government, than to the difference in the respective cha¬
racters of the inhabitants of the hill country and the plain.
At the later period, when he visited this district, it was
ruled by the pasha of Acre, with benevolence and equity;
and in the interval that had elapsed from the death of
Djezzar, the country might have recovered from the effects
of his violence and tyranny. The peasant will not cultivate
where he is not sure of reaping the fruit, and, under the
extortions of such a tyrant as Djezzar, the most fertile
country may languish and decay. But the young corn
and verdant spots, seen by Mr Buckingham, even to the
mountain top, attest a flourishing state of agriculture scarce¬
ly consistent with the barbarous oppression of the former
pasha, seeing that the effects of such tyranny are per¬
manent ; debasing, as it does, the habits of the people, and
fostering an indolence and apathy that paves the wav
for the desolation of the country. Of the aspect of Sa¬
maria Mr Buckingham generally observes, that the face of
the country so far resembles Judea, that both are com¬
posed of abrupt and rugged hills, differing essentially from
the plains of Galilee. But the country of Palestine seems
to deteriorate towards the south; it assumes a more bold,
mountainous, and rugged appearance, and contains a much
larger proportion of arid soil. Thus, in Judea, the hills
are mostly completely bare, and it is only the narrow
intervening valleys that are fertile; in Samaria, on the
other hand, the hills are clothed to the summits with ve¬
getation. These, adds this enterprising and judicious tra¬
veller, with the luxuriant valleys which they enclose, pre-
1 Lib. iii. p. 149.
8 Travels in the Holy Land, voL ii. chap. xv. p. 502,.
742
PALESTINE.
Palestine, sent scenes of unbroken verdure in almost every point of
v  ' view, which are delightfully variegated by the picturesque
forms of the hills and vales themselves, enriched by the
occasional sight of wood and water, in clusters of olive and
other trees, and rills and torrents running among them.1
Samaria is divided from the northern province of Galilee
by the river Kishon, or by the natural boundary of high
ground, about six or eight miles nearly north and south,
coming from the plain of Esdraelon, and terminating in the
lofty promontory of Mount Carmel, famed of old for its
beauty and luxuriant vegetation, and still bearing its native
cedars and wild vines and olives, intermixed with brambles,
as memorials of its ancient fertility and more careful cul¬
tivation, but, in general, consisting of barren and desolate
rocks formed of a whitish stone, with flints imbedded in it.
Sandys describes it as “ rich in olives and vines, when hus¬
banded, and abounding with several sorts of fruits and
herbs both medicinal and fragrant, though now overgroune
with woods and shrubs of sweet savour.”2 It has, towards
the east, the fine plain watered by the Kishon, which flows
past its base into the sea; and on the west, a narrower
plain descending to the Mediterranean. It does not ex¬
ceed 1500 feet in height. During the middle ages this
mountain was filled with grottos, cut out of the rock, the
abode of numerous monks, who, from this mountain, took
the name of Carmelites. To each monastery a chapel and
little garden were attached, so that the mountain was en¬
tirely covered with them. Mr Buckingham mentions that
he saw several of these grottos, all small and rude; and a
little below, he came to a sort of caravanserai, built before
a fine cave, into which he entered, and found a well-hewn
chamber cut entirely out of the rock, and squared wdth
great care, being twenty paces long, twelve broad, and from
fifteen to eighteen high. It forms a considerable halt for
travellers, as it affords good shelter, and contains a cistern
of excellent water. Pococke also mentions one of these
grottos near the foot of the hill, “ which,” he adds, “ is one
of the finest I ever saw; it is like a grand saloon, and is
about forty feet long, twenty wide, and fifteen high ; it is
cut out of the rock, and is now converted into a mosque.”3
The heights of Carmel enjoy a pure and enlivening atmo¬
sphere, while, in the interior, the sky is often obscured by
fogs; and from the top of the mountain is an extensive pro¬
spect of the Mediterranean to the west, the snowy heights
of Lebanon towering above the summits of the other moun¬
tains on the east, with Acre and the adjacent fertile plains.
On the summit formerly stood the monastery which was
for a long period the head-quarters of the Carmelite friars,
and which is said to have been built near the spot where
Elias offered up sacrifices. This monastery, which was not
a fine building, is now entirely abandoned, and the monk
vrho has charge of it lives in the town of Caypha, below.
It was used as an hospital by the French during their cam¬
paign in Egypt, for which its retired and healthy situation,
and its interior structure, well adapted it. It has been
since greatly injured by the barbarous Turks; its altars
have been stripped, and its roofs beaten in, though there
still remains, for the edification of devout visitors, a small
stone altar, in a grotto dedicated to St Elias, over which a
coarse painting is seen of the prophet leaning on a wheel,
with fire, and the other symbols of sacrifice beside him.
There are few towns of any note in this once flourishing,
but now comparatively desolate country. The chief town,
however, Nablous or Napolose, Neapolis in the days of
Herod, and the ancient Sichem, seems still to be, according
to the account of Dr Clarke, the metropolis of a rich and
extensive country, abounding in provisions, and all the ne¬
cessaries of life. The white bread exposed for sale here on Pa] „
the streets is far superior to any seen elsewhere in the conn-,
try. The inhabitants are industrious, and the manufactures
of the town, of which soap is the principal, supply a very
widely extended neighbourhood. The town is described
as being embosomed in the most delightful and fragrant
bowers; half concealed by rich gardens, and by stately
trees collected into groves, all around the bold and beauti¬
ful valley in which it stands.4
Sebaste, the ancient Samaria, the capital of the country,
is now a village consisting of a few humble dwellings in the
midst of magnificent ruins. This place was famous in the
ancient Jewish history, and is mentioned as a city of im¬
portance by the Roman historians, and also by Josephus.
It escaped the notice of Dr Clarke, though he passed near
it, and he accordingly mistakes the castle of Sanhoor, or
Santorni, for the site of this ancient metropolis. But its
ruins are described at length by Buckingham. He saw the
remains of one large street, consisting of eighty-three co¬
lumns erect, and of others which had fallen, but all of them
without capitals. On the eastern side of the hill on which
the city stood, eight large and eight small columns are still
standing, with many others lying near them, and blocks of
stone and fallen pillars scattered on the adjacent ground;
and in the humble walls of the houses that form the modern
village, portions of sculptured blocks of stone are perceived,
and even fragments of granite pillars, worked into the
masonry, while other remains of former and more magni¬
ficent edifices are seen scattered around. The most con¬
spicuous object that still remains at St Sebaste, is a large
cathedral, now in ruins, attributed to the piety of the Em¬
press St Helena. It is about a hundred feet in length by
fifty in breadth, the northern wall quite plain ; the eastern
front semicircular, with three open and two closed windows,
each contained in arches divided from each other by three
Corinthian columns.5 Most of the other towns here, as
well as in Judea, exhibit marks of ruin, amid the memorials
of ancient magnificence. The small village of Jennin,
about twenty-five miles to the north, contains the ruins of
a palace and of a mosque, with marble pillars, fountains,
and even piazzas in a perfect state; and the ancient Ce*
sarea, on the sea-coast, is now a scene of ruin, where frag¬
ments of fine marble pillars, and of ruined houses, are seen
strewed on the ground, which is overgrown with briars and
thistles, and the haunt of wild boars, which abound in the
neighbouring plain.6 Tortura is merely a small village on
the coast, for large boats which are forced to put in here
by stress of weather. It is generally supposed to be the
ancient Dora. . ,
To the north of Samaria is the district of Galilee, cele¬
brated as the scene of many interesting incidents in sacred
history. This province, though still hilly, contains a muc
greater proportion of champaign country than either ba-
maria or Judea; and its extensive plains have been ce-
lebrated by all travellers for their beauty and fertility.
The delightful plain of Zabulon is described by Dr Clarke
as being everywhere covered with spontaneous ye§e^a‘
tion, flourishing in the wildest exuberance; as delight¬
ful as the rich vales in the south of the Crimea, and re¬
sembling the finest parts of Kent and Surrey. 6
soil, although stony, is exceedingly rich, and weH adapted
for wheat, as well as for the olive, the vine, and other
licious fruits. The grapes excel so much both m size an
flavour, that a cluster of them furnishes out the smip,e s P
per of a large family. Maundrell describes these p
as being eminently fertile, well watered, and c6nJ;a &
every thing else that can render it pleasant and e
Buckingham’s Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. p. 390. 3 Pococke’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 56.
Lib. iii. p. 203. 4 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 507.
7 Travels in the Holy Land, vol. u. chap. xiu. p. 400.
5 Pococke, vol. ii- P* 4D*
« Ibid. p. 59.
PALESTINE.
tine, but at the same time desolate for want of culture, and
—"overgrown with weeds as high as the horses’ backs.1 Yet
amidst this fertility there are tracts of limestone hills,
which present one unbroken scene of sterility as far as
the eye can reach. Buckingham mentions that he passed
over a ridge of these barren hills in his approach to Na¬
zareth from Acre, and that in most parts the hill was so
steep and rugged, that he and his fellow-traveller were
forced to descend it on foot. It is by these ridges, hills,
or rocks, bare and barren, that the fertile plains of Palestine
are separated from each other. Southward from Nazareth,
which is situated on a range of rocky hills, extends the
fertile and celebrated plain of Esdraelon, which is about
two days’journey in length and twenty-one miles in breadth.
This plain is covered with a fine red soil; it is the most
fertile portion of all the land of Canaan ; and though a so¬
litude, lying waste, excepting only a few patches plough¬
ed for cultivation towards its southern edge, it is one vast
meadow, covered with the richest pasture, where former¬
ly the tribe of Issachar rejoiced in their tents, and over
which now range the wandering Arab tribes, around whose
dark-brown tents the flocks are seen to gambol to the
sound of the reed, which at night-fall recalls them to
their home. The plain of Galilee is almost a continua¬
tion of the plain of Esdraelon, and appeared, according to
the view that Buckingham had of it from Mount Tabor, to
be highly cultivated throughout. The plain of Esdraelon,
the plain of Megiddo, the Galilean plain, or the great plain
as it is often called by way of distinction, has been from
the most ancient times the arena on which hostile armies
have contended for the dominion of Palestine. Here it
was that Barak, descending with his ten thousand chariots
from Mount Tabor, discomfited the host of Sisera ; here
it was that Josiah fought in disguise against Necho king
°f Egypt, and was slain by the arrows of the Egyptians;
and here it was that the Romans arrayed their hostile
squadrons for the conquest of the country. 44 It has been,”
observes Dr Clarke, “ a chosen place of encampment in
every contest carried on in this country, from the days of
Nabuchadonozor, king of the Assyrians (in the history of
whose war with Arphaxad it is mentioned as the great
plain of Esdrelom), until the disastrous march of Napoleon
Bonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Jews, Gentiles, Sara¬
cens, Christians, Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, Druses,
Turks, and Arabs, warriors out of every nation under
heaven, have pitched their tents upon the plain of Es¬
draelon, and have beheld the various banners of their na¬
tions wet with the dews of Thabor and Hermon.”2
These two latter hills or mounts are often mentioned
in sacred history. They are not so remarkable for their
height as for their steep ascent from the adjacent ground.
Mount Tabor, which rises abruptly from the plain of Es¬
draelon, is the last to the eastward of a range of four hills
of a similar form, but less elevated, and less insulated from
the neighbouring hills, and all having passes between them.
Its height is 1000 feet, and it is a rounded hill of a glo¬
bular shape, having its outlines smooth, and its breadth at
the base greater than its height. It is clothed, for about
one-fourth part upwards, with numerous luxuriant trees
and thickets; and the top is an oval plain about a quar¬
ter of a mile long, covered with a fertile soil on the west,
and having at its eastern end a mass of ruins, seeming-
!y of churches, grottos, strong walls, and fortifications,
all of some antiquity, though not of a remote age. These
remains here, as in every other part of the Holy Land,
afford subjects for monkish fables; and in this manner
every remarkable spot in the country is converted into the
scene of some memorable incident in holy writ. Here
are three grottos, pointed out as the remains of the three
743
tabernacles proposed to be erected by Peter at the time Palestine,
of the transfiguration. In one of these grottos there is a "
squaie stone used as an altar; and the night of the sixth
August is held as a great festival by all the friars from
the convent of St Nazareth, who come with their banners
and their host to say mass, accompanied by the catholics
m the neighbourhood, and spend the night in festivity,
lighting huge bonfires, the wood on the mountains being
taken foi fuel, and its southern side being in consequence
nearly denuded of all the trees which formerly clothed it.
There are other scriptural references to Mount Tabor. It
was towards this mount that Barak was commanded to draw
his forces when he went to meet the host of Sisera; and
it seems to have been, in after ages, considered as a good
position, as it was, during the invasion of Judea by the
Romans, encompassed with a wall, and occupied as a mi¬
litary post when the Jews were besieged by Placidus, the
lieutenant of Vespasian. There is also a vague tradition
of a city built on the top, which sustained a five years’
siege ; and it is certain that it was formerly a place of
great strength ; and when it lost this warlike character,
it became a sanctuary; so that ancient remains, reli¬
gious as well as warlike, now mingle on its summit in one
common ruin. Hermon, about six miles distant, rises
from that range of hills which bounds the great plain of
Esdraelon on the south. Its lofty peak condenses the va¬
pours of the atmosphere, which descend in copious dews,
and produce the most luxuriant vegetation, while the sur¬
rounding country is parched with drought; so that this
renowned mount completely answers to all the scriptural
allusions concerning its fertility and verdure, and the re¬
freshing dews by which it is watered, and which in this
country are so profuse as to compensate the long drought,
and supply the place of rain.
Galilee is remarkable as the scene of our Saviour’s first
preaching and miracles, and its towns and villages are as¬
sociated with many interesting events of Scripture history.
Nazareth contains about 2000 inhabitants, consisting of
Catholic Christians, Maronites, Mahommedans, and schis¬
matic Greeks. I he Maronite church is built over a grotto,
held sacred as the supposed scene of the angel’s annun¬
ciation to Mary, of her conception and birth of the Saviour.
There is another grotto, with two red granite pillars about
two feet in diameter at its entrance, one of which is said
to mark the spot where the virgin rested, and the other
where the angel stood when he intimated to Mary her fa¬
vour with the Lord. The grotto, though only about eight
feet in height, still remains in its original roughness, the
roof being slightly arched. Every spot here has its absurd
legend, the^ credit of which the friars are interested to
maintain. I he chimney of the hearth is shown on which
Mary warmed the food for her infant son, and where she
baked cakes for her husband; also the apartment in which
her son lived in subjection to his parents; and Buckingham
is of opinion that this last tradition is nowise improbable,
as excavated buildings in the side of steep hills, such as
the one he describes, are more secure and more perma¬
nent than others, and as it is known that Joseph and Mary
dwelt in this place, where they reared their son. There is
no evidence however to prove, that though they dwelt at
Nazareth, this house was their residence, farther than the
most vague tradition; and Dr Clarke seems to consider,
with much appearance of reason, all these legends as in¬
ventions of the superstitious and ignorant monks, in order
to maintain the reputation of these holy places. The
synagogue in which Christ read and expounded the pro¬
phet Esaias is shown within the town ; and, more than a
mile distant to the southward, the precipice is pointed out
from which the Jews, offended with his doctrine, would
1 Maundrell, p. 52.
% Travels in the Holy Land, chap. xv. p. 499.
744
PALESTINE.
Palestine, have cast him headlong. Not many miles to the east of
' Nazareth is Cana of Galilee, where our Saviour perform¬
ed his first miracle of changing the water into wine ; and
about a quarter of a mile from the village there is a deli¬
cious spring of clear water, whence the village is supplied
and whence was drawn the water which was made wine.
Cana is a small village, containing the ruins of a church,
erected, according to tradition, on the spot where the mar¬
riage-feast of Cana was held; and among these ruins Dr
Clarke remarked, that there were large massy stone water-
pots, the vessels commonly in use in the country, and an¬
swering the description of those used of old by the Jews.
About three miles from Cana is the village of luran, in a
field, where they assert that the disciples plucked the ears of
corn on the Sabbath-day, and from which the pious devo¬
tees from Italy still gather the stalks of wheat as relics to
carry back to their own country. Prom rune to twelve
miles north-north-east stands the town of I iberias, along
the edge of the lake of that name. It has all the showy ap¬
pearance of a Turkish citadel from without, which is sadly
contrasted with its wretchedness within ; it is supposed to
be the Chemeroth of the Hebrews. No antiquities now re¬
main exceptan ancient church, constructed during the fourth
century. Two or three miles southward from the town
are warm baths, that have been long in great repute. A
small and mean building has been erected over them by
the Mahommedans. Extensive ruins are scattered around,
supposed to be the remains of Roman edifices. Of the
other ancient cities of Galilee, Capernaum, now called
Talherom or Tel Hoorn, situated about ten miles in a
north-easterly direction from the lake of Tiberias, former¬
ly a place of importance, is now reduced to a station for
the wandering Arabs. As is the case, however, with the
other towns of Judea, the memorials of former magnifi¬
cence lie scattered around. Jhe traces of a magnificent
building are still to be seen, though its ruin is so complete
that its character can no longer be ascertained. The
whole space within its extensive walls is covered with
blocks of sculptured stone, in friezes, cornices, and mould¬
ings. Bethsaida, also near the Lake of Tiberias, and which
was enlarged and embellished by Herod, is so entirely
ruined that no traces remain to mark out the site of its
walls, or of its temples or palaces. Acre, the Accho of
the Scriptures, and one of the strongholds from which the
Israelites were notable to dislodge the Canaanites, is cele¬
brated for the bloody conflicts of which it was the scene
during the crusading wars, and in modern times for its
gallant defence against the victorious legions of Bonaparte.
It is situated on the extremity of a plain, at the bottom of
the bay of Acre, formed by the promontory of Mount
Carmel on the south-west, and the skirts of the plain it¬
self on the north-east, and about ten miles across. A parti¬
cular description of Acre will be found under its proper
title ; and we may only add, that Mr Buckingham, in his
visit to this town, thought that he discovered the Canaan-
itish remains of the ancient city of Accho. The work¬
men were sinking a ditch to surround the outer wall, to
the depth of twenty feet below the level of the soil; by
which the foundations of very old buildings were exposed
to view, constructed of such materials as marked beyond
a doubt a very high antiquity ; being a “ highly burned
brick, with a mixture of cement and sand, as well as small
portions of stone in some parts, the whole so firmly bound
together by age, and the strongly adhesive power of the
cement, as to form one solid mass.”1
Mountains. Judea is intersected throughout its whole length by a
ridge of mountains, from which other and lesser branches
diverge, and overspread the whole country. These moun¬
tains are a prolongation of the Syrian chain, which begins
me.
on the south of Antioch, with the huge peak of Caprus, Pall
shooting up to the heavens, its needle-like point encircled'—
with forests. This chain, on entering Judea, follows the shores
of the Mediterranean, from which it is not above twenty
or thirty miles distant. Mount Libanus, which is within
the line of perpetual snow, is its highest summit. This
ridge divides itself into two, namely, that .of Lebanon,
which overlooks the Mediterranean, and another chain,
called Anti-Libanus, which looks eastward over the Sy¬
rian desert. This chain must be of very great height, as its
snowy summits were seen by Dr Clarke in his journey from
Nazareth to Tiberias, towering beyond a series of inter¬
vening mountains with unspeakable greatness. He con¬
sidered these mountains as part of the chain of Lebanon,
though the Arabs who accompanied him described them
as part of the Anti-Libanus chain, near Damascus. “ The
summit,” says Dr Clarke, “ was so lofty that the snow en¬
tirely covered the upper part of it; not lying in patches,
as I have seen it during summer upon the tops of very
elevated mountains, as on Bennevis in Scotland, but in¬
vesting all the higher parts with that perfect white and
smooth velvet-like appearance which snow only exhibits
when it is very deep ; a striking spectacle in such a climate,
where the beholder, seeking protection from a burning sun,
considers the firmament to be on fire.”2 Lebanon is still
covered with tall cedars, and in ascending its sloping
sides, all the varieties of a European climate are expe¬
rienced, with a corresponding variety of vegetable produce.
The ground is enriched with thousands of rare plants, and
beautiful and fragrant flowers ; the primrose of Libanus, the
mountain amaryllis, mingling their brilliant hues with the
verdure of the birch-leaved cherry. Not only the sum¬
mits, but the higher valleys, are covered with perpetual
snow. At a lower level, a perennial verdure is maintained,
by the humidity and coolness ol the atmosphere, and the
good quality of the soil; and it is pleasing to remark, in
these higher regions, where industryjs here less harassed by
the predatory inroads of the Arabs, that the country ex¬
hibits a flourishing appearance; and we here behold those
ingeniously contrived terraces, which preserve the fertile
earth ; well planted vineyards, which produce the finest
wines ; fields of wheat; plantations of cotton, of olives, and
of mulberries, which in the midst of rocky steeps, present
the pleasing picture of successful industry. Ihese moun¬
tains are chiefly composed of limestone rocks, and abound
in those ores which are common in Palestine, and are cha¬
racteristic of that formation.
The deep ravines of these mountains are watered by Rive: md
numerous streams, which arise on all sides in great abun-lake?
dance. But the principal river of Palestine is the Jordan,
which has its rise in the range of Libanus, and, running
from north to south, intersects the whole country of Pales¬
tine. It forms the small lake of Hoole, and enters the great
lake called the Sea of Tiberias, from the southern extremity
of which it again issues. Flowing southward through an
extensive plain, it passes Jericho to the east, and falls into
the Dead Sea or Lake of Asphaltites. The Lake of I ibenas
at Gennesareth is twelve or sixteen miles in length from
north to south, and in breadth seems to be from six to nine
miles. The surrounding scenery is of no common gran¬
deur, the lake is surrounded by precipitous hills, whicn
shelter it from the tempest. Yet it is occasionally name
to dangerous storms, because, when the wind blows
lently, it strikes down perpendicularly on the surface,
ploughs it up into the most frightful inequahtms.
was in one of these storms that the disciples of our
our, who had embarked in one of the small vesse s
traverse the lake, were in danger of perishing, when they
saw Jesus, about the fourth watch of the night, walk g P
1 Travels in Palestine, vol. i. p. 116.
2 Travels in the Holy Land, vol. ii. chap. xiv. p
456.
PALESTINE.
■Stine
Pla of
Jor
on the waves. The barrenness of the surrounding moun¬
tains, and the total absence of wood, give an aspect of dul-
nesstothe scenery; and this impression is heightened by the
dead calm and the silence which reigns over the wide ex¬
panse of its waters, where not a boat or vessel of any kind is to
be seen. The Lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea, in which
the Jordan terminates, is sixty or seventy miles in length by
ten or twelve in breadth. This lake is slightly curved in the
form of a bow, sunk between two ranges of mountains,
which have no resemblance of form, nor any common pro¬
perties of soil. It is surrounded, like the Lake of Tiberias,
by lofty and barren mountains; and is also remarkable for the
death-like stillness of its waters. I he surrounding scenery
is represented as being in the highest degree grand and
awful; and its desolate aspect is well adapted to the mar¬
vellous tales which are told of its malignant influence. The
waters of this lake were formerly believed to be destruc¬
tive of animal life, so that no fishes could live in them ;
that birds flying across were killed by the pestilential ex¬
halations from its surface; that heavy bodies were buoyed
up by the specific gravity of its waters; and, finally, a sin¬
gular species of fruit, called the apples of Sodom, was said
to be produced on its shores, which was beautiful to the
eyes, but bitter to the taste, and full of ashes or dust within.
All these fables have, however, disappeared before the ra¬
tional inquiries of modern travellers. It is now known, that
the supposed deadly waters of this lake swarm with my¬
riads of fishes; that flocks of swallows are seen constantly
skimming along its surface ; that the absence of other birds
arises from the want of vegetable food in the adjacent
rocks or barren plains ; and that the mysterious fruit found
on its shores is as natural as any other vegetable produc¬
tion. Respecting this fruit various theories have prevailed.
Tacitus and Josephus are the first authors who mention
its singular properties ; other authors, describing this fruit
as an emblem of worldly pleasures, fair without, but full of
rottenness within, gave a romantic and fabulous cast to the
story; so that subsequent travellers, such as Pococke and
Shaw, doubted the existence of any such production.
Hasselquist, however, the botanist, described it as the fruit
of the Solarium melongena, found in abundance near the
Dead Sea, of which the fruit, when attacked, turns to dust,
the skin only remaining entire, and of a beautiful colour. M.
Seetzen thought that he discovered the fruit called the apple
of Sodom, which contained within a sort of cotton resem¬
bling silk; while Chateaubriand describes it as growing on
a shrub which he found everywhere within three leagues
of the mouth of the Jordan. Before it is ripe it is filled
with a corrosive and saline juice ; and when dried it con¬
tains a blackish seed, that may be compared to ashes, and
which has the taste of a bitter powder.1 The water of this
lake is of greater specific gravity than any other known,
and is remarkably buoyant. Its specific gravity is 1-211,
while that of fresh water is 1000. It is impregnated with
a mixture of different saline substances ; such as lime, mag¬
nesia, soda, sulphate of lime; and the taste is a compound
of salt and bitter, extremely offensive.
1 he valley of the J ordan is a marked feature in the scenery
of Judea. It is situated between the lofty and central range
ot mountains on the west, which rise to the height of from
0 to 2000 feet, and the range of the Arabian mountains
on the east, the height of which does not exceed 1000 feet.
Nothing can exceed the forbidden aspect of these western
hills; not a blade of verdure is to be seen over their whole
extent, nor any sound to be heard; the eastern range is
equally barren, except some little dells near the plain, where
he rams, being collected, favour vegetation. This is said
to be the wilderness in which the Saviour dwelt with wild
745
beasts, while angels ministered to him ; and it certainly Palestine,
orms, according to the accounts of all travellers, a most'
appropriate scene for such an incident. In the mountains
are many grottos of the early anchorites, in long ranges,
and consisting of separate chambers, now entirely desert¬
ed. Here Mr Buckingham observed the remains of a fine
Roman aqueduct, consisting of at least twenty arches, and
leading from the foot of the mountains, in a direction from
west to east, into the valley of Jordan. Here also he fixed
the site of the cities of Bethel and Ai, describing the na¬
ture o the ground as being extremely favourable for the
ambush by which these cities were destroyed. The great
plain of Jordan hemmed in on both sides by mountains,
fills up the whole space between the Lake of Tiberias and
the Dead Sea, and it is about fifteen miles in breadth.
This plain is in some parts unfertile, the soil being covered
with a saline incrustation, and having small heaps of a
white povyder like sulphur scattered at intervals over its
surface; in other parts it is more fertile, being covered
with a carpet of green. The country that lies beyond the
Arabian mountains on the east of the valley of Jordan, is
a sort of table-land, though still diversified in its sur¬
face : it is a fine country, of an entirely different aspect
from the bare mountains of Judea, and rivalling in fertility
and picturesque beauty the celebrated plains of Zabulon
and Esdraelon in Galilee and Samaria. Mr Buckino-.
ham describes with equal delight and admiration the
varied beauties of this romantic region, the Decapolis of
the Romans, the seat of ten renowned cities, famed for
wealth and refinement, but now a scene of desolation, over
which the vyild Arab ranges with his flocks in quest of
pasture or of prey. The country, according to the account
of this traveller, is of extraordinary richness, abounding in
the most beautiful prospects of thick forests, verdant slopes,
and extensive plains. I he landscape alone varied at every
turn, and gave new beauties from every different point of
view. “ The general face of this region,” he adds, “ im-
pi oved as we advanced farther into it; and every new
direction of our path opened upon us views which sur¬
prised and charmed us by their grandeur and their beauty.
Lofty mountains gave an outline of the most magnificent
character; flowing beds of secondary hills softened the
romantic wildness of the picture; gentle slopes, clothed with
wood, gave a rich variety of tints hardly to be imitated by
the pencil; deep valleys, filled with murmuring streams and
verdant meadows, offered all the luxuriance of cultivation ;
and herds and flocks gave life and animation to scenes as
grand, as beautiful, and as highly picturesque, as the ge¬
nius or taste of a Claude could either invent or desire.”
This district of Bothin, or the ancient Battanea, is dis¬
tinguished by numerous caverns hollowed out of the calca¬
reous mountains, which served formerly as the abodes of
the ancient inhabitants, and now of the wandering Arabs.
It was here that a modern traveller, Dr Seetzen, discovered'
in 1816, the ruins of Djerash, the ancient Gerasa, where
temples, superb amphitheatres of marble, and hundreds of
columns, are still seen, among other splendid remains of its
ancient grandeur. The finest object which he met with
vyas a long street bordered on each side with a row of Co¬
rinthian columns of marble, and terminating in a semicir¬
cular open space surrounded with sixty Ionic columns.
I his city occupied nearly a square about a mile in length,
facing the four cardinal points. It stood on the slopes of
two opposite hills. The whole surface of the western hill
is covered with temples, theatres, colonnades, and orna¬
mental architecture. The plan of the city was distinctly
traced by Mr Buckingham, amid its splendid ruins; the
main street intersected by two other streets at right angles,
bien'conwrv^^^qui'peuvent m^riteM’attentloi^dM^naturaiistes/*^111*"^01*2^116 de “S 1 j'e“ P°lsMe encore ’uatre dess“hlSs.
VOL. XVI.
746
PALESTINE.
Palestine, in which the Ionic and Corinthian orders prevail. A de-
tailed description of the temple, the theatre, and the other
ornamental buildings which are seen at this place, and of
which, though in ruin, a large proportion still remains, would
be inconsistent with our present limits; and the reader is
therefore referred to the work of Mr Buckingham, which
contains ample details on the subject.1 Amman, the an¬
cient Philadelphia, one of the principal cities of Decapolis,
presents also very splendid ruins; and to the south, on the
eastern shore of the Dead Sea, is found the bleak, barren,
and mountainous district of Carac, where are the ruins
of llabboth-Moab, the ancient capital, and formerly a popu¬
lous and an important place. Farther to the north are
found the countries called by the moderns Haouran and
Dschaulan, little known until, of late years, they wrere ex¬
plored by the travellers Dr Seetzen and Burckhardt. 1 hey
consist of a vast plain of table-land, stretching southwar
from Damascus, not watered by any great river, yet ren-
dered fertile by the industry of the inhabitants, who co
lect the rain-water into ponds for the purpose of irrigation,
and thus contrive to raise large crops of grain. Of these
countries Haouran is the most celebrated for its luxuriant
harvests of wheat; and the undulations of the lipened grain
on its extensive fields have been compared to the rolling
waves of the ocean. Many hummocks are seen scattered
over the plain, the sites generally of deserted villages.
All these hummocks, and every stone found in the field,
all the building stones, and the whole mountains of Haou¬
ran, consist of basalt: and the houses being entirely built
of this stone, even to the door-posts, present lathei a
sombre appearance.
Vegetable The vegetable products of Palestine have been partly
produce, described in the preceding sketch of the country. On the
fertile plains of Galilee and Samaria, as well as in the val¬
leys among the hills, are produced abundant ciops of giain,
namely, wheat, rye, barley, Indian millet, also cotton, lin¬
seed, and tobacco, while the limestone rocks and stony valleys
are clothed with plantations of the fig, the vine, and the olive
trees ; pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons are also produced
in great abundance and perfection. The water-melons,
especially, which are produced at Joppa, are celebrated all
over the Levant, and are delicious. I hey are also found
at Damietta in Egypt, and seem to owe their flavour to
the peculiar soil of these two places; for when they are
transplanted, though they be cultivated in the same manner,
they lose their exquisite flavour, and quickly degenerate.2
The orange tree, dates, and bananas, and other delicate
fruits, also flourish in Palestine. Sesamum abounds, which
affords oil; and the doura, a species of grain similar to that
in Egypt. Maize thrives in light soils, and rice on marshy
grounds. Indigo grows wild on the banks of the Joidan,
and with care and industry might be brought to perfection.
The white mulberry forms the riches of the mountain
country of the Druses, by means of the beautiful silks which
are obtained from it; and the grapes, that grow especially
on the mountains of Lebanon, yield red and white wines,
which rival those of France or Portugal. Jaffa boasts her
lemons and her water-melons, and Gama possesses both
the dates of Mecca and the pomegranates of Algiers.
Sugar is cultivated in the adjoining country of Syria ; and
the^'e is little doubt that it might be transplanted with suc¬
cess to the equally congenial soil of Palestine. The coffee
shrub from Arabia might also be cultivated with equal suc¬
cess. Palestine produces a variety of forest trees. The
sea-shore is lined with mastic trees, palms, and prickly
pears. Higher up, the sycamore tree repays the labour of
the cultivator, and natural groves arise, of oaks, cypresses,
andraches, and turpentine trees. The oaks of Bashan still
remain, and Lebanon is crowned with its stately cedars. Pakine,
The ground is covered with shrubs and fragrant flowers;''—"^
so that the vegetation on the mountains has been compar¬
ed to that of Ida in Crete.3 In the desert and rocky places
are found scanty cypresses, bushes of the aloe and prickly
pear, and a few other thorny shrubs.
Owing to the gross ignorance and the wandering and Min Jj,
predatory habits of the inhabitants of Palestine, no in¬
quiries have ever been made into the mineral produce of
the country ; though there is little doubt but the moun¬
tains of Lebanon, if they were explored, would y ield mine¬
ral ores, and other valuable substances. Rich iron mines
said to exist in the country of the Druses, but
are -—   — - ^
whether they are worked with any effect does not seem
to be known. Nitre is here abundant, but alum and vitriols
are less frequent. The only metal found is iron. The
mountains along the shores of the Dead Sea consist of
granite ; and the country in many parts exhibits traces
of a volcanic origin. Mr Buckingham, while crossing the
river Hieromax in his journey to Nazareth, observed that
the dark masses of rock over which it took its course re¬
sembled a stream of cooled lava. The stones of its bed
were porous, and on the ground were small patches of sul¬
phur in many places; and he wras of opinion that all these,
together with the hot springs he had visited, the lakes of
Cesarea and Tiberias, the sulphureous and unfertile nature
of the plain of Jericho in many parts, and the whole phe¬
nomena of the Dead Sea, namely, the bitumen, the lavas,
and the pumice, which continue to be thrown ashore by
its waves, were sufticient indications of volcanic fires, per¬
haps on the whole range of the long valley, from near the
sources of the Jordan, to beyond the point of its issue in
the great Lake of Asphaltites. The hot springs mention¬
ed above were seen and examined by Mr Buckingham.
One on the banks of the Hieromax emitted a highly sul¬
phureous odour, and its heat was painful if the hand was
immersed in its wTater beyond a few seconds. In the
baths near Tiberias the water had also a slightly sulphu¬
reous taste, and was of a light-green colour; though the
heat was not much greater than that of the atmosphere,
the thermometer, which was at eighty-four degiees, rising
when immersed in the water only to eighty-six. The hill
from which these baths are supplied consists of a black and
brittle sulphureous stone, which is found in the neighbour¬
hood, as well as on the shores of the Dead Sea, and in other
parts of the valley in which it is situated. Here also is
found a species of limestone called the fetid, and emitting
a highly offensive smell. The bitumen that is seen on
the shores of this lake, or is collected in the middle of it
by boats and rafts, rises from the bottom and floats on the
surface.
The climate of Palestine varies in different districts,Cline,
according to the locality and elevation of the giound , an
the plains on the sea-shore are subjected to intense heat,
accompanied with heavy rains. The plains in the interior,
and especially those near Arabia, are subject to drought
and to scorching heat; wdiile the Libanus range of moun¬
tains, covered with everlasting snow, diffuse a refreshing
coolness all around. In these elevated regions the winter,
lasting from November to March, is sharp and rigorous.
Heavy falls of snow take place every year, and cover the
ground to the depth of several feet for months together.
The spring and the autumn are mild and agreeable, ana
the summer is not oppressive. In the plains the heats ti¬
ring summer are most excessive. Dr Clarke mentio ,
that on the 6th July, at twelve o’clock, Fahrenheit s
mometer,in a gloomy recess underground, perfec y >
stood at 100 degrees. In the course of the same mo
1 Travels in Palestine, voi. ii. chap. xxi.
* Richardson’s Travels along the Mediterranean, vol. ii. p. 268.
3 Malte-Brun, voh ii. p- l50*
PALESTINE.
jlestine. the thermometer, before noon, in the shadiest place that
could be found, stood at 102. During this excessive heat
all nature seems to droop, and every animal seeks the
shade. But the chameleon, the lizard, the serpent, and all
sorts of beetles, bask in the sun, even at noon, on rocks and
sandy places, and seem to rejoice under his scorching rays.
These overpowering heats commence as soon as the sun has
passed the equator, and continue till October. During
this season the simoom, or the south wind of the desert, is
frequently experienced. In July, Dr Clarke felt the parch¬
ing influence of this unhealthy wind, which pervaded all
places alike, coming as if from a furnace, and producing a
feeling of suffocation. He himself was affected with gid¬
diness and burning thirst from the fierce blast; afterwards
with headach, frequent fits of shivering; and, finally, with
violent fever. These Winds continue from one to three
days. Easterly gales prevail during the spring and part
of the summer. In June variable breezes commence, and
blow from all points in the course of a single day. During
the autumnal equinox, the north-west, which is a clear,
dry, and sharp wind, begins to blow with strength. In
November the wind shifts to the west and south-west,
which invariably brings on heavy rains; the west wind
being called by the Arabs the father of rain. Palestine,
from its northern latitude, is without the range of the tropi¬
cal rains; and has in their stead the early and the latter rains
in spring and autumn. These are generally copious, though
they sometimes fail, when the country is burnt up with
drought. The heaviest rains fall generally in December,
which in January spread a covering of verdure over the
whole country. But wThen Mr Buckingham was travelling
in Palestine, drought had prevailed from October to Ja*
nuary, with only an interval of two or three days’ rain ;
and the whole country had a dry and parched appearance!
The winter is so mild in the plains and along the sea¬
shore, that orange trees, dates, and bananas, and other
delicate fruits, flourish in the open field. It is during this
season that, contrary to what is observed in other coun¬
tries, storms of thunder and lightning generally take place,
accompanied by heavy showers of rain or large hail-stones.
Maundrell mentions, that he met with a severe storm of
heavy rain, with terrible lightning and thunder, on the
3d of March, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem.1
An enumeration of the animals which belong to Pa¬
lestine is given in the sacred volume ; but the particular
animal to which the Hebrew name applies is often a ques¬
tion among the learned, and hence the zoology of this
country may perhaps be best illustrated from the descrip¬
tions of modern travellers. Its domestic animals are chiefly
those of Europe, with the addition of the buffalo and the
camel. Its wild animals are the ounce or the panther,
tie hyena, the jackal!, and, according to some, lions have
been seen among the rushes and thickets on the banks of
the Jordan. The gazelle or the antelope, supposed to be
the roebuck or tzebi of the Hebrews, is seen in flocks bound-
ing over the grassy plains, and is often hunted by the
Arabs. The wild boar is also an object of the chase; and
on a plain covered with bushes in the vicinity of Mount
Larmel, Mr Buckingham saw a party of soldiers in pur¬
suit of a large wild black boar, which still fled from the
horsemen, though wounded and streaming with blood.
mong the wild and solitary mountains the fallow-deer is
th k ound; also the wild goat, with horns bending over
he back, a foot or fifteen inches in length; and the wild
ass, which is found in all the most desolate parts of Asia.
ie ornithology of Palestine we have no very accurate
or scientific account. There is, indeed, in the law of Moses
enH™eratlon ^le clean and the unclean birds; but
great difficulties occur in translating the Hebrew nomen-
747
1 aala.
c ature into modern language. The most remarkable of Palestine,
the feathered race may, however, be mentioned, such as
t le eagle, the vulture with the feathered ring round the
neck, and from four to five feet in height,2 the ostrich, the
hawk, the kite, the raven, &c.; and of sea-birds, the pe-
ican, the stork, the cormorant, &c. Serpents and other
reptiles, quickened into mischievous activity by the heat
of the climate, are common in Palestine; and Dr Clarke
mentions, that in passing through the streets of Nazareth
he perceived a woman issuing hastily from a house, carry¬
ing a cradle containing an infant, and frantic with rage
and grief. Returning immediately, she was seen beating
something violently on the ground, which proved to be an
enormous serpent, which she found near her infant, and
which she quickly despatched, filling the air all the while
with the most piercing shrieks. Dr Clarke does not de¬
scribe to what species this serpent belonged. The gecko
is a deadly reptile of the lizard tribe, resembling a cha¬
meleon, his head triangular and large, the eyes large, the
tongue flat, rounded at the end, and covered with small
scales, and the teeth so sharp as to make an impression on
steel. It is of a green colour, spotted with brilliant red,
and its bite kills in a few hours. The viper is remarkable
for the malignity of its poison. It is about the thickness
of a man s arm, about two feet long, and beautifully varie¬
gated with yellow and brown spots. The black serpent is
about a cubit in length, and the thickness of a man’s finger.
Its bite is not incurable. The cerastes, or horned viper,
described by Bruce, is also found in Palestine ; and the
asp, the well-known cobra di capello. The former moves
with great rapidity backwards or forwards, and has all the
cunning of the serpent brood, creeping silently, and with
its head averted, towards the object of its attack, until
within a sufficient distance for the fatal spring. This is
supposed to be the adder of the Scriptures. Other species
of serpents are enumerated; and to this frightful cata-
ogue is added the scorpion, whose bite, though not dead¬
ly, causes serious illness and pain. The country is occasion¬
ally visited by swarms of locusts, in such numbers that they
darken the air, and consume grass, foliage, and every de¬
scription of vegetation.
Palestine has been so often conquered and occupied by Popula-
foreigners, that its population now presents a mixture oftion.
different races, so that it is not easy to say to what class
the inhabitants chiefly belong. The Turks, the last con¬
querors of the country, are numerous, and occupy all the
civil and military posts; but the Greek Christians are also
a numerous body, and form a great proportion of the inha¬
bitants of the towns. There are, besides, the Druses and
the Maronites; the European Christians, Jews, Armenians,
and Nestorians; and the wandering Arabs, who range over
the desert plains. The Greek Christians enjoy the most
ample toleration; and there is scarcely any considerable
city without one or more convents. The Christians are
generally more active in trade than the Mahommedans,
and they have gradually increased in numbers and in
wealth. In some places they mingle more freely with the
Moslems than in the more civilized parts of Syria, to which
the power of the pashas extends; and enjoy a community
of privileges, without any enforcement of those odious dis¬
tinctions of dress, tribute, and name, imposed by the
I urkish oppressor, as the badge of servitude. It was as¬
serted to Mr Buckingham, that there are Bedouin Arabs
dwelling in tents, who have been converted to the Chris¬
tian faith, and live in the regular exercise of that religion.
But of those remarkable converts he could obtain no ac¬
count. These Christians, however, profane their creed by
an admixture of superstitious rites; and Dr Clarke, as well
as other travellers, gave them no credit for the morality of
1 Maundrell’s Journey, p. 9.
* Buckingham’s Travels in Palestine, vol. i.p. 189.
748
PALESTINE.
Palestine, their lives. The contentions of the different Christian sects
'in Jerusalem, for admission into the temple, are often
stained with blood; and many other examples are given of
their gross superstition, and ignorance of the first principles
of the Christian faith. After observing, that in Jerusalem
there are sects of every denomination, and perhaps of al¬
most every religion upon earth, Dr Clarke observes, “ if we
add, that, under the name of Christianity, every degrading
superstition and profane rite equally remote from the en¬
lightened tenets of the gospel and the dignity of human
nature are professed and tolerated, we shall afford a
picture of the state of society in this country. 1 Ihe
Druses, who reside in the mountains of Libanus, are a sin¬
gular sect, whose tenets appear to incline to deism, as they
profess to regard all modes of faith with equal indinerence.
Their number is estimated at 120,000. 1 hey are valiant,
and faithful to their emirs or chiefs, and rigidly adhere to
the barbarous principle of revenging blood by blood. Ut
the doctrines, practices, and manners of this singular sect,
no very accurate account has ever been obtained. Dr
Clarke, who conversed with one of them respecting their
peculiar tenets, says that they worship Jonas the prophet,
and Mahommed. Their rites are pagan, and they pay the
highest adoration to a calf. Those with whom he con¬
versed confessed that the pantheon of the Druses admitted
indiscriminately, as objects of adoration, every deity oi l o
that had been worshipped by Heathens, Jews, Christians,
or Mahommedans; all the prophets, especially Isaiah and
Jeremiah, as well as Jesus and Mahommed; that every even¬
ing the okhals or priests set up a molten idol in the form
of a calf, before which persons of both sexes make their
prostrations; and then he adds, that a promiscuous inter¬
course takes place between the sexes. It seems doubtful,
however, whether this stain of licentiousness can attach to
the whole sect, as it is inconsistent with those habits of
strict probity and industry, and that love of independence,
which they are admitted on all hands to possess. Ihe
same traveller afterwards adds, that it is not true that they
betray any inclination to Mahommedanism, because they
show every mark of hatred and contempt to the Moslems,
while they behave with benevolence and kindness to the
Christians, whose religion they respect. Their language is
Arabic; in every thing else they are a distinct race of men.
From their physiognomy alone Dr Clarke was able to select
one of the Druses from a whole company of Arabs. “ A cer¬
tain nobleness and dignity of feature,’ he adds, “ a marked
elevation of countenance, a superior deportment, always
distinguished them, accompanied by openness, sincerity,
and very engaging manners.”2 Although Mount Libanus
be the chief residence of this sect, individuals are scatter¬
ed over every part of the Holy Land. Ihe Maronites, to
the north of the country of the Druses, are inhabitants of
the mountains of Syria, though great numbers of them
dwell in Palestine. The inhabitants of Sephaury are
chiefly Maronites, and they are found in Nazareth, along
with Greeks and Catholics, as well as in other cities of Ga¬
lilee. They are connected with the church of Rome,
though they maintain the legality of marriage among the
priesthood. Their patriarch resides at Karobin, in Syria,
which may be considered as their capital. They are in¬
dustrious cultivators; the common people, and also the
sheiks, living economically, says Malte-Brun, under a rus¬
tic roof, and receiving with hospitality and kindness every
Christian traveller into the bosom of their families. The
Jews are found in considerable numbers throughout Pales¬
tine. Of late years they have greatly increased, though
they are a degraded race, not only tyrannized and trampled
on by the Turks, but exposed to every species of cruel in¬
dignity. Mr Buckingham mentions, that while he was
travelling from Nazareth to Tiberias, he met a party of Pale he
Jews mounted on asses, who, considering him, from his Tur-'w^,
kish dress and white turban, to be a Mahommedan, all dis¬
mounted and passed by on foot. “ These persecuted
people,” he adds, “ are held in such opprobrium here, that
it is forbidden to them to pass a Mussulman mounted,
while Christians are suffered to do so either on mules or
asses, though to them it is also forbidden to ride on horse¬
back without the express permission of the pasha.” The
Bedouin Arabs wander in considerable numbers over the
desert plains of Palestine. In habits, dress, and manners
they very nearly resemble their brethren of the Arabian
deserts. They subsist by pasture and robbery, attacking
and murdering, without remorse, the defenceless traveller
who may fall in their way. The open country is, in this
manner, a scene of rapine and violence. The husbandman
who sows is never sure of reaping the harvest; his cattle,
his corn, may be swept away in a moment by an irruption
of Arab cavalry from the eastern deserts. The robbery
of the way-faring man when he fell among thieves in his
journey among the mountains of Jericho, and the surprise,
by three bands of plunderers, of Job’s sons when their
camels were carried off and themselves put to the sword,
are events often realised in the modern history of Palestine.
A certain ill-regulated police prevails in the towns, under
the rule of the Turkish pashas, though without any sure
protection either for life or property ; and their power is as
frequently used in plundering as in protecting their sub¬
jects. But throughout the deserts there is no form of
civil order or authority to control the lawless violence of
the Arab hordes, and life and property are only held by
the tenure of the sword. All ranks, accordingly, whether
cultivators or traders, carry arms ; partly, says Mr Buck¬
ingham, that their country is sometimes scoured by horse
Arabs from the eastern deserts, when they must stand
on their defence, “ and partly because it is the fashion
to be armed, insomuch that the being without weapons
of some kind or other is always imputed to great poverty
or to cowardice.” Manners are formed by circumstances,
and this habit of wearing arms strongly marks a disor¬
derly state of society. The unhappy peasantry may be
regularly plundered by the pashas, or by a sudden in¬
road of Arab horsemen. The fields are in this manner ne¬
glected ; the country in many parts lies desolate ; the fer¬
tile soil, to use the expression of an eloquent writer, main¬
taining an unequal conflict between the bounty of Provi¬
dence to renovate, and the wickedness of man to destroy.
In the more barbarous parts, where the cultivators live in a
state of complete independence of pashas or other gover¬
nors, there is no private property in land. It is so abundant
that the only claim to any particular spot is having ploughed
it, which entitles the person to the produce of the harvest
for that season. The dress of those Arabs in Palestine,
and throughout all Syria, especially of the men, is simple
and uniform, consisting of a blue shirt of cotton cloth de¬
scending below the knees, the legs and feet being exposed,
or covered with ancient buskin, or with the sandal exactly
as it is seen on some Grecian statues. They sometimes
wear a cloak of very coarse and heavy camel’s hair-cloth,
with broad black stripes passing vertically down the back.
It is one square piece, either with or without a seam down
the back, as was the garment of our Saviour, for which the
soldiers cast lots,—“ it was without seam woven from the
top;” and on this account it is always esteemed the more
valuable. A small turban, or rather a dirty rag, is bound
across their temples, one corner of which, sometimes frin¬
ged with strings in knots, is allowed to hang down. The
Arab women seem as if they took pains to disfigure them¬
selves. According to Dr Clarke, they render their persons
1 Travels in Palestine, vol. ii. chap. xiii. p. 405.
* Ibid. vol. ii. chap. xiv. p. 460.
PALESTINE.
749
stine- as hideous and disgusting as any barbarians of the South
^ Seas. Their faces, heads, and arms are tattooed and cover¬
ed with hideous scars ; their eye-lashes and eyes are always
painted with some dingy black or blue powder; their lips
of a deep and dusky blue ; their teeth jet black; their nails
and fingers brick red; and their wrists as well as their
ankles laden with large metal cinctures studded with sharp
knobs and bits of glass. Their countenances are further
disfigured with other unsightly ornaments. A small but¬
ton studded with pearl, or a piece of glass or any other
glittering substance, is fastened by a plug and thrust through
the cartilage of the nose. Sometimes they have a large
ring depending from the nose, and covering the upper lip ;
in short, all the devices of vanity in this country have the
effect of maiming and disfiguring rather than of adorning
the persons of the Arabian females. The same state of so¬
ciety and manners prevails among the Bedouin Arabs who
inhabit Palestine as among those who traverse the Arabian
deserts; and for farther particulars of their peculiar habits
the reader is therefore referred to the article Arabia,
where their character and customs are fully described.
When the promised land was divided among the ten
tribes, Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, Dan, Ephraim, Zabulon,
Naphtali, and part of Manasseh, were placed on the w estern,
commonly called this side of Jordan, while Reuben, Gad,
and the remaining part of Manasseh, were placed on the
eastern side, commonly called beyond Jordan.
The following table contains the ancient Canaanitish di¬
vision of Palestine, and its division among the twelve tribes,
compared with its division by the Romans.
Ancient Canaanitish
Division.
Israelitish Division.
Roman Division.
Sidonians..
Unknown..
Pheresites.
The same..
Hivites.
The same.,
Jebusites.
Hethites, Amorites.
Philistines  
(Pentapolis, False-
stina propria.)
Moabites.
Ammonites, Gilead...
Kingdom of Bash an
f Tribe of Asher '
' ( (In Libanus.)
| Naphtali  -Upper Galilee.
, < (North-west of the Lake
( of Gennesareth.)
| Zebulon  
' \ (West of that lake.)
{Issachar  Lower Galilee.
(Valley of Esdraelon.
Mount Tabor.)
{Half tribe of Manasseh..)
(Dora and Caesarea), I
mingled with the fol- |
lowing. }- Samaria.
( Ephraim 
-j (Sichem, Samaria, dis-
( trict of Sarouas.)
{Benjamin s
(Between Ephraim and
Judah. Jericho. Je¬
rusalem.)
( Judah   
-J (Hebron. Judea pro-J-Judea.
( . Per-)
f Simeon 
J (South-west of Judah.)
1 Dan   
L (Joppa, &c.) j
( Reuben 'J
-( (Peraea proper, south-
(_ ern Hesbon.)
f Gad 
j (N orthern Peraea, part Peraea.
7 of Decapolis and of
L Ammonitis.)
J Half tribe of Manasseh..
\ (Gaulonitis, Batanea.)
The Canaanites and Israelites having long led the lives
of shepherds, their limits are not quite distinct. Michaelis
could not complete the researches which Reland and D’An-
ville began, nor can any one. The tribes of Simeon and
Dan do not appear to have ever occupied their whole
territory. The Philistines lived in them in a state of vas- Palestine,
salage. The tribe of Asher was expelled from the sea-
coast by the Tyrians: Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half
of Manasseh, appear never to have subjugated all the Am¬
monites and Moabites.
When the children of Israel took their departure from History.
Egypt, Moses was their ruler and their guide. It was
through him that their Divine Legislator gave them laws
and statutes, the administration of which was also com¬
mitted to him; and he led them through the wilderness,
where they were fed by the miraculous interposition of
heaven. But the burden of his office being too great for
him, the judicial duties were divided; all lesser causes
being, by the advice of his father-in-law, referred to the
rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens,1
while those of greater moment were only submitted to the
chief judge ; the power of making laws in this holy com¬
munity being the high prerogative of its Divine head, and
obedience being all that was required of man. The duties
of a Jewish ruler were simplified and greatly abridged,
being confined to the guidance of the host through the wil¬
derness or in battle, though even here every important
movement was directed by means of the pillar of the cloud
by day or of the fire by night.
Moses was succeeded in his office by Joshua and the
other judges; and when the host of the Israelites had ob¬
tained possession of the land of Canaan, which was to be
equally divided as an inheritance among the ten tribes,
and where they were to rest from all their toils, new laws
were given them by the same authority, adapted to the si¬
tuation in which they were now placed. The land was
partitioned by lot among the different tribes, and was
again subdivided among the families of the same tribe,
and was declared inalienable, and the perpetual inheritance
of the families to whom it was originally assigned. Ac¬
cordingly, every fiftieth year, which was proclaimed to be
a year of jubilee, all debts and mortgages on land were de¬
clared to be cancelled, and every man was to return into
his own land, which was not to be sold for ever, but on
which all burdens that had been incurred were to cease.
Other laws were passed for enforcing the purity of divine
worship and of moral conduct, and of equity in the trans¬
actions between man and man; also for the punishment
of idolatry and other iniquities, for it was the peculiar dis¬
tinction of this community, that the law took cognisance
not only of offences against society, but of every breach of
the divine commands. The order of the priesthood was also
instituted in the family of Levi; gifts and sacrifices were
offered by them in expiation of sin ; and various acts were
enumerated by which the children of Israel became un¬
clean, and which, though innocent in themselves, were yet
employed to point out the great defilement of sin, and
for which, therefore, certain modes of purification were ap¬
pointed. The distinction was also laid down between clean
and unclean animals, from the latter of which the holy
people were commanded to abstain. An enumeration was
made in the plains of Moab, of all the males of the children
of Israel above twenty years of age, and the sum of them is
given at 601,700 ; the Levites, who were not mentioned
among the rest, amounted to 23,000, which makes the sum of
624,700 males above twenty years of age. Every male being
liable to military service, Israel could thus bring into the field
a powerful military force, by whose irresistible attack, aided
by the favouring interposition of heaven, all the minor states
of Canaan were overwhelmed. After the death of Moses
the supreme rule in Israel was vested in judges, under whom
was an inferior officer, namely, the prince of the tribe, or the
head of thousands; and under him the princes of families,
or commanders of hundreds; though the powers possessed
1 Exod. chap, xviii.
750
PALESTINE.
Palestine, by the chief judge have never been exactly defined, nor in
" what relation he stood to the other subordinate rulers in
Israel. The Israelites, after their settlement in the land
of Canaan, were involved in wars with the surrounding
states, and were often given into their hands on account
of their disobedience. The land was in this manner fre¬
quently wasted, and the earthly happiness of the chosen
people interrupted, by the inroads of their neighbours.
From these enemies they were saved by deliverers raised
up to them, under whose peaceful sway the land enjoyed
long intervals of rest. But during the old age of Samuel,
in consequence of the perversion of judgment through
bribery by unfaithful judges, the people were dissatisfied,
and entreated, against the solemn protest of this aged pro¬
phet, that they should have a king, like the nations around
them ; and Samuel was desired to heai'ken to their request.
Saul was accordingly chosen king, from whom, on account
of his disobedience, the kingdom was rent, and given to
David; and he terminated his fatal course in a disastrous de¬
feat on the mountains of Gilboa, in which he and his son Jo¬
nathan were slain. David now ascended the throne without
dispute, and commenced a prosperous reign, in the course of
which he subdued all his enemies; and although the peace of
the country was disturbed by the domestic treason of Absa¬
lom, yet he left a flourishing kingdom to his successor Solo¬
mon, under whose reign Judea was enlarged on every side,
and became one of the most flourishing empires of Asia, ex¬
tending on the east as far as the Euphrates, and, possessing
ports both on the Mediterranean and on the Red Sea, had
begun to rival Tyre in arts as well as in commerce. David
was a man of war, but Solomon was devoted to peace ; and
during his reign, accordingly, was constructed that magnifi¬
cent temple at Jerusalem, which was the wonder of future
ages. From the ports of the Mediterranean, also, the trade
of Judea was extended to the most distant parts. “ Every
three years,” it is said, “ once came the ships of Tarshish,
bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.”1 These
are the productions of India, which Solomon had received
from these ships, in exchange, it is said, for the fine wheat
of Syria, which was largely exported. These ships of far-
shish, it is supposed, descending the Persian Gulf, stretched
across the Indian Ocean to the coast of Malabar, whence
they again returned with the favourable monsoon ; a ha¬
zardous voyage in that early age, which, with the time
put off in trading at the intermediate ports, might well
occupy three years.
After the death of Solomon, the kingdom of Judah was
divided into two sovereignties. The tyrannical conduct
of Rehoboam, in which he persisted, against the advice of
his aged councillors, gave rise to the revolt of the ten
tribes, who chose Jeroboam for their king; and thus began
that division of the empire which paved the way for its
downfall, under the successive attacks of its enemies. The
kingdoms of Israel and Judah were hereafter ruled by
different monarchs, who, no longer joining against then-
common enemies, waged war against each other ; and,who,
in place of the union that might have been expected in the
descendants from a common stock, regarded each other
with all the aversion of aliens. In the mean time, the
powerful empires of Assyria and Babylon in the east, and
of Egypt in the south, were now contending with each
other for the dominion of the world. Their vast armies
had frequently threatened the comparatively petty state
of Judea; and at length, in the reign of Hoshea, 719
years before the Christian era, Samaria, the capital of the
kingdom of Israel, was taken by the king of Assyria, the
land was conquered, and the whole nation carried into
captivity.
We subjoin a list of the kings who reigned in Samaria,
several reigns, and the period when Pa stine.
v'—r'*-'
12. Jeroboam II 41
1st Interregnum 22
13. Zechariah 1 j
and Shallum j '
14. Menahem 10
15. Pekahahiah  2
16. Pekah 20
2d Interregnum 10
17. Hoshea  9
834
793
771
770
760
758
738
728
Samaria taken 271 719
with the length of their
they reigned.
Years. B. C.| Years. B. C.
1. Jeroboam 22 990
2. Nadad  2 968
3. Baasha 23 966
4. Ela  1 943
5. Zimriand Omri 11 942
6. Ahab 22 931
7. Ahaziah  2 909
8. Jehoram or { ^
Joram j
9. Jehu 28 895
10. Jejoahaz 17 867
11. Jehoash orl 16 850
Joash J
The kingdom of Judah, weakened by tbe loss of the ten
tribes, was in its turn assailed by the king of Babylon.
During the reign of Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar invaded
Palestine with a formidable army, which the Jews had no
means of resisting; and the ruin of the nation was for a
time only averted by prudent submission. But the hum¬
bled king, impatient of dependence, seizing, as he thought,
a favourable opportunity, made a new effort to throw off
the yoke of the king of Babylon. The siege and capture
of Jerusalem was the consequence of this rash attempt,
when the king and all the princes of Judah were carried
captives to Babylon. His son Jehoiachin was set up to
reign in his stead, who was also brought to Babylon, with
all the precious vessels belonging to the temple, and Ze-
dekiah was declared king. He, like his predecessors, took
up arms against the king of Babylon, who, incensed by
these repeated rebellions, resolved on the destruction of
Jerusalem, and the utter extermination of the Jewish na¬
tion. Jerusalem was accordingly besieged by a powerful
army ; the Jews made an obstinate defence, and the siege
lasted for about fifteen or sixteen months, in the course of
which famine and disease raged within the walls of the
city, which was at last taken and sacked, and all the
chief inhabitants carried captives to Babylon, the poor
of the land being only left to be vine-dressers and hus¬
bandmen. The king was severely punished for his re¬
bellion ; his sons were put to death before his eyes; he
himself was deprived of his eye-sight, and being loaded
with fetters, was carried prisoner to Babylon.
The following is the line of kings who reigned in Jeru¬
salem from the death of Solomon to the destruction of the
first temple.
Years. B. C.
11. Jotham 16 757
12. Ahaz 16 741
13. Hezekiah. 29 725
14. Manasseh 55 696
15. Amor  2 641
16. Josiah 31 639
17. Jehoahaz  3 mths.
18. Jehoiakim 11 608
19. Coniah or Je-1 g rnt})S>
hoiachin../
20. Zedekiah 11 697
Jerusalem taken 404 586
Years. B. C.
1. Rehoboam 17
2. Abijah  3
3. Asa 41
4. Jehoshaphat. ...25
5. Jehoram or)
Joram J
6. Ahaziah  1
7. Queen Athaliah 6
8. Joash or Je-l
hoash J
9. Amaziah 29
Interregnum....11
10. Uzziah orl
Azariah. J
990
973
970
929
8 904
896
895
40 889
849
820
52 809
Seventy years were appointed as the term of the Jevvis
captivity, in the course of which the empire of Baby on
was overthrown by Cyrus the king of Persia, under whose
auspicious and friendly reign the Jews, consisting now
only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, were encouragea
2 Chron. chap, is.
PALESTINE.
W stine. to rebuild their city, and to return to their own land.
^ v^Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra, were the leaders that
presided over the restoration of the Jewish kingdom. After
many interruptions from the jealousy and power of their
enemies, the second temple was at length reared. But it
was so inferior in splendour to the temple reared by So¬
lomon, that the aged men wept when they contrasted
this modern structure with the glory of the first house.
There was wanting, besides, the ark, the holy oracle, with
the emblematical light of the Divine presence, the Urim
and the Thummim, from which the divine response was
given to the inquiries of the high priest. The Jews were
now ruled by the Persian king and his lieutenants, in
civil though not in sacred things, which were regulated
by the law of Moses, as administered by their own hHi
priests; and they enjoyed for a period nearly of two cen¬
turies the blessings of a settled government. After the
conquest of Persia by Alexander, and the division of his
kingdom among his successors, Asia was distracted by new
wars among those rivals for the supreme dominion, and
the Jews, often embarrassed by these contentions, owed
their independence rather to the forbearance of their ene¬
mies than to their own strength. At length, however,
Antioch us Epiphanes, having heard of insurrections amon0-
them, invaded their territory with a powerful army, and
besieged and took Jerusalem while it was yet unprepared
for, defence. He wreaked his vengeance on the unhappy
Jews, 40,000 of whom were put to death, and an equal
number reduced to slavery. Other unheard-of cruelties
were perpetrated by his licentious soldiery, and the holy
sanctuary itself was grossly profaned. The temple was
plundered of all its sacred utensils, the golden candle¬
stick, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense,
and an unclean animal, a sow, was offered by his orders
on the altar of burnt offerings; part of the flesh was boiled,
and the liquor sprinkled around, where only the purifying
blood of the holy sacrifice had been seen before. The
Jewish nation wns at the same time cruelly persecuted;
an edict was issued for the extermination of the whole
race; and, in furtherance of this barbarous policy, Apol¬
lonius, the commander of the troops, when the people
had assembled in Jerusalem on the holy Sabbath, made
a furious attack with his troops on the peaceful multitude,
whom he slaughtered without mercy, or carried into a
hopeless captivity. The city was plundered, and set on
fire in many places; the walls were broken down, and a
strong fortress built on Mount Zion, which commanded
the temple and the adjacent parts. Having made these
preparations, he proceeded to farther persecutions against
the religion of the Jews. They were watched in their visits
to the holy sanctuary, and harassed by the troops ; the
rite of circumcision was prohibited ; and a compliance
with the heathen idolatries was enforced at the point of
the sword. They were compelled to profane the Sabbath,
and to eat swine’s flesh. The holy temple was violated
y the worship of Jupiter, whose statue was erected on the
altar of burnt-offerings, and the licentious revels of the
oacchanaha were substituted for the pure festivals of the
Jewish church. The barbarities that were inflicted as the
penalty of disobedience to these impious commands ex¬
ceed all belief, and are too shocking to be detailed. The
rage of persecution spared neither age nor sex ; and all
over the country torture and death were inflicted on the
unhappy persons who, remaining stedfast in their faith,
e used to participate in these heathenish rites.
| tyrant who was thus aiming at the extermina-
uon ot the Jews was scattering over the land the seeds
/^ cpendence, and insuring his own overthrow. The
nneard-of cruelties committed by his command excited
eepest indignation, and at length roused the nation
resistance. The heroic family of the Maccabees, con-
751
sisting of five brethren, the sons of Matthias, a priest of Palestine,
the race of Asmones, were the champions of the patriotic
cause. They were all of incomparable valour; and Judas
having headed the insurgents, a determined band, though
small in number, defeated the oppressors of his country in
many great battles, and restored its independence. But
ie had to, contend against domestic treason as well as fo¬
reign war. Alcinus, who was in the interest of the Syrians,
assuming the title of high priest, claimed the allegiance of
the Jews, and Judas was compelled in self-defence to seek
the alliance of the Romans, who willingly sought a pre¬
tence for interference in the affairs of their neighbours.
In the mean time the Maccabee chief was slain in the field
of battle, and was succeeded by his brother Jonathan,
who, employing his power in aiding Alexander in his
competition for the throne of Syria, was allowed by him
in return to unite the spiritual authority of the high priest
with the temporal sway; and under this dynasty of the
Asmonean princes Palestine was governed for more than
a hundred years. Jonathan was succeeded by his son
Simon, who secured the tranquillity of the country by
cultivating the friendship of Rome. He was cut off, the
victim of domestic treason, and John Hyrcanus, his younger
son, ascended the throne. His reign was prosperous and
successful. He not only threw off the Syrian yoke, but
extended his territories eastward and northward. He
besieged and utterly destroyed Samaria; and thus gra¬
tified the vindictive spirit of the Jews against the Sama¬
ritans. The short reign of Aristobulus, his son, followed ;
afterwards that of Alexander Jannseus, whose oppressions
excited a civil war in the country. The insurgents, calling
in the aid of the Syrians, became unpopular; and Alex¬
ander, after many reverses, at last succeeded in collecting
a powerful army, with which he entered his capital in
triumph, and took severe vengeance on his enemies, or¬
dering a thousand men to be executed on the cross, and
their wives and children to be butchered before their eyes.
He was succeeded by his son, Hyrcanus the second. His
brother Aristobulus, after secretly opposing him for some
time, at length threw off the mask, and openly aspired to
the supreme power. The two competitors were preparing
to appeal to arms, when the Romans under Pompey, hav^
ing subdued the greater part of Syria, were now called
into Palestine as peaceable arbiters in this dispute. Aris¬
tobulus being, however, impatient, had recourse to arms,
and shut himself up in Jerusalem, which was invested by
the Roman general Gabinius, the lieutenant of Pompey,
and carried by assault with prodigious slaughter. The
authority of Hyrcanus was re-established, and Aristobulus
was carried prisoner to Rome, whence afterwards making
his escape, he raised the standard of revolt in Judea. But
he had no force that could oppose the Roman armies under
Mark Antony, who speedily re-established the authority
of Rome in every part of the country. The rule of Judea
was now delegated to Antipater, the minister of Hyrcanus,
who appointed his two sons, Phasael and Herod, to be go¬
vernors, the one of Jerusalem, the other of Galilee. But
a new competitor appeared for the supreme authority in
Judea, namely, a son of Aristobulus, who, having taken
refuge among the Parthians, invaded the country with a
powerful army; he laid siege to Jerusalem, which he took
and pillaged; he put to death the eldest son of Antipater,
Phasael, and rendered Hyrcanus incapable of the priest¬
hood, by the extraordinary contrivance of biting off his
ears. Ihe Romans, however, now ruled in Judea; they
v eie the supreme arbiters of its fate, and they placed on
the throne Herod, the younger son of Antipater. He was
ot a cruel and jealous disposition, and in his fury he put
to death his beloved wife, the beautiful Mariamne, the
grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, her mother, brother, grand¬
father, uncle, and two sons; nor was he popular among
#
752
PALESTINE.
Palestine, the Jews, owing to his attachment to and his open parti¬
cipation in the idolatrous rites of the Romans. He reign¬
ed thirty-four years. “ A man,” says Sandys, “ full of
admirable virtues and execrable vices; his acts had de¬
servedly given him the addition of great; fortunate abroad,
unfortunate in his family, his life tragical, his death des¬
perate.”1 He died from the effects of a loathsome disease.
He employed himself in works of architecture, particularly
in the repair of the temple, by which he hoped to obtain
favour among the Jews. It was in his reign that the Mes¬
siah was born, and it was from his cruelty that he fled
into Egypt. He bequeathed his dominions to his two
sons ; to Archelaus the government of Idumea, Samaria,
and Judea; and to Antipas that of Pera;a and Galilee.
Archelaus was soon after deprived of his great office, on
account of mal-administration, and banished into Gaul.
Judea was now reduced to the condition of a Roman pro¬
vince, under its own ruler or governor, who resided at
Jerusalem, but who was subordinate to the prefect of
Syria, which dignity was conferred on Publius Sulpicius
Quirinus, who is mentioned in Euke s gospel under the
name of Cyrenius. The government of Judea was con¬
ferred on Pontius Pilate, under whose authority the Saviour
was crucified. T-he Jews were far from being a contented
or happy people under the Roman yoke. They were ex¬
posed to the severe exactions of their delegated rulers,
and to outrages and plunder by the Roman soldiers sta¬
tioned in the province to overawe the people. Rebel¬
lion, provoked by these oppressions, and quelled by the
legionarv troops, became the pretext for fresh cruelties ,
and misery, disorder, and violence, thus reigned through¬
out the once happy land. The only portion of the country
that enjoyed comparative quiet was Galilee and the coun¬
try beyond Jordan, which was ruled by Antipas and Phi¬
lip. It was the latter, Philip Herod, who married Herodias,
his brother’s wife, and who was afterwards banished to
Gaul by Caligula. His nephew Agrippa was advanced to
the government of all Palestine, with the title of king.
His policy was conciliatory towards the Jews ; he re¬
spected their worship, repaired and adorned the temple ;
while he joined with them in their persecution of the new
sect of Christians, having cast Peter and James into prison.
His melancholy end, being eaten of worms, is related in
the Acts of the Apostles. His son Agrippa succeeded
him, before whom, as is mentioned in the Acts of the
Apostles, Paul pleaded his cause. The successors of
Pontius Pilate in the government of Judea were Felix,
Petronius, Festus, Albinus, and Florus. The provincial
government of Rome was a pure despotism, without even
those imperfect safeguards from oppression which existed
at home. The great men of Rome were enriched by the
spoils of the conquered provinces; the distance from the
capital exempted them from control; nor was there any
legitimate channel through which the aggrieved could seek
redress. The discontent of the Jews, their impatience of
the Roman yoke, their proneness to insurrection under the
vain predictions of their soothsayers, that a conquering Mes¬
siah was to arise, who would restore the independence and
glory of their country, afforded too fair a pretence for the
severities of their rulers; and accordingly, though there
were some, such as Festus, who followed the maxims of
equity, yet the Roman yoke was heavy and oppressive,
and the administration of Felix, Florus, and others, was
corrupt and tyrannical in the extreme; the people were
borne down by heavy exactions, they were irritated and
trampled upon by a licentious soldiery ; and when they
were driven to rebellion by these atrocities, they were
overwhelmed by the disciplined legions of Rome, and
slaughtered without mercy. The country abounded, ac¬
cordingly, in scenes of rapine and anarchy; the national P«i
faith and the holiest rites were despised and trampled upon;^-
and at length, under the administration of Florus, the people
flew to arms, and entered on their last and desperate con¬
flict with the Roman power. The insurrection broke out
in Caesarea, the inhabitants of which, galled by cruel in¬
sults, declared their determination to resist to the last
extremity. The Jews in the capital shared in this heroic
determination, and made preparations for defence. Cestus,
the prefect of Syria, advanced to the gates, and demanded
an entrance for the Roman troops. The Jews refused to
comply with this summons, and expecting an assault, they
beheld the Roman army, to their surprise, in full retreat.
They were pursued by the incensed multitude, and being
overtaken in a difficult pass of the mountains, they were
attacked by the infuriated Jews, and, after a great slaughter,
were forced ignominiously to take flight.
The intelligence of these disasters excited the indigna¬
tion of Nero, who was then in Greece, against the rebel¬
lious Jews ; and Vespasian, of tried valour and experience,
was immediately sent to assume the government of Syria,
and to calm the troubles of this distracted province. He
entered Judea about the year 67, along with his son the
renowned Jitus, to whom wras committed the conduct of
the war. Many sanguinary battles were now fought be¬
tween the contending armies, in which the tumultuary
levies of the rebellious Jews were broken and dispersed by
the veteran legions of Rome; towns and fortresses were
successively taken ; and the Jews, no longer able to face
the enemy in the field, were driven within the walls of their
capital, to which Titus with his victorious army lost no time
in laying close siege. The defence was obstinate ; the be¬
siegers were brave and numerous, and employed all the re¬
sources of the military art in the attack on the devoted city.
In the course of this protracted siege partial successes were
obtained by the Jews, who fought bravely, and harassed
the besiegers by frequent and successful sallies. But the
defences of the city, strong both by nature and art, gradu¬
ally gave way before the perseverance and skill of the
Roman troops ; and as Titus proceeded partly by blockade,
he shut in the whole city vrith a wall, and the horrors of
famine were added to all the other miseries which the in¬
habitants suffered. The walls, where they were shattered
by the battering rams, or undermined by other arts, were
thrown down ; the most valiant of the soldiers rushed
through the breach, and were engaged in a close and
bloody conflict with the besieged, for the possession of the
temple. “ Both sides,” says Josephus, “ drew their swords
and fought it out hand to hand. Now, during this struggle,
the positions of the men were undistinguished on both
sides, and they fought at random, the men being inter¬
mixed one with another, and confused by reason of the
narrowness of the place, while the noise that was made
fell on the ear in an indistinct manner, because it was so
very loud. Great slaughter was made on both sides. But
still there was no room for flight or for pursuit, the troops
in dense masses being mingled together in the dead y
struggle. It would be endless to detail all the horrors
of this protracted siege; famine raged within the walls;
every inch of ground was fiercely disputed; and prodigi¬
ous numbers of men fell on both sides. But the Romans
made a steady progress. Their ensigns were advanced on
the battlements of the temple, which was set on hre; J
battering rams were then directed against the wa s o
upper city, and a breach being effected, the place was -
ried by storm; the inhabitants were everywhere put to tne
sword or made captives, and sold for slaves. .'^nnAQ.
of Jews who perished in the siege is estimated at l,iw> ,
a far greater population than the city ever contained.
stine. 1
Sandys’ History of the Holy Land, p. 144.
PALESTINE.
tine, the annual feast of unleavened bread, which took place at
this time, had crowded the city with a vast concourse of
strangeis fiom all quarters, who, by the sudden approach
of the hostile army, were shut up within the walls. When
the Roman soldiers had ceased from their work of slaugh¬
ter and desolation, because, says Josephus, there were no
more people to slay or plunder, the city was consumed
with fire; and the wall, except that which enclosed the
city on the western side, and three towers which were left
as quarters for the Roman garrison, was laid even with the
ground by those who “dug it to the foundation ; that there
was nothing left to make those that came thither believe
that it had ever been inbabited.”
i he Romans having thus reduced the country, divided
that portion of it that was on this side of Jordan into the
three tetrarchies of Judea proper, Samaria, and Galilee,
the first comprehending the tribes of Judah, Benjamin,
Dan, and Simeon, the second the tribes of Ephraim, Is-
sachar, and part of Manasseh, and the latter the tribes
of Zabulon, Asher, and Naphtali. Ihe region to the
east of Jordan was divided into the smaller districts of
Peraea, Decapolis, Gaulonitis, Galauditis, Batanea, and
Auranitis.
After the Roman armies were withdrawn from Jerusa¬
lem, many of the Jewish tribes returned to dwell in the
ruined city, though the Roman emperor, indignant at the
late rebellion, had placed a garrison of 800 troops on
Mount Zion, in order to prevent any attempt to rebuild
the sacred capital, the capture and sack of which was
a fatal blow to the prosperity of the Jews, and was the
commencement of a long era of calamity, which ended in
the utter dispersion of the nation. A portion of the coun¬
try was yet, indeed, unscathed by the flames of war; the
towns on the coast submitting to the conqueror escaped
the horrors of a siege and the penalties of rebellion, while
the provinces beyond Jordan enjoyed tranquillity under the
rule of the conquerors. But the Jews were discontented
and rebelhous under the tyranny of Rome; they still
fondly believed that an earthly Messiah was shortly to arise,
to free them from bondage, and to give them the dominion
of the whole earth. They accordingly listened to the
tales of every impostor, and were easily seduced into rebel¬
lion by vain hopes of national glory, that were never realis¬
ed. Hence their continual insurrections, which exposed
them still farther to the vengeance of the conqueror, and
accelerated the crisis of their fate, wben they were to be
driven from their own land, and dispersed over the face of
the earth.
“Prom the reign of Nero,” says the historian of the de¬
cline and fall of Rome, “ to that of Antoninus Pius, the
dews discovered a fierce impatience of the dominion of
Kome, which broke out into the most furious massacres
and insurrections.” He then gives a recital of their cruel¬
ties, and enters into an enumeration of shocking atrocities,
which he accuses them of having committed, on the sus¬
picious authority of the heathen writers, who hated the
Jews, and, from Tacitus downwards, give a distorted view
ot their institutions and national character. The fact how¬
ever is certain, that, throughout the cities of E^ypt, Cy-
an Cyrene, the Jews stirred up fierce insurrections,
and Hew to arms in order to avenge themselves on their in-
suiting toes. In the course of this internal war great cruel¬
ties were committed. But in the end the Jews were every¬
where borne down by the discipline of the Roman legions,
and paid the penalty of their rebellion with their lives.
ieir towns were sacked and destroyed, and it is estimat-
ea that half a million of them perished in the field. In
me island of C j where they were encountered by the
TS the EmPeror Hadrian, they were vanquish-
thr> ;ei Pi0dl^°US S^aughter, and expelled for ever from
v an7‘ ac*:s mutual cruelty, the animosity of
753
01 paities was inflamed; the sword of persecution was Palestine,
ca oose against the Jewish religion by their conquerors;'
t le rite of circumcision, the reading of the law and the
observance of the Jewish Sabbath, and all the other me-
mormls of the national faith, were forbidden. In the city
of Jerusalem, which was to a certain extent repaired, a
colony or Greeks and Latins was established, in order to
preclude the return of the Jews, and all further hopes of
he restoration of their kingdom. But the policy of the
Romans was of no avail against the deep-rooted prejudices
of this infatuated people ; and no sooner had a new impostor
arisen of the name of Barcochab, “the son of a star,” than
the deluded Israelites hailed him as the light that w^as to
dawn in the latter days, and usher in the day of their lone-
expected rest. They accordingly crowded to his standard ;
onnmm had mustered a powerful army of
200,000 devoted followers. Owing to the absence of the
Roman legions, engaged at that time in distant service
important advantages were gained, and Jerusalem was
again occupied by the insurgent Jews, besides about fifty
castles, and numbers of open towns. But this career of
success was speedily terminated by the arrival of Seve-
rus, afterwards emperor, with a large and well-appointed
body of legionary troops; the Jews were overwhelmed by
numbers, discipline, and military skill; their cities were
taken and destroyed; and Either, where the leader of the re¬
bellion, Barcochab, had made his last stand, was stormed
with great slaughter, and himself slain. Of the Jews it is
estimated that 580,000 died on the field, and the remnant
who escaped mostly perished by famine and disease, or
amid the flames of their ruined cities. Under these ruth¬
less devastations the country was at last converted into a
desert; the inhabitants were either slain or driven into
exile; and the divine denunciations were now literally ful¬
filled against this misguided people, that they should be
scattered among all the nations of the earth.
The victors having thus satiated their vengeance, began
in due time to relax their stern and intolerant policy.
Under the mild rule of Antoninus Pius, the Jews were
restored to their ancient privileges, to the freedom of
worship, and to all their other national rites. They were
now mingled with the nations, and were found dwell¬
ing m all parts of the Roman empire; and their gene-
ral condition under the Roman emperors, as described
by Gibbon, was not unfavourable. “The numerous re¬
mains,’ says this eloquent historian, “of that people, though
they were excluded from the precincts of Jerusalem, were
permitted to form and to maintain considerable establish¬
ments both in Italy and in the provinces, to acquire the
freedom of Rome, to enjoy municipal honours, and to ob¬
tain at the same time an exemption from the burdensome
and expensive offices of society. The moderation or con¬
tempt of the Romans gave a legal sanction to the form of
ecclesiastical police which was instituted by the vanquish¬
ed sect. The patriarch, who had fixed his residence at
I ibenas, was empowered to appoint his subordinate minis¬
ters and apostles, to exercise a domestic jurisdiction, and
to receive from his dispersed brethren an annual contribu-
tmn. New synagogues were frequently erected in the
principal cities of the empire; and the sabbaths, the fasts,
and the restivals, which were either commanded bv the
Mosaic law, or enjoined by the traditions of the rabbis,
were celebrated in the most solemn and public manner,
ouch gentle treatment insensibly assuaged the stern tem¬
per of the Jews. Awakened from their dream of pro¬
phecy and conquest, they assumed the behaviour of peace¬
able and industrious subjects. Their irreconciled hatred
of mankind, instead of flowing out in acts of blood and
violence, evaporated in less dangerous gratifications. They
embraced every opportunity of overreaching the idolaters
in trade; and they pronounced secret and ambiguous im-
5 c
754
PALESTINE.
Palestine
precations against the haughty kingdom of Edom.”1 This
' statement, though it has received a colouring from the
deep-rooted prejudices of the author against the Jewish
religion, is nevertheless substantially true, and contains a
just0 view of the condition of the Jews throughout the
Roman empire. No great change appears to have taken
place in the condition of Palestine, until Constantine as¬
cended the imperial throne. He was, as is well known,
the first Christian emperor; and under his powerful pa¬
tronage, and that of his mother the Empress Helena, splen¬
did structures were everywhere erected in the Holy Land,
in honour of the Christian faith. The bishop of Jerusa¬
lem was ordered to erect a splendid temple on the tomb
of the Saviour; and the Empress Helena repaired to 1 a-
lestine, in all the ardour of new-born zeal, to explore the
country for the relics of the sacred sepulchre, which was
buried under an edifice, said to be the temple of Venus,
raised by the Emperor Hadrian. Besides the temple which
covered the holy sepulchre, she gave orders for the erection
of other edifices, one at Bethlehem over the manger of the
Messiah, and another over the Mount of Olives, to com¬
memorate the ascension. The land was gradually over-
spread with these memorials of Christianity ; and chapels,
altars, and houses of prayer, marked every spot which was
memorable for any of the sayings or doings of the Saviour.
The Jews beheld with indignation the rise of these Chris¬
tian monuments within the precincts of the holy city.
They were as much opposed to the Christian woiship as
to the heathen idolatry, but their influence was now at an
end. Scattered in distant parts, they could no longer act
with consistency or vigour; yet, so attached were they to^
their own ancient rites, that, however faint the chance of
success, they were ready in crowds to rally round the stand¬
ard of their ancient faith, wherever it was displayed, and
to follow any daring leader into the field. But the time
was past. They were rejected by the divine decree, and
were no longer to be assembled as a nation in their own
land. Jerusalem was now filled with the emblems of a new
faith, and crowds of pilgrims were attracted from the most
distant countries, by the eager desire of contemplating the
place of the Redeemer’s passion, and of all the previous
incidents of his holy life. These visits were encouraged
from various motives. They evinced, no doubt, the zeal of
the new converts; and being at once a proof of piety and
a source of profit, they were encouraged by the cleigy
of Jerusalem. “ The zeal,” says the eloquent historian of
the Roman empire, “ perhaps the avarice, of the clergy at
Jerusalem, cherished and multiplied these beneficial visits.
They fixed by unquestionable tradition the scene of each
memorable event. They exhibited the instruments which
had been used in the passion of Christ; the nails and the
lance that had pierced his hands, his feet, and his side;
the crown of thorns that was planted on his head ; the pil¬
lar at which he was scourged; and, above all, they showed
the cross on which he suffered, and which was dug out of
the earth in the reign of those princes who inserted the
symbol of Christianity on the banners of the Roman le¬
gions.”2 To these deceptions was added a list of pretend¬
ed miracles, by which the ignorant were duped and robbed
of their money; and in the mean time, amid all this pre¬
tended sanctity, Jerusalem presented the grossest scenes
of immorality and vice. The veneration evinced by stran¬
gers for the holy city never seems to have influenced the
lives or practice of these votaries of indolence or pleasure,
the relics in their possession being valued merely as a
source of gain, and the means of worldly indulgence.
The reign of Julian was a new era in the history of Pa¬
lestine, and the Jews anticipated, from his declared enmity
to Christianity, his favour for their own purer faith. The Pa tinlC
policy of this heathen emperor countenanced them in this''"-"^
belief, when he endeavoured, by rebuilding the temple of
Jerusalem in its former splendour, to discredit the truth
of those prophecies which denounced perpetual desolation
on the devoted city. He chose the commanding eminence
of Mount Moriah for the site of a new structure, which was
to eclipse the splendour of the Christian church on the ad¬
jacent hill of Calvary; and he resolved to establish a Jew¬
ish order of priests, who might revive the observance of
the Mosaic rites, together with as numerous a colony of '
Jews as could be collected, in the holy city. Such was
still the ardour of the national faith, that the Jews crowd¬
ed from all parts, and exasperated by their insolent triumph
the hostility of the Christian inhabitants. All now joined
with unwearied zeal in the sacred work of rebuilding the
temple. Liberal contributions poured in from all quarters;
men and women joined in the pious labour ; and the au¬
thority of the monarch w^as seconded by the enthusiasm of
the people. But this last effort of expiring zeal w as un¬
successful ; no temple ever arose on the ruins ot the hea¬
then edifices ; a Mahommedan mosque- still stands on the
ground of the Jewish temple ; and the progress of the work,
according to a fable generally believed at the time, was
stopt by the terrific interposition of heaven, by flames of fire
bursting out from the foundations of the temple with loud
explosions, by which the wmrkmen were so terrified that
they refused on any consideration to continue their labour.
This miracle is indeed attested by contemporary historians;
but it is justly remarked by Gibbon, that the original evi¬
dence of impartial and intelligent spectators would still be
necessary to establish its truth. Now this evidence is
wanting ; for though it is recorded by the Roman historians,
among others by Ammianus Marcellinus, yet he reports it
merelv on hearsay ; and it seems probable that, at the
distance of twenty years, without any anxious inquiry, he
might take the story on credit, that he mighty “adorn his
history with the specious and splendid miracle.”3 The work,
however, from whatever cause, was abandoned; and as it
was only undertaken during the last six months of Julian’s
remn, the fact seems sufficiently explained without the aid
of a miracle, by the absence and death ot the emperor, and
by the new maxims that were adopted during the Chris¬
tian reign that succeeded.
After the death of Julian it was the policy of the Chris¬
tian emperors to depress the Jews in Palestine, though they
were not ill treated throughout the provinces, and were
even granted considerable privileges and immunities. But
it is astonishing how carefully the fathers instilled into
the minds of their children, along with their ancient faith,
the fondly cherished delusion, that some new and hap¬
pier era of freedom and independence was yet to dawn on
Judea; and how eagerly the children, imbibing this idea,
became the prey of every impostor, and, under the .in
impulse of enthusiasm, rashly entered into new conflicts
with their enemies in the field, where they perished the
willing victims of a hopeless cause. About the beginning
of the seventh century the peace of Judea was serious y
disturbed by the Persian invasion of Chosroes. ihe Gree
and the Persians were for a long period rivals for the do¬
minion of the East; and Chosroes, the grandson of Ausn-
irvan, now invading the Roman empire, successively storm¬
ed and sacked the cities of Antioch and Caesarea. Hrom
Syria the flood of invasion rolled southward on Palestine,
and the Persian army was joined by the Jews to the nu-
ber of 24,000, still burning with the love of independe •
The Christians and Jews were inflamed against each o
by a long course of deep injuries given and recei
1 Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. ii. chap. xvi. p. 3oG.
* Ibid. chap, xxiii. p. 101. • 3 Ibld- cbaP- xxm- P* 1<>9-
P A L E S T I N E.
stine. Those of the former nation within the walls were mas-
sacred without mercy by their Christian enemies, while
the Jews on the outside were burning with the desire of
revenge. The advance of the Persians secured the tri¬
umph. The city, was stormed by the combined armies,
and the Jews were satiated with a full measure of revenge.
The Christians neither sought nor found mercy ; it was esti¬
mated that 90,000 of them perished in the storming of the
city. Some were sold for slaves, and others were bought for
the purpose of being murdered. The city was sacked, and
the magnificent monuments of the Christian faith were
mostly consumed by fire. The sepulchre of Christ, and
the stately churches of Helena and Constantine, rifled, to
use the words of Gibbon, in one sacrilegious day, of the de¬
vout offerings ol three hundred years, were abandoned to
the flames. But this, like all the other triumphs of the
Jews, was short-lived. Heraclius was roused from inglo¬
rious sloth by the triumphs of the Persian arms, and by
the approach of the victorious force to the walls of his own
capital. He quickly assembled his veteran armies, by whose
aid he defeated the troops of Chosroes; and in the course
oi a few successful campaigns he recovered all the pro¬
vinces that had been overrun. He visited Jerusalem after
his victories, in the lowly guise of a pilgrim, and prepar¬
ed new triumphs for the Christians in the restoration of the
magnificent churches which had been destroyed, and in the
persecution of the Jews, and their banishment, as before,
from the holy city, which they were now forbidden to ap¬
proach within a nearer distance than three miles.
Palestine continued to own the sway of the Greek em¬
peror till the rise of the Mahommedan power in the East,
ihe followers of this impostor, extending their doctrines
and tneir dominion by fire and sword, rapidly subdued
Arabia, Syria, and Egypt, when, about the year 637, the
victorious Omar turned his arms against Jerusalem, revered
alike by Jews, Christians, and Mahommedans, as a holy
city. After a siege of four months, during which the
Arabs suffered extremely from the inclemency of the win¬
ter, a capitulation was proposed and agreed to, when the
conqueror entered the city seated on a red camel, which
cairied a bag of corn and dates, and without guards, or
any other precaution, and began to discourse in the most
courteous manner with the patriarch, on its religious an¬
tiquities. Omar w'as assassinated in Jerusalem in the year
643, alter which the East was for two hundred years dis¬
tracted by the bloody wars that ensued among the Ommi-
ades, the Abbassides, and the Fatimite caliphs ; and Pales¬
tine having become an object of contest between them, was
for a like period a scene of devastation and trouble. In
the year 868, the capital was conquered by Achmet, a
luik; but was again recovered by the caliphs of Bagdad
755
in the year 906. It was reduced by Mohammed Ikschid,
o the I urkish race. I owards the end of the tenth cen¬
tury the holy city was taken possession of by Ortok; and
n ky Meleschah, a Turk. It was retaken by the
.okides, and, finally, by the Fatimites, who held possess-
sion of it when the Crusaders made their first appearance
in the Holy Land.
Jerusalem, though it was in possession of infidel chiefs,
was still revered as a holy city both by Christian and
^ew, and was visited by pilgrims from every quarter ;
among others by Peter the hermit, a native of Amiens.
1 ne pathetic tale which he brought to Europe, of the
injuries and insults which the Christian pilgrims suffered
irom the infidels, who possessed and profaned the holy
city, excited the deepest sympathy among the people and
punces of Christendom. Councils were summoned, and
were attended by bishops, a numerous train of ecclesi-
astics, and by thousands of the laity. At the council Palestme.
o Irent no fewer than four hundred mitred prelates
weie piesent. Ihe mixed multitude were harangued by
e, ?eilous enthusiasts of this sacred cause; their pity
and indignation were alternately roused by the sufferings
of their brethren in the Holy Land; the flame of enthu¬
siasm was propagated by sympathy and example ; and the
eager champions of the cross, the flower of the European
chivalry, assembled in martial array, to march against
the enemies of their common faith. To defray the ne¬
cessary expenses of the expedition, princes alienated their
provinces, the nobles their lands and castles, peasants their
cattle and the instruments of husbandry; and vast armies
were transported to Palestine, in order to accomplish the
deliverance of the holy sepulchre. These rude and un¬
disciplined bands died in great numbers on reaching the
shores of Asia, from disease, famine, and fatigue; and, of
the first Crusaders, it is estimated that 300,000 had perish¬
ed before a single city was rescued from the infidels. Of
the leaders in the Christian host, the first rank is due to
Godfiey, duke of Brabant and Bouillon, who was accom¬
panied by his two brothers, Eustace the elder, who had
succeeded to the county of Boulogne, and Baldwin the
younger. The other chiefs were, Robert of France, the
mother of King Philip, and Robert Duke of Normandy,
the son of William the Conqueror; Boheinond the son of
Robert Guisard, distinguished by his cool policy and am¬
bition, with a small addition of religious zeal; Tancred his
cousin, who had imbibed the true spirit of chivalry, and
all the virtues of a perfect knight; and Raymond of Thou-
Jouse, the Duke of Narbonne, and Marquis of Provence, a
veteian warrior of mature age and experience. The vast
armies that were collected under the guidance of these
leaders arrived by various routes at Constantinople, the
Greek capital ; after having lost, some say, half their
number, in the intermediate march through unknown coun¬
tries, by famine, disease, and the assaults of the inhabitants
into whose countries they had made so unexpected an ir¬
ruption. After some time spent in the capital of the East,
they crossed to the opposite shore of Asia. Having taken
the towns of Nice and Antioch in the year 1097, they laid
siege to Jerusalem about two years after, which was taken
by assault, with a prodigious slaughter of the garrison
and inhabitants, that was continued for three days, without
respect either to age or sex. Women, and children at
the breast, boys and girls, were dragged forth and put to
death without mercy; and the streets were covered with
their dead bodies and mangled limbs. Having thus de¬
livered the holy sepulchre, the Crusaders proceeded, while
yet stained with blood, to perform their devotions at the
saci ed shi ine; they ascended the hill of Calvary bare-headed
and bare-footed, amid the loud anthems of the clergy, and
they kissed the stone of the Saviour’s tomb, and bedewed
with tears of joy and penitence the monuments of their re¬
demption.1 Io such a degree does blind fanaticism harden
the heart and stifle the voice of pity. The grand and
leading trait of Christianity is benevolence to man, with¬
out which there can be no piety to God. This principle
is inculcated both by the precept and example of its divine
founder, who took care on all occasions to reprove and
put down the spirit of persecution, however cloaked under
the specious pretext of religious zeal. Yet we find here
ns piofessed followers, under show of deep reverence for
his name, shedding without remorse the blood of their
fellow-creatures, of women and children, and approaching,
with their profane adorations, to the holy sanctuary of the
God of peace.
Eight days after the capture of Jerusalem, the Latin
1 Decline and Fall, vol. xi. chap. Iviii. p. 85.
756
PALESTINE.
Palestine, chiefs proceeded to the election of a king, who should
v ~ "'preside over their conquests in Palestine, and Godfrey of
Bouillon was unanimously raised to this high office. But
if it was an honourable office, it was also one of danger;
he was not chosen to sway a peaceful sceptre; and he
was summoned to the field in the first fortnight of his
reign, to defend his capital against the sultan of Egypt,
who approached with a powerful army. His signal over¬
throw in the battle of Ascalon confirmed the stability of
the Latin throne, and enabled Godfrey to extend on every
side his infant kingdom, which consisted only of Jerusalem
and Jaffa, with about twenty villages and towns of the ad¬
jacent districts. The fortified castles, into which the Ma-
hommedans had taken refuge, and from which they made
incursions into the open country, were reduced; the ma¬
ritime cities of Laodicea, Tripoli, Tyre, and Ascalon, were
besieged and taken; and the Christian kingdom thus in¬
cluded a range of sea-coast from Scanderoon to the borders
of Egypt. “ If the province of Antioch,” says the Roman
historian, <£ disdained his supremacy, the courts of Edessa
and Tripoli owned themselves the vassals of the king of
Jerusalem; the Latins reigned beyond the Euphrates ; and
the four cities of Hems, Hamah, Damascus, and Aleppo,
were the only relics of the Mahommedan conquests in
Syria.”1 The feudal institutions of Europe were intro¬
duced into this kingdom in all their purity ; and a code
of laws, called the assize of Jerusalem, was drawn up,
which was attested by the seals of the king, the patriarch,
and the viscount of Jerusalem, and deposited in the se¬
pulchre of the Saviour, as an unerring guide in all doubt¬
ful questions that might be brought before the tribunals of
the holy city.
Godfrey was succeeded in his great office by his brother
Baldwin, who ruled with vigour and success. In 1118 his
nephew ascended the throne, and still maintained the in¬
terests of the kingdom. Melisandra his daughter married
Foulques of Anjou, who, in right of his wife, acquired the
kingdom of Jerusalem. He lost his life by a fall from his
horse, after having reigned ten or twelve years. His son,
Baldwin III., ruled in Jerusalem twenty years; and his
reign was remarkable as the era of the second Crusade,
and of the rise of the various orders of knighthood, the
hospitallers, templars, and cavaliers.
The military force of the first Crusaders, wasted by fa¬
tigue, and by losses in the field, was no longer able to
oppose the hosts of Turks and Saracens by which it was
surrounded. The first victories of the Europeans, and
their rapid success, extended far and wide the terror of
their arms. But this alarm having subsided, the Mahom¬
medan chiefs collected their armies, and commenced a
vigorous attack on the European posts, scattered over a
wide extent of country, and gained some important ad¬
vantages. The accounts of these disasters that wei’e cir¬
culated in Europe excited the liveliest sympathy of all
Christians for their suffering brethren in the Holy Land,
for the defence of which the European princes now enter¬
ed into a new coalition. A second Crusade was the con¬
sequence. It was undertaken forty-eight years after the
deliverance of the holy sepulchre, by the emperor of Ger¬
many Conrad III., and Louis \II. king of 1H ranee, and
was even more unfortunate than the first expedition. In
the course of a tedious march through an unhealthy and
hostile country, more than half the army of Conrad was
wasted by famine and the sword, and not above a tenth
part ever reached the Syrian shore. The subsequent bat¬
tles with the Saracens reduced them to a miserable rem¬
nant ; and the emperor was met by Louis and the French
troops, who arrived in better condition at the scene of
action, on his return with his shattered forces from this un- Pt
fortunate campaign. The French army, rashly advancingVs-
into the heart of the country, was assaulted and over¬
whelmed by an innumerable host of Turks ; and the king
with great difficulty made his escape, and finally took
shipping with his knights and nobles, leaving his ple¬
beian infantry to the sword of the victorious enemy. The
two princes proceeding to Jerusalem, united the poor re¬
mains of their once mighty armies to the Latin troops in
Syria, and laid a fruitless siege to Damascus, which was
the termination of the second Crusade.
The defeat and dispersion of these armies tended great¬
ly to weaken the Christian cause in the Holy Land, and
shake the foundations of the Latin throne at Jerusalem.
Baldwin, the son of Melisandra and of the Count of Anjou,
together with his brother Amanry or Almeric, long main¬
tained the war with considerable success against the in¬
fidels. Baldwin dying, was succeeded by his brother, who,
after a reign of eleven years, transmitted the throne to
his son Baldwin IV., disabled both in mind and body
by the disease of leprosy. His sister Sybilla, the mother
of Baldwin, was his natural heiress, who chose for her se¬
cond husband, and consequently for king of Jerusalem,
Guy of Lusignan, base in character, but handsome in his
person. This choice was universally blamed, and excited
the hatred of Count Raymond, who had been excluded from
the succession and regency, and who, entertaining an im¬
placable hatred against the king, was seduced into a trai¬
torous correspondence with the sultan. Many of the barons
were also so dissatisfied, that they refused to take the oath
of allegiance to the new king. It was in the midst of these
internal dissensions that the kingdom of the Latins was
assailed by a new enemy, namely, the Sultan Saladin, who
to valour, policy, and military skill, joined all the refined
humanity of a Christian knight. He had risen from a pri¬
vate station to the sovereignty of Egypt, and he had been
for years extending his influence and his dominions. A
fortress had been seized by a soldier of fortune, Reginald
of Chatillon, from which he issued with his followers to
pillage the caravans and to insult the Mahommedans, and
he even threatened the holy cities of Medina and Mecca.
Saladin complained of these injuries, and being refused
any satisfaction, invaded the Holy Land with an army of
80,000 horse and foot. He advanced against Tiberias, to
which he laid siege; and a decisive battle was hazarded by
the king of Jerusalem, in defence of this important place.
The two armies met in the plain of Tiberias, and in a
sanguinary conflict, which lasted two days, the Christians
were completely overthrown, with the loss of 30,000 men,
and a sacred relic, the wood of the true cross, with which
the priests were wont to cheer the drooping spirits of the
troops. The king, the Marquis of Montserrat, and the
master of the templars, with many of their followers, were
made prisoners; and two hundred and thirty gallant knights
of the cross were cruelly led out to execution after the battle.
This great victory placed the whole country at the mercy
of the conqueror. The Christians were left without a head;
of the two grand masters of the military orders, one was a
prisoner, and the other slain. The fate of the kingdom
had been set on a single cast, and its vrhole military force
concentrated on this "fatal field. The towns and castles,
thus drained of their governors, fell successively before
Saladin’s victorious force; and scarcely had three months
elapsed when he appeared in arms before the gates ot
Jerusalem. ,
This city was in no condition to sustain a protracted
siege. It was crowded with fugitives from every quarter,
who here sought an asylum from the destroying sword; a
* Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. xi. chap. Iviii. p. t>0.
PALE
disorderly throng of 100,000 persons was confined within
the walls, but there were few soldiers ; the queen was
alarmed for the fate of her captive husband, and her go¬
vernment was feeble and indecisive. A defence was, how¬
ever, maintained for fourteen days, during which the be-
siegeis had effected a breach in the wall, and only waited
the sultan s orders for the assault. This last extremity was
averted by a capitulation, by which it was agreed that all
the tranks and Latins should quit Jerusalem, receiving a
safe conduct to the ports of Syria and Egypt; that the in¬
habitants should be ransomed for a sum of money, and that
those who were unable to pay it should remain slaves. These
conditions were liberally interpreted and greatly mitigated
by the generosity of the sultan, who allowed the poor to be
ransomed by wholesale for a moderate sum, and freely dis¬
missed about 3000 more. In his interview with the queen,
he displayed the kindness and courtesy of his disposition,
comforting her with his words, and even with his tears ; he
distributed liberal alms among the widows and orphans of
those who were slain, and allowed the warlike knights of
the hospital to continue their care of the sick for another
year. He made his triumphant entry into the city, with
banners waving and martial music ; the Christian church
was converted into a mosque, and the glittering cross was
taken down and dragged through the streets, amid the
shouts of the Moslems. The whole country now sub¬
mitted to the sultan, whose victorious progress was first
arrested by the resistance of Tyre, which was gallantly
defended by Conrad. The sultan, being foiled in all his
attempts to take this place, was finally compelled to raise
the siege, and to retreat to Damascus.
The capture of Jerusalem by the infidels, and the de¬
cline of the Christian cause in Palestine, excited the deep¬
est sorrow ; the decaying zeal of the European powers was
awakened, and new expeditions were fitted out for the
recovery of the holy city. About the year 1190, Philip
king of France, the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of
Germany, and Richard I. of England, surnamed Cceur-
de-Lion, assembled a large force, and, with the aid of
Flanders, Frise, and Denmark, filled about 200 vessels
with their troops. The first armaments landed at Tyre,
the only remaining inlet of the Christians into the Holy
Land, and no time was lost in commencing the celebrated
siege of Acre, which was maintained with an enthusiasm
that mocked at danger, and by feats of valour that were
the theme of wonder, even in that romantic age. This
memorable siege lasted for nearly two years, and was at¬
tended with a prodigious loss of men on both sides. Famine,
misery, and the climate, wasted the besieging army, and
still the besieged held out with enduring firmness. At
length, in the spring of the second year, the royal fleets
of France and England cast anchor in the bay, with power¬
ful reinforcements, and the brave defenders*of Acre were
reduced to capitulate. A ransom was demanded for their
lives and liberties, of 200,000 pieces of gold, the deliver¬
ance of 100 nobles, and 1500 inferior captives, and the
restoration of the holy cross. Thus was an important
town and harbour obtained by the Christians, but by an
enormous sacrifice of men. The host that surrounded
Acre amounted at different periods to 600,000; of these,
100,000 were slain during the siege of two years, a greater
number perished by shipwreck and disease, and it is com¬
puted that a very small remnant ever reached their native
snores. The place was taken possession of by the Christians
on the 12th of July 1191.
I he capture of Acre was the prelude to farther opera¬
tions against the enemy. Richard determined to commence
t e siege of Ascalon, about a hundred miles distant, and
is march to this place was a continual battle of eleven
WaS °PPose^ by Saladin with an army of
;000 combatants ; and on this occasion was fought one
STINE.
of the most memorable battles of this or any other age.
Saladin was defeated with the loss of 40,000 men, and the
victorious Richard obtained possession of Ascalon and the
other towns of Judea. A severe winter interrupted the
operations of the field. But Richard, issuing from his win¬
ter quarters with the first gleam of spring, advanced with
his army within sight of Jerusalem, the great object of his
enterprise. Saladin had chosen Jerusalem for his head¬
quarters, when the sudden appearance of the Christian
conqueror spread universal consternation. The holy city
was however relieved by the hasty retreat of the English
king, discouraged by the difficulties of the enterprise and
the murmurs of his troops. In the mean time the town of
Jaffa was vigorously assaulted by Saladin with a formidable
force, and was on the point of surrendering, when Richard,
flying to its relief, encountered the besieging army of Sa¬
racens and Turks, amounting to 60,000 men, who yielded
to the vigour of his attack. In the mean time the miseries
of a protracted war began to be severely felt, and the am¬
bitious views of Richard were obstructed by the discontent
of his troops. Negotiations were commenced, which were
broken off, and as often resumed. The views of both par¬
ties varied with the fortune of war. At last, however, both
Saladin and Richard were equally desirous of terminating
an unpopular and ruinous contest. The first demands of
Richard were the restitution of Jerusalem, Palestine, and
the true cross. These terms were rejected by the sultan,
who would not part with the sovereignty of Palestine, or
listen to any proposition for dismembering his dominions.
A truce was at length concluded for three years, by which
it was stipulated that the Latin Christians should have
liberty to visit the holy city without being liable to tribute ;
that the fort of Ascalon should be dismantled; and that
Jafta and Tyre, with the intervening territory, should be
surrendered to the Europeans. Soon after*the conclusion
of this treaty Richard embarked for Europe; and Saladin,
his great rival, did not survive many months the conclu¬
sion of peace. He died at Damascus in the year 1193;
and before he expired he gave orders that his winding-
sheet should be carried as a standard through every street
of the city, while a crier went before and proclaimed with
a loud voice, “ this is all that remains of the mighty Sala¬
din, the conqueror of the East.”
L he fourth Crusade was encouraged by the zeal of Pope
Celestine III. It was directed against the Greek empire,
which was too feeble to resist so formidable an attack ; and
the result was its conquest by the Latins, who ruled over
it for fifty-seven years.
In the mean time, in Palestine, though partial successes
were gained by the armies of the Crusaders, their power was
on the decline. A truce had been concluded with Sapha-
dim, the brother and successor of the Sultan Saladin, for
six years. The sovereign of the Latin kingdom at this
time was Mary, the daughter of Isabella bv Conrad of
Tyre, Almeric and his wife being dead. *In order to
strengthen the government of Jerusalem, it was resolved
to request the king of France, Philip Augustus, to provide
a husband for Mary. John de Brienne, one of the most
accomplished cavaliers in Europe, of tried valour and ex¬
perience in war, was chosen ; and the Christian chiefs were
so elated by this union, that they sought a pretence for
breaking the subsisting truce between them and the sul¬
tan, and bringing matters to the arbitration of the sw’ord.
W ar accordingly ensued, and the new monarch of Jeru¬
salem displayed all the great qualities of a statesman and
a soldier, for which he was chosen ; and though his success
did not entirely correspond to his hopes or wishes, yet he
made a successful defence, and maintained for a time the
Latin kingdom against the growing power of its enemies.
He foresaw, however, that its gradual decline and final
ruin was approaching, being now reduced to two or three
757
Palestine.
758
PALESTINE.
Palestine, towns, and preserved only in a precarious existence by
' v——/ the divisions and civil wars that prevailed among its ene¬
mies.
This intelligence rekindled the dying zeal of the Chris¬
tian world. A new Crusade was commenced, and in 1216
a large force, chiefly of Hungarians and Germans, landed
at Acre. The sons of Saphadim, who now ruled in Syria,
collected their armies to oppose this formidable attack.
But the Crusaders, rashly conducted, and weakened by divi¬
sions, advanced into the country without concert or pru¬
dence; provisions failed them; they were wasted, as usual,
by famine and disease; and at length their leader, the so¬
vereign of Hungary, resolved to quit a country where he
had been exposed to hardship and danger, without gloi'y.
The crusading armies, thus weakened and discouraged, had
laid aside all further idea of offensive operations, when, in
the spring of the following year, a fleet of 300 vessels, that
sailed from the Rhine, appeared on the coast, and brought
to their aid powerful reinforcements, that recruited their
strength, and restored their ascendency in the field. For
reasons that do not clearly appear, they now retired from
Palestine, and carried the war into Egypt, where they ob¬
tained important successes, having taken Damiettaby storm,
and spread such consternation among the infidels, that the
most favourable terms of peace were offered, and rejected
by the Crusaders, who, having wasted their strength on the
banks of the Nile, were reduced to the necessity of bar¬
gaining for permission to retire to Palestine, by the ces¬
sion of all their conquests in Egypt.
The next Crusade was undertaken by Frederick II., the
grandson of Barbarossa, according to a vow which had
been long made, and the performance of which had been
so long delayed that he was excommunicated by Gregory
IX. By his marriage with Violante, the daughter of John
de Brienne, he was the more especially bound to vindicate
his right to the kingdom of Jerusalem, which he had re¬
ceived as a dowry with his wife. After many delays, he
set sail with a fleet of 200 sail and an army of 40,000 men,
and in the year 1228 he arrived at Acre. This was the
most successful and the most bloodless expedition that had
yet been undertaken. Without the hazard of a battle he
entered Jerusalem in triumph. The Saracen power was
at this time weakened by divisions; and, owing to suspect¬
ed treachery among his kindred, the son of Saphadim held
rather a precarious possession of the throne. It was his
policy, therefore, rather to disarm the hostility of these
powerful armies by treating with them, than to encounter
them in the field; and accordingly a treaty was concluded,
by which Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and their
dependencies, were restored to the Christians; religious
toleration was established, and the contending parties of
Christians and Mahommedans were allowed each to offer
up their devotions, the first in the temple of Solomon, and
the last in the mosque of Omar. But all these services
were performed by Frederic while under the stain of ex-
communication ; and hence the patriarch, when he made
his entry into Jerusalem, refused to crown him, or to be
present at the ceremonial; and Frederic himself took the
grown from the holy sepulchre, and placed it on his own
head. The stipulations of this treaty were not faithfully
observed by the Saracens, and the Christians in Palestine
Still suffered under the oppression of the infidels. New
levies were raised in Europe for the holy war, and a large
force of French and English, led by the chief nobility of
both nations, landed in Syria in 1239. Numerous battles
were fought, which terminated in favour of the Saracens;
and the French Crusaders, accordingly, after severe losses,
were glad to purchase peace by the cession of almost all
their conquests in Palestine. Next year, when the English
levy under the Earl of Cornwall arrived at the scene of
action, he found, to his surprise, that all the territories and
privileges that had been ceded to the emperor of Germany
were lost; and that a few fortresses, and a small strip of^*-"'
territory on the coast, comprised all that the Latins possess¬
ed in Palestine. He immediately prepared for the vigo¬
rous prosecution of hostilities. But the sultan, being in¬
volved in war with his brother in Damascus, readily grant¬
ed favourable terms as the price of peace, namely, the
cession to the Christian armies of Jerusalem, Beritus, Na¬
zareth, Bethlehem, Mount Tabor, and a large tract of the ad¬
joining country. But the kingdom of Jerusalem, thus so
happily established, was subverted by a calamity from a
new and unexpected quarter. In the interior of Asia the
conquests of Ghenghis Khan had brought about the most
stupendous revolutions, and the barbarous hordes of the
desert, flying before his conquering sword, rushed like a
torrent on other nations. The Kharismians, unable to with¬
stand this powerful invader, were driven upon Syria, and
the coalesced powers of Saracen and Christian were un¬
able to resist their powerfid assault. The Christian host
was overthrown in a great battle, which lasted two days,
and in which the grand masters of two orders, and most of
the knights, were slain. The merciless invaders revelled
in the sack and pillage of the holy city, sparing neither
sex nor age; and it was not until the year 1247 that they
were routed near Damascus, by the Syrians and Mamlouks,
and driven back to their former settlements on the Cas¬
pian Sea.
Each new disaster of the Christian arms served to re¬
kindle the languishing zeal of the Europeans; and Louis
IX. of France fitted out an immense armament for the
Holy Land, consisting of 1800 sail of vessels, in which he
embarked an army of 50,000 men. He landed in Egypt,
and after storming the town of Damietta, he advanced
along the sea-coast towards Cairo, when his troops were
so wasted by sickness and famine that they fell an easy
prey to the enemy. The king, with most of his nobles,
and the remnant of his army, were made prisoners; and it
was owing to the clemency of the sultan, who accepted a
ransom for their lives, that Louis, with his few followers
who remained alive, was permitted to embark for Pa¬
lestine.
The power of the Christians in Palestine, weakened,
among other causes, by internal dissensions, was now vi¬
gorously assailed by the Sultan Bibars, the Mamlouk so¬
vereign of Egypt. He invaded Palestine with a formi¬
dable army, advanced to the gates of Acre, and reducing
the towns of Sephami and Azotus, massacred or carried
into captivity numbers of Christians. I he important city
of Antioch yielded to his powerful assault, when 40,000
of the inhabitants were put to the sword, and 100,000 car¬
ried into captivity. The report of these cruelties in Eu¬
rope gave rise to the ninth and last Crusade against the
infidels, which was undertaken by Louis, the French king,
sixteen years after his return from captivity. But, in place
of directing his arms immediately against Palestine, he
landed in Africa, and laid siege to Carthage, which he re¬
duced. But he perished miserably on the burning sands
of Africa, of a pestilential disease, which proved final also
to many of his troops; and thus ingloriously terminated
this expedition, which was the last undertaken by t ic
Europeans for the recovery of the Holy Land.
The Europeans in Palestine, a feeble remnant, were now
confined within the walls of their last stronghold, which
was besieged by a Mamlouk host of 200,000 troops, that
issued from Egypt, and encamped on the adjacent plain.
In this their last conflict with the infidels of the Holy Land,
the Europeans fully maintained the glory of their high name.
They displayed all the devotion of martyrs in a holy cause,
and performed prodigies of valour. But, equalled as t icy
were in discipline, and fearfully overmatched in numbers,
by their enemies, they were overborne by the weight an
PALE
l ine, violence of their attacks, and in the storm and sack of the
I'—' city all either perished or were carried into captivity. Thus
terminated for ever all those visions of glory and conquest by
which so many adventurers were seduced from Europe to
the Holy Land, there to perish under the complicated perils
of disease and the sword. The historian of Rome describes,
with his usual force and eloquence, the last struggle of the
Europeans in defence of Acre. “ Whatever,” he observes,
“ might be the vices of the Franks, their courage was re¬
kindled by enthusiasm and despair; but they were torn by
the discord of seventeen chiefs, and overwhelmed on all sides
by the power of the sultan. After a siege of thirty-three
days, the double wall was forced by the Moslems; the princi¬
pal towers yielded to their engines ; the Mamlouks made a
general assault; the city was stormed ; and death or slavery
was the lot of 30,000 Christians. The convent, or rather
fortress, of the templars resisted three days longer; but
the grand master was pierced with an arrow, and, of 500
knights, only ten were left alive, less happy than the victims
of the sword, since they had to suffer on the scaffold in the
unjust and cruel proscription of the whole order. The king
of Jerusalem, the patriarch, and the great master of the
hospital, effected their retreat to the shore ; but the sea was
rough, the vessels were insufficient, and great numbers of
the fugitives were drowned before they could reach the isle
of Cyprus. By the command of the sultan, the churches and
fortifications of the Latin cities were demolished; a motive
of avarice or fear still opened the holy sepulchre to some
devout and defenceless pilgrims; and a mournful and soli¬
tary silence prevailed along the coast, which had so long re¬
sounded with the world’s debate.” The other smaller towns
which still remained in possession of the Christians yielded
without a struggle to the Moslem arms, and, under the re¬
ligious tyranny of the infidels which succeeded, the Chris¬
tians in Palestine were everywhere reduced to the lowest
degree of debasement. The pilgrims who still visited Je¬
rusalem were exposed to insult and danger ; and large con¬
tributions were exacted by their oppressors for a free passage
through the Holy Land. The Mamlouk sultans of Egypt
continued to rule over Palestine till the year 1382, when the
country was overrun by a barbarous tribe from the interior
of Asia. On their expulsion the sovereignty of the Egyp¬
tian sultans was again acknowledged, until the country
yielded to the formidable irruption of the great Tamerlane.
At his death Jerusalem reverted to the kingdom of Egypt,
and was finally subdued by Selim IX. the sultan of the
Turks, under whose barbarous regime it has continued for
more than 300 years. The country was partitioned into
provinces, in each of which a pasha ruled with a despotic
authority equal to that of the sultan.
In this condition Palestine remained without any remark-
I eyent in its history, except that for nearly three cen¬
turies it was the scene of domestic broils, insurrections,
and massacres, until the memorable invasion of Egypt by
the French army in 1799. Bonaparte, being apprized that
preparationswere making in the pachalik of Acre for attack¬
ing him in Egypt, resolved, according to his usual tactics,
to anticipate the movements of his enemies. He accordin"-
y marched across the desert which divides Egypt from Pa-
®stin^and invaded the country at the head of 10,000 troops.
El Arish surrendered, and the lives of the garrison were
spared on condition that they should not serve against him
during the war. Gaza also yielded without opposition ; and
alia, stormed after a brave resistance, was given up to pil-
Ege. And here, in opposition to every feeling of humanity,
an to all the maxims of civilized war, was exhibited a scene
ot atrocity, in the massacre, in cold blood, of'4000 prisoners,
which vies in cruelty with the darkest deeds of savage life,
STINE. 759
and has left an indelible stain on the character of the chief Palestine,
agent, and all his accomplices, in this bloody transaction,
I he plea, that these prisoners were dismissed at Jaffa on the
understood condition of not again serving during the war,
and that, having violated this condition, they were liable to
death, was not supported by any evidence. It w7as not
pioved that those who surrendered at Jaffa were the same
peisons w ho were dismissed at El Arish ; and the story
seems indeed to have been fabricated, as the best apology
that could be offered for such unheard-of cruelty, after the
murder was committed. In the circumstances in which he
was placed, those prisoners were a most inconvenient en¬
cumbrance to the French general; of which, accordingly,
he appears to have freed himself by the short process of a
general massacre.
The French army proceeded without delay to form the
siege of Acre ; and this fortress, the last scene of conflict
between the Christians and infidels of former days, became
a modern field of battle, in which were exhibited prodigies
of valour that rivalled the most renowned deeds of those
chivalric times. Bonaparte, though a French convoy with
battering cannon and stores for the siege had been captured
by a British squadron under Sir Sidney Smith, still persever¬
ed in his resolution to reduce the place. The trenches w’ere
opened on the 10th of March; in ten days a breach was
effected, and a desperate assault took place. For a time
the garrison were overpowered, and gave way ; but Djezzar
Pasha, who had shut himself within the walls, and who was
aided by Sir Sidney Smith with a body of British sailors,
rushed forw'ard among the thickest of the combatants, and,
animating the troops by his example, drove back the enemy
with heavy loss. Bonaparte still persevered in a series of furi¬
ous assaults against the fortress, which were all most gallant¬
ly repelled ; and after a protracted siege of sixty days, a last
assault was ordered, which was equally unsuccessful with
all former attempts, and was attended with the loss of some
of his bravest warriors. This last failure dictated the ne¬
cessity of an immediate retreat, which was accomplished
with difficulty, in a tedious march through the burning de¬
sert, where hardship and privation of every sort was the
lot of the wayworn soldier, and the sick and wounded
were left in most cases to inevitable death. The French
army was attacked during the siege by a powerful body of
lurkish troops ; and a detachment under Junot, in an en¬
gagement which tookplace near Nazareth, would have been
cut to pieces by the Mamlouk cavalry, but for the timely
aid of Napoleon. Kleber also, surrounded by an over¬
whelming body of the same formidable cavalry near Mount
labor, and who by his presence of mind and military skill
had kept the enemy at bay during a whole day, was saved by
the artillery of Napoleon, which speedily scattered this cloud
of horsemen over the face of the desert.
Of late years a new power has arisen in the East, name¬
ly, that of the viceroy of Egypt, who having collected large
treasures and a well -disciplined army, openly renounced his
allegiance to the grand signior. A war tookplace, in which
the hasty levies of Turkey were broken and put to flight by
the veteran troops of Egypt; and a series of brilliant suc¬
cesses fully established the independence of the viceroy.
As the price of peace, large districts in Syria and Palestine
were ceded to him. We have no certain accounts whether
these countries have improved under his sway; but the
levies which he imposed on them, of men and money, have,
it appears, been severely felt, as the country has been the
scene of insurrections which have been with difficulty quell¬
ed by his troops. His government is, however, an improve¬
ment on the tyranny of Turkey ; and in time we may hope
that the country will reap the fruits of his wiser policy, (f.)
760
PAL
Palestrina PALESTRINA, a town of Austrian Italy, in the pro-
11’ vince of Milan, and delegation of Venice. It is rather a
Paley. vii]age than a town, being situated on an island at the
mouth of the river that stretches from Porto di Chvoggia
to Porto di Malomocco, a distance of nearly fourteen miles.
It contains 5980 inhabitants.
PALEY, William, D. D., was born at Peterborough
PAL
university ; took the degree of master of arts, and engaged
in the business of private tuition. He took priest’s orders1'
in December 1767, and in 1768 he was appointed tutor of
Christ’s College, along with his friend Mr Law, already a
distinguished scholar. rIhe talents and assiduity of these
two quickly raised tiie celebrity of their college to an un¬
precedented height. Paley’s intimacy with Law was pro-
i» My 1T4S wherhi. fethh ’.hen'minor'ca^f ducUve of muchVf
nent Dr’Edmuml'L^w^wlio was soorTafter Bishop of Cari
at fhat riace Here Ms son was trained under Ids imme- lisle, but continued to reside in the umvers.ty as master
at tnat Place, nere ms sou wa „ , , of Peterhouse. Mr Paiey was at this time held in the
highest esteem ; and amongst his particular friends were
numbered Dr Plumptre, professor of casuistry; Di War-
diate inspection, and discovered a solidity of understand¬
ing, and a studiousness of disposition, which gave a tan
earnest of his future eminence.
In November 1758, at the age of fifteen, he was admit¬
ted a sizar of Christ’s College, Cambridge, and in October
1759 he became a resident member. When he left home
his father could not refrain from expressing to his friends
the anticipations he entertained of the figure which Ins
son was destined to make : “ He’ll turn out a great man ;
very great. He has by far the clearest head 1 ever met
W'shortly after his removal to Cambridge he obtained
three scholarships. He was not at this, time a close m
laborious student; be spent much time in company, and
improved himself rather by observation and reflection than
ing, Lucanian professor of mathematics, who was in his
department eminent beyond bis contemporaries; and the
accomplished Mr Jebb. He figured as a lectuier on ma¬
thematics, morals, and the Greek lestament, and after¬
wards on divinity. His method of lecturing was singularly
happy, the result of a diligent study of the ait of teach¬
ing. He soon discovered that, in moral disquisitions, more
pains are required to make young minds perceive, the dif¬
ficulty than to make them understand the solution, and
that some curiosity must be raised before an attempt is
made to satisfy it. The discourses which he delivered at
this time contained the germ of the principal works which
L . .  ‘    ,-ii-oec Tii-p«r>niintr a Hie controversy on the piopnety of requni
make his first act, the spruceness of his dress, presenting a
striking contrast to the habitual carelessness of his appear¬
ance, attracted very particular notice, and, aided by a sin¬
gularity in his gestures and manner, occasioned much
mirth amongst the spectators; but the uncommon success
with which he acquitted himself had the effect of drawing
crowds on all future occasions when he was expected to
dispute. His eminent abilities created upon one occasion
some degree of apprehension, when he proposed to argue
against the eternity of future punishments. One of the
heads of the college insisted on his relinquishing that ques¬
tion. Dr Watson, then moderator, and afterwards the
celebrated Bishop of Llandaff, protected on this occasion
Paley’s independence. The latter, however, was averse
to give offence; and at the suggestion of Dr Watson he
retained the subject, hut took the opposite side. He came
off with much eclat, his talents having received the best
scope for display from the high ability of his opponent, Mr
Frere.
After obtaining with great honour his bachelor s degree
in January 1763, he accepted of the situation of second
assistant and Latin teacher in an academy at Greenwich,
chiefly resorted to by young men intended for the army
and navy.
In 1765 Mr Paley gained the first senior bachelors
prize by a Latin dissertation on “ a Comparison between
the Stoic and Epicurean Philosophy in their influence on
Morals;” taking the side of the Epicureans, as a sect
friendly to rational pleasures, and not, as their enemies
S“ a relSL8 dreu^ance! HewVrfcLiale, andreok a sraall farm to unpreve k.
as illustrative of the formality which often presides in
university matters, that this dissertation narrowly escaped
rejection, because the Latin text was accompanied by
English notes, for the purpose of aiding philosophical ac
curacy where the Latin appeared liable to ambiguity
The controversy on the propriety of requiring a sub¬
scription to articles of faith, as practised by the Church of
England, was at this time much agitated at the two uni¬
versities. At Oxford the High Church party was triumph¬
ant, and scarcely any individual ventured a whisper of op¬
position ; but at Cambridge, talents and ingenuity were ex¬
ercised upon both sides of the question. Paley favoured
the claims of the reforming party ; but, from motives of
prudence, declined signing a petition tor relief at that time
drawn up, not entertaining such expectations of ultimate
success as to be induced to take a public step so obnoxi¬
ous to those on whom his future prospects depended. He
told one of his friends in jest, that “ he could not afford to
keep a consciencea confession which will, no doubt, lay
him open to the animadversions of those who reserve their
censures for the subdued struggles of a mind of limited
moral strength, whilst they excuse or applaud the oppres¬
sive system by which its efforts are overawed. Paley,
however, soon after wielded his pen in a decided tone in
the cause of freedom. Dr Law, the bishop of Carlisle,
published an able and moderate pamphlet against the im¬
position of the church test. An answer appeared at Ox¬
ford from the pen of Dr Randolph. lo this Paley publishei,
anonymously, a reply, entitled A Defence of the Considei-
ations on the Propriety of the Church Test.
His well-merited reputation induced that great consti¬
tutional lawyer, the Earl of Camden, to offer him the situ¬
ation of tutor to his son ; but his other engagements led mm
to decline the offer.
In 1775, he was inducted to the rectory of Musgrove in
eel to mm ny tne disuop m ^ — 
Hewit of Carlisle, and took a small farm to improve lus
income; a speculation which he soon after gave up. as i
productive. Next year, he was inducted to the vicarage
of Dalston in Cumberland. ,
In 1777, he was inducted to the vicarage of Apple >,
worth about L.200 a year; and
Being ordained deacon at the^ ^Sated puMUhed « -^SlreS^X
as curate to Dr Hinchcliffe, vicar of Greenwich, where he of his own flock,
continued to reside, though he gave up his situation m the an ob|igation on h(s brethren, which has been
aCMr”paley was elected a fellow upon the foundation of acknowledged by the mwnerous and large edihons ^
Christ's College in June 17«6 i returned to reside in the it has undergone. In June 1 <80,
PAL
uey. bendary of the fourth stall, in the Cathedral of Carlisle,
worth about L.400 a year; and in August 1782, on the
promotion of his friend Mr Law to the see of Clonfert, he
was raised to the dignity of archdeacon of the diocese.
A report was long in circulation, that Mr Paley, being
appointed to preach before the University of Cambridge
when Mr Pitt made his first appearance at St Mary’s after
his elevation to the premiership, chose the following pas¬
sage for his text: “ There is a lad here who hath five
barley loaves and two fishes; but what are they among so
manyf That was not the fact; but the joke originated
w.th Paley, who said to a friend that, had he been asked
to pieach on the occasion, he would have chosen this text.
Now in possession of a competent income, and sufficient
leisure, he prepared for the press his great work On the
Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy, which first
appeared in 1785. In consequence of the well-known
merit of Jus lectures on the subject of that work, high ex¬
pectations were formed of it; and his admirers were not
disappomted. Its most obvious feature was that of bein°-
a 1 directed to the practice of life in cases which hourly
daun the attention of well-meaning minds. Most other
scientific works on morals were mere speculative treatises,
which pleased the reader by unfolding the principles of
right and wrong ln cases in which he has been previously
satished about the practical rule and its application ; whilst
they embarrassed conscientious inquirers with hair-breadth
distinctions, instead of conveying satisfactory principles.
Di Paley s work happily unites a due regard for practical
duty with rational information on those points on which
the mind is most anxious to obtain satisfaction. It soon
established the reputation of its author. Some of his doc¬
trines met with opposition, but he never was provoked to
write any reply ; and it is further remarked by his biogra-
p er, Mr Meadley, that, in the subsequent editions, he
made no alterations materially affecting the sense. Had
there been a few such alterations, however, he would have
more fully merited the character of a liberal inquirer.
Amongst his elucidations of the foundations of virtue, he
certainly fails in his definition of “ the nature of obliga-
tion He acknowledges that the subject had embarrassed
h.s own mind; yet he ultimately reposes in a solution
founded on a confusion of terms, which laid him fully open
luhheha7 A r1'810"8 °f the ReVerend Mr Pearso£ who
published An Examination of his Theory. Dr Palev’s dor-
tnne is, that “ a man is under moral obligation when he
of another” resultinS the command
another He thus resolves obligation into an effectual
inducement. According to this statement, a man is under
Sponh h 'ftIOn, Unl,eSS he} feels’ acknowledges, and acts
pon it. Had such a hypothesis occurred in the writings
ontherU h0t-Wh°cmadei the pUl’ity °f Practice to depend
grea lavhv'nf n Pe?ul.,ar,tlieoi:ies>il might have created
great laxity of principle in the minds of some persons and
SeTuleo?086 f 0tl7?- his masteri/dSto
Ot the rule of morals, and the paternal benignity with which
‘.IT,?? accompanied, sft ll Je’derat
est from all hurtful anxiety on practical topics.
litv isahivm1011 0?ieJUlea0f m°raIs’ as founded in “ti-
thfs rn!?/ aged: He demonstrates the superiority of
Ihose menta,eVery °ther’ and the ^ordinate Lk o/all
ralistshavp r ggeStTS and lmPressi°ns which some mo-
of morahlv rePTesented a®,ess.enda^ Parts of the foundation
the Anthr?' r dny such feehngs are valuable provisions of
the Author of our Nature, but they do not deserve the au-
derived eitho/f' f]™ wh.ole. claim to our obedience is
command nf M t leir COIncidence with some express
Thediff- , . le or their conduciveness to utility
   ^Cultlesattending inquiries into this condnni^no^^
PAL
particular ina;latten?ng incluiries into this conduciveness in
aMhoseaTtaH? CdSfd° n0t gt:nerate un^^ainties so great
vol. xvj*1 d t0 the other 6opposed natural tests of
rnoral truth. A man may be mistaken respecting the use¬
ful or hurtful tendency of a particular line of conduct; but
ie is equally liable to be led astray by feelings venerated
as moial suggestions; and, under that influence, he is de¬
prived of an equal possibility of correcting himself by sub¬
sequent reflection. When authors declaim on the danger
attached to the doctrine of utility, they borrow their argu¬
ments from that doctrine itself. They merely set up uti¬
lity in its extensive application against such utilities as are
partial and delusive. Dr Paley, therefore, dwells strongly
on the necessity and importance of general rules; and, by
taking them for his guides, obviates all the serious objec¬
tions brought against this leading theorem, “ that the me¬
thod of coming at the will of God concerning any action,
by the light of nature, is to inquire into the tendency of
that action to promote or diminish the general happiness.”
On our duties to ourselves his observations are short, at
which we cannot be surprised when we find that in his de¬
finition of virtue these duties are excluded. In the excel¬
lent casuistical Observations on Self-Defence, Drunken¬
ness, and Suicide, of which this portion of his work entirely
consists, he regards the tendency of personal conduct and
habits only as they affect society around us. But if he had
paid more respect to the maxims of the stoical authors, and
studied them in their most favourable meaning, he would
have been more disposed to point out the importance of
maintaining mental composure as an ultimate object of in¬
dividual efforts. On our duties towards God he also treats
briefly. The simplicity attached to our knowledge of their
gieat object divests them of variety as a separate subject,
without detracting from their sublimity.
In the political part of this work, we find the exertions
of a manly understanding employed with some success in
exposing the dark bigotry and the gratuitous king-worship
by which political knowledge had in past ages been dis¬
graced. His efforts, however, are exempt from those head¬
strong tendencies which minds liberated from unfair con¬
trol sometimes betray, and thus run into schemes incapable
of being applied without compromising the happiness of
society. I hat happiness he keeps steadily in view, as the
only legitimate object of all government, as well as the
only legitimate object of opposition to existing practices
and institutions, borne of his admirers consider him as
going too far in vindicating the exaction of a subscription
to the Ihirty-nine Articles. His chapter on subscription
has been assailed with equal asperity by the strenuous ad¬
herents ot the established church, and by the scrupulous
advocates of Protestant freedom. His biographer, Mr
Meadley, calls it “ the last effort of an ingenious mind to
soften, by interpretation, the rigour of a practice of which
he could not seriously approve, and so to enlarge the pale
of conformity to liberal and conscientious men.”
The answer which he gives to the arguments for passive
obedience as founded in Scripture, is particularly worthy
of attention. Throughout the whole he displays a candour
of the most conciliating kind. None of his strictures on
existing systems had the slightest tendency to give offence
to any, except to persons actuated by downright prejudice,
or the most corrupt motives.
On the death of Dr Law, bishop of Carlisle, which hap¬
pened^ in 1/87, Mr Paley published a short Memoir of the
life of that venerable prelate. Soon afterwards lie wrote
two tracts in favour of “ the abolition of the slave-trade;”
a subject on which he had expressed his sentiments with
decision in his Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy,
before it began to excite general interest.
In 1790 he published his Horce Paulince, or the Truth
of the Scripture History of St Paul evinced, by a compa¬
rison of the Epistles which bear his name, with the Acts
of the Apostles, and with one another. The object was to
show, by a copious selection of references and reciprocal
5 D
PAL
PAL
He had a second attack in the following spring, and a third^ Pal
about the end of 1802.
During the progress of this fatal disease, he was engag¬
ed in preparing for the press his last important work, On
Natural Theology. His literary labours were frequently
interrupted by severe paroxysms of pain, but on tiie first
respite he always resumed them with cheerfulness. Un¬
der these circumstances, he wrote his excellent remarks on
the alleviations of pain, in his chapter on the Goodness of
the Deity. This work had been undertaken at the sug-
allusions, the strong evidence of their genuineness derived
from their undesigned coincidence. This able treatise pos¬
sesses more novelty of interest, and greater originality ot
idea, than any of his other works.
During the violent political ferment which led to the
French Revolution, Dr Paley published a short tract, en¬
titled Reasons for Contentment, addressed to the Labouring
Classes ; and he republished, in a separate form, his chap¬
ter on the British Constitution, from his Principles of . to-
ral and Political Philosophy. He was “"^fulMentthof gestten of the'BUhop'of Durham, that he might, by theo-
lent partisans on both sides, as '«-"t *he f“ 'Xcy fogical exertions in his closet, make up for the unavoid,
neither; but his style of reasoning had the b . abie suspension of his public ecclesiastical labours. In
to guide and satisfy those minds which were not o c y ^ P writings does hig cand0ur appear to such in-
and unreasonably prepossessed. . -i nf COntestible advantage as in this. We never find himbrow-
In May 1791, Mrs Paley died, leaving n y beating the adversary, or attempting to push his conclusions
four sons and four daughters. a sino-le sten farther than his premises evidently warrant.
Early in 1794 he published h,s View of the Evtdences a smgle «ep tan ^ advancil/g ,he rae.
of Christianity. This work, wlth ^Sa^ ^ Rarned pro- taphysical position “ that every thing which exists must
effect, follows a happy medium between that lea P , cause,” so glaringly open to the query, “ why
lixity which deters the reader, or tires ou ^is Pa ’ should the world have a cause more than its Creator?”
and that abrupt brevity which is apt, with ;ome > existence cannot authorize the inference of owing
beget an unfortunate impression of some imperfection in ^ e ^ a h- her source. He rests his argument
the argument. He contends for the substantial truth of ^ndg. the character of the fabric of na-
the history connected with the Christian revelation , , ^ rathergof various objects in it which offer them-
not undervaluing, as some have injudiciously done, the in- ^ ^ ^ observation. Nor does he, with some, as¬
ternal evidences, he exhibits, in primitive simplicity, a ^ doctrine> that matter [s essentially inert, and
without the least oratorical exaggeration, the 1 , theref its nl0ti0„s must be induced by an extra¬
value of those doctrines m which all Chnat ans are agreed, ^ ^ ^ caU5e_ He more wlsely turn3 h,s at-
and gives an animated view of the morality ot tlie g t ti t tbg proofs of design which so many objects in
pel. The work, considered as addressed to doubting ^ntion^o tn^proc ^ selected and arranged
minds, was well fitted to interest the attention of all w o ^ appear in the most interesting and satisfactory point
are duly impressed with the importance of the question ^ PP where the phenomena are apparently incon-
at issue. , , sistent, ’We find no straining to reconcile them; no reluc-
Hitherto his preferment in the church had been sienae , ^ fuu view 0f unfavourable appearances ; no
considering his singular merit and the opulence of the ec- ^ . d h inferences from opposite facts,
clesiastica? establishment. But the boldness of his reason- ^ suspended on a chain of metaphysical
ings on political subjects had given deep dissatisfaction. Wis argument is no > V      n. nf
To the favourers of power it was not welcome doctrine,
that “governments maybe too secure that “the obli¬
gations of subjects and sovereigns are reciprocal; and
“ that the divine right of kings rests on the same founda¬
tion with the divine right of constables.’ But when he
stood forth as the successful defender of the Christian re¬
velation, at a time when the interests of the church were
supposed to be in danger, his services met with more mark- , extent>
ed attention. Dr Porteous, bishop of London, conferred ^ ^ present state of the learned world, this is perhaps
on him the desirable situation of prebend of St Pancras n ^ j rtant of Dr paley’s works; as possessing the
the Cathedral of St Pauls, to which he was instituted in ^ tendency to reclaim persons wandering in the mazes
August 1794, He was in a few months afterwaids p - scepticiSIJ to that state of thought which is most fa-
moted to the subdeanery of Lincoln by Dr Pretty man, vourabPle to the true improvement of the human character;
bishop of that diocese, and took his degree of D. D. at ^ ^ the establishment of that state ot mental peace
Cambridge. . . oftPr which a sense of our weakness naturally leads us to
Before^leaving this place, he had the agreeable surprise after ivhich
of a letter from Dr Barrington, bishop of Durham, offering P its publication, Dr Paley continued to take a
him the valuable rectory of Bishop-Wearmouth, worth about ^ interest in the literary and scientific discussions of
L.1200 a year, into which he was soon inducted. ) especially such as bore directly on the great in-
months afterwards he married Miss Dobinson of Carlisle, ^ .ybut in May 1805, he was subjected to
and, from this period to his death, divided his time betwee -lent attack of his complaint, in which all remedies
Bishop-Wearmouth and Lincoln, being obliged t0 reside ^ ineffectual; and, with great tranquillity, he breath-
three months in the year at the latter place. Now that he p ^ ^ at Bishop_Wearmouth, leaving a family of four
enjoyed a handsome independence, we find his company ^ four daughters in possession of a competent lor-
xrf„ aUrof Ihrsfutfunaw:’ :lt all hU tune, saved by a systematic though by no means a mggar ■
secular transactions were so well conducted, as to shed a y several sermons and other minor productions,
lustre on his character, and to ex lub.t a most mstruct.ve fe wrotesevera^^ ^ enumerated. T1 are al
example to all around him. Both his parents Itred towit- 1 d ; unif0„n edition of his works, and will b
ness his high reputation and success in life. His mother collec'ed worthy of his fame, and su «ss_
diInT8M9DrMey«s attacked b^ a disease in the kid- fully directed to the same valuable ends with 1m ^ p}
neys, accompanied with a species of metena, which obliged e jJ™ “is one of the better sort of horses used by
him to suspend the discharge of his professional duties. BALtht.
riis argument is nuu       i ^
reasoning, which would have subjected it to the ’’fsk °
destruction as soon as one of the links gave way. He di¬
rects the attention of his reader to numerous columnar
supports of the existence of a God, each of which is ade¬
quate to the whole office. Each instance produced is de¬
cisive of the point at issue ; and though his instances are
numerous as well as beautiful, they are evidently only par¬
tial exemplifications of a species of evidence which is
PAL
gunge noblemen or others for state, and sometimes of old taken
II for a horse fit for a woman to ride.
[imp- PALGUNGE, a town of Hindustan, in the province
of Bahar, and district of Monghir, 122 miles south-east
from Patna. Long. 86. 15. E. Lat. 24. 5. N.
PALHAUNPOOR, a town of Hindustan, in the pro¬
vince of Gujerat, and district of Dandur. Long. 72. 35.
E. Lat. 24. 44. N.
PALICAUDCHERRY, a town of Hindustan, in the
province of Malabar. In the year 1766, Hyder Ali gave
orders for building here a strong stone fort," which might
serve as a point of communication between his new con¬
quests and his fixed resources in the district of Coimbetoor.
It is situated in the middle of the teak forests, on the bank
of the Paniany River, by which, during the rainy season,
any quantity of wood may be floated down to the seaport
of Paniany, and from thence conveyed to Bombay or Cey¬
lon. Around the fort are scattered many villages, estates,
and bazaars ; but there is little appearance of a town. The
surrounding district contains 123,074 inhabitants. It was
ceded to the British by Tippoo in 1792. The fort is 110
miles south from Seringapatam. Long. 76. 50. E. Lat. 10.
50. N.
PALIMPSEST, in Greek <ira'ki/Airierog (a word formed
from tfuhiv, again, and ^au, to wipe, cleanse, or rub), is a
term applied to a manuscript, from its having been twice
cleaned, or twice written, that is, rescribed.
The value of ancient manuscripts has long been rightly
estimated, and hence in every part of Europe they have
been collected at great expense, and preserved with the
utmost care. For some time after the invention of print¬
ing, it was indeed thought that when the contents of a ma¬
nuscript had been copied, and multiplied by means of that
invaluable art, the original was rendered useless. But as
different manuscripts of the same work often vary in par¬
ticular readings, it was soon found necessary to examine
and collate a number of them, in order to ascertain the
preferable readings; and without this previous care, con¬
joined with critical discrimination, a new edition of an an¬
cient work would not now be well received by the learned.
Such, then, is the most direct and obvious use of ancient
manuscripts; which, when duly collated, furnish the means
of restoring texts that had been corrupted or mutilated in
the course of frequent transcription.
But, on a more minute examination of a certain class of
manuscripts, it appeared that some of them might have a
value hitherto unsuspected, by supplying more ancient co¬
pies than were previously known, and even furnishing por¬
tions of important works which were supposed to be entire¬
ly lost. These were manuscripts in which an attempt had
been made to obliterate some more ancient writing, that the
parchment might be again used to receive another work.
I his practice was not uncommon in the darker ages, both
before and after the thirteenth century, when the mate¬
rial was scarce and dear, and the older works were either
not understood or not duly appreciated. But, happily, the
endeavour to rub out or obliterate the original writing had
PAL
768
sometimes so far failed, that an attentive eye could, with
more or less difficulty, discover traces of the older letters,
and even decipher words ; and certain manuscripts of re¬
spectable antiquity were thus found to conceal others se¬
veral centuries older, and frequently of much superior in¬
terest and value. Manuscripts of this kind, therefore, re¬
ceived from the learned the name of Palimpsest or Re-
scribed, and became objects of curious and interesting in¬
vestigation.1 °
This term was not unknown to the ancients ; but they
applied it chiefly to leaves or books which were so prepared
that one writing could easily be expunged to make room
tor another, and which were used by authors for correct¬
ing theii works, or submitting them to revision. In this
sense, palimpsests are mentioned by Cicero, Plutarch, and
Catullus; and the poet, in particular, ridicules a bad au¬
thor for not writing his works at first on palimpsests, but
entering them at once, crude and uncorrected, in fine and
costly books. But the palimpsests now to be considered
are of much superior importance. They have opened to
us some great discoveries, and given promise of many
moie. Some invaluable fragments of ancient works, be¬
lieved to be entirely lost, have already been recovered ; and
the hopes which may fairly be entertained of future ac¬
quisitions from the same source, will best be estimated by
a short account of what has actually been effected in ex¬
ploring it.
I he first rescribed manuscript of which any important
use^was made appears to have been the Codex Ephrem
or Codex Regius of Paris.2 The more modern writing in
this manuscript contains certain works of Ephrem the Sy¬
rian, in Greek; the more ancient seems to have contained
the whole of the Old and New Testament, in a character and
style of Greek writing which the best critics have assigned
to the sixth or seventh century. Of this manuscript there
are 209 leaves remaining, but so miserably confused and
misplaced, and with so many chasms of various kinds, that
sometimes scarcely a word can be deciphered in a whole
leaf. But the difficulties occasioned by these defects and
mutilations have not deterred critics from endeavouring
to make the most of the Codex Ephrem. From it Kuster
first obtained several readings; and Wetstein afterwards
collated, with great diligence, all that it contains of the
text of the New lestament. Griesbach considers this as
the most ancient manuscript collated by Wetstein ; and
there can be no doubt that the readings thus obtained con¬
fer a particular value on his edition. How much of the Old
lestament may remain in this codex has not yet been as¬
certained, nor has that part of it been collated, even for
the Oxford Septuagint; a circumstance at which Gries¬
bach expressed his surprise when he published the first
part of his Si/mbola Critical This valuable palimpsest was
originally pointed out for critical examination by the learn¬
ed Montfaucon.4
The next discovery amongst manuscripts of this descrip-
tion was one of a very interesting kind. Ulphilas, bishop
of Gothland in the fourth century, is known to have trans-
some antkiui'tv'f flfiTtf1118 'V'"1,' l’u|!ll“'st°ne> or some similar substance, all traces of tluforiginal writing especialfv if it be°'’f
evPr if 1 ^ ’ d f the surface be afterwards smoothed and polished, no one, by merely looking at it would c tirV^u f
the method of wHt/ndeciph|ennf them Wlli °f couruse be less troublesome, and the results obtained more certain. It appears also that
been enS 7 ,n anC'ent “mM haS been f0lmd &vourable t0 the restoration of works which had, to'aU appeStlrce!
3 Jp? Codex Ephrem, formerly numbered 1905, is now 9 in the BibliolMque du Hoi.
%8%. qcZJ rrs ““*•*esK- ™ ^^ ^ ^ «am
falaographia Grceca, pp. 213, 214.
Palimp¬
sests.
764
Palimp¬
sests.
PALIMPSESTS.
lated the whole Scriptures into the language of that coun¬
try, for which he also invented a new character, consist¬
ing of letters borrowed chiefly from the Greek. This
work, however, had long been lost, with the exception
only of the part containing the four gospels, which is pre¬
served in the University Library at Upsal, in a manuscript
called Codex Argenteus, from being written chiefly in let¬
ters of silver. But in the year 1755, F. A. Knittel, having
been appointed archdeacon of Wolfenbuttel, began to ex¬
plore the treasures contained in the Augustan Library in
that city ; and, in the course of his researches, a palimpsest
manuscript of the Origines of Isidorus was pointed out to
him, as containing, under that writing, the translation of the
Epistle to the Romans by Ulphilas. On examination, it
proved that the manuscript in question did not contain
the whole epistle, but only a portion of the latter part, viz.
the eleventh and following chapters, as far as the thir¬
teenth verse of the fifteenth, accompanied by a Latin ver¬
sion written in parallel columns. Knittel immediately set
himself to work on this curious fragment; and although,
from the state of the leaves to be deciphered, the difficul¬
ty of the task was great, yet his zeal carried him through,
and towards the end of the year 1758 he announced the
intended publication by subscription. Various obstacles,
however, retarded its appearance till the year 1762, when
the laborious decipherer was enabled to publish the w hole
in quarto, with twelve large plates, a circumstantial ac¬
count of the manuscript, and copious illustrations of its
contents.1 The diligence of Knittel omitted nothing that
could render useful the recovered fragments, of w'hich
there were several, dhat of Ulphilas, in particulai, he care¬
fully compared with the Codex Argenteus, at Upsal, and as¬
certained that the latter did not form part of the same, but
only of a similar manuscript. From the different fragments
he extracted all the various readings; and, in his ample
commentary, he indulged every reasonable desire of lite¬
rary curiosity. He also subjoined an account of other pa¬
limpsest manuscripts in the same library, by which it ap¬
pears that printed books were, in the early times of the
art, sometimes worked off on vellum from w’hich ancient
writings had been erased; and he instanced particularly
an edition of the Clementine Constitutions, printed by Nico¬
las Janson, in 1476, upon parchment which had undergone
this process of obliteration to prepare it for the purpose.
In the work of deciphering palimpsest manuscripts Knit¬
tel was followed by Paul James Bruns, the coadjutor of Dr
Kennicott, in his great work of Hebrew collation. In 1773,
this person discovered, at Rome, a fragment of the ninety-
first book of Livy, in a rescribed manuscript of the Vatican
collection ; and, in the same year, it was published by the
discoverer himself at Hamburg,2 and by Signor Giovenazzi
at Rome. The fragment in question, which has been
admitted as undoubtedly genuine into the later editions
of Livy, contains part of the war with Sertorius in Spain ;
and the only subject of regret is, that this part is so small.
Bruns first visited the Vatican on a mission from Dr Ken¬
nicott in reference to Hebrew collation; but having been
thus fortunate in the investigation of a palimpsest, he re¬
newed the inquiry in this country, and endeavoured to as¬
certain the number of such manuscripts in the Bodleian
Library at Oxford. An account of his researches will be
found in the Literary Annals of Helmstadt, which appear
to have been conducted by Bruns during the years 1782,v
1783, and 1784.
But, notwithstanding these encouraging successes, no
other publication of the same nature appeared until the year
1801, when Dr Barrett of Trinity College, Dublin, produced
an elegant and accurate volume containing a great partof the
gospel of St Matthew', copied from a rescribed manuscript
in the library of that college ; and this palimpsest appeared
to have been re-written in the twelfth or thirteenth cen¬
tury, upon portions of much more ancient books. The
most important of these, however, was the portion which
contained the copy of St Matthew’s gospel, whereof this
fragment remained, written in uncial letters ; and, judging
by the usual marks of antiquity, it appeared to belong at
least to the sixth century. A part of Isaiah in Greek, and
some of the Orations of Gregory Nazianzen, were likewise
found in it, but were considered as of less moment. What
remains of St Matthew’s gospel Dr Barrett published, with
great accuracy, on sixty-four engraved plates, each repre¬
senting a page of the manuscript, and containing from
twenty-one to twenty-three lines, disposed in a single co¬
lumn. This valuable fragment commences with part of
the genealogy, at verse 17, chapter i. and extends, with
occasional chasms, to chapter xxvi. verse 71 ; and it is
also represented in an equal number of pages, printed in
the ordinary Greek character. Copious Prolegomena are
prefixed, giving an exact account of the state and charac¬
ters of the manuscript; and subjoined is a careful collation
of the Codex Montfortianus, in the same library, with Wet-
stein’s edition.3 This publication, however, appeared too
late to be used by Griesbach, whose second edition of the
New Testament was published in the year 1796.
It remained, however, for another distinguished labour¬
er in the new and interesting field of inquiry, which had
thus been indicated rather than explored, to surpass all
his predecessors and contemporaries, not only in discover¬
ing rescribed manuscripts, but also in extracting from
them works or parts of works, which were long consider¬
ed as irrecoverably lost. We allude, of course, to Signor
Angelo Maio, formerly keeper of the Ambrosian Library
at Milan, afterwards librarian of the Vatican, and now
(1838) cardinal secretary; whose researches in this de¬
partment have been so extensive and important, that he
may truly be called the hero of palimpsests, and the dis¬
coverer of a new world of letters. It was not till the year
1814 that Monsignor Maio made himself known by the
partial recovery of lost works. A year earlier, indeed, he
had employed himself in translating a large portion of the
oration of Isocrates, De Permutatione? which Mystoxides,
a learned Greek, had published from a manuscript in the
Ambrosian Library, more perfect than any of the codices
which had been followed by the editors of Isocrates. Ihe
quantity thus inserted in the oration increased it by at least
one half; and the same additional matter has since been
found in some of the Vatican manuscripts. In publishing
this translation, however, Maio modestly continued anony¬
mous. But his name was destined to be soon illustrated y
far more important labours.
Palic
sesti
' The manuscript of Isidorus, consisting of 330 leaves, contained portions of several oltl<rr, other work^but of these
of the sixth century, exhibited large fragments of the gospels in Greek, Several leaves had belonged to ^^’^Vorks of
some could not be deciphered, whilst the others contained nothing to recompense the labour, excepting a t ag The frag-
Galen To these several remains, of different dates, he assigned distinctive names, classing themasseja „rt. nf the volume,
ments of the gospels he also printed entire. But the remains of the version of Ulphilas constitute he P™i:ifr The
anTare given*with the most minute exactness. This part, however, occupied only four leaves of the JjXTr
othe" e|ibTe remains extending to 208 leaves out of the 330, so that 118 altogether defied the labour and skill of the decipherer
4 Saxius, Onom. viii. 263. ... e i-v- Ttnrrptt and also to the Uni-
3 This work is altogether most creditable to the industry, learning, and accuracy of the editoi, Dr Barre ,
versity of Dublin, by which the expense of the impression was defrayed.
* IJi^i c«f airtbofiut’
PALIMPSESTS.
765
w
1. His researches amongst palimpsest manuscripts com¬
menced with certain hitherto unpublished fragments of
"''three orations of Cicero, namely, those for Scaurus, Tul¬
lius, and Flaccus. These orations had been written in a
quarto form, but had been partly erazed and folded into
an octavo size to give place to the sacred poetry of Sedu-
lius. The newer writing was judged to be as old as the
eighth century, and the original to be not later than the se¬
cond or third. The manuscript had belonged to a very an¬
cient monastery at Bobium, or Bobbio, in the Milanese,
founded by St Columban, who had also formed its library ;
and in the collection obtained from the same venerable in¬
stitution, the greatest part of the rescribed manuscripts has
been discovered. “ In examining carefully some manuscripts
in the Ambrosian Library at Milan,” says Maio, in his pre¬
face, “ I observed that one of great antiquity was a palimp¬
sest. This manuscript had belonged to the convent of Bob¬
bio, a monastery in Liguria, situated in the midst of the
Apennines, which was founded by St Columban in the
year 612, and the monks of which obtained considerable
reputation for learning as well as sanctity. Gerbert, a
Frenchman by birth, who became pope under the name of
Silvester II., and attained so much celebrity for learning
that he is one of those who are reported to have sold
their souls to the devil, was head of this monastery in the
tenth century, and added greatly to the reputation of the
place, as well as to the contents of the library. The car¬
dinal Frederic Boromeo, who founded the Ambrosian Li¬
brary at the beginning of the seventeenth century, pur¬
chased the principal part of the collection at Bobbio, and
brought it to Milan. Whilst I was examining these ma¬
nuscripts,” he adds, “ I remarked that one, which con¬
tained some of the writings of Sedulius, a Christian poet,
was a palimpsest; and on looking very closely and atten¬
tively, I discovered traces of the former writing under the
latter.” He then read the titles, pro Scauro, pro Tullio,
and pro Flacco, and was able, with some trouble, to deci¬
pher the whole of the fragments of these three lost ora¬
tions, written in large and very beautiful characters, each
page being divided into three columns.1 The oration for
Scaurus was accompanied by scholia, elegantly written in
small letters of a square form; and there were others in
characters of a ruder form, but still ancient. These three
fragments, together with the scholia (which Maio considers
the production of Asconius Pedianus), wrere published at
Milan, 1814, in one volume 8vo.
2. In the course of the same year, Monsignor Maio pro¬
duced a second volume, containing various fragments of
three other orations of Cicero, with some ancient annota¬
tions and commentaries never before published. The
portions thus recovered belonged to the orations against
Clodius and Curio, to that De /Ere alieno Mtlonis, and to,
the oration De Rege Ptolemoeo? These treasures had lain
concealed under a Latin translation of the Acts of the
Council of Chalcedon, and were adjudged by the discover¬
er to belong to the fourth century. The palimpsest from
which they were discovered had formed part of the collec¬
tion obtained from Bobbio. The older writing was in very
large and handsome characters, but less beautiful than
that which contained the fragments of the three orations
mentioned in the preceding paragraph ; and there were
only two columns in each page, a circumstance which
seems to indicate that the writing is somewhat less an¬
cient. I he contents of these two volumes the learned
editor afterwards united into one, which he published in
1817, with corrections of the fragments that had first ap¬
peared, and some additional notes and illustrations.3 The
great antiquity of the practice of rescription is sufficiently
attested by these various fragments of Cicero’s orations ;
indeed it is supposed that the speech for Scaurus was ob¬
literated in the eighth century. But Latin manuscripts
appear to have been more frequently subjected to this treat¬
ment than Greek manuscripts. The former are found to
have undergone rescription at a date as remote as the se¬
venth century ; but of the latter not one has been met with
in which the second writing seemed older than the eleventh
century. With regard to the manuscripts from which the
fragments above mentioned were recovered, Maio assures
us that, in both, the ancient writing was as much superior
to the modern, as the matter it contained was more preci¬
ous ; that, in fact, the form and the substance were both
more excellent.4
3. The year 1815 proved very rich in discovery, and gave
birth to no less than three volumes of unpublished works.
One of these is peculiarly valuable and curious, as con¬
taining large portions of several orations of Symmachus,
in whom, as Maio expresses it, breathed the last inspira¬
tion of Roman eloquence. The epistles of this famous ora¬
tor were the only productions of his pen previously extant;
but in these recovered fragments we have a copious spe¬
cimen of his eloquence in two panegyrics on Valentinian,
one on Gratian, a gratulation addressed to the father of
the orator on his being appointed consul, and parts of se¬
veral other works of the same kind, making eight in all.
Maio likewise deciphered a portion of a panegyric of the
younger Pliny, which was contained in the same palimp¬
sest, but ol which only the various readings are here
given. The original manuscript is supposed to have be¬
longed to the seventh or eighth century. These interest¬
ing fragments were reprinted at Frankfort in 1816, in one
volume 8vo.
4. The same year another very ancient palimpsest was
found in the Ambrosian Library, containing all the come¬
dies of Plautus which have reached us, except four; and
a fragment of the Vidularia, a lost comedy, of which all
that previously remained consisted of about twenty lines,
presei ved by 1 riscian and Nonius. The ancient writin<r
in this manuscript is exceedingly beautiful, and is suppos¬
ed to be of the time of the Antonines ; the more modern,
consisting of part of the Old Testament in Latin, is con¬
jectured to be of the seventh century. Maio deciphered
a number of various readings, together with about sixty
inedited lines belonging to the different comedies; and re¬
stored the following spirited lines of the Stichus (act i. sc. 5),
which had previously existed in an imperfect state:
Famem fuisse suspicor matrem mihi,
Nam postquam natus sum, satur nunquam fui;
Neque quisquam melius referet matri gratiam,
Quam ego matri mese retuli invitissimus.
4 his, therefore, is an important discovery, not so much on
account of what has actually been recovered, as by reason
of the expectations which it is calculated to encourage.
1^rned libraria1n on makin£ thia discovery knew no bounds. “ O Deus immortalis, repente clamorem sustuli
tionps ^ V1'. e0 •, ■Ln Ciceronem, en lumen Romanae facundiae, indigmssimis tenebris circumseptum ! Agnosco deperditas Tullii ora’
“ For the Tl? f kt I8 <1Uadam l1 flTre’ abundantem s°nantibus verbis ubenbusque sententiis.” (Prof.)
that n/S./, ’ Seeihe fra-ments f Clcero> numbered “ Orat. 15, 16,” in Ernesti’s edition. But of the second, namely
alien0 Mtlonis, no fragment existed anterior to the discovery of Maio. ’
videturAsconhis PedTann^aT^l-1^1111 Ci,CeT-iS SeX oration,ura ant« nostram mtatem ineditm, cum antiquo interprete, qui
< m* sconius “edianus, ad lulhanos septemtnones. Accedunt scholia minora vetera.” Milan 1817 8vo 1
Bumenia in,r„r!„m°dr " '"“‘I'i,' lear,\eJ edit“r ob8erves.Seli « Mud fatendun, est pleiosque palimpsestos Christiana ar-
tanaa m’ro mXmus occupsS°” eXCeInSSe’ ,UOn‘,n matemm- W™ gratia exoscul.nmr, nan, tamen vacuas mem-
Palimp¬
sests.
766
PALIMPSESTS.
Palimp.
sests.
For if Monsignor Maio found a Latin Bible containing al¬
most an entire copy of Plautus, it cannot be affirmed that
any classical author is irrecoverably lost until every Bible
in manuscript, and every other writing upon ancient parch¬
ment, has been diligently examined. There is no moment
at which some important discovery may not be made, pro¬
vided the labour of scrutinizing parchments be persevered
in. That there are many palimpsests in the public libra¬
ries of Great Britain, particularly in the Bodleian at Ox¬
ford, which is singularly rich in manuscripts, can scarcely
admit of a doubt. The number of manuscripts in Spain,
and her vast mass of archives, have long been equally fa¬
mous ; nor is it impossible that several lost works, or por¬
tions of works, by Latin authors, may yet be found in that
country. Although the search for manuscripts that are di¬
rectly and obviously valuable may have proved fruitless,
yet a very different result may follow when parchments
are examined with a view to ascertain whether a lower
stratum of writing exists beneath the sterile surface, and
whether some of the most precious remains of ancient ge¬
nius and eloquence may not be covered or concealed by
the rubbish of chroniclers and ecclesiastical writers. Great
as was the destruction which took place at the lieforma-
tion,1 enough still remains to warrant the conviction, that
were there more Maios to examine and decipher palimp¬
sest manuscripts, there would be numerous additional and
most important discoveries. Who knows but that, in the
most paltry and unpromising volume, may be found the
works of the most eloquent of historians; that
Pellibus exiguis arctatur Livius ingens ?
5. The next discovery effected by Maio, from a manu¬
script of the same class, was that of the remains of the
orator Fronto, who had flourished in the reign of Hadrian.
This writer, though by birth an African, was in his day
esteemed almost a second Cicero ; yet of his writings little
more remained than a few scattered sentences, preserved
in the works of other authors. Maio, however, by his
acuteness and perseverance, was enabled to recover a very
considerable portion of Fronto’s works, which he published
at Milan in 1815, in two vols. 8vo, under the title of M.
Cornellii Frontonis Opera inedita, cum Epistolis item ine-
ditis Antonii Pii, M. Aurelii, L. Veri et Appiani, necnon
aliorum veterum fragmentise The contents of the first vo¬
lume consist of one book of epistles addressed to Antoni¬
nus Pius, two books to Marcus Aurelius, and two to Lu¬
cius Verus ; two books of letters to friends; several let¬
ters addressed to Marcus Aurelius, on the subject of the
Ferice at Alsium, a town in Etruria; and one to Lucius
Verus, in which the orator laments the death of his grand¬
son, one of the children of his son-in-law Victorinus. The
second volume exhibits a considerable portion of two
books, De Orationibus, addressed by Fronto to Marcus
Aurelius ; parts of various orations and epistles ; and also
a portion of an address to Antoninus, entitled De Bello
Parthico, consoling him for the reverses experienced in Palim
the Parthian war. Then follow some important fragments sests
under the title of Principia Historm ; a few playful pro-'""'''-'
lusions on lighter subjects ; and a book of epistles written
in Greek. The work is concluded with a collection of all
the fragments of Fronto’s works which have elsewhere
been preserved, and with copious illustrations of those
which were then for the first time published. In the pa¬
limpsest from which these curious remains were decipher¬
ed, the more recent writing formed part of the Council of
Chalcedon; but the manuscript was unhappily much da¬
maged, and altogether in a very imperfect state. Fron¬
to was a voluminous writer, and composed works upon
various subjects, amongst which was an Invective against
the Christians. He had a great reputation as an orator,
and was accounted the Cicero of his time ; although his
style, which is said to have united the siccum and the
grave, does not very well accord with such a distinction.
The writings of so remarkable a person, however, would,
in any circumstances, be an object of interest; but they
become doubly curious from having been thus marvel¬
lously brought to light.
6. In the mean time, Maio was preparing another pub¬
lication of similar origin, which, in 1816, he gave to the
world, under the following title, viz. Interpretes Veteres
Virgilii Maronis; Asper, Cornutus, Haterianus, Longus,
Nisus, Probus, Scaurus, Sulpicius, et anonymus; e Vero-
nensi palimpseslo. We have not met with any account of
the Verona palimpsest here mentioned ; but the work con¬
sists of previously inedited fragments of all the commen¬
tators enumerated in the title. A palimpsest manuscript,
however, which soon afterwards engaged the attention of
Monsignor Maio, enabled him to make most important ad¬
ditions to the discovery of Knittel already described; name¬
ly, that of the Gothic version of Ulphilas. This manu¬
script belonged to the Ambrosian collection, and from it
Maio published, in 1820, Ulphilce Interpretatio Gothica, in
Ambrosiano palimpsesto detecta, epistolarum tredecim Divi
Pauli, aliarumque partium aliquot Biblicarum, Esclrce ni-
mirum, Nehemice, Divi Matthice, cum anonymi Homilia,seu
Tractatu, et cum parte Gothici calendarii. Not having
seen this work, however, we are unable to give any parti¬
cular account of it, or to specify the various important ad¬
ditions which it is understood to have made to the disco¬
very of Knittel.
7. Maio now entered upon a more enlarged and import-
antscene of action. His distinguished merit in this newfield
of discovery having obtained for him the notice of PiusVIL
he was, by that pontiff, appointed keeper of the Vatican
Library, and speedily justified this preferment by a disco¬
very more interesting and valuable than any which he had
hitherto made. In a palimpsest volume, which had formed
part of the manuscript collection originally brought from
Bobbio,3 and which contained, in the exterior writing, part
of the commentary of St Augustin on the Psalms, he found
1 In the Protestant parts of Europe the most frightful havoc was committed at the Reformation. * f m llome . and in the
ancient services abounded in all the churches and monasteries. Most ot these had any writing whatever,
days when books of this kind were transcribed, it must have been considered as an act ot pie y 7 parch-
to make way for the sacred offices. From the very nature of these books, indeed, there be little doubt
ment entered into their formation ; and as they were carefully preserved, exempt from accident J - ’ -ti yet wherever
that in many, perhaps in most of them, there existed under the rescnption the remains of ™ore destruction of all
they could be found/they were consigned to the flames without mercy, in virtue of enactments which enjoined the destruct
popish books; and inestimable chances of discovery were thus for ever lost to the world.
2 This work, like a former one, was reprinted at Frankfort, in the year Uilb. . rt nri e-in all v belonged to the
s The history of the manuscript, which contained these precious remains may be yer7 shortly stat h [ a paiiinp.
famous monastery at BoUum, and was purchased by Paul V- more than two centunes ago to bring its con-
sest, and contained part of Cicero’s treatise De RepuUtca ; though, by some stonge negiect, also purchased. This library,
tents to lieht. From the same original library most of the other manuscripts at Milan and 1 L century; and most of
as well as the monastery, was founded by the famous Irish saint, Columbanus, in the beginning handwriting, Liber SancU
manuscript” from which remains of ancient authors have been recovered, are mscnbed, m a very old handwru g,
Columbani de Bobio.
rap- that the interior or more ancient writing had consisted of
'^s* the long-lost books of Cicero De Republican the most cele-
'^^brated of all his works, and of which nothing had been
known, in modern times, beyond the fragments preserved
in the writings of Macrobius, Lactantius, Augustin, Noni¬
us, and others. The manuscript was in excellent order ;
the characters were large and plain; and, in the leaves
which remained, there was scarcely a page that could not
be deciphered ; but many of the pages were wanting.
And there seemed reason to apprehend that the same de¬
ficiency would often occur in future discoveries, because
the work last inscribed might not have been co-extensive
with the original writing obliterated, and because, when the
volume had been taken to pieces for the purpose of re-
scription, the whole of the leaves that contained the origi¬
nal writing might not have been put together again, but
some of them applied to other purposes, and leaves taken
from other works, or of new parchment, inserted in their
place. But however this may be, in these invaluable pages
a very considerable part of the first and second books of the
celebrated treatise in question was found so perfect as to
be completely recovered by the labour and sagacity of
Monsignor Maio. The portions of the work thus rescued
from oblivion were published at Rome in 1821,1 with co¬
pious notes and illustrations, particularly an accurate ac¬
count of the various chasms occasioned by the loss of ori¬
ginal leaves, and accompanied with such a restoration of
the four remaining books as could be effected from the
less perfect portions of the manuscript, and the various
fragments preserved by Sigonius and other critics. A
finer specimen of editorial skill, learning, and sagacity, is
nowhere to be found.
The part of this important treatise which has thus been
unexpectedly brought to light, is amply sufficient to give
a clear insight into the plan and style of the dialogues, as
well as into the characters of the various interlocutors, un¬
der whose names the illustrious author chose to develope his
own opinions. These were, the second Scipio Africanus,
and his friend Laelius ; L. Furius Philus; M. Manilius,
whom Cicero elsewhere praises for his knowledge of the
law; Sp. Mummius, the brother of Mummius Achaicus •
Q. Amus Tubero; P. Rutilius Rufus ; Q. Mucius Scmvo’
la; and C. Fannius, son-in-law of Laelius. The introduc¬
tion to the first book is nearly complete; but that which
stamps the highest value on the work is the luminous phi-
osophy of the author on the subject of government and
policy, as expounded by Scipio, the principal interlocutor,
with unrivalled eloquence and felicity of expression. We
now understand the grounds upon which the ancients pre-
; erred this to all Cicero’s philosophical works; and, on the
whole, notwithstanding its still imperfect state, it is un¬
questionably one of the most interesting acquisitions that
Have been made, in the department of classical literature,
since the original publication of the ancient authors, soon
PALIMPSESTS.
after the revival of letters. May we not indulge the hone
t iat, ere long, some important additions will be made to
1 mc u uabe/ragmentwhichMaio has 80 laboriously and'
skilfully brought to light ?2
8. The zeal and the industry of Maio did not relax from
success. n the contrary, soon after the appearance of
the fragment of Cicero’s treatise De Republica, he gave to
the learned world another elaborate publication, contain¬
ing, 1. Juris Civihs Antejustinianei Reliquia inedita; 2.
Symmachi Orationum partes; 3. C. Julii Victoris Ars
Rhetonca; and, 4. L. Caecilu Minutiani Apulei Fragmenta
de Orthographia. These remains were also recovered
from a rescribed manuscript in the Vatican Library, and
were, as usual, accompanied by notes, appendices, and il¬
lustrative plates. In the preface to this work, the learned
editor expresses his unabated enthusiasm in exploring and
deciphering the palimpsest manuscripts of the Vatican col-
15c,t!?nj “ Pergo alacriter,” says he, “rescriptos Vaticana;
-Dibhothecae codices, pro meae stationis munere, ad publi¬
cum commodum explicare.” The praises due to his alac-
nty, as well as to his sagacity and perseverance, will not
certainly be denied, nor even grudgingly awarded, by those
who are capable of appreciating the full extent and import¬
ance of his long-continued labours in this interesting de¬
partment of literary investigation.3
The example of this extraordinary success could scarce-
ly fail to excite the curiosity and stimulate the diligence
of the learned; and, accordingly, another labourer of high
qualifications soon entered the same field of inquiry. The
ibrary of the Chapter of Verona had long been famous for
the number of the manuscripts contained in it; and it was
also known to be remarkably rich in those which related to
^UrliSi7Qo ,Ce’ In the Verona Rlustrata of Maffei, published
in 1732, the author had given an index to all the manu-
767
Palimp¬
sests.
scripts, and particularly mentioned several leaves of parch¬
ment, some of which treated of Prescriptions and Inter¬
dicts, whilst others contained fragments of the Pandects,
and part of the work of an ancient jurisconsult; “ quai
codici, se si fossero conservati, niente si ha in tal genere,
che lor si potesse paragonare.” The leaves in question
weie afterwards bound up in a small volume, composed of
fragments of different manuscripts ; and extracts from both
were published by Maffei, with a fac-simile of the characters,
in his Istona Teologica. But these curious relics attracted
little attention, or rather were altogether forgotten, until
the successful researches of Maio had awakened and ani¬
mated the curiosity of the learned. In the year 1816
however, Haubold revived the recollection of them by
printing at Leipzig a treatise entitled Notitia Fraqmenti
Veronensis de Interdictis ; which appears to have attract¬
ed considerable notice. In the same year, Niebuhr, pass¬
ing through Verona on his way to Rome, as Prussian en¬
voy to the court of the Vatican, visited the library of the
Chapter, and, during two days which he passed at Verona,
quod delere malueris^quam hwc nin ^ miror quid in ilia'chartula fuerit
An hoc signifkas, nihil fieri ? frio'ere te ? Ne chartam ouidem tihi sumipHit'iro 0 / ™eas ePlst°las delere, ut reponas tuas.
U.er into™ „s, ^ he had ft >*> Th. learne/editor fur.
,. {° do (uli justice to the merits of Monsignor Maio, it would be necessary to exnatHtP !!,, ® d t11be unbt fo|' s,uch a purpose,
ivlnch, within the same period, his unexampled industry nroduced from vm-v Up°n several learned and elaborate works,
mention only two, viz. 1. The splendid S voW fS0,l|rces- .As specimens of these, we shall
and unpublished scholia on the Udyssey, from a most valuable manuscrint in the Amhr C1.ent d!ustratl°ns, elegantly copied in outline,
important prolegomena • and 2 The r min liutw' 1 111 the Ambrosian Library ; to which are prefixed lame and
wholly lost to the wes'tern worli um u T re h V ^0-0^1 Can°nS of Eui*bius, in two books, the first of which hafbeen
the valuable assistancf of Dr Zohrab a veTy learnld Irm^10 tZ^ raanuscriPt- In the latter work the editor haS
his Homer, may serve to show that, difficult and laborious as the task of decinherir a llSt °f whu:h. wiU be found at the end of
» exhaust the energies of an active mind, as to prevent the successful pursuit of otL^^SS^quiSS rSSs'’ “ ”0'
768
PAL
Palimp¬
sests.
took an accurate copy of the fragment De Prascriptiom-
bus et Interdictis, and also transcribed another, JJe Jure
Fisci. But if this had been all, the labours of these two
days, however meritorious, would perhaps have soon been
forgotten. Fortunately for letters, however, he examined
another manuscript, then numbered xiii., and found that
the exterior writing contained some epistles of St Jerome,
whilst a more ancient writing appeared underneath. On
further examination Niebuhr perceived that the latter con¬
tained the work of some ancient jurisconsult; and having
applied the infusion of galls to folio 97, he so far restored
the characters as to be able to transcribe the portion ot tlie
original text therein contained. He then communicated
his"discovery to Savigny, and, with the assistance ot the
latter, published, in a periodical work, the specimen tran¬
scribed, accompanied with an ingenious commentary, in
which he maintained that the manuscript referred to con¬
tained the Institutions of Gaius, and that the fragment e
Prescriptionibus et Interdictis formed part of that work.
The result fully established the soundness of this conclu¬
sion. Two other labourers were therefore sent by the Ber¬
lin Academy of Sciences to work the mine which Niebuhr
had thus happily opened ; and having obtained the per¬
mission of the Chapter, they transcribed the manuscript
almost entirely, only about one ninth part of the whole, or
rather less, being found illegible. The transcript was im¬
mediately submitted to the academy, and the Institutions
of Gaius first appeared at Berlin in the year 18~0. 1 he
manuscript from which this invaluable relic of ancient ju¬
risprudence was recovered consists of 127 leaves, the
more recent writing, which is in uncial characters, and ot
considerable antiquity, contains some of the works ot Ot
Jerome, chiefly his epistles, of which there are twenty-six.
The more ancient is of two kinds ; the one remarkable for
its antiquity and elegance, and the other intermediate,
that is, written aver the first, and under the third or last
writing The former of these is that in which the Insti¬
tutions of Gaius were written ; so that the intermediate
kind had superseded the work of the Roman jurisconsult,
but had, in its turn, yielded to the third and last writing.
As to the age of the original manuscript, Niebuhr very eaily
expressed an opinion that it was older than the time ot
Justinian ; and Kopp, judging from the forms of the let¬
ters, the contractions, and various other indications, ar¬
rived at the same conclusion. It is creditable to the lite¬
rary curiosity of Germany that the first edition of this work
was almost immediately sold off. Bluhm, who had been
concerned in the first transcription, paid another visit to
Verona, where he re-examined the manuscript with great
care; and the fruits of his labour appeared in the second
edition, which was published in 1824. In the following
year, a third edition appeared at Leipzig, without the
notes of Goeschen, and with the modern instead of the
ancient orthography, which had been religious y retained
in the two Berlin editions. Gaius was somewhat late in
attracting attention in France, where learned lawyers were
once so abundant; but the translation of M. Boulet had the
effect of partially awakening the curiosity ot his country¬
men, by rendering this invaluable relic of Roman jurispru¬
dence more easily and generally accessible.2
The history of such extraordinary successes in deci-
Some people of leisure have refined upon the pahndromus,
and composed verses, each word of which is the same read
backwards as forwards; for instance, that of Camden .
Odo tenet mulum, madidam mappam tenet Anna.
Anna tenet mappam madidam, mulum tenet Odo.
PALINGENESIA, amongst divines, the same with re¬
generation. Amongst the older chemists, it denotes the
producing of a body from its principles.
PALINGENIUS, Marcellus, an Italian poet, we
known by a poem divided into twelve books, and entitled
Zcdiacus Vite, which occupied him several years m com¬
posing, and dedicated to Hercules II. ot Este, duke of Fe
rara Some say he was a physician to that prince; others
S him amongst the leaded Lutherans to whom
Duchess of Ferrara gave a reception in her court, an
honoured with her protection. His Zodiac contains g(W
things, and is a philosophical satire against immoral^
and false prejudices. Of the autlioi s i > >
•s kno»mP He died some time between the years 1537
a"pALlNODE, a discourse contrary to principles former¬
ly avoted; and thence the phrase ot palinod,am cam
“TAUNURutin fabulous history, the P^
whose fate Virgil very pathetically describes. He tell
PAL
nhering palimpsest manuscripts ought surely to excite Palii 0.
the emulation of scholars in other parts of Europe, where nj
large collections are deposited, and lead them to examine
whether, in many of these, similar materials maj not be ^
found. Knittel aptly denominates his rescript ot various
contents another Herculanum ; and, in tact, more ot im¬
portance has already been recovered from this class of
manuscripts than from all the half-consumed volumes ob¬
tained from that once promising repository. Every infor¬
mation that may be wanted as to the true mode ot exam¬
ining and deciphering such manuscripts, will be found in
the learned prefaces of Knittel, Barrett, and Maio ; with
much to encourage scholars to engage in the same pur¬
suit, unless perchance their ardour be cooled by the pros¬
pect of the severe and unremitting labour which is indis¬
pensably necessary to ensure success. It should also be
remembered, that the Latins commenced the practice of
rescription as early as the sixth or seventh century, and
continued it not only till the invention of printing, but
even after that period ; and that, making every allowance
for the destruction which took place at the Reformation,
the number of palimpsests still in existence must, beyond
all question, be very great. All that is wanted, therefore,
to ensure further acquisitions, is labour and leseaich,
united with patience and ordinary sagacity. By what has
already been achieved, we are, so to speak, placed upon a
vast plain, which has no defined limits ; and although the
horizon may seem to our senses to circumscribe the pros-
nect vet, on whichever side we advance, the apparent
obstacles vanish, and eur view still continues as extensive
s before (Av
38 PAL1NDROMUS, a verse or sentence which runs the
same when read either backwards or forwards, buch is
the verse, . .
Horn a tibi subito motibus ibit amor
PAL
PAL 769
,se, La the sea when asleep, and was three days exposed to the
Jl, tempests, but at last got safe ashore, when the cruel in-
habitants of the place murdered him to get his clothes.
■'f** His body was left unburied on the sea-shore; and since
no one could cross the Stygian lake before a hundred years
were elapsed, if his remains had not been decently inter¬
red, we find ihneas, when he had descended to the re¬
gions below, speaking to Palinurus, and assuring him, that
though his bones were deprived of sepulture, yet the place
where his body was exposed should soon be adorned with
a monument, and bear his name ; and accordingly a pro¬
montory was called Palinurus.
PALISSE, La, an arrondissement of the department of
the Allier, in France, extending over 638 square miles. It
comprehends six cantons, divided into seventy-seven com¬
munes, and contains 65,200 inhabitants. The capital is
the city of the same name, situated in a fertile spot on the
left bank of the river Allier. It contains 2250 inhabitants,
who are employed in spinning cotton, and to a consider¬
able extent in making boots and shoes.
PALKAH, a small town of the Sikh territories, in the
province of Lahore, 112 miles north-east from the city of
Lahore. Long. 75. 13. E. Lat. 32. 58. N.
PALK’S Straits, an arm of the sea, which separates
Ceylon from the coast of Coromandel.
PALL, in Heraldry, a figure like a Greek y, and about
the breadth of a pallet. It is by some heralds called a
cross pall, on account of its being looked upon as an archi-
episcopal bearing.
PALLA, in Roman antiquity, a mantle which women
wore over the gown called stola. It was borne on the left
shoulder, whence passing to the other side, under the
right arm, the two ends were bound under the left arm,
leaving the breast and the arm quite bare. It had a great
many folds, and derived its name from TraXXw, to shake or
tremble.
Palla Isle, a small island in the Eastern Seas, about
six miles in circumference, situated to the south of San-
gir. Long. 125. 30. E. Lat. 3. 5. N.
PALLADIO, Andrea, a celebrated Italian architect,
was born at Vicenza in 1518, being descended of a family
originally of Friuli. ’Ihe celebrated Trissino was his friend
and Maecenas. He made exact drawings of the principal
works of antiquity in Rome, adding commentaries, which
went through several impressions. But this, though a
very useful work, was greatly exceeded by his Treatise of
Architecture, in four books, which appeared in the year
1570. On this work Inigo Jones wrote some excellent re¬
marks, which were included in an edition of Palladio, pub¬
lished by Leoni in 1741, in two vols. folio. Palladio died
at Vicenza, on the 19th of August 1580, in the sixty-second
year of his age.
p in Antiquity, a statue of the goddess
Pallas, or Minerva. It was about three cubits high, and
represented the goddess sitting, with a pike in her right
hand, and in her left a distaff and a spindle. However vari¬
ous the opinions of ancient authors be about this celebrated
statue, it is universally allowed that on its preservation de¬
pended the safety of Iroy. This the Greeks, during the
rojan war, were well aware of; and therefore Ulysses and
Uiomedes were commissioned to steal it. They effected
t eir object; and if we may rely upon the authority of
some, they were directed how to carry it away by Plele-
ous, a son of Priam, who in this betrayed his country, be¬
cause his brother Deiphobus, on the death of Paris, had
Gained Helen, of whom he was enamoured. Minerva
was enraged at the violence offered to her statue. Ac¬
cor mg to Virgil, the palladium itself seemed to have re¬
ceived life and motion ; and by the flashes which darted
rom its eyes, and its sudden springs from the earth, it
^vol xvi V^nCe resentment ^ie goddess. According
to some, however, the true palladium was not carried away
from Troy by the Greeks, but only a statue of similar size
and shape, which was placed near it, to deceive any sacri¬
legious persons who might attempt to steal it. They
maintain, therefore, that iEneas conveyed the palladium
safely fiom Iroy to Italy; and that it ivas afterwards pre-
seived by the Romans, with the greatest secrecy and ve¬
neration, in the temple of Vesta, a circumstance which
none but the vestal virgins knew of. It was esteemed the
destiny of Rome; and there were several others made
perfectly like it, to secure it from being stolen, like that
of Troy, which the oracle of Apollo declared would never
be taken as long as the palladium was found within its
walls. A palladium was also placed by Nicias in the cita¬
del of Athens.
PALLADIOS, bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia, and
next of Aspona. He was a Galatian, and born at Cappa¬
docia. He became an anchorite in the mountain of Ne-
bria in 388, and was consecrated bishop in 401. He was
an intimate friend of St John Chrysostom, whom he never
forsook during the time of his persecution, nor even in his
exile. He went to Rome some time after Chrysostom’s
death, and, at the request of Lausus, governor of Cappa¬
docia, composed a history of the anchorites or hermits,
which he entitled Lausiaca, after the name of Lausus, to
whom it was dedicated. This took place in the year 420,
when the book was written; the author being then in the
twentieth year of his episcopacy, and fifty-third of his age.
Palladius was accused of being an Origenist. It is true, he
was an enemy to St Jerome, of whom he does not speak
well, and was intimately connected with Ruffinus ; but per¬
haps no good proof can be brought of his Origenism. He
had been the disciple of Evagrias of Pontus, and was even
suspected of entertaining the sentiments of Pelagius. He
died in the fifth century, but in what year is not certain.
His history was published in Greek by Meursius, at Am¬
sterdam, in 1619, and in Latin in the Bibliotheca Pa-
trum; but he seems not to have been the writer of the
Life of St John Chrysostom in Greek and Latin, printed
:n 1680. r
i PALLANZA, a province of the principality of Pie-
mont, in the continental part of the kingdom of Sardinia.
It is bounded on the north by Domo d’Ossola, on the east
by Lago Maggiore, on the south by Novara, and on the
west by Val di Sesia. It extends over 506 square miles, con¬
tains 135 towms and villages, fifty-six hamlets, and 115,000
inhabitants. It is in the north mountainous, in the south
undulating, but very generally picturesque, especially on
the eastern side, near the Lake Maggiore, which is adorned
with the Borromean Islands. It is productive of fruit, to¬
bacco, chestnuts, and wine; but does not grow quite suffi¬
cient corn for the consumption of its dense population,
who are frequently compelled to wander to other districts
to seek employment and subsistence. The capital is the
small city of the same name situated on a point of land
running into Lago Maggiore, on which it has a harbour for
small craft. It contains two churches, a nunnery, a public
school, and 1320 inhabitants.
PALLAS, Simon Peter, a distinguished naturalist and
geographer, born on the 22d of September 1741, was the
son of Simon Pallas, a surgeon in the Prussian army, and
professor of surgery at Berlin.
He received the early part of his education in his fa¬
ther’s house, and his instructors bore ample testimony to
the rapidity of his progress. At the age of fifteen he be¬
gan to attend medical lectures, and he applied himself so
closely to practical anatomy, that in 1758 he was found
qualified to deliver a course of public lectures on that
science. In the same year he went to Halle, and became
the pupil of Segner, continuing also his studies of zoology,
and, in particular, of entomology, with great assiduity. In
5 E
Palladius
II
Pallas.
770
PAL
Pallas. 1759 he removed to Gottingen, where he made a variety
of experiments on poisons, and on other active medical
substances, and commenced his observations on parasiti¬
cal animals. In July 1760, he went on to Leyden, in order
to attend the lectures of Albinus, Gaubius, and Muschen-
broeck; and at the end of the same year he took his degree
of doctor of physic. The following summer he proceeded
to England, principally with the view of completing his
medical education, although he devoted the greater part
of his time to the active pursuit of natural history, being
assisted and encouraged by the friendship of Peter Go -
linson, and of some other British naturalists, which pro¬
cured for him a few years afterwards the distinction ot
having his name inserted in the list of the foreign mem¬
bers of the lioval Society, at the early age ot twenty-
three. He visited several parts ot the coast of England,
in order to examine its marine productions; and his love
of natural history enabled him to profit in a similar manner
by an accident which detained him tor some time at Har¬
wich, on his return to the Continent, in the spring of 176^.
Having paid a visit to his native city, he went again to
the Hague, and established himself as a resident there
under the patronage of Gaubius. On occasion of the pub¬
lication of a miscellaneous work on zoology, which he de¬
dicated to the Prince of Orange, he proposed a plan tor
an expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, and to the
Dutch East Indies, which he offered to conduct in person ;
but although the project was encouraged by Gaubius, and
approved by the prince, his father’s interference prevent¬
ed its execution, and obliged him to return to Berlin. His
filial affection, however, was not strong enough to induce
him to refuse the invitation of the Empress Catharine to
St Petersburg, where he accepted, in the year 1/67, the
appointment of professor of natural history in the Imperial
Academy of Sciences.
The first few months of his residence at St Petersburg
wTere employed in preparing his Zoological Gleanings for
publication, and in making catalogues of some collections
of natural history. It was now that the more active career
of his public life was about to commence; and in 1768 he
undertook, in common with Falk, Lepechin, and Gulden-
Stadt, the conduct of an expedition sent out by the em¬
press, for the joint purposes of observing the transit of Ve¬
nus, and of investigating the natural history and geogra¬
phy of Siberia, and the neighbouring countries. Ihe ob¬
ject of their researches for the first summer was the pro¬
vince of Kasan, and the winter was passed at Simbirsk;
the next year they examined the shores of the Caspian,
and the borders of Calmuck Tartary ; after which they re¬
turned through Orenburg, and passed the winter at Ufa.
In 1770 Pallas crossed the Uralian Mountains to Catharin-
enburg, and, after examining the mines in that neighbour¬
hood, proceeded to Tobolsk. 1 he next year he went to the
Altaic Mountains, traced the course of the Irtysch to Koly-
van, went on to Tomsk, and observed the natural freezing
of quicksilver at Krasnoyarsk, on the Yenisei, in latitude
5610 north. He proceeded in March 1772 by Irkutsk
across the Lake Baikal, as far as Kiatka, and returned to
Krasnoyarsk. In 1773 he visited Tara, Astracan, and
Tzaritzin, on the Volga, and returned to St Petersburg in
1774, after an absence of six years. About ten years later
he was made a member of the Board of Mines, with an
additional salary of L.200 a year; and he was compliment¬
ed with the title of a knight of St Vladimir. 'Ihe em¬
press purchased his collection of natural history for a price
one third greater than his demand, and allowed him, at
the same time, to keep it in his possession for the remain¬
der of his life. . . .
In 1794 he took a journey into the Crimea, and was
captivated with the beauty of the country and its produc¬
tions ; the climate also appearing to be such as his health
PAL
was supposed to require, he obtained from his munificent
patroness not only permission to establish himself there, "■
but a grant of a large and fertile estate, and a sum of
10,000 rubles to assist him in his outfit. He was thus en¬
abled to build a little palace rather than a country house,
in which a traveller from the north of Europe was sure to
receive the most obliging hospitality, as Dr Clarke has
made well known to the English reader. It appears, how¬
ever, that the air was not altogether exempt from the
miasmata, which are the causes of paludal fevers; and
some other circumstances, besides the distance from all
civilized society, seem to have made the old age of Pallas
more cheerless than he had anticipated to find it, in the
independence and tranquillity of his patriarchal establish¬
ment at Akmetshet. About ten years after the period of
Dr Clarke’s travels, he undertook a journey to Berlin to
pay a visit to his brother, and died there in September
1811. . . _ „ . .
Linne the younger has given him a genus, Pallasia, in
his Supplementum Plantarum ; a compliment to which his
unremitting labours, in every department of natural his¬
tory, had amply entitled him. His collection of dried
plants was purchased by Dr Clarke’s fellow-traveller, Mr
Cripps, and passed into the possession of Aylmer Bourke
Lambert.
The general character of Professor Pallas s acquirements
appear to have been that of extent and variety, together
with fidelity. He was not the author of any new theories
or improved systems ; and it has sometimes been observ¬
ed, as by Murray in his System of Vegetables, that his
descriptions were somewhat defective, from the omission
of correct specific distinctions ; but this omission is of
such a nature as to affect a compiler or a book-maker
much more than an actual student ot natuial history who
is studying for his own improvement only, and who is ca¬
pable of entering into a detailed examination of the ob¬
jects concerned. To such a detail the pi incipal part of
Professor Pallas’s works have relation ; and it is impossible
to enumerate the whole of his memoirs without making a
pretty extensive catalogue of the productions of the va¬
rious kingdoms of nature. . .
1. His Dissertatio Inauguralis de Insectis Viventibus ul¬
tra Viventia, 4. Leyden, 1760, containing a systematic ac¬
count of intestinal worms, is said to have been previously
published in another form at Gottingen, a short time be¬
fore he went to Leyden. 2. We find in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1763, p. 62, a short note On the Cold ob¬
served at Berlin the preceding winter. 3. In the volume
for 1766, p. 186, a description of the jaculator fish, or
Scisena jaculatrix of the Indian Ocean, which catches in¬
sects by darting drops of water at them : this description
is repeated in the Spicilegia Zoologica, fasc. 8. 4. Elenchus
Zoophytorum, 8. Hague, 1766 ; containing nearly three hun¬
dred species ; Dutch by Boddaert, with figures, 8. Utreciit,
1768. 5. Miscellanea Zoologica, 4. Hague, 1766; consisting
of descriptions and dissections. 6. Spicilegia Zoologica,
4. Berk 1767-1780. Of this valuable collection of me¬
moirs, intended for the description and illustration of new
or little-known species of animals, there appeared in tne
whole fourteen fasciculi; some of them were published Dj
Professor Martin during the author’s absence in feibena.
We find, amongst other articles, an interesting accoun
the musk-deer, of various species of the ante ope, an
the different varieties of sheep, both «r>ld an^ tan.1’ d
latter has been published in English, On Russmn J
Tartar Sheep, 8. Edinb. 1794. 7. In the W. At f *
Nat. Cur. iii. p. 430, Phalaenarum biga ; an account ■
species of moth, of which the females are without wmgj
and spontaneously fertile. 8. A variety of rmscellaneou^
papers, by Pallas, appeared m the Stialsund g
which began to be published at Berlin in
Paljj,
PAL
las. dhiefly relate to the Winter Residence of Swallows, vol. i.
'p. 20; to Hydatids found in the abdomen of ruminant
animals, and supposed to be a species of taenia, p. 64; to
the Birds of Passage of Siberia, p. 145, from Heller’s
Notes; to Firmin’s supposed discovery of the Origin of
the Belemnite, p. 192 ; to some Peculiarities of Insects, p.
225 ; to a Poison supposed to be prepared in Siberia from
the Sitta, or nut-hatch, p. 311; to the Elk or Moose-Deer,
p. 382, from Heller’s papers ; and to the use of the Sphon-
dylium in Kamtschatka, p. 411. 9. Collections relating to
the Mongol Tribes, published in 1776, and showing that
they are distinct from the Tartars.
10. Professor Pallas’s contributions to the Memoirs of
the Imperial Academy of St Petersburg are also very
numerous, and on miscellaneous subjects. In the Novi
Commentarii we find an account of the Tubularia Fun-
gosa, vol. xii., observed near Wolodimer; Lepus pusillus,
and Fossil Bones of Siberia, vol. xiii.; Quadrupeds and
Birds observed in 1769, vol. xiv. 1 ; Remains of Exotic
Animals in Northern Asia, vol. xviii., especially the skulls
of the rhinoceros and the buffalo ; Tetrao arenaria, Equus
hemionus, and Lacerta apoda, vol. xix.; the last also in
Geneesk. Jaerboek, ii. In the Ada for 1777, ii., An Ac¬
count of the Teeth of an Unknown Animal, like those
which have been found in Canada ; Observations, from
Camper’s Letters, on a Myrmecophaga and a Didelphis,
and Equus asinus in the wild state. In the volume for
1779, ii., a Description of Plants peculiar to Siberia;
Capra Caucasica, also in Lichtenberg’s Magazin, ii. For
1780, part i. Galeopithecus vitans ; part ii. On the Va¬
riations of Animals, and Didelphis brachyura. For
1781, part i., Felis manul, a new Asiatic species of Felis;
ii., On some Species of Sorex. In the volume for 1783,
New Species of Fishes; and 1784, On some new Marine
Productions.
11. The Observations sur la Formation des Montagnes,
et les Changemens arrives au Globe, particulierement a
l’egard de TEmpire Russe, published separately, 4. Pe-
tersb. 1777, were also inserted in the Ada of the Acade¬
my for 1777, having been read at a public sitting before
the king of Sweden. A translation of this discourse is
inserted in Tooke’s Russian Empire, and some remarks on
it are found in the Journal de Physique, vol. xiii.
12. Ihe most considerable of the separate publications
of Pallas was the account of his travels, entitled Reise
durch verschiedene provinzen des Russischen Reichs, 3
vols. 4. Petersburg, 1771-3-6 ; French, 8vo, 8. Par. 1803;
English, 2 vols. 4. London, 1812; a work of the highest
authority in geography and natural history. 13. It was in
the course of these travels that Pallas observed in Siberia
an insulated mass of native iron, which he described in a
paper addressed to the Royal Society of London, and print¬
ed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1776, p. 523 ; a
substance which has become the subject of many discus¬
sions, from its resemblance to some of the specimens of
well-ascertained aerolites; the author mentions also the
remains of an unmineralized rhinoceros, which had been
found in the same country.
14. In the Beschdftigungen Naturforschenden Freun-
published at Berlin about 1777, we find a letter on
the Acipenser ruthenus, or sturgeon, vol. ii. p. 532; and
An Account of a Monstrous Horse, vol. iii. p. 226. 15.
Some Mineralogical Observations, addressed to Born, are
published in the Bbhmische Ahhandlungen, vol. iii. p. 191.
16> In the Swedish Handlingar for 1778, we have the
Alauda Mongolica, and the Sturnus Daauricus; the Anas
glocitans, in 1779.
17. Novae species Glirium, 4. Erlang. 1778. 18. leones,
fnsectorum, praesertim Rossiae Sibiriaeque, 4. Erlang. 1781.
1781 nUmerati° PIantarum ^'ocopii a Demidoff, 8. Petersb.
PAL
771
20. Another channel in- which a number of Pallas’s
most valuable essays appeared, is the work entitled Neue
Nordische Beytrage, which he published at St Petersburg'
and Leipzig in 1781 and the following years. The most
remarkable of the subjects of these are, A great Exotic
Animal found in Kasan in the year 1776; on the Migra¬
tion of the Water-Rat on the Volga, and Observations on
laemae, vol. i.; further Remarks on Taeniae; on Ameri¬
can Monkeys bred at St Petersburg; on the Ardea he¬
lms ; on the Culex lamo, sometimes fatal to Cattle; on
the Phalangium, or Scorpion Spider; and on Copper
island, in the Sea of Kamtschatka, vol. ii.: on Two
Birds; and on the Labrador Stone, vol. iii.: on a Cross
of the Black W’olf with the Dog; on a Mine ; on the
Oriental Turquois ; and Mineralogical Novelties from Si¬
beria, vol. v.
21. In the Physische Arbeiten of Vienna, we have a Geo¬
logical Essay on the Orography of Siberia, vol. i. 1.
22. Flora Rossica, f. vol. i. Petersb. 1784; ii. 1788, pub¬
lished at the expense of the empress.
23. lableau Physique et Topographique de la Tauride,
4. Petersb. 1795; German, in JSf. JV. Beytrage, vii.: a
work derived chiefly from the observations made by the
author in his travels of 1792.
24. A Monography of the Astragali is mentioned by
some of his biographers.
2o. He edited also Guldenstiidt’s Beisen durch Russ-
land und in den Caucasischen gebirgen, ii. v. 4. Petersb.
1787-1791. 26. He also compiled and arranged the two
first and most valuable of the four volumes of the Voca-
bularia Comparativa, 4. Petersb. 1787, in which he at¬
tempted to make some improvements in the Russian or¬
thography,
(Coxe’s Travels; Clarke’s Travels; Tooke’s Russian
Empire; Halleri Bibliotheca Anatomica ; Aikin’s General
Biography, vol. x. 4to, Lond. 1815 ; Chalmers’s Biographi¬
cal Dictionary, yol. xxiii. 8vo, Lond. 1815 ; Dryander, Bi¬
bliotheca Banskiana.) (l. l )
PALLAVICINI Ferrante, a noted Italian writer, de¬
scended from a noble family in Piacenza, was born about
the close of the sixteenth century. He soon gave proofs
of an extraordinary genius, and improved rapidly in clas*
sical erudition. He was afterwards sent to complete his
education in the monastery of Augustinian friars at Mi¬
lan, wheie he took the habit, lived much esteemed for
piety and learning, and raised great expectations of future
fame; but being somewhat amorously inclined, he en¬
gaged in an intrigue with a young woman of Venice,
whose charms proved irresistible; and in order to enjoy
them without restraint, he obtained leave from his gene¬
ral to make the tour of France. Accordingly he pretend¬
ed to set out for that country; but it was only a blind to
cover his real design. He never left Venice, where he
lived privately, enchanted with the attractions of his Ve¬
nus; and having too ready a talent for invention, he im¬
posed upon his friends, by oiten sending them, in letters,
feigned accounts of his travels through France, and also
informing them of several things respecting that court,
which he learned from the advices of many considerable
persons with whom he corresponded.
His finances were in the mean time greatly reduced;
and in this exigency he naturally had recourse to his wits
for supplies. He wrote for the booksellers, and compos¬
ed several pieces, more for the sake of gain than out of
any fondness for authorship. Amongst other things, he
wrote a collection ot letters, mostly satirical, which he
called The Courier Robbed of his Mail. The work ap¬
peared at first in such a cast as could not give great of¬
fence, except to the Spaniards, against whom he had some
grudge, and the piece was accordingly licensed by the in¬
quisitors ; but when it fell into the hands of the secre-
Pallavi-
cini.
772
PAL
Pallavi- tary of the republic of Venice, who was at that time li-
cini* censer of books, he refused his imprimatur, though great
interest was employed for that purpose ; neither would he
return the manuscript. This enraged Pallavicini so much,
that had not his friends restrained him, he would have
pursued the affair to his ruin.
At length he found an opportunity of travelling into
Germany with the Duke of Amalfi, as his grace’s chaplain.
But this journey had no good effect either on his wit or his
morals. On the contrary, finding himself, from the man¬
ners of the Germans, more at liberty, he indulged his ge¬
nius and passions with greater freedom; and after a resi¬
dence of more than a year in that country with the duke,
he returned to Venice. He was now resolved to have his
full measure of revenge against the secretary of the repub¬
lic for keeping back his manuscript, and also to attack the
family of Barberini, Urban VIII. and his nephews, be¬
cause they had also endeavoured to get all his manuscripts
prohibited. In this rancorous spirit he cast his Courier
into a new model, and enlarged ^it with many letters and
discotirses. Thus new modelled, he offered it to a book¬
seller, who undertook to get it printed; but our author
was betrayed by a pretended friend, who acted the part of
a spy, and informed the Archbishop of Vitelli, then the
pope’s nuncio at Venice, just as the work was finished at
the press; and upon the complaint of the nuncio, Palla¬
vicini was imprisoned. In this miserable condition he
found a friend in one of his mistresses, who, seeing him
abandoned by most of his patrons, not only supported him,
but conveyed letters to him, by which she gave him such
information as enabled him to make a proper defence, and
to recover his liberty.
But a war having in the mean time broken out between
the Barberini and the Duke of Parma, Pallavicini, in or¬
der to revenge himself upon the supposed instruments of
his imprisonment, wrote a piece entitled. Buccinata, ovvero
Butarella, per le api Barberini, and dedicated it, in terms
of the profoundest contempt, to the nuncio Vitelli. The
nuncio, finding that little notice was taken of his com¬
plaints on the occasion, procured by bribery one Charles
Morfu, a Frenchman, who pretended to pass for a gentle¬
man, to ensnare Pallavicini; and with this view the trai¬
tor used his utmost endeavours to insinuate himself into
the friendship of Pallavicini, and at length exhorted him
to accompany him to France. He declared that his for¬
tune would be made by the extraordinary encouragement
which was given to men of letters by Cardinal Richelieu ;
and the better to favour the deceit, he produced feigned
letters from the cardinal, inviting our author to France,
and expressing a desire he had to establish in Paris an
academy for the Italian tongue, under the direction of
Pallavicini. The snare took; and Pallavicini, fascinated
by the prospect of gain, suffered himself to be led like an
ox to the slaughter. He left Venice much against the ad¬
vice of his friends, and went first to Bergamo, where he
spent a few days with some of his relations, by way of en¬
tertaining Morfu. They then set off’ for Geneva, to the
great satisfaction of Pallavicini, who proposed to get some
of his works printed there, which he had not been able to
do in Italy. Morfu, however, instead of conducting him
to Paris, took the road to Avignon, where, crossing the
bridge of Soraces, in the county of Venaissin, they were
seized by a gang of sbirri, on pretence of carrying contra¬
band goods, and confined. Morfu was quickly discharged,
and very liberally rewarded ; but Pallavicini, being carried
to Avignon, was imprisoned ; and notwithstanding he made
a very skilful defence, it was all in vain. The sentence had
already been brought from Rome, and he was to undergo
trial, merely for form’s sake. Being now put into a dark
dungeon, he made an abortive effort to escape. He managed
matters so well with his keeper as to procure wax-candles
PAL
to be allowed him, under pretence of amusing himself with Pall
reading, and when he had got a number of these, he one gam
night set fire to the prison door, in order to get off by that p J
means; but the stratagem did not succeed, and he was of, a
course subjected to closer confinement, and treated with
greater inhumanity than before. After a year’s suffering,
he was brought to trial, in which he made an excellent de¬
fence, and flattered himself with hopes of relief. He had
even begun a whimsical piece on the subject of melan¬
choly ; but, contrary to his expectations, he was sentenced
to die, and lost his head on a scaffold, in the flower of his
age
Pallavicini was of so heedless and profuse a disposition,
that had he possessed an immense estate he would have
spent it all. On the other hand, no one could be more
sincere and faithful in his friendships, nor was there ever
a greater victim to treachery; yet, when released from
prison in Venice, being told that a wretch had betrayed
him, he could not be prevailed upon to believe it, saying,
“ How can this be, since he declared himself my friend,
and l made him privy to all my concerns ?” Whilst he
wore a religious habit, he used to study or write two or
three hours in bed every morning. The rest of the day
he spent either in the company of idle persons, or else
with the ladies ; but after he had wholly left the monastic
life, upon pretence of securing himself from the snares of
his enemies, he lived in a very irregular manner. He was
possessed of a fine genius, had a great facility in writing,
and, till he was corrupted by the commerce of lewd wo¬
men, wrote pieces'worthy of immortality.
PALLEEANGAN Isle, a small, low', woody island, one
of the Sooloo archipelago, having a salt-water lake in the
centre.
PALLET, amongst painters, a little oval table, or piece
of wood or ivory, very thin and smooth, upon which the
painters place the several colours they have occasion for,
to be ready for the pencil. The middle serves to mix the
colours on, and to make the tints required in the work. It
has no handle, but, instead thereof, a hole at one end to
put the thumb through, and thus hold it.
Pallet, amongst potters, crucible makers, and others, a
wooden instrument, indeed almost the only one they use,
for forming, beating, and rounding their works. They have
several kinds of pallets. The largest are oval, with a
handle; but others are round, or hollowed triangularly;
and others, again, are like large knives, serving to cut oft
whatever is superfluous on the moulds of their work.
Pallet, in gilding, an instrument made of a squirrels
tail, to take up the gold leaves from the pillow, and to ap¬
ply and extend them on the matter to be gilt.
Pallet, in Heraldry, is nothing but a small pale. Upon
one shield there are sometimes several pallets.
PALLIATiE, a name which the Romans gave to such
plays as laid the plot in Greece, and required the perform¬
ers to appear in Grecian habits. It is used in contradis¬
tinction to togatce, in which the scene was laid at Rome,
and in which the dresses were Roman. The word palhata:
is derived from pallium, which was a part of dress pecu¬
liar to the Greeks ; whereas the toga belonged exclusively
to the Romans. „ „ •
PALLISER, Cape, on the south coast of Eahemomau-
we, is the most northern island of New Zealand, and t e
north-east point of Cook’s Strait. Long. 183. 58. W. a .
41.34. S. . • v,
Palliser’s Islands, a cluster of small islands in t e
South Pacific Ocean ; the largest about fifteen milesjong
and nine broad, being connected by a reef of coral r >
difficult of access. Long. 146. 30. W. Lat. 13. 38. .
PALLIUM, a word often mentioned in our old nisi
rians. Durandus tells us that it is a garment made o
white wool, after the following manner, viz. ie n
PAL
. Hum
11
Jma.
St Agnes offer every year, on the feast day of their saint,
two white lambs on the altar of their church, during the
time of singing the Agnus Dei^ in a solemn mass ; and these
lambs are afterwards taken by two of the canons of the
Lateran church, and by them given to the pope’s subdea-
cons, who send them to pasture till shearing time, when
they are shorn, and the pall is made of their w’ool mixed
with other white wool. The pall being thus made, is car¬
ried to the Lateran church, and there placed on the high
altar, by the deacons of that church ; and after the usual
watching, it is carried away in the night, and delivered to
the subdeacons, who lay it up safe. The pallium signifies
the plenitude of ecclesiastical power ; and therefore it was
the prerogative of the popes, as the successors of St Peter
to invest other prelates with it. At first this was done no¬
where but at Rome; though afterwards the ceremony was
performed at other places.
Pallium, in Antiquity, was an upper garment or mantle
murn u?ie ^reeks’ as tlle to9a was by the Romans.
Ihese habits were so peculiar to the two nations respec¬
tively, that Palliatus was used to signify a Greek, and To¬
mato a Roman.
PALM has amongst almost all nations been regarded as
an emblem of victory, and assigned as the reward of it.
Ihe reason why this tree was adopted and made use of to
represent victory, is said to be, because it is so elastic, that
if pressed by the greatest weight, it will rise superior to
the pressure, and be able to restore itself to its former
state, appearing almost invincible.
Palm Islands, a chain of islands near the north-eastern
coast of New Holland, extending almost thirty miles in
length, at the entrance of Halifax Bay. Lono-. 213 25
W. Lat. 18. 53. S. ^ B
Palm-Sunday, in the Christian church, the Sunday
next before Easter, being so called in memory of our Sa¬
viour s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the multitude
who attended him strewed palm branches on his way.
PALM A, one of the Canary Islands, situated off the coast
of Western Africa. The soil of this island is more elevated
than 1 enenffe, being hilly, and full of caverns. It is gene¬
ra Jy fertile and populous only on its coasts, where are cul-
tivated vegetables, good wine, a great deal of sugar used
principally in preserving fruit, in which the island abounds,
and a great quantity of almonds. In its southern part Pal¬
ma is very barren, being strewed with the products of vol¬
canic action. The centre is often covered with snow, and
contains extensive pine forests, as well as good timber for
ship-bui ding. The region of clouds only is thickly wood¬
ed, which gives the island the appearance of a forest when
seen from a distance. Tradition says that the Spaniards gave
Jt the name which it bears, from its having a resemblance
to a palm-tree when seen from the ocean. The produce
m corn is not sufficient for the consumption of the inhabi¬
tants, so that in years of scarcity they live on the roots of
tern, as at Gomera, another of the group. According to
Uavyo, there are neither fallow-deer, partridges, nor hares
on this island; but rabbits are very numerous, and destruc-
ve to the young trees. One of the principal branches of
trade is the fishing, which is prosecuted on the coast of
fnca in small vessels. The fish being salted, serves, with
id tat,?eS’ fSr ithe ^°0d °f the common people throughout the
islands. Palma is one of the three royal islands, and had
a liberty to trade with America, which was not taken ad-
vantageof; its commercial intercourse being almost entirely
. enei’1ffe> and Spain, the mother count™. Volcanic
eruptmns have repeatedly spread ruin and consternation
t iroughout Palma, and its liability to these terrible visita-
de Tth Tenenffe and Lanzerota. Santa Cruz
las Palmas, the capital, has a good port. Palma is about
PAL
773
' See 1 Kings, ix. 18; and 2 Chron. viii. 4 ; and Josephus, Antiq. Jud. lib. i.
twenty-five miles in length by fifteen miles in breadth, and Palma
contains about 25,000 inhabitants. ||
Palma, the capital of Majorca, one of the Balearic PalniJ'ra.
Islands, belonging to Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea. it' v 
has a most excellent harbour, formed by Cape Calafiguera
and Cape Blanco, and is very respectably fortified. The
city contains 30,000 inhabitants, subsisting on the produce
of the fertile fields that surround them, on that of the
fisheries, and by means of considerable foreign commerce
in silk, thread, oranges, lemons, dates, almonds, and flax,
it is the see of a bishop, and has a large cathedral, an
academy for drawing, a literary seminary, and, which is the
best of the buildings, a large mercantile exchange. The
cathedral, by accurate observation, is in east longitude 3.
9. 45. from London, and in north latitude 39. 34. 4. It
has a mole 4380 feet long. It contains 3000 large houses,
and 29,529 inhabitants.
Palma, a towm of the island of Sicily, in the intendancy
of Calatinata, and district of Mazzara. It is situated on a
ne plain, near gentle hills, on the sea-shore, eighty-six
miles from Palermo. It is a healthy place, with 8400 in¬
habitants, who deal in wine, corn, honey, and other produc¬
tions of their fertile soil.
Palma, a town of Italy, in the province Terra di Lavo-
ro, of the kingdom of Naples. It stands on a fertile plain,
and contains 6300 inhabitants.
PALMAS, Las, capital of the Great Canary, one of the
group of the Canaries, situated off the coast of Western
Is a large hantIsome town, and in 1835 contained
18,000 inhabitants. There are a cathedral, an hospital, and
a college, with convents for monks and nuns of all orders.
Ihe city is well supplied with water, having fountains in
all the principal streets and squares; and there is a public
a,Ways abundantly stocked with provisions.
PALMERS I ON Island, in the South Pacific Ocean,
discovered by Captain Cook, and afterwards visited by
Laptain Wilson in the missionary ship Duff. It has the
appearance of one island, but consists really of eight or
nine. There are no inhabitants on the island, but nume¬
rous rats, supposed to have been drifted here on some hol¬
low tree or root. Long. 163. 10. W. Lat. 18. 4. S.
PALM I, a city of Italy, in the province of Calabria Ul-
teriore L, of the kingdom of Naples. It stands on the
sea, m a district highly productive of silk, wine, and oil. It
contains 6100 inhabitants, many of them employed in wool¬
len and silk manufactures. It was almost wholly destroyed
iJ /frbut bas since been rebuilt.
PAL MIR AS, a celebrated point of land at the head of
the Bay of Bengal, which all vessels bound fbr Calcutta en¬
deavour to make, and on which the East India Company
bave ejected a lighthouse. Long. 87.5. E. Lat. 20. 44. N.
ALMISTRY, a kind of divination, or rather a deceit¬
ful art practised by gipsies, who pretend to foretell events
by looking upon the lines and marks of the hand.
PALM US, a long measure used both by the Greeks
and the Romans. The Grecian palmus was of two sorts; the
greater, which contained nine finger-breadths, and the less,
which contained four. The Roman palmus was also of
two sorts; the greater, which contained twelve finger-
breadths, or eight inches and a half English ; and the less,
which contained four finger-breadths, or nearly three inches
Bnghsh. Ihe great palmus was taken from the length of
tbephand°r sPaa> the less from the breadth of it.
ALMYRA, or Iadmor, a noble city of ancient Syria,
now m nijns. Ihe origin of this name is uncertain, neither
is it well known by whom the city was built; for though,
fiom the identity of the names, it is thought by many to
have^ been \X\e Tadmor in the wilderness built by Solomon,1
yet this point is much controverted by many learned men.
l i 4:
P A L M Y R A.
Palmyra. For the world have long and justly been astonished to
’ find in the desert of Syria, at a distance from the sea,
with a very precarious and scanty supply of water, and
without a particular connection with any great monarchy,
ruins of a city more extensive and splendid than Rome it¬
self, the depositary of all the arts which Greece in its most
flourishing periods could display, dhe problem is an intri¬
cate one ; yet when we divest it of many of its difficulties,
we shall perhaps reduce this stupendous prodigy to no very
uncommon magnitude. The coast of Syria was in ear y
times rich and populous ; and, either from the convenience
of procuring water, or from the vicinity of India and Egypt,
the population, instead of increasing on the mountains, ex¬
tended to Judea, and thence through its plains only to t ie
internal parts. Traces of this numerous people, and 1 e
ruins of their habitations, still remain ; but as their edi ces
were not uncommonly splendid, or as the causes of t leir
destruction were powerful, they have not attracted much
attention. Yet the ruins of more than thirty towns aie
discoverable to the south-east of the Dead Sea, and thence
towards Tadmor or Palmyra; we know the cause of the
destruction of these towns, and we know that it did not
reach Palmyra. This splendid city was not, therefore, in¬
sulated in a mass of sand ; it was probably a link of a con¬
tinued chain of population, or perhaps its termination. Ihe
situations of towns in the sandy desert must necessarily be
determined by local advantages. Tadmor is situated on a
spot where two hills converge, and beyond the point where
they approach. These hills afforded water ; and the aque¬
ducts through which it was brought from them were dis¬
covered and described by Mr Mood. Though the other
towns now in ruins exhibit some remains of luxury and
opulence, yet in these respects they are much inferior to
Palmyra; and this deserves to be here explained. Palmyra
was undoubtedly very ancient. “ The two springs of ifesh
water it possesses,” says Volney, “ were, above all, a powei-
ful inducement in a desert everywhere else so parched and
barren. These, doubtless, were the two principal motives
which drew the attention of Solomon, and induced that
commercial prince to carry his arms so remote from the
limits of Judea.”1 “ He built strong'walls there,” says
the historian Josephus, “ to secure himself in the posses¬
sion, and named it Tadmor, which signifies the Place of
Palm-trees.” Hence it has been inferred that Solomon was
its first founder ; but from this passage we should be rathei
led to conclude that it was already a place of known im¬
portance. The palm -trees he found there are not the trees
of uninhabited countries. Prior to the days of Moses, the
journeys of Abraham and Jacob from Mesopotamia into
Syria sufficiently prove that a communication existed be¬
tween these countries, which must soon have rendered
Palmyra flourishing. The cinnamon and pearls mention¬
ed in the time of the Hebrew legislator demonstrate a
trade with India and the Persian Gulf, which must have
been carried on by the Euphrates and Palmyra. At this
distance of time, when the greater part of the monuments
of those early ages have perished, we are liable to form
very false opinions concerning the state of these countries
in remote times, and are the more easily deceived, some¬
times admitting as historical facts antecedent events of an
entirely different character. Observing, however, that men
in all ages are united by the same interests and the same
desires, we cannot help concluding, that a commercial in¬
tercourse must early have taken place between one nation
and another, and that this intercourse must have been
nearly the same with that of more modern times. M7ith-
out, therefore, going higher than the reign of Solomon, the
invasion of Tadmor by that prince is sufficient alone to
throw light upon the history of this city. Ihe king of Je¬
rusalem would never have directed his attention to so dis- Palmi ,
tant and detached a spot, without some powerful motive ofs>“’“V''
interest; and this interest could be no other than that of
an extensive commerce, of which this place was already
the emporium. This commerce extended itself to India;
and the Persian Gulf was the principal point of union.
From the nature of the commodities, from the requisite
assistance of the Tyrians, and other forcible arguments,
Volney shows that the Persian Gulf was the centre of the
most ancient commerce of the eastern world ; and that it
was with a view of obtaining a shorter route, by means of
the Euphrates, that Solomon turned his attention to Tad¬
mor, distant only three days’ journey. “ We may even rea¬
sonably conjecture,” says Volney, “ when we reflect on the
revolutions of the following ages, that this commerce be¬
came a principal cause of those various w ars in Lower Asia,
for which the barren chronicles of those early times assign
no motives. If, after the reign of Solomon, the Assyrians
of Nineveh turned their ambitious views towards Chaldea
and the lower part of the Euphrates, it was with the in¬
tention to approach that great source of opulence, the Per¬
sian Gulf. If Babylon, from being the vassal of Nineveh,,
in a short time became her rival, and the seat of a new
empire, it was because her situation rendered her the em¬
porium of this lucrative trade ; in short, if the kings of this
great city waged perpetual wars with Jerusalem and Tyre,
their object was not only to despoil these cities of their
riches, but to prevent their invading their trade by the
way of the Red Sea. An historian who has informed us
that Nebuchadonosor, before he laid siege to Jerusalem,
took possession of Tadmor, clearly indicates that the lat¬
ter city acted in concert with the two neighbouring capi¬
tals. Their gradual decline became, under the Persian
empire, and the successors of Alexander, the efficient cause
of the sudden greatness of Palmyra in the time of the Par¬
tisans and the Romans; she then enjoyed a long peace for
many centuries, which allowed her inhabitants to erect
those monuments of opulence whose ruins we still admire.”
If the former observations showed the connection of this
remote spot with a more populous country, these remarks
explain the cause of the renovation and magnificence of
this city. Cairo, in another, probably a subordinate route,
never attained the splendour of Palmyra ; but the genius
of the Egyptians, and perhaps the laws of Egypt, prevent¬
ed it.
There is, however, no authentic history of Palmyra till
after the capture of the Emperor Valerian by the Persians.
It is first mentioned by the Roman historians as a place
which Marcus Antonius attempted to plunder, upon pre¬
tence that it had not observed a just neutrality between
the Romans and Parthians. Pliny takes notice of it as be¬
ing situated in a rich soil, amongst pleasant streams, and
totally separated from the rest of the world by a vast sandy
desert, which had preserved its independence between Par-
thia and Rome. There is still a considerable spot of good
soil next the town and on the hills; and even in the wil¬
derness there were palm and fig trees, some of which re¬
mained till the latter end of the seventeenth century, though
not one is now to be found.
After the captivity of Valerian, it became an opulent
city, to which its situation in the vicinity of the Roman
and Parthian empires greatly contributed; since the cara¬
vans, in going to or returning from the East, frequente
the place, and thus rendered it a considerable seat of mer¬
chandise. It enjoyed independence till the time 01 lra‘
ian, who, having made himself master of almost all tne
Parthian empire, likewise reduced Palmyra, which wa
afterwards accounted part of the Roman dominions. a
when the defeat and captivity of Valerian had so muci
1 Travels through Syria and Egypt.
PALMYRA.
myra. weakened the empire that the Persians seemed to be in a
fair way of becoming’ masters of all the eastern provinces,
the Palmyrans began to entertain thoughts of recovering
their liberty. Odenathus, prince of Palmyra, sent a re¬
spectful letter to Sapor on his return, accompanied with
considerable presents ; but by that haughty conqueror his
letter and embassy were treated with contempt. The pre¬
sents were thrown into the Euphrates; and to the letter
Sapor icplied, that the insolence of the prince in presum¬
ing to write to his lord was inexcusable; but if he could
atone for it in any way, it would be by presenting himself
before the throne, bound hand and foot, in token of con¬
sciousness of his crime, and the punishment he deserved.
This injurious treatment so provoked Odenathus, that he
swoi e either to humble the pride of the haughty conqueror,
or to die in the attempt. Accordingly, having assembled
all the forces he could muster, he fell upon the Persians,
destroyed a number of them, and took a great part of their
baggage, with some of the king's concubines. Of the war
of Odenathus with the Persians, however, very little is
known, except that, though the latter were of ten vanquish¬
ed, and the independence of Palmyra established for the
present, yet Valerian was never released from his capti¬
vity, though Odenathus earnestly wished to have the ho¬
nour of rescuing him from his enemies.
, Odenathus enjoyed his sovereignty but a very short
time, being murdered by his nephew, who was soon after¬
wards put. to death by Zenobia, the wife of Odenathus.
This lady is said to have been possessed of extraordinary
endowments both of body and mind ; having, according to
Mr Gibbon, been almost the only Asiatic woman who is
recorded to have overcome the obstacles arising from the
confined situation of the fair sex in that part of the world.
Immediately on taking vengeance for the murder of her
husband, she assumed the government, and soon strength-
ened herself so much, that she resolved to submit neither to
the Roman nor the Persian rule. The neighbouring states
of Arabia, Armenia, and Persia, dreaded her enmity, and
solicited her alliance. To the dominions of Odenathus,
which extended from the Euphrates to the frontiers of
rmhynia, his widow added the inheritance of her ances¬
tors, the populous and fertile kingdom of Egypt. The
Emperor Claudius acknowledged her merit, and was con¬
tent, that whilst he pursued the Gothic war, she should
assert the dignity of the empire in the East. The conduct
of Zenobia, however, was attended with some ambiguity;
nor is it unlikely that she had conceived the design of
erecting an independent and hostile monarchy. She
blended with the popular manners of Roman princes the
stately pomp of the courts of Asia, and exacted from her
subjects the same adoration that was paid to the succes¬
sors of Cyrus. She bestowed on her three sons a Latin
education, and often showed them to the troops, adorned
with the imperial purple. For herself she reserved the
diadem, with the splendid but doubtful title of Queen of
the East.
When Aurelian passed over into Asia against this sin¬
gular adversary, his presence restored to obedience the
province of Bithynia, already shaken by the arms and in¬
trigues of Zenobia. Advancing at the head of his legions,
he accepted the submission of Ancyra, and was admitted
into lyana, after an obstinate siege, by the help of a per-
dious citizen. The generous although fierce temper of
Aurehan abandoned the traitor to the rage of the sol-
aiers ; but a superstitious reverence induced him to treat
with lenity the countrymen of Apollonius the philosopher.
Antioch was deserted on his approach, till the emperor,
hy his salutary edicts, recalled the fugitives, and granted
general pardon to all who, from necessity rather than
Tib
ri,ni- i i*uui necessity rauier man
noice, had been engaged in the service of the queen of
yra* -the unexpected mildness of such a conduct
reconciled the minds of the Syrians, and, as far as the Palmyra,
gates of Emesa, the wishes of the people seconded the
terror of his arms.
Zenobia would have ill deserved her reputation had she
indolently permitted the emperor of the west to approach
within a hundred miles of her capital. The fate of the
East was decided in two great battles, so similar in almost
every circumstance, that we can scarcely distinguish them
fi om each other, except by observing that the first was
fought near Antioch, and the second near Emesa. In
both, the queen of Palmyra animated the armies by her
presence, and devolved the execution of her orders on
Zabdas, who had already signalized his military talents by
the conquest of Egypt. Ihe numerous forces of Zenobia
consisted for the most part of light archers, and of heavy
cavalry clothed in complete steel. The Moorish and Il¬
lyrian horse of Aurelian were unable to sustain the ponde¬
rous charge of their antagonists. They fled in real or af¬
fected disorder, engaged the Palmyrans in a laborious pur¬
suit, harassed them by a desultory combat, and at length
discomfited this impenetrable but unwieldy body of caval¬
ry. The light infantry, in the mean time, when they had
exhausted their quivers, remaining without protection
against a closer onset, exposed their naked sides to the
swords of the legions. Aurelian had chosen the veteran
troops, who w ere usually stationed on the Upper Danube,
and whose valour had been severely tried in the Alleman-
nic war. After the discomfiture of Emesa, Zenobia found
it impossible to collect a third army. As far as the frontier
of Egypt, the nations subject to'her empire had joined
the standard of the conqueror, who now detached Probus,
one of the bravest of his generals, to take possession of
the Egyptian provinces. Palmyra was the last resource of
the widow of Odenathus. She retired within the walls of
her capital, made every preparation for a vigorous resist¬
ance, and declared, with the intrepidity of a heroine, that
the last moment of her reign and of her life should be the
same.
In his march over the sandy desert between Emesa and
Palmyra, the Emperor Aurelian was perpetually harassed
by the Arabs; nor could he always defend his army, and
especially his baggage, from those flying troops of active
and daring robbers, who watched the moment of surprise,
and derided the slow pursuit of the legions. The siege of
Palmyra was an object far more difficult and important ;
and the emperor, who with incessant vigour pressed the
attacks in person, was himself wounded with a dart. “ The
Roman people,” says Aurelian, in an original letter, “ speak
with contempt of the war which I am waging against a
woman. They are ignorant both of the character and of
the power of Zenobia. It is impossible to enumerate her
warlike prepaiations, of stones, of arrows, and of every'
species of missile weapons. Every part of the walls is pro¬
vided with two or three balistae, and artificial fires are
thrown from her military engines. The fear of punish¬
ment has armed her with a desperate courage. Yet I
trust still in the protecting deities of Rome, who have hi¬
therto been favourable to all my undertakings.” Doubtful,
however, of the protection of the gods, and of the event
of the siege, Aurelian judged it more prudent to offer
termsofan advantageous capitulation ; to the queen a splen¬
did retreat, to the citizens their ancient privileges. His
pioposals were obstinately rejected, and the refusal was
accompanied with insult.
Ihe firmness of Zenobia was supported by the hope
that in a very short time famine w ould compel the Roman
army to repass the desert; and by the reasonable expec¬
tation that the kings of the East, and particularly the Per¬
sian monarch, would arm in defence of their most natural
ally. But fortune, and the perseverance of Aurelian, over¬
came every obstacle. The death of Sapor, which happen-
776
PALMYRA.
Palmyra. ed about tins time, distracted the councils of Persia; and
J the inconsiderable succours which attempted to relieve
Palmyra were easily intercepted either by the arms or the
liberality of the emperor. From every part of Syria a
regular succession of convoys safely arrived in the camp,
which was increased by the return of Probus with his vic¬
torious troops from the conquest of Egypt. It was then
that Zenobia resolved to fly. She mounted the fleetest
of her dromedaries ; and had already reached the banks
of the Euphrates, about sixty miles from Palmyra, when
she was overtaken by Aurelian’s light horse, seized, and
brought back a captive to the feet of the emperor. Her
capital soon afterwards surrendered, and was treated with
unexpected lenity. The arms, horses, and camels, with
an immense treasure of gold, silver, silk, and precious stones,
were all delivered to the conqueror; who, leaving only a
garrison of six hundred archers, returned to Emesa, and
employed some time in the distribution of rewards and
punishments at the end of a war which restored to Rome
those provinces which had renounced their allegiance since
the captivity of Valerian.
When the Syrian queen was brought into the presence
of Aurelian, he sternly asked her, how she had presumed
to rise in arms against the emperors of Rome. The an¬
swer of Zenobia displayed a prudent mixture of respect
and firmness: “ Because I disdained to consider as Ro¬
man emperors an Aureolus or a Gallienus. You alone I
acknowledge as my conqueror and my sovereign.” But
as female fortitude is commonly artificial, so it is seldom
steady or consistent. The courage of Zenobia deserted
her in the hour of trial. She trembled at the angry cla¬
mours of the soldiers, who called aloud for her immediate
execution ; forgot the generous despair of Cleopatra, which
she had proposed as her model; and ignominiously pur¬
chased life by the sacrifice of her fame and her friends. It
was to their counsels, which governed the weakness ot
her sex, that she imputed the guilt of her obstinate resist¬
ance ; it was upon their heads that she directed the ven¬
geance of the cruel Aurelian. The fame of Longinus,
who was included amongst the numerous and perhaps in¬
nocent victims of her terror, will survive that of the queen
who betrayed or the tyrant who condemned him. Ge¬
nius and learning were incapable of moving a fierce un¬
lettered soldier; but they had served to elevate and har¬
monise the soul of Longinus. Without uttering a com¬
plaint, he calmly followed the executioner, pitying his
unhappy mistress, and bestowing comfort on his afflicted
friends.
Returning from the conquest of the East, Aurelian had
crossed the straits which divided Europe from Asia, when
he was provoked by the intelligence that the Palmyrans
had massacred the governor and garrison which he had
left amongst them, and again erected the standard of re¬
volt. Without a moment’s deliberation, he once more
turned his face towards Syria. Antioch was alarmed by
his rapid approach, and the helpless city of Palmyra felt
the irresistible weight of his resentment. We have a let¬
ter of Aurelian himself, in which he acknowledges that
old men, women, children, and peasants, had been involv¬
ed in that dreadful execution, which should have been
confined to armed rebellion ; and although his principal
concern seems directed to the re-establishment of a tem¬
ple of the Sun, he discovers some pity for the remnant ot
the Palmyrans, to whom he grants the permission of re¬
building and inhabiting their city. But it is easier to de¬
stroy than to restore. The seat of commerce, of arts, and
of Zenobia, gradually sunk into an obscure town, a trifling
fortress, and at length a miserable village.
Little is known concerning the fortunes of Palmyra since
the time of Mahommed, except that it was considered as a Pahs , U
place of strength, and that in the twelfth century there'—
were two thousand Jews in it. With respect to the ruins,
they appear to be of two different and distinct periods:
the oldest are so far decayed as not to admit of mensura¬
tion, and look as if they had been reduced to that state by
the hand of time ; the others appear to have been broken
into fragments by violence. Of the inscriptions none is
earlier than the birth of Christ, and none is later than the
destruction of the city by Aurelian, excepting one, which
mentions Dioclesian.
Mr Wood is of opinion, that the face of the country
which surrounds Palmyra was always the same ; but though
Palmyra was ever believed to be situated in a wilderness,
it does not follow that the wilderness was always of the
same extent. It is perhaps more probable, that when Pal¬
myra was first settled, the rich soil mentioned by Pliny ex¬
tended much farther; for whatever were the reasons for
making a settlement there, Palmyra can scarcely be sup¬
posed to have invited a greater number of people than it
could feed. The palms and fig-trees that were formerly
found upon the hills, and in the borders of the desert, that
are now totally barren, confirm this opinion. Mr Wood
observes, that whilst he was there a whirlwind happened,
which raised such quantities of sand as quite darkened
the sky: this sand, therefore, might by degrees encroach
upon the fertile environs of Palmyra, and reduce the num¬
ber of inhabitants as it reduced their sustenance, till the
few wretched families only were left, who found it difficult
to furnish food for Mr Wood and his company, although
they did not continue longer than a fortnight among them.
It will also appear from history, that what is supposed to
have happened here has happened at other places, where
such an event was much less probable. On the sea-coast
in the neighbourhood of St Pol de Leon, in Lower Bre-
tagne, there is a considerable tract of land, which before
the vear 1666 was inhabited, but which was rendered un¬
inhabitable by a sand, which, encroaching every year, co¬
vered it to the depth of above twenty feet. In the year
1718 it had advanced more than six leagues, and wU™1
one league of St Pol; so that it was then thought probable
that the town would of necessity be abandoned. This sand
is raised by the east or north-east wind, which drives it in
clouds with great swiftness, and in a prodigious quantity.
It was also attested by the captain of a ship, and all on
board, that in the year 1719 there fell in the Atlantic
Ocean, at fifteen degrees of north latitude, and at the dis¬
tance of more than eight leagues from any land, a shower
of sand, some of which they produced, and deposited in
the academy at Paris.2 _ „ , . , ,
The company with whom Mr Wood travelled arrived at
length at the end of the plain, where a ridge of barren
hills, by which it was divided on the right and left, seemed
to meet; between them there was a vale, through which
an aqueduct formerly conveyed water to Palmyra. «
each side of this vale they remarked several sepulchres ot
the ancient Palmyrans, which they had scarcely passed,
when the hills opening on a sudden, they discovered such
piles of ruins as they had never seen. 1 hey were al o
white marble ; and beyond them, towards the EuP“ j
was a wide level, stretching farther than the eye could
reach, totally desolate, without variety, and w,thout
After having gazed some time upon this prospect, which
rather exceeded than fell short of their expectations they
were conducted to one of the huts ot the Arabs,
there are about thirty in the court ot the great P
The inhabitants of both sexes were well shaped, and
women, though very swarthy, had good features. Y
were veiled, but did not so scrupulously conceal their
Memoirs of the French Academy for 1718.
a History of the Academy, 1772*
PAL
ra. as the eastern women generally do. They stain the ends
-"'of their fingers red, their lips blue, and their eyebrows and
eyelashes black. They had large rings of gold or brass in
their ears and nostrils, and appeared to be healthy and ro¬
bust. 1 he walls of the city are flanked by square towers,
into which some ancient funeral monuments have been
converted ; but the walls are in most places level with the
ground, and sometimes not to be tracech It is, however,
probable, by their general direction, that they included the
great temple, and were three miles in circumference. The
Arabs showed a tract which was near ten miles in cir¬
cumference, the soil of which was raised a little above the
level of the desert: they said that this was the extent of
the old city; and that by digging in any part of it, ruins
were discovered.'
These ruins consist of temples, palaces, and porticos of
Grecian architecture, and lie scattered over an extent of
several miles. Ihey were accidentally discovered by some
English travellers from Aleppo, somewhat more than a cen-
tury ago. By far the most remarkable of them is the
Temple of the Sun, of which the ruins are spread over a
square of two hundred and twenty yards. It was encom¬
passed with a stately wall, built of large square stones, and
adorned with pilasters within and without, to the number
of sixty-two on a side. Within the court are the remains
of two rows of very noble marble pillars thirty-seven feet in
height, with their capitals of most exquisite workmanship.
Of these only fifty-eight remain entire ; but there must
have been many more, for they appear to have gone round
the whole court, and to have supported a double piazza.
The walks on that side of the piazza which is opposite to
the front of the castle seem to have been the most spacious
and beautiful. At each end of this line are two niches for
statues, with the pedestals, borders, supporters, and cano¬
pies, carved with the utmost propriety and elegance. The
space within this enclosure, which is now filled with the
dirty huts of the inhabitants, seems to have been an open
court, in the middle of which stood the temple, encom¬
passed with another row of pillars of a different order, and
much taller, being fifty feet in height; but of these, sixteen
only remain. The whole space contained within these pil-
lais is fifty-nine yards in length, and near twenty-eight in
breadth. The temple is no more than thirty-three yards
in length, and thirteen or fourteen in breadth. It points
north and south ; and exactly at the middle of the building,
on the west side, there is a most magnificent entry, on the
remains of which are some vines and clusters of grapes
carved in the most bold and masterly imitation of nature
that can be conceived. Just over the door are discerned
a pair of wings, which extend along its whole breadth ; the
body to which they belonged is total ly destroyed; and it can¬
not now certainly be known whether it was that of an eagle
or a cherub, several representations of both being visible
on other fragments of the building. It is observed of the
windows of this building, which were not large, that they
were narrower at the top than below. The north end of
the building is adorned with the most curious fret-work
and bas-relief; and in the middle there is a dome or cu¬
pola about ten feet in diameter, which appears to have been
either hewn out of the rock, or moulded to some composi¬
tion which by time is grown equally hard. North of this
place is an obelisk, consisting of seven large stones, besides
its capital and the wreathed work about it. It is about fifty
feet in height, and, just above the pedestal, is twelve feet
in circumference. There was probably a statue upon it,
wnch the lurks, in their zeal against idolatry, destroyed.
At about the distance of a quarter of a mile from this pil¬
ar, to the east and west, there are two others, besides the
lagment of a third ; so that perhaps they were originally a
continued row. s j
About a hundred paces from the middle obelisk, straight
VOL. xvi. &
PAL
forwaid, there is a magnificent entry to a piazza, which is
forty feet in breadth, and more than half a mile in length, en-
c osed with two rows of marble pillars twenty-six feet in
eight and eight or nine feet in compass. Of these there
sti remain one hundred and twenty-nine ; and, by a mo-
eiate computation, there could not originally have been
Jess than five hundred and sixty. The upper end of the pi¬
azza was shut in by a row of pillars, standing somewhat closer
than those on each side. A little to the left are the ruins of a
state y building, which appears to have been a banqueting-
house. It is built of better marble, and is finished with
yet greater elegance, than the piazza. The pillars which
supported it were of one entire stone, which is so strong
that one of them which has fallen down has received no
injury. It measures twenty-two feet in length, and in
compass eight feet nine inches. In the west side of the
piazza are several apertures for gates into the court of the
palace. Each of these was adorned with four porphyry
pillars, not standing in a line with those of the wall, but
placed bj' couples in the front of the gate facing the pa-
ace, two upon each side. Ivvo of these only remain en¬
tire, and but one standing in its place. They are thirty feet
in length, and nine in circumference. On the eastern side
of the piazza stands a great number of marble pillars, some
of them perfect, but the greater part mutilated. In one
place eleven are ranged together in a square. The space
winch they enclose is paved with broad flat stones, but
there are no remains of a roof. At a little distance are
t ie remains of a small temple, which is also without a roof,
and has the walls very much defaced. Before the entry
which looks to the south is a piazza, supported by six pil-
lais, two upon each side of the door, and one at each end.
Ihe pedestals of those in front have been filled with in¬
scriptions both in the Greek and Palmyran languages,
which are become totally illegible. Amongst these ruins
are many sepulchres; they are ranged upon each side of a
hollow way, toward the north part of the city, and extend
more than a mile. They are ail square towers, four or five
stones in height. But though they are alike in form, yet
they differ greatly in magnitude and splendour. The out¬
side is of common stone, but the floors and partitions of
each story are marble. There is a walk across the whole
building, just in the middle ; and the space on each hand
is subdivided into six partitions by thick walls. The space
between the partitions is wide enough to receive the laro-est
corpse ; and in these niches there are six or seven piled
upon one another. 1
Many insciiptions have been found at Palmyra which
have occupied much of the attention of the learned ; and
if any thing certain could be derived from them, there is
no doubt that they would tend very considerably to eluci¬
date ancient history. See Barthelemy’s Reflections on the
Palmyran Alphabet, published at Paris in 1754.. See also
PhiL Trans. (No. 217 and 218); the first volume of the
Ancient Universal History; and, above all, the Ruins of
Palmyra, or Tadmor in the Desert, published by Mr K.
Wood, who, with M. Bouverie and Mr Dawkins, travelled*
thither in 1751. More recent travellers have added but
little to the information contained in the works here re¬
ferred to.
llespecting tlm latitude and longitude there are still
various opinions. I he estimate which appears to be nearest
the truth fixes its situation in long. 38. 50. E. and lat. 33.
20. N. It stands about fifty leagues south-east of Aleppo,
as much from Damascus, and twenty leagues west of the
Euphrates.
TALNALJD, a district of the south of India, in the
Carnatic, situated chiefly between the sixteenth and seven¬
teenth degrees of north latitude, and on the south side of
the river Kistnah. It was ceded to the British in 1801,
and is now comprehended in the collectorship of Guntoorl
5 F
777
Palnaud.
778
1’ A M
PAM
Palo
Pamiers.
The chief towns are Macheria, Timerycotta, and Currum-
conda.
PALO, a town of Diarbekir, in Asiatic Turkey, situated
on the banks of the Euphrates, and near the edge of a
mountain, the summit of which is covered with ruins, from
which quantities of old coins and metals are occasionally
dug up. The inhabitants amount to 8000, consisting of
Turks, Armenians, and Koords. Earthquakes are fre¬
quent ; and the houses are ill built. The river flows here
with an extremely rapid current; and, from the weakness
of the wooden bridge, whole caravans have sometimes
been swept away when the river was swollen from the
melting of the snows. It is sixty miles north of Diarbekir.
PALOS, a reef of rocks in the Straits of Macassar, near
the west coast of Celebes. Long. 119. 15. E. Lat. 0. 24).
S. There is a town of the same name on the western
coast of the island of Celebes, in a bay to which it gives
name. Long. 119. 39. E. Lat. 0. 56. S.
PALPAH, a small district of Northern Hindustan, sub¬
ject to the Ghoorkali rajah of Nepaul, and situated between
the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth degrees of north lati¬
tude. To the south it is separated from Oude by exten¬
sive woods and forests, and forms one of the numerous
principalities subject to Nepaul, called the Territories of
the Twenty-four Rajahs. It is intersected by the river
Gunduck, and is mountainous and unproductive. The
Gunduck is the principal river. Palpah is also the chief
town of the district, being situated amongst the moun¬
tains that overlook the Gunduck River. Long. 82. 55.
E. Lat. 28. 11. N.
PALREE, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Gu-
jerat, situated near the western boundary, between Therah
and Theraud. It contains about 250 houses, or rather
huts, principally inhabited by Rajpoots.
PALUDAMENTUM, in Roman antiquity, w’as a habit
which differed but little from the chlamys, except that the
latter belonged chiefly to the lower class of people. It
was worn by the officers and principal men amongst the
Romans in time of war, who were therefore called Palnda-
ti; and this distinguished them from the common soldiers,
who, because they wore the sagum, were called the Sa-
gati. rYhe paludamentum came down only to the navel,
was open at the sides, had short sleeves resembling angels’
wings, and was generally white or red. It is sometimes
used to signify the common soldier’s coat.
PALUS Meotis, the ancient name of a gulf between
Europe and Asia, to the north of the Black Sea, and now
called the Sea of Asoph.
PALY, or Pale, in Heraldry, is when the shield is di¬
vided into four or more equal parts, by perpendicular lines
falling from the top to the bottom.
Paly Bende is when the escutcheon is divided by per¬
pendicular lines, which is paly, and also by diagonals,
which is called bendy.
PAMBOON, a town of Celebes, on the west coast, with
an indifferent harbour. It is the residence of a rajah.
The inhabitants trade with Macassar and Batavia, and
barter the cotton cloth which they manufacture, for gold-
dust.
PAMER, a high table-land of Asia, upon the western
limit of Little Thibet, and bounded on the west by a
mountain ridge of the same name. This ridge joins at
its southern extremity the chain of Hindu Coosh, and
stretches on the north into the territories of Cashmere,
separating Chinese from Independent Tartary.
PAMIERS, an arrondissement of the department of
Arriege, in France, extending over 521 square miles. It
comprehends six cantons, divided into 115 communes, and
contains 67,250 inhabitants. The capital is the city of
the same name, the see of a bishop, and the seat of the
courts of law for the department. It is situated on the left
bank of the river Arriege, in a fertile district, producing Pam-
much wine. It has a cathedral, three churches, 1000 lm
houses, and 6400 inhabitants, employed in making cot- l!>
ton and woollen goods, and hats. Long. 2. 30. E. Lat. 43. *•
8.N.
PAMPELUNA, or Pamplona, a city of Spain, the ca¬
pital of the province or kingdom of Navarre. It was the
place in which the ancient kings of that country held their
court, and whence they exercised the mild government of
that very limited monarchy. As a strongly fortified fron¬
tier town, it has many historical events connected with it
in ancient times. Of a recent date, when Bonaparte had
resolved on the subjugation of Spain, this place was deem¬
ed of so much importance to the success of his cause, that
it was seized by an act of treachery, and employed as a
depot for the supplies brought from France. After the
French were driven out of Spain, it surrendered to the
allied armies. In the civil war which still distracts Spain,
it was held by the queen’s party, when, from want of pay
and provisions, a bloody mutiny broke out amongst the
troops, who murdered some of their officers, and compelled
others to join them. After a time this mutiny was in some
measure appeased; and the queen’s general, Espartero,
having entered the place, an inquisition was held, when
such bloody sacrifices of life were offered as have scarcely
ever been known, except in France, in modern times.
In describing this city, a view of it can only be given as
it appeared before the recent dreadful events. It is finely
situated in the centre of a circular plain, called the Cuen¬
ca, bordered with hills of no great height, which are pro¬
jections from the Pyrenean range of mountains. The river
Arga runs through and fertilizes the plain, which is highly
cultivated, and very productive. It has a castle and for¬
tifications, which are nearly impregnable. The streets are
wide and clean, the houses are well built, and the place
is most copiously supplied with good water from several
fountains. It is the seat of a bishop, and of the provincial
government and courts of law. Besides a fine old cathe¬
dral, it has four splendid churches, thirteen monasteries,
four hospitals, a college, 1650 dwelling-houses, and 14,500
inhabitants. There are, or at least were, manufactures of
woollen cloth, of parchment, of leather, of pottery and
china ware, and of wax-tapers for churches and chapels.
It is in longitude 1. 9. 50. W. and latitude 42. 49. 57. N.
PAMPER, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Cashmere, and district of Yehy, being situated on the
north side of the Jhylum River. Long. 73. 13. E. Lat. 34.
19. N. , . .
PAMPHILUS, a celebrated painter of Macedonia, in
the age of Philip. He was the founder of the school of
painting at Sicyon; and he made a law which was observ¬
ed not only in Sicyon, but all over Greece, that none but
children of noble and dignified persons should be permit¬
ted to learn painting. Apelles was one of his pupils.
PAMPLONA, a province of Colombia, in the depart¬
ment of Boyaca. It is separated from Socorro on the
south by the river Galinazo or Sogamoso ; on the west from
Mariquita and Rio Hacha by the great Magdalena; on the
north it is bounded by Maracaybo, Rio Hacha, and Meri¬
da ; and on the east by Varinas, at that part of the coun¬
try where are collected the waters of the valley of bava-
teca, the sources of the Apure, a tributary of the Orinoco.
The eastern branch of the Andes almost fills this province,
and forms numerous valleys, by which the inhabitants easi y
communicate with the Gulf of Mexico by the u ia> w
forms a confluence with the Catatumba, near the Lak
Maracavbo. The towns situated to the west have no¬
wise easy communications by the Sogamoso an
naverales, both navigable rivers. There aie ot er • jtu.
besides, which are valuable to Pamplona in an - ^
ral or commercial point of view. The mineral n
PAM
jna. this province are little known. It is reported that im-
mense quantities of gold were obtained from the mines of
Beta and Montuosa; and, in fact, the remains of great
works can still be tiaced. Now, however, comparatively
little is obtained, and that is conveyed to Giron by the
waters which form the Canaverales. The sand of this ri¬
ver contains gold of twenty-three carats. There are also
silver mines, and the metal which they jdeld is at the rate
of eight ounces to one quintal of ore. The copper mines
are rich ; but from the very awkward manner in which they
have been worked, they have proved of little benefit to the
country. The soil of the territory upon which the city of
Pamplona is built abounds with mica, which is occasionally
found in large sheets, and is split into thin plates, which
answer as a substitute for window-glass. Fancy articles
of various kinds are likewise manufactured from it. Quartz,
felspar, and granite are everywhere met with; and the
whole geological features of the country attest the metal¬
lic and mineralogical wealth of Pamplona ; but from the
works being wretchedly conducted, it might as well be at
the bottom of the Atlantic.
The soil of this province is upon the whole fertile, but the
country remains comparatively a desert, from the indolence
of the inhabitants. The district in which the capital is situ¬
ated produces wheat, oats, maize, celery, cabbages, beans,
rrench beans, and an infinite variety of other vegetables.
Here they also cultivate some indigenous plants which are
very useful, such as the common pine, the resin of which
is used medicinally ; the myrica, which produces the wax
ca led laurel; a galium, the root of which furnishes an ex¬
cellent yellow dye for cottons ; and also several other kinds
of dye-stuffs. One of the most remarkable spots of this
district is Surata, the climate of which place is temperate,
len thousand loads of meal are annually prepared here,
the greater part of which passes through Ocaha, a place de¬
pendent on the province of Maracaybo, on its way to Mon¬
pox and Cai thagena. The wheat is generally of an excel¬
lent quality, and affords two crops in the course of the year.
At othei places in this district wheat, sugar-cane, and
rice are cultivated ; but in none of the villages, with the ex¬
ception of those of Mantanza and Ecce Homo, in the val¬
ley of Surata, is sufficient corn gathered to admit of ex¬
portation. I he olive-tree is very common at Pamplona;
but the mode of preparing the oil is either not known or
not practised. In the valley of Taupa the nopal is literally
laden with the cochineal insects, which are sent into the
province of I unja. Cotton is cultivated in the district of
Giron, particularly in the parish of Rio Negro; and great
quantities of it are annually sent to Monpox and Cartha*
gena. Near to the parish just named an abundant amber
mine has been discovered. The tobacco raised at Giron
is of a very superior quality ; and the entrepot established
at Piedecuesta contributes to the comfort of the people.
Cocoa, of which considerable quantities are disposed of,
succeeds very well on the banks of the Sogamoso, Surata,
and Canaverales. Ihese countries also furnish large quan¬
tities of capaiva balsam, and some building timber. If the
road were open from Giron to the Magdalena, this place
would enjoy very great commercial advantages. By this
means the rocks of the Sogamoso, so destructive to boats,
would be avoided ; and, besides, a vast extent of unknown
lands, situated between the Sogamoso and the Canaverales,
wou tieieby be much frequented. The navigation of
this river is far preferable to that of the other, although
t s waters are too shallow to allow very deeply laden ves-
se s to traverse them. This stream is of great utility to
e m abitents of Rio Negro, who transport their grains
by it much more quickly and cheaply than by Ocana. Great
<1 n i les o Brazil wood are found at some places on the
• ogamoso > and on the banks of other rivers there are se-
Vera very fme cocoa plantations. The Cucuta cocoa, call-
PAM
779
ed Magdalena cocoa, from its being brought down by that Pamplona
river, is very much esteemed. Coffee and indigo are like- v 
wise cultivated in the province, but of much inferior qua¬
lity to the cocoa. 1 he fertility of the soil is not the only
cause of the abundance of the cocoa-trees; the care of the
cultivators contributes much to it. Experience has taught
them to protect this plant by the shade of the ceibas and
erytahnnas, and to surround them with flourishing hedges of
citrons, fagaras, and acacias, which are highly ornamental as
well as useful. The inhabitants also carefully water the co¬
coa-trees ; but great ravages are committed on them by the
tinea falsa. I his insect is likewise very destructive to the
corn and grain of the Surata. A considerable quantity of
Gucuta silver passes by San Christoval into the Varinas.
It is expended in the purchase of mules and cattle, of
which nearly ten thousand head are bought annually ;’for
although the province abounds in pastures which promise
sufficient food for immense herds of cattle, yet the climate
is very unfavourable to the raising of such stock. How¬
ever, some horses, mules, sheep, and goats are bred; and
a tolerably good morocco leather is prepared from the
skins of the last. The dearness of meat causes a scarcity
of tallow, for which vegetable wax is used as a substitute.
A country which has but few articles to export cannot be
accounted very rich; and Pamplona would even be very
poor, were it not for the extreme division of property,
which is the means of diffusing comfort through a great
number of families. The llanos adjoining the valley of
Savateca would be an advantageous opening for the grains
of the country in exchange for cattle, were there any road
to facilitate commercial intercourse. This might, how¬
ever, be effected by following the direction of The valley
watered by the Ghitoya, which would appear to be one of
the head streams of the Apure. By this means Pamplona
would be brought into communication with Guiana. Giron
might do so likewise with the distant provinces by the
same road ; and instead of paying very dearly for the pro¬
visions which this town draws from the llanos of Casanare
by the salt mine of Chita (that article being chiefly de¬
rived fiom this place or from Zipaquira), it would procure
them at a moderate price from those of Varinas. This ar¬
ticle carries almost all the specie from Giron.
The most flourishing towns of this province are those of
St Joseph and of Rosaria de Cucuta, notwithstanding the
disadvantages under which they labour from want of an
opening for their productions. Their territory, varied by
the valleys watered by the Jachira, the Pamplona, and the
Zulia, has some fine cocoa plantations. The appearance
of Rosaria de Cucuta is extremely pleasing. Surrounded
by rich haciendas in excellent cultivation, it stands as it
were in the midst of a delightful garden. The perspec¬
tive at the extremity of each street terminates in a beau¬
tiful vista, with high mountains in the back-ground. The
town, which is not large, is neat and well built. The
houses have a clean appearance, but are not large. The
streets are paved, and have a current of water running
through the middle. I his town will ever be famed in the
annals of Colombia, as the place in which the first general
congress was held, and where the constitution was framed.
It was also the place understood to have been fixed on as
the future capital of Colombia, under the name of the
City of Bolivar ; but such has not taken place. The town
of Salazar de las Palmas has declined in proportion as
those of the valley of Cucuta have advanced in prosperity.
Some rich parishes, however, particularly St Jago andCaye-
tano, may be reckoned amongst its dependencies. This
town owes its name to the great variety of palms which
cover that part of the province where it is situated. The
different kinds found here are the royal palm, which af¬
fords wine and butter; the negro-head palm, the fruit of
which can be worked like ivory; the noli and the murap-
780
Pan.
PAN
po, which latter is used in covering houses, and the twigs
of which are eaten. Much of this province, fiom being
traversed by the Andes, is of course very elevated. The
town of Pamplona, situated in 8° north latitude, is about
eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. I his ele¬
vation, however, serves to moderate the temperature, which
averages about 60° of Fahrenheit. But the climate is
by no means agreeable, on account of the vapours which
continually darken the heavens. Pamplona is situated in
a valley about a league in extent, and is surrounded on all
sides by high hills. It possesses a great many churches ;
and as the houses stand pretty well apart, from each hav¬
ing a portion of garden-ground attached to it, the city
at a little distance has a spacious appearance. I he sui-
rounding fields are enclosed by stone walls in a veiy regu
lar manner, imparting to the scene an air of proprietors ip
which is not often met with. The effect, however, which
Pamplona has, as seen from the adjacent eminences, is
considerably abated when the town is entered. It exhi¬
bits little of its former wealth and importance. Many o
the houses are found to be abandoned, the streets are over¬
grown with grass, and the gardens are neglected. This city
was founded by Pedro de Ursua in the year 1549. I he
gold and copper mines in the vicinity formerly gave it an
importance which it does not now possess. The gold mines
of Veta, which are within two days’ journey of this place,
have not been regularly worked for more than a centuiy,
but the Indians occasionally bring grains to sell of a con¬
siderable size. Not many years ago a mass of pure gold
was found which weighed upwards of six pounds. I he pa¬
rish church of Pamplona is reckoned one of the most hand¬
some in the kingdom. The Jesuits had formerly a col¬
lege here; and there wrere also several monasteries, which
are now abandoned. The population of this town has been
estimated at 3200. It is situated 180 miles west-south¬
west of Merida, 131 west of Varinas, and 270 north-east
of Bogota. There appears to be no other place in this
province deserving of particular mention. The whole po¬
pulation of Pamplona, consisting of whites, half-whites, and
Indians, has been estimated at 75,000. (r. R- R-)
PAN, the god of shepherds, of hunters, and of all coun¬
try exercises. But he bore a higher character amongst the
earliest Greeks, as well as amongst the Egyptians, from
whom his worship was borrowed by the former people. In
E<rypt he was known by the name of Mendes, which, ac¬
cording to Jablonski,1 signifies fecundity. Hence his sym¬
bol was a living he-goat, the most salacious of all animals:
“ Hircum Mendesium colunt JSgypti, eo quod virtuti pro-
lificae ac genitivae consecratus est. Namque animal hoc
coitus valde cupidum est.” His principal temple was a mag¬
nificent building in a city of Lower Egypt, called after his
name. It is well known, that from dedicating certain ani¬
mals to certain gods, the Egyptians proceeded to consider
the animals themselves as actuated by the divinities to
whom they were sacred. Hence, perhaps, the origin of
animal worship. In the temple of Mendes was kept a he-
goat, to which sacrifices of a very monstrous kind were of¬
fered.
The deity whom the Egyptians adored by the name of
Mendes was no other than the Soul of the Universe, ^for
he was their most ancient god ; and we are told by Plu¬
tarch, “ that they took the first God and the Universe for
one and the same thing.”2 Hence his name of Hav amongst
the Greeks. Not that either the Greeks or their masters
in theology worshipped, as their first god, mere brute mat¬
ter, but that spirit which they conceived to be co-eternal
with matter, and to animate all things, making them one.
Thus Orpheus, who imported the Egyptian doctrine into
PAN
Greece, declares that all things are one; and after him Pai
Parmenides and other philosophers taught h smi to ttcck,"
that “ one is the universe,” and that the “ universe is im¬
moveable.” That the ancient Grecian Pan, or the Egyp¬
tian Mendes, was not the corporeal world, as senseless and
inanimate, but the whole system of things animated and
eternal, appears further from the following testimony of
Macrobius: “ Hunc deum Arcades colunt, appellantes rev
rrig vkrig xug/ov, non sylvarum dominum, sed universae sub¬
stantiae materialis dominatorem.” The Arcadians worship
this god, calling him the lord of Hyle, that is, not the lord
of the woods, but the lord of all material substance. In
the same manner Pharnutus describes the Pan of the other
Greeks, not as the mere corporeal world, but as the intel¬
lectual principle actuating it and presiding over it; and he
adds, that “ Pan was feigned to be lascivious, because of
the multitude of spermatic reasons in the world, and the
continual mixtures and generation of things.”
The Egyptians, as we learn from Jablonski, had nearly
the same'notion with the Greeks of the spirit which they
worshipped as the soul of the universe, only they ascribed
to it both sexes. As the maker, governor, and bountiful
father of universal nature, they considered it as a male,
whose symbol was the he-goat of Mendes; and as a fe¬
male it was adored by the name of Isis, to whom the she-
goat was consecrated, though not held in such veneration
as the male. From this view of the Egyptian creed, the
sacrifice which we have mentioned appears no longer un¬
accountable. It was made to a god, believed to be the
universal source of fecundity, and to whom, from the well-
known character of the animal which he was supposed to
actuate, they had reason to believe that it would be most
acceptable.
The Greeks never worshipped their Pan by the emblem
of a living goat; but they painted him with the lower parts
of a goat, for a reason which will be afterw ards mentioned.
How he came to degenerate amongst that people, from one
of the Dii majorum gentium, or rather from the first prin¬
ciple of all things, to the rank of a demon or demi-god, we
cannot pretend to say. But that such was his fate is cer¬
tain, for under this last character mention is made both of
his birth and his death.
It is not agreed whose son he w'as. Homer makes him
the son of Mercury, and says he was called Pan, from <xav,
omne, because he charmed all the gods with his flute; but
others say that he w as the son of Demogorgon, and first
invented the organ, of seven unequal reeds, joined together
in a particular manner. Having upon a time fought with
Cupid, the latter in spite made him fall in love with the
nymph Syrinx, who, flying from him to the banks of Ladon,
a river of Arcadia, was, at the instant prayers of the
Nymphs, turned into a reed, as her name in Greek sig¬
nifies, which the god grasping instead of her, made a pipe
of, and for his music was worshipped by the Arcadians. Ihe
most common opinion was, that he was the son of Mercury
and Penelope. But Naturae Comes makes his birth scan¬
dalous, by saying he was called <mv, because begotten by
all Penelope’s suitors. He was painted half-man half-goat,
with large goats’ horns, a chaplet of pine on his red face,
a pleasant laughter, with the feet and tail of a goat; a mot¬
ley skin covered his body, and he had a crooked stic' m
one hand, and his pipe in the other. He is described by M-
lius Italicus (xiii. 326, et seq.) as a sight enough to frighten
women and children, nay, even armed men too ; when
Brennus the (jraul was about to pillage the temple o po
at Delphos, Pan struck such a terror into his a™3?’ tn^
he quitted his sacrilegious design; and hence Pantci te -
rores. Yet, homely as he was, he pleased the goddess Lu-
1 Pantheon Egypiioram.
2 De Hide et Osiride.
PAN
in. na, turning himself easily into a white ram (Virgil, Georg.
^392, deinceps); and also the nymph Dryope, almost
putting off his divinity, and turning shepherd, for her sake.
Neither was he displeasing to other nymphs, who are ge¬
nerally represented dancing around him to hear the charms
of his pipe. The usual offerings made to him were milk
and honey, in shepherds’ wooden bowls. A dog, the wolf’s
enemy, was also sacrificed to him; and hence his usual
epithet is Xvxaiog, and his priests are called Luperci.
His festival, celebrated on tne 15th of February by the
Romans, was brought into Italy by Evander the Arcadian,
and revived afterwards by Romulus, in memory of his pre¬
server. He was also called by the Romans Inuus, ab in-
eundo. (Liv. i. 5 ; Macrob. Sat. i. 21 ; and Serv. in Virg.
ttn. vi. 775.) The ancients, by giving so many adjuncts
and attributes to this idol, seem to have designed him as
the symbol of the universe. His upper parts are human,
because the upper part of the world is fair, beautiful, and
smiling, like his face ; his horns symbolize the rays of the
sun and of the moon; his red face indicates the splendour
of the sky; the spotted skin wherewith he is clothed, the
stars which bespangle the firmament; the roughness of his
lower parts, beasts and vegetables; his goat’s feet, the soli¬
dity of the earth; his pipe, compacted of seven reeds, the
seven planets, which, they say, produce the harmony of
the spheres; and his crook, bending round at the top, the
years circling into one another.
Having said so much of Pan, both as a self-existent god
and as a generated demon, we shall conclude this article
with some observations on Plutarch’s account of the pro-
digy which happened at his death ; for, in the Pagan creed,
demons were not all believed immortal. “ In the reign of
Tiberius,” says he,1 “ certain persons on a voyage from
Asia to Italy, and sailing towards the evening by the
Echinedes, were there becalmed, and heard a loud voice
from the shore calling on one fhamus, an Egyptian pilot,
whom they had on board. Thamus, as may be supposed,
listened with attention ; and the voice, after repeating his
name thrice, commanded him when he came to the Pelo-
des, to declare that the Great Pan was dead. The man,
with the advice of his companions, resolved, that if they
should have a quick gale off the Pelodes, he would pass by
in silence; but that if they should be becalmed, he would
perform what the voice had commanded. Adhering to
this resolution, they soon arrived off the destined islands,
and were immediately becalmed, there being neither breath
of wind nor agitation of water. Upon this, Thamus, look¬
ing from the hinder part of the ship towards the land, pro¬
nounced with a loud voice, ‘ the Great Pan is dead,’ and
was instantly answered from the shore by numberless bowl¬
ings and lamentations.”
This story, which has so much the air of imposture, has
not only been admitted as true by men of the first emi¬
nence for learning and acuteness, but has been applied to
our Saviour, whose death, says Cudworth, the demons
mourned, not from love, but from a presage that it would
put a period to the tyranny and domination which they
had so long exercised over the souls and bodies of men.
In support of this opinion, he quotes several passages of
Scripture, such as, “ Now is the prince of this world
ru u- j ari^’ ^avinS spoiled principalities and powers
(by his death upon the cross), he triumphed over them in
it. He affirms likewise, that “ Pan being taken for that
reason or understanding by which all things were made,
and by which they are all governed, or for that divine wis¬
dom which diffuseth itself through all things, is a name
which might very well signify Gcd manifested in the
PAN
781
nn3h f^o^ty of Cudworth is great; but a groundless Panama,
opinion has seldom been propped by weaker reasoning than ‘
he make8 use of on this occasion. Plutarch indeed says,
^ that this Prodigy fel1 out during the
gn of 1 ibenus ; but as he mentions not the year of that
reign, there is no evidence that it was at the crucifixion of
our Saviour, fhe demons who inhabited the Echinedes
knew what had been transacted at Jerusalem, far distant
from their islands ; they knew the name of the pilot of a
strange ship ; they knew that the mariners of that ship had
resolved to disobey their command, unless becalmed off
e Pelodes ; they had power over both the winds and
waves at the Pelodes, and exerted that power to enforce
obedience to their command ; and yet these all-knowing
and powerful beings were under the necessity of callino- in
inf,KV0f a ni.an t0 deljver a message to their companions,
nhabiting a place to which the very same story assures us
tiiat their own power and knowledge reached. Should it
be said that the demons were compelled by divine power
thus publicly to make known to man Christ’s triumph over
the kingdom of darkness, we beg leave to ask why they
were not likewise compelled to give him another name,
since it is certain, that at the era of Tiberius, and lonir be-
ore, illiterate Pagans, such as common seamen must be
supposed to have been, knew no other Pan than the fabled
son of Penelope and Mercury? Indeed the other Pan,
wprT °Vhat °r understandmg by which all things
were made, could not possibly be the being here meant.
or, erroneous as the Pagan system was, there is nothing in
it so completely absurd as the death of the soul of the uni¬
verse, the maker of all things ; nor do we believe that any
posXe6^ eX1Sted’ who dreamed that such a death was
stn™wiU be asl<ed> are we to understand by this
P utarch was eminent for knowledge and integrity,
and he relates it without expressing a doubt of its truth,
iiut many a man of worth has been credulous; and though
rjr0t “S charact5’ this prodigy may be accounted
foi by natural means. Germamcus was believed to have
been poisoned, at least with the knowledge, if not by the
command, of Tiberius ; and there was nothing which the
Romans so deeply deplored as the untimely death of that
accomplished prince.2 They fancied that his body was ani-
”laj thpn0|t bya 1,urfan souI> bat by a superior demon;
and they decreed to him statues, religious ceremonies, and
even sacrifices. His widow was highly honoured, as having
been nearly related to a divinity, and his children were
adoi ed as demi-gods. I hese facts being admitted, nothing
appears to us more probable than the opinion of the learn?
ed Mosheim,3 who thinks that some shrewd statesman, in
order to excite the popular fury against Tiberius to the
highest pitch, invented this story, and bribed foreign ma-
nners to spread it amongst the people, who would naturally
believe, that by the Great Pan was meant their favourite
Germamcus. Phis hypothesis is at least countenanced
bj what Plutarch tells us of the anxiety of the emperor to
discover what personage could be meant by the Pan whose
death was announced to the seamen. He consulted the
earned men of Rome, who, in order to restore peace to
the city, declared that they understood it of none other
than the son of Penelope and Mercury.
PANAGUR, a town or village of Hindustan, in the
province of Malwah, and district of Gurrah, 115 miles
soatb lyTLC,haTtterpoor- LonS- 88* 15- E- Lab 25. 20. N.
cm N^MA,jISxTH.MUS OF (also tbe name op a province
of New Grenada), is that extraordinary ligature or neck
of land which connects the continents of North and South
America. It is also sometimes called the Isthmus of Da-
1 Lib. de Oracul. Defect.
2 Tacitus, Annal. cap. ^2, 83, et lib. iii. cap. 1.
3 Cudworth’s Intel. Syst. cap. iv, note 132.
782
Panama.
PANAMA.
rien, a name which-, however, is much out of use, and
' ousht to be entirely expunged from geographical works.
The isthmus of Panama may be considered as extending
from the meridian of 77° to that of 81° west of Greenwich.
Its breadth at the narrowest, which is opposite the city ot
Panama, is not less than thirty miles; and it swells out at
either extremity, where it becomes blended with the con¬
tinental portions of the western world. Its whole extent
is not, however, comprised within the limits of the province
which bears the same name ; for to the north-east, the
Mandingo Indians maintain a fierce, and not unlrequently
a turbulent independence, to the present day. Ihe conti¬
nuity of the great chain of the Andes, which, for the most
part, traverses the whole continent of America, is twice
broken within the limits above defined. The Northern
Cordillera exhibits the first indication of depression m the
province of Nicaragua; but it again elevates itselt in the
province of Veragua, where it expands into a very fine
table-land. In the eastern part of the province it brea s
into detached mountains of considerable elevation, and of
the most abrupt and rugged formation. Still farther to
the east, innumerable conical mountains make their ap¬
pearance, only three or four hundred feet in height, and
having their bases skirted by plains and savannahs, i hese
finally disappear, and the country becomes almost unin¬
terruptedly low and flat. Again the conica mountains
thicken, and becoming connected, form a small cordillera,
which runs from about opposite Portobello to the bay ot
Mandingo, where the second break occurs. The land then
continues low for a considerable distance, and abounds in
rivers, those on the north side flowing to the Gulf of Ura-
ba or Darien, and those on the south to that of St Miguel;
beyond which point the cordillera again raises itselt on an
extended scale, and enters South America. Ihe genera
bearing of the mountains in the vicinity of Panama is
north-east and south-west. They vary elsewhere, and ap¬
pear to maintain some relation to the line of coast, although
they do not always run parallel to it. Their height is not
considerable. Near Panama they do not exceed 1000 or
1100 feet in elevation. East of Portobello, however, they
are considerably higher, and are generally covered with
a dense and almost impenetrable forest, which grows on a
soil of great depth and extraordinary fertility. Mr Web¬
ster, another traveller in this region, observes, with regard
to the mountains of the isthmus: “ The mountains which
I enumerated were measured by us, and found to be less
than 2000 feet high. The principal ingredients of the hills
are hornblende, jasper, hornstone, and trap-porphyry ; ba¬
salt, agate, and quartz rock. A crumbly arenaceous quartz
rock prevails near Chagres, containing iron, pyrites, and
lead. The stones at Portobello have the volcanic charac¬
ter ; and the sand on the beach is ot a black description,
like that of Fernando Noronha. The streets of Portobello
are paved with basalt nodules. Quartz rock is very abun¬
dant throughout the isthmus, in many varieties; several
beds of clay, boles, ochres, and fullers’ earth, are also to be
found.” Limestone is the prevailing rock, which is skirted
on the south side with indurated clay, and on the north
with coral rock. The latter is impregnated with a singu¬
lar gelatinous matter, which imparts to it the property of
firmly adhering under water to whatever it comes in con¬
tact with. It is easily dug out of the earth, but on ex¬
posure to the air it becomes very hard and close in the
texture. It thus forms an excellent building material, as Panai
does the indurated clay. Besides limestone, flint, calcedo-
ny, jasper, and ironstone are found in the interior ; and near
Gatun, on the river Chagres, there is a very fine fire-stone
of great utility in the construction of grates, furnaces, and
other things which require to stand a high degree of heat.
In building materials of all kinds, indeed, Panama is unusu¬
ally rich ; but in the precious metals it is poor. In Panama
proper only two mines are worked, Santa Rita and Pequeni,
both for gold ; but their produce is insignificant. They are
situated in the mountains near Portobello. In Veragua and
Choco, very pure gold is obtained in considerable quantity
by washing ; copper and iron are abundant; and mercury
and tin are also said to have been found. But very little
capital is embarked in the respective works, and the total
amount obtained, either by mining or by washing, is com¬
paratively small and uncertain from year to year.
This province abounds in rivers, and in the rainy sea¬
son every mile of land is intersected by a flowing stream,
which carries off the surplus water. These disappear dur¬
ing the summer heats; but the following remain permanent¬
ly, and are considered by Mr Lloyd as worthy of particu¬
lar description. On the northern side of the isthmus, and
consequently flowing into the Atlantic, are the Chagres,
Pequeni, Trinidad, and Gatun, which all unite and form
one large river before they reach the ocean ; and on the
south side, and falling into the Pacific, are the Rio Grande,
Caymito or Chorrero, Pacoro, Indio, and Ballana or Chepo.
The Chagres rises in the mountains which approach the
Bay of Mandingo, a considerable distance to the eastward
of Portobello. After traversing a great tract of country,
when nearly opposite to Portobello it receives the Pe-
queni, which comes from the south-east, and is of equal
magnitude with itself. The united streams form a noble
river, but flowing so rapidly, and broken into so many falls,
as to render navigation very dangerous, even for canoes.
Its velocity abates as it approaches the sea; and at the
town of Cruces, which is twenty-three miles direct from
the Atlantic, it seldom exceeds from three to three miles
and a half per hour, even in the rainy season. Still nearer
to the ocean, it rapidly decreases, so that in summer its cur¬
rent is scarcely perceptible. “ Few rivers of its size, says
Mr Lloyd, “ present more beautiful scenery on its banks
than does the Chagres above Cruces. For miles together, it
is bounded by enormous, abrupt masses ot limestone, ot the
most curious and fantastic forms ; in other parts savannahs
extend to the very edge of the river, covered with a par¬
ticularly fine grass called grammallotti; and the noble
bongo tree is seen studding the banks, somewhat in the
shape of a well-trimmed yew-tree, but growing to a much
larger size. In most places the river is shaded from the
sun’s rays by a large tree called jigeron, which extends its
branches across the river, its leaves being eager y &3Ug
by the fish. The water generally runs over a bed of vari¬
ously coloured pebbles, and is in summer most brilliantly
clear. In many places near its source it is much wider
than at its mouth, occasionally breaking into distinct chan¬
nels, and forming small islands; but in the rainy
these are all connected, and constitute one broad stiea ,
with strong sets and eddies, caused by the abrupt urn ,
which render its navigation peculiarly perilous,
river Trinidad enters the Chagres about twenty-four miles
from its mouth, and is also a large river. It has its ong
1 We are enabled to present a pretty full account of this hitherto imperfectly described portion of *™“onal sta^ re.
circumstance. In November 1827, Mr Lloyd, who had served for some time previously on General ^ ^ communi(.a.
ceived from him a special commission to survey the isthmus of 1 anama, in order to ascertain t t voiume of the
?ion across it whether by road or canal. The notes which he made on this occasion have been published in the first volu^ ^ of
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society ; and from the article containing °"r f intervening isthirfus, will be found
his operations, in so far as they regarded the level of the respective seas, and the elevation ot the intervei g
detailed at length in the Philosophical Transactions for 1830, p. 59.
PANAMA.
iama
very near the south coast, not far from the town of Chor-
~ rera. Canoes of various descriptions navigate this river
as far as a large town called Capua, which lies south-west
of Chorrera, and bring down produce to Chagres. As high
as Mr Lloyd went up, which was not, however, as far as
Capua, he found it about two hundred feet in breadth,
from twenty to twenty-eight feet in depth, and without
falls or any other impediment to easy navigation. The
river Gatun is also of considerable consequence, although
neither very wide nor very deep. It rises in the moun¬
tains east of Portobello ; and crossing both the roads lead¬
ing from that city to Panama, joins the Chagres in front of
the town of Gatun, about eight miles from the sea. Some
considerable lakes exist in the vicinity of its embouchure;
and although it is shallow and encumbered with trees dur¬
ing its course, it is very useful as a shelter for shipping
during tempestuous weather. With the united assistance
of all these rivers, the navigation of the Chagres below the
junction of the Trinidad is easy, and very superior to that
of some streams of much larger size. The depth below
Gatun varies from twenty-six to thirty feet; above that it
is twenty-four, and nowhere falls permanently below twen¬
ty-two. The banks are wooded to the very edges, and so
precipitous that vessels can almost everywhere be brought
close to them. The Rio Grande rises to the north-west
of Panama, near a mountain called Pedro Miguel, and
after receiving some considerable tributaries, becomes na¬
vigable for large canoes two leagues above its mouth,
which is about two miles from the city of Panama. It is
obsti ucted by a bar, but the tide rising eighteen feet in
spring floods, vessels readily enter and find good anchorage
within. In some places the Rio Grande very nearly ap¬
proaches the Obispo, one of the affluents of the Chagres ;
and much interest was consequently at one time taken in
the circumstance, from an idea that the long-wished-for
communication between the two oceans might thus be ef¬
fected. The shallowness of the stream, however, presents
an insurmountable objection to this plan. The Caymito,
or Chorrera, falls into the Pacific ten miles west of Pana¬
ma, and is formed by the union of numerous insignificant
streams, which take their rise in different parts of the west¬
ern cordillera. The mouth of this river is not obstructed
by a bar, but the tide runs so strongly into and out of it,
that the anchorage for shipping is bad, and exposed. It is
infested by a prodigious number of alligators, and hence
its name, Caymito. Before reaching the Pacific, the Pa-
cora and Indio unite, near the island of Chepillo, about
eighteen miles east of Panama, and form a broad, rapid,
and winding stream for several leagues above its mouth.
On the banks of the Indio an English resident in Panama
erected a saw-mill, capable of sawing from fifteen to twenty
thousand boards annually. An inexhaustible supply of the
finest timber is found in its immediate vicinity ; and so great
is the fertility of the soil, that a small portion only, laboured
by two men, is sufficient to supply ample subsistence for
the whole establishment. The river Ballano or Chepo is
o gi eat extent, and, under the name of Canada, rises in
the province of Darien, near the source of another river
a UCUnaque’ which faI]s int0 the Pacific in the
Yulr of San Miguel. The Bellano receives several streams
during its course, which is nearly west, and in some de¬
gree parallel to the coast for many miles, until it sudden¬
ly turns to the southward, and enters the Pacific a few
miles east of the Pacora. It is navigable as far as this
bend; and on its banks, a little higher up, is situated the
own o Chepo, which is of some consequence, as being
tbe assigned place of communication with the Mandingo
indians. farther on is a fbrt called Fuerte Terrible, built
o prevent their incursions ; and the line of the river gene¬
rally is considered the boundary.
I here aie two seasons in Panama, namely, summer or
783
the dijq and winter or the rainy season. The former com- Panama,
mences about the end of December, and lasts till April;'
and the latter occupies the intervening months. The quan-
ity o lain which thus falls during the year is prodigious,
but its amount varies at different places. The clouds
cue y congiegate over the wooded heights, in conse-
quence of a law of nature which universally prevails. At
1 ortobello, which is closely encircled by them, the rain
descends in torrents, frequently accompanied by storms of
thunder and lightning, terrible and grand in the highest
degree. Where the ground, however, is level to any ex¬
tent, and has been cleared of its wood, a great difference
!f PerfPtible; and at Panama the following alternations
have been observed. “ In April the weather becomes
cloudy about noon ; but, after drizzling for half an hour
clears up. In May, from nine to eleven, it is dull, with
slight rain ; the afternoons being still fine. In June there
is rain every morning and evening; but the mid-days are
lair. As the season advances the rain gradually increases,
and is incessant throughout July, August, September, and
Uetober. In November the nights are always wet and
cloudy, but throughout the days the sky begins to break.
December brings a further improvement; and in January,
r ebruary, and March, a shower of rain is as uncommon as
a gleam of sunshine at the other season of the year.” One
very remarkable phenomenon occurs throughout the whole
isthmus. On the 20th of June the rain ceases for five or
six days, when the sun shines forth with surpassing splen¬
dour ; nor is any instance known of irregularity in the re¬
currence of this extraordinary phenomenon. It is accord¬
ingly reckoned on with great confidence by the inhabitants,
who call it El Veramto, or little summer, and celebrate
the occasion by a jubilee of rejoicing. The temperature
and salubrity of the climate also vary in different places.
1 or obello is one of the hottest and most unhealthy places
in the world. At Panama, on the contrary, the thermo-
meter, in the rainy season, does not rise higher at night
than fe2 and in the day than 87° of Fahrenheit. The winds
are variable and cool; and although the rain is incessant,
there is thus no stagnation in the atmosphere, and conse¬
quently no epidemic sickness. In summer the temperature
uses to 90 , and even as high as 93°; and during the day
the reflection of the sun from the smooth surface of the Pa¬
cific, with the heat of the winds, which blow steadily from
the south-east, over a tract of dry savannahs, makes it
very sultry. But the land-winds, which come chiefly from
the neighbouring mountains at night, are cool, and the cli¬
mate may be pronounced generally healthy, although great
mortality at times prevails. It is believed, however, that
tins may be attributed to over-indulgence in the use of
some articles of diet, which are unusually abundant at cer¬
tain seasons of the year.
It appears that a large proportion of the soil of the isth¬
mus of Panama is exceedingly fertile, and the vegetable
productions are most luxuriant. In Mr Lloyd’s opinion,
it challenges competition with any other part of the world
in the vigour and variety of its woods. That gentleman gives
a list of about a hundred kinds of wood, of excellent or at
least good quality, and which are either unknown or little
known in Europe. A number of these are very hard and
close grained; some resemble box, which must render
them very valuable; and others are similar to birch, beech,
ash, elm, and those trees which are familiar to us. There
are also cotton trees, cedars, lignum-vitae, a bastard maho¬
gany, fustic, calabash, and so forth. The fruits and escu¬
lent vegetables found in the isthmus are those of similar
intra-tropical situations. The grains cultivated are rice
and Indian corn. The sugar-cane is grown, but not exten¬
sively. Coffee and cocoa are cultivated as required for
home consumption. The milk-tree {polo de vacca), va¬
nilla plant, and caoutchouc tree, are all abundant in the
784
PANAMA.
Panama, woods. With the gum which flows from the last-named
production, while it is yet in a liquid state, the inhabitants
manufacture a sort of water-proof cloth, on the same prin¬
ciple as in this country ; but which, thus prepared, is more
uniform in its texture, and never cracks. I he chaicoa
made from many of the trees is considered as excellent for
smelting; and as such is exported to Peru, where
much request. Indeed, from the hardness of much of t e
wood, the excellence of the charcoal made from it was to
be inferred. The barks of some of the trees are medicinal,
or abound in tannin. Ink is made both from gall-nuts and
from a bush resembling the caper, called alsifax. Other
trees yield very rich and brilliant dyes used by the Indians,
but, Mr Lloyd believes, as yet unknown in commerce.
Many valuable resins are obtained, particularly one distil¬
led from the bark of a tree called palo santo, or holy tree,
which is highly fragrant, and is used not only as a remedy
for disorders, but is burned as incense. The styrax oth-
cinalis of Linnmus is very abundant, the gum extracted
from it selling for two dollars a pound.
The wild animals of the woods are tigers, or rather tiger-
cats, which are seldom larger than small Newfoundland
dogs • lions, at least so an animal resembling the king of
the forest is called ; bears; racoons ; sajinos, a species of
wild boar found in droves ; wild hogs in herds; conejos,
something like our rabbits, but larger ; deer in abundance
on the borders of the woods ; multitudes of monkeys ot va¬
rious species ; together with wild turkeys, both black and
coloured ; birds resembling our hen-pheasants; pigeons,
ducks, and other game, all excellent for food. Ihe most
formidable animals are the wild dogs, which, when toge¬
ther in droves, and fired upon, will readily attack one or two
men. The tiger does not attack the human species, but preys
upon the smaller animals. On the banks of the Pacora,
at its mouth, a wild animal is found called macho, or danta,
nearly of the size and appearance of a jackass, which, pie-
pared, is considered a great dainty. The isthmus enjoys a
bad celebrity for snakes and poisonous reptiles ; but the ob¬
servations of Mr Lloyd do not go to confirm this report.
The country people, however, stand in great awe of them,
and will seldom move abroad after nightfall, lest they should
encounter them. They even go so far as to wear charms
round their necks for the protection of their persons. A
o-reat pest in the country are what are called ganapatas, or
ticks, which, in half an hour’s walk in summer, will com¬
pletely cover the person, and are with difficulty loosenea
from their hold. There are other smaller insects, very
numerous and annoying, amongst which mosquitos are in
the usual abundance. Fire-flies are common, and very
brilliant; with many other insects, which Mr Lloyd ap¬
prehends have not yet found their way into entomologica
catalogues. Amongst the domestic animals, and those
chiefly used for food, are oxen for draught and slaughter,
horses, mules, goats, pigs, fowls, and fish. The breed of
cattle is of a good size ; and the draught-oxen, when well
broken, fetch from twenty-five to thirty dollars each. I he
best of those for slaughter may be bought at from twelve
to eighteen dollars each. The race of horses is small, but
hardy, and their price varies from fifteen to forty dollars.
Mules are the animals most prized in the country ; for, as is
well known, no other animal is ridden in mountainous dis¬
tricts. Their price sometimes reaches as high as 120 dol¬
lars ; but they can be obtained for less money. Goats are
not so plentiful as might have been expected; but as they
are in great request in the West Indies, it is to be infer¬
red that they are exported there whenever they attain the
proper size, so that comparatively few on an average remain
at Panama. Pigs are few, and of most exorbitant value.
When of a good size, and well fattened, they fetch from
thirty to thirty-five dollars each. Fish and fowl are plen¬
tiful, cheap, and much used; and in Panama market hun¬
dreds of young sharks, of the kind denominated shovel- Panatjj
nosed, and from one to two feet and a half long, are daily
sold for food. The guana is considered an especial dainty,
as are pearl oysters, and many varieties of game, which are
brought in from the woods. Even the monkey tribes are
eaten, especially in the country bivouacs, although they
are seldom offered for sale in the town markets. The chief
articles of farinaceous food are maize and rice ; yet the
home growth of either seems to be rather limited for so
fine a region. The greater part of the sugar used in the
isthmus is imported in skins from Central America, or
from the valley of Cauca, by way of Buenaventura, on the
Choco coast, and is consequently very dear. The home
produce is chiefly miel or molasses, and raspadura or pan¬
sugar, which the inhabitants prefer to tbe finer prepara¬
tions of the article. Great quantities of wild honey are
gathered in the woods, the bees collecting which do nbt
sting, and are thus robbed without precaution.
The communication across the isthmus is maintained
chiefly by two lines of road; one from Panama to Porto-
bello, and another equally from Panama, by way of Ciuces,
to Gorgona, down the Chagres, to the seaport of the same
name at its mouth. Fhere are some others in use, but
little known, and under the Spaniards their impiovement
and multiplication were much discouraged. Mr Lloyd
strongly recommends a new line to be formed, differing
from them all, and beginning on the Atlantic at a fine bay
called Limon or Navy Bay, about five leagues east from
Chagres. From this he proposes it should proceed to the
river Chagres, some miles above its mouth, where its
course approaches this bay by a canal; thence up the river
to a favourable situation on the south bank of the Irini-
dad, where its shores are excellently suited for being con¬
verted into wharfs and landing places, both for goods and
cattle ; and thence finally to Panama or Chorrera by a
railroad, the latter being the shorter distance, but the for¬
mer the preferable route, both as conducting to a better
seaport, and as terminating in Panama, the capital and
the centre of trade. Mr Lloyd’s reasons for suggesting
this innovation will be found detailed at length in the ar¬
ticle to which we have already referred. Ihe present
roads are exceedingly bad, and they traverse a mountain¬
ous part of the country. That between Panama and Porto*
bello is in this respect greatly the worse of the two, being
in many places almost impassable in the rainy season,
from the steepness of the ascents and descents. But the
roads to Cruces and Gorgona also lead across a mountain¬
ous country, and are extremely difficult in bad weather;
a considerable part of the latter, indeed, being merely the
bed of what is in winter a large stream.
The isthmus of Panama is divided into two provinces,
viz. Panama which includes the Darien, and Veragua.
These again are divided into cantons, having a certain
number of parishes in each. According to a census taken
in 1822, the latest which we have been able to obtain, the
following was the state of the population in the two pro-
Province of Panama.—The canton of Panama, which
comprehended eight parishes besides the capital, contain
ed 16,724 souls; the canton of Chorrera, containing tour
parishes and the capital Chorrera, 7411 souls; the can¬
ton of Los Santos, containing eight parishes and the cap -
tal Los Santos, 21,348 souls; the canton of Nata, con¬
taining four parishes and the capital, 1/,108 sou >
canton of Portobello, containing four parishes and he ca¬
pital, 2425 souls; and the canton of Darien, contain g
seven parishes and the capital Tavisa, 1172 s.ouls’ •
Province of Veragua.—The canton of Santiago,
ing six parishes and the capital, 14,170 gou’s**ie ital
ton of Remedies, containing three parishes and the ,
5010 souls; the canton de la Mesa, containing P
PANAMA.
ma> rishes and the capital, 8722 souls; and the canton of
Alange, containing six parishes and the capital, 7465 souls.
The summary of the province of Panama gives the total
number of inhabitants as 66,188, and that of Veragua as
35,367. The total population of the whole isthmus was
101,550 in the year 1822, nor has it altered to any great
extent since. Most of these cantons, with the exception
of Portobello and Darien, which are almost uncultivated,
are alike in their resources; but distinct reports of the
produce of each were not obtained by Mr Lloyd. The po¬
pulation is distributed into white and coloured; and most
of the descendants of mestizoes, and even mulattoes, are
considered as white, provided they be in easy circumstances.
Wealth is here a powerful charm in dissolving caste. One
person in every five has a house, or, in other words, the
average "number in a family is five. From the excess of
births above .deaths in one of the cantons, that of Los
Santos, it appears that the rate of increase is one and a
half per cent., which is low when compared with that of
the United States, for instance, where the increase exceeds
three and approaches four per cent. Of the houses, al¬
most a half are marked as belonging to the country, which
indicates at once security and the prevalence of agricul¬
tural occupations. Mr Lloyd thinks that the canton of
Los Santos may be taken as a fair specimen of the others;
with the exceptions already stated, and also that of Pana¬
ma, the presence of the capital and the emporium of trade
giving a preponderance in its favour. In general, how¬
ever, the western and central districts, with the islands in
the Bay of Panama, are the best cultivated and most po¬
pulous, Los Santos being one of them. Elsewhere the
landlords keep their estates chiefly in grass, to save trouble;
and the population is nowhere industrious, although strong'
and enduring under occasional fatigue. The extreme fe£
tility of the soil is one of the main causes of the general
indolence; for with a small expenditure of labour, a man
can procure a respectable subsistence for himself and fa¬
mily. They are, however, quite susceptible of steadily
practising habits of industry when the stimulus employed
is powerful enough to call forth their energies. “ There
are within the province,” Mr Lloyd observes, “ several
regiments of militia, formed of the lower classes of people
and Indians, excellent workmen in felling timber and clear¬
ing ground, and particularly apt in acquiring any mechani¬
cal art.” They are exceedingly simple in their habits, and
are easily maintained, so that, in the projected communica¬
tion between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, workmen will
be obtained at a cheap rate; a circumstance of very great
importance to the success of the undertaking.
The capital of the isthmus is Panama, the site of which
has been once changed. The old city stood about three
miles east from the present situation ; and, on the first arri¬
val of the Spaniards in 1515, it was occupied by an Indian
population, who were attracted to the spot on account of
the vast abundance of fish on the coast, and gave the name
of Panama to their place of residence, that word in their
language signifying “ much fish.” The natives, however,
were speedily dispossessed by their ruthless invaders; and,
as early as the year 1521, the title and privileges of a city
were conferred on the Spanish town by the Emperor
Charles V. In the year 1670, old Panama was reduced to
a heap of ruins by the pirate Morgan ; and it was after this
catastrophe that the city was built on the spot where it
now stands. Panama is situated in latitude 8.57. north, and
longitude 79.30. west from Greenwich, on a rocky tongue
of land shaped nearly like a spear-head, extending a con-
siderable way into the sea. Its harbour is protected by a
number of islands lying at a little distance from the main¬
land, and some of which are of considerable size, and high-
v cultivated. These spots upon the sea, scattered around
the Bay of Panama, are the gardens of the town, and afford
VOL. xvi.
785
a plentiful supply of fruit and vegetables. There is good Panama,
anchorage under the lee of all of them; and, besides the
productions of the soil, good water can be obtained from
nearly the whole of them. The plan of the city is some¬
what irregular ; but the principal streets extend across the
peninsula, which allows a current of air freely to circu¬
late ; and the rules for cleanliness are here more strictly
observed than is usual in Spanish American towns. The
foi tifications which encircle the town are neither regular
nor strong, although the walls are high, and the bastions
have been constructed from time to time, as circumstances
required that the place should be protected. The build¬
ings are of stone, and generally most substantial, those of
a large size having patios or courts. They are constructed
in the old Spanish style. Amongst edifices of a public
nature may be mentioned a beautiful cathedral, four con¬
vents, now nearly or altogether deserted, a nunnery, a col¬
lege de la Compania, and also the walls of another, which
was begun on a magnificent scale, but was never finished,
and is now crumbling to ruins. Immediately around Pa¬
nama, eastward along the coast, and north-westward from
it, the land is low and flat; but westward and north-east¬
ward, the mountains approach it closely; and, from a hill
in the vicinity, about six hundred feet in height, a view
may be obtained of the sea with its islands, and the country
with its forest-mantled mountains, and its green savannahs.
The beach is fringed with plantain and banana trees,
growing amongst oranges, figs, and limes, and numberless
rich shrubs, shaded by the tamarind, which crowns them
all, except the cocoa-nut, with its feathery top and naked
stem. Panama is celebrated for its gold chains, in the
manufacture of which the natives are remarkably expert.
The hat which goes by the name of this city, and is a fa¬
vourite head-dress in the country, is brought from Guaya¬
quil, and costs from two to twenty dollars. This city en¬
joyed a long period of prosperity; but it has materially de¬
clined since America cast off the Spanish yoke. Yet it pos¬
sesses advantages in regard to situation which may yet be
turned to great commercial account; and Panama may still
be restored to more than its former opulence and splendour.
The population amounts to nearly 11,000.
Portobello is situated in latitude 9. 34. 35. north, and
longitude 77. 45. west, close to the sea, at the foot of im-
mcnse mountains, which surround the whole of* the port.
It consists of one long street, which environs the bay, and
fiom it smaller ones branch off where the ground renders
this practicable. There are, besides, two squares, one in
front of the treasury, which is built of stone; and another
formed on one side by the church, which is also of stone,
and a capacious edifice, considering the smallness of the
population. It has been allowed, however, to fall into
ruin; and the same may be said of all the public and
most of the private buildings. The hospital, and even the
fortifications, are dilapidated ; and of the houses in town
only a few remain tenantable. Portobello has an unhappy
notoriety for the insalubrity of its climate, and has acquired
the title of the Sepulchre of Europeans. The heat is
most oppressive, and the town being closely environed
by mountains, the freshness of the sea-breezes is never
felt. Immense forests also cover the mountains, and the
denseness of their foliage excluding the sun’s rays, the
earth icmains moist, and a thick unhealthy vapour is con¬
tinually exhaling, which collecting in clouds, covers the
town like a pall, and keeps up an almost perpetual rain.
i\ot only the human species, but even the lower animals,
degenerate, and cease to produce in this Golgotha; so
that not a cattle-estate is to be found in its vicinity, all
the meat consumed being brought from Panama. The
mountains and forests, which abound with animals of va¬
rious kinds, extend to the very foundations of the houses,
so that it is no uncommon thing to find wild hogs and
5 G
786
PANAMA.
Panama, small tigers usurping the abodes of man. Toads of a large
* size are also so abundant, that after a night of rain they
cover the streets like a living pavement, and it is impossi¬
ble to walk without crushing them. The population is
now extremely limited, about eleven hundred ; the greater
part being negroes and mulattoes, with a few old Spa¬
niards, tenacious of their property, and who are rapidly
dying out. Occasionally a few visitors from Panama ar¬
rive with goods, which they dispose of at an exorbitant
rate ; and a small detachment of troops is sent from t ie
capital to do duty for a short time.
Chagres is a miserable place, about thirty-two miles
west from Portobello. It is situated in a little sandy bay,
at the mouth of the river Chagres, on its north side, and
consists of an assemblage of dirty, rude, ill-conditione
huts, built of reeds. From the nature of the surround¬
ing countrv, it is open to no wind but a westerly one, and
is thus, like Portobello, extremely unhealthy. A castle,
in which ten guns are mounted, protects the mouth of the
river and the small harbour. The inhabitants are chiefly
black or coloured, with the exception of a few custom¬
house officers, and the commandant of the castle. Iney
are said to amount to about two thousand in number.
Chagres and Portobello are the only towns or villages on
the Atlantic shore of the isthmus; and, as we have seen,
they are of a very inferior description. About nine miles
east from Chagres is Navy Bay, called also the Bay of
Limon. It is large and spacious, being three miles in width
at the entrance. The other towns of Panama are of little
importance. Gatun is but a small village. orgona is
somewhat larger, being a point where passengers going to
the capital frequently land. Cruces, however, is the place
to which goods are always conveyed. It is pleasantly situ¬
ated on a fine open plain, upon the left or southern bank of
the river Chagres, about thirty-four miles from its mouth,
and eight hours’ ride from Panama. The inhabitants of
these places are nearly all owners of canoes or mules, or
store-keepers for taking charge of goods, or bagas, that is,
persons employed in working canoes. Cruces and Gor-
gona are also resorted to in summer as watering-places by
the inhabitants of Panama, being considered very healthy;
and the town of Chorrera, situated upon the river of that
same, enioys the same advantage.
The trade on the Atlantic shore of the isthmus is main¬
tained with Jamaica by a British man-of-war, which sails
monthly for the purpose of conveying letters and specie ;
with Carthagena by government vessels, twice a month;
and with the same and a few other points by independent
traders, which bring freight to Chagres, and there ex¬
change it. On the Pacific side it embraces al parts of
the coast, both north and south, which find it their inte¬
rest to communicate with Europe in. this way. Specie is
conveyed across the isthmus to be embarked at Chagres
at an expense of ten dollars two reals for every five thou¬
sand dollars or ounces; and there is, besides, a transit duty
of three per cent, on silver, and one per cent, on gold.
Return goods are brought to Panama, where they are
lodged in the custom-house immediately on their arrival.
If for exportation, they pay a duty of two per cent.; and it
fof home consumption, according to the nature of the ar¬
ticle. The trade of the isthmus is very limited, but it is
believed to be improving. The financial affairs of the
government of Panama stood thus in 1827: Receipts,
241,682 dollars; expenditure, 238,929 ditto; leaving a ba¬
lance in the treasury of 2753 dollars. The income is not
one third of what it was in 1812, when Panama was attach¬
ed to Spain ; but this arose from that exclusive system of
dealing which was universally practised by that power.
The upper classes in the isthmus belong to the com¬
mon stock of Spanish America, but are by no means so
far advanced in civilization as their neighbours. Ihe
white people, and particularly the women, who are ex- Pana
ceedingly retired in their manners, are noted for a tinge'"—-v
of the European complexion, which is scarcely to be
looked for from their geographical position. They are
very superstitious and illiterate, children being brought
up in the very worst manner. Hence, although there is
a well-conducted college at Panama, the blessings which
it would otherwise difluse are greatly counteracted by the
negligence with which parents superintend their offspring,
allowing them to associate indiscriminately with the low¬
est negroes of their own age. Ihey thus acquire habits
of gambling and other kinds of low vice; the first be¬
ing the curse of the country, and indeed of almost every
part of the former dominions of Spain in the western
world. The inhabitants display a considerable turn for
commerce; and, from the highest to the lowest, each keeps
a shop or tienda. rI he lower classes also pursue different
handicrafts; but, with the exception of goldsmiths’ work,
to which we have already alluded, they are rude in all.
The field for this branch of art, however, as for every
other which contributes to luxury, is now much curtailed.
But the dress of the women, on occasions of religious pro¬
cessions or rejoicings, is still very splendid. They deco¬
rate their persons with a profusion of ornaments, amongst
which pearls are conspicuous for their number and bril¬
liancy. These are procured amongst the islands off the
coast, by diving, which is pursued as a favourite occupa¬
tion, although both very laborious and uncertain.
By the last arrangement affecting this country, it forms
the north-western boundary of New Grenada, one of the
three republics into which Colombia separated in the year
1.832. , • . v
We are unwilling to enter at any length into the much
agitated question of a communication between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans, because it is at present only a matter
of speculation, and, from all appearances, the work will be
one of distant and very uncertain fulfilment. There are
no less than five plans by which it is proposed to effect
this junction. Beginning with the most northerly, it has
been suggested that the Gulf of Mexico might be united
to the Gulf of Tehuantepec in the Pacific, by means of a
canal which should join the sources of the Chimilapa to
those of the Rio del Passo. The distance (thirty-eight
leagues), and other circumstances, render this plan by no
means a favourite. Its realization is more important to the
state of Mexico than to the general interests of the com¬
mercial world. By the second and third plans, the lines of
communication pass through Central America, and a notice
of them will be found in the article Nicaragua. The com¬
munication through the Isthmus of Panama has occupied
more attention than any of the others; and although it will
not answer for a ship-canal, it presents great facilities for
transferring merchandise from one ocean to the other, at
a trifling expense, by a river and canal sufficiently deep tor
steam-boats. Mr Lloyd’s attention was chiefly directed
to the practicability of a railroad along the level country
between the mouth of the Trinidad and the town or river
of Chorrera; and no doubt this work would be very be¬
neficial. But many persons are of opinion, that by deep¬
ening the Obispo, and the Mandingo, which flows into
it, and then connecting these rivers by a canal with tne
Rio Grande, at the point whence it is navlSabletn
Pacific, the desired object would be attained fully
well as by the plan of Mr Llyod. The distance from he
Chagres, at the point where the Obispo enters it, to
Rio Grande, is twelve miles; and the Obispo, at ltsJ
tion with the Mandingo, or nearly at that part, aPFoa ‘
es to within four miles and a half of the Rio Grand ,
interval between the two rivers presenting no seriou
stacle, ami being nearly flat. This is certainly the shortes
route ; but whether it is practicable, or is even the o
PAN
PAN
nao
e
p "oo-
remains to be determined by proper surveyors and engi¬
neers. Before individuals sent out in these capacities shall
have examined the country and published their reports,
no correct judgment can be formed upon the merits of the
-o' several plans. A question here arises, and it is one which
ought to be deliberately discussed before anything is done
in the matter, namely, should the communication be of that
limited nature which would render it necessary for the
goods to be transported by smaller craft or by railroads
from one vessel in the Atlantic to another in the Pacific;
or ought it to be a large ship-canal, capable of admitting
vessels of deep draught, and thus effectually uniting the
two oceans at once ? Such a plan is said to be practicable
at the isthmus of Cupica; and this is the last of the five
which we mentioned as having been proposed. Hum¬
boldt, who is a great authority, is ofopinion that Cupica Bay
merits the serious attention of men of science, from the
great facilities it presents for solving the problem of a ship-
canal. I he scheme is simply to connect Cupica Bay, in
the Pacific, with the large river Atrato, flowing into the
Atlantic, by forming a canal across the interval, which is
ascertained to be a perfect level. The course of the ri¬
ver Naipi, before its confluence with the Atrato, intersects
this level country within five leagues of the Bay of Cupi¬
ca. The Atrato flows through the province of Choco, in
which it rises, and reaches the Atlantic at the southern
end of the Gulf of Darien, in the Bay of Choco.
One thing is certain, that were such a communication
between the two great oceans effected, it would prove of
incalculable utility to all nations engaged in maritime com¬
merce, and sooner or later it will unquestionably be opened.
Geographically, this would be nearly the shortest possible
route from Europe, North America, a great part of Asia,
as well as from Africa to every port on the western coast
of the New World. With regard to the more obvious sav¬
ing of space to be travelled over, we need say nothing; a
glance at a map of the world will show at once what would
be gained. Therefore, although only the smaller work
were carried through, there would be an immense saving
in time, by the greater certainty of good and safe passages
in a voyage from Panama to Canton, Australia, and every
port and island in the Pacific Ocean, notwithstanding
the necessity for disembarkation and transhipment. But
the advantages of a canal of sufficient size to allow large
vessels to proceed right across the isthmus would be in¬
comparably greater. They must, however, be so obvious
to every mind, that we need not enlarge upon them in
•this place. But by whom is either of the two works to be
accomplished? Ihe question is not a British one alone,
nor even an European ; it is more particularly an Ameri¬
can question, though the whole commercial world would
be more or less remotely affected by it. It is not likelj',
therefore, that any individual nation will be so generous as
to undertake the expense on its own account; and there
must be either a joint-stock company of governments form¬
ed, who will agree to defray so much each of the expen¬
diture, or a joint-stock company of individuals, who will
accomplish some one line of communication or another,
and indemnify themselves for their outlay by planting tolls
(R. R. R.)
PANAMAO Isle, one of the Philippine Islands, about
fifteen miles in circumference, and of a triangular form.
Long. 124. 15. E. Lat. 11. 27. N.
PANAON, or Panahan, is one of the Philippine
Islands, about forty-five miles in circumference. It is
well watered by numerous streams that flow from the
mountains. Long. 125. 12. E. Lat. 10. 7. N.
PAN AR AG A, a town of the island of Java, and capital
o a kingdom, situated on the southern side of the island.
It is sixty miles east of Mataran.
PANAROOCAN, a town of Java, in the north-east-
787
ern extremity of the island, situated on a river which en¬
ters the sea by several mouths. It was formerly the capi¬
tal of an ancient principality, but is now subject to the
Dutch. It has a square fort, built with palisades and
planks, and which stands about three quarters of a mile'
from the sea, in a marshy plain. Long. 114. E. Lat. 7.
40. S.
PANA fHENiEA, Hava^vuia, in Grecian antiquity, an
ancient Athenian festival, in honour of Minerva the protec¬
tress of Athens. Harpocration and Suidas refer the insti¬
tution of this festival to Erichthonius IV. king of Athens,
who lived before Iheseus. Theodoret alone says that the
feast was established by Orpheus. But be this as it may,
till the time of Theseus it was never a particular feast of
the city of Athens, and was simply called Athencea ; that
prince, however, having united all the people of Attica into
one republic, they afterwards assisted at the festival; and
hence the name Panathenoea, or the feast of all Attica. In
effect, all Attica was present; and each division of the peo¬
ple sent a bullock for the sacrifices, and for the entertain¬
ment of the vast multitude of people assembled.
I here were two festivals under this denomination ; the
greater and the lesser. The greater Panathenaea were ex¬
hibited every five years; the less, every three years, or,
according to some writers, annually. Though the cele¬
bration of neither employed at first more than one day,
yet in after times they were protracted for the space of
many days, and solemnized with greater preparations and
magnificence than at their first institution. The ceremo¬
nies were the same in the greater and the lesser Pana¬
thenaea ; excepting a banner, on which the actions of the
goddess were represented in embroidery, executed by
maids, with the names of those who had distinguished
themselves in the service of the republic- This only was
borne at the greater. Prizes were established for three
different kinds of combat. Jbe first consisted of foot
and horse races; the second, of athletic exercises; and
the third, of poetical and musical contests. These last are
said to have been instituted by Pericles. Singers of the
first class, accompanied by performers on the flute and the
cithara, exercised their talents upon subjects prescribed
by the directors of these exhibitions.
PANAULON, an enlarged German-flute, with sixteen
finger-keys, and descending as low as G in the treble
clef, with two ledger lines under the stave. It was in¬
vented a few years ago by Trexler of Vienna. To remedy
its inconvenient length, the lower end was curved. The
quality of its tone is not so good as that of the common
German-flute; but still the panaulon may be effectively
used in orchestra music, as a bass to the other flutes.
PANCARPUS, in Roman antiquity, a kind of show
which the Roman emperors frequently exhibited to the
people. 1 he word is formed from the Greek wav, all, and
xugwog, fruit; and hence the name was also given by the
Athenians to a sacrifice, in which all kinds of fruits were
offered. In this spectacle, the circus being all set over
with large trees, represented a forest, into which the beasts
being admitted from the dens under ground, the people,
at a sign given by the emperor, pursued, shot, and killed
all they could lay hold of, which they afterwards carried
away to regale upon at home. The beasts usually given
on these occasions were boars, deer, oxen, and sheep.
Casaubon, Cujas, Pithou, and others, represent the pan¬
carpus and sylva as the same thing; but Salmasius thinks
they were different. The sylva, according to him, was such
a diversion as that above described; but the pancarpus
was a combat in which robust people, hired for that pur¬
pose, fought with wild beasts. This opinion Casaubon
confirms from Cassian, Justinian, Claudian, Firmicus, Ma-
nilius, and Cassiodorus.
PANCHBERARAH, a town of Hindustan, and small
Pana¬
thenaea
II
Panch-
berarah.
788
Panco
Point
li
Pandects.
PAN
PAN
Panel
district in the province of Cashmere. Long. 75. E. Lat. occurring in the civil law; to all which that emperor gave Pandicui
^ N P the force and authority of law, by the epistle prefixed to tion
PANCO Point, a remarkable cape, situated at the the collection. I'he wordis
north-eastern extremity of the island of Java, at the mouth pounded of crav, all, and 5W«/, / take , that is, a compi
”rthe western entrance of the Straits of Madura. Here lation, or a book containing everyth.ng relattve t0 pub,,,
u — . . and prjvate rights. Others, however, as Bartoli, think it
was formed from ‘Tran, and di%pficu, because these books
were supposed to contain the whole doctrine of the civil
law. See the article Civil Law.
PANDICULATION is that violent and extensive mo¬
tion of the solids which usually accompanies the act of
yawning. .
PANDIWORA, a village of Hindustan, in the province
are stationed Javanese and European pilots, who, as soon
as vessels are seen standing for the channel, go before to
pilot them to Gressee and Sourabaya. Long. 112. 44. E.
Lat. 6. 48. S.
PANCRAS, a large parish formerly detached from the
metropolis by wide and open fields, but now a great por¬
tion of the northern side of London. Within the last
forty years it has been covered with large houses, compos-
— -1 A-1 -» -wry« x I r, 4* f\
forty years it has Deen coverea wun large nuu»e=,      - o f ,,ipnr hnt. Sflit
ing some of the handsomest squares, and the widest and of Gujerat, near to which flows a stream of clear but
most uniformly built streets. The parish is very exten- water. - -
sive, including a third of Highgate, the several hamlets of
Battle-Bridge, Kentish flown, Somers flown, Cambden
Town, and Tottenham Court Road, as far as Rathbone
Place. The houses in the newly-built portion are not gene-
PANDORA, in fabulous history, a woman formed by
Prometheus, to whom each of the gods gave some perfec¬
tion. Venus bestowed upon her beauty; Pallas, wisdom;
Juno, riches; Apollo, music; and Mercury, eloquence. But
Sf/farge neat and l ,he Jupi.'er being displeased at Prometheus for having stolen
rally large, arm ma y  heaven to animate the mass he had formed, gave
rent is lower than in many other parts of the western por¬
tion of London, they are occupied by people of inferior
wealth. Those houses which are of the superior kind are
found, from their vicinity to the inns of court and the
courts of law, to be appropriately adapted for persons in
some way or other connected with the law, though many
of them are filled by the families of mercantile men from
the city. The old parish church is small, and still retains
somewhat of its rural appearance. It is remarkable as the
favourite burying-place of the Roman Catholics, and a very
large proportion of the grave-stones exhibit a cross and the
letters R. I. P., requiescat in pace, or, may he rest in peace.
Two new churches have recently been erected, one of
which, on the new road, is made the parish church, and is
amongst the most magnificent of those new edifices, flhe
growth of the parish may be seen from the population re¬
turns, thus : In 1801 the inhabitants amounted to 31,779,
in 1811 to 46,333, in 1821 to 71,838, and in 1831 to 103,548.
PANCRATIUM (compounded of irccv, all, and xgar/w,
1 overcome), amongst the ancients, a kind of intermixed
exercise, consisting of wrestling and boxing ; but it differs
in this, that as the athletse were not to seize the body, their
hands were not armed with gauntlets, and gave less dan¬
gerous blows.
The pancratium was the third gymnastic exercise, and
was not introduced till long after the others. The people
who were engaged in these exercises were called pancra-
tiastce ; a name which was also given to such as did not
fire from heaven to animate the mass he had formed, gave
Pandora a box, which she was enjoined not to open; and
then sent her to the earth with this box, in which were
enclosed age, disease, pestilence, war, famine, envy, dis¬
cord, and all the evils and vices that could afflict mankind.
This fatal box was opened by Epimetheus, brother of Pro¬
metheus, when instantly all the diseases and mischiefs with
which it was filled spread over the earth, and Hope only
remained at the bottom. Hesiod says Pandora was the
first woman. , „ . .
Pandora, a small kind of lute, with fewer strings than
the ordinary lute. It is believed to have originated in the
Ukraine, where it is used to accompany vocal music, or to
play national and Polish dances. Some writers are of opi¬
nion that this instrument was known to the ancient Egyp¬
tians, and that amongst them it had three stiings.
PANDURA, a Neapolitan instrument, of a larger size
than the mandola, and strung with eight metal wires. It
is played with a quill. The pandurina was an instrument
of a similar kind, with four strings, but is now disused.
PANEGYRIC, an oration in praise of some extraordi¬
nary person or virtue. The name is Greek, tfavnyvgii,
being composed of vav, all, and dyeigu, I assemble; be¬
cause anciently in public and solemn assemblies of the
Greeks, either at their games, feasts, fairs, or religious
meetings, panegyrics were pronounced. To 'render these
the more solemn, the Greeks used to begin with the
praises of the deity in whose honour the games were ce-
tiastcc; a name which was also given to such as did not praises or tne ue ry , .°e of the peopie
confine themselves to one exercise, but succeeded in seve- lebrated ; next they d , th fauded
ral different ones.
PANCSOVA, a city of Hungary, in the province of the
Hungarian frontier, the capital of the limits or circle of the
German Banat regiment, which extends over 1656 square
miles, comprehending the city and sixty villages, with
101,200 inhabitants. The city is situated upon an arm of
the Themes, at its influx into the Danube. It contains 960
houses, and 8640 inhabitants, who carry on considerable
commerce with their Turkish neighbours. Long. 20. 32.
2. E. Lat. 44. 49. 40. N.
PANDA, in Mythology, a goddess who was invoked and
honoured as the protectress of travellers and navigators.
The goddess of peace was also called Pandar, because she
leoraieu ; ucAt — r-,
or country where they were celebrated ; then they laud
the princes or magistrates who presided at them; an ,
lastly, they bestowed eulogies on the champions, especia y
the conquerors, who had gained the prizes in them.
PANEGYRICUM, in church history, an ecclesiastical
book, used by the Greek church, containing the panegy¬
rical orations of various authors, on the solemnities o
Jesus Christ and the saints. It is found in manuscript in
most churches, but it is not the same in all, each chu cn
having its particular saints ; indeed the compilers o
kind of books usually suited their collections to the tas
of their own devotion. They are disposed according to
the order of the months, and frequently consist of twel
The goddess of peace was also called Pandar, because sne tne oruei ui me ’ twelve months of the year,
opened the gates of cities which were shut in time of war. volumes, answering Athana-
According to Varro, Panda is a surname of Ceres, formed Amongst the principal authors of tl is woik
a pane dando, because she gave bread to mankind. S1U®> ^asd’S ^nellum) according to Sir Edward
PANDAR, a small town of Hindustan, in the Sikh ter- PANEL (panel , p ,/» . ^arned Spelman
ritory, and province of Lahore, 132 miles north-east from Coke, denotes a little p , • a schedule or
the city of Lahore. Long. 75.16. E. Lat. 33. 17. N. says that it signifies schedula an in-
PANDECTS, Pandect.®, in jurisprudence, the digest roll, as a panel of pare men ’ u]ar] foPra schedule or
or collection, made by Justinian’s order, of 534 decisions denture ; ^t it is used p t^ y ^ ^ sheriff re-
or judgments of the ancient lawyers, on as many questions roll, containing the names J
PAN
iela turns to pass upon any trial. Hence the impanelling a jury
|| is the entering their names in a panel or little schedule of
• ionia. parchment.
J PANELA, or Pannela, a town and fortress of Hin¬
dustan, in the province of Bejapore. It is one of the strong¬
est fortresses in India, which was taken by the celebrated
Mahratta chief Sevajee, by stratagem, in the year 1660. It
was subsequently besieged in vain by the army of the king
of Bejapore ; and yielded to the powerful arms of Aurung-
zebe about the year 1670. It was near this place that the
British ambassador, Sir W. Norris, had his audience of
Aurungzebe in 1701. Long. 74. 20. E. Lat. 17. N.
PANGANSANE Isle, an island in the Eastern Seas,
situated off the south-eastern extremity of Celebes, fifty-
two miles in length by sixteen in average breadth. It is
low, level, and covered with fine trees.
PANGOOTARRAN, one of the Sooloo Archipelago
Isles, in the Eastern Seas, about ten miles in length by
four in average breadth. It is one entire bed of coral
rock, with scarcely any appearance of soil on it. It abounds,
however, in cocoa-nut trees, and has also plenty of cattle,
goats, and fowls. Long. 120. 30. E. Lat. 6. 9. N.
PANHA, a village of Hindustan, tributary to the Ne-
paul rajahs, in the province of Serinagur. It contains forty
or fifty huts. Long. 79. 10. E. Lat. 30. 18. N. About
six miles to the south of this place are the copper mines of
Dhanpoor, and eight miles to the north those of Nagpoor.
PANIANY, a seaport town of the south of India, in the
province of Malabar. It is situated on the south bank of
the Palicaud River. It consists of about 500 houses be¬
longing to traders, and 1000 huts inhabited by the lower
classes of people, and forty mosques. It is very irregular¬
ly built; many of the houses are two stories high, built of
stone, and thatched with cocoa-nut leaves. The houses
are scattered over a wide extent of sandy plain ; the river,
though wide, has a bar at its mouth, which only admits
the entrance of boats. The inhabitants are generally of
the class of Mahommedans called Moplays. They were
formerly very rich, and possessed vessels that sailed to
Surat, Mocha, Madras, and Bengal. But they were re¬
duced to great poverty by the oppressions of Tippoo Sul¬
tan. The exports from Paniany are teak timber, pepper,
rice, corn, and cocoa-nuts. The chief imports are wheat,
pulse, sugar, spices, &c. Paniany was taken possession of
by the British troops under Colonel Humbertson in 1782.
It was afterwards recovered by Tippoo, with whom it re¬
mained till the conclusion of peace in 1792, when, with
the province of Malabar, it was annexed to the British
possessions. It is forty miles south by east from Calicut.
Long. 76. E. Lat. 10. 44. N.
PANIC denotes an ill-grounded terror or fright. Poly-
senus says it originated from Pan, one of the captains of
Bacchus, who with a few men put a numerous enemy to
route, by a noise which his soldiers raised in a rocky valley,
favoured with a great number of echoes. This stratagem
making their number appear far greater than it was, the
enemy quitted a commodious encampment, and fled.
Hence all ill-grounded fears have been called panics, or
panic fears; and it was this that gave occasion to the
fable of the nymph Echo being beloved by the god Pan.
Others derive it from the circumstance, that in the wars
of the litans against the gods, Pan was the first who
struck terror into the hearts of the giants. Theon on
Aratus says he did it by the means of a sea-shell, which
served him for a trumpet.
PANIONIA, in Antiquity, a festival celebrated in ho¬
nour of Neptune, by a concourse of people from all the
cities of Ionia. In this festival, if the bull offered in sa¬
crifice happened to bellow, it was accounted an omen of
divine favour, because that sound was thought to be ac¬
ceptable to Neptune.
PAN 789
PANMELODICON, an instrument invented by Lep- Panmelo-
pich at Vienna in 1810. By means of a conical barrel dicon
moved by a wheel, rods of metal, bent to a right angle, were „ ^
made to sound when the finger-keys were pressed down,
PANNAH, a town of Hindustan, in the province of Al¬
lahabad, and district of Bundelcund, celebrated for the dia¬
mond mines in its neighbourhood, which, during the reign
of Akbar, produced L. 100,000 a year. It is thirty miles
south-east from Chatterpore. Long. 80. 17. E. Lat. 24.
43. N.
PANNARIA, one of the group of the Lipari Islands,
in the Mediterranean Sea. It was called Thermissia by
the ancients, on account of its natural warm baths. It is
about seven miles in circumference, and contains 200 in¬
habitants, who cultivate a rich volcanic soil. There is a
good port on the south side for small vessels, called Calla
de Gastello.
PANNIPUT, a town of Hindustan, in the province of
Delhi. It is about four miles in circumference, and was for¬
merly surrounded with a brick wall, which partly remains.
In the centre of the town is the shrine of a Mahommedan
saint, who flourished during the fourteenth century. The
surrounding district is fertile in sugar, and a considerable
trade is carried on by the town in that article, and in salt
and grain. It is celebrated as the scene of two of the
greatest battles ever recorded in the history of Hindustan.
The first was in the year 1525, between the army of Sul¬
tan Baber and that of the Delhi Patan Ibrahim Lodi, in
which the latter was defeated and slain. The second,
which was still a greater and more decisive action, took
place between the combined Mahommedan army, com¬
manded by Ahmed Shah Abdalli, king of the Afghans,
consisting of 80,000 cavalry and infantry, and eighty pieces
of cannon, and that of the Mahrattas, commanded by
Bhow Sedasiva, nephew of the peishwa, who had under
him about 70,000 regulars, with 15,000 Pindarries, and
nearly 200 pieces of cannon. The Mahrattas were com¬
pletely overthrown, and the whole host nearly destroyed;
so that they were never able again to contend with any
hope of success for the dominion of India. It is fifty miles
north by west from the city of Delhi. Long. 75. 50. E.
Lat. 29. 23. N.
PANORAMA. A panorama is a picture drawn on the
interior surface of a large cylinder, representing the ob¬
jects that can be seen from one station, when the observer
directs his eye successively to every point of the horizon.
A picture drawn on a vertical plane in the usual way in¬
cludes only that portion of the sphere of vision that can be
seen from one point opposite to the picture, without turn¬
ing the eye ; this portion may comprehend about thirty
degrees of the horizon, because the field of distinct vision
when the eye remains unmoved is concluded in a cone
the angle at the apex of which does not exceed thirty de¬
grees. There are compositions comprehending the visible
hemisphere, and sometimes nearly the whole sphere of
vision; and in these, one connected scene is represent¬
ed on the interior surfaces of a polyhedron, or of a curved
solid, the point of sight being in the centre of the poly¬
hedron, and the eye being turned round on its centre, to
each of its surfaces, in order to view the whole scene.
Of this kind are the gnomonic projection of the sphere on
the interior slirfaces of a cube, and several pictures, in
which one connected subject is represented on the ceiling
and the sides of a room; such as the picture of Jupiter ful¬
minating the giants, by Julio Romano, on the walls and
hemispherical ceiling of a round room in the Palazzo del
T, at Mantua; and the architectural representations and
ornaments in Raffaelle’s Loggia in the Vatican. Objects are
also sometimes projected on the interior surface of a sphere,
the eye being placed in the centre; as in a large hollow
sphere with the constellations, which was constructed at
790
PAN
PAN
Panormo Pembroke College, Cambridge. These projections, where
II the eye, remaining in the point of sight, is turned round
antsenus.on centre to view the different parts of the picture, are
formed on the same principle as the panorama.
The cylindrical surface is the most convenient for pano¬
ramas of landscapes ; and the specific employment of a large
cylindrical surface for representing the landscape of the
whole circle of the horizon, is the invention of Mr Barker,
who brought the panorama into use, and still continues to
exercise his art. The cylinder on which the panorama
is painted is commonly about sixty feet in diameter. The
projection or perspective of a panorama is formed by ima¬
ginary lines drawn from different points of the surround¬
ing objects, to the point of sight in the axis of the cylinder.
The intersections of these lines with the cylindrical sur¬
face form the corresponding points in the panoramic pic¬
ture. Where the picture is projected on a plane, as in
common perspective, and in the gnomonic projection of
the sphere, the cones formed by imaginary lines or rays
passing from the point of sight to the different objects are
cut by the plane of the picture ; consequently, the sections
being formed by a plane, are curves, of which the curva¬
ture is always simple. In the perspective of the panorama,
where the picture consists of the intersection of the cones
of rays by a cylinder, these intersections are, in many of
the cases, doubly curved curves. When the picture of a
straight line, which is neither parallel to the horizon nor
to the axis of the cylinder, is drawn on the cylinder of the
panorama, the picture of the line is part of an ellipse, be¬
cause the oblique section of a right cylinder, by a plane
passing through the axis, is an ellipse; when the cylinder
is developed and unrolled on a plane surface, this ellipse
becomes the curve called the sinical curve. The projec¬
tion of lines on the interior surface of a cylinder is also
employed in drawing Mercator’s charts. But in the pro¬
jection of the panorama, the field extends only a few de¬
grees above and below the horizon, whereas, in the pro-
St Jerome is mistaken in this respect. When Pantaenus Panta; le ^
returned to Alexandria he re-assumed the government of | ^
the school of that city, which he had probably during his I ant‘1 ,
absence committed to the care of St Clement, a presbyter ^
of Alexandria. He explained the Scriptures publicly,
under the reign of Severus Antoninus Caracalla, and, in
St Jerome’s opinion, was more serviceable to the church
by his discourses than by his writings. He published some
commentaries upon the Bible, which are lost. I hat the
prophets often express themselves in indifferent terms, and
that they make use of the present time instead of the past
and future, is a rule of Pantaenus, which has been followed
by all succeeding interpreters. Theodorus has related this
rule ; but he speaks of it as if Pantaenus had rather said
than written it. W’e may have some notion of Pantaenus’s
manner of explaining the Scriptures by the similar perfor¬
mances of St Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others
who were brought up in that school.
PANTALONE, an instrument invented about the end
of the seventeenth century, by Hebenstreit, a German. It
resembled the German psaltery, was of an oblong shape,
and had two sound-boards, the one furnished with metal
wires, the other with gut-strings. Its compass was the
same as that of the harpsichord.
PANTALOON, a sort of garment consisting of breeches
and stockings of one piece, and said to have been first in¬
troduced by the Venetians.
Pantaloon, in the theatre, is a buffoon or masked per¬
son, who performs high and grotesque dances, and shows
violent and extravagant postures and airs. The word is
likewise used for the habit or dress which these buffoons
usually wear, and which is made precisely to fit the body,
being all of a piece from head to foot.
PANTELLARIA, an island in the Mediterranean Sea,
belonging to the kingdom of Naples, between Sicily and
Cape Bon in Africa, seventy-two miles south of Maritimo.
It is about thirty miles in circumference, and is entirely
jections of the sphere, the field extends many degrees on volcanic, consisting of vestiges of lava, pumice, scoriae, and
each side of the plane, which is at right angles to the axis
of the cylinder. In drawing a panorama, as well as in
drawing a picture on a plane, the horizontal angles between
different objects may be observed by a plane table or theo¬
dolite ; and the elevation of the objects above the horizon,
or their depression, may also be observed by the theodo¬
lite. The horizontal angles are to be laid down by setting
off on the graduated horizon of the cylindrical picture the
number of the degrees observed ; the vertical angles on
the cylinder are the tangents of the angles observed, the
radius being the semidiameter of the cylinder. (b. b.)
PANORMO, a town of Asiatic Turkey, in Anatolia, on
the south coast of the Sea of Marmora. It is sixteen miles
south-east of Artaki.
; PANOU, a river of Asiatic Russia, which falls into the
Niznei Tunguska. Long. 102. 24. E. Lat. 64. 40. N.
PANTiENUS, a Stoic philosopher, born in Sicily about
the beginning of the reign of Commodus. He presided
over the celebrated school of Alexandria, where, from the
time of St Mark, the founder of that church, they had al¬
ways a divine wdio was eminent for his learning and piety
to explain the Holy Scriptures, and to instruct them in
human learning. This employment he was obliged to
leave ; for when the Indians required of Demetrius, bishop
of Alexandria, to send them one to instruct them in Chris¬
tianity, he sent Pantaenus, who undertook the mission
with joy, and behaved himself very properly in it. It is
said that the Indians had been tinctured with Christianity
by St Bartholomew the apostle; and that Pantaenus met
with the Hebrew original of St Matthew’s gospel, which
the apostle had left there. St Jerome says that Pantae¬
nus brought it with him, and that in his time it was’pre¬
served in the library of Alexandria. But we suspect that
puzzolana. The interior consists of hills covered with
brush-wood, and valleys well cultivated with vines, cotton,
and fruit, especially raisins, but not yielding corn sufficient
for the inhabitants. The capital is Oppedulun, a large
but very poor place. It has a haven, defended towards
the sea by a castle and another battery, and is convenient
for small vessels, who load with wine, oil, cotton, archil,
raisins, and some alum. The population of the island is
4600 persons, tolerably active, but of lax morality, many
being fugitives from the law in, other parts of the Nea¬
politan dominions. Near Sataria Point are some grottos,
called stoves, which emit vapours deemed efficacious in
the cure of some diseases. Long. 11. 54. 20. E. Lat. 36.
51. 15. N.
PANTHEA, in Antiquity, were single statues, com¬
posed of the figures or symbols of several different divini¬
ties. Joubert, who calls them panthece, and has remarked
them sometimes on medals, says that their heads were most
commonly adorned with the symbols or attributes belong¬
ing to several gods. An instance of this appears in a
medal of Antoninus Pius, representing Serapis by the
bushel, the Sun by the crown of rays, Jupiter Ammon by
the ram’s horns, Pluto by the large beard, and TRsculapius
by the serpent twisted in his hand. Baudelot, in his disser¬
tation on the Lares, observes, that the panthea had their ori¬
gin from the superstition of those who, taking several gods
for the protectors of their houses, united them all in the
same statue, by adorning it with the several symbols pro¬
per to each of these deities.
PANTHEISM, a philosophical species of idolatry, lead¬
ing to atheism, in which the universe was considered as
the supreme God. The inventor of this absurd system as
not known ; but it was of early origin, and variously modi-
PAN
Aeon
ficd by different philosophers# Some held that the universe
was one immense animal> of which the incorporeal soul
was properly God, and the heavens and earth the body of
that God; whilst others held but one substance, partly
active and partly passive, and therefore looked upon the
visible universe as the only Numen. The earliest Grecian
Pantheist of whom we read was Orpheus, who called the
world the body of God, and its several parts his members,
makinor the whole universe one divine animal. According
to Cudworth, Orpheus and his followers believed in the
immaterial soul of the world; therein agreeing with Aris¬
totle, who certainly held that God and matter are co¬
eternal, and that there is some such union between them
as subsists between the souls and bodies of men.
In the ancient Orphic theology, we are taught that this
universe, and all things belonging to it, were made within
God, that all things are contained together in the womb
of God; that God is the head and middle of all things;
that he is the basis of the earth and heaven ; that he is
the depth of the sea, the air we breathe, the force of the
untameable fire ; that he is the sun, moon, and stars ; and
that there is one divine body, for,
n«vr* tv fciyaXa ra> Ss eoifj.v.Ti kiitcu^
“ all these things lie in the great body of God.” But
further, to prove that the most ancient Greek philoso¬
phers resolved all things into God, and made God all, to
vav, we shall cite a most remarkable passage from Plu¬
tarch s Defect of Oracles. “ Whereas there are two
causes of all generations, the divine and the human, the
most ancient theologists and poets attended only to the
more excellent of these two; resolving all things into God
and pronouncing this of them universally :
Ztu; Zius (iwaa., &ios S’ t* touitu, TiXovrai,
4 that God is both the beginning and middle, and that all
things are out of God ; insomuch, that they had no regard
at all to the other natural and necessary causes of things •
but, on the contrary, their juniors, who were called natu¬
ralists, deviating from this most excellent and divine prin¬
ciple, placed all in bodies their passions, collisions, muta¬
tions, and commixtures.”
That by the most ancient theologists here mentioned,
Plutarch meant Orpheus and his immediate followers, is
plain from the Orphic verse by which he proves their an¬
tiquity. By their juniors, whom he calls naturalists, he
could mean no other than the first Grecian philosophers,
Anaximander, Anaximenes, and Hippo, who were followed
y the atheistical atomists, Leucippus, Democritus, Pro¬
tagoras, and Epicurus. But with respect to the universe
being God, and all things, divine and human, being mo¬
difications of mere matter, the Stoics undoubtedly aWeed
with Anaximander and his followers ; for the school of
Zeno held but one substance. This impious doctrine
that all things are God, and that there is but one sub-
5 je;wWaSseee,SP<!Hozrdern ‘imeS by Spi"°Za’ an “P03-
PANTHEON, a beautiful edifice at Rome, anciently
^ the g0ds’ but n°w converted
marty^s.Ch (See t0 ^ ^ and aI1 the
Agenerf1]y thought to have been built by
frig"P \ °n-m;W t0^ugustus> from an inscription on the
neze of the portico. Several antiquaries and artists how¬
ever, have supposed that the Pantheon existed in the times
of the commonwealth, and that it was only embellished by
ter £ addedfthe ?°rtico- be tL as it Ste
Perfected by Agrippa, was an exceedingly
cvlfn7- i bu! ding ; the form of the body being round o^
Tuiett Hand "f r00f °r dre sPheri“b Within, it is
to 1 diameter; and the height from the pavement
to the grand aperture on the top, through which Tre-
P A N
791
order Thgh ’ 15 ] 38 much- Ifc 18 of the Corinthian Pantheon,
7md ni 1 mner c,rcumTerence is divided into seven
grand niches, wrought m the thickness of the wall, six of
which are flat at the top ; but the seventh, opposite ti the
entrance, is arched. Before each niche are two columns
of antique yellow marble, fluted, and of one entire block
mak. ail fourteen, the finest in Rome. 6 The Xfe
is cased38 ,Ugh 38 the grand cornice inclusive,
men and tl frent SOrts Precious marble in compart¬
ments , and the frieze is entirely of porphyry. Above the
grand cornice arises an attic, in which were wrought, at
equal d.stimees, fourteen oblong square niches; between
each niche there were four marble pilasters, and between
the pilasters marble tables of various kinds. This attic had
a complete entablature; but the cornice projected less
than that of the grand order below. Immediately from
the cornice springs the spherical roof, divided by bands
Inch cross each other like the meridians and parallels of
Wd A™ terreStr,al globe‘ The sPaces between the
ands decrease in size as they approach the top of the
roof; to which, however, they do not reach, there being
considerable plain space between them and the great
siWp'lh' 1tat 80 bold a roof might be as light as pos¬
sible, the architect formed the substance of the spacesbe-
ThTwafl! h'T018 °f n0tihlng but lime and Pumice-stones.
wnrtc I* be °7 ^ere decorated with lead and brass, and
works of carved silver; and the roof was covered on the
from'll h -P 3teS of/iided bronze. There was an ascent
flight f sPnnSlng of the roof to the very summit, by a
difid S6Ven St3irS 5 and’ lf certaina ufbors may be cre-
dnd’,these stairs were ornamented with pedestrian statues
1 nl as an amphitheatre. This notion was founded on
a passage of Phny, who says that Diogenes the sculptor
vetXtl He rffl T11 of.Agr,Ppa with elegant statues,
^ JUdge °f their merit> upon ac-
count of heir elevated situation. The portico is compos-
liht 8‘Xtehen, colut"ns granite, four feet in diameter,
e gn of which stand in front, with an equal intercolum-
niation all along, contrary to the rule of Vitruvius, who is
for having the space answering to the door of a temple
wider than the rest. On these columns there is a pedL
ment, the tympanum of which was ornamented with bas-
reliefs in brass; and the cross beams which formed the
ceiling of the portico were covered with the same metal
as were also the doors. The ascent up to the portico was
by eight or nine steps.
In the reign of Tiberius, the Pantheon was considerably
damaged; but it was repaired by Domitian, from which
^cr8tanCe wnters consider him as the founder of
!e, r ' "r;S' llle E,1,,I,Tr Had™n also did something
to the edifice. But the Pantheon was more indebted to
beptinnus Severus, than to any one besides. The most
perhaps, that any of his predecessors had done, was add¬
ing some ornament to it; Septimius bestowed upon it es¬
sential reparations. 1
. rbl8 temple subsisted in all its grandeur till the incur-
that m 7 •Ime °f Honorius- Zozymus relates,
that the Romans having engaged to furnish this barbarian
prince with three thousand pounds weight of gold and five
7Uf*}n,d Poands weight of silver, upon condition that he
should depart from their walls; and having found it im¬
possible to raise those sums either out of the public trea¬
sury or by private contribution, they were obliged to strip
le temples of their statues and ornaments of gold and sil-
J!r;, ^ ls PJobable that the Pantheon supplied a good part,
as that of Jupiter Capitohnus was the only one in Rome
that could vie with it in riches. Alaric carried off nothing;
rom the Romans besides their precious metals. But, thirty-
nine years thereafter, Genseric king of the Vandals took
away part of the marbles; and whether from greed of plun¬
der, or from a relish for the productions of art, he loaded
792
PAN
Pantheon, one of his ships with statues. It cannot be questioned that
' on this occasion the Pantheon was stripped of more ot its
ornaments, and that the inestimable works of Diogenes be¬
came the prey of this barbarian.
Before these predatory visits of the Goths and Vandals,
the Christian emperors had issued edicts for demolishing
the Pagan temples. But the Romans, whatever were their
motives, spared the Pantheon, which is known to have sut-
fered no damage from the zeal of the pontiffs, or the in^|g"
nation of the saints, before the first siege of Rome by Ma¬
rie. It continued so rich till about the year 655, as to ex¬
cite the avarice of Constantius IL, who came from Con¬
stantinople to pillage the Pantheon, and executed his pur¬
pose so far as to strip it both of its interior and exteno
coverings of bronze, which he transported to Syracuse,
where they soon afterwards fell into the hands of the Sa-
^About fifty years before this, Boniface IV. had obtain¬
ed the Pantheon of the Emperor Phocas, m order to con¬
vert itiinto a church. The artists of those days were to¬
tally ignorant of the excellence of the Greek and Roman
architecture, and spoiled every thing they laid their hands
upon. To this period are to be referred certain alterations,
of which we shall immediately have occasion to spea .
After the devastations of the barbarians, Rome was con¬
tracted within a narrow compass. The seven hills were
abandoned; and the Campus Martins, being an even plain
and near the Tiber, became the ground-plat of the whole
city. The Pantheon happening to stand at the entrance
of the Campus Martius, was presently surrounded with
houses, which spoiled the fine prospect; and it was still
more deplorably disgraced by some of them which stood
Cl°From lthe time when Constantius carried off tbe .brass
plating of the exterior roof, that part was exposed to the
injuries of the weather, or at best was but slightly tiled in,
Si Benedict II. covered it with lead, which Nicholas V.
renewed in a better style. It does not appear that from th s
time till that of Urban VIII. any thing remarkable was
done for the Pantheon. . , ,
Raffaelle, who had no equal as a pamter, and who was
also an architect, left a considerable sum by his will for
the reparation of the Pantheon, where his tomb is placed,
and Perino de la Vagua, JacomoUdino, Annibale Caracci,
Flamingo Vacca, and the celebrated Corelli, did the same.
All the ornaments within which have any claim to be calle
good, are of later times. The paintings merit esteem; and
the statues, although not masterpieces, do honour to sculp¬
ture, which alone is a proof that they are posterior to the
fifteenth century.
PAN
But, with all the respect due to a pontiff who was other- Paniuoi
wise a protector and friend of the arts, it were much to !j|
be wished that Urban VIII. had never known that the, ar ^
Pantheon existed. The inscriptions cut at the side of the
door inform us that he repaired it; yet, whilst he built up
with one hand, he pulled down with the other. He caused
two belfries constructed in a wretched taste to be erected
on the ancient front-work, and he divested the portico of
all the remains of its ancient grandeur, namely, the brazen
covering of the cross beams, which amounted to such a
prodigious quantity, that not only the vast canopy of the
confessional of St Peter’s was cast out of it, but likewise
a great number of cannon for the castle of St Angelo.
Alexander VII. did what Urban VIII. had neglected to
do. Whilst Bernini was constructing the colonnade of St
Peter, this pontiff ordered search to be made for pillars to
match those of the portico of the Pantheon; and some were
found not far from the French church of St Louis, which
were of the very same model. They were granite of the
isle of Ilva or Elba, and those of the portico were Egyp¬
tian granite; the colour, however, was the same, so that
the effect was equal. Nor did the pontiff’s zeal stop here.
He caused all the old houses before the portico to be pulled
down, and the soil and rubbish which covered the steps,
and even the bases of some of the pillars, to be cleared
away. He began covering the roof with marble, and
raised a lantern .over the aperture, to keep out rain; but
death removed him before his project was completed. Cle¬
ment IX. his successor, enclosed the portico within iron
rails. SeveraF later popes have added to its decorations,
which were all in the taste of the times when they were
executed; and the body of the edifice and its architecture
gained nothing by them. The main object of the libe¬
rality of the pontiffs was the embellishment of the grand
altar. One sent purple curtains, another bestowed silver
tabernacles, and others gave vases and superb dresses,
suited to the solemn ceremonies of religion. All these
might be called rich ; but they had in no sense a tendency
to retrieve the ancient majesty or original splendour of the
temple. The true gusto of the ornaments was a little mu¬
tated at the revival of the arts. Good statues replaced
the skeletons and squat figures which had disgraced the
altars for the space of eight centuries. The paintings ot
Perugino and others covered the dull mosaics with which
the Greeks of Constantinople had loaded the walls of most
of the churches in Rome. The porphyry and the green
and yellow antique found amongst the old ruins were like¬
wise employed to much advantage.
PANTIKU, a village of Asiatic Turkey, on the north¬
eastern coast of the sea of Marmora.
END OF VOLUME SIXTEENTH.
Printed by Thomas Allan & Co.,
and Balfour & Jack,
and Stereotyped by Thomas Allan & Co.
n
I III
t-rt I., i FTT F~5t M fe P>1 Ml Pi R pr---"’”-'' Get-Aihnan, Saipt
the Pantheon v -ur j tt
its, and that the inestinii s
fered no damage ffoo‘ the
ti«n Con-
r 'iiocas, in order to con-
i , to ■ ceieri i’d certain alterations,
, of the barbarians, Rome was cod-
near tl- : ih r, became the ground-plat ol the ^ e
The P ' >n happening 10 stand at the ent am.
ousc, which i '» - hne prospect; and it*:* ^
plat in f; of thi * V** :as ! [V: v
... de la Va a, Jacomo Udiuo, An ubalaCa
:V^ca, t. A *he cehhrated Corelli, did the ^
\ , naments within which have any claim to be cal ct
• er tii es. The paintings merit esteem; amt
proof that they are posterior to ihe
ctor ai f- * the arts, it were much t
that Ur V had never known that th
on existed ^ ; ip4ons cut at the side of tb
{ one hand, be the other. He < ■ ,
o * the remains of its v k nt'g;«ndeur ; oidv^he f i
core ring of the cross be» *, vthv.h amounted to si
prodigious quantity, that not <: Jy .he t c,i iopv
;.onfes»«Mial of St Peter’s was cast out o it, hut ilk
,i t<reat number of cannon for the cast!-: of St .
Alexander VIL did whqt Urban VIIl. had negu
}0> Whilst Bernini was com ‘ ucting the colonnad*
Peter, this pontiff ordered search to be made i pi
match those of the portico of the Pantheon and son
found not far from the French church of St Lorn , «
were of the very same model. They were granite
tian ran'te; the colour, he ^ever, was die same,
He caused all the old houses before the portico to bi
death removed him before his project wa&con ■
executed; and the body of the edifice and it />
gained nothing by them. The main object ■
raii tv of the pontiffs was the embellish men tof
tabernacles, and others gave vases anti sup
suited to the solemn ceremonies of rci gioft.
mi be called rich; but they had in no sen
e die ancient majesty or original sph
he true gusto of the ornaments was
i v, her d of the arts (do status,
and yellow antique found amongst the ol:
wise employed to much advantage.
PANTIKU, a village of Asiati is
EifO OP VOLUME SIXTH a NTH.
NAVIGATION I NLA NI)
/'A. 1TE CCCJjXXI ///.
/■///. /.
ELEVATION OF A LOOK WITH SI NOLL GATES
Fi/j. 2.
r
1
PLATE CC<CLXXX.
mraranimnnunim:
.llllllliiiilill;]
CO
b
Edinburgh., EublisliecL by A.& C.Black.
Fig. 8.
Cg ]>// y/i |.v/ (;g ][// I)/E,F/(V'H'
IF IK Cr W1 iVr Fg XiVg Ezg D2^ F/r F~/t' D'f
Oreo.Aiknwn.Sfulftt
Fig.n.
Fig. 13. r,,lJ4. Fi9.13
Fig. 16.
Fig. 17.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
Geo. Aikman, Sculpt
OPTI C S
PL A TE CCCLXXX1V.
Geo. Aikman, ^rulpt
—
Getf. Aihnuuc. Sculpt
.
Fig. 106.
Fig. 109.
MA G1C LANTERJST.
Fig. 107.
A
Fig. 108.
() U X ITHOLOGY
PLATE C C CLXXXYIL
S. Secondaries. T. Fertuds.
Wing of Starling _ Sturnus vidgaris.
Sm. C. Smaller Coverts. S. C. Seconda/y Coverts.
S. W. Spurious Winy. P. C. Primary Coverts.
1 to 10, Primaries. 1 to 6, Secondaries.
Gtlj/rnluz livia
a. Scapula., b, tip of Comcoid bone, c,Humerus, d, Ulna.,
e, Padlus. ff Carpus, pg. Metacarpus. h.Pollex. /./. Digits.
^ Scapula, b, Coracoid bone.
or Gavide. c. c, Humerus.
S-'d. Ulna. e. &, Radius.
^ Carpus. g,p. Metacarpus.
h.Pollex;. ij\ Digits.
'eon—Cokcmbas Uvict.
Skeleton ot Golden Eagle _ AtguJ/i chrysaetus.
P ^ W.Maaul/iiray.
S. Ill Spurious Wing.
S. S. Secondaries.
P P Primaries.
&tv. Aifo/um, Sculpt
ORNITHOLOGY
PL > ITK CCCLXX. WIU,
Catkartes
az/ra
////////
cznerazs.
Sarcoramphus papa
(}ypat'/as bariatus. i
nzva, percaopterus
Caracam jBrazi/im.<;is.
ww|?.vxp^
'>y/a, des/ructor.
^Morp/uu/s cristatus.
//a//a rbas a/Lui/la,
Geo.AiAman, Sculpt
ORNITHOLOGY
PLATE CCCLXXX1X
Milvus furcatus.
I Wffrnis cnstattE
Head, o/'Fcdco.
IsLcuid/xas.
Syrnium patjodamm
Circus suj
vulgaris
G)'pogmmus serpeatariu
Bubo Virgini anus.
'"'i'U'A&ru
Oeo. Aikfnan, Sadi? t
••
ORNITHOLOGY.
plate rrrxc.
lirt/nh/s
Lcuiius co/./aris.
Jimk of Tyrun/ws
Leak of Oudybams.
//oat/ of /'rymnocep/utkus
Cepha/aptents orna/us.
Edo/uts
/r/a/fr
Tanpam chZorotim
/ftsmar/p'richus vamya/us.
(rca.. lik/n/w , J>xilp Z
ORNITHOLO GY
pl a te crrxci.
Myothera
I Ramphocdes Jacapa.
superc
J'j/J/ihes Javcums.
MceruwL lyra
Tor of Caprunulgm
I .rryi'Vr&ASs**"
WHm
"'-i
Corydon TmvnituTii
uls Cuvierv
ORNITHOLOGY.
PLATE CCCXC11.
Foo/ of Colins
Coitus leucon otus
AlaudcL crislatcL
Gatrulus cristatus.
Cassicus cristatus.
Bill ot B /rudisc/i
\ i 'naRaxis Tupinicri
BUI of Bmd/'ocolaptes proarrvus
Baradiseu apodci
.
ORNITHOLOGY.
PLATE CCCXCIU.
Mdithreptus vestiarius. /
OrnisTnya superba.
Trochilus pellet.
Promerops m/Ter
Ppunadms superbus.
Epimadms
mapmneus.
Geo. ALkman, Sculp*
ORN1THOLO GY
i\late rccxcn
Merops apiaster
hwnilrs
memo la
Almlo a'Lstata
Bill of To das
Ceyx tnbracJiys.
Todus
Biurros
rhinoceros
Buceros hydrocorax
Geo. Aikmun. Scab *
PLATE CCCXCJ:
Galbula ndimuda
Jacamerops grandi
wsomus.
%'> ,
cristatus.
Indicator minor.
G-ee. Aikman, Sculp)
ORNITHOLO GY.
PLATE CCCXCYL
Pogonias major.
super alio sirs.
Phrenieoplurus
Seythrc >ps \Pfo ire 11oUandice
Cwtophaga am
iMmxk
re...
Iraq on viral is
Pteroqlossus aracan
Pamphastos toco.
ORNITHOLOGY
plate rrcxcvji.
(/ilyptorfa •nrhux
Banksii.
Macmcauis (ricolor:
Plycto/ophus qalei'iius.
V !l>
horns terrcstris.
Microglossunt
aterrumuji
Coryth/ux 1 hulm/i
Musophaga gwantea
fr/illus Bcm kiva
Male.
//rail of Ourax
rralhis Banhva, Female
Crax rubra
Cn'ptonyx coronuius
arenartus.
Tiruunus rufescens.
Ortyx Calif arnica
Ortygis pugnax
Geo. Aikman, Sculpt
ORNITHOLOGY
PLATE CCCXCJX
aromafiai
(Visuarms gaJmtus
rus coronhtus
w thw r/iwrl/is.
Mia'OflaLtylus cris/n fr/s.
t iniiui.
\sopfua rrep/tmis
Cre /. A ikman, Satin/
PLATE CCCC.
Nwnmim
Crus Americancb
Platalea ajajri
Machetes
Recurvirostra * Amerumui
JUiynchaa cap ms is.
Chhonis vaginalis
^Geo. AifarUtTJ
Piimdeopterus Amerwanus.
Parra, alhimau
ORNITHOLOGY.
plate can.
vs cornutus.
Podoa, Surinameiisis.
Aptemjdytes pafaporu/Yi
BlI/ of Ba/B/ms.
fit// of Pachpptila,
nauseas.
so com a.
s mcpti
Procellana pelapttu.
PeUamus onoavtalus.
s rtuirums.
Geo. Aibturn Sculp?
Plotus melcuiogaster.
Coreopsis Novcz-HoUandice.
(langula hutriorriccL
FulipuJ/j. 1 alisnie/i
Cypmis atrntns.
Merpas aicullatus.
Oeo. Aiknian, Sculp P
Z-/TJJJJ aULVId
Engraveity S.HaIL,Bi3iy Str^Bloomslra
1